He's Off

Waiting for Matt to get off the plane:
Here comes Dad:
Our oldest son is so happy to see Dad that he can't control his tears:
Dad and Daughter pose with our newest addition:
Mom and MJ take a nap:
Today has been a somewhat sad day so far... And it's only 9:00 in the morning. Matt headed back to Iraq this morning leaving me feeling bereft and lonely, though I am lovingly surounded by my blessed children and my family, for which I am grateful.

Matt arrived safely on Saturday, August 29th around 11:00am. Luckily, because of the timing of his arrival in Dallas on that day, his actual leave didn't officially start until midnight on Sunday. So we all got to have almost a full extra day with Daddy. It was fabulous, so I'm not going to complain that he had to leave so early this morning to make it back to Dallas by noon today.

I must tell you all how amazing Matt's arrival in Sacramento was... The folks waiting to board the plane Matt had just disembarked gave the 3 Soldiers (well, 1 was a Marine) a standing ovation. It was very sweet and made me cry even more when I was able to get my hands on him. I stood back and let the kids love on their daddy first.

Matt couldn't keep his hands off my belly the entire drive home. It wasn't until we were nearly home that he felt MJ move for the first time, though I could feel him jumping around like there was no tomorrow. I guess Matt just needed practice to know what he was experiencing. And, for comic relief, Matt decided to drive home from the airport. During the trip he finally burst out with the fact that he had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep during the previous 72 hours. Great... And we were letting him drive? What were we thinking? But, he got us home safely, though definitetely NOT swiftly. That guy drove 5 miles per hour UNDER the speed limit. And in California that's worse than speeding!!! lol.

During Matt's 15 days of leave we did loads of stuff, yet nothing at all. I gave birth to our youngest son, MJ. So now we have 3 beautiful children... 2 adopted and 1 biological. They are all so precious; I can't believe how lucky we are!!! Poor Matt spent his first 6 days in the hospital with me. I was admitted on Monday, September 31st and MJ was born via c-section on Tuesday, September 1st at 2:28pm. I was released on Friday, September 4th. But, we spent all day Sunday in the hospital, too, for the first round of ripening. Monday was the second round of ripening using something called (or similar sounding to) doxycyclene. It looked like a shoe string that the doctor tucked in behind my cervix. It began working around 3:30pm and threw me into full blown labor. Sadly, though, it didn't ripen my cervix. So, Matt asked my OB doctor what our next step would be and he laid out all the possibilities... We chose to go the route of a c-section rather than go through more ripening with the distinct possibility of still having to have a c-section.

The following week was full of caring for me during my recovery from surgery. Matt took care of the big kids while I cared for MJ (he's being breastfed... What a shocker for me as I hadn't intended on going that route). Matt ended up doing some repairs to the guesthouse for the kids and I. My dad helped him a bit with some of the projects, but basically Matt took care of everything for us.

The last few days that Matt was here we spent upstairs in the guesthouse. Because the guesthouse is over my parent's garage and the doctor told me no stairs we were staying in my parent's house. But, with lots of care, I recovered enough to be able to spend the last few days alone with Matt (and the kids, of course). My OB was super surprised at the speed of my recovery. He was so surprised that when I sat up on the table he actually took a step backwards and made an exclamation about how well I was doing. Though, I have to admit that I over did it this past week when I went shopping with Matt and Mom. I wasn't suposed to be able to walk a block until my 4th week of recovery and here I was walking around Wal-Mart in the middle of my 2nd week of recovery... WAY too much, I admit; I was in massive pain for several days after.

What is even more suprising than my recovery is the newly discovered knowledge that Matt's grandmother has been reading our family blogs. We were told in no uncertain terms that we had been disowned by Matt's Dad's side of the family (there was a rather large fight between me and my mother-in-law and 2 sisters-in law over the adoption of our daughter back in September 2005). Anyway, back to the point of this paragraph... Matt's dad left a message on our cell on Friday night congratulating us on our newest addition. To say that Matt was pissed at me is a complete understatement... When "Dad" told him congratulations Matt thought I had gone behind his back and shared our joyous news with his family without his permission. Little did we know that "Grandma" reads our blog regularly and was able to tell "Dad" about his newest grandson. This new piece of information about his family keeping the doors open stunned Matt so much that he was actually grinning from ear to ear for more than a day. He, in fact, walked around for the last few days with a glimmer of hope alight in his eyes. I know he hopes for a renewal of congenial relations with his family, though he won't dare admit his hopes aloud for fear of the complete oposite occuring. I do too, though I know I won't be welcomed very warmly, if ever. My point is that we are thrilled that the door to Matt's family is open, even if it is just a crack. This has made Matt so happy, which totally thrills me to pieces.

Anyway, I'll rattle on and on about this subject in the hopes of making that crack in the door open a touch wider for Matt and my kids (especially our oldest son, M, because he still asks why he can't see his grandpa and grandma. He remembers them very well and doesn't understand why they don't love him any more, though we regularly explain that he is still loved it's just that they are angry at Mom and Dad... A truly sad concept for any child, and especially sad for one who is so lacking in self confidence as Little M). So, I'll close here with a warm welcome to Matt's grandma and with the selfish hope that she continues to read this blog. And I'll also close with the reminder that Matt is headed back to Iraq. He will be sorely missed and he will remain in my thoughts and prayers that he comes back to us safe and sound (and FAST)!!!

WE LOVE YOU, MATT!!!

Quick Update

Just a quick heads up... Big Matt arrived safely from Iraq yesterday morning at 11:06. He called from Dallas and gave me an hour and a half notice before I had to drive to Sacramento to pick him up. Mom, my nephew, the kids and I all raced down there and were able to actually meet him at the gate, thanks to American Airlines who gave us free tickets to get past the security checkpoint. Matt was utterly surprised at seeing us up at the gate rather than waiting for him at the baggage claim!!!

Because he made it home so early in the weekend, my OB doctor and I decided that I would take medication to "ripen" my cervix. We began this morning during my NST. My pelvic exam showed that though my cervix is 80% effaced I have not dialated a single bit. But, because I was having contractions already they only gave me a portion of the usual dose. It increased the frequency and severity of my contractions but did not help me begin dialating. So, we will again head into the birthing center tomorrow morning at 8:30 to take the next step in "ripening" my cervix (we were told this will likely take several days).

On a side note... Today Matt was asked if he was going to be a dad or a grandfather!!! Matt was utterly pissed when the young kid asked him that question, but Mom and I just cried out of pure delight. It truly helped me a lot to hear that story at that particular moment because I was having a decent contraction.

We'll keep you all posted as things progress. I'm off to bed in the hope of sleeping away some of these contractions.
Sending you all much love,
Matt, Manette and kiddos

C's 1st Day Of 1st Grade

Today was a fun and interesting day... C has been counting down the days until she got to start 1st grade since M started 1st grade three and a half weeks ago. They are in two different school districts. M's district does a modified year round school while C's district does a modified traditional school year. Needless to say, we have loads of vacation days that are completely opposite of each other making planning for mid-year vacations difficult.

Anyway, we had to wake up thirty minutes earlier than when it's only M attending school because of transportation issues. So, we were all up at 6:30 this morning and by 7:15 they were completely done... We actually ended up with twenty-plus minutes extra during which time I could barely contain C inside the house!

Because it was C's 1st day, I blew off my volunteer morning in M's class (I'm the "drop-in Mom... I gather homework, put new homework in the folders, gather lunch tickets and breakfast tickets, cut out new work for the kinder-kids, and do other minor work around the class) and took C to school. I was asked to stay in the class until the deaf/hard of hearing specialist was able to arrive, but instead of paying attention to the interpreter, C kept looking to me for huidance, instruction and confirmation. Needless to say, I honestly felt that I was totally interupting C and her classroom time, so I left after being there for only about 10 or 15 minutes. Apparently it was no hardship because I got an email from her deaf/hoh teacher stating that she had a "GOOD" first day.

C actually came home telling me about the kids sitting in the wrong seats and how funny it was. Plus she let me know that she doesn't like her interpreter. This is funny because she doesn't like anybody who she doesn't know and takes quite a long time to warm up to someone. I know the interpreter will work out fine, but C had expected to have the same interpreter that she had last year. Sadly, though, that interpreter moved on to the second grade class with the other deaf student (C's best, best friend, who she missed very much).

M, too, had a wonderful day, even though he had to wake up super early. Hopefully the rest of the school year will go well for both M and C. I also had a great day. My mom and I went on several errands that we were able to complete without the hounding of kids. We even got to enjoy a quiet adult lunch out as well as some browsing through a few thrift stores. And, as my beloved husband, Matt, so rudely pointed out after I excitedly told him that I was thoroughly ready for the peace and quiet of having all my children in school, things won't last long... There is an infant soon to join us!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of M and C this morning...

You Pissed Her Off

Today has been a day filled with errands, doctor appointments and driving. It has, to say the least, worn me out. But, porr little C had to endure each moment with my mom and I. I must say, she did marvelously. Nana even bought her a little doctor's kit so she could have something new to play with to help occupy her time. The look on her face was fantastic, to say the least. She LOVED it. She even showed my OB doctor, who showed more interest than during any of the previous 5-1/2 months of visits. The two of them carried on a conversation about the medical profession (neither one understanding the other's words, but each of them non-the-less thoroughly engaged in the conversation).

After my NST (Non Stress Test) at the Family Birthing Center this morning, we went to lunch and then were off on a 2 hour jaunt to C's Audiology appointment for a 2 hour appointment. It turned out to be a fabulous appointment because Mom and I learned a lot from the audiologist. In fact, one of the things I learned today was that C's cochlear implant only has 8 out 16 electrodes opperational. So, we're going to go back in about 7 weeks to have the Advanced Bionics representative there. This person will bring a much more sophisticated piece of equipment to test the device. Plus, we're going to attempt to get a copy of C's latest CT scan, which we will mail down to the clinic. Between these two things we should find out why the other 8 electrodes are not working properly. One solution (though it is a drastic solution and will be done only if necessary and if all other options don't work) is to reimplant C.

Though I initially said absolutely not to this plan when it was initially brought to our attention several months ago, my opinion has changed due to C's recent diagnosis of Usher Syndrome. We now need to do something to help her have some form of communication with others. Had she been just deaf, then we would not have moved forward with reimplantation nor would we be as concerned about having only 8 electrodes firing in her cochlea. But being deaf and blind, we believe that C deserves some options in her life. Anyway, that means that we have a long road ahead of us to get C up to par with her implant and this clinic really seems like a good one to help us.

We finally arrived home around 4:30 this afternoon. It had been a long day. M seemed to have had a good day, though. He got out of school around noon and Papa picked him up. Papa had loads of work to do, so M got to play inside and watch tons of TV, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Sadly, though, his fun ended upon my arrival home. I made him turn the TV off and go outside to play, which he took surprisingly well. Nearly an hour after we were outside visiting with my parents, C decided to not follow directions. I did my usual practice of counting to three before taking the correction to the next step. She still didn't follow directions, so she got into even more trouble, after which she plopped herself on the ground and began to cry. Did I mention how dramatic my daughter is? No? Well, let me tell you... DRAMA QUEEN is a complete UNDERSTATEMENT!!! She will cry for nothing (literally) and will cry for 30, 40 or even 60 minutes without stopping. Her goal? To get someone (anyone) to feel sorry for her and to make the punisher feel terrible. Well, let me tell you... It doesn't work with me. It, in fact, irritates me to no end. I can handle her tears for about 10 or 15 minutes, after which I tell her to stop or go to bed. Today was no different. She chose not to stop crying after two warnings and was sent to bed. This made her so mad that she stomped off with a glare in my direction (again, nothing new).

Papa said, "Manette, you pissed her off, AGAIN!" Tell me about it!!!

M, my little copier-catter (his term, not mine), glared at me as he stood up for his sister by saying, "Yeah, Mom. You pissed her off, Meany!!!"

OH MY GOSH!!! My parents both burst into gales of laughter which made me laugh to no end. Do you know how hard it is to correct a child while you, and those around you, are laughing? Well, I can attest to the difficulty of the situation. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't correct him properly. And when I was finally able to get it out that what he said was a bad word, he didn't take me seriously because, "It not a bad word, Mom, cuz you were laughing." Needless to say, I was able to finally tell him that he wasn't allowed to repeat anything that came out of Pop's mouth (while still fighting to control my laughter, of course). Thankfully, Papa and Nana were able to control themselves enough to back me up opn that statement.

Bill Cosby was correct... Kids do say the darnedest things!!!

A New School Year Has Begun

I thought I would take a moment to update you on M’s first two weeks of school. So far, he’s done marvelously. In fact, today he got into some trouble, but as soon as he got into our van he confessed his errors and was super contrite. The fantastic part was that he didn’t attempt to hide his behavior from me and was upfront and honest. I, of course, rewarded him tremendously with an extra happy face on his “Good Job” board and allowed him to stay up just past 8:00 this evening to watch “Race To Witch Mountain”. He’s been doing very well and I’m so proud of him. I’m hopeful that he’ll continue the good behavior. He actually has begun making friends at school, too. That may go a long way towards helping him feel more confident in himself (a trait he is sadly lacking, which just breaks my heart).

Today, we started our morning by dropping M off at school. He was so adorable… I had to go to the office due to an error in a document I signed last week (though it was pretty much how I wanted it as it was pertaining to health screenings at school; the school had just never had anyone turn them down before, apparently). So, I walked M across the street and nearly to his classroom. The entire time, though, he’s trying to pull his hand out of mine and attempting to run off. I made him walk with me and actually made him give me a kiss once we crossed the street. “Awww, Mom!” instantly spouted from his lips. Apparently I embarrassed him in front of his friends. I found it adorable!

Afterwards, C and I stopped off at my sister’s house to feed their critters (they went to see her fiancé graduate Basic and AIT) before joining my parents for breakfast at a local diner. Next, C, Mom and I went to K-Mart and Wal-Mart and did a bit of shopping. It was the most I had walked for quite some time and I truly felt it by the end of the morning. In fact, Mom had to drive home because I was cramping enough to feel the need to concentrate on relaxing. I did come home with a new movie, some school clothes for C (who really didn’t need any, but we found good deals that I couldn’t pass up), a pair of jammies and a couple of t-shirts for M (who also didn’t need anything, but the deals were good) and baby clothes for MJ, which he does need.

We all enjoyed the morning, though C is still angry that she can’t start school, yet. I did see her dearest friend this afternoon as I was headed to my OB appointment (for an update on how that went, use the link on the left under my blog list and go to my IVF blog). I had a blast chatting with her and her parents and heard all about what Little Miss did this summer. The best part was when I got to tell C about my encounter. The look on her face was truly beautiful, showing excitement that she got to hear news about her beloved friend and sadness that she missed out on the experience. Poor thing! But, school will start for the girls in just 2 weeks, so they can suffer a bit longer… Let’s just hope I can last that long since I have to confirm, daily, that it is not a school day yet!!!

Camping and B-Day Photos

I just wanted to take a moment to post a few family photos of M's and C's camping trip to Blue Lakes with Nana, Papa, Auntie and Bub. I also am including some photos of M's b-day party which was held a few days after his b-day (it was actually held on a special friend's b-day... July 6). You might notice that in the photo of the two kids flying kytes that M is using the more difficult 2 stringed kyte while C is using a fishing pole... Her beloved Papa tied her kyte to a fishing pole because she was having difficulties flying the kyte without help. This was generally the first time either of my children have flown kytes, so I was impressed at their skill levels (thanks to Nana and Papa taking the time to show them how to do it)!!!

On Wednesday both M and C were seen by their pediatrician. It was lucky that we got that completed because both kids had to have chest x-rays. Here are the results: M has some spots on his lungs which are indicitive of Brochitis (he is prone to those since he had pneumonia 5 times by the time he was 19 months old). He's coughing up thick, green mucus in HUGE amounts. C's chest x-rays came back normal (thank God) but her sinus cavities (which we also had x-rayed) are a solid mass with a sack of fluid indicating a long standing sinus infection. Both kids are on antibiotics and C has a referal to see an ENT for her sinus problems. Hopefully we'll be able to get both kids feeling better soon, because they've been ill WAY TOO long!

Abandoned

What an awful day it's been... I've been abandoned by my children!!! They went on a camping trip with their Nana and Papa and won't be home for several days. To make things even worse... M's birthday is on the 3rd and he won't be home for that special day. I'm gonna miss his birthday!!! How horrible!!! I had planned on going with them, but my doctor said "NO!" since I was having so many contractions yesterday.

After they left, I sat in my chair and cried like a baby for nearly an hour. I just couldn't stop crying (partly due to their departure and partly due to hormones, I'm sure). But I am hoping and praying that they have a fun and safe trip. We'll have a birthday party (albeit small) once they get home.

Matt is doing great in Iraq. He called late yesterday evening to tell M "Happy Birthday". It was sweet, though M was too busy watching cartoons to really take in the fact that his daddy called from thousands of miles away just to tell him "Happy Birthday". Kids... They're all the same the world over!

Needless to say... I can't wait till they get back. I just know that I'll have a rough time sleeping while they're gone. It seems (per my recent experiences of letting them stay the night at Auntie's house) I have issues sleeping when I don't hear their precious little snores or breathing sounds during the night. Gosh how I miss those little devils!!!