January Update

I know it has been an extremely long time since I updated this blog and my readers, so my sincerest appologies. A lot has happened lately, some of which I can't share. Here is what I can share...

Earlier this month my parents took M, C, MJ and I to the USS Hornet. Dad had served on the Hornet during the Appollo Missions and was able to share some of his experiences. It was quite fun to hear his stories. Just Thursday M received an award called "Every Child Succeeding Award". He was one of only sixteen kids who were honored with this award this year out of the entire county. What an honor! Mom and I were able to attend the award's breakfast banquet along with M and his teacher. It was a very humbling and enlightening experience and I couldn't have been more proud of M. In addition to this great honor, M also took an Advanced Reader's test on Thursday (yesterday) after arriving back at school. He passed with 100% accuracy. What is so special? Well, he passed reading at a 2.1 grade level. He's in 1st grade and was struggling to read at a late-kinder/early-1st grader level... That's how much he has improved all around!!! What a trooper!!! C is doing great, too, although he bus driver forgot to pick her up yesterday... Yes, her bus driver forgot her (and she's this person's only student, so it makes me a little concerned). I had to pick her up, but she handled the extra hour at school like a trooper, too! She's improved drastically in math. I think my concern that I expressed last month sank in because her interpreters are giving her extra help (they're actually giving her the answers rather than allowing her to raise her hand and ask for the teacher's help). But now, she seems to be getting it. Now if we could only get her reading up to par... But what do you expect from a child who has to memorize every single word they see?!? She can do it, though... She's so smart!!! MJ is doing great, too... He's growing like a weed and is doing all the things babies should do! I'm so proud of all my kids. Hope you enjoyed the photos!!!

Celebrating The Holidays

This last week or so has been fun/interesting.

First, C ended up with a Urinary Track Infection or a Bladder Infection. Her pediatrician never did let me know which one it was. Hopefully he'll give us an update when we go see him tomorrow afternoon. In the mean time, she's been on medicine, which has helped tremendously.

Then, C missed her school play. It wasn't such a bad thing because C had just had her Cochlear Implant Surgery the week before and had just gone back to school. She completely missed each and every practice, so she had no cllue that she missed it, anyway.

Just a couple of days later M had his performance. He's usually terrified of performing in front of people, but I promised him Baskin Robin's Ice Cream if he sang every song and sang it loud enough for me to hear. Well, as we all know, with a croud of kiddos singing in an auditorium it's nearly impossible to pick out an individual voice, and M made sure I was aware of this fact. But I told him that a mother is always able to "hear" her own child. That appeased him. But, he still negotiated what he got. His preference? Jamba Juice instead of Baskin Robins... And who am I to complain about that choice?!? ;)

The same day of M's performance, which turned out beautifully, my grandfather invited the entire family from our area to his house for a Christmas gathering. He proceeded to make an announcement... We thought the announcement was going to include his proposal to his current "companion" (his title for her not ours), but it was only to wish us all a Merry Christmas.

Today we topped off the Christmas celebrations with a trip into our little town. Santa Clause came for a visit, so we got our picture taken with him. After that, the big kids were able to help decorate a Gingerbread House and a Christmas Tree before heading off to make a gingerbread cookie (homemade by one of our town's long time residents). We spent about 45 minutes in town (including drive time, but we only live about 5 minutes away). It was a fun little trip.

The following pictures are from our wonderful and spirited week. Enjoy:

What Makes A Woman Love Her Man....

Manette -

Well, the year is coming to a close. It has been extremely eventful to say the least. Lets see, you and the kids moved down to California, I deployed to Iraq, you gave birth to MJ, C had surgury, and M completely blossemed with Mrs. J and his 1st grade class. Definitely a great year. Even though we have been apart, the time we were together was wonderful. Hopefully next year you won't be completely tired of me being around all the time. You are a fabulous mother and a fantastic wife. You are beautiful, smart, funny, and I could not have dreamed of a better partner in life. I love and miss you. I think of you all the time and know that you are raising our children with just the right combination of love and discipline. You are an excellent role model! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas sweetheart. See you in my dreams! Love always, Matthew J

I wanted to share what a wonderful husband I have. I think I was lucky and got the last true gentleman that God ever made. He is true, honest and a superb protector. He cherishes me and shows me just how much he loves me nearly every day. He loves our kids more than life itself and I couldn't have asked for a more loving father and husband. Just read what he sent to me today and you'll get a sliver of an idea of what my wonderful life with Matt is like! I hope that every other woman out there is as blessed as I am in her chosen mate.

Christmas Tree Decorating

Today we went to Nana and Papa's house to decorate Nana's Christmas Tree. This is MJ's 1st Christmas, and though Daddy is missing it, we will certainly share our special days as much as possible. So, here is our first Christmas post.

Enjoy the visual post...

C Had Surgery

Sorry about the delay in posting our recent activities, but (as you will see) it's been a bit hectic lately.

On December 3rd C was scheduled for surgery. Her ENT wanted to repair the Cochlear Implant that had slipped out of her right Cochlea and add a new device in her left ear. We chose this drastic route since C was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome Type I (which means that she will go blind. It's a progressive disease and her eyes are, at age 6, already functioning like a 40 year old's. She has limited periphreal vision and is most noticeable when she walks, especially at night, because she trips over everything, even the slight rise that is between the sidewalk and grass).

My day started out very early on Thursday. I was up at 5:00am. Knowing I would be getting up early that morning I went to bed at a decent hour. But, I was wired and had a hard time sleeping. Plus, C didn't want to sleep that night, either, making my night more miserable. MJ didn't help, either, because he tossed and turned quite a bit. But, I got up and ate breakfast since I knew I wasn't going to get to eat until C went into surgery... What parent would eat in front of their child when that poor little thing couldn't eat. I showered, too, of course. I had packed a couple of bags the previous day. I remembered well what happened a couple of months ago when MJ went to the ER and we ended up being transported to a larger hospital where we stayed for 5 days with nothing to do and no clean clothes (disgusting). I wasn't about to get caught in that same position this time!

C got up around 5:30 and swiftly got herslef taken care of. She had had her shower the previous night and so only really needed to get dressed and have a touch of water. She was so hungry, though, since she had not had anything to eat for nearly 12 hours. Once she was done we were off!

It was excessively foggy that morning, so our drive time was extended to nearly 2 hours. Plus I had forgotten to get money and gas, so I needed to stop and do that before we really got on the road. Thankfully, I was following several other cars into the area, so it cut down on the fog issues.

We arrived at UC Davis at 7:45 that morning and were shown into the pre-surgery room by 8:30, where we waited and waited and waited some more. C's surgery was originally due to begin between 9:45 and 10:00am. At 10:30 the staff came in to tell us that it would be maybe another 30 minutes to an hour before they would begin as they were running late.

At 11:30 C was finally wheeled into the OR where they began the scheduled 4-1/2 hour surgery to repair the right implant and insert a new implant on her left side.

When C was wheeled into the OR I took the time to run to the caffeteria. I made a quick stop at the little coffee shop, first, where I ordered myself a super large regular coffee (which tasted as if someone had burned the beans before filtering it into the coffe pot and burning it again). With my caffiene jolt safely in my hands I drug all my and C belongings into the lobby waiting area and made a few phone calls and sent a few texts.

My stomach was doing summer saults by this time, so I nixed the idea of eating lunch and instead ate a Nutrigrain Bar before meandering back to the Children's Surgery Center waiting area where I enjoyed an hour of gossip with one of the nurses on reception desk duty.

At 3:30pm a nurse dressed in typical operating room attire sat next to me and delivered some interesting news. The first thing out of her mouth was, "Your daughter is fine and doing well." But, she followed that with, "It's taking longer than we had anticipated. It will be at least another hour to an hour and a half." Two and a half hours later, C was finally wheeled out of surgery and into the recovery room!!! Yes, the surgery took nearly 7 hours!

Because the Children's Surgery Center closes at 6:00pm C was wheeled into the main recovery area on the second floor. Usually family is not allowed into that area at until the patient is stable and awake. I was allowed to go into the recovery area and sit with C the entire time. The nurses used the excuse that I was her interpreter, which I was. I was the only one who could communicate with her. Plus, because they couldn't communicate with her they didn't want her too frightened.

When C woke up enough for the first time to communicate, the first thing she said was that she was hungry and thirsty. So, her nurse gave her some apple juice. She downed that like it was a sacred currative. She followed that with a scoop of Strawberry Ice Cream. Scooping the ice cream out with the plastic spoon was like trying to carve a pumpkin with a plastic knife. But, once C had the first bite she yanked the small bowl of ice cream out of the nurse's hand with such fervour that we (literally) did not see her reacting until she had already had the bowl in her hand and the spoon into her mouth (that's how hungry she was). We both lunged for the ice cream to keep C from eating too fast and making herself sick. I was able to get it away from her, but couldn't feed her fast enough. C was deserate for any type of nourishment. She finally slowed down enough about half way through the ice cream to be able to allow it to settle into her tummy before reaching for more. Once the ice cream was about 2/3rds empty C finally relented to the drowsiness and drifted back to sleep.

C slept for another hour and then woke up again. This time she was more awake and I was able to ask her important questions about how she was feeling. Shortly thereafter they decided to release C. So, she sat up and began getting dressed. The next thing we know is she's vomitting. It wasn't much, but it was enough to spew out the Tylenol with Codiene that they had just given her. Suddenly, not 5 minutes later, C spewed out a large quantity of the fluids she had taken in during her recovery. But, she had to go potty, which was great since she hadn't urinated since 11:00 that morning and her pull-up was still dry. The staff still felt she could be released to go home for the remainder of her recovery, so they wheeled C out to the parking garage where they let her go. She and I took the elevator to the second floor and proceeded to get into the car. The moment I turned the van on C vomitted again! Thank goodness for the puke bucket they gave us because it would have been really nasty (and Mom would have had so much to clean up between me and C... Because I certainly would have puked right along side her if I had had to clean it up).

While we were waiting for C's Tylenol with codiene to arrive, I had searched for my validated parking ticket. It was GONE!!! I couldn't find it anywhere. I had to claim a "lost tickes" and ended up haivng to pay the full day's price, which considering where we were wasn't bad at all... It cost me $12 to leave the parking garage and, since they only take cash, I was glad I had stopped at the ATM that morning.

The rest of the journey home was a breaze. C fell asleep before we even hit the freeway and the night was clear. Matt kept texting me, and because California has a law against being on the phone and driving (which I totally agree with) I kept having to pull over. He finally called me to see how C was doing as I pulled into the driveway. Go figure!

We slept at my parents' house just to be on the safe side and woke up feeling pretty good. C had woken up several times from the pain, but was otherwise fine. No more vomitting! And I slept with MJ, as usual, but it was a smaller bed and he kept rolling inot me, so I didn't sleep very soundly. I talked to Matt more thoroughly that morning before heading off to breakfast at the local diner followed by a jaunt into town for pain medication for C. We arrived home in plenty of time to pick M up from school. Afterwards, C, MJ and C's new doll (from Aunt K-B) all took a much needed nap.

The next morning, C was up and moving as if nothing had happened to her. I've had to fight to keep her from wrestling with Papa and dancing in the kitchen. She has had only Tylenol (without codiene) for pain medication and has done a wonderful job in keeping her hands off her ears!!!

Enjoy the progressive pictures of the past few days!

Belated Happy Thanksgiving

I don't know what it is about holidays and M, but every single year he has to be seriously sick on/around at least ONE holiday.... This year he was seriously sick the day after Thanksgiving, thank goodness. Hopefully he won't be sick on Christmas (like he was the year before last and then again two years before that). I ended up taking him to the emergency room on Friday night because he was running a 104 degree fever. That, accomanied with a cough and vomitting, for me a touch concerned that it might be the Swine Flu (the H1N1 virus). Turns out the poor kid had caught Broncchitis. Turns out that Broncchitis is highly contagious in the first 24 to 48 hours! DAMN!!! Because MJ isn't yet 3 months old and C is getting ready for surgery on Thursday!!! Just what we need... A house full of sick people!!! Ugh!!!

Anyway, yes, you read that right... C is getting ready for yet another surgery. She had an appointment with the head of the ENT department at UC Davis Children's Medical Center and we discussed the idea of giving her an additional implant and fixing the right side (it has slipped out of place so much that only 8 out of 16 electrodes are functioning). Unfortunately, on Friday I received a letter from Tricare stating that they did not receive enough information from the physician to actually approve the request. So, it will take up to 10 working days to get the information. Needless to say, I don't have to money to be able to pay for her to have the surgery on my own, so we might have to reschedule the surgery for a later date; this is especially true if she catches what M has!

As a further update, I just wanted to BRAG about my two big kids!!! M and C were both given two awards on Friday, November 20th (M's award assembly was at 8:00am and C's was at 9:00am... Yes, Mom and I rushed like mad-women to make it to both assemblies... And, as mothers around teh world do, we were able to manage them both).

M was awarded student of the month for 1st grade. He was selected as the most improved student for his improvement in his handwriting! Plus, he was given a medal for the Alpha Society!!! This is given for getting good grades. It's tantamount to getting on the Principal's List!!! They do this because they don't have Honor Roll for kids under 5th grade... What a little genious!!! We're all so very proud of M!!! Plus... To make things even more amazing about M, I was told during his Parent/Teacher conference (on Tuesday, Novemmer 10th at 12:30) that M was doing great in his math. In fact, Mrs. J said that had M slowed down on his work and actually followed directions he would have scored even higher. Generally, he's bored with his math work and is just speeding along in it and not paying attention to the particulars. She wants him to show his work and he's able to do it in his head, so he's not showing his work. And, even more impressive is the fact that he's doing so outstandingly in his reading that she said he'll soon be reading at a 2nd grade level!!! OH MY GOSH!!! Can you say... IMPRESSED?!?

C was also given an award for student of the month. She was elected most courteous in her class. She received a similar award last year... She's so kind to others and it consistently shows. We're so pleased that she's got such a marvelous personality... And it shows in her fellow classmates and teachers. C was also given an award (though they have to hand out the documents in December because they didn't arrive in time) for 100% homework completion!!! YEAH!!! Now that's worth recognizing... She works hard to complete her homework.

Needless to say, I'm super thrilled with both of our big kids!!! It's Fantastic!!!