We're Still Alive.....

Okay, it's my fault....I've done it again......it's been FOREVER since I've updated. I know, I know, BAD BLOGGER! What can I say except, life is crazy right now. Although, as crazy as it is, nothing is going on worth blogging about. How is that possible?! Anyway, here's the catch-up version of our lives:

I'm FINALLY finished with clinicals! Those pretty much took up my ENTIRE summer, but they are over now and I am so relieved. I had to play catch-up twice this summer between the Disney trip and Kaylyn's hospitalization I got SO far behind with getting my hours. Getting 90 hours and working and doing all these crazy projects for community clinicals and keeping up with my other class in 7 weeks (that's all the time I had left after Disney and our stay at Hotel de Children's) just about drove me crazy but I made it....AND I managed to do it without pulling my hair out! Whew! What a relief! I have one more project I'm finishing up for community clinicals I have to turn in at the end of the week and this semester will be O-V-E-R!! Only one more to go....Come on December!

The kids have been great this summer. Just hanging out. They've been staying with Candace this summer and Kaylyn has really enjoyed spending time with Chloe....Luke....notsomuch. Don't get me wrong, he loves Chloe, but Chloe loves to aggrevate him and she wants to boss him around and he get's a little tired of it.

Kaylyn has been taking summer dance classes this summer and is in dance camp this week. She gets to start taking hip-hop this year and really loves it. She was showing me some of her new moves the other night and her cute new dance. She just found out today, that her class will be dancing with "the big girls" at the dance recital next year and she's so proud of herself. I'll try to get some video on here soon of her new moves. Some friends of ours invited her to go with them to Louisville, KY next week to the Six Flags there and to see some of the sights Louisville has to offer. She's REALLY excited about the trip. I'm a little nervous. She's never gone that far away from home, without a family member, for that long. I know she'll be fine, but I'm still a little worried that she'll get homesick and I can't go get her. Well, I guess I CAN go get her, but it's a 9 hour drive, so I couldn't get her very quickly. I've never really worried about her going places because she's such a social butterfly and it's never really phased her, so it didn't phase me, but she's gotten pretty clingly lately. Hopefully she'll have fun and not get homesick. If so, I may be looking for someone to ride shot-gun to Louisville! After her trip, it will be back to school. She'll be in the 3rd grade this year. Can you believe that?! She's growing up too quickly!

Luke has just been being Luke. Funny as ever! He says and does some of the cutest things lately. The other night when Kaylyn was showing Candace and I here new dance moves, she decided she would practice doing "the splits" (she's almost there, but not quite). Anyway, Candace told her she used to put on "stockings" so her feet would slide easier when she was learning to do the splits. Luke disappeared to his room for a minute and then came in and said "I've got my stocking on my feet."........He was wearing a Christmas stocking on his foot. He's also been going through some regressive behavior. I guess it's from spending so much time with Chloe this summer. He's been talking like a baby lately and when you tell him to stop with the "baby-talk." He deepens his voice about 10 octaves and starts talking like a "man" as he says. Oh, Luke.....Who knows what he will think of next? We are getting ready to celebrate his 5th birthday on Thursday. He's really excited about that. We will have a small family party on Thursday night and then we are taking him to Spring Valley Beach on Saturday. He can hardly wait!

Chris has managed to make it nearly 6 weeks without being sent to Mobile to work! That's a record! Hopefully he will be able to stay home for a while longer. We know he will eventually have to go back, but we hope it won't be soon.

I guess that sums it up. I'll have some new pics on here soon. I promise!

No He Didn't!!

Yes he did! Notice the mack-truck-sized gap in the front of Luke's hair?? And the left side of his head??Yes, Luke decided he'd try to give himself a haircut last night. I walked in his room just in time to see him whacking away at his hair with a pair of Kaylyn's school scissors. I gasped "LUKE!! NOOooooooooo." But it was too late. The damage was done. I told him we would have to go get his hair cut off this morning. He cried. I cried. Julie, the beautician cried. All morning while we were waiting to go, Luke kept sobbing "I don't want my hair cut off." "I'm going to look funny." And my personal favorite "My head's gonna be cold." Maybe he's learned his lesson.
Here he is getting those beautiful curly locks cut. All of them. Falling to the floor. At first she thought she may be able to just give him a trim to blend it in. But as she started cutting, the left side was much shorter than she thought and there were straggly curls sticking out everywhere. As she gave me the look that said "I don't think this is going to work." I said "just do what you've got to do to make it look right."

The finished product. He doesn't even look like my little boy anymore. *sigh* We did manage to escape the dreaded buzz-cut, which I thought was our only option. Luckily his hair is thick enough to somewhat cover the gap in the front, we'll just have to keep getting it trimmed until it catches up. Oh well, it's only hair. Yes, I know it could be much worse. Yes, I know it will grow back. And yes, for those of you who are actually happy about this haircut (Ahem....Paul and Pop) it will grow back, hopefully soon!

Can You Tell He Dressed Himself?

This is Luke's newest preferred attire. He insists on wearing this cowboy get-up EVERYDAY (usually with shorts and a miss-matched shirt). This kid just cracks me up sometimes!

4th of July Celebration!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. We had a fun but loonnnnggg day. We started the day by going to Chris' Aunt Brenda's house for a cook-out and swimming. We were here for most of the day. The kids had a great time swimming and catching up with their cousins who they don't get to see very often. By the time we left they were completely exhausted and water-logged. Last night we went to watch Thunder on the Mountain, which is always an awesome fireworks show. This was quiet an eventful part of the evening because Chris locked his keys in the truck! Not the first time this has happened. You would think he would have learned his lesson after locking his keys in the truck the first 9465 times :) Anyway, we finally got them out with a coat-hanger and a screw driver just before the show started. (I'm telling you, he's done it so many times, he's an expert at breaking and entering locked cars!) Oh well, no biggie, he got them out, and we weren't stranded in Birmingham...

When we got home last night, we discovered that Crimson had decided to take a hike. We've had a problem with her jumping the fence lately, but she's never left sight of our house. When we got home, she was no where to be found. So, off I go, driving around looking for her (at midnight). Didn't find her. I was hoping she would have found her way back home by this morning, but she hadn't. Off I go again, driving around looking for her. I found her about a mile from the house walking down the road, and covered in mud. Of course, it was one of those times I had left my phone at home (you know...because, I never have it when I need it). Since she was covered from head-to-toe in BLACK mud, I couldn't put her in the car, didn't have a phone to call Chris to come and get her in the truck, I was afraid if I left her to go home and get the truck she wouldn't be there when I got back...what to do??? Have her follow me, of course! I drove home at about 4 mph with her trotting along side the car....I had no idea my car would go that slow! Just kidding....that's a joke about me and my driving habits! Anyway, she's home now, and hopefully will stay there. Any ideas about how to keep a 75 pound golden retriever from jumping a 4 ft fence? Maybe last night scared her into staying in there, she hasn't gotten out at all today!

All of the younger cousins enjoying the pool
Armed and dangerous! I don't know about everyone else, but I think the inventor of these water-soaking-gun thingy's needs their tail whipped! Anyone else agree?? The kids spent most of the day shooting each other with these things, which isn't that big of a problem, but when they got bored shooting each other, who do you think they turned to?? I think I was shot IN THE FACE with these things about 800 times yesterday!

Yes, that is my son who, until last week, was TERRIFIED of water. I'm talking, we had to pry him kicking, screaming, and clawing off the steps, and once you finally got him off the steps, it was survival of the fittest. He usually won, with the loser of the fight having battle wounds as proof of his victory. That was, until, Paul decided to just throw him in the middle of the pool. Once he realized his life-jacket would keep him afloat, he became an instant water baby. You'll even notice in most of these pics he's jumping, voluntarily, into the pool! I'm so proud of him for over-coming this fear. Although I have mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, I'm glad he can have a good time at the pool instead of just watching from the steps as everyone else is splashing around the pool. But on the other hand, I now have to constantly worry about him around water, when before I never had to worry about him voluntarily jumping in a pool.

Kaylyn has always been a little fish. She's really become a strong swimmer this summer.Totally loving Thunder on the MountainI attempted to shoot some of the fireworks. These are not the best fireworks pics in the world, in fact, they really don't look like fireworks, but I thought they were cool pics.

We're Home!!

Yeah!!! We were discharged this morning and are SO glad to be home. Kaylyn is feeling great with very little pain and is back to her usual spunky self. So far the oral antibiotics are agreeing with her. We go back next week to have the drain removed and then this whole ordeal will be behind us. Here are a few pics from our days at Hotel de Children's....

Poor baby. She felt pretty rotten.

She did manage a smile for the camera

This is what caused all of the problems. It's a little hard to see in the pic, but the outline drawn on her back was where all of the cellulitis was. It was also on her chest. This is the night we were admitted when she couldn't move her shoulder or turn her head to the left side. By the next morning, almost all of the cellulitis was gone and she had much more movement in her shoulder and neck. The problem was the knot directly on her shoulder, which is where the abscess was and where they placed the drain yesterday.

Wishing she could go outside. She was so tired of being trapped in her room.

She kept her hand in this position the ENTIRE time. Didn't even move it in her sleep. The nurses told her she couldn't move it while it was hooked up to the pump (every 8 hours). She took those instructions seriously!

A cookie arrangement from the kids at Mountainview. Thanks guys!

(notice the hand)

Luke came for a visit. He was so happy to see his Sissy. If I didn't know better, I would think think they missed each other ;). Seriously, Luke was really worried about her. He kept asking "are they going to hurt her?" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

(hand still in the same position)

Off to the OR, just ready to get it over with so she could eat.

We're Outta Here!!!

Just waiting on our walking papers!!!

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We're Still Here

Yes....still here... We will be here another night, but hopefully will come home in the morning. The test now will be to see if she can tolerate her antibiotics by mouth. If she can't tolerate them, we can't go home. The big trial will take place at 8:00 tonight. Honestly, we're both ready to blow this pop-stand, but I'm not comfortable taking her home until I know for sure she will be able to tolerate the antibiotics at home. They won't do her much good if she can't hold them down and we would be back in here in a few days. She's GOT to have 10 days of antibiotics...no ifs, ands, or buts. A major reason the 10 days of antibiotics are a must (aside from the fact that the abscess could reoccur) is that the area of infection was directly on top of her bone. This means there is a risk for osteomylitis, which is a bone infection and a major pain in the rear. Very difficult to get rid of and involves long term IV antibiotics, so we definitely don't want that!

Kaylyn has done great since coming out of surgery. She had some pain and itching from the anesthesia, but a dose of Tylenol #3 and Benadryl cured those problems. She has been eating like a cow!! Since she got back to her room she has eaten: An ENTIRE Big Mac Meal (I"m talking not ONE crumb left behind), 2 bowls of soup, a grilled cheese sandwich and fries, 3 popsicles, and onion rings. It's really quiet comical to watch this skinny little child devour all of this food! I think she may be full now. She's asleep now and I'm enjoying the peace getting ready to settle in for another night at Hotel de Children's.

Out of surgery

We just spoke with the surgeon. She's out of the OR and doing well. She'll be back to her room in about an hour. Still no definate time as to when we can come home.

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Going to surgery now

They just called to get her ready for surgery. Just in time. She's getting pretty restless and HUNGRY! I'll update when she's out....

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Going to Surgery...

The sugeons just left and have decided to do surgery some time today(hopefully early). They will clean out the area on her shoulder an place a small drain. I'm just glad to see an end in sight. She's glad to hear there will be no more packing changes. The big "H" word was even mentioned. Maybe tonight??? We'll see.... I'll keep you posted...

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No Fun!

The dressing change has been done and it was no fun, heatbreaking actually. Being on the other side of all of these painful procedures is a totally different world. I know it has to be done, but it breaks my heart when she's begging me to not let them hurt her. Kaylyn did great though with very few tears and she managed to make it through the whole ordeal giving them just a small piece of her mind. Now we're on to bigger and better things to worry about....like breakfast. She's upset because she won't be able to eat anything after midnight. With her very manner-of-fact attitude, she says "Let's talk about what's going to happen in the morning. Exactly when will I get to eat breakfast?" Oh, what a fun morning we will have...*sigh* In the mean while, I think she's trying to store up foods. I think she's just about emptied the pantry. I'll post an update in the morning when I find out what the verdict is.... I just want my baby to feel better and to get this whole ordeal behind us so we can go home.

"I'm Tired of Being Here...."

....seems to be the quote of the day. Cabin fever has hit with a vengence! Even her cool electronic bed that goes up and down and up and down and up and down is no longer interesting. She is SO ready to go home, but it doesn't seem like that will be an option until tomorrow evening at the very earliest (if we're lucky), probably more like sometime Friday. They will be coming in the next few minutes to change her packing and she's getting more nervous by the minute. I keep telling her she will have some medicine in her IV to help with the pain and make her sleepy(morphine), but she's not convinced. For now, we're just hanging out and getting her antibiotics. Judging from the size of the knot on her shoulder, which has gotten bigger throughout the day, a trip to the OR is looking more and more likely. Compared to yesterday, she is feeling much better. She is able to move her neck and shoulder more and the redness is much better, but the area of the abscess is still very painful to touch. We still have 2 more doses of antibiotics before the surgeons come back in the morning to check her out and decide what we are going to do. We're keeping our fingers crossed.....

They are walking in the room as I type to give her the morphine. I'll keep you posted...

Update

The surgeon was just in to see Kaylyn. He said there apprears to be a second abscess just below the first one. As of now, the plan is to continue IV antibiotics throughout the day and night and re-evaluate it again in the morning. He said unless there is considerable improvement, we will most likely be going to the OR sometime tomorrow. For now we are just hanging out, enjoying our stay here :) Kaylyn is doing well and is feeling much better (well enough to complain about being here). Please pray that the antibiotics will do the trick so we can avoid the OR.

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Still waiting

The ultrasound is done. Now we are just waiting for the results. I'll let you know.....

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Not Much To Tell

Well, we are still waiting for ultrasound. The night was pretty uneventful. Just the typical hospital life. Being on the other side of things is no fun! Kaylyn's shoulder is still hurting pretty bad but the redness seems to be some better. We should know more after the ultrasound. I'll keep you posted...

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Admitted.....

Yes, we have our very first hospital admission..... Kaylyn had to be admitted tonight for IV antibiotics. She has an abscess on her shoulder that didn't respond well to antibiotics and the infection was spreading so here we are....

She's been a real trooper through this whole thing. If you've ever had an abscess, you know they are very painful. She had an incision and drainage last night and a shot of antibiotics, which should have done the trick. This morning when she woke up, she was still in a good bit of pain and it was still pretty red, so I called her doctor to have her packing changed and to get another shot of antibiotics. By this afternoon the redness was spreading down her back and chest so the decision was made to admit her.

If all goes well she'll be able to come home tomorrow evening or Thursday morning. She will have an ultrasound of her shoulder in the morning just to make sure this "bug bite gone bad," as she calls it, is not more involved than we think. If that is the case, or if it is still not responding to the IV antibiotics, then we may be looking at surgery to clean it out. I'll post updates as I get them, but in the mean while, say a little prayer that the antibiotics are all we need and we'll get to go home by Thursday morning.

(P.S. I'm trying to get some pictures uploaded, but this internet connection is not the best in the world and it doesn't appear I will be getting them on here.)

End of Season Party

Earlier this week we had Luke's end of season party for Tee Ball at Pump It Up. I LOVE that place! SO much fun! The kids had a blast. Luke showing off his very first trophy.

World Tour 2009

Yesterday we had Kaylyn's dance recital. It was at the BJCC again this year and all the girls had a great time. The title this year was World Tour 2009. They danced their way through 2 shows and are exhausted. This year was their first year to have 3 songs in the recital. There were 2 recitals yesterday, which means a total of 6 dances and costume changes. Kaylyn was asleep in the car before we were half-way home last night! We're all glad for summer break and will be excited to return in the fall.
Kaylyn and Abby just before showtime So I attempted to video her dances with my camera. They are not the best in the world, but you can see what she's been working on all year. The first two songs were the one's they competed with. The last one was added after the competition. I missed a few seconds of the first song because of camera/operator malfunction, but I did get Kaylyn's part. Warning: You may need a dose of Dramamine before watching these videos!

5 years

It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since Kaylyn went bouncing into her first dance class. She was so excited to get her 5 year award. Every year she's always asked when she would get a big trophy. Last night she finally got it! She's earned it too. She's come a long way since the days of "I'm a Little Tea Pot" and "Three Little Fishies." Keep up the good work Kaylyn! I'm proud of you!

Speaking of 5 years....Every dancer receiving 5, 10, or 15 year awards gets a special page in the program with all of their past dance pics. You know me...love the chance to post old pics, so here they are... Where has my baby gone??

Congratulations Amber and Kyle

I finally got some time to post some pics from my cousin Amber's wedding which Chris and I went to last weekend. Better late than never! It was a beautiful wedding and a fun reception at The Rankin. There was lots of good food, music, and an open bar :).Amber and Kyle's first dance

Amber and her dad William

Cool cakes and a candy bar. Loved it!