Soaking it all in

I am feeling fantastic lately.  I have a ton of energy, life is great and most days are productive.  Life isn't always this great, so I am soaking it all in.  I ditched carbs over a week ago and only eat about 10 a day.  Yes... that's 10 carbs a day.  Most people would die, but I feel like a million bucks.  With the exception of heart moms night out this weekend, where I ate two pretzels dipped in provolone fondue, prime rib with au gratin potatoes and a few bites of hot chocolate cake.  I felt so crummy when I got home at one in the morning.  It was so worth it though! :)

Owen is a crack up lately, he is just one of a kind.  The things that come out of his mouth are shocking and hilarious.  He makes us all laugh constantly.. the is nothing better than belly laughing. 

This boy also has a temper... his therapist says it's because he's a "celebrated" child.   He speaks his mind and honesty is what you get.  Owen still won't wear his foot orthotics and he only wants to wear his Spiderman flip flops.  So we took them to show his Physical therapist, and surprisingly, he does walk well in them.  We were at gymnastic and his PT said he couldn't wear the flip flops on the trampoline, as it was a gym rule.  He said "fine then.. I'm gonna leave this place and find me a NEW gym".  He walked out the door and pouted for a whole two minute and came back without his shoes.  I call it the terrible twos... delayed.  It's funny most of the time, but we don't show our amusement and mostly ignore it.  If this is as bad as it gets, I got this! :) 

He's really a sweet boy and loves cuddles more than anything.  He knows how to turn on the charm and uses it to his full advantage.  Trouble.  Here's his mad face.

When my regular hair guy decided he was taking an indefinite break from the salon, I decided to go out and find a new stylist.  I decided to try Dolce (a pricey salon) and asked for someone great with Curls.  I knew I hit the jackpot when the girl walked out with the exact same curl and texture as my hair.  I felt so washed out because I was blond all over and my hair didn't have any layers so it layed flat.  She did her magic and I love it.  It's bouncy.  A bit of an afro when I first do it.. the curls are so tight that it shrinks up all over, and then relaxes during the day.  Best of all, I had 'hunnie money' so I got half off on my hair!!

Carson noticed the stitching on my favorite leather section was pulling apart in several places.  Behind the cushion it there is even a huge hole in the leather.  I called Costco, where we purchased the sofa last year, and they are going to pick it up for a full refund.  I haven't decided if I will order the same sofa again, or pick out a new one.  I really love this one, but what if it tears again.  I suppose I can just return it again then. 

Kam is home sick today with a fever. :(  I hate when she gets sick because it means double the homework to catch up in school.  She is resting in bed and getting the full treatment.. breakfast in bed, refills of Gatorade, ect.  She has been dancing a ton, keeping up with school, going to church activities, helping around the house with Owen, and she is just seriously amazing!!  I hope she is better tomorrow.

I just spoke with Stanford and everything is ready for Owen's cath in two weeks.  We have a bunch of appointments scheduled while we are there and we are anxious to see what's going on with Owen's heart.  If you asked him.. "I'm fine.  My heart is fine.  Nothing is wrong with me."   

That was a random post full of updates.  I need to get back into my blogging groove.  I get so caught up in doing laundry, organizing toys, helping with homework, blending food, dealing with the insurance companies.. it is just never ending.  Ha.  I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything though.  I know one day I will be sitting on my couch in silence and wonder where the time has gone.  I am just going to continue soaking it all in.

Owen's Wipeout Video

Owen is saying "Big Fluffy Drum" and then he pulls off his own Wipeout stunt.  He did this over and over again this afternoon, while laughing so hard he turned blue.  We laughed that hard.

{no boy was injured in the making of this video}

Owen's funny saying of the day came after we watched Clifford...Cliffords big idea of the day is BE KIND.  To which Owen replied.. "Ya.. be KINDA FAT!!"

Globetrotters

Kamryn performed at the Globetrotters halftime show on Saturday and we had a really great time!  Who knew the Globetrotters were so crazy?!

On our way to the performance. Kamryn has been doing her own performance make up and I have to give her mad props because she does it 100 times better than I do!

When we got to US Airways Center we swapped out our tickets for handicapped accessible seating and they gave us the hook up.  We had office chairs and a ton of space. 

Kamryn was trying to do a closed mouth smile.. all I am thinking is 'where did my 11 year baby go?'

We enjoyed the first quarter of the game and since we totally forgot to eat lunch, I bought us "bargain" hotdogs.  You get what you pay for.  I also grabbed bargain drinks and then Owen begged for Nachos.  Since I left his gtube feeds in the car and was way too exhausted to walk the mile back to our car, I got him the nachos so he would at least eat something. 

I took the girls to lineup just before half time.  Gigi was being her silly self. 

I sat in Gi's seat for the halftime show with my Sis.  See Daddy and Owen above the Casino Arizona sign?  Those are our seats.

The girls danced great as always.  I have a video of Kam's Candyman dance, but it won't upload, so this will do.  It's the end where all the girls come together.  Kam is in the middle of the right formation and Gigi is in the front middle of the center formation.

The girls stayed on the court after halftime to get their photo taken with the Globetrotters.  This is where a telephoto lens would come in handy, and just about the only time, that's why I don't have one.

I love that the girls are always running on an adrenaline high after performing.  It takes me back to my dancing days.. long long long ago.  Ha.  {I have no idea why I chose to take photos in front of the Pest Control sign.. couldn't be an uglier backdrop.}

Livvy came out to give the girls love.  Kam was making Liv laugh as always.

Kam deserved an ice cream, as did all the other dancers!  We headed back to our seats and Owen was going nuts with excitement between the Game and his iPad.  At the beginning of the 4th quarter they had everyone get up and do YMCA.. so much fun!  We love music.  We love fun!

The game was something we would have missed if it weren't for Kamryn's performance.  So glad she had the opportunity to perform there.  After the game, we hiked back to our car and Owen was asleep before we left the parking gargage. 

Owen's Accomplishments

"Mom.. do I look COOL?  Like Dad?  You like my style?"

Yes. Yes. and Yes!

Owen is growing and changing so much lately. I have been wanting to do a "what's up with Owen" post for a while.  This boy is working hard and catching up.

Owen's speech therapist comes every other week to work with him on his articulation issues.  He is missing his back sounds still.. "k, ck, gu".  His "th, ssss" sounds are not totally clear, but getting better.   His vocabulary is amazing and he is quite the jokester.  His speech therapist is always trying to get him to do picture tests.. "can you look at the picture and show me the boy that is finished with his dinner?" My favorite was when she asked ..

"Can you show me the bowl that is full?"

{there were four pictures of bowls, each had an apple, or two, or three, and one was empty}

Owen points to the empty bowl. 

We look at him again and repeat the question.

He continues to point to the empty bowl.

Then I ask.. 

"really Owen?  What is that bowl full of?"

"It's full of NOTHING!!"

He's a clever one.

Owen likes to read books and tell me the story based on what he's heard in the past or just from the illustrations.  He is recognizing tons of site words, but mostly those that have to do with Superheros.  He can log onto any website he wants to play and knows how to find pbskids.org, heroup.com, and Disney.com without assistance.  Owen can beat up the bad guys, cast spells, play every game and even do addition on some of the pbskids games.  Who says video games aren't good for development? Psh. I beg to differ.  This boy has ridiculous hand/eye coordination and can manipulate small objects better than I can. 

Owen's fine motor skills are another he excels at.  He's not exactly artistic, but he can draw inside the lines, completes mazes with accuracy and can sort of write his name.  His artwork consists of scribbles of many different colors, but maybe that's just his style. He can draw circles, squares and straight lines, but he just doesn't prefer to put them together.  He gets bored with puzzles, but completes them with little frustration.  He can velcro, snap, and zip.. but buckles and ties have room for improvement.  Owen is dressing himself (mostly) and brushes his own teeth.  He can untangle his oxygen tubing, administer his own meds and he is always closing his gtube that I leave open.

Owen loves gymnastic SO much!  His physical therapist is great and he works hard for her.  This is Owen's biggest challenge as he has severe gross motor delays, but he is making progress.  His gait is still so immature and his muscle tone is weak.  He doesn't jump, run or climb much, but those are goals we have set for him.  He is working on stepping up and down stairs rather than climbing or crawling.  He also has been working on bouncing on the trampoline.  It took months to get him strong enough to stand in one place on the trampoline while his PT bounces around him.  He used to fall over and couldn't stand up.. now he's holding his ground.  Baby step.  He can climb across the entire foam pit, walks well on the tumble tramp and can do "flips" (sommersaults).  He gets winded SO easily, but we are working on walking up the stairs to build his quad muscles.. he currently crawls up which is so much harder.  He used to hate the balance beam, but can now walk side by side and front or back.  HUGE progress.  His biggest accomplishment this week was that he has overcome his fear of swinging in a real swing, unsupported.  He is also walking across the sand more, which requires more strength than walking on a solid surface.  He will catch up eventually. :)

Ever since Owen learned to swallow his food, rather than pocket it in his cheek, he has been eating more!  He doesn't like pureed foods, and he's not a fan of sugar.  He likes a little bit of chocolate, but prefers salty and savory foods. He usually asks for celery sticks, carrots, cheese, pretzels, strawberries, blueberries, goldfish, and meats.  He doesn't like breakfast and chows down at dinner!   He likes to snack at night rather than during the day.  I am still tube feeding him 100% of the time, but he is eating more orally so I just count that as extra calories.  I can't even tell you how excited I am at how well his eating has improved.  At 3 months, he wouldn't even put a paci in his mouth he had such a bad oral aversion.  It has been a long road and one that isn't even close to over.. but progress is great!!

I am convinced that Owen is having a growth spurt as he is eating more and started napping again!  Just this week he has been so exhausted around 3pm, and he just crashes.  I would be concerned, but he is eating so much more that I have to assume that he is finally going to break the 33lb weight plateau he's been at forever!! 

Owen is amazing!!  We are so excited at how much progress he has made over the last year, and even the last few months.  Owen has asked if he can start preschool in the fall when Kamryn goes to Junior High, and so I'm doing my best to find the right fit for him.  I am extremely concerned about germs, as are his Cardiologist and Pediatrician, but am confident we will work something out.  It will be so good for him developmentally and socially!

We are so grateful for how far he has come.  Amazed at his strength. Proud of his determination.  

Valentines and Gi's Bday

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day around here. It was simple. Just the way I like it. The day started with Kam feeling "dizzy and empty", and so I let her come to Gymnastic with Owen for PT. We ran into Jean and Katie, always a treat! ;) We headed home and while Kam worked on homework, I ran to the grocery store. That's right folks.. Kam is old enough to babysit!! Wahoo! Owen and her just play video games for the 20 minutes I was gone and I was home in a dash. Then Kam helped me clean up the wine glasses (for ice water) and the candlesticks for our romantic family Valentine dinner.

I made pork tenderloin with cranberry wine sauce, mashed taters and broccoli. Everyone ate a ton and loved it. We finished off with heart shaped dark chocolate brownies and a tall glass of milk. We relaxed in bed and watched tv until we all crashed at 10. There were no cards, flowers, gifts.. but sweet all the same. I didn't even take pictures, but I was too busy enjoying the memories rather than trying to capture them.

I did take pictures on Sunday when we celebrated Gigi's 9th Birthday!

The weather has been so wonderful lately and we have been taking full advantage.  While the girls rode bikes out front, Daddy and Owen played in the backyard.

I had to capture this memory as it was the first time Owen was brave enough to swing on a big swing.  Not just the bucket swing or back supported swing, but a real swing.  He conquered his fear and is now so addicted to swinging that we have been visiting the park daily just so he can get his swing on.

Owen took a break from wrestling to smile with Gma Vicki. 

Kamryn is always kinda silly, but this face tops them all.  I know she's going to hate me for posting this, but it was too great not to.  Nana said.. "you are so tall and beautiful!.. then she made this face.  Nana says "Oh my..." So funny.

After Gigi ravaged her presents and we sang Happy Birthday, Owen decided he was going to give Grandpa the smackdown and wake him up. 

We had a fun, busy weekend and Valentine's was fabulous.  Hope you had a great heart day. 

Ethan's Run 2012

We were so excited to attend Ethan's Run this year!!  It's a local run organized by the Skidmore family when they lost their son Ethan to HLHS and lung disease.  The run is meant to raise CHD awareness, raise funds to benefit local families with CHDs and to encourage us all to take care of our healthy hearts! 

We weren't able to attend the past two years due to open heart surgery last year and a cath the year prior to that.  This year, the organizers had us make bi fold posters to display at the race.  It was such a fabulous idea and so much fun to put together.  Owen helped make his poster.  What you can't really see is that Kam used sparkly red paper to make a heart and put a real band aid on it.  Owen picked out the lime green paper, letter stickers and he put his own Superhero touch on his poster.  Love it!!

We arrived at the race bright and early.  Owen rocked his HLHS shirt made by fellow heart mom, Caryn.  Owen loves this shirt. Despite my many attempts, I didn't get one good photo of Owen all morning.  He just wanted to bounce in the bouncy castles and slide.  Oh.. and eat too much of the $.50 cotton candy for sale.  The girls bought SO much cotton candy!!

Ethan's run is held in Las Sendes of North Mesa and Carson's Dad & step Mom live there.  Grandma Monica was in charge of the bouncy castle so these three kiddos spent 99% of our time in there. 

Grandma Monica had Gigi and Kam be big helpers for the little kiddos that went in and wouldn't come out.  Ha.  They were also on kiddie control so they didn't tackle each other in there. 

Owen took a few slides down the inflatable slide, but Kam got exhausted carrying him up each time.  He couldn't, or wouldn't, climb UP the inflatable stairs because it wears him out.  So he insists that someone carry him up.  Gigi is too small to lift him up, so Kam gets the honor.  At least it's a good bicep workout anyway.

Gigi ate the pancake breakfast, we cheered on the 10K runners, and we had a great time visiting with all our local heart families!  We love Ethan's Run so much.  Heidi.. you did a fantastic job this year and I hope you raised a ton of money!!!  We can't wait until next year!

Superhero Toys

Owen LOVES Superheros!!

Each time we go to a store, he begs to spend all his money on "just one more toy please?"

He wants the bad guys.

He wants the good guys.

He can't wait to get home and have them fight each other.

On our way home from picking up Kam from school today he asks..

"Mom.. don't you remember that you told me we could buy me a toy after we picked up Bo?"

Me: "I am pretty sure I didn't agree to that."

Owen:  MELTDOWN.. Crocodile Tears.

{It's hard not getting what you want}

We get home and he is over it, and I am preparing dinner.  Owen comes in the kitchen and says..

"I just realized something Mom.. I don't need a toy because I have lots of toys already!"

Me: "You sure do!"

Not 60 seconds later, Owen comes into the kitchen holding an Ironman toy package from the "bad guy" he got just two days ago.

Owen: "Mom.. can we go to the store and buy a new Ironman bad guy?"

So Funny.

Owen has also been totally interested in where the Superheros originated.  He asks a million questions about Wolverine, Spiderman, Thor... all of them!  We stopped in the Disney Store yesterday at the mall and I saw some hard back Superhero books and they are FANTASTIC!!!  We purchased the Spiderman book and it has the most amazing action illustrations and tells the entire story of how Peter Parker got bit by the Radioactive Spider and how he got his Spidey Sense and created his Spiderman image.  He has had it read to him at least 10 times in the last two days.  I found the books on Amazon and I think I am going to surprise him with the entire set.  Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Professor X.... I would rather spend money on books than toys!

Owen should have been in the cath lab today at Stanford, but thanks to the virus that tore through our home last week.. it was rescheduled.  I am so happy that we were lounging around in our Pjs reading Superhero books instead. :)

Also.. don't forget to leave a comment on THIS post for a chance to win a $50 VISA GiftCard!!

Owen's Story

 
Owen's Story

I will never forget the day of our 21 week ultrasound.  We had, what we thought was, a perfect 18 week ultrasound and knew we were having a baby boy.  We were told by our OB that everything was great but they wanted more pictures. We were so excited to see our little guy again and couldn't wait to see his little face in 3d.  We could have never imagined what would transpire that day.  The doctor at the Perionatologist office walked in and told us our son had a congenital heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  We had never heard of a Congenital Heart Defect and nothing could have prepared us for that. The doctor proceeded to inform us that we had one week to decide to terminate the pregnancy.  He gave us no hope and no where to turn.  We left the office in shock, heartbroken and hopeless.

I spent the next weeks crying, searching for answers, trying to find Hope.  There were no heart groups on facebook, no local support groups, and we felt we were in this fight alone.  A few days after the initial diagnosis, and shock, I woke up and knew that I was going to do everything that I had to give our boy the best fighting chance.  I was in this 100%!

Owen was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or half a heart.  Our option was a series of a three staged palliative surgery.  I suppose we had the option to take him home and pass comfortably, but that was not even considered.   We decided that moving forward with the surgeries was his fighting chance and even though he would always have only half a heart, we knew that we were giving him life.

On Owen's one week birthday, he underwent his first open heart surgery, the Norwood. There are no words to describe the heartache of sending our newborn son to the operating room, not knowing if we'd ever hold him again. We paced the waiting room for 7 LONG hours waiting to hear that he was okay.
Owen recovered quickly from his first surgery. He was considered "FRAGILE", but after spending his first 30 days in ICU, he came home with seven medications and an NG tube for feeding.

We took him in for a heart catherization the last week of March 2008 to find that he was in heart failure. His heart function was decreasing, his tricuspid valve was moderately leaking and his heart was working overtime. Owen was admitted to ICU and placed on Milrinone to strengthen his heart and prepare him for his second open heart surgery, the Glenn. One week later, we felt he was ready and he went back for surgery two. We were scared breathless when the doctors didn't know if he'd make it out of this surgery. He was weak, his oxygen saturations were low and he had a hard time coming out of the OR. His sternum and skin were left open this time in case they had to get in an emergency. Thankfully, he had a major turnaround during those first 24 hours and was on his way to recovery.

Owen spent another 30 days in ICU until he was ready to come home again.

Owen remained in a "fragile" state after his Glenn. His tricuspid valve regurgitation was still moderately leaky and he had some narrowing in his arteries due to built up scar tissue. On June 4th, he was back in ICU for another cardiac catherization to balloon open his narrowing and coil off excess collaterals.

This helped for a while, but he was back in ICU on October 15th for more coiling of collaterals and ballooning of his arteries. During this 6 hour procedure, they determined his heart continued to fail. His function was decreasing, his tricuspid valve was leaking more and his pressures were high. His surgeon sat us down and explained there was nothing more they can do for Owen's heart.

Owen needed a heart transplant! Nothing could have prepared us for our next journey ahead. Arizona didn't have a pediatric heart transplant facility, so we needed to research and relocate. We visited UCLA in December and Owen had his first transplant evaluation. We sat back and waited for all the test results to come back. It was a LONG four weeks of waiting.

The news wasn't good. Owen had extremely sensitized antibodies built up against many common antigens. This would make it very difficult to find him a heart, and he was considered high risk for rejection. In January 2009, we started pre-treating Owen's antibodies with IVIG (immunoglobulin) and Rituximab (chemotherapy). He was hospitalized on four separate occasions to receive his treatments. After four weeks of treatment... we drew his labs and waited for the news.

Once again, we waited four long weeks to get the details of his antibody results. All of the treatments failed. Owen's antibodies didn't budge. Since Owen is now considered high risk and did not respond to his first treatment, we've decided to look at other transplant centers that have experience and knowledge in working with antibodies in transplant patients.

 

I called every pediatric transplant center in the nation and spoke with their transplant teams. Of all the wonderful hospitals to choose from, we chose Lucile Packard Children's at Stanford as Owen's transplant hospital. Owen was  being treated for heart failure. He was fed 100% by tube, he was on 7 medications, 1/2 liter of oxygen and he tired easily. Owen had PT, OT, Speech and Feeding Therapy weekly and was catching up in all areas of development. We visited our local cardiologist every four weeks and traveled to Stanford every six months. Owen was monitored very closely and when the transplant team at Stanford felt it was time, we planned to list him for transplant.

In December 2010, we were told that since he was doing so great, he might actually qualify for the last palliative surgery (the Fontan). Before we could decide if the Fontan is possible, Owen had to undergo a 3rd open heart surgery, performed by Dr Hanley, to fix his severely leaking Tricuspid Valve. The surgery was a success and we just needed to allow  his body time to heal.

In July, we went back to Stanford for a Cath and MRI to determine if the Fontan would be an option.  His heart function looked great and his Tricuspid Valve repair was looking great.  Owen's pressures had increased in the past year and they were too high to make the Fontan a success.  We decided to reevaluate him in six months. 

Owen was granted a wish from the Make A Wish foundation in December 2011 and we went to Disneyworld for 10 days!!!  If there is one thing that we take away from his our boy with a broken heart is this.... make each day count.  Children grow too fast, time is short and we choose to make the best of every day. 

On August 23, 2012, Owen was listed for a heart transplant at LPCH.  He was stable enough to wait at home in Phoenix for the first 10 months and asked daily when he would get his new heart!

During his wait...Owen also received a monthly IVIG infusion at Phoenix Children's monthly and in the CVICU.  None of these challenges keep him from doing the things he loves!  He has the best Sister, lots of loving cousins, aunts/uncles, Grandparents and love surrounding him.  There is no doubt that he has touched the hearts of all those that know him.

On June 11, 2013, we moved to Palo Alto, CA to live at the RMH and start Owen on Milrinone IV therapy.  At that time, he was bumped to the top of the transplant list.  After waiting almost a full year for a heart, Owen was given the greatest gift on July 17, 2013!!   Nine days after his life saving heart transplant, Owen was discharged from the hospital, oxygen free for the first time ever.

Owen is doing wonderful with his new heart, living life, starting Kindergarten and getting stronger everyday.  He goes to physical therapy to work on cardiac rehabilitation several times a week as well.  We can't wait to see what his future looks like.

We think about Owen's heart donor everyday. We are so grateful to the family that chose to give Owen the ultimate gift in their deepest moment of grief. I hope they find comfort in knowing that Owen will live life to it's fullest!

Owen will remain on anti rejection medications forever and someday his thirteen medications a day will be less. He is on high dose steroids and anti rejection medications to avoid rejection of his new heart. As of now, he has had zero cellular rejection on all of his biopsies, but we are still battling the antibodies that we knew would be a challenge from early on. The average life of a "graft" or heart transplant is about 10 years, but we pray and hope that science will catch up to Owen. He will always be at risk for rejection, increased risk for cancers, and coronary artery disease. We don't even want to think about these risks now... we want this new heart to last him a long time!

We PRAY everyday that Owen will live a good quality of life. We want to watch him grow up, go to school, find his talents and passions in life. .He is OUR miracle and a huge JOY in our lives.

This is Owen's CHD story.

Congenital Heart Defects affect 1 in every 100 babies born. Hypoplastic Left Heart is one of the most severe forms of CHD.

  Sisters-By-Heart is a non profit set up by heart moms, to offer support and encouragement to new families affected by HLHS. http://sisters-by-heart.org

If you are not, please consider registering to become an Organ Donor!! http://donatelife.net

Thank you. :)

Sentences

We are all feeling so much better around here!! No more snots. No more coughing. It's such a relief. I am even going back to the gym this weekend.  No excuses.

 I would be lying if I said that I wasn't glad that Owen's cath is postponed a month.  Instead of flying, we are planning on a fun road trip with stops in San Diego and Oceanside.  It turns out both of our families will be in San Diego at the same time, so the kids will have lots of cousins to play with on the beach.  We are pretty excited for that part of the adventure.  I am anxious for Owen's cath and mostly for the results.  It may be due to respiratory illness, but he has been out of breath a lot more lately.  I hate that for him.  Gymnastics was brutal today as he was totally exhausted and he gets crabby.  Hopefully next week will be a little more fun.

Speaking of road trip.  Owen's current car seat has a 40lb weight limit on the 5 point harness.  Owen has a weak core so I prefer him to be in a 5 point harness a little longer than usual, which meant it was time for a new car seat.  I wanted one that had at least a 65lb 5 point harness and converts to a booster for longer use.  I did my research and purchased several car seats over several weeks, all of which Owen was just not comfortable in.  It finally clicked with me that he is used to being reclined in his convertible car seat, and the booster combos I was purchasing were making him sit really upright.  I tried the Britax Frontier, Graco Nautilus and also the Diono Radian.  I was tired of returning car seats and so I took him with me to the store this week and we tried out a bunch of seats.  He found his favorite and it was a done deal.  We went with the Evenflo Symphony 65 e3.  LOVE it so much!!  It is super comfy, has all the features I was looking for and he can recline quite a bit until he is 40lbs.  I think there are many great car seats on the market, but you have to really find the one that fits your vehicle and child best.  This is such a great fit for Owen!  Babies R Us had a trade in deal that goes through February, where we traded in an old stroller and got 25% off his car seat.  If anyone needs baby stuff.. it's a great deal!

Kam had her braces tightened last week and her teeth are pulling together SO quickly!!  I am shocked at how much her teeth have changed in just the 3 months that she's had her braces on.  We are still waiting for so many teeth to drop into place.  I keep telling her I'm going to get her some baby chew toys.. it seems to work for infants.   I need to take a picture of her later today and show some comparison photos. 

I dropped off Kamryn's boundary exception to her new Junior High today.  It seems crazy to even type that.  My first born is going to Jr High in the fall!!  I saw on the info sign outside the school "School Dance Today at 3:30".   I am so not ready to have my baby dance with boys.  I hope she's one of the girls that stands around with her friends and talks nerd stuff.  If it's like our school dances in Jr High.. everyone stands around in circles with their friends and it's totally awkward.  I can hope.

Owen has been obsessed with playing laptop lately. It all started when he was sick and I let him play computer a ton and watch movies.  What else is there to do when you feel too crummy to go outside?  Now he wants to play HeroUp.com constantly.  I told him yesterday that he could only play laptop for 30 minutes in the morning while I did the breakfast dishes and drew up meds.  He said "that's not very fair.  If I don't play then I won't build my team and we can't fight the bad guys Mom.   I need to fight the bad guys so I can get monies to buy things."  Awesome.  He's addicted.

I had to think of errands to do to get him out of the house.  I also told him we needed to clean house and he replied with "but I am a boy."  So when I asked what that had to do with cleaning house he said "BOYS do not clean houses."  I'm failing as a mother.  Ha. 

I am working on a few things for Congenital Heart Defect Awareness week next week.  First, I need to gather all my receipts, w2s, and bank statements so my father-in-law can do our taxes.  Yay for refunds.. we really need a new bed.  Our king bed is ancient and did you know you are supposed to replace your mattress every 8 years?  Who knew.  I don't even know where to start with mattress shopping.  It's another thing for me to research!  Carson likes to call it my "project of the week".