Pumpkin Carving Fun

We had a great time carving pumpkins tonight!   It started with picking out pumpkins after school and heading home for some gooey fun!  Owen wouldn't touch the seeds.. yuck.  I cleaned his pumpkin out in five minutes and it was kinda dry.  Gigi was freaking out that hers was disgusting.  She has sensory issues so I just told her to keep trying and then I took over.  It was the grossest pumpkin ever!!  The insides were like slimy, gooey, not your average pumpkin goo.  So gross.  We got it done anyway.

We jammed to some Pandora while we stenciled out our designs. This was the first year that Gigi did her own pumpkin from start to finish.    Owen was bored quickly, so I finished it up.

I tried the flour trick after the holes were poked and it made it so much easier to see what I was doing with the saw. Great trick!

After breaking FOUR saws and chopping the pumpkins with kitchen knifes, we got them done! First up is Gigi's bat.. she did great for her first pumpkin.

Kam attempted a super hard Wolverine and after we had no saw to cut, I tried my hand at it with a steak knife and it was a mess.  I think it looks a little like a swan. :)

Owen's pumpkin was none other than Spiderman.  This wasn't as bad as I was expecting and he loves it so much!

We are ready for Halloween!! 

 

Our prayers continue for those on the East coast.  I can't imagine being without power, no refrigerator for Owen's meds, no power for his oxygen concentrator, no way to blend his food which is his whole source of nutrition.  I can't even imagine.  Prayers.

** Go HERE and leave me a comment to be entered to win a copy of the new Tinkerbell movie.. "Secret of the Wings".

Cardiology Update

Owen had an echo and cardiology appointment first this this morning.  I am a little on edge lately, not knowing what the echo will show.  If anything looks "off" on his echo, I know that will mean an instant admission and starting IV cardiac meds. 

Last night, Owen woke up at 10pm and said he felt pukey.  I grabbed a Harkins theatre cup out of the bathtub and he filled it up to the rim.  I felt so awful for him, but he felt fantastic afterwards.  We chatted for a little while until he drifted back off to sleep.  I was worried for a quick second, that he may have caught a bug since we haven't been as isolated as we should be lately.

I was relieved when he woke up feeling like himself and was so excited to go see Dr Stock.  As soon as we enter the office, Owen is saying hello to everyone.  His weight was 36.5lbs, 42" and his sats were around mid 70s.  He was so excited for his "ecto".   We watched Spiderman for 45 minutes and he gave us a play by play of the movie as we watched. 

The echo looks unchanged.  So happy to hear this!  His liver is down to a 3-4, which isn't ideal, but nothing too concerning considering.  We are going to go ahead an stop the Viagra and see how he does.  We have two cardio visits in November, an IVIG infusion, and then to Stanford in December.  

We are just crossing our fingers, praying, and hopeful that his heart will come before he gets sicker.  Owen understands exactly what is happening, he likes to explain it to everyone that will listen too.  He is one smart little boy!!

We are off to buy a few pumpkins to carve tonight.  Our prayers go out to all of those on the East Coast.. be safe! 

Fall Halloween Festival!!

Saturday night was our town's Halloween and Fall Festival. The girls danced last year on a tiny stage and it was really hot, so we didn't get to enjoy it.   This year, was totally different and we had a fabulous time!  The girls had to be there an hour early, so we just hung out and checked out the local vendors.  I am in love with the girls' new costumes this year.. love them!

Owen, while we waited, was apparently bored.  Ha.  Look at this face!

The girls both danced a couple numbers.  Gigi's competition piece is a spicy cha-cha routine and the girl can shake it.  Kam's piece is a stewardess routine and she has giant suitcase props.  Really cute.  Both girls did fantastic and I always get teary eyed when I watch them perform.  If you are a dance mom, you know exactly what I am talking about.

This is the only picture I got of all the adults there.  I wanted to show off my incredibly shrinking husband.. I'm so proud of him!

Next year, this little sassafrass will be on stage too!  She is such a great dancer at only three.  Owen also loves to watch the mini bots do their hip hop moves and I'm pretty sure he'll be joining them after he gets his new heart!

After the girls danced and got changed, we headed over for festival treats and some fun! Owen's first pick was a blow up train which turned out to be a 'train wreck'.. he hated it. Then we went with the "Berry Go Round"... appropriately named.

We all waited in line forever for the kids to do the bungee trampolines.  It was so worth it because they all had a great time!  Lucy was up first. 

Gigi was full on flipping the entire time.

Kam just bounced as high as she could.

Liv was a rockstar and the volunteer would bounce her super high, followed by her squeals of delight.

Owen wanted to do it, then he didn't, then he did again. He was so brave to get on the tramp and he loved it! He didn't get much air, but he kept saying.. "this is SO Aweeesssooommmeee".  Look at those tiny legs.

After a few slides and more bounce castle time, we headed to the hamster wheels before calling it a night. I don't know what these big giant blow up things are. I swore that I wouldn't let Owen in one for two reasons. One, it's a total germ pit in a bubble and second, because he was going to get tossed around. Kam went first.

Then Liv went next.

Gigi just flipped around in there the entire time.

And then Owen took his turn after Lucy.  We were so nervous, but he had such a great time!  He mostly butt scooted while the volunteer pushed him back and forth.  He loved it.

Afterwards, the kids got to pick out a toy and then we called it a night!

We will be back next year because it was so much fun!  The kids had a great time!  We were starving for real food, so we headed to Sauce for a little dinner on the patio.  The weather was so amazing, not cold, not hot, just perfect!  We used a whole bottle of hand sanitizer between us all, washed our hands and I made the kids bath as soon as we got home.  We are so excited for Halloween this week, but first up, pumpkin carving.

Busy, Crazy Life

Life has been in overdrive lately and most days I feel like I can hardly keep up.  My brain doesn't have a shut-off mode and it just goes a million miles a minute.  Every time the phone rings, I jump to answer it, not knowing if the person on the other end is our nurse from Stanford calling to inform us a heart is available. 

Usually, when I know there is a hospital stay or procedure scheduled, I go into overdrive and "nesting" mode.  I scrub my house, re organize things, stock up the fridge for Daddy and Kam, make sure all the laundry is done and my list goes on.  I feel like I can't prepare for transplant, there will be no warning, so I just nest every single day.  It's exhausting. 

I know that we will be living in another state for a minimum of three months.  I want to make sure life is as simple and organized as possible for my hubs and Kam.  I am the one that keeps up the house, I do all the grocery shopping, I prepare meals, cook, clean, do laundry, get the kids to all their activities.  Daddy brings home the bacon and pitches in where he can.  I hate that the burden of all my chores and responsibilities will lie upon his shoulders while we are gone. 

We can't change what is inevitable, so I am trying to prepare the best way I know how.  The laundry is always in motion, the floors are constantly mopped/vacuumed, the drawers are organized, and I have been donating all kinds of junk to get it out of the way. 

I know that all of this is trivial and I am trying to focus on the bigger picture.  It's hard not to plan.  I am a planner.  An extreme planner!  So I have focused my energy on preparation.  Only, I cannot bring myself to pack a suitcase for us.  I just can't do it.

I am also trying to focus on TODAY and not always on what tomorrow may bring.  We are on a countdown to Halloween and Owen is so thrilled to wear his costume!  This week has been full of appointments.  Both kids had their dental cleanings yesterday and no cavities could be found.  Owen's two bottom permanent teeth are growing in quickly and they are pushing their way in sideways.  Now he has four loose teeth!

Kam doesn't get a quarterly report card in Junior High, but her 1st quarter grades were perfect "As" and since she's in all honors classes, she has a GPA of 4.8!  Isn't that insane??  I never even saw a 4.0 in school, so I am pretty proud!!

Daddy pulled him hamstring playing baseball a few weeks ago and has a gnarly bruise from his knee down his calf.  He has appointments with physical therapy and docs to get it healed up quickly. 

Kam's performance on Saturday will kick start her busy dance season.  She has competitions, performances and parades coming up in Nov and Dec.  She gets her new costume and props tomorrow, which means new shoes and tights need purchased as well. 

There you have it.  Life is busy, crazy most days!  I don't think I would want it any other way.

**Want to win a copy of the new Tinkerbell Movie "Secret of the Wings"? Go HERE and leave me a comment to enter!!

Fall Weekend Fun

We wrapped up Fall break with a weekend full of Fall fun!! We started our Saturday with a little rest and relaxation before heading out for a family fun night.  I was craving crab, so we headed to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner.  All four of us love us some crab, scallops, calamari and shrimp.. yummy!

Owen has never been miniature golfing, so I thought it would be fun to go to Golfland for Spooktacular Golfing!  They had pumpkins, ghosts, and all kinds of spookiness all over the golf course.  So fun!

Owen had never been golfing before and he loved it the most.  He even shot a few hole-in-ones and won the game!

We had a ton of fun, the weather was great and we will be back next year!

On Sunday, we met my family at Vertuccio Farms. I pass by this pumpkin patch taking Kam to school everyday, but I had no idea what it was.  Behind the small pumpkin stand out front, lies a farm, corn maze and all kinds of fall fun!   While we waited for my family to arrive, Kam took Owen on the giant air pillow.  It was fun for about five minutes when Owen decided to try to stand up and realize he couldn't balance... he face planted it and bounced on his face a couple times.  Poor buddy had a bloody nose.  After I climbed up on the pillow to rescue him, we decided to just let the kids bounce us for a minute.

Grandpa, Grandma, Gigi, Rog, Kelli and Liv showed up just in time. Owen and I ran to get a snowcone and met everyone to watch the dog races.  A cherry snowcone will fix anything!

The girls ran around the mazes, climbed on everything they could and we just enjoyed the 85 degree temps.

The kids took a ride on the cow barrel train. The train goes all around the farm and back and they loved it!

We decided to give the air pillow another shot. Kam, Liv and Gigi had a blast on it! Owen decided to give it another try, but I had to climb up and sit with him while the other kids bounced us all around. It was really fun and nauseating all at the same time!

 

  As soon as we said it was time to go, the kids found the pedal bikes and had a race. Daddy took Owen for a ride, which he obviously loved! Kelli bought some Indian fry bread, kettle corn and the kids picked out pumpkins on our way out. It was a really fun day at the farm!!

Another fall fun activity that we will be back for next year!  It was a fun weekend, but school is back in session.  This week is crazy busy.  Kam and Gi perform at a local Halloween festival on Saturday night and ten days til Halloween!!  This has been a wonderful October so far.

Home

We made it home.  Owen and I didn't get much sleep last night, so we are counting down the hours until bedtime tonight.  At least I am.  There weren't any complication from this round of IVIG, just a little puking this morning off an on.  Owen also got to try a little bottle urinal for the first time and was pretty thrilled with himself!  We got all his labs from his fabulous IV and were home by 2 this afternoon.   We are both excited to get another four week break before round 5. 

Kam went to a sleepover with her cousins.  Owen and I are snuggled up under a blanket on the couch while he plays Spiderman on the Wii.  Tonight we relax and sleep hard.

Our weekend plans are full of Halloween fun... haunted minature golf, haunted house, pumpkin patch and fun with family! 

Have a good weekend.

IVIG Round 4

We are back at Phoenix Children's for Owen's fourth round of IVIG. We arrived in the CVICU at around 4pm and Owen was thrilled to be here! The day didn't start out so enthusiastic when Owen said "let's just reschedule today." Ha. I made a quick run to Walmart for some $.90 balls that have a surprise mini superhero inside. That was just what he needed to get excited for the hospital today!

It only took until 7pm to get the IV team here and the IV went in with one stick.  The drama that ensued was another story.  Owen has FIGHT in him.. holy cow!  He was kicking and yelling and just wiggin out.  I had to sit on his legs and hold his hand.  We got it in and all is good. :)

It is now 8:30 and we still haven't started his IVIG... ugh.  It's always such a process.  I'm looking forward a long night on the sofa in Owen's room and praying he sleeps through all the temp and blood pressure checks. 

Goodnight.

Fall Break.. Day 1

Today kick started Kam's fall break.  We slept in until 8:30 and spent the entire morning kicking around in our pjs.  I had big ideas to pick up Gi and head to the craft store for some Halloween fun.  Turns out after a long stop at Walmart, Sonic happy hour drinks and a trip to Redbox... we were ready to come home.  No crafts today.  The girls and Owen have spent most the afternoon playing Just Dance 4.

Looks like the simplest of days turned out to be the best!  Isn't that how it always goes?  We have plenty of time this week for crafts, pumpkin patch, and pottery painting.  We have to squeeze Owen's IVIG into the plans somewhere as well.  Happy Fall Break!!

** Go HERE and leave me a comment to be entered to win a copy of the new Disney movie.. "Secret of the Wings"!!

Mended Heart Picnic

Today was the Mended Hearts picnic at Enchanted Island.  The weather was amazing at a high of 85 and we always love hanging out with our heart friends.  It was a pot luck lunch and the kids got wristbands for the rides. 

After a ride on the train around the park, we attempted a group photo... attempted.

Kam always has her iPod these days and is always listening to music.  I guess this is just a glimpse of teenage life.  For the record.. she won't be a teenager until January.

Here are just a few of our HLHS buddies.  Zoe is hiding behind the blue guitar.. Andrew, Brody and Mister Owen. 

The Spidey was well earned.  Owen had to throw a giant ball into a tiny cup, which was a pretty impossible feat seeing as the cups were half the diameter of the ball.  Everyone wins after paying a small fee to play.. and now we have the incredible blow up Spidey you see in every picture!

There were some small kiddie rides that Owen loved.  You better believe I washed his hands a thousand times while we were there.. eww.

It was such a fun picnic and we loved seeing our heart friends, old and new.  You never want to have a sick child with a life threatening condition, but the heart family is a pretty incredible one to belong to!  Love you all. 

When we got home, Owen decided to test out Sis' Halloween wig.  Hilarious!

It's been a great Saturday and we are ready for dinner, movie and bed.