Randoms

Tis the season for sickness.  Ick.  This mama has some serious sinus headache going on and it's just plain miserable.  All I want to do is sleep, but we all know that Moms don't get sick days.  I am just pushing through with all my chores, errands and getting through the day and counting the minutes until my head can hit the pillow again. 

I swear I'm losing my mind.  Kam had to wake me up, then remind me to make her breakfast as we were walking out the door for school.  I also forgot to start the dishwasher last night, which I never do.  Then as I was driving to Nanas this morning to drop off a few things for the baby, I got lost and couldn't figure out where I was, after driving the same route a million times.  I had to run to Walmart with a small list for a few things and I could not focus and was so distracted by everything.. I am usually 'the get in and get out' kind of shopper.  This head cold is doing a number on me!

Today I had to cancel our family pictures and a night out with friends to sit at home and rest.  I am doing everything in my power to keep the rest of our clan from getting the sniffles.  We leave for Stanford in two weeks. 

Tonight I spent an hour pinning battery operated Christmas lights to the girl's dance costumes.  They are dancing in the light parade tomorrow night and they are going to look like fantastic little Elfs. 

Tomorrow is Daddy's birthday and we are so ready to spoil and surprise him!  He's thrilled to spend his birthday evening watching a light parade {sarcasm here}. 

Have a fun and safe weekend.

Welcome Baby Bridgit!!

My Sister's baby shower was scheduled for last night at 7.   The girls were so excited to go to the baby shower and had their gifts all ready to go.  At 5:30, my sister called and said she thought her water broke.  Then she called back to say she was going to the hospital.  Guess baby didn't want to miss her party!   Kelli had a rough, long night of labor and we got a call at 7:30 to come on down because she was getting close. 

The girls got to ditch school this morning and we hurried to the hospital.  When I walked in the room.. I saw Chris holding sweet Bridgit.  She is so sweet, tiny (6lbs 11oz) and a perfect little girl.  So sweet. 

Her little cry sounds like a tiny mouse.. so adorable. 

Gigi wanted to be the FIRST one to hold her new baby sister, so she was thrilled, to say the least.

Kam was so excited too.  Owen was excited to hold her for about two seconds and then he was done.  He kept saying "she's so CUTE!"

Her heart is perfect too!

Daddy was taking her off to the nursery so we said goodbye for now.  She has a busy day full of meeting her Grandmas, Grandpas and Sisters.  Welcome sweet Bridgey..  we love you already!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

We had a busy weekend, but snuck a lot of fun into the mix.  On Friday, I waited for the black friday frenzy to calm down before heading out to snag a few deals myself.  Then I came home and lit my new cinnamon frosting candle and started dragging in the Christmas decorations.  We cranked up holiday music and the kids had fun decorating.  I did my best to convince Carson to let me finally retire our old tree and upgrade, but he wasn't having it.  The kids love our little ol' tree with one missing leg and a glitch in the lights.  It has a lot of memories, so we let the kids do their decorating.

Owen likes to rearrange the ornaments a million times a day and it's not uncommon to find little superhero toys mixed in the branches.  I'm just soaking it all in!

On Saturday, we had a family party at the park and it was not my best day ever.  It was just a moody day for me and I was glad to go to sleep and call it done.  Sunday made up for it when I started off my morning at the salon getting my hair done.  Then after a nice lunch with the family, we took the kids to see 'Rise of the Guardians'.. great movie!! 

Now we are already to Tuesday.. how does that happen?  It's like we blink and it's already the end of the year.   Kam is wrapping up her first semester of Jr High and will be bogged down with finals, the light parade and Holiday orchestra performance.  We have a bunch of holiday parties planned and our weekend trip to Stanford planned for Owen's cath.  December will not be a relaxing month, but will certainly bring lots of fun and memories as it's my favorite time of year!! 

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be Thankful for. I am so thankful for my hard working husband who loves and provides for us. We hit the jackpot with our amazing kids and I am so grateful for every single moment we are given with them. I am grateful for our entire extended family. I am so thankful that my kids get to grow up close to all their cousins. I am thankful for my parents and sister for always being there, even when I call a million times a day just to talk. I am thankful for my friends, old and new, the ones who check in just to make sure things are going okay. I am so thankful for all of my heart moms.. a whole group of Ladies that simply understand. I am thankful for our amazing incredible insurance. Owen's therapist that come weekly and are so patient and kind. I am thankful for Kam's teachers at school and dance. We are just so fortunate and my list can go on and on.

Today we celebrated with my family.  My parents always do it up big and we had enough food to feed a small village.  I attempted to take pictures while the adults were finishing up in the kitchen, but it didn't work out so well.  Owen wasn't having it.   
The kids ate out on the patio and Owen didn't eat a single bite of his turkey feast. I'm a little worried about him.. who doesn't love Thanksgiving dinner?!   At least the girls ate it up... and then I found them all drawing on the patio.  Kam's 'sketches' are always so good!!  I can't even draw a good stick figure, so I am amazed by her talent.

Lucy started Kindergarten this year and I love her ABCs.

Liv was drawing something.. but she wouldn't tell me what it was. :)  She's such a funny girl.

Gigi's and her little mouse.

Owen isn't a fan of drawing, but you better believe he was still covered in chalk. I didn't make any edits to this photo, but am I the only one that thinks he looks PURPLE?  His lips look so blue to me lately!  His little toes are too.  I am worried about his lack of appetite, desaturations and he has been really winded.  He can't even get through a full sentence without a few deep breaths.  I am a little anxious and nervous about his upcoming cath in three weeks at Stanford.  Many prayers please.

The kids broke out the bubbles and had a great time!  I love this picture because it shows how much the littles look up to Kam.. they LOVE her!!  Look at Liv making her bubble blowing face anticipating those bubbles...

We had a fantastic afternoon and we are so stuffed.  Carson and the kids were in bed before 8 and I would join them if I didn't have to wait up for night meds.  Next week, we will be adding another baby girl to this crew.. Liv, Lucy and Gi will be big sisters to baby Brigit.  Like I said.. we have SO much to be Thankful for.

Crafts

I wish I had something fun to write about our weekend, but it was simple and productive. We have family pictures coming up next week, so we went shopping to get some new duds. Kam is so girly and loves scarves, rings, necklaces, you name it! I have never been like that, so it's fun to shop with her and see her get so excited about giant owl rings and fancy infinity scarves. She is a penny pincher, but I'm pretty sure what money she does spend, will be on accessories and clothes.

My girly splurge is my pedicures.  I turn on the massage chair and get lost in tabloid magazines and the next thing I know.. my toes look like peppermint candies! :)  I told her to surprise me and she sure did.. I love my candy toes!

I haven't started decorating for Christmas yet, because the hubs like Thanksgiving to be it's OWN holiday before we start decorating for Christmas.  So tradition is, Black Friday shopping for me, then Christmas decorating the rest of the day.  I made this cute glass block at Super Saturday last weekend.  Again, I am so not crafty, so I sign up for the crafts that are pre arranged and in little kits.

Again with my lack of craftiness.. I saw this sign on Pinterest and just HAD to have one!  Owen sings this song all the time and really it's quite fitting for our family.  I was going to order one, but it was crazy expensive, so I thought I'd make one.  But then again, who am I kidding.   I was on one of my Facebook consign groups last week and found this one for sale.  Now it's in our family room and it's the perfect reminder for me when I am stressed out.  I can't just read it, but I hear Owen singing it in his tiny little voice.. "Every little ting.. is donna be alright .. right.. right.. "  It makes me smile.

Now on to Owen's craft of the day.  Owen doesn't like doing crafts.  He doesn't like coloring, drawing, painting, or glueing... it's just not his thing.  So when Connie (Occupational Therapist), came by today with fruit loops and said "we're gonna make a craft", I cringed a little.  Owen was cooperative for the first three or four fruit loops.  Then he started with putting two green ones in his left hand and two red ones in his right hand and said.. "this is the lizardman, and this is Spiderman" then he clapped his hands together and said "they're fighting!!"  Connie is good about getting him back on track and he eventually finished his tree, with a little nagging.  He is proud of it hanging on the fridge and has me thinking we should probably get our craft on a little more. 

We are all so excited for Thanksgiving this week.  We are going to my parent's house and we do it up right!  There is always so much food that we all end up with leftovers for a week!  We have so much to be Thankful for! 

Home.

Owen had an uneventful IVIG treatment and we made it home about noon on Friday.  We took a LONG afternoon nap and it was so needed!  Owen hasn't had any side effects this time around and so we are thankful for that.  The only red flag I saw this time around was his crummy oxygen saturations that never rose above 76 on 2 liters of oxygen.  When he played in bed or got up and walked around, his sats continually dropped into the 50s.  I am hopeful that they will find some collaterals to coil off in the cath lab next month.  Collaterals are little pop offs that the body creates to try to "fix" the route of blood flow, but they take blood away from where it needs to be going.  I'm hoping a little intervention will improve his oxygen saturations, which will in turn, buy him more time until a heart becomes available.

Last night, the kids and I ran to the movie store and rented Home Alone.  It was a great way to kick start our holiday movie nights and Owen's belly laughing was priceless.  We had a great, relaxing, evening snuggled up in our big cozy bed!

Time to get ready for dance team pictures.  Life just keeps us moving along...

IVIG Round 5

Owen is back for his 5th round of IVIG.  We checked into the CVICU at 4pm and Owen was chatting up a storm.  He talked to his nurse non stop for the first hour and then wandered around his room, looked out the window and then finally settled into bed. The IV team stopped by at around 7 and we got his IV placed quickly.  We tried a new trick where we closed our eyes and counted backwards from 10 to 1 to take our mind off the poke.  It worked from 10.. 9.. 8.. and then the tears fell.  It didn't help that the IV wouldn't draw, so we had to poke his other hand to draw labs.  Our countdown didn't work the second time around.. just tears and cuddles. 

Our nurse was really busy with another patient and we hadn't eaten since lunch, so I unplugged his monitors and leads and we headed down to the cafeteria for dinner.  It was a nice break to get out of this room and it didn't appear that anyone missed us too much.  We came back to our room, just in time to meet our night nurse.  It's a guy that is pretty familiar with Superheros, so he is a big hit!

The Volunteers came by with Howard the dog to play with Owen.  Owen isn't much of an animal guy, but he likes these calm doggies that come around.  Howard cuddles Owen and fell asleep on his lap.  His owner woke him up in time to show Owen some cool tricks and Owen gave him some treats.  Owen was so excited to get a card with Howards information.  He collects the doggy cards and loves to look at them.

Owen takes forever to eat his dinner, but ate pretty good.  A few carrots, a celery stick, a couple bites of crunchy lettuce, a bite of chicken, a drink of milk and a chip.  We watched Lilo and Stitch and now he is sound asleep for the night {hopefully}.

We are still waiting for the pharmacy to bring up his IVIG and it's 9:30pm. His nurse has called a million times and so hopefully they will get it up here soon. I'm pretty sure it doesn't take 6 hours to mix up some immunoglobulin. Yikes. Here's to a decent nights sleep in a comfy recliner listening to the beeps of Owen's alarms. Prayers go out to our other heart families that are living in hospital rooms from Seattle, to SLC, to Boston. Hugs to you all.. you know who you are!!

DeCluttering

We are alive and well.  Yikes, I never go this long without posting!  I have been so busy decluttering our home.  Owen and I have been busy going through all his toys and selling the ones he doesn't play with.  That just happens to be most of the plastic in our house seeing as he only ever plays with his Superhero guys. 

Shopping carts, play kitchens, baby bikes, little cars, old bedding, baby toys, trains, cars, old puzzles, you name it.. we are busy selling it!  I was going to list everything on Craigslist, until I was introduced to the newest (or maybe not so new) Facebook yardsale groups!  So far, it has been great and things are selling within a day and the buyers come right by to pick up their toys.  It's giving us a little cushion for Christmas, and lots of room for the new toys!!  Owen is proving to be just like his Mama and is willing to get rid of everything he doesn't use.  Kam is more sentimental and loves to save everything, just like my mom is. 

I am getting ready to list some of the furniture just sitting in our garage and finally get it out of here for good.  Costco is picking up our couch that has been unraveling at the seams, and is issuing a full refund.  (insert sad face here because I LOVE this sofa).  So now we are the lookout for a new sectional, new tv and way less toys cluttering up our home. 

It feels good to be productive. 

Happy Veterens Day to all our Veterens!!  We are excited to have an extra day off, but also to honor those that serve and have served our Country.

Voting Day 2012

And just like that.. it's already November 6th... Voting day!!  Mister bedhead is going with me to the LDS church on the corner to help me Vote.  I think he's more excited about the Spiderman game that I promised I would rent him this morning. 

We have been busy working on getting organized around here.  I have loads of toys and furniture to sell on Craigslist this weekend and while it's not hard work, it sure is time consuming!  I am still on my 'transplant nesting' kick, and I am just trying to simply our lives as much as possible.

I got a call from Stanford yesterday and Owen's antibodies remain at ZERO!!  We have another IVIG scheduled for next week already.  I was telling a friend of mine that it's "not so bad" now that we moved to monthly infusions, and Owen chimed in with "Yes it is!  IT'S HORRIBLE!!!"  He knows that it's working and can't wait for his new heart, so that seems to help him deal with it.  He will tell anyone that asks, about his half a heart, how he needs a new heart, and that he is going to get one "another day."  There is no doubt this smart boy is wise beyond his years.

We are off to Vote.   Good Luck Mitt!!

Happy Halloween!!

We had the best Halloween last night!  Are you ready to see the cutest Black Spiderman ever?!  Here he is... 

No one knew who Owen was all night... so he filled them in.  Spiderman turns black when the symbiote uses him as a host and attaches himself.  It takes on traits of the host and makes him a little mean, so Spidey finds out that loud noises make the symbiote freak out and that's when the symbiote finds a new host on Eddie Brock... aka Venom.  Owen's favorite villain!!  Owen was a fantastic black Spidey!!

Daddy brought home these cool green teeth from work and Owen had to wear them!  Then he took them out to eat his pizza and slobber went everywhere.  "Ewww.. that was awesome.. did you see that?"  Boys.

Kam was Katy Perry, or I called her the gumdrop princess.  She looks like she stepped out of Candy Land!  Her costume was so fun and she was a hit last night!

Nana kept commenting her on her "new hair", I think she thought it was real.  Love this costume.

We headed over to my parents house, which is just around the corner from our house.  We set up the driveway with pumpkins, candy, and chairs.  We ate Chili, cornbread and pizza while we waited for the sun to set.

Gigi was the spookiest Zombie Prom Queen ever!  She was in full character all night.  This girl loves Halloween!  When she was three, she was a witch and she rode a broom all night long until the bristles wore off of it. 

Lucy was the perfect little Tinkerfairy!  I asked her to smile and she did a bunch of poses with her legs crossed and twirling her fairy wand.  Perfect costume for Lucy.  Owen tried to "battle" her all night and she just smiled and laughed at him while twirling around.  Owen was like.. 'No.. really.. let's fight!' 

Livvy was a Buccaneer Pirate and a cute one at that!  She was so funny following the bigger kids around and staying far away from the Black Spidey.  She HAS battled the Spidey and isn't a fan.  Owen really was just pretending to shoot webs at her, but she wasn't having it.

This was the first bowl of candy and we went through several.  We get a ton of Trick or Treaters in our neighborhood.  It's so fun!  Everyone is on in their driveways or courtyards, fire pits blazing, music, candy galore.. such a great time.  The weather was fabulous as well!  Nana was so cute.. she said about a million times how much she loved the pretty bowl of candy and wishes she had one of those sitting on her coffee table.. "why don't we get one of these for my house?"  I think I have a good Christmas gift idea for her!

We trick-or-treated for a couple hours, ran into friends, and celebrate Nana's 86th birthday!  Happy Birthday Nana!!  This Halloween was one of the best yet...Can't wait for next year!