Concerned

Sorry this will be another post about me. I just checked out of the hospital again because of a complication of the surgery. I am kind of freaked out right now and could really use some positive thoughts. Turns out I have some small blood clots in my lungs. The doctors didn't seem worried. I will be on blood thinners for the next few months. Can everyone please tell me I'm going to be ok? I could use happy, positive thoughts right now.

Big Girl Bed?

I've been writing way too much about me lately. Sorry about that folks. I know I'm boring.

When Andrew was 18 months old he learned how to crawl out of his crib or rather "dive" out of his crib. The first time it happened, I heard a big thump and discovered him walking down the hallway. I was thankful he wasn't hurt, but panicked at the same time. We immediately bought a toddler bed for him. Andrew spent the next several months of his life bawling his eyes out for hours every night and sleeping on the floor in front of his door. The transition to a bed was a very tough one.

Andrew sleeping next to his door with his hand underneath the door. We had to hold his hand for a long time through the door in order for him to fall asleep.

A couple weeks ago we decided Madeline was old enough for a big girl bed. She'll be 3 in 3 months after all, so we bought her a bed and last week we put her in it. Since then she is getting a lot less sleep. She wakes up a little earlier each morning and we keep finding her in her room long after bedtime reading books in the dark. She was up past 10 last night. We've already taken away the books, but she's still going to sleep later and waking up earlier and is very cranky as a result.

So, if your child were doing this what would you do? Keep trying with the bed or move her back to the crib? She still hasn't mastered getting out of the crib and the crib is still up. We know it will be a fight to move her back. Hmmm...what to do?

Gory Details

DISCLAIMER: Please do NOT read this post if you don't want to know about my health issues!

It's been two weeks since my surgery and I wanted to give more information about what brought me to the ER a couple weeks ago. It seems important for posterity's sake. Please stop reading if you don't want to know more! This will be "too much information" for some of you.

So, starting at the beginning of July I started to feel bad. It started with chest pressure and my upper stomach feeling full all the time. I couldn't eat more than 5 bites of food without feeling bad. When I had chest pressure, I also felt like it was harder to breathe which was VERY disconcerting. After several doctors visits I was diagnosed with acid reflux or a gallbladder problem. I started taking prilosec (an acid reducer) twice a day, but it didn't help my symptoms. As time passed, I started to feel worse and worse. I stopped eating any acidic or fatty foods and that didn't help. It got to the point where I was barely able to eat 300-500 calories a day, which was of course making me feel even worse. I felt like I was anorexic, just not by choice. I was tired and weak all the time.

Finally, back two weeks ago I developed the worst stomach and back pain. I couldn't sleep at all at night because of the pain and finally decided after a couple days of feeling terrible that it was time to go to the hospital. The doctors did a million tests and initially diagnosed me with pancreatitis (an infection of the pancreas most likely caused by a gallstone). The next day they determined that it was not pancreatitis, but rather an infected and inflamed gallbladder and informed me they'd be taking it out that same day. (Did you know that your gallbladder isn't 100% necessary to a functioning digestive system? It does serve a purpose, but your body can adjust and live without it. Did I also mention that losing weight rapidly can bring on problems with your gallbladder. Be careful not to lose weight too fast...) I was relieved at a diagnosis. I spent three days in the hospital without being allowed to eat or drink, but in the end it was worth it, because the surgeon took out what most likely was causing all my symptoms the last couple months.

So, I am still recovering from the surgery. I always heard it was a completely easy surgery to recover from, but it's definitely taking time to feel ok again. I was pretty anemic after surgery.
My mom went home on Sunday, which was hard for me. The pain from the actual incisions in my belly were fine after only two or three days. I still have a lot of upper back pain and upper stomach fullness which the doctor said would last for 1-2 months after surgery. I can eat more now than I could before the surgery, but I'm still not up to eating a normal amount and I still have to be careful about what I eat. I won't be eating a giant dessert anytime soon. I so look forward to feeling normal again, but feel like it could be awhile before that actually happens.

Ok that's it. There are a couple minor details I'm leaving out, but I think that's enough for the world to know. I know my health issues are minor compared to others and I'm grateful for the prospect of feeling better at some point in the near future. I'm also grateful that I have a new relationship with food. I am a lot more conscious of what I eat now and am hopeful that'll continue on in the future after recovery.

Favorite Pictures of the Week

One thing is for certain, having my mom in town all week made recovering from surgery so much more pleasant. I truly wish she lived next door. I can't believe I'm actually going to have to do laundry, the dishes, and take care of my own kids this week. Wish me luck!

My Mom and I

Andrew and Grandma

Madeline and Grandma

Andrew, Madeline, and Grandma

The trio in front of the trampoline

Madeline moved to a big girl bed this week and she insisted that Andrew sleep with her. When we came in one evening before we went to bed this is how we found them sleeping:

It doesn't look too comfortable for poor Madeline!

Madeline trying to blow the dandelion seeds. She wasn't very successful at it. (o:

Andrew helping Madeline put on her boots.

On a very happy note, Andrew actually said his line in the primary presentation at church this week. We were so proud of him! It was the first time he ever spoke in front of an audience. He normally won't even say a prayer in his primary class, so this was major progress. His line was, "I will be nice to my sister." Way to go Andrew!

We all survived the week. Thanks again to my amazing Mom for helping me through the last few days! I couldn't have done it without you! Come visit again soon.

Recovery

I'm home trying to recover. I'm nauseous, which I hope subsides soon. I'm achy, but nothing like the pain that took me to the ER in the first place. I have high hopes that the surgery will help me feel better. It was my first surgery. If some of you are wondering why I never mentioned the surgery earlier it's because I didn't know I'd be having it until the day it happened. I don't think I'm ready to tell the whole story of my sickness yet which lead to the surgery, but hopefully I'll be up for it in a few days.

I'm feeling blessed. My Mom couldn't have arrived at a better time to help out. She arrived within hours of Tom taking me to the ER on Wednesday. She picks up Andrew from school everyday, takes care of him and Madeline all day, cleans the house, and takes care of me. Everybody needs their mom when they are not feeling well.

We've had so many people offering to help that I am overwhelmed with the amount of love I feel. We already have enough meals in our fridge/freezer to last all week. Thanks for all the love and support. It's been a really tough couple months and I am so grateful for those who have helped or offered to help. I need to send out a very special thanks to Sarah for always being willing to watch my kids and for listening to me complain about how terrible I feel all the time. I don't know how I could've got through the last couple months without her help. Thanks to each one of you for being so wonderful. Thanks to my dad for sacrificing his time with my mom as he travels, so she could be here. Thanks to each sibling for always calling and checking on me. And lastly, thanks to a wonderful husband who spent 3 straight day with me in the hospital even though I was too drugged up to even talk most of the time. He sat by my bedside and always offered to do anything I needed.

I think it's time to stop, since I'm crying as I type. I have high hopes for a solid and smooth recovery.

Prayers

I'm going in for surgery today. Please pray that everything goes well!

And He Likes It...

I am very happy to report that Andrew likes school so far. The first three days went even better than I could've hoped for. Andrew was really ready for school. Andrew comes home from school so happy and talkative. He tells me about the things he learned, the cool things they saw, or the books they read. Nothing could make me happier than seeing my little boy happy. I hope his fondness of school lasts for a long time!

The after school shot, which isn't much better than the before school shot. Oh well. At least he's looking at the camera this time.

On a funny note, Andrew brought home a Hershey Kiss from school on Friday and gave it to Madeline, since he doesn't like chocolate much. This is what Madeline managed to do with 1 kiss:

I'm pretty confident she didn't actually eat much of it. Silly girl!

On a sidenote, I read the whole Hunger Games series since Andrew started school.

First Day of School

Andrew started kindergarten today. I'm feeling both excited and nervous for him. I didn't cry when I dropped him off, because I know school will be good for Andrew! I hope he'll learn to love school. I also hope that everyone is nice to him. Andrew can be so painfully shy sometimes and I hope that doesn't cause problems in school. I don't think it will.

So, here are all the facts about Andrew's school:

• Andrew will attend school for 4 1/2 hours everyday.
• Andrew has two teachers, Mrs. Chang and Mrs. Wong. They are sisters and each will teach 2 days a week and trade off the 5th day. That could be interesting. I've never heard of such an arrangement before.
• There are 25 kids in Andrew's class
• We didn't need to buy any school supplies, because it is all provided. It seems like the district could save a lot of money by letting everyone buy their own school supplies.
• Andrew's school is under renovation, so Andrew's class and all other classes are in portables.
• There are no school buses
• We have to park and bring Andrew to his classroom everyday. Parking will be difficult because there is no parking lot. Finding street parking will be a pain. I now understand why there is a slightly staggered schedule between the grades. We parked 2 blocks away this morning.
• More than half the students at the school are Asian!

I hope today goes well. I will give an update later.

The goal was to not look at the camera. I believe the goal was accomplished. I'm going to have to get some more pictures after school!

I forgot to mention this is my 500th post! I can't believe I've written that much!