Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Life

I feel so disconnected from life right now with all that is going on. I wasn't going to blog about it, but right now I'm getting my blog ready to print my 2011 blog book, and it reminded me how much my blog serves as a journal, so I decided to go ahead and blog about recent events. A lot has happened, so I might get a few things out of order.
On Friday, March 16th, while at my hair and nail appointment, my mom called to say she was being checked into the local hospital with double pneumonia. (Let me note, but until now, I couldn't spell pneumonia.) She sounded okay, so I finished my appointment and then went home to do a few things before heading to town to see her. I visited for a while and she seemed ok enough. Then I went and watched Valex & Daxsen so Vanessa could go see her.

Saturday afternoon I was getting ready for my St. Patrick's Day party, so I just called to visit. When I called, she answered and said "I'm having trouble breathing, talk to you later." I stressed for a while, but then a few hours later she called back and sounded just fine.

Around 1:00 that morning I got a text from my sister saying that mom was not doing well and they were sending her out by life flight to SLC. Then at 2:30, my dad called. He was concerned because my brothers had decided to drive out to the city then, they didn't want to wait until morning. I knew I was too tired to do anything, so I texted my brothers and encouraged them to wait until morning. At 7:00 in the morning, I got a text from them advicing snow chains. They had hit a storm on their way out.

After that, I called my sister. She had decided she wasn't going to drive out until the weather cleared. Which in the end worked out, because later she realized Daxsen had a doctor appointment. So Monday afternoon, my sister and I drove out together. We dropped the boys off at Heather's and then headed to the hospital.

Friday, I thought my mom looked okay. But on Monday, she scared me. Cords and IV's running every where, including a ventilator down her throat. They also determined that she had had a heart attack, most likely in Roosevelt. It was so hard seeing her like that, but one of the hardest things, was seeing her tied down. When patients have a ventilator in, its standard procedure to tie their hands so they don't accidentally try to pull it out, usually while sleeping.

My brothers needed to come home for work and other things, my aunt had to go back to work and my grandma needed to go home for a break and then repack for a longer stay. So I volunteered to stay the night with mom so Vanessa could at least go back to Heather's and sleep with the boys. Then she would come back the next day.

The first night was LONG. Beeps and alarms go off pretty much 24/7. But the worst part was when nurses starting running up the hall and calling a dr. to say that a patient was coding and the dr. was needed NOW. I was too scared to even move. After a bit, my mom's (very AMAZING) nurse came in. He said that normally, its a little more quite, but they had 2 patients code at nearly the same time so chaos had broken out. He wanted us to know he was still watching after my mom, but might be busy for a while. After he left, I looked at my mom and told her she was NOT allowed to code out like her neighbors. She vigorously shook her head in agreeance.

Because of the ventilator, my mom couldn't talk. But she had a pen and paper so she could still communicate. She also tried charades, but I'm not very good at that.

Every one at the hospital was nice, but Robert was by far the very BEST. The first night I was there, my mom even wrote him a love note. By morning, I was in love too. He was the sweetest, gentlest, most caring nurse ever. He wasn't working the 2nd night and even though that nurse was good, I still missed Robert. I mentioned the hands tied down thing. During one of the many checks Robert did through out the night, we untied my mom's hands for a minute so she could write something out. When Robert went to retie them, he paused and asked my mom if she wanted them left untied. She shook her head yes. Robert said, "Do you know what they say Tammy? Never trust a patient. But tell you what, I'm going to trust you." We later decided it was a big deal that he did that, but I'm so grateful he did. When he went off shift in the morning, he told her that even though he had done that, it would be up to the next nurse whether they would do that or not. But he must have put in a good word because  they didn't tie her back down after that, even though she spent one more night on the ventilator.

Vanessa came to visit on Tuesday. Then she went back to Heather's that night because her boys needed her (they aren't use to not having her around). So I spent a 2nd night there. No one coded out, so it was much quieter and I slept as well as can be expected in a hospital. At one point in the night, her feeding tube plugged up. The nurse decided to move it a little and try to flush it again. After a few inches, it flushed out the clog. He said normally, they like the feeding tube in the intestines, but now it was most likely in her stomach. As long as she didn't get nauseous, that was fine. In the morning they did and xray, and it was in her stomach, which was fine for the moment.

Then the big moment came and they pulled the ventilator and a few of the many iv lines. They did have to put a mask on to help soothe her throat some. After a while on that, they helped my mom get out of bed to sit in a chair. (Which she had also done the day before.) While getting her up, the feeding tube came loose from her stomach, so they had to pull it. They couldn't promise to leave it out, but they would see what the speech therapist thought. The nurse told her to practice swallowing to increase her odds. Which worked because they let it stay out and she got to eat real food that night.

When Vanessa came to the hospital, she brought the boys with her. They couldn't go in to see my mom, but this way I could watch them in the waiting room and when we were ready to leave, we could head straight home.

Vanessa and I came home Wednesday afternoon. We stopped at the Dairy Keen in Heber on our way for lunch and Valex loved it.

Because mom was doing better, I didn't go out again until Sunday night on the hopes that she would be able to come home Tuesday. Yesterday they did an angiogram to look at her heart. All this time they have been telling us she would need a valve replaced, but this was to get a better look so we can make a game plan. The good news is they found no blockages. The bad news is she needs the surgery as soon as possible. I stayed until about 5:30 last night hoping to see the dr., but finally decided to head home. Of course he came in 30 minutes later!

IF the pneumonia clears up, they will operate on Thursday. But she still has fluid in her lungs, so its a big IF. I had hoped she would be able to come home between now and the surgery, but on the chance they can do it Thursday, they decided to just keep her there. I forgot to mention, that one doctor did try to release her Friday, but another doctor wanted her to wait until the angiogram test, so she had to stay. If they don't operate on Thursday, well, I don't know what. So as of now, we aren't sure when she gets to come home. She just knows she is tired of the hospital bed, walls, food, etc. and we all know we're ready to have her home. She is still on oxygen but other then that she seems well enough. She can move around on her own and even wanders the halls a few times during the day just for a different view.

To end this blog on a happy note, here is a few pictures of Valex and Daxsen I took when we stopped at the Dairy Keen.




The toy in Valex's kids meal was a blow up mace. After I blew it up, he tried to blow it up too. It wasn't until later that night he figured out it was for hitting people. Which he found just as fun, until we took it away because he hit close to his brother.

 
 Dairy Keen is also known as The Train. They have a train that runs around the top inside. Then they have other train displays and toys for the kids. Outside they have a train table. We ate inside, but before leaving, we let Valex sit on the train for a bit. He thought it was great fun. He posed for a few pictures, but then became more interested in the big trucks driving down the road.




*UPDATE: My mom came home on Wednesday. After spending 12 days in the hospital, she was glad to be out in the sunshine. Her surgery is scheduled for April 11th where she will be having open heart surgery to replace a valve. We are all glad to have her home and thrilled that she will be home for Easter (which is going to be at my house, which means its going to rock.) :)

Sunday, March 18, 2012

St. Patrick's Day 2012

This year, we decided to host a St. Patrick's Day party. We invited several couples, but in the end it was just us, Andrew & Jessica and Todd & Randi. It was a blast and now I'm that much more excited for our cruise. 


For the drink, I made LOVE POTION, but used limeade and lime sherbet instead. It was just as good as the pink version. 

As always, we had tons of food. Josh cooked Corned Beef in the crock pot. Andrew cooked the cabbage. Andrew & Jessica also brought rolls and toppings for baked potatoes. Randi & Todd brought a salad. Then I also made a rainbow fruit tray and an evaporated milk & jello fluff type dish for dessert. You can view the recipe HERE. It was really good, but wow it made a lot. 




We were too busy talking about the cruise and eating the good food, that we forgot to do pictures. So while Josh and I were cleaning up, we tried to get a few self portraits. 

I saw these cute bags on Pinterest and decided to make them for everyone. 

I always have so much fun getting together with our friends. We're already talking about our next dinner party where Todd has promised to cook a leg of lamb (and also some chicken for me). We can't wait!

Babysitting

The other day I had the opportunity to watch Valex and Daxsen. We had a blast. 
When his mom first left, Valex dug out some of John's shoes and gave them to me. I think it was his way of telling me we should go too. But by the time I dug out my camera, he was already on to his next adventure. He doesn't stand or sit still for very long. 


Neither does Daxsen since he learned to crawl last week. That has brought many tears to this aunt; he has been such a great cuddle baby. 


Daxsen started to get a little fussy, so I started making noises at him. In the middle of singing "booga booga booga," I looked up to notice that Valex was dancing to it. 


While sitting on the floor with Daxsen, Valex decided to sit with me too. Then he made a game of it. He would stand up and then fall back, expecting me to catch him. He thought it was great fun. 


When I blew bubbles at Daxsen, Valex blew them at me. 


There was two other times when Valex let me know we should go. He had a poopy diaper and the first diaper I could find was in the diaper bag. After changing him, I just left the diaper bag on the couch. He grabbed it and tried to drag it to the door, so I set it out of sight. Then a little while later he had another poopy diaper. Again he tried to take the bag to the door. When that didn't work, he went and got me a jacket out of the closet. He's such a smart little boy. 

I had so much fun babysitting them and can't wait to do it again. I've had with drawls this weekend because I got to see them every day last week. 

More Pictures from Dallon & Natalie's Open House in Mtn. Home

Dallon and Natalie came up to visit the other night. While they were here, we were looking at some pictures of Dallon holding some baby bear cubs. Then I saw these reception pics and decided to steal them. 













Monday, March 12, 2012

Book Club - "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

This month, Randi was in charge of book club. She chose "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.

I LOVED this book. The last few months, I've tried to not read the book until just a week or two before we meet, because if I read it too soon I either forget stuff, or hate having to wait so long to talk about the book with every one else. This time, I did wait a few weeks, but the book was so good that once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

Randi is always an awesome hostess. She served us pork chops, potatoes, salad and pineapple with chocolate pie for dessert. Then we watched the movie. It wasn't quite as good as the book, but still pretty good. I was upset that they left a part at the movie, but then it was added to the very end instead.

I've already ordered the book for next month and can't wait to read it. 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

40 Bags: Week 2

I didn't get any housework done on Friday, but since its a working weekend for the hubs, I have all weekend to tackle the 40 bags project some more. The garbage can is once again pulled up next to the porch so I can just walk out the door and throw stuff out. My goal today is to fill the garbage can again. And deep clean my craft room. If that room doesn't fill the garbage can, I might move to the basement and work in there for a bit. I love the hubs, but he can be a pig. I forgot to mention last week some of the stuff I found, like empty deodorant containers and empty shaving cream cans. No wonder he always complains he's out. All I check for it the bottles, I don't think to actually shake them to see if they are empty. I see all those bottles and don't think I need to buy him more. I know the garage and basement will be a great way to fill the garbage can because he does the same thing down there. Last night, I think I counted 5 empty bags of dog food. Its moments like that, that help me realize you may marry man, but you also take on a kid at the same time. :p But really, the craft room is in horrid condition, I bet I fill the garbage can just fine. And finally get a good DI pile going.

7. Hallway closet.

The empty shelves in my bathroom cupboards have haunted me. My house has literally no storage or closets. So I've been trying to figure out how to put the empty space in the bathrooms to a positive use. We have one small closet in the hallway. Well, its more like a cupboard I guess cause its just shelves. So I  decided to move all of my Scentsy stuff from the hallway into the bathroom. Once again, I learned I'm a hoarder! I have probably 100 Scentsy bars and 6 warmers. But I did have a moment of pride. On Thursday, some one's granddaughter came to work; she was selling Scentsy for a fundraiser. I really wanted to look and see what new scents there was, but decided I already have enough so I didn't buy any. That really is a big deal for me. I'm going and try to stick to that until I've used up all the ones I already have.

I then threw away a lot of stuff from the closet that I haven't even looked at in years. Then I assigned the 6 shelves a new use that I think I'll end up really liking because it helped organize other problem areas. The top shelf is the few games we own and rarely use. The 2nd shelf is still empty, but I'm sure I'll find a good purpose for it. The next shelf down is our Wii games. Our tv sits on a very small entertainment center. It has storage in the bottom for movies and games, but because its so small, we are always scattering movies and games on the floor to see what all we have.

I mentioned getting rid of the bassinet, but not having anywhere to put all of my crochet stuff. They are now in the hallway closet. The fourth shelf is the blankets and burp rags I keep on hand for gifts. The fifth shelf is my grand collection of crochet thread. Apparently at  one point, I decided I needed to stock up on brown and green. I have 6 things of brown thread and 4 of the green.

For now the bottom shelf is the few toys I keep on hand for when the nephews come visit. But I know I'm still missing a few toys (in one of the messy rooms I'm sure) and once I find them, I'm not sure if they will all fit.

8. My first bag for DI. It included a few hats, stuffed animals and then 11 bags. The bags are the free ones you get at things like conferences, meetings etc. I kept 3 of my favorites and threw the rest in the DI bag.

9. Craft room junk.
10. Craft room junk.

This bag include old recipes from an idea I had like six years ago and never followed through on. I have tons and tons of Taste of Home magazines. I had the idea to type up the few recipes I had tried and like and then the gazillion recipes I wanted to try someday. Then I was going to turn them into a recipe scrapbook. But thanks to the internet, I can find any recipe online, so I never got past printing all those recipes, in which I used up like 2 reams of paper! It reminded me that one of my resolutions this year is too be less wasteful. So far this year, I've done good with that, but now I am more determined to stick to it.

11. Picture frames.

I have several in my craft room that I have never used. I also think I have a ton more upstairs in the attic. They will either end up at the DI or in the garage sale pile. When I find the room to make a garage sale pile.

12. Craft room junk
13. Card making stuff. I never got into card making like I thought I would. I kept a few things, but I'm going to give the rest to a friend.
14. More craft room junk. Including some old wrapping paper that I know I'll never use.
15. Craft room junk
16. DI bag, including old containers I thought I would reuse some day, but never have.
17. Craft room junk
18. Craft room junk.



I was hoping to have my craft room all put back together by now, but I'm not that close. I still have one corner to tackle and then the closet. But I think most of it will end up at the DI. Turns out the hubs does get to come home tonight, so I think at this point, I better take a break from the craft room and get the front room and kitchen to look decent. Speaking of the kitchen, I think I'll really tackle it next week. I shudder to think of the expired food I'll find in the cupboards.

I decided to not publish this post yet and see how much more I can get done before the weekend ends. Which I'm glad I did, cause I got some more done.

19. DI bag of misc. stuff
20. DI bag of misc. stuff
21. DI bag of misc. stuff
22. Bag of stuff for Heather. I was going to DI it, but then I got looking at the 3 soft blankets and noticed that there was 2 girl colored ones and 1 boy colored one, which is just perfect for her family. Then I threw in 4 Build-A-Bear stuffed animals to finish the bag off.
23. Craft room junk
24. Craft room junk, including all my Scentsy testers and other stuff from when I was a consultant. I know you can use the testers by melting them in the microwave, but I have 87 bars in the bathroom. (Yep, I counted them.)
25. Bag of stuff for Vanessa. While cleaning the bathrooms, I found Josh's old hair cutting kit. Since he doesn't need it anymore, I think its time to pass it on. The I also found a few clothes that don't fit, but will hopefully fit her.

The last two bags of garbage are still in the craft room because my garbage is just over flowing.  Right now, the closet is stuffed full of the DI stuff cause I have no where else to put it. I'm not sure when I'll make be able to take my stuff to the DI, but it will probably be a few weeks. By then I hope to have even more stuff so I can take a car full of stuff.

I wish I had been taking before and after pictures. Each room fills like it has undergone a complete transition. I love having my craft room back. But now the trick will be to stay out of it until I finish my big cleaning projects. And really, for now, it will be a great landing zone for the DI and yard sale stuff.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

March Swap Group - St. Patrick's Day

This month, Angie was in charge of Swap Group. She thought it would fun for everyone to make a St. Patrick's Day door hanging and then bring it for show and tell.

I was such a slacker. For all of February, I kept thinking, "I have until the 16th." I don't know why the 16th, but that is what I kept thinking. Then last Friday night, I realized our group always meets the first Tuesday of the month and that was only 4 days away! Since I was going to the city on Saturday, I got on Pinterest and started looking for ideas, knowing that I would only have Sunday to get it made.

I'm not really into door hangings, but I still wanted to make something. I found these cute lepercon hats and decided to make one for everyone. They are just those some glad containers you find in the paper towel section of the grocery store. I painted them green, but it took like 5 layers of paint to coat them well. I pretty much hated them by the 4th coat. I also didn't buy enough paint, but luckily I had some in a slightly different color, so I used it too. I wanted something quick and easy for the hat band. I thought maybe some black tape; I found a sheet of black duct tape and it was perfect. I cut it into half in strips and wrapped it around the hat. Then I cut out some yellow buckles and some clovers I found online. I was going to fill them with chocolate coins, but the store was sold out. So I did Rolo's instead.

In the end, they did turn out pretty cute and everyone seemed to love them. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Valex's 1st movie - The Lorax

I remember watching "The Lorax" and "The Sneetches" all the time as a kid. I think my mom had recorded it on TV for us to watch over and over. Which we did, all the time. We loved those movies. So when I saw "The Lorax" was coming to the theaters, I decided, since it was a movie I know Vanessa and I both enjoyed as kids, it was a movie we needed to enjoy together now. Then I thought it might be a fun movie for Valex. I know Vanessa belongs to a book group and each month she gets a new Dr. Seuss book and he really enjoys those. I really wanted to take Valex, but he's not even 2 years old yet, so I wasn't sure how he would do. So I asked Vanessa what she thought. She thought he would do fine so we decided to try it.

Last night, I got to Vanessa's and Valex was all ready to go bye-bye. We decided to hang around the house for a few more minutes and get to the theater a few minutes before the show started so he'd have that much less time to get bored. Once we got there and found some seats, I went out and bought us all treats. That little boy loves popcorn! He looked like such a big boy eating it out of the bag.

I took a picture of him and his mom just before the movie started. He was only watching the previews, but he seemed pretty fascinated with the large screen.

I was still a little worried about how well he would do, but he was such a good boy through the entire thing. It is a kids movie so of course I heard lots of kids crying and fussing, but never once was it Valex. Vanessa thinks he slept for about 20 minutes, but each time I looked at him he was awake. He did loose his binks towards the end, but that didn't phase him. I heard Vanessa tell him it was gone and he believed her and went right on watching the movie.

The movie was great. It was so much fun to be there with my sister and for Valex's first movie. On the way home, I decided that when the movie comes out on DVD, I'm going to have to buy it for myself and for Valex.