Thursday, September 18, 2008

In case you've ever wondered...

...what would happen if your six-year-old forgot that he started running a bath for himself...for at least 45 minutes...the water spouting from your light fixtures is your first clue that it's NOT good!
Kaleb's room:
Garet's room:
Another view on that:
Yep, that's the carpet pulled up from the padding...
(Breathe in, Breathe out...)
Jeff told me that while he was sucking up water with the vacuum, Garet leaned over to Kaleb and asked: "Have you ever flooded the house?" Kaleb's reply: "No. But we all make mistakes." Kaleb is such a great older brother! Garet and Maddie are so lucky to have him! Hopefully we are doing some things right!?! Now, back to damage control...

Thursday, September 11, 2008

"Cured!"

...a word we don't hear often enough...

As many of you may know, Jeff and I have had our share of medical problems with our children. Kaleb had numerous ear infections between the ages of 2 and 3. When they finally cleared up, after having tubes put in, his ear drums were bulging. This condition caused him to hear everything like he was underwater. After steroids and many trips and tests to the audiologist and ENT doctor, he was eventually better. Maddie should have had surgery on her feet at 6 months of age to correct her ankles and hips. We didn't catch it fast enough, so now she wears orthopedic inserts and does physical therapy to help "open" her hips until she gets bigger. Garet was born with a urological birth defect. He had surgery at 6 months of age to correct this. After many complications following the surgery: blocked urethra, pneumonia, whole body infection, bladder overtaking entire body cavity; he was sent home with a tube coming out of his stomach to aid in emptying his bladder. After 2 more surgeries, we thought we had put these "problems" behind us....until last summer. Garet started peeing blood. We went back to his specialist at Primary Children's and took tests. The findings: Garet had Level I Vesicoureteral Reflux on the right side and Level II on the left. This meant that the urine was refluxing from his bladder back into his kidneys; worse on the left side than the right. He was also not emptying his bladder completely, thus irritating his condition. The doctor's recommendation: antibiotics for a year and retest to see if it has gotten any better or worse. Had he been a Level II on both sides, they would have gone ahead and done the surgery last year.
Today we went up to Primary Children's to repeat the tests. First, they did an ultrasound to check to see what his kidneys and bladder looked like:
Garet was sooo good! He kept perfectly still the whole time!
Next, we had to go into the scary room with the gigantic X-ray machine to do the VCUG. For this test, they place a catheter in him, empty the contents, and "re-fill" his bladder with a solution that they can watch with the x-rays. It was a little scary, and Garet got a little nervous before the test. But, he was a CHAMP!! He was sooo brave! He didn't cry at all while they were inserting the catheter. When they made him "hold it" for a little bit to check to see where "it" would go before he released "it," he had a little bit of a hard time (think drinking an entire Route 44 and holding it for an hour).
I couldn't resist capturing Jeff in this get-up!! :-)
Afterwards, we went up to see his Pediatric Urologist Dr. Snow. The prognosis: "Garet is cured!!" There is no sign of reflux in either side any longer! And, he is now completely emptying his bladder effectively! We are sooooo relieved! He has less that a 2% chance of it re-occurring.
As we left, Dr. Snow told us to keep in mind that any other children we have will have a 33.33% chance of having reflux also. Let's hope our days with Pediatric Urology are over!!

Monday, September 8, 2008

"Non-Essentials"

Jax tagged me on this a while ago...sorry :( it took me so long! Here are 3 Non-Essentials I would love to have if I had a little extra dough. The rule is to keep them under $100.


A great massage...not just a "Massage Envy" one...

Yummy, healthy, fresh dinners for the family that only need to be "popped in the oven."

A romantic weekend getaway with my hubby!

I'm tagging Susie, Ella, Laura, Candis, and Tanya!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I "HEART" Yard Sales!!

This summer, I have been converted to shopping yard sales. My friend Candis invited me to go one Saturday. I, like many of you, was somewhat wary and mostly went to hang out with my friends. But, little did I know, how fast I would be converted! I have really found some "great buys" and have saved lots of moo-lah.
Here is my new bike. It is a $200 bike that I found for $10. We bought new tubes and "vwallah!" good as new!
I went to a clearance yard sale for Claire's and found this costume for a dollar.
Gizmo hates the hat, but it "fits" him perfectly!!
Brand new shoes for the boys!! Two for $15!
A child seat to hook onto my bike for Maddie to join in the fun: $5!!
Thanks Candis for converting me!! Can't wait to find more great buys!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Kaleb Gets His Braces Off!

Last week Kaleb got his braces off.
Waiting in the chair at the orthodontist.
Getting the mold made for the retainer....he gagged many times...kind of made me gag a little to hear it...
No braces and pretty, straight, gap-free teeth!
Here is his cool retainer: it glows in the dark with a spider in the middle.
Here is his look for the next two years and then he will start phase two of his braces.