2010 in review

So where did 2010 go??? It seemed like the year just flew by. Seemed to fly by much faster than previous years. So what did we do in 2010 you may ask? Well maybe its time for a review..

January- Well what a busy month January was. In January, William welcomed a new cousin into the family. William turned 5, which was big, turning 5 meant that he was turning into an even bigger boy than he already was. Kindergarten was right around the corner. January was also a time for doctors. Just a week after his 5 year check up we were back for ear infections that caused horrible pain. Just a few weeks later we were back to see an ENT for sinus issues we'd been having for months. My poor kiddo just couldn't catch a break.

February- February was a month for big changes. We moved. And by moving it meant moving out of grandma and grandpa's house, the only house William ever knew, into a new house. A new house with his own room. Much different from what he knew. This change caused some anxiety and some missing grandma and grandpa issues. That changed when he started having fun and realized he still got to see grandma and grandpa every day. February had two big doctor appointments. One with the ENT to see what the issues were with his sinuses. The ENT suggested that his adenoids be removed as they were fairly large and probably the cause of his issues. At the end of February He had surgery (at a very very early hour) to have those pesky adenoids removed. He did great and outside of some residual pain and a left over sinus infection he healed up fast. We also learned this month that William has issues with latex paint... that makes painting our house harder.

March- Spring break and Mommy's birthday. That's right.. March was a month full of spring break and well My birthday. I turned 26. We celebrated in the greatest of ways. I had lunch one on one with my hunny.. Then later we had dinner with my family. The best part..... William and my mommy made me the best dinner ever. I am such a lucky girl! The end of March, however, brought changes in a very painful way. For whatever reason, I can't think of any, my upper back and shoulders started causing issues. I literally went to bed fine one night and woke up the next in horrible pain and hardly able to move. After 2 days of trying my best to deal with the pain, I caved, and went to the doctor. March was also the month that William caught his first fish.

April- Easter, Fishing, and trying to make mommy feel better. That's what April was. We kicked off the month with William catching 3 fish... His second time out and he caught 3 fish. He was so proud of himself. Mommy was still trying to get the back pain to stop.. The doctor thought there was muscle spasming and was not happy about the lack of response from my left arm. That made the doctor suspect there was nerve compression. The medications given to help didn't really help very much and I was left in more pain in the mornings after using the muscle relaxer than when I went to bed. William and Ron both did their best to make me feel better. I don't know what I would have done without them. Easter was just a few days after his fishing trip and he got a ton of stuff. We spent the day partially at home and then with family for dinner. I believe April was also the month that William was helper of the week at school. He was so happy when it was his turn. He waited a very long time for that. He also started t-ball in April.

May- T-ball, allergies, and almost summertime.... May brought some frustrations back with William's allergy issues. He had been doing so well with no sinus issues and then all of a sudden we were back to sniffling and sneezing. After allergy testing in 2009 showed nothing we were pretty sad to see him struggling again. We did allergy testing again at the end of the month. We did blood testing instead of the scratch tests. We were hopeful that it would give us some answers. T-ball was in full swing and it was sad that the weather didn't want to cooperate like we would have liked it to. But he did great and we all had a lot of fun. It wasn't long until there was itching for warmer weather. Summer break was just around the corner and William was ready for summer to begin.

June- End of pre-kindergarten, birthdays, and allergy test results. June brought the class field trip.. This year it was to the zoo. It was a fun time, but the traffic was horrible. We nearly missed it. William had a great time going through the dinosaur part of the zoo and had a blast seeing all the animals. Unfortunately the end of the trip left William with a migraine and he ended up sick to his stomach later on from it. We also enjoyed a very nice pre-k program at the end of the year. This time William actually sang! I was such a proud mommy. This also brought a sad time. The end of pre-k. William made so many friends and had such a good time. The last day was bittersweet. He had a fun time and came home with a "Look out Kindergarten.. Here I come" hat. But it also brought goodbyes to the teachers and friends staying behind there. We also celebrated birthdays for Grandpa, Anna, and lots of other family members at a picnic later in the month. Everyone had a blast.. This was the month where the boys learned that goofing off can hurt. They both ended up face first into a toy bin, leaving each of them with black eyes. The month also brought results from the allergy tests. Again those left us stumped as there was no allergies found. In July he started a new allergy medicine that helped him a lot.

July- Rodeo, the 4th, Trip to dads... July was a fun month.. The beginning of the month brought the Mollala Buckaroo and the 4th of July. Along with Grandma's birthday on the 3rd. We were packed with things to do. This was our first time to a rodeo. William and Marcus each rode on sheep. William held on til the end and well Marcus.. he gave it a good shot. William loved the rodeo. Granted it was long and they both started to get bored, but William really enjoyed it. After the rodeo we went to Grandma's for the 4th of July for fireworks and a barbecue. It wasn't nearly as hot as it was the year before, but we all had a good time. Later that month William took a trip down to visit his dad. He had a good time.

August- Mom's root canal, another trip to dads, and our first eye issue.... This was a month of ups and downs. I had to have a root canal and I have to admit, the dentist was awesome. I expected it to be much worse. But the worst part was the fact that he couldn't get a vein to do the anesthesia like we talked about. William was great and tried his hardest to make me feel better. Near the end of August, William had another trip to his dads. He was there for almost a week. Near the end of his trip I got a call that he had gotten something in his eye. I was expecting him to maybe have some irritation. Nothing like what I saw though.. Poor kiddo. We ended up at urgent care the next day and spent a good part of the morning there trying to get the stuff out. During the appointment we were told he had fluid behind his ear. I fully braced myself for ear infections later on. But we left the appointment with eye ointment.. That, however, lasted less than a day as it burned so bad he cried most of it out in the two doses he had.. I had that changed later that day to eye drops and he did much better. When he followed up with his doctor 2 days after urgent care he had full blown ear infections in both ears. His pediatrician stopped the eye drops and went with oral antibiotics. Now we just had to clear it up before school started.

September- Kindergarten and a love of football.... September brought with it the first day of Kindergarten. He was lucky enough to get a great teacher.. His teacher he told me later is the mom of a kid who was in his preschool class. We dropped him off on his first day and before school started he went in and said hi to his old preschool teachers. One was so cute, she forgot he was in Kindergarten.. They were getting another William in their class this year. She was so sad when she realized he was in Kindergarten.. She asked for a hug and said she'd love for him to say hi or wave if he saw them. They just adored him. He quickly made lots of friends, but also experienced a few issues with another student. Something we weren't used to. Having to explain to your 5 year old that sometimes you won't be friends with everyone was very hard. He also learned of some disabilities that others have. Once football season started though he was all over that. Football became a big thing in our house. The house was divided at times.. people rooting for the Beavers and others for the Ducks. The Ducks prevailed though. Having an amazing year.

October- Halloween, birthdays, and homework... October brought a few changes. He had homework for the first time. I don't remember homework in Kindergarten. We celebrated Marcus' 5th Birthday and the things he was learning in preschool as well. The boys had a great time at Marcus' party. And of course there was Halloween. He had a scary costume for the first time. William also learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He was so proud of himself. However, we all ended up sick in October. There was a stomach bug going around and William, like always, was the first to get it. Followed by me and Ron. It made for a very miserable part of October. William also was evaluated for and started in a reading group. For someone who kept saying it was too hard to read and he couldn't do it, he certainly could. He was one of 5 kids in the morning kindergarten classes to be in a reading group so early. The rest of the kids will start in late January or early February.

November- Thanksgiving, reading, jealousy... November meant starting Christmas shopping. That brought out jealousy issues we had seen glimpses of in the previous months, but nothing like what we got. It was so sad to see my kid who is generally so good about giving be so upset and jealous about getting others things. It was a lesson learning time for him and he's come out better. We continued with reading and he has done so well. He is just flying though those books like they are nothing. I am so proud of him. Thanksgiving was spent with family. I made the turkey for the first time. The boys (William and Ron) made some very tasty brown sugar bacon wrapped little smokies. We all had a good time. However, William and some issues eating and regressed to issues we hadn't seen in months. That made for a very long and miserable weekend and couple days there after. We got our Christmas tree and decorated it with William and Marcus.

December- Christmas, Winter break, New Years, Birthdays, Report cards..... December was a month packed full of things. We celebrated Ron's 29th birthday, Julie's 27th birthday and William's first report card early in the month. William had a great report card and it just further cemented the fact that he is a smart kiddo who is doing great... even when he doesn't think so. Unfortunately the last week of school before Winter break was spent more at home than at school. He woke up with a bout of croup that was horrible. A trip to the doctor the following evening for a dose of steroids.. Later that week we were back due to a severely congested cough. We were told to wait it out over the weekend and see if it cleared up. When it didn't I called back and his doctor gave him a prescription for a steroid liquid that took 4 days to kick in. He had his last doses on Christmas. My wish for a healthy child for Christmas didn't happen, but he had a great time. On Christmas Eve, we tracked Santa, left out cookies and milk for him. He even left out water and carrots for the reindeer. We had our usual fondue dinner with family and we all went to bed early. Christmas morning we woke up to open presents at home early. William got 2 things he had been wanting so bad.... A bow and arrow and a Nintendo DS. After opening up presents at home we went to grandma and grandpas where he got more gifts including a new bike. We had a great morning with them. Then we drove down to Medford for Christmas with Ron's grandparents, parents, and family. We had a wonderful time there too. William again got spoiled with more things. New years was spent at home for Me and Ron.. William was with Grandma Connie and had a great time. Even though he wasn't up like he wanted to be at midnight. He had a fun time.

There were more things through the year that I missed I'm sure. William's first time shooting and getting his BB gun, migraines, Grandma's health issues, and many many more. However, 2010 was a good year. We had a lot of good changes, a few that I'd rather change, and many many fun times. Here's to hoping that 2011 is even better. Hopefully I'll be better at keeping up this blog and sharing even more of the adventures in our lives. :)

The Training Wheels Are OFF!!!

William is finally riding his bike without training wheels. After another friend riding without the training wheels off her bike, led him to ask us to take them off. He didn't wanna be the last one of his friends riding with the training wheels on their bike. It didn't take him long at all to pick it up. Within just a few minutes he was off and doing well. I am so proud of my little man!!!

Random pictures

I love these pictures. These range from the one above of our trip to the beach to the following two from the second day of school... To Gabe's 6th birthday party...

These next several pictures are from the school carnival this last weekend.. Outside of not winning a goldfish, William, Ron and I had a great time!

thankful...

I am thankful for the great friends, family, boyfriend, son, pets, and other things I have in life. Lately we have been through some changes in our lives that have made me think and made me really look at what is going on in this sometimes hectic thing I call life. William played t-ball for the first time and did an amazing job. He LOVED it. We had games and practice twice a week. He had fun playing with kids he went to school with and some he didn't. He got to play games against classmates and had a wonderful time learning about teamwork, sportsmanship, and most of all the game. I am thankful for his love of the game, his enthusiasm, and most of all his curiosity.

He finished pre-kindergarten this June and enjoyed a few final moments with some good friends and two amazing teachers who have given him some amazing skills. I am thankful for my sons growth and for all he's learned. I am thankful that he has a wonderful school. A small school that's got more of a community feeling than just a school you send your kid to for several hours a day. I can't believe that in just a few weeks my son will be in kindergarten and more than that will be on to a new adventure of making new friends, learning more, and most of all going to school in the morning instead of afternoons. That's going to be the toughest change for us.

We endured two hospitalizations of my mom (grandma) and it has been a difficult road. The first was for a minor issue, but it made a big impact and left her feeling very ill. What seemed to be food poisoning wasn't food poisoning and could have been avoided had other symptoms been present. It made mother's day even more special to have my mom home before and able to celebrate it as a family. This latest one.. still ongoing.. makes it even more real that my mom's health issues can turn insanely overwhelming in the blink of an eye. We have endured the scare of very low blood sugar levels to very high blood sugar levels.. to an er trip that showed sudden dangerous levels of potassium.. We endured the thought of kidney failure, dialysis, specialists and ICU. As of today we are thankful for the wonderful doctors, nurses, and health professionals who are taking care of her. Who have made her condition so much better. That have given my mom the word that her kidneys are in good health, that her potassium levels are down, that she would be moved out of ICU and into her own room. I am thankful that the doctors and specialists are taking a look at her medications and have taken her off two that may have interacted and helped this happen. Thankful that my son will now be able to visit her while she's there. Thankful that I will still have a mom and that they are doing everything they can to ensure that she is on the right medications for her conditions and will be coming home. Most of all I am thankful for my mom. I know William is thankful that he still has his grandma.

I am even thankful for the changes in my sons father that led to many calls and a trip to visit dad. I am thankful for the changes he made. The growth he's shown and hopefully it will continue.

Most of all I am thankful for those that are close to me to help me through these times. I just want to say thanks to everyone near and dear to me for everything they do.

t-ball time is almost here... and mommy pain..

I guess the title says it all... almost.. In February we got papers home from school regarding T-ball and baseball sign-ups through the school district. At first it listed t-ball as kids that were 5 and in kindergarten. Later they sent home another paper listing that the kiddos in pre-kindergarten were allowed as long as they were 5 before a certain date. I contacted the person listed and they were still accepting the sign ups so we quickly got William all signed up. After waiting patiently for just over a month we finally got an email from the coach for William's team. The teams were assigned colors and William's team is the green team. Try finding baseball stuff in green.. not so easy to do. We got William his pants, shoes, shirt, and belt. He looks absolutely adorable in them. He also has his own glove. The first practice is on 4-6 and their first game is 4-29. The rules were sent out in the email and each child will get a chance to hit the ball, run the bases, catch, be first to bat, etc. The coaches goal for the season is to get the kiddos throwing the ball properly. NOt a bad goal for the kids I think. They also have the option to try hitting a ball being "pitched" to them by the coach. If they don't hit it in 3 pitches then they go to the tee. They don't have a time limit or a number of tries to hit the ball. It should be interesting to see.

The second part of the title.. well.. Mommy (that's me) is in some pain.. Starting Wednesday (3-31) night, I have been having neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. Enough that I haven't really slept, have been nauseous, and the pain has induced headaches. After suffering for basically 2 days with no relief and being barely able to move my neck... I gave in.. My boss was nice enough to let me go home... I called the dr and ended up going in for the first open appointment they had.. 6:30 pm... The dr did a few basic tests and feeling my neck, etc.. she came to the conclusion I have extreme muscle tightness.. maybe spasms, and the ever exciting nerve compression.. If I lay on my left arm or hold it in just the right mannor/angle my left hand starts to go numb. It gets better once the pressure is taken off that arm. she gave me a mixture of a pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, and muscle relaxer to get this to go away, but wants me to recheck if it isn't better in about a week. If the numbness in my hand doesn't go away after the muscle stiffness/spasm goes away then I need to go in for x-rays. I'm hoping that the nerve issues subside once this goes away. It's been a long time since I've had back pain to this extent. Hopefully I'll be feeling back to my normal not in pain mommy self soon for me little guy.. Poor kid tries giving me a hug and it hurts. He's not hurting me.. just my back and neck are.. Too bad he sees it as him hurting me when he does that..

Hopefully the weather will also clear up in time for his first practice and I'll be able to get some good pictures. On another note.. we took him fishing for the first time last weekend and he caught his first fish. Today (4-2) my boyfriend Ron and my best friend Julie took William and my nephew Marcus fishing. Marcus caught one fish, fell into the lake, and well ended up having a hard time behavior-wise for a while.... William caught 3 fish and even helped Ron clean all three of his.. The first one he was a little apprehensive of touching, but after that he was fine. Looks like we'll be doing a lot of fishing and shooting and maybe even hunting with him...

Why I love my little guy...

He had his adenoids out on 2-26... on 3-1 we went back into the dr who told us he had a cold. we've been dealing with the symptoms off and on since then. Saturday he started in with more of a cough and had some icky green snot when he blew his nose.. It's just progressed down from there. Tuesday (3-16) he was up until after 1 am coughing.. Coughing through his albuterol dose, coughing after delsym... Just coughing and coughing the poor thing. After talking with the advice nurse for his doctor we have an appointment at 8:20 am on 3-18. While explaining to him that the doctor is just going to check him out, listen to his lungs, check his ears, eyes, throat, etc. He asked how they were going to check his throat. After explaining that they will have him open his mouth, stick out his tongue and say "Ahhhh", he came back quickly with "but mom! it's dark in there"....

Even after trying to re-explain to him that what they will use to see down his throat has a light on it and they will be able to see his throat just fine, he again came back with "I don't have a light in my throat mom.. it's dark in there." He just makes me laugh sometimes. I certainly got a laugh out of him tonight. Not to mention he wants those "bad buggies" gone.. I can't blame him. It's those "bad buggies" that are making him sick. Hopefully he'll get better soon. After all what fun is spring break going to be next week if he's sick???

Adenoid Removal..... Update

William had surgery to remove his adenoids on 02-26-10. We had to be there super early. William was the doctor's first patient at 7:30 am, but that meant we had to be there at 6..... It made for an early morning leaving the house at 4:45. We got there and checked in. I had one other paper to fill out and then we were called back. We got William all settled and soon the fun began. The nurse came in and placed another bracelet on his wrist and allowed him to watch some tv. The anesthesiologist came in shortly after that and talked to us and more importantly William. He asked William a few questions and then asked him to come see the balloon they would have him blow up. He went with him willingly so they decided he didn't need the sedative to make him relaxed enough to go without an argument. After the anesthesiologist left the nurse came back in and put some numbing cream on the top of his hands and covered it with a clear bandage on each. They numbed the area for the iv with the cream, although, they really didn't need it since he was under anesthesia when they put it in. Before we knew it the doctor came in and did what she needed to for the surgery to go on. It wasn't too long after that when they wheeled him into the OR for surgery. He gave us hugs and kisses and off he went.
Ron and I went and met up with William's dad, grandma, and uncle. We got some coffee and talked. Before we knew it the 1/2 hour surgery was up and just as I was walking to go upstairs to get his medicine from the pharmacy out walked the doctor and we were called back. She said that things went very well and that there were no complications at all from the procedure. He was asleep when we got back to his room. He looked so peaceful. There were two nurses there checking on him, but on his table there was a stuffed dog. The admitting nurse he had that day had searched to see if there were any extras and just happened to find some. she said its something the volunteers at the hospital give to them so they give those to the kids who have surgery. When he woke up he didn't talk much, but when he did he wanted grandma and daddy. They came in and visited with him. I went and got his medicine. They gave him Tylenol with Codeine, which we later had flavored sour apple, and that didn't help his pain much. We later learned that they had way under dosed the tylenol. They gave him some apple juice and chocolate pudding to eat. What a great breakfast at 9 am..
We had a pretty busy day after that. We ended up at Target to get his medicine flavored and get a few things before heading home. We stopped and had lunch and the poor kid had a hard time eating. The scrambled eggs were ok, but the minute the applesauce hit his mouth he looked like he wanted to cry. I gave him the pain medicine while we were at Target and he ended up using some chloraseptic spray to numb his throat so he could eat. That continued throughout the weekend. I did call the nurse for the ENT and they were at a loss as to why he was in so much pain. They said that there is a chance for referred pain, but the amount he was having sounded like that of a child who had tonsils out. He had a lot of pain in the middle of the night for a few nights, but thankfully has been healing up nicely since. He is able to breathe much better and I am thankful that his sinus issues are for the most part a lot better.
A couple days later he had ultrasounds to recheck a problem they spotted with one of his kidneys as a baby. I got a letter from the doctor today that his kidneys are just fine. :D