What people say to you when they hear you are going to have (or just had) Sinus Surgery....

10. "Oh that's terrible! I hear that's the worst surgery to have!"
      my thoughts: Is there a best surgery to have? I'm not much of a fan of any surgery, but I'm pretty sure having a cornea transplant is worse.

9. "I didn't know you were having surgery this week - can we bring in meals?"
       my thoughts: Initially, my response to this question is always 'no, thank you' because I have an amazing hubby that cooks for our family every night anyway. And, I was once told that if there is someone in the house that can use a can opener, there's no reason to have meals brought in. But, because we have amazing friends and family that know me well (and insisted), we received several nights of meals this week and I'm so thankful. I remember a lesson in Sunday School not that long ago when a sister in our ward reminded us that it's help for your hubby and your kids - not just you. Jer had his hands plenty full of other things to worry about and not having to stress about dinner every night was so appreciated. Not to mention - we have some seriously amazing talent around here...homemade chicken pot pie, Parmesan chicken, chicken and rice, Cafe Rio, cookies, cookies and more cookies. Okay, so having meals brought in was nice. Thank you!

8. "The worst part is when you wake up in post-op and you can't breath through your nose!"
       my thoughts: Really? Well, I might panic - especially since I haven't been able to breath out of my nose for like 20 years now. And, maybe it wasn't as bad as everyone had warned me because I was prepared for that - but it really wasn't bad. My mouth was about as dry as it ever has been and when I tried to let the nurse know that I was awake and could use some ice, nothing came out and it was painful. Then I panicked a little.

7. "You have to sleep sitting up for like a week afterwards."
       my thoughts:  I mean, yeah, sleeping in an upright position doesn't sound fun, but I've been 9 months pregnant before and had to sleep in worse positions than upright. Truthfully, this is how it goes for the first five days anyway: get comfy enough on the couch to doze for an hour... wake up with a kinked neck, a pounding headache, a dry mouth and a bloody gauze... no big deal... change the gauze, drink a gallon of water,  reposition, pretend like it's been four hours and it's time for more Percocet.. and back to sleep I go.

6. "You just had sinus surgery? You don't even look that bad!"
       my thoughts: Whew. 'Cause for some reason, I thought I looked like this:

It doesn't look that bad, huh? Yeah - now if you've been needing to have this done, you're going to feel so relieved and run right out and schedule it?? Ha ha. This was actually just after we got home from the hospital and Jer had run to get my meds and some apple juice. Poor guy. He is so good to me. I have zero pain tolerance and he has learned to deal with it. I so hope this procedure helps with all the days I've spent in bed with a sinus infection and left him to take care of the kids for days on end. Never mind the ugly that he has had to wake up to every morning.

5. "What about your kids? Can I help get them to school in the mornings?"
       my thoughts: I'm a mom? When did that happen? Okay, so when I was pounding the Percocet during the worst of it, I did kind of zone out and forget about my parenting responsibilities. But, again, thankfully, I have a loving husband and amazing friends and family that took turns sharing the fun. And, that is why I was able to zone out and "recover." Yay for Spring break this week!

4. "Oh that's an easy out-patient surgery. You'll be back to work in two days."
       my thoughts: Really? The Doctor suggested 7-10 days off work. I think that everyone is different. Kudos to those of you that really do recover in two days. I will be taking the 7-10 days, thank you very much (remember? zero pain tolerance)

3. "I've had that done and it doesn't work."
       my thoughts: Ugh. This, my friends, is why I have put it off for so long! I kept blaming everything else for the pain - allergies, the weather, the elevation, hormones... you name it. I found a reason to not have it done. But, last night, I woke up at 5am and realized my mouth was closed and I was breathing through my nose... and sleeping! Granted, it's only been 5 days and I still have the packing stuffed up there, but it felt so good to breath through my nose! I've also been on an antibiotic since November because as soon as I finish one, the sinus infection comes right back and I start another one. While I do like having clear skin, it was getting a bit ridiculous.

2. "Hey, saw you driving with gauze under your nose, you Okay?" via text
       my thoughts: Oh that's so embarrassing! Yesterday I felt pretty good. Like pretty good enough to maybe go to the store for a minute. I knew I didn't want to overdo it so I was good and did everything in slow motion (except open a box of gauze right there in the isle and hold it to my dripping nose because I was too proud to wear my nose bra in public). But, to find out that a friend actually saw me driving like that. Oh gosh. So glad you are a friend, friend that texted this to me.

1. "Why do you have to have that done?"
       my thoughts: Usually, when you hear of someone having sinus surgery, it's because they have a deviated septum. While my septum is slightly deviated, I did not need to have that aligned. I actually had three other procedures done. I don't remember all the fancy names for them (this is where Gibbs would remind Abby to speak in English anyway so that us regular folk can understand) so I will "speak in English." Endoscopic Sinus Surgery is where the doctor removes blockages in the sinuses that cause chronic sinusitis. In my case, the blockage was caused by polyps, mucous membrane swelling and very small turbinates (turbinates are the tissues that control the openings to the sinuses). I have tried everything - Flonase, prescription allergy meds, Musinex, the Neti Pot (daily saline rinse), antibiotics, Afrin sleeping with cold packs on my head. You name it, I've tried it. And when all that fails, you give in to surgery and hope the hell it works. 
 
(This is a text convo. I have to include the whole thing for you to appreciate it.)
concerned friend: "Hey, how was day 2? Better or worse?"
me: "Way worse. :("
concerned friend: "What?? How does that happen?"
me: "I don't know. I thought I was over the worst of it but today my teeth and my jaw hurt... my ears, my head, my throat... sucks. I am hoping tmrw is better."
concerned friend: "So you are playing in our (futsal) game tonight, right?"

Sweet Sour

It's eleven o'clock in the p.m. I had surgery just over 12 hours ago. I'm all hopped up on meds. You would think I would be sleeping. I had Endoscopic Sinus Surgery this morning and I will be honest - I feel like crap and look worse. So I'm not going to share any pictures or go into any details. You're welcome. I  guess since I slept for 10 of those 12 hours today, I will blog now and try to get caught up. This should be fun.

Emma's week of Birthday celebrating was lots of fun! We had fun with all the Bee's on the 11th. Bryn wanted a Panda cake - her mama did an awesome job and everyone had black mouths by the end of the party. Emma and Brynlee are the only Birthday's in March on that side of the family. The J's have lot's of March Birthday's (6, I think).

 Atley, Erin and Emma

Emma got some fun things from everyone - garden stuff, feather earrings, and art stuff and a bike. Grandma B. took her shopping on her bday and got flip flops (a tradition).

On Friday, March 16, we took Emma and 3 of her friends to Planet Play in Draper. Josh was a good sport and entertained Erin all night. Emma and her friends had so much fun (and so did Jer and I). The kids all got the pizza buffet and a card with points to do the games and attractions. Every half hour or so, they would announce a "dance off" at the front of the play area. The girls LOVED this! They did YMCA,  Ho Down Throw Down, and even the Electric Slide! The songs just kept going and they were all dances the girls knew.

Grandma J. came over to see Emms and gave her the cutest Madame Alexander ever (another tradition). I actually let the girls get out all the dolls and look at them again. There are seventeen between the two of them - so fun to see them all!

 

Emma has been working really hard at school. She got way ahead with her AR points and, as a reward, gets to be on the Safety Patrol. I think being to school a half hour early and staying a half hour late is a funny reward - but she is thrilled! I'm so proud of her! She has grown up so much in this last year. She is an amazing sister, a fantastic babysitter, an i-pod addict, a dancing fool, a daddy's girl (big time) and my best friend. She is such a sweet girl (when she's not being the other Emma - mmm hmmm). So glad she had a happy Birthday and so grateful for all the wonderful people in her life!

 

Erin has had so much fun this month! At school, her class had a leprechaun (Shawn) that surprised them almost every day for a week or more! The kids made little ladders to hang on their desks for him to climb up... he loved that because he kept leaving messes and treats for them. Erin found the pot o' gold in her classroom and her cute teacher sent me this picture of her with it. Erin has been excited for school every morning because of Shawn the Leprechaun.

Whenever we get together with family (either side), we can always find Erin with the baby. She is such a sweet girl and LOVES babies. She is so good with them and talks about them all the time. (left) Erin with Chloee (right) Erin with Mason.

Josh has played soccer since he was three. Emma has danced since she was six. Erin has tried soccer and dance. She just hasn't found her thing yet... until now. She has been wanting to take piano lessons forever but I have had her wait until she can read well. She is an AMAZING reader. So, we decided it was time to give it a go. She called Grandma B. and asked her to teach her to play the piano. Grandma was happy to do it! Erin has had one lesson and plays almost as well as I do (and I took lessons for a million years). She loves it. She has not missed a day of practicing. And look at her posture. So awesome!

 Since my boys love it when I aim my camera at them, I have to take what I can get whenever I can. This is at Aiden's baptism (which I will post pictures from latuh). They are both so handsome and I am so afraid I'm not going to get a picture of Josh in his suit before he grows out of it. We have had it altered three times and I'm not sure there's much left to let out. The boy just keeps growing.

He finished (hopefully) about eleven weeks of Physical Therapy and is finally back to soccer! Between taking time off due to injury after injury and growing like a weed, it has been a little harder to come back than I think he realized it would be. He has been doing about 90 minutes of drills and stretches from physical therapy every day and working up to full training sessions with his team. He played in a scrimmage tonight and came home feeling great! He says his touch is terrible (he's not hard on himself at all), but I was so happy with the fact that he played the whole game and didn't have any pain! The season starts Monday (April 2) and he might actually get to play. What a long winter it was for him. Poor guy. And yet he keeps on smilin' every day... and making me laugh!

Either I had a lot to get caught up on or percacet makes me talk a lot. Or both.

Happy Birthweek, Emma!

Emma turned 11 yesterday! She cracks me up because she is milking it like no other. We always take a week to celebrate, but Emma seems to want more this year. We took her to get a new bike last Saturday... then Sunday we celebrated with the Bee's... then yesterday was her actual Birthday... Friday is her friend party and then on the 24th we will celebrate with the J's. Whew. She has asked about 40 times why she has to help clean up and do homework on the week of her bday. Seriously? I know I am a sucker for birthday celebrations, but that's a bit much. She is a goober. So, this is my little update on my OCD child. There will be many more pictures to come from this Birthweek... I'm sure of it.

For those about to rock .. We Salute You!

These girls are near impossible to get a picture of. I always think Emma looks  so pretty when she gets all done up for a performance. Even though I really want to take a gazillion pictures, I try to settle for only a few. This time, I was lucky to get two. I did record them dancing, but I'm not blog savvy enough to upload them. I guess I will have to show the grandparents the videos later.

They did great and were excited to be there. Emma likes to assume that it's going to be an all day event. As soon as they were done with the second dance, the girls were ready to go to dinner or go shopping... anything to make it last longer. Emma has been babysitting so it kills her to not go spend her money when we are out and about. April and I sucked it up and spent way more time than we wanted to in the Dinosaur gift shop at Thanksgiving Point. It's a fun store for about the first 30 seconds. Much longer than that and I am ready to bounce. Not Emma.  It was fun, though and the girls ended up with matching mood rings (I guess at that age they need a ring to explain their mood).

Back to Pinterest laundry I go. I have to take advantage of every "free" minute I have lately. Josh is back to soccer and after 10 weeks off, I forgot how time consuming it is. I almost wish we had Idaho laws and he could get a drivers license at age 14 and drive himself to training. Ha ha.. almost.

Such a Ham

February has been pretty uneventful for our little family.

Josh has continued going to physical therapy twice a week. He finally (after 10 weeks) got the okay to start conditioning with his team again - but only at 70%.  Poor kid had a week and a half of feeling sick - on top of already not being able to do anything physical due to his hip injury. He is finally starting to get back to normalcy. He is sick of hanging out with his parents all the time. March will be good.

Emma has been getting ready for America on Stage that is this coming Saturday. She continues to clog every where she goes. She's also decided to finally read on the level she should be reading. She is a great reader (8th grade level) but has always sold herself short by reading crap like Diary's of a Wimpy Kid. Fortunately, I think she is passed that phase now. She is turning into a little lady and is beautiful. Too bad her attitude is still the preteen snot face kind still.

Erin has had a rough month. She had a cough that turned into bronchitis. It lasted for three weeks and through two antibiotics. Finally, after a steroid treatment, she could breath again. She's been a little beast because of the steroids, but at least she's not barking anymore. Her teacher had nothing but praise at SEP Conferences. She says Erin is full of energy and is always giggling. I say she is a spaz. I'm loving all the personality she has kept bottled up for 7 years and finally letting out.

We had originally planned on going to Mesquite for a soccer tournament over President's Day, but because Josh isn't playing, we stayed home and cleaned carpets. It was nice to get some pre-Spring cleaning done, but the kids were bored out of their minds. I decided to entertain Erin one day by doing a photo shoot with her. She is such a ham and I love it. Now if I can just get my other two to let me take pics of them... ha ha.

We had a new baby cousin join our family this week so I will be posting some cute pics of her soon. Congrats to Trevor and Jenn on their beautiful little Chloee. We are excited to have another new addition (especially since I am done providing that kind of entertainment for my kids).

My hatred for Science Fair Projects

I can't help it. I hate the science fair. As much as I hate Reflections projects. Emma did hers 99% on her own this year because it makes me ornery to do it/help (I took the pics). Teachers require students to participate, but the whole thing is rigged (just like Reflections) and if your mom isn't on the committee, you just get a ribbon for participating. Emma did five different experiments, took notes and pictures along the way, typed up her hypothesis (and all the other crap that's required) and made this cute display with the Cricut. She did get an interview and made it in the top 10 in fifth grade - and she was thrilled. I'm proud of her for putting so much effort into it and for doing such a great job. Booo! to all the kids that made cookies using different fats. We all know your mom made them.

Lynsee and I have been trying to find a way for Err and Bryn to play together more, but it's hard with Err being in school every day till 4 o'clock. We caved and decided to hit Kangaroo Zoo on a Saturday. It was busy, as to be expected, but they had so much fun. Emma had Riley come so that she would have a friend her age there. Riley thought we were actually going to see kangaroos at the zoo. Too funny.

Bryn kept sitting at the top of this slide and bouncing. She took another 2 year old out after he tried to push her down a few times. My kind of girl.

Emma had to take a minute to hold Mason after he woke up. He actually slept for almost two hours in his stroller. He must be a growing boy (ha ha).

Both Erin and Bryn were a little slide shy at first, but after an hour of going with the big girls they were warmed up.

The jump house collapsed a couple of times. Scary, but funny. Devin and I were standing back watching the first time - laughing at the chance that Lynsee might be in there. Sure enough, Emma, Riley and Bryn were in there when it went down so Lyns went in to save them.

Josh went a whole 7 days without crutches and then re-injured his hip. It's not easy  to get out of participating in Jr. High P.E. so after doing stairs, laps, sit ups, push ups, pull ups and then sprints- the hip "popped" again. He didn't have P.E. last semester so I hadn't given it much thought (as far as having him excused by the dr.).  This time we didn't waist any time and started physical therapy right away. Apparently, there is more than just a pulled/strained sartorious muscle (as originally diagnosed). If that is all that happened, he would be back to playing and in no pain. Unfortunately, he is still in a lot of pain and the physical therapist is not sure he can rule out a tear of some sort (possibly the labrum). Tomorrow we will find out if an MRI is necessary. In the meantime, he has missed a whole session of futsal and won't be able to play in the President's Cup in St. George. Poor kid. We found out (though all of his visits to the doc) that he has grown 2.5 inches since the middle of December. Dude. In order to keep his sanity, he is taking a reffing course to become certified so that he can ref games this summer. That will at least give him something to do (besides read Sherlock Holmes for honors english) until he is back to playing.

On a side note, this week is my last week as an AVID Tutor. I am transferring to Matheson Jr. High. I will be working with the Special Ed. department as a tracker and also doing some medical assisting. I'm super excited to be so close to home (sorry Cottonwood) and to double my hours. And, the principal at Matheson is great. I'm so excited to work with such a fun group of people. I will always be a supporter of the AVID Program and am sad about leaving it - all except for the part where I have to travel from school to school.

So there is our boring month all in one post.

Christmas Break/Fracture

On Friday, December 30 Josh played in a Futsal Tournament. He and Jer had been looking forward to this particular tourney for a while because Jer was coaching and Josh got to play a team that consisted of four of his friends from school. He usually doesn't get to play against them because they play in a different division. We played them the first game of the tournament and Josh was loving it. He was just coming back from a concussion two weeks ago and was finally able to play again without holding back.

Just into the second half, Josh went in the game to take a free shot. The field was a little bigger than our practice field and the ball was a heavier ball than he is used to. So, he really wound up and booted that thing straight for the goal. I watched him and the ball. The ball missed the goal by all of six inches. It was a beautiful kick and was the fourth one of this game for him. He was having a great game. However, just as he kicked the ball this time, I saw a look of pain on his face. He immediately turned to his dad and motioned to come out of the game. He hobbled off the field looking like he hurt his ankle. I ran over to the bench (which he hates) and I could see that he was not okay. He said his hip popped and he couldn't walk or sit. He is a tough kid and never cries. He was fighting it this time.

As I walked back over by all the parents, one mom told me that it could be an avulsion fracture. So I sat down and googled it on my phone. It sounded pretty right on.

 Before we knew it, the girls were at my moms and we were here:

We actually went to the Urgent Care Center straight from the game. They did an x-ray and referred us to PCMC for further tests. The doctor at the UC was concerned that it might be SCFE (which affects the growth plate in the hip and is BAD news - google it, you'll see). Fortunately, the doctors at PCMC ruled out SCFE and are pretty confident it is in fact an avulsion fracture. So now Josh looks like this:

(Pardon the crappy pics taken with my phone) He is on crutches for a while. We actually don't know how long. I hate it and it stresses me out. He is okay with it only because he got a special medical hall pass at school and gets to leave every class 5 minutes early.

This is him trying to do his drills with his crutches. What a die hard. He makes me smile. We go back to PCMC this Tuesday to see the Orthopedic Specialist and have more test done. Then we should know how long he will be on crutches and if physical therapy will fix it. Crazy, huh? He is a trooper though and nothing seems to get him down.