Clarkston

I got the girls up and out the door with my parents to church. Then I madly finished up my talk. I was just too tired last night to finish it coherently. Then a quick bath with/for Jacob and off the Clarkston we went. (The stake presidency asked the wives to speak with their high council husbands because it is February and the topic was Husbands and Wives have a solemn responsibility to love and care for one another.)

Our talks went well. Dave really has some talent in that area and I'd worked hard on mine too. We sure got a lot of compliments. I thought I'd recognize a few folks, but I was surprised at how many people I knew.

When we got home the real work began. JT had Marky's arm immobilizers on and strapped together in front. I thought it was dreadful. Then I had to take care of Mark. He is Harry Houdini. Holy Cow! He did OK in the afternoon in his high chair, but once Dave left for the teacher fireside, he was a wild man. For two hours the girls and I wrestled with him. I even gave him a dose of benedryl a couple hours early. It worked! He went to sleep...for 10 minutes, then woke up more wired than ever. Oh My! I was exhausted and my back was hurting again. I'm pretty sure I completely understand the immobilizers strapped together and I think I'd've understood them strapped together and strapped to the crib walls.

Finally at 9:30 he fell asleep. He needs rest. And no more loritab. He keeps throwing up and his digestive system is having a hard time getting going again. Poor guy. Hopefully things will continue to improve. But I'm not looking forward to 12-4 (my shift). I just know it's going to be a lot of hard work.

BTW, he doesn't seem to be in pain, just annoyed. It must feel weird. He keeps shaking his head no every few minutes. Maybe his equilibrium is messed up too. And he claws at the dressing. I don't dare remove it because I'm afraid he'd claw at his ear as well. And that would NOT be good.

No school tomorrow. Maybe Tuesday, we'll see.

What a LONG ride home.

Jacob slept pretty well. I fed him at midnight and he woke again at 3. I could tell my back was hurting from all the sitting in uncomfortable chairs and I'd slept on it funny. I took some Bayer back and body and started feeding Jacob. But my back was still uncomfortable, so I laid down next to Jacob. Then I was in trouble. I couldn't move--it hurt too much! I called out to Dave and he took Jacob. I just laid gently on my back til 5:30 when I my alarm rang. By then the medicine had kicked in and I could move.

We made it to Marky's room by 7, but the resident had already been by, pulled the drains, and said he could go home...as long as Dr. Muntz agreed. We waited a couple of hours for Dr. Muntz to call him and OK it. Then getting packed up took forever. I know we got all that stuff in the car for the trip down, but wow!

Finally we were on our way home. I sat in the back between Jacob and Marky. Primarily to protect Jacob. But that meant Marky spent the time whacking me with the bead curtain and slapping my leg or whacking me in the head with his arm immobilizers. It felt like 3 hours before we were home. And Jacob was hungry. I could feed him, but I couldn't take him out and burp him or change him. So he would just get grunty and uncomfortable and I couldn't do anything about it.

I was so relieved to get home.

And I started working on my talk.

2 kids at the hospital

So I slept from 1am to 3am when Jacob wanted to be fed again. Then I napped for about 20 minutes before it was time to go. Dave packed everything. I sat in the back between Marky and Jacob's car seat. I would've slept on the way, but Dave hadn't slept at all, so I was worried he would fall asleep on the way down. I stayed awake and kept him talking.

Once we finally found the same day surgery center, we were treated like royalty...or lepers. They whisked us into our own waiting room. Dave was parking, I was carrying Jacob, pulling Marky and all the stuff in a wagon...all that I couldn't carry over my shoulder. Crazy!

It wasn't too long before Jacob was ready to eat. Dave and I passed him back and forth while we helped ready Marky for surgery...hold him while they did his IV...put on his gown&jammies...put a big X on his ear...etc.

Then they took Marky into the OR and we went to the waiting room...and waited...and waited...and waited...the surgery was scheduled to last 4.5 hours. But they thought it might be shorter. It wasn't. In fact it might have been longer. Jacob slept in the car seat next to me. Dave slept in the waiting room chair on my other side. I was supposed to be designing. But I was too stressed to design. Mostly I just chatted online.

Eventually they took us back to the recovery room. Marky was doing fine. Hurting some. They were giving him pain meds. He looked so cute: they had made a "ski mask" out of stockinette to cover his head so his dressings would stay on (and he couldn't get them off)

By late afternoon he was hurting again, so I asked them to get orders for more pain medication. They got some, but it took long enough that I put him on my lap in the rocking chair and rocked him. He settled down. So we did loritab rather than morphine. I'd been awake and sitting for so long I thought my behind would fall off.

They didn't plan to take care of him overnight. They planned on a nurse at the desk, but they expected us to actually take care of him. It took a while, but I insisted they bring someone in who would only be responsible for him. By 8 pm we finally left the hospital. We drove to Bountiful for a hotel we could afford, found some dinner at Village Inn and crashed in our room.

Juggling everything

I finished the "big picture" for Dave. (Where we need to spend our money.) Now he can do his part: what money we have to spend. And I was finished with work around 2pm. Oh, and the best part? We are official with both CUIC and Progressive. John sold the first two policies this week. Woo Hoo! Bad news: Teri with Bear River said no. Well, we'll just have to find other options.

I had camp meetings tonight. I managed to get tatertot casserole cooked and served before my meeting. It was another long one. I was home by 10 pm. I felt bad that I don't have the tie dye stuff done. Need to get on that right away. As usual Jacob just slept cuddled in my lap the whole time. Girls' camp is going to be awesome.

When I got home I got to start preparing for Marky's surgery. We are going to SLC to stay over while Mark stays over at the hospital. I had to make arrangements for Natalie to work on an extra credit project at the theater, and work out a ride for Emily to ward ski night. While washing a couple batches of clothes, I helped Nat with homework, then fed Jacob at midnight. Then sent my newsletter and packed my suitcase and crawled into bed about 1am.

Emily's SEOP

I raced around this morning to get out the door in time for Emily's SEOP. And I'm not sure why. It was the usual "you have lots of options for careers...there are lots of opportunities for you..."

I thought she was registering for 8th grade. Seriously. Waste of time. She registers TOMORROW. But I can come back if I like?

Jakey was great during the meeting. He started squeaking a little, so I took him out of the seat to cuddle with him. He loves to be held.

And it made me late for work.

I've been finishing up work almost on time this week. It's nice to be done by 1 or 2. Makes me feel like I am doing a better job as a Mom.

Much ado about nothing

So late morning I got a call from A Act of Love. Isaac would be calling instead of coming. LOL! All that work...and stress...for nothing. But what a relief!

The kids didn't come to the office today. We were supposed to hurry home and clean our rooms. Which is what they did. THEN I told them he wasn't coming.

I was paranoid about his call. For no reason. It only took 5 minutes. Max. He just asked about what kind of formula, how much, how long he sleeps, what the kids think of him, just the usual. I told him I was afraid they'd take him away. That I'm doing my very best and Jakey is doing great. He laughed at me. And that was it. He says he only has to come once and he'll do that in March. Phew!