Who Did It?

I just want to let those of you who are wondering "Who" did the collage of Ashton, I did. I took the pictures yesterday and uploaded them all to Snapfish. There, I edited the photos and created the collage. So easy I'm impressed with myself.

Baby Skin

Food for thought - - - - - - - - -

My wonderful aunt shared this with me and it really struck a cord with me. I had to share.

Through the Window A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.'That laundry is not very clean', she said. 'She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap!'Her husband looked on, but remained silent.Everytime her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: 'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?'The husband said, 'I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.'And so it is with life. What we see when watching others, depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Why didn't someone tell me the truth about the laundry?

I never know what I will find when I upload pictures. Apparently Riley is putting on a puppet show for who ever is taking the pictures.

I wonder if Riley the "Puppet Cop" is the "Good Cop" or the "Bad Cop."

I wanted to share will all of you my accomplishments this weekend.

Laundry!!!!!

I really don't know how many loads I had done over the week but I had not folded anything until Sunday. I was too embarrassed to take a picture of that pile but I was proud of the folding. I really HATE laundry. Loathe it actually. I hate all the steps in laundry doing to. I especially hate folding it and putting it away. It is always interesting to see who's pile is bigger because that is the child that never has anything to wear and brings folded, "dirty" clothes to the laundry room. You know the pile of jeans that didn't make it in the drawers but got walked all over and covered with toys and crap so they can't find them when they need them.

I also want to let you know that this laundry does not include Chris, Ashton, or towels. I had started putting some away.

Now notice the floor. That is the piles of clothes that are going to DI or to someone else. They either don't fit, are stained or I don't want to wash again. I just have to say that I am so glad I finally have a laundry room that is not the hallway. Now I can use my bedroom.

Ashton

Our Cute Little Pumpkin We love the big blue eyes.

How sweet is that

Big brothers are great beds.

What would you do?

Yesterday as I was getting my bus ready to pick up kids, I was watching the junior high kids go to class. As a bunch of them came out the door and down the steps, a boy fell. He was laying on the ground and the other kids just stared. Some stepped on him, others just walked by looking at him. No one offered a hand up. He was obviously hurt a little too. I noticed another boy running across the court. It was apparent he was a friend coming to help. Still no one had helped at all yet. They all just stood by and watched. Finally a teacher comes and helps him up just as the friend gets there. I just watched all this progress and wondered why no one helped. What would you have done? Would it be different now since your grown up, or would it be the same as junior high?

Baby Story Nightmare #3

So while I was getting the first pint of blood, all the kids came to see me and we were visiting Ashton in the NICU. My hand with the IV was really hurting and I could see it starting to bruise. Well it wasn't just bruising, the blood was backing up into my hand and filling it up. It looked really gross. The nurses had to put in a new IV but my veins did not want to cooperate. They stuck me 3 times and then gave up and went to get someone else. He stuck me in the puffy bruised arm once and painfully. My arms looked like purple pin cushions. The rest of the night was fairly event less. I hung out with my mom and dad while they finished giving me the blood and I got to go feed Ashton whenever he woke up.

The next 2 days were very much the same. Sleep and feed the baby. Saturday they moved Ashton to the next floor with the other NICU babies that are doing lots better. He was totally off his oxygen and nursing really good. I was just waiting impatiently for the doctors to let him go to the regular nursery so I could have him in my room. My incision was draining alot and my doctor wanted me to stay an extra day. It worked out that Ashton's doctor kept him an extra day too. We headed home Monday.

Wednesday my wonderful sister took me and Ashton to our doctor's. Since he had had a hard time, his doctor wanted to touch base with us to see how things were at home. He gave him an "A-O-K". That was a relief.

When we got to my doctor, the plan was to see the doctor that did my surgeries and have her remove my staples. Some how they didn't get my appointment into the computer and I didn't have one. We waited awhile and they kept moving me from room to room. Finally I got to see the PA that assisted in surgery but the wound was so yucky she wanted me to wait and see one of the doctors. I was so tired and felt miserable. When they weighed me I was 15lbs heavier than I was the day before delivering Ashton. I couldn't fight the tears back. I had had so much fluid in the hospital that I was retaining water really bad. I had kankles. When Dr Robinson came in and removed the staples he saw how bad the incision really was. I still had a open hole in my stomach. He immediately sent me to Wound Care.

I felt like death as I walked into the hospital. Nichole was such a trooper. Loren was tired and ready to go home and Nichole never once complained. She just keep helping me. The physical therapist cleaned and bandaged me up and sent me on my way. I had to return the next morning, and keep coming everyday for the rest of the week. I couldn't drive since I was taking pain meds. The tears came again as I began to worry about how I would get there and not be a total pain in the ass for everyone else. Luckily I have a great sister who sincerely was worried about me and volunteered to drive me when I needed.

Over the next few days the Physical Therapists decided a Wound Vac would be the best option for healing me quickly. They ended up putting it in/on that Saturday. Over the next 2 weeks I continued to go to wound care 3 days a week. Nichole graciously took me every day. After the first couple days with the vac, my culture test came back showing that I had MRSA Staph infection and another bacteria. The doctor broke the news to me that the medicine I had to take was harmful to children and kept me from nursing while on in. I was okay with that since I wanted to get better but I cried every time I had to pump and everytime I had to give Ashton a bottle. I cried everytime he threw up too, since it was because of the formula. I just kept telling myself it was only 11 days. I didn't think this crap was ever going to end. I was still all poofy and retaining water. My legs were the same diameter all the way down to my feet.

I really started feeling better once on the antibiotics but the 11 days drug on forever. My wound was healing fast too. That was untill the smell. I kept smelling poop. I knew someone had poopy pants. I made Chris check Lizzie, nothing. I thought for sure then it was him. NOPE it was me. My wound dressing was nasty. Come to find out I had yeast growing in the wound and around it. It was so gross. I guess it is common when air can't get in. And the vac dressing was water and air tight. Not only did I have a vacuum hooked to my stomach but I smelled like a poopy diaper!!!! It was awful.

Well they got the yeast under control and the vac was doing it's job I was actually starting to feel better. Last Friday, the 4th, I went to wound care and told them to take the vac off. I was so sick of it. When I would open the oven it would fall in, when I got up I would forget it and get caught. The wound had healed so much it was only superficial and the vac was ready to come off. Now I have just been going to have the dressing changed 2-3 days a week and on Monday they told me I may be done Thursday.

YEAH!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!

I am finally getting back to normal.

Princess Tea Party

Lizzie's Princess Tea Party was a blast. She is turing the big "4" .

Lizzie's cake was this adorable tower of "pink" cupcakes. They were so fun to make and taste as good as they look. She loved them and loved the sprinkles.

Since she is the only girl, I had to endulge her (and me) with a Princess Tea Party. The girls loved all the little finger foods.

Blowing out the candles was the high light of the party. There is nothing like being the center of attention. Especially since it was someone else besides her brothers.