.

As parents, we hear our children talk all the time.  Today's reminds me that I need to take the time to truly listen so I don't miss moments like this.

Jack was watching the snow fall heavy outside our window.  He had been quietly watching for a long time.  He says without turning away from the view, "Sometimes the snow makes me cry"  I asked him why and he replied, "It's beautiful"

The beauty of that thought process makes me cry.  Happy tears for a boy that I wasn't sure would ever talk.

If you thought I meant a really cool recipe, I am sorry.

We have been in collusion, the ex husband and I. Keeping a secret from my children is NOT easy. I am just bad at keeping secrets, I let things slip, I forget that it even is a secret. But for five long weeks, I managed it. The ex was giving out little hints here and there. Telling one boy that the DS he left behind in the summer would arrive on the 25th. When another asked over the phone what he was going to eat on Thanksgiving, the ex said, "the same thing as you!" He told one boy that when he missed Papi on Thanksgiving, he would be right beside him. Nobody caught on...hehehehe.

The boys dad was coming for Thanksgiving and they had no idea. Today, while we were all busy cooking and eating and parade watching, my dad left saying he had to go home and check on the dogs. Mom threw out, "take a shower while you are there" Overkill much mom? She makes me giggle.

A trip to the airport and back later, he walks in on our unsuspecting boys. I LOVE it when a plan comes together!!

Every night as Jack falls to sleep, he sings and talks.  Most of the time it is nonsense or phrases from his favorite shows.  Lately, it is the Beatles.  I present to you the audio of my newest favorite.

As a teen I broke my nose during band practice.  I was in the guard and we were throwing rifles and boom, I missed.  Well, not missed exactly, I just caught it with my face.  I popped in back in place on the spot in panic.  It felt like it was lying down on my cheek.  I swelled and suffered, but refused to go to the doc for it.

It healed a bit crooked, but it has never bothered me.  I really only notice it in pictures.

comes an early morning LOUD serenade. I love his song choice, but he has got to turn down the volume until the coffee is brewed.

Nico is still in recovery, but done with his surgery.  The surgeon said the abscess was a bit larger than a golf ball, but cleaned out well.  He did have a fistula running into his colon, but he closed that up.  I am in the room waiting for them to bring my boy back to me!

He is going to have a painful recovery, but not as painful as it was before surgery.  He is a trooper that is for sure. 

Nico is scheduled for surgery to remove/drain the abscess at 2pm.  They say we will be allowed to go home afterwards.  I hope we are home for dinner, but I suspect it may be more like 8 or 9pm.  He is doped up and resting well.  I am not sure what the aftercare will be like yet, but I am dreading the discomfort and pain I know he will continue to feel until it completely heals.

Thanks for the well wishes!!

This post contains much bum, butt, rear info.  You have been warned. 

My oldest son, Nico, has been having pain since Saturday.  It has gotten worse over time and evolved into a perirectal abscess.  Poor guy hasn't been able to sit or walk right for several days.  An ER visit last night found no cause for his pain and we were sent home.  A doc appt today found a small lump.  She said she would refer us to a colorectal surgeon for diagnosis.  By 5pm, he was miserable and a large swelling had formed.  He also developed a fever.  Back to the ER we went.  The thing had more than quadrupled in a 5 hour span. 

He has been admitted for the night and is on morphine and IV antibiotics.  He is sleeping ok now.  Tomorrow, the specialist will see him and decide how to drain it.  He might be facing a trip to the operating room. 

I am exhausted.  I had my second migraine on Tuesday.  I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night after our first ER trip.  I know I won't sleep tonight. 

It stinks when our kids are hurting. 

There isn't much going on here except school school school!  School is going well.  I got a 99 on my last paper!  Because I am so dang proud of myself, I feel a need to post my professor's comments.


10/10 Mechanics



20/20 Composition


9/10 References


60/60 Content & Organization






VERY well done, Monica! The ONLY area of concern is the reference page. For


the most part, they are compliant. However, I would encourage you to check the


citation generator the college has in the virtual library to see if you can


determine where your mistakes are. Here's a hint..."the devil is in the


details"
Let me know what questions you have or if you can't determine where the errors


are. Thanks!
 
That makes a girl feel good, I tell ya!

After Jack's birthday party we left to visit Kindleberger Park. It was the last night of their summer concert series. We were so excited because one of the coolest Beatles tribute bands was playing. They are called Shout and were amazing!

Three years ago, my fourth son was born.  You may remember that we were told he was a girl.  He has brought so much joy to all of our lives.  Happy Birthday, Jack!!

Today, go cart adventure was more like bumper cars!!

Nico, my oldest son had his wisdom teeth removed yesterday.  He did very well and so far doesn't have too much swelling or bruising.  He does however have the hiccups.  All.  Day.  Long.

He had them before he woke up because he dreamed that his brother had a snake that had the hiccups.  I noticed he had them right away.  We have tried every home remedy with poor results.  He has now had them for at least 12 hours.  He also has terrible heartburn. 

I figure the heart burn might be from the ibuprophen or antibiotic.  I thought maybe the vicodin was causing the hiccups.  When you google hiccups and vicodin you get many many results and most of them mention wisdom tooth removal surgery.

It is crazy to think that having your wisdom teeth out could trigger persistant hiccups.  Some sites theorize it is due to the general anesthesia.  Some guess it is because the throat and neck are manipulated in the surgery.  Some wonder if it is the vicodin.  If they are not gone by morning we are off to the doctor.  I read more than a few cases where they hiccups lasted for weeks.  He is NOT going through that.  Poor kid has enough to handle just healing from the surgery.

Have you ever heard of such a thing??

This past week I went back to school.  After a semester and a half of land based school kicking my butt I have changed directions.  I am now attending an online university.  I have to be truthful and say I have always looked at online universities as "not so good" or maybe along the lines of correspondence school.  Some in depth research proved me wrong.  I took a workshop class prior to my first actual class and discovered an amazing wealth of resources.  My degree will also be viewed as just as good as a degree earned in a bricks and mortar school.  Man, how times have changed.

Along with researching this for myself I had to make a huge decision for the kids education.  My two older boys were failing.  My incredibly intelligent gifted children were making terrible grades.  I was ready to pull them out for homeschooling again. 

I then found out about a online public charter school.  WHAT??  Free online accredited school?  Color me impressed.  My sons will be beginning their first semester in September at Connections Academy.  We went through an extensive application process and were accepted.  My oldest will have to repeat a few classes, but can do summer school to catch up and graduate with his class in 2014. 

I am hoping that with all four of us schooling at home we will be able to reach the potential I know is in there somewhere.

Last October, I noticed Jack doing this hard blinking thing.  I monitored it for a bit then managed to catch it on video.  I uploaded it to youtube to see if other parents thought I should be concerned.  I got a few comments and most were asking me what did they doctor say.

Well, I didn't take him to the doctor.  I read that an eye blink twitch wasn't uncommon and usually just goes away with time.

The eye blink thing comes and goes and I haven't been able to discern a pattern.  It was only when he began doing a shoulder shrug type of twitch that I got truly concerned.  A visit to the pediatrician today was in order.  Sadly, are regular lady wasn't available so we had to see a brand new doctor.  She was great and was able to view his youtube video.  She consulted with the pediatrician on call and both said that medication was available, but not warrented unless the tics were interfering with his activities.  They are not, he is blissfully unaware of them.  They say that most kids outgrow these types.

So I will keep my eye on his royal twitchyness and try not to be worried.  Sounds good to me.

 Several tornados blew through our area this afternoon.  We got lucky here.  Only one tree down and the fence might not even be damaged.  There is another storm heading here, but I am not sure if it is as strong.  Its a crazy day in Michigan!

Today we went to the Silver Leaf Renaissance Faire.  It was a first time experience for the boys and I.  What a great time!


The entertainment was constant and really good!  We especially enjoyed The Rogues.  They were so entertaining that I bought a CD.