The End of an Era

Today is the day that Kate gave up her pacifiers. We've been talking about it for a while, and this morning we just decided to go for it. She carried them outside and put them in the big garbage can, and in a little while the garbage men will come and take them away for ever.

She was rather nonchalant about the whole thing. No tears (At least on her part. I might have gotten a little teary-eyed. She's growing up so fast! This is one of the last links to her babyhood. Or maybe it's allergies. Yeah, it's allergies. Yup), She just tossed them in, and said, "I have a treat now, okay? I eat some meh-nem-in-ehms? (M&Ms) And watch Paw Patrol?"

Megan and Jared were also paci kids, but William hasn't ever been interested. He has been a thumb sucker from the start. Now that Kate is done with them, we are 100% paci free.

(Ask me how I feel about all this at nap time when she freaks and has a complete meltdown...)

Playing Pretend

So, my friend Jen is pretending to sell her house. Why? Because she imagines that she is building a new house somewhere else. I am sure it's all pretend.

She's even got a pretend listing in HAR: http://search.har.com/engine/3015-Providence-Oak-St-Houston-TX-77084_HAR20709414.htm. Doesn't that look awesome? She really goes all out when she pretends.

No, I am NOT in denial.

Why do you ask?

I'm just going to sit here and eat the rest of the Girl Scout cookies that I've hidden in the back of the freezer and maybe this pint of ice cream and cover my ears with my hands and sing la la la la la I can't hear you la la la la la! Because I'm mature like that.

In case you are wondering, it is a really nice house in a really nice neighborhood. And I am happy for her as she plays make-believe.

Although, she keeps putting things in boxes, and it's getting harder and harder to know she's just pretending.

Sigh......

Kate's Quilt

Okay, I just have to brag a little. It's my blog, I'm allowed to do that, right?

Okay, here goes......

I finished Kate's quilt.

..... (crickets) ......

Did you hear me? I said I FINISHED Kate's quilt. 


Yes, that's right. It is DONE! I finished it! It's bound and it's wrapped and it's on top of the entertainment center with all the other gifts. (What? Isn't that where normal people store their Christmas presents?) I am amazing, y'all. Simply amazing.

Thanks to Charlotte for teaching me to sew (okay, she taught me to sew-ish. I can't actually claim to sew...) And thanks to Jen for helping me actually quilt it. (And for the excuses to ignore our kids parent from a distance and eat ice cream.) And to Holly and Alison for not laughing (too loudly) at me when I said I was making a quilt And for the advice on how to bind it. And thanks especially to the super talented Syndee Nuckles and Angie Briggs from ScrapGirls.com for their darling scrapbooking collections Hoot and Annie and Young At Heart which I based all of the owls and mushrooms and flowers on. Scrapbooking products aren't just for scrapbooks, people. :D

Early Indoctrination, Anyone?

Travis graduated from the University of Utah. I can't remember if he bought this outfit when Jared was a baby or if it was a gift, but either way, I remember Jared being dressed in it quite often whenever Travis got him dressed.

Now it fits William (well, sort of - it's been so warm until recently, William is almost too big for it now!). Do you think we are raising some UofU fans?

I tried to do some comparison shots - Jared vs. William, but the ages are too different too work well (Jared is 4 months in these pictures, and William is 9 months). I will say that I've become a much better photographer in the past 7 years.

William - 9 months

Jared - 4 months (I LOVE his surprised expression in these pictures. They crack me up!)

Oh, and just for full disclosure, I routinely wake Jared up by singing the Cougar Fight Song, so I guess Travis isn't the only one guilty of indoctrination.

Happy Fiftieth Day of School

To celebrate the fiftieth day of school, the PTA put on a Sock Hop for the kids and their families. We had a lot of fun dressing up and getting ready, and then dancing and playing games. Megan and Jared thought it was fun to see their teachers and friends dressed up too.

It's Halloween!

Kate has been saying "It's Hallo-WEEEEN!!!!!" to everyone she meets for the past month. She was so excited when we told her that it finally actually was Halloween.

We went to two Trunk-r-Treats this year, one at the kids' school, and one at the church. They had a blast dressing up and hanging out with their friends.

Kate and William went as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. They were so cute!

 I think this may be my favorite Halloween picture this year. Tinkerbell is always a little pouty,

 and that is exactly how Katelyn was being when I was trying to take pictures of her. 

William was pretty excited to get his first taste of Halloween candy. Sticky, but happy.

Megan was a Southern Belle this year. I don't have a picture of her whole dress, but it was floor length, complete with hoops.

Jared went as Harry Potter last year, and this year he wanted to be Hagrid. We had a fun time hunting at Goodwill to find pieces for his costume, and he helped me make the wig/beard.

The kids elementary school has a pumpkin decorating contest every year. The rules say that it has to be a book character. This year Megan chose The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We cut pieces out of tissue paper and modge-podged them to the pumpkin. It was a lot of fun.

Anna 2.0 - Post 3

Here's a very asymmetrical selfie on my way to my first filling appointment

Going the implant route on one side and the DIEP flap route on the other has given me an interesting perspective. The flap surgery was hard. The initial recovery was hard. It was a LONG time to be in the hospital. Physically it took a lot out of me. But emotionally, I think it was easier because from the first time I took off the compression bra, I could see the results. I had breasts that looked pretty normal, minus the nipple (where the nipple would be is a flat round piece of skin that used to be part of my tummy) and one incision underneath the breast. They were bruised and sore, but really didn't look that bad. They felt like breasts. It was a done thing. Having to go back in for another surgery was really hard on me physically. I don't think a normal implant reconstruction would have been so hard, but back to back surgeries were exhausting. And emotionally I know that the implant process has been harder.

If you aren't familiar with implants, basically during surgery the doctor puts an uninflated balloon (called a spacer) under the muscle. After you heal a bit from the surgery, they start filling the spacer with saline. Before the filling process, it's a hot mess. All wrinkled and bunched up and hard and lumpy. My plastic surgeon compared getting an implant to an uninflated beach ball.

The first time I saw myself without all the dressings and compression bra on, I sat and cried for almost an hour. It was bad, y'all. Mostly because it wasn't what I had planned for, what I was expecting. But it really is getting better. I've been filled three times now, and although I'm still a bit asymmetrical, it's getting better. Dr. Hsu promises that it will all be okay eventually.

The filling process is an experience all in it's self. I have quite a bit of feeling in the flap side, but the implant side has almost none. When I get filled, basically the stab a big fat needle through my breast into the spacer. And then I lay there for 15 long minutes while a nurse squeezes saline from a bag (like an IV bag) through the needle. It doesn't really hurt while she's doing it but I am afraid of needles and can't bear to watch. I usually babble as fast as possible about anything that comes into my head. Dr. Hsu's poor nurse probably knows more about me and my kids than anyone would want to.

People said that this process was harder on them emotionally than they expected. I would have to agree. It's difficult to look at myself and not feel like Frankenstein's monster. The spacer is rock hard. Snuggling with my kids or holding the baby doesn't feel right on that side.  Bras don't fit right. Clothes don't fit right. It's frustrating to finally get feeling good and then go back in to get filled again and hurt again. Over and over.

But even though it's been hard, and hasn't gone the way I planned, I am still 100% sure that I made the right decisions for me and for my family.

That's all for now. I'll be having another two surgeries - hopefully one in October to replace the spacer with the permanent implant, and one in December for all the final reconstruction touch-ups, so I will post more about them later.