Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Friday, November 20, 2009

And here I thought all she had was a box

I think it was my mom who told me about it.

My cousin Casandra told her about it.

And I have no idea who told her.

Regardless, I'm telling you, if you don't already know.

It is awesome.

Free Internet radio where you get to pick the artists and/or the genres.

Go to http://www.pandora.com/ and sign up. It's free, and they don't flood your inbox with any spam.

There are preset stations, but I'm not all about that.

I like to create my own.

If, for instance, you're a huge Miley Cyrus fan (which I'm not), you can create a Miley Cyrus station. They will play Miley songs and songs from similar artists.

But let's say that you like Miley, but really only her country-sounding stuff. So you can create a Miley Cyrus/Carrie Underwood station to get more of that sound.

Get the picture? You can even rename them to your liking.

It is true, however, that there is no such thing as a free lunch. There are some drawbacks.

Namely these, that I found on the FAQ page of Pandora:

Q: Can I hear a specific song right away? Can I create a playlist of certain songs or artists? Can I rewind or replay a song?

Our music licenses do not allow us to play a specific song immediately, or "on demand."

We cannot play more than four songs by an artist in a three-hour period, and each artist may play even less often than that. Also, our music licenses do not permit limiting a Pandora station to only certain songs or artists: we must include other similar songs and artists on each Pandora station.

Finally, you cannot rewind, or immediately replay, any song played by Pandora.

On the plus side, these very restrictions have helped shape what we believe to be one of the finest music discovery and exploration services in existence.

Q: Can I "skip" as many songs as I like?

Due to the terms of our music licenses, we must constrain the number of "skips" -- the number of times you move on to a new song in any of these ways:
* giving a song "Thumbs Down,"
* using the "skip" button, or
* choosing "I'm tired of this song" from the menu between the "Thumbs."

There are two types of skip limits:
* All Pandora listeners are limited to 6 skips per hour, per station.
* Listeners to the free Pandora service are limited to 12 total skips per day, across all stations.

To conserve skips, you may give a song "Thumbs Down" or select "I'm tired of this song" after it has finished playing. You only use up a skip if you use these features on a song that is still currently playing.

Q: Is Pandora free?

Yes.

Registering for Pandora will provide you with a free, advertising-supported Pandora account. You are never required to pay anything to use Pandora.

However, free Pandora accounts will only play 40 hours of music for free per month, then the music will stop. Once that happens, you will have the option to pay 99 cents for unlimited listening hours for the rest of that month, or else to come back the following month for another free 40 hours. Each month where you hit this limit, you'll have the same choice. We never bill you after the fact, nor do we charge you automatically, or anything sneaky like that. If you're giving us money, you'll know each time-- each payment will be up-front and initiated on your end via credit card.

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There are more FAQ here: http://blog.pandora.com/faq/

Anyway, here are my stations. I'm not embarrassed.

Harry Connick, Jr.--This one speaks for itself. I don't need anyone else influencing my songs on this station.

Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston/Boyz II Men--There is an option to choose Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston separately, but I prefer the option where they are already linked together. That way, I'm more likely to get songs from each of these power ballad singers that sound similar. (Basically Mariah Carey until about 1996...)

Billy Joel/Paul McCartney--Strange combo? Perhaps. But it works.

Debbie Gibson/New Kids on the Block--Sigh...what can I say? I love this stuff.

Lisa Loeb/Roxette/The Cranberries--For when I'm feeling a little edgy.

Bette Midler/Linda Ronstadt & The Nelson Riddle Orchestra--The only real Ronstadt I like...big band, standards, kind of swooning music. I always knew I was falling for a guy when I would start listening to a lot of this. I called it "being in a Linda Ronstadt mood."

Bryan White/Collin Raye/John Michael Montgomery-For a little late 90s country love songs. I think I know all the words to all their songs. :)

Richard Marx--I make no excuse for this one. My brother Michael and I love Richard Marx. Our spouses both hate him, and tease us relentlessly. We don't care. We know. You've got to... hold on to the nights...hold on to the memories...

Casting Crowns/Chris Rice/Phillips, Craig, & Dean/Rita Springer/Selah--Pretty much my favorite Christian artists all lumped in together.

*NSYNC/Backstreet Boys/Britney Spears--Because some of us actually admit that we enjoy this music. ;)

Dionne Warwick/Lionel Richie/Stevie Wonder--Oh, yeah, baby. Love me some of this.

Jason Mraz/Maroon 5/Matchbox 20--This is good stuff, too.

Modern Country (I named it)--Artists include: Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley (my personal favorite), Craig Morgan, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts (also a top choice), Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw (my all-time favorite from way back when until now).

Pop Holiday (again, named by me)--Now, for holiday songs, you have to select the option where the artist has the word "holiday" (in parentheses) behind his/her name. My artists for this category are: *NYSNC (Holiday), Mariah Carey (Holiday), Faith Hill (Holiday), Britney Spears (Holiday).

Traditional Holiday (named by me)--Artists include: Andy Williams (Holiday), Bette Midler (Holiday), Harry Connick, Jr. (Holiday), Carpenters (Holiday), Nat King Cole (Holiday)

And there you have it, folks!

Do yourself a favor and go create some Pandora stations!

**As I was listening to my Richard Marx station tonight, I was struck by the awesomeness of the songs that were playing. I thought I would share a sample playlist. (Though Pandora says that no two stations will play the same songs, even if they are built the same, which is kind of cool.)

Sadly, five songs into the station, no Richard Marx song has played yet. But since they can only play four songs by the same artist in a three-hour period, it's okay to space it out. (Plus, Matthew is in here with me, and he's glad that the mullet man has not yet appeared in the playlist.)

But here are the songs we have enjoyed so far:

"Throwing It All Away" by Genesis
"The Heart of the Matter" by Don Henley
"I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" by Chicago (Matthew and I were rocking OUT to this one!)
"These Dreams" by Heart
"Hands to Heaven" by Breathe (HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THIS SONG? It totally reminds me of a White Water trip on a bus in the 7th grade with the Boy Scouts....don't ask....LOL)

As you can see, there is much variety yet not. I love it.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Three of my best recipes

Around this time of year, I start getting requests for my green bean casserole recipe, and I actually already have.

I can't really take credit for it...I found it in 2003 in an Ingles' grocery store weekly ad. It caught my eye because it contained ingredients that do a body good.

Like sour cream.

And shredded parmesan cheese.

And lots of those crunchy French fried onions.

You know, with a few green beans thrown in for good measure.

Here is the recipe:

Not Your Grandma's Green Bean Casserole (I made up that title b/c it's a lot different.)

4 cans green beans, drained very well (I prefer Del Monte French Style, but you could use the cut ones, too.)

1 cup shredded parmesan (Not grated, but shredded--there's a big difference!)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups (16 oz) sour cream

2 cans French Fried Onions (You can just use one, but let's be honest: this is the best part of g.b. casserole!)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine soup, sour cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Fold in green beans (drained well but uncooked). Stir in one can of French Fried onions if you prefer to use lots. Then top the rest with the other can. (Or if you're just using one can, top it with that one.) Cover with foil in a 9x13 dish and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until warm.

This recipe is actually doubled but fills a regular-sized baking dish just fine. If you're only cooking for a few people, you could probably half it. This is the only dish I was personally responsible for this year at Thanksgiving, and we had nine people. I made one on Thanksgiving and then made one the next day to eat with the leftovers. (It's so easy to assemble that I just made it fresh the next day; I don't think it would be great to make ahead of time b/c of the onions.)

Warning: This dish is cheesy and fattening and creamy and delicious.

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Then there are my sausage balls:

Sausage Balls (I know that at least down South everyone makes sausage balls and though I love them, most people's I've had are too hard and dry and the pieces of sausage are too big. I found this recipe a few years ago and it's much better than the standard one I used to use. I think it's the added water and that the sausage is broken up really small. Oh, and I don't overcook them.)

1 lb. sausage (I prefer mild, but you could use hot if you're a freak like my SIL. Hee hee)

3 cups Bisquick

4 cups shredded cheese

3/4 cup water

Brown sausage; drain and cool. Combine all ingredients. Roll into small balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 11 minutes. Reheat at 350 for 20 minutes.

The key to getting these perfect is three things:

1. Break the sausage up super tiny after you cook it. We're talking itty bitty pieces here. I actually cook it normally and then after I drain it I put it in a big bowl and add my Bisquick. Then I spend forever with my hands in the sausage and Bisquick, breaking up the sausage into miniscule little pieces before adding the cheese and then the water.

2. Add all the ingredients and then the water. It should roll together well. If it's too sticky, add a little more Bisquick. If it won't roll, add some more water. The consistency has to be right.

3. Don't cook them too long!!! Things tend to harden when they're on the cooling rack. The sausage is already cooked, so you're not going to get sick if you take them out when they're not quite done and then they finish cooking on the rack.

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The last recipe is for Cake Cookies. These are SOOO good. Just don't expect them to last very long!

Cake Cookies

(Yields 40-45 cookies)

1 (18.25 oz) Duncan Hines cake mix (I prefer a yellow cake mix.)

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup old-fashioned oats

1 (3.4 oz) package of cheesecake instant pudding

¾ cup M&Ms

¼ cup water (slightly more for a chocolate cake mix for some reason)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients together. Stir well. (I find it better to mix all the ingredients together well and then add the M&Ms. Otherwise, the colors in the M&Ms smear into the batter.)

3. Refrigerate dough for at least 10 minutes. I actually prefer to make it a few hours earlier. Then it's so much easier to mold.

4. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

5. Mold the dough into small balls on the cookie sheet (about 1 Tbsp each).

6. Bake for ten minutes. Cookies will be soft but will harden as they cool. (I find that the first cookie sheet takes about 10 ½ minutes, yet all the ones after it take right at 10 minutes.)

7. Wait about two minutes before transferring cookies onto cooling rack.

8. Repeat with remainder of dough, refrigerating the dough when not using it. Be sure to cool the cookie sheet before using again or alternate between two cookie sheets.

You can really do this however you want. You can use any variety of cake mix, any variety of instant pudding, omit the oats, substitute the M&Ms for Reese's Pieces, or whatever. I have also made these with a chocolate cake mix, but for some reason, the yellow cake cookies just taste better! Also, I know that after 10 minutes, the cookies still seem very soft. They are. They’re supposed to be. They’re cake. And they will harden as they cool. Trust me. They stay soft for days and days. If they last that long. Which they won’t.

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Okay, now that you're really hungry, get thee to the store!

Good news and bad news

The good news is that Benjamin's chest x-ray looked much better than last week! The pneumonia is just about gone.

The bad news is that all the congestion and fussiness is from an upper respiratory infection that he has developed. He sounded really bad at the doctor's office, but after listening to his chest, the physician's assistant said that it sounded like it was all in upper part of his chest/throat. He had a low-grade fever at the doctor's office, too, which he hasn't had at home so far.

We're supposed to finish the augmentin and do breathing treatments as needed.

And all we can really do for the upper respiratory thing is to use the bulb syringe as needed and use a cool-mist humidifier.

Which we don't have. So I need to go get one.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Augmentin, Amoxicillin, Albuterol, Pneumatoceles, and other terms I wish I didn't know



Last week, I heard it.

The dreaded chest congestion when Benjamin breathes.

The same kind he had in June/July when he was diagnosed with pneumonia. That led to a swallow study, where it was determined that he aspirates on thin liquids. We have had to thicken all his liquids (which is basically just milk for him) ever since. His milk is the consistency of runny yogurt. The only good that came from that (besides the obvious, that he was no longer drinking his milk down into his lungs) was that it allowed him to transition from a bottle to a sippy cup.

When he had pneumonia in the summer, we could hear the raspiness in his chest for a few weeks before we did anything about it.

Why?

Well, he seemed to feel fine, he was simultaneously cutting some teeth, and I figured it was just related to that. I mean, who gets pneumonia in the middle of the summer?

When I finally called his doctor (have I mentioned that I love her?), she sent us to outpatient to get a chest x-ray. The results? Pneumonia.

I really shouldn't have been surprised. And, of course, I felt like a bad mommy for waiting all that time. Benjamin is such a trooper that it really takes a lot to knock him down. Plus, if some of you old-school readers remember from last October, they found a large pneumatocele in his right lung during his open-heart surgery. It's basically an air-filled cavity that is usually caused by some sort of illness, but B had never been sick before his was discovered. We were told to just keep an eye on it, that it may cause problems later.

I guess it's later.

So last summer, when he was diagnosed with pneumonia, he was put on amoxicillin for ten days, breathing treatments w/albuterol for several days (three times a day basically), and Thick-It (for his milk) indefinitely. The chest congestion cleared up within a matter of days.

There wasn't a fever that I remember, nor any other symptoms that made me think he was sick.

Yet ever since then, when I've had to go to various doctors, and had to answer, "Has anything changed in his medical history," and I've mentioned the pneumonia, the next question is always, "Was he hospitalized?"

No, he barely acted sick.

But this time is a different story.

Still no fever. Nothing that (I pray) will require hospitalization.

But he's just not himself.

He had just gotten over that horrid Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease that nearly drove us both to the edge.

We had about three days of smiles and belly laughs.

Then...the sound.

It's like when the "check engine" light comes on in your vehicle.

You know there certainly isn't any good that will come of it, and you simply can't ignore it and hope it goes away. (At least not this time, LOL.)

I waited a couple of days just because I hate to run to the doctor with every cough. In fact, I had asked her two weeks earlier about Andrew's cough that he'd had for two weeks. She had told me that if there was no fever and he felt fine, then it was probably nothing. Kids cough this time of year, and it's usually nothing. And it was nothing. He's fine.

But he's Andrew. No pneumatocele. No prior pneumonia. Nothing like that.

Let me stop right here to say that I really, really love our doctor. I have friends in real life and on the Internet who have children with special needs. It seems that the majority of them have to fight to be heard. To have tests run. To not be just shoved aside or told to just "wait and see." It really infuriates me for them, their children, and the system in general. And it makes me that much more grateful for our proactive, yet-not-panicky doctor. I am very much an advocate for my child, but you know what? So is she. And that is how it should be. I'm just glad that she's young and hopefully won't retire before my children stop needing a pediatrician.

Anyway, so I called her last week, about three days after I heard the chest congestion. Actually, I take that back. I originally called her the next day, and she told me just to keep an ear out for it and look for a fever, etc., and call her back if it got worse. So I did. And while it didn't get any worse, and there was no fever, it didn't get any better. So two days later, I called again and we set up an appointment for the next day. An x-ray next door at the hospital's outpatient services and then an appt for her to read the x-ray. Actually, we had an appt w/the nurse practioner b/c she was booked, but were assured she would come look at the film and listen to his chest.

And she did.

The x-ray showed some haziness in his upper right-hand lung, where it had been before. Not a full-blown round pneumonia, but something of concern. So this time we did augmentin for ten days, and breathing treatments for over the weekend or as needed.

Well the weekend came and went. And not only did Benjamin not get better, he, in fact, got worse. Still no fever, but just a basic lousiness that you can tell he is simply not himself. And the congestion and coughing got worse.

Then Sunday he started to seem to feel better, but all the other symptoms kept getting worse.

I kept waiting for the medicine to kick in.

For the raspiness when he breathes to stop.

But it hasn't happened.

He's been on the augmentin and breathing treatments for five days.

And he's gotten worse.

So back we go tomorrow morning to outpatient and the doctor's office.

I tell ya, it about broke me today.

I haven't felt well today as it is. Took Andrew to preschool this morning and then while I moved Benjamin around from one (safe) play place to another throughout the house, I pretty much slept all morning. A thirty-minute nap followed by an hour-long nap. Then I had to eat lunch, feed Benjamin, and pick up Andrew. (All of this in really rainy, dreary weather, naturally.) Then once we were back home and the boys were both napping, I took another almost-two-hour nap.

And while I didn't feel good today, I don't really think I'm sick.

Not sick sick anyway.

Just emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted.

I'm tired of being on a first-name basis with half the medical staff in Chattanooga. (Though I love them all!)

I'm tired of all these medicines.

I'm tired of having to arrange a babysitter for Andrew when I have to take B to the doctor. (Though eternally grateful for the friends and family who are so wonderful to us!)

I'm. Just. Tired.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I know that it will all be okay.

But for now, you guessed it.

I'm tired.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Disney is going to kill me

It's no secret that I have had good pregnancies.

No morning sickness, no horrible back pain, not even really all that much discomfort toward the end. I'm tall, so that helps. I remember going in to see Dr. Brody when I was about 38 weeks pregnant with Benjamin. He asked me how I was feeling, and I told him I felt great! That if I stayed exactly how I was, I could easily go another month.

Sure, I get tired. I get heartburn. I have the dreaded vericose veins. My skin itches so badly sometimes I think I'm going to draw blood when I scratch it. Toward the end I have trouble tying my shoes, going up the stairs quickly, and being on my feet for long periods of time.

But overall, my last two pregnancies were fairly easy. I was able to pretty much do my normal stuff until toward the end, when I had to kind of take it easy a little bit.

So when we planned a trip for Matthew, Andrew, and I to go to Disney World for a week at the beginning of January, when I'll be six months pregnant, I thought it would be completely fine.

We'll most likely take it easy anyway since you can only do so much with a not-quite-four-year-old. And since we'll be there for a week, we won't have to zoom through the parks.

Things were going great with this pregnancy, and I was feeling fine. I got through the "I'm-so-tired-I-really-and-truly-might-fall-asleep-driving" first trimester and got some energy back for a couple of months.

Then I hit 20 weeks. Only halfway there.

And suddenly my body thinks that it is either 40 weeks along or 40 years older. I can't decide.

Either way, I am exhausted.

My feet hurt when I stand for a while. I get winded walking down the (flat and short) driveway to get the mail. When I squat down on the ground to get something from the bottom shelf at the grocery store, I almost need help standing back up.

I think a lot of the reason for this is that I need to take it easy. I keep thinking that I can go up our 16 stairs at the same pace that I did pre-pregnancy. I have always been a fast walker, and now, when I walk up my mom's back hill at the same pace as before, I have to stop and catch my breath before I go into the house.

And so now I am terrified that I am going to spend the entire week at Disney on a bench or in the hotel room.

Or complaining.

All of which are really bad options for a first-time visitor to experience the most magical place on earth.

Or whatever it's called.

We are going b/c Matthew is running the Disney 5K and the Disney Marathon. Andrew has never been. I have never been. Benjamin is really too young (mentally) to enjoy it, so we are leaving him back at home with the cats family. It's really a great time to go b/c once we have another baby and can all make it back down to Orlando (about an eight-hour drive), Andrew will be too old. You know, to still experience that special magic that can only be there when you're young enough to think Mickey Mouse truly is real.

I thought the worst part was going to be missing out on all the rollercoasters and fast rides that I can't ride b/c I'm pregnant. I'm a bit of a ride junkie--even more so than Matthew.

But I'm beginning to think that the worst part is going to be the fact that I will be too physically exhausted to enjoy it.

Matthew thinks that if I start exercising regularly (walking around the neighborhood) now, that by the time we go (in seven weeks), I will be more prepared. And while in theory this might work, I really think you just can't fight the natural downhill slope of pregnancy.

I only hope Mickey will understand when I have to hug him from my seat because my legs are too tired to allow me to stand. Heck, with me seated, we'll probably be the same height anyway.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A Tale of Two Walmart Trips

Are you one of those people?

The stranger at the grocery store who talks to people. Either prompted by something or totally random.

You know the type.

Honestly, I'm okay with it. I usually grocery shop alone after the boys are in bed, and so I'm not in a hurry. It's my time. And I generally like people.

One way that Benjamin has changed me is that I am much more aware now that people are often going through something. People often want to talk. To be reached out to. To know that they're not alone. Even if it's just a comment about how crowded the store is or how much the cost of milk has risen.

But sometimes they want to be left alone. They're in a hurry. They're in a bad mood. Or they think I'm a freak.

And that's okay, too.

I was laughing the other night about two Walmart trips I took, on two separate occasions, where talking to a stranger turned out differently.

Trip One

I was shopping in the school supply aisle for some new Flair pens (love them). This was in early August, so school was just starting around here. In the long center aisle separating the food from the school supplies/cleaning supplies/baby stuff, there was a loooong display of really cheap school supplies. Most people were shopping out of those bins, but there were a couple of pre-teen girls shopping in the aisle where I was. They looked (and acted) to be about 12.

The first girl, we'll call her Timid Tammy, was standing there, quietly looking at the pencils. The second girl, we'll call her Loud Laura, was bounding up and down the aisle, suggesting things, telling her friend, "Get this notebook. This is the best one ever!!" She was so bouncy she just kept bouncing out of the aisle and moved on to other things, leaving TT and me in the quiet aisle.

TT worked up the nerve to quietly talk to me. She held out two packs of pencils in front of me and asked me, "Which of these is better?" I glanced at them quickly and said, "Actually, neither one of them." I reached past her to the Ticonderoga pencils, grabbed a pack, and said, "These are the best ones. I used to be a teacher, and I know that these last the longest and don't get eaten by the pencil sharpener." I knew as the words came out of my mouth that I sounded like a complete and utter dork, but I just can't escape myself sometimes!

She thanked me and put the pack of pencils in her cart. I moved up an aisle, just knowing that she'd probably put the pack back on its hook as soon as I walked away. A few seconds later, Loud Laura rushed back up to her in the center aisle, saw the Ticonderoga pack and said, "What is that? You don't want those..." I was practically hiding around the corner to listen to what Timid Tammy said. She said, "No, I'm getting them. You know that lady who was over there with us? She used to be a teacher, and she said these were the best." (And they most definitely are the best pencils in the world, just so you know.)

YES! Score one for the pushy lady in the pencil aisle.

However....

Trip Two

I was in the hair supply aisle. I usually know just what I need in most aisles, so I just grab it and go. But this time I had a coupon for buy-a-shampoo-get-a-styling-aid-free, so I had to explore my options.

In the aisle with me, on the other side, were two teenage girls. I would say they were 14-16 years old. And boy, did they know it. One of them was there with her mom and some other family members, who kept popping in and out of the aisle loudly with suggestions and questions. At one point, her mom asked loudly, "Do you want the extra strength Motrin?" I had to keep from giggling.

Though it was just the three of us in the aisle, anyone around could hear that the girls were looking for a certain hair product. Now, all these months later, I can't remember what it was, but from where I was standing, there was some right in front of me. They spent awhile looking through all the other products and couldn't find what they were looking for. I knew I had in front of me something that might help them. So after they clumped and paraded a little more in the aisle, I timidly pointed it out to them and said this might be what they were looking for.

They looked at me like I had two heads, and I could hear them whispering, "How did she know what we were looking for?"

Ummm....the cashiers 18 aisles up could hear you! LOL

One of them looked at it for a few seconds, but then put it back. Which really was fine with me. I don't get royalties from Herbal Essences. (Though I must tell you I absolutely love what I picked; it's a leave-in creme for frizzy hair. I'm on my second bottle. Click here to see it.)

They met up with their crew (which is a fairly accurate way of describing them, especially if you pair it with Motley...) and I could hear one of the girls ask the other in a voice too loud to be a whisper..."Does she work here?"

It was then I looked down and took notice of what I was wearing.

A navy blue collared shirt and khaki pants.

Standard Walmart employee uniform.

Sigh...Score one for the rowdy teenagers.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Heart Scar (graphic pics)

I recently had a friend ask some of us heart moms for pictures of our children's scars right after surgery and now.

I see Benjamin's chest every day, but I had never really sat down and compared the pictures.

It's amazing how much difference a year makes, both on his physical outside and in my emotional inside.

Here are a few pics from before and after the surgery.

September 26, 2008 (exactly one week before surgery)



October 3, 2008 (several hours after the surgery)



November 4, 2008 (one month and one day later)



February 4, 2009 (four months and one day later)



July 3, 2009 (nine months later)



October 4, 2009 (one year and one day later)



It's no exaggeration that this has been a tough 18 months. Heart surgery, for us, really wasn't that big of a deal. I know that seems silly, and that's not the attitude of all moms whose babies have a similar experience. But it was just another hurdle to overcome for us.

I'm working on a post for later where I will explore what has been the hardest part, and what is one of my biggest fears as I anticipate the birth of my next child.

But for now? It's naptime.

I do have priorities, people. :)