Tylers Surgery

On Monday Tyler had his surgery, as you all know from my last posts. He did really well. We ended up taking Grandpa along with us and I was grateful he went. I find that I try hard to be independent and do everything myself, but it was nice to have him there to sit with Tyler so I could eat. I always feel bad eating in front of him after surgeries because he can't eat like normal, and this time was no exception. It was nice to have someone to ride with as well to and from so I could look after Tyler a little better. Anywho, we drove up on Sunday after family dinner and stayed at the Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City. It was a pretty nice hotel, and our room was nice. Tyler's surgery was scheduled for 11:45 am but the doc was delayed so they didn't take Ty back until around 1:00 pm. He was also only supposed to be in surgery for about 1 1/2 hours, but I didn't end up getting to see him in post-op until around 4:00 pm and even then we had to wait for a room, and didn't get into the room until around 5:30-6:00 pm. Tyler was pretty groggy and not feeling great when he got out, but re-couped pretty quickly. He ended up being a rock star and crossing the big milestones (walking, peeing on his own, eating/drinking) really quickly, enough that we were able to get discharged much earlier than planned.
He also had a blast during his stay. Our nurses/techs were all fantastic and made him feel extra special. Our night nurses were the favorites I think though. The tech we had (Mike) was Tyler's favorite. He would come in and watch us play video games, tease Ty about walking too much and just all around having a good time with Tyler.
We got home Tuesday afternoon and have been hanging around home ever since. It's been a blessing to be able to work from home and help Tyler rest. The kids at his summer camp made him a sweet card that they all signed and everyone has given him extra attention which he's absolutely loved. Wednesday he was pretty swollen and miserable, same with yesterday. But today he has been doing awesome. He hasn't had to have the normal doses of Lortab or Motrin that he had to have the previous days and has taken his antibiotic much better. I'm happy to see him recovering soo quickly. He still has a way to go though and that's proving to be rough. He won't be able to eat normal food for about a month, we've got to stick to soft stuff which he isn't fond of since there isn't much he likes. And after that we can't do anything crunchy or tough that requires a lot of biting or tearing, just softer things like noodles and bread. We also have to limit his movements so he can't wrestle and play like normal. But all in all, he is doing pretty good and being a trooper through it all. I'm proud of him for everything he's accomplished and how willing he is to go through the motions of meds, swishing (he can't brush his teeth, so we have to swish with medicated mouthwash) and getting his walking in. His brothers are also being good troopers for the most part, making sure he doesn't get bumped too much and keeping him safe. I'm proud of them all.
So to end....some pictures of our adventures :)

The view from our hotel room, very pretty. We were right next to temple square and the capitol building.

Our pretty hotel room

Tyler was showing his guns in his awesome hospital jammies before his surgery. Mr tough guy. :)

When we finally got to the hospital room after surgery, waving for a picture

He spent the vast majority of our time in the hospital playing video games. While we were waiting to be discharged he challenged Grandpa to a Motocross race. 

His hip dressings after surgery. I'm curious to see what it looks like under the strips. The doc says those should fall off any day now and he has dissolving stitches in which is pretty awesome. 

The poor kid's face was sooooooo swollen. This picture doesn't do justice to just how swollen he was. Luckily, the swelling has gone down. And it is fascinating how the swollen parts get all shiny. Sooo weird.

This is how he's spent the majority of his home time, playing Lego Star Wars. At least he's resting, even though I'm getting pretty tired of the "BOOMP BOOMP BOOMP" of the little guns and light sabers.

Pictures!

What better way to update a blog than with pictures right? Ohhhh yeah. Here's what we've been doing....

We played a rousing game of Tootsie Roll Black Jack at Family dinner. I got 21.  Ohhhhh yeah.

We made it to the beach for the first time of the summer. And all got scorched. I no longer trust spray on sunscreen.

Ry graduated preschool. This is with his teacher Ms Jill. I love that place, they treat us very well.

Ry and I went to Discovery Park on a weekend the boys were gone. He loved taking a ride on the turtle and petting his head.

For Grandma Day, Ry got new shoes. This pic cracks me up because of his cute little chicken legs that look so tiny compared to his clothes and shoes :)

Grandma took the boys to St George to play in the Splash Pad at Town Square. I was lucky enough to leave work early and join them. Sooo much fun!

Tyler set up shop and was servicing the vehicles in the house. I love it :)

The older boys are absolutely loving summer camp and we are all sad it's going to be over in a week. This has been an awesome experience for all of us and we will definitely be doing summer camp again next year. We are also getting ready for Tyler's surgery on Monday. I keep stressing that I will make all these plans to be off of work and scheduling a hotel for the night before only to have the date changed, but I figure it is a good sign that the registration desk called me today and got him pre-registered. Now I just have to wait for the nurse to give me a call with surgery instructions and I can stop stressing.

Is it bad to say I am excited this is finally happening? Not because Ty will have to go through a surgery, but because this moment has been on hold for six months now and I've been worried we are going to miss our window to get this surgery done. So I am super thankful the time has come and Ty will get the surgery he needs.

On the Weight Watchers front, I have lost 8 lbs total so far. I've had good weeks and a few bad ones, but I'm feeling better and a little more healthy. I still have negative inner talk that it won't work or that no matter how much I lose I will still look the same and be unhappy. But I'm pushing through it and working my way towards a happier me. It's worth it in the long run to be healthy for my kiddos and myself. I didn't make it to my 10% goal last time around, so that is going to be my first huge milestone. Just got to keep telling myself it will all work out and be okay. I always say that positive self talk is the key to feeling better, so I guess I need to practice what I preach huh! Hopefully next time I update I can say I've reached my 5% goal. And after that my 10% maybe even hit 15%, 20% and 25% this go around!

Work is slow right now. I still have a few loans I'm working on but rates jumped up which means I slow down and that is frustrating. I have goals that I want to accomplish and the slowness is not helping. I'm still good money-wise, just not making as much as I'd hoped I would. Crossing fingers rates drop again so that we can get more loans going and I can accomplish more goals. The plus side is that this is the perfect time for Tyler's surgery. Being slow means it's easier to work from his hospital room as I won't be swamped, so maybe it's happening for a reason. For me anyway.

Well I think that's all for now. Have a good rest of the week ya'll!

Music Love

In my random music listenings, I found another that I love and wanted to share. This song is awesome anyway, but it is made even more beautiful by The Piano Guys. So without further ado.....

A Thousand Years by Christina Perri - covered by The Piano Guys. Love it.

May is FINALLY done

Holy geez was anyone else's May absolutely insane? I know mine was. My calendar wall hasn't ever been as full as it was in May. Two of the biggest things that happened were the parents leaving to Alaska and our trip to Salt Lake (Alaska is on our to-do list within the next year or so Steph, so be prepared!).

So here is how it all played out. I think I mentioned before that I was pretty dang frustrated with the lack on communication between myself, the Orthodontist and the Surgeon for Tyler. So at the last Ortho appointment our doc said he didn't feel Tyler was ready for surgery, he wanted to do more spacing work. However surgery is scheduled. So I decided to see the surgeon so we could find out if he felt Tyler was ready for surgery. The soonest appointment was on the 29th. So I took it.

Well, that is the week the parents booked the Alaska trip. Which means I was on my own in regards to taking care of the boys. And that week was about the craziest week in all of May. That was the boys' first week out of school, Memorial Day was Monday, Tuesday was Scouts (which we missed, I had to actually go to work), Wednesday was our Salt Lake trip, Thursday we had dentist appointments and play practice and Saturday was Weight Watchers. I can honestly say I didn't realize how much my parents do to help me until I was left to my own devices. Mom and Dad, thank you very much for your help. We all missed you both very much. I really don't know if I could do this without you. It really does take a village to raise a family when your a single parent. It definitely makes me think twice about moving to St George until I'm a little more prepared.

So the Salt Lake trip was insanely long but actually kind of fun. I was not looking forward to the 10+ hours in the car with the boys but we had a blast. And they were good company up until around an hour away from getting home. I was impressed. We left early Wednesday morning and made it to Salt Lake about half an hour before the appointment started, so we wandered around Primary Children's. We actually ended up getting in to see the doc early and was in and out before our appointment was actually supposed to start. I was impressed. That NEVER happens in that office. We usually wait an hour to get in for 10 minutes to see the doc. So we decided to try to find the Gateway but, alas, this is where I got lost. I couldn't find it to save my life. We finally gave up and drove until we found Smashburger (dang that place is good but holy cow, lots  AND LOTS of points on Weight Watchers). After that we headed to Cabelas to see the "sharks" since Ry couldn't stop talking about them and spent a good two hours in that place. It was actually kinda fun.
During that mix, I was trying to get a loan closed out from a distance AND while we were driving on the freeway, someone hit our car and speed off. Another testament as to why I couldn't live up there, too much traffic and crazy drivers. So it was a fun trip. We all had fun and slept real good that night.

Oh...and as for Tyler's surgery. The surgeon says we are ready so his surgery is here in a few weeks. This time only me and Ty will be going up there and it will be for a couple days, not just one. Hoorah. We are both a little nervous but happy to finally get it over and done with.

So that was May. June we have lots of birthdays, Summer Camp, Scouts day camps, play practices, more dentist appointments and Tyler's surgery. It's going to be a long month! How's your summer so far? Any fun plans?