There Ain't No Stoppin' Me Now!

Guess what we learned to do yesterday...

Yeah, my girl is getting big. And I don't say that just because she can sit up now...she is really getting big!! I cannot take her to be weighed yet because she is still on house arrest :) but next week we will see just how fat she is!!

I am so excited that she is still hitting those milestones. I had a fear that surgery would hold her up on somethings but she is proving me wrong. And I couldn't be happier about it. Now if I could just stop taking pictures of Presley and get some work done I would be good!!

**Ew, I just noticed how messy my house is in the background of these pictures. Well, that just goes to show how much work needs to be done!!!**

Remember When

I remember when the biggest problem I had was if I was going to play horse with my brother or play school with my dolls.
Or when I had to decided what to do after not making the cheer leading team.
Or the silliness of what number football jersey to wear to the game on Friday night.
I remember thinking those were the BIG decisions of life! Ha..ha, ha!
Today it seems with each decision comes another bigger and harder one shortly thereafter. Maybe decision isn't the word I am looking for. Maybe it is more like event or happenstance or trial. Whatever it is, God keeps 'em coming.
I don't want this to be a post of complaining. It really is a post of celebration (I promise I will get there)!
It is crazy to me that September is but one week from being over and yet I don't remember a bit of it. Where did the last 23 days go?? Nonetheless this is and has been a big month for us.
We made it through big event 1. Of which was Presley's open heart surgery. We are not adjusting to life back at home ~read, sleeping one hour at a time~.

Then came big event 2. This one has become expected each year but doesn't get easier. That is of course the day of my late brother-in-law's birth.

Big event 3 came and went without very little recognition but it is just as big as the others. That would be the day my sweetie and I tied the knot! We repeated our vows to God and our loved ones and went on our merry way to what is now marital bliss!! I love him more each day and am so proud of the man he has become. So, why did it come and go with nearly no celebration?? Insert big event 4.

The re-injuring of that sweetie's back. Which led to babying all three of my babies on my anniversary night. Yes, I am supermom. But I know that you are too!! This event also led to doctor's visits and x-rays and a lot of pain medicine! I am sure more about this event will come if we can find out what it is that happened to the 'ol man!

Next is the not-so-big-but-big-for-me-event! My baby girl is 7 months old today! Way to grow big girl! And, yes, she is growing...finally!!! She is even a little bit heavy.

And last (I hope) big event, um 6, I think. I will celebrate a quarter of a century and one year! Did you get that? I am not sure I did! 26. I will be another year older on Friday. That is just one year closer to the big 3-0. Sigh.

So, the years of silliness and slumber are behind me. I officially feel like a grown up now. However, I used to say that when I "grew up" I would go by my full name, Elizabeth. I still don't want to do that!! But maybe for old time's sake I will find a football jersey to wear to the game Friday night and fret over which number it shall be!! But for the time being I will celebrate my anniversary with you my bloddies (blog+buddies) by showing off my wonderful wedding pics!!

Our Champ

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday

Twenty-five years ago today was a big day for my husband's family. This was the day that my brother-in-law would make his appearance into this world. He was born September 21, 1984.

A short eighteen years later, this same boy was gone just like that. He was taken twenty nine days after his birthday. Twenty nine days after getting his driver's license. Only weeks before he was to get his braces removed. He was taken. But when I think of him on his birthday I smile as big as he would have smiled!

So, today, I am celebrating the day God blessed us with Zach and the eighteen years he enjoyed here. And on October 20th I will be remembering him on the day he left us to be with his heavenly Father. Happy Birthday, Zach.

Home Sweet Home

*SIGH* Great, big, long sigh! We made it!

We survived:
Day 1...6 hours of pre op
Day 2...8:00 a.m. surgery
Day 3...retaining fluid/drainage of fluid
Day 4...still retaining fluid
Day 5...rapid heart rate/missing heart beat/turning disturbing purple/low electrolytes
Day 6...taking out the chest tubes/could move upstairs
Day 7...could move upstairs/still improving
Day 8...move upstairs
Day 9...remove drainage tube
Day 10...fever
Day 11...fever
Day 12...no fever/waiting on cultures
Day 13...no fever/cultures negative/GO HOME!!!

Yep, we survived all that!!! And we are home. And we are excited! And I am overwhelmed already. There are clothes to be washed and put away and there are dishes to be washed and put away and there are suitcases to unpack. And you probably don't want to hear my to do list being that you have one of your own, I am sure.

So, I just wanted to let you know that we made it home. Presley is sound asleep in her own bed (on her stomach of course) and I will be following her shortly!

Teaser

I have so many pictures to share from surgery. But I cannot get them posted until we officially get home...or if we ever get home. Presley was running a fever last night at 8:00. From what I understand from the floor cardiologist, she will not send her home until she is fever free for 24 hours. So, I 8:00 is was 100.7; at 12:00 is was 98; at 4:00 is was 98; and at 8:00 it was 99. You tell me is it worthy of keeping her??? Anyway, if we end up having to stay another night I just might blow a gasket. But I digress, that is not what this post is about!

I have a major tease coming your way!! A friend of my sister-in-law came to the hospital Friday night (two days after surgery) to get some practice under fluorescent lights for her photography portfolio. I was pleasantly surprised when I received them yesterday that I had to share some with you. She did a great job. And my sweet baby will have the most unique 6 month pictures!!

So, enjoy!! And know that very soon I will have post a timeline of pictures from the last 10 days!

Here goes...

I have a lot to update!! I don't even know what day it is!! Sunday was a day of great rejoice. Monday was a day of greater rejoice!!

Like I said in the last post, I thought we would end up being discharged from the PCICU. Well, much to our surprise we got a room on Monday! Woohoo!! Presley was in shock as we rolled down the hallways to her room on the 6th floor. Presley took her time getting oriented with her new environment...so cute!!!

But it didn't take long for her to realize she did not really like it there. She got very fussy as the evening went on. My theory...she is aware that she is on her back and she will not sleep on her back!! I listened to her cry for so many hours and doctors wanting to try everything to not medicate her that my patience wore thin. I was forced out by my mom that night! She made me leave and get some rest without a baby crying in the background!

When I arrived Tuesday morning they had removed her drainage tube from her stomach and she seemed to be much better and more mobile!!! When they checked her vitals, however, her fever was up and they were unsure why. They drew more blood and placed a catheter to check her urine for infection. They gave her some Tylenol and her fever broke some throughout the day.

But by 8:00 Tuesday night it was back. At this time, they decided to start her on IV antibiotics. The first dose went off without a hitch. The second one, not so much. The second medication is "hard on the veins" and can cause itching and redness. Well, you know how it goes, if it can happen it will happen to her! She got itchy and extremely fussy. At around midnight, the nurse gave her some Benadryl. Ah!!! Sleep!!! For an hour anyway. As they came into the room for one thing or another each hour.

Presley ate like a champ around 2:30, 5 ounces to be exact. And, yes, that is double what she was eating prior to surgery.

So, Wednesday morning reared it's ugly head as quickly as Tuesday night faded away. I listened in on the "rounds huddle" only to find out that the earliest we could go home would be F-F-Friday. Yeah, you heard me right, Friday. That is two days from now. That is two more nights of that sleep. That is two more days of my baby girl being poked and prodded. Two more days of laying on her back getting more and more restless.

As of today, I have been at the hospital most of 7 days. So, I took it upon myself to leave and head home for a few hours. Ya know, shower in my own shower, lay on my own couch, and whatever you do when you are at HOME!!

So, they will keep her on the antibiotics for 48 hours and then she must be fever free for 24 hours. That means that even though they say Friday if my girl decides to keep that fever even after antibiotics we will be here even longer.

I have appreciated all the prayers and virtual hugs. And I will beg of you not to let those fade. I am so ready to get my baby home and trust me, she is ready too!!