To Trick, To Treat, or To Not

Halloween is coming. Costumes should be bought. But, what if you don't know how you feel about trick-or-treating. And what if you don't know what's an appropriate costume for your child? Levi isn't allowed to watch "Superhero" cartoons, so, how much sense would it make to put him in a Captain America costume - when he doesn't even know who Captain America is? And, his bedtime is 8-8:30, and Halloween is on a school night, so late bedtime isn't really an option. The last two years, our "trick-or-treating" consisted of visiting a couple of family members to say hi (and of course, get a small treat).

His first Halloween, he was a horse:

(A very cute one!) Cost of costume? Unknown - Great Granny Wilma bought it for him.

Last year, he was the cutest little cowboy sheriff there ever was:

See, I told ya! cutest.ever. Cost of costume? $WeDon'tWannaTalkAboutIt

This year...I just really, really do not know. I've thought about Superman. Only, because Levi loves it when we say:

"Dundunnanna! SuperLevi!"

But, even still, he wouldn't get it, because he doesn't watch Superman.

Then, I thought about Captain America, because his Daddy loved Captain America as a boy. But, really, Levi doesn't have a clue who Captain America is.

Then, I thought about Optimus Prime, because Levi did watch Transformers with us while he was falling asleep over the weekend. But, again, he doesn't "get" it. He wouldn't know, "I'm dressed up like Optimus Prime, the leader of the good Transformers."

Any of those options would cost in the $25 range. Not completely unreasonable, but he'll only wear it once. And then I'll put it away in the "tote" because I'm too dumb sentimental to get rid of it.

Ahhhhhhh! Nothing should be this difficult! And that's a big part of why I'm struggling so with it this year, I think. This really, really, should not be this difficult. And if it is this difficult, then we shouldn't be doing it at all. But, then, what if we decide to do a Trunk-Or-Treat at church or something, he'll need a costume. And if I wait until we decide if we're going to do that, there won't be any good costumes left. And, how do I know if it is a good costume? Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Surgery, Recovery, Drama & Change - An Update

September 7
We took Levi to NC Children's Hospital at UNC for his surgery. This included: ear tube replacement, repeat adenoidectomy, tonsilectomy, and sinus surgery. The surgery went well, despite taking 1.5 hours longer than anticipated. There was a lot of bleeding from his nose after the surgery, and that first night was rough. He spent it in a short-stay observation unit. The amount of anesthesia he had been under meant most of his normal bodily functions were not functioning. And, as anyone who has ever had any type of surgery knows, you must drink and potty before you're released. Levi refused to drink, and was physically unable to potty - to the point that a good portion of his pain was coming from his bladder. After repeated attempts to get him to potty on his own, he had to be catheterized. The next morning, we finally convinced him to eat some ice cream - which oddly enough, counts as "drinking" - and then, finally, we had a wet diaper. I don't think I've ever been so excited over a wet diaper before!

Before

After

Finally Awake

September 8-17
The worst 10 days of my life. Literally. Levi alternated between short, fitful naps and hysterical crying. His routine was severely disrupted. Husband was banished to sleep in Lauren's bedroom because Levi would only sleep if he could sleep with me. He ran a low-grade fever, refused his meds, and was generally intolerable of anything I wanted or needed him to do.

September 18
Levi returned to "normal" - as normal as you can get with a 2-year old who has been through what he'd been through the last 2 weeks. He was eating normally, and playing normally, and crying considerably less. We were able to visit grandparents and play outside.

September 19
Levi returned to school. He was excited to be there. He didn't even cry after being home with me for practically 2 weeks. And, then, came the drama. Mema (that's my Mamma) picked Levi up from school, where he was outside sitting on the bench with the afternoon "teacher." She got him home, took his shoes off and changed his diaper - and found FORTY-THREE (43) bug bites on his feet, ankles, legs, groin, belly, arms, and hands, and a rash spreading down his legs and up his chest/neck. She called me. I left work. I get home, and look at the bites - mosquitoes? fireants? some other unknown insect? - and my stepdad points out that his left ankle looks really swollen. Another bite, maybe? Just one that hit the joint? So, I get his allergy medicine. Which he proceeds to puke back on me. When we put him in the tub to clean him off, he refuses to put the left foot down. Then he won't let me touch it. I still think it may just be one of the bites just got him in the right place. But, then, I put him down in the den floor to lock the front door. The toes of his left foot hit the floor, he collapses, and screams out in pain. I flipped out. I called husband who reassured me that I was over-reacting. Then, I called our pediatrician's after-hours number. I spoke with a nurse, who listened carefully to my descriptions of the bites, the rash, the ankle, the screaming, everything. She paged the pediatrician on call for our practice who called back with instructions to take him the ER. So, as soon as husband got home, we headed to the ER. By that time, his bug bites had festered and were easily identified as fire ant bites. With so many of them, and the rash spreading, the ER doctor put Levi on prednisone and an antibiotic. And, they x-ray his ankle, just to be sure there isn't a fracture. The ER doctor comes back in, says he has buckle fracture to his left fibula - which is the small bone in the side of the lower leg), near the ankle joint. He gets a temporary cast, until we see the orthopedic, who gives him a lime green hard cast.

Temp Cast

After Getting Hard Cast

And, then, comes change. We battled with the decision, because we realize that both the bites and the broken bone are simple accidents that could have happened anywhere, but after advice from friends, family, and our doctors, we've moved Levi into care at another facility.

A Place and A Space - Nook GiveAway

You might already know that I'm a contemporary christian music junkie. Or, you might not. If not, heads up, I'm a contemporary christian music junkie. The radio in my car STAYS on 107.3 unless I hit the Raleigh area, and then I switch over to HisRadio. And, if I'm not in an area that I can pick up either, I'm tuned into the AWESOME HisRadio app on my Android device.

That being said, I'm kind of digging this song, "Alive," by Nate Fowler. Today, on facebook, Nate posted a blog about his wife's blog - a place and a space - and a give-away that she's doing. I have to admit that I haven't used the Nook - I have the Kindle app for my Droid, and I am soooo addicted. But, a real, true to life, actual eReader? That's my dream. So, I'm entering the contest to win the Nook she's giving away. And, so shoud you! (And then you should go enjoy that song by her husband!) ;)

Have a good one.

So *That's* What it Feels Like?

Let me be clear, I am NOT making light of strokes. Stroke is a very serious thing and leaves lasting effects on those who experience them, as well as on their loved ones.

And, I think I must now know what it feels like when you're about to have a stroke.

About 6 years ago, during a trip to the mountains, husband bought me a beautiful 3.5 ct. emerald-cut garnet right-hand ring set in 24K gold. The setting alone was over $300, which is probably not alot of money to you. But, to me, it's a truck payment. Or almost 3 summer-time light bills. And that doesn't include the cost of the stone.

This morning, I've been:

In every room in my house.
On my deck.
In my yard.
In my car - twice.
In Levi's daycare parking lot & building.
In my office parking lot and both floors of the building.

Around 9:40, I sat back down at my desk for the 300th time (that's probably a slight exaggeration). As I began working on the tasks on my desk, I glanced down. My ring setting was EMPTY. Immediately, panic set in. I emailed our IRA, asked her to send an all-building e-mail with a description of the stone.

Then, I started back-tracking. Nose down, watching the floor, trying to think of every turn I had made in this maze of an office building today. The very most recent place I had been was a colleague's office. As I turned the corner to walk into her office. THERE IT WAS. Laying on the floor. No way anyone would have spotted it, had they not been looking for it. The vacuum would probably have eaten it tonight when the janitorial crew came through. I very nearly collapsed in my colleague's office. SCARY, SCARY, SCARY. My heart is still racing. I could never have replaced that stone. Not financially, or sentimentally.

And, here's my ring. And stone. In a zippy. Until I can take them to a jeweler.

Husband, despite the fact that I probably never tell you, I love you. And I appreciate what you do for me and our family.

Levi's First Train Ride!

On Sunday, we took Levi to New Hope Valley Railway in Bonsal, NC. It's no secret that my boy is a huge train fanatic. Just take a look around our living room. Or the floor board of my car. Or his bedroom. Or the apps on my Droid.

So, NHVRY is a great little all-volunteer led living museum. They offer train rides one Sunday per month in Spring, Summer & Fall (for a nominal fee of $10/adult, $7/child). I recommend going in Spring, or waiting til Fall. August, 100 degrees, and 9658.3% humidity are NOT ideal conditions for sitting in an "Open Air Coach," no matter how beautiful the scenery. Though, I have to admit that dealing with the heat was way beyond worth it just to see this look:

Or this one:

We had a nice little family day, with Jeremy, Lauren, Levi, PePaw and I. Totally going to do it again when the weather cools off.

I plan to edit some more of our photos from the train ride, using my new friend Picnik, and will post those later.

And God Bless All My Friends

Is there anything in this world more precious than a child's simple faith? We should all be so lucky as to hang on to that for as long as we live.

We have a bedtime routine at our house. It involves bathtime, medications, snuggling, reading, and...bedtime prayers. You know the one... "Now I lay me down to sleep..." When that's over with, we need to "God Bless" everyone. Which goes something like this (I start, then Levi, then me, then Levi, and on and on and on):

Okay, and, God Bless Daddy.
God Bless Mamma.
God Bless Levi.
God Bless Sissy.
God Bless Granddaddy.
God Bless Gate Ganny. (Great Granny)
God Bless MeMaw.
God Bless Cotton. (the Donkey, not the plant)
Yes, Levi, God Bless Cotton.
God Bless Papa.
God Bless GiGi.
God Bless PePaw.
God Bless MaMaw.
God Bless PaPaw.
God Bless Aunt Nette & Michael.
And God Bless Cotton.
Yes, Levi, God Bless Cotton.
God Bless Sara-Marget. (Sara-Margaret, that is)
God Bless Bailey.
God Bless Mannie & Dillon. (Mattie, that is)
God Bless Rylie.
And God Bless Cotton.
Yes, Levi, God Bless Cotton. Now, God Bless Miss Kellie and your other teachers.
God Bless Bittney. (Brittany, that is)
And who else, Levi?
And God Bless All My Friends.

Now, if only the rest of us in the world would take the time to do that every day!!

Living the Life of Rylie

So, last Monday, I came home from work and there was this teeny little kitty in our yard. Being the softie that I am when animals are concerned, I got it a little bowl of food and milk. I noticed something wrong with its little face, like it might have been caught in something and got ripped.
The next night, it was still here, but had decided to venture onto our back deck. So I did the humane thing and moved its food to the deck. And that's when it let me pet it. I told husband, "He let me pet him!"
Husband went out to try and pick it up - and the kitty let him! He brought him inside to get a better look at its injury. It was BAD. So, I took him to the vet.
Two days later, and against my better judgement, meet Rylie J. Hall.