Ear Happenings and Other Randomness

We have had a lot of activity in the ear department lately.  Here is the latest:

1.  We had a follow-up at the ENT today for Noah.  After ten days of antibiotics the doctor didn't see any improvements in fluid build up or hearing.  He would like to bypass the steroid route (which was plan B) and go straight to getting tubes.  I am very happy with that because I will know the fluid is not returning as long as the tubes are in.  The date is scheduled, and I'm very excited to have a hearing boy.   The doctor said that he should be able to hear immediately after the surgery.  I can't even imagine him waking up...he will probably think everyone is yelling at him!  I can't wait!!!

2.  Yesterday I took the Beagle to the vet to follow up on his hematoma situation.  Fortunately, it has stayed rather small.  We really don't want to operate (because the surgery was really hard on him and it didn't work anyway).  The vet looked in his ears, which were inflamed.  He feels that Beagle has allergies, so he got a shot of steroids and ear drops with an antibiotic.  He also drained the hematoma (which I felt was pointless, but it was free), and to my great surprise, only a small amount of fluid has returned.  He seems to be shaking and scratching less since the steroids, but he is also drinking and peeing a lot more...so lots of late night potty trips for us, but worth it if he feels better!

I started packing tonight.  Noah is totally packed, minus his special blanket (but it is washed!).  I'm partially packed, but found the mother-load of all spiders crawled out of my luggage, which was sitting ON MY BED.  Shiver, shiver, shiver.  I'm itching all over.  I'm freaked out the mother of the mother-load is going to crawl out of my child's sock/pants/shirt and onto him.

Today I finished day 26 of the 30 day Shred.  I'm a little sore, but I feel pretty good!

That is all for tonight!

What I Should Be Doing

There are so many things I should be doing.
Technically, I have crossed a few things off of my to-do list.
I gave the dogs their medicine.  I trimmed their toenails and filled their water bowl.
That counts, right?
I've packed a few things.  Diapers and a bathing suit.
I'm putting off the big jobs.  Like figuring out what to bring for my little boy.  And trying to figure out how to get his special blanket away from him long enough to wash the crust off of it.
Somehow, though, I have found better things to do.  Like take dogs to the vet for the same problem for the 12th time.
And I am so excited.  I can't wait to see my sisters and brother.  And I can't wait to see Noah wrestle with his cousins.  I can't wait for Noah to see all of his grandparents and great grandparents.
It is going to be such a journey getting there...but I know it will be well worth it!

Positives and Negatives

Can I just complain for a minute?

1.  My garden is WAY neglected.  I feel so bad, letting my poor vegetables go to waste.  Last year, Noah was such a little squirt, he could sit out in his bouncy seat, watch the pool water...and I could keep up with the garden.  This year, the little man is so busy, I can't take my eyes off of him for one second.  And by the time his little butt goes to bed, I'm not in the mood to go out to sweat through my clothes and get eaten by mosquitos.  So my plants are not looking so good, and I have a lot of guilt about that.

2.  Beagle's hematoma is back.  Oh. my. gosh.  I don't even know where to start because I am so frustrated.  Same ear.  After two surgeries and a thousand bucks.  And we are back to square one.  Also, awful timing, considering our upcoming Phoenix trip.  Jeremy and I have not had a chance to discuss our next course of action yet, so I'm not sure what the plan is.


Those are my biggest complaints right now...which all things considering, isn't too bad.  :)

Here are a few positives:

1.  I'm just finished day 23 of the 30 Day Shred.  I can tell a HUGE difference this time in both endurance and strength.
2.  My boy is so stinking adorable.  He is a walking fool, and having so much fun with it.  He whininess has almost totally disappeared.  I'm REALLY enjoying watching him grow and play.
3.  Our Charleston house is another step closer to closing.  It has been a long and somewhat complicated process, but in the end, it will be well worth the wait.
4.  We go back for an ear re-check on Tuesday for Noah's fluid.  I'm not positive, but it actually seems like he can ear!  Just the last few days, he has started to turn to the sound of a bird chirp, and he is starting to look for us when we call him.
5.  We had a date night at Carabbas last night.  It was wonderful.  It was a 2 hour drive, and we had to pay a babysitter, but we had a great time.  We sat at the pizza bar, and even got a free dessert.  And we have left-overs too!!!

So that is what we have going on here!

TP Stockpile

Confession:  I do have a habit of stockpiling toilet paper.

I read on a blog the other day that the average person used 8-9 sheets of TP per trip to the bathroom.  As of yesterday, I am on a mission to lower the average.  Personally speaking anyway.

Being that I am the only female in this house, I do use the majority of the TP (except on occasion, Jeremy, who has an upcoming colonoscopy, which is a story for a WHOLE different blog).  That being said, I do take responsibility for the TP consumption, which as of yesterday is officially going down. 

More information: I'm a 2-ply kind of girl.  I really have to search out for good deals, because 2-ply doesn't come at a cheap rate.  

I usually end up at Walgreens with some kind of manufacturers coupon, store coupon and military discount.  The same blog that said the 8-9 sheet thing also stated that you should take the square footage of the TP (per package), and move the decimal over one place, and that is a good price.  I haven't been able to get THAT kind of deal, but I would like to!  (for example 179.2 square feet should cost about $1.79).  

For some reason stockpiling TP doesn't have the same high that stock piling diapers does, but I really do enjoy it!!!

Things I Love

I love these little shoes because I love the little boy that now wears them  I love his stinky sweaty feet, and I love how he looks so grown when he wears them.  I love looking at him and wondering "where on earth did this toddler come from?"  I love knowing that he is ours to keep, and knowing what a blessing it is to watch him grow.

He loves that little wallet, which I fixes up for him yesterday.  I put in some empty gift cards, some notecards (for money), and a few other things.  These have been strewn all around the house this weekend, but I know it was loved, and that he thinks he is big and important now that he has a wallet.

I love how "boy-ish" this little dude is.  How he will sit around in his diaper, playing with tools and "helping his daddy".  Oh and he doesn't want the play tools.  He wants the real deal.  I really loved watching him try to "use" the stud finder this weekend on the wall.  They sure learn quick, don't they?

I love how he feels the need to be up in the action of every project, activity or event.  How he thinks he is helping, but he is really not.  I even love how he can tear up room by room by room.  And doesn't even know he is doing it (hmmmm....is that genetic???).  :)

I love how he has figured out the system...going back and forth between his mommy and daddy trying to find a soft spot.

I love how he is such a little squirt...so big, and yet so little all at once.  

Slow down little man...you are getting so big!

How it Went

I had a great idea in my head of how it was going to go.  I had it all packed: the spots, the udders, the masks, and best of all N's outfit.  We got there about 10 minutes before Jeremy.  

And Noah was hungry.  He was clingy and whiny, and all of my spots were coming off.  :)  Then we dropped the SLR off the table.  And it stopped working.  

But Jeremy arrived, and suited up.  There were about 4-5 other cow families there too.  We ordered, 3 full meals (fries and a drink too).  N got grilled chicken, applesauce and milk.  And a few waffle fries.  He LOVED it!  For a little boy who can't hear, he sure was having a ball.  He was watching the other kids run around, waving and smiling at everyone.  :)

The lady there took our picture on her phone and texted it to Jeremy.  So I got that one picture, and you can sort of see Noah.  Maybe I will try to dress him up again tomorrow.  

So we filled his belly up, and ours too.  I got a ice cream cone, and shared it with my boy.  He doesn't know how to lick, just kind opens his mouth up.  No licking at all.  He wasn't sure what to do with it, but he knew he liked it.  

A few minutes in the play area, then we loaded up and made it home just in time for bed time!  :)

And thankfully, my camera resurrected itself when we got back home, so I'm so relieved.

Cow Appreciation

We are prepped and ready for Cow Appreciation Day.   I bought that little xs t shirt for N, and cut a slit in the legs to sew (hem tape) into pant legs.  I cut down the back, so he gets in from the top back now.  Jeremy was agreeable to spots, and to the mask if it was removable with a popsicle stick.  I made the masks with Styrofoam plates, and I have to be honest, I'm pretty pleased with them!  :)  We head to Chick Fil A tomorrow night for a free dinner!!!  Hopefully I will get a picture all dressed up...but it is hard these days to keep up with a camera and a toddler on the move.  :)

Shoes and Ears

Where to start???

First, I got these awesome shoes at Walmart for 7 bucks.  He looks so cute in them.  I went with a size four to give him room to grow.  They are a little big, but they look so stinkin cute.

Today we went to the lab to get 12 month blood work and urinalysis done (including CBC, hemoglobin and testing for lead).  To put it mildly, it did not good smooth.  It involved a solid 45 minutes of screaming, needles into both arms, and ultimately drawing 3 viles of blood a finger stick, one drop at a time.  Not fun.

Then, still screaming, we made our way to the ENT for the hearing screen.  (Our pediatrician sent us there because of some of his communication delays).  We waited another hour and a half.  We saw the doctor, and he picked a bunch of wax out of N's ear with a pick (note: still screaming).  I couldn't stop watching.  I have this weird thing about ear wax...I just love it.  Maybe that is why the doctor told me several times not to try it at home.  Or use Q tips.  But I didn't promise on the Q tip thing.

And then the dr saw some fluid in N's left ear.  He sent us back to the audiologist, who actually found fluid build up in both ears (more screaming).  And he failed his hearing test.  The dr said he was probably hearing at 20-40%.

It's not that N can't hear.  His hearing mechanisms (for lack of correct terminology) work fine.  But the fluid build up is blocking his ability to hear.

We are going to try some antibiotics to get rid of the fluid, and then re-test the hearing.  If that doesn't work, we will try steroids and then re-test.  Finally we may look at tubes as a last option.

I'm so super excited that 1. we may have found the reason why his receptive and expressive language are a bit delayed (besides that he is a boy- as the dr said) and 2.  that getting rid of the fluid is an easy fix (even if we have to go the tube route.  Finally, 3. I'm so glad that his hearing mechanisms work good, because one day if he wants to fly an airplane with his daddy (or without!!!), he will be able to!

Busy

Wow, it has been a REALLY busy week.

First, we moved into my new office.  and it is AWESOME!  I'm so happy to have my toys/materials clean and organized.  I have everything I need for my patients within an arms reach.  My work area is so clean and brand spankin new.  I love being in there!!!

Secondly, my boy is SO on the move.  He has gotten so good with his walking.  He is making it so much further, and falling less.  He can make it onto different surfaces, and spends the majority of the day walking between the living room and the shop.

Last weekend Jeremy fixed up the shop to make it more kid friendly.  He put the dangerous tools up higher, and added wooden guards to the shelves so he can still touch things, but can't pull them down on himself.  We put his train table (which is still a work in progress) in there so he can hammer, stack and organize too.  I will note though, that he has very little interest in anything of his own.  He really likes the air hoses, shop vac, and clamps.

He is so busy!!!  I'm kind of sad that my little boy is thinning out.  I'm really gonna miss his rolls.  Can you believe that the shorts AND shirt that he has on today were 12 month clothes???  I am going to have to take some time to take pictures of the rolls before they disappear!!!  

Neon

This beagle is neon.

Yellow.

From eating tomatoes.

He spends hours out in the garden, picking the reddest and ripest tomatoes.

It is no wonder why we don't have tomatoes this year.

I really don't mind.  Last year I swore off growing tomatoes.

So eat away little neon beagle.

Just don't wake me up to go outside at night.

Couponing and Table Decision

I haven't had a good couponing blog in a while.  The deals haven't been as good lately, and my stash is pretty good as-is.  I did make a quick trip to Walgreens tonight, and I was pretty happy with it.

I got

1 Whole Milk $3.79
2 3-pack Ivory soap
2 Schick Hydro Razor
1 schick hydro shave gel
2 Mitchem Deo
3 packages of turkey bacon

Total: $19.50 out of pockek
Got back $14 RR

Total for this shopping trip $5.50, which is GREAT since the milk alone was $3.79 and I didn't have any coupons for it (even better since I have a bald husband who goes through a lot of razors!!!).  On the way home I saw a sign at a gas station for $3.29 for a gallon of milk, so I will have to get it from there from now on.  Milk is so expensive in Mississippi!  I also only brought one of my turkey bacon coupons with me, so I could have saved another dollar...but oh well, you win some you lose some!  :)

On a side note, I decided on the Cars 2 play rug for my little table.  I bought it last night on walmart.com for $18 plus $2 shipping.  Jeremy found the same type of rug at Lowes today for $18 (and of course not having to wait a week or pay shipping), so I was a little bummed about that, but thats okay.

So I decided to put trim around my table edges and plop the rug in the middle.  That way if he hates it all together, I can take the rug out and trash the table, and I'm only out the $3 the while paint cost me.  If he is in love with it, I can always spruce it up some later.  I will take an "after" picture when it is finished and in action!

On another side note, the table got run over a little bit with the car this morning, but thankfully, it is still in good shape (and so is the car).  :)

Happy Sunday!