one heck of a memory...

Being a mommy undoubtedly does something to the brain. I'm sure all my mommy friends would say amen to that one. Seriously, I used to be smart. I used to be able to speak without adding the "y" suffix to all my words. You know, "where's your shoeseys, your nosey is cold, I need a huggy from my buggy..." Come on, don't make me feel alone, you know you do it too! :-) I used to have a good memory. Now, sometimes I fear I'll forget my address or the way home. I can't remember what I need from the grocery once I get there - because of course I wrote a list, but forgot it at home..., I can't remember which of my kids' turn it is to ride in the "big boy booster seat...." the list goes on and on. One thing I'll never forget, however, is what happened on this exact day, one year ago...

December 22/23, 2011 is one day I'll never forget. I know, it's really two days, but you will see why in a second. Last year, on December 22, a Thursday night, I put my little man to sleep sans paci for the first time. He was a trooper and did really well without it, amazingly. Thought we were in the clear, until about 4 am when he woke up crying. I went to him and he wanted milk. Weird for him, but I gave him a drink of water anyway. Then I went back downstairs, only to be awakened again at about 4:30. Jonathan wanted another drink. Again, super weird for him. He was usually a really great sleeper. This time, when I was walking out of his room, he started to cough and choke. I went over to pat his little back when he started really choking and coughing and then throwing up. So I turned on the light to find the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my whole entire life... my little guy had not just thrown up, HE HAD THROWN UP BLOOD - tons and tons and tons of blood.

Y'all, I flat out panicked. I yelled for Billy to get up there and call 911. I was holding him and we were both pretty much covered in blood when Billy got in there. The look in Billy's eyes is one that is forever etched in my mind... You see, Jonathan had his tonsils and adenoids removed 3 weeks prior to this and we were warned that bleeding could occur, but we thought we were out of the woods. I was terrified. I thought he was dying. It was seriously that much blood. So, he stopped coughing/choking and he was breathing okay so we got him undressed and changed. Billy was holding him and singing sweet soft songs to soothe him. In the meantime, I was a crazy person on the phone with our on call pediatrician and the ENT. Seriously, couldn't even figure out call waiting when one of them beeped in.

So, we called our dear friends Andy and Lisa, who came immediately to stay with Jacob who was sleeping peacefully, and drove straight to the ER. I think we were on autopilot or something. I mean - why in the world they have to ask all those crazy questions in the ER... I'll never know. They kept saying, "how much blood did he lose?" Really??? I have no freaking clue, but it's my baby and ANY blood is not okay is what I wanted to scream, but I just kept saying over and over again, "a lot. a lot. i don't know. a lot."

So, fast forward a little bit... they wheeled him away after giving him the silly juice because he needed more surgery. Apparently, his scar tissue had ruptured or something. At that moment, Billy and I collapsed in the waiting room chairs and both of us sobbed. He was out of surgery in literally 20 minutes and we got to be with him. He was fine. PRAISE THE LORD! He was an absolute terror, wild man after anesthesia, but we got to take him home shortly thereafter. His blood counts were so low, though that he almost needed a blood transfusion. So, to answer your questions you silly ER people (who were incredibly kind and awesome I must say!!!) see, I told you he lost a lot of blood. Almost enough to need a transfusion.

Anyway, that's why I'll never ever forget December 22 or December 23 for the rest of my life. He healed beautifully. Other than some severe sleep trauma, bless his heart, for a few months, he was and is perfectly fine. He still remembers it, and of course so do we.

Thank you Jesus for the incredible blessing of being a momma, the joys and the pains. Thank you Jesus for holding my sweet little Jonathan in your arms one year ago and keeping him safe. Thank you Jesus for the amazing friends and family that you surround us with daily. Thank you Jesus for somehow holding us in your arms, even when we can't stand on our own.



(pic has nothing to do with the post... just a cute shot of my sweeties with their pa on his birthday yesterday!) but... it's proof that God is good. All the time.

Maybe not me...

It's Monday and it must be random... right?
* I may have watched my child drop a pretzel stick on the floor at the mall and then pop it into his mouth. I almost threw up in my mouth...
* Three ornaments and two candles might have been broken in my house in the last week. Boys, anyone?
* I may have gone out on a date to a wedding with my hubby and our best friends this weekend, only to panic because what stay at home (almost) mommy has cute sexy clothes anymore?
* I may have smiled when I, on a whim, looked in the very back of my closet and found a little black dress that I wore when we first got married AND IT FIT. Heck, I may have even done a little victory dance in the mirror.
* I may have had to buy pantyhose at the last possible second for said wedding, because hello??? I don't get dolled up that often. And when I do, I MAY wear black pants and turtlenecks, which is my uniform it seems.
* I may have tried to trick my little man into telling me what his daddy got mommy for Christmas. I may have tried, but it sure didn't work. rats!
* I may be wasting time on the internet reading blogs when I.should.be.wrapping.presents. ahem!

Wordless Wednesday

Thank God for Imaginations!

One of the things I ask a new patient's parent when I see them for an assessment at work is "do they have imaginative play?" Imaginative play is developmentally appropriate starting at about 2 years and is almost 100% evidence that a child does not have and will not develop autism or other social communication disorders. I see a lot of kids with some really tough issues, so when I am home, I hug my babies a little tighter and say prayers of thanksgiving for their health!

One thing that warms my heart is the HUGE imagination my littles have. I mean HUGE doesn't even begin to describe it. I know I've posted about our fascination with costumes several times, but really... it's our most used childhood item. If we don't have a costume they want, we improvise. See????

Jacob and Jonathan created a play called "The Grinch meets Buzz Lightyear." We didn't have a Grinch costume, so we made one - sort of. Jacob was concerned that he didn't have any green pants so he thought we should tape some green paper on his legs. Such a cutie and such a great imagination. Oh, and "the Grinch meets Buzz?"... would totally be a hit. So if any movie studios stumble upon my little bloggy, hit me up. My boys are quite the screen writers. :-)

Introducing...

The head coach of your Simpsonville 5 year old team (name unknown yet), Billlllllyyyyy Stover. (said in my most perfect Rupp Arena announcer voice). Yep, I think my one of my hubby's dreams is coming true. He is coaching Jacob's first little basketball team. He had their first practice on Saturday. SO cute. Not sure how this whole thing's gonna work, honestly. Jacob would probably work harder for another coach, since he sometimes acts a little shy and goofy around us. Billy had fun though and so did Jacob! He's definitely a beginner though... despite Billy's love for basketball, we haven't spent much time playing ball with the boys. Stay tuned... the season starts in January. :-)