Spring Break, Daddy Back to GA, Doctors Visits....

So the first and second part of my title is my excuse for a lack of a post for.....what....almost 3 weeks?? Geez....that's bad. Let's see what I can remember...

Brad did get to come home for a quick trip to the beach. The weather was kinda cool and windy, but we did get a couple hours on the beach each day, so we really can't complain. We did some shopping, SOME, right Brad? The Destin Outlets were not hurt by the economy thanks to me. The boys needed summer clothes and shoes....and the fall/winter stuff was on clearance....and if you know me you know I love a deal! I'm buying for twins....I need to save when I can....and plan ahead too! There will be no pictures posted from the beach, because we didn't take any. In the packing craze....after 2 weeks of Brad being gone and 1 night to pack, I was literally just throwing stuff in bags.....and somehow brought a camera with no battery:( and it only takes the battery that came with the camera. Whoops....that stinks.

The boys had a good time and kept us laughing. On the trip down, Carson got his first experience of going potty on the side of the road (potty training will be the death of me). He had to go...and we were in the middle of nowhere! He was a trooper for sure! One night, I asked what they wanted for supper and Parker said, "Mama, I think I want something AMAZING....." like I EVER give them something amazing for supper. They asked to eat at Habaneros and Cracker Barrel almost everyday.....and we lied, saying they didn't have Cracker Barrel at the beach. We were caught the next day, when they spotted one....who knew?!?! My highlight of the week was when sweet Parker looked at me and said, "I think you're Supermom." I can't even remember what the context was....it was sweet though, I remember that:)

I turned 31 since my last post....wow, officially on my way to 40. Had a good day....until around 5 when Brad left for GA AGAIN. I mean really, should we be looking for a house over there or what?!?!? They do have the HOPE grant that would put both of my kids through college....hmmmmmmm....just kidding. Hopefully he'll be back here soon....the news is a couple more weeks and then alternating weeks 'til the end of May.

Monday morning we started out with a bang...and Carson had a PT appointment at 730 AM before school. Really, what was I thinking?? Ms. Peggy put some more padding in his jumping boots and said that he "looked good", but it might take us up to 6 months to "fix" the problem:(

So here comes the funny part of this post. I mean, I'm no Kate Gosselin (thank GOD), but a video camera following me this past Tuesday would have been entertainment for all:) I pick the boys up from school early, which means they had to be woken from a nap, to take Parker to the ENT and then both boys to the pulmonologist (lung dr, Dr. B).

We go to the ENT, where I fill out several pages of new patient paper work while everyone is commenting on how cute they are, asking if they are twins, and telling me I have my hands full....yes, that's all true, thank you for noticing, but you talking to me doesn't help me make my hands less full by getting rid of this clipboard full of papers! As I am finishing up the last page, someone has to go to the bathroom (at this point I actually begin thinking that pull-ups are an investment that make your life easier!). We take the papers to the front desk and head to the bathroom, where I proceed to whack Carson in the face with the toilet seat (he may leave it down forever now....my apology to his future wife). He leaned down to pull his pants down as I raised the seat.....complete meltdown to follow- I multi-task and ask Parker to use the potty while I console Carson- yea me! Carson is fine...a small scratch on his eye- but quits crying relatively quickly.

We head back to the waiting room where the boys have a small wrestling match while we wait....are they still cute, people!?!? We head back to the room and Carson is Mr. Personality until the doctor starts looking at Parker. Carson goes into a complete meltdown, i put him in the corner, while I try to listen to the ENT tell me that Parker needs to have tubes put in his ears and have his adenoids taken out. Carson eventually stops crying in the corner and tells me that he's ready to be nice. I tell him to apologize to the Dr., which he does, which leads the ENT to tell me that I have my hands full....really?!?!...thanks for the reminder from 10 minutes ago in your waiting room!
We move into the surgery scheduling room where I am filling out all the consent for the surgery (which is going to be in about 3 weeks, we think)- and Parker declares that he needs to poo-poo. I try to hold him off, several times, just trying to get through all the paperwork, and finally he says, "Mama, I have to go NOW or poo-poo will come out of my bootie!" BAHAHAHA.....the nurse tells me to go ahead....and we do....and we successfully make it to the bathroom. I ask twice if they are sure that Parker shouldn't have his surgery at the main hospital (as opposed to the satellite outpatient center), due to his asthma, and after checking with the doctor, the surgery is scheduled for April 15th at Children's South (hang on for a reschedule later in this post)....and we head to the parking deck.
Upon arriving to the parking deck, Carson says, "Mama, where is Scuba June?" For those of you who don't know...This was pretty much Carson's only request this past Christmas....and Santa was the only person able to find Scuba June....on eBay for about 3x regular price. I proceed to empty the diaper bag, my purse and my pockets, with no luck....so back to the Dr. office we go. We look everywhere and can't find it. I filled out a missing persons report and asked the nurse to keep her eye out...and we headed back to the car. As we walk, Carson has the lip out and is crying, and Parker is saying, "Sorwee bubba, you lost her and she's gone for ebber and ebber (ever and ever). As we reach the end of the hall, the sweet nurse says, "Mom, mom, wait....I think we found her!" Wheew!! Small miracles....gotta love it!

Now we head to Dr. B (pulmonologist) for a check-up. As we pull off the interstate, Parker tells me that he has to pee and that he might pee his pants. At this point I am absolutely positive that my next child will not EVER be potty trained. I will leave that child in pull-ups FOREVER!! I talk to him as we sit in traffic, trying to brainwash him to stay dry and hold on as long as he can. This story ends up with both boys peeing off the side of the parking deck at St. Vincent's hospital- absolutely Alabama, you might be a redneck if- I am just happy we made it and that I won't be washing carseats later that night! Both boys declare that they are watering the plants because they need water to grow during Spring time! Guess they are getting my money's worth at Mitchell's Place:) BAHAHAHAHA.....what a day
During the appointment Dr. B says that there is no way they will do surgery on Parker at Children's South (the satellite outpatient center), due to his high-risk breathing history, and that we'll need to reschedule at the main hospital, just in case of complications. We are awaiting a new date....and hopefully I will post again before the surgery:)

Brad is heading home tomorrow night and we'll celebrate our anniversary and Leah's birthday this weekend. We are taking the boys to Montgomery for the Air Show at Maxwell Air Force Base- and visiting our friends The Breedloves- we're really looking forward to that...and maybe we'll get some pictures to post!

Just Living

I'm already slacking on the posts.....geez, even once a week is too much for me:(

We've been staying busy....took a trip up to Chattanooga last weekend to watch Abigail cheer, celebrate Brenda's birthday and then finished it off with freezing our butts off at Tyler's baseball game. We had a great time and were glad to see everyone!

Brad left last Sunday night to work in Macon- we still haven't seen him:( Apparently, the dirt in Macon is wet and so they have to dry it.....hmmmmm, watching dirt dry. I bet Brad's having a blast! He is supposed to be coming home this Friday so that we can go to the beach!! Let's hope that works out.....for him I mean:)

Last Wednesday, Carson had a physical therapy evaluation for his "toe walking." We have officially aged out of early intervention, so his early intervention therapist referred us to a new therapist at Children's Hospital. Ms. Peggy was very nice and recommended that we try "the most conservative" option first. This consists of Carson wearing AFOs for a month. These are little plastic leg braces that go over his socks and under his pants. We call them his "jumping boots." He doesn't love them, at all, but is tolerating them well. Our biggest hurdle right now is that he has to wear shoes while they are on- or the hardwood floors in our house become an ice skating rink. Trying to get him to keep his shoes on while we are home continues to be a struggle, but warm weather is coming, so we're hoping that won't be such a problem once he can just stay outside and play! He is supposed to wear them "all waking hours", but I've been letting him take them off around 630 or 700, which is about an hour early. 12 hours a day is pretty good I think! He says, "Sorry, Parker, only I get jumping boots. Not you. Mama didn't get you any, sooorwee bubba." Which is followed by Parker saying, "Why didn't you get me any jumping boots, mama?" Twins make EVERYTHING more interesting, that's for sure!

This weekend was pretty low key....we caught some softball games at the Spain Park Tournament, ate out with friends and family....and played. Tonight, the boys were turning each other and me into things. Some of my favorites included, when Parker said, "Carson, I turn you into a "boobie bop and mommy, I turn you into a princess." I got the good end of that deal for sure! We missed our daddy. The boys kept asking, "What's today?" and "Where are we going?" It's almost like they couldn't figure out what was going on....I don't think Brad's been gone all week plus the weekend before (plus another 5 days too, but that might be discussed in my next post!). After dinner tonight, which was quite a battle for Parker, he hopped down and said, "Mama, let's go snuggle." and Carson said, "Yea, good idea Parker, let's go snuggle with mama." Love, love, love those boys.

We are fairly healthy. Parker and I are still coughing....Carson seems to be over the hump....except for that nasty runny nose, which I have decided is just par for the course:( Today I asked Parker what was wrong and he told me, "Mama, I can't breathe. I think I need some mask medicine (breathing treatment). That poor kid....at 3 years old he knows when he needs his medicine:(

Hanging on...5 more days til Spring Break....supposedly headed to the beach- thanks Aunt Pokey and Uncle Terry:) We'll see what happens with work for Daddy. Even if plans get axed, I'll be off from work, the boys off from school....that's a mini vacation in itself!