Home from surgery

So, the surgery is over, and we're home! Little Missy was amazing!! The worst part was waiting to go in...she hadn't had any drugs or any food in about sixteen hours, and of course, they took her in late. So, after two and a half hours of trying to keep a hungry, tired, cranky two-year-old under control, we were both ready for this thing to bed done.

Here we are watching Elmo on the portable DVD player in the pre-op room. (She REFUSED to wear the hospital gown!!)

And she looked at books for about 3.1 seconds...

She hated those ID bracelet!
This one is after surgery (which only took about 15 minutes.) She was crying a lot while waking up from the anesthesia because she was so disoriented. It was sad.

They kicked us out of the hospital just over an hour after her surgery was complete. What's with that these days?! She hasn't puked like they said she would even after having a popsicle and a huge cup of juice. Here's what she's doing now...

It was also super duper sad having to starve her this morning. She kept crying and saying, "Mommy, I'm so hungry!" and "Mommy, I NEED a cereal bar." Almost had me in tears.

Overall, things went well, and we're hoping for a speedy recovery. Thanks for your prayers!!

Treats on the square

One of the best things about being down here with family is getting to experience local activities with them. Last weekend was all about the Yamboree. This weekend was "Treats on the Square." A bunch of local vendors come to the town square and pass out treats to kids (and obnoxious teenagers) dressed in their Halloween costumes. Eleanor and I went with Nana and Pop and Aunt Jen and Chloe. The girls seemed to have had a great time!

The cutest little kitty cat EVER...


And her cousin the cutest little cowgirl...
It's all about the candy!!!

I love this next picture. I think because it sort of sums up Eleanor's personality right now...in her own little world, doing whatever she wants to do.

Surgery

So, I'm such a lousy blogger these days. The same day we stopped the medication, everything went back downhill. I'm so sleepy. And Eleanor is sleepy and super duper crrr-anky all the time. We're just wandering around in varying states of delirium...

Hopefully, our problems are about to be solved, though. Today, I took Eleanor to the ENT doctor. He did an x-ray, and said that her adenoids are 'huge' and that he was surprised she could breathe through her nose at all. He showed me what he was talking about on the x-ray...there really isn't much room at all for air to get through her nasal cavity. So, on Monday, he's taking those bad boys out. He's leaving the tonsils...he said they're fine and that you don't take a two-year-old's tonsils out unless you have to because the recovery is a lot harder than if you just take the adenoids out. (If I told you the surgery was Wednesday, it has now been rescheduled due to some misunderstanding regarding insurance.)

We'll need prayer for the surgery, of course. And for the twelve hours prior to surgery when I can't give Eleanor anything to eat or drink. The eating is not an issue since she's mostly indifferent about food, but the girl does love her milk!

We're doing some fun Halloween stuff this weekend, but I'm not sure if I'll be blogging about it until after the surgery. Thanks for you prayers!

The doctor's visit

So, the doctor says Eleanor's adenoids and tonsils look MUCH better. So, for now, she's going to stay on an allergy medicine and a nose spray. If things start to go downhill, we'll go see him again, and then surgery may be the answer. But we hope that this medicine will keep adenoids free of irritation, so that she can breathe (and sleep!)

For the past two nights, she has slept all night in her own bed. She did wake up ready for the day at 5:45 both days, but I can so live with that!

I didn't mean the bolding comment to sound like an indictment on anyone. Trust me, there are days when I skim or (gasp!) even just look at the pictures. We're all busy, and I totally get that. So, Shana, no harm done...and no need to ask for forgiveness!! :)

What's going on

• Eleanor's new doctor thinks that her unwillingness and inability to sleep may be due to the fact that her tonsils and adenoids are enlarged, and basically, she can't breathe. She's on FIVE prescription meds, which seems to really be helping her sleeping longer periods of time at night. We go back tomorrow to talk with him again. The verdict will either be that she's better or that her tonsils and adenoids need to come out.
• And then there's bedtime...It still stinks for the most part, but it's getting a little shorter. Last night, I only had to stay for 30 minutes while she fell asleep, and tonight only 20. I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this, but tonight, she did not thrash around like she was possessed or scream like a wild banshee at all. Vast improvement over what we've been doing for the past, oh, seven weeks or so.
• Jared's phone ran out of minutes, so he can't call me anymore. We can chat online, but that means I have to stay up until 11 PM to talk to him when he gets up for work. That would be fine, if sleeping until around 6 were a predictable pattern for me. Not there yet. But I still stay up. I miss him so much.
• I think I'll start highlighting the keypoints of all wordy posts. No one has time to read all of this, right?
• My 10-year high school reunion is on Friday. (And Lisa will be there! Did anyone know that I went to high school with her hubbie? Cool, right?) The girl planning the thing asked me to take some pictures. Annoying.

Let's try this again...

Same post, but I'm highlighting the key points for those of you who are skimming...

So, after spending an hour and a half in Eleanor's room trying to get her to sleep, I looked at some message boards concerning this very issue. Apparently, some kids take 5 or 6 months to get their molars in and their parents are basically awake that whole time. So, since we've already been at this no-sleep thing for a couple of months now, I decided I better get my post ready for when this is all over.

Here goes...the post I am sure to need in just a couple of short months.

"Yesterday, all four of Eleanor's molars popped right through her little gums, and like magic, her sleep is completely back to normal. Last night, at 7:30, she politely asked if she could please go to bed. I told her she may, so she quietly went into her room, read her bedtime stories, and lay her sweet little punkin' head on her pillow and drifted off to Sleepytown, where she remained for 12 hours. I awoke to the sound of birds chirping and Eleanor singing sweet melodies as she lay in her bed, waiting for me to come and get her.

Her behavior throughout the day was amazing. Whatever do all of those people mean by "terrible twos??" She never once told me "no." When I told her to do something, she did not respond with, "NO WANT TO, MOMMY!" but rather a very sweet "Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say, Mommy." She looked upon another two-year-old with utter disgust as he lay kicking and screaming and pounding his fists on the floor. (He must have been getting his molars.)

I should have known that all along it was teething causing our sleeplessness and her crankiness. What else could possibly be to blame for my child turning into that lady from Exorcist at bedtime (the head-spinning and everything) and Simon Cowell when she's awake? I'm so thankful that the molars are in, and she has returned to her full-night-sleeping, happy, agreeable self. The past five months seem like only a distant memory now."

Okay, good, glad I got that done. Didn't want to let it sneak up on me, you know?

It's not over yet, ladies. Not at all. The sleeplessness rages on!

Dare to dream

So, after spending an hour and a half in Eleanor's room trying to get her to sleep, I looked at some message boards concerning this very issue. Apparently, some kids take 5 or 6 months to get their molars in and their parents are basically awake that whole time. So, since we've already been at this no-sleep thing for a couple of months now, I decided I better get my post ready for when this is all over.

Here goes...the post I am sure to need in just a couple of short months.

"Yesterday, all four of Eleanor's molars popped right through her little gums, and like magic, her sleep is completely back to normal. Last night, at 7:30, she politely asked if she could please go to bed. I told her she may, so she quietly went into her room, read her bedtime stories, and lay her sweet little punkin' head on her pillow and drifted off to Sleepytown, where she remained for 12 hours. I awoke to the sound of birds chirping and Eleanor singing sweet melodies as she lay in her bed, waiting for me to come and get her.

Her behavior throughout the day was amazing. Whatever do all of those people mean by "terrible twos??" She never once told me "no." When I told her to do something, she did not respond with, "NO WANT TO, MOMMY!" but rather a very sweet "Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say, Mommy." She looked upon another two-year-old with utter disgust as he lay kicking and screaming and pounding his fists on the floor. (He must have been getting his molars.)

I should have known that all along it was teething causing our sleeplessness and her crankiness. What else could possibly be to blame for my child turning into that lady from Exorcist at bedtime (the head-spinning and everything) and Simon Cowell when she's awake?

I'm so thankful that the molars are in, and she has returned to her full-night-sleeping, happy, agreeable self. The past five months seem like only a distant memory now."

Okay, good, glad I got that done. Didn't want to let it sneak up on me, you know?

The new header

See how Blogger oversaturates the red on my headers?? That drives me CRAZY!!!

Fall pictures

Just when I think she can't get any cuter...

My very, very, very favorite!!!....that little face...

I was tagged: Getting to know your kid better

Shana tagged me to do this little interview with Eleanor. Eleanor's answer about veins really cracked me up!

• How old are you? "TWO!"
• How old is mommy? "TWO!"
• How old is daddy? "TWO! I love you, Daddy!" (Yes, she really said that.)
• How do you bake a cake? "Happy birt-day cake. Blowin' on the cake. Happy birt-day to you!"
• Who is your Daddy? (Kissing sounds.)
• Who is your Mommy? (Points at me.)
• When is your birthday? "At the park!"
• What is your favorite color? "Red"
• What color is your hair? "Green"
• What color are your veins? "Wings? Duck has wings!"
• What is your favorite animal? "Lion"
• What do you want to be when you grow-up? "An animal in the zoo"

Tag 2 other bloggers: Lisa and Laura.

Back in the saddle

So, today I had my first Texas photo shoot. I have been feeling so melancholy that I've been putting off people who have contacted me. (That and I really was looking for good photo locations.)

The session went really well, and I'm so glad I did it! It felt like one more big step back toward normal. (I'm so ready to get there already.) It made me feel like I had actually accomplished something, rather than just wandering through the day like a crazed zombie dreading the nighttime. (On a sidenote, thanks so much for your prayers! Eleanor slept twelve hours straight last night in her own bed!! I, of course, kept waking up wondering when she'd be waking up. I actually had to get up while she was still asleep this morning to get ready, and I felt so...what's that word?...rested!)

When I was editing my photos this afternoon, I found myself needing to do something I had not done before. A head swap. I was working with three little boys, and, while they did great, they just didn't all do great at the same time. Their mommy was really hoping for one shot in particular for their daddy's Christmas present. Apparently, he's an LSU alum, and a huge fan.

So, here's the deal. This is what I got...


(I know you're laughing right now.)

What I was going for was a tough-guy football player look, and somebody didn't quite have that going on in the first photo. So, I took his tough-guy face from the second photo and replaced his frantic face in the first photo.

Ta-da! The finished product...

Eleanor is on Oprah.com!!!!!!!!!

http://viewervideo.oprah.com/kickapps/_Reading-1-year-old/video/325402/45960.html

Go there and rate her video!!