Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Weekend is Over

It's hard to believe the weekend has come and gone. Dad is still at Tampa General. They will hopefully release him tomorrow. They are going to do some light exercises with him tomorrow with the hopes that he'll have an "episode" while being connected to the monitors. We've seen him have these, but unfortunately it happens when he is in certain surroundings, which isn't happening at the hospital.

Bailey and Aubrey are both doing great. I took Aubrey to church today and they said she was very well behaved. I hope that is correct. She doesn't always say the most appropriate things, but I guess most children are that way.

Trish

Friday, March 28, 2008

The Week in Review

Once again it has been a busy week. We spent Easter at Brock and Carolyn's house. If you're reading this I want to thank you for inviting us to join your family in their celebration. Keith's dad, Molly, Tim, and friends of Carolyn's were there. We enjoyed our visit and Aubrey really enjoyed the Easter egg hunt. Bailey, of course, enjoyed the attention. She really has a way of making people fall in love with her. That night we had a little family emergency, but all is okay now.

Bailey had an appointment with her pediatrician this week. He would like us to start giving her apple juice with the hopes that she'll have a less difficult time having a bowel movement. Other than that minor problem she looks great. She's still continuing to gain weight and her lungs are clear. Good news all around! She also had PT twice this week and next week she'll start speech therapy. I hope we'll have the opportunity to feed her by mouth soon, and I'd love to see her lose the tube. Then, she'll be free of ALL medical equipment. Her eyes are also looking great, but we've noticed one is not completely straight. This is very normal for children with her history and we were prepared by the surgeon for a possible second surgery.

Aubrey is doing great. She really amazes me. I have a hard time remembering that she's only two. I took her to my parents tonight to walk their dog and she held the leash and made sure Debbie went potty. I feel that she's reached a point where she can possibly spend time with people other than family, so Sunday will be the first time I will take her to church. I'm hoping that she doesn't cause any problems. If it's as easy as I hope, I'll be taking Bailey soon.

Keith and I celebrated our third anniversary yesterday. We did a very simple celebration. Funds are not as nice as they once were. I can't believe how much things have changed for us over the past three years. Keith graduated college, we have two beautiful girls, purchased a house, I got a great promotion at work, I got laid off, and now I'm starting over again. I must say this past year has been one of the most difficult times of my life. I've survived, but there have been many times I really didn't want to get out of bed. I'm very thankful for all the support I've been given, and the new friends I've made during the changes we've encountered. I appreciate each person we've met during this journey, and they have made me hopeful for the future.

Mom and dad are spending this weekend at Tampa General. Dad is having some tests done and I hope that his numerous tests he's been through since 2005 will soon come to an end. I can't imagine going through what he and mom have had to go through. They are two very strong people and I hope to remain as strong as they are as I grow older.

This weekend is our free weekend. There is nothing on the calendar. So, tomorrow Keith will take his mom grocery shopping, then she is keeping Aubrey for the rest of the afternoon so we can clean house. Hopefully we'll finish tomorrow and be able to relax Sunday.

Also, please keep Shaun in your prayers. He had his adenoids removed today and also had tubes put in his ears. He is only a year old and this was his first surgery. Hopefully, he'll be returning home tomorrow.

Trish

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Visiting and Cleaning

Today was a nice, stress free day. We went to lunch with Shelby, her daughter, and boyfriend. Service was a bit slow, but that gave us plenty of time to visit. It was so nice to see them. I remember before we had families we spent almost every weekend together. Now, we see each other maybe three times per year (birthdays). Then, Aubrey went to her Granny's house for the rest of the afternoon so I could clean house and so Keith could go grocery shopping.

We will be spending tomorrow with Keith's family. We're having an Easter egg hunt around 4:00pm and dinner will be soon after. Other than that, tomorrow will be a quiet day.

Trish

Friday, March 21, 2008

Happy Down syndrome Day!


It's March 21st, 3/21, it's World Down syndrome day! It's also Good Friday. This is going to be short and sweet because I'm exhausted and it's well past my bedtime. I wanted to let everyone know they can visit http://www.dsapolk.org/ to see pictures from the Easter egg hunt and visit to the fire station last weekend. The children really seemed to enjoy getting in the big truck!

Trish

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I'm Sick

Well I guess it's my turn to be sick. I thought I could stay healthy. Especially starting a new job, I'd like to be healthy. I guess that just isn't possible. My days are long. Very long. I know, or hope, once training is complete things will get easier. I still feel like an overpaid cashier, but hopefully I'll begin training on more difficult tasks soon. The girls are still healthy. Lets hope it continues this way.

Trish

Friday, March 14, 2008

Friday, Friday, Friday!!!

Whew! I survived week one. Monday and Tuesday were okay, but the rest of the week I was up between 4:00am and 4:30am to begin my day. Yes, I know, I'm a BIG baby! It will get better, but the past 3 months have made me very spoiled. I miss my little girls. I miss the smiles, giggles, and the fun we had. I don't miss the tears, whining, and attitude.

It's nice working again. However, I miss knowing what I'm talking about. Management is management, but the terms are different from one industry to the next. So for me, min/max is Build To, POS is something totally different (I forgot what it is now), but VOCs are still VOCs... whew! Sometimes I get very angry about the situation I've been put in due to the purchase of MAB, but I realize it's something that can't be taken personally and I just have to make the best of the situation I'm in. I feel as though I've wasted almost 15 years of my professional life.

Bailey saw her eye surgeon earlier in the week and she said everything looks great! She wants to see Bailey again in about 6 weeks. That was excellent news! We're gradually increasing her tube feeds in hopes that she'll continue to gain weight. Hopefully I can get her coordinator for our Early Intervention program to call me in the next few years (sarcasm) to approve her Speech Therapy. I find it hard to accept that someone that is so important in your childs development can make a comment about how she hasn't checked her mailbox in several weeks, or how it takes numerous phone calls just to get one simple return call. I guess some people are employed because the employer needs a warm body to fill a slot.

Trish

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Monday, March 10, 2008

Work. Day One.

Today was an earlier than usual start. I was up at 5:00am and the girls and I left the house around 6:00am for the start of my first day at work. Things went very well. I had training in Tampa from 8:00am until around 1:30pm, then I went to one of their locations in Lakeland and met with the person that will be training me for the next 8 weeks. I already have a store, but it's important for me to have a complete understanding of my job description before I take on the task of managing a store.

Bailey had a follow-up appointment with her pediatrician today. He said she is looking good and he discontinued her antibiotics that she's been taking for her bladder infection. Her x-ray results were finally available and everything looks good, which is excellent news! He also scheduled her hearing test and that will be on the 1st of April.

Aubrey is doing okay. She has regressed in the potty training department. We were rewarding her every time she used the potty and we recently decided to discontinue rewarding her because she seems to be using the potty every time she needs to. Well, since we discontinued the rewards she doesn't use the potty anymore. It's a learning experience for us all.

Keith is doing better. He still has a cough, but he seems to be able to function now. Hopefully the rest of the house will remain healthy. He spent the majority of the time in the bedroom, so the germs will hopefully be contained to that area.

Trish

Friday, March 7, 2008

We're Home!

I just realized that's the title of many posts for me. But, we're home. It has been a long day for Bailey. We left the house early this morning and arrived in St. Petersburg around 10:00am. Bailey received excellent care this morning. They, of course, were concerned because she was blue. Normal, I say. Then they couldn't find a pulse in her feet. Normal, I say. Finally, after being in recovery for several hours we were sent home. Bailey looks great. She's a bit fussy at times, but she's so strong. I know I would be in bed whining if I had the surgery she just had. I think she's just happy to be finally eating.

Keith is not doing as good as Bailey. He, once again, has the bug that's going around. It seems we continue passing this around and it's just become a vicious cycle. So, Keith has started this cycle and with many prayers I hope this will be the end for us and we won't all become ill. I especially want to keep my two little girls healthy.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Tomorrow is the Big Day

It's such a rainy night here in sunny Florida. I'm only 4 days away from returning to the role of a working mom. I can honestly say I'm looking forward to returning to work. However, I know I'll miss my two beautiful little girls. Aubrey is spending tonight with my parents and I already miss her. I can't imagine how difficult it is going to be working again and not seeing her as often as I have.

Bailey is asleep now and at 4:30am we'll be turning her food off in preparation for surgery tomorrow. We'll be arriving at All Children's Hospital around 10:30am and her surgery is scheduled for 12:30pm. The surgery is scheduled to last approximately an hour. This will be very simple and we should be home later tomorrow evening.

Mom and I took Bailey to PT this morning and then we went to play group. I really enjoy the play group we go to, but lately when I leave I feel uneasy. Today, there were only two other moms and babies there. Each mom was talking about how they love to watch their child sleep and how every time they hear a noise on the monitor they go running. It makes me remember the early days with Bailey. The days before her heart was repaired. I remembered not hearing her baby monitor, but hearing her pulse/ox alarm and running to check her, hoping that we weren't going to take another trip to the hospital. Or looking at her color and wondering if this purple color was a bad thing or if it was normal for her. Of course, I've learned from other parents of older children that her purple color will be normal for her. I guess we can say it's her favorite color.

So now, I'm looking to tomorrow and seeing my little girls eyes corrected. Then giving Aubrey a big hug when we pick her up, then doing last minute shopping for Megan's 7th Birthday! Leave it to me to wait until the last minute. I'm the queen of procrastination.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

It's Wednesday Already?

This week seems to be coming to an end before my eyes. Bailey had some appointments yesterday and they went very well. She saw her pediatrician yesterday and he says she looks good. Her tests last week show that she does not have kidney reflux which is great news! It also showed that she doesn't completely empty her bladder, but it's nothing to be too concerned about. He is planning to check her hearing once we get eye surgery behind us. We're not too concerned with her hearing, but she doesn't respond to hearing her name or when we clap or make other sounds. She also had her appointment with GI and he is also happy with her progress. He said we can start trying solids, but we need to do them with her speech therapists. He said they may want to order another swallow study before starting solids, but he's leaving that decision up to them. Today, we had our first PT visit, and she is so tired now. It's only 30 minutes, but her little body gets so tired. Bailey is almost 10 months old, and they evaluated her development around 4-5 months old. Nothing surprising. We have PT again tomorrow, and on Friday she will be having eye surgery.

I have a job now. It isn't quite the position I was looking for, but it will get me in the door with a company I'm interested in working for. I'll go through their training program as a store manager and hope I can impress them enough to become a market manager.

Trish

Monday, March 3, 2008

Busy, Busy Week

This is going to be one busy week! First, let's start with this past weekend. We went to dinner Friday night, then decided to visit Keith's mom. We got home around 8:00pm and made the decision to go to Orlando and spend the weekend at Disney! So, we made hotel reservations, packed our bags, and made it to the hotel around 10:00pm.

This was Bailey's first trip to Disney and Aubrey's 3rd trip. We had so much fun. Aubrey saw Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, Belle, Winnie the Pooh, and so many more characters. She rode lots of rides, and enjoyed all the shows.

So, the fun is over and it's back to reality. Bailey has several appointments this week. We'll have the pediatrician, GI, Down Syndrome Clinic, and 3 therapies. Friday, she'll be having her eye surgery at All Children's Hospital.

We will also be going to Megan's birthday party on Saturday... FUN FUN!

Trish