Graham's Surgery

Grammy had his tear duct surgery today!! His left tear duct had been blocked since birth and for some reason never opened. His right tear duct was clogged, as well, but it opened up when he was about 10 months old. We arrived at Cincinnati Children's Hospital at about 6:30am (!) and his surgery was scheduled for 8am.
Graham was less than thrilled to be in the waiting area at the crack of dawn!! He basically gave all the staff and nurses very dirty looks or just moped when they tried to examine him. But, he did make for an easy patient since he was still so sleepy!

By 7:30am our H&P was done, we were all gowned up, his left eye was marked and we were ready to head to the OR. Don't you just love the doctor's initials she put by his left eye, in permanent marker?! At 8am we were wheeled back to the OR and I got to hold my sweet baby as he was put under. He kinda liked the bubble gum flavored anesthesia! It was a quick procedure, only about 10 minutes, and I was called back to talk with his doctor. Evidently, Graham's blockage was pretty bad so it took a little work to probe and irrigate it. They are thinking we have a pretty good chance of being back to have a stent put in place to keep the duct open. My gut feeling is that he'll have to get the stent, as he's still having a good bit of drainage this afternoon. But, maybe we'll get lucky and it will stay open.

He came out of anesthesia perfectly and I went back to the PACU to be with my sweet little man. He drank A LOT of the juice they gave him (Of course! It was the real deal apple juice instead of the diluted stuff he gets at home!!) One more quick vitals check and we were headed home. He was a trooper and a little groggy for the rest of the morning, but by lunch he was back to his old ways!

It's Not Fun Until Somebody Bleeds...

Can you guess what happened in our house this morning???...One of the boys had a bloody nose!! Or, more accurately, one of the boys was given a bloody nose. The above picture is a small glimpse of the mess I had to deal with. The story I was told is that Marshall hit Patrick and his nose started bleeding. Everywhere. Patrick, of course, climbed out of his highchair and walked through the dining room and kitchen dripping blood everywhere along the way! I got Patrick settled and holding a tissue under his nose. He's had so many bloody noses that he's quite good at tilting his head back and holding the tissue so he doesn't bleed everywhere! I was able to quickly clean up all the blood droplets off the hardwood and kitchen floors, but the needle point rug is a different story. I tried all the old tricks and the blood is still not completely out! But, at least Patrick is okay and the rug is in desperate need of a professional cleaning anyway.

Lowest of Lows

Oh, boy. I'm there. I've officially hit my all time low. The one thing I have said for 15+ years that I would NEVER do. I am going to do it. Could be as early as this week, but it will certainly happen before Quad is born. What is it?!? Well, I am going to drive a minivan. A MINIVAN. Oh my goodness! I am going to test drive one this afternoon with Robert. Whoa. This is the one vehicle I have always said I would NEVER drive. Why? I have no clue. I just always said I was not going to be one of those minivan moms. But, that was before 3.5 children! And, before we lived in the middle of Cincinnati where driving a Suburban or something will just not work. Too much on street parking, parking garages and the fact that we live in a 100+ year old house and you can't drive a massive vehicle up our driveway, it's too narrow. So, I will soon be the proud owner of a minivan. I can barely say it! Ahhh! Not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just always been this joke that I will not drive one. Man, karma has a way of gettin' ya, huh?!?

But, I am embracing the idea. How nice will be be for my children to be able to climb up into the car without me giving them a boost? How nice will it be to get us all in, shut the door and walk through to fasten all the carseats? Now I have to deal with kids that run off while I'm putting one in the car and going back and forth to both sides of the car to get everyone buckled up. So, this minivan thing will be quite nice, I am imagining. And, how easy it will be to maneuver everyone in and out once my belly is sticking out so far I look like Humpty Dumpty?! Let's just say that me getting up into and out of the Pathfinder at 9mo. pregnant is a bit of a challenge and quite a sight to see!

We plan in keeping the Pathfinder, though, as it's only a couple of years old and the 4 wheel drive is a must-have during the winter. We'll say farewell to the Camry. So, here's to a new little adventure today! Hopefully it will go well and you know I'll have to post a pic of my new pimpin' minivan once we actually buy one!!

Team PINK or BLUE?!?

The big day is almost here! Only five more days until we find out if Quad is a boy or a girl. Can't wait. :) Obviously, we just want a healthy pregnancy, baby and mommy. But, being that I am ever so patient I just want to know. NOW. My wait is almost over, though!! My gut has been saying girl, but we all know that may mean nothing at all. Although, I was sure that Patrick and Marshall were boys from day one. Graham threw me for a loop!! I had no clue with him. So, team PINK or team BLUE? What do you think???

Back On My Inventive Streak

Well, I am back on my inventive streak. And, this one has nothing to do with containing or burning off the energy my children have! This one is even better. BETTER. It will/could solve a serious problem in many relationships/marriages. It will/could solve a serious problem that we have. Yes, honey, I am admitting it. I am accepting it, too. I AM A COVER STEALER IN THE WORST WAY. There. I said it.

Robert has informed me of my little problem, but until sleeping alone in our bed I never realized how serious my problem was. When I woke up, after sleeping alone in our bed, the covers were ALL over the floor on MY side of the bed. And, I was FREEZING because I had NO covers!! This was my 'rock bottom,' so to speak. I had been somewhat denying that I really stole covers and figured Robert must be contributing to the problem. And, he is. Just not in the manner I thought he was!! He is in actuality SAVING me from my own problem. He pulls the covers back with all his might, thus keeping me from dragging them all to the floor and keeping both of us from freezing to death during our sleep.

So, how do I plan to solve this problem?? Well, I am going to invent the Cover Hugger. It will be similar to those contraptions they have that you put on the corners of your fitted sheet to keep it from coming off of your bed. But, do they eve have those anymore?? It seems that most sheet have deep pockets now. But anyway, it will keep one partner from pulling all of the covers to their side of the bed (or onto the floor!)

I just might be a genius, huh?! Hehehe....Maybe I'll even make us our millions with my idea and Robert can retire from Uncle Procter. When people ask why he'll say, "Because you know those cover hugger things that all married couples have now? Well, my brilliant wife invented those!" Hey, it could happen. So, no stealing my grand idea guys. :) And, maybe I'll even be kind enough to give a free set of Cover Huggers to all blog readers. ;) Have a great weekend...

Icicles

We've got some pretty impressive icicles hanging from our porch and back step! However, ours are nothing compared to some I have seen around our neighborhood. They boys are pretty captivated by them, but I figure it's a good idea to knock them down. The last thing we need is someone to get stabbed by an icicle or have roof leakage issues!! But, they are pretty cool, huh?!

Look how big this one is!! It was at least at long as I am tall.

Valentine's Goodies

Don't they look yummy?!? They were! The boys helped with adding the eggs and oil, using the cookie cutters and of course, decorating. Too bad pregnant mommy ate the majority of them. :) But, we also had some that we just frosted with Funfetti icing (because everything's better with Funfetti) so the boys' got their fair share, too. But, my boys, especially Patrick, have become quite the bakers. Patrick has even gotten pretty good at cracking the eggs mixing all the batter together. He's mommy's little helper. :)

15 Weeks...Well, Actually 16

So, 16 weeks now! Forgot to put up 15 weeks pics. Only 22 more weeks to go. I had my 15 week appointment this week. All is good. Baby Quad's heart rate is still higher than any of the boys ever were. My doctor says that he/she must just be having a party in there, or maybe it's a girl since they say girls have a higher heart rate. We'll see next Saturday!!! My blood pressure is good, weight gain good, pee good. Noting too exciting. They have decided to do the big anatomy scan ultrasound at 22 weeks instead of around 20. They said they were having to do too many repeat scans due to not getting good pics on patients, so now they just do the scan later on all patients. A combination of doing scans too early and patients being of less than ideal weight (aka overweight) makes getting good pics hard. So, definitely glad I have the ultrasound at 17 weeks. I would be SO impatient having to wait until 22 weeks to find out the sex. You know patient I am...

But, I have decided that I need to write a book about all of the things the books about pregnancy forget to talk about. All of the things that these books conveniently leave out are in full swing now!! Mood swings. Yeah, I have those!! Big time. Just ask anyone in my house. And, they are by far worse this pregnancy than they have ever been. Varicose veins. Yuck, yuck, painful, ugly and more yuck. These babies didn't get bad until Graham, and they are even worse this time. They are actually TERRIBLE. They hurt like you-know-what and are extremely unsightly. And, I'm only 16 weeks!!! There's no telling how bad they'll be by the end. And, all those books tend to leave out the fact that not only can you get them in your legs and/or rear end (hemorrhoids?!) but also in some other areas. Yeah, that other area. Not fun. And, they get worse with each pregnancy and as you age. But, I've already been referred to a doctor to have all of these things zapped with a laser after the birth. ASAP. And, speaking of after the birth, I've already taken care of my permanent plans. Eight weeks postpartum it will all be taken care of. NO more babies for us!!! :)

That's about it for now. Definitely another update in just over a week when we find out if it's a Quad or a Quadette!

Wordless Wednesday

Disclaimer: The great snowman is not ours! It is our neighbor's

snowman that my boys were determined to destroy. Glad I

didn't waste any time building them a fabulous snowman! :)

The Invention of All Inventions!!!!!

Yes, I have found a solution!!!! A solution to my stir crazy children problem. What is it??? Well, it's a preschooler sized GERBIL WHEEL. Pretty brilliant, huh?!? Stick those crazy kiddos in that thing and let 'em run it all out. And, I imagine it would be rather entertaining for me, too. Especially to sit back, watch the kids run and enjoy a nice glass of wine or something. Hmmm...I'm liking this idea more and more! I might even invent a fancy model in which the wheel is enclosed in some sort of...wait...GERBIL BALL!!!! HA! Brilliant.

Yeah, yeah. There may be a few kinks, but I can work through those. Safety, ummm more safety, cruelty, child abuse, child services...I might have some fine tuning to do. But, you gotta admit, it sounds pretty good. Can you imagine?!? A gerbil wheel enclosed in a gerbil ball AND even a padded room in your house?!? And, I'm talking about a padded room for my boys to go bonkers in, not for me to bang my head against the wall in . :) Oh, the possibilities...And, man, I've got one heck of an inventive streak, ya think?! Don't worry, Robert's not planning on quiting his day job yet. He's not as optimistic about my invention. But, you just wait. In thirty years everyone will have a life sized gerbil wheel for their child. Or, a treadmill could do the trick, but how boring is that?!

Pretty Darn Close...

...to a breakdown. Or, a Mommy Dearest moment as some I know refer to them. :) For starters, it's winter. Yuck. And, it's February. More yuck. And, we are oh-so-lucky to be getting more snow. Yuck to the nth degree. I am OVER winter. And, the stupid groundhog had to go and see his darn shadow! My children are stir CRAZY. It's getting ridiculous. They are consistently behaving like barnyard animals. And smelling like them, too! Not because they don't get bathed, but because they are little boys and they are totally amused by certain bodily functions. Oh yeah, and I'm pregnant. I'm at the the worst phase of it, too. Well, maybe it's a tie. The worst may actually be 32-37 weeks. You know, the end part where you're miserable but you know you don't want the baby to come just yet because it's too early. But, now I'm in the I've-put-on-enough-weight-t0-not-fit-in-my-clothes-but-not-look-pregnant phase and the can't-feel-the-baby-move-yet phase and the don't-yet-know-the-sex phase. So basically, I look like I over indulged big time during the holidays and I can't yet enjoy the sweet little flutters of baby Quad that no one can feel but me that put a huge smile on my face and I can't yet day dream about names, the nursery, the clothes, what he/she will look like, etc...Whew! I'm just a ball of pleasant fun now, eh?!?

However, this too shall pass. Eventually. We could live further north and have even nastier winters, right? And, my children could just be that poorly behaved and it have nothing to do with being cooped up. And, I could not have the blessed ability to become pregnant have my beautiful children, right? Yup. I really don't have it that bad. I have a great husband, fabulous little boys, a warm home, food in my fridge, amazing friends, etc...The list could go on and on and on. But, I'm not going to lie. Today I just feel like moaning and groaning a little...and day dreaming of running away to some tropical paradise.

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Last night we were heading home from a Super Bowl party when Patrick tells me that he does not like our car. Hmmm...He's THREE. Kind of odd to hear him say that. So, I ask for more details and I actually got some! Side note: Patrick has already mastered the male art of providing ZERO details. I ask him what he did at school- Nufin, Mom. What did you do with the sitter tonight- I dunno. But anyway, he goes on to tell me that he wants our 'open-shut car' back. Huh?!? He continues, good thing because I was WAY confused, to tell me that he wants the car that we had when Mommy's car was crashed and broken by another car and had to go away to be fixed. Oh, I see. So, Patrick was referring to the rental Kia Sedona minivan that we had for over a month LAST SUMMER. Yeah, like 8 months ago. Wow. He has a pretty good memory. Or, maybe he really liked that car. Either way, my 3 1/3 year old son asked for a MINIVAN!!!! Holy crap. I bet he'll change his tune when I roll up to the high school in an awesome minivan to pick him up! Ha! He'll be demanding that we get a Suburban or Tahoe or something then. But, still, my three year actually wants a minivan. WHOA! He just might get his wish before baby Quad is born...

Sunday Brunch...Carraway Style

Do you go to Sunday brunch?? We do. The boys just LOVE our routine. In fact, they beg for this treat on a daily basis. And, if we ever drive even close to our brunch spot they get so excited because they think we are going to our special little place! Where, you ask, is our great brunch spot?


It's SAM'S CLUB!!! Yup, that's right. We go to Sam's and it's our boys' absolute FAVORITE place in the entire world. They beg for it, they plead for it, heck, I bet they'd even stop bickering for like a whole 2 seconds if I told them we could go to Sam's for lunch.

We typically do our shopping and while Robert is checking out I go and get our pizza and hot dog combos. The boys come running and just can't wait for their gourmet, high quality, fancy schmancy lunch! We spend more time sitting down to eat than we do actually shopping. And, if they boys are super lucky I even get some 'S M&M's' (not to be confused with Skittles!) for our dessert.

Yes, we are high class and way too fancy for words when it comes to our brunch location. Some people go to the nice little local breakfast cafe, or Panera, or First Watch, etc. But, we Carraway's do it in style. We go to Sam's Club!! I can't wait until the boys are all in high school and I tell them how excited they used to get about eating at Sam's. They probably won't believe me, but that's why it's documented here in blogland. :) And, by the time they're all in high school we'll probably be shopping at Sam's multiple times per week in order to keep up with the quantities of food they consume! However, I am a little worried about our brunch routine. Once Quad is old enough to sit at the table we're going to have to get two tables and split up! We already barely fit at the table with the five of us. But, we'll figure it out. You know I can't disappoint my boys and just stop our Sam's Club meals!

Finding the Fundus and 14 Weeks

First off, the fundus has been found!!! :) I am hoping this means that my lovely little uterus has pulled itself upright. And, 'finding the fundus' goes back to the the good 'ol nursing school days. I don't remember exactly how it got started, but during our OB/GYN rotation a couple of the guys (well, the only couple of guys in my class!) got on this fundus kick. And, the whole goal ended up being to find the fundus, or the top of the uterus. But anyway, I have found my little 14 week fundus. Random tidbit of knowledge- the fundus should be at my belly button at 20 weeks. :) Now, moving away from fundus talk...

WhooHoo!! I am officially out of the first trimester. It is a thing of the past. :) I am 14wks pregnant now, only 24 more weeks to go. Things are still going well, not too much to report. We did get the results of our Ultrascreen and everything was 'normal.' The risk for Trisomy-21 is about 1:11,600 and the risk for Trisomy-13, 21 is about 1:21,500. So, no, I am not guaranteed a healthy baby, but it's always reassuring to get good prenatal test results back!! At my appointment in a week or so I'll have my alpha-fetoprotein test done for open nueural tube and then no more tests until the dreaded glucose challenge!! Yuck. It's my least favorite because they always give me that nasty orange stuff to drink and I hate orange flavored stuff. When I did the test with Patrick I just about threw up at the lab and had to redo the entire test. But, maybe I'll be lucky and get the lemon-lime flavored sugar water!!! My face seems to be somewhat less broken out this week, which is a good thing. However, my awesome varicose veins are acting up. But, those things will be zapped ASAP after this baby is born!! Well, that's about it. We do find out the sex of little Quad in 3 weeks!!!! Can't wait. :)

Below are my 13wk pictures, since I forgot to post them last week. Not much change! But, wow, look at that 12 week picture!!! I went back and looked at Picasa to see exactly when that pic was taken and why my belly looks so huge compared to the other pics. And, that picture was taken at the end of the day. I usually take my belly pics in the morning some time. So, you can totally see how at the end of each day I tend to look a little more 'out there' and in the morning!!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

What are some of your favorite things? :)

My Baby's Not a Baby Anymore

Robert 'Graham' Carraway, born August 11, 2008. This picture was taken when he was about two weeks old. He was still wearing the 'up to 7lbs' footie jammies from Children's Place everyday because that's all he could fit in to. He is sleeping in what was one of his favorite positions (other than the sleeping while nursing position!) He just loved to sleep with his head resting in the bend of my knee while my legs were crossed. So sweet!!! However, Graham is no longer a baby. Well, at least not in the tiny, squishy newborn sense. I still have three babies, they're just bigger! :)

This is my baby Graham now, at almost 18 months old. He is walking, running, talking, throwing typical toddler temper tantrums and the whole nine yards that comes with being a big boy. He is even 99% WEANED!!!! Can you believe it?!? My baby that my friends were worried was going to nurse until he went to college has finally decided that he just might NOT need mo-mo anymore. So, guys, the intervention you've been talking about planning is officially off! ;)
It's bitter sweet. He did nurse two nights ago for the first time in about 4 days and it almost made me cry. He cuddles up like that tiny, squishy newborn he once was, melts into my arms and is as happy as can be. But, he's 'grown up' now. At least a little, anyway. But, he'll always be one of my babies, just like his big brothers.

Wordless Wednesday

Why...

Why does no one in this house take me seriously?!?

Is it the food that's all over my face....or, no, maybe it's the hair?!?

Mom says it's the hair AND the food...and a combination of other things.
But, she says she completely understands how I feel!! :)

Marshall's First Day of School

Yesterday, February 1, 2010, was Marshall first day of preschool!! He joined an existing 2 1/2 year old class at our church where Patrick goes. Marshy had been waiting for this day since this summer. We kept telling him that after Christmas when he was old enough he could go to school with Patrick. Well, his day finally came!

The week before he started he pretty much told everyone, and like a thousand times, that he was starting school 'next week.' And 'next week' came yesterday. By 7:45am Marshall had finished breakfast, put on his clothes, put on his jacket and was anxiously awaiting it being time to go. He was sooo excited- I loved it!!! He marched in his classroom at 8:30am, took off his jacket and 'pack pack' and washed his hands as if he'd been doing the whole routine for years. He went and started to play at the sensory table with one of his new teachers and when I went over to give him a hug goodbye he said, "I love you, mommy!" and that was it. He was ready to begin his school day!

I then took Patrick to his class and he had the best drop off he's ever had! I think he likes that Marshall is at school now, too. I guess maybe Patrick's been worried that Graham, Marshall and I are going to go to Disney World or something while he's stuck at preschool. So, hopefully Marshall's presence at school will help with Patrick's issue of never wanting to go to school and throwing a full on temper tantrum at drop off. We'll see...

At 11:30 I cam with Patrick and Graham to pick up Marshall from his class and he didn't want to leave!!! I guess he had that much fun. :) But, we persuaded him to come home with us by promising McDouble's from McDonald's. Yes, I feed my children double cheese burgers from the dollar menu at McDonald's. It's one of their favorite treats (nuggets just aren't cool anymore, I guess!) and all three will eat an entire double cheese burger!

So, the first day of preschool for Marshall was a huge success and I am hoping this experience will help to change my less-than-positive attitude of the entire school. Especially since we are on the waiting list for another school and may very well be at our current school again. Here's to a great second half of the school year for my big boys!! :)