Saturday, December 31, 2016

The Broke Tooth Fairy

Camden has had some wiggly teeth for quiet sometime now. He has been anxiously awaiting the departure of them, however I had been hoping that we could keep his two front teeth for as long as possible so that he wouldn't have a toothless grin for a long time. On December 26th, he lost his bottom left one. My thoughts were, "How nice, now he looks so nice and even!"


Well that was short lived!!! Even though his right front tooth was more wiggly than the left for a long time, he lost one on December 29th and the next on December 31st. That of course was all with the help of his brother. He and Casen were playing around (wrestling) and Camden got kicked in the mouth on December 28th. That nicely loosened both front teeth more so than the were and out they came within two days of one another. He was so excited and proud!!



Hopefully the Tooth Fairy will have some time off before he loses another! Besides, he needs to keep as many teeth in his head so he can still eat!!!

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Christmas

Since my family was out of town, Christmas was extended over several days for us. We had Christmas with just the four of on Christmas morning and later that day we celebrated with Shane's family and then today we celebrated with my family. Needless to say, there was a lot of gift giving and eating going on this week.

For Christmas this year, the boys had one main thing they each wanted from Santa. For Camden it was a robot, and for Casen it was Battle Bots. Thankfully, Santa must have thought the boys were good this year (although there were times it was definitely touch and go) and he delivered exactly what they asked for.



As they do each year, the boys had gifts for us that they made at school!!! I must say, I honestly look forward to these and am so grateful that their teachers take the time to do this for the parents.

Camden had 3 different ornaments
Casen's picture was great







We have some spoiled boys . . . 
 Later Christmas morning, we celebrated Christmas with Shane's family.

Nana and Poppa Ron

The cousins - Gavin and Malachi
Nana and Poppa Ron with the boys














It may have taken us a few days, but Camden and I finally got his robot put together. He really is neat and does a lot of fun things!


Camden working to help put
his robot together



His robot has a funny sense of humor and was
telling Camden different jokes


















Tonight, we celebrated Christmas with my family - they returned from their 10 day cruise and headed over to our house for our Christmas dinner and gift exchange.

Casen decided to make his daddy a card to open, since he already opened his gift from him on Christmas day. Inside the card was 3 pennies for his daddy. (He really wanted to give him $3, but I talked him out of that.) :) Casen was so proud.




We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas season with their families and took out some time to remember the real reason of the season!



Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas Eve Festivities

I love traditions!!! One tradition I love carrying on with my boys is the Christmas tradition from when I was young of making iced sugar cookies for Santa. With Santa making his grand appearance tonight, we were running out of time for making cookies for him. I baked the cookies last night and today the boys and I had a great time decorating them.


















Today, a visitor that we will be taking care of for the next week made his arrival. Steve is our visitor's name, and we are looking forward to having a bearded dragon hang out with us.


In preparation for Santa and his reindeers, we left reindeer food outside for the reindeers, and cookies and milk inside for Santa. 

The boys throwing out reindeer feed
Cookies for Santa
The boys 'love' Christmas














Ready for Santa

Cooper's Time With Us

As he does every year, Cooper (our elf) spent the Christmas holidays with us, keeping his eyes on the boys so he could report back nightly to Santa. There are some days that Cooper's report may not have been exactly what Santa wanted to hear, but luckily for the most part, the good definitely out weighed the bad, thank goodness!!!

When we arrived back from Kerrville, Cooper was ready and waiting for the boys. He had Camden's note, which Camden had written to Cooper and Santa before we left, in his hand.

This time he arrived in a flight jacket and goggles -
must be cold at the North Pole
I love how the boys always look at him in
amazement and wonder
As Cooper does every year, he brought chocolate calendars for the boys on December 1st so we could count down the days until Christmas.


Apparently, Copper is an Alabama fan because he found a 'Roll Tide' banner and had it ready for one of the big games.


For his last visit on Christmas Eve, Cooper left a new pair of pajamas for the boys. 


 As we do each year, we will look forward to Cooper's visit next year. It is always fun to see where he will hide and what fun treats he will bring the boys. Until next year Cooper . . . .

Friday, December 23, 2016

Unexpected Time with Great Grandma Key

My parents as well as my sister and her family left on Sunday for Miami. They were all headed on a 10 day cruise through the Panama Canal. While we were invited to go as well, we all know that Shane is not a huge traveler and that I probably need to break him in on a cruise by taking a shorter cruise than ten days. And, not to mention that we are saving for our trip to Disney. My parents came in on Friday and spent a little time with us before they headed out on Sunday. Prior to leaving, my dad gave me the phone number not only to where Grandma Key lives, but also to his siblings - just in case something transpired with her while they were gone.

On Monday morning, I received a phone call from Brookedale (where Grandma Key lives) informing me that it appears her temporal arteritis is flared up again and she is having really bad headaches. They scheduled an appointment for her that afternoon in hopes that the doctor would increase her Prednisone again to get her arteritis back under control. My parents had not yet left on their cruise when I received the call, so I called and informed them just so they were aware. After her appointment, the nurse at Grandma's facility called to tell me that they indeed increased her Prednisone, which is the proper treatment. I informed her that if she needed me, to just let me know.

On Tuesday morning I received a call from the nurse telling me that Grandma was not doing well and she felt I should go and check on her if I was able. She said she always seems to cheer up when she has visitors and was hoping that me coming would help. She said they had a hard time getting her to follow commands and that she did not eat breakfast well. They said she also was still having headaches and appeared to be in pain. I contacted my aunt and uncles and informed them of what was going on with Grandma and headed to Kerrville after Shane got home from a dentist appointment. I arrived in Kerrville while she was at dinner with her tablemates. She was holding her food, but not really eating her dinner. I, along with her tablemates, had to coax her to eat nearly every bite. She did not appear to be in pain, however she definitely was not herself. After dinner, I wheeled her up to her room and we visited and talked to the boys via FaceTime. She was sound asleep in her chair when I left her at about 9:15. I knew the staff would be in shortly to get her ready for bed and I didn't want to mess up their routine.

A little FaceTime with the boys before bed time
The next morning when I arrived, she had already made her bed and was up sitting in her chair. They brought her breakfast to her room, which she ate a lot of, and then I helped her get dressed. We hung out in her room until lunch time, and then I wheeled her down to her table. All of her tablemates were there and she appeared to be eating well, so I left her there and went to the store to get her some honey and then picked us up a treat. I headed back to Brookedale and she was just getting ready to head back up to her room. I asked her if she wanted a chocolate shake I brought her, and without hesitation she said, "Why yes!" She LOVES her ice cream - guess I know where I get it from. We enjoyed our chocolate shakes, visited a bit more, and then I headed back to Cypress. She was much improved and the staff and myself all felt like she was on the mend! I musts say I was so blessed to be able to spend this time with her!!!


On Thursday, Shane and I had taken the boys to the movies to see 'Sing!' While the previews were playing, I received a phone call from Joy (one of the med aides at Grandma's that has been there since Grandma arrived there). She called to inform me that after lunch, Mel (one of Grandma's tablemates) and Grandma were getting off the elevator to go to her room and Grandma turned wrong and fell and was complaining of left hip pain. They had called the ambulance and Grandma was on the way to the hospital. I went ahead and finished the movie, knowing it would take a bit to get her there and get the x-rays. When we got out of the movies, I contacted the hospital in Kerrville and spoke with a nurse in the ER who informed me that Grandma did indeed fracture her pelvis in 3 places. They were uncertain as to what the next step was, but she was thinking that Grandma would be transferred to San Antonio due to her age (which she will be 99 on Christmas) and a decision made there as to whether they would operate or not. After a bit, the nurse called me back and let me know that they were indeed transferring her to San Antonio. I again, contacted my aunt and uncles and let them know of the situation. It was decided I would drive there to be with her until my Uncle John from Nevada could get there, which a flight would not land until after 1:00pm on Friday. So I packed up another bag and headed for San Antonio Military Medical Center. When I arrived around 8:00pm, Grandma was in a room in the ER flat on her back with a C-collar on awaiting a decision from the trauma team and orthopedic team. After speaking with the doctors, it was determined that most likely they would not operate due to her age and the loss of blood could be detrimental to her heart.  They instead would allow her to heal on her own with the help of PT and pain medication. Fortunately, Grandma was in good spirits and remembers the fall, saying "It was really hard!"We finally got in a room sometime after 11:00pm. Grandma was restless through the night, but at least she rested.

The next morning another team of doctor's came in and informed me that they had decided not to operate. The type of fracture she had was a acetabulum fracture, which was rare for someone her age. Generally someone her age fractures the head of their femur, however she actually fractured her pelvis. Since it was not causing any damage to any of her organs or pushing on any nerves or vessels, surgery did not have to be performed. What a blessing for Grandma. The doctor said she would have to be in a wheelchair for at least 6 weeks while getting PT. I did ask if he felt she would ever get out of the wheelchair and the doctor did not seem overly optimistic since at her age, a few days of no walking would cause her to decondition quickly. He did say stability wise she should heal where she could walk, but just wasn't certain since she would be in a wheelchair for an extended period of time. One of the many good things about Grandma is she does not like to be just laying in bed and even said to me that laying in the bed all the time is not good for her. So hopefully, she will keep a good attitude and do everything she needs to do to keep moving.

I spoke with the nurse where Grandma lives that morning and talked to her about Grandma returning to the Skilled Nursing section and got that squared away so when it was time for her to be released from the hospital, she would have a place to go. Once my Uncle John arrived (and we got over a small scare with Grandma not being very responsive despite her vital signs being excellent) I headed back home to be with my family for Christmas.

I am so thankful I have a husband who is more than willing to watch the kids and entertain them so that I could go and take care of my Grandma! This time with her meant a lot to me and I was glad I was able to be there with her.

Friday, December 16, 2016

School Christmas Festivities

This week the boys had different 'fun' things in preparation for Christmas. Casen had his school party on Wednesday where they had a book exchange and a 'good' lunch with all sorts of extra goodies. Camden had his school party on Thursday and parents were invited to attend. During their party, they made gingerbread houses and ate some yummy treats. Camden brought home a cute snowman that he made while in class.

Camden just starting his masterpiece
His finished gingerbread house and tree







This was on the back of his snowman - sniff, sniff


Today, both boys wore pajamas to school since it was Polar Express day. I think they both were more excited about having hot chocolate at school than they were about wearing pajamas. 


We are all very ready for our Christmas break!!!!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Santa Comes to the Hood

Just as he does every year, Santa made his way to our neighborhood. I am so glad he makes a stop here because that keeps me from having to go to the mall to get a picture of him with the boys! Casen was a bit apprehensive at first, but once he sat next to him, all his fear melted away. Camden asked for a robot and Casen asked for Battlebots. I hope they have been good this year so that Santa will bring exactly what they asked for!



I love the look on Casen's face.