take note!

i'm about to tell you something of utmost importance.  something that you need to file away in the deep recesses of your brain for future reference.  you or someone you know may need this little tidbit at some point in life.  so put down your down your drink, your snack, or pull over on the side of the road and focus.  i don't want you saying that i never warned you.  ready???

getting your tonsils out at the age of 32 sucks.  the end.  

ever since i was a little kid, i have had sore throat after sore throat, strep throat after strep throat.  i typically have a sore throat at least every other month.  there's usually a bad case of strep every november and february.  chase can even smell when i'm about to get one and he'll call it the day before.  weird and gross all at the same time.  it's like it's just written down on my internal calendar to get a sore throat on a specific day.  over the course of my life, i am sure that i have ingested more antibiotics than a field full of kroger chickens. no doctor ever told me to get them out.  so as an adult, i typically just sucked it up and let it run it's course.  that usually took a week to a week and a half.  sometimes i carried around a cup to spit in just so i wouldn't have to swallow.  lovely.  well this summer i got a bad one that lasted 21 days until i finally went to the ENT who gave me an antibiotic (to make certain that i was beating the chicken at his own game) and told me that those petri dishes in the back of my throat were coming out.

coming out?  i thought tonsillectomies were for 5 year olds?  and i thought it was absolutely horrible to get this done as an adult?  and as of friday i found out first hand that yes....it IS absolutely horrible to get this done as an adult.  so if you have a kid that may be on the verge of needing his tonsils out (or maybe not even close)...i'd just go ahead and take those suckers out now.  spare them the misery 20-30 years down the road!

it started out friday morning with the nurse having to stick me 3 times to get an iv in.  this always happens to me.  i have had 3 kids and 7 epidurals.  the numbers don't add up.  apparently, i make a dang good pin cushion.  thankfully, some really cool anesthesia girl came by and made me feel like i was floating, so that was awesome.  they should consider that as part of recovery for the week after.  i might could have handled the pain and nausea if i had been somewhat drunk.  instead, i sipped gatorade round the clock for two days rather comfortably, and then day 3 tried to kill me.  i offered to let william shoot me with the new gun he got for his birthday to end it all, but he likes me and didn't want to do that.

(you would think at least one of them would take me up on the offer!) 

day 4, i was straight up miserable and angry.  after a text to my doctor demanding steroids (not really...he was super sweet and offered it), i went and got a steroid shot and some zofran.  it took the angry and miserable away and left me just kind of hurting and hungry.  so...practically good as new compared to day 3!!!  i've professed my love for steroids before after injecting them into my knee, but now....let's just be glad i don't play professional baseball! whohoo for steroids!  and high five to the sweet doctor that texted me to check on me.  guess i looked pretty angry and miserable that morning?!? : (  anyway, i think i really turned the corner on day 5.  after staying in bed until after lunch drunk on pain meds, i finally got some food down.  i think that made all the difference.  now don't get me wrong....my throat still hurts, but i can function.  and that's good because i'm kind of tired of my bed!!

once again...my family rocks.  my dad fixed breakfast and played with my kids all weekend and then transported reed to chase's parents for the week while my mom has taken on the role of clothes washer/kitchen cleaner/lego fight breaker upper.  chase has played nurse fairly well despite my dirty word looks when he shoves a gatorade in my face and tells me to drink.  friends are bringing supper for the people in this house that can actually eat food.  and the little people have made sure i have everything i need including a room full of handmade cards.

they make me happy, but i'm glad to know this is a once in a lifetime thing.  in fact, they can just go ahead and give my antibiotics and steroids to the chickens because i've filled my surgery quota for the next hundred years!!

seven

seven years ago, william joined this party that we call the henson house.  chase and i had no idea what we were doing.  i remember being in awe that those crazy people at the hospital just let us walk out of there with a baby.  and in more ways than one, i guess we still don't know what we are doing...but at least we celebrate in style!  :)  it's not everyday that you get powdered donuts and popcorn for breakfast!  

reed could get used to this!

and presents...let's not forget presents!!

he was really excited to take his golf cupcakes to celebrate with his class!  (they just came in from the playground so just ignore the sweat.)

this was the first time i have really been around his new class (obviously...it's the second week of school)....and i loved them all!  what a sweet group of kids!  i think they are going to have a great year!

after school, we hit up sonic for some milkshakes and then went to toys r us to spend some birthday money.  this was really his only request for his birthday.  we spent a good twenty minutes scouring the lego aisle only to end up with more ninja legos.

i personally don't care for the ninjas.  i built lego houses when i was little.  they now build ninja castles and battlefields.  it's awesome.  (sarcasm)  anyway, after an afternoon of ninjago, we finished off the night with chips and cheese dip.

(this is what wes put on when i told him to go upstairs and put on some clothes.  i don't know about him.)

but, i sure am glad that those hospital people let us keep that little baby seven years ago.  i kind of like him!

happy birthday, william!!

hardware

my sophomore year of college, i sat next to my suite mate in an A&P class.  she furiously took notes....pages upon pages upon pages....that were so detailed.  i mean, i think she wrote down every single word that came out of that professor's mouth.  it was quite impressive.  looking back now, maybe she should have been a court reporter and skipped OT school!  i, however, pretty much sat there and listened while occasionally taking a few notes.  it wasn't like i couldn't figure out something i missed.  all i had to do was glance at the notes of the person that i lived with!!  anyway, we would study for exams, and she would get so mad at me because i would read my notes once or twice and feel pretty good about the upcoming test.  (if jessica ever reads this, she's going to be nodding her head and getting herself worked up all over again! :))  i'm not saying i'm a genius.  i'm saying that i've always had a pretty easy time memorizing stuff.

however, william may have me beat.  if he wants to remember something...it's as good as done.  today he came home with a trophy from sunday school for scripture memorization work over the summer.

(let me just stop right here for a second and say that i'm so thankful for our church and school and all the teachers/preachers/administrators that pour out their lives into the hearts of my children.  we are so blessed!!  (i know a few of y'all read this!)  i don't in any way, shape or form think that the church and the school are the ones responsible for teaching my kids the gospel.  don't get me wrong, they do a top-notch job.  but, i know that responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of parents.  but, it is a major blessing to know that at home, at church, at school....we are all on the same page.)

anyway, this kid was all smiles after getting his hands on his new trophy!  while his teacher tried to give some credit to chase and me, we can't really take any.  i did make him recite his verses to me every once in a while, but it was a tip from his teacher from last year that helped earn this prize!  she told me at one point that she taped things for her kids to read on their beds so that while they were lying there (going to bed or being punished)...they had nothing else to do but read (and eventually memorize) those words.  SO....since william sleeps on the top bunk, i just taped a poster on the ceiling right above him.  he learned verse after verse in no time!!  i think we are on to something here!  now i just need somebody to teach wes how to read!  :)

Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  

that time again

today was the day.  today, we traded in playing...

and popsicles...

for the beginning of a new school year!  i know i say it every year, but summer is way too short.  i was sad to see this day arrive, but they were really excited this morning!  and...they looked super cute and ready to learn something!

i let them pick out their own shoes this year.  obviously, they get their taste in bright footwear from their mama.  (much to chase's chagrin...ha!)

their backpacks were loaded down and they were ready!

william met his teacher, ms. dickerson, and then he picked out a desk.

thankfully, his buddy, stuart, is in his class this year along with knox (who didn't make it in the classroom while i was there with my camera).

i know the day is coming when these 3 won't be in the same class, but for now...everybody is happy!

then we walked across the hall to wes' room.  he met his teacher, mrs. williams, and then took off for the toys!

several of his friends (trey and sam) are in his class, too.

i'm not sure there has ever been a student like wes.  he really couldn't care less about anything academic.  he's not bad at it....he'd just rather not read and write.  ha!  we'll see what mrs. williams is made of this year!!  :)

i've got about an hour left until carpool starts.  i can't wait to hear all about it.  i'm thinking we may have to hit up sonic on the way home for a celebratory slush.  day #1 of kindergarten and 1st grade in the books....only 9 and 1/2 more months to go!