Stitches #1 For Owen

Oh boys. Having boys has really opened my eyes. I am so so so happy that I got a girl first because I had no idea how much work boys would be. They are so so fun. But on the other hand, they are so so busy. I love it. Mikey and Owen have these imaginations that come out of nowhere and they can stay entertained for hours all on their own.  After a long trip home from Kanab I had to get the kids cleaned up for school the next day. We were in a rush so I put them all in together.  Not long after they had been in Chad and I heard a blood curling scream and Gracie yelling "Owen's bleeding!" We ran into the bathroom and when Chad pulled Owen out of the tub there was so much blood on his face I wasn't even sure where it was coming from. We noticed most of the blood was pooling in his left eye and we noticed a gash right below his eyebrow. I knew as soon as I saw it that it would need to be stitched. 

I called the pediatricians office after hours to see how long they would be there. He told me they were there until 8. It was 7:30. I rushed Owen in and they got us right back. The doctor told us that he would need stitches for sure because of the location. It would leave a pretty nasty scar if we didn't get it stitched. We went into the small operating room and they had everything set up. I could tell Owen was instantly nervous. We laid him on the table and the nurse and I held him down as tight as we could. The doctor gave him two local anesthetic shots and tried to stitch. He went in three times with the hook and never could get it through the other side. Owen was livid. He was scared to death, bleeding horribly and sweating so much.  My heart was breaking so much for him. I would have done anything at that point to take the pain away from him.  After about what seemed like a lifetime the doctor said "pick him up, he needs to be sedated"  Instantly I agreed.  Anything to make sure he doesn't go through that again. We were sent over to the hospital and on the short walk over I broke down.  I wish I could explain what was going on to him. I knew he was so confused.  We checked in at the ER and it was a busy night so even after being in the room for an hour we were told we would still have to wait. When the ER doctor came in I had had time to settle down and think things through. Did I really want them to sedate him for a few stitches? There could be complications, not to mention cost. So I asked the doctor if there was anything else we could do. He was very straight forward and told me he could do it if I was willing to hold him down again. This time around was soooo much better. The nurse wrapped him in a sheet like a burrito and another nurse came in to help hold him down. They told my my only responsibility was to talk to him.  As soon as we laid him down he started freaking out again. This time, the doctor didn't hesitate to dig right in. I was grateful for his ER experience because he figured if he is already in pain we should just get it over with. He was by no means gentle, but he was fast.  While they were stitching him up Owen said "all done! all done!" I asked him if he wanted to watch Gabba and he just kept crying "ya, Gabba!" It broke my heart. But it was over in about 30 seconds and he was just fine. The next day he was very very clingy, but he healed up really well. We are so lucky to live right next to our pediatrician and he is also our Elders Quorum  President and he just called Chad as his first councilor. So  Sunday after their meeting he took us to the office and took out the stitches for us. It was really nice. And since we will now be paying for an ER visit, we were grateful for the favor. 

Waiting for the doctor

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

After the stitches were taken out

Moxie

After Roxy died, I couldn't get used to the fact that we didn't have a dog.  I didn't realize how used to hearing her I was. Even when I wasn't playing with her I would still hear her walking around. It got to be such a comfort to me. I used to love the nights when the entire house was quiet and I could hear Roxy's nails clanking on the wood floors. It still makes me giggle thinking about it.  I have wanted a Yorkie my entire life. Honestly. I just think they are the cutest. Soooo while Chad was on a business trip to Texas I decided to take it upon myself to get one :) He was less than thrilled but I think she is really growing on him. I mean, how could you not love this face?

Roxy Ann Collins Staheli

A few days before Halloween this last year, we lost our dear sweet Roxy. She was coming up on 13 years old and the way it all worked out we are pretty blessed she died quick and easy. We got Roxy in the fall of 2007 and we loved her so much from the day we got her. My sister Casey and her family got Roxy when she was a puppy and when they moved they needed a temporary home for her. We offered to take her and we knew after a short time we wouldn't be able to give her back. There are only a few dogs like Roxy. She was so smart and so sweet. I would always say how I swore she knew how I was feeling. If I needed a little extra love she was always at my feet. She was also such a mother hen. She would watch over the kids like they were her own.  My whole family loved her so much and in a way it felt like she was all of ours.  After she was hit, we knew that she needed to be buried in our yard. We did't have a home because we were in the middle of selling and trying to buy. So we took the kids out to the new house in the middle of the night and said our goodbyes.  When spring comes, we will plant flowers where she is buried so we will always remember her. She was such a great dog and we will miss her so much. 

Mono

First, we need to clear something up about Gracie. She NEVER gets sick. She is so resilient to things and rarely complains that she isn't feeling good. My first clue she was sick: she took a nap. This girl will not ever take naps. Ever. I knew when she took a nap two days in a row something was seriously wrong. We took her into the doctor and she had a swollen throat and a high fever so he put her on an antibiotic and sent us home. After nearly finishing the antibiotic and still running a fever of 102+ for nine days I knew we needed to go back in. The doctor did a quick examination and told us that her spleen and liver were about twice the size they should be which is consistent with mono. We went to the hospital for blood tests and heard back today that it is indeed mono. Poor girl just has to take it easy for a few weeks and she should be good as new. 

Nap time! I felt so bad for her but it was hard to complain about the extra cuddle time

Day two of the antibiotic. Her poor eyes are so swollen.

Bath with the brothers. Still so swollen.

We didn't realize that she was so sick so we made her go to her dance recital. We are so lucky her spleen didn't rupture. 

She is such a tough little girl. I love how she is so independent and tries so hard to be strong. I was prepping her for getting her blood drawn and she didn't blink an eye. It's so hard to see her grow up so fast but I am so proud of my little girl.

Merry Christmas

This year we had a wonderful Christmas. I will post pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get them all in one place. Having 3 computers plus a phone can be really hard because I never download them from one place. We stayed here in Elk Ridge for Christmas eve. We headed to Logan for the day to share it with Chads family. We had so much fun and the kids all loved playing with cousins. We are hardly all together these days because there are so many of us it is hard to get our schedules straight. It was pretty low key. Here are the things I am hoping to get blogged about in the next week or so:

~ Moving

~Roxy Passing 

~School (for both kids)

~Christmas

~New years

~ New puppy!

Please be patient (anyone who still reads) I am working on it!!

A Few Randoms....