My poison ivy was under control by the time the retreat happened. It flared up again the next week and I had to get some more meds.
In the mean time, I spent that week with David and James doing fun things before David had to have his ear surgery. We knew that once he had the surgery there would be no physical activity for several weeks. So lazer tag, go-carts, bowling and slip and slides were the focus of our week.
My Mom was able to delay the start of her radiation therapy (with the doctor's blessings) so she could be here for the surgery and James' birthday. I spent as much time with her as I could while she was here. She is doing so well and is so brave and wonderful. I am a lucky daughter. She starts her radiation tomorrow.
David's surgery went very well. He has a two inch long incision behind his ear where they took the graft tissue and he still has packing in the ear until the 21st. His Doctor was great and was able to go in through the ear canal instead of cutting the ear all the way in the back and flapping it forward to get to the ear canal. Thank you , Dr. Wyatt!!!! The mere thought of that made my knees weak. Keeping him still and calm and occupied has been a balancing act. The eardrum graft is very delicate until it takes and you have to really baby it. Even blowing your nose can dislodge it. The DS1's (hand held video game players) that Daddy brought home for the boys have been a BIG help:) He has been sleeping with me in our bed. Every time he moves at night I open my eyes to make sure he doesn't roll over on his hurt ear. I am TIRED!
So that's where the past month went. I missed Blogland and all my friends. I have so much to share with you, that I don't even know where to start:)
The paper Cowgirl's Retreat was AWESOME!!! Tina and Cindy really put on a class act retreat! I learned how to solder glass and it is FUN! Above are pictures of the soldered house I created in Tina's class. I can't wait to make more stuff:) Cindy's Altered Journal class was fabulous and I loved seeing every one's take on their journal pages. All the ladies were so fabulous and talented and sweet. I needed a girl's weekend in the worst way. I have not had a true Girl's weekend in over 9 years:) Apparently, I also needed some sleep because I fell asleep after lunch the second day and slept until 8:00 that night. How embarrassing!!! In my defense the hotel room was dark and cold and the spa pillows were heavenly! Everyone was calling me Sleeping Beauty;)
My Sweet James turned the big 06 and he is sooooo proud to finally, in his eyes, be a big boy;) This was the first birthday EVER that he was able to blow out his candles all by himself. Until now, he has not had the lung strength to do it. Such a simple thing. Such a miracle to see. He is doing very well on his new asthma medications. We also have been researching the connection between asthma and eczema. 70% of children with eczema also have asthma. James has had it since birth. We have started aggressively treating his eczema and since it has disappeared he has not even coughed once. Amazing. Not breathing treatments and no wheezing. Dr. June said his lungs sound better than she has ever heard them and we have put the bronchial scoping on the back burner for now:)
I turned 40 yesterday. Bittersweet, for sure. I am so blessed and have a wonderful life. But 40 is still hard to swallow. Above is the wonderful Birthday present Sweet Lori sent me. Isn't my sweet felted bear the cutest bear ever?!!! I love him and his antique popcorn box home:) Her felting talent is amazingly wonderful! She also sent me a beautiful baby tintype (she knows they are my favorite!) and a sweet wee French button card that I coveted from one of her antiquing outings. Thank you Sweet Friend! It was worth all the coffee grounds in the world! LOL!!!
Quotes of the Day:
"To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"
~Satchel Paige
20 comments:
Happy Birthday, Jamie !
Wow, you sure do have a lot on your plate there, sweetie. You sound pretty strong, facing it all and taking in some time for yourself to heal (and/or sleep) even if it was at the retreat ! I hope you can keep doing that with all those loved ones depending on you to be there for them.
Adding you to my prayers and wishing you and your David some sweet, restful sleep...
Jamie, your birthday boy is SO adorable!!! look at all that pretty bond hair and sweet face...i am so happy with you that he was able to blow out all of his candles:) i hope David's ear will heal nicely...i know that has to be hard to keep him quiet...i will keep your mom and boys in my thoughts and prayers...and you too my friend...
i am glad you liked your presents!!! and SO sorry again that you had to dig through the garbage to retrieve your button card and tin type...LOL...at least we both learned a valuable lesson from that!!!
Happy birthday to you and your little guy, too! Thank you for catching us up on all that's going on. And there is a lot! You know, when my son had to have surgery last summer, my husband always teases me, I had to leave the state. Actually, I had to speak at a funeral in CA and rather than reschedule the surgery, I decided we would ALL probably do better if I wasn't there to freak out. I think it was a wise move!
Lucky little guy to get a DSI! My son got one for his birthday in June and it is an awesome little gadget!
It's such good news to hear you're feeling better but sounds like you've been totally overwhelmed for a while. You and yours are in my thoughts and prayers...try to take care of you first and everything everyone else will fall into place.
Happy Birthday to EWE! Oh My Goodness. 40 beats the alternative...just remember that the next time you want to get a little sad -smile-.
Happy Birthday sweet Jamie!!!! My goodness girl...sounds like you've been in a whirlwind these last few weeks! I hope your son is healing quickly, so he can become more active and you can rest. The retreat sounds heavenly and I'm sure everyone understood that you needed some rest. Thinking of your mom as she begins her treatments and praying that all goes wonderfully too. Wishing you many more fab birthdays to come Jamie! xxoo, Dawn
So much to endure! I hope everything will turn for the better in the time to come.
And if it's any consolation: you don't write like a 40 year old!:)
duh!!! i am such a dork...i forgot to comment on your SWEET soldered house...see, that is what happens when you post about a lot of things and your reader has the attention span of a gnat...i CANNOT believe that you have never soldered before...it looks just perfect!!! i love the people as windows and doors too...and the little scallops on the roof line...it is wonderful Miss Texas:)
Thanks for stopping in to update us all. Happy Birthday to your little guy and to you. Come now 40ain't so bad. I'll be 50 in 8 months and 3 weeks,ugh!
Blessings and prayers for your mom and you and well just all of ya....
Hugs!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, JAMIE, AND MANY MANY MORE!!!!
I'm so glad to hear from you and glad everything is working out. Just take care of yourself and rest okay?
Your class sample of your glass house is AMAZING-wow, I just love it!!!
Hugs and love to you sweetheart,
Tami
kinda figured you had your hands full. Hope things ease up for you and
Hoping the best of health to all.
Lovely pieces. Soldering can be fun. Great job!
So glad you can look at a glass half full & not half empty! That's my way too. Life does get in the way. We missed you but, seems we are all chasing our tails. What will we do with that nasty furry thing when we catch it? :)
Hi--just discovered your lovely blog! I am glad your son is doing better with his asthma, and Happy Birthday to him! My niece, who is now 22, and my 3 year-old grandson both have asthma, AND eczema, and life-threatening peanut allergies. Lots of trips to the ER over the years, unfortunately. My daughter has not been able to get rid of her little boy's eczema, and he is often "itchy" asking her or me or Grandpa to scratch his back! Poor little guy. What did you guys do to treat it? Thanks! ~Jann
Hi Jann! I am so sorry your sweeties are suffering with all of that yuckiness! I know how hard it is to watch them struggle.
James has had eczema on both elbows and behind both knees on and off since birth. I never would have thought that it could be making his asthma worse!
For the eczema, first, we switched to Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash (it contains colloidal oatmeal and is fragrance free)and Method Baby Hair and Body Wash (it is 99% natural and it is hypo-allergenic).
Then, we applied a prescription steroid cream twice a day to the infected areas. The steroid cream is called Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream 0.1% and our pediatrician gave us the prescription.
James also takes Singular 4 mg.at night and Flovent (inhaled twice a day).
I hope some of this helps! I am amazed at the difference we see in James. He had been on the Flovent and Singular therapy for several months, but still was having wheezing, low pulse-oxygen readings and needing weekly breathing treatments. Only after the excema went away did he really start to improve. And it only took two weeks for it to disappear. We are still watching him very closely, but I have to admit that we are doing a happy dance all the same:) Love, Jamie
Jamie
glad to hear you are ok and that the ear surgery was successful. I will be keeping you and your family (Mom included) in my prayers. Love your pieces!
Happy belated birthday - 40 was a rough one for me too, though I cried myself silly when I turned 30 so who am I to talk? lol
I'm glad that though hectic, things are going pretty well. It always seems that everything hits at once.
You did some really nice soldering work. I like. :-)
Happy Birthday Jamie!! I'm 42 and I can say my life only got better after 40...so maybe you have a lot to look forward to also!! And hey, its better than the alternative, right? :)
My son also has asthma and eczema (as well as allergies to peanuts, eggs and milk)...so I'm with ya...let's figure it out..have you have your son tested for food allergies yet? My son's eczema flares when he has milk. Good luck on your quest! Personally I am ready to go on Oprah to get something done about it all since it is becoming more prevalent - Nina
Great quotes! And you, my dear, are quite the doll! I so enjoyed meeting ya and getting to spend a little time together. Was fun to have you in the class and thanks for taking the time to show us your writing. I'm LOVING it and using it lots of things. Glad you got some rest (I heard that the spa bedding was wonderful, may rent a room next year myself! LOL).
hugs,
c
yapping cat
ps your son is adorable btw!
sorry to hear about the surgery! hope things are continuing to go well!
happy birthday to you and your son!
they say poison ivy and ragweed are a couple of plants that will do well with the climate change. sure seems like it! there are several new patches in my yard.
Wow thought I would check in on you this morning and was blown away by all that is going on. First, Happy Belated Birthday. Remember you are only as old as you feel. Second, Hurray for James. I have asthma It is a real pain but the older I get the better it gets! I still did sports and swam competitively. Now David's ear sound scary. Keeping one quiet is not easy. In the long run it will all be worth it though. I am saying a little blessing for all of you this morning...
Hi Jamie!
I'm enjoying reading through ALL of your blog! So glad I found you! Lori actually did a swap with me and she sent me one of your beautiful Journal pages. Thats how I first heard about you!
Lori is so talented and I love her little felted babes!
AGE is just a number....it's how you feel inside. I'm a few years older than 40 but I feel 25 inside!
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