The Angel Forever

Pausing for Surgery

Posted on July 22, 2014 10:44 am by TheAngelForever

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. The weekend was spent getting things done and ready for Monday. Monday was the day that TechyDad would be having surgery. This is surgery that he should have had done before we met, but the day before they said it would not be covered.

After suffering for many years, I got TechyDad to head to the ENT to follow up on his breathing troubles. When he saw the doctor she immediately ordered a CAT scan (you can see the pictures on the post here). The scan of his nose told a story. It was a story of one nostril being blocked. His deviated septum was caused by a concha bullosa. Basically another sinus cavity tried to form in a turbinate of his nose. So on Monday, that would be removed, his septum fixed, and turbinates that had not been fixed in the past done.

Monday morning we rushed to get the boys ready for their days. JSL was heading off to a friend to go to camp and hang out with them afterward. NHL spent the day with Mimi. TechyDad had to be at the hospital at 8:10 for his 10:10 surgery. To make a long story short, the surgery started late, which added to anxiety. As you can see above, TechyDad was using his phone to take selfies and entertain himself. Almost an hour late, the ENT came into meet with us and go over things.

I went out into the waiting area and tried to read. I was too tired to eat and was afraid to miss the surgeon after an hour and a half had gone by. Two hours after TechyDad was wheeled into the OR, the surgeon came to see me. Everything had gone well. The concha bullosa was easier to remove than expected. He was upset when they woke him up, but she thought he would do great. A lot of the rest was a blur. I was so tired, hungry (it was after 1 and I had not eaten), and relieved to hear that he was out. I went to get something to eat and let everyone know what was happening.

Two hours later when I got back from picking up JSL and bringing him to be with NHL, I was able to see TechyDad. His coloring was bad and he looked miserable. He got up to walk and was dizzy and exhausted. When he got back, we changed his bandage under the nose and he went to sleep. They wanted to send him home, but it was just too much at that point. The nurses were fantastic and helped to go over everything with me, got him popsicles to help with his sore throat, and at about 5:30 TechyDad felt strong enough to go home.

If I am MIA the next few days, I am off taking care of all of the boys. It’s odd how you can take your spouse for granted until a time like this. TechyDad cooks for us and does a lot of the bedtime/shower routine with the kids. A huge thank you to everyone who helped out yesterday and kept TechyDad in their thoughts and prayers. It was a relief knowing the boys were happy and safe so they didn’t have to worry about things during the surgery. A special thank you to Nana for making sure we all had dinner last night so we could get some rest.

Categories:
sickness TechyDad

Water Disney Style

Posted on July 16, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Water features are prominent throughout Walt Disney World Resorts and Parks. It is always fun to look back at magical memories to see the attention to detail with different water elements. Some of these are beaches, pools, rides, and other attractions. You just never know what you may find when experiencing the wonder of Disney. What is your favorite item featuring water in the world of Disney?

What is your favorite place to stop and look at it from a different perspective? Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
Disney travel vacation

Tuesday Tales: New 2014 Summer Reading Selections

Posted on July 15, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Over the 4th of July weekend, the boys received a gift from a cousin. It was a gift card to the book store and she told them they had to use it for books. This weekend, the boys begged to head to the store to select a special book of their own choosing. They kept to the wishes of Cousin A and went right to the books. We spent a LONG time looking at different options. NHL quickly found several books that were interesting and had to narrow it down. JSL was a bit more tricky. In the end, they each selected new to them book series to read.

NHL selected the first of the How to Train Your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell. JSL finally decided on Bad Kitty Meets the Baby from the Bad Kitty Series by Nick Bruel. Both of the boys started reading the books on the way home from our outing. What I never expected was JSL’s nose to be in the book at almost any chance he got. As soon as he woke up, he would run to the couch to read more about Bad Kitty. While we had roof work done on Sunday morning, he pulled out a chair and read. Before we knew it, JSL was finished with the 141 page book and begging for more.

The best news, thanks to the summer reading program at Barnes & Noble both of the boys can work toward another book in their series. Did I mention JSL had already read way more than the eight books that are required? He wants to go back to get his reward now.

Are you or your children Bad Kitty or How to Train Your Dragon books? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Categories:
books summer Tuesday Tales

Lovely Lilies and Beyond

Posted on July 10, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Something people may not know about me, I am not a fan of receiving fresh cut flowers. While I believe they are beautiful, I do not like watching them slowly shrivel up inside my house. I prefer flowering plants that you can have inside like violets, orchids, hoyas, and more. My father has quite the collection of indoor beauties and I visit them often to take photos. Many of his plants have come from Lyndon Lyon Greenhouse, Inc which has been in business for 60 years.

I seem to kill plants when I bring them home. TechyDad and I have tried to plant some flowers around the house. I really love perennials so they come back year after year. One Earth Day we planted daffodils, but a bunny pulled them back up and destroyed the bulbs. This taught us to use capsaicin spray to keep some of the animals away. The same year that we bought the daffodils that are no more, we planted a rhododendron. This year, the conditions were perfect and it flowered to prove that it is still trying to survive after several harsh winters.

Over the years, we have planted lilies, kept some in giant planters, and others have spread naturally into large areas of our yard. We have many different varieties and sometimes I forget which colors will open until they show up each summer. Right now, we are waiting for the fifth variety to bloom, but we have had a show with all of these this year (many more photos on my Instagram feed).

There is just something wonderful about walking around and taking photos of flowers. You can see natural beauty up close in a way that you typically ignore on a day to day basis. What are you favorite flowers to have inside and outside of your home?

Categories:
flowers and plants summer

Tuesday Tales: Stink Book Series by Megan McDonald

Posted on July 8, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Kids are funny when it comes to reading. JSL just finished first grade and was not interested in reading chapter books alone until just over a week ago. I would read chapter books to him, but he was not really fond of reading them to me. As a teacher, I knew many books and series to recommend. When I would make suggestions to my own son, I would get a very advanced eye roll and told he could not read them yet. Then, something clicked the other day. A friend had a bike on sale and we went to pick it up. While there, she asked JSL if he wanted any of the books that were being given away. He was hesitant, but took two of them. On the ride home, he cracked open the book below.

Yes, Stink and the Ultimate Thumb Wrestling Smackdown by Megan McDonald inspired JSL to overcome his fear of reading chapter books alone. The reality is the books have become reading addiction for my kiddo. He loves the characters and their quirks. The writing keeps him actively engaged and the illustrations from Peter H. Reynolds take the experience to another level.

Since JSL received that book, we have read the first book of the series together. We also put the book onto JSL’s Kindle App so it could head with us to the doctor’s office on his Galaxy Tab 2. Rather than play with toys, JSL kept devouring his book. This was not only the first time he was reading a chapter book mostly on his own, but his introduction to the beauty of e-books on the go.

When we moved into the room to wait for the doctor, we both laughed together while reading Stink and the Incredible Shrinking Kid. It was fun meeting Stink and recognizing his big sister Judy Moody. Yes, Stinks real name is James Moody and you learn much more about him in the first book of the series. I adore that Stink has perked JSL’s interest in checking out more of Judy’s books later on.

I have a feeling JSL will continue to read many more Stink books over the next few weeks. In just over a week, he has started his third book and has many others waiting to begin when the latest is complete. As you can see above, we have a few from the library and others on our Kindle to read while out and about.

Are you or your children fans of Stink books or Judy Moody? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.