Surgery is such a downer.

It’s been a while since I posted an update about what’s going on with me. . . .

I had a colonoscopy in June, so that my new (and super awesome) surgeon could see the lipoma (mass/growth) in my colon for himself. He got some good pictures of it and they even gave me a tattoo! They put an ink mark that they will be able to see from the outside of the colon so it will be easy to locate during surgery- pretty cool, huh?

Then I had an appointment with an OB/Gyn at UAMS to discuss the cyst that was found on my left ovary back in the spring during my last CT scan. My doctor’s thought was since I am already having surgery in that general area why not take a look at the ovary when they are in there and see what it looks like, right? If the cyst looked like it might be growing, or had attributes that were unfavorable they might have to take my left ovary out. They said this would be the worst case scenario. So, I had to go see one of the OB/GYNs at UAMS. She did an ultrasound and in her opinion it doesn’t look anything to be worried about. She said that she would be available for surgery if she was needed, but didn’t anticipate it being an issue.

So now we know. . .gallbladder-out, right side of colon- out, left ovary- STAYS! Yay! I mean why not celebrate getting to keep as many parts as possible!

My surgery is scheduled for September 27th. It’s such a downer to know that this is just a little over a month away.  I wasn’t nervous until we set the date! But, I’m not really nervous because I think something will go wrong- I’m just nervous because I don’t know what to expect, there are so many “unknown” factors. Like they don’t know if they will be able to do the surgery laproscopically or not. They will try but because I have so much scar tissue from previous surgeries it will make it more difficult. And they don’t know about what my recovery time will be. Since they do this surgery more on older people who are already sick, I am hoping to bounce back quickly- but we just don’t know. I shouldn’t be worried. . .I have said this a lot and I truly believe it. I just really feel like with everything that has happened in the past year, that the Lord has finally lead me to the right place and the right people. I really like the Dr that will be doing the surgery, His name is Dr. Mizell. He has done this procedure at least 150 times, so I know he is experienced. He is very personable, seems to have a good sense of humor (which is a plus when dealing with me!) and he really seems to care. He could be faking it, but if he is, he is good at it!! We have been emailing back and forth since my last appointment. He has answered any and all my questions and super nice, too. He has just made us feel at ease about the procedure. I have never felt like a doctor was really listening the way he seemed to. And his staff has been awesome too. His nurse has called and emailed me both. He has several residents under him (it is UAMS after all) the guys I have met from his office and the colonoscopy were really nice and they are passionate about their job! Even though my surgeon has done the colon re-section surgery many times before, I think I am the first that has ever had a “lypoma” in the colon. ( Haha. . Imagine that?? Me? An odd case?? No??!!) He usually preforms this particular surgery on those with colon cancer removing tumors.  So he and all his students are "pumped" to see it (that's actually what one of the residents told me!).  I think I'm going to be a very popular girl in the OR?! There were 4 guys (yep, 4 young, cute, guys) that are residents under my surgeon that were there for (and seriously excited about?!) my colonoscopy, so who knows. . . I may have an audience! I keep thinking about Grey's Anatomy when all the residents watch from the "viewing room" above the OR, I wonder if UAMS has those??

 

My Doc!

Dr. Jason Mizell

I have another appointment with Dr. M on Sept. 21st, the Wednesday before my surgery to do all the blood work and pre-op stuff. . .I am not looking forward to that. I feel like it’s going to be a rude awakening. He has told me a lot of things, but I am afraid they are saving the awful and scary stuff for then, so it’s too late to back out!! We will see.

So my recovery time is kinda hard to guess. He said that most people have to stay in the hospital 5-7 days or until “things” start working right again. He said that 4 days would be the minimum and that was if I was a super-over achiever, ha! Lucky for him I AM!! Which will work out since my surgery is on Tuesday, I should be heading home on Friday, right?? I sure hope so!! I don’t know how often I will have to go back for a check-up yet? I am kinda assuming at one week and then 6 weeks? I keep thinking about my C-section recovery.  . .I had S on Sunday and was released from the hospital on Weds, we didn’t go home till Monday and I don’t remember much of anything till about Thursday (but that was partially b/c I got that infection and was so sick) which was the day we had our first company come over. . .but that is  11 days. That is when I quit taking pain meds and started keep S on my own, and if I was ok enough to keep a 2 week old then I think that’s pretty good. My point is that this surgery can’t be any worse. So hopefully the rebound time will be about the same. So even if I can’t drive and go into work I am hoping that I can do some stuff from home and not be a total slacker! haha! But who knows!!

Anyway that’s about it. I think. If you have some extra time in your prayers please keep me (and Jarrod) in them! I know the Lord is going to take care of me and everything is going to be fine and in 6 months this will all be a distant memory! But, boy am I ready for that day to come!!

Random pictures

^ Playing with Sadey!

^ Sitting on the front porch in the eveing

^ Can you find the cat?

^ haha! Mimicking Mom~He looks just like me!

 

^ Mimicking Dad. He did this all on his own, he was so proud!

He found Jarrod's suitcase left open so everything in it was fair game! As you can see he knows where the items of clothing go. . .just not how to wear them correctly!

 

^ Yep. That's Jarrod's undies he's got on!!

 

^ His whole body fit in one leg!

Exhausting week!

This past week has been just one thing after another, when it rains it pours, right??

Last weekend was the Kirksey famliy reunion, so we stayed in HR Saturday night and most of the day Sunday. Monday Aunt Brandye was off work so she picked Stratton up from daycare early and she and Uncle Dillon got to spend the whole afternoon with S. Then we met them for dinner at Lazzari. (Brandye thinks he was saying he wanted "pasta" for supper!) Jarrod's Aunt Kathleen passed away Sunday night and her visitation was Tuesday night and funeral Wednesday in Bald Knob. So Tuesday I ran errands at lunch (Stratton needed new khakis since his last growth spurt last week!) and left work early to pick up Stratton and get him bathed and cleaned up. We decided to stay the night in Searcy since the funeral was at 2pm and Jarrod was a pallbearer, it would just be less of a hassle. . .so we were all packed, dressed and ready to go by 5:45pm- Major accomplishment! We actually fed Stratton chicken nuggets on the way. . . not a shining moment for me, but you do what you gotta!

The visitation was crazy packed! Aunt Kathleen was such a wonderful person and you could tell just how many lives she impacted by the showing at the visitation. It was sad, but we got to see and visit with lots of Jarrod's family that we don't get to see often. Wednesday I thought Stratton felt warm, but since we really couldn't do anything about it, and it was so warm Wednesday we didn't think much about it. He did have a runny nose so we had been giving him some medicine from the dr to treat that. Well by Wednesday evening he looked and sounded awful! When we got back to Jonesboro around 6pm he was running almost a 102 temp and so we took a bath and got ready for bed early. I decided that I would take him to the dr Thursday morning.

Thursday morning comes and guess what?? It's pouring rain. Normally I would be overjoyed, but it's not so much fun when your hauling a sick two year old around!  Luckily the rain prevented others from getting out, too! The clinic was not busy at all!! We got right in! The Dr said he probably just had a viral infection (it's going around) and should be better in a day or two. He told us to keep treating the fever to keep it down and try to keep him drinking and eating (he'd lost almost 4 pounds since his 2 yr visit!). After we left I asked Stratton if he wanted anything to eat. . .after volunteering two options that weren't on my list of appropriate for breakfast (Chucky E Cheese and chicken nuggets) I decided we'd just run through the McDonalds on our way home. We pull in and there are about 6 cars in front of us. Stratton being impatient and a little grumpy said "MOVE!!" I told him we had to wait a minute and it would be our turn soon. After we'd moved up a few cars he said "MOVE! My Turn!!" hahaha. . .The rest of the day we laid around and watched movies, then when Jarrod got home we loaded our stuff up again and headed to Hickory Ridge to drop S off before making our way back to Searcy to spend the night (I think I know what it feels like to be a nomad. . .) We decided to stay in Searcy so we wouldn't have to get up so early for my Dr. appt at UAMS on Friday morning. I had another Ultrasound done on my left ovary to see what if anything had changed on the cyst that was found and I had an appointment with the OB/GYN that would be in on my surgery. She didn't seem to think the cyst was anything to worry about. She let us know that she would be available to remove it if during the surgery they determined it needed to come out, but she didn't foresee this being an issue! The ultrasound was at 9am and the Dr appt was at 1:45 so we did some shopping .  . .Stratton and I got some new TOMS at Gene Lockwood's. . .that place has TOMS stacked to the ceiling- literally!! Then we ate lunch at Loca Luna (so yummy!!) and also hit up a few more places. After my dr appt we went to the mall before heading back. It was a good day! I got some god news from the Dr and got to go shopping! haha! Stratton is staying at my mom and dad's tonight as well, so I am excited about getting to sleep in!! WooHoo! Then laundry and I'm sure a trip to the grocery store is in order since our cupboards are bare! This weekend ASU students will be coming back, so we have that to look forward to. . .ugh.

Hopefully, this week will be slightly less busy. However, I'm sure I will pay for missing 3 days of work. I shuttered to think of what lies in my inbox come Monday morning. . .

Stratton’s 2 year Pictures

I got my cd of images on Monday!! Thank you Lindsey Turner Photography!! Yay! I was so happy! I immediately started designing a photo-book (which turned out so great!!) but am stumped about which ones I want to order to hang at our house?! It’s just too hard!! Here are some of my favorites that you may not have seen if you didn’t go to the gallery on her website. . .

^ Sweet Expressions!

^ He could have been on the Andy Griffith Show

^ I think this is my favorite

^ Looks awesome in b/w too!

^ I love this one for some reason?!

^ I like that this one has the tractor and the quilt both

I need a bigger house with more walls!!

Who Dats

We LOVE Who Dats in Bald Knob. It's probably one of our favorite restaurants, and lucky for us its a good place to meet Jarrod's parents since they live in Searcy! Saturday Jarrod said he had the hankering for Who Dats, so he called the fam and we decided to meet at 6pm for dinner. I don't think we have been since last year some time- It's been way too long! We had fun, Jennifer and Archer came too! The boys are so funny to watch!

It's IMPOSSIBLE to get a picture of them! They are too Busy!

Oh, and my kid isn't sunburned, he just gets so red when he gets hot!

Date Night

Jarrod had to work late (sigh, again) last night, so Stratton and Mommy had a fun date night! We started off at Kiddly Toes, where he got measured for new shoes! By the way- I feel like an awful mom. I thought he was an 8, NOPE! He's a full 9, could use a 9.5 in certain brands! So we bought two new pairs of shoes for him! Wow, seems like we were just there and he was a 7.5! Also, he refused to take his sunglasses off in the store, so he was Mr. Cool and all the girls (they have college age girls working there most of the time) thought he was soo cute (uh, yeah he knows how to work the ladies already!) Then he walked around the store saying "I like those!" which they thought was adorable. . . I'm surprised we didn't get a discount they were all ohhing and ahhing over how cute he was. My kid loves shoes. And if you know his parents you can't be surprised. Jarrod and I both have a thing for shoes.

After I dragged (seriously, he didn't want to leave!) him away from the shoe store we hit up Old Navy and then had dinner at Shorty Smalls before going to the Mall. He was so Great! He rode in his stroller the whole time and didn't complain once! We bought lots of stuff at Gap (his favorite!) and since he was being so good I decided to take him to Build-A-Bear for the first time. He loved it! He picked a brown puppy dog which he dressed in a football uniform (he looks like he is ready for some Red Wolves Football!) we left the mall around 8pm and pulled in our house the same time Jarrod did. He was pleased (ha-ha not really!) to see that Stratton and I are spending his overtime money faster than he can make it! : ) We love you, honey!!

We really did have a great night, and actually it was Stratton's idea to go shopping, he asked to go! What can I say, it must be the genes?! Also, I think he knows that he usually gets a toy of some sort if we go shopping and he's good! Oh well.

"Daddy, wook! New Shoes!"

Playing in his tent with his new puppy

What a ham!

Stratton is definitely  an entertainer. . . he is always making us laugh! Especially at dinner time. This particular night he was enjoying one of the last of Aunt Christina's cookies she made for my meeting at work, we actually had a few left over so I brought them home for Stratton and he thoroughly enjoyed them!

More splashing

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Splash!

Jarrod is throwing him in and he LOVES it!

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Stratton’s 2 Year Stats

Stratton’s 2 year wellness check-up was on Friday, he of course did great. They are always impressed with how well behaved he is. He just lets Dr. B check him out and never makes a peep! That’s why he gets TWO suckers. Yay! (don’t these nurses have kids?!)

He’s still a big boy! Looks like he has slowed down a little, but he’s still on the high end of the charts but at least he is ON the charts and not off it like we were a few months ago. . .

Height: 36.5 inches- 90-95th Percentile

Weight: 33 pounds- 90th Percentile

He is wearing 2-3T tops and 18-24 months shorts, 2T pants and size 8 shoe. We love the GAP for his nice clothes (especially the pants since they can be adjusted to fit his teeny waist)and Kohls and Carters for play/daycare clothes. Boy clothes is still disappointing to me. I guess there is only so much you can do with shirts and jeans or shorts, but still it makes me frustrated!! I am excited that Rachel Zoe just announced that she is going to launch a line of baby clothes soon, with lots of baby boy stuff. Too bad I won’t be able to afford it- haha!

According to Baby Center’s height predictor Stratton will be 6’ 4” by the time he is 18. . .oh my. And I think he is eating me out of house and home now!

Here’s a little bit about our busy guy at 2 years:

Favorite things: LOVES tractors and backhoes, or basically anything that is BIG and LOUD! Already has a thing for motorcycles, which makes his daddy proud. Loves to go to the Carwash, and asks to go every single day! We recently discovered that he is a little fish! He loves to swim and isn’t afraid of the water especially with a life jacket on he will jump off anything and likes to go under! Who knew!? I don’t know where he gets that dare-devil streak, it definitely didn’t come from me!

Frequent sayings: “I did it!”. . . “ What Pops doing?” . . . “I hold you!” . . . “Mommy, No M’am Mommy!” . . . “I go ‘whimming” . . . “I (insert verb or noun here) TOO!” . . .”Have [a good] Day” . . . “ I wuv you!”. . . “Tank-you” . . .  “Taki, NO! NO!” and “Excuse me, I have hiccups!”. He talks all the time. Wow. Now, I know where he gets this! He says the funniest stuff! Jarrod and I are constantly laughing at the way his little brain thinks!  Last night at the Exaltation at the Fowler Center he said the singing was “Too Loud!” and covered his ears.

Favorite Food: At the moment seems to be chicken nuggets. Which he asks for at every meal- yes, even breakfast. But normally he will eat just about anything. He’s been shying away from peas and other veggies he used to love. I am hoping it’s just a phase! I keep giving them too him anyway! He still eats his weight in cheese and will eat as many eggs as you put in front of him. His snack of choice is Goldfish, or fruit twists. And he is on a “choc-it milk” kick.

Favorite Toys: His tractors & trucks, his new kitchen (which we put in the kitchen right beside where I cook so we can cook at the same time) and his new riding motorcycle.

Favorite Dvds: Elmo, John Deere Earth Movers, and Baby Einstein Old McDonald “Animals”and Things that Go “Wheels”.

Night-time: Is going great! We do our normal routine, and read some books and then he goes to bed in his “big boy bed” with no problems now, and stays there all night! I can’t believe how easy that transition was!

Next on the to- do list: Potty training. . . not looking forward to this, but he has already used the potty once and didn’t seem like a big deal. He was really excited (I was stunned that he actually did it and I was totally unprepared for a success on the first attempt, so I have got to go stock up on “prizes”!) maybe that momentum will continue? Who knew having your kid poop in the toilet would evoke such feelings of pride and sadness?! Motherhood is so crazy!