Little Christened One

This past weekend was Will's baptism. All of Matt's family came in from New Jersey and my parents and some very dear friends came in as well. Matt's cousin and his wife are Will's Godparents and they traveled in from Virginia.

It was a blessed day. The weather was amazing. We had it during our parish's 5pm Mass. I got there early to feed him before dressing him in his tiny white outfit. He was so alert and calm as our family gathered in the church and Mass began. Just as the homily ended and the baptism portion began, it happened....he screamed. And screamed. And screamed! Then, the baptism ended and go figure, he got calm again! I guess he just wanted to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord"! We are not permitted to take any flash pictures during the Mass, so we don't have any of the actual baptism, but I will always remember that blessed moment in my heart forever.

Afterwards, we had our family and a few friends over for a reception at our home. It was a great day and I know he is blessed with God's grace now and always!

Drink and Drool

This is what happens when you drink too much...

In the Mouse's hands!

I just hit submit on my online application for the 2011 WDW Moms Panel.

It is out of my hands and in the Mouse's hands!

I am wishing on a star that this will be my year. Third time's a charm, right?

So, now the waiting begins.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!

Field of Sparkles

This weekend began the fall season of soccer and Cate's first time on a team.

That team....The Sparkle Girls!

She was very excited on Friday, when she received her hot pink jersey!


The team is all of the girls from her class last year in Leaps and Bounds. So, all of the girls know and love each other.

So, we headed out to the field on a very hot (98 degrees) and muggy day for the first game. We got there early so they could practice one last time. {Don't you just love how she is a whole head shorter than all of the other girls}


The game got started and we quickly learned that Cate was very different than Max on the field. She goes for it! She was not afraid to go after that ball and get it!


In fact, she scored one goal and assisted on another. She would've scored another goal, but decided to touch the ball with her hands to line it up for the goal (very funny moment)! {in the picture, it looks like the little boy scored, but it was actually Cate!}


She listened to the coaches' advice.


However, once we hit half-time, most of the girls began to melt (in the heat) and meltdown, including Cate. Overall, they had a great time and were proud of themselves!

Great game, Sparkle Girls!!!!

Another year, another chance

It is that time of year again.

Applications for the 2011 WDW Moms Panel begin tomorrow. This will be my third time to apply. First year, didn't make it past round 1, second year, made it to round 2, so this year I am hopeful that I will make it even further...onto round 3 (phone interviews) and then hopefully, chosen!!!!!

For those of you that do not know what I am talking about, click here. It is an invaluable resource if you are planning a future trip to the land of the mouse!

So wish me some pixie dust and magic as I share my passion for the Walt Disney World in my application tomorrow morning.

Wordless Wednesday - Ruff Day?

Mr. Sandman

Last weekend was Will's sleep study to determine if he has sleep apnea, a common occurrence in cleft palate babies, especially those with a Pierre Robin Sequence.

From the moment we found out we had to have this done, I was a nervous wreck. I have been hospitalized many times, but I have never had to watch my children endure any procedures more than the occasion vaccination. The thought of his tiny 5 week old body being probed and measured scared the you-know-what out of me.

Luckily, we were able to schedule it over a weekend and Labor Day was even better because Matt was off and could stay at home with the kids. We wouldn't have to worry about him taking off to take them to school the next morning.

Sunday evening came and we headed to Medical City in Dallas and got admitted. We were taken upstairs to the sleep lab. The room was a very normal looking room with a full size bed (not a hospital bed) and several chairs. The lab tech brought in the crib for Will. We were asked several questions in preparation for the procedure and we had several questions as well, such as:

• Would he be able to sleep on his tummy as he normally does at home? (cleft babies need to sleep on the tummies for gravity to pull their tongue out of the roof of their mouths as not to choke)
• Could we feed him normally with all the nodes and wires on him?
• How long would the test last?

Yes, he could sleep on his tummy/side/back, whichever position he normally sleeps.
Yes, we could feed him normally.
The study had to go on for a minimum of 6 hours once we were hooked up and sleep began.

Matt came with me to get him registered and stayed until he was all hooked up. Then, he went back to stay at home with the kids (my brother came over for the evening while Matt was with me). We got some snuggles in while the tech prepared the wires and monitors.

getting snuggles before his sleep study began

Will was very calm as he began to place the nodes on his face and scalp. There were approximately 8 nodes on his face, 10-15 on his scalp, 1 on his chest and back, and 2 straps around his chest to measure how much his diaphragm expanded. He didn't actually get upset until he put the gauze band around his head to hold everything in place. I was able to quickly settle him with his pacifier. The tech said that the last monitor was a tube placed under his nose to measure his air output and was often the most bothersome to kids. So, we decided to hold off on putting that on until after he finished his bottle and would hopefully be asleep. The study wouldn't actually begin until after he fell asleep and the pulse/oxygen monitor on his foot was hooked up, too.

all the equipment, wires, glue, and tape needed for the study

Daddy keeping Will calm while the tech applies all the nodes/wires

Over 20 wires were used

remaining calm before his bottle

Matt prepared the bottle and said his good-byes. Will fell asleep while eating, so when he was done, I quietly stepped out to get the tech to come in and finish up with the last few monitors. This was when he got really upset. The moment he put the tube under his nose and in his nostrils, he screamed and continued to scream for 20 minutes. I felt so bad for him. At this point, I was wishing that I had fed him AFTER doing this to soothe him, but it was too late for that. I was also wishing Matt was still there. It purely heartbreaking. I was really trying to hold it together for him. Finally, he calmed down and I got him down into the crib. The tech came in to hook all the wires into the wall to begin the study. He then went to check the monitors to make sure they were all registering. He came in and said that one of the straps around his chest was not tight enough, but after seeing that we couldn't get to the velcro to adjust it without waking him, he said that we could hold off on adjusting that one until he was deeper asleep. Thank goodness...I don't think I could have endured seeing him agitated any more.

finally asleep after adding the tube and sensor under his nose

pulse/oxygen monitor on his toe measuring his oxygen saturation

He then slept pretty soundly for about 3 hours. I laid down for a bit, but didn't get much sleep. Every time he moved his head from one side to the next, I would have to move the wires to the other side and off of his face. About 1:15 he woke up and I made his bottle and fed him, he went right back to sleep, but after that, he didn't sleep as soundly and moved around a lot more and I had to calm him much more. At one point, one of the nodes behind his ear stopped monitoring, so we had to move his head to fix it. Luckily, this did not wake him.

all hooked up and sleeping

Around 3:45, he was beginning to stir again and the tech said we had done 6 hours of sleep time, so we could leave if we wanted. He came in to remove the monitors/nodes/tubes. As you can imagine, Will did not like the peeling off of the sticky nodes. I had waited to feed him this time until after we were all done, so that I could soothe him with his bottle. I then filled out the end of study questionnaire and were allowed to leave.

headed home

We got home around 5:20am. I got him in his bassinet, took a Tylenol PM to soothe my achy neck and let me sleep, and Matt took over from there.

Today, we got the results. He DOES have a mild obstructive sleep apnea. However, it is not bad enough to warrant any further tests or monitoring. His oxygen levels did dip down lower than usual, but according to the sleep doctor and our craniofacial surgeon, his results were much better than most cleft babies with Pierre Robin Sequence. We are SO relieved with this outcome and now I can rest easier. We still have to watch for signs of sleep apnea like lips turning blue or his snoring and snorting noises getting louder or more frequent than what they are now.

But, all in all, it was worth that night of discomfort for us both in order to have the piece of mind that all is ok!

Hope

Last night, I got up to do a midnight feeding and couldn't go back to sleep. I ended up just listening to my iPod and was suddenly struck by a song that I have heard on my playlist a hundred times but never really listened to the words. It is a song by Sara Groves called, "It Might Be Hope".

it might be hope
by sara groves

you do your work the best that you can
you put one foot in front of the other
life comes in waves and makes it's demands
you hold on as well as you’re able

you've been here for a long long time

hope has a way of turning its face to you
just when you least expect it
you walk in a room
you look out a window
and something there leaves you breathless
you say to yourself
it's been a while since i felt this
but it feels like it might be hope

it's hard to recall what blew out the flame
it's been dark here since you can remember
you talk it all through to find it a name
as days go on by without number

you've been here for a long long time

hope has a way of turning its face to you
just when you least expect it
you walk in a room
you look out a window
and something there leaves you breathless
you say to yourself
it's been a while since i felt this
but it feels like it might be hope

It really got me thinking about all the trials and tribulations that we have been handed over the last few months and that there is always hope to those who persevere. God has a plan for us. Just as my blog title states, sometimes even though we may have a slice of heaven, we are always given a scoop of reality on the side to keep us humble in His service.

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perserverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. --Romans 5: 3-5

Rules

We got Max's first "social studies" quiz back today from school! He did great, he only missed one question! The quiz was on community helpers and how they help us.

Here are some of the questions:

• I take care of animals whey they are sick, I am a: veterinarian
• I keep our city safe by making sure people follow rules, I am a: police officer
• I should follow rules so that I do not hurt others. True

However, I found myself giggling at the question he got wrong:

• Rules are made to make me not have fun. Max answered True!

Pickles and Eyeballs

Today, while watching a commercial on TV for a hotel/spa, Cate asks me, "Why does that lady have pickles on her eyeballs? That's so silly, Mommy!"