Back at it.......

The Nordlanders just can't stay away from the hospital, can we??? I started having stomach pains on Monday and thought nothing of them at the time. Over the next two days they continued to get worse. I woke up in the middle of the night on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning with pains so bad that I couldn't sleep. The pains went all the way from my c-section incision to up under my ribs and around to my back. When my ob's office opened for the day, I called to see if it might be a complication from the c-section. The nurse told me that it sounded like really bad constipation and that I should take milk of magnesia and I'd feel better soon. So I took her advice....and nothing happened! I had a doctor's appointment for Ryan at 3:45 that afternoon, so I headed out. When I walked in with him one of the nurses saw me and said that I didn't look good. She said that she wouldn't let me drive home, and asked if Rob could meet me there. Rob came up and on our way home he dropped me off at the urgent care center. They checked me over and the doctor said that it looked like I had some crazy stomach bug that is going around. This isn't your typical 24-hour bug, he said that this one lasts a week. He told me to take a prescription for the cramping, and to see my doctor in a week if I wasn't feeling better. By Friday afternoon I was in worse shape than before. So that evening, my mom brought me to the CyFair Hospital ER. They did a CT scan of my tummy (after drinking 4 cups of the world's nastiest "berry smoothie" flavored barium). The tech said she saw something funny on my right side and she would have the doctor take a look. He came back with the results...a ruptured appendix. He told me that, for some reason, instead of the infection going all through my abdominal cavity, it had contained itself on my right side. (I know that "some reason" was God's hands inside me, keeping everything under control.) They informed me that I wouldn't be going home, but I'd be heading to surgery to remove my appendix. I finally got into a room around 3 am Friday morning. The doctor that was set to perform the surgery had a super-busy morning, with several operations in line ahead of me, so mine wouldn't be until sometime in the afternoon. At 2:30 pm they wheeled me down to get prepped for surgery. I had a chance to meet all of the doctors that would be present during the surgery...everyone from the actual surgeon, to the anesthesiologist, to the nurse. I was totally impressed with each one of them. God definitely hand-picked these doctors just for me! (The old-man anesthesiologist did a little dance to distract me while I got my third IV line inserted! It was pretty funny to watch.) They started some meds in my IV, and off I went! I don't remember anything until later that night. The doctor told Rob that everything went well, but that there was a lot of infection. (It was supposed to take 20-30 minutes, but ended up taking them an hour to get it all out!) So, now I'm in my room and starting the healing process. I am really sore, so getting up out of bed to go to the bathroom hurts like crazy. The doctors brought me a "potty chair" to put right next to the bed so that I don't have to walk far. I call it my "latrine"...since it starts to get a bit funky smelling if they take too long to empty it. I also have a drain coming out of my lower abdomen that drains any infection and fluid that is still trapped inside. It looks like a ball attached to a tube that goes into my belly. I have nicknamed my drain "Clifford" because it's almost like walking a dog on a leash...only it's with me at ALL times. And Clifford is the appropriate name because the fluid coming out of me is red. So, I have Clifford the Little Red Dog!

This whole thing has been quite an experience, and I thank everyone for their continued prayers. I was supposed to get discharged today, but because of the large amount of infection they found, they say that I will be here for a couple more days. Please pray for me, as this is the longest I have ever been away from my kids. Pray for my kids as they are missing having Mommy at home. (When I left for the ER, I kissed them like I would be back in a few hours. If I'd have known I would be admitted to the hospital, I would've taken a little longer to love on them before walking out of the door!) Rob is at home with Ryan and Drew, so pray for him to have the energy it takes to be "Mr. Mom." Also, continue to pray for my milk supply...not being able to nurse is doing some damage on my production. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your prayers. I am blessed to have so many people who care about me and are supporting me (in all different kinds of ways) through my healing process.

Bug Catcher

Last week Ryan, Drew and I went to the library for some "toddler time." One of Ryan's favorite things to do during this time was swat little plastic bugs with a fly swatter. (It was funny because he's never played with a fly swatter before, but saw it and knew exactly what to do with it!) He had the best time swatting all of the bugs. Okay, fast forward a few days....

Rob and I are watching tv (The Amazing Race, as you can see)...and all of a sudden, Ryan is standing on a chair in front of the tv holding one of Rob's shoes. We were wondering what he was up to. Then we figured it out. Look at the top of the above picture. A mosquito-eater had gotten in the house and was flying around behind the tv. Ryan was going to use the shoe like the fly swatter from the library. We decided to give him a REAL fly swatter and let him go to town on the bug! The chair wasn't giving him enough "height"...so he climbed on daddy's shoulders. And my two biggest boys had one heck of a time chasing it around the house. See below.....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Noni and Bumpa brought Ryan some Batman Valentine's cards to decorate for his friends and family. The set came with little heart stickers to seal the cards with. My genius child, the one who can come up with the most random uses for simple items, decided that these little stickers would look much better as "Valentine's beards!" The picture above is the beard that Ryan gave Drew while he was sleeping!

Pictures Galore

Just wanted to share some random shots of our new little guy!

What a hard life, huh?

Papa Duck and his two little Nordlander boys.

The new "Sideways Joe." Ryan used to lay sideways in the swing, too.

Beautiful little baby boy feet! (They won't be cute for long!)

Ryan will fight you if you try to take bis brother away!

Another sleepy shot! Must be nice.

Crazy picture...I'm rarely this awake!

This one makes me laugh...hee hee.

As cute as can be...

I think it's time for another nap. It's been a long day!

Ryan's version of "Whose Line"

Have you ever seen the show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" with Drew Carey. One of my favorite games on that show is the one where they are given random objects and asked to come up with other (not-so-normal) uses for them. Well, Ryan is GREAT at coming up with random uses for everyday things around the house. However, with a new baby there are a lot of "new" items in our house for him to get creative with. Here's one...


Those of you who have had a baby that breast feeds will know what that is a picture of. Ryan is having a great time creating his own game of "Whose Line" and coming up with off-the-wall uses for this! See below....


It can be a microphone. It has been added as one of the new "instruments" in his marching band. Last night he had Rob marching through the house with him. Ryan was singing into the breast pump and Rob was playing the tambourine. It was quite a sight. If I wasn't feeding Drew at the time, I would've grabbed the camera and snapped a shot!



It can also double as a small cereal bowl. Ryan likes to pour his cereal out of his normal bowl and walk around with this full of cereal instead. (It does make more sense...it's a LOT easier to hold and not spill!)

Ryan's New "Trick"

Ryan has decided that he needs a "baby" too, so his Elmo doll is getting lots of attention these days. Last night he got out his doll stroller (nothing wrong with a little boy having a pink stroller, right?) and had Elmo buckled in. He was pushing him around the house while I rocked Drew in the living room. Ryan came walking in next to me and said that Elmo (aka "Mamo") was hungry. He took him out of the stroller and lifted up his shirt. He proceeded to put Elmo's mouth on his chest and said that he was eating "boobie milk." So, my two year old is now breastfeeding his stuffed animals.

As of right now, I have not been able to capture this on the camera...but as soon as I do, the picture will definitely be posted here!

Stay-at-Home Mommy of 2 Boys

Today was my first day alone with my two boys...and what a day it was! This morning my dad came over to help me take Drew for his 2-week visit to the doctor. He has gained 6 ounces in the last week and now weighs 6 lbs 9 ounces...what a big boy! We also found out that he had to go back to Memorial City Hospital for his second newborn screening (we gave already paid for them to do it there). So, off we were for a day's adventure at the hospital. We parked where we thought we needed to be...which was about 3 miles too far. We only had a stroller for Drew's car sea, so we had to take the 3-mile trek at a two-year-old's pace (stopping to look at everything along the way). I'm used to walking at that rate, but I think Papa Duck was getting a bit frustrated. Anyways, the visit went well. Ryan was a good big brother...and a good sport to be patient through it all!

Then we got home...and that's when the fun began! Ryan had fallen asleep in the car. I am still not supposed to lift anything heavier than the baby and my dad has a hurt back, so we faced a bit of a problem. He brought Drew inside, then left (knowing my mom would, or should, be at my house soon). So I had one kid inside and the other asleep in the car. I sat in the car with Ryan for more than 10 minutes...and no mom! So I had the neighbor bring Ryan in...which woke him up. By this time, Drew was awake and hungry. Drew an I went to lay down with Ryan and try to get him back to sleep (while waiting on my mom to get here). She showed up and relieved me of Ryan's nap duty. Only one small problem...Drew was sleepy and starving by now. So hungry, in fact, that he couldn't calm down enough to eat. He just kept on screaming! Which kept Ryan awake! Finally around 2:00, Drew had cried himself to sleep, but I could still hear Ryan having a conversation with Ghi, my mom. (Just a side note: Ryan is normally asleep by 12:30...so I can't wait to meet the little monster that walks out of his bedroom soon!)

So my question is...is this what it's going to be like every day as a stay-at-home mommy of 2 boys??? Or will their schedules eventually mesh...and give me some sort of break during the day??? Today seemed like a "them versus me" day......let's pray for a better tomorrow!