Bionic Ears

Like many small children, Andy has had some ear infections. The problem isn't so much that he gets these ear infection, but when he get one, they are antibiotic resistant. As a microbiologist, I find this ironic, and annoying. Andy had his first ear infection of the season in November, and continued until right after Christmas. At that point, we were referred to an ENT.

The ENT took one look in Andy's ears and said, "tubes, and possible adenoids." Her theory was that the adnenoids were inflammed and not allowing any of the fluid to drain out of the ear. As a result, an antibiotic would work to clear an infection, but since the fluid couldn't drain, an antibiotic-resistant strain would develop. We scheduled surgery for the beginning of January.

There was some pre-op work to be done, with priority #1 being to get the money out of the way. Does anyone think it is funny how you will meet with the doctor and they make you fill out a form saying how much you will pay them, but say nothing of the other people you will also owe money too? And then when you ask them, they give you no help to find out this information? So, this is my blog, and as a service to others, I want to let you know that our cost for this will be around TWO. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. This was quite a shock. a)this is a pretty routine surgery, you are telling me that everyone pays this TWO. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. and b)this is the aproximate amount that we paid for Andy's birth. Yes, producing a human, and putting tubes in is the same. We debated a long time about whether to actually have the surgery. In the end, it was the possible adenoids and Andy's constant whiny nature that sealed the deal.

The hardest part of the surgery is that Andy couldn't eat or drink anything that morning. He really wanted his chocolate milk! He was still upset on the way:

But again, he is really always like this.

Here is Andy in his hospital gown. It was way to big:


He was trying to take off his bracelet:


He was in good spirits before hand. He played around with daddy:


Then they came to get him, he was immediately suspicious. They had us put him in a wagon. That didn't go well. He will probably never get into another wagon again!

The surgery took longer than I expected. It was about 45 minutes before the doctor came to tell us anything. In one ear, Andy had fluid with a jello like consistancy. In the other ear, it was pus-like. Now, keep in mind we had just finished a round of bactrim. They drained the ears, and removed the adenoids. After that it was another 15 minutes before they took us back to see him. He just wanted to cuddle up:


On the way home, we got him a milkshake, but he was still pissed!


That night, I heard "mommy, mommy!" I said, "here I am James!" but it was Andy. His speech had already changed. He has definately added many words to his vocabulary since then. How ever, he still is pretty cranky. Instead of "uuuuuh, uuuuhhhhhhhhh!!!!" all day, its "mooooooommmmmmy, mooommmmmmmyyyyyy!"

Christmas is over!

Anyone else's kids doing this? James insisted that Christmas was NOT over until it snowed. It snows on Christmas Eve! Um, not in the south! At any rate, we had a very little itty bit of snow, so I parade the kids out to enjoy it.

I think James was looking for a place for a snowman:


Andy went right to work, raking:


It worked, it is offically "wintertime". Whew!

Oh, and just FYI, and I think we all know this, you should not even mention the possibility of S-N-O-W unless you are sure it is going to!

Jump, jump 2010

Twin Falls

My sister and her family are in town so that means we have to take my nephew, C, for a hike to see a waterfall. This year we decided to try a different waterfall and settled on this Twin Falls. I am so glad we did. What a perfect hike and impressive waterfall. Directions can be found here.

It took awhile to get there, but the hike length was perfect for our age group. Andy and AM ended up being worn:





James and Grandma did a little "bushwacking":



Halfway there, there was a nice little rock over the stream. The kids like to thrown sticks in:







Off this rock, was a great view. This will be great for a picnic this summer and some swimming:



I am not going to lie, there was actually a sign here that said, "no eating, drinking, or swimming" What a buzz kill!

Post hike gloat by C and James:



and the dumb look by Andy:

Proof it doesn't get better

I just love this picture



That is Mr. Tony with brand new baby Christopher. He is 6 weeks old. It is indeed expected and apropiate that he would need to be held and walked around at a preschool Christmas program.

There is me with OH, ANDY! He is 18 months old and weights 30 pounds. He walks and talks and really should not need to held and walked around like this. In all fairness, I am pretty sure he got suddenly ill during this program, so that plays into it...but even when he is not sick he wants mommy to hold him and walk around.

We caved

Perhaps you remember this post about a trip to the new Greenville Children's Museum. You can think of this post as PSA II.

This past saturday it was cold and rainy. Oh, what to do with two active kids on such a day? Decisions, decisions. Mark mentioned the Children's Museum, yeah...but for $50...not sure... When Mark was checking out another option (World of Engery at Duke Power, free, but only open 12-5 on Saturdays) he looked at the Children's Museum again. Guess what, they are no longer charging for the ages between 0-2. Andy would be FREE. We could go for the bargain price of $36. Ok, still a little high, but at this point, anything to get out of the house.

We walked in. It wasn't crowded and there were volunteers just milling around. He was SO EXCITED as soon as he walked in and saw the exhibts. Even one of the workers commented "you look more excited then your kids!" I am talking of course about Mark. Mark had a great time.

However, so did the kids. There was climbing:



Yes, there is a sticker on his head. He liked it. We left it there. James climbed all the way up.



Andy liked recycling. Good thing because the rest of us hate the earth.



The rotating exhibit was on fairy tales. It was really great.



We hit the music room again:





If it looks to you that Andy had an Unscheduled Outfit Change, you would be correct. That is due to this area:



Andy was really anti-smock, and usually anti-bib for that matter. Couldn't get to him fast enough. More water:





We actually ate on site. They had a great little cafe, with a bakery case. What are they doing to me? The good news is that they had this cute little cupcakes for $1. I mean, $1, that is practically FREE.



There is also really large elevator, but the purpose of this picture is to show that James also had an Unscheduled Outfit Change. Same reason.



Lastly, Andy in the wind tunnel.



We could have spent more time there, and I wish we would have. Not sure why this outing was more succesful than the last one. Andy is just at a great age where everything is fun, but James had a great time too. Mark is already planning on going back.

Shining Star(s)!

So, I totally signed James up for theater class. If you have met James, this should not surprise you. This class was only 6 classes long and met on Monday afternoons. It was a good introduction to the performing arts. At class, they usually started out with a little coloring. The first class was spent learning some basic moves: the wave, the bounce, the smile, and the kick. Then they started putting these moves to music: "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile", "Getting to Know You", "It's a Small World", and "So Long, Farewell". They even got to make up their own choreography and teach it to the rest of the class. For the last class, they put on a little show for their final performance. They got to wear costumes. Here is a picture before the show. There were three other students, equally divided between boys and girls. The ages ranged from 3 to probably around 5.




Here is a video from "Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" This is a good song. I like the message.


Here is "It's a small world" This is the one where they showcases their original choreography.


Finally, we came to the curtain call. About this time, Andy had threw down his wheat thins to distract me and ran up on the stage. He was suppose to be my shy kid!