Day 2

It's late (aka 10 pm). I am tired (even though we all took a family nap this afternoon for 2 hours). But here I am. Dedicated to the cause!

The kiddos stayed with mom today because of the whole ear infection thing. They woke up early, so I got them loaded into her car and then went to school, almost on time! School was good, but all I could think about was SLEEP. When I picked the kids up Cora was on her second nap. It didn't look good. Luckily Jude went down no problem. I gave Cora a bath and got things put away and decided to try laying her down again. It worked! We all slept a good two hours and Jude got three. When we woke up we headed into the gym for the Allen vs. Ponca boys bb game. We saw Jacob and Trenton play, visited with aunts, cousins, parents, and grandparents, played tractors with Blake, played with some of my sixth grade students, drank from the water fountain, ran in the halls and on the court, and had a lot of fun. At the end of the night Jude was in tears not wanting it to end. But I decided to skip the birthday cake and ice cream at mom and dad's for grandma's birthday because despite the naps we all needed sleep! The minute we got home Jude said he was ready to take a nap. I knew it! Minutes after arriving home both kids were zonked in their beds and I am now heading to mine. Hope it is a LONG LONG time before I have to get up again (like 5 hours or something!).

It was so good to hear from you this afternoon! I knew as soon as I heard the rooster crowing in the background that it was you from Honduras. If you hear a rooster crowing you know it's either the Ridenour Ranch or Honduras!

Tomorrow's plan is to sleep, play, clean a little, do a little laundry, and relax. I might even make a pot of coffee...and maybe a meal or something!

GOODNIGHT:)

The Twelve Days of Honduras--Day 1

Gil is in Honduras starting today. For twelve days. This is the third year he has made the trip. But this is the first time I have had to hold down the fort with TWO kids (plus all the animals). And this is the first time it has been twelve days.

Last year I made Gil a photo album of things Jude and I did while he was away. This year I have decided to write a blog post EVERY DAY for TWELVE days...aka "The Twelve Days of Honduras." This is a HUGE (I'm enjoying caps tonight!) undertaking for me right now seeing as how I am averaging one post a month these days AND that I am a single mom for the time being. But I am going to do my best!

Ok, so day 1. Well, the first night was a little rocky. While Cora did sleep until nearly 4 am (a record as of late), I discovered she needed changing (poopy!) and that she had a fever. So after a feeding, changing, temp taking, and medicine giving (which she hates), she peacefully drifted off to sleep...until 5 am...and then 5:45 am...

Did I mention I am totally and utterly exhausted today? It's like just this one day of being "on" all by myself has completely worn me out. I had to exert extra brain power just to remember if the period went inside or outside of the quotes just now...you cannot criticize my grammar in this post!

The day got off to a slow start. I arrived at school after chores, loading kids, and unloading kids about twenty minutes late (luckily I still beat the students!). I got Cora an appointment at 2:15 because I was pretty sure she had an ear infection and she probably shouldn't have gone to daycare...(side note, it was 65 degrees out today!). Mom picked up Jude early from daycare and I got Cora to the doctor only about 5 minutes late (I'm afraid you might see a trend in my lack of punctuality). She had a double ear infection--goodie--but still was able to get her second flu vaccination. After the poking and prodding she was in a mood, but luckily she fell asleep immediately once in the car and stayed that way throughout the entire Target trip. I did get to spend an incredible amount of time in Target tonight with a sleeping baby which is the next best thing to being there alone. That was fun. I got some new mascara and foundation I'm excited to try (I know you're going to be thrilled!).

So after Target and my frustrating time at the SS HyVee pharmacy (they only gave me $40 back instead of $50 for the wrong charge...grrr). I arrived home with a much happier infant and Jude just behind me, also in good spirits. We ate supper, played, cleaned up, and the kids both went to bed around 8! After that I got caught up on the budget and guess what?! We had extra money last month!!! That was good to see after the Target trip...

Now I'm off to bed to read the devo Melanie sent me (that is another thing I'm trying to do each night).

Goodnight from Nebraska. I love you all the way to Honduras!

Shannon

Christmas 2011

Well, it has almost happened again! I have nearly gone an entire month without a blog post. Shame on me. What is my excuse this time you might ask? Well, let's see, it could be Christmas concerts and shopping and MOPs events and classes and grading and dr. appointments and even laundry...but lately it has been the emergency room.

We had a rough start to the holiday season you could say. Gil, while at work December 15, suddenly got a bad pain in his stomach. Thinking it could be an appendicitis he went and saw a nurse at Briar Cliff. She said it probably was not an appendicitis, but rather a virus that had been going around. Gil called me to come get him because he was so sick and vomiting that he couldn't drive. He spent the rest of the evening in terrible pain, but still thinking it was just the flu because of the nausea. After the kids were in bed he finally decided we ought to head to the emergency room to get it checked out. I was thinking kidney stones by this time, but his pain was in his stomach rather than the back. Well, sure enough the doctor confirmed a kidney stone diagnosis. They admitted him to the hospital (we were in Wayne) and got him on some morphine and fluids and anti-nausea meds. I stayed with him that night. He was completely depleted from vomiting so much and the intense pain. The next day we had hope that the stone would pass. From the scan it wasn't too large and he was on all that fluid. But the afternoon it still had not passed, but he was feeling pain-free. We decided to go home and wait it out there with pain meds. But by the middle of the night the pain and nausea were back despite the medicine. All day Saturday he laid on the couch and couldn't do a thing. By Sunday morning we decided he needed to go back to the hospital. He could not properly hydrate himself to get the stone moving because of the nausea. So, we went back to the ER and Gil was readmitted. He stayed that night again...and the next night....still no stone had passed. We wanted to go home, but were afraid he would just be too sick again. On Tuesday we decided we needed to leave the Wayne hospital (small and unable to do the procedure to remove the stone). He got an appointment with a urologist at UNMC in Omaha the next day, the day we were planning to leave for his parent's house to celebrate Christmas. We were hopeful! The appointment went well, but they said since it was an elective surgery he would have to schedule it and the soonest they could get him in was in a week. We took it, but hoped it would pass on it's own before then and that he would stay feeling well. Unfortunately the nausea and vomiting was back that evening. I called back to the urologist in the morning to see about nausea meds, but they told us to come into the ER....SO third trip to the ER that day. That was quite a process, but we really hoped he would finally get surgery. The doctors told us the operating rooms were quite busy and he was on a list, but they thought it might happen that day (Thursday) or for sure the next. We sat there all day, Gil hooked up to his faithful IV and not eating, me reading magazines and watching reruns of "Everybody Loved Raymond." Finally by six o'clock that night I needed to get home to the kiddos and it didn't look like surgery would happen until the following day. Gil's dad came in to relieve me and I headed home, bummed that we would have to wait another day. Just when I arrived back at his parent's house, John called. They had taken Gil to pre-op!!! Yay!!! He would be home that night after all, I figured. Surgery is quick and recovery too. But John called back about two hours later to say that he was bumped and back in his room. No surgery. He was told noon the next day (Friday). That was the day of the Buhman Christmas in Missouri, so Gil's mom and sisters took Jude down with them while John kept Cora at home and spent some time at the hospital with us. The doctor came in at 11am (yes, before noon!) and took him to pre-op again. This time I got to go along. We hadn't been there for more than five minutes before they came to tell us the doctor would not be available for another couple hours...back to the hospital room we went. We were beginning to feel quite defeated at this point. But we hadn't been up in the room more than five minutes before another doctor came to say a different urologist was available if we were willing to go with him. By that point we were willing to go with a stranger off the street (almost!). So back to pre-op we went. And it was for real this time!!! There was a lot to surgery and waiting and pre-op and recovery, but basically he was done in an hour and back in his room in two. Unfortunately, the doctor thought there might be some infection and wanted him to stay ANOTHER night. We hung out again all day in the hospital, but at least Gil was feeling better, could eat, and the stone was GONE! He came home Christmas Eve morning and has been feeling better and better ever since. What an ordeal! We are just so glad it is finally over. And all the time I was talking about "daddy" being in the hospital to the kids, I was just glad I knew he would be getting better soon.

So after all that we still had one day left to celebrate with the Ridenour's! We then came home Christmas morning to celebrate with the Koester's. Here are some pictures to document (they are all out of order...sorry!). I'm feeling bad that I didn't get any of Gil in the hospital, but I'm sure he doesn't feel too bad about it!

Merry Christmas From the Ridenour Family!

Cora playing at our home Christmas celebration.
Jude opening his presents at home.
Mommy and Cora opening presents at the Ridenour's
Jude standing by Papa John's new wise man.
Aunt Alissa with Cora Clare.
Ashtyn and Jude with their recordable books of the first Christmas (from Nana and Papa)
Our tree. Sorry, not a very good pic. It is VERY VERY tall!
Jude by grandma and grandpa's tree. He could say, "Happy Birthay, Jesus" to turn the lights on (remote control!)
Jude and Aunt Brittany.
Mitch with little Sarai.
Gil and I the day we came home!
The Herrick's
Cora at six months
Another six month pic
The two baby girls checking each other out.
Kids with Papa John
Sarai Ann

blessings

I try not to think about it. It is easier that way. I don't get sad, angry, or anxious that way. But sometimes I do think about it. I can't help it. I hate that I'm not with my kids all day. I hate that I have to pump instead of feeding Cora in the morning. I hate that I don't know what Jude eats for lunch, or if he eats well, or if he went on the potty chair, or if he listened, or what was done about it. I hate that I don't see my kids awake on most days until close to 2pm, and then they are grumpy and need naps. And then I am grumpy if they won't take naps because as much as I want to see them and spend time with them I also have a million other things I feel like I should get done when I get home. So instead of spending time with me they usually spend time "alone". I hate that as much as I want to be with my kids all day they still drive me crazy and I lose my patience too often. I hate that I don't know what to do to when Jude won't help pick up or when Cora is refusing to sleep. I hate that I get overwhelmed when the house is a disaster area and all I can think about is how I want it to get picked up and put the kids to bed and have peace. I hate that i haven't had a full nights sleep in over six months. I hate that ministry and teaching doesn't pay like doctors or lawyers or bankers or fill in the blank. I hate that Gil and I both have advanced degrees and still can barely scrape by.

In the spirit of the season I also have to be thankful. I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful that we have a daycare to bring out children to and that they enjoy going. I am thankful that Jude gets to play with other kids. I am thankful that we have jobs (that we enjoy even if they pay terrible!) and a home and food and health (I have always thought being thankful for health was a little silly. It has just hit me recently how real that blessing is!). I am thankful that my husband gets the kids ready and brings them to daycare each morning (he does this way better than me!), and that he arranges his schedule to be able to spend time with them and me. I am thankful that we have family and both our parents nearby and that they help us out in innumerable ways. I am thankful for my savior.

I have a lot of internal conflict...but I will try to count my blessings:)

Brittany, we just made and sent you this card!!! It probably won't make it to you until after this weekend, but we love you and are proud of you!!!

5x7 Folded Card

Lovely Branches Green 5x7 folded card

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View the entire collection of cards.

face lift

I have been contemplating all of my favorite past times...running, reading, shopping, writing, music, devos...and how I rarely get to do them these days! Then I decided to change my blog background and I discovered that it is like online shopping...plus free!!! So I guess there is one outlet covered. Now, how to find a substitute for the rest?

Folding clothes is next on my agenda. Could that be like music to my ears? I think not, however I could listen to music while folding. Or better yet a book on tape!

I am still struggling with fitting in exercise. I even bought a Dancing with the Stars tape to motivate me. I've done it once.

Jude has learned how to open his baby gate on his door today and is now sneaking out and waking up his sister. Time to go! Here is my running!