Tubes

This morning we woke up and headed to American Fork for Dixie to have her surgery. Of course I woke up really around 4am stressed about not waking up on time. It took me until 4:45 to fall back asleep until 6. I got up and showered and ready to go. Dixie was up at about 6:15 but I held off until I was ready to go and get her. We got her all dressed and headed out the door.
We got to the hospital at about 7:10 and they called us back at about 7:30. We got her stripped down to the diaper, a gown put on her that was about 5 sizes too big so she didn't care for that, and then her set up. We had a few doctors come in, several nurses and by 7:50 the nurse asked her if she could take her and my daughter didn't hesitate. Of course that always makes me nervous that she goes with complete strangers so easily. We need to start on stranger danger.
I was sitting there for about 10-15 minutes and her doctor came back to tell me how it went. She was in recovery waking up. Fortunately she didn't have an infection (which can cause blockage for the tubes) but did have fluid. We have drops to put in for 3 days and then she's set. Now the drops will work if she has any more infections so I don't have to get her on antibiotics all the time anymore. We were sharing a room and the baby came back before Dixie and he was not happy. He was crying and carrying on quite a bit. I felt bad for the guy and his mom. She seemed stressed. So I was mentally preparing myself for Dixie to come back worse than that. Luckily that boy was gone before she came back in. And when she did, I didn't know they were even coming. She was laying on the nurses shoulder just sucking her thumb. He handed her to me and I had Nana's blanket waiting. I wrapped her up and we rocked for a bit. She got some apple juice and we just rocked until the nurse was done with all the paperwork. Once she was done she explained that Dixie might be drowsy today and that I just need to keep an eye on her. Well, she didn't fall asleep on the way home and wasn't drowsy all morning. I knew she was tired after lunch so I am able to write this because she is down for a nap. But honestly, one wouldn't know she had surgery today. She's as wild as ever. I am proud of how well she handled the anesthesia and grateful. We went to see Grandma and Grandpa, had lunch with my friend Stephanie, and now we're napping. Well she's napping and I am hoping to also get a little nap in myself. But that's that. I'm terrible at taking pictures so we don't have any, but at least I have the memory down.

The Days You Love Being a Mom

This morning started bright and early at 6:15am with Dixie. I wasn't ready to really get up and since Paul was at work, she came back to bed with me. Of course I knew we wouldn't be sleeping, but at least we could be "resting" for a few minutes more. She laid down next to me and then immediately got up, climbed on my belly and laid her head on my chest. This is probably my favorite thing in the world. Of course it lasts for all of 30 seconds, but I love and eat up that 30 seconds. I was so giddy about it that I started to giggle and then she did as well. It's almost like words can't describe that awesome bond you have with your child where it is complete bliss. We got things rolling and she stayed busy until Daddy came home. We ate some breakfast together and she finished before we did. Then it was like something snapped and she was in a tantrum about who knows what. They don't last very long since we ignore the screaming on the floor and then she's over it.

Swim lessons today went well too. She hates going under water, but that's to be expected. Yesterday she was sitting on the wall and coming in to me and one time didn't wait for me to catch her and went right under. It only took a second or less for me to pull her up, but she didn't like that feeling. Today she was much more cautious and grabbing tight when I brought her in the water. She did great back floats and kicks. It's fun to take a swim class even though I have been teaching for so many years. I love seeing her get excited and to sing the songs with her. She laughs a lot, cries a little and has a ton of fun.

This evening we had a lot of fun too. I was making dinner and asked if she wanted to see and help me. She loves that...mostly that I pick her up and we just had fun playing and cooking. After dinner we had bath time and she was having a blast. By the time we got PJs on she was pooped. Off to bed she went and we didn't hear a peep.

Working full time and being a mom full time can be hard sometimes. I feel like I miss a lot sometimes. I am so tired and grumpy from rough work days that I don't give her time and attention she deserves. I think attitude is everything. When I am positive and enjoy the little moments, endure the tough moments, and make the most of each day, I feel overwhelmed with joy. I can still be a great mommy and work full time. I can still choose to leave work at work and actually be with my family when I am physically with them. I don't know why I am going on and on, but I just felt like writing down some thoughts after a day like today. There were ups and downs but those ups outweighed the downs so significantly that it was an awesome, blessed day. My attitude was what it needed to be to see that and I am grateful I chose to have that attitude.

An Update

It's funny how you can be checking everyone else's blogs, thinking, why don't they update? I want to know what's happening with them. Low and behold it's been like 6 weeks since I updated mine. Nice to get a friendly reminder from Sar to update it so she can stalk me. :)

Life seems to be slowing down to what will be a normal pace for a while. Being the YW President definitely keeps me busier than before, but I think we are getting into a groove. I have an awesome presidency and a very supportive husband and therefore, things are moving along. I am learning to delegate more so I'm not doing everything and low and behold...things are much less stressful than before. Paul is good to give me little pep talks and when I follow his advice it seems things go better. He must be my best friend or something and know me pretty well. :)

For those of you that don't know, Dixie has been sick off and on for most of her life. She gets colds and every cold turns into an ear infection. This year alone she has had 6 ear infections. That means she's been on antibiotics 6 different times in about 8 months. Her last ear infection we took her to an after hours clinic. That doctor recommended tubes. She explained a bit about it and recommended an ENT for us to go see. I debated, did a lot of research online about tubes, asked a lot of people about tubes, and finally decided to go see an ENT. Of course the ENT everyone recommended doesn't take our insurance. So we had to go with someone else. I heard and read some horror stories about this guy and his office staff, but heard he was good at what he did. I figure I will sacrifice good bedside manner for a great doctor. We had an appointment this week to consult. I met with his PA and was impressed with both him and the office staff. Dixie did great! Usually when we weigh her we have to be weighed and then hold her to get the weight. We did that and then she wanted to stand on the scale all by herself! She's getting so big and more and more independent. It's fun to see. The PA went through the process and why she needs them really well. I asked all my questions and felt good about moving forward. The doctor's scheduler is out of town for a week so we won't schedule until next week.

Not much else is new with us, except of course FOOTBALL SEASON! We're excited this season with Oklahoma and Alabama ranked so high. We hope it stays that way!

Showing our Bama and Sooner Pride!