Tonsils and Noses

Ethan had his tonsils removed on August 27.

Ethan before his surgery

It was tough watching him go with the nurse alone to go have the surgery done.

But after Mike and I had some lunch, and went back to the Parent Waiting Room, the doctor came in and said everything went well.  Ethan was a bit disoriented when he woke up and wanted his Mummy.

Ethan started to feel better once his Mummy held him for a bit.

I even had to sit on a wheelchair and get wheeled out of the recovery room with Ethan sitting with me (much like the picture above).

Ethan had a  couple of close calls while he was recovering - on the first day I went back to work and my mother-in-law was watching him he threw up for about 3 hours straight.  When I got home at lunch I gave him two doses of Gripe Water and it seemed to help.  Then that Sunday he was so mad that his throat hurt when he woke up from his nap that blood was in his spittle and we had to go to Emergency because the doctor told us to go to the ER if we saw any blood at all (in case the scabs came off he could bleed out).  He was fine though.

I knew he was better when he looked all shocked last Saturday and said  "I'm not sick any more!"

I really hope this will help keep him from being sick all the time.  He already seems like a new boy - he has lots of energy and doesn't seem cranky and tired all the time (just around nap and bedtime like most kids)  :)

Now that he is fully recovered, let's talk about me!  I went to see my Ear, Nose, Throat specialist this past Tuesday.  I told her I am still in pain 75% of the time, the last treatment she gave me didn't work much at all.  My sinuses are still blocked and painful.  She looked and said there was a small improvement.  She is booking me for surgery (not sure when), and in the meantime gave me really strong steroid drops (stronger than Prednisone, but local to my nose so less side effects) to put in my nose to try and shrink the nasal polyps that are clogging my sinuses up.  I have to say, after only 4 days of doing this, I am in significantly less pain.  I actually have a little bit of energy! I can enjoy spending time with my family!  Even if this is only a stop-gap until I get surgery, I will be happy for the time it lasts.

I even had energy to enjoy Ethan's first swimming lesson today, even though he cried through the entire thing.  He told me he wanted to play with the boats next time, and that he had fun.  Kids, go figure!

A Quckie...

I haven't been on here much.  Ethan is getting his tonsils out on Monday, and I am waiting to hear about my own sinus surgery in September.

Maybe after that I will have the energy to post more often. With Ethan being sick all the time, and me being sick all the time we barely have time to do anything fun :)  I am kidding, sort of.. We do manage to have fun, but the fund days exhaust us, and we must rest for several days after :)

We did make it to Tinkertown again today, we figured it would be nice to have something fun for Ethan to remember right before going under the knife.  We also went to Mike's Grandma's 92nd birthday party after we went to Tinkertown.  I will be happy if I can make it to 92 with my mind in tact like Mike's Grandma.

Summer fun (in pictures)

It`s the middle of summer.  It`s been fairly hot this summer - I am pretty sure almost everyone in Canada or the U.S. will attest to that.  We have had a fairly active summer, and it is really nice now that Ethan is 3, we seem to be able to do so much more.

Here is a brief recap of our summer so far:

Summer in the City in Steinbach (our town).

Ethan's first pony ride

The "must go on "horsie ride"

 Camping (during a visit to Alberta and Waterton Park)

Ethan was terrified of the Ground Squirrels (yes this was in June, and he`s wearing mittens!)

We had to visit every playground we walked past :)

Requisite picture by the waterfall at Waterton National Park

Our camping spot in Waterton - isn't it peaceful?

Visited with family and friends (during the same visit to Alberta)

Ethan with my mom

At my friend Colleen's place near Lethbridge

Ethan LOVED the trampoline at Colleen's (pictured here with my brother)

We also went to Chuck E Cheese's (there isn't one in Winnipeg, so we go whenever we see one)

The carousel

Noah's ark

In the maze (or mouse puzzle, not sure what it is called)

After our road trip was over, we went to Tinker Town just outside Winnipeg

On the boat

This picture almost looks posed

Driving an Ethan sized car!

On the swings

We have done a lot of other things - including many trips to various parks, splashing in Ethan`s little pool, and going for walks.

Counting My Blessings

I have been getting more and more negative, feeling like everyone else is doing better than we are and it has got to stop.  It is making me grouchy, derailing my weight loss efforts and basically just not nice.

So instead of focusing on the things I don't have, I will count 10 things I am blessed to have:

1. Mike and I are both gainfully employed, and my benefits package at work is pretty nice.

2. Even though we can't afford a mini-van or a big trailer, we were still able to go on a 10 day vacation to Alberta and enjoy ourselves in our little car and little trailer

Camping in Waterton National Park, June 2012

3. We have a roof over our heads, and comforts inside that house too - air conditioning, PVR for our main TV, and a computer and Internet connection

4. We live in a friendly neighbourhood.

5. We are lucky enough to be able to afford to keep two cars.  We can't afford to get new cars, but having two enables me to drive to work and drop Ethan off at daycare when it is less than comfortable outside, instead of walking.

6.  I still have a sense of humour.  People may not always understand my humour, but I still have it!

7.  While I can't afford a smart phone, I do have a basic pay-per-use cell phone that allows me to text (if I have to) and call when it is necessary.

8. I have a great family.

9. I have great friends.

10.  We are lucky to be (mostly) healthy.

THREE!!!

I know I should be doing a Father's Day post, but it has been a while since I posted, so I am still catching up.  The events in this post actually took place on Mothers Day!

Ethan turned 3 on May 22.  It was the Tuesday after the May long weekend (Canada's Victoria Day).  Because Ethan's Aunt and Uncle and their kids usually go camping on the May Long Weekend, I decided to throw his party on May 13, which also happened to be Mother's Day.  A word of advice - throwing a child's birthday on Mother's Day means you don't actually get any time to yourself or to enjoy anything. But it's still worth it!

We went to the Midway that was in town that weekend as part of his party.

Ethan with his Dad and Great Grandma

Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

Right after he blew out the candles

Ethan and his cousins playing with the fibre optic Mickey Mouse he got as one of his gifts.

Ethan had a pretty good time, even though he was cranky and kept screaming he didn't want to go on any of the rides at the Midway.  We forced him to go on a couple of rides, and even though he cried through them, he was happy to have gone on them after.  My Dad and step-mom, Mike's parents, Mike's Grandma and Mike's brother and his family (including my sister-in-law's dad) all came out for the party.  I think everyone had a good time, but I know for sure Ethan had a good time, and as far as I am concerned, that's all that matters.

I sent all the Mothers home with a couple of flowers from a bouquet I bought at Sobeys, as a small token for Mother's Day.

I still find it hard to believe it's been three years since Ethan was born.It still feels like yesterday.

Mother's Day

Ethan's gift that he made at daycare.

This is what he (and his Daddy) got me:

I had been too afraid to carry my Kobo with me, but now I have a snazzy case!

I love both gifts.

(this post was delayed because I got a new laptop sometime in between all this and I FINALLY uploaded all my pictures...)

I miss my blog

I miss my blog.  I think of things to write every day.  Then life happens and I don’t get a chance to post, or I am too lazy and just want to veg without thinking.

ETHAN

Ethan is changing almost every day.  His words are getting better each day.  He says so many cute things I should really be on here at least posting one cute thing he says each day. 

There is one funny thing he started doing - but I sort of taught it to him.  When I would ponder what to eat for supper, sometimes I would see Ethan and tell him we were having Roast Ethan for supper - then I would pretend to rub him with oil and spices and then pick him up and hug him and tell him I was going to throw him in the oven.  Now he does the same thing to me - "We having Roast Mummy -I rub with butter, now 'pices, now roll Mummy into oven".  He then proceeds to roll me around the living room until I am "done".  I am usually too busy laughing to protest much.

Ethan’s potty training is going so/so.  He now pees on the potty 95% of the time we put him on there. We usually only end up getting him to go about 4 times on the weekend – once mid morning, once before his nap/quiet time, once around supper time and then before bed.  There are SEVERAL times in the day when he will yell loudly that he does NOT want to go on the potty. We are still a long way from putting plain underwear on him.  We keep telling him he can go poop on the potty, but I think it will be a while yet before he does that. 

Ethan is still getting sick at least once a month (fever, cold), but his infections are getting further apart. I upped his Vitamin D intake last month, so I’ll know soon whether or not it is helping any.

ME

I am busy trying to get in shape (yes, STILL).  I bit the bullet and paid for 3 months of Weight Watchers online.   I tried to do it using Sparkpeople, but I wasn’t getting the motivation I needed.  I like that Sparkpeople tracks fitness minutes, so I am still using that to keep track of how much exercise I am getting.  Weight Watchers seems a little easier for me to follow, especially since they allow you to eat fruits and veggies as much as you want - based on the Points Allowance system they are “free”.  I like that because it encourages me to eat a banana when I am hungry instead of a piece of bread.

Anyway, on the health side of me trying to get healthy – I saw an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat specialist), but he wanted to refer me to an ENT that does sinus surgery as her specialty so I have to wait until July 17 to see her.    Thankfully I started going to massage therapy and the chiropractor again, it seems to ease the headaches somewhat.  And now that I am truly exercising regularly I notice my headaches aren’t as bad either.  Maybe because I force myself to breathe through my nose, making my sinuses clear naturally?

FAMILY

As a family, it is getting easier to do things together.  Ethan is a little more able to try new things now that he understands what we are talking about.  He remembers past outings as well, and looks forward to things now.  It is really fun to watch J  We go to a picnic spot in the provincial forest sometimes, and he really enjoys it. 

**I will update this with pictures soon, but I needed to post something, it was driving me crazy***