A Busy and Mixed Up 10 days!!!

On March 25, we enjoyed a SC Virtual Charter School field trip to the Lexington Museum. It was rainy..cold and gloomy but we still had fun!! See Connor wrapped in a blanket!

In the old one room schoolhouse, the twins enjoyed the spelling bee and comparing our virtual school to the one room school house in the late 1700s...
They both got to experience writing with a quill and ink...FUN!

Do you know what a shoo-fly is used for? We learned so many things!!

Connor and his friend Isaac enjoyed filling the bed warmer with "hot" stones...

And we loved touring the Fox Home and learning the origin of the phrase "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

Then, on Monday, March 30..we were suppose to go visit Grandma on her 70th birthday but Peter was too sick to drive back to Clemson so we took him and found things to do while he was in therapy and then class...

Pete brought Peter's truck up to Clemson after work and we were suppose to go home but Peter was really sick by then so we stayed at the Hampton Inn and I took him to the dr on Tuesday morning as soon as they opened at 8 am...what a busy day that was...the doc ran blood tests, an EKG and x-rays and sent him straight to a diagnostic center for a doppler study on his leg and more blood tests and then, as we drove back to the hotel to meet Pete and the twins, the doc called and told us to turn around and go straight to the ER...one of the tests showed a strong possibility of blood clots...so Pete took the kids home and Peter and I went to the ER where he was ushered into the cardiac room..got an IV and fluids, an ultrasound, a CT of his lungs, and MORE blood tests...he was finally released after yet ANOTHER nuclear test was scheduled for Thursday. It was around 5 pm and neither of us had eaten all day...We went to eat before returning to the Hampton Inn for one more night. You can see in the picture that he feels awful and is really sad about the whole process...

He spoke with Student Affairs and they wrote all of his professors but he isn't sure what will happen with his classes...he is an "A" student and is finishing his junior year so he is so concerned about getting well enough to finish the semester. Although he wasn't released to go back to classes, he had me drive him there on Wednesday and Pete and the twins met us and brought me home. It wrenched my heart to leave my poor sick boy alone but I had to...He is a grown man and yet he will always be my baby!!! It helped tremendously to know that Ellen was coming Thursday night...she is an angel!! If anyone can get a smile from Peter, it will be her!! We hope that he will not have to have more surgery but will find that out on Monday when he has another test and sees his dr. Nothing seems to be easy for Peter!!! But he is better now so we have hope??!!??!!

On Thursday, Sarah Beth and I got some much needed hair care...she got a cute summertime cut and I got highlights and a cut...we needed it!!

So now it is Friday and that means a weekend of work!!! BUT...I only have one month and then I am off the Baylor plan and will work 3 nights a week again but will get off 2 weekends a month..WOO HOO!!!!!!!

WEIGHT LOSS???????

Well, we didn't get to OFFICIALLY weigh in as we were out of town but Pete lost 1 pound and I lost 1 1/2 which means..YES!!! I met my goal of 255 by Mama's birthday. We are still committed but this past week was not a stellar one as we ate out so much!! Say a little prayer for Peter and all of us....this week will be full of cleaning and cooking and getting ready for Easter with 5 of our 7 children!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

I'm so excited...

What a difference a week makes!!! Today, I took the twins to a fun Virtual School Fieldtrip, drank a bottle of water and a protein bar while they ate McDonald's for lunch and then went to Jenny Craig to weigh in. LaNelle reminded me that last week's "gain" most likely was due to the huge amount of edema (swelling) I get in my legs when my Lupus flares..and I think she was right because today the scale said that I lost...

5.4 pounds

WOO HOO oh yeah WOO HOO

Amazing!!!!!

I'm so excited

and I just can't hide it

I'm about to lose more weight

and I think I like it.

I'm so excited

and I just can't hide it

And I know I know I know I know I know

I want to!!

Pete is still on the plan and working out 6 days a week but he couldn't go weigh in this week because our Home Teacher had to reschedule and come tonight but he is doing SUPER!!! We are going to do this....it's PROGRESS not perfection!!!

My overall target weight-loss is so HUGE (130 pounds) that I have it broken down into 3 smaller goals and then those are broken into monthly sub-goals to stay on track...my first GOAL is to lose 50 pounds by July 4th and my first sub-goal is to lose 25 by my Mama's birthday. Below are my first set of sub-goals...I now weigh 256.2 (started at 280.4 on January 1st) so I think I am on target!!!!!

Mama's birthday (March 30) **************** at or below 255 (5 days to lose 1.2 pounds)

LaNelle's birthday (April 26) **************** at or below 246

Memorial Day (May 25) **************** at or below 238

July 4th beach trip **************** at or below 230

That's as far as I will let myself think right now...I still doubt my ability to endure to the end but how cool to meet my first goal!!!

Peter's surgery

I was not very well in the days after Peter's surgery and so I didn't post about it...I still haven't uploaded my pics but here are some (RATHER GRAPHIC) ones from Peter's facebook...

but first...here's the story...

In the MTC, Peter chased a basketball, twisted to throw it in bounds and fell. He heard an ominous loud POP! It was Friday afternoon so he was in agony all weekend...and it was Pioneer Weekend so it was Tuesday before he was seen...and then doc called to tell us

A) he had to have surgery as soon as possible

B) he had to come home because the entire recovery period would be 1 year (we didn't believe him, we all thought Heavenly Father would intervene but he didn't)

C) the injury was complicated andhis knee most likely would never be the same (understatement!)

In August of 2005, Peter had the ACL replacement surgery using one of his own tendons for the ACL. It was horrible for him (and not really fun for anyone associated with him)! More pain than I can even describe..he had lots of bone fragments and injuries that added to his misery and several miniscus repairs also. Not to mention he was heartbroken about coming home from the MTC and more than a little bit angry at everyone in Heaven and on Earth!! Our hearts would break over and over for him in the next year and a half (when I wasn't ready to kill him)!!

In April of 2007, the pain that had never completely left, increased to unbearable and he had to have the same surgery except this time, they tried with a donor ACL as his body had chewed up his tendon...less pain afterwards because they didn't rip out his tendon and because the bones were healed. But, still, significant pain and more miniscus repairs, too. He pushed hard to recover and soon went out West to work with Steven and LaNelle and although his knee hurt, his heart and soul were healed that summer. Amazing the difference that makes!

In the Fall of 2008, now a junior at Clemson, his knee started hurting and it became swollen...and he recognized that popping sound...he was so very very sad to hear that once again, he had no ACL...and this time, he was less angry and more frightened...he has matured and become such an awesome young man...and he wants to be active and one day play with his kids...and let's face it, he dreaded the pain and long long recovery...

This time he chose a surgeon at Blue Ridge Ortho in Seneca, SC...they repair the Clemson athletes' injuries. Right off, I liked Dr Martin! He scheduled surgery for October to possibly repair the miniscus injuries and take some bone from Peter's femur to repair those old bone injuries and build up his knee to receive and KEEP one final ACL.

So, on my birthday, October 24, 2008, Peter had the surgery...the miniscus could not be repaired any further so it was lost (OUCH!!) but the bone harvest and graph went well. He had it on Friday and returned to class on Monday (on crutches and a little high on painkillers but there nonetheless!) and so although he barely missed the President's list, he did manage the Dean's list that semester (impressive)!

He was dreading the big surgery scheduled for Spring Break and I really worried for him and also was sad that he felt so alone...but then came Ellen and she is so precious, she just made the worst possible situation so bearable...for everyone!

(the day before surgery at Isle of Palms)

On March 13, he had the surgery and this time they harvested his ham string..ow ow ow ow..and ended up having to put him under general anesthesia...we found out Peter is highly allergic to fentnyl and toradol... we left the surgery center and went to the Hampton Inn for 3 days. It's probably a blur to Peter because Ellen and I kept him as medicated as possible!! He was mostly sweet...just hurting and still so scared about future mobility issues.

the scar from the surgery (above) and the bruising from the ham string harvest and the awful edema..or swelling (below)

Ellen and Peter share a dog...Chloe (he had no idea when they named her that Jared and Kristen were naming their daughter that!!) I don't like dogs so much but she sure loves Peter!!! and was glad to see him when we returned home...
After seeing his surgeon that Monday, we came home...I had been gone a week and had LAUNDRY coming out of my ears, the twins were BEHIND in OLS lessons and it was end of term paperwork time, we had Chloe (learning to be housebroken), and I was very ill and we DIDN'T have Ellen and her magic touch...not a fun week for me and downright unbearable for Peter...especially since he was off the super duper narcotics and on the should-have-been-powerful-drug-but-didn't-work-for-him...dilaudid. I was not a nice nurse or a very sympathetic and loving Mama.

So Ellen came again and rescued us from each other..thank you Elly!!!

Peter is back in his apartment in Clemson...going to therapy...using a cane (reminds me of the dr on House!)hurting and unable to drive...and having to cook and take care of himself...but I am going tomorrow to take him to therapy, stock his fridge and see what I can do to help him.


He is trying to be optimistic but is worried for his classes (incompletes might have to happen), worried about income (his college job was as a referee..OUT!...and summer internships are non-existant this summer in construction management), worried for his mobility...and mostly just hurting...a ton!

my poor boy..

y'all say a prayer for him, please!!

LaNelle's "tag"

THE RULES:

Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

Step 2: tag—other people.

Make a list of things you can see without getting up:monitors, code cart, notebooks, water bottle, pens, telephones, beepers, schedule book, 4 patient rooms, 2 nurses, 5 empty chairs, and a whole bunch of junk strewn all over the nurses' station in the PICU. Nurses are slobs.

Favorite football team:C-L-E-M-S-O-N TIGERS!

What are you wearing now? black scrub pants, black crocs, black socks, pink easter bunny scrub top and my name tag.

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading? A quality control manual

Do you nap a lot? sometimes that is the only way I sleep at all...usually...

Who was the last person you hugged? My sweet Connor and Sarah Beth

What’s your current obsession/addiction? Wii Fit..it is soooo much fun!!!

What was the last thing you said aloud? Are you okay? (to a nurse in a pt room)

What Web sites do you always visit when you go online? yahoo, facebook, K12, Chamberlain College of Nursing, my kids' and sisters' blogs

What was the last thing you bought? A salad from Beezer's with fat free dressing...tonight

What are you listening to right now? a quiet night in the PICU...no beeps, no signs of distress

What is something you wish you could do more? hang out with all 7 of my fabulous children at the same time

What gives you hope? the Gospel, Pete's unwavering love, Spring

What is your favorite weather, and why?South Carolina in the spring or summer at the beach...but I love thunderstorms too...

What time do you usually get up?about 3 hours after I go to sleep...seriously!

What is your most challenging goal right now? losing 130 pounds...but I have already lost the 2 pounds I gained in Clemson so now I only have 108 pounds left...that is rather discouraging...:(

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? some beach somewhere in South Carolina...probably Isle of Palms.

Favorite vacation spot? any beach

What is your favorite children’s book?I love you forever, The Velveteen Rabbit and my really favorite is The Giving Tree because it makes me think of my Ninna.

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you: Shrimp and Grits...and sunflower seeds or boiled pnuts at the ball park

Have you ever met anyone famous? Marie Osmond at her house in Provo in 1978, Jimmy Carter at a rally I covered as a high school journalist in 1976, a race car driver (I didn't recognize him until some kids came running up to get his autograph and I asked him, "Are you somebody famous?" and he grinned at me and said, "Well, apparantly not!")...his name was Dale Earnhardt, many politicians because of my Granddaddy, and various apostles.

If you could have any job in the world , what would it be?I have both as a pediatric critical care nurse and a mom...lucky blessed me!!

What was the last thing you ate? Jenny Craig Beef Chow Mein 10 minutes ago...

If you had $500 in your hand right now.... what would you do with it? buy a plane ticket for Andrew to come home for July 4th at the beach!!

If you didn't have a job or go to school what would you do with your time? I have no idea...be a better Mom and wife and housekeeper I hope!!

What is your favorite place to go out to eat and what do you order? California Dreaming...the salad and crosissants!!!! or Ruby Tuesday's Triple Prime Cheddar Burger

And my new question is...

What is your very first memory? Mine is playing in the backyard with Floyd when I was about 3.

I officially tag Andrew, Mary Beth, Jean, Jackie and Kim

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights...

We all knew it was going to happen...I am just not an endurer...as endure to the end...or maybe I'm just going to be a blob my whole life...or maybe my life is just spiraling

OUT OF CONTROL

whatever...excuses, as my dear sweet hubby says, are like shoes...they all stink and eventually they wear out...true that but anyway, my excuses are that I was out of town for a week and that I am in a serious Lupus flare and am overburdened, unhappy, and miserable

did you figure out that I GAINED 2 pounds in 2 weeks???????

WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS....

but...

on the other hand....

PETER PERFECT (said in a very loving tone)

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has lost 5 pounds in the last two weeks (so we now have a 7 pound gap..ugh!!).....

as mad and sad as I am for me, I am just that happy for him...he looks fabulous and feels so much better and he is just THE MAN!!!!!!!!!

Go Pete Go Pete Go Pete

and I am back on the plan...at least until some other catastrophe slaps me around...

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!!

I am in Clemson helping Peter after his surgery so no baby pictures but some memories of my "Drew-boy"...I cannot believe he is 21...

Andrew Corbin Sheridan was born at 9:04 am on a Monday morning. He was 3 weeks late and we had set Monday as the day to induce at 7 am. So, typical Andrew, he waited until the final hour and at 5 am, he decided it was time to come on down...and so we got to the hospital an hour before we should have arrived for the induction but I was already well into labor! He was only 20 inches but so fat!!! Over 9 pounds and evidence that he had aged too much in utero and had actually lost weight!! Now that I know his personality, I can imagine him taking his time saying farewell to his numerous friends and that's why he was so late...

He was the sweetest, most easy going and content baby...but it was the calm before the storm because he "woke up" about 18 months and has been wide open ever since!! He made friends with complete strangers and always always was the life of every party...and he loved fighting more than anything...he was rarely "mad", he just likes to throw punches...I have known Andrew to run down the road and climb a fence to get involved in a brawl that had nothing to do with him! We used to say, "Some kids like to play ball, some like to fish, Andrew likes to fight!!"

He has always been a goof ball too...when he was 2, I joined a weight loss club and when I stepped on the scale, he immediately said, "Beep Beep, one at a time on the scale please" The lady couldnt believe that little tiny baby had said that but he did. He loved to tease and sometimes leaving a store, he would just start yelling, "Hey help, this aint my mama, help help, this lady is kidnapping me!" I would get furious with him but he would just laugh and no punishment seemed to bother him. Once when he wouldn't be quiet in Sacrament, I finally lost my patience and whispered "SHUT UP!!" No one heard me but EVERYONE heard him yell, "OHHHH you said a cuss word!" He almost got killed several times...putting a bean bag over his head and passing out, having a TV fall on his head, asthma and more asthma but he smiled and laughed his way through every challenge.

I will never forget how much he wanted to serve a mission and how proud and happy he was when I pinned on his MTC missionary tag...nor the deep sadness I felt as I flew across the continent to bring home my very sick and heartbroken son 6 weeks later! But even then, he rose above his own heartache and shared the Gospel in Spanish with a couple in the airport and placed a Book of Mormon.

He is one of the very best young men on this earth. He has no guile and he has a heart that is huge and welcoming. He cares deeply for his family and friends and still today, he makes best friends with strangers...post a comment, please with an Andrew memory...we all have many!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!!!

I love you all the way to the moon and back...

Charleston!

We were excited to get last minute bonus time reservations at The Lodge Alley Inn. It is a gorgeous restored warehouse dating back to pre-revolutionary war times. Peter and Connor pretended Connor was blowing out the fire in our fireplace...not that we needed it..the weather was gorgeous and warm...
the kids LOVE Ellen. She is so much fun to be around...
It is becoming tradition for us to enjoy biscuits and hot chocolate from Dixie Supply Co. while in bed...
Peter was being lazy...but he told SB he was "practicing" for his recovery from surgery...
We were out and about by 10 am and the twins couldn't wait to share a Carriage tour of Charleston with peter and Ellen...as always, people thought I was Grandma and they were the parents...
The Horse that drove our carriage was a HUGE draft horse...but very sweet...
Connor took this picture of the Hat Man..he is made entirely of hats and a hundred years ago he signified that was a hat merchant...cute!After the carriage tour of the Battery and Rainbow Row, we had reservations at my fav lunch spot, Slightly North of Broad (S.N.O.B.)Charleston has world reknown chefs and I love the REAL food but here's a tip...don't waste money buying good food for kids and young adults..they'd rather have Taco Bell...notice I stuck to the plan with grilled chicken, eggplant and zucchini...delicious!!!And then it was off to Liberty Square and a Harbor Tour and a visit to Ft Sumter...where the very first shots of the unpleasantness between the states were fired...on April 12, 1861 to be exact (we won that battle...)

Connor and Sarah Beth loved the tour and completed aworksheet of facts to earn their Jr Ranger Badges
And this Park Ranger was fabulous and held a serious "badging ceremony"...We returned to Charleston in the busy harbour where we waved to a merchant ship bound for Panama, saw many sailing ships and tiny boats, laughed at dolphins playing around us and watched these sea gulls dive for fish...all in gorgeous 80* weather!!!!We had sunlight left so we went to the battery where Peter pretended to be a "tree hugger"and everyone posed like statues on the bandstand... and of course my boys have to climb on the beautiful old Live Oaks

and the girls were gymnasts!!! Ahhh..nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina...

We returned to the hotel and Sarah Beth and I took a nap because we were feeling yucky...eventually, Peter and Ellen took Connor to walk on the pier and swing in the swings and see the dolphins and then to supper at Wasabi...SB and I continued to sleep off our yuckiness...and now everyone else is sleeping and I've been awake since 2 am...typical!! I am so thankful for this slice of time in Charleston and wish Pete and the other kids could have been here...

Tomorrow we leave for Conway to take DT out for his b'day and then back home because Peter has ACL surgery on Friday...please say a prayer for him...