Awesome weekend!

Girls weekend was totally AWESOME!!!!!   We went to a cabin overlooking (sort of) Hauser Lake.  Well, it was actually a house, not a cabin.  It was a beautiful house.  3 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, big kitchen, hot tub, hammocks, all sorts of things :)


The girls let me sleep as much as I wanted/needed.  It was marvelous.  I feel so much better!  We also ate, played games, read, knitted, napped, talked, laughed, talked, laughed and more.  It was so refreshing!


And I only called home 3 times - two times to say goodnight to Duncan and once to make sure my mom figured out how to run the tv/remote control.  Don't ask.  Or if you want the story, ask her.  It's actually pretty funny.  Her call did give me a minor heart attack because I didn't know why she was calling.  But I got over it.


Duncan had fun this weekend.  Friday night was Daddy/Duncan night.  Saturday afternoon Grandma Kay came over to watch Mighty D.  They had lots of fun.  I made it back on Sunday morning - I couldn't have stayed away much longer.  I missed my boys too much.  But I am so glad I was able to get away for a couple days!  I love my girls :)

Results

Mighty D had a busy week.  He had his first MRI on Monday.  That was a challenge for his parents.  They sedate babies for MRI's.  It's quite an experience.

His last food was at 4:30 am.  We arrived at Sacred Heart's pediatric surgery center at 8:30.  Duncan got an IV and then went to the MRI area.  That wasn't until 11 am.  It was a very, very, very long morning.  Poor bunny.  But he was a trooper and made it through everything just fine :)  He came out of the sedation about as well as I do...slowly and grumpily.  But then he had a snack and was better.

We got the first results on Wednesday from his endocrinologist.  His brain is fine - no midline issues.  There weren't any congenital issues with his pituitary.  It just doesn't work right.  He needs a follow-up MRI in 3 months but the news was good!

We went to the eye doctor today.  We haven't noticed any issues with Duncan's eyes and the ophthalmologist didn't see any either.  She was very encouraged by what she saw.  

So it was a good week all around!

After arguing and fighting with Qwest for a month about our high speed, we broke down and bought a new high speed modem.  Apparently our old one died.  But as I type this I've lost connectivity again so who knows.  Stupid stupids.

I leave tomorrow for my girls weekend.  I'm very excited to hang out & do nothing.  Well, almost nothing.  It will be strange to be without my guys but I think I'll manage.  


PS finished this post at 9 PM on Thursday, internet popped up at 9:30 am Friday.  So annoying!

Catch up

Holding on to the lion

Wow - it's been a while since I blogged.  Good news is life hasn't been overly exciting.  Well, that's not entirely true.

Happy birthday, cowboy!

 It was Uncle Joe's 59th birthday on Sunday.  We all went out to dinner.  All of us.  3 kids, 4 parents and Grandma.  Wow.  We had a lot of stuff.  LOTS of stuff.  Diaper bags, purses, sweaters.  It was fun!!  We went to the Texas Roadhouse.  When it's your birthday they have you sit on a saddle and wear a hat.  Joe was not too pleased with me that I told the waiter it was his birthday.  However, he got the quietest "YEE HAW" in the restaurants history because Duncan was sleeping :)

Monday Duncan had an MRI.  It was rather stressful on his parents.  Especially since his last milk was at 4:30 am and he didn't get in to the MRI suite until 11.  He was a very unhappy boy.  He tried all his tricks to get us to feed him.  He cried.  He stuck out his tongue and put his hand to his mouth to show us he was hungry.  He smiled and talked to us.  None of it worked.  He was very unhappy.  They had to put him under moderate sedation so once he was in the MRI they put him to sleep and he was out.  It was pretty funny when he came out of the anesthesia.  He was a bit high and couldn't quiet figure out what was going on.  Plus he's apparently like me and it takes him a while to shake off the drugs.  But he's a trooper and came through like a champ.  

Tiny arm, tiny IV

I ran in to the NICU lactation consultant while we were there.  She was excited to see us :)  We filled her in on what was up and she couldn't believe they didn't catch any of Duncan's stuff on the newborn screenings.  Oh well.  It was only 6 weeks so it wasn't bad.  But it does explain why it took him so long to get out the NICU.


After we got him home he got lots of cuddles and as much milk as he wanted.  he was pretty much recovered and back to our happy smiley boy around 7:30 last night.  

Daddy & Duncan

 Tonight he's back to normal.  


Tomorrow we go to the doctor and will hopefully get some results.  Duncan will also get a shot so we'll see how the evening goes.  Thursday he gets his eyes checked again.  Friday I go on my girls weekend (YAY!)  

Oh and Duncan is now 11 pounds, 2 ounces and 22.5 inches long!!!


Busy week!

My Mom

As I sit here watching my boy chill in his bouncy chair (Thanks Auntie!!), I again marvel at the miracle that he is.  And am amazed that any single mom or dad was/is able to do this parenting thing on their own.  Therefore, in honor of Grandparents Day (which was the 12th but I have a baby so I figure I get a couple of days leeway), I am dedicating this post to my mom.

My mom "officially" became a single mom when I was 10.  She pretty much did all of the raising before that, too, because my dad, though wonderful to me, didn't like little kids much at that time.  He preferred teenagers & older.  Anyway.

She managed to send us to camps.  From Girl Scout to Space Camp and dozens in between we got to go & experience life beyond tiny McCall, Idaho.  We went to Broadway shows on tour down in Boise.  By the time I was 15 I think I had been to 5 or 10.  We were in plays, danced ballet and tap, were in band and did pretty much anything we dreamed to do.  

Oh - and did I mention Mom managed to do all this after having open heart surgery in 1980 and several heart attacks after 1986?  Add in Graves' disease and you start marveling about my mom, too.  

Mom always made sure we knew were loved.  Even when we made her so angry she turned all purple and sputtered, we knew we were loved.  She is an official Grandma to 6 - my Duncan, Mary's Thomas & Adam and Joe's JJ, Lisa & Eileen.  She's a step-great-grandma many times over.  And she was a nanny for many families in McCall and those kids consider her all theirs, too.  

It's funny.  Almost every time I see her now she tells me how proud she is of me and that I'm a great Mom.  Well, I learned from the best, Mom.  You made me who I am today and I couldn't ask for a better role model.  

I love my mom and hope she knows how much.  I wouldn't trade her for all the tea, coffee and chocolate on the planet.  She knows how much that is :)

Maybe I should've waited until Mother's Day to post this.  Oh well.

Overheard...

I was sitting in my rocking chair and overheard this:

Aaron:  I don't think that's how you're supposed to play "Pull my finger"

Me:  What?

Aaron:  He grabbed my finger, pulled it then farted.  

Aaron & I:  lots of laughter

It's Friday!!!!

Some weeks Friday seems so much better.  For me, it's generally when we have a short week.  I have no idea why but 4-day weeks take forever.  And I'm usually tired to start the week and it doesn't get better through the week.  So I am very excited for today.  
 
Duncan got to hang out with my friend Erin last night.  He's in love.  Again :)  It was great - the past few Thursdays Duncan has been very fussy & wanted to be held all the time (Thanks again for the Moby, Auntie!!!).  Last night he sat on Erin's lap, cooed and chatted and fell asleep.  Actually FELL ASLEEP!!!  Something he hasn't done on a Thursday in a month.  Erin can come over anytime!!!

Tonight my friend Steph was supposed to come over but she caught a cold and couldn't make it.  We were bummed.  She hasn't gotten to see Duncan since he was 2 days old.  She will be amazed at how much he's changed!  Granted, she's seen pictures and reads this blog but that's not the same as live cuddles :)

We don't have anything planned this weekend.  Aaron has to work tomorrow evening but beyond that we're having a low-key weekend.  Yay!!! 

I'm pretty happy about this evening.  Duncan has been very well behaved and slept long enough for me to eat, get his laundry sorted & in the washer and catch up on my Tivo'd stuff.  (does anyone watch White Collar?  If so, did the ending shock the snot out of you????)

So I feel very productive tonight.  I'm now drinking my milk and catching up on my blog.  Duncan's talking to mirror baby so I have a few minutes.

I also found a new mp3 player this week.  My old one got wet and still works but only when it's plugged in.  Which sort of defeats the point of having it.  It will work great in Duncan's room, though.  So it's sort of retiring to the farm :)  And I found a cute, 8 GB Creative Zen that is just perfect for work and what I need it for :)  I'm anti-Apple so I'm very glad Creative had one that was the right price & the right size.  And on sale so, hey, it's fate!

I think I may use too many ellipses and exclamation points.  Perhaps I should use italics and bold instead.  I'll ponder that.  Maybe.  If I can find the time and energy.  And remember that I wrote about it.  Odds are not good.


Duncan gets to have a daddy weekend in 2 weeks.  They're both very excited.  If they're not, I am.  I get to go on my girls weekend.  I'm very excited!  I might get to sleep for 8 hours straight.  And start new knitting projects.  Might actually get some of the presents made that I bought yarn for 2 or so years ago.  Christmas could be fun for someone!  Or not.  We'll see.


And now, I'd better go finish the laundry and cuddle the boy :)

Daddy & Duncan at the parade.  Duncan slept almost the entire time...through sirens, horns and a candy cannon...

 

 

I've been told that a certain nephew of mine (who won't be named but only one of them can read...) is disappointed this blog hasn't been updated more often.  I'll try harder to update more often but can't guarantee the frequency.  :)

Here are a couple more pictures of Grandma & Grandpa Tinsley chatting with Duncan during our visit.

Today I drove to the Valley & had Duncan's apnea monitor data downloaded.  It will be sent to the head of the neonatology group and then he'll let the pediatrician know if we can turn the monitor in.  I think we'll be able to.  I'm very glad we had the monitor but I'm ready to have a wireless baby.  Poor guy won't know what to do without wires!!

Then I got to go to Target.  Always fun :)  School supplies are now on sale so it's a geeky paradise.  Yay!!!


As many of you know, Halloween is not my favorite holiday.  I can't comprehend why you tell your kids that for 364 days a year you shouldn't talk to or take candy from strangers but when they wear a costume it's okay????  But the other day while at Costco the Halloween costumes were out.  I couldn't resist.  I actually bought a Halloween costume in August.  Duncan is going to be a big, scary, green dinosaur!!!  Rawr.

This video is Duncan talking to mirror baby.  He LOVES mirror baby.  They chat and laugh for as long as I can hold the mirror over his head.  It's wonderful!!

And now, I need to get ready for work and bed.  Night all!!

First road trip

Duncan, Otter & Moose (presents from Nunkie & Daddy)

Duncan and the rest of the Spokane Tinsley family headed down to New Meadows for Labor Day last weekend.  It went really well!  Mighty D travels very happily (for the most part).  He can go about 4 hours then gets really cheesed off at being stuck in his car seat.  But he was such a good little guy!!

Friday we left Spokane around 3.  Gabe finally got to ride in the front seat of our rig!!  Previously he got the back seat but now one of the parents rides in back with the baby.  Which is weird.  Fortunately, I only got a little queasy.  But our next car will have vents in the back seat.  Definitely.  

We got to New Meadows around 8 or so.  Grandma & Grandpa Tinsley were soooooooooo excited to see Duncan!  He smiled and cooed and chatted with them.  He also showed them how good his head control is.  Plus Duncan just kept looking around, trying to figure out what was up.

Then off to bed - the little guy slept for 8 hours straight!!  8 HOURS!!!!  I felt like an actual human being!  What a weird sensation.   Duncan had his morning nap & we headed to McCall to visit & walk around.  We tried to get into the Pumphouse to buy books but for some reason they were closed.  Which is a bummer because we usually spend anywhere between $25 & $50 there.  Which is quite a lot when you consider books are $0.50 each.  Oh well.

We went to visit the Hovdey's.  Dean & Patty were very excited to see him.  Duncan was a very good boy.  We chatted with them until Anna came back from lunch then she got to hold him.  I'm pretty sure Duncan's in love!  We talked to her for a bit, I bought some new flip flops and we headed to grab me a decaf coffee.  (I get coffee as a bribe to behave LOL).  We also went to the local bookstore to grab a book for my mom (it's a surprise, Mom.  you'll have to wait & see what it is.  Consider it payment for babysitting the 25th).

Then we went to visit Aaron's Aunt Rhonda & Uncle Ralph.  Duncan chose that moment to have a meltdown.  He was a very unhappy guy.  He didn't even want to watch the fans!!!  But he fell asleep on Aaron for a bit & then he was our smiley baby again.  Then we headed back to New Meadows for dinner with Great Grandma McKenzie and Great Grandma Tinsley.

Duncan was very excited to meet all his Great Grandmas.  Both of them were really excited to meet him, too.  I was glad to be able to get 4-generation pictures of both sides of the family.  :)  I'm sad I wasn't able to get one with my Grandpa but he passed away before Duncan was born.  But I know Duncan has another angel watching over him.  

Duncan & Great Grandma McKenzie

Duncan & Great Grandma Tinsley

Anyway!!  Duncan slept another 8 hours on Saturday night!  We got him up around 6 for his meds then cuddled him for a while because it was a colder night than we expected & Duncan kicked off his blankets.  Silly boy.

We took Duncan to the park to show him off before, during and after the parade.  It was a hoot!  We ran into several of Aaron's classmates and former teachers.  And various others.  We grabbed food at the bbq and headed back to the house to eat.  For some reason, the organizers of the festivities had lots of tables but no chairs.  Which is ridiculous, in my opinion.  But I digress.  After lunch, Aaron headed back to the park & I stayed back to get all the stuff packed up.  Man does it take a lot of time to pack up a baby!  About 90 minutes!!!!  Sheesh.

Then we got the car loaded & headed home.  We stopped at the Starbucks in Lewiston hoping for a) a latte and b) a changing station.  They only had one of the two.  I'd figure Starbucks would have a flipping changing station!!!  Sigh.  So poor Duncan got changed in the back seat of the rig.  Oh well.  


Then about Rosalia Duncan got tired of being in his car seat and started getting fussy.  Good news is that I had a bottle ready to go so I just popped it in his mouth and then he ate and went to sleep :)


Monday we all rested.  Tuesday we had to go to work.  Dang did 3:20 come early this morning!!!  

Four Generations of McKenzies

Four Generations of Tinsleys