This is FOR REAL, EW WE EW

So some people wanted to see pictures of jake after he had brain surgery 4 years ago... here ya go! SO gross. At least he doesnt have the drainage tube still hanging out of his head. Seriously, I could hardly be in the same room with him when he was in the ICU. I felt terrible, but I am the queasiest person alive, thanks dad. 70 staples, uh hello, GROSS! For your info.. .... Jake had a cerebral spinal fluid leak. Which means, he had been leaking spinal fluid out of his nose for a while before the doctor did something about it. He ended up having TWO surgeries, because the pressure built up so fast, ait burst through his nose again, and the second time, they had to go up his nose and do a skin and bone graph to seal it. Yuck-OH! Whenever he gets his hair cut, you can see the nasty scar... take a looksie!

Quotes

I need quotes! Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you, motivates you, moves you, means something special? Share them! I have a new quote of the day area I want to post a new quote everyday, well maybe everyday!

random sweetness

My daughter the Bag Lady

Well here are some pictures I found on my computer..... I love my Lily Grace Stephens. She is so stinking cute! I need to upload some pictures of me when I was a little girl..... 100% no doubt she is MY daughter. Ha Ha!








Lily and MY cousin Grace, which makes this lily's cousin as well!

Stitches.....

Well I am officially a space cadet. Today I was cutting some yummy Rosemary and olive oil bread from Costco this afternoon, and well..... SLICE. I nearly cut the side and tip off my thumb. Me, getting my queasiness from my dad (thanks dad, sarcasm entered HERE) I tried to stay as calm as I could, but my main forcus was to not pass out....well I TRIED not to, but nodded off for a second! I went to the instacare and got some stitchess, and now I dont have a left thumb to use, YAY! 7 days of stitchess, 2 days of no shower... (well that wont happen, I will wrap my hand up good! Lost the color in my face yet again at the instacare while the nurse was SCRUBBING the wound...... there were so many naughty words I wanted to use. I asked the doc and the nurse if they had an adult papoose board they could strap me too! All is well........very happy it was a very sharp new knife so it didnt tear my thumb apart, pretty clean cut, still HURT LOTS, and bled TONS! EW EW EW... getting queasy just thinking about it!

Lily does it again......

Well Lily once again made me nearly pee my pants tonight. I am a part of a dinner exchange with a couple of frirnds. Well tonight Brooke brought us a AWESOME dinner with my favorite veggie of all time... artichokes! Well I was making some garlic butter to dip it in, and Lily seemed very intruigued. If it comes with butter, it must be good! So I make her a plate and ask her to try a artichoke. My daughter LOVES green veggies, even CREAMED SPINACH! She tries it, and likes it... "tastes like a green bean mommy!" So I explain to her the meat part of the artichoke is called the HEART. Well thats when she lost interest in the artichoke. She looks at me like I just gave her puppy away, oh yea I did just do that (Roxy is in a great home now!) She then says "You fed me heart? I ate a heart? Veggies have hearts?" Then she thinks for a second and says "veggies dont have hearts, people have hearts. WAIT, veggie tales talk, do they have hearts? Oh mommy I cant eat them if they have hearts". I was sitting there shocked that my daughter said that. But then I laughed, and tried to explain to her..... well you know. I think she is OK, she might become a total carnivore and never eat a veggie again.....should I tell her that cows and chickens DO have hearts? I dont think so.

Kids say the darndest things....

Ok, Lily is the funniest girl. We were all sick last week, and the nasty germ monster is still dwelling amongst us today. Well a few days ago I was "complaining" that my nose was so stuffy "how can I have so much snot up there, seriously where is it coming from and how can I get it out!" Well Little miss Lily turned her thinking cap on, and she pulled the vacuum over to me and said "use the hose momma, that would get it out....." BAH! I love that girl, but then I thought, heck she may be on to something. Baby's have that blue bulb sucker thing...... they need one for us adults who cant function with all the sick fuzz going on around them! Good thinking Lily!
*note* I did not put the vacuum up my nose, sadly the hose wouldnt fit.....

ALL DONE! Utah here we come!

Well Jackson is ALL DONE with his treatment and he looks AWESOME! He is happy and HEALTHY! We found a home for the Pug Roxy, still having some issues finding a home for Foxy, but we will work it out. After all of this work, the last thing I want to do is have him flare up again. Let me just say... the dogs were not causing his eczema. They were irritating his eczema. There is a difference. But now with his skin all closed up and healed, the dogs may not cause any problems, but its not worth taking that chance. I love Jackson so much, and the last thing I want to see is him miserable again. Lily is very angry with me, but she will get over it. Maybe a trip to the toy store will help, ha ha! thank you thank you thank you for all of your love and support. I will post some more pictures of Jackso (before and after) when we get homs tonight! AWESOME! THANKS NATIONAL JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER!!

The reason Jackson is picky!!

Ok, I thought Jackson was just like his daddy when it came to food..... PICKY PICKY PICKY. Well Jackson wasnt always so picky. He used to eat whatever we gave him and LOTS of it! Well as a baby Jackson had really bad acid reflux. At age 1 it seemed to have gone away. So from 12 months to 18 months he was doing GREAT. Eatings great, no puking... GREAT!! Well then at 18 months or so he got really picky and stopped eating alot of food. He would stick to a dairy only diet. Maybe a french fry here or there, maybe a chicken nugget. But his diet for the most part consists of yogurt, cereal with milk, pudding, protein shakes, and maybe some apple sauce. Not exactly a balanced diet. Well the other day Jackson had a Ph Probe put up his nose, and down to his tummy. This measured his acid levels while he was eating, after he was eating and when he slept. He was again diagnosed with severe acid reflux disease. So lets just check off another box on the illness form!! This is good to KNOW... now he can be treated for it. And maybe, just MAYBE (hopefully) he will start to eat again. Food hurt his tummy, and he didnt know how to tell us! I feel so bad! I had this feeling he had reflux for a while now, but his docs out in Utah wouldnt test him. Yes, another reason we are thrilled to be at this hospital! So now I get to take all these forms and papers to our docs out there and say "mom's instict is ALWAYS right" WAM! Anyways, so he will be treated for the reflux, and hopefully all will be well!! Oh and..... we have to get rid of our dogs.... Jacksons allergy test both skin and blood came back positive for dog, cat, and horse allergy. Sorry Lily, no pony for you!! We have found a few takers for Roxy the pug, but Foxy is older and that may be more difficult, but it will be taken care of! Off for now!!

You are going to put what up my son''s nose?

Yes, that is right, the docs wanted to put a probe up Jackson's nose to run some acid reflux tests. He did great, and of course he has tried to pull it out a few times, but he is used to it now. They are checking to see if he does have acid reflux, and the severity of it. You see, my little man is just like his dad was back in the day. Picky picky picky. Jackson likes very bland things with not excitement whatsoever. And when he does eat anything acidic, he gets this gross look on his face and burps. Also, breathe that can scare a dragon. This is a good test, that will tell us alot. He has a little back pack on that has a recording box that records all he eats, and how his little tummy is reacting to it. I love medical science.

IT'S PLAY TIME!

Well we had a fun day yesterday after Jackson's treatment playing on the playground at the Ronald McDonald house. There are so many families staying there with tiny little babies in the NICU, kids with cancer, transplants. I feel so out of place there! When they ask "what is your child in the hospital for?" I almost dont want to say...."oh he has eczema". yea, like I have problems! Their baby weighs 2 pounds and has been in the NICU for 2 months..... yes, I am very relieved that our health issues are nothing like theirs! Its a wonderful place to be and Jackson and Porter love it! So many kids to play with, so many toys to use! Its great! here are some pictures of jackson and porter playing!! Treatment is going great. Jackson is amazing, and he is so brave. I cant believe how good is is when he gets "mummified!"