The highs and lows of Halloween week

The costume, the sugar rush, the trick-or-treating, the sitting through gymnastics class crying. It was an ups and downs kind of week.

This week marked the move from parent/tot gymnastics class to the big kid class. Moms and dads sit in the hallway and wait until class is over. It was like the first day of school all over again. Were we in the right place? Are we here at the right time? Where do we go? Do I sit here?

Class started and she sat down on her little carpet square and I patiently waited in the hallway, the only thing occupying my time: the tv screen showing the class. They do introductions and line up by the wall. Then I see them all walk down to the other area and minutes later I see Emmie balled up in a coach's lap baaaawling. They bring her back to me and she is wailing. "I want to go home! I want my other class!" It was awful.

And so we sat in the corner of the room and watched the other kids bouncing and running and tumbling. We sat there for 35 minutes until she mustered up the courage to join in, there might have been some bribing, quite possibly a 'we're going home' threat too. The parents that were watching let out a collective sigh as she joined the group and we all cheered her on. So for the last 5 minutes, she tumbled and bounced and every five seconds made sure that I was watching.

Next week I'm hoping the memories of the fun outweigh the fear!

And moving on to Halloween. The girl was in her glory. Dressed as Doc McStuffins, with her side kick Lamby, she greeted trick-or-treaters and handed out candy.

 

And then it was her turn. We caught up with Emmie's favorite neighbor, Shea and walked the neighborhood. The girls ran yelling trick-or-treat before they got to the door and then ran back, hopped in their wagons and cuddled under blankets (can we rally for a mid summer Halloween in the Midwest?). And yes, Emmie did open the door at one house and pretty much just walk in. Happy Halloween!

I've been busy...

Doing what? I have no idea. Ever had one of those weeks...or months? Can we talk about it being Halloween next week? How did that happen? My little Frankenstein got his stitches out this week so we'll be moving forward with a different costume idea.

Anyways, I've been busy. There has been the family photo session which has required a stupid amount of time coordinating outfits...matching but not too matchy, trying to look put together but not like oh hey we're trying super hard over here.  And then the day of, I end up putting together a completely different look using pretty much everything we already own. Typical.

And then, there is the internet. The time suck of Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram. I'm working on searching the internet for ideas on Halloween treats, a first birthday, turning the den into a playroom, and finding a new eye cream after mine decided to leave me with a red puffy under eye.

And now...the online wandering has gone a new direction. Maybe I'm just late to the game but let me introduce you to Bradsdeals.com, jane.com and pinkEpromise.com. 

Jane and PinkEPromise are dealsy like sites, I've never actually purchased anything so I can't confirm the quality, but they're fun to browse, add to my shopping cart, remember my credit card is all the way downstairs and then turn on the tv instead. And Bradsdeals is just a compilation of all the deals around, it's pretty great.

So yeah, I've been busy doing super important things.

The bump is benign!

 

Holla. I could hear that again!

 

So the cyst is benign and that's the best news ever. But the boy, he's bruised! Oh I didn't know how sad he would end up looking. He looks like he got punched in the eye. And now the bruise is turning that greenish yellow color. Christmas pics are gonna look awesome this year.

 

 

Even with the bruised up eye, this boy is so sweet. I know, I'm his mom and I'm going to think he's the most handsome little man around, but for reals...he is. And he's been a champ through this whole thing. A little needy this weekend, but a happy camper for the most part. And he hasn't even tried to touch his owie.

 

Olivia had a dance party to celebrate her third birthday and Ethan rocked out the shades from his goody bag:

 

 



 

whirlwind week

It was a whirlwind week for this boy and his mommy (who generally likes things planned out well in advance).

 

You see that little bump to the left of his eye? That wasn't always there, but it's been getting bigger. I had asked a while back and the pediatrician wasn't concerned, but this past weekend I'd had enough. And obviously I had diagnosed him with some type of protruding brain cancer, so we needed to get that squared away. He was also scheduled to have tubes this week, so I wanted all of my ducks in a row before surgery.

 

Monday:
9:00am: Call pediatrician. Ask if they should see Ethan or if his ENT should take a look.

1:20pm: Nurse calls back. Tells me the ENT should.

1:25pm: Call ENT's office. Talk to the nurse. Tells me the pediatrician should look at it. And depending on what they find, the ENT could surgically remove it Thursday. (WHAT?! Surgerywhat?)

1:27pm: Call pediatrician. Tell the nurse the Dr. needs to see Ethan and that I'm starting to panic because the other nurse is talking about surgery and I'd really like it if Ethan could be seen sooner than later. She asks if I can get there by 1:50pm, there was just a cancellation.

1:28pm: En route to daycare to pick up Ethan.

1:48pm: Walk right in to the pediatrician's office. She pokes, she prods. She thinks it's a dermoid cyst. Also says it doesn't seem like cancer. (Tears still well even hearing the word.) It might go away on its own, it might not. She thinks we can just watch it, but ultimately the ENT can decide on Thursday morning.

2:27pm: Exiting interstate to take Ethan back to daycare. Phone rings. It's the pediatrician. She called the ENT (at a different hospital, so I'm totally impressed) and she's also had a cancellation, can I get there? (There being one block from where I JUST WAS).

2:28pm: Get back on interstate and head to the ENT.

2:38pm: Walk right in to the ENT. She pokes, she prods. She says the conservative thing to do is to wait and watch. But she doesn't think it will go away on its own and if he's already having surgery, why not just tack this on so he doesn't have to have surgery a few months down the road.

 

And there we were at 6:15am this morning, ready for tubes and ready for the removal of that little bump. Oh did I also mention they're doing a blood draw for allergy testing? We're pretty sure he's allergic to eggs and we're hoping that is it.

 

 

And then we sent our boy off to surgery. Thankfully I had been talked off the ledge the night before and was able to sit and patiently wait for the little patient. It took forever! Oh, such a long hour.

 

But then, he was back in our arms. A little loopy, a little groggy. The surgery went well. Fluid is now gone from the Mister's ears and the bump is gone. She still thinks it's a dermoid cyst, but pathology will confirm. She also explained that even though the bump felt like it was on the surface, it really went all the way down to his skull. So there will be bruising and swelling and healing. And there will be a scar.

 

 

A quiet car ride home with my stitched up boy.

 

 

Karma is a fashion loving B.

I'm not a talk to strangers kind of gal.

 

I'm sure this takes you all by surprise.

 

So imagine my own shock when I struck up a conversation with a gal in the shoe department today. As I was walking by, I saw this adorable girl trying on even more adorable booties. She was doing the hem and haw in front of the mirror. You know, the strut back and forth, check them from the side, the other side, trying to decide if they're necessary or not.

 

I decided to drop my stranger danger and tell her they were super cute.  She agreed and said I talked her into it. We determined they were a fall must have. And while we were at it, I talked myself into the boots as well.

 

I wished her luck with her booties and kept shopping.

 

And then the adorable girl found me and gave me a 20% off coupon because she had an extra. Um, thank you my new bestie!

 

And that's what you get for talking to strangers I guess. Apparently I should do it more often!

 

The booties (on the edge of any fashion forwardness I might have...so any styling suggestions are welcome!)