Jokes, Surgeries, a 13th Birthday and a lot of CARE.

The time has come for Adren and Paisley's wisdom teeth removal. I told them that it feels good for me to send them off into the world with these things taken care of- even though it doesn't feel good to them. 

I scheduled these appointments at the beginning of the year- and got the last slots available for Spring Break! I guess a lot of people are thinking the same way I am. 

Adrens was a simple, easy-peasy extraction so I scheduled his at Wisdom Teeth Only. Paisley's was a bit more involved, with one tooth having four roots (very rare) as well as her needing a chain put up on a slow-to-come-down front side tooth (genetics!). I scheduled her at a different office that her Ortho recommended for a few days later. 

Adren and I went in bright and early on Friday, April 1st. I said a quick prayer with him in the car before we headed out that all would be well. We chatted while they got him all hooked up and gave me all the instructions. Soon enough they gave him the meds to make him fall asleep. I watched his eyes get heavy and suddenly his breathing got slow and deep and his arms dropped to his sides. In seconds! It was distressing for me. I had to collect myself out in the now full waiting room. I felt so teary the whole time waiting for him, really. My boy! Within 30 minutes they told me all was done and well and he was waking up. I went back to him and he was sitting in a wheelchair with his head wrapped up. The nurse helped us out to the car and I got him wrapped up in a blanket. I was glad I thought to bring it because he was shaking so much! 

He was so loopy. He really made me chuckle as he commented on everything around him. Pointing at a dealership- "Why are there so many cars there???" He kept saying he felt so weird. We sang Bob Marley most of the way home. Funny guy!

I stopped at a drive-through to get him a smoothie and he started not feeling well so we hurried home. 

Once home, I got him all settled on the couch with a quilt and towel and tried to get him to sip some water and smoothie so he could start his meds. (This is where the towel comes in handy.) He slept most of the afternoon, and woke feeling much less loopy. I had to pick up his prescriptions and get myself organized with the pain pills, repacking his mouth, eating enough to go with the pills, pills to reduce swelling, mouthwash, salt water rinse, and blending-blending- straining everything. 

In the meantime- It is April Fools Day and I had to do something in-between cleaning the blender:

I think the only ones who fell for it was my CRU when I texted them the picture. They all responded, "Nooooo! What happened???" (He-he.)

I also spontaneously decided to give Sookie a bath in the kitchen sink- which I have never done. But she needed it, and loved getting brushed out in the warm sun by her favorite person.

Adren enjoyed chilling on the couch watching movies and being handed applesauce and mugs of warm soup while busy life goes on around the house. 

The next day (Saturday) was General Conference. I joined a couple of friends to help paint another friends bedroom that morning while we listened and chatted. We've been trying to help her pick a color, which has been major anxiety-inducing for her. Even as we painted she wasn't 100% sure it was right and we all encouraged her to just live with it for a while. I thought of all the rooms I have painted and repainted without a second thought. I suppose there are pros and cons to being more spontaneous. That evening Paisley and I hustled over to the Stake Center for the Women's Session and then went to Applebee's for dinner. 

I also had my little Zekey Bears on my mind, as he's ready to turn big 13 tomorrow! 

He woke Sunday to his 13th birthday! 

Jon made burgers and fries for Zeks birthday dinner. We all felt bad Adren couldn't have any of it, who is only on day two of wisdom teeth recovery and a little swollen so I made him a big pot of homemade mashed potatoes and gravy. He would work on that for the rest of the day. For Zeke's birthday cake he requested Tres Leches. This was perfect for Adren because as you know, is a very smooth cake with minimal chewing. 

We all love Zekey. I feel like his brothers could be a little more kind with him- we talk about that often. They like to give him a hard time and insist it is all out of fun and I think it gives me the hardest time of all. Siiiighhhhh....

Zeke has plenty of friends, both old and new this year being at a new school. He asked for a birthday skateboard, wanting to get himself more into that like his older brothers and a new friend at school. He loves listening to music and spending most of his free time playing video games. He likes to shoot down anything I suggest regarding clothing or hairstyles, how to spend his time, what he should eat or a sport or hobby to get into. (I do think he could be busier...)  One thing I really appreciate with Zeke is that he is a talker. He will tell me all about friends and school, who's getting a little sketchy (he's in 7th grade afterall), and how he feels about all the things. I love our chats. Zeke at 13 really is the best!

Zeke really wanted a friend party where he could have a bunch of kids over with lots of food and treats and to watch a movie, listen to music and hang out. (I think he's watched these go down with his older siblings and wanted in.) With it now Spring Break, he was able to have friends over to celebrate on Monday. It was quite the group and from upstairs it sounded like they had a great time. I appreciated that he tidied up everything before he went to bed :)

Now, the next morning is Paisley's turn for Wisdom Teeth! Paisley is a planner, which I find so endearing about her. She made sure she was all showered with fresh hair, had a comfy outfit planned, cleaned her room etc. Jon gave her a blessing the night before to calm her nerves and again we said a prayer together in the car before heading out that morning. I sat with her as they hooked her up and I stayed until she was under. I really don't like that part! Hers took a long time. Finally I was able to go back to see her as she was waking up. They told me her contact popped out and they wanted to see if could get it back in. I tried and tried- and couldn't. She was so sleepy and would not wake up for long before zonking out again. I finally got her talking with me, but she was in a lot of pain. She kept pointing to the side of her face and whimpering. I peeked in her mouth and shouldn't have. That chain area! Yikes. It took a while to get the doctor back in to give her more numbing medicine and I could tell she felt better almost immediately. It took a while to get her unhooked, into a wheelchair and out the door. When I finally got her in the car she was so bothered by only having one contact and kept trying to take out the other, which made me nervous but she insisted she could do it just fine- which she did, of course. I got her wrapped up in the blanket the office gave her and her pillow. Paisley was loopy, but in an uncomfortable, sleepy way. Not silly at all like Adren. She slept the whole way home. 

Once again, I got her all comfy and settled on the couch with the meds-smoothie-swishing-soup routine. As she turned to "Fresh Prince of Bellaire", I suggested she try something more compelling and suggested the show "Lost". She almost finished the first season before she was recovered enough to move off the couch! 

Recovery isn't so bad when anything you desire is handed to you. Really, how would it be to be down for a few days and have your own personal nurse? Not too shabby, I think.

Look at these two... I love it. I really do love caring for my kids. I know this time is very limited, and I feel the clock ticking where they just do not need me so much. Because of this, I really cherished this time to care for them. 

Ha-ha! I might do more than I need to... But not any more than I want to...

I like to think that because of this they were able to heal up quite nicely with no trouble or infections. It really is a miracle, these bodies of ours. I found it so amazing that they could go into a surgery completely normal, and just minutes later come out so cut-up, and then heal back up so quickly. Within a week they both were chomping down on whatever they liked. A miracle!