Lions, And Tigers, And...Well, No Bears

Yesterday was a day of conflicting emotions for me. It was a great day and a terrible day. Mike, Mason, & I went to Fort Worth for Mason's KUB X-ray and then Dr. appt later in the day. We decided to leave Sam at daycare and do something fun all day with Mason, in between appointments. So, we took him to the Ft. Worth Zoo. He had so much fun. I think he was mostly in shock at first, because he was actually speechless for the first time in his little life. Mike and I really enjoyed it too. Seeing it through a child's eyes is so funny! I think as adults we forget all the wonders of little things. So, of course he compared all the animals to the animals from Madagascar and all the fish to the ones from Finding Nemo. We laughed at monkeys playing and knocking each other off of the tall ropes. He got to giggling pretty good watching those monkeys! The neatest thing was the caged-in bird place. You could go in there with these little popsicle sticks, that had honey and bird food on the end of them, and the birds would come right up to you. It scared him at first, but after a few minutes he was running with all the other kids trying to catch birds on his stick. He rode the carousel, which he said made him a real cowboy now, cause it was a horse he was riding. And then we rode the train that goes back through the zoo and the look on his face was priceless! He and his daddy had an ice cream cone. I think it was the first one he'd ever had. He just kept looking at Mike and me, like he couldn't believe he was getting to do all this stuff! I'm really glad we did that with him, it will be a memory that will always make me smile.

On the down side, we had to go to the dr. after the zoo. The x-ray they took yesterday was fine, but they are concerned about the continuing bouts of blood in the urine and the spot in his bladder that showed up on his ultrasound. So, they are scheduling another cystocopy on May 28th. (He just had one back in November.) They are also going to do a renal scan to look for any damage to the kidney and look for drainage problems. He will stay overnight at Cook's, so that his nephrologist can confer as well. The dr. said it is possible that he will have to have his ureter tube re-re-attached. This has already been done when he was a year old. So, needless to say, I'm worried. It's not fair. I will never understand why kids have to be sick. Sometimes I wonder if it was something I did that made him born that way, but I guess that is just my guilt at not being able to control or understand the situation. I just wish I could make it better for him. I hate that he is so familiar with ultrasounds that he jumps up on the bed, pulls his shirt up for the jelly, and asks what prize he gets when it's over. I hate that he knows he can't eat chips or drink too much milk cause he will pee blood. I hate that he has three wonderful doctors that he is so familiar with and their nurses that I am now on a first name basis with. I hate that he can pee perfectly in a cup and no 4 year old has any idea what he is talking about. I hate holding him down for blood work, catheters, and IV's. And most of all, I hate the unknown. I hate not knowing what is wrong with him and being able to fix it. I hate that my baby, though he looks healthy, is really sick.
But I love that wonderful, strong, beautiful little boy. And if I know anything for certain, I know he can get through this. I just wish he didn't have to.

The Weekend Review

What a hectic few days! I just love this time of year. I guess I've got spring fever. I just do not want to be inside at all! Didn't get much done on the house this weekend like I wanted to, but oh well. We had a great weekend. It just went by too fast! Molly and the boys came up on Saturday. It was pretty hot outside so I filled up the kiddy pool with water. Way too cold for me but the boys loved it. They stayed out there for hours in the mud and water. Koy and Mason even got along the whole time! Those two are so much alike that they usually don't play well together. Apparently a water hose, some trucks, and some mud can fix that! Molly and I sat out and sunbathed and laughed at the boys. It was really nice. (I tried to upload some pics but it won't let me. Maybe later.)
Later that evening, Molly kept all the kids while Mike and I took mom and David out to eat at The Pelican. I love that place! I hadn't been there in two years or so and mom and David hadn't ever been. After mom had spent a whole week redoing my kitchen cabinets, she left the money I had paid her to do it and told me Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday. I begged her to let me pay her, she really worked hard and I felt bad for not doing anything for her. So, we finally got them to at least agree to let us take them out to eat. (Still not enough for all she did) It was a nice evening. They have the best scallops! Yum!
Sunday we didn't do much. Mike cooked us breakfast while Molly and I went through some REALLY old pics. I have a huge picture frame that Molly brought me this weekend and I was trying to figure out what pictures I wanted to put in it. That was kinda fun, seeing us all so young and skinny looking!
Then I went with Molly to try to get pics of Kase and Koy. She got pretty irritated with them pretty quick, but I didn't think they were too bad. (Aunts always think their nephews are better than their mom thinks they are!) She really got some cute pics. After they left for Albany, Mason passed out within ten minutes. The weekend with the cousins wore him out. I heard Koy passed out on the bathroom rug that night when he got home! LOL
Before I knew it, it was Sunday night and the weekend was over. Time to get back to work. Ugh.

Ode to Walmart

Is there anything worse than going to Walmart at 5:30 on a weekday with a four year old and a three month old? I mean really? That should be written down somewhere as the best all time form of torture. I almost think being hung up by my toes or having my fingernails pulled off with plyers would be more enjoyable! You've got the three month old who cries every time the cart stops. So when you stop to look at something, you're doing the cart dance. You know, where you move the cart back and forth talking and cooing and hoping he'll just go to sleep so you can figure out what kind of shampoo you need. And then, I'd really like to hit the people who decide to put the new cool toys and movies out on the endcaps in the GROCERY section! Thanks buddy, I had successfully snuck past the toy aisle without any screaming fits or tantrums and now in the middle of the freezer section I've got a screaming four year old who just has to have the Cars or Shrek toy of the month. Thanks alot. Then you've got the lovely people shopping with you. It never fails that I get ran over by an old lady in a motorized cart. And it always happens to be a very large older lady who looks like she's about to swallow the motorized cart. And she gives yo the go to hell mean look for being in HER way. There must be some class for large older woman that teaches them how to be meaner than hell to a mom with two kids just trying to get supper. Ever notice that most moms in Walmart have alcohol in their carts? I came home with a case.
And I'll be back next week to spend another $100 plus. I just love Walmart.

Dragon Tales - For Mason

Dragon tales and the "water is wide"
Pirate's sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you
Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams
The rocket racer's all tuckered out
Superman's in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, we'll find the mouse
And I love you
Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams
God bless mommy and match box cars
God bless dad and thanks for the stars
God hears "Amen," wherever we are
And I love you
Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Godspeed
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

A Wal-Mart Sack

Okay, I have to tell this story. It's a classic, and I need to write it down somewhere before I get old and forget.
Five years ago when I was pregnant with Mason, Kooper was about 5 or 6 years old. And of course the bigger my belly got the more questions he asked. He liked to look through my magazines at pictures of babies inside their mommy's tummy's and he would ask if our baby was this big yet, and on and on.
Well, one evening before bed, he asked me what was keeping the baby inside my belly, what was keeping it from falling out? I told him that the baby was in a sack. He thought about this for a second. You could see the wheels turning over in that little head. Then as serious as could be, he said, "I bet it's a Wal-Mart sack." Mike and I had never laughed so hard in our life. And every now and then his Aunt Molly or Nana will remind us that all good things come in Wal-Mart sacks.

Motor-mouth

You know, you always hear that saying, something about the first few years of your kids lives you can't wait for them to talk, then the next few years you can't wait for them to shut up. Well, I completely understand it! Although, Mason was born talking. Well, I take that back. He really didn't "talk" too much right after birth due to all the wonderful drugs that they had given me while trying to get his stubborn little butt here. But once they wore off, he made his presence known, and has never stopped. He is four, and full of questions and demands. And he asks these questions, and makes these demands, at the top of his voice. He doesn't comprehend using your "quiet voice". For instance, shopping with him in Target several months ago he was giving me a running narration of everything we went past. "momma, there are diapers. momma there are cokes. momma there are toys, can I have one, can I, can I, can I??. momma, look there are some of those things like you wear!(bras)" So by this time, I'm getting a little aggravated, embarrassed, etc. So I told him to lower his voice while we were in the store. And my beautiful, intelligent little boy says at the top of his voice, "Why momma, cause not everyone wants to hear what I have to say?" Of course people are all around me and cracking up, and what can I do but laugh at him? I have a feeling Mason is going to get out of more trouble in his life just by saying the first thing that comes to his mind, in his loudest voice possible, with a big grin. So, I try to remind myself when I'm really wanting him to be quiet for just one minute, that I need to enjoy my little intelligent motor-mouth. Because one of these days it will probaly be like pulling teeth to get him to talk to his momma.

A REAL MAN

So my mom is at my house working on my cabinets. And this morning she got to telling me what Mason told her the last time he stayed at her house. She was bathing him, and he proceeded to tell her how he looked like his momma cause he had yellow hair and Sam looked like his daddy cause he had black hair. Then he told her that his grandad had hair on his face and that meant he was a REAL man. His Papa Dale is a REAL man too.
Outta the mouth of babes.
So, in case you were wondering what it took to be a real man in the eyes of a four year old, it's facial hair!