Home, Sweet Home

Yay! We're all home together now! Jake was released from the hospital yesterday morning, so we've been enjoying relaxing together at home. Rachel has really been enjoying having Daddy around. First thing after he got settled in:
I thought that was funny because I took a picture Thursday morning before the doctor/hospital drama began:
Rachel loves her books. Notice in the first picture Stephano, the green bear Rachel gave to Jake when he was in the hospital. She's become fast friends with him. But she'll bring him to Jake every once in a while, hand him over, and say, "He's your buddy." And Stephano will sit on Jake's shoulder for a little while while they read a book or something.
Also, Jake is about 10 pounds lighter in the first picture. A week on nothing but a saline drip might just be the new wonder diet. Jacob ate lunch last Tuesday, a few saltines on Wednesday, then finally was allowed to eat again yesterday (Wednesday, making a full week, and then some without food). He's still being pretty cautious about food, not wanting to anger his insides that have been on vacation for a week.

I guess I'd better give a synopsis of what has developed since surgery, at least for journaling purposes. The main thing is that we found out that Steve was not actually Jake's appendix. He was a tumor right next to his appendix. We found out on Tuesday that the tumor was benign--the doctor called it something like mucele blahdeblah adenoid, or something that may or may not sound kind of similar to that. The main thing was, it was not cancerous. Woohoo. As a precaution the doc took out about a third of Jake's colon, as well, but apparently we all have plenty of colon, so he's not supposed to be in any worse shape once he heals fully.

Rachel did pretty good the first couple of days, having a ball at Grandma and Grandpa Knight's house (thank you SOOOOO much!!!!). But after spending 2 nights at their house, on Saturday morning Rachel said to me when we were cuddling after she woke up, "We go to Rachel's house." So that night I took her home to sleep. She was out in 2 minutes after hitting her pillow. Sunday she was a little sensitive to everything and cried real easily. I think she was starting to have a hard time, missing Daddy, and besides that, only seeing Mommy a couple hours a day, instead of all day every day, and her sleeping was kind of getting thrown off and she was throwing some doosies of tantrums. Luckily there were some good friends and my parents around to help her have a good time, and I tried to take more time away from the hospital, now that Jake was through the worst part. But the best thing for her was to bring Daddy home. She actually took a nap yesterday! For the first time in 2 weeks. And again today! It's a miracle. :) Last night she was in a pretty silly mood, enjoying the fact that her daddy was home. She stripped down to her skivvies, ran into her bedroom, and came out in this:
She loves skirts. And apparently some skirts work well as fashionable ponchos, as well. :) A good substitute, I guess when you're 2 and have a hard time getting a t-shirt on by yourself.

Welcome home, hubby! Now it's time for a 2 week vacation. (Okay, maybe not vacation, but hey, he lays around most of the day sleeping, eating, and watching movies, so it looks rather similar. Except for the 8 inch scar on his tummy.)

Flashbacks

I've been spending a lot of the time at the hospital lately, and mostly it's just fine, sitting around while Jacob sleeps. But there have been a couple of times where I've started having almost a panic attack because I kind of have a flashback to my first stay in a hospital when I broke my femur in 2005. Yesterday they were having Jake get out of bed to sit in a chair for 30 minutes and as they're doing the prepping, making sure tubes are not going to get snagged, the chair is positioned well, etc. I started thinking back to when the Physical Terrorist made me get up my first time(PT--they claimed it stood for Physical Therapist, but my buddy who broke her leg with me agreed that they misnamed his job). Anyway, so the PT came and made me get out of bed (aaaargh) and put pressure on my broken leg (ouuuch!) and try to take a step. Just getting out of bed brought tears to my eyes and much pain. So as Jake was getting ready to get out of bed I got a little faint, had to sit down, and the nurse brought me some OJ. I got over it and Jake did totally fine with just a little pain getting up and down, but overall, no problem at all. Thankfully.

The other flashback was Friday night after his surgery was all done and he was back in his room. I stayed with him for a few hours making sure he got more pain meds. And more. And more. Until he was relatively comfortable. Then the nurse told me hospital policy doesn't allow a wife to stay in the room through the night if there's another patient in the room. It was actually helpful because before that Jake was saying he wanted me to stay longer (even though I was getting pretty tired and ready for bed), so when he heard that he said that was fine and he'd be fine. So driving back over to my parents' house I thought back to the first night that I spent without anyone at the hospital room with me. Someone (my mom, probably?) had spent the night the first few nights, and I had had my buddy sharing the room with me, but she was released that day, and I was all by my lonesome. And that is the only night out of that whole week that I had muscle spasms in my leg. And WOW! Those were some muscle spasms. And since it was the first time I'd had spasms, there wasn't any standing orders for muscle relaxants, so I had to wait for them to get in touch with a doctor to order some. So those poor nurses on that entire floor were in the room seeing what they could do to help--I may have been a little vocal for a while there. It felt like an hour. It was probably 10-15 minutes. But still.... So this is what I remembered as I left my poor husband to fend for himself, not being able to move hardly at all, and in much pain shortly after surgery. Poor guy. Luckily I was exhausted, so fell asleep quickly and didn't have to dwell on it too long. And he had no horror stories to tell the next day since he had morphine to keep him asleep pretty much the whole time I was gone (and the entire next day I was there, too).

So hopefully I'm over my traumatic hospital experience and can just enjoy this one from here on out. Uh, maybe not enjoy, but you know... endure. Jake is improving. Today he walked up and down the hall 4 different times, going a little farther each time. And he's having less pain. He may get to start on a clear liquid diet tomorrow and work up to real food if all goes well. He's STARVING, having not eaten anything of substance since last Tuesday. And hopefully tomorrow we get the pathology report back and everything is good. Thanks for the prayers and support! Hopefully this is all over real soon. Stinkin' Steve.

Adventures with Steve

Last year Jacob had some stomach attacks that caused much pain and agony and ER/urgent care visits. But they never did figure out what caused them. It had been a while so we were beginning to think he was in the clear. Until Tuesday when he came home early from work in pain. In the past the advice was always to go on a clear liquid diet, and usually the pain and other symptoms would go away within about a day or so. When he was still in pain on Thursday morning he got an appointment at his doctor, who suggested it may be a blocked intestine, but said he'd need an x-ray to tell for sure, so either he could get an x-ray and hear back by 5:00 if he needed to go to the ER to get it taken care of if it was a blocked intestine, or figure out what the next step would be if that wasn't it, or we could go straight to the ER and get the x-ray done there. We went straight to the ER. Where we hung out in the waiting room from 12:30pm until about 5:30pm. By 9:30 Jake was finally getting a scan done and around 1 am we got to see these pictures (minus the labels, and reversed-for some reason our webcam does a mirror photo instead of regular):

Jacob named the extra blob that doesn't belong there Steve.

The doctor was still waiting to hear back from the radiologist and wasn't quite sure what Steve was, except that he was fluid-filled. Luckily the radiologist didn't give Jake too long to come up with scary theories and about ten minutes later the doctor came back and said the radiologist thought it was an inflamed appendix. With a 4 cm diameter (on the bottom picture), which would put it about 8 cm tall. The doc said this was one for the books, as big as it is.

With that news it was time to get officially admitted to the hospital. So after getting Jake settled in his new room, I headed over to my parents' house to sleep. Thankfully, they live about 2 minutes away from the hospital--very convenient. Also, very thankfully, they have been entertaining Rachel since the ER adventure began. She's happy as can be and we're worry free, able to focus on Jake getting better. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU, Mom and Dad!

Rachel tried to come visit (which the hospital website says is allowed), but because of H1N1 precautions they're not letting kids under 13 in for now, so instead she went to the gift shop and picked out a present for daddy:

Notice how the words on the bear are reversed. Why does this webcam do that?!
Rachel and Daddy later had a little video chat, so Rachel could get in a little cyber-visit with Daddy, since she couldn't come in real life.

Jacob doesn't have regular appendicitis-he's special. He has mucocele of the appendix, which means he has an appendix filled with jelly (actually mucus, or something like unto it that is jelly-like). It also means he can't have it laproscopically removed because there's a possibility of puncturing the appendix and causing problems. So he'll have a nice scar as a battle wound since they have to cut him all the way open. I'm currently in the waiting room waiting for surgery to finish up. Then the recovery can begin. And he can eat real food again soon. The only food Jake has had since Tuesday at lunch is lots of Jell-o, Gatorade, and grape juice, and a handful of saltines and pretzels on Wednesday night. I'm sure he's looking forward to a nice hearty meal of chicken broth and saltines. :) Or even real food in the near future. The doc said either Monday or Tuesday he'll be able to come home again. I can't wait to have it all over and done with.

Oh naptime! Wherefore art thou, naptime?

Getting Rachel to sleep the last few days has been an adventure. Although that word implies some sort of enjoyment. So it is not really accurate. With Rachel staying up an hour or two past bedtime, coming to the door for something or other every 10-15 minutes, then crying in agony when we either held the door shut from the outside, or put the dreaded "white thing" on her doorknob (the childproof doorknob cover) so she stops coming out of her room, it hasn't exactly been fun at bedtime lately.
And naps just don't happen at all. Maybe twice in the last week has Rachel taken a nap--that's after trying everything to get her to stay laying down in her bed for 10 minutes (which is all it takes for her to fall asleep if she stays laying down for the full 10 minutes), including laying next to her, laying on the ground outside her door, peeking through the little crack and telling her to get back in bed as soon as I see her feet touch the floor, and rocking her. So, in keeping with some sage advice (If you want to be happy, just lower your expectations.) I've given up hoping for a nap and just let Rachel stay in her room having "quiet time" for an hour or so. Yesterday after un-naptime I came in to find this:
Rachel does this with EVERYTHING she owns now. She lined up all her blankets in a line last night. She lines up her stuffed animals. And apparently now, her books and little ponies, too. Her imagination is exploding, too. Yesterday I heard this conversation she was having with her little ponies as she was covering them all with blankets to put them to sleep: "Stay in bed, now. Or you'll have to stay in bed all the time. So, stay in bed and not knock on the door!" Apparently she thinks we try to make her stay in bed all the time. Then: "You're so sweet! Oh! You're so sweet." *kiss* *kiss* So funny!
At least we know she hears us through her screams at night when we tell her to stay in bed and not knock on the door anymore. :) Monday we tried a few things at bedtime in the hopes of making it less painful for all of us. We talked about how to take care of our bodies at FHE and about how sleeping is important, then we made a traffic light with one red stop light, and 3 green lights, so she has to give us one green light every time she knocks on/opens the door at night, then after the 3 are gone she can't open the door anymore. And if she doesn't use all 3 she gets a treat in the morning. Monday night was heaven. She knocked once just to give me a green light, then went to sleep without any fighting. Last night Jacob said wasn't as easy (I had mutual, so wasn't home). He said she knocked 3 times just to give him the green lights, then knocked some more until he threatened putting on the "white thing." We'll see how it goes from here on out. Hopefully bedtime gets a little better...

One other random Rachel story real quick: Back in December the Beehives were in charge of an activity and my beehive advisor was going to bring the milk for refreshments, but she found out she wouldn't be able to make it and called to let me know and to see if she could drop off the milk at my house. When I got off the phone Rachel asked who it was and I told her it was Sister Harlow. A few minutes later she dropped off the milk.
For weeks after that almost every time I got off the phone Rachel would say, "That was Sister Harlow." That was two months ago.
Yesterday I got off the phone and Rachel asked, "Who was that?" I told her, "Sister Harlow." She replied, "Is she going to got some milk?" So she can remember what happened 2 months ago, but she can't remember when I tell her to go get her shoes and bring them to me. Right.

New Beginnings

About two weeks ago our stake had a special meeting to make some changes to the ward boundaries. Our ward got a bunch of new people added from a neighboring ward, since we have been such a small ward. It's exciting to get to meet all the new families, and especially the new young women. Our young women just about doubled in number! And our beehives did double: now we have 8 beehives, with 2 more joining us next month and another in May.Well, this change came a week before our New Beginnings program that we had been planning for a while. So we had a week to scramble and get things together to include 12 new girls in the program (including getting T-shirts ordered and made, which turned out to be its own little adventure that our wonderful YW president took care of).
The night turned out pretty good. Since the mutual theme for 2010 is "Be strong and of a good courage" we focused on the "be strong" part and did a basketball theme (NBA: New Beginnings Association), focusing on how the young women can be strong and beat Team Satan with the help of the For the Strength of Youth standards, and the Personal Progress program. The beehives were in charge of presenting the theme and did a cheer, then talked a little about how the theme helps them be strong and of a good courage. The beehives were also in charge of concessions and refreshments, so we passed out popcorn before the "half-time entertainment" (the leaders did a cheer, then we watched a slide show of the last year), then we had cupcakes decorated as basketballs for dessert.
Here you can see the boxes of popcorn the girls carried around to pass out popcorn (along with the big mess that my kitchen became with the popcorn flying everywhere):
It was a fun evening and we have a great bunch of girls!

Random Rachel stories

Last week we got our 2009 blog book in the mail. Woohoo!
Looking back over our last year in print reminds me that this blog (and the book we make from it) is probably the only family history journal we'll ever have. Which makes me think about the little every day things that I'll want to remember in 10 or 20 years. So here are a couple:

The other day I was cooking or cleaning or something in the kitchen and Rachel was hanging out with me, and had brought a marker and paper to keep herself entertained. At one point I turned around and found her laying on her stomach coloring, apparently pretending to write words. She was saying the words out loud as she "wrote" each one: "Mommy. Rachel. Daddy. Grandma and Grandpa Campbell. Mommy Campbell. Rachel Campbell. Reesey Campbell. I. Love. You. Grandma and Grandpa."

I am hosting a baby shower on Saturday, so I bought a bag full of rubber duckies to use to decorate.
I tied little pink bows around their heads, since she's having a baby girl, but got tired after 10 or 12 ducks, so Rachel got the remaining ducks. Which she loves. Except for when they scare her, I guess. At dinner last night she looked over at them sitting on the counter and said, "The rubber duckies are scaring me!" I asked her why and she replied, "'Cause they're mad at me." So I told the rubber duckies to be nice to Rachel and be happy. This morning during breakfast she was talking to her ducks who had now joined her at the table. She gave them a talking to, shaking her finger at them while she scolded: "You rubber duckies be nice! You don't be mad! You obey and be good!" Then she went on to sing to them: "When my mother calls me, quickly I'll obey..." A little later she had all six in her arms: "Ohhhhh. They just need some hugs. Ohhh. Der you go duckies. Now you feel better!"

The next American Idol

We haven't posted a video in a loooooong time. Here's one from Sunday with Rachel singing I Am Like a Star, then the theme of Wallace and Gromit. She's a sponge-she can pick up any song she hears and then she'll sing it ALL the time. I've had the Winnie the Pooh theme song stuck in my head for a week or so because Rachel goes around singing it all the time. Maybe I'll post a video of that, too.



And here's the Winnie the Pooh song (or as Rachel says, Winnie uh pooh). At the beginning she's singing a little bit of the Tigger song. So you can follow with what Rachel says, the last part goes: "IIIIIII'm the only one! Rrrar!" Rachel modifies songs a little bit. But they're close enough.

Conversations with Rachel

Today at lunch:
Rachel to me: Are you ugly?
Me: No. Are you ugly?
R: No.
Me: No, you're pretty.
R: Is Daddy ugly, too?
Me: Is Daddy ugly?
R: Yeah!
Me: No, Daddy's not ugly.
R: Daddy's just special.

Thursday at dinner with the missionaries:
R: Hi missionaries! I have a dog and a cat! (We have neither-just a neighbor cat that comes to visit, and my parents' dog)
Me: Where does your dog live?
R: Ummm...
Me: Does your dog live at Grandma and Grandpa's house?
R: No, he lives at Reesey's house (Reese is thier dog, who apparently now owns their house)
R: Daddy, do you live at work?
Jake: No. But sometimes it feels like I do.

Who's the boss?

Yes, I did watch that show when I was a kid. But now I know who the boss is:

 

I thought I'd better document some of the things the Boss does so when she has her own bossy little girl she can know it's just payback (my brothers and parents tell me I was pretty bossy growing up).

Rachel got on a kick a few months back of blowing raspberries all the time, sometimes right in her friends' faces. Not a good thing to do during cold season. So we tried to teach her every time she'd do it, "We don't do that at people." Now anytime Jake or I do that, she promptly corrects us: "Don't do that at people!" Yes, ma'am.

Many times when Rachel needs to go potty (especially #2), she'll stand up, look at me, put her hand up like she's a crossing guard telling a car to stop and say, "You stay RIGHT THERE. I be right back." Then she heads off to the bathroom. Last night at bedtime she did this. After she's had time to do her business I usually try to make my way in to help her wipe. As I started moving in last night she apparently saw my shadow move or heard the rustle of my clothes and said, "No, Mommy. Don't move. You stay right there!" Miss Independent.

Rachel is also the protector of everyone's property. Especially her own if a crawling baby is near by. She loves cute little immobile babies and is so cute with them, doing peek-a-boo and tickling them. But once they start crawling they become a threat and she keeps a close eye on them. If they get too close to a toy of hers she tells them, "No, baby! That's not yours. Go back to your mommy!" Or this morning a friend's baby was standing holding on to the couch next to me and would occasionally put his hand on my knee. Rachel informed him, "No, baby. That's my mommy!" But she doesn't limit her property patrol to her own things. If I was using the laptop, and Jake sits down to look at it (or even tries to read over my shoulder) Rachel informs him, "No, Daddy! That's Mommy's computer!" Or when I started reading a book Jake had recently finished she informed me, "Mommy, that's Daddy's book! Put it down!"

Today I was trying to get Rachel to take a nap-I think we missed the critical nap window and she was no longer tired. (By the way, the binky removal was a complete success. She had no nap on Friday with a lot of kicking and screaming, but went to bed with no problems that night, and ever since then she hasn't even cared that she had no binky and has mostly gone to bed without much hassle--well, no more than before binky removal, anyway.) Anyway, so today I kept hearing her playing when she was supposed to be napping so I went in to lay on the floor to get her to stay laying down on her bed (which usually works and she usually falls asleep within 10 minutes). Today, however she DID NOT want me there. She told me, "Mom, go away!" She's taken to telling me that at naptime or bedtime more often lately. When I didn't leave she told me "I stay in my bed! You go to your bed. Not on my ground! Go!" To make a long, boring story short (and still boring), she didn't nap. But she fell asleep for 15 minutes in the car a little later.

And yes, we are trying to teach her to be nicer when she speaks. But it makes me laugh to hear her bossing me and everyone else around sometimes. Though I try not to laugh in front of her. I often think it's a good thing 2-year-olds learn to speak when they do because the things they say are so cute and funny (even when they're rude) that it helps balance out the crabby, belligerent, independent, temper tantrum side of the 2-year-old and gives me something to laugh about to help me stay sane.