Danielle's surgery today went really well! We arrived at 8:30am, she was in surgery under anesthesia by 9:30, and back in her room by 10:30.
She was super panicked from the moment we went into the room that was "ours" for the duration of our visit. She wanted nothing to do with anyone and pretty much just whined/cried. Unfortunately after each person finished what they were doing (taking her blood pressure, listening to her heart, whatever) they would each say "all done!", which she took to mean we were ALL DONE and going home soon. Not even close. :)
They allowed me to go back with her to the OR and I stayed with her until she was under the anesthesia. Then they brought me back to recovery before she woke up, so she never knew I was gone. She was very clingy and refused to let me out of her sight the whole time, so it was wonderful that they allowed me to be with her as much as possible.
Danielle did really well with the anesthesia. She woke up crying and very disoriented, but after she was a little bit awake they gave her some oxycodone and that settled her down and she slept for about another hour. When she woke up again she was much more content but wanted to go home. :) We hung out long enough for her to drink some apple juice then headed home. She threw up once at home (not at all at the hospital), slept a bit more, and has been absolutely fine ever since.
The surgeon said the surgery went well. We'll have a post-op visit in about a week to check and see how Danielle's eye alignment is holding up. Her eyes are very red (but less than I expected) but don't seem to be bothering her much at this point. I'll try to post some before and after pictures as soon as possible. I didn't take any after pictures of her eyes today as they were pretty sensitive to light and I didn't want to use the flash on her. :)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A little summer cleaning
Yesterday the big kids wanted to go out on the back deck to play. We hadn't let Danielle play out there yet because there's not a railing and I don't really want her to fall off of the deck. Her balance isn't so hot and I was afraid if one of the boys bumped her she'd go right over. But they all wanted to go out so I finally acquiesced. The little one wanted to go too but I promptly vetoed that and kept her inside with me.
I wanted to stay where I could see them so I cooked up some beef for dinner and then was at a loss. I was trying to stay close to the window to keep an eye on them, but the window was so dirty it was hard to see...say, how about cleaning the window?!? ;)
I went to town cleaning the windows in the kitchen yesterday. I was shocked at how clear the window really was once I got it clean! When we moved into the house, we were doing so many other (major) repairs that the minor task of cleaning got relegated to...well, never. And there it stayed.
Until yesterday.
I am happy to report that once I cleaned the window it was so clean it actually looked like there wasn't a window there.
Gives me hope for the rest of the house. Eventually.
Oh, and only one kid fell off of the deck (while doing something he wasn't supposed to) and they managed to do some yardwork for me while they were at it as they thought it was a great game to pull all of the weed vines off of the lattice and railings on the deck!
I wanted to stay where I could see them so I cooked up some beef for dinner and then was at a loss. I was trying to stay close to the window to keep an eye on them, but the window was so dirty it was hard to see...say, how about cleaning the window?!? ;)
I went to town cleaning the windows in the kitchen yesterday. I was shocked at how clear the window really was once I got it clean! When we moved into the house, we were doing so many other (major) repairs that the minor task of cleaning got relegated to...well, never. And there it stayed.
Until yesterday.
I am happy to report that once I cleaned the window it was so clean it actually looked like there wasn't a window there.
Gives me hope for the rest of the house. Eventually.
Oh, and only one kid fell off of the deck (while doing something he wasn't supposed to) and they managed to do some yardwork for me while they were at it as they thought it was a great game to pull all of the weed vines off of the lattice and railings on the deck!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Our budding quartet
Last night we went to the University City Summer Concert Band concert. It's a little later than we would usually keep the kids out, but they all took naps in the afternoon since we had already planned on going.
They did a really great job! They were quiet (mostly) during the music and they all clapped after every piece. Dima and Zhenya got up and "helped" conduct for the last piece (a U City Summer Band tradition). Emily conducted (from my lap) throughout almost the entire concert, and she can actually hold a beat pretty well.
Of course we didn't take the camera...but we're planning to go again next week. If you're in the area come out and hang out with us; if not, you'll have to wait for the pictures! :)
I also met a mom this morning who lives at the end of our block. She has three kids...and her oldest has speech apraxia! We exchanged names and phone numbers and are going to try to get together for some playdates this summer.
They did a really great job! They were quiet (mostly) during the music and they all clapped after every piece. Dima and Zhenya got up and "helped" conduct for the last piece (a U City Summer Band tradition). Emily conducted (from my lap) throughout almost the entire concert, and she can actually hold a beat pretty well.
Of course we didn't take the camera...but we're planning to go again next week. If you're in the area come out and hang out with us; if not, you'll have to wait for the pictures! :)
I also met a mom this morning who lives at the end of our block. She has three kids...and her oldest has speech apraxia! We exchanged names and phone numbers and are going to try to get together for some playdates this summer.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Surgery postponed
We were supposed to get a call today telling us what time Emily's surgery would be tomorrow. Instead, we received a phone call that she is not having surgery tomorrow because the ENT surgeon is not available. So why did we have surgery scheduled for tomorrow if he's not available??
Her surgery is now scheduled for next Thursday (July 2) first thing in the morning. This will probably work out to be better timing for us anyway.
I thought I'd throw in a list of "words" that I can understand out of Emily if she's in another room and I can't see her. No one outside of the family would be able to understand any of these except "mama," but it's pretty cute to hear her say them and realize how quickly she is picking up on words and intonations. :)
Mama
No
McKinley, stop! (our dog)
Go bathroom
Shoes
Eat
Go away
Help, please
Her surgery is now scheduled for next Thursday (July 2) first thing in the morning. This will probably work out to be better timing for us anyway.
I thought I'd throw in a list of "words" that I can understand out of Emily if she's in another room and I can't see her. No one outside of the family would be able to understand any of these except "mama," but it's pretty cute to hear her say them and realize how quickly she is picking up on words and intonations. :)
Mama
No
McKinley, stop! (our dog)
Go bathroom
Shoes
Eat
Go away
Help, please
Happy birthday, Dima!
He's 7!!
We celebrated Dima's birthday over the course of about 3 days, which he loved. He got to pick where we went one afternoon and he choose the Science Center (day 1). It was the girls' first time there with the boys and I think I was a little crazy to take 4 children to the Science Center in the middle of the afternoon. We did all survive, and the boys actually did a great job listening and obeying. I let them go down to the lower level by themselves while the girls and I watched from the balcony since the girls were afraid of the dinosaurs. The boys stayed in sight the whole time and came upstairs when I motioned to them. I was very proud of them!
Dima choose to go to CiCi's Pizza for his birthday (another first for the girls--day 2). All of the kids did really well and the girls loved being able to choose what they ate. We also had cupcakes (day 3) at Dima's request instead of a cake.
Dima is very proud of being 7 years old. I had a lot of fun with his handwriting on his birthday as I gave him a bunch of sentences like "Yesterday I was six years old." "Today I am 7 years old." "Tomorrow I will eat cupcakes." I try to give him sentences for handwriting that he can also read to me. He enjoys that and it's good practice for him.
I am now the proud mama of a 7, 5, 5, and 3 year old, but only for another month!
We celebrated Dima's birthday over the course of about 3 days, which he loved. He got to pick where we went one afternoon and he choose the Science Center (day 1). It was the girls' first time there with the boys and I think I was a little crazy to take 4 children to the Science Center in the middle of the afternoon. We did all survive, and the boys actually did a great job listening and obeying. I let them go down to the lower level by themselves while the girls and I watched from the balcony since the girls were afraid of the dinosaurs. The boys stayed in sight the whole time and came upstairs when I motioned to them. I was very proud of them!
Dima choose to go to CiCi's Pizza for his birthday (another first for the girls--day 2). All of the kids did really well and the girls loved being able to choose what they ate. We also had cupcakes (day 3) at Dima's request instead of a cake.
Dima is very proud of being 7 years old. I had a lot of fun with his handwriting on his birthday as I gave him a bunch of sentences like "Yesterday I was six years old." "Today I am 7 years old." "Tomorrow I will eat cupcakes." I try to give him sentences for handwriting that he can also read to me. He enjoys that and it's good practice for him.
I am now the proud mama of a 7, 5, 5, and 3 year old, but only for another month!
Pictures of the birthday boy!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Improvements
We finally got the drain fixed in the second floor bathroom of the house we live in. It has been a pain because it wasn't something Mark could fix and we've had a hard time finding a plumber who would actually show up to do the work. We finally got a recommendation for a plumber from our previous landlord and the guy is fantastic. They were here today, done in a few hours and for exactly what they quoted. And it doesn't leak anymore. ;) If his bid is reasonable we will also be using him for the plumbing on the other house.
Dima is making leaps and bounds with his speech. He is actually spontaneously using full sentences--with all of the necessary verbs and articles!--on occasion. It's pretty rare right now, but rare is better than never which is what it had been. I'm interested to see what his teachers think when he goes back to school. I'm hoping they will be able to notice an even bigger difference than we do since they won't have seen him for 3 months. He's been working hard on his schoolwork and has been finishing his work in a much more timely manner. It's been great to be home since I've really been able to target some areas that were giving him trouble, and I'm seeing a lot of improvement in areas that he was really deficient before.
Zhenya's handwriting is so much better than it was at the start of the summer. Each day, the boys do some English (letters, word recognition, phonics, etc.), math (numbers, counting, time, money, ordinals), and handwriting. I'm not introducing any new topics to Zhenya that he will encounter in kindergarten, just reviewing the concepts he should already know and really focusing on his writing of his letters and numbers.
Danielle's legs and gait are improving! We thought we were seeing improvement but Mark measured her yesterday (nice having a PT for a husband!) and there is definite improvement in her range of motion in her legs. Today I put a wide masking tape line down on the floor and we are practicing walking heel-toe and working on her balance. She has no confidence in her ability to walk unless she is on her toes. Hopefully she will start to build that confidence. We've also been working on jumping. She can jump and clear both feet but she only comes off of the ground about an inch. Danielle has an appointment at the cerebral palsy clinic at the beginning of August, so we should know then if we need to do additional splinting or casting on her legs.
Emily's communication is really improving. She is now signing in full sentences (okay, one sentence...I-ALL DONE-PLEASE) and does a great job at mimicking new signs. We've also been working on getting her to answer questions and that has really improved. I would say she now answers a question (as opposed to repeating what was just asked) about 50% of the time. We're working on potty training and I've implemented some rewards to give her some incentive to go in the toilet. She knows what she's supposed to do on the toilet, she just doesn't tell me when she needs to go. So now she gets a chocolate chip every time she goes to the bathroom and her pullup is still dry. Of course, she's caught on and now she's asking to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. But hey, if that's what it takes I'm all for it! She can now get herself on and off of the toilet so she can go to the bathroom completely independently, however I still go in to give her toilet paper and help her wash her hands.
Dima is making leaps and bounds with his speech. He is actually spontaneously using full sentences--with all of the necessary verbs and articles!--on occasion. It's pretty rare right now, but rare is better than never which is what it had been. I'm interested to see what his teachers think when he goes back to school. I'm hoping they will be able to notice an even bigger difference than we do since they won't have seen him for 3 months. He's been working hard on his schoolwork and has been finishing his work in a much more timely manner. It's been great to be home since I've really been able to target some areas that were giving him trouble, and I'm seeing a lot of improvement in areas that he was really deficient before.
Zhenya's handwriting is so much better than it was at the start of the summer. Each day, the boys do some English (letters, word recognition, phonics, etc.), math (numbers, counting, time, money, ordinals), and handwriting. I'm not introducing any new topics to Zhenya that he will encounter in kindergarten, just reviewing the concepts he should already know and really focusing on his writing of his letters and numbers.
Danielle's legs and gait are improving! We thought we were seeing improvement but Mark measured her yesterday (nice having a PT for a husband!) and there is definite improvement in her range of motion in her legs. Today I put a wide masking tape line down on the floor and we are practicing walking heel-toe and working on her balance. She has no confidence in her ability to walk unless she is on her toes. Hopefully she will start to build that confidence. We've also been working on jumping. She can jump and clear both feet but she only comes off of the ground about an inch. Danielle has an appointment at the cerebral palsy clinic at the beginning of August, so we should know then if we need to do additional splinting or casting on her legs.
Emily's communication is really improving. She is now signing in full sentences (okay, one sentence...I-ALL DONE-PLEASE) and does a great job at mimicking new signs. We've also been working on getting her to answer questions and that has really improved. I would say she now answers a question (as opposed to repeating what was just asked) about 50% of the time. We're working on potty training and I've implemented some rewards to give her some incentive to go in the toilet. She knows what she's supposed to do on the toilet, she just doesn't tell me when she needs to go. So now she gets a chocolate chip every time she goes to the bathroom and her pullup is still dry. Of course, she's caught on and now she's asking to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. But hey, if that's what it takes I'm all for it! She can now get herself on and off of the toilet so she can go to the bathroom completely independently, however I still go in to give her toilet paper and help her wash her hands.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The "other" house
Mark has been hard at work on the framing for the rehab house we're working on. The second floor is completely framed and he's now working on the first floor. Here's some recent pics: (And yes, he's doing all of this by himself!!)
First Floor from living room through dining room to kitchen
(use your imagination)
1st floor stairwell off kitchen (the window will be drywalled over)
1st floor kitchen to back entry/office and 1st floor half bath
2nd floor top of stairwell (soon to be closet for 2nd bedroom)
2nd floor from 2nd bedroom--directly in front is the 2nd bath (accessed from the hallway)
2nd floor hallway from master bedroom to stairwell--off to the right is the laundry closet
2nd floor from master bedroom through master closet to master bath (the large door frames are for pocket doors)
First Floor from living room through dining room to kitchen(use your imagination)
1st floor stairwell off kitchen (the window will be drywalled over)
1st floor kitchen to back entry/office and 1st floor half bath
2nd floor top of stairwell (soon to be closet for 2nd bedroom)
2nd floor from 2nd bedroom--directly in front is the 2nd bath (accessed from the hallway)
2nd floor hallway from master bedroom to stairwell--off to the right is the laundry closet
2nd floor from master bedroom through master closet to master bath (the large door frames are for pocket doors)
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