Dreams and nightmares

This morning Dalan was having a really hard time. He came into my room in a weeping mess. He had a dream that his dad died. He couldn't believe how real the dream was. It broke my heart that I couldn't get those images out of his head. I quickly grabbed my phone and let him call Matt. I knew he would probably be sleeping, but I thought it was more important that Dalan hear his dad's voice. After talking with dad and some major hugs from mom he was ready to start his day. What a nightmare for him to experience. I pray dad can come home tonight. Being both parents is exhausting.

Another night in the hospital

Everything worked out and I was able to see Matt this morning. The infection has grown so much. The doctors are pushing more IV antibiotics and will probably keep him another night. My time was so limited with our crazy schedule, but I'm so glad I was able to squeeze a few minutes with him. This really has me worried.

After school we picked up some food and headed back to the hospital. Apparently the kids were not supposed to be there because of flu season, but we didn't find that out until we were walking back to the elevator to leave.

The time was limited but the kids loved seeing dad. I think it helped them understand why he wasn't coming home yet too.

Listen to your wife! Can't sleep CPS

Last week Matt fell at work and hurt his elbow. He came home and told me "meat was coming out of his arm". I begged him to go get it checked out but macho man decided to put a little alcohol on it and call it good. Well it caught up to him! Last night he was watching tv with one of the kids on his lap and was wincing every time someone came close to his arm. I once again had to beg him to go get it checked out. So this morning he finally went and was told his arm was infected. He was given antibiotics and told is the infection got any bigger (the doctor drew a circle around the infection) to come back. When he got home from work and showed me it already looked like it was bigger. I called Tami and Jason Babcock just to see where they would go if they needed an ER. Matt thought he could wait it out and just go back in to see the base doctor again tomorrow, but after dinner he could really see it spreading. He left for the ER. After 7 hours in the waiting room he was finally seen and admitted to the hospital. I was not ready or expecting that. I was stuck at home with sleeping kids and no one to watch them so I could go visit or see what was going on. Matt was immediately (well three more hours after seeing the ER doctor) put on IV antibiotics. He ended up having a deep tissue infection.
I was so upset I couldn't be there with him, so upset he didn't listen to me, so upset I didn't have any way of getting up there tomorrow to see him. I came up with a plan to ask Brilyn's teacher if I could drop her off early. If I dropped her off right after dropping off Dalan and Jayen I could drive the 45 minutes to the hospital, stay for about 50 minutes, then 45 back to get there in time to pick Jayen up from school, make lunch, pick up Brilyn, eat lunch, head to therapy, naps, get Dalan and go see dad if he is still there. I think I can make it all work, but then my mind started thinking about other things. What happens if I get stuck in traffic and can't make it back to get Jayen in time? Who do they call; Matt is in the hospital, I'm stuck in traffic or worse. What if something happens to me? Where will the kids go? I know my mom is my emergency contact, but obviously it would take her some time to get here. They can't have the kids sleep at school overnight. Would they have to go into child protective services? Who would take them? Would they get split up? What would happen to my babies? This really had me worried and wouldn't let my mind rest. I need to find a local emergency contact that would take the kids until my parents could get here.

More milestones!

It wasn't required, but when I learned it was the 100th day of school I knew exactly what I wanted Jayen to wear. Two years ago Dalan was asked to make a shirt with 100 items on it. Now it was Jayen's turn! He was so excited to wear it. I actually had to hide it from him for the last couple days because he was constantly taking it out of the closet and asking to wear it. Happy 100th day of school Jayen!

After school the kids had their dental check-ups. Jayen did so amazing! They were even able to get his x-rays done this time! He is growing up so fast! Dr. Olga was impressed he completed his x-rays and even more impressed that he laid down for the entire cleaning. To top everything off, two of the kids left with perfect check-ups.

We didn't finish the night with s'mores again but a great family bike ride was just as fun!

Family Day

Who doesn't love a federal holiday and a day off of school? Well mom sometimes, but not today! We loved our family day! We spent the morning at Uptown Alley bowling then playing video games until nap time. The kids are really getting good at bowling. Dalan has graduated from using the ramp and closely behind is Jayen. He started out with is but when he realized Dalan wasn't using it anymore then he switched. Brilyn didn't care what the boys did and still used the ramp. It worked for her; she got more strikes than I have ever gotten in a game and ended up kicking everyone's butt. Pizza and loaded French fries filled us up before heading to the arcade. The kids won a couple $5 gift cards and one free game of laser tag at a school event a while ago so we played our hearts out for $10 and snuck Dalan into laser tag while the other two weren't looking. When all the games we played the kids tallied up their tickets and each walked out with a couple prizes.  

After quick naps and a nice dinner we ended the night with a fire and s'mores! There isn't a better ending to this day! Can we do it again tomorrow?

Day date with my love!

Daddy had to come home early today to watch Brilyn and be home for Dalan so mommy could take Jayen to see Dr. Melmed. We had a great visit. Dr. Melmed praised mommy for the job she is doing and made her cry. I wish I could remember his words, sometime I need to hear them more and remind myself how strong I am and what I need to continue to do for Jayen. He agreed to write the prescriptions for Jayen's Concerta so we don't need to add another doctor to our already growing list of follow-ups. It was a nice visit. We really like seeing Dr. Melmed!

After that appointment we rushed back, thank goodness for the HOV lanes, to try to catch a little bit of buddy basketball. We missed half of practice, but still had fun. Jayen even let me be his buddy!

We hadn't eaten yet because we rushed from the doctor's office to practice, so mommy decided to keep the date going. Daddy gave Jayen permission to take me out to eat. Even though he was set on French fries and chicken nuggets he let me choose noodles and sushi instead. I was able to convince him with a cookie and the crazy pop machine with 100s of choices. We had so much fun slurping up noodles and creating our own drink mixes. I love my little man and am so thankful for this time with him. I need to do it more often!

Eye Doctor

I'm so glad we were able to get in with this eye doctor. I was so impressed with how they worked with Jayen. When we were on base we really struggled with the nurse convincing her that Jayen could do it if she gave us a minute to work through it. This place was ready! Every time I was getting ready to say he couldn't do something, she was two steps ahead of me showing me how he could. There was a little screen on the wall that the technician was able to change the picture with a remote. She also had a laminated sheet with a three by three graph of pictures. A picture was displayed on the screen and Jayen was asked to point to the picture on his sheet. HOW AWESOME!!!! He didn't have to say a word! He was proving what his eyesight was and not his intelligence! The pictures were adjusted to itty bitty sizes and he was still able to identify which picture he was seeing. I was so proud of him and so thankful for the staff. When the doctor came in to look into his eyes I started to worry again. But once again I was amazed! The doctor was so patient and calm with him. She was able to convince Jayen to let her look in his eyes and shine the flashlight in them. He even allowed her to put the drops in to dilate them. I couldn't believe it!

Thank you so much for the amazing experience and making my son feel so comfortable. Jayen has great vision but we will need to continue to check yearly.

Taking a Time Out

Having a meltdown and this is where he feels comfortable. At least he has stopped destroying everything he comes in contact with. Calgon why haven't you taken me away yet? Where's my darn bonbons?

Buddy Basketball

We've always loved buddy baseball but we were kind of excited when it worked for us to do buddy basketball as well. Jayen loves basketball! Since we got the hoop for Christmas he has been outside nearly everyday practicing. The practice must be paying off, this kid is amazing!

Therapy carry over

I love the progress Jayen is making. Today we were waiting at the dealership for my car to get fixed. The kids were going to a little crazy so we bought some veggie sticks to keep them busy. The first bite Jayen took he put the veggie stick to the side of his mouth and pushed his tongue to touch it. He then proceeded to move it to the other side and repeated it. I guess therapy is paying off! I love this kid even when he is annoying me!

Nicest Neighbors

While we were in Nebraska one of our neighbors was checking on the house for us. It was so nice not to worry about things here in Arizona while we were away in Nebraska. But not only did they take care of our house, they took care of us! Eva dropped off a basket of soups, crackers, biscuits, and cookie dough so we had something to eat as soon as we got home. We might miss home, but we have made some incredible friends here!

Goodbye

We couldn't leave Nebraska without sneaking a peak at our old house and stopping  by to say hi to our old neighbors. Ed and Marcie Schuester were amazing neighbors and we had to make sure to see them. Marcie's health has been deteriorating and we are very worried about her. Thankfully they were home when we stopped. It was great seeing them and catching up. We miss them tremendously and can't wait for our return to see them again soon. 

We made one more quick stop to see Kourtney, Todd, and Henry and to hear the news that Henry is going to be a big brother soon! The two of us are on a crazily similar path with our boys and I wish we were closer to be able to go through it together. I'm so excited for them and know that another DeFreece will be an amazing thing. 

As much as we would like to stay and hang out with so many more people we needed to get going back to Arizona. Goodbye Nebraska, Goodbye Friends, Goodbye Life I once knew!