Work, mini-vans, cousins, etc.

I went back to working on-call this weekend for the first time since I was put on bedrest with Parker which was more than 6 months ago.  I was looking forward to it all week and guess what, I liked it.  Is that bad?  Normal people don't like going to work, right?  Well for me it was a much needed break from the everyday normal.  It was nice to get out of the house, have some "adult time", and chat with the older folks (I work as an admissions coordinator at a nursing and rehab facility).   Some things have changed since I worked there last so I hope I didn't mess up too bad but it was a nice change of pace.  Of course, it was also nice to come home to Alexa who gave me a big hug and got really hyper and happy once she saw me.  It was also nice for Paul to say that Alexa kept asking about me throughout the day.  I don't know if she really did or not but it was nice to hear anyway.  And Paul told me he couldn't stay home with the kids all day everyday and I think he realizes why it's hard to get everything on my daily to-do list done.  I'm going to resume my one weekend a month at work and I think it will be good for all of us.

In other news, apparently Alexa thinks she's a rock star, her new fashion line is soon to hit the stores:

And something happened this weekend that I swore would never, never happen.  I told Paul it's OK to start looking at minivans as a new means of transportation for our family.  I know, gasp!!  You see.....my dream vehicle has always been to have a big, black pick-up truck.  Well, this is going to have to be put on hold because let's face it big, black trucks are not very practical.   I always thought I'd rather die than drive a mini-van but times have changed a bit.  My choices are to either lose 20 pounds so I can comfortably sit in the back seat of our car between Alexa & Parker's car seat and all of Parker's equipment or to take the plunge and get a bigger vehicle.  If you're wondering, I have to sit in the back seat in case Parker needs to be suctioned.  So in the end I think the mini-van is more realistic because let's face it I like chocolate too much. Paul wanted to take some mini-vans for test drives yesterday but for some reason car dealerships are closed on Sundays.  I tried to take this as a sign from God that maybe minivans aren't meant to be but maybe I was reading in to things a bit more than I should. 


Alexa won't quit talking.  That's not where I intended to end that sentence but that in and of itself is very true these days.  Anyway, Alexa won't quit talking about Foster.  Paul's sister, Taryne, and her family came to visit recently and Alexa got to play with her cousins, Foster and Loghen.  She had a grand time of course and wishes they were here to play all the time. 

 Alexa and Foster - Not the best pic of the two of them so we'll have to get a better one next time

Alexa and Loghen

Last Thursday, we went to Omaha and saw 4 separate Doctors.  Nothing too exciting really came up and they seem pleased with how Parker is doing.  When we saw the surgeon for Parker's follow up, he did the first g-button change and then had me do it so that I can change it in the future.  OK in all actuality, he said he likes the "parents" to know how but Paul wouldn't have anything to do with it so I was elected to learn.  I won't go into detail which you should appreciate but it was yucky and didn't go very smoothly for the surgeon or for me (mostly since Parker was crying so hard).  But, he said this should be the most difficult change and I survived it so there's one more item crossed off on my way to becoming a nurse (which I never thought I could or wanted to be).   

We have 2 Occupational therapists and a physical therapist that come to our home to do therapy with Parker.  Tummy time has been a real challenge because of the trach and we have all tried numerous ways to help Parker be on his tummy while being able to breathe so he can strengthen his muscles but all of them seem very awkward and uncomfortable.  So...this is what I've been doing and Parker seems to love it.  He's also been regaining some of his strength so he can pick his head up on his own once again.   We look funny but it's actually kind of fun.

Here are some other random pictures of my sweet peas from this last week: