Pool party

I ordered a new swimming suit for Maggie and of course, she had to try it one when it came...... so I blew up the pool and Hailey and Caleb joined her in a pool party :) Jackson was downstairs playing video games with Matt so he didn't feel too left out of the fun. Caleb even wanted to change into his swimming shorts. We have blown up the pool like this before and just fill it with pillows and things for them to jump in. It's always funny how introducing one new thing into their space can keep them busy for hours. Not a new toy - just a new thing. Large cardboard box, blow up pool ..... surfboard shaped coffee table (which is the best "toy" we have ever gotten for $5!)

Not so fun....

We got a few inches of snow while Jackson was home bound. He was really sad that he couldn't go sledding. I did let him go out to play in it as long as he stayed on the deck and didn't throw snowballs. He was pretty annoyed but happy to at least get outside. Hopefully we get one more good snow after he's all healed up so he can get in a few more runs :)

Creativity

Jackson missed school for a full two weeks through the whole appedix deal so once he was home from the hospital we had to come up with some quiet activities to keep him busy. Surprisingly even he has a limit to how many video games and movies he can watch :)
I found this activity online. It also happened to be a late start day due to the weather so Maggie got to join in on the fun. You warm a plate up using hot water, the microwave or the oven. I used the oven but got the plates hotter than intended so I was a little worried about Caleb and Hailey but they were both very careful and did fine. You draw on the warm plater with crayon. It melts the crayon to make your design. The kids loved it. The plates I used were a little thin so they cooled off fairly quickly. I would just put it back in the oven for a minute or two and hand it back. The activity didn't last long since they colored the plates fairly quickly but activities like this tend to get their minds going so they head off to play afterwards. It wasn't too bad to wash it off with a scrubbie but I had to throw it away afterwards.......
Jackson and I spent quite a bit of time doing homework also. It's pretty boring to do a lot of worksheets :)

Minus 1 appendix

Jackson had his appendix taken out on Monday (1/28). He started feeling sick on Friday. Went to a friends house while Matt and I went on a date Friday night. When we picked up the kids they said he had thrown up a couple times after dinner. We thought he was probably getting the flu. He was pretty miserable on Sat but still just seemed like flu symptoms. Sunday we were starting to get a little more worried - symptoms were the same - but nothing was changing and he kept complaining about how his belly hurt. So when Monday rolled around we decided to go ahead and take him to the Doc to rule out the flu. Even the Doc didn't think it was his appendix since he was walking around but after feeling his belly and talking to him a little he decided to have us go to the hospital for a CT scan just in case. I had left the girls with our friends but still had Caleb since I hadn't anticipated going straight to the hospital. I was totally unprepared - no snacks, no cup, no blankies....... Jackson had to have blood drawn. He knew that one was coming and handled really well for a needle hating Jackson. Then he had to drink a big cup of stuff and wait 2 hours before the CT. I decided to run Caleb to our friends - after a quick stop at home for the blankies :) I am so glad that we have friends so willing to help us out at the last minute with huge requests - like, can you keep these guys for who knows how long while we do all this today??
Jackson had to have another needle (IV like) to push some dye for the CT. He was not happy but handled it ok especially considering he had no advance warning for that one. We waited for the results in a little hallway waiting room. He was pretty distracted by the TV but also a little worried because he knew surgery was a possibility. Sure enough - I get a call from the Doc saying it's acute appendicitis and he needed to go in for surgery quickly. I cried, he cried..... then we went and got him checked into the Peds ward. We had the Kindle Fire with us so I kept him distracted with movies. Matt came to wait with us. That helped me a lot :) It took longer than I thought for them to get everything going. We got the surgery call just after 4 and it was after 8 before they took him back for surgery. The regular IV was the worst needle experience of the day - mostly because it was the 3rd time and he was stressed and exhausted. We went down with him while they gave him sleepy stuff. He was gone for about an hour.
His appendix did not rupture but it did leak a little bit. The doc was still able to clean him up through the laproscopy incisions so those are the only ones he has. If there is a rupture they have to make larger incisions to clean it out, leave a drain in for infection and recovery is much worse. Jackson didn't need the bigger incisions or the drain but the Doc did want him to stay longer than the normal 24 hours just in case. He was up and walking the next morning a little. He was in pain but doing really well with all of it. He didn't want to see the bandages and cuts or hear anything about the surgery.
We would have been out of there Wed afternoon but the Doc was held up in surgery and didn't make his rounds until after 9 pm. He didn't want to send us home without the prescriptions so we had to wait until Thur morning to leave. Matt and I traded off so that one of us would always be with him. Usually me during the day and Matt overnight while our friends were still helping out with the other kiddos.
He's home now and doing great. Still stiff and sore but has a pretty positive attitude. He's out of school until the 11th. We did stop in and say hi to his class and pick up his homework yesterday. He's fine to be walking around but needs to take it easy. He needs to avoid getting sick - flu and colds would wreck havoc with his sore tummy.
We are very happy to have everyone at home together again and that there were no major problems or concerns on top of his surgery.
Thanks for the calls and cards/gifts. It has helped him feel a little less disappointed and isolated :)

Pinewood Derby 2013

 

Jackson got 1st place in his Den this year for the Pinewood Derby. He was very, very excited. He was so surprised each race when he kept coming in first (his past cars have not done very well....) He was so happy to get a trophy! His siblings were a little jealous.
All of them had a good time. Each year they do a sibling race too so all the kids can be involved. They absolutely love it. It's a little harder on Matt and I to help them get 4 cars ready in time. Maggie's car did really well also and came in second in the sibling races.

Here are their cars. Jackson chose to do a Speed Racer design. Matt drew out the shape and I cut it. He is so much better with 3D modeling than I am :) Jackson was really proud of his finished car. Hailey's is the next one over. She loved decorating it. Caleb's is the Green Lantern car. He knew just what to do when the guy would call his name. He would go and sit in the chairs at the end of the run and then pick up his car and take it back to the waiting table. He even knew exactly where to leave it each time. I loved that he was wearing his Green Lantern shirt that day too. Cute boy :) Maggie's car was very colorful. She added all kinds of colors and designs. She was a little disappointed when we covered up a lot of it with weights.That's what we get for not wanting to spend time carving out areas to hide the weights......