And the obbessing continues...

2 weeks post op

Christmas Eve

Jake with his firetruck

Anderson and Grant

Opening the new kitchen

Anderson James

Jake and his new Duplo bus

Christmas Morning

Super Why Jake contemplating his next move

Anderson playing his new Go Fish game

Super Why brothers hanging out in Radiator Springs

Job well done Santa

Woo Hoo!

One week post op

I put some make up on for the first time today, from the looks of the picture I should have put it on my bruised neck as well. Kevin assures me I'm still very swollen and I hope he's right. I'm looking a bit more filled out than I expected. Smiling (half smiling I should say) takes a tremendous amount of muscle coordination and effort at this point, the things one takes for granted.

I'm really missing food. My pain has subsided to a tolerant level so now I'm torturing myself with thoughts of eating. Soup, nutritional shakes and oatmeal get real old real quick. I want my carbs...heavenly crunchy carbs! I've been desperately considering soaking my beloved cheez-its in a bowl of water so that I can just get one little taste. I feel like I could chew but the dr. has restricted me until further notice. I don't return for another check up till Dec. 30th.

Artsy Craftsy

Diligently working

Sweet Anders


Cheeky Jake

The boys spent some time painting and creating today. They made handprints last week so we painted them today. They enjoyed working on their creations and spent a fair amount of time on them. After painting the boys did some coloring. Little Anders James was being a stinker and kept pushing his crayons on the floor. After picking them up for the umpteenth time I finally scolded him telling him I was done picking them up. He responded in a very snarky way, "That's fine Mom, its fine, jeez.". I wasn't expecting that, it was as if the little stinker was just as annoyed with me as I was with him. The depth of these little minds ...

Before and After

Night before surgery

Today

I'm still extremely swollen, my chin looks a bit Jay Leno'ish, but I think you can see the difference. There is a lot of yellow bruising on my neck and I have a stitch on both sides of my jaw line as well. That's where the lovely screws were placed. I still have no feeling in my chin and very little in my bottom lip.

Getting by

It's been a rough couple of days but I feel like today we have turned a corner. I actually showered and was able to pull myself together enough to go out. We took the boys to Party City to pick out their Buzz Lightyear party supplies, which it turned out they didn't carry. That was a big disappointment, so we ended up ordering them on-line instead.

The past four days have been tough. My pain was increasing instead of decreasing and I wasn't tolerating the vicodin well. I hate taking meds and the vicodin was making me feel incredibly out of it and sleepy ALL day long. I switched over to motrin but that just doesn't seem to have enough kick in it so I've just been dealing with the pain the best I can. I saw the dr. today and he says everything looks good. It's just going to take a lot of time to return to normal.

My sweet boys are always asking me "do you feel better now Mom?". They know I'm not feeling like myself, and I've been doing my best to reassure them that despite the fact I can't smile, I'm doing just fine. Anderson and Jake are adjusting pretty good to sharing a room. Nap time has been rough and they party every night for at least an hour after we put them to bed but for the most part they have been sleeping through the night. My Grandma's condo has been comfortable for us and is working out quite well.

Kevin has been doing a great job juggling my care with taking care of the boys. The boys haven't exactly made it easy on him either. He was able to take the boys to see the Princess and the Frog yesterday so that I could have some quiet time and the boys could get out of the house a bit. After nap today we'll try and get them out again. I literally look like Rocky Dennis from the movie Mask with Cher. But at this point, I'm so sick of sitting around that I really don't give a crap. I'm going out.

Relieved

It's official. I'm now the proud owner of a chin and my bottom teeth are visible and line up nicely with my top. I'm pretty numb right now, can't feel my lower lip, chin or lower teeth. Feeling came back in my tongue pretty quickly. My muscles feel like they are spasming which is quite uncomfortable, like a charlie horse in your jaw. Lots of pressure and swelling, but not quite as bad as I anticipated.

My surgery was scheduled for one o'clock. The case in front of me was running late so I didn't go in till about two. I was given a med to relax before they wheeled me into the OR and I have no recollection about what happened after that. I was knocked out before I even left pre-op. When I woke up I was wrapped tightly around my entire head. I had ice packs, a splint in my mouth and was rubber banded shut. It was quite miserable. I was given a morphine button to control my pain and was wheeled back to my room around 6.

My surgeon said everything went better than expected. Surgery was anticipated to be around 3-3.5 hours but only took 2. My dr. said my bone was nice and dense making the procedure easier. My mother spent the night with me and what a godsend she was. I couldn't speak at ALL. I had to write everything down on paper and I had a very hard coming out of the anesthesia. I was groggy till about 11 p.m. when I finally started to come out of it. Unfortunately this is always the case for me.

Had it not been for my mom I would've had a very hard time surviving the night. She was at my bedside all night, holding my hand, suctioning my mouth, adjusting my mask, calling for the nurse to change my ice and taking me to the bathroom. Her presence made what could have been a very dicey situation much more tolerable. There is nothing like having your mother take care of you when you are sick. I will be forever grateful for her selflessness last night.

My dr. came into to see me around 7 this morning. He unwrapped me and cut my rubber bands so he could remove my splint. This was a huge relief in pressure and I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually open my mouth a bit. I began to drink water and juice through a syringe which helped with my severely dry mouth.

I was released this afternoon and am now resting at home. I have more flexible rubber bands keeping me closed and no splint. So far I have managed to drink some pureed Panera broccoli cheese soup through a syringe and a cup of ovaltine. I can drink from a cup, but it is just a bit too uncomfortable at this point. All of my incisions are on the inside of my mouth and the cup puts just a bit too much pressure on my incisions.

A big thanks to Grandma Merris and Auntie Sara as well for holding down the fort and keeping the boys entertained. We appreciate all your help with this and with the move. The two of you and Grandpa Denny went above and beyond to help us get the job done!

Our last evening on Muirfield

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. I can without a doubt say that I saw my darkest days while living in this house. During that long two year struggle, there were times when I absolutely hated this house. It was empty of toys, laughter and the joys of a family. It was a constant reminder of what we were missing out on and what we thought we would never have. Eventually I kept the door to the intended nursery permanently closed.

Then thankfully the clouds parted and the brightest rays of sunshine entered my life and was blinding. Inside of the walls of this house my heart has been the fullest it ever has. The most beautiful moments of my life have happened here in this house. It is a bittersweet parting.

Update on the chaos

Here is the short of it:

We close on the house this Friday, we move Saturday and Sunday. My surgery is on Tuesday, I'll be home on Wednesday and then we all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

On the new home front, we signed a purchase agreement this past Saturday. We are in the process of getting the construction loan in place and a basement should be dug sometime in early January.

This is nuts.

Right around the corner

I love the way little Jakey is so standoffish with Santa. He just kinda mumbles and looks in the other direction. Anderson wasn't afraid to ask for the moon. You can tell he was a bit nervous though with all the wringing of his hands. They have asked to watch this video over and over and over.

A woman's right

to change her mind and make no apologies for it. I spent the better half of last night lying awake in bed feeling uneasy about the choice we made on the two houses we saw on Saturday. Like I mentioned in a previous post, we liked both of them. Both of them are great houses.

The house we chose Saturday was the more conservative house as far as size and money. It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles that the other house has. On the more practical side, the house we didn't choose has much larger upstairs bedrooms than the home we originally chose. I didn't think this was really an issue for me because after all I'm not living in the upstairs bedrooms :). The layout of the home both inside and out fits our style and our needs a bit more than the home we chose. So, after some serious consideration and comparisons we have decided that the above home will be our new residence....as of today.

Let's hope I'm not jinxing us

Here is a picture of the home we are building. This home was completed in late September of this year.

Another shot of it from across the street.

This is the home next to our lot, our new neighbors. Feels kinda stalkerish since they don't even know we exist yet.

Our lot on Nickelby.

So stay tuned for tomorrow when I sadly announce that our deal to sell this house fell through again. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Visit with Santa 2009

Jake at lunch

Anderson at lunch

We took the boys over to the Village of Rochester today for their pics with Santa. They happily climbed up onto his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas...Super Why. They love the Super Why television show on PBS and would like anything Super Why for Christmas. Luckily Santa and Grandma have bought everything Super Why that the stores carry. Afterwards we had a nice lunch with Grandma and Grandpa

.

Thanksgiving 2009 flew by. We hosted a brunch and then headed to Great Grandma Edgar's house for dinner. The boys enjoyed the day, particulary all of the balloons at G.G Edgars. On Friday we joined the McBride's at the Henry Ford Musuem for the Lego Castle Exhibit. It was crazy busy, but we managed to still have a good time. I think my favorite part of the field trip was the Bosco Sticks we had at the cafe. We left our stroller behind and the boys did a great job walking the whole time. Had to have been at least a mile, but they seemed unphased.

Today Kevin and I walked through the two different potential houses we are considering building. Due to the economy, the builder has no models of the different houses so he had to set up walk throughs of existing homes that people already live in. That's a little awkward to say the least. Thanks for letting us intrude....but really who is going to buy a home sight unseen?

It was really hard to pick a favorite, we were hoping to walk into one of them and say this is the one. We could have said that for both of them. Both homes were beautiful and had great layouts. Fortunately after talking about them, Kevin and I were on the same page. We were both slightly leaning towards the same house so decision made.

We will meet with the builder this week to discuss the details and draw up a purchase agreement. As far as our current home goes, everything went well with the inspection and now we are just waiting to hear back on the appraisal. No word on a closing date yet.

Let's try this again

We sold the house. Again. For the second time. On Wednesday we had three offers come in. None were that great, but we felt we could live with one of them. We were home when the family who purchased it came through. They had two small boys and I whispered to Kevin I thought the house would be perfect for them. One of their boys was around a year old so our nursery would be great for him and the boy's bathroom is boy friendly so that would totally work for them too.

We have the home inspection in about thirty minutes and the appraisal will happen on Monday. They are eager to get in, they sold their house in August and have been home hunting since so that makes me feel good that they liked what they saw. All parties are hoping the house will close by Dec. 11th. That way we can move out before my surgery. If it doesn't then it is more likely that we won't move out till after Christmas because I will be out of commission for a couple of weeks.

Kevin, the boys and myself spent the morning driving through neighborhoods and looking at used homes. Afterwards we stopped at the Pancake Pantry for a delicious brunch. I looked up all the info. on the homes we were interested in and unfortunately they were either out of our price range or we didn't like the pictures of the interiors. That's okay though because we really want to build anyways but felt that we should at least look at what was available in the used market. We are going to lay low for the next couple of weeks and make sure everything moves along with the sale of this home before we get ourselves in a happy tizzy again over the new build.

Happy Day

Watching the ducks below

Everlasting love

Jake has finally gotten over his fear of being on Daddy's shoulders.

Happy Day-Part Two

Jake was all smiles

We were desperately calling for them to look up so we could snap a shot.

After nearly three years I still can't believe these bubbies are mine! *pinch*

Anderson was giggling up a storm in the leaves.

Today was a beautiful day so we dressed the boys in their holiday gear and headed to Rochester Park for a photo shoot. While we were there, we found some huge piles of leaves so we let the boys have at it. They were happily burying themselves and jumping in and out of the piles.

We had a showing yesterday, today and one scheduled for tomorrow. We've been told a possible offer may be coming in sometime before Monday afternoon. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, this roller coaster sucks. A lot can happen between now and Monday afternoon and an offer doesn't really mean anything if it's not sincere.

My surgery date is official. My lower jaw will be sawed in half in two places, advanced forward and held together with plates and screws on December 15th. This is such a long time coming, I'm having difficulty putting into words how I feel. So many thoughts come to mind...realizing for the first time that I had buck teeth. I was in sixth grade and felt pretty good about myself until I found out my nickname was Tammy "no chin" Guitar. Being told by a distant family member "put your teeth back in your mouth" as a joke. Always fearing to really let loose and laugh aloud because I knew my teeth were sticking out. Suffering from ear and jaw pain because I spend half my day forcing my jaw into a position it's just not meant to be in. I'm just skimming the surface with these thoughts, if I really divulged here I'd fear judgement. As a friend on facebook said this week "your own mind can be the worst tormentor".

This sucks

Home sale is over just as fast as it began. I guess it was a really long dream that I was abruptly woken from this morning. We are left with more questions than answers but bottom line is the sale if off. Our dream home will have to wait for the moment and I must readjust my frame of mind.

It's funny how my bubbies can make everything seem miniscule. I wallowed in some self pity for a few minutes but then I quickly reminded myself of the real, true treasures in my life. As long as I've got my three men at my side I can live in a box. Not to say I'm not really p'off at these people for jerking us around or that I'm not mightly disapointed that I don't get some new "stuff". But at the end of the day, stuff is just that, stuff.

SOLD!

We sold our house on Thursday! Two offers came in on Wednesday night and on Thursday we met with our agent to work out a deal. I keep feeling like this is some sort of LONG dream that I haven't woken from. Everything happened so quickly! Yesterday was the home inspection and things went well. We have just one small issue to address but it shouldn't be a problem at all. The next hurdle is making sure the house appraises for it's selling price. The buyers actually offered us more than our asking price with some concessions. So even though we don't get more than our asking price (or our asking price for that matter) the house must still appraise for that amount.

Yesterday we met with Tuscany Builders to discuss floor plans, lots and the details of the home purchase. We also spent some time walking the new neighborhood and picking out a lot. We are still on the fence whether or not we are going to do a walk out basement or not, but if we decide to then we have a lot we really like. It is actually right on the border of the older phase of the neighborhood, so all of our backyard neighbors would already be established as well as the neighbor on our left. We won't have to deal with construction or dirt and the boys will be able to ride their bikes up and down the street safely without gaps in the sidewalk due to empty lots.

If we don't do a walkout basement then there are still 30-40 lots to choose from so at this point we are in good shape. Right now we are just trying to decide between two different floor plans and weighing the pros and cons of a walk out. Of course the only con is price. It is actually pretty reasonable, but when you factor in building up a deck or patio to accomodate a walk out, that is when the numbers start spiraling.

On Friday night we started taking things over to my Grandmother's condo. Today we have already made three trips with at least one more to go. It feels and looks like we haven't even put a dent in the work ahead of us.

Halloween 2009

Anderson as Mickey and Jake as Donald

Mickey and Donald had a great Halloween. We didn't get to do our big night at Greenfield Village due to the rain and Rochester was a bust but they still had a great time on Friday at Grant and Claire's school and yesterday trick or treating. I was impressed that they made it all the way around the block. They struggled to carry their increasingly heavy candy filled bags, but they refused any help. When we got home I popped some popcorn, threw in some m & m's and they sat in the foyer and watched the trick or treaters come to the door. We even let them have a sucker. I took their candy out of their bags and they didn't protest. I packed away some to take to school with me and left some out on the counter. They haven't even asked once if they could have some.

On the house front we had one showing yesterday and two scheduled for today. Yesterday's showing was during the boys naptime and they were so cranky and wound up by the time we put them down that they never really got any quality sleep. When they called about today's showings they asked to come during naptime again and I said no. New rule, no showings between 1-3. Probably not the best selling strategy, but self preservation for all in the family comes first.

Hurry up and wait

It's official. We had our first showing and we've been told they want to come back for a second showing. That was yesterday and no word yet so I'm feeling a little discouraged. Tomorrow we have a showing scheduled...during the boys nap. Of course.

The last house we sold took nearly six months to sell, so by then you can imagine how fed up one becomes of keeping the house spotless. We were told we had a showing and I decided I wasn't going to clean. As in not even make the bed and wet towels on the shower floor. That was the showing that led to the sale of our house. Go figure.

Today we carved pumpkins and took the boys to Grant and Claire's Halloween parties and parade at school. Claire's classroom is my old classroom. I taught my first two years in that classroom. It was strange to be in my old classroom where Claire is now educated daily with my own children by my side. I couldn't help but notice all the sh!t her teacher (male teacher I might add) had piled up in MY room. The place was a mess! The boys had a great time in school. Those hotshots helped themselves to treats, bingo, trinkets from Grant's classmates and even tried to get in on the parade.