What little boys do when their parents aren't watching

We walked out to the garage and saw the garden hoe standing on Brandon's car. It took us quite by surprise. On a more thorough examination, we found that they had put a big, round magnet on Brandon's hood, then stood the hoe on top of that. They're clever!! And silly!!!

And one of Scott, just because. This is his spy outfit! There are other outfits that have not been posted, as of yet, to protect the innocent - him!!

Scott's surgery - this one really was a surgery

On Wednesday, we had Scott's surgery. We were expecting to be there fairly early, but the hospital surprised us with a call saying that his check-in time was 12:30. So, we went down that morning after breakfast (luckily he was able to eat crackers and dry toast until 8:00 a.m. and clear liquids until 11:00 a.m.) We met my parents for a quick hello, and a hug and kiss for Scott, then we headed up to Primary Children's.

We got checked in, the nurse looked him over, took his stat's, etc. and then they sent us over to what they call the toy room. It's a room for kids where they can play the Nintendo, watch a movie, color, draw, play with toys that are there, all while waiting for their turn for surgery. We got in there at 1:30, then told that we would be waiting until about 3:00!! Yikes.

To this point, Brandon & I hadn't had any lunch yet, so we took turns going out in the hallway and eating our lunch. (You can't have food in any of these rooms - kind of mean to the kids, don't you think, to have food in front of them when they can't eat??). So, we ate, went on a little walk to the sky walk that connects the U of U Medical Center to Primary Children's, and they called us back to get Scott's Versed. Versed is a drug that they will commonly give to kids before surgery. It's helps to relax them and calm them down, and also works as a kind of form of amnesia. As a result, they can't walk on their own because their muscles don't really work. So, they get towed around in a Red Flyer wagon. One of Scott's favorite parts of his hospital trips - the red wagon.

Anyway, they came and got him at 3:00, and took him to his room. My cousin, Jeff Darcy, is an OR nurse up there, and he slipped in to check on Scott for us. He came back and said that Scott was doing just great. They finished in about an hour, with all good news! The Dr. was able to take the little section of bone out that was fused together, hopefully releasing it so that his left side of his middle finger on his right hand (did you get that?) will start to grow. He also made an incision on his right arm and took out a fat pad. He put the fat pad where he had taken the bone out. He's trying to "trick" the bone into not fusing back together.

And, as a side note, can I just say how much we love Scott's hand doctor?? He's awesome. Sometimes he's hurried, but even still, we feel that he takes the time to answer any questions we have. He's honest with us, oftentimes saying, "Will that work?? I really don't know. But, personally, I think it's worth a try." Did I mention that he's also my hand doctor? I've had issues with both of my wrists, even having therapy on my left wrist at the same time Scott was having therapy on his hand right after his accident. But, most frequently, it's my right wrist that really bothers me. After he got done with Scott's surgery on Wednesday and came in to see us, he noticed that I had a splint on my arm. He asked what was wrong, and then even took a few minutes to talk to me about options we might could follow regarding the care of my arm. He had other patients to attend to, but we were his main focus right then. We love him!

Anyway, back to Scott. He woke up just fine, although a bit grumpy. The nice thing, though, is they have TV's above every bed in the kids recovery room, as well as the post-op room. They wheeled him in and we found Curious George on his TV. They discharged us about an hour later. He managed to hold down a slurpee, as well as a few crackers, all the way home. Once home, though, he threw everything up. Poor kid was still trying to get the anesthesia out of his system. He eventually was able to eat that night, and was his normal, happy self the next day.

He has the coban on his hand right now, binding his third and fourth fingers together. (Coban is that lovely colored stuff they put on top of your cast. It's really cool - it sticks to itself, but it is not sticky! I love this stuff!!) He was expecting to wake up with a full cast on, (pink, no less - he LOVES pink!!) and was SO disappointed to realize he didn't have one on. They sent us home with some coban so that we can re-wrap his hand as needed, and they gave us some blue. Brandon, though, good father that he is, asked them for pink. They gave us some and Scott latched onto it as though his life depended on it!!

On Tuesday, we'll go back to the hospital, where they'll take the coban off, and give us some buddy tape. It's basically velcro straps that will wrap around his 3rd and 4th finger, holding them together. That way, if his hand gets bumped, it's less likely for his finger to break. He'll have to wear that for another month, except for showers and swim lessons.

Now, I crashed that night. We didn't get to bed until about 11:30, but I was OUT!!! I slept in until 9:30, only waking up once in the middle of the night for a drink of water. I've been stressed with these hospital visits. Not that they're big, bad surgeries, or anything. It's just the worry that something might go wrong, having to be the constant nurse for a couple of days after, and with these ones back to back, having my house fall apart. Needless to say, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned on Thursday. My way of working off the stress of the week. And, it worked! My house was beautiful - for about 3 hours. Then, of course, little boys get toys out, laundry needs to be folded, dinner made . . .

Anyone wanna come help me vacuum????

Scott playing before our check-in

Scott in his surgery jammies - he's tough!!

"Mmm - this Versed is great!!"

Me holding Scottie before they took him away

(that's the hardest part - watching them walk away with my baby!!)

Scott in post-op clutching his pink coban

Brandon's surgery . . . ok, ok, it was a "procedure"

So, this week's been very busy with us being in the hospital. Brandon got his 7 mm kidney stone blasted on Monday here in Logan. We checked in at 11:30, and they finally came to get him at 1:00 for the procedure. He was gone for about an hour, and when he got back, man was he out of it! He asked me a couple of times, "What time is it." Now, this would be normal, except he asked me once, then again about 1 minute later. He also asked, more than once, how long the surgery was. He finally came out of it enough to ask if there were any marks on his back. I looked, and to my surprise there was a circle of red marks - almost rash-like - and one red mark right in the center. I assume they blasted right on the stone first, and then rotated around that spot to several different ones.

They discharged him from the hospital at 4:00, and we went to get his Lortab - good stuff for him, BAD stuff for me - I get bad headaches when I use that stuff. Anyway, he got home and sick nauseous the rest of the evening. Around 9:00 he finally started to feel better, so he ate some dinner before bed. The next day, he stayed downstairs watching TV a good part of the day, and B & I went shopping. Since then, he has passed several little stones (not painfully, though), so it looks like it worked. He'll have a follow-up appt. with his Dr. in a couple of weeks where they'll do more X-rays to make sure the big one is all gone! Then, he just has to work on getting rid of the rest of them.

Also, as for the title - I kept saying surgery (to me, it is. He's knocked out, and they're doing something to his body to get rid of kidney stones.) He says that technically, surgery means to have an incision. And, he's usually right about these things, so I guess he knows what he's talking about. It's a procedure. Although, to my credit, some of the nurses there did call it a surgery! Ha! I've been vindicated!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha!! Ok, ok . . .

Brandon before his procedure

Brandon, after his procedure - he was LOOPY!!

Remember Me??? Let me know!!

Okay, here's the deal:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.
It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

American Idol???

So, since American Idol is coming to Salt Lake in a couple of weeks, I've really been contemplating going to audition. It would be a great opportunity, I think, and really interesting, of course. And, I hate the thought of having this regret hanging over me later if I don't try out.

After talking with Brandon & my in-laws, though, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I don't want to do it. If, by chance, I made it through to Hollywood, endured Hollywood week, made it into the top 24, and then made the top ten, I'd be gone from my family for a LONG time. (I'm assuming they wouldn't let my hubby and boys move into the AI mansion for that time.) Plus, if I *hypothetically* made it to the top ten, I'd have to go on tour for another few months, extending my stay of absence that much longer. And, (again, hypothetically speaking), if I won, I REALLY don't want all the fame, and publicity that seems to come with these people.

We're also assuming that they're looking for people that are willing to be gone that long, and will commit to the tour if they make the top ten. I would not want to commit to that. Plus, standing in a line all day with 10,000+ people, and not even being certain that I'd get an audition in front of the producers, let alone the judges, doesn't really appeal to me. At all!!

After thinking long and hard, and doing some soul-searching, my real dream is to break into the LDS music industry. I'd LOVE to sing for seminary videos, or make my own CD's of church/LDS/inspirational music. The problem? I don't know how to break into that industry. Every week, I receive an email from Deseret Book with the community's latest goings-on. Once a year in that mailing, there is a post about a class at the Y about breaking into the industry. There's a fee for the class, and the first year I read about it, financially, it just wasn't possible. The next year, we probably could have worked it out, but again finances were not the greatest, so I didn't pursue it. The following year, the class was on my due date with Gavin, and I ended up having him that day. (Good thing I didn't attend that class, huh?)

The point of this whole rambling post is this: My dream is to sing and be an inspiration for young and old alike. LDS and non-LDS. Anybody that I can touch with my music and message about the Savior. I've had few dreams in my life, two of which involve animals - having my own kittens to love and take care of, and having horses. I don't think the latter will ever come to pass, but the first has. (Of course, I've had the dream that every girl has had - marriage to a great guy, kids, a house . . .) My last dream is this music. So, if anybody knows of how they can help me fulfill this dream, I'm all ears. Really. I feel like now is the time to do this, and pursue this and make it happen, but where to start???

Yellowstone Slide show

Going back in time . . . Scott's accident (kind of long)

So, my friend Audri Jo, pointed out that not everybody knows about Scotts accident. So, here's a quickie. Brandon went off to scout camp for a week and he was three hours away. I had been suffering from a BAD cold, and on this particular day, Friday, June 20, 2003, I was actually feeling a little better - at least enough to do a load or two of laundry, and a general clean-up of the house.

So, I was switching laundry around, when I heard Scott scream. (When this happened, he was just over two years old, and Braden was 14 months old) He'd been kind of ornery all day, so at first, I thought it was just another "Braden took my toy." But, he kept screaming, and after about five seconds, I decided to go check it out. I looked out on our patio, to see sparks flying, and him attached to the electrical outlet through two keys.

I ran out, debated for about a millisecond what I should do, and then I grabbed him and literally chucked him through the patio door. B was crawling towards the keys, so I threw him through the door and then shut and locked it. I ran and dialed 911, and was just hysterical. The skin on his right hand was literally melted, and he was sobbing. I kept running through the apartment, and avoiding Scott because I was trying to hear the operator over his (and my) crying. She finally told me to pick up Scott and to have both of us calm down.

Within minutes, the EMT's, a couple of police officers, and the fire department were at our door. The EMT's came in, took one look at him, scooped him up off my lap, and ran out the door. They told me to call a sitter for B as quick as I could, because they needed to get him to the hospital. They went out and started monitoring his heart to make sure there had been no electricity going through his heart.

I called a neighbor next door who watched B for me, I grabbed Scott's tiger & blanket, my purse, and I ran. The fire department turned off the power, and took out the keys. We were rushed up to Primary Children's Medical Center, where they did x-rays, and more heart monitoring. A doctor from the U of U Medical Center rushed over, took one look at his hand and said that he had to get Scott into surgery immediately. We were in the x-ray room, and pushed me into a wheelchair with Scott, and ran. He sent a nurse back to the room for my purse, and booked it over to the surgery prep. room.

By this time, Scott's finger was purple because of the lack of circulation. The Dr. managed to cut off the burned skin, re-open and save his blood vessels in his pointer finger, and keep his finger. He later told us that he had seen people with less damage lose their fingers, but he felt guided during the surgery and was able to save his finger.

So, after talking to the Dr. and explaining what had happened, we determined that he stuck one key in one slot of the electrical outlet (now this is an outside patio one with the cover), then stuck the other key in the other slot. His finger was stuck between them, and as the current went through one key, it hit his finger, went through that finger, then back out the other key. If it had gone through his arm and up into his heart, it's very likely that he would have died.

He stayed in the hospital for three days, and during that time, B stayed with my MIL for a day, then my mom and my sister for a week. During that time, he learned how to walk - something I missed! :(

So, that's the basic story. I was alone for 3 hours after we got to the hospital - all through Scott's surgery and him waking up. I was terrified the entire time, but we made it through. To date, he's had 5 surgeries - the first initial surgery to get circulation going through his finger, a skin graft from a cadaver to cover the burns, a second skin graft from his own body when the cadaver graft didn't work, then a surgery to just close the burn when his graft didn't work. The last one was two years ago, and it was to clean up some of the scar tissue to give his finger more movement. The only one that has successfully worked was the first one.

He's also had numerous visits to doctors, and to physical therapy - sometimes as many as three times a week. That was hard, too. To leave B with a sitter, watching him just sob his little heart out as I left him, and then to watch Scott cry, "It hurts, it hurts. Please stop." I'm sure we'll have follow-up after this surgery on the 16th, but it won't be so traumatic as the others. Also, down the road, we'll have to fix his pointer finger which hasn't grown at all.

I do have pictures of his burned hand right before the doctor cleaned it up, as well as through various times throughout this ordeal. They're kind of gross, but if I get enough people that want to see them, I'll post them. Every time I see them, I get sick to my stomach just remembering the whole thing. Scott's doing so well, though, and doesn't ever complain. He points with his middle finger - which B used to get mad at him about :D but is doing just fine.

And, thanks again to all of those that have helped us through these past five years. It's been so nice having the love and support of all of our family and friends. We love you all!

Update on my hospital boys

So, Brandon went to the doctor for a follow-up for his kidney stones, and the doctor found a 7mm one in his kidney. Now, 7mm sounds tiny, but after going through this experience, and hearing from various family members and friends, 7mm is actually HUGE!! So, he's going into the hospital on the 14th of July for it to be blasted. He's also got several other 2 - 3 mm ones in his kidneys. They will be monitored, and if they stay small, he'll probably just pass them on his own.

Now, for Scott, he's going in for his 6th surgery (yes, 6th) on the 16th of July. His middle finger is growing crooked because the left part of the bone (where it connects to the hand) was fused together by the electricity running through his finger. Because of that, the left side of his middle finger isn't growing at all. So, the Dr. is going to go in, cut out that little portion of bone, and hopefully release it so that it will start to grow. His pointer finger has not grown at all since his accident, but that will be addressed further down the road as the rest of his body grows! (Just for a comparison - Gavin's pointer finger is now bigger than Scott's! Wow!)

I'll update and post pic's of my boys once they're out of surgery. I'm sure we'll have several follow-up appointments for both of them - makes me really glad Brandon has the whole summer off!

Lady & Sly

So, after our horrible situation with the other kittens, we decided to get some new ones. (For those that don't know - one of them was accidentally run over in the garage, and a few days later, the lady who we adopted them from, lied to us about coming to give the other kitten her shots, and ended up taking her away from us. After much deliberation, we decided not to press charges because of the unfairness to the boys, and the cost.) A lady that Brandon works with has a brother whose cat had kittens not too long ago, and they agreed we could have two of them.

So, a week ago, we brought them home. We've named them Lady & Sly. Lady is the gray one, and Sly is the black one. Brandon built them a house, and the boys helped us paint it. I'm going to stencil their names on the front of the house for them. They're very happy living outside, although they do spend a lot of time inside with us, too. We're thoroughly enjoying them, although every time we can't find them, I freak out. We don't have collars on them yet - odd, isn't it, that every pet organization stresses that they need collars and identification, yet you can't find collars that will fit kittens??? Anyway, they're doing well, and are well loved! Enjoy the pictures!

Sly (black) & Lady (gray)

Sly

Lady sleeping - she loves our bed, by the way

Gavin loving the kitties

Now, I said that I'd post a picture of Gavin and his new puppy Jackson - we got him on our Yellowstone trip for Gavin's birthday, and he just loves him to death. He sleeps with him every night, and always says, "I lub Jackson. Jackson bery, bery nice!" So, here's Gavin with his b-day presents.

And, a just because picture. Here's Gavin in his apron (he helped me make dinner), his puppy backpack that we used to clip him to us during our Lagoon trip, and my sandals! He's goofy!

Also, I'm still trying to figure out how to attach a slide show of our Yellowstone pictures, so if anyone can help me out, please do! :)

Our Lagoon trip

On Tuesday of last week, the entire Shaffer family went to Lagoon, courtesy of my in-laws. We had a lot of fun! Scott & Braden both went on the Wild Mouse with Brandon & I (I HATE that ride!), and when they got off, they both declared, "Wow! I about died on that ride!" (My feelings exactly!) Scott also got brave and did the Spider and the Fly with Brandon & me (my favorite adult ride), and screamed the entire time. He got off and said that he'd never do that again. The next day, he decided, "If I ever go back to Lagoon again, I might do the Spider." It was funny.

We took the kids on all of the kids ride, and my favorite family ride was the the OdySea. It has fish-shaped "booths" (for want of a better word) that can seat two. In it, it has a joystick that you can pull up or down while the ride is in progress. If you pull up, you go up, if you push down, you go down. Around the circle, they have dolphins and sharks that spit water, so you can get wet. B had a fun time making us go up and down and trying to get me wet. We both ended up quite wet, which was nice because of the really HOT weather!

Dustyn took the two oldest boys, as well as his boys, on the Ferris Wheel, while Brandon & I rode the Samurai. I was so scared watching them go around - I'm terrified of heights where I have no control. I'm okay getting on our rooftop, or flying in an airplane, but otherwise . . . So, I was scared and kept burying my head in Brandon's shoulder hoping that they wouldn't stand up and fall out of the gondola! They arrived back on earth just fine, and then proceeded to go up again! Yikes!

Anyway, we had a fun time, and stayed until about 11:00 that night. Gavin even took a nap for us! Yeah! I'll put some pictures up for your enojoyment.

Gavin enjoying his ride in the airplane

Scott & Braden on the kids roller coaster

(they're in orange towards the back)

Braden, Brandon & Scott getting ready to be blasted in the air

Coming back down - B was freaked out!

Scott & Renee falling back down - Scott absolutely loved this ride!!

The Shaffer clan

The entire Shaffer family

So, last week, Dustyn & Linda and the family (one of Brandon's three brothers) came up from St. George for a week-long visit. We went swimming at the Aqautic Center with them, went to Lagoon with the whole family (thanks again, LaRean!!), and of course, we had to get family pictures! We think they turned out pretty well! Enjoy them!

Brandon & Renee

Brandon Shaffer family

Grandma & Grandpa Shaffer with the grandkids