Madelyn's Tummy

Madelyn had been having some tummy issues over the last year or so. She would complain once in a while about her belly hurting - at first I figured it was lactose intolerance like her daddy. I cut out all dairy for a week or more and it didn't help. It got even worse over the last few months to the point that she was vomitting and waking up from the pain. :( My poor baby. There's nothing worse than seeing your child in pain.

We had her procedure yesterday. It was an emotional rollercoaster.

Here she is answering questions for the doctor. I must say that the doctors, nurses, staff, etc at Cook Children's Hospital are AMAZING. They were so great with our princess.

They put a movie on for her, gave her a Princess book to read . . . Gave her bubbles to blow . . .
We decided to give her this oral medicine that would help her "forget" that they took her away from us. It was difficult watching the drugs set in. They took her back and the procedure consisted of them put a probe into her esophagus and stomach and taking pictures then they inserted a pH probe in through her nose and down her throat and esophagus into her stomach. This was taped to her cheek with this special tape so that it wouldn't move AT ALL. The probe was about the size of a large spaghetti noodle. When she woke up from the anesthesia - she didn't react well to it. At all. We were horrified. This was not our girl. She was screaming and crying - telling Tom and I she didn't love us. It took us and every nurse in the room to hold her down. The biggest risk was her pulling the probe out of her nose (or moving it at all) and she kept trying to do this. The nurse explained to me stearnly that if she pulled it out of her nose, they would need to re-insert it while she was awake and we didn't want that to happen. Her extreme meltdown lasted for about 30 minutes (which is a long time) but it felt like an eternity. It was horrendous. Tommy doesn't handle things like this very well, bless his heart. We had to send him out to the hallway so that we could settle Madelyn down.

After the major meltdown, we packed our poor little princess into the "hospital wagon" and wheeled her downstairs. . .

She looks so sad. :( Breaks my heart.

I let her do whatever she wanted. The pH probe in her esophagus was there to measure the pH levels in her tummy. It was connected to a computer. I had to push a button when she stood up, layed down, ate, complained, etc. We had to keep it in overnight to be removed at 7:00 am. It had to be in for at least 20 hours.

She played some wii . . .

Nana and Papa came over and gave her some sympathy gifts. A puzzle and a princess cupcake. She couldn't eat this but we saved it for today!

My sweet girl.

As much as I was not looking forward to going to the doctor for the procedure, I was even more stressed about the next morning. I (yes - me) had to pull the pH probe out of her nose (with special instructions) when she woke up. I carefully removed the tape and gave it one swift pull (standing behind her and pulling it forward). It was all done. I put it into a baggie as instructed and Tommy ran it back to the hospital for them to download the data. I had slept with Madelyn the entire night to make sure everything was ok. I hardly slept at all. My little baby.

She was so excited the next day to eat her cupcake from Nana and Papa! She got to enjoy it after school that day.

She's such a sweetheart - she shared it with her brother.

BJ are so sweet - they sent a Sleeping Beauty Princess Cookie Boquet. So very thoughtful - thank you BJ for always thinking of my babies.

Madelyn was so excited and again shared with her brother.

I pray all is well and we NEVER have to do this again.

OG

Great Grandma Zieminski (momzee) got all of us (Zieminskis) gift cards to the Olive Garden for Christmas. We were all finally able to get together to use them in March! The kids were so very well behaved through the entire dinner!

Mads and I before dinner. . .

The whole clan at dinner . . .

Tom, Mari and I. :)

All the cousins (Posts, Whisenants, Oleys)

Thanks, Momzee, for the great gift cards! We LOVED our dinner and were so glad that we were able to use them all together.

Wii Have Arrived

We finally joined the rest of the 21st century by getting a Wii. It was "my" early birthday present. :) We were very surprised to find that Sams Club had the Wii system and Best Buy had Rock Band. Mimi and Dziadek were in town and BJ (Brian and Jessica) came over.

Marek climbing on his best buddy, Uncle Brian.

Jessica with Alamo (Alameaux) and Marek.

The kids warming up Rock Band for us.

Dziadek and Marek cooking dinner. . .

Donna's Sprinkle

Susan and I hosted a "Sprinkle" for little Donn-A. She was schedule to deliver baby #2 on St. Patrick's Day so we thought that would be a perfect theme. :)

All the girls . . .

She doesn't look too thrilled about the hangers. . .
Apparently it was the candy she wanted!
Keeping her feet up! She was contracting through the entire shower. :)

We can't wait to meet the new baby Arnold!

Rough Creek Lodge

We took a quick family vacation (my Christmas gift) to Rough Creek Lodge which is in Glen Rose, TX. It was beautiful and peaceful - exactly what I needed and wanted.

The day we arrived, our room wasn't quite ready for check in so we had a picnic out by the pools and let the kids play.

The room was still not ready so we decided to take the kids to Fossil Rim which was about 5-10 minutes away. Madelyn had been when she was about 18 mo - 2 years old and it was Marek's first time. It is quite an experience and I recommend it to everyone. The weather was perfect for riding through the park with the windows down.

One bag of food allowed per car and it's plenty. We wanted to make sure we saved enough for the giraffes which are at the end. . .

The animals are not shy or at all modest. They will stick their big 'ol heads right into your car window to get some food!

At one point Marek was a little overwhelmed by all the animals and their aggressiveness so he hid under daddy's seat!

Hello, Mr. Zebra!

Marek directing daddy on where to go . . .

BLUE 32! BLUE 32! HUT HUT!!

There was a children's petting zoo about half way through the park. We got out to stretch our legs and check out the animals. Madelyn is so much like me. She was so worried about stepping in animal poop! Here she is treading lightly and checking her feet after every step . . .

We finally made it to the giraffes! They are so beautiful, tall, and graceful. They walk right up to your car and bring their large heads down with their looooong necks and gently take the food from your hand. This made Marek a little nervous . . .

Look how enormous their heads are! I think this was a toddler giraffe, too. They're so huge!

Mean, mean, mean. KEEP YOUR WINDOWS UP when you see the Ostriches. They will pluck your finger off!! I'm very serious. They look so prehistoric and pissed.

Fossil Rim was a huge success.

Two sleepers.

After their brief car snoozes, we got our precious babies all dressed and ready for dinner.

Our attempt at a family photo. It was hard enough to get the kids to sit for 10 seconds so we decided not to snap another. :)

After dinner they serve a plate of marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate, and sticks for the kids! That's right - s'more time! There was a burn ban in that county so we weren't able to use the large fire pit but these small ones were perfect.

Madelyn taking her first bite!

Marek didn't want to wait for the roasting, the graham and chocolate. He dug right into that warm marshmallow!

They were so good.

This was the sad, pathetic face I got when I told her no more s'mores. It's so hard to say "no" to them!

She was just fine seconds later. :)

The next morning - Madelyn sipping her tea. She's such a little lady. I love my girl.

We caught a TON of fish. We brought our own poles but they have poles, bait, instructions, etc. It was so fun!

There was so much for the kids to do there. They found these bikes and just hopped on and started riding.

Jumping on the trampoline . . .

There was also a zip line but it wasn't really up and running any of the times we were out there. No skin off my back - I was relaxing!

Daddy and the kids took a dip in the hot tub while I hit the treadmill just next door.

On Friday, we drove around the property and looked at some of the cabins. They had this cute little playground and kids play cottage so we stopped for a bit to let the kids play before heading home.

What a great Christmas present. Originally, Mari was going to come with us Wed - Fri and take the kids home while Tom and I stayed through the weekend. When we thought we were buying the house, we canceled our weekend. It was just fine with me - it was nice to still have the entire weekend to rest and play with my babies.

Thanks, daddy, for my wonderful Christmas present.

Sharing

We had cake left over from Valentine's day. Daddy was eating the last piece and he was bombarded with sticky faces and spoons. He shouldn't make it look so good. :)

Daddy doesn't look too happy about sharing here . . .

Try as you may - they'll find a way to reach it . . .

They always win.

See, looking at his sweet face enjoying every last lick of the spoon is so worth it.

Potty Training Round 1

So we've tried to get Marek accustomed to wearing big boy pants so that it makes him feel big and grown up. Maybe that will get him to start going pee pee on the potty. :)

He looks so darn cute in them!!