Some changes.....

I can now join the amount of people that post, "Sorry I haven't updated in awhile!"  We've been quite busy at the Swaney house lately!  We share a garden with great friends of ours, and currently, I am seeing green beans in my sleep!  Seriously though, looking at the amount of canned green beans we have makes me very thankful!!! 

The kids are doing well and enjoying their summer.  Boredom is not something they are complaining about!  It's hard to believe that school starts in just about a month!  It is also hard to believe that this little beauty is going to be in 2nd grade!! 

 

I am quite ready for school, and schedules to be a part of our lives again.  Not because the kids fight and drive me nuts all day....well OK...maybe a teensy tiny bit of me is ready for this reason.  The main reason is summer has been TOO busy for me!!  I know I will regret it, but I told Anthony this morning that I am almost wanting winter just so things will slow down!!  We have had quite the fun summer though!!  We had a small (spontaneous) get together on the 4th of July, and enjoyed the Rodeo parade last night, and our first ever Rodeo tonight. It was a lot of fun and the kids, Anthony, & I all loved it! We plan to make Rodeo week a tradition for our family!

Our whole family is now wanting a horse!!!  One of these days, we hope to make this possible!!  The first step in buying this (or another) house and having the property to keep one on is done. We sold our house in Danville earlier this month!  It is such a great feeling of relief to not have to worry about it anymore! It took almost a year, but that big pain in the butt is finally over!  We would love to purchase the house we are currently in, but it will be awhile for us to save for a down payment and all that good stuff.  It is just something we want to do at this point....not even sure if our landlord would be willing to sell it.

Cody had his 6 week post op appointment with the eye doctor last week.  The doctor was very pleased.  He told us, "The surgery worked, and his eyes are strait as an arrow!"  Very happy to know that more surgery is not in Cody Bear's future!

And of course, I don't want to leave Hannah Bean out of my post!  She's growing up so fast.  We're working on potty training, and for just really starting out (again) she's doing great!  She's wearing big girl panties during the day now, and not having many accidents.  She would have probably been trained by now, if I had not gotten lazy when she first started showing interest!  She's also starting to talk a lot more!  I love this age!  She does however, have quite the attitude. The terrible twos, as with my other kids came early and have hit the peak!  At least I hope it is the peak!  I can not believe my baby girl will be 2 years old in less than a month!

On to the big changes that are getting ready to take place!  First and most excitedly my Mom is moving here!!  She got her an adorable little house in Lenox.  One block from my church!  She, along with BOTH my sisters and two of my nephews are coming to visit in two weeks to personally tour the house.  She already has the house, and will be moving in October 1st.  However, she has only seen it through my pictures...but she trusts me, and this place is just perfect for her! 

I have other news I could add in this section, but will omit it at the moment.....I may have more family close to me soon...I'll just leave it at that for now! ;)

And lastly, something that I shouldn't even post about yet!  It is possible that I may start working part time soon.  I am very excited and hopeful!  I haven't been looking for a job, but there was a posting at the post office last week that just caught my eye! I asked them about it, and it is only 2 hours/day and perfect for me! I would still be able to spend most of my time with my babies, yet have a little bit of adult time, and help contribute to our family! I went to Des Moines yesterday to take the testing on it, and passed, so I'm just praying now!  I will definitely be updating if anything comes of it!!

Well, that's all for now from me! Hope you all are enjoying summer and making memories! God bless!

His middle name is not Bear

My Cody Bear.  He's 3 1/2 years old, he's a blond haired, blue eyed, short little guy.  His middle name is Dale, after my Dad whom we lost to cancer 3 years ago.  It is a great honor to have my Dad's memory live through his name. 

 

Cody is the middle child in our family. Some people see this as a curse, but I think he's lucky.  He gets to experience having an older sister and a younger sister.  One thing I would change for him, is giving him a younger brother (NOT going to happen) but still...in a perfect world....

He is a little sweet heart, and he is a little hyper, and he is a little clingy, and he is a little stubborn.   I wouldn't change any of it.  These characteristics are what make Cody Dale Swaney my Cody Bear.   He loves tractors, and he likes cars trucks, trains, planes, and semis.  He is interested in anything with wheels. He loves Mickey Mouse and Cailliou.  As with all my children, he is a water baby. 

Cody adores both his sisters.   He really looks up to Gracie and wants to be just like her.  And they play so good together, most of the time.  They really are best friends!

He cares so much for Hannah, and though, as a brother, he fights with her, takes her toys away, and can just be plain mean, deep down he really loves her.   He is always yelling at me if I make her cry. I love seeing how protective of her he is, even at this age.

My Baby Bear has had a big week recently.  He had his first (and hopefully only) surgery.  Cody has/had accomodative Estoropia in both of his eyes.  The muscles in both his eyes were over active and when he would focus on something, the eye he was using most would cross (or roll up).  The Optometrist had to go in and realign the muscles.  The first picture in this post is the day of his surgery, before they took him back.  We were at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, NE.  Our wonderful Pastor and her husband drove 2 hours just to sit with us!  This place was wonderful. The nurses really cared for my baby boy.  They brought him bubbles to blow while we were waiting.

As they did with Gracie when she had her tonsillectomy, they gave Cody the medicine that relaxes him before they took him back.  He was hilarious.  It really seemed like he was drunk.  He got a little dizzy at first, and wasn't talking, just shaking his head in a goofy way when you talked to him.  Then, all of a sudden he started saying, "This is my VOICE!" over and over again!  It wore off after about 10 minutes, not completely, but enough so that he was just a happy kid.  They took him back, with no issues, and he was only gone about half an hour.  The doctor came in first to tell us all went well, and gave us the instructions for care at home. (This was an out patient surgery).  Cody stayed in recovery for about 30 more minutes.  The anesthesiologist came in and let us know they had to give him an albuterol treatment because Cody was coughing quite a bit after he woke up.  They brought Cody back to us shortly after.

He was hyperventilating a little from crying so hard when they first got to our room, but as soon as he was in my arms, he was sleeping peacefully again. 

He woke up after about 45 minutes and wanted to try a drink and a few crackers, and they let us go home.  The anesthesia gave him such an upset tummy that caught up to him as we were walking out of the hospital.  Mickey Mouse had to have his first washing machine bath. (And thankfully, he survived!)  

We had a follow up appointment in Omaha with his Optometrist, so we stayed that night in a hotel. Cody's tummy was bothering him quite a bit.  When we were finally settled in, he went back to sleep for about 4 hours and woke up being the same old Cody Bear he was when we left that morning!  He's been doing great with his eye drops, and not complaining of pain much at all!  The following picture is 5 days post op.  The redness in his eyes will eventually fade, and we have his 6 week post op appointment on July 15th.

Cody Bear was such a brave, strong little guy. I am really proud of him!  Not only for his surgery and how well he handled it, but for how caring and loving he is with his sisters and his whole family.  He gives our family an energy that completes us.  I love my little man unconditionally, and I feel extremely blessed that God chose me to be his Mommy!

Coughs and Sniffles...and More Medical Stuff

These are the sounds of the Swaney household the past few days.  Cody was the first unfortunate one of us to come down with it.  It started last week with a little bit of a raspy voice, and I believe it is coming to an end for him now.  However, the end did not come before a horrible cough, terribly runny and stuffy nose, fevers of 102*-103*, wheezing, a trip to the ER on Sunday with a diagnosis of a "common cold", and a trip to the Dr. with a final diagnosis of pneumonia yesterday. Fortunately for Cody Bear, he is recovering from this on his own, with  no worries. 

Miss Hannah has not fared so well with this sickness.   Hannah Bean came down with it on Saturday and every day through Monday she had ran a fever of 104*.  We had to do chest X-rays yesterday at the Dr.'s office.  That was sooo not a fun experience for any of us.  They put her in this little contraption where her legs were dangling in two holes in a wooden platform.  Her little arms were pinned above her head with two plastic walls that enclosed her entire body.  To make matters worse, that little board thing that is used in all X-rays (the film, maybe?) was pushed up against her little face.  She screamed and screamed.  It just broke my heart.  I know all of this was needed to ensure an accurate picture, but you be the Mother that is forced to just sit and watch your baby trapped in a contraption like this.  It was so sad.  Fortunately, it did not last too awful long, and she calmed down as soon as she was back in my arms.  Her X-rays did in fact indicate pneumonia as well.  The Dr. put her on Azythromycin and Amoxicillin.  She woke up this morning with a fever again, however it was no where near the high temps that they had been running. I gave her some Motrin and the fever has been gone all day!  Her nose and cough are still present, as are Cody's but I do believe my babies are on the road to recovery!  I on the other hand, have been blessed enough for them to share their symptoms with me!

It is obviously a great thing for the kiddos to be feeling better, but especially for Cody right now.  We had an appointment with a Pediatric Opthamologist in Omaha last week.  He was diagnosed with Acommodative Esotropia in both of his eyes.  Acommodative Esotropia is a condition of the eyes in which while one eye focuses on the object viewed the other eye turns inward.  So if Cody is focusing on something with his right eye, his left eye crosses in, and turns upward.  The same goes for his right eye while he is focusing with his left.  He needs strabismus surgery to correct this, and it is scheduled for June 2nd at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha.  Cody has to be fever free for 7 days before the surgery. Today is day 1, so we're on the right track.  Our physician gave us the OK for his general physical pending fever already.  The surgery will be outpatient with general anesthesia, but we will be staying in a hotel because Cody will have a follow up appointment with the Pediatric Opthamologist the following morning.  My best friend will be keeping the girls for us, and our vet will have Bella.  I asked the opthamologist to compare this surgery with a tonsillectomy since we have been through that with Gracie. He told me that this should be easier.  They will be making an incision in the thin layer that covers the whites of his eyes, and realigning the muscles in both his eyes with stitches.  As far as pain levels go, the only medications needed should be regular Children's Tylenol.  His eyes may be bothersome after the surgery, and may have a feeling of a foreign object in his eyes for a few days because of the stitches. I believe this will be one of the hardest parts of this. We are not allowed to let him rub his eyes, so it's going to be trying to help keep him calm and leave them alone. His vision may be blurred for a bit after the surgery as well.  It will not effect his vision permanantly, and being far sighted with an astigmatism, Cody will still need his glasses afterwards.

While at their appointments yesterday we got the kiddos stats of Cody Bear weighing in at 29 lb and 36" tall.  Miss Hannah is 23 lb.  We didn't get height on her yesterday. 

So, with all that said, please keep my kiddos in your prayers.  Pray for Miss Gracie too. I'd hate for this darned illness to be passed to her too.

Track & Field....and Growing up

Today was Track & Field day at Gracie's school.  The littles (that is what I frequently call Cody and Hannah) and I joined Gracie and her class this morning for a day full of fun!  The first activity was tug of war.  I have never experienced tug of war, myself.  I wish I was a kid again so I could! It looked like so much fun!

Their 2nd event was the 100 M dash.  The kids didn't really understand that they had to stay in their lane of the track.  I believe Gracie and the little girl running next to her traded lanes 3 times in their trip down.  After that, the kids did the long jump.  This was a little funny, as Gracie forgot to jump the first time.  Maybe not forgot, but didn't know that was how she was supposed to do it.  She did good the 2nd time around!

Cody was able to partake in some of the action as well!  He ran the 50 M dash with Gracie.  And he ran it well, right along side Sissy!  I just love how he uses his tongue to show his determination.   He gets that from his Papa Lamb!  He also participated in the softball throw.

Gracie really had a blast!  This was pretty much the last school event for the first grade for her!  And it makes me sad.  We still have awards day to look forward to on Thursday, but as of 1:00 pm that day, first grade will be over.  It's so bittersweet to be a parent. I am beyond proud of all of my kids' accomplishments. I'm proud of them just for being good kids!  They don't have to do anything special to make me happy.  They just have to be themselves. 

I am a pretty sentimental person, especially when it comes to my kiddos.  Saying goodbye to first grade, and saying goodbye to Gracie's most awesome teacher is harder than it should be for me.  I wish she could stay this age forever.  Though, I do know this fall, as she starts school as a 2nd grader, (A 2nd grader?!?! That sounds so OLD!)  I will have just as much to be proud of and look forward to as I did this year.  I just wish we could do it all without them growing up on us!

Lions, and tigers, and RAIN! Oh My!

My Gracie is currently at Henry Doorly Zoo on her first grade field trip!  The forecast has been calling for rain all day, and I'm  hoping they can enjoy this trip without a drop!  She was very excited about this trip, and woke up a whole half an hour early this morning, just bouncing off the walls waiting to leave.  Anthony had to work, so I wasn't able to go along.  I really wish I could have.  I do know she's having a blast though.  My friend went with her daughter and has Gracie in her group, so I'm getting regular updates to how it's going!  The picture below is from this morning on the bus, on their way there! 

A little bit about Gracie for my readers delight.  I love to talk about my kids, so as a reader of this blog, you are required to love to read about them!  Gracie is my oldest child.  She just turned 7 years old last week, but I believe her attitude has aged an additional 5 years.  Though she does have her moments, that make you want to literally pull out your hair, the kind of moments you're left standing there staring at her, wondering what in the world made her such a crab, or who does she think she is, I love her. Unconditionally. 

I'm very proud of her too.  She is a very smart little thing, and I only hope she holds onto the realization of that, and allows it to take her somewhere in her life.  She loves to color and draw. She loves baby dolls, Barbie dolls, and she loves worms, fishing, dirt, riding bikes, mud, swimming and reading, hanging upside down from the swingset bars, playing school, real homework, and dress up.  She is a pretty easy girl to please.  There are many times we hear, "I'm bored!", but it doesn't normally last too long with her.  She's a happy little girl too. 

She is a great big sister to Hannah and Cody.  Of course, as with all siblings we have our daily arguments, but for the most part, she is always trying to include them.  You can see how much she loves them through their interactions.  And they admire her too.  Around this house, Gracie's name is "Sissy" from everyone!

She loves to help others and nurture those that need it. (And sometime those that don't!)  She received an award for her character and helpfulness to others back at her school in Danville, and has received two "Tigerrifics" from her school here in Iowa for the very same thing.  There are many things she says and does, that help me to feel like I'm doing my job as a Mom right.  I pray that our relationship remains as close as it is in years to come.

She's a great kid, and I am proud and honored, and very lucky to be her Momma!

Hmm, Well this is new...

Well hello!  If you're reading this, then most likely you already know me, but I'm sure there are some things you don't. And since I start almost all things like this with "Hi! My name is Cindy!", here we go!

Hi! My name is Cindy! (Betch'ya didn't see that coming!).  I am *almost* 30 years old. I have an amazing husband, and 3 perfect, lovable, adorable kiddos, two girls, and one boy.  Normally, in things like this, I would replace "about me" with about my family.  But, I'm changing it up a bit!  I'll dedicate a whole post to them later on.  For now, I'll just share this picture from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo on May 8th. 

I am a very optimistic person. I am such a glass half full kind of person, that I am sure it gets on my husbands nerves!  But, being happy, and chipper is just who I am. I talk too much, and act like a kid quite often.  I love spending time with my husband and kiddos. I love it a whole lot.  I love to go fishing, camping, hiking, and generally anything outside.  I love reading. I love to lose myself in a book.  To find yourself in an imaginary world is one of the best things.  I can easily read for 5-8 hours at night, but not so easily wake up the next morning!  I love photography.  I have had the honor of taking portraits for friends and family. I would love to make it more than that.  It gets a bit frustrating not knowing if it will ever happen, but it is in God's hands, and that is where I'm leaving it.  I am a Christian. I consider my relationship with Christ close, but there's always room for closer! I try to set an example for my kids.  I firmly believe that children learn from what they see.  I'm not saying I'm perfect or that I set a perfect example, by any means, but I do try.  My favorite color is green, favorite movies are the Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and Twilight series.  I love chocolate and make brownies at least once/week.

So, this is all I'll include for my first ever blog post. The more interesting stuff, I'm sure will come later.  Good night all!