Gumball Method

Every parent knows they will have to eventually endure the pains of potty training;  I think God adds jewels to moms (and dad's) crowns in heaven for this... not biblical, so don't quote me.  I decided to bite the bullet and finally go all in with potty training Ian. "All in" means no more diapers, so an "accident" is noticeable to say the least... and since we're potty training a puppy at the same time, I thought I better wait on Jovie... and hope she's taking notes! 

Every child has accidents...  but with Ian I didn't even know how much control he had.  Could he even be potty trained? I've agonized so much over this. I felt like we'd never know as long as he had his diapers, and at least I could get him to teetee on the potty. He had his surgery in November to help improve his muscles down there and at first we were very disappointed because outwardly the surgery did not change him... but it must have changed something on the inside! My boy is most certainly doing way better than I anticipated!! HUGE answer to prayer!!! You can not know the huge sigh of relief this is...  I've wanted him to be able to go to school in big boy underpants just like the rest of his classmates. I don't want my sweet boy to be singled out for being the only one in diapers in his class... and it looks like that is not going to be an issue for him.

I bought a gumball machine and for a reward for going "teetee" or "poopoo" Ian gets a quarter.  (I trained Mae with Skittles and it really didn't work... she still wanted her diaper and to stay a baby WAY more than a candy.)  With the gumball machine it is so much more than the candy... all the kids crowd around to watch as he puts in his coin and turns that dial. It's working so well that Jovie is now taking herself to the potty for her quarter too... it's a grand idea I can not take credit for. My best friend, Tamara came up with this one. I highly recommend the "gumball method".

Let me tell you the sweetest part of it all... Ian earns his jelly beans and shares them with his sisters. HE IS INCREDIBLE!!

update from room 2143

Monday morning (yesterday) we woke up early and headed down to Eggleston. We were told to go to the emergency room and tell them our oral surgeon has us as an add-on for surgery.  They were already expecting us and checked us all in. You know how it goes, everyone in the emergency room came to see her, listen to her heart, etc. and then was the dreaded IV. Jovie is upset by anyone coming around in a white coat but having to hold her down while she is screaming and getting poked is especially heart wrenching.

Every time Jovie has any type of trouble, or surgery she will come to Eggleston for it and stay in the step unit on the heart floor. So when they moved us out of the emergency room and into her room she was instantly more comfortable. It is soooo wonderful here. The rooms are really nice, these nurses know and love her and are AMAZING! And there's a playroom so little girl has fun distractions while we wait.

The doctor came in and told me that chances of her having surgery today are slim. What?! Oh no, that means we spend the night, have surgery and stay again for observation. Boooo!! And I have arrangements for the kids (although I knew my parents would happily keep them longer, if we needed them to), our bags are packed for 1 night, my new puppy has care today but not 3 days... My mommy mind started spinning. AND this sweet baby has hurt long enough! Y'all are with me, right? So I was praying something in the OR would open up so they could fit her in... And at 2:30 her nurse came in and said there's an opening and she's going to surgery in 30 minutes. I had been waiting for this but as soon as she said that I got butterflies in my stomach.

They gave her the verset (goofy juice) and wheeled her off and she looked back at me as they left.
That part just doesn't get any easier, no matter how many times we've had to do this now.

I paced the floor until the surgeon was finished and came to tell me her tooth was extracted and he really didn't think it looked as terrible as he thought... Based on her pain and swelling he thought it was going to be even worse.

She came back to me with a big hole in her mouth but feeling sooooo much better and ready to finally get to eat!!! She devoured her dinner and has been in great spirits!

You don't get the greatest sleep in the hospital but our nurse was very stealth and I think Jovie got a lot of sleep.

This morning they came in and did an ECHO to check her heart. They are so thorough with these heart babies. They will compare this ECHO today with her last one and tell us if anything has changed. We should know today what they think.

She had another hardy meal for breakfast... Waaaay more food than she would get at home (:

thank you so much for praying for Jovie Ming! She is just so precious and I'm so happy she's out of pain and seeing her back to herself! We are hanging out until they tell us we can go home... Ready to get back home and back to normal.

Jovie Ming's BIRTHDAY

Jovie Ming:

 She is independent as all get out. She shines from the inside out. Strong and brave, and the very definition of joy. Her laugh is the very best. She is the nurturer, always looking for ways to comfort or help her family (or a stranger if she sees there's a need).  She is brilliantly smart and is constantly amazing us with her tenacity. She is tigerbaby.

Happy Birthday Jovie Ming!! My child, my joy. I could not have dreamed of a greater happiness than getting to be your momma.

We went to IHOP, like we always do. She did enjoy her pancake but we know she just isn't feeling herself.

So we planned to have a low-key day at home and let her pick a movie to go home and watch. And that evening we went to a hibachi grill. The kids have never gone before so it was a fun night. Ian did not like the fire the guy made at all...but once food started appearing on his plate he was happy. There was someone there twisting balloons and came and made the kids some fun prizes to take home. We had a very nice night and Mae has already said that this is where she wants to go for her birthday (that's some time away my dear, it's in August).

Tomorrow morning we will be going to Eggeston for Jovie's surgery. PLEASE keep us in your prayers. I know we say that a lot on this blog but I have the best and most wonderful prayer warrior friends AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE WOULD DO WITHOUT YOU! Yes, that was me yelling at YOU! YOU ROCK!!
thank you! thank you for loving these children and our family.

in the ER

I called the oral surgeon and she said we had to go the ER. Jovie is just in too much pain and to see her you would cry too. Her cheek is all swollen, she has woken up all through the night for a week and it is only getting worse.

An abscess tooth is bad enough, but tomorrow is a whale of a big day, it is Jovie's third birthday. It is her very first one that she will celebrate with wrapped presents, sprinkles and cupcakes, and with her family. It is a very big deal. We have missed the others, and tonight I struggled with the fact that we may be in the hospital for this one. Most important I want my girl to feel better. They have put her on hydrocodone, (that is what we left the hospital with after her heart surgery). It is strong and it should help us get to Monday. AND be at home celebrating this amazing child. 

Meet Banjo

So, I got the best surprise EVER and ya'll I hate surprises! I really, really did not think Cody could surprise me either!! He didn't give me even the slightest hint.

So can I tell you the story?

Backing up a bit, Jovie Ming cried so hard Christmas Eve and we discovered the cause of her pain was her teeth. The worst time ever to get a toothache too. She has been absolutely pitiful and with a tooth infection she has a higher risk of getting an infection on her heart. We were in the urgent care for 4 hours getting her an antibiotic. Definitely not the surprise I am talking about, and if I could take this pain from her I would. It kills me to see her like this.

 

We had to wait until the dentist office opened and saw the doctor Monday morning. They could plainly see her tooth has a giant crater of a hole and said that she has at least two others with cavities.  We've always known her teeth are in trouble... her body did not get enough oxygen and her teeth certainly suffered. 

She needs surgery under anesthetic to have the tooth extracted, and with her heart history she will have to have that done at Children's Hospital at Eggelston so a cardiologist is present. We had to make an appointment to see the CHOA oral surgeon the following day. So, now it's Tuesday, and we are at Scottish Rite talking to the oral surgeon and she tells me Jovie needs to be admitted to the hospital right now, today. My mom had Ian and Mae, (with no car seats -- I have those) and I don't have a plan, bags packed or a clue, but okay. So I call Cody and tell him, "they are about to admit us, now". And he is all cool and says okay, all along he had this big SECRET with him waiting to surprise me. 

The scheduler calls Eggelston to make a plan for us and realized that with the next day being New Year's EVE we better not go because we would be sitting in the hospital for a long time.  So we have to wait several more days still... until Monday (Jan 5) for surgery. Good news is Jovie gets to spend her birthday at home (Jan 3), but bad she is still hurting.

So, I call Cody to tell him we are leaving the hospital and he asks, "so, what are you going to do now?". "I guess I better get Jovie and me some lunch." He said, "I am out running around and have an errand in Dunwoody, so I can meet you". So we head to closest Chick-fil-A, and as we are walking in he calls and says he's hit bad traffic and to go ahead and order him something. We sit down to eat and he calls again and says he's here now but has to jump on a work call. BUMMER -- I thought we would get to be with him and now I'm just his lunch delivery girl. We finish eating and walk out to his truck and he gets off the call and meets me half way and takes our pitiful and wilted Jovie Ming from me. He said, "I'll put her in the car, and you can get your bag out of my car."

I OPENED THE DOOR TO FIND THIS LITTLE PILE OF WRINKLES IN HIS FRONT SEAT.

I have seriously been campaigning for us to get another dog... and not just any dog, I wanted a french bulldog something terrible. I stalked owners of them on instagram and every time I saw one, Cody would receive a texted picture to his phone. I thought for sure there would be a puppy under our tree this year with my name on it... or I had hoped anyway.

Well, Christmas came and went and I did get a very awesome camera bag. As much as I had hoped it would be,  I really did not see this coming.  Plus, Cody insisted I would not be getting a puppy for a very long time. And are you nuts?? Like we don't have enough going on, right?

But here is this too-good-to-be-true, soft and wrinkly little baby.

We are all totally in love with him. All my dreams of owning a french bulldog puppy have come true... and he's even better than I expected.  He is the best puppy ever so far, potty training has been going great, he is so chill and laid back and spends 90% of his time snuggling right up to me. We are calling him Banjo, all but Jovie Ming... she calls him "Dogbunny". 

He fits right into this little family.