KC's 1/2 way!

Ok, so I'm a little late and very far behind... but KC did finish Naval Nuclear Power School back in June! Now he is training on a moored submarine at Nuclear Prototype Training Unit, still in South Carolina! Dottie, KC's mom, got to come up for a weekend to celebrate. My dad and his girlfriend, Kathy came for a visit as well! We got to see Patriots Point and the USS Yorktown, play in the fountains downtown, and Dad and Kathy got to see Boone Hall Plantation. I took Dottie to the Saturday Farmers Market in downtown Charleston and then on to the "kids museum" with Aidan! It was a busy weekend!

Plans are being made as to our next duty station. We are hoping for Norfolk but really are open to anything that they give us except Japan. The options are Norfolk, VA, Everett, WA, San Diego, CA. KC graduates from this phase of training in December, and then we will be moving again to one of these places! Aidan's vote is for Virgina, but only because its a purple state on the map! Hey, I think I like that way of choosing a duty station!

Summer 2009- Mom's Surgical Ordeal(s)

First, let's start with an update on my mother. My mom has Rheumatory Arthritis with Degenerative Joint Disease. Her hips were the source of most of her pain for a long time. She underwent hip replacement surgery for the right hip in January 2009, and just recently, hip replacement for the left hip joint, in June! The first hip surgery and recovery went well. Aidan and I were able to be down for a short time to help her around the house. Aidan got to stay with Grandma Dottie and neighbors while I helped with mom on most days. That was the first time Aidan stayed away from mom at Grandma's house all by himself! He loved it! KC had to stay in Charleston for schooling.


The most recent hip replacement did not go as well as the first. Surgery part went well. She got to come right home after the surgery this time (unlike last time where she went to a rehab hospital before coming home) but then developed a fever and sickness about a week after being at home. KC got to come home with us for a week of leave to help out with Aidan while I helped mom. But wouldn't you know, the day he had to go back, Mom's fever started. We said goodbye to KC and I made many phone calls to nurses and doctors about mom's condition. Ultimately, I ended up calling 911. Let me just say that it does pay to live right next to a firestation. Those guys were there almost the second I hung up with 911. I had just enough time to call Dottie to babysit Aidan and put Trix in her kennel. The firemen came in and accessed mom and talked with Aidan while I gathered things for him to take to grandma's. Aidan got to see the firetruck and introduced the firemen to Trixie. Dottie made it to the house as the ambulance was pulling up to transport mom back to the hospital. Dottie gave up a night at the theater with some friends to help take care of Aidan. I am so grateful that she could help!

A short ambulance ride to the hospital and mom was admitted right away. On the radiographs, everything looked in place with her hips. A few days later, the surgeon decided to go back in and wash out whatever may be infected in there and culture it. A few days after that, microbiologists were coming into her room late at night to ask whether or not she had a cat. It turns out she had a bacteria that could have come from a cat bite called Pasturella Multicida. That meant 6 weeks or more of antibiotics and 1 more surgery to wash out the joint for her. I am happy to report that she is home and doing fine! Nurses come out once daily to give her antibiotics thru a PICC line and she gets physical therapy a few times a week. She is almost finished with the antibiotics and her walking is improving daily!

Aidan's first time being grounded

At four years old, Aidan is grounded. He is not allowed to play Wii AT ALL today because of his behavior yesterday. Here is the story.

It all started with a trip to Game Stop with Daddy. Daddy wanted to get a Flying Aces type game for Wii. Of course, Aidan wanted a new game, too. Aidan picked out "Hot Wheels, Beat that!" for Wii. They came home and played Wii non-stop all weekend! Well, Daddy had to head out for study time at school and Aidan was left at home with the "boring" parent. Aidan was on the Wii for about an hour and I decided that it was time to play something else. I gave him fair warning that after this game, it was to be turned off. Well, that didn't happen. So, I turned it off for him. He proceeded to spike the Wii remote down on the floor and then walk up to me and kick my shins! I gave him a time out, of course. All thru time out, he screamed and hollered, hit the walls, and knocked over the time out chair. It was then I decided that it was time to take away his precious Wii for one day! Daddy came home soon after our incedent and agreed with me this was the right thing to do. I also consulted the grandparents. Aidan overheard me talking on the phone with Grandma Dottie and he started to yell and run away to hide saying, "Don't tell grandma, Don't tell grandma!" At least, I know by this that he knows he did wrong!

Well, today is our Wii Free day and it wasn't that bad! He did ask repeatedly to play Wii Hot Wheels and I repeatedly told him why he couldn't. I do hope that he doesn't make this a habit!

The Riverbanks Zoo and Strep Throat

A couple of weeks ago, Aidan and I headed to the nearest zoo in Columbia, SC about 2 hours away to meet up with the Tew crew. We had a great time! Aidan's favorite part was the playground and merry-go-round. My favorite part was the koalas. You could get really close to them. It was amazing! Of course, whenever we visit a zoo, we usually find some animals "doing the dance of love." This trip was no different! The ostriches this time had their fun in plain view for all to see. Luckily, the kids didn't stop too long and ask questions. We did have some interesting comments after observing the gorillas playing with their nipples. Moving right along, we got to see alot of animals and botanical gardens before having to make the drive back home.

Aidan was really lethargic on the drive home. I thought for sure it was due to the big day at the zoo, but the next day, he spiked a 103.5F temp. Motrin and tylenol only brought it down to 101F. So we headed to the docs. Strep culture came back positive so he got antibiotics. I am happy to report that he is back to his old self once again!

Aidan's 1st Ball Game

On Friday, April 10th, we went to see the Charleston River Dogs play baseball against the Rome Braves. The game started at 7:05pm. Our friends Tyson, Sarah, and their parents, Matt and Lyn came with us! Aidan at first didn't want to go at all. He would rather just stay home and play Wii. But we convinced him that an evening at the ball park was much more fun! We ate a traditional meal of hotdogs, burgers, and fries. Got to sit in pretty decent seats along the 3rd base line and slightly behind home plate. The weather was in the 60s and breezy. KC had a great time watching and explaining the game to Aidan. One of the best questions from Aidan was, "What are those guys just standing around on the field doing?" (asking about the outfielders). KC was so proud that Aidan was tracking the ball pretty well and actually sitting still and paying attention for most of the first 2 innings! After that, we had to go and do some other kid friendly activites like the jump house and the dunk tank! We finally made it back to the seat and Aidan sat again for another inning and then he wanted to lay down. He had been up since 6am so by 8:30pm, he was exhausted! We made it home and he was passed out by 9:30pm. What a great time!

Happy Easter!

OH Hoppy Day! We have been busy around here, as usual! We had visitors from across the state 2 weeks ago. The Tews had a great weekend walking the Cooper River Bridge Run. The kids played here, all together, very well!While the Tew parents were walking, we played Wii, dug holes in the backyard, visited the park, and got to see our old houses! (The Tews lived down the street from us when we lived here last time 13yrs ago!) Sarah injured her foot/ankle in the Bridge Run so I got to practice my bandaging skills by wrapping an ice pack. I have been told that she did see a doctor and is asked to stay off of it for 2 weeks! I pray that it heals quickly and she will be off and running again!

Our Easter celebration began yesterday at an Easter Egg Hunt on base! Aidan found a whopping 5 eggs. The area of the hunt took place on the playground and he was much too destracted by the equipment. We ate some candy, played some games, got a sore tummy, and then promptly went home. We rested for the afternoon, and then dyed easter eggs. Aidan wanted so badly to mix the dyes. Daddy and I had to fuss a bit to get him to back off enough not to spill! Not too much spillage occured but we did start off with quite a few eggs and ended up with a much smaller lot!

This morning was almost a bust because Aidan ran ahead of Daddy while I was hiding eggs! I told him that Trixie ran off the Easter Bunny! Poor dog, always getting blamed for something! He found what eggs I did manage to hide in a few minutes. Now we are sitting around enjoying his jelly bean filled eggs and waiting on Dad to get home from studying so we can eat Easter Dinner! I am going to attempt to cook a Publix ham! It seems fool proof but this is me we are talking about! I can barely boil water! I hope I don't give my family food poisoning!

I hope that everyone has a great Easter!

Aidan's 4th Birthday