Tag: kids

My beautiful Butterflies

So bear with me on this for a moment. Anyone with young kids who watch either Nickelodeon or The Disney channels, have probably seen the commercials for The Live Butterfly garden.  After continual requests, I broke down and bought one.  They send you the kit but then you must have the live caterpillars sent to you.  They arrive in a container with enough food to feed them until they head into the chrysalis.  You move them to the little cage and wait for them to emerge as butterflies.  We checked them daily in the cup and were amazed at how much those little caterpillars could eat.  We were all very happy yesterday (proud new parents) to 4 new adult butterflies.  We will set them free in a few days but the girls are enjoying feeding them and watching for now. It was a fun little project to do with the girls.

Why do I spend so much time on our summer science project?  Because as I have watched this change happen over the last few days,  this morning it overwhelmingly hit me that for me these butterflies represent my baby girls.

I was so worried prior to my surgery about my family especially my young girls.  Megan 7 going on eight in just a week and Madison 5.  Those who have read my early posts, know the agony I had both in waiting for the surgery and the pure worry for my girls.  How would they handle me not being home?  How would my husband handle being alone with them for a week?  How would we manage once I came home?

My first night in the ICU my girls came to see me at the hospital.  They were not going to let them in.  A social worker came to talk to me to let me know they were there but she felt they were too young. I told her that we had talked at length before my entering the hospital and that if they were there I would like them allowed in.  She met with them and allowed them to visit.  Even with  all of those monitors beeping, wires attached to me and scary big machines surrounding me, my big girls came in calmly and held my hand. They stayed just a few minutes.  The next few days brought more visits and when I made it to a regular room  they helped me walk the hallway.

Since coming home I have watched as my once coddled babies are blossoming….as a team they collect the laundry and run the washer.  They loaded their own dishes into the dishwasher and would start it.  Megan runs the vacuum while Madison dusts.  And at shower time, Madison who was still getting baths takes a shower herself with her big sister helping to wash her hair.

They did not blink an eye at my incisions and on a daily basis tell me how good I look and how well I am doing.  They help me do my exercising even cheering me on as if it was an olympic event.

Today I went for my blood work for the next procedure.  They went with me.  I told them to get dressed..next thing I know they are coming downstairs in skirts.  They said it was a big outing for us and they should look the part.  How awesome are they?

All of my worry has instead turned into a growing experience for my family.

A glimpse of normal

A little over 3 weeks out of surgery and I am finally starting to feel somewhat normal, kind of anyway.  I have full mobility of both arms but if I were to do too much with them I grow tired very quickly.  The boobs are still very sore.  Thankfully the weeping has stopped.  That does make me feel better if for nothing more than mentally happy.  My abdomen is a bit tight.  The incision itself continues to heal wonderfully except for a small section in the front.  I had a mishap with my pants where I pulled them up or down a little harshly and hit a scab…now it just continues to get irritated.  I just need to be more careful I guess.

My energy level is improving but if I do too much everything starts to ache pretty quickly.  A little more each day I guess.  The girls and I went out for a walk again this morning.  The weather is beautiful today high 70’s not too humid.  They rode their bikes while I walked.  We made it around half the neighborhood…like 10 times the size of the walk we did the other day.  I am extremely sore but it is a good sore and I took a pill.  I think well worth it for all of us.  The girls got some good exercise out in the fresh air and for the first time in weeks I felt human walking around my neighborhood!  I will definitely need a nap today! 🙂

Now the girls are in the pool for an hour before lunch..only an hour because that is about all I can handle watching them.    Better than nothing.  I harvested some cherry tomatoes from our now thriving garden.  Now I am sitting…I am wiped out.  It is nice seeing the girls being active kids today instead of just sitting around with me! I grabbed the camera because it was good to get a few pics..see what the beginning of normal looks like.

One week until the next doctor’s appointment.  I look forward to it actually because I think we will be discussing when we will be ready for the final phase. I can’t wait!

For now..time for a nap!