Our crazy week & a special day

Before I dish on the craziness, it’s important to remember what today means to our family. Five years ago today, John Paul was baptized. For some, it may just be another day. Not for us. To be quite honest, with all that’s been going on this week, I completely forgot about today’s significance…and then I checked my email and found a sweet note to John Paul from his Godmother Gachia. It made me cry. Not just because it was so sweet, but because I just plain forgot (and I’m slightly hormonal). I know we all do it. Me especially. This is why we have Godmothers. To keep the rest of us sane. Gachia, we love you.

Speaking of love overflowing, we’ve been having some peeing issues with Master John Paul. Last summer, we took him to his pediatric urologist and they did some invasive tests, ran lots of bloodwork and did some ultrasounds – all came back “average” but he was on the borderline of average. One does not like to hear “fluid on the kidneys” and “it’s probably okay” in the same sentence. We’ve tried incentives to encourage him to wake up dry. We’ve woken him up once, sometimes twice, a night to visit the potty. We did the sticker chart, the ice cream bribery and the “you’re wearing underwear like a big boy” routine – all with the same result. A horribly wet pullup the next morning. That’s when you start to feel two things, 1) a failure as a mom and 2) that something is really wrong. We weren’t getting any real answers from the pediatric specialist and although I like the guy, they’re making some fat cash over there. Four doctors in the ENTIRE freaking city of Austin. It’s like Fort Knox getting in. As a matter of fact, they never even allowed us to see Dr. C, only his PA. Not happy.

Remember that little kidney stone incident I had shortly after Clare was born? Well, I LOVED my doctor. He prayed with me before the surgery, answered all my questions and took the time to really understand what was going on. So, at the urging of John Paul’s pediatrician, I called up Dr. Bruce. NOTE: If you live in Austin, he is THE urologist to visit. Love him. The visit on Monday alleviated many of my fears, questions and concerns. All in all, we have a course of action to follow and I feel confident that we’ve found the right doctor for JPizzle.

Bottom line? Be an advocate for your child. Whole heartedly and with great passion.

So, onto crises numbers 2 and 3…

For those that have known us any length of time, you know that our 10-visit punch card at the ER is nearly full. Tuesday morning I headed to my spine surgeon for my annual checkup (and to get Master Will checked out). More on that later. A little anxious for both of us, but thankful for the one-on-one time with Will.

We arrived at the office when my cell phone rang. That totally freaked me out because Scott never calls me on my cell – mostly because 1) he can totally handle the kids on his own and 2) because I never remember to turn it on. I hear a panicky voice saying he’s on the way to the ER because he thinks Clare swallowed some pills. I was either amazingly calm or in total denial that it was happening. Let’s go with superhero calmness – that sounds so much better. So, Scott carted the three to the Round Rock ER and I sat in the office with Will to see if he had the beginning stages of scoliosis. Eeeny meeny miney mo. Hello rock. Hi hard place. Both ended up just fine. Clare didn’t injest any pills, as it turned out, and Will’s back is straight as an arrow. Whew.

So, lesson learned is that God always throws you a curve ball. And that life, in its many glorious stages, is so incredibly precious.

Tonight is a really special night at our house. Will’s second grade class at school is having the washing of the feet at “The Last Supper.” It’s a touching ceremony that allows the parents to wash their second graders’ feet, read a blessing and help prepare them for their upcoming First Communion. It will be some precious time…

We’ll post our exciting/sad news tomorrow. Oh, and Laurie, we are not having twins!