We didn't get to do the MRI today! We were told Houston could have a lite breakfast this morning, just nothing past 8:15am. Turns out a lite breakfast meant clear liquids and not 3 or 4 spoonfulls of Cheerios washed down with a little milk at 7am. And the poor boy wasn't even hungry! Me and his Gammy made him take a few bites of dry cereal bc we didn't want him starving on the way to Memphis. Poor little guy. Alan was pretty mad!!!! They could do it 8 hrs later, but that was 3pm and the only MRI's done there after 3 are emergency only.

So, we go back Tues for the MRI at 6am and Wed surgery at 6am. I'll double check with Dr. Heck that this is ok for him to be put to sleep twice in 24 hrs. I'm sure Radiology wouldn't have scheduled it for Tues if it wasn't ok. We'll see....crazy things keep happening. I think God is forcing me and Alan to ride together and talk since by the time we have the chance at home we are passing out, seriously, we're so tired!

We really do appreciate all your prayers. So many of you have placed our family on your Church Prayer List, Thank You. Please put us on your Church Prayer list if you haven't. Prayer is such a wonderful gift...God is so good to us!!

I read great news on Lana Taylor's page on Dale!!! Congrats....Prayers answered.

Surgery...

Houston's surgery will be next Wednesday, September 2 at 6 am. He will be the first surgery for Dr. Heck that day. We're headed back to Memphis tomorrow morning for Houston's MRI. The MRI is at 11:15, check in is 10:15....don't you like how they demand I be there an hour early, lol. If Dr. Heck has an opportunity to read Houston's MRI results...IF is a big maybe.... then I will know the results after 3:30 tomorrow. So I'll update tomorrow as soon as I know something...either way.

Thank you for all your prayers. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel tomorrow, the MRI, girls and Drew away from us once again. So much going on for us.

Please also say Prayers for Dale and Lana Taylor (and their children). They have so much going on right now...makes me stop complaining!!! Hug and Kiss each person in your family...love them every moment...you just never know when things will change.

I have sat at this computer several times since last night. I just haven't found the energy to update. Sitting here and typing really forces me to think and write things as they are...and things as they are right now aren't that wonderful. No doubt things for our family could always be worse! But I really feel like I'm juggling all I can right now. There is a fine art to balancing a household, taking care of 4 small kids, your marriage, cooking, etc...I really could make a huge list here. The fact is I'm tired. I'm tired for my kids. I am tired of taking my kids to hospitals/doctors. I am tired of saying the same things over and over that involve my children that are sick. I am tired of not loading up with groceries bc I don't want everything to be wasted since I don't know when appt times are in the upcoming days....which means I'm tired of running to the grocery store so often! Ok...enough with me being SO negative! As I said before, things could be worse. So I suck it up, and just move on. As my Daddy has said for years, "I'm tired too, but sometimes you just do what you have to do". That's what I am living off of right now....that and God.

I thank you all for praying for our family. So many times in the last couple of years I have asked you all to pray for the health of my children. Usually they were little babies and unable to tell me when things were bothering them. But, when Houston looks at me with those huge, blue eyes and says it hurts mommy (speaking of his arm) I just feel helpless. Knowing that I can't just kiss it and make it better hurts really bad. Houston is such a strong little boy. And he has a pretty high pain tolerance...didn't get that from me! He isn't complaining much about his arm, but he lays around a lot. He has a short temper with all of us, especially his sisters. He doesn't want anyone in his space, playing with his toys, or anything else similar. He isn't sleeping good anymore (about a wk now) bc he just can't get comfortable for very long. He comes to our room and asks for his cartoons. He will sit in the middle of our bed and watch tv for hours at a time. Most of you know Houston is a BIG sports fan. He's not really a fan of sports players...he's a fan of the actual balls, lol! He LOVES baseball, basketball is a really big deal for him and now with his arm hurting he has developed a LOVE of soccer. Houston is playing with some sort of ball at all times! He also has a new buddy, Terrell Owens. It's all imaginary so don't get excited, lol. He saw the TO show a few weeks ago and saw him playing basketball...although Houston understands he plays football...and they've been big buds ever since :) My mom brought Houston a stuffed horse (this is his favorite animal!!) and he named it TO. Seriously, TO goes everywhere...he goes to bed with him, went to the hospital with him, eats lunch with him, and we all have to stop and watch the TO show if it comes on the tv!! I'm waiting for him to notice him playing football on tv this season. That's will be funny!Oh...let me post this video from yesterday. We were in the van headed to memphis:
The boy is just too funny! And sorry it's sideways..oops.

Anyway now for the serious stuff. For those that don't know what's going on, Houston has a tumor growing in one of his bones at his left wrist. For Houston's age this is very rare that a tumor is growing in the place that it is and at the rate it is growing. It's doubled in size at least twice, if not more, since they found the tumor. They discovered the tumor/cyst (I say both bc until the MRI it's not clear exactly what it is) on 4/30/09 when Houston broke his arm from simply falling off the couch, hands first. He had a small buckle fracture and when it healed without any harm to the tumor things were fine. We knew/thought years down the road we may have to have it drained or removed if it grew or caused further weakening of the bone. In July it grew over a weeks time and we made another appt to follow up with our Orthopedic doctor. He x-rayed and said it had more than doubled and would like us to see a Pediatric Ortho, who sent us to Dr. Heck in Memphis. Dr. Heck is an Oncologist that works with all sorts of tumors in and of the bone. This doesn't mean Houst has cancer...I know most people hear/read Oncology and get worried. But that's not the case, they work with all malignant and benign tumors.

We do not know exactly what this tumor/cyst is but they (all of our Ortho Dr's) assume it is an Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC). This is a common bone cyst, but not for someone Houston's age. If this is the case it is highly likely it will grow back. Which means it is highly likely we will have to go through this process several more times. If this is an ABC, the plan is to do the surgery and scrape out/hollow the area the cyst is currently in. Dr. Heck will fill the cavity with a man made material that promote bone growth over time. This will allow Houston's bone to hopefully grow back and over time the man made material will go away. Yes, if it comes back this process will have to be repeated! This means Houston will have several x-rays a year to check the progress of the bone growth and determine if anymore cyst are growing.

Also, this tumor/cyst is growing VERY close to Houston's growth plate at his wrist. If it is touching (and I do believe it is, but dr will not confirm until surgery) the growth plate Dr. Heck will not remove the cyst/tumor closest to the growth plate. This would be very dangerous for the future growth of Houston's arm from elbow to wrist. Dr. Heck said he wouldn't discuss this matter further until after surgery bc this is not the main priority right now. Remove the area near/at the growth plate will require another surgery in about 3 years. This is going to really be a long process for Houston and our family. Please remember us in your prayers. Please put us on your Church Prayer List....we appreciate all the prayers and God does listen!

Ok...a few more things

The girls are loving getting attention from their grandparents without Houston around. Their Mimi has painted their toes, my Mom brought them a neat wooden bench for their room..and they've loaded it up with dolls, this Friday their Gammy will be here. They're loving it!

Drew is doing really good wheening off the oxygen. He stayed off Monday night and Tuesday night, but I think he's pretty glad to have it back tonite. He's sleeping so good.

While we were in Memphis we took Houston by Graceland...Go ahead and get excited Myra, lol...Jenn you get a good laugh, ok..moving on. We sat him on the "wall" to take a picture and...turns out this is a No No! He had to get down before we got the pick. But the funny thing is we have the Elf on the Shelf book we bring out at Christmas. It has a little Elf that you name and he comes to watch over the kids for Santa during the Holidays. So, our Elf's name is Elfis! Houston thought we were at Elfis's house...not Elvis, lol!!

Party on the Plaza...

Me and the kids are having so much FUN this morning! Every Friday morning we eat breakfast, watch the Today Show and wait on the Concert to start. A month or so ago the Black Eyed Peas were on and Houston let loose!! As we speak Hannah is saying, Boom Boom Pow...Boom Boom Pow. They think every Friday is Boom Boom Pow day at NBC. We dance in the middle of the floor, Hollise practices her finger snapping, and it's just Fun!!
So, with that....I have to go watch my babies get low to Apple Bottom Jeans, lol! They LOVE it!

I am placing a Tastefully Simple Order tonight about 7 or so. Email me if you would like to place an order or give me a call. Email: tehantriplets@yahoo.com
I'm only charging $1 per person for shipping
To view products go to www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mtehan

Family Fun...

It's Big World, It's a Big-Big World......

This schedule change is really working in my favor! Since the kids didn't like the word NAP we have changed it to "quiet time"..wink wink! After lunch they were sitting on the couch and watching PBS (it's a big world, barney, etc) and then getting back up to play. I just couldn't get anything done! But waking everyone up by 7am, getting dressed, breakfast, playing hard inside and out, little project, and a good lunch....it's paying off!

They now have quiet time from 12-2 and I don't care if they play in their room, take a nap, whatever...but they have have to stay in their room. This took about 5 days of me sticking with my choice to have a 2 hour break for everyone. It was really hard the first day or two, especially since we're in a new place and new routine. I stood outside their rooms somedays making them stay in there,lol.

Now, I'm enjoying a quiet lunch all to myself! Leftover vinegar/bacon greenbeans and grilled catfish....so good!! But I have plenty to do when I'm done...laundry, sweeping/mopping, shower, maybe I'll have time to start unpacking in mine and Alan's room...that's stretching it a bit...we'll see.

I wanted to finish with some of the funny things the kids are doing now...

Hannah:
*She's really into putting her hands out and saying "He does it everytime!". Speaking of Houston hitting her.
*"Mom, I can't want it". No matter how many times I tell them it's "do not or don't want", they still say "I can't want". Maybe they just can't do it, no matter how hard they try...so I'm giving up on that one for now.
*The girl LOVES a bath!.
*She's really missing her friends from school now. But their friend Chloe is coming to play this week.

Hollis:
*My goodness is she girly!!! Hollise is a proper princess born into the wrong royal family!
*Her new thing is, "What"...
*Her and Hannah both have become Hello Kitty fans!
*She has developed a great love for folding clothes. Or shall I say wadding them up and saying "here mom, i did it!". But they have to start somewhere and I'm excited about this.
*If they are all getting a drink from my cup of water, she'll say "that's enough". Bless her..she gets this honest. If Randle and I had to share a drink I had to say "that's enough" the entire time he drank ALL the drink!! I never got any.

Houston:
*My goodness, I think he has proved numerous times he is all boy...enough is enough!
*His favorite thing to say right now...I'm not proud to say is..."stop it" or "no, you be quiet". I shouldn't put that out there..but that's it..that's him..and I'm working on this.
*He is the sweetest, mommy's boy in the mornings. He loves walking in my room to wake me up when his Daddy leaves for work. "Come on Mommy, time to get up".
*If he doesn't slow down he will break another bone!
...speaking of bone, we go to see Dr. Butler tomorrow to check on a bone cyst that continues to grow pretty fast. It's just a fiboris cyst, but please, keep him in your prayers.

Drew:
*The sweetest, happiest, laughing, HUNGRY, little boy!
*If he can get his arms and legs to work together he'll be crawling.
*He can roll anywhere he wants to go..usually wherever is Hollise is.
*The boy loves food! He can't get enough Sweet Peas!
*We go back to Pulmonary on the 18th..please keep him in your prayers as well. He will most likely be taken off the oxygen at night..whoo hoo.

What A Day.....

Some days, like today, I find myself so overwhelmed. By the end of the day I just want to shut down and fall fast asleep...but I can't!! My mind is going in several different directions and thinking about how tomorrow can be/will be better. We live on such a strict routine and life is really peaceful this way. However, things start going so well that I start letting a few things slide. Between moving, catching up on sleep, potty accidents, Drew trying to move around more and crawl, it's much easier to say...Oh, I'll let that slide today. Well, letting things slide 3 or 4 weeks ago has become a HUGE problem today!

Somehow I have got to get my day back together for me and the kids. It isn't fare to them or me. I'm running behind them cleaning up messes, they're getting into trouble, and I feel like my days revolve around making a meal and cleaning up after the meal! When I keep them entertained, learning, artwork, etc. they really listen and interact better with one another and have an all around better day. They nap when they should because they have actually played hard enough to be tired...all that stuff works out. But me doing just what I need during a day to get through the day is for the birds!! I've had wonderful days, don't get me wrong, but today I had my limit and tomorrow is a new start.

For those trying to place an order online for Tiffine Prisock's Party:

*Go to my site www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mtehan
*Place your order
*When checking out there is a place asking "Do you wish to relate this order to a Consultant or Party Host?"
*Choose YES and search for Host as Tiffine Prisock in Mississippi

email me if you have any trouble, Thanks Michelle Tehan

My Tastefully Simple Products ARE IN!!!!

Call me or come by and check out my Tastefully Simple Products! As most of you know I left Mississippi State in May and as busy as my life is....I have still been looking for something to do. I needed something to break-up my daily routine, earn a little extra cash, keep me home during the day with my family, and something I would really enjoy. That's been pretty hard to find! But, when I heard about Tastefully Simple I really had to give it a go. People that know me well will not find this choice surprising!! I love cooking, I LOVE reading menus, and I always want to know what people are eating!! (some of you are laughing over the menu thing...stop it! lol) What better business to dive my time into than a business involving food.

My Sister In Law, Tiffine Prisock offered to Host my BLAST OFF PARTY. This Party is Saturday, August 15 at 11:30 a.m. You can visit my web site at www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mtehan and place orders thru this site as well and Tastefully Simple will ship your order to you or anywhere else you like. Usually orders arrive within 3 business days. For those of you that have College Students looking for quick, easy meals...check out the Meal Kits, Desserts, and Breads. All of these require only one or two ingredients, such as water or eggs, to complete the dish and of course baking time. But the idea is to create really awesome dishes fast and with little work on your end. All of the kits make really great gifts!!

I have ordered some really popular items to keep on hand. These are all available for purchase and I can't wait to order more! I get excited tasting the things I haven't had before...it's all so good. I have the following items currently on hand for purchase:

Corn, Black Bean Salsa, The Trio of Dip Mixes, Spinach & Herb Dip Mix, Bacon Bacon Dip Mix (all the dip mix shakers make 7 cups of dip!), Fiesta Party Dip Mix, Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix, Truffle Fudge Brownie Mix, Nana's Apple Cake Mix, and Bountiful Beer Bread Mix...I may have a few others. All of the boxed mixes come with alternate recipes to change things up a little.

You are welcome to email me at tehantriplets@yahoo.com for more details. Also, let me know if you would like to Host a Taste Testing Party!!! I have lots of goodies for everyone to try!!!