Living Aloha!: October 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Award Ceremony

Today at Quad F was the troop award ceremony where Mike received a highly coveted bronze star for his leadership as a Platoon Sgt. It was very special and I was so glad Mikey and I were able to be there. It was SO hot! Even though they had tents set up for family members, it was sweltering. 105 degree heat index, to be exact. I felt bad for the troops, who had to stand at attention out in the sun, but of course, being good soldiers they held steadfast.

I THINK YOU CAN ALMOST "SEE" THE HEAT...VERY HUMID TODAY

MIKEY WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. ANYTHING.

THE OLDER BOYS HAD SCHOOL TODAY

I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S IN THERE SOMEWHERE

CAN WE GO HOME NOW?

NEVERMIND! THERE'S MY DADDY!

MIKEY GOT TO HAVE THE HONOR OF PINNING DADDY'S AWARD ON HIM

LIKE THIS DADDY?

MY DADDY ROCKS!

NOW IT'S TIME FOR DADDY TO CHECK OUT HIS OTHER KIDS

AND CONGRATULATE THEM FOR A JOB WELL DONE

And a job well done, indeed. Congrats soldiers, we are proud!!

Millie Time & Silly Time!

She finally made it. Yesterday at about 1715 Millie Cat arrived in Hawaii yowling and throwing a hissy fit at the indignity of being locked in a kennel for 8 hours. This emotional uprise did not prevent her from bonking her head into the kennel regularly in an attempt at affection via osmosis. Since I value my life and the lives of others, I did not release her in the car and waited until we got home.

She proceeded to prowl and investigate every inch of her new home, complete with obligatory wall-affection and napping on the freshly washed clothes.

Some things never change.

In other news, I came across these webcam pics Mikey and I took one day while bored in the hotel room. Pretty funny if you ak me!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Malama na Honu!

Last week I went to the annual Joint Spouses Conference at the Nehelani on Schofield Barracks. It was an awesome daylong event, filled with workshops and presentations aimed at military spouses. There was live entertainment, a guest speaker, and wonderful Hawaiian food. I had a great time, and learned a lot of new things and even made a friend.

One of the workshops I attended was called "Show Turtles Aloha". I thought it might be iteresting to learn about them, and I've always thought they were beautiful animals. They are frequently seen swimming off the shores in Hawaii, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to learn more about them.

The presentation actually turned out to be from an organization called "Malama na Honu", Hawaiian for "protector or guardian of the turtle". What the organization does is volunteer on a specific beach on the North Shore, Laniakea Beach, where the honu have begun coming ashore to sun themselves. In the beginning, about 8-9 years ago, people would come to see the honu and cause them stress by touching them, picking them up, sitting on them, hand-feeding them, and more. There was no one around to help people understand that this activity was detrimental to the health of the honu, which is a protected species.

Volunteers man this particular beach from sun-up to sun-down, watching for the turtles to haul out of the ocean for sunning. When they do, the volunteers set up a red rope and signs around the turtle, preventing people from coming too close. They are also there to answer questions and provide information to the public about the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle and why it's so important to leave them alone.

I was thrilled with the idea of volunteering with this organization, something I could do with the boys, too. So today we went to Laniakea Beach and went through the training session. Luckily for us, even though it was rainy and overcast, there was one honu up on the beach! He was a big boy, and his name is Wooley Bully.

SO BEAUTIFUL! THE RED ROPE IN THE BACKGROUND IS WHAT THE VOLUNTEERS LAY DOWN AROUND SUNNING HONU

LISTENING TO THE FOUNDER TELL ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

JOJO AND PLAYING ON THE BEACH

MIKEY

PART OF LANIAKEA COVE

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE THE HONU! BUT IT STARTED RAINING

WOOLEY BULLY!

THERE WASN'T ANY SUN, BUT HE WAS ENJOYING A NAP ANYWAY!

I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY WITH THEM!

So the boys and I will start volunteering for Malama na Honu and setting up ropes around turtles that haul out for sunning. I'm so excited, it will be such a great experience for us! I'm hoping to shadow tomorrow (we have to shadow twice before being on our own), wish me luck and lots of turtles!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Brandon's Surgery: Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

During Brandon's last health check, the pediatrician recommended that Brandon visit an ENT doctor to evaluate his tonsils. We always knew Brandon had extremely large tonsils, and he had seen an ENT when he was 2, but they wanted to treat him conservatively at that point. No surgery.

So we waited and monitored, and he seemed to grow out of it a little bit. Lately though, I began to notice more coughing, swallowing, and snoring during the night. The pediatrician was convinced this was because of the size of his tonsils.

We saw the ENT and it was immediately clear that surgery was the only option. They had to come out.

So we scheduled the surgery for the following week, on October 21st. Brandon would have to spend the night so they could monitor his oxygen levels and make sure he didn't bleed.

We had to be to Tripler Army Medical Center at 0600 on the day of the surgery. That place is HUGE!!! It's like a small city, complete with post office, shoppette, barber shop, and more! I don't think I've ever seen a larger hospital.

IT'S STILL DARK OUTSIDE!

BEING BRAVE!

When we arrived at the hospital, we went to the pre-op ward where they did vital signs, mommy signed forms, and Brandon was changed into his lovely hospital gown.

GETTING VITAL SIGNS DONE

READY FOR SURGERY!

After the pre-op ward, we were brought to the surgical holding area along with about 8 other people having surgery that morning. Brandon climbed onto a gurney and tried to distract himself while he nervously awaited his IV, and then surgery.

BEING SO BRAVE AND WAITING

PLAYING WITH MOMMY'S IPOD TO DISTRACT HIMSELF

After the IV was started, it was a matter of minutes before they came to get my baby. I couldn't go back with him, but I showered him with plenty of kisses before they wheeled him away. They had given him Versed before he left, so he was already starting to fall asleep.

I went to the waiting room and tried to keep myself busy. I had brought my laptop so I watched part of a movie while I anxiously waited. It seemed like forever! Finally the doctor came out and told me everything went well, and that his tonsils were the size of large walnuts. She also said he had a little trouble coming out of anesthesia, becoming disoriented and a little upset. He ripped out his IV and fought the nurses...she commented on how strong he was, lol. I know this is a common occurrence for kids, they often come out of anesthesia quite wildly, so I wasn't too concerned. I felt badly that he had to have his IV restarted, she said after they were done I could go back with him. After another 10 minutes or so, I was allowed back in the PACU.

I DON'T EVEN THINK HE KNEW I WAS THERE! HE WAS PRETTY OUT OF IT STILL.

After about an hour in PACU, we were brought to our room, number 3 on the 7th floor pediatric ward. The view was amazing and the bed was MUCH more comfortable for Brandon! When he woke up a little more he found a bag full of goodies waiting for him.

THE VIEW FROM BRANDON'S ROOM

FINALLY WAKING UP AND FEELING A LITTLE BETTER! SEE MOM? NO TONSILS!

Later that afternoon Mike brought JoJo and Mikey by for a visit. The boys were happy to see their brother but you could tell they were a little worried about him too. Brandon was happy to see everyone.

BROTHERS!

I MISS YOU BIG BROTHER!

EVEN DADDY MIKE GETS HUGS!

As the anesthesia wore off, the pain started to kick in. Lots of ice cream, Popsicles, and pain medicine helped and by the late evening he was up and walking down to the playroom.

We had the usual expected sleep that night, restless and interrupted, and by morning I was ready to bring my boy home!

The doctors rounded early, but wanted to see how Brandon did with breakfast before sending him home.

FRENCH TOAST FOR BREAKFAST, I THINK WE'RE DOING FINE!

HARD TO SEE, BUT THERE WAS A FULL RAINBOW OUTSIDE THAT MORNING

After breakfast we were finally discharged. Brandon has been doing fairly well but he is in a lot of pain. I am keeping him medicated around the clock, but when it's getting close to med time, he's pretty miserable and hurting. Today (Saturday) Mike took the other two boys to a swap meet and I'm staying home with Brandon on the couch. He's having a tough time and needs extra care today. He will feel so much better when he's all healed.