And We're Back...

Yes,  I realize it has been quite some time since I last posted anything.  I've had a long list of pictures with blog topics written down for quite some time, and I was in the process of resizing the pictures to be loaded, which I tend to do over the course of several days.  The reason this takes so long is because we tend to take ridiculous amount of pictures in the course of a month, and I try to limit my blogging time to when the girls get to watch their video for the day, and since most Veggie Tales are about 30 minutes long and that has been Melanie's choice lately, that doesn't leave much time for this little indulgence of mine.  And if I get behind it starts to sometimes feel like more of a chore than indulgence at times, so I start avoiding it.  So there.  My reason/excuse/confession behind the lack of posts recently.  We can now move onward.

 Most of you probably already know this, but a couple weeks ago Matt has his appendix taken out.  It started on a Tuesday when he just wasn't feeling well.  He originally thought he had some sort of intestinal bug, feeling like he had a really bad, constant stomach cramp that wouldn't let up.  He slept very poorly Tuesday night, and when he couldn't keep anything down for over 12 hours he started checking his symptoms.  He read somewhere that 12 hours is the longest you should wait if your problem happens to be your appendix, so he decided to go to the doctor around 7:00am Wednesday and they got him in at 8:15.

After a blood test and a CT scan it was determined that he had acute appendicitis and he would have to have his appendix removed that day.  It was about 10:30 at this point.  He came home from the doctor (his mom had taken him since he didn't want me to have to wake the girls up and try to keep them waiting at the doctor's office during the whole thing. plus I had a playdate scheduled that day and he didn't want me to cancel.  I tell you, he's always thinking of others!) and was able to rest since the stomach cramp had finally subsided.  His surgery was at 4:00, so his brother and mom shared babysitting duty so I could take him to the hospital and be there during and after surgery.  He was excited to have the pain taken care of, and even requested that I ask him some silly questions while he was coming out from under anesthesia and inform him of his responses once he was more lucid.  I wasn't allowed in the recovery room, so he was already pretty with it by the time I saw him.  He did inform me that he told the joke about the different types of engineers while in recovery, figuring he would take advantage of the drugs excuse to be a bit ornery.  If you haven't heard it, ask Matt to tell you next time you see him.  I won't repeat it here.

He was out of recovery and headed up to the room by 8:00.  The nurse on the way up seemed to have been amused by Matt.  She informed me that at some point he asked the nurses if he had said anything to embarrass his wife, which she found funny and cute.

Matt spent the night at the hospital, quickly getting bored and texting me after I got the girls in bed, which thankfully went really well without dad, who is always present for the bedtime routine.  He seemed most excited when he finally got to eat, saying "I get jello!".

Matt called bright and early at 8:30 to say he was ready to come home.  He was obviously getting antsy after his one night in the hospital.  We got him home and he proceeded to spend the next several days hanging out on the couch for the most part, watching the start of the NCAA tournament and sleeping.  During surgery the doctor found an umbilical hernia, which wasn't aggravated, but they went ahead and took care of it as a preventative measure since he was already out.  As a result he was put on a 20lb. weight limit for two weeks, which means he hasn't been able to pick Melanie up or have her sit on his lap for a while due to the incisions.  She's done really well with it though, showing genuine concern for dad's "owies" and talking about the "doctor fixing daddy's tummy".  Matt's follow up appointment is today, so hopefully the weight restrictions will be lifted and life can go on.

And as you all know, it is difficult for me to post anything without pictures, so here you go!

One of the nurses came to give me Matt's wedding ring, having been instructed by the patient to "Look for curly hair".  Hey, the instructions worked.  Out of the 10 people in the waiting room she came right to me.  This is the bag she gave me his ring in.  I didn't even notice what the bag was for until I went to pick him up the next day.

This is Griswald Dixie, the Appendix Monster.

While I sat in the waiting room during Matt's surgery I started knitting this monster (which is much cuter than my monster, but appendicitis isn't cute, so I guess that doesn't matter.  Anyway, I digress).  It kept my hands busy, my mind occupied and reminded me to pray for Matt and his surgeons.  Granted I changed my mind on how I wanted him to look, so none of the pieces you see in the final product were actually knitted while Matt was in surgery, but that is how Griswald started.  And in case you're wondering about the name, the one odd question I was able to think of to ask Matt was "If you had a monster, what would you name him?" to which Matt replied Griswald (and then promptly said "Wait, is this the silly question you're asking me?").  Before I had decided to get Matt in on the naming process I had thought of Dixie due to the similarity to appendix, so I decided that would be the monster's last name.  I realize his horns look more like antennas, but without them he looks like a strange moldy bear, so they're staying.
*Update* Matt hadn't seen Griswald before I posted this.  When he saw Griswald upon getting home he was excited to see that Griswald had claws.  It's the little things.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for a post, and then trudging through this one.  We will now resume our irregularly scheduled programing of pictures of our kids being cute.