Conversations from the Bunger House

Our marathon week of going to the pool continues and they are still excited!

We are about to start our last week day of my summer vacation and if the weather clears up we will also have our 6th day in a row at one of the pools in Manhattan!  I promised the boys we could go every day this week if they wanted to, and of course they have kept me to my word each day. :)

I have facebooked quite a bit about the hilarious things the boys have said recently, but I had to include some more in this latest post.  Both boys have had me trying not to laugh out loud at some of there comments or mix ups of words and phrases they are sure they know.  Here are just a few:

Attempting to get a good picture of the boys together before leaving for the pool...what was I thinking?

Collin:  Mommy, why are the steps wet?
Me:  Mommy used a carpet cleaner on them while you were at school today.
Collin:  You got them terribly wet Momma!

Mitchell: Mommy, did you get these new towels at that store we went to today?
Me:  Yes, do you remember what it was called?
Mitchell: Was it Bed, Bath and Backwash?

Collin: I want to go to the cat pool today!
Me: (snickering) You mean the kiddie pool?

while showing me his 100 pictures of the kitty, his stuffed pets, star wars figures and things out the car window he has all taken pictures of....
Mitchell:  I make a pretty good photoga-aga-pher, huh Mommy?

Getting his haircut with our hairdresser and neighbor Connie...for all you children of the 80's who loved the Thundercats as much as I did!
Connie:  What is your middle name Collin?
Collin:  PANTHRO!

Mitchell: What are we going to do tonight?
Me:  Mommy is going out to see friends and you are having a boys night with Daddy.
Mitchell: But who will sing to me at bedtime?
Me: Daddy of course
Mitchell: I don't want you to go.  Your voice is much better.

It's been a great last week with the boys!  I have also been able to get back to running a bit this week.  While it was a slow and painful start, I am hoping to get a 4 or 5 mile run accomplished Saturday morning before my good friend Laura Mader and her kids arrive to play for the day!  Chad is also competing in a 5K Warrior Race in Kansas City Saturday afternoon.  We won't attend, but I'm sure it will be an interesting event!

One backpack

It's late and I am obviously not going to sleep anytime soon this evening.  I would say that both Chad and I have struggled sleeping this summer and as Mitchell's surgery date is now less than two months away and school is just around the corner it creeps into our minds even more.

Today Mitchell and I took some time before picking Collin up from preschool to get all of his school supplies.   I wasn't thrilled with his choice of a Mario back pack but he was so excited to get it home and put all his supplies in it so he is ready for his first day of school on August 24th.  And then I had a moment of panic when several thoughts came to me all at once.  Here was just some of my many racing thoughts....

How in the world are we going to get a little boy who lives in t-shirts and mesh shorts/pants to actually wear button up shirts only?  After surgery he won't be able to pull anything over his head clothing wise for quite some time.

What will we do to keep him happy and comfortable when he is out of PICU and back in a hospital room?  When he had this surgery at 9 months old his eyes were completely swollen shut for at least 1 to 2 days.

How are we going to keep his brother from climbing all over him when we get home?

While we have talked quite a bit with Mitchell about his upcoming surgery and we are always ready to answer questions as best we can when he asks....it has been easier for me to just put this aside and try not to have it be the center of my focus during the days.  But at night it is hard not to be, well just sad, scared, worried and heartbroken.

 For some reason when I get like this I keep coming back to a moment we had with one pediatric NICU doctor with Collin when he had his own problems as a newborn in 2008.  This man had little to NO bedside manner.. At the time the thoughts that went through my head after he turned and said this to me were less than positive (and if you know me you know exactly what that means.)  As we talked about how/why Collin happened to be the 1 in some big-number-odds of having this rare hemolytic jaundice he just stopped, looked at me and said: "No one ever promises anyone in life a healthy baby.  But everyone just seems to expect one.  Be thankful we can help your baby."

Okay, so maybe not what I needed to hear right at that very second!  But it has stuck with me none the less.  I am so thankful for so many things and I have to be thankful even in this situation with Mitchell.  I am thankful this was caught before he started having problems.  I am thankful there are amazing specialist that can work magic by reshaping his forehead and orbital bones so his brain has room to grow.  And I am thankful each day that God made me the mother of this most amazing young man.

Chad's Olympic Distance Triathlon

1500 meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run....what an amazing feat! 

Chad's 4th triathlon was also his longest to date and he did great finishing in 3:06:15.  Thankfully the hot, sunny weather did not hit until the end of the race and I was so proud to see him accomplish this goal.  The course was extremely challenging and Chad finished 19th in his age group.

Before the triathlon began at 6 a.m. at Lake Cunningham

Chad coming in after the 40K bike

Chad in the white hat coming out of transition for the 10K run

At the finish line holding up "wildcats" with both hands as always!

Chad and I Thursday night just before the Zac Brown Band concert in Omaha

We had a wonderful extended weekend visiting friends and even getting to see Chad's cousins in York while picking up the van.  Even though we have returned to the 100+ heat in Kansas, we are both glad to be back home with the boys.  Only one more week of summer vacation before I return to work....where has the summer went???

It's hard to run...

When you've been sick for a week!  I've hardly eaten in a solid week and to say I am stir crazy and ready to be well again would be an understatement.  We have plans to see the Zac Brown Band tomorrow night with the Croghan's and Mader's in Omaha and I am still hopeful we will be there.  But the real test will be eating real food.....which hasn't happened successfully in a week!

Mitchell and the fort he constructed out of our dining room chairs while I was mopping in the kitchen.  The boys had a lot of fun with it.....if only it hadn't been in the middle of our living room, it could have lasted longer! :)

We have all Mitchell's pre-op appointments scheduled now (thankfully all three in one day which means only one extra trip before surgery to KC).  His surgery is set for Monday, September 19th....either the scheduling nurse told originally me wrong or I heard September 20th instead of the 19th but we are on the same page now.  We plan to meet with his teacher and other staff at his elementary school in August to plan for the month he will miss from his 1st grade year.

Hoping for good weather and perhaps some slightly cooler temperatures for Chad this Sunday morning as he competes in his next triathlon in Omaha!!!

Grand Island

Shana and I at her wedding reception in Grand Island, NE

You can almost set your watch by it at our house.  Have plans made several months in advance for a fun weekend and we are basically just putting a welcome mat out for some crazy virus on steroids to invade our home.  I guess we could also include holidays like Christmas in there as well if you were counting....but everyone gets the idea!

I am glad we were able to finally make it Shana and Josh Brigg's beautiful wedding reception in Grand Island this past Saturday.  But it seems like our trip was doomed from the get go.  Sure some of this was self inflicted....after my turn with the amazingly awful stomach flu, I thought I had recovered Saturday and we took out for GI.  I think I would have probably been just fine too, but I just had to have Godfather's pizza for lunch....even though I hadn't really eaten anything for 2 days.  In hind sight, this was not my wisest decision in life as I paid for that 1 slice of pizza and Dr. Pepper dearly for the rest of the day and evening.

Laura, myself and Shana during the reception/dance

And because it just can't be fun enough in 100+ degree heat, we had another wonderful surprise as we were all loaded in the van, dressed in our best and ready to head to the wedding reception for a good time with lots of friends.Our van decided that this would be the day it would no longer shift out of park and also lock up and not allow the key to turn off completely once it had been turned on.  Thankfully this all happened outside of Zach and Laura's house so we could quickly get the kids inside.  However we were about 2 hours late to the wedding reception once we finally arrived.  I was feeling better for most of the evening, but by the end of the night my stomach was killing me again and I had to call it an early night.

After a long Sunday of having the van towed, picking up the kids at Chad's folks in Hildreth and once again not eating all day (wasn't hungry and didn't trust my stomach after the day before).  We are exhausted and I wish the weekend could have turned out differently for us.  However we are thankful for Chad's folks to who took the boys home so we could have some time with friends we don't get to see often and for my folks who helped us tremendously with the van drama.  Not only did they help us get the towing figured out, they rode with the van in the tow truck to York and then drove our loaner car back to Manhattan!  We are also thankful to have Chad's cousins Ben and Carol Kohl who are always amazing helping us find vehicles and coming to our aide with a loner car while they look at our doomed van.  I'm pretty sure at one point yesterday evening Chad was ready to push it down North Webb Road and into a railroad intersection!  But of course it wouldn't shift out of park so that was impossible. :)

These experiences are what memories are made from.....good or bad.  We are still glad we were able to celebrate with Josh and Shana and wish them the best!  This week we will have a trip back to NE for the van of course and also to see the Zac Brown Band in Omaha while Chad will also compete in his 4th triathlon also in Omaha on Sunday.  We know he will do amazing!!!

Splish Splash

Another great summer for the pool!   Both boys love the water and as you can see from the video below...Mitchell continues to be very adventurous.  He can now also do front flips off the diving board at Cico Pool and is proud to be in level 5 for swimming lessons. He is determined to pass out by the end of this week so we can start the next session on level 6. And we keep assuring him that swim lessons are about being a strong swimmer and not about how high of a level you are on. I have no idea where he gets his competitive spirit from.....

Swimming at our neighbors pool during the 4th of July weekend

Collin is also in the preschool swimming lessons with me and is making great progress! He can now go under water, blow bubbles underwater, bobs up to 5 times and float on his back. He is also doing good on his scoop and kick actions and just loves going each morning to the pool. His one hill to climb is jumping off the side of the pool to me by himself. Here are some of his comments/reasons why he didn't need to do this during our lesson today:

Collin: But I just did jump!
Me: But we need to practice it again.
Collin: I already did practice, let's go get a noodle.

Collin: Mommy, come CLOSER to me!!!
and
Collin: Mommy, I just need your fingers for a second!
Me: You can do it without my fingers.  I will catch you.
Collin:  Just one finger Mommy, I need it!
and
Collin: I need to hug your shoulders Mommy!

Bouncing Back

Last week was a total whirlwind and to be honest and I am still wrapping my brain around what is in store for Mitchell this coming fall. But we have had some great family time and another 10K race that Chad and I completed on July 4th.

We had a great time this week with Aunt Amy and cousin Daniel who came down from Minnesota for the week!

We had so much fun with Daniel swimming, playing, watching fireworks and even went bowling one afternoon.

We ended our week visit taking in Mitchell's t-ball game.  It was a great visit and I know both boys will miss Daniel and Aunt Amy tomorrow when the return home.

Chad and I were able to run in the Junction City Freedom 10K Race on the morning of July 4th.  Neither of us had done hardly any running at all with the craziness of the week before with Mitchell.  With the humidity and lack of preparation, I was just hoping to finish the race.  Chad did awesome and had a PR with a time of 54:41!!!  I also had my second fastest 10K time and also had my second 10K running under one hour finishing just over 59 minutes.  It was hard run for both of us and again with the summer conditions and little to no running time beforehand I think we both did a great job.

Chad and I will no longer be able to run the October 15th 1/2 Marathon in KC due to Mitchell's surgery/recovery.  We may look at running another 1/2 marathon in November, but time will tell.

Another unexpected surprise to the week was this last picture!  This storm went past us Tuesday night, but the wind gusts coming off it took down two huge limbs in our backyard.  Thank goodness they fell in the perfect spot......missing our play area, the porch and most importantly, the house!