Hectic

Things here have been crazy, and I mean CRAZY.
I have been spending the last two weeks recovering from surgery and man I do NOT wish having your tonsils removed upon anyone! Eating nothing but jello for 5 days got old after day 2! But now I can eat normal food, still some discomfort but overall I am doing well. Besides, getting my tonsils removed was an instant weight loss plan! I lost 15 pounds! Go figure lol.
The boys did a great job of taking care of the house and everything that comes with it while I was taking the time to get better.
But now its time to get back to normal.
Charlie has graduated from Pre-K, his end of the year program was the night before my surgery and it was so cute. All of the kids dressed in beach clothes and sang some cute songs for all of the parents and guests. I will post pics once I get them all off of my camera.
Yesterday, not only being my birthday (26 years young ppl), was Charlie's HIPPY fun day. After 3 years of HIPPY he is done and I think between those three years and Pre-K this year he is 150% prepared for kindergarten this fall. Its hard to believe my baby will be going to kindergarten. His HIPPY teachers got all of the kids who are going to kindergarten this fall a backpack with their name on it and it was full of all of the supplies they will be needing... I thought it was a wonderful gift!
Tyler was supposed to leave for OK today, but like the good old military, it got pushed back and extended. He isn't leaving till Tuesday, which is fine with me, because that gives us a three day weekend together before he goes away for 6+ weeks, which was supposed to be 5+ weeks. Thank you Army! lol
I have some great things planned for Charlie and I while Tyler is gone. I saved some appts for that time, a trip to the zoo, the library has some great things going on this summer that I am sure he will enjoy, plus going to Build-a-Bear to make Tyler's Father's Day present! Thats the one thing I know will cheer Charlie up, he absolutely loves that place.
I am hoping this trip goes smoothly. Typically whenever Tyler goes away for the military something typically goes wrong here at home ***knocks on wood***. Plus, this will be the first time Charlie will really understand that Daddy isn't home and understands the concept of time.
Anyway, just wanted to update a little, I will post pics of Charlie's end of year stuff soon.

Going under

Well, I will be going in on Tuesday to get my tonsils removed. OUCH!! I have been dealing with tonsilitis for the last 16 years, and have finally found a doctor who is willing to take them out.
While I am not looking forward to surgery, pain, not being able to verbally talk to my boys, or eat for that matter, I know in the long run it will be well worth it.
It will be interesting however, Tyler will be going on a day shift while I am recovering, that way he can be home at night to take care of the house and Charlie, and I can have the house to myself to sleep and get better. But he has never really had to take care of everything on his own. All of the cooking, bills, cleaning, homework, etc. But I am sure he will do great.
He is leaving in 3 weeks for OK, for training, not too sure when he is coming home, thats a scary thought, but its the Army way... hurry up and wait. LOL So, unfortunately I will be recovering most of the time I have left with him, but his last day home will be a blast. Its my birthday, Charlie's fun day, and we are going to make a day of it. He has to ship out at 5:30am, so that will be a long day for Charlie and I, plus Charlie has his school picnic that day also... HOLY COW!!
So, keep your eyes out, while I am stuck in bed with no voice, I will probably put my fingers to serious use.

Easter

Well I hope everyone had a Happy and fun Easter! I know we certainly did.
Both Charlie and Tyler had a 3 day weekend. The perk of living in the middle of the bible belt, employers and schools give Good Friday off!! It actually worked out great since Tyler leaves on May 20th. It gave us a chance to have a guaranteed weekend together as a family, no work, appts, nothing. Just the three of us having fun.
On Friday we went out to celebrate since its offical, I am out of remission!!! Thats right ladies and gentlemen, Athena Marie Lutz is cancer free!!! I could just say that for hours!!
While we were out we decided to take Charlie to see the Easter Bunny and get his picture taken.

That night we did our traditional egg coloring and decorating. We all had so much fun.

Here is some of the eggs we decorated
On Saturday the library had an all day Easter event; including, an egg hunt, face painting, a balloon man, and so much more. So we hit that up for a while.
The Lutz Family with the Easter Bunny.
Then on Sunday we did the usual... egg hunt, egg wars, good food, and some family fun.

"Why do you do what you do?"

I was asked by another mom in Charlie's Pre-K class, "Why do you do what you do?" At first I was puzzled by her question. She wanted to know why I do what I do in regards to supporting Charlie with everything in regards to school, activities, etc, and why I support Tyler 100% in what he does both with Falcon Jet and with the Army.
It was the most simple yet complexed answer in the world.
I will start with Tyler. I knew when I was dating Tyler what it could/would mean if things got serious and in turn we got married. Ok, maybe I didn't know EVERYTHING that would be thrown at me from the military, but I did know that it could mean things would be very unstable, and things would change faster than I could blink. And I was ok with that, in fact I was more than ok.
I support him because, well... think about how many men and women serve in the Armed Forces. They are all someone's daughter/son, brother/sister, mother/father, husband/wife... when they get called up for anything that will take them away from their families, loved ones, and their everyday life, they need to know that they have the love and support of the ones left behind to help get them through. They could be gone for weeks, months, or even years... don't you think they need people to think of coming home to? And thats what I want to be for Tyler, every day for our entire lives.
Sure, I hate him having to leave, or to get thrown curve balls every 15 minutes, but I am 100% proud of him and what he does... not just for me, but for our son, our friends, our families, our neighbors, and of course for himself. Being a military wife means I have to be prepared to be a single parent at any given minute, to take on this entire world without my number 1 supporter and my best friend. I wouldn't give it up for the world, no matter where the military takes Tyler, because at the end of the day, he will come home to our family with loving, open arms.
Now for Charlie. I am very big in making sure that he is 100% on top of things. I knew something was off with his speech, and I fought doctors and the schools to make sure he got the help he needed, and in turn he a million times better than where he was 1 year ago. I volunteer in his class multiple times a week, and help with preparing projects for the kids. I love doing this. I love knowing that I can be involved in his life, and that he loves me being a part of it. I see other kids in the class, and they have no stability. They have someone different dropping them off and picking them up everyday. That can't be easy.
I know that not every family is lucky enough to have a full time stay at home parent, but that is why Tyler and I have busted our butts to make sure that we have a lifestyle to where our children will always have at least 1 parent present for anything special in their lives. Whether it be a choir concert, a soccer game, a class Christmas party. With Tyler having to be in and out because of the Army, we wanted to make sure that I was 100% the constant parent in his life. For him to know that no matter where daddy is in the world, mommy will always be there to kiss the boo boos, to help with homework, and anything else you can think of.
That is why I do what I do. I love the two men in my life more than I value my own. And it is why I fight for them, and its why I fight for me.
So at the end of the day, I am a proud stay at home mom, and a proud Army wife. And I plan to live that way for as long as I can.

Please keep Charlie in your thoughts

I am writing to ask all of my friends to please keep Charlie in your thoughts and prayers come Wednesday.
I took him to see a ear, nose and throat doctor this past Tuesday because he kept getting severe ear infections and just got over one not even 3 weeks ago and got yet another on the 14th.
Well I planned on going in there just to talk to him (Dr. Stroud) about seeing about tubes and whether or not this would be a good option for Charlie.
After being there for 2 hours and tests here is what is going on.
There are different kinds of fluids that can cause ear infections and some of them are more serious than others, as well as the placement of the fluid can make some ear infections more dangerous than others.
Well, Charlie got hit with all of the bad, he has the more serious fluid in the more dangerous areas of his ears. What made it worse was at that point (of the appt) he had been on the antibiotics for 4 days, and the doc said that his ears should have looked a bit better than they did. Plus, his left eardrum is bulging because of the fluid and added pressure, so in turn he is experiencing some hearing loss. That terrifies me. They did a hearing test on him and he did BAD, he couldn't hear some of the sounds/words that were at the standard level of sound (like a normal talking voice).
I wanted to get Charlie in for surgery ASAP, and even better if it could be within this upcoming week since he is out of school for Spring Break.... well they were booked (they operate on Mondays & Fridays), well apparently Dr. Stroud shares my concern about Charlie's hearing and bulging eardrum because he called the hospital and had them set a operating room aside for Wednesday morning. The will first have to drain the fluid from both ears, which hopefully will take down the pressure that the eardrum is having, if not they will have to take care of that, then they will remove his adnoids, and finally place tubes in his ears. Unless they are any problems in either the operating room or in recovery he will get to come home.
I know the surgery is pretty routine, but its everything that is going on with him that I am most concerned about, and hopefully his hearing will be restored back to normal.
So, please keep my precious little boy in your thoughts. He is being far more brave then his mom.
I will post an update on Wednesday.
Thanks

A whole heap!

Ok, things in the Lutz household have been overwhelming.
The same weekend we found out about Tyler being activated and his upcoming deployment, we found out that his mom took a turn for the worse. Its to the point where the doctors say there is nothing more medically they can do for her and have placed her in a hospice. Tyler is very upset. He is only in his late 20's and maybe lose his only living parent before he hits 30. We haven't said anything to Charlie because she could end up living for weeks, or even years, so we don't want him to have this worry on his shoulders. I am thankful we are only about a 6 hour drive away in case we need to go to be by her side.
My fertility treatments are starting to take its toll on me emotionally. It will be 3 years next month since we have been trying to add to our family and nothing has come of it. I am beginning to question if I just need to accept that we will be a family of 3. I told Tyler that I could never bring myself to do IVF. Due to my medical history, I would have a struggle carrying multiples, and I could never bring myself to do selective reduction if needed.
I ended up taking Charlie to an Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor today for his constant ear infections. He has had 3 in the last 3 months, and something was telling me it was something that seriously needed to be addressed. I was right. Not only does he have an insane amount of fluid in his ears, but its in an adnormal spot, plus his left ear drum is bulging and in turn is experiencing some minor hearing loss. He will be going in for surgery next Wednesday to have his adnoids removed and to have tubes put into his ears. Hopefully my little boy can be a happy, healthy little boy after this is done.
Tyler is getting ready to go to training sometime in May and will be gone for 5 weeks, which isn't bad, definately better than they year he will be gone starting next year.
Other than all of that, things seems to be pretty alright. Very busy as usual.
Plus, tomorrow is our 6 year wedding anniversary!! WOO HOO!!!

The military dropped a bomb

Well Tyler (DH) is at the post this weekend for drill. Its a monthly routine and not much comes from it. Just some training, paperwork, fixing helicopters, you know the usual.
Not today, today was the day that Tyler felt the need to drop news after news in my lap.First thing he tells me is that his unit has been activated for the next year. Basically that means, they can call him at any hour, of any day and say, you need to be here within the hour you are going to __________. He could be called for any emergency, anywhere and be gone.
The second thing he tells me is that he is being deployed in Sept 2010. Now before anyone says something like, "well thats so long away no worries blah blah blah", please don't. Unless you understand what it is like to know that you DH will be in a hostile war zone, don't give me that load of crap. I know it can change and I know that its 18 months away, but on that same note, it could become less time. And right now I have double to worry about.
Needless to say, it will be hard to watch him talk to Charlie tonight and prepare him of what could be at any given moment.
Please keep Tyler in your thoughts and that no matter when or where he goes that he will be safe.