Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Bad mommy, bad mommy!!

slap on the hand please!

I was looking through my posts real quick and realized I posted about Kae's anniversary, but not Chels'.  I'm so sorry my baby girl.  With everything going on with dad and now big brother and just trying to be mom, I guess I never got a chance to get online close to your anniversary.  You are my sweet, ever so sweet girl.  I love you, love you, love you.  You are funny, smart and my little angel.  What would life be without you?  Something would always be missing.  You are a light in our lives.  A completed puzzle piece.  That day 2 years ago was very much one of our happiest.

We love you Chels, Chels.

Mom and Dad


Happy Birthday Chaser Racer

Luckily, we had a little cake and ice cream the night before Chase's birthday since big brother ended up with his appendix out on his birthday, but still kinda stinky deal.  I can't believe you're 8 already.  It's so hard to believe just a few years ago on Mother's Day you were my gift to bring home.  What a happy day and you've give us so many more.

 HAPPY BIRTHDY CHASIE!!  WE LOVE YOU!!

 Mom and Dad!


Too many hospital tours in such a short amount of time

UGH!

First Brian and his accident, now Cole.  Poor guy ended up needing his appendix out Monday.  He said he woke up at midnight with bad stomach pains and vomitting and woke us at 5:00 am.  We assumed he had a stomach bug until he started crying because his stomach was hurting so bad.  I couldn't figure out why his stomach would hurt right in the center and he was vomitting, but nothing else.  He wasn't sore to touch and no fever.  I called the doctor to see if because of his anatomy I was maybe missing something.  They finally called back and said they should take a look at him.

 Still when we got there, he had no temp and it wasn't sore to the touch.  They weren't sure what to do with him, so they sent us to the ER, knowing he could then get bloodwork done.  They gave him something for the nausea right away, as well as some antibiotics.  They took his blood after setting up his IV and getting him the meds.  Later they sent him for ultrasound to see if they could verify if it was his appendix or not.  The tech was excited to get his case.  We've yet to meet a medical professional who has had someone with situs inversus totalis.  She had a bit of a time finding his appendix.  She said that if it was where she thought it was, it was funky shaped.  His lymph nodes in the stomach area were so swollen on the screen, I could see them.  There was definitely an infection she said.  By them time we went back to ER they had already verified his wbc was over 14,000, so they were ready to do surgery.  He officially began at 6:30 pm and was done by 6:55.  All the surgeon could say as he was walking away from talking to us was "definitely backwards, definitely ALL backwards". 

Now, a couple of days later, he's doing pretty well.  He's hunched a bit when he walks, but he never got sick from the anesthesia and I'm thankful for that, because I got violently ill after I had mine out.  I was REALLY worried about that for him.  He's not allowed to swim for 2 weeks, so no swimming on vacation.  No ball either for 2-3 weeks.  He's pretty sad about those two things, but he's pretty darn happy he's not feeling the way he did Monday.  He said "mom, thank God you only have one".  So right.

 Lisa


Sunday, April 20, 2008

Chelsi lately…

My poor, poor Chels was sick a couple of weeks ago. Poor baby kept coughing and coughing and then she started running a fever. Funny thing is that I usually do NOT take my children to the doctor for a little fever.....I rarely even do for a big one. It's just a way of fighting things. But the night she started running hers, we'd just gone to church that night and was coughing and I thought to myself that I would take her to the doctor if she started running a fever just to make sure she doesn't end up with pneumonia. After all she was a premie with previous pneumonia and the cough had been going on for a couple of weeks. But I just kept thinking to myself and telling myself, in church, that it wasn't on it's way to pneumonia as long as there was no fever. At 3:00 am I got up with her and sure enough she was running a temp. She never, in the couple of days she had it, ran too high of one, but I had already brought her to urgent care that Sunday morning, first thing when they opened.

We were the first ones there and they went ahead and ran a strep and influenza test, just in case. They decided it was bronchitis and, as I feared, we should be worried of pneumonia. She felt so bad the first day or two, but perked back up quickly after antibiotics and prescription cough syrup. In the last several days, she's done so much better! Glad I listened to my intuition, it's usually right with my kids! I did feel back taking milk away from her for the first few days since that is her most favorite drink, but I didn't want her cough to be worse.

Here's how pitiful she looked the first day.






Friday, April 4, 2008

Three strikes and you’re out!

Not in the sense of baseball, but not really in the sense of the law where you commit three of the same crimes and you're out.  However, strikes against you nonetheless.  That's Cole.

He's been spiraling out with his academic life and well, he's not going to like me much longer.....if he did in the first place.  I know I'm mean.  I know we discipline and he doesn't like it, but our hopes is one day he'll get it.  It will click and as he's making an bad choice he'll hear us in the back of his mind and stop or change whatever he's doing.

Earlier in the week he had papers he apparently wasn't turning in.  He "says" he had them done and had them in his desk, but suddenly couldn't find them.  His desk is, honestly, probably as messy as his shelf above his bed used to be.  His teacher was nice enough to let him complete and turn in and he slops through it with a C!  This kid can go from a C to an A in a matter of two weeks.  When he actually uses his mind and attempts to try he breezes right through, but this is him not trying which is particularly usual of him.  So tonight he brings home his "Friday" folder half full of A+'s and half full of non-passing grades.  He's grounded from playstation and all other screens for the weekend.  He's not happy, but, well, what are you going to do!  So I made him correct all papers C and below and redo and redo and redo until they were correct.  He's got to try!  One was completely careless and the other it was obvious he wasn't paying attention during that lesson, because after I explained he did just fine correcting his mistakes.  I keep trying to tell him that if you take the time to do it right the first time you won't have to do it a 2nd and 3rd and so on. 

I think I'll punish him for the homework issue the same way we have in the past.  Find worksheets online in those subjects and make him do extra school work.  He loves that one.  The grounded is for trading Pokemon cards on the bus, to which he owns none of in the first place.  Well, apparently at some point someone gave him a few and he was trading with neighbor boy tonight and took one and really upset him, which meant a meeting of the moms.  So now he's grounded since he's been warned.

We keep telling ourselves over and over and over again "this is good for him", "he will eventually get it" or "we're doing what's best for him".  All right already!!!!

Lisa


Thursday, April 3, 2008

The horror of it all!!

Fevers, fever everywhere.....well at least 50% of our children.

First Chels came down with a fever on Sunday morning.  Combine with the cold she'd been fighting for almost 2 weeks I took her to urgent care to find out she had a sinus infection and bronchitis.  Can't be too careful with colds for a premie.  She's now on prescription cough meds as well as antibiotics.  Slowly, slowly getting better, but boy has she been a wee bit on the grumpy side.  Her two year old personality that everyone expects is coming out now and that's such new territory swith us for her.  She's been such a pleasant two year old 'til now.

Then Kae came down with a fever Monday evening.  I stayed with her Tuesday as she just laid around.  Then yesterday her fever went away and she returned to daycare today.  Then today it came back!!!  You know the feeling....oh crap what now?  Now she has a funky rash on her cheeks....yep it's the slap face look of Fifths Disease!  Thank God once you get that you don't normally get it again so that rules out the boys getting it as they had it last year.  I thought the rash on her cheeks looked a bit odd.  At first it looked like she'd been wiping her nose too much, but closer study revealed little bumps.  Then I pulled her sleaves up and yep.....there's the lace looking rash the boys had last year.  So nothing terribly harmful, she just feels a litt yucky.  It was kind of nice that she didn't feel like chitter chatter non stop, but she's in full return and talking 10 miles a minute again.  Nope, I wouldn't even give her a mile a minute since she talks so much and never rests her tongue.

Now for everything to go away.....Ahhhhh....how nice.

Lisa


Saturday, March 29, 2008

Success!

Chase, Kaelin and I went rummage saling this morning.  When you leave to rummage sale, you never know if it's going to be a huge waste of time and gas or not.  Today was not.  It's been awhile since I've had a rummage sale excursion like this one.

Chase found a couple of hoodies and some swim trunks.  Kaelin got two or three swimsuits, sweatshirts, pants, Nike tennis shoes, soccer cleats.......on and on and on.  She made out like a bandit.  We found a PS2 game for the boys since they have none of their own and have been borrowing Austin's.  We found some books for Brian and Chelsi got a couple of shirts and a very much coveted Dora nightgown.  The two that came with each got a little toy since they behaved so well.  Chase picked out a miniature EtchaSketch and Kae picked out a brand new Groovy Girls doll.  It was in mint shape and really cute, so I couldn't say no for $2.  I think I spent about $40 in all, but that includes me taking them to breakfast at McDonald's.  It felt like a good day to splurge.

Now I'll be doing laundry all day long to wash 4 pairs of shoes and all of the clothes they got.  But, well worth it when I think that most is name brand and in perfect condition so it would have cost us a small fortune.  I love saving money this way.  Kaelin's almost set for Kindergarten.  I'm sure by then she will have grown a bit and need a few more things, but we'll check in with Darla and see if any of Gianna's clothes have been outgrown by then.  ;0)

 This is the ONLY time I like paying out money.  It feels very accomplished!