Thank You Guilt

I'm good, I think (I hope), at thanking people for their kind gestures and thoughtfulness in person.  I'm even often good at writing thank you notes for occasions such as birthdays and holidays.  Though come to think of it, I've been lacking in this area recently.  Maybe because we work closely with our young children on these tasks?  I'm not at all good about hand writing notes of any kind "just because".

This Friday marks the 17 month anniversary of a major life altering event for our family.  Since we are still "in the middle of it" 17 months sounds a whole lot longer than it feels.  At the time right after the accident we had an amazing outpouring of support.  It was amazing and indescribable.  All I can hope is that other families going through hard times have that same kind of support around them.

It was clearly an overwhelming time in our lives.  It was a time where all of our energy was focused on healing our daughter and taking care of the physical and emotional needs of all of our children.  Then we were forced to give attention to our own emotional healing as well.  As time marched on we would take care of only the absolute necessities as our focus was on healing.

All the while I'm playing our own personal episode of Intervention in my head because we didn't take care of things as we should have.  Cue cute baby picture followed by tragic story line and all the ways the parents F'd up that sent the child down a path of hell. :)

So all that's an excuse and to this day I still feel guilty (sometimes more than others, today being more) about not hand writing thank you notes to everyone.  We thanked everyone in person. There were very few hand written notes and even a few e-mails of thanks sent out.  We did journal (almost) all of our visitors, phone calls, the numerous gifts brought to the hospital, brought to our home, and sent in the mail.  I'm pretty sure we left the drivers numerous gifts off that list!  We were prepared to send out formal thank you notes, we just couldn't.   

This is all heightened for me at the moment because of my experience witnessing another family go through a tremendous situation that has to be much more difficult than our own experience.  The mom lost her husband in a tragic accident that also severely injured her almost 3yr old and 8 yr old while she was at home with their 5m old... on the first day of school.  Oh, and the other drivers BAC was 4x the limit at 8am.  He was on his way to work!  In just 2 short months after the accident she writes... 

"I was getting excited that I finished off a roll of 100 stamps...until I realized that I'm probably only about 1/3 into the notes that I need to write of those that I "know" I need to thank.  I wish I knew more of the service rendered so I could thank people, but it's really impossible I suppose."

We were the recipient of one of those very nice notes.  Then I felt guilty that she dedicated her time to writing me.

I can't imagine.  We totally felt the need to thank folks for their generosity.  Words couldn't possibly express our gratitude.  But at first it felt impossible to hold it all together and to write these notes.  At whatever point it became physically and emotionally possible to do so, so much time had passed and so many people (or everyone) had moved on. 

But now that I've got some distance I wonder if we did the "right thing".

Reconciling The Expense Of Texting

Yesterday afternoon we finally had Abby & Ellie's 7 year well check... just a couple of months late.

The crazy thing is that we had it scheduled for shortly after their birthday. Then with all the craziness of the accident and subsequent appointments we cancelled. Because seriously, we had enough other appointments scheduled that we didn't need this on our plates. Right? Ultimately, it didn't matter! We should have just done it back then. Over the past couple of weeks we have had no less than 3 appointments a week, plus school events, plus PTA events, now school is back in session and soccer started last night. Craziness!

So during the appointment their Pediatrician and I are chatting about various things while the girls were being shy, silly, and pretending to be their guinea pigs. The shyness was because they absolutely did not want to go, even though they knew there wouldn't be shots. According to Ellie "you just never know what surprises there may be". I get why Abby didn’t want to go, she is just done with appointments. I can’t blame her.

So at some point in the conversation I was trying to casually clarify a slight concern with their Ped so she understood what angle our concern was coming from. A couple of months ago we were going to call in and discuss this with the Ped prior to the appointment so we weren’t bringing it up in front of the girls. Then on the way to the appointment yesterday Carie happened to remember this plan of a couple of months ago. Ooops! We decided it wasn’t the big deal that it seemed to be a few months ago, but we would still casually make note of it. Amazing how things change in a matter of a couple of months!

As the Ped and I were talking I mentioned something about how it doesn't do any good to spell out the words, which didn’t surprise her in the least. I then said that we've been through a phase where we would omit vowels and our most recent tactic was spelling words backwards. All of that would work if we were trying to fool Spencer who is a full 3 years younger, but nothing works with the girls anymore. The Ped laughed and said she hadn't thought about omitting vowels before.

Then without knowing it, she gave me a great tip! She said that we'll have to text each other!

Now I'm sure this isn't a new revelation to a lot of people. However, we are too cheap to pay for a data package, thus we don't text, and thus this simple option never occurred to us.

But perhaps we should realize that we are in fact trying to teach them to be smarter than us and ultimately we aren’t going to be able to get anything past them. So perhaps we should at least consider the options of the 21st Century!

Or we could continue to humor ourselves and try to outwit them.

The appointment itself was fairly non-eventful. The traditional height, weight, blood pressure, etc… Every single ear looked fantastic… a first! Anything else of concern we are already addressing with specialist or have upcoming appointments where we will address with a specialist.

Thank Goodness Tomorrow Marks Week #4...

... and let's hope that 4 weeks really is the magic number!

The next milestone in our overall healing process is an upcoming Ortho appointment. We are to follow up at 4 weeks for another round of x-rays and such to determine whether or not Abby can safely put weight on her left leg. While it is still a bit swollen and bruised, the real test really is how healed her pelvis is. Given that the anniversary of week #4 falls on Friday and it wasn't possible to get an appointment on Friday, we went with the next available appointment which happens to be next Tuesday. We were hoping that a couple of extra days would help seal the deal for good news!

I sure hope she is healed enough because...

Today she fell out of her wheel chair!

At recess!

Playing "bat tag"!

The story goes something like "Molly's (older) brother was pushing me and we weren't it!" I asked if she was having fun. She giggled and said yes!

And here we thought the wheel chair would have been a safer option at recess. It sounds like her entire cushion fell out with her so she landed on that and not directly onto the black top. Thank goodness!

I knew we should have rigged up our own seat belt.

Two Weeks

This afternoon at 3:50pm marks 2 weeks since "the accident"... ONLY 2 weeks.

It feels like it has been longer, much much longer!

I haven't publicly written much at all about Abby's accident. At first there simply was no time. All of our focus and energy was on taking care of our children. It felt like it took all we could muster up to make that happen. Thanks to some incredible friends, we were able to make that happen! And now while things are just starting to settle down (except for the numerous doctor appointments!), we are still constantly going trying to keep up and keep things as normal as possible for our kids.

I have started a private journal to get it all out and dump my experience, thoughts & feelings onto paper. That is proving to be hard, but I think it will be really beneficial in the end. I’m hoping that Carie will be able to do the same.

We didn't personally take any pictures at the hospital. We discussed it and decided we just couldn't do it. We didn't want those visual memories. We also didn't keep "the dress". Again, didn't want to ever see it again. That may not have been the best decision, but it is what we needed to do at the time. The physical memories we want to keep are all the cards, letters, balloons, gifts, etc... you name it, she got it. The outpouring of love and support has been phenomenal... absolutely phenomenal. It has kept us going!

School is officially out as of last Friday. Abby & Ellie are way excited to be 2nd graders! We've just received their test results and their report card and are beyond pleased and proud with both. Spencer is excited to go to his 4yo preschool! But first, we get to enjoy a couple months of summer!

Abby & Ellie's 7th birthday is tomorrow. We celebrated with family and friends all last weekend. This weekend is all about us. Unfortunately our b-day plans (a whole day at CoCo Key!) have been derailed due to the accident. But we've promised to celebrate their b-day again in a few weeks when she is (hopefully) cleared by the Orthopedic.

In the mean time, we are coming up with alternate FUN b-day plans for their actual day. The celebration starts tonight with a fire in the fire pit and s’mores! If it rains earlier than planned, we'll start a fire indoors in the fireplace... nothing like running the AC while enjoying the fireplace! We haven’t settled on anything specific for tomorrow, we first need to see how this afternoon’s doctor’s appointment goes!

We'll do pretty much whatever they choose, as long as we can physically pull it off. Heck, given what they've been through recently I would seriously consider buying them a pony if they asked for it. But don't give them any ideas! LOL



OH... and things come in three's, right???? As long as we are all covered by our neighbors’ experiences, I think our entire block is safe for the rest of the summer!

Abby's accident happened right in front of our house... from our driveway to 5 houses down the street.

A neighbor 2 houses up... his car fell on him while he was changing his brakes. Of course he was home alone! Thankfully it happened to land "just right" and he was able to get out and our neighbor took him to the ER. If it would have fallen any other way, it would have been really really bad.

At this point, the neighbor in between us chose to lay low on his projects, worried that he would be the 3rd victim.

Then... The family across the street, their son (middle school age) and his buddy were hanging out and riding bikes. Of course the friend was riding his bike carelessly... but remember, pre-teen/teen aged boy. Basically he fell and shattered his jaw.

Definitely... something

The boy loves the word definitely.

Gotta love it when your son says to you… “You are definitely wrong momma".

Even better when he quickly follows up with… “You are definitely wrong again".

Yes - insert the tilted head, scrunched brows, and cocky chuckle that implies it all.

Nothing new really, I was just reminded of how definitely wrong I was this morning as I was trying to “fix” his rocket.


One thing is for sure, he is definitely growing!

At his 4yr well check he was 44lbs (94%) and 43” (95%). He’s tall enough thanks, but how cool would it have been if he was 44”?

He had absolutely zero interest in changing into the gown, so he didn’t. No shots, hallelujah! I know we’ll more than make up for it next year. The Ped had a slight concern with his ears and lack of tubes… but we aren’t at the moment. It is his sister we are concerned about in that area. Everything else checked out perfectly.

We concluded the appointment with a thorough conversation on poop (with photographic evidence), both in regards to him and his other sister. It is amazing all the exciting conversations we can hold! Ears and poop, bring it on.

We Were Due

It feels like we've had a great winter in the illness area... knock on some real wood! So I guess we were due for something.

I took Ellie in to our urgent care on Sunday, and I'm glad I did. Well, except for the fact that another family came in right after us and their infant son was all broke out in some nasty rash. Poor kid! I really felt for him and his parents. Clearly the parents hit their wall and were ready for it to be over. The mom was all “I have a deductible? Okay! I don’t care what it is, we need help!” But, if it was contagious, I could really do without our household coming down with it thankyouverymuch!

The verdict was a raging double ear infection. The doc didn't have to look long and no reason to look twice. This was absolutely no surprise to us given her nasty nose and drainage going on... and her mood, oh her mood, over the past week. But oddly, she has no other symptoms! We've asked her repeatedly throughout the week if anything hurt and when she said no we would specifically ask if her ears were bothering her. Again we got a no. Our kids never have fevers or any of the classic signs that come with ear infections. Add to that, she's been eating everything in sight recently. The girls also have a really high pain tolerance so by the time they tell us their ears hurt, it has gotten pretty nasty. Sure enough, this was the case on Sunday.

Sunday night when we got home Abby noted that her ear now hurt because (in the past 45 minutes) she shared her drink with Ellie. It was really framed as... I must be sick because I've shared Ellie's germs. It wasn't ever a... mom, my ear hurts thing. It also had been a long day and everyone was tired, ready to be home and in bed. Then again Tuesday morning Abby mentioned that her ear hurt. So off to the Ped they went and sure enough, double ear infection.

When Carie went in with Abby on Tuesday the receptionist commented on how they hadn't seen us in a long time. Carie joked that we were just into the Urgent Care (same office - different staff) with Ellie on Sunday, now Abby on Tuesday, surely we'll be back with Spencer on Thursday! I hope that isn't the case!

Our Ped also did a double take when she saw Spencer. He's grown so much!

We'll be following up in a couple of weeks with both of them because clearly they can't accurately tell us how their ears are doing... until it becomes really bad. That will also be a great time to review their overall allergy, sinus and ear history. Oh and their growth! Abby weighed in at 45lbs and Ellie at 47lbs. I’m hoping that is up from their previous measurements! We shall compare notes and discuss.

Sketchy Memory

Thanks for asking for an update Shannon!

Grandma seems to be doing well. We visited with her on Sunday and had a really good visit. The kids really enjoy going to see her and I think she really enjoys seeing them. They had just gotten new little Easter trinket/toys that they were playing with and they pretty much entertained the whole (small!!!) family area. The other patients seem to really enjoy the small people who visit.

Since we were in town we decided that we would take the kids to the Circus. We had missed the one local to us and the girls had expressed interest in going. This would be their first circus experience! So after visiting with Grandma we headed downtown. After the show Spencer really wanted to go back and see Great Grandma. That was all he could talk about once we got back to the van. Every time we've been to visit and leave he begs to go back to visit her again. Some days we do plan multiple visits, but not this day. We had to convince him that it was her bedtime and we wouldn't want to wake her. It took some serious convincing! Not to mention, we really needed to get (a late) dinner and get home ourselves.

Grandma continues to make progress. We'll likely know more after the meeting with the staff tomorrow. She is participating in her therapy, which is great. She's eating again and able to feed herself. They are able to get her in a wheel chair and we are able to get her out of her room to visit with her. Even better, she's able to hold a conversation with us. There was a time when I wasn't sure she would be able to do that again.

The trick with the conversations though is figuring out where her mind is. It is pretty easy to go with the flow. Because of our history, we know what or who she is talking about. It mostly all makes sense but it isn't always relevant to current happenings or she'll blend the past and present. Just recently she told my mom and aunt "What would you two do without me?" Grandma loves genealogy and she has immense knowledge about who is who and how everyone is connected. I can't keep up with her!

She can tell you where she is at but I believe there is still some level of confusion. Just last night she was able to tell my mom where she was (name of the place) but she thought she was in her hometown and certain people were waiting at her house for her to come home. In reality, she is still in my parent's home town, I'm fairly certain that at least one of the people she mentioned passed away several years ago, and she likely won't be going home anytime soon.

Last weekend she thought the other patients/residents were Carie's family and we were there to visit them. She's visited with Carie's small family many times and knows who they are. I don't think she fully grasps that she's one of many patients at this facility.

Initially, after her sudden turnaround, she was focused on Christmas and I'm not convinced it was the most recent Christmas. She was worried about how much dressing and fruit salad she needed to make. At some point we then talked about upcoming birthdays and how we celebrate her birthday and Spencer's birthday together. So now she's worried about making birthday cakes. We tried convincing her to not worry about it and how we would simply love it if she was well enough to be there... we would take care of the cake! She then went on a tangent about making my brother a birthday cake and told him she was going to make him one. His birthday was a few months ago.

This weekend she brought up her parents and their farm, all of which has been gone for years. She talked about taking our kids to visit them at the farm.

But then she'll ask questions about really relevant current events and it blows my mind. So I believe we are still on the "time will tell" plan.

Breakthrough

On Monday of this week Grandma was moved from the hospital to a rehab center. It was just the next step in this process of waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting. It didn't seem that her condition had improved; in fact she seemed to have declined. She had declined drastically from last Saturday into Sunday and then appeared to take small declines throughout the week. Her alertness and cognitive ability has been so sketchy.

Last night we went to Lincoln to visit her. Going in we were told that she had a good day. But I continue to have to keep in mind... a "good day" considering what she's been through. One of the toughest things in all this is that her life has drastically changed. It is hard to witness her going from a completely independent adult to where she's at now in such a short time. The unknown is where she'll be at the end of this road. A light that is really hard to see.

Last night, after rousing her and talking to her for a while I could tell that she knew we were there. She held our hands and responded in her own way. I even got her to raise her eyebrows at me. If only I could remember what I said to get such a response! Then it was time to get her settled for the night, which seemed to agitate her. We then said goodnight and headed home. It was a good visit and I'm glad we went. But it still left feeling like she had declined from our prior visit.

Then this morning, completely out of the blue, we get good news. News that gives us hope. Her responsiveness has changed dramatically. The sudden change has surprised everyone. She even remembered our visit from last night. My SIL (who works there) told her that she sure gave us all a scare. I guess her response was "I know it's the pits getting old"... or something along those lines. She was talking about other random things that independently related to her life but didn't make much sense all put together. But hey, words are coming out of her mouth and they are semi understandable. She can think it is 2001 (as she did last Friday night) for all I care. She’s at least in the right century, right?

I hope and pray that this is a stable step in the right direction. I hope it isn't a fleeting moment where she returns to her prior state just as quickly as she came out of it.

Touch & Go

That sums up the weekend and where we are at with Grandma. Some good times, some really really hard times. While you try and focus on the good times, the hard times are really scary. It's amazing the difference an hour can make. Only time will tell.

Turning Point

Yesterday afternoon I got the call that no one wants to get.

One of my grandmother's good friends had been worried about her. She wasn't able to get in contact with her so she went to grandma's house and found her in need of medical attention. They called an ambulance and grandma was on her way to the hospital. My folks raced out of town and were on their way to be with her. We were told to sit tight and they would call just as soon as they got there. Dad must have made good time. It was rush hour and they still made it there in 45 minutes. Then add on another 45 minutes for us if we were to go.

After a few tests/scans they decided that it was more than the small town hospital was up to dealing with. They opted to transfer her to Lincoln. I have to believe my mom had a little something to do with the transfer... given that she has been a nurse in that Lincoln hospital for (I'd guess) 35+ years.

Again we were told to wait. Thankfully grandma had finally recognized my parents when they were reunited in Lincoln. But with the transfer, the small space in the emergency room, and all the tests they were trying to do, it was best for everyone for us to hang tight.

So now we wait while they try to put the piece of the puzzle together. The ultimate question... what happened first.

Grandma will turn 83 this coming May.

Can It Get Crazier?

Yes it can!

I've got blog material to share; I just can't get to it. We've ventured out and experienced ice skating over a couple of weekends. It has been a fantastic experience! But of course the pictures still sit on the camera. The material still floats around in my brain. Life has to slow down a couple of notches to get to any of it.

Then if the recent weeks weren't crazy enough, this week has been especially over the top. We are hoping that things will sort themselves out by tomorrow. As if suddenly being down one vehicle (and shuffling transportation needs) wasn't enough, let's add missing the bus, Spencer coming to us saying "Momma, my ear hurts" (and resulting doctors visit), and a school planning meeting into the mix.

Today we are again without the car. This morning alone...

- The phone rings as Carie is getting Abby & Ellie up and dressed. It was a parent asking about club at school. Turns out it is the older kids today and our kids next week. No big deal, just one more thing.

- Ellie casually mentions that her ear hurts... but then moments later she says it didn't. Carie will check in with her at school this morning. There's potentially another Peds visit on our horizon.

-The grade school kids made the bus (the norm) but then the bus pulled back around (not at all the norm) and stopped at our house. Thankfully Carie noticed that it wasn't the trash truck! Beth got off and headed down the street towards her house. She always gets on and off at our house so I'm sure the bus driver thinks she lives there. Carie (in the -19+ degree temps) runs out after her... with no coat and no shoes! Of course Beth doesn't listen to Carie calling for her and continues to run all the way to her house! Turns out she forgot her lunch and somehow convinced the driver to come back around. Carie got her back on the bus and sent them on their way. There may have been a cold lunch inside her house but no one was home and Carie wasn't going in to get it. There will be a discussion about this later!

- And wouldn't you know it... Beth's lunch was in her backpack the whole time. Carie popped in to check on Beth when she was up at school. She was Abby's teacher last year and we have a great rapport with her. Unbelievable!

- There's been at least 1/2 a dozen calls with the repair folks at 2 different shops... making it now 3 shops (in 3 days) involved in this repair. But we've just learned that the repairs will be covered by one of the shops and the shop that the car is actually at will be doing the repair. This is a good thing. Not only will we not have to tow it again, but I trust these people to do it right. Oh, and while it's there... let's take care of some routine maintenance.

- Today is pre-school day for Spencer... which means transportation to and from.

- I needed a ride to work.

- Carie volunteers up at Abby & Ellie's school on Thursday's. She is at Spencer's pre-school on Tuesday's... the day the week went to heck.

- I've again rescheduled my (much needed) haircut... 2nd time this week.

- After we survive the crazy morning I'll take Carie and Spencer out to lunch... provided they pick me up. Then I'll get Carie home for the afternoon and hopefully she can stay put for a few hours.

This week has cemented the idea that we shall not sell our car. We've tossed around this idea in the past thinking that it may be possible for us to adjust to a one vehicle family. I'm sure it would be possible if necessary. But this week would have been so much more doable with a 2nd vehicle.

But things look promising. I'd love to have it all in the past and enjoy a great family weekend. A weekend where I’ve requested that we enjoy some time indoors where I can't crack my head against the ice! My neck would most certainly appreciate that!

Mind Boggling

I need to go back and do my Thanksgiving post and a few other posts I've got bouncing around in my head. There just hasn't been time to dedicate to doing so. But soon! Soon it will take some priority. It needs to! I’ve got it all in my head; I just need to find time to get it down on the virtual paper.

Until then...

We made a quick stop by the Peds office today to take care of the children who have too much green gunk oozing from their heads. And while there the first order of business was to weigh them. Then while waiting in the room for our turn Spencer asks Mommy to measure him with a book. This has kind of become a ritual, it seems. Carie measured Spencer and then he had to measure Carie.

The crazy thing is... he's grown, by like A LOT.

In late September, just one month before he turned 3 1/2, he was 42" tall and weighed 42 pounds. Today, just 2 full months later, he is 44" tall and weighed 43 pounds.

He has grown 2 full inches in just 2 short months!

Ellie is only 2 1/2 pounds heavier and 3" taller. Abby’s measurements fall somewhere in between.

Edited: Two days later Abby was measured. She's the same weight as Spencer and 1 1/4" taller than Spencer. She also had a really bad ear infection that didn't seem to bother her. Our Ped was a little concerned.

Longing For Sleep

The day finally arrived! We got to meet with some doctors yesterday. Doctors who are sleep specialists at our local Children's Hospital. We were eager and excited for this appointment. We had completed and submitted a lengthy questionnaire prior to setting up the appointment and a sleep chart prior to the appointment. Not knowing what to expect or what the outcome may be, we went in with an open mind and some hope. Okay, so maybe a lot of hope! We also promised Abby there would be no shots and no poking by the doctors. We were pretty sure!

Damn that was an expensive pat on the back! Which was nice and all, but I don't need a pat on the back. I need my child to be able to get more sleep! And really, she may be managing fine on the sleep she is getting. But she could be better off with even a little more sleep each day. We see that possibility on the rare day that she is fully rested.

Bottom line... in most cases where parents suspect that genetics are a cause for their child’s sleep habits... the parents have totally and utterly missed the mark. In most all cases, they are able to tweak things with the parents and child in ways that suddenly the child is able to get a couple more hours of sleep... each day. This comes straight from the docs mouth.

Ideally, a child should be able to fall asleep within 30ish minutes of going to bed. Falling asleep rather quickly is cause for concern just as is taking hours to fall asleep. We are on the longer end of that spectrum.

At this point of the conversation I still had hope!

After reviewing the results of the lengthy questionnaire, studying the sleep chart, asking a bazillion questions, and a great dialogue between the 6 of us, he/they concluded that she is plagued by genetics (my summary) and she has the natural sleep schedule of an adolescent… at the age of 6 and almost ½. Except, we’ve experienced this with her since birth. Those are memories that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

While we didn't leave with our hopes and dreams fulfilled, we did leave with a better understanding and some ideas. They've given us a few things to try... that won't yield more sleep but theoretically will yield a child falling asleep in less time. Confused? That's okay! But it's a starting place.

THEN if we are able to make some strides with that effort we can then slowly tweak things with the very slight potential that she may obtain more sleep.

Regardless, we need to continue our “good sleep habits” as she is predisposed to having greater sleep problems as an adolescent and adult.

That is, until she has children and that level of sleep deprivation supersedes all other... especially with multiples... who don't sleep. But hopefully we have many years before that becomes a factor. And hey, at least Mommy can sympathize.

So Many Hurdles Passed

Last night both Abby & Ellie were scheduled for flu shots.

Our Ped's office does a great job of setting up clinics and they offer both daytime hours and once a week they have an evening clinic. We opted to not do it while Grandpa & Yia Yia were here, which then quickly brought us to the end of October.

Now, we've intentionally avoided this subject with Abby & Ellie for good reason. They hear the word shot and it they (especially Ellie) turn into children we've never seen before. We don't "lie" to them. We just withhold the information until they really must know. :) And seriously, I've gotten them out of tight spots before (wedged under the seat in the far corner of a 7 passenger van with 5 car seats installed); I really don't need to do that again!

So the plan for yesterday was that they'd come home from school, do their normal after school routine, homework, etc... and then Carie would tell them. As she told them their eyes immediately welled up and they were so not happy. Carie was all "You guys are 6 now; I know you can do this." They talked more about how it would work, etc... Abby & Ellie talked about who would go first. They both said they wanted to go first and then Abby told Ellie she could go first because she knew that she was really scared. Awwww!

Given that their appointment was at 6, our bribe was that we would go out to dinner and they could choose where.

We got to the Ped's office, got checked in, and didn't have to wait long. As a bonus, our most favorite nurse was there and was the one that would give the girls their shots. We walked back and Brenda asked who was going to go first and then gave them the option of the leg or the arm. Ellie said "me, and do it QUICK". Ellie hopped up on the table, pulled her sleeve down a bit, and as always Brenda was super quick. She doesn't mess around! Then it was Abby's turn and Ellie couldn't watch so she hid under the table. I was trying to hug and console her but she wanted down and out of sight. We were in and out of the office; start to finish, within 15 minutes! They both did great. We still have room for improvement, but no one was hiding under office chairs. They even remembered to show Brenda their missing teeth before we left.

We were off to Red Robin in no time where they were both admiring their band aids. When we got home they wanted to keep their stickers and they didn’t want to part with their band aids either so I suggested putting them in their journals where they could write about their evening.

THEN

Out of nowhere Spencer tells us that he went poop. Oh great! Now, this is a boy who always denies that he’s gone poop. Always! Sitting in it doesn’t phase him a bit! We’ve been trying to get him to go on the potty, but he just has not cared.

He then tells us that he went poop on the potty! He figured out he had to go and he went in the appropriate place all on his own! Our kids are so stinkin independent that they just have to do it on their own. This was cause for major celebration. He was so pleased with himself!

I asked him what happens if he goes poop on the potty a lotta lotta times and he remembered. We get to go to the Pizza Bachine! We talked about how grown up he was and now that he is 3 ½ (as of Sunday) we were sure that he could go poop on the potty. It seemed to click with him, I guess we’ll see.

I sure hope this is a sign of things to come.

Allergy Ignorance

***updated***

There are levels of allergies... many many levels of allergies. Not only what one might be allergic to, but the intensity and how their body reacts. My allergies don't even scratch the surface to what some people face day in and day out!

I am allergic to cats, among several other things. But the cat allergy is my most prominent and it will get me every time. This isn't new news. I've always been allergic to cats since my youngest memories. But in the past year to year and a half my allergies have taken a turn and now I'm more sensitive than ever. And I can already tell that fall allergy season is getting started. All my triggers seem to build on one another and it doesn’t take much to set me off. In the last couple of days Carie and I have noticed symptoms and just tonight Ellie has noticed as well.

I simply avoid cats as best as I can. I can't even walk into a friend’s house for 10 minutes to pick up A or E from a play date without getting a reaction. The kids would love a cat (really, they would really love any 4 legged cute creature) but they know that we cannot have even one or many kittens. They soak up kitten love whenever they are able to. And that is great! I wish I could love on some kittens too! I sacrifice every now and again so they can check out the kittens up for adoption. I feel bad that I cannot give them a kitten.

But the ignorance regarding allergies just floors me. And I wish I could just take a simple little pill to resolve all my symptoms. I wish it didn't take days to recover. If it were only a few hours of feeling like crap I wouldn't care.

Cat dander is carried with the person that was holding, touching, cuddling, and playing with said kitten and deposited wherever the person goes. It is not just simply on their hands. It is on their body, in their hair, and every particle of clothing. Thank you for cleaning your hands, I do appreciate that effort! But don't at all think that the concern has been resolved. Don't think that bringing cat dander in my home every day isn't happening. Don't think I haven't already noticed the effects.

A few years ago that small amount of cat dander wouldn't have bothered me. Now all I have to do is sit or stand next to someone who has been around a cat to get a reaction.

Yeah… I’ve talked with an allergist about options. The thing is... avoidance works! Once a few things get ironed out and settled down I’ll consider my other options. Until then, I cannot commit to those expenses. But I might have to sooner than later now that we'll be exposed to it daily.

**Edited to Add**

Yeah, I've thought about how it might be beneficial to have a cat in the hopes that I could build up a tolerance. The thing is, with my reaction I become asthmatic like. I've always reacted this way. In my relatively recent (in the last year) allergy testing it was concluded that I was not asthmatic in the least. Those tests came back much better than I expected! But when I'm having a reaction not only do my eyes itch terribly, my nose gets all runny, and I sneeze like crazy. But I also have difficulty breathing. I wheeze terribly and you can hear it from the other side of the room. I remember having to go outside... often... at my Grandparent's house at Christmas time to catch a break. It was way too hot inside, which isn't a good combination with cat dander. Luckily it was often bitter cold outside and my lungs loved it. I volunteered to go on any and all errands that had to be run just to get out of there.

And cleaning... a clean home is really really helpful. However, cleaning right before someone with any kind of allergy like this comes over doesn't help. I know it sounds odd! But what happens is the cat dander is really just stirred up and more active. It actually makes the situation worse. Kind of like dusting when you are allergic to dust. Thankfully that is primarily Carie's duty!

Status

Lawn still not mowed and still very much needing it. The upside, some carpets got cleaned instead! The dog barfing pushed the need for carpet cleaning over the edge. There was also much down time. Naps even!

Abby... sick.
Carie... sick. Carie never gets sick!

Me... trying to be ready for our big event at work tomorrow. I just have to make it through tomorrow! Please just let me make it through tomorrow!

School... tonight was their open house type thing. I came home from work (late) to get Ellie & Spencer to turn around and head to school. Abby was just not able to go and she really didn't care... thankfully. I was really bummed for her! I do think she might care once she is feeling better. We took her things up to school for her and got her all situated. They had to label everything! Wow. I took pictures of Ellie at Abby's desk so once she is feeling better she can at least see her new home at school.

After meeting their new teachers, labeling everything that moved, going crazy keeping Spencer under wraps, managing Ellie's massive excitement, and talking with their old teachers, we went to get some (more) dinner. I hadn't eaten yet and the kids had already had dinner, but not enough! Though Ellie informed me that I could get food for her and she was definitely not going to eat it. She was just interested in the ice cream (which we were supposed to have at school). Yeah, uh huh. She's not hungry my a**. All Spencer had to do was look at her wrong to send her into a fit, and he knew it! I had convinced Spencer to eat and he chose a sandwich. I ordered something extra for Ellie and figured I'd just put it in front of her... with high hopes of her eating it. We were at a restaurant we never go to, so I had that going for me as well. Spencer ended up eating all that I had gotten for Ellie. Ellie ate everything I got for Spencer. Then they both ate part of my meal as well. They rarely eat this much at a normal meal! About 3 bites into their food and moods were significantly improved. It turned out way better than I had hoped for. Thank goodness because the service was ridiculously slow. Whew!

Everyone is in bed. I just have to get up enough energy to locate the bedding to our bed! It seems as though Abby discarded he innards all over it earlier today.

Please just let me get through tomorrow! I wish I could say I was 100% ready. I planned on having it all done today, it just didn't happen. I had hopes of going back tonight to finish, it just wasn't going to happen. If everything goes as they should, wrapping up tomorrow morning shouldn't be a big deal. Famous last words.

Better & Worse

Because I seem to be full of the good, the bad, and the ugly these days.

Let's start with the bad and ugly this time, shall we. We had major major storms last night. I don't know if the national weather service was making up for the lack of notice and lack of sirens from Sunday morning or not, but the sirens literally went off from 7:00pm through 9:00pm. If someone missed them, they've got other issues. The kids had a slumber party in the basement. Before they laid down I asked them if they wanted to stay there or go to their own beds later. They wanted to stay, and so they did. I was happy about that given the uncertainty of what was still ahead of us.

We had Flash Flood Warnings and Tornado Warnings. Thank goodness our basement isn't flooding (thanks to our sump pump) and we had a safe place to go. Our yard was a different story. I'm sure other folks were greatly affected by both. Just how does one seek shelter in the lower level of their home if they are up to their eyeballs in water?

The storm was incredible. The clouds were incredible. It brought stillness, sudden cool weather, winds, tons of rain (that has nowhere to go), and tons of hail. We do have noticeable hail damage. Thank goodness our neighborhood and immediate surrounding areas didn't experience more tornado damage. Unfortunately, other areas weren't spared and the devastation is incredible... physically and emotionally. There were many areas hit by the storm, but this area is understandably getting the most attention. My heart just breaks for these families.

The good... if it is at all possible to follow up with good after that. The kids all seem to be rebounding nicely. I don't know if they didn't experience a "bad" outbreak of HFM or if other stories I've heard were a bit dramatic. In any event, it has been quite manageable and it felt like we had all new kids this morning. I'm ready to see more of those smiles, hear more of those laughs, and get back to our usual silly selves. May the cycle end here, please.

Parenting

When your daycare provider calls and says... "Your son is running a high fever of 102.5".

Your first reaction should be... "I'll come pick him up"... end of discussion.

We shouldn't have to tell you that you ought to pick up your son. Your son is sick and he needs his parents to take him home and take care of him.

When your daycare provider tells you at noon that he will need to stay home the next day. You need to make arrangements for him to do so. He has two parents; it is your job as parents to figure that out. You had plenty of notice. Don't wait until the next morning to scramble to make those arrangements and then try to negotiate for him to come down for part of the day... because you couldn't get a hold of your mother-in-law and your dad has to go to work. And seriously, you are going to expose the older grandparents just so you can go to work?

We even tell you what it likely is. You received a call over the weekend giving you a heads up on what to look for. You knew Sunday evening (as soon as we knew) that this was a potential scenario. We were all at the same place when your children likely came in contact with it... either at the girls’ birthday party or the Children's Museum. He is showing the same signs and symptoms that our kids did over the weekend. We've been to the doctor and have been diagnosed... potentially saving you that trip. We know how long the fever lasted in each of our 3 kids. We look in at his throat and see evidence of such illness and suggest you do the same.

Instead... you spend your time talking to the doctor's office to get ammunition to negotiate with your daycare provider as to why you feel that he doesn't need to stay home. Are you kidding me?

Seriously... Your reasoning is that it is so contagious that you don't think we need to make an effort to stop the cycle?

Stop taking advantage of your daycare provider! It is her nature to take care of people and to go that extra mile. Stop pushing her boundaries!

In a typical daycare or school scenario, they would require the child to be fever free for 24 hours before returning. We aren't even asking that! We are simply asking that he be at home while he has a fever and while he is most contagious.

End of rant.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

What a weekend!

We had some really great moments! Going into the weekend we knew it was going to be a busy one, but a fun kind of busy. We celebrated the girls' birthday, spent some great time - with some incredible weather - at the zoo, went to our first (and probably last for a while ;)) swim competition and watched Olympic athletes compete, saw the theatre production of The Wizard Of Oz with some friends and then had a great dinner with them, and capped the weekend off with Grandpa, Grandma, Great Grandma and my mom’s cousin coming to our house and spending the day with us.

And now (of course) moving on to the not so great moments…

The kids are sick - again. We are all so tired of being sick. It feels like that is all we talk about anymore. Turn on the broken record... "How are the kids doing?"... "Oh, they are sick with (insert anything)".

This one I think we've linked back to their visit at the Children's Museum last Wednesday... exactly 3 wonderful days of incubation, which seems to be our usual timeline. Where else would we have picked up Hand, Foot & Mouth!?!? Saturday morning both Abby & Ellie were running fevers. By Sunday morning they mentioned that their throats hurt. Abby had mentioned the night before that she had a headache. We looked in their mouths and it didn't look pretty... swollen and irritated tonsils were the most prominent. So Carie took them into our (after hours) Urgent Care on Sunday afternoon. We tried Sunday morning only to realize that they didn't open until noon. The girls' weren't complaining much at all, they rarely do. We thought maybe... oh, I don't know... at worse it would be Strep Throat. HA! When Carie called me to tell me what was going on I was having a hard time hearing her. I was leaving a noisy grocery store, the reception wasn't that great, and my ears seem to be failing me lately. I swear I heard her say they had cancer of the mouth. Imagine my relief when it was just Hand, Foot & Mouth. Let's just hope that it didn't get passed onto any of our visitors we had on Sunday!

We've known about this disease but we've never experienced it firsthand. The girls managed to make it to 6 before having their first experience with it. Spencer now seems to be affected by it as well. We've had our share of illnesses in the past, but in this past school year we've come down with illnesses that the kids had never had before. We can be done expanding our disease repertoire, thank you very much.

Then the major event we had this weekend was the touchdown of an EF2 Tornado... with no warning... in the middle of the night... literally blocks from us.

I remember waking to use the restroom at 2:11, which is unusual for me to do in the middle of the night. I heard some storm activity, but it didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. At 2:28 I hear what I thought were the sirens. Both Carie and I bolted up and confirmed that we were hearing the same thing. On a normal night, I'm absolutely positive that I wouldn't have heard them... at all. I think Carie was grateful that she didn't have to wake me! We immediately try to figure out what is going on... and there was no coverage!

"... Without warning, in the dark of night, the first tornado to cause what may be the most significant damage in Omaha since the deadly, infamous tornado of 1975 landed in the metro area Sunday. It spun a nearly six-mile path of destruction, stripping fences in Chalco, ripping off roofs in Millard and downing trees and terrifying families across the city..."

The sirens ended up going off two times in our area. Unfortunately the tornado had already touched down, done its damage, and had moved on by the time the first siren had sounded. We did get the kids to the basement and they didn't even wake... on the way down or back up. Ellie says she did recall me asking her if they wanted to just sleep downstairs or go back to their beds. Around 4am we did a quick look around the exterior of our house and everything seemed to be okay so we called it a night. We got some nice phone calls early the next morning from folks who were worried about us. The most surprising call came from a parent of an old pre-school friend. They are such awesome people and it was so nice of them to think about us!

I still can't believe how close the severe damage is located to our home. It is incredible to witness the damage. While we’ve tried to be in touch with what is going on around us, we’ve also tried to limit the exposure to the kids. They are already freaked out and worried about the storms as it is.

Some of the local coverage can be found... here, here & here.

If This Is Any Indication

I'm sick, again.

I don't get sick very often (at least for the first 37 years of my life), but when I do it seems to attack my body and bring me down. I feel like such a big baby! My sinuses are raising white flags with body aches and chills thrown in for good measure.

Carie kindly turned our heated mattress pad on before I arrived home yesterday. She knew I was on my way and knew I'd be heading straight to bed, without passing Go or collecting $200 (I kicked ass at Monopoly Saturday night). I climbed into bed and burrowed into the heated bed and layers of blankets. It was nice! After hours of sleeping like that I suddenly became hot, really damn hot. Carie happened to be in the room and I asked her what setting she set the bed on. Her response, high! She had told me she turned it on thinking that I'd check it and turn it down before climbing in. Nope. But it felt great for hours.

Then I opened up the patio door because "I" thought it was hot inside. I did check the thermostat first and it was warmer than what we had the heat set at. Personally, I thought the nice cool breeze was refreshing! I was quickly informed that I was an anomaly and that "I" could go stand outside but the door wasn't to be left open. Thankfully my body temp evened out later that evening.

I do need to call and beg to get a refill on my cough syrup with codeine. That stuff is magic.

If this is any indication of what I have to look forward to this Spring, I retreat. I want our crappy winter back.