A New Year and Christmas Recap

I've really fallen behind on this little old blog.  I love reading other's blogs and it often hits home that if those people didn't write, I'd have nothing to read, so it has inspired me to get back to writing about our life and adventures!

And what better place to start than with a little (or long!) holiday recap!

Our elf, Pogo, returned the day after Thanksgiving, as per the usual :).  Somehow he always finds us no matter where we are visiting relatives.  This year we were at Papa's and he left a belated (as in middle of the day) breakfast treat.

Then he appeared back at our house with his magical door, which is his portal to the North Pole and the big guy.

He (and his side-kick, Rudolf) had some fun with toys (and really irritated Bubba!)

He brought us a tree to decorate...and redecorate as often as we wanted!

And left us a sweet treasure hunt!

Bruiser Boy and I spent yet another night at the local children's hospital for his severe asthma.  All his latest outbreaks have led us to search for more answers...and to discover more issues.  But I'll save that for a post all its own :).

Meanwhile, Pogo got himself trapped.

I drove the middle schooler to school in Santa PJ pants...and luckily for her, I didn't have to get out of the car!

Bubba had his Christmas program at school and was a shy little shepherd, who was positioned right next to the teacher...I wonder why????  Lol!

And love this sweet little gift from my sweet little guy!

More elf shenanigans!

Christmas nails!

Hot cocoa, pjs, and Christmas lights!

Excited to open presents!

Christmas Eve gifts from their Auntie and Uncle...

Sweet little brother hugs...

Christmas Eve!

Playing in the Cry Room at church...very happy he made it through 1/2 the service before we had to escape!

Santa came!

Christmas morning at the top of the stairs!

Lightening McQueen Geo-Trac (consignment score!)

Celebrating Jesus' birthday!

PieFace!

Coffee break to recover on the day after...the struggle was real, folks!

Shrek Super Party...introduced the kids to the best video game ever :)

Christmas #2 with Papa!

Clearly, my sister knows me well!

A gift from Papa...love it!

And we rounded it all out with a low-key New Year's celebration.  The kids were in bed by 10, the in-laws by 11:30 and Mommy and Daddy shortly later :)

Now we are happily in a new year.  We spent some time swimming at the Y on New Year's Day, lots of time snuggling on the couch, and headed to bed nice and early.  Today will involve taking the tree down, preparing for the school week, groceries being delivered (hallelujah!), and making myself work out...it's a big must!  

Stay tuned for daily life updates, New Year's resolutions, our life verses, and our word for the year :)

Trades of Hope Facebook Party

My close friend introduced me to a great company helping women escape the slavery of sex trafficking and support themselves.  There is so much I could say, but the company says it so much better!!!  So please check out my Facebook party at the link Trades of Hope.  There is an amazing introduction video that explains it all!

Feel free to support these women and order yourselves some pretty accessories!

Mug Love Exchange

Nothing makes me think of fall and changes in the season than a warm mug of coffee :)...and fun mugs make it all the better!  As a mom with 4 kids needing to be in 44 different directions at any given time, a travel mug is my jam!  I feel like i'm always driving somewhere and needing some caffeine to keep me going!

So, when I saw the blogger mug exchange, I couldn't wait to connect with other writer moms...and when I was matched with Emily at Three Boys and a Girl, I knew were meant to "meet".  Emily loves travel mugs as much as me!  And without even trying, we even selected the same brand of mug for each other!  

I will admit that my crazy schedule led me to order off Amazon and ship right to Emily...so I didn't include any yummy treats like she did for me!  And let me tell you...those treats didn't last they day...yum!!!  Thank you for spoiling me, Emily!

How cute is this mug????  Love the fall colors and the cute box it came in :)

Asthma Strikes Again

After a good run of almost 6 months, Bruiser's asthma flared out of control and we earned 2 ER trips and a one-night admission to our local children's hospital.  Even though we are very skilled in managing his asthma, it still surprises me how quickly it comes on and how quickly he goes downhill! 

A bit of history... 

Bruiser had frequent ear infections and then tubes as an infant/toddler.  He also had several ER visits due to croup.  His second day of kindergarten landed him in the PICU with a massive asthma episode.  That year was rocky but we got him on a good management program with exasperations every few months.  He's had 2 PICU stays and now 3 regular floor admissions.  He's had one episode of pneumonia and one time that required magnesium to control his asthma.  Luckily, he's had no intubations!  His actual diagnosis is severe persistent asthma...the worst it can be.

So this time he started with cold symptoms and we started his sick plan.  We struggled through Friday and saw little improvement.  We did a sick visit on Saturday to the pediatrician, where they prescribed steroids and diagnosed an ear infection (and flushed out a massive glob of ear wax...no wonder he never heard me calling him!!!!!)

By Sunday afternoon we were seeing no improvement even after 2 doses of steroids.  So off to the ER he and I went.  He immediately was put in a room and began 3 rapid dual-nebulizer treatments.  He improved slightly and I had a serious conversation about how I felt about managing him at home. I felt comfortable and we headed home with a different steroid.  I had high hopes for good things :)

Sadly, by the time Daddy returned home from work the next day...this is where we ended up!  Daddy walked in the door and Bruiser and I walked out..

This time he was maxed out on steroids and back on high volume duel-nebs.  We waited in the ER for a room to be ready and headed up to our accommodations around 10pm.  

We spent a lot of quality time together!

And Mommy watched his pulse-ox and elevated heart rate...that albuterol does quite a number to you!!!  For a high-energy kid, hopped up on steroids and inhalers, he was very sedate...just another sign he was feeling pretty yucky :(

When you are trapped in a room and in bed (all the meds made him a fall risk and he had to be hooked to the monitors), Mommy lets you play Pokemon Go to entertain yourself :)  These are the pictures I later found on my phone...

I am happy to say that we were released after one night and many many many treatments.  He continued meds and treatments for a week longer at home and has recovered well.  There's still a bit of PTSD in him...he's terrified that if he's not close to me I won't know if he's having trouble breathing...but we're working on that!