Update from Yesterday

So Sassy proceeded to be sick all afternoon.  She was unable to keep down any fluids and then I realized she hadn't had any in her since dinner the night before.  She was crying with no tears, running a temp of 102, and had no wet diapers.  One guess where a call to the doctor sent us! 

That's right!  Sassy and I spent the night in the ER - for the third time in the last six months!!!  She was so sick!  Luckily by the time we got to the ER she was able to keep the Motrin down and then she got more medicine for her tummy.  She also enjoyed several Popsicles and nice cup of "wa-wa." 

Every time someone came in the room she screamed...no one was her friend!  During blood work, she screamed "No, Momma!" and when that didn't work, she switched to "No, Daddy!" - and he wasn't even there!

After much discussion with three different doctors, 3 exams, blood work, a catheter, and a five hour wait...it was determined that she had a horrendous ear infection in both ears...pus and blood included.  But if you ask Sassy if her ears hurt she says "no"! 

As for her iron issues, her iron levels are up, which is good.  On the other hand, red blood cell count is really low.  So they ran a Parvo titer and spoke to the on-call hematologist who is ordering repeat blood tests in two weeks.  They are leaning toward a virus and nothing too serious but there are still no answers.  They did suggest that all the iron issues are making her more likely to catch these crazy viruses, which may have led to us being in the ER last night.  Wonderful.

The little miss is still under-the-weather today.  She is still running the temp and just wants to lay and nap.  We have to make one run to pick up Tater and then we are spending the day snuggling at home.  We ALL need a restful, healing day!

Because we haven't had ENOUGH at the House of Sprout, Sassy woke up sick again this morning.  And because our life doesn't stop when someone is sick, we still had to take Bruiser to the dentist and then take Sassy for blood work.  Last night the doctor called...from his house...at 8:00 at night...because he was concerned about her previous blood work.  Her iron levels were low but not the levels of her stored iron.  If both were low then it could simply be a case of anemia and be resolved with supplements.  But in her case, one level was normal.  So then he rattled off a big name for some rare disorder and threw in the words "bone marrow" and I proceeded to freak out!  Luckily the concern is with her red blood cell and not the very scary white blood cells.  So, sick or not, we headed off to take care of the blood work and are now waiting (not very patiently) for the results tomorrow and how to proceed from here.  It may be a VERY long night (with possibly lots of wine to help!).  Just look at that sad sleepy face...Sassy HATES blood work and wears herself out crying "owie!"

All that said, we welcome all prayers and positive thoughts...and will keep you updated as we learn more!

A Picture For Her Baby Book!

If you have been following us for a bit, you know we have been struggling with Miss Wiggles and her walking. She started walking at 10 months...well ahead of developmental milestones. The problem was that almost a year later and she still looked like she had just learned how to walk...unsteady, lots of tumbles, etc. At first we thought she was limping. X-rays and blood work showed nothing. Then Daddy noticed her feet appeared to be turning in...both of them and at random times. So, the pediatrician referred us to an orthopedist (more to shut me up than out of real concern!) and the orthopedist actually started to dismiss our concerns as well...until he saw her walk!

But let me back up a bit...

I called the orthopedist's office for an appointment and had to wait two months only to have that appointment changed as well. In the meantime I called Early Intervention and got that ball rolling (you know me - I don't sit and wait!). EI saw significant delays in her gross motor but decided to wait for the orthopedist's evaluation to develop a plan. I shared this with the doubting doctor (who, by the way, was older than dirt and a bit scary!) who couldn't understand why I contacted EI since she was only 20 months old! Duh! EARLY intervention?

Anyway...he really made it seem like we were over-reacting to her walking issues and questioned what we thought we were seeing. And then she walked down the hallway! His mouth fell open! He immediately took us back in the exam room and gave her a thorough evaluation. His diagnosis? Her left hip has not developed correctly. It faces forward in the hip socket instead of turning in like most toddlers do by this age. As a result her feet are not turning in but her whole leg swings out when she walks to avoid the discomfort.

As hard as the diagnosis was to hear (although we felt justified!), the treatment is even worse! For at least the next six months she will need to wear special shoes connected with a bar at night as well as knee immobilizers. Physical therapy will be integral too. We will continue with strengthening exercises at home as well as ballet class. All this should help avoid surgery in ten years...which would had been the outcome if we hadn't pushed for her to be seen.

So Miss Wiggles has moved into our bedroom so we can comfort her (without disturbing Tater) when she is uncomfortable. And so that she can enjoy the A/C while wearing all her apparatuses! Mommy cried the first few nights but Wiggles adjusted well! She fusses because she's tired but doesn't seem to mind the equipment too much at all! She's still trying to get onto her belly to sleep but is slowly giving in to our wishes!

The best part? I was going to take away her Nuks this summer...and now she gets to keep them until she's done with the braces!

Beach Day!

We started of the day with Tater in my bed at one o'clock in the morning...watching Nick-at-Nite while I slept...can you say "tired girl Saturday"? It was a lazy morning but we were ready to head off on our first beach day of the summer by around ten o'clock. As Daddy and I were gathering the last minute items, Bruiser opened the front storm/screen door. Both of us yelled for him to close it and he did...with Miss Wiggles' finger in the hinge. Her flattened finger and Mommy headed to the Urgent Care for x-rays and a splint while Daddy took the other two to get beach snacks. After our brief detour, we made it to the beach by one o'clock...and everyone enjoyed the "perfect beach day"!

Wiggles' with her splint.

Love Tater's hat!

All three had fun playing with Daddy while Mommy got to sit and read for a few fabulous moments!

This is the first day Wiggles actually played in the sand and water.

And in spite of her injury, she loved it!

Her splint fell off from the water and now you can see her bruised little finger

(the one she is sort of holding up).

Bruiser got his feet buried and loved wiggling free!

Tater loved it too!

Randomness and Storms!

When I plugged in the camera today I discovered a few missing images from Chicago that needed to be shared! The memories just keep on coming!

This is the water tower...the only building left standing after the famous Chicago fire.

(And that's K and L in the bottom right corner!)

Yes, we went in here!

Yes, we drooled a bit!

And in amidst the tulips and city life, we stumbled across this lovely fountain...so calming!

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Yesterday I was the crazy lady that took three children shopping at 9am to buy flowers for our gardens and window boxes and then came home and had LOTS of help planting them! Tater had a blast picking out flowers and choosing her favorites! It was a great way to celebrate Earth Day and give back to the planet.

I picked these for by the front door...even though I had said I wasn't doing any container gardening this year...other than window boxes...oh, well!

We planted four of these with Dusty Miller, petunias, and ivy.

This box has an added delphinium...which supposedly attracts hummingbirds and butterflies and detracts deer (not they are frequent visitors to our neighborhood!)...and Tater had to have it! We hope to be able to watch visitors from our window this spring and summer!

Tater picked the pink daisies!

The yarrow made me think of Mimi's garden.

Tater loved these purple flowers and they made my two whiskey barrels easy to plant!

And how pretty is this!

(Imagine it without the sticker!)

Cool thing is that this plant was grown in the town I was born in...hundreds of miles from where I live now...just a neat connection!

This is our backyard expansion that we finished last week to incorporate the "trumpoline" (in Bruiser language!). The net we ordered should be arriving today so I'll feel a bit better having the little ones jump, jump, jump!

This is Daddy's new fire pit...to go with his new grill

(pictures later...it was covered and I'm not supposed to touch the man stuff!).

Hopefully we will break in the pit this weekend with the marshmallows we bought last night!

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And yesterday a storm hit...literally and figuratively!

This was the sky yesterday afternoon.

Imposing, huh?

See the hail on the chair?

And on the canopy and deck?

And, while that storm was happening, my lovely school department that employs me was brewing a storm of their own! We've been without a contract for almost two years. Last January (2009), they unilaterally and unprecedentedly cut our salary 5% and imposed a 20% co-pay on out health insurance. It was a huge blow financially and spiritually for the union...we lost all faith in the school committee, who refused to negotiate and ignored the mediator's suggestions. Things have been tied up in court since then. Until yesterday...

The attorney for the school department sent a letter to the attorney for our union. They are cutting our pay another 3%, requiring us to work an additional 4 days per school year, and additional half hour each day, increasing our class size from 25 students to 28 students, and cutting our sick days (15 paid days down to 8 paid and 7 unpaid...but you have to use two paid, then seven unpaid, and then the remaining 6 paid).

Now, I love my job...I really do...I can't think of any other job I'd rather do! But all the stuff that goes with it is so frustrating. Teaching is one of the most dedicated and giving professions I have ever seen. It so hard to see such amazing professionals have their livelihood cut and cut again. The lack of respect and value is unbelievable. Yes, we get the summers off. Yes, we have shorter work days. Yes, we get a lot of vacations throughout the school year. But, admit it...do you really want to spend all day in a classroom filled with five- or six- or seven-year-olds...or (in my opinion!) with a school full of teenagers? We earn every bit of what we get...no matter how little it is becoming!

That being said...I'm going to try to enjoy my last day of spring break. Then, come Monday, I'll go back to school and happily greet all my little ones and continue to give them best education I am trained to give...and love every minute of it!

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And here is a happy thought to end the randomness...Miss Wiggles is trying to be Mommy!

Ooooo, look at those little legs!

Too, too, too cute!

...and the doctor chased him into the waiting room!

Today was supposed to be the day that things got back to normal (you know, after me working FULL TIME last week and letting everything go!)...but things don't always go according to plan! Remember...you are visiting the House of Sprout!

So, Bruiser and Miss Wiggles had well check-ups scheduled for this afternoon. I planned this very carefully! Tater has school on Monday afternoons and I figured I would only have to juggle two children. Good thought, right? Until Tater wakes up this morning, hacking away with a nice hot head! So, okay, time for a back up plan! I call the doctor's office and ask to change one of the well visits to a sick visit and ask to reschedule the cancelled well visit. And the nice nurse who answered the phone? She told me to go ahead and bring all three in and everyone could be checked. Thank. You. Very. Much.

We arrived in the pouring rain. Tater fell asleep in the car. Miss Wiggles removed her shoes and her boots. Fabulous!

We get to the examine room. Tater has a fever of 101.3, Bruiser keeps opening the door and running into the hallway, and Wiggles discovered how much fun it is to throw puzzle pieces on the floor!

Then, in walks the doctor...and his laptop. Oh, yes, the practice is updating to computers instead of charts and each appointment takes twice as long! So Tater went first. Lungs and ears checked out but a strep test was in order. It was horrible for all involved but thankfully came back negative. So, my sick little girl has yet another virus...again.

So, then I settled Tater into the chair with the portable DVD player. Miss Wiggles was next. She weighs 20.5 pounds and is average for height and head size. And we got a referral for a pediatric orthopedic specialist to figure out why her foot is turning in. Yea, another doctor's appointment...can't wait.

But let's go back to the head size and the new computer thing. The doctor was struggling with the program on the computer and I guess this had been a problem all day. So he chose my time to figure it out with one of the nurses. She came into the room and left the door slightly open. Bruiser found it (what a surprise!) and bolted out toward the waiting room. And the best part? The doctor chased him down! And another doctor stood in the hallway with his mouth hanging open, watching the show. It was hilarious! By the time the doctor left the room, he told me that next time he'd make sure the A/C was on...because it was hot!

Oh, and to top it all off? Miss Wiggles got three shots and Bruiser had a lead test done. Fabulous!

Oh, and then all three kids fell asleep in the car on the way home and I had to wake them, drag them in the house in the pouring rain, and drag them to their rooms so they could go back to sleep.

Perfectly normal!

"Wordless Wednesday Wideo"

And a Tater-ism:

"I love to feed my baby sister...because my mommy and daddy don't!" - And it's so NOT the truth!

Randomness!

It's been a slow week...I know, rare at this house! But that explains my lack of posts...I was sick (in bed...couldn't lift my head off the pillow...touch of our piggy friend?) on Thursday, spent Friday catching up, and was busy today with errands, chores, and projects. Anyway, here are a few random things...

Bruiser was expressing his "free spirit" of fashion tonight...check out the soccer jammie shirt, sagging diaper, and Tater's pink sherpa boots. Daddy was REALLY proud! (Oh, and he's standing on part of Miss Wiggles' crib...because we were moving things around...AGAIN!)

This is the really BIG news! Miss Wiggles discovered how to drink out of a cup! The other two were completely off bottles by their first birthdays...a feat I am very proud of...and I think it is justified as we do struggle with a few other issues! Now, Miss Wiggles LOVES her bottles. She refused to even touch the cup...until tonight! And she is so proud of herself!

This picture is for my two siblings who have yet to have children. This is my basement...where I spent my day off on Wednesday...organizing. These are bins of clothes that my children have outgrown...three rows deep! I have girls (birth to size 6) and boys (birth to size 3) and all the stuff that you think you need (car seats, strollers, bouncers, bathtubs, etc.)...all waiting for you to make me an auntie...and get it out of my house! Just a thought!

And this is the Craig's List pile that no one is interested in ... I think it might be heading to charity this week...I can't stand the clutter!

And, finally, this is where my creative side stepped in today. This was old and white and beat up from being in our bathroom. Now it's chocolate brown and yummy, and a great place to store little toys and stuff in the living room. It's amazing what a bit of paint can do...because this was almost on the curb earlier today!

And speaking of my creative side, I'll have to share a bit in the near future about my neighbor and I and these creative kicks we get on! We've been making our girls' hair bows for the past year (you know, the curly-Q ones like Gymboree?) and now we've ventured into beaded bracelets...and I think we are decent, if I may say so myself!

Well, on that note, enjoy the rest of your weekend...we are planning to!

Wordless Wednesday

This is what can happen to your four-year-old when...
...you try to feed them all natural, gluten-free rice from Trader Joe's! I guess we should just bring on the preservatives!

Time Out for Mommy!

Did you ever have those moments where you just want to go curl up under a rock and hide? Since becoming a mommy, I've had more of those moments but I think they effect me less! Not much embarrasses you as a mommy!

But I did cringe last week when my neighbor brought home an announcement from Tater's preschool. You see, I had made the dutiful call Monday morning to report that she had been diagnosed with H1N1. I also told them that she had been in the school on Friday for about fifteen minutes while I met with her teacher for a conference. I knew for a fact she had played with the Mr. Potato Head set and that they should probably clean that toy specifically. Now you need to know that when I took her school on that Friday she only had a cough - no fever, no breathing problems. I figured she and my other two would be the only children there during that fifteen minute window...meaning she wouldn't share any germs and she would be less likely to pick up any germs. Again, let me say, she wasn't showing any signs of H1N1!!! In fact we had kept her out of school that week to reduce her exposure to the other kids!

So, this is part of the letter the school sent out...

"We want to inform you that we have a child at XXXX with a confirmed diagnosis of H1N1 virus. The child was in school Friday afternoon during the 15-minute conference time, but had not been in attendance during the school week. The parent informed us of the diagnosis on Monday morning."

Doesn't it sound like she had been sick all week and then I brought her into the school on Friday anyway? Ahhhh!

"We have removed and cleaned/disinfected the toys that the child used on that day. They have not been reintroduced to the classroom."

Now, I know this is a serious virus...we've had it!...but could they make it sound any more like she has the plague? Really!

So, moral of the lesson? Even those parents who try their best to do the right things can find themselves in situations where it looks like they were negligent! So I guess you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't!

Here, Piggy, Piggy!

It may sound like I'm joking...but I'm not! We made the decision earlier this week to keep Tater home from preschool until we were able to locate an H1N1 vaccine for her. The medicine she takes to maintain her kidney disease compromises her immune system. So, since she does NEED to be at school, we decided it was safer to keep her home. Well...that backfired! Yesterday she woke up with a nasty cough and by bedtime had a fever of around 100. A breathing treatment soothed the cough but brought her breathing to our attention. It was really fast and really heavy. We put a call into the pediatrician, who immediately sent us to the ER. Just where you want to take a child with low immunities in the middle of a flu outbreak!

So, Tater and I spent the evening in the local children's ER. We walked in with her mask already on and were quickly whisked away to a room. The only good thing about her immunity issues is that we never have to wait in the abdominal waiting room! Six hours, three breathing treatments, and some scary breathing moments later, we got the go ahead to take our H1N1 child home and medicate her thoroughly with Tamaflu. Oh, yes, we caught H1N1! So much for avoiding the germs!

Like I said, there were a few scary breathing moments. At first I doubted whether it was worth risk of taking her into the ER and if we really needed to be there. But while we were there, her breathing got much worse and the doctor (who was so YOUNG!!!!) actually got a bit panicky. Luckily, the THIRD breathing treatment snapped her back into place.

We are now giving her SEVEN medicines twice a day - 2 for her kidneys, Tamaflu, Tylenol, Albuterol, prescription lotion for her eczema, and anti-nausea medicine because she is taking so many drugs!

Oh, and the best part...last night at 1:00 am when I went to fill her Tamaflu prescription, I couldn't find any! Oh, yes, my daughter who caught swine flu because I couldn't get the vaccine now couldn't get the medicine she needed either! Luckily, at the second pharmacy I went to was able to grind down the adult dose and make her suspension formula. Insane!

We made it to trick=or-treating, but plan to rest all day tomorrow...now we are praying that no one else catches those piggy germs that are flying about!

Weekend Wrap-Up...Birthday Bash, Beach, and Break Time!

We had a fun and busy weekend - one that included Papa and Mimi visiting and Miss Wiggles' first birthday party. We had planned a fun outdoor farm party and, of course, it rained on Saturday (the day of the party) and was beautiful on Sunday. That's the luck of our family! But all had fun - outside or in!

Here are a few birthday shots. I was so busy I put Papa in charge of camera work and have to wait on him to send me the pictures!

Miss Wiggles' pumpkin cake
pumpkin cupcakes for the kids!

Miss Wiggles' own cupcake!

She loved the cake but wasn't too sure of all the people watching her. I think we had a few tears during the process!

The day got more interesting as the rain approached in unbelievable downpours, the toilet flooded - through the floor and flooded the basement (yes, during the party!), and one young guest found a suicidal chipmunk floating in our little pond. Like I've said before, we never do anything simple or easy! By Saturday night I was more than ready to settle in with a bottle of wine and have a nice long visit with a good neighbor!

Sunday, we slept in and missed church...not on purpose but it was well-deserved and much-enjoyed! Then we went for a little hike at Tater's favorite spot - "Secret Beach."

Papa and Bruiser

Miss Wiggles, the princess in her chariot

Papa and the kids

Bruiser on the run!

Break Time!

Battling to see who could sit the highest

Mimi and Bruiser

The Family

If only Miss Wiggles was looking, we might have had a Christmas card picture!

We ended the day with shopping (Do you have your "flu box" ready?), chores, Wii playing, and yummy grilled dinner. No one wanted to get this morning but we headed back to work and home for Mimi and Papa. Tater is on her first field trip with preschool (Mommy couldn't go because they changed the date due to weather and I have no one to watch the other two!). And Daddy is at work finally ... after not being able to find his keys and then realizing that he left them on the bumper of my van yesterday and then finding them in the road a few blocks from our house! Again, never a dull moment!