full of life

Here's a cool, and short quiz. Below are my results:

You're Stranger in a Strange Land!

by Robert Heinlein

Most people look at you and think of you as a Martian, even though you
were born on Earth. Silly Earthlings, er, people. Anyway, you've been telling people
about free love and relaxing like it's some radical idea. Most of them want you to go
back to the '60's (or Mars), but others are in your groove. Grok on!


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

T. made her First Communion on May 4.

Sit up!! It's all downhill from here, because next comes crawling, and I get to spend the next 6 months chasing him around.

Look what he's learned to do! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is sweeter than this.

He is 5 months old!

I can't even express how much we all adore this boy. He is loved and fought over, never alone, never ignored. For me, it is falling in love all over again with a baby. So distracting--It's hard to get anything done when he's around!

With a yard full of dirt, we decided it was time to plant grass.

a soccer ball with his feet.

Sorry my posts are so few and far between. I have been busily enjoying living life instead of blogging it. The past few months since M's birth have been very sweet ones for my family. We are blissfully happy. We love hanging out together and having a good time with one another.

Now that spring is here, wev'e been doing things outdoors like:

M. was baptized on Mar. 30, 2008. Here we all are in front of the altar at church after the baptism was over. From left to right: In front of Daryl is K. and A. Next is me, holding M. Then J. and D. are in the back row, and I., L., and T. in front of them.

On Good Friday, in addition to going to church, I told the kids that we weren't going to watch tv, use the computer or have candy or other treats, as a sacrifice to help us remember that Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins. After church, we came home, ate lunch, and dyed Easter eggs. Then the snow began to fall, eventually accumulating 8 inches. The kids went out and played in it for while. Later they just played together, my 15 year old son wrestling with his 3, 4, and 7 year old siblings. They got out the cheap Dance Dance revolution game we got for Christmas and danced and laughed. Then we had a big family dinner. All in all, a lovely day. Thank you, Jesus.

Today I took K, A, and M to the local Hands-On science center. One of the displays was 2 giant metal discs shaped like satellite dishes and placed about 100 feet apart. If you whispered into one, the person standing at the other one could hear you. I stood near A. while K. whispered to her. I asked her if she could hear him, and she said yes. "What did he say?" I asked. She replied, "He said, 'I love you, A." Tears came to my eyes. She whispered back to him, and I called over to him, "What did she say?" "She said 'I love you K."

Already?

He smiles and laughs all the time. Has a great sense of humor and is really happy!

Don't A. and I look good? This was about an hour before we came down with the stomach flu.

Yes, he does, and his fingers too.

But he's so dang cute I just had to post another photo of him!

A big smile, that is.

On the couch, also in my pjs!

I know it's hard to imagine someone, so I am posting these pictures of me on the computer so you can imagine me sending you a message, posting on a message board, blogging, etc.

I have no idea why I'm frowning. The kids say I always look that way when I'm concentrating on the computer. Maybe I need my eyes checked?

I am often at the bar counter in the morning, in my pjs.

It is SO hard to catch a smile, since he does this every time!

We made Valentine's cards with these photos.

I think his expression in these photos says it all. Hopefully he'll like it better when he's a little older.

By the time we got home, M. was very out of sorts, crying a lot and refusing to nurse. He'd been intermittently refusing to nurse throughout the day, going 4+ hours without nursing, then guzzling, then crying afterwards. He was definitely uncomfortable. I suspected ear infections, so in the morning I took him and T., who was still feverish, to the pediatrician. T's oxygen level was a little low, but she responded to a breathing treatment, and they determined that she had walking pneumonia. When they checked M's oxygen levels, they were in the low 90s. They gave him a breathing treatment, checked again, and they hadn't improved. In addition, his respiratory rate was too high and he was working hard to breathe--his chest was really sucking in as he was using a lot of muscle power to breathe. So I got the bad news--he needed to go to the ER. I called Daryl, who didn't answer, and our babysitter, who said she'd meet me at the pediatrician's office to pick up T., K. and A. She lives 30 minutes away, however, and when they heard that they said it was too long, and that she should meet me at the ER. I headed to the ER, and along the way I got hold of Daryl, who said he'd meet me there.

Once we were at the ER, and M. had been thoroughly examined, they said they wanted to observe him to see what happened when he went to sleep. They administered another breathing treatment and x-rayed him. He didn't have pneumonia, which was good news. When he fell asleep, however, his oxygen levels fell into the low 80s, which was unacceptable. When asleep, he wasn't working as hard to breathe and consequently he was getting a lot less air. He needed oxygen during those times, so he was admitted. He had bronchiolitis, which it turned out was caused by RSV. They swabbed his nose and ran a culture to determine what organism was causing it, in order to know what to expect based on the typical course of that particular illness.

As the evening went on, his oxygen levels were very good even while sleeping, and he was receiving only a tiny amount of supplemental oxygen. Since they had told me that he would have to not need oxygen for 24 hours before he could be released, I requested that we try turning it off around 8pm to see how he did. The respiratory therapist was happy to do that. The rest of the evening and through the night his oxygen levels were in the low 90s when asleep without any oxygen, which they said was acceptable.

His roommate also had bronchiolitis. I was never told whether she also had RSV. Hopefully she did, so they weren't exchanging germs. She was 11 months old, and her father and grandmother visited, but did not stay the night with her. She was sicker than M., and had previously been in intensive care. Her condition, combined with being alone, made her cry most of the night. The nurses did come in and attend to her, a lengthy routine of suctioning her, changing her diaper, giving her a fresh bottle, and comforting her, which she cried through. The staff levels aren't sufficient to provide continuous one on one with a child. I felt sorry for her, and for me, as I was totally exhausted.

Our room was small, filled with 2 giant cribs and other equipment. Parents weren't allowed to use the bathroom, despite the fact that neither of the patients in our room could use it, because it was shared between 2 rooms, and there were older children in the adjoining room that did use the bathroom. I had to walk a long way down the hall to a restroom, and leave M. behind, since he was attached to an oxygen tube and pulse-oximeter. There was a short, narrow padded bench in the room for each child's parent(s). It was only about 4 feet long, and impossible to sleep on. Since M. likes to sleep with me, and I was worried that if I feel asleep on the bench while holding him I'd drop him, and his crib was bigger than my bench, I got into the crib with him. I did fall asleep for a short while, despite the crying and constant interruptions.

Then I was rudely awakened by a doctor that I hadn't met. (This is a teaching hospital and consequently you meet many different doctors, residents, medical students, etc.) She wanted to know if M. had a wet diaper on or not, because the previous diaper had not been weighed, which is what they were doing to measure output and be sure M. was not becoming dehydrated. I had left it in the proper place but apparently the nurse had forgotten. The doctor informed me that if M. didn't have a wet diaper on they would have to put in an IV right away because that would mean he was dehydrated. I knew he had a very wet diaper on because he'd fallen asleep with it needing to be changed, and I hadn't wanted to wake him to do it, so I left it on, thinking he'd wake up later and I'd do it then. He was now sound asleep, of course, but I had to change it immediately. I handed it to her, saying, "Here--now you can weigh it." She took it with a look of disgust, then set it down and said, "A nurse will do that." An IV was not necessary.

In the morning our pediatrician came. She felt that he was doing much better and could go home. Of course, it took a long time to get the paperwork completed, etc. and he was actually discharged around 11am.

This was the University of Michigan's Mott Children's Hospital. They are in the process of building a new children's hospital, which the nurse told me will feature private rooms that contain a bed for the parent. This is essential, since if a child were there for a lengthy stay the abysmal accommodations would really take a toll on the parents. I know that the hospital expects parents to stay and help care for their child because Daryl's niece had surgery there recently, and in the pre-op packet her parents received was a letter stating that.

I am so lucky that we have never had a child admitted to the hospital before! It was a learning experience.

M. is fine now. He recovered quickly, thankfully.

On Monday morning we went to downtown Disney, where we bought some souvenirs. I. had begged and begged for this charm necklace.

M. seemed worse, and I was worried, but didn't want to miss my flight and stay in Orlando without my family. I consulted with our pediatrician and decided to fly home.

By the next morning, however...

Left to right--L., age 12; K., age 4; A., age3; I., age 10.

A. was feeling much better this day. The steroids had worn off and she was happy all day. T. was ill, and we rented her a stroller to ride in, which was a big help.

The kids had a good time climbing on this dinosaur statue.

K. is quite a character, and wore his ears over his hood all day.

The temperature had dropped dramatically overnight, and it was quite chilly on Sunday.

Once again, the Magic Kingdom was open until 11pm and we had planned to head over there after the Animal Kingdom closed at 6pm, but by now the temperatures had dropped into the 40s and it was windy, so we decided we were done.

I was disappointed because I'd really wanted to go back there. There was a lot we didn't do, due to long lines, a sick toddler, and it being the first day and we hadn't learned yet how to maximize our time.

Overall, considering the circumstances, we had a really good time.

On Sunday I was awoken very early by M., who had coughed more each day and gradually become more and more congested. He was now coughing a LOT and appeared to be having trouble breathing. His ribs were sucking in and out, which the dr. had told me to watch out for. So off we went to the ER around 7am, which was conveniently next door to our hotel.

They listened to him, did a chest x-ray, and took his pulse-oxygen levels. They determined that he was fine, that the congestion was all in his throat and nose, and said that the chest movements we observed were being caused by the fact that he was attempting to nose breathe through a stuffed nose, so he had to work harder to draw air, but that if he'd open his mouth he would have no trouble breathing. I was given saline and a bulb syringe with instructions to suction him vigorously.

When we returned to the hotel room around 9am, T. told me that she didn't feel well. I took her temperature--101F. Gave her some Motrin and off we went to the Animal Kingdom.

I carried M. in the pouch a lot of the time, and the rest of the time he rode in his carseat in the stroller.

The Magic Kingdom was open until 11pm, and we had intended to go back there in the evening after Epcot, but the younger kids were exhausted, and soaked to the skin, so Daryl dropped the older kids at the Magic Kingdom, took the young ones and I to the hotel, and then joined the older ones for some late night fun. It continued to rain all evening, just not as hard.

We spent the majority of Saturday at Epcot, which began cold and foggy, quickly became hot and muggy, later changed to perfect, and then at dusk it began to pour--literally a torrential downpour.

Our first full day, Friday, we spent the morning in the Magic Kingdom and then rushed to Hollywood studios, where we had dinner reservations at a too fancy and too expensive restaurant, but they included reserved seats for a fantastic show. One of the things we learned was that 2 restaurant reservations for the same day is difficult, because it takes a long time to go from park to park, and it was stressful to try and do it at a certain time. You can't get a seat in a sit-down restaurant without a reservation, however.

K. gets a lift from D.

Those cups of coffee were essential!

Even Mama and baby get into the act!

Poor little thing, she was also very fatigued, and every evening ended like this for her.

A.'s mood varied from moment to moment over the next 2 days, going from happy to having a hysterical tantrum in a matter of moments. I have been told that moodiness is a side effect of steroids and I have to believe that was the cause, because she is normally much happier. Unfortunately, she chose demands that we couldn't meet (we were trying to indulge her) at inconvenient times, like deciding that she MUST have some Cheezits right NOW just as we reach the front of a line. Her breathing was fine and her fever gone by Friday, so we were able to stop carrying the nebulizer around.

The next day we had lunch with Pooh and his gang.

We did it--something we've considered before, but never wanted to spend the money or brave the crowds--we took the family to Disneyworld.

Overall, we had a good time, but there were a few snafus.

Mon. Jan. 14--I take A. to the dr. because I believe her ear infections have either recurred or never gotten better. I am correct, and both eardrums are bulging and pus filled. She prescribes a different, bad tasting antibiotic. Later that day, K., who had had a cough since Christmas, begins running a low grade fever.

Tues. Jan. 15--Late in the afternoon A. spikes a high fever--103-104. Motrin does not bring the fever down. K. still has a low grade fever.

Wed. Jan. 16--A. still has very high fever upon waking, and is now panting. Daryl and I take K. and A. to the dr., where A. is diagnosed with pneumonia, and K. with walking pneumonia, otherwise known as mycoplasma. A. is given 3 breathing treatments in the office, and we are given our first nebulizer to take home (and on vacation). A. is also put on steroids, and both kids get Zithromax. The dr. says it is OK to travel in the morning with A., but warns us that it could be less fun and more hassles. Ya think? Baby M. begins coughing later that evening.

Thurs. Jan. 17--We fly to Florida, nebulizer in hand, giving A. a last minute breathing treatment before boarding the plane. By the time we arrive, get our luggage, rent a car, check into hotel, and get a bite to eat it is early evening. We head to the Magic Kingdom, where the big kids head off for roller coasters and we manage to ride one ride before lining up to see a light parade that occurs at 7pm. A. has a huge meltdown, wants to go "home", wants to be held instead of riding in stroller, and held only by mama. At close to 40 lbs. that was a challenge after the first 5 minutes. The parade was delayed, and she kept crying. By the time it began, she had fallen asleep and I was able to transfer her to Daryl's stronger arms. The parade was fantastic, and it was followed by the best fireworks I've ever seen. The park closed at 8pm and we went back and the oldest 5 kids went swimming, while the little ones went right to bed.