Thoughts from home...

Making Caleb's Dinosaur cake

2011-08-21T20:38:00.001-07:00

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Caleb's 6th Birthday

2011-08-21T20:37:00.001-07:00

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Finding time to breathe...

2011-06-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been insane. A total roller coaster of emotion. Memorial Day weekend, we had planned on going down to see our parents. Thursday night, Abby woke up throwing up at around midnight. It continued almost every half hour until morning. She then put herself on the couch and wouldn't leave. She had periods of almost delirium....we ended up in the ER. They gave her Zofran and she perked up so we went home. She started drinking fluids again. We ended up going down for the weekend after all. My brother and sister in law made it up as well. Aside from Abby being sick, it was a really good weekend of seeing everyone. And...I'm so glad we did. That leads up to this past weekend.

I had agreed to captain a team for our Susan B Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday. Friday, I get a call from my mom saying that my grandma went into the hospital by ambulance. She had pneumonia. She said she was doing okay at the hospital and that I didn't need to come down. I went on with the Race the next day. I called grandma after the Race and talked to her. She sounded tired, but okay. Well....that night, she went into respiratory distress and at 4 in the morning, Mom and Grandpa decided to have her intubated. I got that call at 5:30 and had my bags packed by 6. Grandma was very sick, she had very low blood pressure and things seemed to be shutting down. She was septic with a staph infection in her blood. She had an E Coli infection in her urine, and the germ causing her pneumonia wasn't determined yet. They wanted to put in a central line and an arterial line to give her meds and watch pressures. Mom wanted to hear my opinion first. I said to go ahead with both.

I went into Grandma's room....and was thinking her telemetry looked abnormal, but I was trying to be family and out of nurse mode....so I put it to the back of my head. Turns out, she did have a heart attack during the night as well. She wasn't producing much urine and it looked like her kidneys were shutting down. Grandpa would just sit in the waiting room, staring ahead, saying "I just can't fathom what's happening." His last sight of Grandma was her struggling for air.

We were sitting in the waiting room, talking. It was uncanny how almost everyone that Grandma and Grandpa don't see very often had seen them within the last week. My brother was up here. They had seen Grandma's sisters and brother. They had seen Grandpa's sisters. (God-sight number one)

Fast forward to the night. I told Mom that I'd stay with Grandpa and she could go home. My aunt was on her way from Milwaukee too. My aunt and I stayed the night at the hospital. We couldn't get Grandpa to go home and get sleep. My aunt ran into Grandma's nurse from the general care unit that was taking care of her the night she went downhill. The nurse had tears in her eyes and told my aunt "I tried so hard. I didn't know what else to do for her. I prayed over her and ask the Holy Spirit to come upon her and comfort her." (God-sight number two)

In the middle of the night (while sedated), Grandma got wide eyed and started trying to mouth words. We finally figured out she was asking for Grandpa. When we finally asked her did she want to see him, she nodded her head so hard I thought she was going to extubate herself. My aunt somehow got Grandpa to come into the room. He started bawling and holding her hand. She kept mouthing "go home." We started talking about their house, and she'd shake her head "no." We realized she was talking about Heaven. Grandpa asked her if she meant she was ready to meet Jesus, and she nodded yes. He asked if she was scared. She shook her head "no." He asked if she was in any pain. She shook her head "no." (God-sight number three) Now, the nurse, nursing assistant and respiratory therapist were all in the room. Everyone was crying. (Grandma was the only patient in the ICU). Grandpa took Grandma's hand and told her it was okay to go. He started apologizing for anything bad he'd ever said or done. She wouldn't take her eyes off of him. We got my other aunt and my mom there too. We really thought she wasn't going to make it through the night. But she did. They even weaned her off the ventilator that next day. After they extubated her, I noticed she wasn't moving her left side very well. She was restrained before, so I hadn't noticed anything. She hasn't been diagnosed with a scan, but we're sure she had a stroke the same time she had the heart attack. She had a TTE done on Monday as well. She has an EF of 35-45%. She stayed in ICU for three more days.

When I left Monday night, Grandpa was at the hospital. He had gone home for a few hours in the middle of the day to rest. My aunt was going to stay at his house that night. When she got to the house, he must have just woken up, but he was drenched in sweat and kept saying "I'm so confused..." My aunt couldn't find his blood glucometer so she got him to the ER. Tests were coming back fine....and then he mentions "I'm sure glad I got the lawn mowed." It was almost 80 degrees that night and he went home and mowed his lawn. Explains the sweat, but he had an elevated WBC so they admitted him. He was on the second floor, grandma was on the fourth floor. My brother made it up from Indiana yesterday. Grandpa got discharged yesterday. They think he was just dehydrated.

Yesterday, I dropped my cell phone and it broke. (just a minor minor detail of my week, but it still stunk!) Luckily, I still had my OLD phone and they reactivated it so I can use it until Monday when my contract is up and I can get a new phone.

Today I find out that my dad just got diagnosed with diabetes. He had a preop physical with a new primary care physician, and they ran all sorts of labs. His hemoglobin A1C came back today at 6.1. He and Mom have an appointment on Monday with a diabetes educator.

Like I said. What a strange, exhausting, draining week. I've actually looked at work as being a break. Yeah.

Updating

2011-04-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been since February since I've updated! Here's the quick low-down:

The budget mess in Wisconsin continues. There's no way to not make the cuts, but it's a little crazy thinking about what it will mean. There is currently a judicial order to not enact the bill that passed because the legitimacy of the voting process that passed the bill is in question.

Caleb is registered for kindergarten!! The registration day didn't go so well for him. He had a melt-down/anxiety episode. They've recommended summer school to get him better acquainted and help him adjust. We're going to try that.

In better news, Caleb is reading!! He was able to read some books from the library to me. The were the easy reader "I Can Read" series books. He was so excited when he realized that he knew how to read sentences! He's even been reading to Abby sometimes.

Abby is signed up for ballet lessons and is very excited to start them. Caleb is signed up for T-Ball. He's extremely excited and I hope that the excitement helps him to overcome the anxiety that he struggles with with so many things.

That's about up to speed for now. I hope I keep updates better than I've been doing!

Recharging...

2011-04-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how you don't realize that you're run down until you have a chance to recharge the batteries! I'm in Cedar Rapids visiting my roommate from college and today we had the opportunity to see Bebo Norman sing and listened to Angela Thomas speak at a women's conference. Wow. I needed that! I'm missing my fam tons, but it was worth the time in fellowship. I knew I was running, running, running, but didn't realize how low the batteries had gotten. I'm not saying I'm well rested, but definitely refilled. Does that make sense? I think we too often loose sight of the focus. I find myself pulled in so many directions and leave God out of the equation. That needs to change.

I'm tired!

2011-02-28T13:08:00.001-08:00

I'm tired of a lot of things right now. I'm tired of not sleeping well. It's draining! I haven't slept through the night in like 3 or 4 weeks.

I'm tired of all the political unrest here in Wisconsin. I'm tired of people not understanding what's going on and jumping to judgement without being informed. I'm tired of my elected officials acting like children (both sides). Makes me want to put them in a time-out. Just kidding.

No really. This mess at the capitol and the upcoming budget "repair" bill is dividing friendships. People are so uncaring about those they've known for years. There is no perfect system. The elected officials are in power, whether we agree with them or not. We can voice our discontent. It's not worth losing friendships over. I am very thankful and grateful that my friends have been able to have civil discussions about what's going on without taking it out on each other. I can't say the same for the people around us.

If you don't know what's going on, our Governor has proposed major budget cuts in his new bill. In addition to budget cuts, he wants to put a stop to collective bargaining of unions. The unions and the democratic representatives/senators have agreed to the healthcare changes and the pension changes. The problem is, the bill calls for no bargaining rights except for wages. This would take away the right to bargain about workplace conditions. That's right. It takes away the right to fight for 8 hr shifts, mandatory breaks during your shift, for nursing- our union had stopped mandatory overtime (being forced over to 16-20 hr shifts to cover sick holes), and we currently are guaranteed 12 hrs between shifts. We currently have guaranteed patient to nurse ratios, thanks to our union. In our public school system, the unions have fought for teacher to student ratios. It is estimated that once this bill passes, the student to teacher ratios will hit 40:1 in some areas. Private school is a luxury and not a realistic option for a majority of the population. So, that means kids get the short end of the stick.

In addition to that, Wisconsin will lose $70 million dollars in federal aid for public transportation. They only send aid to public transportation systems that use unionized workers. That will literally shut down the bus systems in some towns.

I'm in full agreement that unions have problems. I think merit-based wages are a good idea. I disagree with some other things too. BUT you can't deny that unions have done a lot of good as well.

All the demonstrations have so far, been peaceful....but I worry that people already struggling to make ends meet are going to find this added burden too much and someone is going to snap. Where does that leave us?

Wow.

2011-02-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

That's kind of all I can think of to sum up what is going on right now at the capitol. Just like the entire nation, Wisconsin has a gigantic budget deficit. Everyone has ideas on how to cut down on the deficit. Our governor has proposed cutting healthcare benefits and retirement plans of state workers. Unionized state workers. Not completely getting rid of pensions and healthcare, but decreasing state contributions dramatically. Yes, this may decrease the state deficit, but it will also put thousands of struggling working class families at more of a financial burden. The bigger problem....he did this while saying that unions will not have bargaining rights regarding the changes. This leads to setting a dangerous precedent regarding unions and their ability to fight for their members' rights. Almost all area schools are closed today because the teachers are on a "sick-out." There are thousands of people at the capitol. By thousands, I mean estimated over 15,000.

Brent and I made it a point to not rely on our employers for retirement. We've been working hard to set up retirement options regardless of where we work. Healthcare costs aren't as bad for us either because we can just go off of Brent's benefits. However, as a nurse, the union is extremely important. Our union is what fought for safe staffing ratios and putting an end to mandatory overtime, just to name a few. We used to be able to take 6-7 patients per nurse. This pretty much turns into pill pushing. Especially on a neuro unit with MANY confused patients, that ratio is just plain not safe. We used to also have mandated overtime. This means that if there was a staffing hole and we were a nurse (or more) short for the next shift, we were forced to stay over to cover the hole or be reprimanded for patient abandonment. While we still had the mandated overtime, the hospital did very little to cover holes in the staffing schedule with float staff.

Governor Walker also said that by stopping unions, we'd "save" money on not being required to pay monthly dues. It could "save" us $500 a year. $500 a year. That's like spitting in the wind. This is all completely frustrating, worrisome, etc.

The house saga continues....

2011-01-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

Well, my hopes of our house problems clearing up in the new year have not come to fruition. Our fireplace is still not in working order. The fireplace company is blaming my contractor (and might I add, not being professional about it!). My contractor is most definitely NOT at fault (and has proved that). And, here we sit with a gorgeous fireplace that isn't functional. The fireplace company won't reinstall the electrical until they can figure out what is causing the condensation that is leading to water build-up. The only possible place for an air leak is the fireplace unit itself. My contractor happens to have a thermal imaging camera that can measure the temperature readings. Everything reads normal except for inside the unit and right in front of the unit. UGH! Oh, and on top of that, the van is back in the shop after I discovered oil on our garage floor. They think it's a leak in the crank-case. It won't cost us anything to fix since we just had the fan in to be services like 2 weeks ago. Frustrating. Just frustrating.

What a couple of weeks!

2010-12-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

So, it seems like when something breaks, everything else follows suit. Ugh! About 2 1/2 weeks ago now, I tried to start our new gas fireplace (the one we had installed in October). It would beep like it was responding to the remote, but no flame would ignite. Nice. So, I called the company and they tried to trouble shoot over the phone. I had the panel off and was working with the switch box that the guy was instructing me on. Then, I decided I should probably get a flashlight in case I needed to look inside further. I reached my hand in before I had the flashlight on, and my hand was soaking wet. I almost panicked....since all the damage we had repaired was due to a water leak. The fireplace guy said it may be condensation....but there shouldn't be that much. At any rate, they scheduled a time to come out to analyze the problem. It happened to be the same day that we had scheduled a furnace clean/check, so I thought it would work out well.

That next Wednesday, Brent had the day off, I worked, and the kids went to daycare. Brent had planned to do Christmas shopping. Then, I get a phone call at work. Brent is stranded in the middle of town. The van completely broke down. He got towed to the mechanic, got a ride to work to grab the other car, and I got a ride home from work. It just happened to be a day that the one coworker lives near me was working the same shift. They didn't get a chance to look at the van that day. We expected to hear from them on Thursday.

Thursday: We get a phone call in the morning from the mechanic. Something has chewed the wires going to the engine. They have to open up the engine to assess the damage. The estimate is at least $400. We say, go ahead. They should call us in the evening with the final estimate.

The furnace tech was the first person to get to our house. He set about his business....and then asks, "A different company installed your furnace, right?" I'm like, "yes, why?" This was the first time we'd had it checked since having it installed 4 years ago. Turns out, the guy that installed it connected the intake pipe to the exhaust and the exhaust pipe to the intake of the furnace. The tech said it was an easy fix. And...he showed me what was wrong. I'm almost panicking because there was a house explosion in our town over a month ago that is likely linked to their furnace. I asked the guy if it put our safety at risk. He reassured me that our safety was never at risk, but he was very surprised that our furnace was working this long. Nice. At least he fixed it at no extra charge.

The fireplace technician was the next one to get to the house. He looked at everything, cleaned up the water that had again collected (I got all the water out the day that I found the problem) and pretty much decided that the electrical was fried from the water. Problem is....where/why was the water there? It didn't have a leak (thank goodness!) It really was condensation. But, the fireplace should NOT have been getting that cold. The fireplace tech went downstairs and found that there were holes in the wood under the fireplace. He of course, blamed our contractors. Basically, the holes were letting in the really cold air and the insulation was actually trapping it behind the insulation, the only way out was up through the fireplace. Great. I wasn't going to let it worry my right then because we were heading out of town for the weekend, and I didn't want it bothering me. I was going to call our contractor on Monday.

That evening, I go to pick up my uncle from the industrial park where he is going to store his truck and he is going to spend the night at our house. As I'm driving our Rav4 to pick him up, it starts shaking like crazy. We checked the tires as soon as I picked up my uncle. They all look fine. On the drive home, it shook even worse. I'm thinking, at this rate, we're not going to make it home for visiting family this weekend! Brent takes the Rav out with my uncle as soon as we get back, and I call our mechanic. He says he's willing to bet money that we've got snow packed behind the tires that we can't see. Sure enough, that's the problem. At least something is an easy fix! We have a message waiting for us on our answering machine when we get home from dinner. They found an entire mouse nest in the engine. The ignitor wires and ground for the ignitor were completely chewed through. They fixed those and the van still wouldn't start. Turns out, there's a leak in the water pump. The leak from the water pump dripped onto the timing belt and damaged it to the point that it also needed to be replaced. Then, there was a crack in the seal of the oil pump somehow. The water pump, oil pump, and timing belts were all covered under the extended warranty, thank goodness! They had to wait for permission to fix it before they started. So we had to call them back the next morning.

The next morning, we both have off from work because we were planning on leaving right after we picked up Caleb from school. Our contractor calls us (I guess the fireplace guy called him) and said he'd send someone right over. He knew exactly what happened. The contractor had to completely rebuild the fireplace box before the gas fireplace could be installed. When the fireplace company went to install the fireplace, the gas line was on the wrong side. Then, it sat for two weeks until the fireplace company finally sent someone out to change the gas lines (after they got threatened by my contractor to fix it). When the fireplace company changed the gas line, they drilled new holes but never told the contractor that they did so. They put insulation back up over the holes, so we never saw the holes. Thus, the cold air leak. At any rate, our contractor fixed everything and the air leak is gone. I checked the fireplace for water, and it's got just a tiny bit. Now, we just have to get the fireplace company back to fix the electrical.

Okay, so we do finally make it out of town for the weekend. We had a really good weekend seeing a lot of family. Caleb and Brent were getting over colds, Abby and I were starting ones. We get back home on Sunday with no problems.

Monday morning, it's a mad dash out the door. Brent's alarm didn't go off and we all had to leave at the same time to get the kids to daycare and pick up the fixed van. I throw a load of laundry to wash while I'm out. I don't work that day, and I have plans to gets chores and errands done, as well as go to the gym. Well, I'm in the grocery store and get a phone call from school saying Caleb's eyes are red, he's rubbing them, and he says they itch. Great. So, I get checked out, call the doctor to get an appointment, and pick Caleb up. The nurse calls me back and has a morning appointment available, so I rush home to unload groceries. To the doctor's office we go. Turns out, Caleb does have pink eye, but also has an ear infection starting that we didn't know about yet, so antibiotics it is. He feels fine, just has itchy eyes. Anyway....I finish my errands with Caleb with me. I get home and go to switch the laundry loads. The clothes are soaking wet. Odd. I put it on the spin cycle again. It makes lots of noise. Great. I take out the lighter clothes and throw them into the dryer. I ring out what I can for water. I think maybe it just got unbalanced and I start the next load. It didn't even make it past the first rinse before it started making noise, I'm standing right there, and then it goes completely dead. I throw all the clothes into the utility sink to get them out of the machine so they can drain a bit. And....call the appliance guy to come fix the machine. He can come the next day. However, we have a load of soapy, soaking clothes now. When Brent got home, the snow storm had already started. He went out anyway after supper to the laundry mat to at least wash the clothes and bring them home to dry.

This morning (Tuesday) Abby wakes up with a barking cough and a super runny nose. I'm willing to bet that it's an ear infection by Christmas. And...we're supposed to visit family after Christmas. I really hope everyone is feeling better soon!

The appliance guy game today to fix the machine. Turns out, there were two things wrong with it, so at least they gave way at the same time.

I'm just waiting for all the extra costs (money and time) to go away!! I want some sanity back!

Time gets away from you!

2010-12-14T14:10:00.001-08:00

I can't believe the last time I blogged was in October. Where did the time go? Now, to try to get caught up on everything that's happened in the last two month. Yikes! The kids are both continuing in swimming lessons. They are still in the same class, so that's been going well. If only Abby would learn to listen better!

We went back home for Thanksgiving. We were able to see almost everyone in one trip, so that was nice. Tyler and Dani made it up as well. Dad's Parkinson's is progressing a lot, so it's really difficult to see him struggle so much.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, I was able to head back and get together with a good friend for a shopping day. It was a ton of fun! I need to take those "mommy-days" more often! Most of the shopping was Christmas presents.....and the credit card company ended up calling me the next day to make sure I was the one that made all the charges. I guess I did pretty well!

This month has been full of baking, making, etc. The kids really like to make Christmas cookies, so we made sure that we made plenty! We even made gingerbread men this year.

I got my Christmas shopping pretty much done by the first week of December, so it's been a lot less stressful figuring out how to have the time to get that done. Everything is wrapped and hidden. :) I think I may have even been able to keep things hidden from Brent. (I may have set things a certain way to make sure I'd know if anything was moved.)

This past weekend, we had our first blizzard of the season. We got about 9 inches of snow on top of .20 inch of ice. I was so glad I didn't work! Brent had National Guard and still had to go out in it. They shut down the metro buses and most businesses were closed. The interstates were closed at different points (once for the storm and once for a 7 car pile-up).

This next weekend, we are going back home again for Christmas with my side of the family. We're going to attempt to go to Mom and Dad's church again. Last time we were there, Caleb had a huge panic attack. He's come a long way since then, though, so we want to try again.

I work on Christmas Day this year, and it's my weekend to work. I can't complain. This is the first Christmas I've had to work since I started working at the hospital 9 1/2 years ago. I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have low census and I can come home early on Sunday the 26th. We're planning on going down to Brent's parents' house Monday the 27th for Christmas with them....it would be nice to head out the night before. I have the most seniority of anyone working that day, and I have vacation time saved, so here's to hoping! It's the one time that I wouldn't feel guilty about being in charge and sending myself home. Even better....getting called off completely would be great!

Well, I think I've gotten up to speed on things. I know I've missed a lot of good stories in the middle of all this, but I am really going to try better. I need to just set a day every week that I use for blogging time. Please look through the pictures I posted in the other posts to get picture updates!

December 2010

2010-12-14T13:43:00.001-08:00

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November 2010

2010-12-14T13:42:00.001-08:00

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Abby's 3 year check up :)

2010-10-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it was on Friday, but I haven't had time to post! Abby is officially 36 pounds (90th percentile) and 38 inches tall (76th percentile). She was such a trooper! She kept telling the doctor stories. The doctor looks at me and says, "well, I guess I have no concerns about her language skills! She's ahead of the class!" Abby got 2 shots, her pneumococcal and flu vaccines. She didn't even cry! That is, she didn't cry until later that night when they started to hurt. Then, she waddled around the house like a penguin and kept saying that she couldn't walk to well.

Making Abby's 3rd Birthday Cake- Snow White

2010-10-19T18:29:00.003-07:00

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Abby's 3rd Birthday-Oct 2010

2010-10-19T18:29:00.001-07:00

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Camping!!

2010-09-28T12:52:00.001-07:00

For the last four years, our care group has gone camping at Governor Dodge State Park. It's always been a fun time of fellowship for the adults and play for the kiddos. This year, we only stayed one night because Brent had a class reunion to go to. Both were fun. The kids were exhausted! We went on an extra long hike this year. I think the adults were maybe more tired than the kids. That could of had something to do with having to carry the kids piggyback for some of the hike....hmmm.... Anyway, since pictures do better than words, here are pics from this weekend.

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House Update...

2010-09-16T13:50:00.001-07:00

Well, we now have a large hole in the side of our house. They completely ripped down the chimney and took out the gas fireplace. They have rebuilt the base for the fireplace, but had to plywood over the large hole until the fireplace company gets our new one. Today was rainy, so they didn't want to take down the tarp in case it started raining again....that would set us back so far if we got MORE water in the house! Tomorrow and Friday should be cloudy but no rain, so here's to hoping! The roof is completely fixed, and our contractors happened to have matching shingles in their shop, so you can't even tell there was a chimney sticking up there!

I have to say, I'm pretty worried about what they will find when they start ripping into the walls from the inside. The outside damage was so much worse than they thought it would be that they are thinking more moisture was getting inside than we thought. The wet-rot stopped before effecting the integrity of the interior supports, but the drywall is toast. The insurance guy's moisture sensor popped positive when he put it on the floor....so we may have to have the entire upstairs flooring replaced (it's an open floor plan and laminate hardwood). I asked the contractor about it a couple of days ago. He said that he thought since the fireplace was so rotten, the floor probably just wicked up the moisture from the rotten wood. I'm really worried about mold. I can't see any from the inside, but if the wall's been that wet for that long, there has to be something growing. I'm having nightmares of something being found that causes us to have to leave the house. A good friend of mine got mold poisoning. I don't want that for anyone!

The exterior damage is not covered by insurance because it is wet-rot. Thank goodness for the intense rain storm. The interior damage is covered because a lot occurred during the storm. They're calling it wind-driven rain. Since they can't differentiate what occurred during the storm, and what was long term damage, the interior is covered. (so far).

I don't even want to think about the mess we'd be in if the storm didn't dump so much rain that it came in. We never would have found the rotting problem until it was much more major repairs. The contractors say that if this had been found in a year, we would have had to replace the major floor joists on the inside. ugh! It makes me mad to know that the roofers cared more about the fast buck than doing a decent job. If they had just put the flashing on the chimney correctly, we wouldn't have this major headache!

House Repairs 2010

2010-09-14T14:45:00.001-07:00

So far, this is how far the repairs have gotten. The outside is worse than expected. I think the pictures are better than words. The integrity of the interior wall is fine. The contractors keep saying how lucky we are that this was found now. I'm thankful that this happened before we started remodeling our bathroom. That's obviously going to get postponed at least until next year, I think. The exterior work is not covered by insurance because it is wet-rot. The interior repairs should be because they can't proved what was caused by the long term leak and what was caused by the downpour that soaked the wall.

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Dr Visit

2010-09-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

No, no one is sick! It was Caleb's 5yr well-child check. I have to say, I'm still a bit in shock at how well he did! Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, but I was fully expecting major melt-downs. Caleb did so well! He got his eyes and ears checked (both of which set him off last time). He let them take his blood pressure, which also set him off last time. He even got 3 shots and never cried a tear! I even told him he could cry after the shots.....he said he didn't need to. Ha! Here are the stats:

Weight 43 1/2 pounds (69th percentile)
Height 44 inches (75th percentile)
BMI 15.7 (58th percentile)

Considering how big of a toddler he was, he's evened out quite a bit. At his 3 year well child check, they told me that his BMI was on the high end of normal and concerning.....and I didn't change a thing, so there! Sometimes, I think they put a little too much pressure on parents, you know?

Caleb starts 4K on Tuesday. Wow, he's growing up fast!

Caleb's 5th Birthday

2010-09-03T14:26:00.001-07:00

So, I'm a bit late posting this one! We had Caleb's 5th birthday party at Mom and Dad's house. The kids were going to spend an extra couple of nights at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so it was easier to have the party there as well. It went really well! We had quite a few people (family) come. Caleb was so excited! And....his cousin Josh (well, my cousin's son, so what's that, like second cousin, once removed?) came and the boys played ALL day. It was great to see everyone. Caleb finally decided on a firetruck cake. Since I wasn't sure how many people were coming, I made the firetruck cake and some cupcakes. The cupcakes were red velvet because my sister in law's birthday was a couple days after Caleb's.

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Making Caleb's 5yr Cake

2010-09-03T14:25:00.001-07:00

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Yes, it can get worse.

2010-08-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

So, I called our insurance company back after our contractor found the rotten wood around the chimney. Yeah. Our insurance doesn't cover rot. Most homeowners insurance doesn't. I didn't know that. And....I showed the adjuster the packet that we got in the mail from the first guy that came out. He read through it. He is going to amend the previous claim. He put a sensor on the floor around the fireplace. And...it's wet. Which means, the floor needs to come out too. It's an older floor and they probably won't be able to match it (laminate hardwood)....that means ripping out the whole living room/hallway flooring on top of all the work with ripping the wall down. I'm seriously so mad, I could start crying. I don't think I will...but man. We have no idea how to go after these guys to get our money for the repairs. The roofers filed chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009. It will be just higher than small claims, so hiring a lawyer may cost more than the claim. UGH!

Home repair....

2010-08-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

So, the owner of our remodeling company was finally able to make it out today to assess our damage. If you go back a blog entry or two, you'll see the pics from the big storms that came through. Our street got flooded. We thought we made it without any water since our basement was dry, but soon discovered water upstairs in the living room. We had someone come out and look at the chimney who said it wasn't the chimney. I assumed if it wasn't the chimney, then it was the roof. Our 5 year old roof. Our roofers are out of business. I called them first. Great.

Then, we had our remodeling/repair company come out. The first guy that came out said that he was 80% sure he knew where the leak was, but wanted the owner to come out with the thermal imaging camera to make sure they weren't missing anything. The spot that he was thinking was the culprit was the siding, not the roof. Phew....that's cheaper to fix. (if that was the leak)

After that, the insurance "catastrophe recovery team" came out to give us an estimate on what they'd cover. I was cautiously optimistic after that because he came to the same conclusion about where the water came in, and made it sound like they'd cover most of the expenses. I didn't feel like I had to fight him at all for what they'd cover. He even said they'd have to cover the cost of painting the entire upstairs because we have an open floor plan and there wasn't any good "break" in the room. Then, we got the packet from the insurance company in the mail. Let's say I almost laughed at the little amount they said they'd cover. We're going to try to get more after the repairs are done. We didn't have an actual estimate from our re-modelers yet.

Today, the owner of the remodeling company came out with all the specialized equipment. He had called ahead of time and had us clear out our closet so he could get up into the crawl space if he needed to. He showed me with the camera where the water damage was inside the wall. It was bad enough that he felt he needed to get inside. After he came back down, he said he had some bad news. Great. There are two leaks, both due to the roofer's job around the chimney. Not only did the drywall get soaked in the last storm, but we have rotten wood around the chimney that needs to come out. That means ripping a hole into our relatively new roof, repairing the drywall and a few 2x4's, and re-shingling. Oh how I wish the roofers had left us a pack of shingles, but no. At the time, we didn't know any better, so we didn't question it. Oh yeah....also have to pull the siding off around the chimney to seal it. That's just the outside work.

Inside, the drywall from ceiling to floor on the fireplace wall has to come down (we have vaulted ceilings). And on the ceiling, it has to be ripped out to about a foot from the wall. The mantel and the trim around the fireplace are buckled, as is the baseboard in the corner. That all has to come out. Oh....and since the drywall behind the fireplace has to come down, that includes the tile around the fireplace. The floor is also buckled in the corner. We do have some flooring left....they should be able to use that. We don't have the actual estimate yet, but we're looking at about $2000 for the outside work and $3000-$4000 for the inside. So much for the painting that was included by the insurance company.....the total amount of what they sent us would pretty much only cover painting, if we painting everything. However, the re-modelers can color match the existing paint and only paint what is needed if we need save a bit. Oh, and we had a picture hung above the mantle what was ruined. The water soaked through the wall and saturated the picture. I discovered the damage when I sat down on the couch to talk on the phone....looked up, and saw the picture covered in mold. The frame was okay, so I'm going to try to reuse it with either the family pictures we just had taken, or pictures that I've done.

As bad as it sounds, and as much of a headache as this will be....it's kind of a blessing in disguise. If we didn't have the bad storm that soaked the wall, we never would have known that we also had a leak that was continually happening. If he hadn't gone up into the crawl space, we wouldn't have known that the wood was rotten until we had a HUGE problem and had to redo the chimney. It was caught soon enough this time. And....if the bulk of the water that came in didn't happen during a storm like that ("wind driven rain" they're calling it), the insurance company wouldn't have covered much of the cost since it was a builder error that probably caused the leak.

This is the wall that is damaged.

This is where the picture was hanging.

This is the buckled baseboard.

First trip to the Dentist!

2010-08-06T11:46:00.001-07:00

We survived Caleb's first trip to the dentist. I had been postponing it because I wanted him to have a better handle on his anxiety before we even tried it. He's been doing so well, it was time!

It went better than I expected. Caleb wouldn't sit in the big chair, but he would sit next to it in my lap. That was fine with me. They hygienist was able to "count" his teeth and brush it with a toothbrush. He wouldn't let her use the polisher, but there's always next time. He didn't want the dentist to come in, and since the hygienist said his teeth looked good, we didn't push it. We'll go back in the normal six months, and don't need to see a pediatric dentist. Yay!

Abby, on the other hand, hopped right into the chair, opened her mouth wide open, let the hygienist look at her teeth AND use the polisher. She had the hygienist laughing. They technically don't see patients until they turn three. It was just an attempt at getting Caleb to get into the chair and do what the hygienist wanted him to. I'd call the day a success!

Where did July go?

2010-08-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

No really, where did July go? I just realized I haven't posted since June. The kids and everyone are doing well. Caleb turns 5 at the end of the month! Where did that time go? It's funny to hear him talk about his birthday. He can't decide what he wants for a cake. It changes by the week.

We had some really severe storms a couple of weeks ago. Our street flooded pretty badly. We thought we dodged any damage because we didn't see any water in the basement. Then, we looked at the living room wall. Yup, the drywall got soaked, the picture hanging there was ruined. We can't find the leak. We've had two guys come out. We know the drywall has to be replaced, but that's almost pointless if we can't find out where the water is coming from. Today, the repair guy from the company we've used before came out to give some estimates. He's going to have the owner of the company come look. He doesn't think it's the roof, which is good because it's only 5 years old, and the company went out of business. He doesn't think it's the chimney. It may be the siding. He said if it is the siding, it's a relatively easy fix from the outside. The inside is a bit of a mess if half a wall worth of drywall needs to come down, but it could have been worse. We got 5 inches of rain in about 2 hrs. Our street was knee deep in water. I'm very thankful it didn't get in the basement!

My neighbor decided to get the raft from his swimming pool...

Yes, this is our mailbox.

Girls' Weekend

2010-06-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is a quick post because I should be in bed! I had the chance to go see my roommate from college this weekend!! I had an absolute blast! We kept it really low-key and just hung out and went shopping. It was the perfect schedule-free, child-free weekend. We also were able to get together with another friend from college as well. I definitely feel recharged!

Swimming Lessons

2010-06-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't blog until the third lesson. Sorry! The first lesson was survivable. Not exactly enjoyable. Caleb screamed bloody-murder and kept reaching out to me from the pool to come "save" him. I was in tears at one point, just seeing the look of terror on his face.

Lesson #2: Not as much crying, no screaming, actually looking like he enjoyed parts of it.

Lesson #3: Caleb was crying before we even got to the YMCA. He kept saying he didn't want to go. He pretty much cried through getting changed into his suit, and cried as we sat on the bench waiting for our lesson to start. I handed to the instructor in the water, still crying. Then, lo and behold, he didn't cry for the rest of the time. I think I caught him telling stories at one point. He will put his head under water with no problem, and even jumped into the pool (holding hands) today! He was smiling when he got out! I think we made a big breakthrough today. We'll see how the rest of the week and next week go.

Here are some video clips:

Once again....

2010-06-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

Time gets away from me! Let's see, what to catch up on... Dad's been home and doing well.

Brent has left for Annual Training (National Guard). This is always my least favorite part of summer. I'm going to try to plan enough activities with the kids that we pass the time quickly. Caleb is going to be taking swimming lessons starting on Monday next week. I'm anxious to see how that goes. He used to be paranoid of the water. We've been going to the pool to just get him used to it. He's been doing much better than we expected! Hopefully, he continues to do well with the instructor, since it's without the parents. It's a very small class of four kids. Next, we have to figure out when to get Abby into swimming lessons. That child has absolutely no fear. I mean NONE. She'll take a flying leap head-first into anything. We want her to be able to at least paddle once she gets into the water.

I started taking Zumba classes at the YMCA. I've only been to two classes so far. It's fun, but man, I can tell I'm not that coordinated when it comes to dance!

Anyway...that's our lives in a nutshell right now.

Just an update...

2010-05-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I realized I haven't updated anything on Dad yet. He discharged from the hospital to a nursing rehab center. He's been getting occupational and physical therapy. They've been working on balance training for the Parkinson's. We had a minor set-back. His incision started to drain profusely on Thursday. A trip to the ortho urgent care determined that it was a seroma, or a pocket of fluid. It wasn't infected, but they put him on antibiotics just to be safe. They had to back off on the therapy on that arm for a bit. We're having a family meeting tomorrow to discuss discharge planning.

Wish things were better....

2010-05-16T12:36:00.001-07:00

So, what's a blog if you don't keep things posted? Today's a rough day. We were all hoping and praying that Dad would make it through this surgery without having the delerium that hit last time. He started getting confused this morning. He somehow got the nursing staff to call here at 4:30 this morning. I don't understand what the staff was thinking. I asked the nurse "at 4:30 in the morning, are you serious? Is it an emergency? Is he alright?" The nurse actually laughed a bit and said "he just wants to discuss things." Again, I said, "at 4:30 in the morning." The nurse again, laughed a bit. I said "Absolutely not. Mom will be there by 8. He can "discuss" things then." Then, I started to say that last time, this was how his confusion started. The nurse pretty much cut me off and said that he was thinking clearly. I wanted to come through the phone and explain what "thinking clearly" really means. They should not have called in the middle of the night like that. Besides, he has a phone in his room with the numbers clearly posted on his wall right where he can read them. If he can't figure out the phone (which he's dialed correctly in the past), he's obviously got confusion.

I haven't been to the hospital today. I talked to Mom. She says he's pretty confused and worked up. He's saying things that "you don't want to hear." He's extremely mean towards Mom right now. It's going to be a rough few days. Hopefully, it only lasts a few days.

Back at the hospital again...

2010-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was Dad's surgery for his shoulder. I think I mentioned before that he had a total joint replacement done on his shoulder. Well, he fractured it. Now, they went in and fixed it. He will be staying in the hospital longer than last time to try and be sure that the same postoperative complications don't occur. We're all pretty anxious to see how this all plays out. Mom is very stressed, understandably. Last time Dad was in the hospital, I chose to not bring Caleb to visit. I wasn't sure how it would all play in with Caleb's anxiety problems. Well, Caleb has been doing amazingly well with his anxiety, to the point that the psychologist feels that we don't need regular visits (yeah!!!!). Anyway, I chose to bring him to the hospital today because he really wanted to go see Grandpa. Both the kids did very well (Brent has Guard, so he wasn't with us.) That is, Caleb did well until right before we needed to leave. The whole time we were there, he kept asking "when Grandpa gets better, can I go to his house?" I told him, "of course!" We had to explain that Grandpa needed to stay at the hospital for a while to get better. Caleb must have been thinking of it a lot. He started crying very loudly when it was time to leave. It was the kind of emotional, anxious, "tight" crying that usually leads up to his meltdowns. I got him guiet enough to get to the car. When we got home, I tucked Abby into nap and curled up with Caleb. He was able to tell me that he was sad that Grandpa was at the hospital and that he was scared because Grandpa couldn't get up from bed. Wow. How do you tell a four-year-old that it will be "okay?" Caleb's really starting to talk through things....and that's been really helping him emotionally.

I should probably say that Dad is able to get out of bed, he just needs help. His gait is very unsteady and shuffling (due to the Parkinson's). He's right handed and his righ shoulder is the problem right now, so it's hard to use a cane.

Nothing too exciting.

2010-05-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't blogged in a while. That's pretty much because nothing is really going on. We stay very busy, but nothing out of the ordinary, for the most part.

Dad is looking at having another surgery. He somehow managed to fracture his freshly replaced shoulder.

I went to our Annual City-Wide Garage Sales this weekend. I went over a couple of days. Brent happened to take yesterday off, so I took the chance and headed out for a bit while the kids slept, since Brent was home. I also went out for the day today. I got a lot of good deals. I think, if I counted right, I went to about 45 or so garage sales. That's a TON (over 3 days). The nice thing about them, is the kids are still at the age where you can find things in their sizes. I think I can milk if for a few years with Abby since most girls have too many clothes to wear anyway. I'm nearing the end of garage sales for Caleb. The boys always wear their clothes out too fast!

Anyway, that's about all for now.

Kitchen

2010-04-07T20:15:00.001-07:00

So, I decided I am bored with our kitchen. Since we've gotten the house, we've done major necessary things like the roof, windows, etc. We haven't really done much to change things inside except painting it before we moved in. I've been thinking our kitchen is boring, but we want to redo the bathroom, so we don't want to spend much on updating the kitchen. I think we'll put crown molding ontop of the cabinets....but I wanted to do something with the backsplash too. I really like tile, but I've never tiled before, and I didn't want to mess it up. Besides....if I change my mind in a few years, it's pretty permanent. So, I did some looking online and found a site that talked about a faux tile backsplash. I decided I'd try it! This is what it looks like:

I love the way kids think!

2010-04-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Kids think about things much more than we give them credit for. They ponder what they've been told and try to come up with explanations for the "why." The funny part comes in when they misunderstand a key word. Case in point:

For the last week or so, Caleb has been asking me "Mommy, what is gravy?" He asks this a lot. I'm thinking...what's up with gravy? I never make gravy because the kids don't like it. We've had it a few times at Thanksgiving and maybe a handful of times in between. When Caleb asked me what gravy is, I would explain that it's like a sauce that you eat on your food. After I'd explain that, he would look down like he was in deep thought, confused about my answer.

This morning, he finally "finished" the question, and I realized why he was confused. He very seriously looked at me and asked "Mommy, why did the soldiers put Jesus in the gravy?" The last few weeks, we've been talking about the crucifixion and ressurection of Jesus a lot to explain what Easter is all about. The kids hear about it on the radio, and at Sunday School too. Caleb must have kept hearing "gravy" instead of "grave." No wonder the poor thing didn't understand! I love the fact that he's been thinking about what we've been teaching him. I also love the fact that he's willing to ask so many questions in order to understand.

Sick and Tired!

2010-03-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! Technically, I'm not the one that's sick....but that definitely makes me tired! It always seems that the kids trade illness back and forth. Caleb started it this time....came home from preschool two weeks ago, and just didn't look right...by the end of the night we were in urgent care with an earache, and sure enough, it was infected! Abby started the cold about a week after that, and two days after Caleb stopped his antibiotics, we were in urgent care with Abby for her ears. Ugh! I had to call in sick to work today because Abby's been sick to her stomach for the last two days. One night was three complete bed/pajama changes. Sure enough, she was better today. Caleb and Brent both started in with bad coughs Sunday night. Brent's feeling better, but Caleb won't stop coughing....and it's effecting his sleep, which means it's effecting my sleep. Hence, the tired part. Tonight, I had a friend suggest rubbing Vick's Vapor Rub on his feet and covering them with socks. I ran upstairs to try it since I knew he was still awake (could hear him coughing from downstairs). He felt hot when I went in there, so I took his temp, and sure enough, he's got a fever. Now, I don't think it was caused by being under the covers because he only had a Tshirt and pajama pants on. Oh...and did I mention, I checked Abby's ears just to see how it was going...and the one that started it looked fine...but the other one is bright red. I know we're not even halfway done with the antibiotics....so there's still time, but sheesh! AND....Brent leaves on Sunday for two weeks in Arkansas. This stinks!

And, now I'm done with my vent :)

The videos speak for themselves...

2010-03-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Moving forward

2010-03-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, so if you've read my blog much, you probably know that Caleb seems to struggle a lot. He has a hard time with change (don't we all?) He has difficulty in large groups. He seems on edge frequently. I know, a lot of kids have similar problems, but Caleb seems to have more. More intense reactions, more difficulty transitioning. Brent and I have, for quite a while, talked about how it seemed different than temper tantrums. It seemed different than reactions of the kids his age. When he started preschool, he really struggled to participate. He struggled in every day things, like potty training, like holding his crayons the "right" way, like cutting with scissors, like trying new things. He always has been able to make friends easily.

I've brought our concerns up to our pediatrician...but since we had to switch doctors after Caleb turned two, I think things got a bit lost through the cracks. Caleb had one of his classic "meltdowns" during his well child check for 4 years. I asked if it was normal, the pediatrician said it was more than normal, but "not to worry about it." Well, when the difficulties in preschool began, we decided it was time to pursue some answers.

I know this sounds like it's going to be this big, dramatic blog, but it's not. :) Anyway...long story long, we had an appointment at the anxiety clinic on Wednesday. Our occupational therapist said that she thought Caleb was showing classic signs of anxiety, but she couldn't offer a diagnosis because she obviously isn't trained or licensed to do so. We survived an absolutely horrible appointment with a different psychologist who claimed to be pediatric and specializing in anxiety. Let's just say we didn't go back for a second appointment. Once we got to the psychologist that our (different) pediatrician recommended, it was much better. The diagnosis is generalized anxiety. Treatment is cognitive behavior therapy. We can alternate occupational therapy with the cognitive behavior therapy. Medication is a last resort, and no one thinks it will ever come to that. Which is good, we already decided that we'd pursue absolutely every other option before we'd even consider medication.

I'm excited. I'm hopeful. I'm relieved that our concerns have been validated. So many things that Caleb has struggled with are making sense now. I'm a reader....and have been getting books on childhood anxiety. It makes sense. It's changed how I react with Caleb and how we deal with the meltdowns. He's responding positively already to the changes we've made, and we haven't even started therapy with the psychologist. Our occupational therapist has been wonderful and has given us a lot of activities to teach Caleb coping mechanisms. I never knew pediatric occupational therapy would help that, but we see the results.

So, that's where we are at right now. :)

God is good, ALL the time!

2010-02-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

So, I'm not sure how many of you have been aware of what's been going on this past couple of weeks, but I thought I'd try to throw some thoughts down into the blog so I can come back to remember them later.

These have been probably some of the worst days that I've ever known. Also, they've been some of the best. I know, that sounds weird, but let me explain.

A week and a half ago, on a Tuesday, Dad had surgery on his shoulder for a total joint replacement. Everything went very well, and he recovered well in the hospital. He discharged home two days after surgery, on a Thursday. That's when it felt like my world started falling apart. On the way home, Mom said that Dad started getting kind of goofy, but she didn't know what to make of it. By the time I called later that night to check on them, I could hear Dad in the background. He was hearing things and looking for things that didn't make sense. I told Mom to stop giving him the pain medication since that was what had changed since before the surgery. I wanted to come down for the night, but Mom was insist ant that everything was fine. She ended up calling 911 that night because Dad woke up in a hallucination that people were coming to get him and they had surrounded the house with guns. She spoke with the dispatcher and then tried to call my uncle who lives close by. Dad thought my uncle was going to get killed too so he grabbed the phone out of Mom's hand and threw it across the room, breaking it into pieces.

The ambulance came and by the time they got to the hospital, Dad started to clear up. They just xrayed his shoulder and sent him home (I bet anyone reading this can guess which small town hospital that was!). She called me early that morning to tell me what happened. I felt like God was telling me I needed to be down there that night. Mom tried to convince me otherwise. Needless to say, I drove down for the night. Mom and I were going to take shifts staying up with Dad. He started to get confused with me, seeing a few things, but nothing bad. Then I went to sleep. I woke to hear Mom and Dad struggling over his sling and Dad getting pretty worked up. I went out to see what was wrong, and Mom was holding Dad down. Then, Mom almost passed out. I made her go to the other room and I stood near Dad so he wouldn't do anything to hurt his shoulder. He looked up at me like he didn't recognize me, had this wild look in his eyes, and just started yelling for help. Mom came back in, and I ran for the phone. I called my uncle and 911. Mom swears she was just hugging Dad to help calm him, but I'm pretty sure she was holding him down in the chair. Anyway...we ended up going to a different ER, one that I knew would call his neurologist in Madison. This ER did a full stroke workup and ran labs and tests. They then called Madison who agreed that Dad should be transferred to UW. This was early Saturday morning. Dad stayed as a patient until Thursday.

While in the hospital, he required a PSA (personal safety assistant) to be by his side at all times. Nights were horrible. He had to have security and the behavioral response team called one night because he overpowered the nurses, and had to be restrained, due to the same paranoid hallucinations. The next night, he had more hallucinations, but they weren't as bad. We were sure that we'd have to start looking for nursing homes, and this was the way things would be. That's not what happened.

Dad was admitted to the nursing unit that I work on. I knew the doctors and the nurses. They were absolutely amazing. Dad was put on medication to stabilize his mood and hallucinations, and sedation to help him sleep. They adjusted his Parkinson's medications. He cleared completely. He's been home for a night and doing very well. Mom and Dad are having someone stay with them for while at night so that Mom's not by herself if the delirium comes back.

They decided that many factors contributed to Dad's delirium. The type of Parkinson's that he has predisposes him to periods of delirium. The Parkinson's medications that he takes can cause hallucinations if the levels are too high. He hasn't slept more than a couple of hours a night for the last two years. The surgery was a huge stress on his body. And...the anesthesia from the surgery could have triggered something with his Parkinsons. Add into that that he's also old enough to be geriatric now....and you've got a mix of things that was a ticking time bomb, so to speak.

Basically, any surgery he has from here on out can result in a period of delirium. So, no more elective surgeries.

How was God working through all this? EVERYONE I know was praying for us. God convinced me to come down Friday night. God placed me on that nursing unit almost 9 years ago....I had no idea that my family would need neurologists at that time. God used this hospitalization to help Mom and Dad to see that they need to ask for help....BEFORE a crisis. They have an amazing support system of family and church family. Everyone just bonded together to help each other through everything. I don't have to worry as much about my parents because I know people are taking care of them. I don't think this is the end of it, but I know we're a little more prepared for what's to come.

Potty Training Chronicles, Part 2

2010-02-14T20:04:00.001-08:00

Well, I wish I could say that it was going well. It's not going poorly, just not well. Abby has all the right cues...they're just in the wrong order. She no longer keeps a pull up dry, and won't keep underwear dry either. Oh well....

Abby is also starting to either refuse naps or just prolong falling asleep. We've had to start sitting in the room for her to sleep during the day. She goes to sleep at night with no problems.

The Potty Training Chronicles....

2010-02-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Okay...so I'm not going to give a play-by-play....don't worry! I didn't want to say anything about starting to potty train Abby because I didn't want to have to report when things didn't go well. I know, I know....but we had such a difficult time with Caleb! Anyway... It's the weirdest thing. Abby won't stay dry in a diaper. I then tried underwear, thinking she needed to feel wet to not want to pee in her pants. She won't stay dry for more than 20 minutes with underwear. I decided that we'd do pull ups (which I swore I wouldn't) because they were easier to take on and off than diapers. Guess what. She keeps them dry. For HOURS. She still won't tell me when she has to go.....but she'll go as soon as you make her sit and try. She'll stay dry for 3-4 hours at a time. She stayed dry all day at daycare today! Including the nap! Hey....if it's workin', don't fix it!

Kind of surprising....

2010-01-17T19:57:00.001-08:00

I didn't realize that it's been so long since I blogged last! Let's see what's new... Caleb has started seeing an occupation therapist to try to help with his anxiety. He hasn't been formally diagnosed with anxiety, but he's been struggling with some things in preschool and social situations. The occupational therapist is working with him to help develop coping strategies....we're in like week 2, so still early on. He'll be seeing the OT every other week for right now.

This was a really rough weekend. I close friend of mind was admitted to the hospital on Friday morning, and I've been at the hospital on and off since then. She's been not feeling well since about September, and kept getting told it was allergies and an infection...got put on antihistamines and antibiotics without any relief. Had an ultrasound on Tuesday which prompted a CT scan on Wednesday. Friday morning, the pain was too much and started affecting her breathing. She has been diagnosed with lymphoma. They won't know what kind until the biopsy results come back. She's been released and will follow up as an outpatient. It really makes you think about your own life and what's worth worrying about....like are my little struggles really worth getting upset about?

2009-12-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

One of the gifts I received this Christmas was a huge set of cookie cutters....and since I now have them, I am required to make cookies more often, right? We made alligator and dolphin cookies tonight. Caleb and Abby each picked out what animal they wanted. You can see the cookies below. The pictures after that are what happened when the sugar started kicking in...(right before bedtime)

Christmas-time

2009-12-29T11:12:00.001-08:00

So, every year, our Christmas celebration seems like a marathon. We are blessed to be able to live close to both our extended families, so we have a lot of people to see at Christmas. We started a week ago, Friday. We went to my parents' house for the weekend. My brother and sister-in-law made it up from Indiana. We opened gifts with them and my parents on Saturday morning. Saturday evening, we went to my grandparents' house (my mom's side). We had a big dinner and opened yet more gifts. We drove back here on Sunday.

Caleb ended up coming home from preschool on Monday with pink-eye. Brent took him to the doctor. I had them look in his ears too, since they were bugging him a bit over the weekend. Sure enough, he had the beginnings of an ear infection. As Brent was backing the van out of the garage to get Abby, the garage door broke. At least they were on the outside!

Tuesday (my birthday), Abby woke up, and sure enough, pink eye for her too! So, I went to take the kids to Abby's doctor's appointment, and sprained my ankle. The doctor looked in Abby's ears too....and guess what, she had the same thing! Matching antibiotics for both of them!

I had to stay home from work on Wednesday since Abby couldn't go to daycare and Brent had taken a sick day with Caleb on Monday. I didn't mind since the winter storm was starting, and I'd rather not drive in it!

Thursday was spent digging out from the snow and ice storm.

Christmas morning, we had a very nice time with the kiddos. We played with the new toys for a little while, and then loaded up to head back to Illinois. We had lunch (and more gifts) with my dad's side of the family. That afternoon, we went to Brent's parents' house for the weekend. The kids had a blast with their cousins! We had our big meal/gift opening on Saturday....and sledding in the afternoon. Abby took a nap and Caleb went outside with our neices.

Sunday brought more sledding fun. And...I guess I ate too much that weekend, 'cause I managed to deflate the inflatable sled. It was fun anyway! We had to leave that evening since Caleb had preschool on Monday, and Brent had to work. We somehow managed to fit everything into the Rav on the way home. It was a cozy fit, so say the least! We managed to only forget a few things. :)

That, is our Christmas in a nutshell. As you can probably guess, I took way to many pictures to post on here, so here's a link to our picturesite online:

http://thewellsfam.shutterfly.com

The Big Storm 2009

2009-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I didn't post the pics from cookie decorating, but I thought I'd skip that and post some from the snow storm we just had. We got 15-18 inches, depending on what side of town you lived on! The governor declared a statewide emergency, all state government was shut down. The National Guard was put on notice that they would be mobilized if an emergency happened (like the huge back up on the interstate the last time we had a big snow storm).

The temperature was nice enough that we had the kids outside almost all day...if we weren't eating or sleeping.

The snowplow took out our fire hydrant. Now there's just a hole with a traffic cone over it.

Here are some pics.

Our Snow Dinosaur

By the next morning, our dinosaur was buried. You can see his head sticking out of the drift!

Let them play long enough with the front loader and shovels...and our driveway was taken care of. (okay, so the snow blower did most of it)

Brent and Caleb hiding in the "snow castle." It has three rooms and is deep enough for the kids to hide from the "snow monsters."

2009-12-04T20:48:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I got video up before pics. I'll try to get pics soon!

Updates and such....

2009-12-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

So, I realized I'm not hitting the once a week blogging goal that I set when I started this thing...but at least I remember to update once and awhile!

We've had a couple of weeks of being sick again. This year has been kinda bad in that regards. The kids always get their usual round of colds through the winter, but they've been sicker this time. Caleb came home last Monday with a fever....and it didn't go down, so on Thanksgiving we ended up at the doctor's office. He had strep. I love antibiotics....anyway. I had them check me out too since I've had a cough for a few weeks, and it was getting worse with a slight fever. They said I had bronchitis and gave me antibiotics too. Caleb improved within a day from starting his medicine. Mine, however, has been hanging on. I went back to the doctor yesterday, and they said stay home from work this week, since I'd be around patients with weakened immune systems. I've got a bunch to get caught up on, so that wasn't so bad. They gave me cough medicine too....but I can't drive if I take it...so I've only been taking it at night or if I know I'm not going to go anywhere.

We decorated Christmas cookies tonight. That's always a challenge!! Of course I took pictures, but I think I'll post those later.

Abby's Check-up

2009-11-17T12:08:00.001-08:00

We had Abby's Two-year check-up today...I know it's a month late, but it's so hard to get an appointment! Anyway...everything is going very well. She is 31 pounds, 35 inches tall. We had vaccines today. FOUR shots. Abby never shed a tear! She did so well! We were finally able to get H1N1 vaccines today and the seasonal flu shot. Today was the first day since the beginning of October that they were giving them to the children that don't have pre-existing health conditions. Caleb got his nasal spray (H1N1) vaccine today too. I would have done his seasonal flu shot, but I didn't want to spring that on him without talking to him about it first.

Not much else is happening! I mean, we seem to be really busy all the time, but nothing news-worthy. I guess that's good in a way. We're gearing up for the holiday seasons to kick in soon and then it's a marathon run to the end of the year.

Abby's Two!

2009-10-19T11:05:00.001-07:00

We had Abby's birthday party on Saturday. The grandparents, Great-Grandparents, and my brother made it up for the day. Abby was so excited, it was funny! She kept running round the house that morning saying "It's my birthday party! It's my birthday party!"

Abby was well spoiled with all the gifts she got, and she loved every one of them! She got a high chair, pack and play, and cradle for her dolls. She got an "animal hospital" so she can play vet or doctor. She also got a tea set that sings and makes noises when you poor it out. She received money as well, and we will put that into her savings account. :) We got her a play kitchen....and the kids have been "cooking" for us quite a bit!

Abby still has a cough that she's had for about a week....Caleb got a fever Saturday night and is still fighting it off. I hope that the grandparents and great grandparents don't catch it.

It was really exciting to have Brent's grandmother make it to the party! If you remember from previous blogs, we thought we were going to lose her a short time back. At one point, she was basically unresponsive and was actually on comfort cares for a few days. She is now being followed by a physician up here in Madison and has changed nursing homes. What a difference that made! She has started seeing the Madison doctor about a week before she got really bad. She was on a bunch of medications that he recommended got changed. The physician following her in the nursing home wasn't following any of the recommendations. Brent's parents got her into a nursing home closer to them with a more familiar physician (one that's been her doc for years). At the new nursing home, they actually started following Madison's recommendations...that combined with being closer to home must have done the trick. She's able to walk again with a walker (had been using a hydraulic lift), she's bright, aware of what's going on around her, and able to get out of the nursing home for the day, etc. She's like a completely different person!

Here are some pics from Abby's birthday. For more pics, go to thewellsfam.shutterfly.com

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

We decided to take the kids to a pumpkin patch last weekend. We had been thinking of doing it for a while....and decided to go to the one that Caleb's preschool class will be going to for a field trip. It was very cold, the rain has stopped by the time we got there. The kids had a great time!

Abby's Almost Two!!

2009-09-26T18:52:00.001-07:00

I decided to take a stab at taking Abby's two year picturs :) Here is what I got!

Camping

2009-09-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

The dust has settled a bit and I may just have time to update the blog! We went camping this weekend with our care group. It was a lot of fun....very little sleep....but a lot of fun. We had ten adults and nine kids. The kids were 6, 5, an almost 5 year old, a 4 year old, two almost 4 year olds, an almost two year old, an almost 1 year old, and a 4 month old. Pair that up with sleeping in tents, and you get controlled chaos. :) The first night was mostly set up and campfire time after dinner. The next day, we went hiking as a group. It's safe to say we pretty much took over the trail! Most of the rest of the time was spent just hanging out around the campfire. We packed Caleb's toy trucks and the kids' sand toys for digging in the dirt. Another couple brought coloring stuff and beads to make things with. We broke camp on Sunday and made it home around 4ish. We're still doing laundry! I think I counted 8 loads of laundry by the time the sleeping bags are finished. It's all worth it though!! The kids are still talking about it!

This is our van after trying to get all the stuff to fit (I had to call a friend to take some of the food. We were bringing all the food for the group).

Part of our "tent city." Our tent is the second big one from the left.

Caleb always has fun with his trucks.

I think she enjoyed herself, what do you think?

Family Picture-I could NOT get Caleb to look at the camera.

This is on the path when we were hiking. Everyone in this picture is from our group.

On the last day....Brent helped occupy the boys while everyone was cleaning out tents and packing up.

Abby was so determined to pull the boys in the wagon. Needless to say, the wagon never moved. The boys even all started wiggling to try to move the wagon forward.

Waterpark

2009-09-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

Wow....I've been slacking!! Two Saturdays ago, Brent, the kids, and I went up to the Kalahari Resort in the Dells. Brent's parents, sister and nieces also came up. We had two rooms, and hung out at the waterpark for two nights. Boy, were we exhausted!! BUT....the kids had a blast. No naps. Yes, that's right. I'm the one who has declared nap-time sacred, and we didn't have naps. We were hoping it would mean they would sleep better at night. We were right. They slept in until almost 8 o'clock both mornings. No, this doesn't mean that I'm skipping naps on a regular basis. Abby was so tired that she fell alseep on me at the outdoor waterpark. I was carrying her, and she cashed it in. I grabbed some of the hotel towels, covered her up, and laid out on the deck chairs with her. She slept for a little over an hour like that....and I even got a couple minutes of snoozing in too. We also went for a boat tour of the Upper Dells. I didn't take many pictures (yeah, I know....I was feeling fine, I promise) Brent's mom took a bunch of pictures and is going to burn a cd of them for us soon. We decided we were just going to use the time to be with our kids instead of worrying about the camera all the time (besides....it's not like it was waterproof!!) So, that's why I'm not posting any pictures yet! I'll catch up with them sometime after I get them. :)

This coming weekend, we're going camping with our care group from church. That should mean roughly 12 adults, and 7 kids. Could be more, could be less. The oldest child (I believe) will be 6 years old. Brilliant me didn't take the day off after we come back....work should be interesting on that little of sleep!!

First day of preschool....

2009-09-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

Well, Caleb's first day of preschool was yesterday. I worked, so I was a bit too tired to blog after I got home. He loved it and wanted to go back today....I had to break the news that he's going three days a week, not every day. They send home notes to the parents about how the day went. It was very positive for the most part. He didn't really want to participate in everything, but it was his first day, so I'm not too worried. His face lit up when he told me about it after I got home from work.

And, on the Abby-front: She now can scale the fence in our backyard. Great...I knew she'd be the one to do it, I was just hoping it would be later. No such luck. My neighbor was at our fence, talking with us. Both kids wanted to go into her yard to play for a while. I said no because she needed to go to another neighbor's house. Both Brent and I had our backs turned, and Abby was talking with our neighbor. I turned around to see Abby halfway up the fence. Then, I was just curious how far she'd get...so I came up behind her, and sure enough, she made it up to the top. It's not like I ever leave the kids by themselves outside, but she's sneaky and quiet when she's into things....this could get interesting!

Doctor's Appointment

2009-08-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

So, Caleb has his 4 year checkup yesterday. Let's say it didn't exactly go well. Nothing is wrong....he just didn't cooperate at all. He cried most of the time, refused to have his blood pressure taken, and almost refused to get on the scale. I had to hold him down to have his ears/mouth looked at. Boy, that was fun. I really hope that starting preschool on Monday helps him mature to new sitations better. I really don't know how to prepare him any better than I did. We talked about it for a couple days before, and talked about what to expect the whole way to the appointment. I get so overwhelmed when he does that in public.

Anyway...here are his stats: 41 inches tall, 38 pounds. This means, he lost weight and got taller. Last year they were concerned about his BMI. That's dropped dramatically. And, wouldn't you know, we didn't change a thing! Ha!

Caleb's Birthday

2009-08-22T20:33:00.001-07:00

We had Caleb's birthday party today. We decided to keep it simple and have family up. I'm thinking a "friends" birthday party is in store for next year....we'll see how ambitious I'll be! Caleb was very insistent about a police car birthday cake. He even said it "has to be black and white with sirens (lights)." I managed to get a decent replica made! But boy...that black frosting is a doozy! It was EVERYWHERE when I was decorating. And...you should have seen the kids' teeth after they ate it. Oh wait, you can see the teeth...just watch the slideshow below! Caleb was very spoiled this year. He got a Clifford toy/DVD from Grandma 'Nita and Grandpa Bing...could be his favorite cartoon! Great Aunt Shelby and Great Uncle Tim got him some Hotwheels...he almost didn't want to open any more presents after that. Then...Aunt Brooke and our nieces picked out a TON of "Cars" stuff...again, perfect choices for him! Great Grandma Betty got him a bunch of animal videos...I think he had three of them watched before bedtime. Grandpa Mick and Grandma Sandy got him a puzzle and put an extension onto his swing set that they built two years ago. Uncle Tyler and Aunt Dani got him a game...it looks like a lot of fun to play. We ended up giving him a tool bench with tools, a T-ball set and a bike. He'll have to grow into the bike a bit, but he's growing so fast, I don't think it will take long!

The kids were up at 6am this morning, didn't take naps because of all the people that were here, and ate a TON of sugar. They were almost delirious by bedtime. Caleb started laughing and couldn't stop. He literally couldn't stop. I've never heard him laugh that long or that hard. Of course, the rest of us kept laughing then too!

Caleb's 4th Bday

2009-08-22T20:32:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Big Girl Bed...

2009-08-01T20:27:00.001-07:00

Well, we were hoping this day wouldn't come for some time yet. Abby is officially in her big girl bed. Well, it's the toddler day bed that the crib converts into. We got home from a REALLY long day at the park. Brent had a Family Day for national guard. We got there about 10ish and didn't leave until 2pm. Abby, of course slept on the way home. I took her into her room and laid her in her crib right away. She of course, woke up when I took her out of her car seat. Anyway....I let her be in her crib since she was being quiet. Caleb went right to sleep. I was downstairs listening to Abby on the baby monitor. Right when I thought she was quiet enough to be asleep, I heard two thuds. Now, the first really sounded like a book hitting the floor. She always takes a book to bed with her. The second one, I was curious about....and as I'm getting up to go look, I hear the sound of toys....the toys that were on the opposite side of the room, mind you! I went upstairs to find her door wide open, the light on, and Abby sitting in the middle of the room saying "Mommy, I'm awake!" Considering Abby only has to do things once before she's mastered them, we decided to convert the crib to keep her from getting hurt. She didn't make much fuss going to sleep tonight...but I have no idea if she's in her crib right now, or if she's sleeping somewhere else in the room....we'll find out (or not) in the morning. I wonder how much sleep we'll actually get tonight....I'll post a pic tomorrow....it's on my camera, and I'm too tired to download it!

Weekend at the beach....

2009-07-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Brent was gone for National Guard again last weekend. I took the kids down to IL again for a family reunion for Brent's family. They have it at a local lake/beach every year. It's been about 4 years since we've gone. Caleb went one year without us :) Anyway....it's a lot of fun, especially for the kids. It was Abby's first time on the beach.

Abby's First Haircut

2009-07-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a week late posting this, but better late than never!! I took Abby to get her hair cut after getting fed up with chasing her around to get her to sit in a chair. I called and warned them ahead of time that we were coming. We got to the place (Great Clips)...and they sat us down right away. Caleb had to go potty right away (of course!) So the stylist said she'd just sit and comb Abby's hair until I got back. We were really quick, and she already had the back of Abby's hair cut by the time we got back! Abby sat COMPLETELY still. I've never seen her sit that still. She just quietly looked at the mirror or the stylist the whole time.

What a roller-coater ride...

2009-07-16T20:52:00.001-07:00

This past week has been anything but normal. I know I blogged a little about it before, so I'll try to not repeat myself.

Saturday, we were so hopeful about Brent's grandma. It really seemed like she was turning around. Yesterday (Weds), we got a phone call from Brent's parents. Betty was unresponsive in the morning, not opening her eyes, and unable to really speak. They decided to just make her comfortable. She is in the nursing home. We packed quickly and got down to Illinois. That evening, we went to visit. Betty was able to open her eyes and make eye contact at times....still falling asleep frequently. Although very difficult to understand, she was able to respond to questions and conversation. This morning, she was even more alert. Brent went with his sister and parents to visit. I took the kids and went to my parents for a while. We didn't know if the kids would be too much for Betty, and we weren't sure how Caleb would react seeing her like that. We talked about it over the phone, and Betty wanted to see Caleb and Abby, so I brought them to the nursing home for a while. We then took them back to Brent't parents' house and put them down for naps. Anyway....we came back home tonight. We have no idea what the next few days or even weeks may bring.

The ironic thing in all of this is, the Monroe doctor is now following the recommendations from the Madison doctor. And....after the Madison doctor called the Monroe doctor, the Monroe doctor is actually listening to Anita's (Brent's Mom) concerns, did a thorough assessment at her appointment on Tuesday. I don't know what the Madison doctor said to him, but it's a big change. If Betty comes through this, she will be changing physicians and nursing homes. We just don't know what to expect.

Despite all the negative stuff going on right now, we do have some positive. Caleb has all of a sudden started telling us when he has to go to the bathroom....and refusing pull-ups....and staying dry. He's even been going into public restrooms. He's been dry again since Sunday.

Ups and Downs....

2009-07-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

This week has been one of those weeks that is difficult to put into words....lots of high points, lots of frustration. Good news about Brent's grandma though...it seems that once her primary doc started following her Madison neurologist's recommendations, Betty turned a corner for the better....she's much more alert, the confusion is gone. Hopefully now she can gain back some of her strength. She's very deconditioned.

I was all set to blog this weekend about how well Caleb was doing with potty training. We went an entire week without accidents or pull-ups (except for naps/bedtime). And then the past couple of days happened. It's been non-stop accidents. He has 4 weeks before we have to pull out of the preschool that is our first choice. Part of me thinks I should just register him for the other preschool and be done with the stress. Anyhow....we keep plugging away!

And....here's the video clip from tonight. It was the first time that Brent and Caleb played catch. :) Of course I had the cameras out!

Got some answers....

2009-07-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

So, Brent's grandma hasn't been doing well health-wise. She's now in a nursing home and has been rapidly declining. Her doctors near where she lives haven't been responding to the concerns of the nursing staff at the nursing home. They ran quite a few tests (cardiac workup, stroke workup), but when they came back negative, they didn't pursue it much further. There was some confusion about whether or not Betty (Brent's grandma) was being followed by a physician in Madison here. According to the chart, it said that they consulted one of the attendings here. Oddly enough, the attending here had never heard of Betty. I work with the neurologists here, so I asked. I think what happened was that Betty's home docs called with a very non-detailed "hey, what do you think" call. Anyhow, we got her an appointment at UW that was today. I saw Betty for the first time since she started declining....and she looks like a completely different person. I don't think I can even put it into words. During the appointment, she had all the symptoms that she'd been experiencing at the nursing home. I felt myself fighting the urge to help her out during the testing....anyway....this is what they decided:

She's likely having some seizure activity. They did an EEG today. It was abnormal. They're going to recommend starting an antiepileptic drug. Ironically, I had told Brent's parents to ask about seizures about a month ago, and I'm pretty sure they got blown off by the physician covering the nursing home. Anyway...there's more...

She was on some pretty high doses of narcotics for her arthritis. I had no idea about this before today. That could definitely explain the lethargy, and possibly the confusion. She's 85. Who honestly prescribes that much narcs to an elderly patient?

She's on a lot of cardiac meds...and I think she just has a history of high blood pressure. The meds she was on was more for congestive heart failure. Those will probably get changed.

She was on a medication that has some potential bad side effects (and a black box warning).....that too will be weaned off.

I don't think that there is a "magic cure" for what's going on, but I hope the changes bring some sort of improvement. I went into the appointment thinking I was going to push to get her admitted. During the appointment, I realized that the changes are nothing that can be accomplished in a short hospital stay. It really helped to be able to read her medical chart from the physician at the nursing home. I can better understand the steps they've gone through.

She has an appointment in few months to follow-up. We'll have to wait and see....

Breathing Room...

2009-07-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well, after a rather negative week of posts last week, I thought I should blog about something positive. Brent came home on Tuesday and says, "I took Friday off. You need a day to yourself, no errands, no kids..." I'm like, okay! I called and made an appointment for a massage....it been a loooooooooong time since I had one! Then I went to Starbucks (at Barnes and Noble) and hung out for a while. Of course, this happened to be at the mall, so I did a little shopping for myself for once! I ended up not taking the whole day....I will do a little more after church on Sunday, with a friend :)

Potty training update: Yes, it rears its ugly head again. So...I called the preschool/daycare that we want to send Caleb to in the fall. Not only do they have to be potty trained during wake-times, they have to be potty trained for nap times too. They said something about there having to be a different way of disposing of the pull-ups, so they can't allow them. Great. That didn't help my panic/stress about this crap (no pun intended). I called another preschool/daycare that is our second choice. As long as he is actively attempting potty training, he can go there and not be entirely trained. And, they have 3/4 year old openings. Okay....that can still be an option....I didn't like their program as much, but not because there was anything wrong with it....I just liked the other one better.

The actual "potty training" update is that Caleb has been having only about an accident a day for the last week, and until tonight had stayed dry all day. Today, he woke up dry from his nap. He had an accident tonight, but I'm hoping it was because he was playing with running water and it snuck up on him. He won't tell us if he has to go. He's been holding it until we tell him he needs to try. No, I don't consider that potty trained. I consider that catching it before we have an accident. I think all these "train your child in a day" books, DVDs, etc., have odd definitions of potty trained.

Another big step for Caleb....he went to the bathroom in a public restroom. He's scared to death of the stalls, so we have to hunt one out that's a "family restroom," but still...it's a step!

Last night!!

2009-06-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the last night of VBS. It went really well. Caleb wanted to stay in the nursery tonight, and I didn't push it. They've been so tired all week! Tonight we got home after 10pm! I had to give baths tonight....they played way to hard to skip them. I had them in bed by 1045. I didn't think that was that bad. Abby must have been exhausted. Usually, we rock and sing for a while. She wanted to be put in her crib. I started to sing to her....and she says "mommy stop singing. Go away." I asked if she just wanted to sleep. She said "yes." I'm like...okay, great. My daughter is already becoming bossy. Anyway, I said good night, and closed her door. Not a peep. I only hope they sleep in in the morning since I'm wide awake and it's after 11pm! We'll find out!

VBS, Day 4...

2009-06-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ah, yes, I can honestly say, tonight was a good night! The lesson went well. And...Caleb came into VBS for a little bit. If we had about 3 more nights, I think I may be able to get him to do an activity....but tomorrow is the last night.

VBS Day 3

2009-06-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

I know it's a little annoying for me to comment on each day.....but it's improving, really!

Caleb still didn't want to come to the big group, so he started the night in nursery. He's actually been pretty excited to go there.

My teaching partner (she's supposed to be the leader) had the lesson prepared....so did I, which was the funny part.....but I felt like the kids got a good lesson out of it.

Caleb did come into the big group for a few minutes, which was an improvement. I went and got him for craft time....and I think he would have stayed if the skit didn't start right before we got there. But....no crying! :)

I can tell the kids are feeling the late bedtimes...both are really grumpy by the time we get home at night. They've maybe been asleep by 10 at night....usually they're in bed by 830 at the latest! This morning, they slept until almost 8 o'clock! Great to sleep in...but I'm thinking that means we won't get early naps!

I got to have a "Mommy Day" yesterday. The kids usually go to daycare Mondays and Wednesdays. On some Wednesdays, I don't work, but we take them anyway. Then, I get the day to catch up on errands, clean the house, and oh yeah, breathe. I decided to keep the kids at daycare yesterday so I could just get a break. I went shopping most of the day to stay out of the heat. It was nice and relaxing. And....no, I didn't buy things we didn't need. I can browse with the best!

VBS, Day 2...

2009-06-23T19:53:00.001-07:00

Well, it didn't involve any meltdowns, but then again, Caleb stayed in the nursery with Abby.

I'm resolving myself to the fact that if the kids in my group are going to get as much as possible out of their VBS experience, I have to now memorize the rest of the week...my teaching partner is not coming prepared....and is supposed to be the leader. Okay. I can do this....

I get a Mommy-day tomorrow....The kids are going to daycare for a day. Oh the possibilities of what I will do....that is, after I clean the house which I haven't done since Brent left (shhhhh....don't tell anyone!)

Time to breathe. Good. I can do that!

VBS, Day 1....

2009-06-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Did not go well. Caleb lasted maybe 10 minutes before having a major meltdown. When I say meltdown, I mean total, complete loss of control...screaming, crying, running to the corner and hiding. Great. I ended up taking him to the nursery because I couldn't leave. So, instead of getting to spend time with Brent on one of the few nights he's home during Annual Training....the kids stayed in nursery. The hard part is, Caleb's getting known as the child that cries/screams. He really is a total goofball and hilarious to be around. I'm afraid people aren't going to see that.

Since I volunteered to help so I could be in Caleb's group, we have to go every night this week. This means that I now get to drive the kids all the way there for them to play in the nursery. Great. And....I'm supposed to be the assistant, not the leader for our "family" group. The leader decided last night to give me a bunch of stuff to lead....nice....no notice...no prep. And...I don't think she knew what was going on. Considering we each went to a prep meeting (different ones), that caught me by surprise. I love doing VBS....I've done it for years previous to moving to Madison. I just don't think it's fair to the kids for someone who hasn't had any prep time to lead. It doesn't go smoothly. I can't "wait" to see what tonight brings. Yeah, I realize my attitude is not good at this point. I'm exhausted from not getting good sleep for the last week and a half. Brent's gone again until Saturday night.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

So, as I probably already mentioned in previous posts, Brent is on Annual Training for National Guard. He has actually had Annual Training for every Father's Day that he's actually been a father. This time, they are in Madison for a few days, so we got to see him and spend some time with him before he's gone for another week. The following is the video that the kids helped me make for his Father's Day present.

A few pictures....

2009-06-20T14:23:00.001-07:00

These are from earlier in the week, but I haven't had time to post them until now...

A few videos...

2009-06-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

I know if you are on Facebook, you've probably already seen these, but I thought I'd post them here too.

Not much going on...

2009-06-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd pop in and touch base again. Brent leaves for annual training for two weeks, starting on Friday. I'm going to take the kiddos down to my parents' house for a few days. The second week, we have bible school in the evenings, so we're making a go at that as well. This is the first year they are having the 3 year olds. I'm volunteering to be in Caleb's group, since I'm not sure he would go without me there. And....they have nursery available for the children of the volunteers, so I didn't' have to arrange childcare for every night! :)

I may make a full-out run for potty training. Caleb has no idea what he's in for!! Abby's still doing well. I haven't pushed her to get trained....she's doing most of it on her own. She's starting to tell me right after she goes in her diaper....sometimes before and gets to the potty. I have plans to try full-out potty training after Brent gets back from Annual training.

That's all for now! I'm enjoying the fact that I don't work until the 29th!! I took vacation time so I wouldn't have to find childcare for 12 hr shifts. Those are LONG days!

Anniversary Weekend...

2009-06-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

So, this past weekend, we had a chance to go to Chicago without the kiddos! Brent's parents watched the kids for the weekend. It was really nice to get away and just have some time together!

The start of the weekend was a little iffy....we got to the hotel, and the swimming pool/hot tub were not working. Ugh! At first the receptionist said that if we just called down to the desk, they'd arrange transportation to their "sister" hotel. I must have given Brent a look because then the receptionist said they could offer a free upgrade to a jacuzzi room. Okay, so that was better than the hot tub anyway! Then we decided to go to the mall-Woodfield. We were walking around and heard someone yell "Hey you two!" We turned around to see a cop stop two kids and ask to look in their bag...a few minutes later we heard running behind us, and turned around to see the kid getting chased by the cop.....and he took her down right after they got past us. We thought that was a weird night....then we went to eat. We're sitting in the Cheesecake Factory, and finishing up our meal when I looked up and noticed the manager with a phone standing next to an older couple....the husband was looking down at his wife.....I said to Brent "I think they're calling 911...." I was right. The parametics arrived shortly after that. We got back to the hotel wondering what other wierd things would happen....luckily the rest of the weekend went very smoothly!

Sunday we went back to Brent's parents' house to pick up the kids....and of course they were complete angels for the grandparents...which I'm very thankful for, but as soon as they woke up from naps...the grumpiness started. Ugh! One funny thing that Brent's mom told us happened at dinner the night before. Anita cooked supper and had it all set out on the table.....Caleb and Abby wouldn't touch their plates. Anita said "Go ahead and eat." Caleb said "we can't." Abby said "No." Anita said she just about got mad....but said "I made this for you, you need to eat. Why aren't you going to eat?" Then Caleb says "But Grandma....we have to pray first!" :) They prayed and then the kids cleaned their plates. Abby even made them pray before bedtime! I was so happy to hear that the kids will do that away from home!

What a weekend!!

2009-05-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! This past weekend went by very fast! We did a TON of stuff. I, of course, have pictures to post too. Brent got off work early on Friday, so we were outside most of the weekend (when it wasn't raining!). We did a lot of yard projects while the kids were sleeping.

Saturday, our care group from church came over for our meeting time and potluck. The grass dried by the time the kids went outside, so it worked out great. Caleb was sick though....he woke up from his nap saying his tummy hurt....totally not like him. He wasn't very interactive with the kids and only ate a little fruit at supper. He then laid on the couch and didn't want to get up. I told him he could go in his room and close the door if he wanted to be by himself. He did that....then Brent and I heard him start crying and I ran into the room....of course he got sick all over his bed. I changed him, stripped the bed, and he wanted to go in our room. Well, we had the dog pillow in our room because we usually keep her in there when we have company. I went back a little later to check on Caleb, and he had curled up and fallen asleep on the dog pillow. He stayed there for almost an hour and a half until everyone left. I got him to wake up enough to go to his room again....he wouldn't walk...I tucked him into bed. He went right to sleep. He woke up a couple of hours later with a fever. That started to really concern me....I pretty much knew what the tummy ache and throwing up was from....without going into too many details....it's an exacerbation of an ongoing problem he's had since he was little. When he spiked the fever, I called the oncall nurse to weigh my options. Since he was asleep, she said to not do anything that night, but if things didn't resolve by morning to call back. He woke up in the morning, said his tummy wasn't "yucky," but he wouldn't eat and things hadn't resolved. I have him what I had to help things, and nothing. So I called the after hours clinic again...they told me to try one more thing, and if it didn't work, he'd have to come in to get treated. Thank goodness it worked! We had been trying to wean him off medication....I didn't want him to have to take it every day if he didn't need it.....and we had been doing fine for a while, he actually hasn't needed it for a couple of months....but I think we're just going to go back on it. I don't want him going through that again!

Sunday night after naps, we went out to eat, and the kids did amazing. We've been trying to go out more so they learn how to behave in different social settings. I have to say, they were some of the most behaved children in the restaurant.

Monday, we decided to take a trip to the zoo. Since it was Memorial Day, Brent and I both had the day off. It was so much fun! The zoo was pretty empty....especially since we were there right when it opened (9:30am!) It was fun to see Abby really recognize the animals....both kids hardly spent any time in the stroller, so they got a lot of good exercise. Caleb got to ride the train with Brent, and I took Abby on the carousel for her first time. We had a picnic lunch in the park next to the zoo. When we got back to the van, Caleb even said he was sleepy. He NEVER admits to that!

My parents came up for a visit today before Dad's neurology appointment. The kids had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, Mom says Dad's been falling recently...the darn DBS isn't doing what they promised. His walking has gotten so bad since the surgery. They adjusted the stimulator and his medications, it gets better for a while, and then worse than it was before the adjustments. I kind of chewed him out for getting up without help. I'm afraid he's going to hit his head or break a hip. It's so frustrating to see him like this. The stimulators got him off of a lot of meds, took care of the "crashes" between med doses, but now he can hardly walk at times, and his speech is horrible. He's very frustrated too. They're almost starting to wonder if the surgery was worth it. Ugh!

The other thing that happened in the midst of all that...Brent's grandmother had to go into the hospital, and is now in a nursing home. We're pretty sure she won't be able to go back to her apartment.

Brent's sister is facing a divorce....she just filed the papers, she really had no choice...and I usually don't say that. She's devastated, her girls are devastated. No one really saw this coming until January. Her husband is not acting at all like the person we've known. It has the potential to become a very messy situation. I feel for her and what she and the girls are going through.

I hate ending on a down-note. I'm posting some pictures here so that I don't end on a bad note!

Outside naptime?

2009-05-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

I had to share a few pics...first Abby fell asleep while swinging....and then I turned around to find the dog sleeping behind me.....must be nice!

I need help/advice.

2009-05-14T13:33:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I know blogging can be whatever you want it to be. I had started this as a way to keep my family, etc updated on us….what’s new, etc. I never wanted it to be something where I complained all the time, or just did the “woe is me” thing. However, I’m frustrated. Very frustrated, and I need to vent and ask for help/advice.

Potty training. Yeah, I know. I talk about it a lot. But, when it doesn’t go right, it starts to consume a lot of time and thoughts. Caleb STILL isn’t potty trained. It’s been 4 months since we started. This is what we’ve tried.

Sticker charts: every time he went he’d get a sticker on his chart. When his chart was filled, we made a special trip to the store to pick out a prize. It was usually Thomas the Tank engine. Once he got really good at it, he just got a sticker for staying dry until he went. He now refuses stickers.

Candy: once he stopped using stickers, we’d give a few M&M’s if he’d stay dry until using the potty. He now doesn’t care

Matchbox Cars: They’re $1 a piece…when he poops, he gets to pick one out of his bag. If he stays dry all day, he gets to pick one out of his bag. It works quite well for pooping, but offers no incentive to stay dray.
We have sang more songs about peeing/pooping than I’d like to admit. I’ve tried to make it a game.

He is in underwear (actually cloth training pants) when we’re home. He has to change himself when he has an accident. I just help with the snap. He also has to clean up any accident he has on the hardwood floor (carpet gets shampooed). Some days he’ll go 2 ½ to 3 hours between accidents. Some days he’ll go 30-45 minutes.
About a month or two after starting this “journey,” Caleb was telling me every time he had to go. For a week straight he stayed dry all day and dry during naps (which I wasn’t expecting for a LONG time). He would stay completely dry at daycare. Actually, at daycare, she didn’t even have to remind him. He’d just go when he had to go and came out for help with his snap.

We have not gone through any stressors that would be a trigger for regression. Absolutely nothing. I’ve thought and thought and thought about anything that would cause him to want to regress.

We thought it was an attention thing since Abby takes up so much of our time and energy. We’ve made it a point to take Caleb for one-on-one time, frequently. It hasn’t made a difference.

I even called the pediatrician…..in the back of my mind I was wondering about overactive bladder or a bladder infection. Because he’s so sporadic with the periods of time he stays dry, they don’t think it’s overactive bladder. Also, to get a sample to check for an infection, I’d have to get him to pee into a cup. Yeah, right…..he won’t go into a public restroom…and you think I can get him to hit a cup when he won’t go in the toilet?!? He hasn’t complained about it hurting or anything….and hasn’t had fevers, except with his cold. I can usually tell a UTI by the smell (that’s what I get for being a nurse)-sorry if that was too much information! Anyway….they said they didn’t think it was an infection and to keep an eye on it…..call if he has a fever or complains when he goes. They said to completely back off….even put him back in diapers and tell him to let us know when he’s ready to try it again. I’m not sure I want to back off completely. I think that would be counter-productive, but I’m not sure of anything right now.

Abby has started to show interest. We’re poop-training her right now, and she’s very comfortable/willing to sit and try. Caleb gets very jealous when we do that….that worries me. If we go full-force with Abby, what’s going to happen with Caleb? I don’t want to miss my window with Abby though, either.

I’m frustrated and honestly struggling with thoughts that I’m somehow failing him as a parent because I can’t figure out what he needs right now. I know people read my blog…..they tell me about it. I would really like for you guys to leave comments on what you think. T- I know you’ll respond  Well, thanks for listening to my venting……that really is what’s occupying us right now. Exciting, eh?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...to urgent care we go....

2009-05-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ugh...so I never want to be that nurse/mom that calls in for every sniffle that comes up.....and the times that I have called in, I've felt like the nurses that I've talked to act like I don't know what symptoms to watch for, etc. So when I called today, I was actually planning on taking Abby in no matter what they said. Abby's had a cold/runny nose for almost 4 weeks now. She never had a fever, and besides not being hungry, really didn't look sick. This morning, she woke up with hoarse cough....that was enough to make me decide to take her in. I didn't want the cough to turn to croup, which was kind of what it was starting to sound like. Anyway....I called the Peds Urgent care, made an appointment, and went it. Ironically, when I got there, the receptionist had neglected to put down why I was coming in....she only mentioned the cough. Anyway....after a rather quick appointment, I came home with some antibiotics....Abby has a mild sinus infection. Hopefully, the antibiotics kick in soon.

18 month check-up

2009-04-30T06:00:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I never blogged about Abby's checkup. Oops! Okay...so the check-up was last week. Abby is now 28 pounds, 3 ounces and almost 33 inches tall. We had her lead check done again, and it's going down dramatically, so whatever she got exposed to before is no longer a problem. We never did find the source, but I'm glad it's going down!

Catching up...

2009-04-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

Here are all the pictures from Easter weekend...

Okay, I have to record this...

2009-04-19T13:23:00.001-07:00

This is completely random, but I had to record it. After lunch today, I was with the kids in our room, playing. Abby looks at me and says "I poopy." I'm like "what? you have to? Do you want to sit on the potty?" She ran for the bathroom, and I sat her down. She got the biggest smile on her face and I said, "okay, go ahead!" And SHE WENT! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting this to happen all the time, or again anytime soon, for that matter, but I was shocked. The funniest part was Caleb sitting in there with us, coaching her the whole time. He even tried to convince her that she got to pick out a car for going. (that's our bribe for him). I told Caleb that the cars were his special treat for when he goes. Maybe this will help convince him that he needs to use the potty more. Could it be possible that my 18 month old will be potty trained before my 3 1/2 year old?

So glad we chose preschool....

2009-04-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Well, as you probably remember if you've been following our blog, Brent and I deliberated A LOT about whether to put Caleb in 4K or preschool in the fall. I had registerd for the 4K because it was registration time, with the knowledge that we can withdraw the registration at any time. Fortunately, I have a good friend at work that loves the daycare/preschool that her daughter attends. We checked it out, and really liked it. Bonus: the fees are VERY reasonable!

Anyhow, today at the grocery store, I ran into the owner of the daycare/preschool. She was talking with someone about the 4K program, and it made me even more confident that we made the right decision. They are providing bus transportation to the 4K sites. The school district decided to use the big buses. Well, due to the age of the kids in teh 4K program, they now have to install seatbelts in all the buses, and the 4K kids must be restrained. The kicker is....the parents have to all get onto the bus with their child to buckle them in. This also means (I'm assuming) that the teachers have to buckle all the kids in at the facilities in order for the bus to leave. I'm not crazy about the thought of 4-year-olds on a bus in the first place, but the thought of them unbuckling themselves and no one rebuckling them worries me!

The other reasons I'm very glad for preschool is, we can do 3 days a week instead of 5. Also, according to the school district, Brent and I don't have a say in whether Caleb would move onto kindergarten or stay for another year of 4K. His birthday is 6 days before the cut-off.....we dont' want him to be the youngest kid in his class. The different host sites all have different ideas of how they're going to do things. It's supposed to all have the same curriculum, but other stuff can be different. One thing that concerned me greatly was when I asked about potty-training, on the off chance that Caleb isn't potty trained at the start of school. One facility actually said that if the child won't/can't change themselves, they'll call the parent out of work to come change their child. Considering that 4K is run by the school district, no child can be turned away, even if they're not potty-trained. The very idea that a facility would call a parent out of work to simply change a child is beyond me!

The other great thing about our preschool is that they're purchasing the curriculum that the school district is using so the kids will have the same curriculum no matter what. Next year, our preschool will possibly be a site for the 4K program, so it would be an easy transition if we decide to do 4K a year from now.

Well, those are my thoughts for the day. I'll post Easter pics soon....I haven't had much time to go through them yet!

Kidspeak...

2009-04-17T18:08:00.001-07:00

So we went out to dinner tonight as a family. We're trying to do that more often so the kids learn how to behave in different circumstances. Caleb is still struggling with potty training...especially in public places. While we're at the restaurant, he asks if there is a potty there. I said, "of course! Do you want to go see it?" Now, he's had this fear of public restroom since an automatic toilet flushed while he was sitting on it. Anyway...we walked to the restroom. He went all the way in, but didn't want to try to go. I'm completely fine with that since just going in was a big step for him. Anyway....on the way out, a woman opens the door to the bathroom and holds it for us....Caleb just had to annouces (very loudly) that "we got to go see the potty!!" I could tell she was a mom by the way she giggled.

Caleb has also been asking to go fly kites. We didn't have one, so I told him earlier that if he was good all the way through supper, we could go buy one at the store. As we're leaving the restaurant, Caleb announces to everyone that made eye contact with him that "we're going to go get my kite now!" Kids!

Bouncin' with Tigger...

2009-03-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Grandparents visit...

2009-03-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm about a week behind on posting the pics....but it's been a busy week! Brent's parents came up to visit last weekend. The kids were very excited. We went out to eat on Saturday and played outside in the gorgeous weather. Ironic that we're supposed to get snow this weekend! Ugh! Anyway, here are the pictures :)

Talking Fiend....

2009-03-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

I realized that I haven't really blogged about Abby's talking much. She's talking up a storm! She tries to repeat just about everything you say....and now she's doing quite well with phrases too. These are some of her favorites:

Go Away! (thank you Caleb!)
Maya, Keen Up! (Maya, clean up)
Shoe off
Baby Seep (baby sleep)
One, Two, Tee, Go!
Ah Goo (Thank you)
What doing?
Peek-eee-Do (Peek-a-boo)
Are you? (where are you)
I you! (I love you!)

I've stopped keeping track of the single words that she's saying...she's continually amazing us! She's also walking up and down stairs, holding hands now. Hehe...she's even starting to tell us before she needs her diaper changed (could it actually be possible to attack potty training soon?)

Well, anyway...that's the news from here :)

Dad's battle with Parkinsons....

2009-03-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

So, most of you know my dad has Parkinsons. He got deep brain stimulators placed in September of last year. UW did a documentary/promotional video throughout the entire presurgical/surgical/postsurgical process. Here is the link if you're interested:

http://www.uwhealth.org/deepbrainstimulation/video/1272

Nothing exciting...

2009-03-01T11:37:00.001-08:00

Just pics :)

2009-02-27T18:21:00.001-08:00

Wow...time can sure get away from you! I didn't realize I had let it go so long without blogging. I have a lot of pictures to post, and a video...but I'll do that at the end.

Our new adventure in parenting is to decide whether to start Caleb in preschool or 4-year-old kindergarten in the fall. Our town just passed a referendum to start 4K in the fall next year. It's for all kids that turn 4 before September 1st. Caleb's birthday is August 24th. We have added to the stress by not realizing that the registration is NOW for both preschool and 4K. Tuesday is the registration for 4K, and a lot of preschools are already full for the fall.

Now, Caleb, Abby, and I went to two facilities that will be hosting the 4K program today. The owner of one of the facilities is on the steering comittee for the 4K prgram, so I got a lot of questions answered today.

The 4K program is going to be similar to preschool. The intent was to prep the kids for kindergarten. It will meet for 2 1/2 hrs in either the morning or afternoon. It meets five days a week. The cost is included in our tax money. The teachers are required to be bachelors prepared, and the curriculum is controlled by the school district. The classes themselves are held at several daycare centers in our city. It is required to go all five days if you are registered for the program. Transportation to and from the classes are provided by buses if needed. Also, if needed, the hosting daycare centers will provide wrap-around care. Kids can be in 4K for more than one year if they are not ready for kindergarten at the end of the year.

Preschool: Programs depend on the facility that you go to. It meets for either 2 or 3 days a week (more if you choose). The cost is usually included in the cost of a day's daycare at the facility, or you can pay for just the preschool portion. Teachers are not required to be bachelor's prepared. Training is completely up to the facility that holds the preschool. Curriculum differs with each facility.

So, my dilemma is this...Caleb is so close to the cut-off...he'd be one of the youngest ones in his class. However....now I know that it's going to be like preschool. Intellectually, Caleb is solid. Social maturity is a bit of a problem. I think he'd do great in preschool. I also don't know if I'm ready for him to be gone five mornings a week. Preschool is 3 mornings. Are we cheating him by deciding on preschool without trying 4K? He had an absolute blast today looking at the classrooms and seeing the kids. All he would talk about is going to school with his friends and what kind of backpack he would get. I'm having to remind him that school doesn't start until the fall. Ugh!

Anyway....enough of our issues :) Here are the pics that I was talking about at the beginning of the post!

It's been a while...

2009-02-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

I realized that I haven't blogged in a while. I really don't have all that much to say. However, since I know a few people actually read my blogs, I'll try to update a bit.

Grandpa is home, like I said in my last blog. They decided that they probably won't have to surgically debride his wound, which is awesome. It's responding to the dressing that they're putting on it.

Dad's biopsy went well. It's not cancer. The ENT doctor also said that it wasn't what was causing the cough, so he's doing more follow-up to figure that out. Dad's still struggling with the Parkinson's a lot. They're up here every other week or so getting the deep brain stimulators adjusted and medications adjusted. They're having to restart some of the medications that the stimulators were supposed to get him off of. His walking is much worse that before he had the surgery. I half expect to get a call saying he fell and hit his head or broke a hip. His speech is horrible. The stimulators did nothing for that. He's seeing a speech pathologist now.

I'm still fighting off my cold that I've had for a week. I'm feeling a lot better than I was, but it's still there. Now, Brent is starting to get it and has to somehow still sing at church tonight. Abby's hoarse and sneezing/coughing....so here begins the fun of sick kids!

Caleb is doing very well with his potty-training. The little sneak does everything by himself at daycare....still has to be prompted at home. We've even almost conquered the #2 challenge! Thank goodness Caleb likes rewards....eventually we'll have to get him off of the rewards, but I think it will be pretty easy. He's stopped wanting to put stickers on his chart for when he goes, so the other rewards will hopefully phase out too. :)

Update...

2009-01-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

Grandpa got discharged from the hospital today. His fever either broke last night or this morning, so they sent him home on antibiotics. I'm a little uneasy with that..considering he's 87 and went in for sepsis. They really should have kept him at least one more day. He got sent home with a walker for a while. He's going to need some time to recover. My aunts and mom are going to be helping take care of him while he's at home.

Rough day...

2009-01-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was a bit of a rough day at work. We started the shift by almost coding two patients....twenty minutes apart. Not the way I want to start! They ended up fine, thank goodness. We ended the day by transferring a patient to the ICU....the same patient that came to us FROM them a couple of hours earlier. Not so nice.

Then...I get home at about 830pm. The phone rings at about 845pm. You know...sometimes you get that "feeling" like there isn't going to be the best news? I had that feeling, and I was right. It was my mom. My grandpa is in the hospital. My grandma called my mom Sunday night, saying that she thought Grandpa had a small stroke. My mom took off for their house, and my dad stayed and called the ambulance. Mom got to the house about the same time as the ambulance. Well, Grandpa didn't have a stroke, thank goodness, but he was lethargic and out of it. To the hospital they went. They admitted him. He has sepsis. They got the blood cultures back supposedly (I'm a little skeptical...we never get them back that fast). They don't know where the infection started. They started him on Vancomycin iv. Mom says he looks better now that he's had a few doses of antibiotic, and she says she doesn't think I need to come down. Sometimes she just tries to not worry me...we'll see.

Grandpa being in the hospital poses another problem. My grandma has dementia...Grandpa has been running the house, etc. Grandma has to be reminded to eat, get dressed, take medications, etc. I'm not sure how long Grandpa has to be in the hospital...Vancomycin is usually a 7-10 day course, if I remember correctly. Mom and my aunts are going to have to try and take care of Grandma while also taking care of Grandpa.

And then...yes there's more. Dad's had this dry cough for a while. At Christmas time, I pushed them to get it checked out. They eventually went to his primary care doctor (in Rockford) who took a chest xray that showed nothing and put him on antibiotics. The cough didnt' go away. Mom and Dad didnt' tell the doctor that it didnt' go away, and the doctor did no follow-up. Dad is going to start seeing a speech therapist because of his Parkinsons. His first appointment was last week...I think on Thursday. The therapist (in Madison) was concerned by Dad's cough (yes...still has it!) So they scoped his nose and throat. They found a spot (lesion) on one of his vocal cords. The doctor was concerned...he said he was fairly sure it wasn't cancer, but they're going to biopsy it anyway. The appointment for the biopsy is Feb. 10.

I'll try to keep things posted as I find out more details!

The Helper...

2009-01-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so yesterday, Caleb randomly calls out, "Clean up time!" And then proceeded to clean up all the toys upstairs. He did that again today. Then....and yes I grabbed the camera...decides that Abby needs her diaper changed. He also insisted that HE was going to change it! Here's the clip:

Snow Fun!

2009-01-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

Since I just blogged a couple days ago, there isn't much news, but I thought I'd post some pics. I FINALLY got Caleb to go out in the snow. He is a stubborn one, that's for sure!

Hey...if I let them play long enough, do you think they'll finish shovelling the drive?

Odds N Ends...

2009-01-17T10:54:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a week since I last posted, so I thought I'd better have some updates. Yeah...not a lot going on. The extreme cold has kept us inside for most of the week. I finally went out and got a bunch of craft stuff to make a "to do" box for Caleb. He hadn't been showing much interest in coloring, etc. until recently so I didn't push the issue. He's finally asking for stuff, so I went out and got paint, finger paints, those Popsicle stick things, googly eyes, fuzzy ball things, glitter glue (actually...more we had some), new papers, and those foamy sheets and stickers. We've worked on stuff almost every day since I got the supplies.

Abby's still into EVERYTHING. She now can climb up onto the couch. Nothing is safe! I was reading to them before nap time and Abby took Caleb's step, put it in the center of the room, stood up on it and goes "Ta Da!" while throwing her arms into the air. She then proceeded to babble like she was giving a speech. I almost had to stop reading since I was laughing so hard!

Caleb is doing very well with his potty training. He still has accidents...but it's only been a week. The last couple of days, he's, for the most part, been telling me when he has to go, but it's been every half hour or so. Last week, he was making it an hour and a half between times. Odd...but he his asking, so I'm still thankful. We went out to the store today since he filled up his sticker chart. Then we went to the mall to kill some time before lunch. He asked twice to go, and even went on the "big potty" as he calls it. The automatic flusher was a little traumatic, but he handled it pretty well. He said it was scary, but he also said he'd do it again. It happened to flush while he was still sitting on it. I hate those things!

Brent's work should settle down in a few weeks when the new hires start. Right now, he's actually doing the equivalent of three positions until they get new people on board. He goes in early, brings work home, and stays up late. We'll both be glad when it settles down!

That's about this week in a nutshell.

Doin' a little happy dance...

2009-01-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

Okay...so we had a REALLY good day today!! Low-key of course, since we're well into potty training. Caleb all of a sudden today could tell me that he had to go BEFORE he went. We'd go running...and he stayed dry (minus the nap) until almost 5pm tonight. We had a little more trouble with the other...but we made it once! Caleb was so excited, we had to call the grandmas...his idea!

Oh...and you have to see the video of Abby....about fifteen minutes after I took it...she was standing, trying to do the same thing!

Exhausting!!

2009-01-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

So we're making a go at potty training again. This time, no matter what...I'm going to keep pushing. Last time, Caleb would kick/hit/scream every time I made him try to sit and go. He hasn't actually made it to the potty yet, but he at least recognizes the fact that he needs to sit when he pees. He'll now tell me he's wet and go sit. We're also using a kitchen timer. I set it for 30 minutes, and when it goes off...he goes and sits. It's almost like the timer telling him is better than me telling him. He really doesn't want diapers. I ask him in the mornings which he wants to wear, and he's picking the "big boy underwear." Of course, I'm doing laundry every day now, but he's at least making the attempt. We also set the time for when he sits so he doesn't just get on and get off. It's exhausting though! I didn't realize how draining it would be. I hope he picks up on the timing soon. We'll see.

Oh...and my accident-prone child still amazes me! Abby will climb, jump, etc from ANYTHING. Here's her newest battle scar....and this one is just from the toy box.

No more earplugs!!

2009-01-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Caleb finally had his ENT appointment today. He was supposed to have it last month, but got sick on the way and we had to reschedule. I really dislike going to these appointments. It takes about half an hour to get to the hospital, wait FOREVER to get in, and then it takes five minutes for the doctor to say, everything is fine, the tubes look great, see you in six months. Well, the last appointment we went to told us that he only had the right tube in. They fall out on their own as the kiddos get older. Today we found out that the right tube came out too! No more annoying ear plugs for swimming or baths! :)

I should probably recap why Caleb had tubes in the first place. It all started when he was nine months old. He had a really annoying cough, and at his well child check-up, he had fluid on one ear. Since he had a cold at that time, we didn't push the issue about the fluid. I pushed the issue about the cough because it was waking him up in the middle of the night...long story short, we went to the ENT doctor to see about the cough. The fluid changed ears. They did a hearing test. Caleb scored below normal on the hearing test. They suggested tubes. I resisted. Caleb's never had an ear infection....I always thought tubes were for chronic ear infections. They rechecked his hearing a few months later. Still scored way low. Got the tubes when he was fifteen months old. He started repeating EVERYTHING we said the day after the surgery, and hasn't stopped talking since. Oh...and after seeing a pulmonologist, the cough was from an "over-reactive airway"...'round about way of saying asthma in kids. They don't label asthma under the age of three because a lot of kids out grow it, and they don't want it to be a pre-existing condition for insurance companies. Caleb's outgrown his. We still keep albuterol inhalers around for colds (he gets croup a lot). And that's that!

She'll hate me when she's older...

2009-01-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

This could maybe be one of those embarrassing pictures you pull out on your daughter's first date...

And here are some video clips to catch up on...

The first one is a tradition in Brent's family...we save all the paper and dive into it after the gifts are open.

We got the kids the cd "Party Like a Preschooler" by GoFish. I highly recommend it. The kids LOVE it and I can even get Caleb dancing to it!

And...Abby the goof...

Catchin' up...

2008-12-29T20:09:00.001-08:00

Wow...this week has FLOWN! I can't believe Christmas is over already. It was definitely a whirlwind. We celebrated five Christmas' in four days. We didn't plan on doing that at first, but hey...go with the flow!

Well, we listened to the weather reports and decided that it would be better to go back home on Christmas Day. That was the only day that was supposed to be clear. I worked Christmas Eve day. We were low in census, so we were able to "call off" people. It goes by seniority. I was the most senior staff member (also in charge)...I took the last four hours off. It felt a little weird being in charge and sending myself home, but we really needed to get packed up if we were going to leave in decent time on Christmas Day.

Caleb had been looking longingly at the gifts that we put under the tree for like a week before Christmas. I kept telling him that those were for everyone that we were giving gifts too and that he'd get his presents on Christmas. Christmas morning Abby decided she needed to wake up at 430 AM! It took an hour to get her back to sleep. Of course, we couldn't fall asleep after that. Caleb woke up around 615. The first thing he said was "Mom, I think there are presents under the tree!" We got up, got dressed, ate breakfast and opened gifts. That went really fast since Caleb just did one after another. We packed up our final things....the new toys that Caleb got, etc. And hopped in the van to go to my uncle's house in Illinois. So, lunch at my uncle's house and more gift opening that day.

Friday we had "off" since it was originally going to be our travel day. The fog was HORRIBLE. I'm glad we came down the day before.

Saturday, we opened gifts with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. Saturday afternoon (after the kids went to nap), I ran into town to see my friends from high school. We try to get together around Christmas and exchange something small. In years past, we had done ornaments. This year we exchanged Christmas socks. :) You can never have too many socks! Saturday night we went to my grandparents' house. I have a pretty big extended family that tries to get together. There were twenty-three people there, counting the kiddos. I'd call it controlled chaos.

Sunday, we packed up the van and went to Brent's parents' house. It's only about a fifteen minute drive from my parents', so it's nice to be able to see everyone in one trip! Again, we opened gifts and visited with everyone. This was probably the most emotional day for us. It was the first Christmas without Brent's grand-dad. Pretty much everything reminded us of him. There were lots of tears, but lots of smiles too.

We left after supper time to drive back to Wisconsin. We got back in time to get the kids to bed and unload. Brent and I were both supposed to work today, so we wanted to get to sleep as fast as possible.

This morning, we were both up and eating breakfast when the phone rang. It was work. I got called off again!! Or...I should say I got offered the first eight hours off. I have a lot of benefit time still since I never requested vacation time this year. I was on maternity leave when we had to turn in our requests, and I completely forgot. (we always have to turn in our requests by Nov. 15 the year before) I couldn't go back to sleep....so I started unpacking, etc. I helped get the kids off to daycare...and ran errands. I got a ton done, and then when I called work, they said I could have the last four hours off too! Boy, did I need that. It was a really good day off!

I didn't post many pictures this time because I took a couple hundred of them. I uploaded a little over a hundred to my picture page...click on the link on the left of the blog. :)

Yea!!

2008-12-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

I got to go home early from work! :) Yippee! Happy early Christmas to me :) I love having seniority!