I don’t feel good

Posted September 24th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

On the retreat this weekend, I didn’t feel very good. I slept most of the way there and a good part of the way home. I only sleep in the car when I’m sick. My fever at the doctor’s office this morning confirmed this fact. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and bronchitis. I’ve got enough medicines and samples to fill a small pharmacy including medicine to use in J’s nebulizer to help me breathe. My pulse oxygen was down and my heart rate was up - another indicator of my respiratory distress.

I will be on antibiotic for 10 days in addition to increased asthma medicines, decongestants, mucus thinner, and tylenol. Boys, please play quietly together for awhile and let Mommy get better fast!

Example of the perfect husband

Posted July 11th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

I have a summer cold.  It’s been awhile since I was sick.  Usually it is the boys that come down with something and I keep washing my hands and praying, “Please, don’t let me get this!”

This time, I am the instigator of the virus in the house.  I haven’t been around any sick people that I am aware of, don’t know where this came from.  Yesterday was my worst day.  I couldn’t find any medicine to open up my sinuses.  And believe me, I tried a lot.  I could hear B’s voice in my head, “You know you should go to the doctor instead of self medicating.  These over the counter medicines should probably not be mixed…”  But I didn’t want to bother with the doctor.  She couldn’t do anything.  Antibiotics don’t work on viruses and most colds are indeed viruses and go away in 10-14 days.  I’ve heard it enough from taking the boys to the doctor with a cold.

Today, I am coming out of the fog.  I had a little energy and abused it to the fullest.  C has fresh bed sheets and so do B and I.  The kitchen is clean and toys are put away.  Now, I will sit for the remainder of the evening.

The past two days, like I said, I haven’t had any sinus relief.  Total blockage.  Only could breathe through my mouth.  When B got home last night, he brought dinner with him and gave me mine and sent me to bed to eat and rest.  THANK YOU, B!!!  At bedtime, I was ready to help get C and J in bed.  B took care of C and I took care of J.

I was rocking J to get him sleepy and he wrapped his arms around my neck holding on tightly saying, “I’ll keep you and make you feel better.”  I liked the sentiment, but having his arms so tight around my neck, combined with the sinus pressure and I started to have a panic attack that I couldn’t breathe (I suffer from claustrophobia.  This didn’t help the situation at all!).  I gently loosened his arms and breathed slowly.  I got really scared, but was able to calm myself and still keep J content.  Rocking was good for both of us.

This evening, B got home from work relatively early and took the boys to the park and out to eat.  This gave me a break and by these past several days I am reminded of why I love B so much.  I understand how tired he is by the end of the day, but he sacrificed his precious time at home by choosing to help me get better.  Plus the boys love going to the park (fresh air will be good for their lungs.  I don’t want them getting sick!) and spending time with Daddy.

Thank you, B, for loving me so unconditionally and unselfishly and helping to keep this house running smoothly while I am under the weather.

7.9.2007 Doctor Appointments

Posted July 9th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

C and J went to the doctor today for their 5 year and 3 year respective checkups. They are two perfectly healthy little boys. Here is their information - it’s hard to believe that they are 22 months apart in age considering how closely their sizes are:

C weighs 35 lbs. and J weighs 33 lbs.

C is 41 inches tall and J is 37.25 inches tall.

C is in the 10th percentile for height and weight and J is in the 25th percentile for height and weight.

C also had his hearing and sight tested today. He did well in both eyes. The nurse had a little hand held device that she used to test C’s hearing. She pressed a button to start the test and the hand held machine did beep noises in C’s ears. C thought it was funny having to say “beep” each time after hearing a beep with the hearing machine. Both ears were fine.

Both boys had blood work today and their iron levels are fine. Both boys were to have urinalysis done today as well and C did fine providing a sample. His sugar level is normal.

J refused to provide a urine sample - even after offers of a sucker, gum, toy tractor, and a happy meal for lunch. I made up a song and tried singing, “pee pee come out.” This didn’t work either.  I tried getting J to provide a urine sample standing up, sitting down, in the examination room, in the bathroom, in the hallway and even sitting on the examination table. Nothing worked. We left there with J screaming that he wanted a sucker. Hopefully J won’t do like C did a couple of years ago and bring me a sample in a little play cup that goes to their play kitchen. Samples are needed for the doctor - not mommy.

After the doctor’s visit, C chose tacos for lunch. He ate 3 crunchy tacos and J ate 1/2 of 1. At this rate, C will continue to be bigger than J! But with both boys their eating comes sporadically. They eat some at each meal, but only eat everything that is on their plates when they are about to go through a growth spurt. I can watch their eating cycles and literally watch them grow taller! With C it is a little more obvious. He will get a belly on him and a week later he is at least an inch taller and the belly is gone.

Time has flown by and I still am amazed that C is 5 and J is 3. I’m going to miss having a baby in the house, but am enjoying watching them grow up, too.

Blue Burns

Posted June 8th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

Blue Burns, a female betta fish of unknown age, has died of apparently natural causes following a brief period of lethargy. She was found by the mistress of the house on the evening of June 8, 2006 when D went to feed Blue. Blue is survived by Tara, B, D, C and J.

She was a good fish, always ready to watch her family from her tank that sat on the kitchen bar. Blue was a constant source of entertainment for the family cat, Tara, who liked to watch Blue take her daily swim.

Blue’s earthly body was buried at sea by way of a flush down the commode in a whirlwind of water. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to your local animal shelter.

J’s follow-up Dr. visit

Posted February 20th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (0)

I took J to the doctor this afternoon. Now he has an ear infection to add to his discomfort. Therefore, the doctor added an antibiotic to J’s growing list of medications… Also, he put J on a daily maintenance asthma medication. (This is how I learned tonight that J doesn’t like chewable medicine.)

Imagine trying to get a 2 year old to ingest tablet medicine… 1st attempt: gave it to J and told him it was medicine and to chew it up. He looks carefully at it and puts it in his mouth. SPIT! tablet flies a foot away onto the tile floor. 2nd attempt: I pick up the tablet and tell him that it is like grownup medicine (I regretted the words as they came out of my mouth - don’t email me. I won’t say it again!) J replied, “I don wike it.” I mention the basket of candy on top of the refrigerator which has the boy’s valentine candy from school in it and get J to put the table in his mouth. Out it comes again. This time after 1 chew. Tablet is now slimy, grainy and in 3 pieces. 3rd attempt: I mix the pieces in a measurer with cherry tylanol since I thought the tylanol would help his ear quit hurting as much. 3rd times a charm. Fortunately getting to pick a piece of candy out of the basket on top of the refrigerator in exchange of him taking his medicine was the golden ticket.

Poor fella is still taking his breathing treatments every 6 hours. This evening all J wanted to do was cuddle on the couch with either me or Daddy B. When I put him in bed, I laid down with him and rubbed his head and back a while. After not too long, J moved my hand and said that he was too sick for me to rub him. He just wanted to lay on my arm.

This morning, J was feeling a little better, but wore down as the day passed. Before Daddy B left for work, I overheard him telling J, “Don’t do that. That’s the cat’s water bowl!” I came into the kitchen to see B turning away from J. (B was either trying not to laugh or trying not to vomit.) J had acquired a drinking straw and was blowing bubbles in Tara’s water. Maybe J has learned not to blow bubbles in his own water, but hasn’t lost the desire to ripple some water anywhere.

Update on J and C

Posted February 19th, 2007 by Mom | Comments (1)

J made it through the night. He didn’t wake up a single time and he was breathing adequately, so I didn’t wake him for a breathing treatment.

This morning, J had a fluid cough (good, instead of a dry bark - bad) so I knew that J was able to cough the icky fluid out of his lungs. His fever seems to be gone for now. He is cool and happy and playing with C upstairs in the playroom.

I have already given J his medicines this morning (steroid, cough and sinus medicines) in addition to a breathing treatment. The nurse did a great job encouraging him to tolerate the breathing treatment. The medicine is administered to him by J breathing through a pediatric size oxygen mask. The nurse called it “J’s fireman’s mask.” Last night when I was preparing the treatment, J said, “I don wanna be a fireman!” However, he sits relatively still in my lap for the 6-8 minutes that he needs to breathe through the mask while he watches on TV his chosen show.

An update on C - We have been attempting to follow C’s lead when he tells us that he wants to sleep in underwear instead of a pullup. C gets to sleep in underwear at rest time and has kept himself dry for over a week of attempting this task. I told him that if he kept his pullup dry at night for 7 days, he could wear underwear to bedtime. So far, he has kept the pullup dry for 4 nights. YEAH!!! C is so excited. 3 more nights to keep it dry and no more pullups for him.