Letting it out

Umbrella

I've been walking around with my umbrella and keeping one open at all times over our house trying to shield against all evil things.  My umbrellas must have holes in them, for we have been shit on once again. 

Took Eligh in yesterday for his unexplained 102.5 fever, and he has flu a and b.  Freakinfantabulous.

Now we watch and wait for symptoms in the girls. 

Addyson's symptoms for another problem have come back so she needs to go in on Monday, as well. 

Many things HAVE to get done before next weekend, and no they truly canNOT wait.  CANNOT. 

Our family would like to also have some quality, healthy family time together before daddy must leave us in complete shambles. 

If you have a durable and larger umbrella please send it the following address:

The Bad Karma Family

12345 Leaveusthehellalone Road

Shitonmoreoftenthennot, GA 12345

Thank you.

 

Hear ye, Hear ye, the Prince is 1

Part 2 of the twins' birthday post celebration. 

3 minutes later Eligh finally made his entrance, after many tugs and pulls to get him out of my ribs.  I should have known from that moment who Eligh would become. 

Eligh has gone through many changes.  Of course he was aboslutely adorable with his cute round cheeks and innocent looking eyes. 

 

Who would have thought something so cute and cuddly could cause so much distress.  For months all the poor guy did was cry.  We had to carry him in the boppy pillow to get him to stay asleep, any sudden noise or movement would cause histeria.  During those months I used my calf muscles more than I ever had playing sports in school, rocking him in a bouncy seat in order to get him to sleep and stay asleep.  I'll be completely honest, it was HORRIBLE!  I never thought sleep deprivation could effect someone so much, but it did.  At 4 months old, the doctor gave us a miracle answer, oil for his eczema (which we didn't even really know anything about).  Once he got treated he became a totally different baby. 

Today, Eligh has reached the following milestones:

• Takes several unassisted steps at a time when attempting to reach a destination, aka "walking."  (Still not comfortable using that term)
• Seems to be more of the talker with the following "words":  "beeta, beeta, (repeated over and over again), dada, mom meee, here go, bye, and other nonsense sounds.
• Loves to play alone.  He sneeks off to areas of the house hoping not to be found so he can actually enjoy some toys without them getting ripped out of his hands. 
• Favorite toys seem to be the broom and vacuum (especially the big ones mommy and daddy use)
• Not the greatest eater, each meal is different
• 8 teeth
• Naps 2 hours and 13 hours at night

Eligh is all full of smiles and a much happier baby than I ever thought he could have been.  I hope he is able to claim his own some day in this house, as he seems to get beat up on by his sister, Kinsley.  Addyson loves Eligh and often watches out for him making sure to give him toys (complete opposite of how she treats her sister). 

 

Love you more and more each day, little guy!  Happy Birthday!

Lesson learned.

Got home from yesterday, picked up Eligh and happened to notice he had a few red bumps on his head.  Lifted up his shirt and found a rash all over his belly, back, neck, and some of his head.  Freaked out, of course.  Called the nurse and she said it could be scarlett fever, strep, or a virus; bring him in tomorrow (today). 

Got up, got the kiddos ready, took the girls to Kym's, and headed with Eligh to the doctor.  Doctor ran strep test, negative - phew.  Finger prick - virus.  Given new meds to give to Eligh until the rash goes away.  Poor little guy has been through so much this week.  I should have just found a way to take him out to his doctor in the first place, even if it meant taking all the kids with me, or taking a day off, because there was really no point in taking him to the urgent care center I went to.  All they did was look at his throat and said it was sore, gave him amox.  They said they don't run strep tests in children his age, nor do labs.  Both things my doctor did and were able to get results in a matter of minutes.  Lesson learned. 

Oh, and I swear I have a third child named Kinsley.  Seems like all I've been writing about is Addyson and Eligh. 

Tune in tomorrow for the babies' 11 month post.  Yes, 11 months tomorrow.  Sigh.

Ways not to start your first day back to work

• Stay up way too late the night before
• Be so delusional that you put conditioner in your hair twice
• Have a feverish baby
• Forget your phone at home, leave you a little twitchy all day
• Have extra work to complete sitting in your mail box at work when you arrive.  Definitely makes you a little grumpy
• Discuss having to take 3 days off of work with no pay in first couple hours of work
• Have someone ask you if you have gained weight. 
• Get email from nanny with feverish baby's new high fever
• Have someone tell you something so terrible that it makes you sick to your stomach with helplessness

Get home, feed and bathe everyone.  Spent last night checking on Eligh and his 103.5 fever throughout the night. 

Now we await what today brings.

Inexperienced

I know I promised to write about my amazing hero as well as all the other heroes in the world from the past, today, tomorrow, and our future; but something occurred this morning that I had to address. I would like to ask all of you to take a moment away from the grill, drinks, laughter, and fireworks and remember what you are celebrating.  Think about all the men and women from the past who fought for our independence as well as those who continue to fight each and every single day.  Just a short little moment of reflection is all I ask. 

 

So, the events from this morning were something that I have never faced in all my 2+ years of being a mother.  Nothing could have prepared me for the following:

6:27 Kinsley is crying in her room.  I roll over and think I'll just lay here a little longer. 

6:35 Kinsley hasn't stopped crying and is not in the greatest of moods.  Cody gets out of bed, and I follow. 

6:40:  Cody is cooking breakfast for the twins (microwave) and fixing their cups.  I start heading to the twins' bedroom.  Just as I round the corner to face their bedroom door I'm slapped in the face with a smell so horrid that I had to take a step back to get some fresh air, or vomit would escape me. 

6:45:  I take a deep breath and open the door.  Think of the shower scene from Psycho the realization of something you were totally unprepared for happening.  Horrible analogy, but the music from that scene shot through my head as I stepped closer to Kinsley's crib and realized that the wet spot I stepped in was poop dripping from her crib.  Yes, hold your hand over your mouth as you try to hold in the vomit.  I, on the other hand, simply wiped up my poop stained toe and took my shitty baby out of her bed.  There was shit everywhere.  After stripping her down and letting her eat breakfast in just a diaper, she was going straight to a bath. 

7:15:  Eligh made the grunty, beat-red face to get out his morning poop.  Cody grabbed Eligh out of his crib, took him to his room to change him into his clothes and I instantly hear, "Oh my GOSH!!!!  Holy crap!!"  Instead of looking at the scene, I simply giggled.  Yes, I giggled.  I was the one who was so lucky to step in poop so he could handle changing a full diaper. 

7:20:  I took Kinsley out of her high chair and get her ready for her bath to see that Cody has not one towel sitting on the floor near the bath, but two towels.  "Babe, why is Eligh getting a bath?"  "Oh, because the wet spot I thought was formula up by Eligh's neck was poop. I have no idea how he pooped up his back and to his neck while sitting down, but he did." 

No diaper changing situation could have prepared me for my morning, and I have changed a LOT of diapers in the past 2+ years, A LOT! 

Lesson learned - you will never be completely prepared for what life brings you, especially when it comes to shitty diapers. 

Happy 4th my friends, happy 4th! 

Dumbo the flying what?

This right here became an obsession after day 2 of 6 in Disney.  

As the two of us waited in line for a good 30 minutes, Addyson played the up down, up down game and pointed "ewaphint."  Once we were the next group in line, I told Addyson that the "ewaphint's" name was Dumbo.  Of course the child loved the less then 10 minute ride and was not happy to leave Dumbo.  If the line wasn't a half hour long, we would have gone back on Dumbo.  After completing Magic Kingdom for the day, we went back to our amazing resort/condo, where the kids all napped.  We attempted to head back to Magic Kingdom that evening for the amazing light show and fireworks. Before we arrived back at MK, we hit up Target for some much cheaper souvenir shopping.  We did end up getting some of our items there and the most important gift we purchased was.....a blue Dumbo that you will notice on the left of the exhausted 2 year old.   

Since Dumbo's purchase, he has not left her side, nor have we heard the end of Dumbo.  Anyways, that evening as Addyson and Cody exited their show, we ended up seeing this:

A HELL of a storm that cost us $30 worth of ponchos and a picture of the castle lit up.  We never attempted to travel back in the evening for any shows, just wasn't worth it.  (Oh, and it rained every evening, except one).  

After visiting Hollywood Studios and Sea World, we made a decision to head back to Magic Kingdom.  Mostly because every morning when we left Addyson immediately asked, "Dumbo?"  How can you tell her no?  This time, though, daddy joined Addyson on Dumbo. 

There is a whole point to my title, and I'm about to get to it.  I had to build up the excitement and understanding of Dumbo.  Yesterday, Addyson found the movie "Dumbo" and we had to watch it at least 5 times.  Yes, 5 times.  She is obsessed!  She clearly has an understanding of who Dumbo is. 

Well.....out of no where last night, after the twins were in bed, Addyson said the following:

"Dumbo.  Ewigh."  Of course with a big ole grin to match.  

Does this cute little boy look like Dumbo to you?

And another view

Oh, and you can't vote that he looks like a gremlin.  

And you thought it couldn't get worse...

If you thought it was bad before with Addyson, it got much worse.  

Recap of Thursday:

Said goodbye to our friends, lots and lots of tears and hugs.  Sad.  

11:00 put Kinsley and Eligh down for a nap, as they both didn't take a morning nap and were exhausted.  

12:30 Kinsley gets up, I feed her lunch and let her play.  

1:15 Put Kinsley down for a nap

2:00/2:15 (little hazy here) Kinsley is awake.  I check on Eligh since he had still been sleeping since 11.  Eligh is slumped over totally out of it.  I pick him up and he is shaking.  He is burning up, take temp 103.  Give him Tylenol and sit him on the floor so I can get Kinsley and a now screaming/crying Addyson.  Eligh plops over.  Get the girls, look at Eligh and realize that he can't lift his entire right side of his body.  Pick him up, call my sister who tells me to call an ambulance.  

Call 911, call Cody, call nanny, and just hold Eligh.  Kinsley is in great spirits, Addyson is miserable and doesn't want anything.

Cody and the nanny both get here before the ambulance.  Ridiculous.  

We take him to the ER and come to the conclusion that he had a febrile seizure.  He regained all use of his right side, by the time we got there.  90 year old doctor comes in and looks at his throat, ears, and listens to his lungs, and said he sounds clear.  Run some blood and everything comes back fine, must just be teething.  

I explained to the doctor that children are NOT to get a fever this high with teething, that his older sister has an bacterial infection in her throat, blah, blah, blah.  

They send us home and tell us to keep giving him Tylenol and Motrin. 

Long night, with both Addyson and Eligh fighting fevers.  

I call the kids' doctor in the morning and schedule an appointment.  I take Eligh in, and he is still miserable.  He ate a few ounces since 11, and has been sleeping ever since.  He just laid on me falling asleep.  The doctor checks him out, and shows me his mouth and throat (there are ulcers).  

He asked if the ER doctor even looked at his throat, I said yes, and he said it was teething.  The doctor said that anything over 101 is not related to teething.  We are in agreeance and he seems just as irritated as I am with the ER doctor.  Basically, Eligh had to suffer longer then he should have, because the old guy at the ER probably couldn't see a damn thing.  

He has a coxsackievirus which can lead to hand, foot, mouth disease.  We have some meds to give him 4 times a day to help soothe his throat and mouth.  Kinsley is getting treated along with Eligh, as the two of them chew on everything, including each other.  

As I was driving home, I kept thinking that I wasn't cleaning enough.  I needed to bleach everything sooner then I normally would have.  Then, all of a sudden a light bulb went off in my head, they don't go to daycare, but we did go to toddler time on Monday.  I let all the kids play and run around for a good hour.  This is why we never do ANYTHING!  It always bites us in the ass.  Always.  

My poor babies have the weakest immune system and seem to get everything that there is to get.  

Last night Eligh was up a lot just screaming in pain and unfortunately there was nothing we could do for him to make him happy.  It was heartbreaking.  He is drooling non stop, and not really wanting to eat or drink anything (even worse then his normal anti drinking strike he seems to be on).  He has been a lot more playful this morning, no fever as of 11pm last night.  Addyson hasn't had a fever since 2:00 and is finally taking most of her new medicine (as she wouldn't take the other stuff).  Kinsley has a low grade fever, but is also getting her top left front tooth, but is in a great mood.   

As far as mommy is concerned, I'm beat.  I can handle not sleeping, but I can't handle feeling so helpless and responsible for this whole mess.  I'm the one that insisted on taking the kids to the playground, I should have checked on Eligh sooner, maybe the whole seizure would have been avoided. I just keep picturing his lifeless body, him staring into space, him shaking, he couldn't lift his head at all.  It was a living nightmare...and it can't escape my head.  I can't shake it away.  It just keeps replaying over and over in my head like a scratched dvd.  

Turn of events

With my friend leaving in a matter of an hour, we planned that I would cook them dinner last night.  Let the kids play, give lots of hugs, kisses, and tears, and attempt to pick ourselves back up.  In order for this to work, Cody had to come up with an excuse to get out of work at a decent hour (you know before 8 pm - which has been the norm this week).  Easy excuse, Addyson has a doctor's appointment, and I need to stay home with the twins so my wife can take her. 

The afternoon went as follows:

11 - feed twins, and attempt to get Addyson to eat anything.

11:30 - put twins down for a nap

12:00 - Put Addyson down for her nap after she ate a handful of crackers

12:15 - Start prepping my mac and cheese by putting the cheese in the freezer for a few hours.

12:15 - 1:30:  Fold laundry, browse the internet

1:30 - Addyson is screaming and crying.  Weird.  She usually sleeps until almost 3 pm. 

I go into Addyson's room, get in the bed with her, and instantly feel her skin, and it is smoking HOT!  Take Addyson out of the bed, and into the living room.  Take temperature:  102.7.  Shit.  Give her Tylenol, call the nurse line and wait for a call back. 

Nurse calls back, temp goes up to 103, and wait for Cody to get home so I can take her to the doctor. 

Karma is a bitch! 

Get to the doctor's office right before 4 pm and this is what Addyson did:

 

She slept on me the entire time.  I had to put her on the table, and she slept while they poked and prodded at her belly and moved her all about.  She snuggled back up on me and fell asleep.  They pricked her finger to take some blood and the girl didn't even move! 

Final diagnosis:  bacterial infection in her throat. 

We didn't get home until after 6:00, with a throw up on the way back.  After giving her a bath, she covered herself up in a blanket and fell asleep on dad.  Pitiful. 

8:30 pm - Addyson was in bed for the night, woke up once at 11 with another 103 fever, but went right back to sleep after I gave her more Tylenol. 

Here we sit waiting to see our friends before they leave.   Our plans for a joyful goodbye have been snatched, and instead it will be short and nothing like we planned.  Sucks. 

Don't let me forget to add in that Eligh had a 101 fever and was extremely clingy this morning.  Sigh.

Sibling love-Wordless Wednesday

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