Samuel + Mary = ENT issues

Most moms you talk to always seem to have a sick kid in their home, specifically when you have multiple kids and those kids are in school with direct contact to every germ our planet has to offer.  My kids too have been sick, especially last winter someone in this house was sick for 7 weeks straight, so I feel those momma’s pain.  In the case with my kids, having the sniffles and coughs it always leads to humidifiers, mattress elevation, cough medicine, and eventually calls to the doctor and the inevitable happens, ear and/or sinus infections. 

All these issues really started to take shape when Mary was an infant.  I was constantly arriving at the doctor’s office to leave with a prescription for antibiotics for her latest ear infection.  She ended up having 6 ear infections between Halloween and February of the next year.  So when she had an ear infection at Christmas in 2010 the doctor decided it was time for tubes in the ears.  I was nervous about this because my little tiny baby was going to have to be administered anesthesia and have surgery.  Well of course my baby girl was a champ and came out of the surgery with a few screams of terror from waking up in a strange place but by the time I got her in the van and gave her a bottle she had immediately stopped crying.  Once home she slept most of the day and upon waking it was as if nothing had ever happened. Now that she has the tubes in her ears, ear infections do not exist for her.

My son Samuel on the other hand we’ve been noticing that his breathing is slightly labored at night; ok to be honest he snores like an adult male with a head cold.  He wakes up coughing at night and always seems to be stuffed up.  My husband conducted an experiment; he put his hand over my son’s mouth and discovered he couldn’t breathe.  Then he plugged is nose and my son could have cared less. 

In light of this little experiment I decided to take him to my allergist in October because he didn’t have a cold but had coughing and sniffles.  They tested him for all the environment things including dogs.  We had him tested for dogs specifically since I was allergic to dogs but all tests came up negative.  (Another blog about allergies, dogs and my dilemma coming soon!)  Even though he wasn’t allergic to anything the allergist did say that his nose looked inflamed, but of course he used some big medical term that even 4^th year med students still have a hard time pronouncing and the under part of his eyes were darkened which also indicates sinus issues.  So he sent us on our way with Nasonex and told us to use it daily. 

Fast forward to Christmas; I have two kids with horrible coughs and sniffles.  So horrible in fact my daughter was puking because of the velocity of her cough and my son couldn’t sleep he was so rattled with coughs.  So I took them both to the doctors to discover Samuel had double ear infections, sinus infection and wheezing that was due to respiratory constriction from drainage.  Mary had the same issues, minus the ear infections because of the addition of tubes.  So they were both on antibiotics and an albuterol inhaler during Christmas, fun right?

Even after all the treatments of antibiotics and inhalers my son still has a breathing issue.  Not only does he have a breathing issue but we’ve also noticed a hearing issue.  He says “what” a lot or may not hear his own name.  This may just be a symptom of being 4 but one can’t be too caution when it comes to little ears.  Because I have these concerns I mentioned them to the kid’s doctor today when I had Mary in for her two year well check. 

I’ll come back to Samuel in one paragraph; I must mention Mary’s well check results.  We have to call an ophthalmologist because she’s concerned about her right eye as it appears to be turning inward. She thinks it’s probably nothing as the bridge of Mary’s nose is still thin but she wants to be proactive and not wait another year to check her out and find that she has a lazy eye.  Mary’s doctor also noted that our daughter who we already felt was brilliant (no biasness here!) is exhibiting signs of advancement in milestones.  She’s doing things that three year old can do like count to 5, knows colors and “singing” to music.  High five to this momma! No I’m not proud at all! (Wink, wink)

So when I mentioned the issues with Samuels’s nose and hearing she wanted to examine him quickly so we could get the history of his issues down in the time it takes to schedule an appointment with an ENT.  She mentioned that there could still be fluid on his ears causing his hearing issues and if his nose is still swollen on the inside (again she used a huge medical word describing these interworking’s of his nose) then he may need to have is adenoids removed and tubes inserted in his ears.  And of course what do I hear? The sound of a cash registers clinking since it’s a new year and our insurance has started over….ugh!

Even with all this new information about Mary’s eye and Sam’s ears and nose I know that God will be our Healer.  It says in Matthew 9:21-22 “She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.” I just have to meditate on this and know it to be true because I just know that the pediatrician is being overly cautious and there is nothing wrong with my baby girl. 

I also have to hold onto the fact that if my kids need further medical care, which will no doubt be expensive, that God will be my Provider as it says in Ezekiel 18:16 “He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.” How can one not love a God like ours? Keep you posted on the medical process; in the meantime prayers for my babies would be appreciated, thank you.

God Bless
~Andrea

My Best Friend and Central Ohio Weather

I know I usually blog about my kids but today I need to talk about two things that are pretty important; my best friend Sarah and winter.  I know you’re thinking how are these two topics going to tie into each other?  Well just continue reading.

I have known my best friend Sarah since I was 10, now I’m not going to give away my age and admit how many years we’ve been friends, just know it’s as long as sisters have known each other.  She is truly the sisters I never had, my partner in crime, the person I always wanted to be.  Of course ours is the relationship that doesn’t require calling one another every night, although we have.  Our relationship isn’t the kind of friendship that has any jealousy, competition, or ill will when one person says or does something the other doesn’t agree with.  There’s plenty we don’t agree with, for instance she’s a Michigan fan and I’m a Buckeye.  She’s and democrat but leans independent and I am a republican that leans libertarian.  But neither of those or the other differences we have has ever caused us not to speak, well maybe during the actual Michigan/OSU game and if we do communicate it’s through Facebook and we generally tell the other one their team sucks.

Even when I was a pre-teen pain in the butt that wouldn’t stop bugging her to hang out, she still loved me and accepted me as friend.  Even when we drifted apart when she went on to college and I was stuck staying behind, we always talked on the phone as if we had just talked the day before.  I love her, she loves me and that’s it, it’s that simple.  There were dark times in Sarah’s life that kept me from seeing and talking to her but when we did speak she knew I still loved her and stuck by her even when others in her life couldn’t handle her situation.  After years of struggling with addiction she finally came through the other side a victor!

So when I heard she was having her first baby after all her struggle and strife I was overjoyed.  She had always worried that she would never get pregnant after all the years of abuse to her body with pills and alcohol.  I had gotten pretty sick during the end of September and most of October with a horrible cough which made talking on the phone next to impossible not to mention my kids just don’t allow me to talk on the phone. I could flip on the kids’ favorite movie that turns them into TV zombies that make me invisible, but during that same movie they would know if I left the room, locked myself in the bedroom and dialed the phone!  So when Sarah called and said that she wanted to see me and to meet her half way in between our two cities for lunch I was more the happy to oblige. 

The day of my anticipated travel up to my lunch date the inevitable happened; winter weather.  Normally winter weather doesn’t bother me except that I hate the cold and the snow only because I love the hot and the sand.  But I my hatred for winter hit a new level when I moved from northwest Ohio, where we can handle the snow, to central Ohio where they can’t.  In central Ohio we are always right on the precipice of snow and rain, which always equals ice.  I will drive in snow, slush, blowing snow, but I will NOT drive when it ices, especially around here.  The night before I was to depart it stared to snow which was expected, but what was not predicted was the amount of snow.  Now normally one wouldn’t freak out over an inch of snow especially when predicted, not here.  Also, one may not freak out over an inch of snow if it wasn’t predicted, not here.  Not only are the drivers here horrible when it comes to rain, sleet and snow but the weathermen induce panic with their “up to the minute radar” shenanigans.  These radars they have now can zoom in on your residential street and show exactly where the heaviest rain or snow fall is at that moment. They show the street cameras that are capturing all the winter weather coming down out of the sky and all the traffic tie ups.  They break in during your favorite show to give you a preview of weather to come, weather that’s here and where the weather is going.  They blitz the social media pages with their every minute posts and tweets telling you the snow has started to fall, or a certain suburb is already hit hard and it’s on the way to the next suburb; it’s crazy.  They [weathermen] create such a mass panic that you should never enter a grocery store on bad weather days because everyone is buying everything and store shelves are emptied, all over an inch of snow! They make this “snowmeggedon” type situation every time the weather even thinks of acting up.  And this was the exact situation I was facing the morning of my commute.  Now as I mentioned I do not like to drive in ice, had an experience with black ice that has left me more than a little nervous so I actually was one of the people glued to the social media updates on weather this particular day but I got so annoyed with my phone beeping every 20 seconds that I turned off my notifications and decided I’ll figure out what the weather situation is when it hits my windshield.

Once I reached Bob Evens I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough to see my beautiful pregnant friend.  As soon as I saw her the big hugs and hello’s started and of course I had to be the obnoxious one and rub the belly.  We sat down and started talking just like we always did, as if no time had ever passed.  The waitress came over took our order and we warned her we may be awhile and she graciously said she was there all night and not to worry.  We spent a few hours in that Bob Evens talking about everything from labor to politics to my kids and about her mom.  Her mom is very ill, she is dying of bone cancer and of course Sarah is taking it is “Sarah stride” but as she explained to me she has known of her mother’s diagnosis for quite some time so her death has been something she has been able to mourn for a while ago, but now that she’s having the baby I think she’s a little rattled with her mother’s passing seeming to be in the near future.  She had also wanted to get together in person because she had a very important question for me.  She needed a secondary guardian for little baby boy Jack and I couldn’t have been more honored or happier to say yes.  After all the important questions had been asked and all the catching up was done, it unfortunately was time to leave each other’s company and head back to our respective cities.

Once I was headed down US 23 south towards home I sat thinking about all the great childhood memories we had, all the great late night conversations and all the trials and triumphs we had been through, both together and apart.  I was happy for her and her new journey into motherhood just as she was happy for my journey even though it took me 2 ½ hours away, 8 years, 1 husband and 2 kids ago.  Once I got closer to the city it started to creep up on 5 o’clock rush hour and with this “snowmeggedon”/”iceapalooza" on the way people seemed more apt to cut me off and speed past me or drive at the speed of an average 90 year old gripping the wheel in fear, even though it hadn’t yet started to precipitate. 

Finally, I parked the car at the curb of my home at approximately 5:30, grabbed my cell and empty coffee cup then headed inside to be greeted by my boisterous children.  As soon as I shut the front door and took off my outer winter shell of coat, scarf and boots the snow began to fall.  I plopped down on the couch and immediately had my children in my lap watching cartoons.  While watching TV with the kids the National Weather Service kept interrupting our shows with the obnoxious beeping of the winter weather advisories for our area; all the while the snow outside our window had stopped and nothing more happened in our little burb. 

With a great day behind me despite the constant weather reminders and bad drivers it was time to head to bed and say my prayers to our Lord and of course Sarah, her baby boy Jack and her mother were at the top of my prayer list.  I can’t wait to welcome baby Jack in February and I will no doubt be caught up again in a “snowmeggedon” type situation but that won’t ever stop me from seeing the precious new life that has blessed my dear friend Sarah. 

God Bless

~Andrea

Paaaaartay!

Today was birthday party day for my two year old daughter Mary.  Friends had been invited, cupcakes baked and grandparents arriving, which are the best ingredients for a day of fun.

Today was going to be spent a Recreation Outlet in Powell, an indoor playground and then hot dogs for lunch over at Two Mad Dogs.  Recreation outlet is actually a showroom for playground equipment including swing sets, slides, basketball hoops and trampolines.  Even though it’s a retail store they allow “free play” on certain days of the week in the mornings; so I called up some of Sam and Mary’s friends (My girlfriends!) and told them to be there or be square.  Arrival time was set for 9:30am and hot dogs were to be consumed at 11:15.  The Recreation Outlet is approximately 20 minutes from my house so rising early in the morning to have kids (and mommy) fed, dressed and out the door on time was imperative. 

That “imperative” schedule went out the window when I didn’t wake up until I heard my husband bringing my daughter into our bedroom at 8:05am.  Even though I knew I needed to get up and get going I was so groggy it took me a few minutes to let it register that I was behind schedule about 30 minutes.  Of course once I recognized my tardiness I flew like a flash to the shower just as if I were in the “Twas the night before Christmas” poem. 

I actually had to go and wake my son, Samuel, to get him up and around since he likes to be the one to never do as his told. (i.e. eating, getting dressed, getting shoes and coat, well you get the picture.)  Once out of the shower and dressed I had breakfast warming up in the microwave, no time for sizzling bacon and hot toast like I had imagined the night before. No, reality was premade waffles from the freezer and per my sons request, chicken nuggets.  Hey! Whatever gets him to eat. Of course I couldn’t sit with my kids for breakfast, I had hair to dry and make up to apply so my 2 year old was left to her own devices eating a waffle covered in syrup and my son had to eat by himself without me nagging him to eat, eat, eat, eat! I didn't get breakfast because I had a bag of snacks and juice to pack and coffee to make.

Breakfast table cleanup was underway and I was actually on schedule.  I knew if I prayed to the Lord he’d come through on slowing down time! After all the stickiness of syrup was wiped from mouth and hands and uneaten chicken nuggets went to the dog we were ready for clothes and shoes.  Thankfully my 4 year old can pretty much dress himself and my two year old has the hang of things that dress up time went smoothly and quickly.  Now all that was left was the arrival of my parents, the zipping of coats and loading into the van.  Of course once all of the above had been completed and my reverse lights were on to get us on our way, my gas light turned on and of course it indicated that I only had 14 miles until empty,  that was not going to get us to the other side of town.  My mom graciously handed over her credit card and told me to put gas in my tank, on her.  Thanks mom!  OK, gas tank full, check.  Kids excited about playground, check. Seatbelts buckled, check.  Away we go!

We arrived at the Recreation Outlet around 9:45 and I was feeling guilty because we were 15 minutes later then I had told my friends but they were too were late, as usual.  This was the one time I was thankful they were late.  Once inside the kids were off and running, still with their coats on.  After signing the required release form that I was not going to sue Recreation Outlet if my kids got hurt I took their coats to a little cubby and I hardly knew where they were after that.  I am so happy my parents were with me because having two kids that want to do every slide, swing and trampoline in the place I didn’t have enough eyes, legs or arms to watch, chase or catch each of them.  PHEW! That place, is crazy.

After an hour and half of pure unadulterated playtime the lights in the place went down like a bar at 2am indicating “free play” was over.  I was waiting for the manager to come over the loud speaker and say “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here”.  And we didn’t, stay there, we went to get hot dogs and have cupcakes.  When we arrived at the hot dog joint the wind began to blow and soon the snow started to fall.  This did not make me happy because driving anywhere with my dad is nerve racking let alone when it’s snowing. 

After all the hot dogs were eaten (some only half eaten) it was cupcake time.  Mary had picked herself out a pink frosted cupcake and was running her finger through the frosting as “Happy Birthday” was sung to her.  Mary had decided that she wasn’t going to use her hands and pick up the cupcake, oh no, she had to face plant herself into her cupcake.  (See picture below)

After we cleaned up the messy birthday girl we headed for home to open her gifts.  I had a feeling Mary may fall asleep on the 20 minute car ride home after a busy morning so I had grandpa in the backseat talking and playing with her to keep her awake and his nagging over my driving to a minimum.  She was on such a cupcake high grandpa had a pretty easy job.

She could hardly wait to get in the door , her coat and shoes off before tearing into her gifts! She received a cute Mini Mouse dress up set, a “Melissa and Doug” fruit and veggie cutting board set from grandma and grandpa and shopping cart with groceries from mommy and daddy.  Besides an hour and half nap she hasn’t stopped going since this morning.  She’s still going even now and it’s now 9:20 at night, she is refusing to go to bed since I mistakenly gave her a cupcake after dinner. 

I must say today was a blast, except for the fact that daddy had to miss out because he had to go do that thing called work.  That’s ok because we are going to do our own family outing after church on Sunday; it’s going to be a Dave and Busters day!

It is said in Psalm 127:3 that children are the heritage from the Lord, oh how true that is.  Today was a day that the Lord had made even though my daughter still sits in her crib calling my name as I type this blog at 9:30 at night.  I know that I will not here her tiny voice call my name for much longer and I will soak up every ounce of it.   

Good night and God Bless

~Andrea

Two Years Ago

January 18, 2010 was a Monday as well as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  I was excited because my husband was off work and we planned on just hanging around the house with our son.  I was 9 months pregnant with our second child, Mary; and I was 9 days away from my due date so lounging around the house sounded like fun.  Mary on the other hand had different plans for our day. 

I had been sleeping on the couch the last few months of my pregnancy because my back was really hurting and lying up against the back of the couch was quite comfy, so when I woke up at 6:45 in the morning to my husband typing on the computer it wasn’t a huge surprise.  What also wasn’t a big surprise was I was having more contractions.  When I was in my 22nd week of pregnancy I was plagued with constant Braxton Hicks contractions so these contractions weren’t anything really all that new.  I was going to head upstairs to our bed for a little more sleep time but just minutes after waking the contractions were really starting to hurt, bad!   

I must mention that a few weeks prior on January 6^th I was having yet more contractions, but they were about every 5 minutes lasting about 5 minutes and I was really watching the clock and the intensity.  I had mentioned this to my husband and he just kept a watchful eye on me and kept asking if I needed anything.  Of course my parents, who were supposed to help out with Samuel when the baby was ready to be born were in Florida, it was the first real nasty snow storm of the year and to make matters worse it was 5 o’clock, not the best time to be having labor pains! Thankfully I was fooled once again by Mr. Braxton-Hicks and his contractions as they never got more intense and I actually fell asleep.

So when the morning of the 18^th arrived and I announced I was having contractions my husband didn’t seem to be all that worried.  But when I told him I could barely stand up because of the pain he said ok, let’s go!  Since my parents were leaving Florida that morning and my mother-in-law who was in town from Texas was 2 ½ hours away visiting her other grandsons, I had to make a call to my dear friend Lara.  Sam wasn’t able to go the hospital with us and wait for my mother-in-law to pick him up (which was plan B while mom and dad were in Florida) because it was the height of H1N1 flu outbreak and hospitals had restrictions on children being at the hospital.  So with it being Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lara was off work and at home with her son.  I made the call to her around 8am, and we were off to the hospital about 15 minutes later.   

Once at the hospital they did the routine check in of name and insurance and set me up in a triage room to monitor my contractions and check my dilation.   I was 3 cm and my contractions were pretty intense.  They made the call to the on call physician and gave him an update and he told them to admit me and break my water.  I think by the time I got in a bed, hooked up to monitors and my dilation was checked again it was about 11am; it was also epidural time!  about 2 1/2 hours later I was lying in the bed talking to my husband he happened to look out the window and stated that his mother had just pulled into the parking lot.  There were nurses in my room at this point and informed us that I was 10cm and ready to go.  I giggled to George, “I don’t want your mom in here!” George agreed and was on his way out to the lounge when the nurse said, “Don’t you go anywhere dad, this baby is coming! I will inform the desk nurse not to allow any more visitors”.   She got on her radio and made that announcement to the desk nurse.  I won’t go into the labor and delivery freak show but I will say it was easy and quick! Two pushes and she was out at 1:58pm on January 18, 2010.  Our little baby Mary was here weighing in at 7lbs 3oz and she was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen, next to my first born of course.  She was so tiny yet so perfect. 

After Mary was born and all wrapped up in warm blankets they allowed my mother-in-law back to see us.  She was so overjoyed.  Not only did she get to see one of her grandbabies right after their birth, but this was her first granddaughter.  She was so thankful that she could be there to hold her and was as happy as a grandmother could be.  After Peggy left to relieve our sitter Mary started crying.  I figured she was probably hungry but there were no bottles down in labor and delivery, we would have to wait until we go our room.  Since my epidural was still going strong I couldn’t get up and walk and bounce her around so my husband stepped in for “ssshhh-ing” duty.  Finally one of the nurses took her temperature and discovered that it was 102 degrees.  They swooped in and took her from my husband’s arms and started to perform a ton of vitals on her.  Other than the fever she was normal.  We couldn’t go up to our room until her fever came down so we had to wait and pray.  After a few minutes my husband had realized that she was swaddled in two very warm blankets and mentioned this to the nurses.  They explained that they are so warm because they want them to simulate the warmth of the womb.  My husband disagreed and proceeded to unwrap her and wha-la! Her fever vanished.  She hasn’t been one to be warm since! 

The next day the procession of doctors commenced.  First, Mary’s pediatrician, then my OBG/YN.  We were both healthy and looking good.  I was even told I could go home that afternoon if I wished.  I did not wish to go home.  I was allowed 3 days per insurance and I was using all 3 days! Who doesn’t want to be pampered and taken care of? It turns out my decision was for the best. 

George had come back to the hospital that night to hang out with Mary and I and watch the season premiere of American Idol.  We chose this show to watch because in hospitals there’s not much of a choice when it comes to T.V. stations.  As we were sitting down to cover our ears and watch bad auditions George’s phone rang.  His mom had called to let us know that Sam had gotten sick, all over her and the kitchen table.  So our American Idol night was cut short and George ran back to the house to check on Sam while mommy sat alone in the hospital room sick with worry and guilt.  I know there was absolutely nothing I could for Sam being in the hospital but I still felt upset that his mommy could be there to take care of him.   

The next morning George came to pick us up and take us home and I couldn’t have been more ready to go home and see my little boy.  Plus my mom and dad were back from Florida and anxiously awaiting our arrival.  Once home I rushed into the house to hug and kiss my boy.  I missed him so much and was so worried about him since daddy had told me he was up most of the night throwing up and feeling awful.  So you can imagine my confusion and hurt when my son ran away upstairs to his room faster than I could move after giving birth.  I got to his bedroom and was asking for my hug and kiss when he pointed at me and said “Get Out!” and slammed the door in my face.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  I went back down stairs hugged my parents and stood in total amazement over what had just transpired.  I had to remind myself that he hadn’t see me in three days, the longest we’ve ever been apart since he was born, his mommy wasn’t there to take care of him when he was sick, Grams was in town from Texas, Grandma and Grandpa, whom he hadn’t seen in weeks were back from Florida and this new little “thing” was here in HIS house! That is quite an overwhelming day for anyone let alone a 2 ½ year old.

After a little time to himself to cool off he came downstairs and joined us.  He crawled quietly up on my lap and proceeded to snuggle.  I was so thankful for that moment.  After my parents held, kissed and gushed over their new granddaughter they departed for their home and left us to unwind and relax.  Well the next morning when my husband woke up with a fever and vomiting the unwinding and relaxing came to a halt. Yep, he caught Sam’s bug! Thank GOD his mom was staying with us a few days more because George was downright sick.  We quarantined him to the bedroom and away from the baby.  Later that night, looking like a zombie, he joined us downstairs for a late movie.  He was feeling better, just really tired.  So of course when I woke up on Friday I too was sick with a fever and feeling awful, but luckily I didn’t have all the other stuff.  PHEW! But I too was quarantined away from the baby.  There’s nothing quite like coming home with a new baby and having the flu sweep through the house.  I am so thankful Peggy never got sick, she truly was a blessing that week.   

So two years later our little Mary is still our "baby" and is such a sweetie, with this tiny voice, beautiful smile, golden curls with killer dance moves.  Even though it’s been a struggle getting Sam used to the fact this “Little Sister” thing isn’t going anywhere, he’ll be the first and the loudest to tell you how much he loves her.  She is just wrapped so tight around all our hearts.  Our kids are truly God’s blessing to us and even though I don’t need a birthday to remind me of that fact, it’s birthdays that really make it hit your heart. 

Happy 2^nd birthday to my "Tiny Dancer"

Mommy, Daddy and Samuel love you very much

God Bless

~Andrea
 

Bad Day x2

Wednesday started out like any other, kids up watching cartoons, breakfast being made and grandparents arriving.  But this Wednesday was picture day for Mary’s 2^nd birthday!

You can imagine my excitement and trepidation when arriving to a photo studio with two kids at a very unpredictable behavioral age.  You just never know if you’ll get good pictures, smiles and cooperation.  Well I will just say that Mary did very well and her pictures turned out better then I imaged.  

After pictures we trucked it back to my house to pick up my dad for lunch at Olive Garden.  It’s hands down in my top five favorite restaurants plus my kids will eat spaghetti whenever it’s put in front of them.  Lunch went surprisingly well with both kids behaving and eating. The rest of the afternoon after the grandparents departure went smoothly, even when Mary refused to nap. 

So, you are probably wondering when this bad day will begin right?  Well, it began at the end.  8:30 bedtime had rolled around and I was chucking up this day as a good day; Mary went to bed without screaming (more on that in another blog), Sam was enjoying some last minute playtime with daddy and I had an important phone call with my best friend on the agenda after all the tucking in was complete.  It was a good day until I heard “thwack!” and Sam’s laughter turn to screams.

I ran into Sam’s room where I could hear daddy saying “Oh stop crying, you're fine it’s just you’re doll!” I said “What happened!?!” my husband was sort of giggling because he thought his son was being over sensitive to hit to the head with an oversized plush Diego doll. (They were at the beginning stages of a pillow/plush doll fight)  The microwave beeped and I went to get Sam’s milk when I heard my husband say “What the H_ll!” and I see a blur of man and boy rush to the bathroom.

I didn’t even know what was going so when I entered the bathroom to see blood gushing from my sons head, that was the last thing I expected to see.  Of course crying, screaming and panic was engulfing my 4 year old and we did all we could to remain calm, stop the bleeding and figure out what had happened.  I proceeded to ask my husband what they were doing prior to the blood and he explained that they were whacking each other with the large Diego doll and a Brutus Buckeye pillow when all this went down.

I ran and grabbed the Diego doll and started feeling around for anything that could have hurt my son.  Diego’s eyes are not hard like on some dolls, the entire doll is plush so it had to have been something sharp stuck to it but I couldn’t feel anything.  I took the doll into the bathroom where my husband still had my son on his lap holding a blood soaked towel to his head.  The bleeding thank God stopped quickly and my son began to calm.  I asked Sam what had hit him and he answered “my car hit me”.  You know you can see the same question marks above my head as I did.  How could a matchbox car hit him when daddy was using a doll to pillow fight with? Well this sneaky doll has pockets in his vest and shorts and Sam had forgot that he hid a matchbox car in one of Diego’s pockets which apparently is what hit Sam’s head and caused it to bleed so profusely.  After an hour of watching Nick Jr. and what could be discribed as a crime scene clean-up, we tucked him in for the night, kissed his head and sent him off to dream land.

After my phone call with my best friend I checked my social media accounts, turned off the TV and kissed my husband good night around 11:45.  At 1:15 AM my daughter cried out from her crib and we went to check on her.  She had kicked off her blankets and seemed more then irritated by this so we covered her up and kissed her back to sleep.  Until 1:27 AM reared its ugly head!

She was crying as if she was scared so I picked her up and started to rock and “ssshhh” her when a tiny little cough emitted followed by major vomit.  I won’t go into the gory details but let’s just say it was a lot and it wouldn’t stop coming.  She ended up vomiting so much that she started to heave.  Her pour little body was just racked with heaves and sobs.  After her stomach calmed a bit she just wanted held and we obliged.  While in our arms she stared to grunt in pain and more heaves followed by more grunts of pain.  Her little tummy was just a mess.  After an hour and half of heaves, grunts and sobs and mommy praying to our Lord to make her well she fell into a deep sleep and I gently returned her to her crib.  I too returned to my bed crawling in ever so silently so that I wouldn’t wake my husband.  He did after all still have to get up for work, but I secretly prayed that he would call off. 

Well both my prayers came true 4 hours later! She was feeling better, albeit tired, but better and my husband did indeed take off work.  Hallelujah!  He drove my son to preschool and let Mary and I rest in bed.  Later, he even took the kids downstairs with him so I could take a much deserved nap while he did school work. 

But even after all this blood and gore of the last 24 hours God spoke to me today through Matthew 8:1-3; it reads “When he [Jesus], came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if are willing, you can make me clean”.  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  “I am willing,” he said “Be clean!”  Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.”  When I read that from my daily reading plan (which are totally random daily picks from scripture) tears sprang to my eyes because I had prayed to God while rocking her “Please God, make her feel better” over and over again and He did! It also reminded me to check my worry at the door about any kind of relapse of stomach issues through tonight because she is indeed healed! God is so good!

I will leave you with this; never under estimate the power of Christ or the resilience of a child.

God Bless

~Andrea

Never a dull moment

So the morning started out like any other; kids waking, milk being poured and cartoons being turned on.  Then the excitement began to build when the kids learned of church friends coming over to play.  Pj’s came off, clothes went on and my shower began.  Once we were all dressed and my kids resumed their play I decided to tidy up.  So I turned from the bathroom to start my chores.

Turning my back and warning the kids to “chill out” while fighting over a toy was not my best decision as a mother.  Next I knew I had a four year old screaming for mommy and a two year old looking quite smug.  When I ran to see what was the matter Sam screamed to me through tears and hyper ventilating cries that Mary had bit his arm.  This takes place 10 minutes prior to our guest’s arrival, I prayed this wasn’t a bad sign.

After the first set of two kids showed up I put on a pot of coffee for us mommy’s and sat down to some adult conversation all the while talking over kids playing in toy heaven.  As us two mommies waited for the coming arrival of two more tots we continued to talk about Christmas preparations, travels and baking needs.   

Not only were my mommies happy to see other adult faces and voices but the kids were having an absolute blast! Pulling out this toy and Sam showing off that toy, the fun was non-stop.  About two hours went by when the littlest of the group started to get tired and fussy and the time started to show we had to shove off for our afternoon outing.  

As the mommies departed with their little ones I had forgotten to package up some cookies for them so I asked them to hold on while I ran to get the cookies.  I heard the kids outside running and playing while my kids looked on from the front door.  Then all got quite and screams started to emit from the front yard.  Sam said “Are you ok?” then the next thing I knew a mommy came running up the stars with her two and half year old daughter full of blood.  She had tripped and fell on our cement front step and hit head first. 

Between sobs and screams from the little girl my son started to cry and say “I don’t like this!” Sam was very afraid for his little friend. So, with too much blood which was nonstop and it being in the front of her head, her mommy prompted me to call 9-1-1.  Luckily we live 1 block from the fire station and they were at my house in a matter of minutes.

As the sirens grew closer my son, who LOVES fire trucks, started to cry and sob again as my daughter stood watching doing her best impression of a siren.  I started to chuckle because of my sons sobbing.  I was confused, I figured he would get a big kick out of the fire truck coming to our house but instead it scared him.  He said he was scared because his little friend was hurt; he likes to see them drive by, not stop at our house!  The firemen gave her a once over and decided she didn’t have a concussion, gave her mommy instructions to watch her pupils, make sure she doesn’t become lethargic or start vomiting and she would be just fine; she may have a nice size bruise and a headache. After the firemen drove off I realized they didn’t get her a band aide like they said they would, so I went inside and fetched one and placed it gently on her head.  After the commotion settled the mommies strapped their kids in their seats and headed off for their homes.

I went inside, got coats and shoes on and we headed out the door as well to play Santa to daddy’s co-workers.  I had hand dipped strawberries in dark and white chocolate and made the girls some bracelets.  Upon our arrival to the bank where daddy works, Sam spotted a Target and shouted with excitement that he wanted to go in.  I had to get diapers so I shrugged and said “Sure, why not.” 

Once inside Target, Sam was overjoyed at the $1 Spot selections and wanted me to purchase just about everything! After about 15 minutes of “No’s” he finally gave up and decided to walk towards the baby section.  Of course you know it’s Christmas time and there can’t be an aisle without a toy in it right? Same goes for the diaper section.  Sam spotted this Spiderman shaving kit for kids.  It had shaving foam, a fake razor, a badger brush and a comb.  He immediately thought of the scene in “Home Alone” where Kevin McCallister is singing “White Christmas” into his comb in the mirror.  He begged and begged and begged for it.  I was giggling and figured it’s only $3.49 what the heck, it will be entertainment for both of us!

Once home and Mary was napping the shaving shenanigans began.  He had to have a mirror, check! A step stool, check! A towel around his waist, check! He was ready to begin his shaving and grooming! I of course got pictures and video of him singing “White Christmas”.  He starts out with “Doot doot, dootie dootie do” and then finishes off with “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree!”  He had a blast and I had several laughs.

So, even when a scary situation arises, my son can always be counted on to bring comic relief.  And of course a big glass of red wine once kiddos are asleep helps as well!

God Bless

~Andrea

Visit with Santa 2011

It’s that time of year again where Santa has come to town to hear all the little boys and girls requests, not matter how large or small.  He parks his reindeer, grabs his bag of yummy goodies and maybe even takes a gulp of hot cocoa before sitting down in his oversized red velvet chair to greet hundreds of wide eyed children.  Unfortunately some of the wide eyes are eyes of fear and tears and no one was a more perfect example then our little Mary Tuesday when it was her turn to see Santa.

Yep, you guessed it, Mary was TERRIFIED of Santa!  The terror came quickly and most unexpectedly.  She was just waiting patiently in her Pooh Bear umbrella stroller with her big brother by her side, she even waved to Santa at one point; then it was her turn and she just lost it.  I went to unbuckle her from her stroller and I hear “No, No, NO, NO, NOOOOO!” Sam on the other hand had practically ran to sit on Santa’s lap while Mary was left behind leaping into daddy’s arms full of sobs and dread.  She wouldn’t even take her head of daddy’s shoulder to even look at Santa.  So daddy strapped her back in her stroller and away they went.  As daddy strolled away, giggling at his daughter’s dread, Sam just sat up on Santa’s lap rambling off his requests.  High priority on the toy list this year is a remote control car. 

Now, we’ve seen Santa two times prior to this visit in hopes of dispelling any sort of apprehensions the kids may have,  get familiar with Santa so that we wouldn’t have tears on the day we dressed up and took the official Santa picture.  Can we say BACKFIRE!? Well each time Sam saw Santa he always a bit shy, putting his fingers in his mouth and talking almost inaudibly all the while wrapped up in excitement to tell Santa his toy list. 

As a side note; the first time Sam saw Santa he said he wanted a remote control car but then the two following requests got weird, I think out of nervousness.  He mentioned he wanted a dancey guy (which I knew was this dancing elf he saw at Home Depot) and a horse.  A horse!?!?! Really? A horse?!?!?! Second time we met Santa he opened with wanting a remote control car and the rest was too faint to hear due to other kids nearby.  Third time, this past Tuesday, he said again he wanted a remote control car, 5 cars and 2 ramps? Aaaah, the idea’s that run through a 4 year olds mind.  I even found an app on my phone that “calls Santa” directly and you can leave a message for him and he mentioned the 5 cars and 2 ramps.  We’ll see if Grandpa can whip something up.

So we left the mall with a picture of Sam smiling on Santa’s lap, a sobbing toddler girl and two disheartened parents.  But we figured maybe she was just tired and we’d try again when Grandma and Grandpa came the next day. 

So when grandma and grandpa arrived yesterday we left for the mall immediately to get there right at 10am.  Well everyone must have had that thought as the line was about 50 people long.  So to keep things (or I should say kids) under control, grandma and grandpa walked them around the mall a few laps.  After about 20 minutes in line we were next.  I had grandma and grandpa stand over to the side of the Santa exhibit and when it was time for the kids to sit with Santa we did a “Mary handoff”.  Before Mary knew what was going on the handoff was made, I immediately felt arms squeeze my next and screeches of fear emit from my babe’s mouth.  Once we reached Santa’s lap I placed her in his arms and the wiggling to be free began.  I coaxed her into sitting still and Santa helped with his friendly “Hello” and Sam even chimed in with an “It’s ok Mary, Santa loves us”.  After about 3-4 minutes, she calmed down, relaxed and even smiled long enough to get a good photo!

So after two days, many tears and a few screams of sheer terror we had achieved success! Its times like these I’m thankful I started up my blog once again.  These are the memories we tend to forget and that I’ll children will love to hear once they’re older. 

Merry Christmas and God Bless

~Andrea

P.S. Here’s our successful Santa picture!