365/59 All 6 - 12 times #2

Us Right Now:

Rich
The ickies that have been going around our house finally got him. He was working from home today but crashed near the end of the day, needing a nap before he could finish his work.

Moe
February has been the month of sickness in our house and I have been nursing everyone back to health. I have had a sinus headache plaguing me for the better part of 2 weeks now. Let’s hope March treats us all better.

Jake
The snow has been kind to him; he and Meg have a recurring job with the neighbor to shovel her driveway. He has been enjoying swim gym at school; his favorite reason to live here.

Megan
After opening her very own blog for her stories she developed writers block. She has art class this semester and has also been drawing more. She was not thrilled to have art, but is making the most of it

Chloe
Was happy to be able to return to school this week after have a few days off due to having Croup. Her sore nose seems to have healed up nicely, thanks to bag balm.

Sydney
After coming down with Croup, her surgery has been delayed until the end of March. She is really enjoying school; she’s excited now when I drop her off. That’s progress.

I am Thankful Week 8

Journaling reads:

I am thankful for medication!

With all the sickness going through our house as of late how could I not be thankful for the medications. They have got me through the day without the sinus headache that could bring me to my knees. They have helped me sleep without a stuff nose. But the most helpful has been the medicine to stop my jaw pain. Thank you very much.

365/58 Making Rainbows; I mean Earth’s layers

MJ and I are making Rainbow Cupcakes for a extra credit class assignment on the Earth’s layers.  I’m not so sure they will look like the Earth layers when there done but they are tasty. I’m sure her classmates won’t mind.

An email I received from MJ’s teacher this afternoon:

Thank you so much for the earthcakes today!  What a delicious extra-credit project – the class loved them!

Thanks again!

Barb J

They were pretty without frosting

365/57 Cuddling

When these two are feeling icky they like to be cuddled. Usually they both are not feeling icky at the same time but this has been a long few weeks of the ickies going around our house. Syd had a mostly full night of sleep, but woke early, 6:30ish. She has been feverish and coughing a lot this morning, will this croup ever go away? CJ is just about over her cold, thank goodness one of them is on the mend. I’m ready for spring!

365/56 No nap for me

About the scare referred to in the last post: At about 7:15 this morning Hubby woke me to tell me goodbye. Syd was sleeping next to me and we both notice she was breathing differently, I thought she was stuffy; Hubby thought she was snoring.  She had a rattle to her breathing. I laid there dosing on and off and listened to her. About 8:45 she woke up and was still breathing raspy.  She coughed like a seal a couple times which scared her and started crying which made it worse.  She was having a hard time breathing. I got a tad panicked at this point and scooped her up and took her down stairs to call the Doctor.  There   was a student at her school this week with RSV which she was expose to. So I didn’t know if it was Croup again or RSV.  I called and the nurse calmed me and set up an appointment for this morning. I got Syd calmed down and her breathing even out.  By the time we got to the Doctors office she was nearly normal and I thought I may have overreacted. She does have the Croup again and this time she got a steroid shot.  Hopefully  it will kick in and she won’t have breathing problems tonight.

As for my nap… Only MJ rode the bus home which meant JD had to be picked up around 4:00.  Once I picked him up, he needed to pick up new swimming goggles and we didn’t arrive back home until 4:30. I took a hot shower and called it good. I’ll go to bed early tonight {maybe}.

365/55 insomniac child

We have had a very long week of sickness and Syd’s insomnia.  She goes for weeks with no problems sleeping and then for a week straight she is up in the middle of the night for hours and hours. This would night 4 of this.

We put her to bed around 7:30 and she was asleep within 15 minutes like normal. She woke at 11:15 and I brought to our bed hoping she would cuddle up and go back to sleep. But that did not happen for a long long time!  It was 4:40 when I heard her finally start to snore just a bit.  During those long  5 hours Hubby slept most of the night {with the exception of dealing with CJ at midnight and 2 am dog duty}, I fell in and out of sleep about a jazillion times. Syd flipped, flopped,  stood up, jumped, babbled, poked, kicked, uncovered, recovered, played with my hair; basically she was a ball of motion. I grabbed my Iphone when I woke and realized she had her legs flopped over Hubby’s shoulder {can’t believe he can sleep through this}.  She moved them just before I snapped this photo.

{Technically this was probably taken on Friday but I’m so sleep deprived and living on caffeine. Right now it is 1:33 Friday afternoon and seems like Thursday never ended to me} On top of all that Syd gave us a real scare this morning {I’ll explain in Friday’s post.} I’m taking a nap as soon as the older kids get off the bus; just got to hold on for a couple more hours

Oh, Syd and CJ show no signs of exhaustion at all they are bouncing off the walls. I don’t know how Syd can function on so little sleep.

 

365/54 Okay this was a surprise

I have a nasty cold/sinus infection. I’m not sure which it is but it is no fun.  I went to the doctor today thinking I would get some antibiotics for a sinus infection but was told that the pain in my face might be cased by a slightly dislocated jaw hinge! What?  “How can this happen?” I asked him.

1- yawning widely (maybe)

2- Clenching teeth in your sleep (dentist thinks I do this)

3- firm pillow (yep)

4- sleeping with your hand under your face (yep)

And doing the last three all at the same time could make this happen.  Who knew. It just happens that I also have a stuffy head at the same time; not connected to the jaw pain.  His solution is for me to take Ibuprofen throughout the day,  a muscle relaxer at bedtime, sleep with a softer pillow,  give it time {up to month}, and be careful what I eat {hard food will make it hurt more.}

The pain is mild to annoying most of the time but chewing seems to be the worst. Not good, a girl’s gotta eat!  Protein shake anyone?  Can you combine a muscle relaxer with Nyquil?  I think I’ll skip the Nyquil for tonight and suffer with a stuffy, I can’t breathe nose.

365/53 More Delays

I got a call late last week from the surgical scheduler  and guess what, Syd’s surgery has to be rescheduled again.  Okay, for those of you keeping track this will be the 3rd time we have had to reschedule this surgery; twice she has been bumped for more serious patients and once she got sick the day before. As of today she is scheduled for March 28th, the first day of spring break of us.  That makes spring break plans a no go, but the thoughts of a water park were dashed by the first reschedule due to restrictions with Syd and water. On the brighter side, this will give her a week to recover and she won’t miss school.

365/52 Poor thing

CJ will not be going to school in the morning, she is still coughing and has a runny nose.  She even looks sick, her eyes are red rimmed and the spot between her nose and lip is bright red. She has been running from the tissue every time I tell her to wipe her nose; the poor thing. I think someone has been under the weather in our house since the beginning of the year!

365/51 Recovery

After Hubby’s race yesterday his knee was acting up again. {His Iliotibial Band to be exact.} He has had problems with his knee for the last few weeks and after the race he was really hobbling around. He purchased this foam roller to do specific exercises to strengthen his Iliotibial band. Syd had a great time with this exercise. I’m not sure if the extra weight help his knee but she really loved it. He tells me his knee feels better after doing the exercises recommended for this type of ailment. I just hope he can get this healed and still train for his marathon.

I am thankful week 7

Journaling reads:

I am thankful for my one & only boy.

These days he is reluctant to get his picture taken. He is 14 with all the teenager stuff weighing on his mind. He is kind to his sisters most of the time. He even has moments when he does his chores without being nagged; though they are fleeting.

I love him for everything he is & for everything I know can be. We may not see eye to eye but I do know that in the end he will make the right choice and do the right thing.

For those moments when the stars align just right & we get along & have a good laugh I am thankful. He is still my little boy even though is mere inches from being taller than me.

365/50 Greer Bros. back in action

For those who don’t know, I’m in training for the Bayshore marathon in Traverse City at the end of May.  I’ve been diligently logging my miles during the week with a long run each weekend. 

For this weekend’s run, my brother Michael and I (a.k.a Greer Bros. Racing) signed up for a race in Mt. Pleasant, the Ice Cube Half Marathon.  The picture below is the long sleeve t-shirt that I received for signing up.

The weather was a little windy (15+ mph winds at times) making it a little cold (with wind chill, it felt like 10 degrees).  Overall though, it was really sunny and there was a good turnout for this time of year (140+ people) so it was a great day for running.  But then again, what day isn’t a great day for running?

This is my 3rd 1/2 marathon in the last 3 years but my first road race (previous 2 were trail races).  And the miles I’ve been putting in this winter are paying off.  It’s not apples-to-apples to compare the trail races to this one but overall, I think I still ran my best race at this distance yet.  I was able to maintain a fairly consistent pace throughout, ran a little faster overall than expected, and was able to finish strong.  The strong finish is owed in part to a couple of guys that past me about mile 8.  I kept them in my sights the whole rest of the way and even tried to catch them in the last couple of miles.  Unfortunately for me, they still had some kick left too and I didn’t quite catch them even though I ran about 20-30 seconds/mile faster the last 2 miles.  On the bright side, I did pass 3 other people while chasing those 2 guys so I maintained my relative finishing place.  For someone who hates to be passed, I have to take solace where I can find it.

Official results aren’t posted yet but I ran a 1:54 and Michael ran a 1:59.  I’m not fast enough to be competitive for my age group but Michael is, so there might need to be an update to this post to link to the results if Michael placed high enough.

Note to Ed B. – notice this is a picture of me NOT in a sweatshirt.  Inside joke…

365/49 Off to a party

MJ has a friend’s birthday party/slumber party to go to this evening.  It starts off with a formal dinner; hence the dress. We spent the morning creating the gift box topper with the Cricut and my Make the Cut software {I love this software!} MJ is super excited about it, I hope Jazzy likes it as well.

365/48 The Croup spreads

CJ woke this morning barking like seal. I figured it was just a matter of time; despite our best efforts the girls swap sippies all the time.  She had to miss school today which upset her more than her soar throat. I had to chuckle when she would cough and then tell me “I’m all better now, I can go to school.” A few minutes would go by and she would cough again and say “oh no, I’m sick again.”  I told it would take a couple days but she thinks she can get rid of it sooner. That is where she takes after her dad; thinking she has that much control over a virus

365/47 Family Desk

Because we don’t use our dining table to eat meals at {cream carpet & messy kids} it has become a temporary desk for the whole family. JD and MJ at one end and Hubby and I at the other. Not what I had planned for this beautiful table but it is what it is for now. Too much renovating to do before it is practical to get new flooring on the first floor.

365/46 Finally comfortable

It has only been 4 weeks since Syd started school. For the last 3 and a half it has broken my heart every time I dropped her off. She would scream and cry the whole time I walked down the long hall to leave. They told she calmed down with in 5 minutes but it was still hard for me to leave her.  This week has started a new stage for her,  She now runs down the hall and sits on her class bench all by herself. Removes her coat and boots and pushes me away when I try to kiss her goodbye.  I can not tell you how happy this makes me.  She loves school now!  Look at that smile!

365/45 Good news-Rescheduled

Today, while Syd was at school, the Surgical Scheduler called and let us know that the Doctor wanted to give Syd 3 weeks to completely heal from the Croup.  She is scheduled for surgery March 7th.  Let’s hope we all can stay healthy until then.

It is also good that we have not made concrete plans for spring break, there will be no water parks in the near future.  If I remember right when MJ had this surgery she could not wash her hair {the ear can’t get water in it} for 2 or 3 weeks. We will have to wait and see what the Doctor says.

I’m thankful Week 6

Journaling reads:

I’m thankful for the help Sydney is getting from ESA

Since Syd has started the ESA program her communication skills have improved greatly. She can’t speak yet but she is babbling more & more every day. She seems to be able to hold her frustration in check a bit more which give us more time to understand her needs. The school environment is a double edge sword though; she is getting the help she needs but she was most likely exposed to the Croup virus there that has delayed her surgery yet again. We just have to take the good with the bad in this case. The positives certainly out weigh the negatives for sure.

365/44 Just in the nick of time

Tonight MJ and I made up her Valentines for dance class and friends at school. I saw these in blog land awhile back and remembered the idea just in the nick of time {thank you Evernote}. Finished 45 of these in less than an hour, not bad for homemade Valentines.

Too bad I didn’t get to make these for CJ’s class. She was excited when I was getting shots of MJ so she posed for a picture with her fist out stretched as well. What a cutie!

365/43 Taken its toll

This virus has taken its toll on Syd. The seal bark is gone thanks to the meds the doctor prescribed but the Croup has turned into a nasty cold.  I tried several times to put her down for a nap but she would not have it even though I could see she was tired. She was so whipped by the afternoon she lay on the floor in the dining room and fell fast asleep. 

It seems that she has shared this little virus with the whole family. We all have cold mild symptoms starting.

365/42 A blog for MJ

MJ has dreams of becoming a fiction writer.  She has loved writing stories and poems for the last few years.  Her teachers have been very encouraging with the comments they put on her assignments: Great voice, great flow and such.  To celebrate her blooming talent for writing I have started a blog for her http://unpubbedstories.blogspot.com/ 

So far we have uploaded 3 short stories she has completed for assignments. The most recent one was a draft for an assignment due this week {changes must be made so she tells me.}  There is a link just below my banner at the top of the blog here {short stories by MJ}  Ultimately she would love to get constructive feed back from the “public” so she can improve her skills but please keep in mind she is a Jr High student. 

365/41 Croup delays Surgery

Late yesterday afternoon Syd started barking like a seal.  She was up very early this morning and the barking was worse.  I took her to her Peds Doctor and she put the breaks on the surgery.  Syd has Croup and the meds will take 24-48 hours to start relieving her of the coughing.  I’m waiting on a call back from the surgeon's scheduler for the new surgery date. We are hoping that he can find a hole in the schedule so we can get this done sooner than later.  I just hope she has a smoother night tonight.  I’ll keep you posted.

365/40 Packed & Ready?

Well, we are almost all packed for Syd’s surgery. We are nervous about it but know that it will be the best option for Syd.  She is coming out of her shell at school and getting used to the routines there. All this week she has not cried when I dropped her off; now that is great progress! Let’s hope by this time next week I’m telling you she can hear better!

365/39 Training blues

Hubby has taken to his elliptical  machine in his “office” to get his Marathon training in now that the heavy snow is covering the sidewalks.  The city has yet to clear them but they will as soon as  all the streets are cleared.  He has been getting his workouts done in the evening lately as Syd has not been giving us restful nights.

365/38 The pick up face

Every time I pick up Syd from school She bursts out of her classroom; as soon as she spots me she sprints into my arms with a big grin on her face.  The Para Professionals have a hard time keeping up with her.  I it is nice to be loved and missed so much.

Just 4 days and she will have surgery on her ear(s).

I’m Thankful - Week 5

Journaling reads:

I’m thankful … that I’m not a single parent

There are just sometimes when I cannot image doing this on my own. As a stay at home mom the 24/7/365 shift at times can be overwhelming.
This week I’ve been worrying about Syd’s upcoming surgery and my patience for the little  things wore a bit thin.
Rich swept in and occupied the little ones while I just sat and watched them together. 
It may not seem like much but little breathers like this give me the ability to get up to do it all again the next day. An extra long hot shower without an audience of little ones helps too.

365/37 Steelers still rule!! (next year for sure)

Today’s picture is of my buddy Tate and myself watching the Super Bowl at his house.  Tate and his wife invited our family over to watch the big game and let the kids run amok.

Other than the outcome of the game (31-25 Green Bay victory), it was a great time and we’re glad to have such good friends to spend time with.

In all honesty, I probably would have felt bad (at least for a couple of minutes) if the Steelers had pulled out a victory in the last 2 minutes because they really didn’t deserve it.  You can’t have 3 turnovers of your own while not forcing a single turnover (where was the real Steel Curtain defense?) and expect to win.

There’s a couple other bright spots in this cloud as well.  My buddy Zack is a die hard Packer fan so I’m happy for him.  And the Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl win and MVP trophy should remove any doubts of those in Green Bay thinking that Brett Favre should still be their QB.

365/36 Meet me in your dreams

At bedtime tonight CJ told me she was going to the ballet. I told her that it was bedtime so she could go to the ballet  only in her dreams. She got excited and said "come to the ballet in your dreams and we can go  to the  ballet together!" Ahh, if it were only that easy.

365/35 Favorite toy of the moment

I marvel at how Syd can be so content just simply lining up the  Little People over and over again {a tad OCD?}  These batter and chewed on little toys {Ruby’s favorite snack} are Syd’s favorite for the moment.

365/34 Working hard for the neighbor

Today JD and MJ were tasked with removing the 4 foot pile of snow at the end of the neighbor’s drive.  It was the stuff the snow plows left after clearing the road so it was heavy wet snow.  They both did it without complaint but they were exhausted when they returned.  Great job!

365/33 Blizzard day

Last night we were hit with “Blizzard” conditions.  Schools are closed, Hubby is working from home and the dishwasher repair guy canceled for today and we reschedule tomorrow. {dishwasher is making a loud noise and is still under warranty so it is a good time to get it checked out}. It is pretty if you don’t have to drive in it.  Now we just need to suit the older kids up and get the driveway and walk cleared {they are so looking forward to the task, NOT}

365/32 What exciting news

Depending on how large of screen you have you might read the title and see the picture  and get the wrong idea so lets clear it up right now: 

NO, I’M NOT PREGNANT!

4 is the perfect number of kids for us!

But my brother and his wife are and I got the best photo in my inbox tonight. An ultrasound pic of my NEPHEW, AKA “George Jr.”  I hear that my brother, Brent, can not stop smiling and telling the world the great news. Mom and big sis are pretty jazzed as well. Lu Bean wanted a little brother from the beginning. We are expecting this little guy this summer. {fingers are crossed that he stays put until then} 

I have the urge to go buy adorable baby boy clothes right now!