Zoo Boo

Melane and I took the kiddos to Zoo Boo at the Frank Buck Zoo on Saturday. The kids had a great time. Carly wasn't really scared of the costumes with the exception of one mask from Scream which actually was kind of creepy. What did scare her you ask? The giraffe. Nope, not the monsters, it was the friggin zoo employee dressed up like a giraffe. Uh, Valium please.

Musical Beds

One question- why am I blogging at 2:30 am when I have to be up at 5 am to get ready for work? One answer- I am idiot and a pushover. My kids are in my bed, both lying sideways, leaving no room for momma. Carly sleeps with me on the nights Kenneth is gone, we have always done that. Anna woke up with a wet diaper and wet clothes and wet sheets. Why all of the sudden did the diapers start leaking? Who knows but of course it couldn't happen during the day, oh no, only at 2 am. So after changing her diaper and clothes she was wide awake so I gave her a bottle and she went back to sleep but rather than changing her sheets I put her in my bed. So they both turn sideways and here I am, no place to sleep at 2:30am. I turn them back the right way, they turn back sideways. It is a conspiracy, I'm convinced! I think I'll go lay in Carly's bed because hey, musical beds is fun in the wee hours of the night, right? Yeah, I know, it's my fault that they end up in my bed. I think I should just remove the furniture from my room and make the whole room one big mattress because with the way these girls sleep our king size will never be big enough. I suppose I'll stop griping now, at least they are sleeping...

The Tubes Are In

Anna got her tubes in yesterday. Other than being up all night the night before and having to leave the house at 5am things went well. Her left ear was worse than the right and she had some abscess in her left. Dr. Price opened and drained that and said it should heal on its own. I am so glad we went ahead with the tubes because that probably would not have ever healed with oral antibiotics. The left ear is still draining quite a bit but they said that is to be expected. Anna was such a different child yesterday. She laughed more, played more, and was already making more sounds. She was back to the old Anna, the one doesn't constantly fuss. She must have been hurting so bad, my poor baby! I am so glad she is on the mend. Carly spent Monday night with my parents and wore them out. I try to have her in bed at 8:30 but she was apparently still going strong at 11:30 for them. She loves her Nana and Pops and never seems to get enough of them. We carved pumpkins last night with Carly and the neighbor kids. They had fun and I was proud of my carving skills. This was my first carve ever. Growing up, my parents always did them and Kenneth has done them since we have been married. Our Safety Patrol, Carly, was quite worried about lighting the candles in them for fear they would catch on fire. I'm pretty sure a Valium salt lick is in that kid's future. She is so nervous about everything. I used to really worry about her worrying so much (wonder where she gets it) but am pleased to say it seems she is getting a little better as time passes by. She still asks every time I'm driving, "Momma, are you driving perfect?" She is still convinced a speeding ticket=jail time. I am happy to say I have not been pulled over again and have really tried to reform my driving. I can't really help it if my foot is made of lead...

My Treasures

We went to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. I was so excited to finally get to go this year. 2 years ago I was at a wedding shower that I did not want to miss and last year I was enjoying those fine days of never ending hospitalization. We all had a great time and were all worn out by the time it was over. It is refreshing that people still do things like pumpkin patches and keep them affordable so that most people can enjoy them. It was also nice to see so many parents out there with their kids and really enjoying their kids. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our


daily lives and getting the kids up and dressed and off to school and so on that we forget to really just enjoy them. Maybe not everybody is that way but I know I am guilty of it a lot of the time. Kids are given to us as a gift and we should love and enjoy them as such. (Don't get me wrong, there are still those days when I want to hang them up by their toes!) I just see my friends who would give anything to have a child and it makes me realize how lucky I am for the 2 I have and how I need to treasure them!!

The Brady Bill?

There have been a lot of things going on around here lately but there has been one thing that has not happened at all- SLEEP. I am so crabby and I need some zzzz more than I think I ever have before in my life. I fell asleep in a meeting at work yesterday and required an energy drink to recover. Anna has been up about every hour all night for the past 4-5 nights. She has ear infections in both ears which are not getting any better with antibiotics. We took her tot he ENT on Monday and he wanted to put her tubes in the next day. Our damn insurance requires some 3 day waiting period to give authorization so it won't be until next Tuesday. I was so irritated. It's not like we were some crazed lunatics trying to buy some high powered automatic weapon. I never knew the Brady Bill applied to tubes in the ears but apparently according to our insurance it does. The good news is that we have met out total out of pocket for the year so the procedure and all related costs will be covered at 100%- yippee!! The weather has been beautiful and we are so thankful for that. We kept our niece and nephew last weekend and spent a lot of time outside. The kids really enjoyed it. I did too and I hope the nice weather continues. My BIL made it home from Afghanistan and I am so happy for that. There were a few snaffoos with him getting home but he made it and only 1 day late. I am proud of him and his service to this country as well as for all of the other soldiers. I have much to be thankful for as God continues to bless us in our daily lives.

The Best Welfare Plan- Get A Job

The fun just never stops around here. So Carly started feeling bad Sunday before last and I decided from her complaints that she had a bladder infection. She gets them all of the time and I know the drill- no Dr. appointment necessary- or so I thought. I had her usual antibiotic called in and started her on it right away and was giving her Tylenol and Motrin to keep her fever down. She went to Oklahoma City with her friend Elaina on Monday to see Veggie Tales live and then proceeded to start puking on the way home and puked the whole way home. When she gets high fevers she pukes so I still was not panicking but I felt horrible for Elaina's parents who were forced to clean my kids puke for about 2 1/2 hrs. They were so sweet about it though. She continued to have fever Tuesday and Wednesday and I couldn't take her to the Dr. on Wednesday because Dr. Klein does not work on Wednesdays. So finally on Thursday she was looking close to death and complaining of having a dry mouth and lips so I knew dehydration was on its way. Dr. Klein changed her antibiotic and then wanted to see her back the next day if she wasn't significantly better. She wasn't- still spiking temps of 104 and shivering... He sent her for some labs and as luck would have it we ended up in the ER instead. I was so proud of Carly. She hardly cried when they started her IV (due to some serious bribery from her Nana but hey, I'm not above bribery). The nurses and Dr. were so very nice and after some IV antibiotics we were on our way. She was so much better after that and has been ok since. Nothing is ever easy with us , I swear. She looks ok in the picture but that was after Motrin and lots of stickers. She was looking at my mom while we were in the ER and said the funniest thing. My mom had a really bad wreck a few years back and after reconstructive surgery had her eyebrows removed and then tattooed on because after the surgeries they were not even. She then pencils them in a bit over the tattoo and they look pretty good. That particular night they were kind of purple looking- I'm not sure why. Carly looks at my mom and says, "Nana, do every body's eyebrows turn purple after their fur falls out?" Anna continues to do well. She never ceases to amaze us with her continued progress. I cleaned house today and Kenneth worked out in the yard. It isn't often that the inside and outside both look really good at the same time. My BIL gets home from Afghanistan on Sunday. I am so excited for my sister and her kids. I cannot imagine being without my hubby for 6 months- she has done a phenomenal job of going it alone! I work the next couple of days and then we will probably go to Depot Days this weekend. We had this crazy lady at work (recurrent theme, I know) who was brought in by EMS. She had quit taking her blood pressure medicine because she ran out and was instead taking her friend's medicine. Keep in mind she did not know what her friend was on, but she reasoned all blood pressure meds must be the same. (Note to self- crack does bad things to your reasoning skills.) This lady is 45 and has already had 2 strokes due to her crack use. Anyway, she was crying to the doctor about how poor she is and how she cannot afford the $4 for her meds. The doctor was awesome. He says, "Do you by chance grow your own crack?" She says, "How do you know I smoke crack?" He says, "I saw your drug screen and again I ask you do you grow your own crack?" She replies, "No!!" He then says,"Well, you afford your crack then so afford your blood pressure meds." I loved it. I get so sick of people who can afford their drugs, beer, and cigarettes, but cannot spend $4 on meds. They would rather spend our tax dollars sitting in the hospital and blaming society for them not having a job and not being able to afford anything (except the above mentioned items). If I have to take a drug test to get/keep my job and make money shouldn't those on welfare have to take a drug test before they get the money I had to pass a drug test to make? I once heard a patient's thug daughter say, "Say, y'all gots any free foods around here. I'm tard (tired) of spendin all my muney to buy food fer me." Are you kidding me? What a shame- you have to feed yourself, WTH...

Introducing Anna's First Fat Roll

Do you think a week will ever exist when both of my children are well? Last week it was Anna's ear infection and this week it's Carly's bladder infection. They have both been troopers though, especially Carly who has even taken 3AM trips to Wal-Mart with me when her fever hit 104 and we were out of Motrin. Isn't it just like a man to not tell you he used the last of the Motrin and you discover it at 3AM and he volunteers to stay with the baby and sleep while you get up and dressed and go on a shopping trip? Oh well, he tries. I can't gripe too much. He is a wonderful husband and father and he can't help those things which genetics prevent men from "getting." We had a great neurologist visit last week. We were told that kids just don't go from high tone to near normal tone but that is what Anna has done. With good nutrition and an awesome God who heard our cries and answered our prayers it looks like our little girl will be able to overcome most, if not all, of the obstacles she has faced in her life. We couldn't be happier. We have also begun to finally see good weight gain in Anna on the Elecare. She finally has a fat roll on her legs!!!! I knew all along she was not getting enough nutrition but I had no idea what a difference it could make. She still only takes about 4 oz at a time but it is 4 oz she can process and use. Please keep your prayer engines running, it appears it is working...