7 Quick Takes: Sick House, Paint Decision and Conner Might Be Naked... Edition

--1--

New appointment, thanks to Donya for Conner's testing: June 16th. God heard your prayers and put Donya in action.

--2--

I don't have a clue how I've even made it through the last 2 weeks. It feels like a month, without weekends... 

What I realize now is how I never once just gave up and it wasn't even a thought! I just did and stopping wasn't even an option. I have held children down, wrestled them for 10 minutes just to get 5 ml of Tylenol/Ibuprofen/Amoxil/Cepha and Imodium more times than I even want to remember. At some point, I was carrying around the oral dispensers in my bra pocket, just so I'd remember to A) dose a child and B) wash them correctly in the kitchen. 

And then there was the yeast infection that came back because Chase was on antibiotics, and it took two grown people just to change his diaper and lube him up. I guess Monistat hurts (yup, we didn't bother with the Rx this time... just over the counter ladies' stuff)? Maybe it was the rash that was so sensitive? Either way... that boy gave me one heckofa fight.

I've washed and bleached and sanitized about 300% more things than in a normal week.

I've seen higher temps from both of my children than ever before.

I stayed up just to make sure Conner was breathing right... for hours... and never really thought of the missed sleep...

Then finally last night, I realized I haven't been sleeping well and my back hurts, and that it's been like this for a week, but that I am just now really paying attention to it. Guess this is what happens when your wee ones get sick.

--3--

The day before Conner starting showing signs of being sick, Chase was still having tummy problems from the antibiotics, and as a result needed a bath due to a "mess"... BUT! I was smack in the middle of making my Mom's World Famous Chicken Roll-Ups (maybe I should post the recipe...) and was in a time crunch. The chicken had to marinade for at least 20 minutes in the frig, and I hadn't shredded it yet.

So... with baby in the bath, I brought my culinary-ness to the bathroom. Yes, sounds gross... but dinner was delicious AND on time:

--4--

Conner started wearing my boots around the house. Too bad he doesn't wear them with pants (or that he isn't trying to shove his brother in the shower...):

 Of course those are real shorts.... his mother did not just draw those on in under 30 seconds in Photoshop Elements... Conner always has pants on...

--5--

Have you ever TASTED Pedialyte? Shiver. It's reminiscent of the goop they make you drink for the glucose test during pregnancy.

I found that mixing 2/3 orange Pedialyte with 1/3 red gatorade (and an extra splash for good luck)(and less vomit) and served extra-chilly makes the kids NOT gag, and actually rather much like it. 

Win.

--6--

You know what is one thing people never mention pre-children that they should? (Obviously, there are about 2.7 trillion answers to this question - like how I forgot/didn't know to warn Michael that there would be placenta. I just thought he knew.... Oops.)

The fact I would've like to have known: How many times you will be head-butted in the nose, eye socket, foreheard.

Like, that's just something I would have wanted a warning for. I could've sharpened my reaction time or something... Or bought a face guard and helmet.

--7--

We decided on Blue Opal (Behr.com):

The circled picture with the flowers is also Blue Opal, as is the swatch with the 'X' on it. I'm sorry for assuming everyone is a moron and couldn't figure that out on their own. Just one of those days.

For more Quick Takes visit the Conversion Diary.

Left Field

Had I of attempted this blog post on Tuesday, it wouldn't have made any sense. It's apparently really difficult to compose a complete thought when your mind is racing 1,000 mph towards No Where Land.

But, I didn't want to leave you guys in the dark, dearest Internet Family. I conferred with a good friend, as she agreed that although blogging would help me deal with the problem at hand, I was still concerned with sounding alarmist - and it would be best to wait for more information.

I did, and I am glad. Again, it would've just been a crossword puzzle of "what?", and now I have a tiny bit of perspective and a grasp of what's going on. I knew my family needed the power of prayer, and that is why I choose to publish the elusive "Pray for Conner" post. Thank you guys sooooo much for obliging. We have ONCE AGAIN felt your prayers and thoughts. 

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Conner came down with what appeared to be the exact same thing Chase had last week. On Monday night, he spiked a 104.5 fever (auxiliary = 105.5+) after being on 2 doses of antibiotics. Classic Chase problem. I knew that had I of brought Conner in before we had antibiotics called-in by my Dr.-in-law, they would have simply prescribed him the antibiotics anyways, so I opted to forgo an unnecessary extra Peds appointment.

After his fever spiked like it did, I knew it was time to call the Pediatrician and get the same Rocephin shot that Chase had. So, by lunch on Tuesday, there we were sitting in Dr. McWooHoo's (my new pediatrician at the same practice - SAH-woon over this man. He's simply amazing.) office waiting on the strep test - Positive. 

Duh, Amanda.

But... Conner's breath sounds aren't Kosher and although we already had a Culprit for the fever and swollen glands, Dr. McWooHoo decides he thinks Conner needs a chest x-ray.

"Greeeat. Another chest x-ray... sheesh.." I think to myself...

Conner gets one EVERY SINGLE TIME he gets sick and we actually make it to the Peds office (noteworthy: having a doctor in the family, we don't go every time Conner gets sick OR I WOULD LIVE THERE). And every time? It comes back with something.

So, we x-ray and wait.

By the time Dr. McWooHoo is ready to see Conner again to look at the x-ray, Conner's fever is starting to climb again. He's coughing, he is marbled and shaking. I hold him as the doctor comes in and starts explaining what he's found.

"He also has pneumonia," he explains.

"Really? Wow," I look at him and then to Conner and say "Ge'ez kid, again?? What's with you and the pneumonia?" rhetorical question, obviously as Conner is shaking so badly I don't think it's physically possible for the sound waves to have a fighting chance at making it to his tiny ear drums.

The doctor looks at me, puzzled and a little surprised. "Again? How many times has he...." it is then that Dr. McWooHoo starts combing through Conner's tiny little medical records, a far cry from his younger brother's phonebook....

Dr. McWooHoo is counting on his fingers as lung-related diseases are mounting on his hands....

He turns to me, and starts explaining to me a whole slew of things that I begin to jumble up after he says "I'm referring you to Children's Hospital in Birmingham" and the words "Cystic Fibrosis testing".

He mentions "low weight/height percentiles" and how Conner has never had a clean chest x-ray. I'm in my head going over how Conner always has a cough, like ALWAYS, and how he snores and is gets tired easilyoften . He'll go to the playground and tell Michael and I after 5 minutes "I'm tired, can we go home?"

 I hold it together, nod and pull Conner a little closer. It's like a nightmare is starting over again, but with a different child.

The doctor is writing very quickly and leaves after playing with Chase - which was a great little distraction. We have to wait 15 minutes after the Rocephin shot to make sure Conner doesn't have any adverse reactions. During that 15-minutes, Conner's fever gets back up to 104 auxiliary; he is shaking even more and vomitting. A wonderful nurse comes in to stay with us, gives us Tylenol and helps me with Conner (she kept asking him to look at her, and she was checking for seizures). I got him and Chase to the car soon thereafter.

It took me all of 4 seconds to break down in tears. Loading his limp, burning body into the car did me in, and I started the car and cried. I called Michael and explained we'd be going back to Children's Hospital and tried to recollect any information Dr. McWooHoo gave me.

We get home, I put Conner down for a nap and then Chase. He sleeps off his fever, runs a small one that night and by the next day (yesterday - Wednesday), his fever is gone as was expected. His breathing was the same and possibly a little worse. The pediatrician and I debate a comparison chest x-ray, but decide to change his antibiotics (again...) instead. 

On Tuesday night, I wrote the prayer request post and told a few close (mostly on FB) friends some of what was happening. Donya, a good friend from UA, just happened to be online and I shared our story with her. I can not tell you how amazing she is, and how awesome God's hand was in this, but she just so happened to be the perfect person to tell Conner's story to. She knew a pulmonology (lung disorders specialist) nurse at Children's.

Um, wow.

Then, she tells me last night that she has the nurse of a Pulmonologist's name and direct line number and is expecting our call (FYI - in specialities... at least pediatric specialities, the doctor has a Head Nurse. She is your lifeline, your go-to gal, your window to the All Mighty Specialist. She/He is the person to know).

Double wow.

We were just told yesterday that Conner's appointment had been arranged for August 5th. After hearing it would be soooooo far off, I almost asked if that would be of 2009 or 2010...Dudes. My hair might fall out WAY before then. So this blessing is nothing short of awesome.

So, yes... the Waiting Game. Haven't I done this before?

Keep Conner in your thoughts and prayers, please. Obviously, we want a negative CF test and some answers as to why he keeps developing pneumonia. Every doctor we've spoken with over the last 2 days agrees that no child should be getting sick like he does. If Chase gets sick, Conner gets it, but a lot of times... Conner gets sick and Chase is fine. Red. Flag.

They will be doing some diagnostics to exhaust all lung-related disorders and possibly gene testing for us all. Gene testing was something suggested to us after Chase's ordeal, but we opted not to since it wouldn't provide treatment options, nor answers - real answers. But, since it seems gene testing has reared it's ugly head, we might take the plunge.

Love you ALL and thank you again for the prayers, thoughts, comments, e-mails, phone calls, FB messages, etc. 

Thank you, Donya. My sanity, for now, has been saved.

Prayer for Conner

Right now, our family needs your prayers. 

I'm not ready to divulge too much to the Internets as a whole. Mostly, I don't want to come off as alarmist or get my own head to wrapped up in the "could be". Just know that we believe in the power of prayer, and could really (really) use prayers of comfort, strength and healing for Conner.

If things go well, I will let you all know what this post is about. If things go less than well, then you'll ALSO hear about this...

So... for now... please, just pray.

My New Car Gets Its Own Post (But Shares It With Conner)

*Now with 3 less typos!

Michael is the King of Hair Brain ideas - like "hey, let's move to Montgomery, two hours away from our family, and then have another baby!". Sometimes, his ideas are just plain silly, other times they are absolutely bonkers and don't work out, and then there are the times his ideas only seem nutty...

A few months back, he attempted to trade my 2007 Equinox for a newer model in efforts to help GM/Chevrolet get another "American made"** car off their lot and to refinance and get a lower monthly payment for us. It almost worked... but the few extra steps it would take from the dealership to seal the deal just weren't happening - it seemed they simply weren't motivated enough to make the sale.

Then, last week, Michael received a promo from our GM card saying that instead of using our normal point value (1 point = $1) with a max of 2,000, we could use ALL of them towards any '08 or '09 vehicle on their list. On the list was my Equinox. 

We read and re-read the fine print. Absolutely NOTHING on there could technically hold us back.

When we did the math, our trade-in value plus our $5,000 in GM points was greater than the amount a new Equinox would cost minus what we owed on our current vehicle - to sum all that up for those who just saw Mandarin - we could theoretically walk away with a new car, for less monthly payments and the same amount of debt (and possibly less).

And... in short... it worked.

We traded in my white '07 Equinox, cashed in all of our GM points (thank God, I think Michael checks those things 5 times a day...) and walked away with an '09 Equinox and about $100 bucks off our monthly payments.

Sweet, right?

Totally.

My "newest" (giggle) car has Satellite Radio, which I am in love with. It also has a darker interior so... YAY! Stains less visible! OnStar is nice, seeing as Mike had it and I didn't till now... booooo... And the biggest plus aside from, well, the whole thing: NEW CAR SMELL AND NO CHOCOLATE MILK STAINS!

Score.

I know you guys are probably wanting more than just me rambling on about my new car, but this is all I have since I've been up & down (mostly up, praying and administering drugs...) ALL night with Conner who had a delirious fever. 

Apparently, he caught Chase's extra-mean strand of Strep. Around 7 last night, he started running a 103ish fever and by 7:30 he went around the house turning off all the lights. Poor baby had a light-sensitive headache (oops, sorry kid... you get it from ya momma).

I dosed him with Tylenol and Ibuprofen ALL NIGHT (every 2.5 hours, actually) and he STILL ran a 102-103 fever till 6 this morning. It was absolutely absurd. The weirdest thing was that when he did nod off for a half hour or so, he'd ramble out loud in his sleep. 

He'd yell out random things like "I want you to MOVE THAT CAR!"

or 

"I have not seen any puppy dogs!"

Even funnier?

...In Michael's sleep, he'd respond! I felt like I was witnessing a hypnotic therapy session or The Freak Circus or one of those late night comedy shows that never make any sense....

So. Yes. Tired.

Blog. Later.

**A long time "marital discussion" is my love for Honda, but how Michael refuses to buy "only American", especially for large purchases (i.e. - cars). 

My argument has been that there are multiple Honda plants in the U.S. that make cars using parts made here and employ Americans. 

Michael's argument is that GM is based in America, and therefore they HAD to be mostly made here, right? HA! He's WRONG. 

While at the Chevrolet dealership, I noticed that they changed the stickers on the cars to present what percentage of the vehicle was made in America using Americans for labor and what percentage of American-made parts were used.

My car had the highest, at 50% American labor and something around 25% in parts. It had the highest in both categories. The first car I looked at? 1% American made, American parts!! PATHETIC!

I WIN, I WIN, I WIN!

7 Quick Takes: New Couch, Sick Baby and Prayer Edition

-1-

 When we foolishly purchased too much new furniture for our new house in Montgomery, Michael got suckered persuaded by the Nice Furniture Sales Lady to also purchase a 5-year "no questions" warranty on our entire order. It cost us a pretty penny, and I was weary of it. 

Hooooowwwwever, the living room table was replaced a week after we moved in (weird holes on the top and sides).

Our couch is a HUGE leather sectional that was purchased without really knowing what our finished living room would even look like (the house was still under construction). I liked the couch in the store, and the idea of the couch in our home because it has lots of sitting space for guests. Then, the couch arrived and Michael and I realized that it made our big living room look less-than-big AND it wasn't comfy. Who wants to nap away on a cold leather couch? Not I.

Fortunately, the couch was "diseased". It started peeling, shedding... like you would after a bad sun burn. I would routinely clean it with a damp sponge just to remove The Toddler, The Baby and The Dogs off of it, and each time it's "skin" would come off... 

So, we called. And to make a Quick Takes quick, they gave us in-store credit.

NOW! I get to pick out a new couch (something smaller, yet deeper so we can nap on it...), a chair and maybe a side table w/ lamp. SCORE.

I'm a little overwhelmed though... because....

-2-

(I am so clever) (not)

See... Our house was painted with builder's paint - if you attempt to "clean" builder's paint with a sponge or magic eraser, you will soon find that drywall is not the same color as your surrounding walls.

The colors were chosen by a hormonal mother who was overly tired and who was totally DONE with chasing a 2-year-old around a design center. In short - it's a darker green than I had imagined AND we have dark floors. The existing sectional is white, but leather so I could clean it. 

Problem: If I buy a dark sofa, the room will look very washed out (and DARK). If I buy a light-colored couch, it won't be light in color for long... TWO KIDS! DOGS! MICHAEL! CHOCOLATE MILK AND BOOGERS = MESS!

DILEMMA!

My proposed solution: PAINT THE HOUSE. I've been wanting to do this since I was preggo with Chase. Michael was on board for about 3 seconds before he backed down. He, however, is not the one who repaints the walls every 2-3 months from 4-feet high on down. 

So.. if I paint a lighter color... say...

"Hollingsworth green" (in something other than "flat" so I could scrub it)? (Swoooon.) (Source: Benjamin Moore and Note: NOT my living room... I chose this "template" because the floors are darkish but still not as dark as mine.) .....I could just wipe off the boogers. And furniture could be dark? WIN!

Now... someone tell Michael.

-3-

..OR...

This:

See that back room? That's the color my living room is now, only my living room green has a little more grey to it, so it isn't as sharp of a green (and honestly, my living room looks more like "camo green"... bleck). But that front room? oooohhhhhh...it's Benjamin Moore's "Hazy Skies"... GOR-GER-MOUS.

Moving on.

-4-

After much "discussion", Conner is staying away on his vacation tonight and coming home tomorrow. I miss him and will post again about the last day and a half without him.

-5- 

Chase is doing better. The shot has given him very consistent bad diapers, so I am worried about his hydration levels. I gave him 5 ml of Imodium at 10 AM after having changed his 10th blow out diaper... an hour later, I found this:

poor baby

-6-

This just in: Apple is going to reimburse the nearly 40 bucks worth of iPhone apps that Conner somehow purchased even though it requires a password (and no, he doesn't know it) and I didn't put said password in. Sweet.

However, the customer service rep added this to her lovely email:

Please make sure that you keep your iPhone on safe location to prevent accidental charges. That way, you can review your selections carefully and buy them when you're ready. In the meantime, I strongly recommend you change your account password immediately. 

Hahahaha. My current location isn't good enough AND she think my 3-year-old has memorized my password (I stated in the dispute that he couldn't possibly know it [I even asked him to show me] AND that I've previously noticed that I can input the wrong password and it'll still authorize downloads).

-7-

Do you talk to God in your head? 

I always do, but I also pray to God in my head. Are there rules to this that I am unaware of? I just feel comfortable talking to God in my head, and I don't know if it "counts" as prayer. 

I guess I'm looking for opinions, advice or God's 1-800 number.

Find more totally spectacular Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Things I've Learned Thus Far

Quiet 

 This house is crazy quiet without my little monster man, Conner. Aside from Chase's occasional babble, which goes something like "Ida badada doooh" and "Ma ma dadada bbaaaaa ucgh"... and my random "discussions" with him, during the day it is very quiet. 

I understand now how Conner achieved his physical developmental milestones (like walking at 10 months) waaay before his social ones. I did talk to Conner, but between 8 AM and 5 PM  (sometimes 6, stupid 280 traffic THAT I WOLD PAY TO BE IN...) he never really heard two ends of a conversation. Granted, what Chase hears between Conner and I hardly constitutes mind-tingling and liberating discussions, but it is a truckload more than Conner experienced at Chase's age.

Chase was "late" (or rather, on time and not early) with most of his physical developments, like walking and crawling (crawling was way late). Conner was late with his social developments such as speech (almost 2) and, um, not running away from people he didn't live with.

Trade.

Either way, this house is at least 30 decibels below average even with Chase's "BAAANG BANNG BAAAAAAAAAAAAANG" and endless "Tank you"s, "Byeee Bye"s, and "CHEEESE"s.

I mean, any house is a little quieter without this guy around:

One Child.... Pffft. 

My mother always said "you aren't a parent till you've had two children". I know, many of you singleton mother's want to put a bullet in my blog right now and share about 1.2 trillion stories of how it IS hard and that's because it is. I rolled my eyes every time she said it B.C. (before Chase). It's her saying, go ahead and give her hell in my comments section - she reads them...

But, mom has a point. This one baby thing? BAH-reeeezzzee. Even with that "single" child being sick it's a BAH-reeeeezzzee. He gets lots of attention and no one is trying to kill anyone. I can keep a better eye on him, so his "death by plastic bag suffocation" and "death by metal object in light socket" and "death by drinking an entire bottle of baby soap" have all dropped DRAMATICALLY.

Chase gets fed when he's hungry. Imagine that.

He doesn't get woken from his naps by yelps of "MOMMA! I WANT ICE CREAM!" and "BUT I DON'T WANNNNNA TAKA NAPPPP".

I have ONE child to load into the car. Hum. How'd we get to our destination 10 minutes early? Weird.

ONE child to unload, it's amazing how he fits into the buggy at the grocery store and pharmacy and then I have ALL THIS SPACE in my buggy for... oh... THE ITEMS I AM THERE TO PURCHASE.

Mind-blowing stuff here people.

My Free Time

I peed by myself people. Thrice. 

Nice.

Oh, and you guys are reaping the "benefits", too. See all these blog posts? Thank me later. :)

Yet, I'm kinda bored...

But right now, I refuse to file that under "bad".

Oh, and my house is clean.

Miss you sweetheart. Try not to pee on Nanna's couch again, mkay?

Day One And I'm Thankful

So, Day One isn't exactly how I had this whole Vacay For Sanity planned out, but the lesson in that is clear: NOTHING in life (especially with The Mom Job) is on your schedule.

Chase has run a mild fever for over a week now as all 4 of his 1-year molars are coming through. He's been generally cranky.

Then, Monday night post-bath - Chase is in pain and it's more than obvious. He is more than hot to the touch. Luckily, I am with the in-laws which happens to contain a doctor. Dr-in-law, as I refer to him, quickly calls in an antibiotic, Michael and him go to the 24-hour CVS and get a thermometer, MORE ibuprofen (we should buy stock) and the Rx.

And... we wait. The next day, I am expecting a child with less fever (say.. oh... I don't know.. my expectations were for it to be less than.. say... 103.6!). Instead, I have a child who will NOT let go of me, is curled over in pain, won't eat, won't drink, and is fighting his meds. The day's plans (which were going to be AWESOMMMMMEEE) were quickly trashed and there I am, holding Chase wondering if I really could scramble an egg on his chest...

Next dose of antibiotics comes and goes... we get back to Montgomery without Conner and the evening is a breeze aside from putting my house back together.

I put Chase in bed, blog and turn out the lights.

I can't sleep and it's then that I realize it's not because Michael is snoring... that noise keeping me from La-La Land is none other than Chase, moaning in pain.

Fever - 104

.......

Fever - 103

.......

Fever - 104

.......

It's 7 AM and he's BURNING through Tylenol and Ibuprofen. While in a luke warm (mostly cold) bath, his auxiliary temp reads 102.9. In the NICU, I learned that auxiliary (under the arm or forehead) temps need a degree added to them. So, we are talking about a child who is not breaking a 104 fever WHILE medicated AND SITTING in the cool bath.

Dehydrated, delirious and completely limp, we haul him the the pediatrician.

Chest x-rays, blood work, throat swab - white cell count is double what it should be. He's dehydrated, but we decide that if he'll nurse (that's right - BREASTFEEDING an almost 18-month-old. SHOCK AND AWE), that would save us a hospital trip. He nurses, his temp falls to 102, and we wait.

(So SEE, my not having him totally weaned SAVED HIM A HOSPITAL TRIP. Eat THAT. (note: he was down to ONE TINY feeding until Monday... darn it.) )

Strep - positive, BUT he's been on antibiotics for 36-hours. He shouldn't be testing positive for Strep unless this is a very aggressive strand. He gets an antibiotic shot (BIG SHOT, sheesh) and a chocolate milkshake (not from the Peds office, silly... though... there's  a  marketing avenue you should ponder, McDonald's....).

Currently, Chase is sleeping/resting/moaning in his crib for nap.

-----------

I am thankful that GOD PLANNED this vacation for Conner. He's away from "the sick", didn't have to be dragged through the doctor's office and almost the hospital. He's having fun with his Nanna at Toys-R-Us (save me) and I miss him.

Had he of been here, I'd be ready to yank out my ovaries through my throat and pour vodka in my eyeballs. I would be fighting him to be quiet because his sick brother would be trying to rest. I would be BEGGING for a nap for myself, and feeling guilty for trapping Conner in the house when his blood yearns for RUNNING.

So, half a day down... and I feel confident that this plan was best - even though it clearly wasn't mine.