Urrrrgh...

I might give up. Maybe I need to just concede and keep that bacteria pile I had a while back around as punishment or something. I swear I don't see an end in sight!

Colin had another migraine attack on Monday night. I should have seen it coming when he was weepy after his nap and cried for the first hour we were at the gym (which he never does anymore). I got him to calm down, stop crying, and actually play a little bit by bribing him with McDonald's after the gym (plus milkshake). I went to pick him up an hour after that and the first thing he says is "Mommy, my head hurts." Oh, great. I pumped him with some water and prayed that we would make it home before the inevitable barfing began.

Nope. Not this time.

We went through the drive through and I thought that he would try his milkshake. Instead I got a headshake and the look. I said, "Maybe close your eyes and rest for a minute and your head will feel better." Grasping for straws because I knew what was coming. We made it about another 10 minutes (I had given him a bag by now) and I heard the splat. Poor thing was 5 minutes from home. It probably doesn't help that the ride home is all country roads and really curvy. Oops, my bad, Colin. Who doesn't like riding in the car when they are nauseous and it's curving all over the place? Unfortunately, the bag didn't protect everything (he missed a bit). I get him calmed down and cleaned up enough (thank God for baby wipes) to get back on the road. I gave him another bag, but thankfully we didn't have to utilize it! I called Roger to give him a heads up when we got home. The rest of the night was ok, and he went down for the night just fine. Phew. Game over, right?

Wrong.

Tuesday morning he was up and happy. That lasted about a minute. He layed on the couch all morning still complaining of a headache, but with no other symptoms. We had planned on driving up to see Roger at work for dinner and I was really hoping it would work out so I told Roger we would play it by ear. He and I took a nap together and he awoke a new child so we made the drive and had a great time visiting Daddy and meeting some of the police officers that he was teaching for the week. He was fine.

Fast forward to the evening. We get home, get Christopher (who has been fine since his surgery, by the way) in bed and Colin and I read a couple of books and he goes to bed fine. At 11 pm I hear his door open and he says, "Mommy, my teeth hurt." What??? So I make my way upstairs to get ready for bed, and when I get up there to him he is on fire. I go through the questions: does your head hurt? No. Do your ears hurt? No. Does your tummy hurt? No, just my teeth, Mommy. Geez. I take his temperature and it is 102.8. I am freaking out but don't want to scare him, so I give him some Motrin and tell him he can sleep with me (Roger had to stay overnight at work). I go through the questions again and he assures me he feels fine except that his teeth hurt (which I discover is a result of him grinding them and tell him that is why they hurt so he stopped that). We woke up around 7:30 and fever is gone and he is as happy as he has ever been.

I am at a loss as to what the fever was all about, but we have a doctor appointment for a recheck on his ears tomorrow anyway, so I figure I will bring all of this stuff up then. I just don't know what else to do at this point. I am going to request a referral to an allergist to have him tested. He has nosebleeds (which he has had two of in the past 3 days as well, just to add to the fun) as well as the headaches, and I wonder if it isn't allergies. Please pray. Both for his well-being and my sanity. I am quickly losing the latter!

The end of the ear saga?

Today Christopher's ear tubes were put in. People are not kidding when they say the surgery is the easiest thing ever. We ran into a small snag, however, when Christopher woke up this morning with a 100 degree temperature. This boy has not had a fever in weeks and today was the day he got one. The anesthesiologist was hesitant to do the surgery, but finally said if it goes to 101 then we won't. They checked it again in about 5 minutes and it hadn't gone up (it was 100.6 when they measured it both times) so they went ahead. Thank the Lord! The doctor seems to think the fever is related to the new teeth he is getting or the (shocker) ear infection that is the reason for the tubes in the first place.

After handing Christopher off to the nurse to take him in, I literally walked from the pre-op room, went to the bathroom, sat down in the waiting room for 2 minutes and they were calling me back in. He was done!! Total, 5 minutes. Then the doctor came and talked to me and I was able to go back into recovery and get him. He was groggy and fussy and STARVING, so he drank a bottle. He sucked it down! Then we were able to take him out...we were out of there by 8:40 am.

Overall, he was fussy and groggy through the day, but began playing and crawling and exploring like he usually does by the end of the evening. I am hoping that after a good night sleep (and when those stinking teeth come through) that he will be back to normal. I was pretty nervous about this (even though I downplayed it a bit, or at least tried) and having it go so well has really been a relief. Thank you for all of the well wishes and encouragement. It is priceless. Now, let's hope it sticks and we don't have to do it again!

Crazy week

On Saturday morning I got up with the kids around 7 and was in the process of scrambling some eggs when I got a phone call at 8:00 on the dot. It is strange for my mom to call me that early (considering that most everyone knows that I am not a morning person). Unfortunately, she was calling to inform me of my Grandad Previti's (her dad) passing the night before. Not a fun phone call. I looked into trying to get up to Northern Virginia for the funeral and to be there for her, but with this week being nuts and the airfare prices being exorbitant I am unable to go. My heart, mind, and prayers are with my family right now.

Saturday afternoon, I took Colin to his friend Reid's birthday party. We, of course, left the present and the basket for the egg hunt in the kitchen. Bah. My mind is really struggling to connect things this week and this was just the beginning. He had a blast. A lot of friends from his class were there and I got to talk with some of the moms which was nice. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday, we were planning on going to the Greenville Drive baseball game, but due to rain we decided it was not a great idea. Instead, I made a delicious meatloaf, potato, and broccoli dinner and we had our neighbors (who are wonderful, especially since she made this FABULOUS pineapple cream pie for dessert) over. They have a little girl named Maddie who is 2 days older than Christopher and we always have a really great time together. It was a fantastic alternative to the game.

Today, I took Christopher to get his 10 month portraits done and they turned out really great! I can't believe he is growing up so fast. He is very photogenic and it caused problems when it came to decisions about which ones I wanted. I spent a little bit more than I planned, but I am happy with my choices. Now, if I can just send them out with the 8 month ones we had taken 2 months ago then we will be in business. When we got home, I got to play with Colin and watch my favorite Disney movie, Tarzan. I can't believe how much I still get into it. The scary thing is that it came out when I was already an adult. I used to dance a blue streak with my niece and nephew to this soundtrack (almost 10 years ago) and I loved sharing it with Colin. He and I have been really needing some time together and this was wonderful.

The rest of the week is going to be just as nuts. Tomorrow is school and I have to work at the gym in the evening. Wednesday we don't have any set plans (thankfully) but I have to go to the gym in the evening. Thursday morning is Christopher's ear tube surgery. I am a bit nervous, but I have heard there is nothing to it, so I am trying to keep my mind positive about it. I am confident that this is going to be the best thing for him and that he will not have and problems so at this point I am slated to go to the gym that evening, but we'll see. Please pray that all goes well. Then Friday, I am leaving for Wilmington to go to my sister's house and we have a hotel room (ocean front suite, actually) for her Bachelorette Party on Saturday night (wooooooo!!). Exciting! I am glad the week will be ending on a positive note.

Easter laziness...

Well, I have been faithfully reading my friends' blogs about their Easter celebrations and looking at their pictures of the elegantly decorated baskets, the egg hunts, and beautifully baked treats. Well done, everyone!

Notice I don't have any pictures of anything. I totally slacked off this year in the Easter department. No excuses, other than that is was kind of an afterthought this year. I realized Saturday night that I hadn't bought ANYTHING for Easter baskets. The boys got them, but you could tell they were thrown together. Luckily they don't have a clue yet about proper planning! So forgive me for being a lazy Easter Bunny this year. Glad everyone else was on top of it all. There's always next year!

Rain=long grass=drought???

In the midst of the great "drought" that we have been having in upstate SC, the rain has not gone away for more than about 3 days at a time. Case in point-right now it is POURING and thunderstorming across the area. But according to the weather people we are in this horrible drought. Looking at the height of the grass in our yard, and the lush, green foliage that is coming in, I must say they are right. I don't know what we are going to do with this lack of water. Not to mention the extreme heat of 65 degrees. Doesn't it look miserable? Please pray for us in this great drought of '09.

These are pictures of Roger cutting the grass for the first time in the Spring. Note how green and long it is. He hadn't been able to get out and do it because there had been so much rain that even days later it was too wet to mow. So here are the pictures of the big day.

SO excited to be mowing!

It was pretty long...
...and then it was gone!

Ears, ears, ears...

Update on Christopher's ears: tubes will be put in on April 23. After 5 rounds of antibiotics, he still has an ear infection. The ENT described it as him having what looks like "yogurt behind his eardrum." Disgusting. But at least he will be getting better soon and this will be over for him. Poor baby.

8 kids, 2 dogs, 4 adults and Guitar hero...

This Tuesday afternoon I had the pleasure of hosting my two older brothers and all 6 of their kids (my wonderful nieces and nephews) at my house for a few hours. It was such a great time! Anyone who has ever hung out with our family when we are all together knows that it can get a bit chaotic. I think one of our goals is to see who can talk the loudest, laugh the loudest, or tell the funniest story.

This time was an extremely good time with some loud conversation, kids playing together, and best of all, Guitar hero. This is some video of my less than musically inclined eldest brother playing "Eye of the Tiger," on beginner level. Note how proud he is of himself and how intently he is focusing.

I should also mention that my niece, Elinor (age 11), KILLED it on hard level. She blew us all away with her immense skill. I'm a bit jealous. She put us all to shame. Enjoy the video. I love you, Bradley!


Colin cheering everyone on...he loves that pom pom.

I was getting down and dirty...

Matthew with Luke shoving food in his face in the background...

Braelynn...who said she was allowed to grow up???

Andrew...goofing around as usual. Not sure why the picture flipped when I uploaded it, but it fits here!

Bradley and Jimmy rocking out...well, Jimmy is, anyway, Bradley (bless his heart) is trying to keep up.

Christopher hanging out with Elinor.

Here is the video...ha ha ha!!!

Who doesn't love bathroom humor???

Conversation in the bathroom this morning led to some laughs. It went as follows:

Mommy: Wow, that was fast!
Colin: That was just a baby poop.
Mommy: Oh, ok (giggle).
Colin: This is the daddy one. It's a big one.
Mommy: (ha ha ha ha ha) Oh.
Colin: The mommy isn't coming out.

By this time, I am laughing out loud. NO IDEA where he might have gotten this side of his humor. :)

Ear infections all around!!

Wow, we are the lucky family right now. We know that my kids have been battling illness all winter. Well, now, it's moved on to not just them, but Roger has had a horrible time this week with his own. He was teaching this week, so had to go to work, and is doubly glad that this week is over. I have been able to stave it off--mostly. I have been successfully ignoring the itch in my throat and the ache in my bones because if I ignore it it doesn't exist, right? It won't take me this time. It can't. I don't have time to be sick. Although, sometimes it feels as though being sick would be a luxury. How crazy is that??? But think about it...if I got really sick, and couldn't get out of bed--hold it. Stop right there--COULDN'T GET OUT OF BED? Sign me up...I am due for some catch up sleep from the last few years.

But, seriously, please pray that we can get out of this illness rut, and soon. We go see the ENT for Christopher on Thursday so we will know more about where we go from here. My main goal is to get him healthy so that we can get him off of the antibiotics. I HATE THEM. They tear up his system so badly. Now, Colin is on amoxicillin again, too. Hopefully that will kick his in the butt before it gets horrible because his system has actually had time to rebuild between rounds.