Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Sick Kiddos

Our weekend started out with such promise. Tony's parents, Mimi and Papa, came up for a visit and they kids were so excited to see them. Saturday the kids played all day long and had Mimi and Papa parading all around the house and the backyard showing off everything they know.

Then Harper started sneezing...

Sunday morning Harper woke up with a runny nose, but despite that she was in a good mood. We had Great Granny, Nana, Pop, and Uncle Tanner over to help celebrate Tony's birthday with Mimi and Papa. We went to dinner and the service was slow, but the kids were great at dinner. Jack sat at one and Harper at the other, each occupying the head of the table, and they entertained the whole place.

Sunday night Harper woke up about 10:45 crying and trying to get comfortable; she woke up at midnight and 2 and 4 and finally at 5 am, Tony brought her into our room and we suctioned out her nose and put her in a pack and play in our room to sleep.

Monday Harper seemed congested and she coughed quite a bit, but she was playing and feeling fine until about 5. I noticed that Harper didn't eat her afternoon snack- very unlike her, but I thought it was because of the congestion- and then at 5pm, I picked her up and her heart was racing. I took listened to Harper and she sounded a little wheezy, so I looked up some signs of an "RSV type cough". I took off Harper's shirt and watched her breath and I could see every rib with every breath she took. I told Mimi that I thought we might need to take Harper to the doctor.

Tony and I decided to take Harper up to the urgent care and got there about 6pm. We checked in and the staff took Harper's vitals; her breathing was labored and her oxygen was at 95%- not good for our little girl; she was also taking about 80 breaths a minute, which is far outside the 40-50 breaths/min "safety zone".

It didn't take long to get checked in and they immediately set Harper up with a breathing treatment; she didn't even fight the mask. The treatment helped, but not enough, so they did chest x-rays and gave Harper some steroids and medicine for her fever that had spiked to 101. After the second breathing treatment and the results of the chest x-ray (no pneumonia, praise God!), Harper was feeling MUCH better (she was marching around the room and eating Cherrios and graham crackers like a champ), but Harper's breathing was still very quick- 65 breaths/min, and it was decided that we should go to the emergency room at Children's Hospital.

We checked into the ER at 10pm and didn't walk out until 1:55am. While were in the ER, Tony and I tried our best to keep Harper calm and content. I finally ended up curling up beside her on the bed and she and I slept for about an hour between breathing treatment and nurse visits. We were finally given the green light to head home and as a parting gift we had one final breathing treatment for the little one.

When we got home, Tony and I fell into bed- Tony in our bed with the dog, and Harper and I upstairs in the pack and play and twin bed (we were told to sleep close to Harper all night in case her breathing became labored and we needed to bring her back).  Harper and I slept from 2:30-7, and then we got up to face the day.

Harper spent most of the day fussing; her medicine makes her cranky, lack of sleep makes her cranky, and feeling sick makes her cranky.  Oh, and doing the breathing treatments every 4 hours- that makes her very cranky.  She is feeling much better today and got a good report on her pediatrician follow-up this afternoon. We have another 24 hours of breathing treatments and then hopefully, we'll have turned a corner with her.

We are very thankful to Mimi who has been a trooper today taking care of Jack around the clock and Harper when I was too tired to move. I took today off work, and Tony is taking tomorrow off, so we're hoping that we can keep Mimi from going crazy. We couldn't have made it through Harper's ordeal last night without her, and we want Mimi to want to come back and visit.

Tonight the kiddos are resting- finally- after not taking much of a nap. Oh, and tonight Jack started sneezing, spiked a low grade fever, and has a runny nose. I've already given him some Zyrtec, some ibuprofen, and sucked out his nose tonight- when it rains it pours- prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Here's to a speedy recovery for all!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Nana and Uncle Tanner Come to Town

I know that my blog post have become less frequent; I would like to say that this is because I'm so busy running through the backyard with two toe-headed toddlers, or rolling around on the floor giggling with a little girl, or reading books to a boy who turns the pages for me. Sadly, however, these things are not done often enough and the real reason I haven't blogged is because school is winding down and the stress levels are ramping up. I have two weeks left to go, and it will be mind over matter to make it to the finish line. In the meantime, I am partaking in as many silly dances, walks around the neighborhood, and bedtimes stories as I can to keep my sanity. Come on summer!

In order to help us keep our sanity while Durinda is on vacation, my mom came to visit this week to help with the kiddos, and they were excited to see her. Jack and Harper kept Nana busy this week playing inside and outside, dancing, reading books, fixing meals and snacks, snuggling, and watching Thomas and Friends. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Uncle Tanner came out to take me to lunch and to see the kids. It was great to see Tanner; I hadn't seen him since Christmas and my students were intrigued that my brother was in their class. I think that Tanner was surprised by Harper and Jack; he hadn't gotten a chance to see those kids in five months (except via Skype) and Tanner couldn't believe how big they'd gotten. He kept saying, "they do real people things"- ha! Here's what the kids looked like the last time Tanner saw them...
 Jack was instantly friends with Tanner and even let Tanner carry him around. I knew that they two of them would get along when Tanner showed Jack how to kick the ball in the backyard- instant bonding. Harper, on the other hand, was a little leery of Uncle Tanner; she watched him from a distance and tried to size him up. By the time Tanner left on Wednesday, Harper was doing anything she could to get his attention; she loves to grin at him.










The kids enjoyed having Uncle Tanner here :)



Tanner left on Wednesday, but Nana stayed through the week. Tony and I are so thankful for the help that both of our moms are giving us (Mimi starts her week with the twins on Monday). It was so sweet to hear Harper squeal and say "Nana!" when my mom went into the Twins' room after their naps.  Jack man also loved spending time with his Nana and climbing into her lap to read books. 
There were also some discoveries while Nana was here visiting. Jack and Harper learned about popper push toys and had a great time trying them out. Tony says now we just need to swap out the toy for a vacuum cleaner, and we're all set!  



Speaking of Jack, he also made a fun discovery in the backyard this week. After the lawn treatment man had come, there was a treatment sign in our backyard. Jack made a beeline for the sign while we were playing, and plucked that sign out of the yard- check out his face when he did this. Jack walked around with this sign acting like it was a flag, a hammer, and a golf club before letting Harper try it out. 
 Jack also learned something new this week- he can now climb onto the couch himself. When did he get to be such a big boy?
So, that was our week, and now we are curled up on the couch resting and gearing up for next week. Thank you, Nana and Uncle Tanner, for helping us this week and making our week fun!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Porch Babies and Pigtails

Our two little ones are officially in summer time mode! This weekend Tony and I got some gear for the great outdoors and our back porch is outfitted for some great summer fun. The kids have been enjoying chasing balls, sitting in their lawn chairs, and looking for leaves in the yard.

On Friday Durinda took the kiddos for a walk to observe the roofers working down the street. They were so excited to walk around outside, and I'm sure poor Durinda got her workout trying to herd the kids down the street.

Tony and I also had a scare Friday night when we heard Abby barking and looked out the backyard to find a 4 foot Texas Rat Snake in our backyard. Tony was very chivalrous and went outside to drive the snake away. He blinded the snake with a flashlight, and caused the snake such annoyance that it slithered out the back gate and across the driveway, never to be seen again. I was very glad to find out this snake is not dangerous to people and is nomadic (meaning it has not taken up residence in our backyard-whew!)

 The other development of the weekend is that Harper now has enough hair to sport some pigtails and she looks so stinkin' cute in them. I think this new hairdo fits her fiesty little personality and her sweet side all at once. We took the new hairstyle for a spin while we ran errands and had lunch- I think it was a hit.

My mom came into town on Sunday night to help us with the kiddos for a couple of weeks while Durinda has some well earned vacation time. Nana was the first person who got to play with the kids and their new outdoor set up; I was lucky enough to get to join them when I got off work.  Here are some shots of the kids outback playing; we had to forcibly bring them in.



I also got to sneak in a little snuggle time with these two this weekend. I forgot how long it's been since the three of us have all been crowded together; it reminded me of all those days on hospital bed rest when it was just me and Harper and Jack. I know that it sounds odd, but when we're all snuggled together, I feel like there's a peace about me. I wouldn't trade this moment, and I am so happy Tony snapped a picture of this. I know these moments are fleeting and I am thankful they exist at all.  

I'm counting down the days until summer and gearing up to spend some time playing outside with the kiddos- I can't wait! Who can turn down these two?