Another Worst Fear

There are several things on a Parent's Worst Fears list and I checked another one off today.
Some of the list that comes to mind are things like your child getting burned on the stove, bitten by an animal, falling off of a high surface (like the top of the piano) or drinking water out of the toilet (you just think that could never happen to you, but I assure you, it or something similar will come to pass eventually). Ones I've already checked off include: watching your child struggle to breathe, having to be hospitalized with an IV while they look at you in pained confusion. Today's was finding an open and empty bottle of Children's Tylenol in Erin's hand. I had been in the bathroom and my HC was sleeping off another late and stressful night at work. I don't know how she got that child-proof cap off when it takes me 3 or 4 muttering, frustrating minutes to manage it, but she ate the rest of the bottle. I woke my HC up and we read the bottle. We deduced that she had ingested 3 or 4 doses (thank the Lord that the bottle was almost empty!). After a frantic call to my mom, I hauled Erin into the bathroom to induce vomiting and my HC raced off to the pharmacy to find some ipecac.
Did I mention that the power was out?
Erin sputtered, gagged and screeched. I had a few sympathy heaves. After a lot of phlegm and a little bit of tylenol colored spit, I had mercy and stopped to wait for my HC's return. I wiped Erin's nose and face. She calmed down eventually and fell asleep sitting on my lap in the bathroom. My HC came in. Ipecac is not manufactured anymore due to the ephedrine in it. Ephedrine is used to make meth. He had called EMS. EMS called Poison Control. I talked to the EMT, who asked me how many miligrams were in a dose, Erin's weight and how many doses that I estimate she had taken. He continued talking to poison control.
When he called back, it was with good news. She had ingested around 600 mg and the overdose level for her weight was 1,000 mg. Even if I had gotten it wrong by a couple of tablets, she was still safe. I was advised not to give her any more tylenol for the rest of the day (duh! we were out anyway) to give her liver a chance to process it all. I was also advised to monitor her closely just in case, but assured that she should be okay, but EMS was there in case we needed them. God bless that man! He has come to our rescue several times. When I am worried about Erin's asthma, we have gone to the EMS building several times for them to check her pulse/O2 levels. They have always done it with a smile and soothing concern.

Meanwhile, Erin slept off the bad effects of her ordeal (and my torture) for the next couple of hours and woke up quite refreshed.

My HC and I collapsed in the living room. It took a while for my shaking to subside, though I will admit to some tears of relief and thankfulness to God.

It was rainy and cold today, but we roused ourselves later in the afternoon to see the Loyalty Day parade, of which 2/3 was squawking, blaring emergency vehicles.

It also happened to be Burnout night, where every broken, rusty car with a smoker's cough muffler pays $5 to burn out on one of the main roads into town. This lasts for hours and the burnout marks on the road are measured. Trophies are handed out to the winners (those with the longest mark). People come with lawn chairs to sit on the side of the road and watch this diverting entertainment. The rest of us stay holed up in our houses, trying to avoid the burnt rubber smoke, the disturbing cacophony of revving engines and displays of juvenile testosterone at every stop sign, including the one in front of our house.
Did I mention that our road is part of the Turn around route and the Detour? Yes. It is.

I have to admit that I am glad this day is over. Now we have 10 days left of no wheat/egg/milk before we test for triggers. My mom found this cookbook online developed by a resourceful AllergyMom that has recipes without the 8 or 9 common allergens. Who knew oat flour had SO many uses? Who knew anything about oat flour at all? Who honestly knew that McDonald's french fries have wheat and milk in them?! Huh?! HUH?!

But now the kids are in bed, Erin having conked out on the second step into her room. Ian is enjoying his weekend bedtime ritual of movie in bed while playing with Hot Wheels. It's Peter Pan tonight. I just know I'll get that "Following the Leader" song stuck in my head, though anything is better than "K-9 Krunchies". My HC sings that one when he wants me to scream and pull my hair out. I will most likely regret making that public.

It has been the absolute worst 2 weeks in my life. Surely the bottom must be reached at some point and the climb return upward? I can only pray.
And hum. Tee dum, tee dee...Following the leader, the leader, the leader...

Two Little Monkeys

Two little monkeys like to jump on my bed. Today (albeit at school), one fell down and bumped his head. "On the hallway," he told us when we picked him up from school. But with all head wounds, they call parents, so I was alarmed to get the call that he had fallen and hit his head. There was no blood, just a red mark and the crying had stopped. He wanted to go back to class (though he might not have been so quick to say that had he known that it was naptime). Did I want to come get him or send him back to class? It was only an hour until pick-up time. I told them to send him back to class.
Then when we picked him up, we saw it. It was not quite the little red bump that I had imagined. Sheesh!




When we got home, he was immediately coddled, kissed and plied with chocolate pudding, which is what is all over his mouth. As Papaw would concur, chocolate pudding can do wonders, especially for bumped heads. It's a bonus if you get to lick the pudding lid.

Meanwhile, Monkey #2 would not be happy until she was lounging about watching 'Neequa. Her favorite Backyardigan is the pink one with pink polka dots and her name is Uniqua. With Ian it was Veggie Tales. With Erin it is always Backyardigans. Sigh. It could be so much worse, I know! It could be something completely obnoxious. So I am reduced to singing "Mystery Lifeguard" to the tune of "Guantanamera" and about Pizza Delivery in Ancient Mexico to the tune of "Bicycle Built for Two".



The last of the teeth are coming in. It's canines now. Yay! Until they arrive, she is chewing on her hands, her sleeves, biting people. (She said her first sentence. "I bite you," and accompanied it with a chunk taken out of my shoulder...)
Not hard, just enough to make you jump and eyeball her little sharp teeth.

Ian got a new Leapster game, the Kindergarten one, so he has been engrossed in it (yay! points for me; I got him a game that he actually likes...it's harder than you may think).

Today has been a long eventful day and Erin's next dr appt is at 7:30am tomorrow morning! We'll see how that goes.

Flushed Away

I know there's a movie by that title, I've seen it at the library, but I could never interest Ian in it.
Anyway, Erin has discovered the joys of the toilet. And has proceeded to drown choice items. I'm not sure of everything that has met its demise in the depths of the porcelain throne, but I know for certain that an entire roll of toilet paper drowned there. And today, something else. Something [sniff, sniff] terrible.
I had taken Ian to the doc's to get his flu shot, having been there this morning for Erin's 15 month checkup, now that she's finally better. I asked the nurse about Ian's flu shot and she said to just bring him in and they would do it. So I left Erin at home with HC and took him down to have it done. He cried and fussed and wailed. And that was before we even got out of the car.
After a bit of a wait, with me tapping my foot at the ticking clock (HC had to be at work at 4 and we were sitting there at 3:45), we were called in. The nurse, bless her little ole pea picking heart, asked me if we wanted the nasal injection instead of a shot. I asked Ian. "No SHOT?" he asked, impossible hope stamped on his little face, his eyes huge. "Nope," the nurse said, smiling, "all you have to do is tilt your head back and swallow. Can you do that?" "YES!" Ian said.
And it was done.
Then it was time to swing by and get Erin before the promised post-shot ice cream, which was still insisted upon even in the relieving absence of needles. I got home and ran inside. HC had a crestfallen doomsday look on his face. "She flushed it," he said pitifully. "Huh?" I said intelligently. "I wasn't watching her and then it was gone and it was stuck and--and--she flushed it," he finished weakly. "Huh?" I repeated. "I thought it was just a toy in there. She was standing there next to the toilet and I thought someone forgot to flush and I flushed it and it didn't go down and I thought it was a toy and so I reached my hand way up in there and felt it and it wasn't a toy! It was my PHONE!" I insist at this point that tears were about to start.
"Oh no!" was my reply. "I'm trying to dry it out," he said, holding up a ziplock baggy with the dismantled phone and about a cup of rice to soak up the moisture.
"I have to go to work. It was my fault, I wasn't watching her closely," he said sadly. Then we all left. Poor HC!! Now we'll all be careful about keeping the bathroom door closed.
In the meantime, he has found his old phone, the one that shuts off for no reason whenever you least expect it and has horrible speakers, where you can't tell what the other person is saying when you talk to them. But at least he's not missing any calls? Poor HC!
OH, and is anyone else completely weirded out by the time change? I feel like I'm late if I'm not starting supper at 4:30, when the sun is going down!

The Two Day Wonder

We've been sick so much, it seems like we'll never get back into our normal routine. Now that Erin is feeling better and Ian is only coughing a little bit, it was Mommy and Daddy's turn to wallow in the tissue box for a while. I've been sick for a couple of weeks anyway, just cold/throat infection type stuff. It eventually goes away if you take some ibuprofen and drink a lot. Chris got sick last Friday and it got worse. He lost his voice for about a day and a half and wheezed some. He used the kids' nebulizer (it's a purple train, I got a laugh out of it) since his gave up the ghost and felt a little better. He took something for his asthma and slept a lot (I wonder what that's like?) and voila! this morning, he feels great. So he had a 2 day wonderbug. And that's it. I, meanwhile, am still coughing, sniffling, sneezing and tripping (that part may be normal) my way through the rest of whatever it is I have still. This is starting to get alarming though, since we are almost completely out of tissues. I even went on an emergency run to the groceryt store and got 2 more boxes last week. This cannot keep up. Something needs to happen!!!
We managed to take down all the Halloween decorations (the spider had moved away for something waterfront) and only had to keep half of them for display in Ian's room. They mysteriously ended up in the trash can after bedtime tonight, so we'll see if he notices them missing.
Erin got rescheduled for her well baby appointment. It's her 15 month and includes more shots. These should be it for a while. She'll also be getting her flu shot; I had planned on the kids getting theirs anyway, but it was stressed that she get one because she is "high risk." Oh well, it doesn't make it any easier to get. My HC and I will be travelling to the health dept sometime in the future to get ours. Last year we were the only ones at his work that didn't get the flu and I don't plan on getting it this year. No way! We missed the free flu clinic here in town because we were in the hospital. Oh well.
Ian got his 3rd reader with 2 new words added on to the rest. Now it's "and" and "Baby". He seems to be having a hard time with And, but he read the whole reader twice with only 2 helps. I don't care how many helps he needs, he's still brilliant to me. Every kid should be brilliant to their parents. That's part of the job, right?? :D
At bedtime last night, Ian was afraid of owls, so I got some old ALL/Febreeze type spray and told him it said All on it because it was Owl Spray for All Owls. I sprayed it around his room where he told me the owls came and he slept just fine. Tonight I had to spray it in more places, but I think it's working. And he can smell the difference. It's a pretty good smell, not overpowering. If nothing else, his room will smell fresh instead of like little boy sweat and other mysterious odors.
Also on my agenda is menu planning for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom and step-dad are coming all the way from FL to get a taste of young family life. Partly because we're so much fun to be around and I think the other part is to appreciate the quiet life and spacious house they go back to when they've had their fill of sharing one bathroom with everyone and listening to constant night trains. As my grampa and I agree, no matter how great your visit or vacation is, there's no place like the home toilet.
But we are all looking forward to their visit. 21 days left, or so Ian's calendar says. My HC's birthday is also coming up. I am hoping to take him to the movies; a grown up movie; with just the two of us. We haven't been to a movie alone since before Erin was born. Another reason to be glad that Gramma and Papaw are coming to visit: babysitters!!! Woo-Ha!
Before I get too excited, I have to remember that it is still 3 weeks away and there are other things to do before then, like getting Ian off to school tomorrow. Erin is still not adjusted to the time change, so she will be wide awake at 6am. Yay.

ER ---> RSV

Erin didn't have a high fever today, but she was just not herself. It was in the 30s this morning, so we drove Ian to school. Erin fell asleep in the car. She ate about 3 bites of eggs for breakfast, but kept laying her head on my shoulder and dropping off to sleep. Her cough was getting worse. After her 3rd nap, her difficulty breathing was getting worse, even after the nebulizer. She was at around 60 breaths per minute. The ER doc later said that normal is in the 20s. Yikes. We loaded everything up, picked Ian up from school (it was nap time, he wasn't that upset to leave early) and went to Siloam Springs to the ER.
We had thought about going to Stilwell Hospital, where Erin was born and where Ian's croupy ER visit had taken place, but the ER there had failed to catch a case of appendicitis in an acquaintance the day before, resulting in a very scary ride to Siloam Springs for an appendectomy today. Poor woman. So we decided that we would go to Siloam Springs and drive around until we found the hospital.
Chris's uniform and Erin's age got us to the top of the list and moved to a better lobby. The nice volunteer gave the kids little sewn teddy bears, made by a local church. Ian's didn't stay nice looking long; he played pretty hard with it. Erin stopped fussing long enough to say hello to hers.
We got to triage pretty fast, but had to wait for a bed. I got to sit and get Erin admitted (are there any emergency numbers we can call? (they all live in FL) Do you mind if your case is monitored by student doctors? (How else are they going to learn?) Is Erin a male or a female? (incredulous smile).
Finally we got into our room, plopped Ian down with his busy bag (I knew that our things-to-do bag was still unpacked from the camping trip for a reason) and waited. An ER nurse with cool hair gave Ian some coloring papers and a quilty type blanket for Erin, created and donated by a generous and crafty soul from Bella Vista. This was great and very comforting for Erin, who snoozed off and on. Eventually, over the course of a few hours, Erin got a breathing treatment, an RSV test and a chest x-ray. They all agreed that she was one sick little doll. She cried and fussed a lot, especially when they had to hold her down for the x-ray and when the respiratory nurse sucked out her nose with the Blue Beast (though the hospital's bulb syringe was more of a teal color).
Then we waited for the lab to send back the test results. After quite a bit longer, after we had all checked out the main ER bathroom, where ER waiters are sent and those who are retrieving specimens go, I decided to hold it if I had to go again. It was just used a lot and no one felt like sitting on the seat. It reminds me of the kind of bathroom that usually gets assigned to people doing community service. The kind that teaches you very effectively to go and sin no more. Eek. You get the picture.
The results came back. It was RSV pneumonia.

*For those interested in the intricacies of this, read on. If not, skip to the next paragraph. From www.cdc.gov: "Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States.
Symptoms of RSV infection are similar to other respiratory infections. A person with an RSV infection might cough, sneeze, and have a runny nose, fever, and decrease in appetite. Wheezing may also occur.
Infants and children infected with RSV usually show symptoms within 4 to 6 days of infection. Most will recover in 1 to 2 weeks. However, even after recovery, infants and children can continue to spread the virus for 1 to 3 weeks."


She had another breathing treatment and her lungs were listened to again. The good news is that we were right to take her to the ER. The bad news is that it's a virus and we're just going to have to get through it. The breathing treatments help a bit, but we were told to keep sucking out her nose, pound her on the back to loosen the mucus in her lungs, keep the fevers down if they come back and keep the fluids going. Her oxygen levels were good and we were free to go. We got a scrip for Prednisolone to help with inflamed airways. So that was that.
We went to Walmart, got our scip, then to McDonald's for Happy Meals (Ian: "Oh, you so proud of me, I get a Happy Meal!") and then we went home so my wonderful HC could work the rest of his shift. It's really neat to see who your friends really are when emergencies happen. We had several calls of "what can I do?" from friends and co-workers. We had offers to watch Ian and pick him up from school and lots of "How are thing?" calls. It was just very reassuring and fuzzy-feeling.
And there's nothing like talking to your Mom when you start to doubt yourself. Just another instance of "you were SO right." Thanks Mom.

Update: I've been Shot! Again!

Ian was so sore this morning from his shots that he had to be carried from his bed to his chair in the living room. Then he was cold, so he needed a blanket draped around him just so. He definitely needed some extra loving today....the green cereal bowl, Crackle Pops (Rice Krispies) and extra milk. Then he needed some medicine. Bunches of medicine (he asked, but only got one dose of Ibuprofen because we all know that when we flinch (don't fib! Everyone flinches!) when we get a shot it hurts for 2 weeks. So he got some ibuprofen and eventually felt better.

Later, at Walmart, he told a grandmotherly employee about his ordeal. He ended with, "those shots hurt me! I want to kick the doctor!" I'm sure the nurse was right when she mentioned that small children run crying when they see her in public.

Erin seemed to be okay, other than sleepy. :D

I just need a minute...

...to catch my breath!

The weather has been up and down. There's been some severe storms around. Lots of flooding in the low areas and way too much rain (obviously). There were some tornadoes south of us and then the wind did something to our antenna (no PBS! The travesty!). Chris grumbling because he has to mow the yard again. I don't see the problem, since he has a brand new mower. What's the deal? Will I be grumbling after I get my dishwasher that I have to do the dishes...again? OK, bad example.

So due to the weather, the computer has been off. Erin has been teething some more. That means constant crying and her wanting to nurse around the clock (aaaaah!). And the usual progression (if you can call it that) of Ian's potty training. Which has been a struggle. Again, it seems to be the norm.

We have also been back and forth to the vet for Berry. To risk the disgust of all 3 of my readers, wait, make that 6! Hey there Dickinsons and Kristen...I don't remember your new last name...and beautiful Baby Hayleigh!. Anyway, we have been trying to cure Berry's chronic squirts. Sorry, gastrointestinal distress. He is also overly excited while working with Chris that leads to more Gastrointestinal Distress, liberally sprayed all over the back of the cop car. Thus our Race for the Cure! So we got some doggy yogurt type substance to dry him up, so to speak and some doggy Valium to calm him down some while he's working. Also some special dog food in case he's allergic to Purina. Everybody say "Cha Ching!" But that's okay, we're charging it to the town. We get to go back tomorrow to get Buddy's rabies shots, since it's (get this) Rabies Week in this part of the country and rabies shots are $7 at participating Vet's offices. Normally we buy the shot and administer it ourselves, but the extra coupla bucks gets you a rabies tag, so we're splurging. Buddy will be very pleased to have a car ride until we get there. Dogs always know.

Erin is too big for her swing. Yes, hear me sobbing wildly. Her #1 napping tool is too small. So we have before us the gargantuan task of weaning her off of the swing to something normal. Say, the crib. Yes I will open myself up to the world's derision and say that she has never slept in her crib except for the rogue nap here and there. Okay, 2 rogue naps and that was only after she screeched herself hoarse and sweaty and kind of went into an unconscious stupor for about 10 minutes. Well, it happened again today when we decided to try napping normally again. Since her birth she has slept with us in the Big Bed. Ian was not a cuddly baby and couldn't wait to be left alone, though he did his fair share in the swing. Erin does not want to be more than 2 inches from warm skin (and warm milk) if she is going to be drowsy/sleeping. She is almost 9 months old now and happy pink thoughts of transitioning her to the crib on her first birthday, having been weaned off breastmilk and co-sleeping, are starting to resound with the tinny, raucous laughter of those more experienced. In other words, this is going to be easy right? Like potty training. Ha.

Maybe if it ever stops raining and gets above 50 degrees, I can console myself by mowing the yard with the new mower.

Creepy Crawly

It is so interesting to me to see Erin's progression, day by day as she struggles to end the misery of close encounters with the carpet fibers. Of course if you drool a lot, anything on the carpet tends to stick to it. Yuck. Now we just have to deal with it stuck to her hands. But today she got her first round of chafed knees. She is not crawling yet, but sort of creeping. She can scoot when she is sitting up, but today she has started to get on her hands and one knee and sort of rock. The same leg gets caught up under her, but she is figuring it out by trial and error. The look of determination on her face is so blatant, you can almost hear Chariots of Fire in the background. It really is cute and kind of inspiring. I would be more inspired if I knew that she wouldn't be in every cabinet in the house (and more) the moment she figures it out.

Ian was on the potty seat today and she scooted over there and used his leg to pull herself up. She almost made it to standing, but there were a couple of toes that just like to be used as tippy toes and nothing else, so bloop! There she went and Ian's attention was focused on trying to get her to move, since it's His potty seat. The logic of the 3 year old male mind is truly a complex thing.

On to more aromatic news. I made cinnamon rolls from scratch yesterday and even concocted my own cream cheese frosting. Well, they're gone. All of them. I got a little impatient when the dough was rising (hey, we were hungry!) though, so they weren't quite as huge as they probably should have been, but they were still amazing. I feel so accomplished. I love yeast! It does spectacular things to flour.

Our grill is also a thing of mystery. It does not grill meat so well as it does arms and eyebrows, so I do not even attempt to light it on my own. So Chris does and since he works the evening shift, we only use the grill on his weekends. Which start tomorow. Yay! So we had pizza tonight for dinner. I added garlic powder to the crust mix this time and it was better, I think. The corn meal also gives it a less bready consistency. I like it.

Bug bombs are going off again either tomorrow or Tuesday. Yes, still dealing with the odd flea or two and since it is now spring, all the newly awakened bugs are coming through every nook and cranny for new housing options. No thanks! So I guess we'll have to go to Cracker Barrel or the mall or something to kill some time. Shucks!

We sent off Chris's registration on Thursday along with his registration fee. We sent it certified mail and Chris (ok, me too) has been checking quite a lot to see if it's made it out of the state yet. (It hasn't.) As soon as we get his confirmation, we have plane tickets, baby! Chris is excited. He has never been on a plane before. Neither has Erin and Ian doesn't remember the plane trip to Gramma and Papaw's wedding. I remember that Ian was sick and crying most of the time and had one of the Flood pee pee diapers that made a huge wet mess everywhere and stunk up the plane. But everything is better when Chris is there, so I'm pretty optimistic about it all. Of course there is the tiny matter of clearing his firearm with the airline, but we are going to manage it. It ought to be interesting to say the least.

We had another frost a day or so ago that fried the tiny leaves on my tomato plants, but everything else seems to be holding up very nicely. Ian has sprouts in his tiny KidKit pot. He planted (well, he played in the dirt and Mommy planted) sunflower seeds that came in the kit. He wants to touch the sprout and probably dig it up, but we keep it out of reach over the kitchen sink and try to remember to water it. Still no sign of carrots anywhere, but there are two of my peat pots (got that Mom? PeeeeeaT pots) that have sprouts as well. Looks like one cucumber and one squash. Chris informed me that he likes the yellow squash but does not like zucchini. I don't really understand this, but we did not plant any zucchini this year. Probably moot either way since the house will be sold before harvest, but they might not like zucchini either. I also planted some lavender in hopes of drying some, but there's no sign of it either. The dogs have pretty much taken care of the new flower bed out front. No canine can resist the freshly churned earth without wanting to roll/dig/lie in it. I have replanted a few flowers several times only to see them sprawled forlornly in a different part of the yard 10 minutes later. The dogs do NOT have a fondness for pansies. I read somewhere that if you crush mothballs on the perimeter of your beds, it will keep dogs out, but it will also keep this gardener out. And prospective buyers. And we'll never be able to open the windows again either without gagging. So I guess we wasted our $6 on pansies, huh?