Holding the Fort

My HC left this morning for a training session in New Mexico. Today has been crazy. I'm not sure if it is a result of him being gone or just a Monday or what. But come on! We were late getting up this morning. Erin has had a bad cold for a few weeks and it is on the downward slope with a bit of sniffles and coughing/asthma. Which means lots of breathing treatments and less sleep for me. So I'll try to quit blaming it on the kids and admit that I didn't get up when I heard the alarm and everyone was late. Ian had a bit of weird eye goop this morning in one eye, but we wiped it off and kept on. Erin's appetite is off due to sickness, so coaxing her to eat is time consuming and futile. So I spent the morning cleaning and finding blue play doh in strange places. My HC texted to say that he had to check his bag in because our tiny suitcase was too big to carry-on. I'm pretty ticked about that. Besides the cost, it was a pain in the butt to fit everything into that tiny suitcase. If we were going to check, we would have packed everything we wanted into a larger case...argh. But he made it to Texas and said he'd text when he got to NM. Meanwhile, Erin was fussy, the dog got into the shed outside and mutilated a bunch of stuff in boxes and had it strewn everywhere.
I finally sat down to finish Gosford Park and sew a couple of quilt squares.
Then I got a call from the school nurse. Ian's eye was red, swollen and itchy, they think it might be pink-eye.
It would be best if I came and picked him up and took him to the doctor. I called the doctor. They said "tomorrow morning ok?" I mentioned his kindergarten program tomorrow night and asked how long he would have to be on meds before he was out of quarantine. They said to bring him in, they'd fit him in somewhere.
So I got Ian from school, loaded his bike into the Jeep and got him from the nurse.
We got into the doctor rather quickly (shocker!), then went to the pharmacy.

Then we hit another snag. The cream the doc had prescribed wasn't in stock, but they would have it by tomorrow after 1pm. Argh! 24 hours of meds before tomorrow night? Yeah right. I called the doc, who called the pharmacy, who checked. Insurance didn't cover the other choice. On to Plan C. The doc was busy and had to sign off. We waited for over 45 min at the pharmacy. Since Ian has pink-eye, he is contagious. Trying to get him not to touch anything in a crowded, small town pharmacy? Nigh impossible. Erin's whining, squalling and meowing didn't help either. But of course everyone there thought she was cute as a button. They weren't holding her squirming, gymnastic little body, either.
We finally got some eye drops. The ones you have to put in every two hours the first two days? Then every 4 hours for 5 days after that. While Ian is awake, not during the night, thank you Lord! So no school tomorrow. If the eye gunk is drastically reduced by tomorrow night, we may make it to the kindergarten program/reward assembly. Otherwise, nope. As for Wednesday, how can he go to school when I have to give him drops every 2 hours? No one else at the school will/can administer them. And 5 days after that, every 4 hours? Argh! Oh well, I just hope that no one else gets pink-eye!

My HC landed in NM. They are an hour behind us, so that's neat. It looks flat and pretty, with mountains in the distance. Ian was disapointed that there were no cactus in the picture. My HC said he'd keep looking. I told him to eat well, because isn't there supposed to be some phenomenal Mexican food in NM? Mmmm...yeah yeah, thinking with my stomach.

He did end up having Mexican on the 70 mile trip from the airport to his hotel. And I haven't heard from him since, so he must be busy and having a good, educational time. :) Because that's what training sessions are for: learning. Right? We'll see, because really, it's all about hotels and restaurants. Mmmm... We at home will take this time to feast on cantaloupe.

Into the Fall

Things have been different at our house with the death of our computer. The desk is used for papers and bills, free time is used playing inside and out and all my daily websurfing is being replaced by other things, like reading on the treadmill. A good thing, believe me. I find myself composing blogposts in my head at odd times. Like the third night in a row of no sleep when everyone had the flu a couple of weeks ago. What misery!
Now we just have lingering obnoxious coughs. Erin says "Blesh" after every one of them. I guess she thinks they are sneezes?
Ian got his cast off yesterday. In September, he fell off the monkey bars at the big playground (a rare treat for his kindergarten class) and broke his elbow. Thankfully, it did not need surgery and seemed to have healed nicely after 4 weeks in a water cast (we love water casts!!! No itching at all and nice long baths without having to keep anything dry...). Ian's face was comical yesterday as the nurse came at him with the saw to cut off his cast, but he got through it. Now he just has a puny little arm and has to be reminded that he can use it. The first thing he did after getting the cast off was to wiggle a bit and say "Hey! I can touch my ear!"
He is enjoying being able to turn over easily in his sleep and being able to wear long sleeved shirts again, since it was 34 last night here and a bit chilly.
Erin is just buzzing right along, asserting herself at every opportunity, yet still managing to be charmingly adorable at the same time. She is wrapped around Daddy's finger so tight he bounces. This year she was Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween and everyone made much of her cuteness. Ian was a quiet ghost and didn't get it that everyone kept calling him Casper.
My HC is still having fun at work, though the driving all over the place gets old, naturally. The real estate agent wants us to lower our asking price again, but we're not going to. She is not happy with our decision, but we'd rather stay here with our currently manageable payments than end up with nothing left over to purchase again and have to rent the exorbitant prices that are now so normal. Even in our little town, a 2 bedroom rat hole is renting for 5 or even $600 a month. No Thanks! So that's frustrating, but at least we LIKE our house! It's just in the wrong town!
Also trying to save up for Christmas, which is increasingly hard, as anyone can attest. The holiday season always seems to turn into a giant Excess Party, where money and meaningless gifts are flung about in abandon. For the rest of us, who struggle anyway, we wish that others would realize what a big deal it is for us to buy our 20 Christmas cards and finagle the postage to send them. Last year there were some hurt feelings from a few that didn't get a Christmas card from us. I didn't have the energy to explain that we only got 20 and had to ration.
It is so tempting to just gloss over financial difficulties, but so much of normal worldly life is about glossing over and faking prosperity. It's also hard to hear others whine about their difficulties and how Christmas is 'so hard' when they only have $x amount to spend on their kids this year because money is tight and blah blah blah. It's hard to feel sympathetic when you know they make $1,000 a month more than you and eat out every day for lunch.
And now the self-pity part of my post is through. We are grateful for what we have. It could be so much worse. It's just a bit frustrating to see the piddly amount in the savings account, since we've been saving for 8 months.
And there's a fair share of guilt since it was my turn to go to the dentist this time and took a big chunk out of the kitty. I would feel no such guilt if it was my HC that had to go to the dentist. And yes, I really needed to go to the dentist and now all my teeth are fixed, etc. But still! Argh!
In happier news, it looks like we will be having company for Christmas and we are all very excited. Maybe this time there won't be an ice storm and the power won't be out for a week. ;)
Other happy news: we are done mowing the grass until next spring! Yay! Now as soon as we get a freeze, all the flies will die. That is what I'm truly waiting for. Hope everyone is doing well. I miss interacting with everyone. I just wish I could post pictures. That is truly the worst!

Liking It

Now that we have sort of reached an understanding with the new trial diet, we are finding out a lot of new things. My HC is finding out the most. Now that Erin is her beautiful healthy best, things are changing. As is normal, when most kids are babies they want Mommy, or whoever their primary caregiver happens to be (I have utmost respect for you no matter your age or gender; we are all after the same thing here). And when most kids don't feel good, they want the same person. In our house, it's me. Continuously.
Ian is getting to the point where he doesn't care who changes the sheets when he wets the bed or gets him another glass of milk. But Mommy is still the kisser of boo boos (for another couple of months, anyway). Erin is discovering this fact as well. Last night, it went like this.
I'm not sure if it's the normal course of things or not, since she's been sick for so long, but Erin tends to get up at least once a night because she is thirsty. She's always thirsty; she's part camel. And she takes after me. I get up a couple of times a night to get a drink or visit the bathroom and check on the kids. Usually my HC is awake and doing his after work wind-down and computer fix (Mobster, anyone?), so there's the added bonus of saying hi and how long have you been doing Mobster and come to bed already. (!!) Last night I was tired. My little chickie is up with the sun, which comes out 6-oh-something here. Last night she got up like usual. She fussed half-heartedly for a bit. Then started calling. "Maaaaaaaaaaa-meeeeeeeeeeee!!" After a while of no corresponding footsteps signalling my arrival, she tried something new and hit paydirt.
"Daaaaaaaaaaa-deeeeeeeee!" Daddy was on the computer and probably pounding keys loud enough to broadcast his presence. It didn't take many repetitions to have him bounding into her room to save the day (uh, night). Well, Daddy = playtime. She instantly went into a monologue. He got her some milk and walked with her for a bit. She wanted to talk and play and see what everyone was doing. Eventually, she got dumped into bed with me. She was cold!! Last night was chilly, somewhere in the low 50s and damp. I dozed off and on with her laying next to me, still talking to Daddy, who we could see from the bed, tapping away again at the computer. (as a side note, did he really thing she'd just go to sleep?)
After a while, I got tired of being kicked with little toes, warmer now, and got up to put things right. She got some more milk and then we changed a diaper. I turned her heater up and straightened her pillow and blanket and found Elmo. I walked with her for about 2 seconds and poof! Back in dreamland, back under the covers. Still, Daddy is mystified. But not intrigued enough to log off...
Erin was still sleeping today when it was time to get Ian from school, so I left Daddy home to monitor and went to get Ian. When I got home, they'd practically formed their own secret club, with handshakes and everything. Daddy had put shoes on her and taken her to play on the carport (which Mommy doesn't do; Mommy prefers the security of the fence.). They had colored pretty pictures with the sidewalk chalk. They had played on the playground and Daddy had pushed Erin on the swings just the way she likes it (this is one of the few things that Mommy cannot do; Daddy rubs it in, the oinker). They were happy to see me, but I have a sneaking suspicion it had more to do with the drinks I brought them from Sonic.
At suppertime, squealing, shrieks, giggles and wordy explanations heralded Daddy's stay at the table. At bedtime, she somehow managed to kick the wall, sing to herself and twiddle her thumbs until 10. She tried calling for Mommy and Daddy, but Mommy didn't go in until 10, when Castle was over.
I went in. The bed was mussed, the cup was empty and the diaper was full. I picked her up and went to get more milk. It was so predictable. Erin leaned out of my arms to peek around the corners. "Daddy? Daddy???" "
"Daddy's at work," I whispered.
"Shhh," she replied. "Daddy? Seeeep? Daddy?"
"No, Daddy's at work," I said again. "But Ian is sleeping."
The whisper was comical. "Daaaaaaa-deeeeee!"
I got her milk and she looked out the kitchen door, presumable for the cop car to be parked there. It wasn't. She looked disappointed. I guess she hadn't stayed awake long enough after all. Shucks!
She got her milk and a dry diaper and her bed all fixed. I walked a bit and she fell asleep. But that's okay. In a couple more hours, she has the chance to try again. And some things work every time.

Improvement

There has been improvement on several levels over the past few days. The weather actually improved for 2 days, allowing us to mow and weedeat the jungle that had shot up in the interim. It also allowed Erin to discover just how much mud she could step in before it sucked her shoe off of her foot. She also discovered that she didn't like the feel of mud on her feet or her hands and expressed her feelings by wiping it off on me. Ian discovered that he'll miss his teachers an awful lot after school ends in little over a week. His attitude toward school has improved somewhat.
Erin's health has improved so much, it's almost uncanny. The runny nose, wheezing and cough is completely gone. She is focusing on being as ornery as possible and getting into everything that's not nailed down. If it is nailed down, she knows where the toolbox is.
I have improved the oatmeal muffin recipe, or I actually followed the directions. One of the two.
We have decided to improve the interior of the house, having done our yard duty. The kids and I moseyed on over to Lowe's and got us a gallon of Brilliant White Flat Ceiling Paint. You never realize exactly how yellow your ceiling is until it is directly compared to Brilliant White. It also helps that I spackled all the cracks. But as for the color, think of the Crest White Strips commercial.
We also got us a five gallon bucket of Summer Rapture. It's the same minty/leafy green we painted the laundry room/bedroom. I think the house is ready. It is desperately needed in the hallway and in the kids rooms, since I've scrubbed all the old paint off along with a lot of pencil and crayon drawings. The blue ink remains, however. I disintegrated a Mr Clean Eraser trying, but to no avail.
Another improvement that has everyone smiling. My HC gave his written notice today at work. Yay! One more week to go and then you'll be able to see every one of my HC's teeth when he smiles. Then our stress levels will just float away. And that will be the biggest improvement of all.

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...

Allergic to What?!

We went to the doc today for Erin's allergy testing results. She tested negative for any kind of environmental stuff, like pollen and ragweed and normal stuff. Then we got to the basic food allergies. Sheesh. It's a scale of one to six (severe) and the doc said he raises his eyebrows at a 3. Well, Erin got a high 4 for eggs, a 4 for wheat and a high 3 for milk. The best way to decide what exactly is causing her respiratory distress is to have a 2 week hiatus from the offending element, then introduce it in its purest form and look for a reaction, first in the morning, then in the afternoon. For the sake of time, we decided to combine all the elements in our hiatus.
So, in short, for 2 weeks, we are doing without eggs, wheat and milk. Poor Erin. Then I got the doctor's sheets on all the different ingredient names for all of this and the basics of what we can't have. No dairy. No butter. No bread or anything with flour in it. No noodles (!). Nothing breaded. No eggs or anything with eggs in it. Baked goods. Breakfast. Sheesh. So we are down to meat, veggies and fruits. Or anything weird that we can find at the whole foods store, though has anyone seen anything that doesn't have whole wheat this or 5-grain that?? Come on! No goldfish! No chicken nuggets! No toast! No cheese! No pizza!
It's like being on that Adkin's diet, sort of. Thank the Lord that we can have rice and potatoes (french fries). So we have two kinds of rice milk in the fridge (soy milk is nasty; sorry, but have you tasted it?!), lots of fruit and hopefully some applesauce for night-time meds that usually get stuck in milk.
So tonight's dinner is bunless hamburgers, veggies and fruit. Breakfast is grits or oatmeal, after I check the label to make sure there's no wheat products in there...argh! Lunch? No clue. We'll figure something out.
In the meantime, does anyone else have any ideas? We can use all the help we can get.
Either way, it will be worth it. Getting rid of this horrible 7 month cough and wheezing will be SO worth it.