Thursday, November 29, 2007

Just realized my Christmas Ticker is wrong

And boy does that burn me up. I have to work tonight and I'm going to spend some time with Tim since he just got home so I can't fix it right now. I will soon though. Must have been an old one. I found it by googling! Guess I should pay better attention. I thought it was cute, but I at least want it to be accurate.

My second night shift went much better than the first so hopefully I adjust to this soon! I'll update more this weekend.

My love to everyone!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Max is an AMAZING big brother

I meant to post this yesterday but got sidetracked by a nice day of lunch and shopping with Tim and no kids. We walked around 3 stores just because we could without having to deal with whining and begging. It was awesome!!

Anyway, back to my Max story. Everyday the teachers at daycare send home a sheet with what they ate for the day, when they napped, their favorite things, stuff like that. Monday Tim brought me Max's paper and told me not to cry. In addition to coughing all day and being more tired than normal she added a note on the back. Here is an exact quote from Max....

Everyone listen, lets all hope my baby brother feels better because he is in the hospital. He is sick and I love my baby brother

Of Course I cried. I swear he is the sweetest kid even when he seems like the devil child sometimes. He has also been asking for a sister on a regular basis lately. I told him he needs to ask daddy since daddy is the one saying no. About a week ago he said to Tim, "daddy, when can I have the baby sister that I want?" and was none to happy with the answer. Sunday night when he stayed with Alli they played house before he went to bed. She was the mommy, and he was the little boy. She asked him who else there was and he said he wanted to have a little brother and a little sister. Kid cracks me up. Hopefully someday with his help I can convince Tim because I really would like one more. Boy or girl. Makes no difference to me.

He has been sick all this week with coughing and a runny nose. I give him cough medicine at night, and it helps for awhile but I think he coughs all day long. I wish there was something I could do for him. Maybe I'll get the humidifier in his room tonight. I have to work so I want him to feel as good as possible so Tim won't have to deal with two kids that don't sleep. Speaking of not sleeping, Alex has been doing better lately so at least that's a good thing.

Today is Tim's birthday. We aren't doing anything special because we gave him his gifts while my parents were here, but Max really wants to do a cake. I have to run to the post office later so I might pick up a small one. Wouldn't want to disappoint Max and I think it would make Tim feel good that Max wanted to do that for him.

Anyway, I need to nap or I'm never going to make it through the next two nights! Talk to you again soon.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Scariest Day of my life...Alex strikes again!

So, this goes back to Sunday. I had worked overnight on Saturday so I slept almost all day on Sunday. I was also sick with the stomach flu, so I completely stayed away from the kids and Tim. Finally at 6pm I headed down to see them for a few hours before bedtime. Tim mentioned that Alex had gotten into a locked cabinet (we still don't know how) and gotten into Max's Aqua Dots. For anyone not aware, these were recalled due to the fact that the coating turned into GHB (date rape drug) when ingested. I had planned on returning them for store credit and had them locked up in the meantime.

Anyway, Tim said he went to check on Alex who had been playing upstairs for awhile and was a little too quiet. He found him in the cabinet and locked it back up. Not thinking much of it because there would have been a huge mess if he had actually got into them. A short time later when he was cleaning Alex up after dinner, he found two of the aquadots stuck to Alex's shirt. When I got up, I noticed that Alex was starting to walk funny. He looked drunk and sleepy, but more so than he should have for that time of evening. It continued to get worse. I told Tim to find the number for poison control and then I started panicking. It was kind of a blur after that. I remember holding the phone in my hand telling him to hurry because Alex looked like he was about to go unconscious. Tim grabbed the phone from me and yelled to just call 911 which he did. Alex slipped in and out of conscious for the next several minutes and I think he had a few small seizures as well. He definitely had tremors in his arms and legs, but not full body like I would normally think of. His breathing got really slow and labored. We stood by the front door all in tears waiting for the ambulance when Alex finally perked up a bit and puked all over the floor. There ended up being 18 AquaDots in it. But he started getting really bad again and Max followed by throwing up from seeing it.

Speaking of Max, I can't even imagine how scary this must have all been for him. He had no idea what was going on, only that mommy and daddy were freaking out and he kept asking if his brother was going to die. Unfortunately at that point, I couldn't give an honest answer because I didn't know. The ambulance finally arrived and they rushed Alex outside to hook him up to monitors. His oxygen and heartrate were fine so they slowed down a bit from there. Tim rode with them and fortunately Alli ran over to see what was happening. I ended up sending Max home with her so he didn't have to sit in the hospital with us. I followed the ambulance in my car. It was the longest 10 minute drive of my life. They stopped once at a green light when Alex became unresponsive. Tim said he could see them reaching for stuff and it freaked him out. I could see in the back window and was freaking as well. But then a second later I saw him crying so I knew he was ok.

When we got to the ER they hooked him up to an IV, drew blood, tried to cath him to get a urine sample and just basically watched him closely. His vital signs all looked really good, he just had periods where he would hold his breath for a few second too long. I layed on the stretcher with him for most of the waiting game. I had lost 4 pounds that afternoon puking and being sick so I was pretty weak myself. Not to mention it had been almost 40 hours since I had any real sleep.

The doctors brought us any info they came across about GHB and kept us informed on what Poison Control sent them. Unfortunately, most of what was known involved adults taking it in pill form. In that case, it should have been completely out of his system in 8 hours. But we weren't sure how many he ate or how his small body would handle metabolizing it.

Finally around 11 he woke up. He seemed almost back to his normal self, just woozy. They decided to keep him overnight for observation just in case which was fine by us. Around midnight we were given a room. Oh, which reminds me, we think Alex has a very mild case of the chicken pox, which he got from the chicken pox vaccine. Most likely it wouldn't transmit to anyone else, but because we were on a pediatric unit with other sick kids, we were in isolation. All the nurses and people entering the room had to gown up and wear masks so as not to possibly spread it to anyone else.

So, at this point, I ran home because Alex had nothing but a diaper and one sock on when we left for the hospital. I had to get his soy milk, bottles, and stuff for Tim and I. Max spent the night at Alli's and got to sleep in a tent in her room. He had a blast, but did spend the evening worried sick about his brother. Tim and I slept together in a hospital bed squeezed in next to Alex's "cage." He was hooked up to an IV and several leads to a monitor so he didn't have much room to move, but that was ok because all he really wanted to do was sleep. I don't know about Tim, but I think I might have actually gotten 4 straight hours never hearing the nurses come in or anything. Alex was a little cranky when he woke up in the morning and I later found out why. When Tim got up, he left to go get Max and take him to school. While he was gone, Alex screamed and grunted to poop, like he was constipated. Next thing I knew I had a diaper full of swollen aquadots. Probably 20 or so of them so he actually ate more than we originally thought. Once he got that out, though, he really did finally seem back to normal. They released him just before noon and told us to keep an eye on him, but no follow up was needed. He slept alot yesterday afternoon, but other than that, he's back to his old hellion self.

They did another urine capture in the morning so they can send away and see if GHB shows up. I don't think it will since it leaves the system so quickly, but I also wanted to have any and all information I could just in case anything ever comes from this. I can tell you I will be scared for the rest of his life that it has done some permanent damage. It was a horrible, horrifying experience, and the main thing it taught me was that China is trying to kill us all. Haha, just kidding. But it did teach me to pay attention to recalls and get the bad stuff out of the house. Getting money back is not worth the risk to my children's lives. Also, I've learned that you can childproof all you want, but some kids are smarter than others and will get passed it. I remember now when I think back, how many times he sat next to me when I opened that lock to get batteries out. I would bet money he got it open all on his own. Don't know for sure and maybe never will, but a lesson was learned and that's whats important.

Here are a few pictures of Alex in the hospital.


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See the spot on his face in the middle picture? He has about 10 or so over his body which is what we think is the chicken pox. I grabbed the camera when I went home for clothes because I wanted to be able to scrapbook this someday. Especially when he woke up acting so normal just before I left. I'm glad I did!! It is something I'll never forget, but now I can show him when he grows up and wonders why mommy has him living in a bubble.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Black Friday

There weren't very many good deals out there this year, but I braved the crowds anyway....twice. First Rusty and I set out around 7:30. We picked up Max's birthday present and a DVD recorder for me at Sam's Club. At Best Buy I got myself a new camera as well. It takes AMAZING pictures! So much better than the Kodak. Anyway, shortly after we got home I went back out with my mom. She wanted to go to Target and JoAnn Fabrics. I got a book and a movie at Target for Max and two cute Christmas decorations at JoAnn. A santa and a snowman that stand about 3 feet tall. I got them for more than 50% off so I figured I couldn't pass them up. They look great by the front door. Oh, also got Tim's birthday present at Best Buy. I wish I was rich though. There was so much out there I wanted to get, just can't do it this year. Not with just buying a new house.

After we finished shopping I made Buffalo Chicken dip (with turkey) for lunch. Rusty is so in love with it. I thought it was pretty good, but I made it a bit too spicy. Next time, less hot sauce. After lunch my mom and I put up the Christmas decorations. Usually I wait until December, but I figured since I had the help, now was the time. It looks amazing! I really love having the space to do things without having it all look cluttered. I got some pictures of the boys by the tree with my new camera. I'll post a few here, but I'm hoping to use one for our Christmas cards so I don't want to show them all. Also got a nice one of my whole family last night. It was long overdue, but we were never all together this summer. There was always at least one person missing.

On the non-holiday front, Alex officially moves to the toddler room on Monday. I'm pretty excited, just still not sure how naps are going to work out. He has to sleep on a nap cot rather than in a crib and I think they only take one a day. He can sleep in the baby room if he needs to, I just hope he transitions well. It's funny because I think I have first time mommy syndrome, only this is my second child. I was never so "worried" with Max. Cracks me up when I'm sane enough to think about it.

I guess that's about all I have for now. I start nights this week so either I'll be around more or less. Depends on how well I'm able to sleep during the day. I'll keep up though, I promise.

Here are the pictures and have a great night!


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Sunday, November 18, 2007

New Pictures

So, I was getting the pictures off my camera this morning and I found some I don't even remember taking. Alex got ahold of an Oreo the other day and the boys had a play day with Tim. Here they are! Hope you like them.




Oh yeah, and a sweet one of them napping together on the couch! Wish they were always that good.


And a walking video

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Friday, November 16, 2007

Rough week for me!!

First it started on Monday when daycare called and said Alex had a temp of 102.2. Tim couldn't leave work because he had people from the regional team in so that meant I had to. Still being in orientation, that didn't sit well with me, but what else could I do. I took him to the ped that afternoon thinking it was maybe another ear infection. They couldn't find anything wrong with him though. No ear problems, nothing in his throat or his lungs. It was a mystery. The next day he seemed much better and no temp in the morning so we sent him back. They kept him all day, but when I got there I was told he got a fever of 99.9 again. Fortunately while I was still there he woke up from a nap sweating. I appeared that the fever broke on its own. Luckily, that was the end of it, but he has been really clingy with everyone this week and that's adding to my stress level a little.

So, in addition to having to leave early on Monday, I had a bad day Wednesday. It felt really slow because I had students taking care of two of my patients so there wasn't much for me to do. Then I had a new surgery patient which was kinda nice because it kept me busy. However, I found out the next day that the students missed a bunch of charting and I "should" have been responsible, although that's not quite right since I'm still in training. Basically it was just brought to my attention so I would know what to watch for in the future. Yesterday was ok, but busy. Today was downright awful. Busy as all heck to the point where even the person training me was a bit flustered. That just got me twice as fluster. Everything got done, but I feel like I didn't know what I was doing and I was totally unable to manage my time which isn't a good thing.

To top off the whole crappy week, two of the shift coordinators called me into the office at 3pm. Basically they decided that I should take one more week on orientation because they don't want to put me out on my own until I feel more comfortable. Until this week I thought I was ready, but now I'm not so sure. I get to work days again next week instead of switching to night which is cool, but I'm not going to learn as much as they are hoping because there won't be many scheduled surgeries and that's what I need the most experience with.

Ugh!! Sorry for venting. I just feel like it has all been piling up and I need to get it out. On the bright side, Max has been pretty well behaved all week other than not wanting to pick up his toys before bedtime. At least there was one break for me. Now I just need to sleep for 2 days ;)

I have taken a few more pictures this week, but everything is still on the camera. Hopefully I can get them on here over the weekend. My parents and brothers are coming next week for the holiday so I want to get as much done this weekend as possible.

I am outta here for now. I want to spend some time with the boys before they have to go to bed. For Alex that has been early because of the time change!! Good Night!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

More pictures

So, I got the boys pictures back from daycare and they turned out great. Alex wasn't smiling, but unlike the last pictures, it actually looks like him. I bought at least one sheet of every sitting because I liked them so much. Now we are getting Christmas pictures soon so this time of year there is an overload. Anyway, I won't make you wait any longer, here they are....


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See, I told you there were cute ;)

So, I think I missed a few things by not posting for the last week. First off, Alex got bit at daycare. There was another little boy who looked like he was going in for an open mouth kiss. The next thing anyone knew, Alex was screaming. His cheek was a bit swollen and definitely bruised, but that was 2 days ago and it's barely noticeable now. I feel horrible because when I heard Stephanie's voice on the phone I automatically assumed it was Max in trouble. Poor Alex got a good chuckle out of me because of the situation.

Hmm, what else. I guess maybe there wasn't that much. I was sick for the first few days of the week but the end of the week brought some awesome shifts for me at work. I am definitely starting to feel more confident, at least with patient care. I still have a lot to learn with charting, but fortunately I have a great group of people around to help me out.

Oh, now I remember, Alex had his one year well check-up on Monday. It went ok I guess. He is just a hair under 30" tall and weighs a hair under 20lbs. He is average for height and head circumference, but he is only in the 10% for weight. I'm guessing that's because he is so active. They'll just continue to watch it over the next 6 months at his next two appointments. If he doesn't catch back up they'll look into it further. Honestly, I'm none too worried because he eats great. He just doesn't sleep well and he's crazy boy. Always climbing on something. He had to get 4 shots but had no reactions so I was ok with that. He didn't take too kindly to being poked 4 times though. Poor baby screamed bloody murder to the point where I teared up because I felt so bad. His new doctor is not my favorite, but there is another in the practice that I think will be ok so next time I'll just make an appointment with him. They also did a Hemoglobin test on Alex because normally it's done at 9 months but we missed that appointment. It came back that he was slightly anemic so they drew blood for a CBC. Those results took two days to get back, but fortunately everything was normal except his hemoglobin. I won't treat him with iron drops though so I've made it my goal to get more red meats into him, but also start giving him baby cereal again at least once in awhile to try to get those numbers up. They'll check it again in 6 months.

Max is doing great at school, but he comes home tired almost everynight. I think he's playing way too hard for the amount of sleep he's getting, but if I put him to bed earlier, he wakes up earlier. I'm not sure how to remedy the situation. On Tuesdays he has Gym-n-it which is a tumbling class but they also learn a lesson. This week the instructor was sick and he was so upset about it. Came home depressed and everything. I love that he loves it, I just wish that "change" didn't bother him so much. He's going to grow up to stress over every little thing like I do.

Sundays lately have become a family affair. Tim and I love watching football, but last year and the one before, Max didn't like it and only wanted cartoons. We have him excited this year though and he'll sit and watch some of the games with us. He knows about the "Green Bay Packers" from hearing the announcers a few weeks ago, and he knows they are yellow and green. Yesterday during college ball there was a yellow team and he thought it was them. He's too funny. He knows about "Go Blue" and "Go Irish" and that he's a Lions fan!! Just this morning I taught Alex to do TOUCHDOWN and raise his arms over his head. He is napping now, but I'll have to get a video of it. It's so cute!

I think that's about all for now. I feel like I talk way too much sometimes and people will get bored before they get to the bottom of the post. I need to talk less and write more often. Hopefully after next week when I switch to nights that will get better.

For now, have a great week!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Alex at daycare

I need to talk to Max's teachers to see if they have any pictures they can send home, but here are a handful of the pictures Alex's teachers sent me. There are tons so you'll have to check out dropshots, but these are a few of my favorites.

Alex and his friends

With Miss Sarah and Miss Jessica

With Miss Theresa

Showing off his walking skills

Eating Birthday cupcake
There are several more if you want to check 'em out. He's doing so well there!!! Makes it so much easier to go to work!

I'll be back later with some outside fall pictures from today.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Happy November!

It's getting to be my favorite time of year! I love the fall and it's getting cooler each day. The leaves are almost all down from the trees in our yard too. Snow is just around the corner and I can't wait. For the first time in 9 years we might get to see some "real" snow as opposed to the snow in Virginia that lasts less than 24 hours most times. I know the boys are going to love it.

We took them both trick-or-treating last night. Alex didn't last long because it was chilly and he was hungry so I came home with him and Tim stayed out with Max. They both had a great time. I let Alex have a lollipop and Max was able to have one piece of his choice. He thinks he can eat the whole bag. I may just have to hide it on him to keep him from doing just that.

The other day at preschool Max got sent to the office twice for hitting people. He and I had a long talk about how it's not acceptable to hit his friends and if he continues to do so they won't let him come back anymore. I think that scared him because he loves going. He wasn't even fighting over a toy or anything like that. He couldn't give a reason why he did it, but I'm assuming he's feeling like he needs more attention lately. Alex's birthday (when it wasn't his) kinda bothered him, but he also hasn't been sleeping well. He goes to bed a little later than he should and he's been getting up around 6 before I leave for work. Naps at preschool are usually an hour less than at home too so I think being overtired probably contributed. In any case, he hasn't been in trouble since.

The director asked me on Tuesday if it was ok to start transitioning Alex to the toddler room. Of course I gave my ok, but I'm apprehensive about it to. His teachers love him and I know he's comfortable there. I'm sure he'll do fine, but he's at that age where change isn't as easy on him. I love that they are taking it slowly and doing a couple of hours per day until he's feeling ok. The two nap issue might hold him back for a bit too which is fine by me. I still don't want my baby to grow up so fast.

He is getting steadier day by day with his walking. Today he was caught climbing out of his crib at daycare. The little monkey!! I think I got his and Max's Halloween costumes backwards this year. He should have been the monkey and Max should have been the devil ;).

Not really much else to report. My job is going well and I only have about 2 1/2 weeks before I'm on my own. I'm looking forward to that actually. I find it hard to build confidence when I have a preceptor to lean on all the time. I tend to use them more than I should, but when I'm forced to do things alone, I know I will be ok. Plus, I work with a great group of people so I'm sure they'll be willing to help when I have a million questions.

Grandma is coming for the weekend and should be here tomorrow. Tim even said he'll probably take Saturday and Sunday off to be here with her. What a sweet son he is. I have some pictures on CD that daycare sent home but I haven't been through them yet. As soon as I get a chance I'll get them posted. School pictures will be back soon too so I'll scan those and get them on. I can't wait to see how they turned out.

Until next time...