Hallelujah! We Have a Diagnosis!

We went back to the clinic today. Our pediatrician called this morning and wanted to see Katelyn again. She must not have been happy that Kate wasn't walking yet either, because she convinced the on-call orthopedist to see her. It was quite fortuitous how it all happened. At the end of our visit with the pediatrician, Dr. A , she said she would try to get him to see her and I said I was going to call other clinics to see if anyone else would see her, and we agreed we would be in contact later in the day. As I was about to pull the car out of the parking space and go home to make a million phone calls, my cell phone rang. It was Dr. A. Good news! The on-call doc will squeeze her in now! Yippee!

So, after a not-too-long wait (you expect long when being squeezed, right?), Dr. F took a look at her. He poked and prodded, twisted and pulled. We made her stand and tried to make her walk, but she just stood there crying. He poked and prodded some more, then went to re-check her x-rays. He came back, poked yet again and declared that she had either a bone bruise or a slight crack in her shin bone. Actually, he was quite certain it was a crack. He thought he could make it out on the x-ray, but it's so hard to tell with baby bones.

It's on the inside of her leg, right in the middle between her foot and knee. That confirmed the suspicion I developed this morning as I watched her crawl around and play with her foot, but yelp when I pulled that leg up to change her diaper. I had thought all week it was her foot, but I realize this morning it could very well be her shin bone. (what is the name of that bone, anyway?)

The good news-both the doc and I are comfortable leaving it uncasted. She isn't walking on it, so chances of her injuring herself further are slim-ish. She's certainly feeling better and more active today, so it isn't making her miserable. And to me, a cast, even only up to her knee, just seems miserable.

We go back in a week, unless of course, she gets worse or seems to regress in her healing.

And me? Even though I know now that it's probably a fracture, I feel SO MUCH BETTER.

But, unfortunately, this does mean I have to cancel gymnastics for the next couple weeks. Better go make that phone call right now before I forget.

Still Fuzzy

Well, according to X-rays, Kate does not have a fracture in her foot or hip.

Are you tired of me talking about this yet?

I apologize if I've become boring, but it's hard to think of anything else to write about. I've been frustrated by it most of the day. I did talk to a few friends and relatives today to get their expert advice, and the general consensus is it's not unheard of for a kid to have an injury that is not a break that keeps them from walking for a week or more, but she should be seen by an orthopedist just to make sure it's nothing that won't heal on its own.

Since apparently the orthos in our group don't want to see her immediately without an x-ray that shows some type of fracture, I'll be making a bunch of phone calls tomorrow to try to find one that will see her immediately.

But hey, progress tonight. She is crawling! That's something, right? She stood a few times, but I think those were accidents. She was not happy about it. She'd get there, then look at me with this very worried expression and cry while trying to hold her left foot off the floor.

Poor baby.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Park Pics

In an attempt to make up for the extremely brief prior post, here are some pictures from the park last Thursday morning.

Still Not Walking

Kate still refuses to walk or stand. I may try to get her an appointment with an orthopedist tomorrow. We can't x-ray it again until at least Friday, but it's not right that she still won't stand on it. Right?

Right?

Good News

Well, according to the x-ray of Kate's leg, she has no fracture. The doctor was very surprised. She was pretty positive that there was a break in there somewhere because of how Kate REFUSES to walk AT ALL.

She could still have a fracture somewhere that we didn't x-ray, like her foot or hip. But we'll wait until Friday and see if she improves any. If not, back on Friday for more x-rays.

But for now...HOORAY! No cast! Can you just imagine?

Sick Little Invalid

Poor little Kate. First, she came down with a slight fever sometime Sunday night or Monday morning. Then, Monday at the park, she caught her leg in a funny way going down the slide with me, and has refused to walk on it since. The fever and "off-ness" due to illness would be bad enough, but add not walking to it, and it makes for a highly pathetic little girl.

We are going to the doctor in a couple hours to get the leg checked out. We'll keep you posted. For now, Kate and I are sitting on the couch (where we've been for over an hour) playing with Mr. Potato Head and watching PBS. A fun, if not slow way, to spend the morning.

Fire! Fire!

I alluded to being on the scene of a house fire on Saturday morning. It was quite a surreal experience. The house was a few blocks from ours, and when we pulled out of our street, we could see the black smoke. As we turned down the next street, we could see flames from over a block away, coming out of an open garage. Here's the strange part...we saw no emergency vehicles. No one had responded to the scene yet. So what do we do? Well, when you have two people formerly trained to respond to emergencies in the same car, one of them jumps out while the other calls 9-1-1.

You can guess it wasn't me that jumped out. I'm the mommy. I stay with the kids. I get us out of the way. Joel, he's the responder. He goes up to the house, then around the back to see if anyone is still in the house. He gets the older woman out and takes her a house away, where he makes her use his cell phone to call family members. He's the one that tells the cops and the fire fighters (when they arrive 3 minutes later) that no one is in the house and any other facts he knows. He's the one whose adrenaline was pumping so hard when he returned to the car that he could not drive to Oakland.

It's been interesting talking to Padyn about the incident. I pulled around the corner and kept her strapped in so she could not see the garage window exploding and the flames licking the roof. But, she knew what was happening and wanted to watch, so once the firemen got there, I let her unbuckle and watch the fire fighters do their job. I figured she should see that they would take care of it and that it would be ok.

I just remembered that this was the second fire incident she's had experience with. The first was a year ago when a townhouse down the street caught on fire. She and Daddy walked over the next day and saw what the house looked like. She didn't talk about that one as much. Actually seeing the fire this time made it much more real.

She's asked me a few times a day how the fire started and if we'll have a fire in our house. So far, no nightmares or fear associated with it, thankfully, but I'm waiting for that. We just talk about it calmly and how the fire fighters were there to put it out, and that everyone was ok. Not really a scenario you think you'll be dealing with with your preschooler. Not one you are readily prepared for.

Oohhh...the Lights!

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the annual Festival of Lights Parade in the next town over. It's quite fun, especially since it is the town I grew up in and I remember many parades, sitting on the sidewalk drinking hot cocoa out of a thermos. We don't do the hot cocoa, but we do like to go oh and ah over all the pretty floats and twinkly lights. This was our third year going to the parade since we've moved back to the Bay Area.

Padyn loves it. Heck, even Kate loves it. There's lights AND dogs AND music. What could be better? And of course, Santa rounds out the parade at the end, so there's something to look forward to when it gets a little boring (which really, it doesn't).

Afterwards, on the way to the car, we asked Padyn if she liked it. She replied that she liked it more than she thought she would. Ok. Then, when we asked her what her favorite part was, she surprised us with, "The cheerleaders."

Now, mind you, these weren't real cheerleaders. They were girls in elementary school. One of the local Catholic elementary schools. It was dark, they were in green, they weren't really doing much...just sort of hanging out behind the band. But apparently, they left a big impression on Padyn. She now wants to be one when she's older.

Great.

No offense, Callie. I know you are a great little cheerleader. I was just hoping Padyn would be more interested in dancing than cheering. Personal bias. That's all.

When I asked her again later what her favorite part of the parade was (secretly hoping her answer had changed), she still said the cheerleaders, but at least she added, "The princesses and Santa."

Ok, that's a more acceptable answer. I don't have to hold my breath now.

Can't Miss One Day

Here it is, 10:04pm on Saturday night. Normally, it wouldn't even occur to me to post anything now, but it is NaBloPoMo...how many days left? So, while I should be preparing for my Sunday School lesson tomorrow, I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what to post for today.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about how our morning started with assisting at a house down the street that had caught on fire. But that will take a little more time. For now, you must be satisfied with hearing about my new favorite Thanksgiving meal side dish: Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon and Maple. I made it tonight. We went to our friends for a post Thanksgiving dinner. (We made a Thanksgiving meal tonight because we didn't get to cook one and I was missing the leftovers.) We split the meal between 3 couples. I was in charge of the yams, the salad, the rolls and the apple crisp. All were good, but the Mashed Sweet Potatoes were the best.

I'd give you the recipe, but I sort of combined a few, then came up with the final product based on constant taste testing. I can tell you what was in it...just not all the amounts.

4 yams
bourbon (probably 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
maple syrup (about the same amount as the bourbon
1/2 cup whole milk (would have used cream if I had it)
toasted pecans pieces on top

I mashed the yams (after boiling them) in a potato ricer. (Loved the ricer, BTW. I usually mash my potatoes in a Kitchen Aid, but Shauna had the ricer and I wanted to try it. Super easy and it produced nice fluffy potatoes. It's one of my new favorite kitchen gadgets. I must put it on my Christmas list.)

After mashing, I added the liquids, stirred, tasted, added some more, stirred again, etc., until it tasted pretty good. Then I stuck them in the oven in a casserole dish covered with foil. They ended up being in there on 350 for about 30 minutes, but only because we were waiting on some other guests, and the oven was FULL of stuff, so the 350 wasn't really 350. I covered them in pecans right before serving.

Fabulous, even if I do say so myself.

Oh, and I ate brussel sprouts for the first time ever tonight. I won't ever make them for myself, but they were tolerable. I felt like a right grown-up, trying something new and all.

Photo Friday

I had a hard time choosing the photos for your viewing pleasure today. There were so many, uhhh...interesting ones of the week, that I wasn't sure which you would like better.

Maybe you'd like Padyn's new hairstyle, created by her. "One on the top and two on the bottom." This was the best I could come up with for that description. She seemed happy with it. I felt like I was back in the eighties with the top side ponytail. That's how my hair was worn for most of 8th grade.

Or maybe you are more interested in the tongue/drool pictures that Kate was so proud of. She kept wanting to see herself after I took the picture. Look closely...you may still see food in her mouth.

I know, I know. You want to see the towel-as-a-superhero-cape photos we took. I don't know how Kate knew that a towel tucked into the back of her shirt would make a cape, but she did. (She's the one who came up with the idea initially. I may have helped just a bit.) Too much Super WHY, I guess.

Personally, my favorites are the ones we took yesterday as we were trying to get a family photo for the Christmas card. I am particularly fond of the one showing off Kate's snotty nose.The one with the Momma isn't bad, either.

Happy Friday.

Five Days of Gratitude-Day 5 Part II

I can't let the Five Days of Gratitude pass without telling you why I'm so grateful for my husband. Therefore, today deserves two posts of gratitude.

I don't think there can ever be another human that loves me more than Joel. And for that I am forever grateful. He accepts my shortcomings and irritable traits (though he doesn't like them) while constantly reaffirming how wonderful he thinks I am, how beautiful he thinks I am, and how lucky he feels to be married to me every day. I feel the same, but can't express it nearly as well as he does. I am grateful that he is free with his words of kindness and love, even when he might be having a hard day or when I'm not as deserving of them. He doesn't want a day to pass where he hasn't told or shown his love to me.

I am not anywhere close to deserving of his love and admiration. Sometimes, I am sad to say, I'm also not very accepting of it. Usually it's because I don't feel I qualify for his praise. But apparently he thinks I do, which means I need to believe it.

I'm so thankful that he agreed to marry me, raise kids with me, and figure out this whole "rest of our life" thing with me. I really really can't see myself doing this with anyone else.

Nor do I want to.

Five Days of Gratitude-Day 5

There are two things I'm most grateful for in this whole wide world.

This......and this.
Happy Thanksgiving. I hope and pray you are feeling just as grateful for your many blessings as I am today.

Five Days of Gratitude-Day 4

Every night when we are putting the girls to bed, we go through the same routine: jammies, teeth, book, and prayer. During prayer time, we start with a little children's prayer that I helped Padyn memorize last year (Be though with me...) and then I ask her what she is thankful for. It has taken about a year for her to say something other than "nothing" or "I don't know." Now she will actually list a few things out. The amazing thing is Kate gets it. As soon as we say, "What are you thankful for today?" she says, "Papa." Then together, they list all the other things and people that we are going to thank God for that evening. Here's their typical list. When it comes to the objects, you can probably figure out who is thankful for what.

Papa
Ducky
Paci
BooBoo
Mimi
Grandpa
Mommy
Daddy
Kate
Padyn
BonBon
Grandma
Grandpa Lane
Josh
Emily
Owen

The list varies, but these are the usuals. If Bella or Coley happen to be visiting, they are on the list. Auntie and Auntie Erica were on it this weekend since they were staying here. So was Baby Abby.

I'm hoping that one day they add more abstract things that they have to be grateful for. Like the freedoms that the country we live in provides. Or the immense wealth we are blessed with that most of the rest of the world can't comprehend. For food on the table everyday, a shelter over their heads, family and friends that love and care about them, and the opportunity to try almost anything they want to attempt.

Someday. For now I'm happy that they know to be thankful that people and things that they love.

Five Days of Gratitude-Day 3

It goes without saying that I am grateful for my two beautiful girls. On their good days, they are loving, charming, cuddly and adorable. On the not so good days...well, I just have to remind myself of all of their good qualities. That's were today's post is going. Of all the things about my kids I have to be grateful for, one that is near the top of the list is that they are good sleepers.

I know that not everyone is as blessed as we are in this regard, and I tend to be quick to complain when we have one bad night or one too-short nap. But really, they are great sleepers and I truly believe that is one of the things that keeps me sane in this game of motherhood. Usually (because there's always an occasional exception) they happily go to bed by 8pm. They don't whine or cry about it. They don't get up 13 times before settling in for the night. They don't demand more books or water or a brighter nightlight. (Although lately, Padyn has been trying to control and extend the nighttime routine by demanding more hugs and kisses once she's already in bed.) We don't have to threaten them with bodily harm or throwing away all their toys. They stay in their room until their CD alarm clock goes off and they are happy to see us when either Padyn comes running in our room to tell us Bob and Larry is on, or we go in to get them up. I'm SOOOO grateful that they don't get up at 5am.

They typically like taking naps, although Padyn is at the age where I can't tell her to take a nap anymore. It's "quiet time" now, but still...she goes willingly most days. Kate lunges toward her crib, she's so happy to be there for a nap. I know way too many people whose kids refuse to nap or rest by 2 and a half years old. UGH! How do they get anything done around the house like laundry or dishes? Or blogging?

Also? They don't have physical sleep issues. Sure, Kate can't find her pacifier in the middle of the night and requires us to go in with a flashlight to locate it, but she doesn't have breathing issues or night terrors. They don't have sleep apnea. They sleep comfortably through the night without much intervention from us.

Definitely something to be grateful for.

WHAT?!?!

You Should Be a Politician

Confident, assertive, and dedicated - you know what you want in life and how to get it. Stubborn and opinionated, you can stand your ground... even if it's unpopular. And while you have strong views, you never overwhelm people with your opinions. A true charmer, you subtly influence people into seeing things your way. You do best when you: - Work according to your own rules - Can change the world with what you do You would also be a good lawyer or talk show host.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Maybe I should stop taking this silly quizzes.

But actually, doesn't that match with being a teacher, too?

Apparently, this is where I should be living...

...or at least visiting with some regularity.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Five Days of Gratitude-Day 2

Today, I'm thankful for little things. That is appropriate because it's often the little things that steal my joy and drive me crazy. So, the following things are what counteract the tantrums, the piles of laundry, the dirty dishes, and all the other minutia that threaten my day.

I am grateful for...
* A good cup of coffee (especially the ones J brings me in bed in the morning)
* The laughter of my kids
* 10 minutes to curl up with novel
* A backrub from my hubbie
* Wireless Internet
* Full Episodes on TV shows on-line
* A full tank of gas in traffic
* The feel of my baby's hand in mine
* Handwritten notes from friends
* My iPod
* Cute shoes
* Naps
* Fresh cut flowers
* A working oven
* Sunsets
* Fresh baked cookies
* Clear roads when you are expecting traffic

...and many many other things. This is just want I thought of in 2 minutes. You can add yours in the comments.

Five Days of Gratitude

I was having trouble deciding what to blog about today. I thought about telling you how Padyn refused to take a nap or how bratty she was for the babysitter last night. But I didn't want to write a complaining post, especially since I had a very enjoyable weekend with my cousin, my sister and some good friends. So then I thought I should post something that I'm happy about, but I didn't like that so much either. Then it hit me. Thanksgiving is five days away. Why not set a challenge for myself to post every day this week about what I am grateful for? Feel free to copy.

So, there are many many things I am grateful for, and I can't list them all today. I have to pick just one or two. So today I will tell you how grateful I am for my friends. I was reminded again yesterday (and actually told by someone) what great friends I have. Many are linked over in my sidebar, but there are so many others out there in the world (and I do mean the world). I could only hang out with a few of them last night due to distance or kids or other plans, but it made me think of all of them and how blessed I am. God just keeps bringing these great people into my life who are warm, generous, and genuine. I surely am not that deserving. It's truly something to be grateful for.

Your turn. What are you grateful for this week? Cause really...it can't just be about the turkey and mashed potatoes.

Facts About Hair

Conversation with Padyn as I am putting her down for her nap. We are lying together on the floor of the playroom right after I finished reading.

P: Mommy, what does your hair smell like?

M: Ummm....probably shampoo.

P: (takes a whiff) No. It smells like air conditioner.

Looky Here...

It's amazing what peer pressure can do.

Welcome to the world of blogging, Lulu. We're glad your along for the ride.

Three for Friday

Three significant things that transpired today, November 16th, 2007:

1. I turned 33. (Not that significant, really, but I needed three things.)

2. I wore a pair of pants that I haven't fit into since before I was pregnant with Padyn. The waist feels a bit high, but they were comfortable enough to wear all day long and I got compliments about them. Nice.

3. Kate peed on the potty. Yes, she really really did. She seemed a bit surprised herself. I pulled out the training potty yesterday and she's been fascinated with it. She goes and sits on it whenever she can. She willingly gave up paci and BearBear just to sit on it last night (because I quickly made a rule that paci and BearBear were not allowed on the potty). This morning, she really wanted to sit on it, so Daddy let her. She kept sitting down for 3 seconds then getting up, usually to look inside and then close the lid. But she would go right back to sitting on it again and eventually something came out. What a big girl. Although, am I really ready to potty train a 19 month old?

What cool things happened in your world today?

Photo Friday-Ballerina Girl, Inhaler and Cake

Two birthdays this week...you'd think I'd have more pictures to show from it. Nope. I have a whopping TWO from Padyn's birthday dinner, and nothing from today (my birthday). It's hard to take pictures when you are in meetings all day. Oh well. I'll have my fun tomorrow night.

So, instead of birthday pictures (and really, didn't you see enough party pictures on Sunday?) I have other photos from the week to share with you...

Padyn received a beautiful leotard with tutu from Grandma for her birthday. We picked it up Tuesday, just in time for her to wear to dance class on Thursday. This Thursday was extra special because BonBon got to take her to dance class and stay to watch. Padyn was loving it. Here are a few shots of her showing off her dance moves before going to class.

Notice her pink sparkly princess shoes? She picked those out for her birthday. They were a present from Mommy. I know, I know...I'm such a sucker. What you don't know is that I also bought a pair for Kate as a Christmas present.I told you about Kate's inhaler last week. I'm happy to report that she seems to like the thing now. It's actually quite difficult to get it away from her as she wants to keep playing with it. I managed to get a picture of her trying to do it herself. Really, you just never know with this kid. As for the coughing, it's lessened, but we still had a puking incident yesterday, and in the mornings she is covered with snot and coughs for a while when first waking up.Lastly, I mentioned on Tuesday that I should ask Padyn to make me a cake for my birthday since she was so concerned about her own. Well, you should be careful what you write on the Internet because your friends may act on it. Check out the cake Padyn made me today with the help of her best bud Emily (and, of course, Miss Chris, Emily's mommy.) She is SO proud of it. So am I. Thanks, Chris!

That's it! Happy Friday.

Budding Belief System

Padyn and I were having the following conversation in the car on our way to her birthday dinner at PF Changs last night. This was completely prompted by her...

P: Mommy, you should pray or read your bible every night.

M: Yes. That's always a good idea.

P: You need to pray or read your bible every night, Mommy. Do you know what will happen if you don't?

M: (now thinking, where is this going and how am I going to explain that we don't believe in a salvation by works doctrine to a 4 year old) Ummm...what happens?

P: You need to read your bible or pray every night so you don't shrink. That's why I pray every night...so I don't shrink. I want to grow bigger and bigger.

M: (somewhat relieved, yet not quite sure how to respond) Ummmm...really? You shrink? Oh look...here we are at the restaurant!

Maybe I need to have a follow up conversation with her...

It's Really Lame...

...when some of your best friends have a blog and you didn't even know about it!

You can check out Padyn and Kate's friends, C.J. and Abby, over at Oaktown Olsens.

Now I don't feel so lame anymore.

and just as a side note...I knew they had a website, that was periodically updated, but I had NO IDEA they had turned it into a blog. How fun is that?

Happy 4th Birthday!

Today is officially Padyn's 4th birthday. Out she came 4 years ago at 2:22am...all 7 pounds and 2 ounces of her, three weeks early. And as I seem to have started my own tradition of posting past birthday pictures of Miss P on the day of her birth, here's a recap of the last 4 birthdays, and one for today.

early girl-Padyn Irene was ready to enter the world a bit before mommy and daddy were expecting to receive her.one year old-I think she ate more cake when she was one than she has on any birthday since.two years old-This was her birthday morning, as you can tell from the pjs and the hair. She is opening her first present of the day...her Olivia book. It's still a favorite.three years old-Cake and fairy wings. She was pretty excited to be celebrating her birthday last year.four years old today-Hamming it up for the camera. She wanted baby doll to be in the picture with her. Maybe it's baby doll's birthday, too.Happy Birthday, Padyn baby. You've brought more joy to our lives than you'll ever know.

Trying to Figure it Out

Padyn is really concerned about when her real birthday is. Not only did she have her party on Saturday, but today she brought cupcakes to school where she was crowned with a birthday hat and sung to. And yet, it is still not her real birthday. And she knows it.

I try to appease her by telling her that we had her real party on Saturday. That was it. No more parties. It will be her real birthday tomorrow, but she already had her real party.

This won't be a big deal, except that she is adamant that she needs to have a party on her real birthday. She goes back and forth as to whether this party will be at our house or at gymnastics again. I don't think the location is as important to her as the fact that we must celebrate in some way, and with a cake, on her real birthday.

I have no plans to make a cake. I've already made 4 dozen cupcakes, the last dozen of which will come with us to playgroup tomorrow, on her real birthday.

I'm not quite sure what she is expecting, and surely I don't want her to be disappointed. We'll give her the presents from us and other family members tomorrow, but other than playgroup, presents, and going out to lunch on her real birthday, I don't think we can drag this birthday thing out anymore than we already have.

Oh, except there is another birthday on Friday...mine. Which, of course, Padyn cares nothing about.

Maybe I should ask her to make me a cake.

Big Bully

I think Kate may be turning into a bully. Lately she has been grabbing, pulling and hitting for no apparent reason. And not just at me. It is usually directed at one child in particular. One other child who has done nothing to provoke this type of behavior other than exist.

You see, she has this friend, Tali, who is a few months younger than her. She and Tali probably see each other twice a week, either in childwatch at the gym or at playdates at our houses where they are supervised by us responsible mommies. I have never noticed any animosity or jealousy or anything else that might cause this behavior. They have always gotten along as well as two toddlers can.

But lately, every time we see Tali, Kate starts screaming, "No, Tali! No!" Today when Tali came over to our house, the first thing Kate said (shouted, actually) was, "No Tali paci boo boo!" (interpretation: Tali can't have my pacifier and Bear Bear!) Now, never mind that her pacifier and bear where safely upstairs in her crib. Kate was sure that Tali was going to get them. So when Tali started climbing up the stairs, which she always does because she has no fear and is fascinated by the stairs, Kate grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down. Later, when they were at the little table coloring, Kate walked up to Tali and tried to pull her off the chair.

This didn't just start today. Last week I noticed her grabbing and trying to pull Tali over on a few occasions. And sometimes it isn't just Tali. At gymnastics she will regularly walk up to other children and just smack them. Again, unprovoked.

The common thread seems to be that all these children are younger than her. Not necessarily smaller...Tali is the same size, if not taller. Just younger.

I don't recall Padyn behaving this way at 19 months. Maybe my memory is poor. But I don't really know what to do about it. How much can a 19 month old really understand about consequences? I can give her a time out (which I normally do) but I don't think she really gets it.

Thoughts? Is this just a phase that I can't remember or does she have bullying tendencies? Suggestions for how to respond?

Party Time at the Little Gym

Even though Padyn's birthday is not until Wednesday, we had her party last night at the Little Gym. It was fabulous. Not only did I not have to have 18 children and their parents in my small living space, but I didn't have to be in charge of anything for the hour and a half. There were this two very lovely college-age peoples who ran the show. I just got to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Here are a few highlights of the night. I think you can tell that everyone enjoyed themselves.

circle time-I think they were pretending to make P's birthday cake here. inflation of the tumble track-This was by far one of the favorite activities of the evening. But poor Kate. She loves this thing and she just never wanted to get off. I have one picture where she's screaming because I'm trying to "help" her jump off. So sad. the birthday throne-I believe this was the "silly face" photo.

waiting for something-We might have been waiting for the tumble track to be rolled out. I included this picture because if you squint, you can just make out my green toes. Next to me is my pal, Chris, and Kate's bud, Josh. parachute time-Again, Kate loves this activity and was upset when she didn't get to do it like she normally does in class. She kept trying to run on it. When we finally got to go under it, she was ecstatic.

more parachute timesolo spin-Padyn got to take a ride all by herself on the parachute while we sang "Happy Birthday." Kate REALLY wanted to go on their with her, but Padyn won't let her. That's a big sister for you.

padyn and her peeps-Everyone wanted to sit next to the birthday girl. It was the cause of some drama during the throne picture.

cutie pie

So much fun. I told you it would end well.

Too Early for This

It's not quite 8am on Saturday morning, yet I can already tell it's going to be a long day. It should end well, but it will take a while to get there.

Padyn has already lost TV priviledges for the day due to the fact that she woke her sister up this morning.

Kate greeted me at 7am screaming since she had completely wet through her diaper and pooped. She was clearly uncomfortable. I still have to change her sheets and wash her blankets.

Padyn's birthday party is tonight. Fortunately, it's at the Little Gym, so I don't have to worry about games or prizes or anything like that. I do, however, still need to clean the house since we have out of town friends staying the night. And since we have all been sick, that means a complete sanitary scrubbing. That should be quite fun since Padyn won't be distracted with the TV.

I have cupcakes to bake and frost. Of course Padyn wants to help, so it will take a bit longer than normal.

I have party favors to bag. I don't think I'll let Padyn help out with those.

I need to remember to give Kate her inhaler.

Oh, and we are supposed to go get our flu shot sometime this morning.

And since I was up 4 or 5 times last night with my own coughing fits, I'd really love to take a nap today. I don't think that's going to happen. I should have made the coffee fully leaded instead of our usual half-caf.

But, like I said, it should end well. We have Padyn's party, some of our best friends are coming, we'll be eating pizza. Good times.

Oh yeah, gotta remember to order the pizza and go to the store to get grown up food.

Is it nap time yet?

Photo Friday-More Pumpkin Patch

Instead of trying to get new pictures of my snotty nose girls for today, I decided to post old pictures that you probably haven't seen since they are buried among the 587 photos in my October folder on Flickr. These are from the 2nd pumpkin patch we went to a couple weeks before Halloween. This time we hit the Dixon pumpkin patch with our friends Emily, Cana and Macey, their mommies, and our Auntie. This particular farm had a lot of the way of entertainment. There were bikes you could rent and ride around the patch, huge wagons, a couple tepes that had their very own couches, a random robot, and a HUGE corn maze. We bypassed the maze since it took a grown man with a map over an hour to complete. The thought of doing it with small children make my eye twitch. But we did find much joy in the playhouses scattered about and the huge pyramid of hay, not to mention the actual pumpkins. (Funny how we didn't spend much time with the pumpkins.) We're definitely going back here next year.

padyn pumpkin posingfive in a wagonmommy and katepadyn and cana hanging out the windowkate loved these housesmommies and kiddos on top of they pyramidauntie, padyn, and the weird pumpkin patch robotmommy and her girls

conquering the grass mazeHappy Friday.

Clarification

So I mentioned that Kate has an inhaler in the last post, but I didn't explain why. See, I thought I had mentioned this a 6 or 7 months ago. But going back over all posts labeled "Kate," I realized I never EVER told you about Kate's inhaler and her hacking-like-she-is-dying cough. (Well, I may have mentioned the cough somewhere, probably with the ear infections. I DID mention the multiple ear infections last January through April, didn't I? I didn't I?)

Well, I'll just post about it now, 7 or so months after the fact. At least it will be here when I turn this blog into Kate's baby scrapbook.

You see, in the months between January and April of last year (so Kate was 9 months to 1 year) Kate had constant ear infections. We'd go through one round of antibiotics, just get everything cleared up, when the next month she'd get another one, usually in the other ear. At the same time, she had this persistent cough that was just horrible. It really really sounded like she was going to cough up a lung. People feared for her life when they heard it. Fortunately, it didn't occur 24/7. It usually came at night, or when she was clearly congested (as evidenced by the continuous stream of mucus falling from her nostrils.) But it hung around with the ear infections for months.

At some point, either in the end of April or the beginning of May (I know I should know when, but April was a bit...ummm...hectic here), Kate started vomiting every time she ate. She was so congested that eating would make her gag, then cough, then throw up. After a day of this, I had had enough. We went BACK to the doctor's office and I wasn't leaving until I had something to make the coughing stop.

Hence, the inhaler. We did an Albuterol treatment right there in the office, and we could hear the difference in Kate's breathing after 15 minutes. So, she was prescribed an inhaler that we were to use every 4 to 6 hours until the coughing had ceased. I think I used it 3 times a day for two weeks, then I was able to drop it to once or twice a day. After about a month, she was finally back to normal health. No coughing, no snotty nose, and no ear infections (though I don't know if the two were related. The ear infections were due to a steady supply of fluid in her canals.)

Dr. A and I decided that whenever Kate started coughing like this again, I was just going to start her on the inhaler. When she began coughing a few days ago, I pulled it out. Kate was not happy.

Every time she sees it, she screams, "No, Mommy! NO!" and tries to put it back in the bag. And no wonder. Have you ever seen an infant inhaler? It looks like this:

I have to hold it to her mouth and nose, making sure to keep the seal, squeeze the "normal" inhaler that is attached to the opposite end, and count to 10. Twice. I can't do it by myself right now. Kate just gets too crazy. One of us has to hold her and pin her arms down while the other holds the inhaler to her face and dispenses the medicine.

The bottom line is, she probably does not have asthma. She really doesn't have trouble breathing. She has trouble clearing her lungs. This helps. Unfortunately, it also jacks her up, so I have to time it right. Tonight I gave it to her too close to bedtime (since I had forgotten all day) and see was still awake and crying off and on 45 minutes after I put her to bed. I must remember to give it to her right when she wakes up or we are all going to be sad for the next few weeks.

Hopefully, this will do the trick. We had no puking today, but it was touch and go there a few times. I'll wrestle this thing to her face 5 times a day if it keeps the puking at bay. Nothing worse than smelling vomit the rest of the day.

Addendum

To add to my previous post...

Not only did we start the day with puking. We ended it.

And she isn't even sick.

Tonight Kate was just pissed off. She was screaming after my step-mom put her to bed. I went in moments after she was down to calm her, and I found she had vomited in her bed.

Lovely.

And all because she was crying with a chest full of mucus.

Must.Use.Inhaler.More.

You Know It's Going to Be a Long Day...

...when your child pukes in your hand at her gymnastics class.

Fortunately, the puking was due to her congestion and the racking cough she experiences when she is too active, rather than due to the flu.

Guess we won't be running or jumping for another couple of days.

Just the Day for Photos

I know some of you are getting antsy. You don't mind this blogging everyday thing, but only if it includes some pictures more than once a week. Since I've punished you since Saturday with only blah blah blah, today I will reward you with just photos. So, enjoy these pictures of our outing to the duck pond last Saturday. In attendance was Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Padyn, Kate and Bella. The doggies did not get to come, much to Bella's disappointment.


Bella and Padyn chasing each other down the path.Kate LOVED the ducks. Can't you tell?I'm not sure if she's practicing her tap dancing or just purposely ignoring me.Doesn't that pigeon look like it's eyeing Bella?I love this one. Kate is peeking around Bella to look at the ducks.So happy.