Mad Science

Over a week ago we went to a Mad Science show at Katelyn's school.
It was a lot of fun! Nana, Pa and Uncle Drew joined Katelyn, Maggie, Connor and I for the dinner and a show. Chris and Ben decided to stay home.
Katelyn showed me how much she really is growing up when she went off to have dinner with a friend and her family.

We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner....

And then cookies for desert. Some were Girl Scout Cookies and the others were part of the dinner that was served.

Finally it was time for a show! It was a mad science show! This is absolutely PERFECT for my children, right down their alley for sure.

I must admit that although I thought the experiments were really neat, I was very happy that I didn't have the needed chemicals at home to do them. If we did I am pretty sure my children would have been doing the experiments at home.

And to be quite honest with you all, I think mixing vinegar and baking soda is enough of a science experiment for me!

It was a great night for everyone! I am so glad that the PTO and the school put all the effort into planning and carrying out the dinner and a show...

Gastro

Today Ben had a follow up with the gastro specialist. I went in with my list of questions and concerns. The top one being that Ben doesn't eat! Not far behind was that his reflux seems to have gotten worse and he doesn't sleep well at all. And, that he has pooped during the night three times in the last week. That wasn't really a concern but is out of the ordinary and may add another piece to the puzzle.
So, Ben doesn't eat. We will have a couple of days where he will eat better and we think that we are seeing some improvement. Don't get me wrong, he isn't eating much compared to another 13 month old, but for him it is better. Then he goes back to not eating. Or he does what we call "chipmunking". This is when he stuffs his mouth full of food, sucks on it for a while, and then spits it out. I would have to say that five out of seven days a week he is still exclusively breastfed and the other two days he gets about 75% of his nutrition from breastmilk and the other 25% from food.
This is very different for me. I am not a mom who is an "extended nurser". I personally only nurse until 12 months at the latest. Not that I am against extended nursing, it's just not for me. But, with Ben, I really can't stop nursing. I am his main source of nutrition. Still. This concerns me. He should be eating. He should be drinking cups of milk and some juice. But, he's not.
The last time we went to see Dr. R he wasn't worried at all about this or that Ben wasn't growing. This time was a different story. He is worried. Quite worried actually.
Ben also had blood in his poop today. Thankfully he pooped while we were waiting for the doctor and I thought to save it for the doctor. (Wasn't that so nice of me :o) So when the doctor asked me about how Ben's poop has been I was able to hand him a diaper full. He said, "Oh, you know I love poop!" I think he meant it too, lol. So he tested it and it had blood in it. I couldn't see it but it was there.
A couple of days ago I thought there was some blood in his poop because it looked like coffee grounds but I decided I was over reacting and my imagination was in overdrive. Guess not...
Because of Ben's lack of eating, the blood in his poop, and his very high iEg numbers the doctor thinks he is having some type of allergic reaction in his esophagus. I can't remember what it is called or much about it but Ben is going to have a scope put down his throat in the next couple of weeks so the doctor can really get a good look. Apparently babies and toddlers that have this problem have some major eating issues. It hurts and there isn't room to swallow food.
It is a minor test really but Ben will have to be put to sleep and will have to be intubated. I told Dr. R about when Ben was having the tubes put in his ears and that they couldn't get him safely intubated. I guess this time it will be a pediatric anaesthesiologist and that will make a big difference. Man, I wish they could take out his adenoids at the same time!
Anyway, I don't know what will happen after the test. I was a bit overwhelmed with information and didn't even ask. I do know they will do some food allergy testing.
For now though... Ben will continue to be breastfed whenever he wants. Which will surely be a couple of times during the night. We are upping his dose of reflux meds too.
Man my brain is tired. My body is too! And I have a sore throat, please don't let me get sick!
So, that was our visit to the gastro doctor today.

pulmonologist

Yesterday we went to the pulmonologist for Katelyn's check up and for some asthma education on both kids. It went really well.
She did put Katelyn on a higher dose of her daily inhaled steroid. Day to day her asthma is under good control. She very rarely has symptoms. However, when she gets sick, even a little sick, her asthma is bad. She has been on three rounds of oral steroids in less then 8 months which is too much. She has a slight cold right now and we are hoping with the increase in daily meds we can stay away from the oral steroids.
The education was great. So much to process. I feel like we are mostly doing things right though so that is good!

Sleep

Sleep....

When will it happen? I can honestly say that it has been years since I slept through the whole night. I'm tired. Chris is tired. When will it happen?
I don't know how to make it happen. Can a person "make" it happen?
I feel like it is important for Ben to learn how to sleep through the night but I don't know how to teach him this life skill.
For so long, and still really, there have been things going on with Ben that make it difficult for him to sleep. Reflux. Ear infections. Wheezing. Asthma. So we really never know what is going on. If you could tell me, "he is perfectly healthy, there is nothing wrong with him.", then I would feel better about letting him fuss and cry a bit more.
A couple of times when I have tried to let him "cry it out" I have gone in after a long time to find him wheezing and needing a breathing treatment. I can't tell you how guilty that makes me feel.
Plus, he doesn't eat. Other then a handful of times, I can tell you that he is pretty much exclusively breastfed. Still. At 13 1/2 months old. I will talk more about that later though.
So, what do I do? I need sleep. My baby, um toddler, shouldn't be waking up to nurse 2-4, sometimes five, times a night. He needs sleep. Chris needs sleep.
I do realize that in a few years, maybe 20, I will look back and think, "it wasn't all that bad" but for now....
I need sleep!!!!

Man, I love him...

I married the best man in the world!

Look what he brought home just for me last night!!!
I am so very lucky!!!

picture day

We are a little bit late for birthday pictures but I finally got them done today! For Maggie and Ben that is.
The pictures came out awesome! I had the hardest time picking which ones to buy. After wrestling with Ben to stay still and begging Maggie to just give me one more minute I picked these poses.
You may remember that Maggie had her pictures done at school and then at the photo place in the fall so I just bought one of her. I LOVE it though!!!! She just looks so beautiful and grown up!

As for Ben they took so many pictures and I couldn't decide. They brought out a frame with these three pictures in it and I fell in love. I didn't buy the framed ones because it would have been crazy expensive but I bought the three sheets and plan to try and frame them myself. Check out his expressions! I just love them and how his adorable sweater popped with the stripes!

Is it just me or did these come out great?????

weight check and shot

Ben went yesterday to the doctor, actually a nurse visit for a weight check and a shot...
The weight check didn't go as well as we would have liked as he has only gained 2 ounces in the last month which puts him up to 22lbs 10 ounces. The doctor wasn't in so I am not sure what she is going to say about it. Honestly though, I want to give him some more time. He has recently started to eat and drink milk better so I want to give his body more time to start adding on the weight. Also, he seems so much more healthy lately. His activity level is not the level of someone that is having problems, at least in my opinion. The little guy NEVER stops moving! Like I used to say when the doctor was worried about Connor's growing, "you have to take in more calories then you burn off to gain weight."

He had his MMR shot as well. Shots make me nervous, very nervous. I do have my children get them and I do believe in them but they scare me! Especially with the knowledge that Ben has some pretty bad allergies that we don't know what they are yet. So, I will admit, that when I looked at the shot area a few minutes later and there was two huge hives I felt my heart panic a little. Luckily I was still at the doctor's office so I went and got the nurse. She happened to be talking to one of the other docs in the practice so he took a look. We put ice on the leg right away and waited a little while. The doctor checked in on Ben two more times and the nurse was in and out checking. Thank goodness he didn't have a full body reaction, it was a localized one. The doctor said he probably has an allergy to something in the shot. Yikes, that scares me for future shots! Man, shots scare the crap out of me!!! I am pretty sure I dislike them more then the kids do....

Dreams

JJ

We, the humans that live in our house, are not the only ones who are absolutely thrilled that spring has sprung!

JJ, our guinea pig, is thoroughly enjoying the fresh air...

And partly green grass...

Although, I am not sure he is thrilled about his leash...

He did however LOVE the strawberries that we gave him...

And he seemed to really want to burrow under bushes and leaves. Possibly because he was scared to death but hopefully because he just liked it....

AAAWWW, spring has sprung! Officially today!

Just another step in growing up...

None of my babies have worn shoes until they are at least a year old and walking outside. This is for a couple of reasons really. One, "they" say that babies should not wear shoes because it can mess up the normal growth of feet. Two, I think they are just a pain in the butt to be honest. And three, bare chubby baby feet are ADORABLE! However, since it has been so nice out lately we have been playing outside a lot more and Ben's little leather slippers just weren't cutting it in the wet grass. It was time to get him some big boy shoes.

Man, that wasn't fun! He was not interested at all in sitting still so I could try on a bunch of shoes, shocking I know. We really didn't have many options though because his feet are pretty chubby so he needed a nice wide, size 6 shoe. The store only had two pair that really fit him. One was absolutely adorable, but wasn't the best shoe for a new walker so that one was out. So that gave us only one choice. Don't get me wrong, it is cute, just not as cute as the other one.

I will say that although I am still a lover of bare, chubby baby feet he does look pretty cute in the shoes! They are not slowing him down in the least and he is getting used to them very quickly.

Just another step in growing up...

Mommy's Monkey, the baby monkey...

Ben's first cheese doodles

Yes Ben, I know you love the cheese doodles. But I am sorry, they are all gone...

Dishwasher

Ben thinks it is his God given right to be able to go wherever he pleases. One such place is the dishwasher. He is beyond obsessed with it. If he hears me doing dishes he runs in. If it is closed but not latched he opens it and climbs in.
The other day he ventured away from me and a few seconds later I hear him yelling for me. "Mama, uh!" I walk into the kitchen and this is exactly what I found. He was giving me the proudest look. The look that says, "I know I am not supposed to be doing this but look how cute I am, aren't I just adorable!"
So, what do I do? Well, grab the camera, of course. You know, just reinforce the not so great behavior.


Listen Ben, this is not safe! There are sharp knives and glass in the dishwasher! Stay out! And stop giving me that stinkin' cute look when I try to tell you no!

Some fun at the park

Spring has arrived! The sun is shining and the temps are getting warmer. The spring flowers that I just love have started to blossom!

Today we went to the park for the first time this season. My sister and I took the three younger monkeys and met my brother and his beautiful family.

We did some swinging....

Running.... Laughing... Playing....

Driving.... Climbing... Jumping....

Maggie played with some friends from school that just happened to be there too...


Emmy looked around taking everything in...
Ben did some swinging too and just loved it. He laughed and laughed!

It was a great time!!! I am so excited that spring is here and we can look forward to many more days at the park!!!

TERRIBLE, AWFUL, AND THE WORST!

Last Thursday night before bed the kids were goofy and full of giggles. I was taking pictures and just happened to click the camera just as Maggie did this....Which, of course, completely cracked us all up! So then I was just snapping away all kinds of goofy pictures. (Gotta love digital cameras. First, you can see the pictures right away. Second, you can erase the many terrible ones that you take.)
So, back to my point. Before bed the kids seemed perfectly fine!

Right after putting them upstairs Connor started really crying that his tummy hurt. I have to say that I was a bit nervous because it was hard and quite distended. I told him to come back down stairs with us for a bit so we could keep an eye on him.

A few minutes later Katelyn came down saying that her tummy really hurt too. Since they were all perfectly fine 20 minutes earlier I had a hard time believing that she really had a problem. I kinda thought maybe it was some sympathy thing because of Connor.

Holy smokes was I WRONG!

At 8pm Connor projectile vomited all over the living room! A mere 20 minutes later Katelyn began projectile vomiting, thankfully in the toilet! Only 20 minutes later Chris started projectile vomiting!

I can't even begin to tell you how bad this was! I can't tell you how many times I heard myself say, "You have to puke in here because he is puking in the toilet!" "No, you can't puke in the toilet because he is pooping in the toilet!" "Here! Puke in the bucket!"

When I think back I can't believe I wasn't more worried. Between the three of them at least one person was throwing up at all times throughout the night.

At six in the morning Maggie woke up and told me that her belly hurt. I wanted to cry. I kept telling her to keep the bucket in front of her in case she needed it. She just kept pushing it away and crying. She then puked all over me and herself! OH CRAP! Not you too!!!!

The poor kids would throw up, pass out for a few minutes, just to wake up and throw up again.

They all had buckets with them at all times! Even Maggie was good about it after that initial time.

Chris and Katelyn slept for 24 straight hours except to pee, once they stopped throwing up and having, ahem, bathroom issues.

I believe that it was food poisoning from bad milk. We will never really know though. The only thing that I do know for sure is that I have NEVER seen my husband or children that sick before. It was TERRIBLE, AWFUL, AND THE WORST! I hope to never see it again!

A funny little story though... At one point I took a picture of Katelyn. She looked at me and said, "You're not going to put that on your blog are you?" Well, yes, actually I was. She asked me not to though so I respected that wish and used one that she didn't mind as much.

Another rainy day!

On Monday our town had to cancel school because there was a lot of flooding from the days of constant rain. The kids were just full of energy and could not be cooped up in the house for one more day. Maggie had school but the rest of the monkeys needed something to do. Something active to get some of their built up energy out.
I thought and thought but couldn't come up with anything close enough. I wrote something on facebook about it and a friend of mine mentioned the dome we have in town. I have never been but the kids can bring bikes, scooters, and Rollerblades. Perfect!
So I packed up the van with all the scooters, Rollerblades, and helmets. Dropped Maggie off at school, picked up my nephew Kyle, and headed to the dome.

The kids had a GREAT time!

They got lots of energy out!

Ben was pushed around in his car and had a good time!

Thanks Nicole, the dome was the perfect idea for another rainy day!!!

My girls...

I think this speaks for itself!

Chat with Maggie

Maggie "Mama, look at my boo-boo. I put a band-aid on it."

Me "Oh, what happened?"

Maggie "I got a little scrape."

Me "How did you do that?"

Maggie "You know that thingy with the thingies on it? The one with the circle thingies on it?"

Me "Nope, not sure what thingy you are talking about."

Maggie "Come with me and I will show you the thingy."

Me "OK."

She brings me into the playroom and shows me the "thingy with the thingies on it, the circle thingies". Wanna know what it was? A three ring binder, lol.
How did I not know that???

Another trip with great friends!

Last week Maggie, Ben and I met Neala, Katie and Drew for some lunch. Then we went to my the kids favorite, free, place to go. Why the pet store of course!



We spent a lot of time watching a sheep dog being groomed. The amount of hair on the floor was unbelievable! Drew was convinced, and would not budge, on the fact that the dog had no eyes even though we tried to explain that they are under his fur.

Ben and Katie went for rides and looked at all the animals.

Until Katie was set free and loved the small white, fluffy puppy that we saw.

Ben, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed the fish....

Neala and I got some good upper body workouts when the four year olds needed to be picked up to see something, lol. Man, they are getting big!

Another fun trip with great friends!!!