Art

It's nice to know that no matter what your artistic skill, your children will think you're amazing. And everything they ask you to draw, no matter how pitiful, will be perfect and they will love it. But then you have to draw another one and it has to be exactly the same, or else there's problems ... bragging and ultimately tantrums

The end of a chapter

Kaitlyn is officially finished with her first year of school. She graduated Friday and today was the last day. The year flew by!

Being a December baby, I had my reservations about sending her. She turned 4 as half the class was about to turn 5. But I'm so glad we did. She came how with the most darling memory book of her journey. She learned so much, made so many friends, and had lots of fun. Worried she would be behind, I tried tirelessly to prepare her, but as hard as I worked, she wasn't learning from me. I quickly learned that she didn't need that preparation, the teachers were awesome and Kaitlyn was spelling and writing her own name within a few days. We're so proud of her.

I can't believe how fast the time goes. Our time with them really is short and one more chapter in Kaitlyn's life has come to a close. As much as we joyously anticipate all her milestones and enjoy watching her discover new things and learning about the world, I wish it didn't have to happen so soon. Life is so hectic. I go to bed every night with feelings of guilt, wondering if I spent enough time with the kids. The days just keep passing and I worry I'm missing out. But I also have to keep the place clean, wash dishes, cook, and do laundry. There just isn't enough time for it all.

I'm reminded of a time, Kaity had just turned 2, we were walking home from the diagnostics center, the girls needed bloodwork for their checkups. Their faces were still a little red and their eyes still had tears in them. But we came upon a group of hedges, these very large bushes when Kaity felt compelled to stop. She turned, gave them a hug, smiled, and ran off.

As the next chapter of Kaity's life begins (and Abby who is getting ready for Pre-K), I want to take full advantage of this summer. I want to spend more time with the kids and less time worrying about that ever growing pile of laundry or wasting time on the computer. I want to look at the world through their eyes while they still have a love for everything, even if it is just a bush. I want to see how much my kids can teach me. Everything in their world is still perfect and innocent. I want to stop and smell every flower like they still do, maybe not EVERY flower. I want to enjoy my kids. They notice that everything in this world is beautiful, even in it's imperfections, and it all has a wonderful purpose. They have all the time in the world to realize this lovliness. One day the whining and fighting will end and they will be gone and I don't want to miss out. I'm trying to make a connection, though through lack of sleep my brain has quit on me, so I don't know if it's working.

I want to look past their imperfections and take the time to enjoy them because it really doesn't last long.

update on my Maddy Moo

It's NOT over! After three sleepless nights, I took her in because she's had another high fever, I've had about 6 hours of sleep since Sat. This poor girl has nearly finished a bottle of Motrin in just a few days. Anyway, the Pedi called the hospital lab, turns out she had a Urinary Tract Infection!! Can you believe that?! June 3, and I'm finding out now! Apparently, they do an initial test, then a 48 hour one. So we had to do another catheter yesterday. Maddy has been such a trooper. The initial test seemed ok. Which would mean it cleared on it's own...so not the cause of her fevers. She may have an ear infection, it was red, but not bulging. We started an antibiotic, we'll see what that does.

Her fevers mysteriously stopped before the doctor's visit , just as they had a week and a half ago. I wonder if they'll be back in a few days. 5:30 am yesterday she was given some Motrin and they have yet to return. She seems to be in good spirits except for this new attitude that she has developed. She can get quite angry.

Because she had a UTI, the doctor wants to check her kidneys. We took her today for a sonogram, which Maddy hated, but thankfully, the tech was fast. Now I have to find a Urologist and hope that the insurance doesn't give us any drama. If I understand the dr correctly, a UTI in infants could be a sign of urinary reflux. I don't know how serious that is, hopefully tests will come back fine. On Friday, I need to call to get these results and that of the urine culture and the plate(?) count.

I'm upset that I've now told 4 doctors that she cries when she has a bowel movement and noone seems concerned. I tried the prune juice, now what? We'll take these tests and then if she's still getting fevers or crying when she poos, I'll just show up with a bag and a turd, if they're lucky, I won't set it on fire!

The three of them have been sick for about a month now and are so exhausted. We got home around 3, the whining and fighting became out of control. So I sent them to their room til they could get along. I started feeding Maddy so she could take a nap. She was out in 10 minutes. I went to check on the kids, they were asleep too! I couldn't believe it! This was the first time the three of them napped and the first time both Kaity and Abby took a nap in months. I probably should have napped with them but I was just so thrilled to have the house quiet, I wanted to enjoy it. I had a peaceful lunch, relaxed, and I played around with my new camera. (I have to learn how to use it before Kaitlyn's graduation on Friday.)

Thanks everyone for checking in and offering your support. We love you!

A couple of dicks

I'm sure it's the extreme sleep deprivation I'm suffering due to sick Maddy...(yep MORE fevers! Yay for sleepless nights!) But I find it slightly amusing!

Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan are filming around the block from Kaitlyn's school. The darn production wouldn't let me and my handfuls of kids go down the block. But I guess that should be expected with a title like that! I'm so corny ... and sleepy!

thanks for good health!

My kids, well, Kaity and Maddy, get sick all the time, but THANKFULLY, they are healthy.

Yesterday was one of the worst days I've had as a mother. Maddy was so sick. Our pedi recommended that we go to the ER because she wasn't eating/drinking, when she tried she would vomit. Her fever was at105.7 and I was constantly holding her so she was sweating profusely. That combination plus, she hadn't had many wet diapers caused our Dr to worry that she may become dehydrated.

Three people were needed to hold Madelyn down so we could draw blood, take urine samples, and get a swab to test for influenza. She screamed and looked at me with tear filled eyes. All I could do was rub her curls, which truly offered no comfort at all. She would babble between crying, trying so hard to articulate her disapproval. Such a sad sight. There came a point to where Maddy would cry a the mere sound of the doctor's voice, even from across the hall. It was heartbreaking. I don't know how parents do it.

Then, I was told she would need an IV. I was horrified at the thought of what that scene would be. I tried so many times to nurse her and she would just throw it all up. She threw up in the doctor's office...I was sitting in the ER with vomit soaked clothes. But if I could nurse her now, maybe we could avoid it. I hesitated, thinking it would be in vane, but tried nonetheless and thankfully, she drank up.

By now, the Motrin had kicked in and her fever was down to 100.1. We received all the test results, which were normal! Just a fever!? Doctor's didn't seem to worry too much. And we were finally sent home. I'm so glad she's ok.

The experience just made me so grateful for having healthy children. I can't imagine what some parents must go through to have to do this regularly. I'm not strong enough. There were so many times when I just wanted to stop them, thinking it wasn't worth it. I wanted to grab her up into my arms, hold her to my chest, and assure her everything would be ok. But I couldn't. Hopefully, we won't have to do it again.

sick again

Maddy has a lot of fevers so we saw the Doctor Saturday for that and a few other things. She didn't have a fever then, but Monday night she was burning. Since we were just with the pedi, and she didn't have any other symptoms, I didn't stress. But we're going back in a few hours. Last night seemed to be going well til about 4:30 when she started vomiting til nothing was left and she began dry heaving. Her fever has reached 102. She's not too interested in nursing or much of anything really. All she wants to do is lay on my shoulder and listen to Coeur de Pirate. So thank you, Béatrice Martin for calming my sick baby!! And thank you Lindsay for posting this and introducing me to her because the music always helps to soothe Maddy.