The Bug from Hell and First Stitches

Oh boy, did last weekend suck.   There was a stomach bug going around daycare that hit both of my kids about a week apart.

Friday
I picked the kids up from daycare at the normal time and the teacher told me that Kendall had just gotten sick for the 2nd time.  She woke up from her nap with a deep sounding cough and the teacher thought she might have gotten sick from that.  It takes about 25 minutes to get home and I tried to go as fast as I could.  No luck.  Kendall threw up twice more in the car.  All down the front of her, all over the car seat.  Gross.

That night, I kept her in bed with me because the cough started sounding croupy. She didn't vomit any more that night.

Saturday
Our pediatrician's office has emergency Saturday morning hrs so I got her an appt at 8:20.  The doctor said her airway sounded OK but prescribed 2 inhalers and an antibiotic because there was some fluid started to accumulate in her right ear.

She started to have a little bit of an appetite so I let her have some yogurt.  Big mistake.  That all came back up.  All over Daddy.

Sunday
Cough started sounding a little better and no vomit all day.  We kept the diet pretty bland with toast and rice.  I thought we were in the clear until bedtime.  I was washing my face and heard her cough and then gag.  But the time I got in there, she had already vomited all over her bed.  I grabbed her and started heading downstairs when the rest of it came up.  All down my shirt and in my bra.  So disgusting!

Monday
Kept her home from daycare and decided to let her have a little milk around 11:00 am since she didn't vomit the rest of the night.  Big mistake #2 and vomit all over mommy again.

The weird thing about the bug is that she seemed to feel fine other than vomiting.  She was playing and never had a fever.  I decided to chance an errand and we went to Target around noon.  Got in and out without any incident. 

And, then she got sick again in the car ride home.  All down the front of her and all over the car seat.  Again.

We got home and I cleaned her and the car up and started putting some of the stuff away that we bought.  She came into the kitchen riding their little riding toy car.  I had my back turned and heard it fall over but that happens all of the time.  And, then she started crying.  When I turned around, she was laying face down with her butt in the air and straddling the front of the car.  I picked her up and didn't see any blood, checking her mouth and teeth. 

We started walking out into the living room and she lifted her head back and then I saw the gash.  She had a 2 inch cut under her chin.  I have no idea how she cut herself there - she must've cut it on the toy when she fell over? 

DH just happened to be home for lunch so I called him and he thought she needed stitches.  It wasn't bleeding that bad at all.  So, we gathered her up and headed toward to the ER.

Being back in the ER was a little creepy.  We've been there twice before with her and neither trip ended well - the first being the meningitis and the second being the return of the bacteria with a blood infection.  Oddly, the sounds and smells of the hospital brought back all of those emotions.  That hospital has been way too familiar to us.

The nurse and doctor came in pretty quickly and determined that she did need stitches.  They asked how it happened and in that conversation, I mentioned why we were home that day.  They brought in some Zofran to give her to stop the vomiting and put some nubbing lotion on a cotton ball that we let sit on her chin for 40 minutes before they cleaned off the wound and started the stitches.

She actually fell asleep during that 40 minutes and we had to wake her up for the stitches.  She was NOT happy.  We wrapped her in a sheet to keep her hands down and the nurse had her head.  To make sure it was good and numb, they also did 2 shots and then cleaned and sterilized it.

She got SIX stitches!

She didn't really bother it at all until yesterday and I think it's starting to itch.  I take her tomorrow morning to get them out and I'm sure that won't be fun.

And, thankfully, no more vomiting. 

Wordless Wednesday

I have a great story about somebody's first stitches but for now.... here's a few pics. 

Ahem (tap, tap tap...). Is this thing on?

My name is Suzanne and I'm a horrible blogger.

I've been trying to think of some witty post that would ooh and aah all of you.  But, truthfully, all I have is stories about diarrhea, fevers and snot. 

You can thank me now.  I'll spare you. 

So, how about if I just make this the most random post ever and write down whatever comes to mind? 

*  Kendall continues to build on her vocabulary.  New words this week are Mo Mo (Elmo), Oh baby, shoes, cheese, and no no no (as she shakes her finger)

* Reading with her is like a quiz.  She points at things so quickly and won't let it go until you say the word.  If you hesitate or get it wrong, she keeps going back to it until you say it.  Hey!  Who's the one learning to read here?

* Christopher has learned to throw.  We're having a hard time getting him to understand that it's OK to throw the soft ball.  Not so OK to throw the blocks and basically anything else that's hard which, invariably always hits Kendall in the head.

* The twins 2nd birthday isn't until October and I've already started putting together ideas.  No, I'm not a planner. Not me.  Not at all!   I think the front runner at the moment is a local zoo that has some smaller zoo animals as well as a petting zoo and wagon and pony rides.  I had their 1st birthday here at the house with family only and I decided this year, we're going out.  It's just too hectic to try to plan and host.  And, don't even get me started on what a scam it is to pay for these birthday parties!  Good grief!!  We're looking at close to $500 if we do the zoo.

* My niece's 3rd birthday is coming up in a few weeks and we're planning a trip to the National Zoo.  Depending on how that goes, the above point might get thrown out the window.  What if my kids have some random phobia of zebras or something?!

* I was climbing into bed the other night (don't worry, I'll keep it clean) when the phone rang.  I thought to myself, "Who in the heck is calling this late?" and then realized it was only 8:30.

And, speaking of 8:30.... it's time to hit the hay!  This old Mama needs her beauty rest.

Growing so fast

I can't believe how quickly time is passing.  I can remember my IVF cycle, pregnancy and the twins' birth like it was yesterday.

And, now here we are almost 19 months later.  It's exciting to see all of the changes the kids are going through but it makes me a little sad too.  They aren't the cuddly little babies that would fall asleep in my arms anymore.

Now, they are toddlers with opinions.  Oh yes.   Oh-pinions!

About everything.  They know what they want and more importantly, they want it NOW!  Thank God I'm a good multi-tasker because I'm seriously doing 4-5 things at once all of the time. 
Left hand - making lunch
Right hand - pouring milk
Left foot - wiping runny nose
Right foot - tapping and keeping the beat while I sing the Hokey Pokey.

Yep, that's how we roll around here. 

We're all doing well and looking forward to warmer weather.  It's supposed to be an awesome weekend so we'll be outside as much as possible.  I bought a sand/water table that we'll use for the first time today.  We'll see how that goes.  Hopefully no one decides to have sand for lunch.  Bleck!

Since it's been awhile, here's a few recent pictures:

Hey! What's that?!

The kids were taking a bath tonight and K kept looking over at C.  She finally stood up, looked between her legs and said, "Ut Oh". 

Now, I know they are my kids so I'm a little partial but it was seriously the cutest damn thing ever!

We're all doing great and I got some extremely good news about my kitty.  I'm still waiting to talk to the vet so I don't have all of the information but it's looking like my kitty might not have cancer!!!  She's not in the clear because it's still an autoimmune liver disease but at least we're not looking at losing her in 6 months.

The kids are growing by leaps and bounds.  Kendall's vocabulary is now at least 15 words and it seems like she's saying something new every day.  Christopher is talking too but it's not nearly as much as Kendall.  Ah, the difference between boys and girls development.  It really is neat to watch.

I celebrated my birthday over the weekend.  My family came over for the afternoon and then me, DH, my sister and brother-in-law went out for a few drinks that evening.  It was a real treat for all of us.  My sister has a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old so they don't get out much either.   It was nice to act like adults!

I am still reading all of your blogs even though I absolutely suck at posting and leaving comments.  Most of the time, I quickly check in via my iPhone but trying to type and leave comments is too frustrating and then by the time I get home, it's hard to find the time to log on. 

Hopefully I still have some readers?

Suckity suckity suck suck

I mentioned in my last post that my cat is sick.  They think she has cancer. 

Notice I said "think".  Because, you know.  Nothing is EVER easy.

They've done bloodwork, an ultrasound and a fine needle aspirate.  We've spent almost $2,000 for a diagnosis of "we think".

I've done a lot of research and, to their credit, distinguishing between liver cancer and liver disease is hard.  The symptoms mirror each other almost identically.  Some of her test results aren't definitive but they are pointing more toward cancer than an infection. With today's technology, you'd think they would figure out a way to identify one from the other.

If it is cancer, we have 2-6 months left with her.  If it's liver disease or a form of hepatitis, we could have 6 months to 2 years.

And, so we wait.  The vet has offered other tests that could be more conclusive but the $2,000 we've already spent has cut into our already tight budget.  We could pursue chemo for another $5,000 but there's no guarantee it will work and at best, it might buy her another year.

So, we've opted to do what we can to keep her happy and when the time comes, we'll say goodbye.  For now, she's still eating, drinking and remains active.  But, every time I see her, it breaks my heart.

She's my first baby.  We've had her since she was 8 weeks old and we're going on 13 years now.  She comes down to get me when it's time for bed, she waits for me to wash my face and she sleeps with me every night. 

How can having a pet be so great and suck so much at the same time?  You always know this day will come but somehow, we're never prepared. 

Christopher has grown very attached to her.  When she comes downstairs, he runs over and pets her and hugs her.  He's so gentle.

Part of me is thankful that we're dealing with this now instead of next year when the kids will truly understand that the kitty is gone.  I don't know if I'm ready to see the heartbreak of a child who has lost a pet.  That "heaven" conversation is awfully hard.

Have a good night everyone.  I'm going to snuggle with my kitty.

One Stressed Out Mommy

Do you remember the Calgon bubble bath commercials from the 1980's?
Yeah, that's how I feel.  "Calgon take me away"!

First, my cat is sick.  We're trying to figure out what's going on but things are pointing toward cancer.  We're doing a fine needle aspirate of her liver tomorrow to tell us for sure.  I've had her since she was 8 weeks old and she was my first baby.  She's almost 13 years old now so if it is cancer, we'll do what we can to keep her comfortable and then we'll have a sad decision to make.  It sucks.

The kids are coming up on their 18-month check up which means we'll receive an order for Kendall to get an abdominal ultrasound done.  In case you missed the details, read here.  I'm sure everything will be fine but it's still weighing on me.  It sucks.

I love being a mommy and I love my kids more than anything but damn, I'm tired.  Raising twins and working full-time is exhausting.  Daddy is a tremendous help but let's face it.  The mommy handles a lot.

Not to mention we've entered a new phase of toddler development.

Yes, the temper tantrum.  Christopher has been known to throw himself on the floor complete with hands and feet flailing.

And, over the weekend, Kendall cried inconsolably for 45 minutes because Christopher took a piece of ribbon from her.

We've also entered the "when mommy says no, it's funny and I laugh at her" game.  It's great.

Serenity now!  Serenity now!

As an update to my last post, I have tried a few of your ideas with some success!  So far, meatloaf and chicken/cheese quesadillas have been a hit!  Tonight, we're trying veggie pizzas. 

Let's hope more ends up in their tummies than on the floor.