Every now and then Daniel does something that has me just shaking my head and laughing to myself. This happened the other day when I went to the mail box to find a small package in the mail addressed to Madison but not from anyone we know. It is rare that we would ever have anything come in the mail for her here since we are not her primary residence. I began examining the package, frisking it like a cop placing someone under arrest, trying to figure out what it was. It felt like a DVD but there was only one that I had been expecting for months, and it had nothing to do with Madison.
I opened it up and saw that my guess was right, of course. After all, I am the one that is responsible for managing ALL the craziness of our day to day lives like playgroups, dance classes, doctor's appointments, birthdays, etc., etc., etc... If Daniel had to remember all of these things, I think I would eventually come home to fine him in a dark corner, curled up rocking, and muttering incoherently to himself. So I do all the heavy lifting with these things. I just didn't realize that I had to add one more to my list...
So, I open the package to find a DVD. Madison's name is plastered all over it proudly stating that this is her Swan Lake performance. Awesome...it finally arrived after months of waiting. The only problem is Madison does not do ballet. She hasn't since she was 4yo. No, Ava is the one who does ballet and had a Swan Lake performance that is captured on this professional quality DVD to keep your memories preserved well into the senile years. Apparently, those years are coming sooner for Daniel than they are for me because he clearly can't tell his kids apart when asked to do things like fill out an order form for only one of his daughter's.
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. This is a man that often mistakes their names. I suppose having four daughters does make it difficult to distinguish between them. I mean, he is only their father.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Who would have thought...
Violet it such a trooper. You would never guess by all the things she is doing this week that she spent any time at all in the hospital being sick, sick, sick.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
All Pop Art
I am a pretty big fan of pop art going along with all my other mid-century obsessions in fashion, decor, art, etc. There is a neat company called All Pop Art that will take your photos and turn them into your own personal piece of pop art. I ♥ Faces is having a contest to win your own photo on canvas. Check it out.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I ♥ Faces Photo Entry
This is for Week 19 of their photo contest for our very BEST close-up picture to go in their photo blurb book.
"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."
"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."
Baby Violet Visits the Hospital
There has been a lot going on here lately. Violet began developing a weird rash just over a week ago that I thought was due to some kind of allergen. It was all over her feet, legs, arms, and stomach where she touches the carpet when laying on her stomach or sitting up. It didn't seem to bother her too much, though. It had started to scab over and kind of get better.
Then, it started to get so much worse on Thursday. The rash really began to spread to her diaper area. I was thinking it was some weird diaper rash and tried to take care of it with diaper rash cream with no luck. Friday was much the same until the late afternoon when a fever started. That is when I also noticed Ava was running a fever and developing an identical rash. That's when the warning bells started to go off for me. I actually called the dr to see what she had to say.
Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely call the dr over things since 99% of the time it is a virus that just needs time to pass. Ava is the only one that had ever had a sick visit and that was once 4yrs ago. This was different, though. I was thinking it could be either Chicken Pox (which would make me a hero with our non-vaxing playgroup) or Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. The spots are very similar looking, but HFM is non-itching. The nurse told us to make an appointment for Saturday morning to figure out what was up.
The dr spent close to 20mins the next morning examining Violet's and Ava's spots trying to figure it out. Finally, she was able to get a good view of Violet's mouth and saw the telltale sign of HFM in the form of blisters in the back of her mouth. She told me that they do get painful and to just watch her for any dehydration. I was to give her a Maalox/Benadryl mix if she needed it to make the sores feel better. We were sent on our way after that.
So, we got home and I gave her the mixture to help her feel better. She promptly went to sleep for 4hrs after that. Then, she woke up feeling really hot. I tried giving her the medicine again only to have her began gagging and vomiting it up. Every tiny sip of any medicine resulted in this. Then, I tried nursing her only to get the exact same reaction. At that point, her temp had climbed to 104*, and she had not had a wet diaper in 8hrs. I immediately called the dr who instructed me to go ahead and take her into Texas Children's Hospital to get her checked out. I called my mom to come over to watch the kids, called my friend, Kate, to come sit with the kids until my mom got there, called Daniel at work to let him know where to meet us when he got off, and we were headed to the hospital.
Well, I don't know if you are familiar or not with the fact that any uninsured patient waits until after hours to go to the ER for standard medical treatment they would generally be instructed to see a regular dr to treat. They can't be turned away after hours. So there we sat, and sat, and sat for the ER to weed through all non-emergency patients to be seen. We arrived at the hospital at 11pm and were not seen by a dr until 4am.
By this time, Violet was refusing to nurse and had not had a wet diaper in 14hrs. They gave Tylenol with Codeine to try to ease her pain and get her to nurse. That only made her fall asleep. So, they finally decided to start IV fluids and admit her to the hospital for observation. Getting her IV started was quite the ordeal with blowing out veins, leaking pieces that needed to be replaced, and the applying and reapplying of "super glue" and tape 5 or 6 times. She was quite the trooper. Thankfully, I had sent Daniel home to rest and deal with the big girls during this because he would have lost it.
It wasn't until 10am that we got in a room. I was exhausted having been up since 7am the previous day. Of course, I was too wired by this point to rest. I just sat next to my sick little baby and waited for her to feel better. Tricia came to my rescue with food and trashy magazines and tv on DVD. LOVE YOU, TRICIA and yes, I am addicted. :P
By the evening, she was beginning to turn around a bit. She was laying there, tired and began her sleepy baby babble. That is when I started to hear her say for the first time, "Mama, mama, mama..." as if she knew exactly what would make my heart better. My sweet little baby girl. I pulled her onto the pull out bed with me and we dozed off to sleep together.
The next morning, they took her IV fluids off and waited to see how she would do. She wasn't really picking up on the nursing, so I began to pump and give her milk in a medicine cup. She only took half and ounce that way, though. I was worried we would be there another night if she didn't pick up. Finally, she began to nurse well enough for me to feel okay about leaving the hospital around 7pm just in time for shift change. It took over hours for us to get out there. We finally made it home where I promptly showered, checked my 98 email messages of well wishes, and got my butt in bed for the night. This morning she had her "well baby" visit where the dr said she is doing great and to just keep watching her fluid intake.
So much stress from such a little person. I love her so much. I am so glad she fine and not in the hospital. That is no place for a sweet little baby. It had me thinking about people I know with babies who have been or in the hospital for much more serious reasons and the stress their families are going through. My heart goes out to them.
Then, it started to get so much worse on Thursday. The rash really began to spread to her diaper area. I was thinking it was some weird diaper rash and tried to take care of it with diaper rash cream with no luck. Friday was much the same until the late afternoon when a fever started. That is when I also noticed Ava was running a fever and developing an identical rash. That's when the warning bells started to go off for me. I actually called the dr to see what she had to say.
Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely call the dr over things since 99% of the time it is a virus that just needs time to pass. Ava is the only one that had ever had a sick visit and that was once 4yrs ago. This was different, though. I was thinking it could be either Chicken Pox (which would make me a hero with our non-vaxing playgroup) or Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease. The spots are very similar looking, but HFM is non-itching. The nurse told us to make an appointment for Saturday morning to figure out what was up.
The dr spent close to 20mins the next morning examining Violet's and Ava's spots trying to figure it out. Finally, she was able to get a good view of Violet's mouth and saw the telltale sign of HFM in the form of blisters in the back of her mouth. She told me that they do get painful and to just watch her for any dehydration. I was to give her a Maalox/Benadryl mix if she needed it to make the sores feel better. We were sent on our way after that.
So, we got home and I gave her the mixture to help her feel better. She promptly went to sleep for 4hrs after that. Then, she woke up feeling really hot. I tried giving her the medicine again only to have her began gagging and vomiting it up. Every tiny sip of any medicine resulted in this. Then, I tried nursing her only to get the exact same reaction. At that point, her temp had climbed to 104*, and she had not had a wet diaper in 8hrs. I immediately called the dr who instructed me to go ahead and take her into Texas Children's Hospital to get her checked out. I called my mom to come over to watch the kids, called my friend, Kate, to come sit with the kids until my mom got there, called Daniel at work to let him know where to meet us when he got off, and we were headed to the hospital.
Well, I don't know if you are familiar or not with the fact that any uninsured patient waits until after hours to go to the ER for standard medical treatment they would generally be instructed to see a regular dr to treat. They can't be turned away after hours. So there we sat, and sat, and sat for the ER to weed through all non-emergency patients to be seen. We arrived at the hospital at 11pm and were not seen by a dr until 4am.
By this time, Violet was refusing to nurse and had not had a wet diaper in 14hrs. They gave Tylenol with Codeine to try to ease her pain and get her to nurse. That only made her fall asleep. So, they finally decided to start IV fluids and admit her to the hospital for observation. Getting her IV started was quite the ordeal with blowing out veins, leaking pieces that needed to be replaced, and the applying and reapplying of "super glue" and tape 5 or 6 times. She was quite the trooper. Thankfully, I had sent Daniel home to rest and deal with the big girls during this because he would have lost it.
It wasn't until 10am that we got in a room. I was exhausted having been up since 7am the previous day. Of course, I was too wired by this point to rest. I just sat next to my sick little baby and waited for her to feel better. Tricia came to my rescue with food and trashy magazines and tv on DVD. LOVE YOU, TRICIA and yes, I am addicted. :P
By the evening, she was beginning to turn around a bit. She was laying there, tired and began her sleepy baby babble. That is when I started to hear her say for the first time, "Mama, mama, mama..." as if she knew exactly what would make my heart better. My sweet little baby girl. I pulled her onto the pull out bed with me and we dozed off to sleep together.
The next morning, they took her IV fluids off and waited to see how she would do. She wasn't really picking up on the nursing, so I began to pump and give her milk in a medicine cup. She only took half and ounce that way, though. I was worried we would be there another night if she didn't pick up. Finally, she began to nurse well enough for me to feel okay about leaving the hospital around 7pm just in time for shift change. It took over hours for us to get out there. We finally made it home where I promptly showered, checked my 98 email messages of well wishes, and got my butt in bed for the night. This morning she had her "well baby" visit where the dr said she is doing great and to just keep watching her fluid intake.
So much stress from such a little person. I love her so much. I am so glad she fine and not in the hospital. That is no place for a sweet little baby. It had me thinking about people I know with babies who have been or in the hospital for much more serious reasons and the stress their families are going through. My heart goes out to them.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
If I had a flower for each time I thought of My Mother, I could walk in my garden forever. - Unknown
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Monday, May 4, 2009
Violet at 6mths
Oh man, we are at the half way point in Violet's first year. It feels like I was just pregnant with her. It feels better knowing that I have officially gotten back to my pre-pregnancy size. I slipped on my favorite jeans a couple weeks ago just in time for the weather to heat up here in our lovely neck of the woods. BLAH! Enough about me, though. On to my beautiful baby girl.
Violet has suddenly become an interactive baby. She plays and plays and plays. Anything within her grasp is fair game as her poor sisters are learning the hard way. She is officially on the move with rolling. I set her down long enough to blink when suddenly she is half way across the room trying to get her hands and/or mouth on something she shouldn't have. Oh, I was not planning on having to baby proof this house when we moved. I am quickly realizing how unfriendly it is to young children that have no concept of valuable objects... oh, and danger, too.
Violet also began sitting up just this past week. We were at playgroup where a friend of mine was asking me if she was sitting yet since her daughter, who is 9 days younger than Violet, had really gotten it down but has no interest in rolling. I had just told her how she was much more interested in rolling over and not sitting when I propped her up only to find that she had figured it out after from what I can only assume was her daughter's perfect example of how to do it. So, she is now either demanding to sit upright or roll around the house. Either way, I am having to keep a close eye on her.
Teething is really hitting her hard, especially compared to how easy her sisters had when they teethed. The teething tablets have been miraculous for the most part. Thankfully, babies can not overdose on them as explained to me by a friend who's friend's baby (did you get that) managed to open a bottle and eat them up one day. Poison control reassured her that he would be perfectly fine. Whew...good to know on our end since they are like candy lately. I am hoping this little tooth makes it way out soon. I just can't stand to see her in pain. My poor girl.
We are just so enjoying her personality, and boy does she have one. She seems much more social and needing to be in the mix with everyone compared to her sisters. She demands we listen whenever she is talking. She also just LOVES to be the center of a good tickle fight. She makes the best belly laughs. Everyone still comments on how deep her voice is just as they all did with Ava and Leila. It's our girls' trademark, I suppose. I love it just the same.
Well, here is our little Violet Anne at 24 weeks.
Violet has suddenly become an interactive baby. She plays and plays and plays. Anything within her grasp is fair game as her poor sisters are learning the hard way. She is officially on the move with rolling. I set her down long enough to blink when suddenly she is half way across the room trying to get her hands and/or mouth on something she shouldn't have. Oh, I was not planning on having to baby proof this house when we moved. I am quickly realizing how unfriendly it is to young children that have no concept of valuable objects... oh, and danger, too.
Violet also began sitting up just this past week. We were at playgroup where a friend of mine was asking me if she was sitting yet since her daughter, who is 9 days younger than Violet, had really gotten it down but has no interest in rolling. I had just told her how she was much more interested in rolling over and not sitting when I propped her up only to find that she had figured it out after from what I can only assume was her daughter's perfect example of how to do it. So, she is now either demanding to sit upright or roll around the house. Either way, I am having to keep a close eye on her.
Teething is really hitting her hard, especially compared to how easy her sisters had when they teethed. The teething tablets have been miraculous for the most part. Thankfully, babies can not overdose on them as explained to me by a friend who's friend's baby (did you get that) managed to open a bottle and eat them up one day. Poison control reassured her that he would be perfectly fine. Whew...good to know on our end since they are like candy lately. I am hoping this little tooth makes it way out soon. I just can't stand to see her in pain. My poor girl.
We are just so enjoying her personality, and boy does she have one. She seems much more social and needing to be in the mix with everyone compared to her sisters. She demands we listen whenever she is talking. She also just LOVES to be the center of a good tickle fight. She makes the best belly laughs. Everyone still comments on how deep her voice is just as they all did with Ava and Leila. It's our girls' trademark, I suppose. I love it just the same.
Well, here is our little Violet Anne at 24 weeks.
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