Have Nebulizer, Will Travel

Crew had a pretty dismal end to his weekend. I thought he had turned the corner on Saturday, spending a little bit of time crawling around the house and playing with his siblings, his fever seemingly managed. Then yesterday (Sunday), he didn't budge from my lap. Not even once. He slept for most of the day, barely waking up to cough, whimper and fall back asleep. Fever was back, vicious as ever. Except for those few hours on Saturday afternoon, one of us has held Critter in the recliner all day and all night since Friday morning, creating permanent butt divots in the chair. The muscle knot in my back is actually visible. G-r-o-s-s.

Last night we almost took him to the ER. He had a coughing spasm that lasted 90 minutes without a break. Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, deep breath, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, deep breath, etc. It really scared us. Just when we were ready to throw in the towel, he relaxed and fell asleep. No coughing for a few hours at all.

We called the pediatrician first thing this morning and drove down to P-town for their first available appointment. Justin took the day off (yes, we're in tax season), if that tells you at all how exhausted concerned we were.

Statistically speaking, he is one of the respiratory illness super-duper high-riskers because of his medical history. The doctor thought he was in remarkably good shape, all things considered. No wheezing, no rattling, no crackling, no pneumonia, perfect oxygen saturation. Just lethargy, fever, and an abominable cough. We have been working very hard to minimize the damage of this illness with priesthood blessings, OTC medication, and every weirdo hokey home remedy in my apothecary arsenal; I think our efforts have paid off and we feel very lucky and blessed that he has fared so well. It didn't present as RSV at first. On a lark, he asked if we could do an in-office nebulizer breathing treatment and see if it made any difference, feeling like his cough sounded more asthmatic than anything. Lo, and behold, it made a huge difference in the volume of his breathing. Bigger, deeper, more relaxed breaths. And minimal coughing. With that result, it made him much more suspicious that Crew may have RSV after all. We didn't bother taking a swab culture because it wouldn't affect our treatment or concerns.

So, in the end, Dr. Fantastic sent us out of the office with a loaner nebulizer and all the albuterol samples we might need. Crew fights his treatments for the first two minutes before relaxing into a stupor.

He also has an ear infection, which I didn't suspect because he hasn't really been congested. Silly me. I'm OK with it because instead of using only magical ear drops, I will use the amoxicillin to treat the ear infection and eliminate the risk of pneumonia developing in his high-risk little lungs. Methinks the fever resurgence is related to the ear infection. Hopefully between ear infection resolution, breathing treatments, and the natural course of The Germ, he should be perking up very soon.

Justin says I sound like a child-hating Germ Nazi, that I hate people and their disgusting, germy ankle biters. He thinks it sounds like I specifically hate all my ward members and their snotty, hacking posterity. Untrue, all of it. In fact, in my former life I wasn't a Germ Nazi at all, as I think many friends can attest. I can't be if I want to live my life the way I prefer: very socially. I try to be forgiving of the minor Germs. I am just so weary of Crew being sick this year. It sets him back in every aspect of his development. It has been one illness after the other and this one in particular has really knocked us for a loop. I am sorry if I have sounded accusatory. I have been known to take a child with a suspicious nose to church once in a while myself. I try to be more careful now, because of my heightened awareness, but I can't claim perfection. If I have sounded bratty (and I'm sure that I have), just blame it on a week of no sleep.

Yaaaaawwwwnnnnnnn......

Crew's Weekend

Are you getting too much sleep? Do you feel a little too well rested? Are the bags under your eyes less noticeable than you prefer? WE HAVE THE SOLUTION! For a limited time, you can take a Crew-Cuddling shift during Bradshaw Midnight Madness! ACT NOW! Blinding headache, leg cramps, and anxiety are included FREE to the first ten callers!

Crew is sick.

Really sick.

Sicker than he has been since he had the piggy flu more than a year ago. Coughing, fever, tears, whimpering, shrieking, you name it. He hasn't left our laps for more than a few moments since the wee hours of Friday morning.

It's been quite a weekend.

We hate germs.

The Enthusiastic Reader

Kinley: Hey, mom, guess what! I'm such a good reader that I can even read hard words like this! The word is "enthusi-adam". I mean "enthusia-mum". Hold on... it's "en-thu-si-amium." Ok, fine. I can't say it, but I can read it and I know what it means.

Mom: And that's what matters. Good job. You have such enthusiasm for reading.

Kinley in whisper voice: Enthusi-amum. Enthusi-adamum. Enthu...

***

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Funsheet

I had this prep activity from an old Joy School lesson. I redesigned it with colored internet images to maximize for cuteness. We used it for preschool recently, a great exercise in abstract comparisons and following directions. You can click on the image to enlarge for downloading.
Tell your child to to put on his or her “thinking caps”!

1. Draw a circle around the thing in the first box that can ring when you don’t touch it.
2. Put your finger on the second box. Draw a circle around the thing that can fly without any help.
3. Put your finger on the box with the picture of the fire and the ice cube. Draw a circle around the thing that you could touch without getting hurt.
4. Put your finger on the box with the turtle and fish. Draw a circle around the thing that moves the fastest.
5. Put your finger in the next box with the picture of the fork and spoon. Draw a circle around the one you would use to eat soup.
6. Put your finger in the next box- the picture of the rabbit and balloon. Draw a circle around the one that is alive.
7. Put your finger on the next box that has the picture of the tree and the flower. Draw a circle around the one that grows tallest.
8. Put your finger on the picture of the carrot and butterfly. Draw a circle around the one that is good to eat.
9. Put your finger on the picture of the clock and the nickel. Draw a circle around the one you would use to buy candy.

*Feel free to shake up the order of instructions.

They Say You Never Forget...

...that first kiss.

After the many (many many, maybe too many) thousands of smooches he has endured from me, Crew gave me his first, spontaneous, honest-to-goodness kiss this afternoon. He was sitting on my lap while I was reading him a book. He suddenly turned around, got up on his knees and planted a loud, squeaky smoocheroo right on my cheek, complete with all desirable sound effects and self-satisfied grin.

I think I've died and gone to heaven. "They" may just be right.

For developmental tracking purposes: With a great deal of encouragement (words, gestures, modeling, and gentle physical guidance) he has been blowing kisses and giving me very rare, soundless, tentative, open kisses for a few months. Now he will blow kisses with a verbal suggestion only. And apparently, he will impulsively kiss his mama with gusto if the mood strikes him!

Fireguy

We were still recovering from our most recent plague-of-endless-mucus when the new firehouse had their grand opening. Some great neighbors stopped by our home and brought fire hats for each of the children. Who knew what a hit the hats would be with Little Critter? I wouldn't let him wear it to bed that night; you would have thought I was plucking his toenails out one by one, the way he screamed and carried on.

Cute little fireguy, huh?

Afternoon Surprise!

I cried. I did.

I was sitting in the living room this afternoon, minding my own business, when Crew very casually did this right before my very eyes:

Then I fixed his pant legs...

Life with Laurels

I have really been enjoying my calling with the Laurels these last many weeks. I have even reached into the deepest recesses of my crafty self (with inspiration from my trusty sidekick, Sugardoodle) to make the occasional handout. How cute are these?
I photoshopped little prescription labels and filled empty pill bottles with Valentine's candy corn. Did you know you could buy empty bottles at your local pharmacy?
Youth night scheduling is tricky now that Justin is in the thick of tax season. We have been having a lot of activities here at our house.

There has been one recent and rather insane development. I am now the Laurel Advisor slash Assistant Camp Director. There you go. Proof positive that I have "sucker" written across my forehead.

Green Is For Lovers

Mmmm.... Classico Pesto Sauce, I love you. Dearly. I love you on a crusty piece of bread. I love you on a croissant. I love you in a taco shell. I love you with shredded grilled chicken, salt, pepper, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, free mayo, and sauteed red onions. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love you on pasta. I love anything on pasta.

Be my valentine. Kiss kiss.And thank you, Heather Walker, for the introduction.

That Girl

Kinley: Look at how much of this yummy cookie I have eaten. It's so delicious!

Mommy: Hey, I thought I told you to wait until after dinner to eat that cookie.

Kinley: No, you didn't. You said, "you can eat that after dinner." I figured that meant I could also eat it before dinner.

Rank Has Its Privileges

While we watch and work for Crew's many developmental milestones, a very important one has creeped into playtime.

Tanner has long served as the "monster" of the house, the chaser that everyone runs away from. He has also been quick to foist the responsibility upon younger friends and cousins when they come to play.

Crew has officially graduated from sideline observer, very enthusiastically taking over all monster/ogre/dragon responsibilities.

Crew's New Year

I have many New Year's resolutions for our little beast, none of which he's really thrilled about.

We never gained traction with mealtime independence, but I'm ok with it. The independence was never really the issue. I just wanted him to eat and I was willing to give him 100% control if that's what it took. Justin thought I was just tired of feeding him. Not true at all. I was tired of trying to feed him and having him open his mouth invitingly wide just to smack the spoon across the kitchen as soon as it got in range of his little paw.

Heck, I'd spoon feed him every meal until he went to kindergarten if he'd just eat willingly. If he wants to feed himself oatmeal with his fingers, I'm totally up for that too. I'll do whatever he wants, as long as he happily and successfully gets nutrition down his throat. It seems his extended strike was probably because he didn't feel well. He's been sick for more than two weeks and is only now starting to sleep and eat respectably again. So he is back to eating and he now likes to spoon feed himself 4 or 5 bites per meal, which is big news.

He knows where his belly is now and I'm sure he was trying to say it tonight. It came out "bah" as he patted his belly. I also think he is trying to say "more", and it comes out "mah". He is starting to be more obedient to the word NO. He folds his arms when it's time for prayers. He pulls himself to standing at the couch. He is getting the hang of time-out; he gets plopped/trapped on the bottom step when he pitches fits.

He is attached to Kinley and Tanner at all times. He follows them everywhere, thinking he is so big. We don't keep a gate on the stairs because he can safely navigate them to go up and doesn't try to come down. He will sit at the top of the stairs and call for someone to rescue him.

He has never stood up in his crib, but we are going to lower the mattress down from the newborn setting hopefully this weekend because I think that day is coming. He has recently started sitting up in his crib every morning. For some reason he has always woken up and stayed on his belly, calling for us. So strange. But, now he sits up. He also sits up as soon as we put him in his crib at night or naptime. Like his brother and sister before him, he rocks himself to sleep. We have to put blankets on him after he falls asleep.

He waves "bye-bye" and "night-night". He can sign "more", "all done", "drink", and "cookie". Some of them aren't official ASL signs, we we know what he means. For example: banging his fists together means "more" or "eat". But... banging his fists together with his mouth open wide means "drink".

Our little blue engine is coming along, working his way up the mountain. We think he can, we think he can!

What's in a Name?

Kinley: I'm not sure, but I think it may be a fungus.

Tanner: Hey! Your teacher's name is Fungus!

Kinley: No, it's not. Her name is Mrs. Funk.

Tanner: That's what I said: Mrs. Funkus.

School Daze 2010

It's been a while since I have blogged about our preschool adventures, but the magic remains alive and well. It has been really fun to teach these two nutty 5-year olds. It has been so worth it every time. I don't always get pictures, but sometimes I am able to capture a few highlights.

We have a lot of flexibility in our curriculum. We have learned about fishies...
We even went "fishing" with pretzel rods and peanut butter.
Madison and Tanner love doing crafts of all kinds.
Who wouldn't want to snuggle up with this cutie on the couch to read books?
We do some activities outside when the weather permits.
Did we really use light sabers in our math lesson? Oh, yes, we did. 'Cause I'm the boss, applesauce.
We've learned the names of many of the states. They then painted the ones that they could name. Tanner had an unfair advantage.
But Madison is not far behind.

When Kinley is off-track she participates with us. Sometimes as a student, but more often as my assistant. She's... remarkable, actually.
We learn the basics too, like numbers, colors, foods...
And shapes. We made pyramids one day.
Tangrams are always a treat.
Work those little brains!
We made "spheres" out of play dough.
Tanner picked brown and green... poo and booger colors, of course. Sigh....


We sing. Lots.

We learned about families, nuclear and extended. We built houses to "live in" out of blocks. Madison and Tanner get along really well.
Sometimes I break out activities from Family Home Evening packets. And they love it.
We did lots of Christmas crafts and learned about the symbols of Christmas.
Star of Bethlehem.
And Rudolph. 'Cause he's cute.
We are almost done with our awesome math book and almost ready to purchase Book B. Madison has finished the yellow book, but Tanner and I got side-tracked a little while ago and need to get going again.

We've done lots of things. We've learned about animals, the five senses, our bodies, fish, names and locations of the southern and northern border states, families, colors, shapes, numbers, opposites, comparative words, and more. That's just over here. Kerrin has taught on a million other topics. There are still so many things that I want to cover before the year is through! I find a lot of my ideas online, in the math book, or in a great preschool idea text.

We love co-op preschool around here. Can you tell?

Update on Crew

Crew continues to make wonderful progress in all areas of development. He climbs the stairs a thousand times a day. He is pulling himself up to the side of the couch on occasion. He LOVES to have someone read books with him. He fights with light sabers, plays with toys, and is really into copying. He is a shameless tease. He has four animal sounds: cow, kitty, pig, and bear. They aren't real clear, but they are there. He now slaps his knees and hides his face at the appropriate times when we sing "Leo the Lion" and has started making the motions to "Popcorn Popping". He yells "Ma-maaaaaaa!" frequently. He is trying to imitate words. He twists his mouth around while he stares at my face. I have never seen anything cuter. He eats better than he did before, though he has regressed some in recent weeks. And we think he's losing weight, which stinks.

I had a really long conversation with PT Julie recently. Crew has a lot of flexibility in his feet and ankles. Too much, in fact. Way too much. He rolls his weak little feet in when he climbs and stands, stretching out those muscles looser than we want for future stability. So... foot braces, here we come. We don't expect he will need them forever, but we need to stabilize him while he strengthens his foot and ankle muscles so that he doesn't continue the habit of compensating by walking on the insides of his feet.

Today I pulled the Tough Love card on him. He has been playing Games of Manipulation with mealtime lately and I have grown weary of it. It's been an interesting day. Do you realize that Crew has never once held his own bottle or sippy cup? At this point he is capable, but unwilling. We have made a tiny bit of progress today, but he's super mad about it. He did manage to stick a fork into his mouth with pasta on it, and he fed himself a grand total of 3 bites of omelette with his fingers. We're in for a messy transition, but we are long overdue for mealtime independence.

We're very grateful for everything he has overcome and our longterm prognosis is so promising. Sometimes progress feels really slow and it gets overwhelming to have to fight so hard for every single milestone. Sometimes I just wish something would come easily for him. Cuteness doesn't count.

We have two therapists now. PT Julie comes twice per month and Cognitive Therapist Kathleen comes twice per month. He dearly loves them both, little grandmas that they are. It is hysterical to watch him show off his new skills when they arrive. He likes to let them know that he has been working hard in their absence. At one point, Julie had been away for a few weeks and hadn't yet seen him crawl independently. As soon as she arrived, Crew pranced circles around the livingroom repeatedly, smiling proudly at her, smacking her and yelling when she wasn't watching him closely enough. He knew exactly what she wanted to see and he performed with great flair.

Next year he will be enrolled in Special Ed preschool a few hours per week. I don't have much information on that yet. I'm not even sure whether it will start in September or November.

So that's the update on our little guy. He's doing well and we love him.

Magical Ear Drops

My sister has 7 children and hasn't used antibiotics for an ear infection since her oldest was a toddler. She swears by the results of "lobelia tincture" and "mullein oil". My friend Marlo sings the ear infection praises of garlic. Not symptom-reducers, but cures.

When I ran across E-3 oil at the health food store containing lobelia tincture, mullein oil, and garlic, I knew it belonged in my private apothecary of hokey remedies.

The only thing I know is this:
Three times in the last year, Crew has exhibited all of the classic signs of having an ear infection (days of faucet-nose, fever spike, sleeplessness, inconsolable high-pitched shrieking, and two parents ready to throw themselves over a bridge). It always peaks on the weekend (of course). Just as I decide that first thing Monday morning I'm going to fork over my $40 co-pay to find out what in the world is wrong with our little beast, someone brighter than myself will wonder aloud whether he has an ear infection--my neighbor Alisa is hero-of-the-hour this round.

On each of these desperate occasions, I have put a few drops of the E-3 oil into his ears and all symptoms have completely disappeared within a few hours, restoring sanity to our home. I continue to put drops in a few times a day for 2-3 days. Just because. And symptoms never return. Well, the snotty nose and congestion linger, but that can't be helped.

Oh, I suppose I'll never know for sure whether he has ever had an ear infection because, unlike my sister, I don't own an otoscope. Maybe these sudden reversals have all been mysterious coincidences.

I prefer to think that my lifetime supply of E-3 oil is the best $10 I have ever spent.

Rinse and Repeat

So.... when do little girls learn to wash their own hair and rinse the conditioner out completely? 12? 15? Never?

Shattered

I shopped at Wal-mart this afternoon with The Princess. After checking out, a lady was walking toward the crowded exit with her bags all loaded up. Like a slow-motion movie, a jar of spaghetti sauce tumbled over the side of her cart to the ground, shattering into a million pieces and covering everyone in a 6-foot radius with tomato guts.

I always feel really bad for the victim of these embarrassing moments. Many times I have joined the harmonic chorus of gasps and groans, offering a sympathetic grimace. I've watched the little grandma put a comforting hand on their shoulder and whisper, "it's happened to me before too."

Today I felt more empathy than usual for these people because the mortified lady at the center of the tomato storm was me.

Kinley, ever the optimist, offered this Pollyanna perspective:

"On the bright side, they didn't make you pay for the new jar of sauce. And... my shoes smell awesome!"

Pants Shmants

Mommy: Tanner, these church pants are way too small. You can't wear them anymore.

Tanner: What about Thursdays? Can I wear them on Thursdays?

Mommy: Nope, not Sundays and not Thursdays either. They are too small for all the days.

Tanner: Not even Tuesdays?? Or Mondays??!! What about Mondays?!!!

Cents and Sensibility

Once upon a time, Kinley had a blossoming jar of money collected from couch cushions or begged off her Dad. I turned a blind eye until I discovered that the fund had all but completely disappeared into the neighborhood and school playground; generous to a fault, our diminutive altruist had been passing out coin souvenirs to her playmates. Her remaining cents were confiscated until such time as we felt she was old enough to understand the subtle nuances of earning, saving, tithing, spending, and sensible philanthropy.

She has been asking lately for the opportunity to earn money and we are begrudgingly entering the complicated fray of fiscal responsibility once again. We don't do allowances for their normal responsibilities, but we will provide opportunities for our kids to earn a little cash by doing extra jobs.

The Babysitter
On Monday, Justin worked from home. I really wanted to run my errands without a vanful of children, so.... I hired Kinley to watch the boys while I was gone. Her job was to keep them happy, safe, and out of Daddy's hair. She did an excellent job.

The price for my 3 hours of freedom? 25 cents. All the books we have read together about frontier families, pioneers, slavery, and the Great Depression are really working in my favor. She was elated. Is that awful? I figure if we start off really (really) small, she'll learn to appreciate the value of a quarter dollar. Per Kinley's request, I also gave Tanner a dime for being so well behaved for her.

The only problem? I told Kinley to pretend that Daddy wasn't home, to call me with any questions or concerns. She interpreted that to mean that if Daddy spoke to her, she was to completely ignore him, feigning deafness if necessary. Oh, yes, she did.

Pipsqueak Picasso

Crew is a tiny artiste. Hang on to this, folks. It will be worth big money some day!

Gingerbread Kids

We made our first gingerbread creation this year. If we we are judging by structural integrity and strength of engineering, we didn't do so well. In terms of fun, however: two thumbs up!

Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Syrup

These two recipes are surprisingly easy and dangerously delicious -- they appeared on our breakfast table three times this week, to rave reviews and sloppy kisses from the troops. We first had them over the summer when my friend Missy made them for us. I squeezed her for the recipe.

The pancakes are light, fluffy, cheap, and easy--like a few girls I knew in high school. They have a hint of pumpkin flavor, but they do not scream "pumpkin alert!" I amazed myself with the apple syrup. It. was. excellent.
Pumpkin Pancakes
Beat 2 eggs, then add:
3/4 cup Pumpkin
2 Tbs Sugar
1/2 tsp each: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda , salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil

Mix until smooth using a hand-mixer with beaters.

Now add:

1 1/2 cups Flour (I used all-purpose; Missy uses whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups of milk (skim is ok)

Mix until smooth. Batter is loose.

Cook on the griddle and serve! Makes about 15 pancakes.

Syrup:
Mix in a saucepan:
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs Corn Starch
Add:
2 cups Apple cider or juice
2 Tbs Lemon Juice
Boil two minutes, letting it get wild and frothy, serve over pancakes

For more of our family's most favorite recipes, please visit Vittles Divine.

Cranberry Chicken

If you like my Apricot Chicken recipe, here is a similar take with a recipe I received from my friend Susie. It's subtly different, a little less sweet, and was equally well-received by those who dine at my table. Like the Apricot Chicken recipe, this is very very fast to make!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 bottle french dressing ("light" is ok)
1 can cranberry sauce (with or without whole berries -- I used without)
1 envelope lipton onion soup
1 can mandarin oranges
Cooked rice

Directions:
Combine dressing, cranberry sauce, and soup mix together in a bowl. Fold in can of mandarin oranges (do not drain the oranges). Pour entire mixture over the chicken in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake covered on 350 for 60 minutes. Take chicken out and shred. Mix chicken back into sauce. Serve over rice.

For more of our family's most favorite recipes, please visit Vittles Divine.

Lucky Number 19

Who is that pretty little girl in the #19 jersey??Kinley really really really enjoys basketball. This year we signed her up for Junior Jazz and she loves it!! There is one other girl on her team, but she is mostly playing with little boys that have been shooting hoops since they were in diapers. She's still learning rules and techniques, having a great time so far. Practice makes perfect! Or at least competent!


Drills




Best of all, tonight she gets to use her complimentary Jazz tickets for a Daddy-Daughter date at the Energy Solutions Arena!