At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic
At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung
You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping
Your caffeine addiction level: high
Yesterday (Friday) was actually a pretty good day for Gracie. She coughed a bit, but not very often (which, can actually be a bad sign sometimes, she needs to cough it up to clear it up), she did get easily winded when running around the house playing with her siblings, but her stats stayed up in the low to mid 90's for the day.
She kept running up to me, breathing fast and loud, to tell me that she feels fine and isn't sick anymore... I can hear otherwise...
She has been on the oral steroids and antibiotic since Tuesday morning, and the inhaled steroids and bronchodilators since Monday, when she first complained of pain when she breathes, one would think that would be enough medication to nip this thing in the bud, yet this saga continues.
I came very, very close to bringing her back in to the ER last night (which would have made 3 times in one week). By the time I got the other girls down to bed and was ready to give Grace her neb, it was 9:30. She was still doing just fine and I told her she was doing well enough and had been on her meds long enough to be able to go sleep in her own bed after her neb (she's been sleeping on the floor next to me, I've been sleeping on the couch next to her). I put the pulse oximeter on her finger and sat with her during her neb.
She started out at a whopping 97%, for a minute, then 96, then 95... I started to wonder how far it would dip. By the time the neb was done she had dipped down to 90%, which seemed odd after doing so well all day. I didn't feel comfortable sending her up to bed, so I had her lay down right where she was on the living room floor. She was very sleepy and drifted right off, as her O2 stat drifted right down to the mid 80's again. Then all the way down to 81%- that's too low. I was starting to panic, and dreading another late night run to the ER (it was now 10 pm) when she coughed a bit and changed position a bit and her O2 came up to 86%, still not good, but not quite panic level.
After about 15 more minutes and no improvement I decided to try the wonderdug Duoneb, which did great Wed night/Thurs morning. I had only been about 45 mintes since her last neb, but they've told me if she's not responding that it is okay to 'stack nebs' and do one right after another, if need be. Well, I figured close to an hour with O2 stats in the 80's called for more meds. It did nothing. No change, zip, nada, nothing. I thought (hoped) maybe the Duoneb takes a while to kick in.
I decided to call the ER and talk to a triage nurse before running in, especially after being sent back home twice already this week. Her stats always seem to come up into the safe zone after waking up and walking about... I thought, do I wake her up every hour all night long? to get her stats back up every hour? It took a while for the nurse to call me back, by the time we chatted Grace's O2 level had been in the 80's for about 2 hours...
I explained our week, and our current evening's issues. She said the Duoneb should have some effect right away. So why didn't it? No one knows. She also said that as long as she was sleeping and not waking up and/or sitting up gasping for air that she really didn't need to be on oxygen... I'm not so sure how I feel about that. I've had 2 doctors say she needs O2 whenever she spends any amount of time below 92% and I've had another doctor say that it's okay to dip to 88 or 89%, as long as she's sleeping comfortably. But now I'm being told that even mid to low 80's is okay? She conceded that it obviously wasn't ideal, that Grace was obviously sick, but said she didn't think she was in any danger. She added that if she dipped into the 70's at all, get her to the ER. How much better is 81 stinking percent than 79??!!
We need to get back in to see the pulmonologist or respiratory therapist, where I will ask many questions, including where to draw the line. I think I am wanting to get some marching orders from the specialists, so I'll just know yes, take her in, or no, she's okay for now, from someone who specializes in pediatric respiratory issues rather than a triage nurse who seemed to think that mid 80's was an okay oxygen level for a child to be at for the night...
After another hour her O2 came up to 90%. It slowly climbed though the night, and was at 95% by 6 am. I got some sleep the second half of the night, but not enough for optimal functioning, if you know what I mean...
She's been acting pretty normal today, for a child on steroids- rambunctious, kinda rude and whiny, and not exactly the easiest child to get along with... This too, shall pass, I know... I'm hoping it passes quickly! And permanently wouldn't be too bad, either...
Trying to enjoy each and every one of them, wheezes, crackles, and all,
It's been a tough week. Our 5 yr old daughter is having another battle with the problem known as asthma. It turned to pneumonia fast and furiously Monday night. We ended up in the ER early Tuesday morning (her O2 was down to 84% overnight and she wasn't responding well to her nebs). Her O2 level came up, and then dipped back down, but not as far, while we were there, so she wasn't admitted this time (to be on oxygen). She did, however, get yet another chest x-ray to confirm the presence of pneumonia in her left lung, upper lobe. We were sent home to add antibiotics and oral steroids to the inhaled steroids, allergy meds and bronchodilators she was already on.
I hardly slept Monday night, slept a bit Tuesday night, and about 3 hours Wednesday night, or more technically, this morning. We ended up going back to the ER last night after her stats dropped back down into the mid 80's. (We have a pulse oximeter at home, thanks to too many trials like this one.) They used a different med in a neb at the hospital and her stats stayed up a bit better, so we came home around 4:45 this morning... (though the pneumonia had spread to now 3 lobes of 2 lungs) and with 5 more children at home all day, every day (we homeschool) I was up by 8, though I would have liked to have slept until noon...
We interrupt the regularly scheduled blog post for what can only be described as a very bad joke...
Somebody has got to be kidding...
I mean, seriously...
What IS the deal?
This is getting ridiculous. It IS the 26th of April, after all. At least, that's what my calendar says... My hilarious 8 year old son heard the forecast on the radio yesterday and, without missing a beat, let out an exasperated "does Al Gore know about this?!"
Guess what I got done earlier this week? I got the last of the kids' winter coats washed and packed away... sigh...
Enjoying them, (but not so much this Minnesota weather...)
cull old shoes that don't even fit any kids here from overflowing entry closet
nature walk with kids
knit something
remove turtlenecks and various warm long sleeve shirts from too-small closets of often overheating children who will not need such clothing for at least 3 or 4 months
set up pool for kids
knit something
remove too-small clothes from speed-growing teenage son's overstuffed dresser drawers so he can actually put away the clothes that do fit this week
take kids hiking
knit something
clear years' worth of collected junk/stuff from junk/stuff room downstairs, throw most of it away, store leftovers in attic to be thrown away 10 years from now- that room is needed for children to make way for a new addition this fall...
explore a new park with kids
knit something else
plan garden, buy seeds, locate tools like rakes and hoes
drawing/sketching outside with kids
knit something
dream about getting chickens
read a classic book out on a blanket in the sun with kids
knit something more
go through pantry, eat or throw food nearing or past expiration date, restock pantry
bird watching with kids
knit something
clean some windows
try a new cookie recipe
knit something new
plan summer field trips
have fun with kids
knit some more...
If you notice a week (or two) pass with no blog activity, assume that I'm working on my list!
I was showing my kids (and my husband, who happened to be home early that day due to a 'locked ourselves out of the house' incident...) the different flags from countries represented by visitors to my blogs (this one and my knitting blog)- I thought it was cool to have returning traffic from places like Estonia and Poland... when my husband hopped on the laptop and checked his stats. He casually says, yours gets way more traffic than mine, to which my oldest two half-whispered to me, with shock and awe in their hushed tones, "Dad has a blog?!?!?!"
Um, nope, dad doesn't have a blog. He doesn't have time to blog, but then either do I, but that hasn't stopped me so far... Dad does have a website for his business, and while it may not be splattered with fabulous pictures of my darling children, it does explain why having your data backed up offsite is not just a luxury these days, it's essential for businesses, and could come in pretty handy for home computer users as well.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7
Out our back door this morning. White, everything was white, beautiful.
No picnics in our immediate future, but soon, very soon. It'll happen, just you wait and see.
No climbing and sliding today, maybe tomorrow...
How pretty is that?! Snow covered weeds make me smile. I love simple pleasures.
So crisp, white, and delicate. You don't see that every day, even in Minnesota.
I love having these pines right out back, especially when they're covered in fluffy white stuff.
Don't the big kid rope and toddler/baby swing look lonely? Soon there will be swinging, soon.
A view up through the trees, with snow falling in clumps all around me...
So pretty.
This guy won't be ridden any time soon...
And this poor fella wasn't really needed today... this snow didn't last long. It never does this time of year. That's what makes it so special, it's so fleeting...
With all the kids sick, there were no outings today, and hence, no need to scrape of the van...
Picture heavy post, I know, but it was so beautiful out this morning and I just had to share. Snow is an amazing thing. So pure and white (except for the mud-plattered stuff on the side of the highway...) I love that the Bible uses snow as a picture of what we can be when washed by the blood of the Lamb. Do you see that whiteness?! The Lord is good to us!
For those of you who don't have a personalized Google page (local weather, local news, your favorite news sources' top stories, and tips of the day), you may have missed this one. Linking it here will also help me to find it later when I'm looking for a rainy day activity, or prehaps some costuming for the kids when we get to reciting the Gettysburg Address...
Now, doesn't that look like fun? We, unfortunately, don't happen to have any black duct tape, only silver, so this won't get made today... but it's definitely going in the arsenal of cool ideas! They also have links to How to Make a Duct Tape Fedora, and How to Make a Duct Tape Viking Hat... fun stuff.
6 out of 6 of my kids are currently in the throes of some viral crud, complete with fevers, headaches, muscle aches, and coughing/congestion (sounds like the flu/influenze, I know) and while I know this too shall pass, we are in need of a little divierionary arts and crafts fun, as even sick kids can only watch so many movies... so I think I'll se what else I can find on wikiHow. No orchestra for us today (other orchestra members can thank us later for not bringing the dreaded 'crud' there today for all to catch) and I don't think much in the way of real schooling will get done either, though they are currently watching a video all about digestion... so I guess we'll get some health/science in today after all.
It was one of those "wish I had that on video..." moments-
The rousing round of giggles coming from my brood while watching Donald O'Conner's "Make 'em Laugh" scene in Singin' in the Rain tonight... Now that was music to this mother's ears!
I had previously posted this fascinating little video by simply embedding the code from the video hosting site it was located at... without realizing that the link was connected to some unsavory web content. I am so sorry if anyone was exposed to more than they were bargaining for with a little laundry lesson. The situation has now been rectified, this clip is hosted elsewhere, and I learned some new code, fun, fun, fun. (Yep, I researched and googled, and learned how to embed my very own video in my very own html!)
If you haven't seen it before, really, you must watch this woman fold this shirt- it's addicting, as evidenced by my husband's stack of undershirts now... I can't not doit this way anymore...
I had a long day today (isn't that what I always say this time of night?) When it came time to wind down the evening I just wanted to get everyone off to bed. I supervised a 'main floor tidy' and got the younger ones settled in. When I came back down the stairs my teenager was setting up the chess board, and asked "wanna play that game now?" I must've said "maybe later" sometime earlier... My first inclination was to give him the brush off... "I'm tired, maybe tomorrow..." but I supressed that fiery dart and replied "just a second" and got myself a drink amd settled in for what may be one of the last chess matches that I ever win...
We were moving right along, each taking our respective turns, when it dawned on me that he was in command and that I had forgotten my objective (to get his king) and I was simply reacting to his moves instead of proactively going on my own seek and destroy mission. Believe it or not, I didn't make this realization until I heard the deaded word "Check". That was all it took to jolt me from my laziness and get my head in the game. It took quite a few more moves before I could really get on the offensive. It cames down to a pretty close game, but in the end I cornered him, and it was all over, except for the clamoring for a rematch! I told him he just had to admit defeat for now- get to bed!
Another benefit of having a teenager in my life now- someone to challenge me! Gotta love him!
Back to the clinic today... Mercy's cough seemed to be less frequent this morning than it was yesterday, so at first I thought she would breeze through this cold with no problems. Then after an hour or less of being up she started having a few coughing fits where she couldn't seem to stop and would turn red in the face, and then I started to hear the dreaded crackling wheeze. So we went in to get checked out. Her O2 stat was pretty good at 97%, but she did have crackles all over for the doc, though she wasn't wheezing at the time we were in the clinic. She did also have quite a bad ear infection so she got an antibiotic to match her sister (Hope just finished hers from her bout of bronchitis last week) to zap that out as well as some matching bronchitis and any developing pneumonia. If it was just the ear infection without the accompanying respiratory stuff I wouldn't even mess with the antibiotic, but with the trials we've had with Grace and Hope and their asthma and pneumonias, I just don't feel comfortable waiting very long to see if she'll get over this on her own.
There is a lot of RSV in the community right now, and at least one other bug that presents just like it, so I am watching the wheezing pretty closely.
There was a moderate amount of schoolwork done today. I don't think anyone actually finished their lists, but an effort was made and we certainly make allowances for things like doctor visits that take up a huge chunk of time, right in the middle of the day...
We stayed home from church tonight (again) as it's only about 1 freezing degree outside and now with Mercy sick... I wish I could say I used the time wisely and got a lot done, but I have to admit I pretty much sat and slowly ate my supper while Mercy cried and insisted on being held a lot... and then I sat with her some more until it was time to put her to bed. I'd better get another load of laundry in before it's time to put me to bed!
It had been 5 days since anyone here has suffered any stomach illness- after 10 days of vomitting... but alas, we were not destined to make it a full week. My husband awoke feeling in less-than-optimal health. He started the day doing an unintentional intestinal cleanse which progressed to full fledged vomitting before noon. Yuck. Poor man. He had it really bad in round 1 (though he was the only one to get it that round- that was a blessing.) Round 2 ripped through each of the children, sparing my husband and I. And here we go with round 3. I hope and pray that the Lord would continue to spare me from the vomitting, and it would be a real blessing if this round didn't spread through all of the children again... I've only had 5 days off...
Through the last 2 rounds it seems that my new best friends are any product that has disinfectant in the name. I really never used to be a germophobe, but as the family has grown the sheer amount of puke has grown with each round of viral stomach crud. The impact made by 6 vomitting children is far greater on my nerves and my time than it was back in the days of 2 or 3. We wash hands more often now, and with a lot more soap. We've done little studies about germs and how they live and travel from person to person. We've added more vitamins and more nourshing foods to spruce up the immune systems. Still the viruses hit and hit hard. Ugh. It's discouraging at times, but through it all the Lord has been good. Everyone has pulled through, every time.
It hasn't only been stomach issues. Liberty (almost 7) has been coughing for weeks now. It was quite bad for a while, but several hot cups of herbal tea seemed to help loosen things up enough for the fever to break (with no return, praise the Lord!) but the nagging cough still lingers.
Hope (almost 3) started coughing sporadically a week or so ago, and I ended up taking her in to see the pediatrician last Thursday when she seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. She was very lethargic, sleeping until 10:30 am and sitting around once up- anyone who know's my Hopie knows that is not normal for her. She was slightly feverish and starting to wheeze a bit. When the pediatrician listened to her he said that he could hear the congestion wherever he put the stethoscope and that he just wanted to cough for her. She wasn't coughing much, not enough to get the gunk out, and thus it was starting to get bad. She came home with another anitbiotic prescription for 'bronchitis', which was probably well on its way to becoming pneumonia. She also needed to start up her nebs again, as her asthma was kicking in, complicating things. The nebs help open her airways up enough for her to get coughing stuff up and out. She started getting better by the second day on the antiobiotics, so I am pretty suree it had indeed become bacterial. She is now done with her antibiotic, yet the cough still lingers a bit. I am hoping the nebs will help keep things from getting any worse. She needed another one this morning as she was wheezing again. I am looking forward to the time when she is old enough to tell me when she feels the asthma starting to act up. I'm looking forward to her growing out of this, I hope and pray she does.
Now Mercy has begun coughing again (she had a bout of pneumonia only a few short weeks ago- 12/15/07) and the cough started sounding a bit more concerning last night. I was up too late to begin with and then I didn't sleep well at all, I was up with every little cough. Today she sounded awful and was coughing almost nonstop this morning. I just went ahead and gave her her first neb, along with some tylenol as she was slightly feverish. She seemed to improve after napping, and though still quite congested sounding, she is coughing much less.
There was still some effort made to get through some schoolwork and I worked with Ian (14) on some more cooking lessons. He learned to make spaghetti sauce and boil and drain a large pot of noodles, and later how to fix a roast with veggies so in the future he could get one in the oven for me!
I hope and pray that tomorrow is a better day and that the germ that got to my husband will not be spread throughout our family!
Oh, and the temperature has been lingering around zero (or below) for too many days...
The other morning, my husband came back in after leaving for work- he had this in his hands...
He had left his Mountain Dew in the car overnight, and it had pushed frozen pop up and out of the straw. The pop ice art was entertaining in and of itself, but the best part about this cup of frozen pop was the way my husband stopped and showed it to the kids- not just because it's funny, but to show them how liquids expand when frozen. It was a quick moment, but it was like a snapshot of the way we homeschool. We're not really full-fledged unschoolers, but we are pretty relaxed with the formal learning. So much of our real learning comes in moments like this- I love it when that happens!
