Christmas Eve

After all our Christmas celebrations and preparations, we were so excited for Christmas Eve to arrive!  I'd planned on Katie Anne writing a letter and drawing a picture to leave for Santa - I had special paper, stickers, and had punched out cute diecuts at school for her to use.  Then, I thought the kids and I could work on a gingerbread house in the afternoon.  Then, we were planning on heading over to Doc and VJ's house for dinner and baking Christmas cookies!  Katie Anne and I had made a special trip to the store and bought sugar cookie dough, chocolate and vanilla icing, and lots of holiday sprinkles!  I'd bought both kids a special pair of Christmas Eve pajamas and a new copy of Twas the Night Before Christmas.  We were all ready for a special Christmas Eve!

Unfortunately, none of those precious things were able to happen on Christmas Eve ... because poor little Katie Anne woke up terribly sick on Christmas Eve morning!  She got sick around 7:00 am on Christmas Eve, and she was throwing up all morning.  She couldn't keep anything down until almost lunchtime.  I literally couldn't clean up one round of vomiting before she started the next one.  Luckily, my dad was able to help me in the morning and my mom was able to help me in the afternoon until Saunders got off work because I had two sick, sick babies on my hands.  Poor SJ was running a fever all day, was very lethargic, didn't want to eat - and of course he was still on his breathing treatments every 4 hours.  Then, we had little bitty KA throwing her guts up every ten minutes.  It was so pitiful ... she kept saying, "This is the baddest I've ever been!  This is the baddest I've ever been!"  (She meant sickest, not baddest, but it was still so sad.)  Even after she stopped throwing up, she was weak, pale, and tired.  So, poor KA's Christmas Eve plans consisted of laying on the couch, watching Christmas specials, drinking Sprite and eating crackers.

Even though she didn't feel like doing our Christmas plans, we still wanted to spread out the reindeer food for Rudolph and friends.  So, we headed out onto the front porch just before bedtime to sprinkle the food on the walkway.  I asked KA to pose in by the trees and the front door for me - you can tell by her little face that she'd had a rough day.

Sprinkling the goodies for the reindeer:

Our sick little Christmas girl!

We also weren't going to leave Santa out in the cold with no snack, even though KA hadn't felt up to baking and decorating cookies.  I'd made some pretzel and white chocolate treats for Saunders's fellow bank employees, and VJ had sent us gingerbread men from Agan's when we couldn't come to Christmas Eve dinner.  But Katie Anne didn't think Santa wanted sweet treats ... she thought he'd rather have an Agan's roll!

VJ had sent us Agan's rolls as well, and Katie Anne thought Santa would like one.  She said, "Santa gets a lot of cookies.  I think he'd like something different." 

That's Mommy's Diet Mountain Dew in the picture - not Santa's!  She kept the drink traditional and left Santa a cup of milk.

Katie Anne wisely decided to leave the goodies on the coffee table instead of the hearth ... Agan's rolls are very tempting to two little Christmas doggies.  Here's KA with the treats for Santa just before she settled down to dream of sugar plums!

Fortunately, Santa still came and visited our sick little kiddos ... and he left all kinds of good surprises for them while they were asleep!

Little Sick Boy

Our poor little SJ is one sick little boy!  Today, SJ was supposed to visit the pediatrician for his four month well visit and vaccinations.  Unfortunately, on Monday evening and through the night, his cold turned into a really nasty cough with wheezing when he breathed.  He also acted like he felt horrible and sounded very hoarse and weak when he cried.  So, instead of his well check, he had his first sick visit to the doctor's office!

He was diagnosed with bronchiolitis, and he got his first breathing treatment in the doctor's office.  He felt terrible, and Mommy strapping this mask to his face and forcing him to breathe the medicine did not make him feel any better at all!  After about twenty minutes, he finally gave up fighting the mask and just accepted that he was going to have to keep it on his face.  Here's his little pitiful self during the last few minutes of his treatment in the office:

Because he was not running a fever and was still eating/drinking well, he was not tested (and not diagnosed) with RSV.  We bought our own nebulizer to take home with us and, armed with over $100 in vials full of medicine, we were told to do at-home nebulizer treatments every four hours for the next ten days!

If you have to use this crazy machine to give your kid medicine, at least it can be a cute machine, right?

The little man taking his home breathing treatments:

 Still smiling despite his sickness!

Update: Despite his breathing treatments, SJ felt absolutely horrible for the next week.  After two days on the nebulizer treatments, he developed a very high fever (it stayed between 100-103 degrees for almost 3 days over the Christmas weekend).  Although he had been eating and taking his bottles well at first, he stopped eating and would only drink an ounce or two at each feeding for several days.  He was not sleeping well and was very lethargic, and everyone was very worried about him!  Luckily, he started to recover and feel a little better a few days after Christmas.  By the end of his ten-day treatment, he was back to his old self and feeling great.

Because of lots of drama that occurred during this whole sick time (mostly based on the fact that SJ's pediatrician didn't feel the need to see him at all for a recheck during this period despite his high fever, listlessness, and reduction in feeding or during a subsequent case of pink eye), we decided to switch pediatricians.  The new pediatrician thinks there was a good chance that SJ actually had the flu (or even RSV) and not bronchiolitis.  Either way, we were all totally happy when he completely recovered by early January and was back to his happy, cheerful self!

Poor Little Ginger

Our little Ginger is sick!  Her right eye got terribly red, swollen, and teary over the weekend.  The vet think she's got a scratch or something in her eye, but it is so swollen they can't examine it.  She's on anti-inflammatory meds and antibiotics, and she's going back for a recheck on Saturday morning.  Poor little pup has to wear an Elizabethan collar until then to keep her from rubbing it.  She can't eat with it on or go up and down stairs.  Hopefully she'll be feeling better soon!

Still Sick...

Well, I'm still sick... that explains the lack of blogging this week. I've just been too tired at night to do anything. I'm blogging tonight regardless of tiredness because Katie Anne goes on being cute, even when I'm sick, and that must be documented!

I went to the doctor on Monday, and they diagnosed me with strep throat... but warned me that the mono might be back, too. I have all the signs of mono, which are also many signs of strep, and actually swine flu, too. (That's how my first mono started... positive strep test, one round of antibiotics, and then pass out/have multiple seizures/go to hospital. I'm hoping to avoid that entire last part.) It isn't swine flu for real... my fever was low (99.8).

I'm supposed to take the seven-day course of antibiotics (Erythromycin, if anyone's interested), and then see how I feel. Right now - day 4 - not feeling much better. Sore throat, swole lymphs, headaches, exhaustion, body aches, back and upper abdominal pain, muscle fatigue, diarrhea... just the good stuff, really. I went back to work on Wednesday anyway... I'm almost out of sick leave.

So, I'm doing it and doing it well. Just living my life like its over, as the song suggests. I feel like I've run a marathon by lunchtime - I'm sleeping during my planning. My caffeine diet of late is coming in especially handy this week, as I am completely and utterly fueled by chemicals. Oh, Advil, and oh, fat-free French Vanilla creamer ... how do I love thee? Let me count the ways ...

Good news is that, when I went to the doctor on Monday, my official weight loss total (since beginning of March) is 28.4 lbs. Bad news is I'm too tired to exercise... hopefully I won't be set back too much!

Sick Baby, Chlorox Wipes, and Caillou Overload at 3:30 AM

Yesterday, when I picked KA up from school, Ms. Amanda said she'd been a bit clingy... uh oh. Usually, that means a bad evening is coming, but when we got home and got crafting, she seemed fine. Well, full blown whiny time hit at the supper table, and by bathtime, Saunders and I could tell something was off with the little princess.

Well, at 10:00 pm, we found out what the problem was... a temperature and some severe "potty business". Good news? She only wanted to go in the potty, so I only had to change one bad diaper blow out. Bad news? She had to go about every fifteen minutes... from 10:00 pm until 2:45 am! Good news? She didn't soil her bedclothes, so no late night washing. Bad news? She only wanted Mommy to hold her, so Mommy didn't sleep until Katie Anne finally laid down in her bed at 3:30 am. In Saunders's defense, he tried to stay up and help, but he was zombie-like by 11:15 and asleep on the couch by midnight, so I sent him on to bed... no point in us both being sleep deprived. He's going to a conference in Atlanta today, so there was no sense in him driving tired in that traffic.

So, how did Katie Anne and I spend those five and a half wakeful midnight hours from 10:00 - 3:30? Well, we rocked a lot... and if I stopped, she'd sit up and say, "Rock rock baby, Mommy, rock rock baby." So, my calves should look like a weightlifter's after all that! We cuddled on the couch, and I was thankful for the supportive corner section of the new couch because I could lay my head back and rest a little bit between our potty trips. We also watched one episode of Caillou ... on repeat ... about six times. Wahhh!

So, we're home today. She's still running a little fever, but she hasn't had any accidents since one dreadful blow out this morning that Saunders had to clean up alone while I was at school doing sub plans. She's eaten a great breakfast (lots of cheese toast and Pedialyte) and is definitely subdued and not quite herself, but she is playing in her kitchen right now, making me tea and coffee. So, I think we're on the mend! Today will definitely be one of those "nap when the baby naps" days for me! I'm running a coffee IV right now. :)

Now, Sicky Me!

Saunders infected me with his mystery sickness... which (Thank goodness!) is not mono because he's feeling a little bit better. Late last night, I started feeling weird, and all day long was a gradual decline... so I felt like total crap-o-la by the end of the day. My entire neck, throat, and ears were just killing me, and I had a major headache.

My mom encouraged me to be proactive about it and go on to the doctor, so I did. And, I'm really glad I did, because they actually gave me a shot! Isn't that crazy? Seems like you never get shots anymore. I actually have Katie Anne and Saunders to thank for that, I think... the doctor said, "If you've got a sick husband and a one year old at home, you've got to feel better fast, so I'm giving you a shot today." Yippee! It was an antibiotic and a steroid, so they said I should be feeling much better in the morning. I also have a prescription for an antibiotic, too. So, hopefully I'll wake up much improved.

So far, Katie Anne just seems to have a cold. She hasn't complained of her throat, neck, or ears hurting (and she was very up front with telling us, "My ears hurt," when she had her ear infection last month), so hopefully she's dodged the bullet.

Sicky Saunders

Saunders is under the weather. He felt really bad all weekend, and he went to the doctor yesterday. His strep test came back negative... his symptoms are exhaustion, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, headache... let's all chant together, "Hope it isn't mono! Hope it isn't mono! Please, don't be mono! Please, don't be mono!"

Hopefully, it is just a really bad sinus infection. He had one in the fall, and the symptoms were similar. They didn't do a mono blood test yesterday... they'll wait two weeks and see if he still feels the same, and then do one. Really, there's nothing you can do if it is mono, so there's no point in rushing the test other than peace of mind.

He came home from work and fell asleep on the couch for about an hour. He stayed up with us about 45 minutes or so, but was too sick to do more than sit there- he didn't even eat anything. Then, he went to bed tonight for good at 7:20... not like him at all. Poor kid!

Mononucleosis!

Yes, friends, I have a diagnosis. Mono! I went to Dr. Ryan today, who is Saunders's doctor, and who was absolutely great. He listened to everything I said, asked tons of questions, and pulled up my tests from the hospital on his computer and went over them with me.

Here are the symptoms of mono...

• constant fatigue
• fever
• sore throat
• loss of appetite
• swollen lymph nodes
  
• headaches
• sore muscles
• larger-than-normal liver or spleen
• skin rash
• abdominal pain

Other than the skin rash, I have every symptom! Dr. Ryan said this was a textbook case. He did say that my lymph node is one of the biggest one he's ever seen! My prescription is- lots of rest, rest, rest. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Lay around, lay around, lay around. I will try to work, but I will have to take it very easy, sit at my desk more, and not run around all over the place with the kids.

It is disappointing to have mono because it will last through the holidays- he said I probably won't feel 100% better until the first of the year. I will be very run down and have to take lots of breaks, naps, and rest a lot during the holidays, which we all know is one of the busiest times of the year. Also, there is no cure for it- it is a virus and has to run its course, which is usually 6 weeks. There is nothing I can take to make me feel better, which stinks because my neck/ear/shoulder all around this lymph node kills me. Also, the EBV virus will be in my system forever!

The good news is that, although mono is contagious, it is a "kissing disease"- which means that it isn't that easy to catch. So, I can still visit people, go out to eat, go to holiday events- I just can't kiss people or share drinks/utensils with them. Another bit of good news is that Katie Anne won't get it because little kids don't get mono. Also, I feel very good about having a diagnosis instead of just "mystery passing out time". Dr. Ryan says I just did WAY too much on Monday and caused myself to faint from exhaustion, which caused the seizure activity.

So, be prepared for me to spend lots of time on the internet because I'll be sitting on my rear end a lot for the next few weeks!

My Head

My head is getting better. I think the bruise is a lot less today. My headache is still there, but I think it is getting better, too. I am still very tired and weak, but I did manage to take a shower today and put in my contacts, which I consider a victory!

Do you know how hard it is to take a self-portrait of your own eyeball?

I'm Feeling Okay

I'm feeling okay today. I feel like I've been beat up and maybe thrown down some stairs. My head is extremely sore, obviously. I've got some bruising over my left eye and on my hand, so I think I may have fell on my hand, which explains how I didn't break my nose or teeth! I've slept about 15 hours since 7:30 last night, but I am feeling much more rested.

Saunders's mom came over and is sitting with me today, then my dad is picking up Katie Anne and doing shift #2 until Saunders comes home from Atlanta. I have just laid around, napped, and eaten some chili Vicki made. The bad part is that I had to cancel Girls' Night... again... sigh.

I am enjoying the downtime, though!

I will do a happier post in minute.

A True NaBloPoMo Warrior

Well, I should get a special NaBlo- PoMo prize for posting today!

Why? Because I spent all day in the hospital today. That's right, I got to ride for the second time in my life in an ambulance.

What happened? Well, I'm not really sure. I do not remember anything starting from 9:30 AM, when I got my kids off the bus from bus training, until about 11:00, when they were asking me a million questions in the emergency room.

Yes, I'll admit Saunders was right- I should not have gone to work this morning. My lymph node is still ginormous- somehow, it seemed bigger this morning that yesterday. I felt like absolute crap this morning, dizzy and exhausted. However, those of you who are teachers know how hard it is to be out. I'd already been out 2 days, and I had bus training today, a PLC meeting, and we're getting ready for our Thanksgiving play on Friday, so I just had to go in!

So, I went in to school and worked my butt of this morning, trying to get caught up. I got all my literacy and math centers together, fed and cleaned the animals' areas, graded some papers in a mad dash, and grabbed some oatmeal from the cafeteria for breakfast. I had Calendar Time and taught Phonics, although I'm not sure about the quality of my teaching because I was so tired. Then, we had bus training... I about lost it on the bus, I felt so bad. I do not remember anything after bus training, but apparently I got my kids back to class and got them started on their literacy centers.

Then, sometime just before 10:00, I had an "episode". No one knows (because I was in a room of just me and 20 six-year-olds, and I don't remember a thing, and their stories are confusing) what came first- the chicken or the egg. I don't know whether I had a seizure, which caused me to pass out, or passed out and hit the floor, which caused me to have a seizure.

Either way, my kids ran for help, and by the time another teacher got there (followed soon after by the nurse and principal), I was unconscious on the floor and seizing. The nurse says I had one seizure when the other teacher responded first, and then two more before the paramedics arrived. I was unconscious for about 10 minutes, but I did regain consciousness just as the paramedics were coming in. I didn't know where I was, what day it was... anything. I don't remember any of this, but my principal, the other teacher, and the nurse all came to see me in the hospital tonight, and this is what they said.

I do not remember the ambulance ride, but I do remember when I got to the hospital. Apparently, I lost consciousness in the ambulance and again in the emergency room and had some rapid-eye-movement, but not a full-blown seizure at that time. I was confused for about an hour after I got the emergency room, and I had a hard time recognizing my mom and Jillian right away, remembering what I did yesterday, or remembering if I dropped Katie Anne off at daycare. They ran a ton of tests, some of which came back badly but as expected (giant lymph nodes in neck, high white blood cell count due to sickness), and one that came back weird, which lead them to do a CT scan on my heart and lungs to check for blood clots.

The good news is that, other than my fat lymph nodes which need to be checked on if they don't go down in a few days, the tests came back good. They aren't sure what caused the seizures/passing out, but think it is probably related to my being so sick, the pressure in my neck, and on my feet/rushing around. I'm out of work for the rest of the week and I can't drive for a few days. I'm tired, very sore, and ready for bed, but NaBloPoMo and the blogging world needed to be informed of my day! And Saunders, being a good sport, took those pictures with his phone, so I didn't want to let them go to waste.

That's it- I'm exhausted and off to bed. I hope you all had better days than I did!

I'm Sick- Boo hoo

I just got back from the doctor, and I have strep throat and a sinus infection. Waaah! (That's me wallowing in my own pity.) I knew my cold was pretty bad, but I was just "manning up" and finishing the drill. That is, until yesterday, when my right lymph node on my neck came bustin' out like a freaking golf ball on the side of my throat. It is insane how swollen it is... people were asking me what was wrong at work just by looking at my neck! Seriously, you can't exactly see the golf ball shape, but you can tell that one side of my neck is swollen, and when you feel it... creepy! Saunders got grossed out when I made him check it last night. So, I went to the doctor after work today, and yep- strep. So, I'm out of work for the next two days. I've got a Z-pack, pain pills for my sinuses/headache/swole neck, and Flonase. Don't get me wrong- I am glad to have two days to lay in bed, drink orange juice, and recuperate. However, these are my issues with missing work:
1. Having to go back to school after the doctor visit and do sub plans for two days (took me until 6:00) stinks.
2. Calling around for subs stinks. Luckily, I found one on my sixth call. I have called 50 people before, literally.
3. I worry about my kids when I'm out. Will the bus riders get on the right bus? Will the sub remember everything that has to be done? Will the parents send a note and wonder why I don't respond until Monday? Will the animals be okay? I will go to the school Friday after the kids leave and feed Chloe and Cosmo.
4. I feel guilty about sending Katie Anne to daycare and laying around all day, even if I am sick.

Speaking of Katie Anne, I sincerely hope she and/or Saunders doesn't get this!!!