Of Biohazards, yelling at strangers, and peeing in a cup

M is ill with an icky gastro and respiratory virus. Her doc was worried that with the high fever, she might also have a UTI, so he had me go to the lab and get her urine tested. I forgot to put either stroller in the van. I had a baby carrier but left it in the car, thinking it was in the diaper bag. The carseat is very heavy, so I carried the baby in, planning to put her in the Boba carrier once I could take her light bunting off. M walked in fine. An idiot in a truck had to stop short because he clearly didn't plan to let us walk across the pedestrian zone safely but then realized that might end in his incarceration and thought better of it.

We got the lab paperwork from the peds office, registered, and headed toward the lab. M screamed at a stranger who tried to talk to her, and frankly he deserved it. He told her to stay with her momma, but she was afraid to walk to me because he was between us. I told him "She's afraid you're going to harm her. Keep walking!". Thankfully we got right in at the lab. I got back to the lab bathroom and realized I didn't have the carrier or any place to put the baby! She was in a light bunting, and I put a light blanket down on the floor in the blood draw part of the room and put her on it.

Then I turned my attention to M, who had a diaper on because of the tummy trouble she's been having. Turns out the diaper was full of trouble. I cleaned her up and got her on the toilet for a urine sample, which I was to collect midstream. She balked at this but eventually produced 2T of urine. Baby E meanwhile had fallen asleep on the floor. I tossed the floor blanket, packed up our whole mess into my backpack, and went out to tell the lab people that we were successful. M started screaming again that she wanted to blow her nose, but she was frustrated that she couldn't get it all out. Meanwhile, the lab people were ignoring us, which is hard to do with a screaming toddler. Finally I said, "Hey, she peed in a cup!". Then M got a serious case of ambulatory refusal, and I ended up walking out to the car with both girls (total combined weight of 45lbs) all the way to the car. That urine better be ugly!

Facebook is quicker, but blogging is dandy

So the Jedis went to school on Tuesday after many days off, and the return to routine has been good. I am a happier mom when things are at least a bit more consistent, and they're happier too. M-girl came down with a tummy flu on Wednesday morning, vomiting all over a pile of clean clothes that I had been putting off sorting for size and season. So I washed those in addition to quite a bit more laundry. Then our water turned orange and ruined a few things, but mostly socks. Apparently the water issue had to do with the fire dept doing hydrant maintenance and stirring up sediment. This was the worst we'd seen of this phenomenon, but at least our drinking water is well filtered enough to not be orange. I went to the water dept and got some mineral remover for appliances and fixtures. The water is fine now, and I'll be cleaning the washer tonight.

M also has really bad diaper rash from her flu problems, and she woke up from a nap with it so bad that she screamed for over half an hour before we went to get the boys. I just got a call from the doc saying I can put prescription burn cream on it. Great! It's soothing, it has antibacterial medicine in it, and the cream wipes on and off pretty easily, and I have an unopened jar from my burn in November. Her bum looks very painful! As a precaution, I'm doing a long hot soak of her diapers with double detergent and oxiclean to sanitize them. I have enough disposables on hand to get by, and I might as well use them so I don't get cream built up on the diapers.

The best part of today so far has been a visit to the obstetrician this morning. Dr.O' had some time to join me this morning, and I was so glad he did! We timed the drive and got there in 11 minutes. We were in the exam room with the nurse quickly. I had stayed the same weight since he last visit but had gained 2 pounds since my first visit there. I'm guessing I've put on about 8 pounds. The nurse probed my belly extensively with the Doppler but could not find the heartbeat, unusual at nearly 14 weeks! The normally chatty nurse got very quiet and went to get the doctor. Dan came and grabbed my hand and I cried a few tears. We agreed that we'd be okay. Sad, but okay. If this baby just wasn't going to be with us, we would accept that God is sovereign. Lots of drama, I know, but the nurse seemed concerned, and I've never felt quite certain in this pregnancy. The doctor came in and immediately put the ultrasound wand to my belly, where the baby's beating heart was going strong. We saw what my late grandfather would've termed a "well-formed head", a long spinal column, little limbs, tiny kidneys, a face in profile. Stunning. Fragile yet strong. Amazing. Life is beautiful! I'm going to feel a wee bit of anxiety until this person is in my arms and at my breast, and then I'll have the usual lifetime of Generalized Motherhood Anxiety that I already have for my other fantastic little people. I can manage that just fine!

Nubby on Omnicef :(

After 7 years of parenting, I still have occasional doubts about whether it's worthwhile to take a kid to the doctor. However, I'm usually right. Today I took M-girl, aka Nubby, to the pediatrician after about a month of cruddy coughs, pinkeye, mild fevers, general grumpitude, and copious snot production. The mucus was becoming more colorful (bleck!), so I took her in today. Sure enough, she has AOM in the right ear despite tubes, plus bronchitis and sinusitis. I have to remind myself for later that this girl rarely gets high fevers from a bacterial infection, but she does fever quite high when she has a fever-inducing virus. She has been dealing with allergies that have made her immunities weaker, so she's on 3 months of daily Zyrtec. In addition, she's on an oral steroid susp. and on Omnicef for 10 days, which means diarrhea. We made it to 2 stores before the doctor, and she was a total trooper, better behaved than the Jedis at the same age on a healthy day. She's a nice little nub!

Edit: Target had no pharmacist on duty! Last time they didn't have our meds! I like to go there because I get $10 gift cards for each new scrip, but it's a bit of a drive when I have several nearby pharmacies. So I went to the Sprawlmart across the street and took care of business. I did get some gentian violet there to treat the ensuing yeast mess that will surely come from this round of Omnicef. Lord, have mercy!

Tamiflu! My kingdom for some Tamiflu! (and maybe a beer?)

So we have been slammed with the flu. The kids were all a little snot-nosed and tired yesterday, but that's not unusual, especially since we had just traveled the previous 2 days and hadn't gotten enough sleep.

Despite my gargantuan efforts in November to get 3 kids to the pediatrician's for flu shots with 2nd degree burns on my leg while Dr. O' was in Atlanta, I-M has the flu. My apologies to anyone who has seen my kids this week. Really sincere and heartfelt I'M SO SORRY. A-man and M-girl have been prescribed preventive doses of Tamiflu, and I-M is on it to shorten the course of the illness. I-M is getting 90-95% of the oxygen that he should, so he's also on neb. albuterol and orapred susp. Oh, and LOTS of ibuprofen! No hospitalization is good, so all we can do is try to prevent that again. Poor guy is close to his deductible, but I don't want to meet it that way. He's been sitting and/or sleeping in the same position all day, and his fever has been 103. He's had one can of ginger ale and 1/2 piece of toast. His entire body hurts to the touch.

Unfortunately, flu season is supposed to be mostly over, so most of the pharmacies don't have Tamiflu, either because they ran out or they sent it back to the manufacturer because it was near expiration. Four pharmacies that I went to or that Dr.O' called did not have oral Tamiflu suspension for kids. Thankfully, CVS can compound the suspension from the pills, and they are my new heroes. They also have good deals on Yuengling according to their sign, but we're actually well stocked ;). I'll stick with my ginger ale, anyway.

We need some prayers! We had a trip planned to Indiana that is now at least partially postponed so that we don't bring a round of plague-ishness to the Village. We should be well enough to see B-grands this weekend as long as the Tamiflu kicks in and I-M is fever-free long enough.

Low-level Crud-ness

We've been around plenty of germs this winter and have been hit hard a few times, but we've been better than usual since we're not battling Village germs (on top of church and school and grocery store germs). You know, the mutant kind that people leave behind in the community center KNOWING that their kid is sick, but they just HAD to get out of the house. Thanks. I remember asking someone whose kid had actively-fevering HFMD "but why are you HERE?" (sick child had hand in bag of marshmallows during a bonfire, contaminating the whole bag).

I think another factor in our better health has been that we're eating so much yogurt! We've been eating at least a quart a day for a while, and the yogurt I've been making has 6 different cultures in it, which helps digestive health, which in turn promotes better overall health! We load our smoothies up with yogurt and lots of good berries and high-Vit.C fruit.

Now that the weather is nice, we have been hit with some low-level sickness, the kind that is hard to pinpoint because it could have multiple causes. I-M threw up on his bed on Tuesday, but that's not unusual; he throws up. I sent him to school the next morning and later took him to an appointment where he got nauseous, but it was hot and they were painting the hallways. A-man said his tummy hurt and he had a very low fever, but that's about it for him. Dr. O' is a bit under the weather. My throat hurts, which kinda makes me want a cold beer. At 11am. It would be very soothing, but I'm not going to do it. M-girl is a snotty mess and has been sleeping for 4 hours today. She screamed at me all morning, so here's hoping she wakes up pleasant. None of us are unwell enough to seek out medical attention, so we'll just ride it out for a few days. I was bracing myself for a monster plague, but it seems to only be a minor virus. I'll take it after 2 months of nearly perfect health since right before Christmas.

We missed out on our date tonight, but I'm okay with that. Don't want our kind undergrads to get sick! I have a cozy and pleasant and completely gaga and passionate (yeah, I said it) relationship with my husband. A night out would be great, but a night in can be pretty sweet.

Sick days and other strange blessings

A-man doesn't really complain about not feeling well, but his tonsils have been a bit sore.  He hasn't fevered or had any other symptoms, so I've been sending him to school.  The school nurse called yesterday right before the end of the day to tell me he had a sore throat, but she thought he'd be fine to ride the bus home, so I let him finish the day. 

This morning was another 2-hour delay, and he said his head and throat hurt.  I looked, and his tonsils were bigger than usual, and quite red.  I agreed to let him stay home and figured I'd check I-M's throat as well.  Also red.  Both of them have huge tonsils normally, but they're definitely irritated today, so I decided to keep them both home rather than running out twice to drop them off and pick them up.  Worse yet would've been to get a call during M's nap and have to get A-man because of illness and later pick up I-M from the bus stop.  A recuperation day at home seems the best course. 

They have been playing quietly and are all 3 snuggled up in my bed watching PBS kids.  I got out a pack of muffin mix that's been in the cabinet for months, and those'll be done any second.  I love a cozy day at home when no one's fighting.  Makes being a mom such a blessing!  I love being with these guys!

Speaking of blessings, I have a funny sort of perspective on them, which you may have noticed.  I feel like we've been playing chicken with our finances this week.  Ever had that kind of week/month/life?  We operate on the belief that God owns what we have, and when we give it back, He will supply our needs.  We are blessed, and we need to share our blessings with others. 

We're still working on the practical side of the "right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3).  As in, we need to not have second thoughts about giving generously, but we also need to communicate so that the giver (Dr.O') and the primary shopper (Me) can coordinate.  I bought items that we needed this month, but maybe didn't NEED.  Like lampshades for lamps that we've had for 6 months and a food processor to make good cheap food in. 

That said, we had a lot of expenses this month that are hard to budget for.  All wiggle room gone!  We knew we had some quarterly insurance, and we budgeted for that.  After Christmas, we had a gas bill that was outrageous, even though we were gone.  It was based on an estimate and not an actual reading, but we didn't know if an actual reading might be even more since we've only lived here 7 months, so we paid it.  Then by mid-month we were out of everything, so I did an enormous stock-up using lots of coupons and sales ads.  Medical expenses for I-M came after that, leaving us with $20 for this week.

$20.79 for a week, and now it's down to $10.59 until Monday.  After college, seminary, grad school, and Ph.D. program poverty, I can totally do this IF we're already stocked.  Dr. O' and I thrive on this kind of week!  We love the creativity that comes from having no opportunity to spend money and having to trust God to meet our needs.  We have 1/2 tank of gas and nowhere to go beyond school most days. We are using our free month of Netflix to full advantage.  M's cute cloth diapers are in the washer, and a box of warranty-replacement ones are coming today.  Our change jar is now empty and the change used to buy milk, bananas, etc.  We have plenty of ingredients to make most of our favorite meals.  Our canned and dry goods are plentiful. Our fresh produce is dwindling, but there's still frozen produce, and we haven't wasted a thing!  We'll have to buy milk tomorrow, but we're getting to the end, and it's okay! 

When we have a week like this, I love the freedom from want.  I have what I need, and wanting more doesn't make it happen, so I am more able to focus on the simple pleasures and great blessings I have in my life!

And another one down...

I had a down day emotionally yesterday. Just a general low feeling, with spurts of ultra-grumpy ire, I must admit. The Jedis are really loud and rambunctious now that they feel better, and M is really whiny due to the respiratory mess we've been dealing with. Thank God for her nap!

I watched Christmas movies and laid around yesterday afternoon once we had gotten the house cleaned up. I was very cold and tired, and I must've really needed a rest because I even fell asleep on the couch with kids all around.

Dr.O' came down with the high fever and respiratory mess last night. Think of your tonsils as two Christmas hams wrapped in barbed wire and a sinus headache that feels like a fist pounding from the inside, and you've mostly got the picture. He's been so helpful in keeping everything working around here while I've been sick, so I've been after him any time he's doing work today, insisting that he veg out in our bed and get good rest! He was happy to do so once we had found the remote. Guess he didn't want to watch ABC Family for 2 days while he recuperates!

I decided not to share our plague at church today, especially since I don't know who in my family has actually had this virus and may still come down with it. Instead, I took the kids to the store where we got the last of the necessary items to celebrate IM-7's birthday tomorrow. It was good to give Dr.O' some solid sleep time without interruption. Now it's M's nap, and the boys are enjoying Rudolph.

You Give Me Fever: both the cabin and actual varieties

Things fell apart at the O'Hare house in the last 24 hours, but we are on the mend. We got slammed by the influenza virus, and if Momma is sick, this house can turn into a petri dish pretty fast! Dr. O' did a marvelous job keeping things together, baking bread, running to the store for meds, convenience food, and soda and sherbet for Yoda Sodas (our favorite treat for sickies!). I had a 102 fever starting yesterday afternoon, and Dr. O' has kept a mountain of laundry going, kept kids reasonably clean and fed, and has vacuumed the house. I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, with Dr. O' coming down with it. When he gets sick, it's pretty awful! A-man was home Thursday and Friday with what seemed to be a cold last week, but he may have had the flu as well. Since then, we've had snow days Monday and today.

The worst part is that we won't be seeing our friends the Hamricks now because we'll still be potentially contagious when they would be arriving. It's a disappointment, but we did see them twice in the last two months.

So we are making a new game plan, hoping to do lots of fun things, but also trying to get plenty of rest.