Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Halloween Photos

Dad's Girlfriend P and Sister-in-Law J
Burbles
The kids
Our family
Grumpa with the kids
WDW
Burbles, P, Grumpa, and WDW
Grumpa and P
Captain, Fiona, and Burbles
Fiona
Ready for Trick-or-Treating
WDW wasn't terribly happy.
Burbles walking on the lawn
Captain and Fiona playing follow the leader.
Pretty girl
WDW and GGMa
Burbles with GGMa
Fiona kissing Burbles
Yumm
WDW and Captain
Burbles was terribly tired after running about and collecting candy
Captain and Burbles with Grandpa G
Captain
Fiona and Great GMa

Captain and Great GMA

Our Front Yard

So, one of our huge projects this summer was to put in a new front yard. When I say that, what I really mean is that we took out whatever you would call what we had before and put in a front yard. It was a huge undertaking and because of equipment and the inability to do the project ourselves without waiting for sixteen years to get it done, it was expensive. We ended up getting a few bids from area contractors but ended up going with Horizon Landscaping from the Rochester, Minnesota area. I would recommend them to everyone. I will spare you the day by day progress photos that I had so much fun taking and I will give you the before and afters. It is amazing what can be done by three men and a machine in six short workdays!










Monday, November 3, 2008

Holy Cow

So, today we woke up. Burbles hasn't been feeling well for almost a week. She started with this huge bump on her leg where she had her 18 month immunizations. I wasn't terribly concerned, but she said it hurt. Then, the day after I called the nurse about that, she started with a fever. At times it was high (over 104) and she was grouchy and clingy and sleepy. Overnight last night her fever broke. I was excited about this, because I was hoping to NOT have to take her to the doctor. Then I changed her diaper... She was rash everywhere. So, I called the nurse and the nurse said that she should be seen. Fundi was working today, so that left me and the kids, which was fine, but I had to move. I got them both dressed and we walked out the door less than a half an hour later. Pretty good huh? We got to the appointment on time and everyone was OK. The nurse said that she was impressed that I would take two little ones out on the town by myself. I was proud and a little happy that someone recognized this amazing feat. The doctor checked her out and said "Roseola" a virus which starts as a high fever for around 4-5 days which starts and ends suddenly with a lack of other viral symptoms. After the fever breaks, a rash appears first on the torso and then on the full body. This rash could last up to 5 days but should not itch or bother. No treatment necessary. Symptoms unrelated to vaccines.
We left the clinic and I was feeling pretty good. Both the kids were being relatively well-behaved (we have had major melt-downs for the past few days--I attribute these to not feeling well, in general, and maybe a lack of sleep or maybe just coming down off the Halloween candy buzz) and we didn't have any major illnesses, just a little virus. We decided that we were hungry and needed to get lunch and then do our minimal shopping. As we were driving, I asked Captain what he would like for lunch either Red Robin or Olive Garden. He said Red Robin, so I pulled in the parking lot. Captain was thrilled, he knows that Red Robin has balloons. Now, dining with two toddlers as an only adult is something that is ever-changing and is rarely mastered, so I attempt different tactics every time. This particular time, I asked the waitress if I could go with the kids to the bathroom while she got the highchairs and table set up. That was OK with her, so we all went. I was able to fit everyone in the handicapped stall, change a diaper, have Captain go potty and go potty myself. We washed up and were headed out the bathroom door when Burbles decided that she didn't want to leave the bathroom. (I think she was looking at the TV in the mirror or maybe the TV on the wall, but I can't say for sure.) I was holding both of their hands and we were going out the bathroom door when Burbles threw herself down on the floor. I heard a few "pop, pop"s and then screaming. Not knowing whether the screaming was because she was hurt or because she was mad she didn't get her way, we returned to our table. We sat down and we colored a little and ordered our food and Burbles cried some more. All the while, I watched her behavior. I quickly noticed that she wasn't using her right hand or arm at all. I didn't know what to do, but I thought that observation while eating was a good way to know if she was truly hurt or not. She ate her apples with her left hand and made me feed her the corndog. When she moved (voluntarily or involuntarily) her arm, she would cry and whimper. We ate quickly and grabbed our balloons on the way out. Captain picked Orange. Burbles picked purple. I took them to the van and tied the balloons to the seat and strapped the kids in. Before Captain was strapped in, he pulled the string of his balloon and it flew up into the sky. So there was crying. I strapped him in and went and got another balloon for him. Burbles was happy with her balloon (held in her left hand). I called the Pediatric nurse and asked what I should do. We made an appointment with Dr. VDL, who is their normal doctor, at 2:10 (only an hour and a half after leaving the clinic the first time). I felt like a dope. So, we drove around for a while. Burbles managed to fall asleep, but only a short while later, Captain burst his balloon. He screamed about that for a good twenty minutes. Finally we went to the clinic, and even though we were half an hour early, I hoped to get in early and I hoped that we could help Burbles to feel better sooner rather than later. Dr. VDL saw Burbles early (what a cool doctor, honestly) and did an assessment of her condition. He didn't tell me what he was doing, only that he was trying to understand what was going on. There was a lot of screaming, many tears, and a lot of hugging and then a little "pop". Dr. VDL said that Burbles had nursemaid's elbow, or a dislocated elbow. She is more likely to have a recurrance, now, and she is not to be lifted by her arms or swung or dragged around or anything of the sort, if at all possible. After fixing her elbow, Burbles was like brand new again. She was running around and picking up books and acting like nothing had ever happened. Dr. VDL said not to beat ourselves up about it, even if it happens again and again. Just to be careful. The rest of the day was OK. Burbles ended up popping her balloon too. We finally got home at 6, just as Fundi was getting home as well. The kids have been asleep since 6:30.