The drama continues...

Just a quick update because my brain is fried after 13 hours of work. Alexa got a pink cast after all. Chris took her in on friday because it was hurting her. She'll have it about a month. She loves getting it signed if anyone wants to come over and sign it:)
I took Moriah and India to the doctors yesterday for flu shots and neither of them could get it because they are sick. Moriah has had a persistent cough for a while now but it doesn't seem to bother her. I did ask the doctor to get the wax out of her ears because she hasn't been hearing well lately. but when the doctor looked in her ear, she said they were really badly infected!! No fever, no pain, and a double ear infection. Man, this child is tough. Not only that, but when she listened to her lungs she said she wanted me to go straight to the hospital for x-rays of her chest. The x-rays came back negative for pneumonia, thank God, but the doctor said she still ahs "clinical pneumonia," so I need to give her neb treatments three times a day adn she's on an antibiotic. And India has another ear infection too, so back on antibiotics she goes. I am feeding them lots of yogurt to try to give them back some of that good bacteria being lost with the medication. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Midbitch

So, if you didn't know...midwife literally means "with woman." Well, today I was "with dog." I got a call from my seemingly stressed friend around the corner. Joyce had told me before that she might want me to come over when there dog delivered her pups. Of coarse, I was excited to get the call this morning. I threw on my clothes and ran to her house. Their daughter was standing outside waiting for me telling me the first one had come and was so cute. I thought for a minute, this must be what it feels like to be a midwife. Well I stayed for quite a while as Jada delivered 7 more pups. She delivered 2 more after I left, making the grand total 10!!! I had to intervene a few times to break the sac when Jada was too tired to do it, and I delivered a breech too. That was so cool! I was amazed by how natural the whole thing was. Jada just nurtured her pups so well and they all latched on (well not all at the same time). This might be a gross thing for some people, for me it was just awesome and I am so glad Joyce called me.

BREAKING NEWS!!

Sorry, Chris told me to title this blog that way. Well, the good news is that Alexa does not need surgery or a cast. WE couldn't have asked for a better outcome. They got home from the ER around 10:00 last night and Alexa was sleeping before she hit the pillow (doped with codeine). I had a pretty sleepless night, wondering what if she needs surgery? When will it be? Will our insurance cover it? And mostly, scared to see my first child under anesthesia and having pins put into her body. I haven't experienced that kind of fear before except when I was in the ER with Moriah less than 24 hours old. But it still was different this time. I thank those of you who prayed. We have a lot to be thankful for tomorrow:)
So, the deal is that becasue they did such a good job with the splint, we will leave her in it for the next 3-4 weeks and she'll be seen again by the same guy when we're here for Christmas. Despite ouor sleepless night, our stressful day and out excrutiatingly long office visit today, we can say THANKS BE TO GOD!!
On a side note, Alexa was very disappointed not to get a pink cast. WE made the mistake of talking up a cast, because we were so sure she would get one. SO, if anyone wants to decorate her sling, that would be awesome!! It won't be long before she realizes that it is a good thing not to have a cast on. I was dreading having to cut all of the sleaves on her clothes and resew them, not to mention baths. She can write since it is her upper arm that's broken.

Anyone want a dog?

Not really. We love Oskar, but whew, what a long stange trip it's been. We came to richmond on friday after the kids got out of school. It has been crazy ever since. Moriah woke the first night with the throw ups and a fever. She got over it within 24 hours just in time for Alexa to get the fevers, all the while both of them have had a cold. Now, Chris and I both have colds, india has the same cold she's had for a while with an ear infection, and Oskar has been pooping all over my parents house and my moms $2000 rug is ruined. Wonderful, right?!!!! Not enough to drive me to grow a few more grey hairs. Now Alexa is in the ER with a broken arm and we are waiting to hear if she needs surgery or not!!! Yep, Chris took the girls outside to have a fun time playing in the leaves. We invited the 2 neighbor girls over for some play time. Within 10 minutes, Moriah got a busted lip because she was buried under the leaves when another girl jumped in the pile and Alexa was preparing to jump in the pile when Oskar tried to join the fun and tackled her, buckling her knees and she landed on her elbow. She FREAKED! Oskar saw another dog and went chasing it, so Chris took her and I went to get him. Later I checked her out and felt pretty sure it was a sprain. She was in a lot of pain saying that she didn't want to wait minutes or hours for it to feel better. She wanted it to feel better that second and she burst in to tears saying she liked to be able to move her arm and didn't want it to be broken. Anyways, my dad got home within the hour and it was very swollen by that time so Chris and him took her to the ER where they are now. It is broken. The humerus near the elbow. They are putting on a half cast tonight and we'll take her to the orthopedist tomorrow to determine if she needs surgery. Please pray for a good outcome. As of now, Alexa is ok with having a cute colored and decorated cast, but she has no idea of the possibility of surgery.

Arise and Shine...

"This is how my mornings go, usually. Now that daddy is back home, mama and I can sleep in a bit longer and the whole day just goes so much smoother."

"This is how I wait in the mornings for mama to come get me. I just stand here and sing. Sometimes I like to get my exercise by doing squats while holding onto these bars. Great quad work!"


"Ok mom, I think that everyone who reads your silly blog knows that you think I am cute. Let's just get on with things. I am hungry!"


"This is what I do when I want more cereal. Mama taght me that. I think it is kind of funny that she needs me to clap to get her to feed me. What am I a cheerleader for the mom!"


"This is the best part. Look at that water fall. I am going to try to grab it...Hmmm, what is that warm wet feeling down my leg..."


"I love the water! Uh oh, Here comes mama with the towel. I am going to try to hold on real tight..."


"come on mama, my little body is shivering while you are trying to find the warmest outfit for me to wear today..."


and there she goes, fully clothed and ready to face the world head on...

the zoo with the fechos

Usually we are a zoo when we get together, but this time we went to the zoo. This was a weird experience for me. I wanted to get together with my friend rachel, and since moriah and alexa are in school now, play dates mean my one child and her three. Except her oldest had the day off from school (somehow, I missed getting a picture of him), so really it was her four. It felt weird only having one and her having her hands full. I love hanging out with Rachel though because she is one of the most calm moms I know. I know she doesn't feel this way about herself all the time, but she is amazing. I love hanging out with her kids. The twins are at such a fun age right now. The boys loved the snake eating the mouse so i had to get this picture in dedicated to Isaiah and Nathan. Lara and Maya would hardly sit still long enough for a picture, but they are full of cuteness! They love India and India loved the attention.

Halloween

This year was an adventure. We go out to the burbs to trick or treat with our good friends, the Quigleys. We decided to invite our neighbor, Shane. He is a real sweet kid, and full of energy (thats him doing a flip in the leaves). We always fill our bags out there. Shane was shocked at his loot and the amount of whole candy bars he got. Shane and the Quigley boys were all Star Wars characters. Alexa was her own creative self, as a "creepy cheerleader." Moriah was an angel. India was dorothy, wearing a childhood dress that belonged to a friend. As usual, I stayed back with suzie and chris and dave took the kids out. It was a great time for us all. Thanks Quigs!!

October is Over...

I love October. It is sad that we had such a weird month of weather. makes me feel like October hardly existed. We just put india in the leaves for the first time last night! Hopefully next year will be better. These are pictures from a couple of weeks ago when chris' parents were here. We went to Eastern homecoming. The kids decorated some pumpkins and we saw a few old friends. I am glad they were here. The kids love having someone else to play with:)