Nervous Stomach

A few weeks ago we took the boys bowling.  They both loved it.  We played two games which was a little too much for them.  Next time we will only play one.  Samuel has been asking everyday when we can go back.  It is so much fun to see them experience new things.

Speaking of new things...yesterday Samuel started his first day of camp at Burr-Oak.  It is a two week camp where they have swimming, art, play time, sports, etc.  Lots of stuff to do.  I was so nervous yesterday morning.  My stomach was killing me and my heart was literally racing all day.  We are supposed to drop off and pick up in the car pool line.  So we drive up in the morning, Counselors in Training open the door to the car, get the kids out and take them inside.  Then after camp they bring the kids out and put them in the car.  I was so nervous about just dropping him off and not walking him in. Samuel is normally a shy boy at first and doesn't talk much when he first meets people, so I was having a hard time seeing him leave to go up the stairs to the camp without me.  When I pulled away I had an overwhelming feeling to just start crying.  He ended up loving every minute of camp and couldn't wait to go back today.  He woke up this morning asking every five minutes when we were going to go.  I still felt extremely nervous when I dropped him off again today.  I just get so emotional when I think about how big he is getting.  

On a not so happy note, Stomach flu or something is going around our house.  Both Joseph and Samuel  have spent one night continuously vomiting.  Dave and I are really hoping that neither one of us gets it and especially not Simone.  My stomach has been hurting me for two days straight, but I am hoping that it is just my nerves about Samuel.  Only time will tell.

Lastly, Simone turned 8 months yesterday.  She is saying "Mama" all the time and actually calls me "Mama" and Dave "Dada".  She is waving to everyone, has one tooth on the bottom and the second is probably going to cut through today.  She is eating lots of different foods and just started eating puffs.  As we speak, she is eating pureed Kale, Apple and Mango.  The only thing she absolutely hates is peas.  It doesn't matter if we mix it with other stuff including fruit, she hates it.  She is working her way to normal crawling.  Right now she is pretty fast at military crawling.  She is so much fun.  I am so happy everyday that our "accident" has been the biggest joy.  

Here are some pictures:

Simone's 8 month picture!

The Big 4!

Today is my favorite first born little boy's birthday.  He is 4 today and he is so excited.  He wants to sing happy birthday all the time.  I can't believe he is 4 already.  Time has really flown by.  I am hoping that four will be a little bit easier then three.  Three was quite a challenge.  Samuel is super independent, loving and stubborn.  He amazes me everyday.  He is so smart and funny and he makes me laugh all the time.  He drives me crazy too, but he wouldn't be a normal kid if he didn't do that.

He was so brave this morning.  We had his 4 year check up and he had to get four shots.  I normally do not give the kids more then 3 shots at a time, but Samuel is absolutely terrified of getting shots and I didn't want to have to come back in a month to give him the rest.  That would be way to stressful for him.   When he gets really scared he starts shaking like crazy.  His poor little hands, arms and fingers were shaking like crazy.  He got himself so worked up that he got a nose bleed.  He has never had a nose bleed before, but it just shows how much he is like me.  When I get super upset or stressed out I get nose bleeds too.  Anyway, he survived and was ready to go to school and take his big cookie cake that I got him.

He is such a big boy.  Here were his statistics:

Height - 43.9 inches (98%)
Weight - 46.40 pounds (97%)

Since I was going to the doctor for Samuel I made another appointment for Simone.  Last Wednesday when she finished her medication she broke out in a rash on her chest.  Over the weekend it spread all over her chest and back and looked pretty bad this morning.  I decided to get her in to have the doctor look at her too.  She still has fluid in the ear that had the ear infection, but he said it was looking better.  The doctor thinks that the rash is part of the sickness that she had and it might get much worse before it gets better.  If she still has it by the end of the week, I have to call him back and get her in.  If it isn't one thing it is another.  When is this going to be over!!!

And to round out the three kids, when we finally got home and started relaxing and I was feeding Simone I got a call from Joseph's school.  They wanted me to pick him up because he had a fever, runny nose and a little bit of a cough.  I swear if he gets super sick again I am going to be so pissed.  Right now I am trying to get him to take a nap and hopefully he will just sleep it off.  He didn't sleep well last night, so I think he may just be over tired.  We had a super busy weekend, so I think he may just be worn out.

Speaking of the weekend.  I need to post pictures later, but we had a wonderful weekend.  All the grandparents came in town to help Samuel celebrate.  We went to The Fresh Beat Band concert, which was so much fun and I am pretty sure the kids had a wonderful time.

It got worse

So from my last post until today the days have been a blur.  Here's a quick update.

Samuel got better by Wednesday night and still has a little cough, but overall is fine.

Joseph continued to have a terrible cough, very high fever and was absolutely miserable from Wednesday until yesterday afternoon.  I had to sleep with him (I think because I can't really remember) Wednesday and Thursday night, maybe even Friday night.  Like I said the days and nights kind of ran together.

By Saturday, Simone woke up and she had green junk coming out of her right eye and it drained all day long.  By mid-morning she started to get a low grade fever.  At 5 pm her fever was 100.3, so we called the exchange number for our doctor.  They didn't call back until 5:45, but by that time her fever was 101.7.  We were freaking out because it was so high.  She was absolutely miserable.  They told us to take her to the ER.  I packed everything up and spent the evening until 9:30 at the ER with her.  They tested her for the flu, took her temperature, listened to her chest.  The diagnosis was pink eye and an upper respiratory infection.  By the time we were about to leave, her fever was 102.8.  They gave her Tylenol and sent us home.  She was a mess all night.  Her fever spiked at one point to 103.9, which stressed me completely out.  We just kept giving her medicine and keeping her comfortable.

I slept with her Saturday and Sunday night on the couch.  By Monday morning, both Simone and Joseph were a mess so we took them to the doctor.  Turns out that they both had ear infections and the doctor said he was a little concerned that Joseph may have pneumonia.  We got medicine for the ear infections and we needed to watch Joseph and if he didn't get any better we would have to take him back in.

After the meds, Joseph started to sleep at night.  He still had a nasty cough until yesterday.  Today he has barely coughed and I know his ear feels better.  Joseph will not take the medicine.  He throws a huge fit and spits it out everywhere.  So we have now started slipping it into his morning juice.  He has no idea, drinks it right up and we don't have to fight with him.

Now for Simone.  Yesterday was the first day we could put her down without her screaming.  We literally held her from Saturday morning until Monday night non-stop.  Dave and I switched off holding her and we were exhausted.  I know her ear feels better because she is now taking naps and sleeping for a good period of time at night.  She nursed so much Saturday through Monday because she felt so terrible and now my boobs have quadrupled in size.  She is now coughing a lot and seems almost more miserable because it looks like her coughing hurts.  She still has a low grade fever, but nothing like Saturday and Sunday.

You don't want to come near our house.  We need to air it out and bleach everything.  Hopefully we will get no more sickness in this house.  We are staying away from anyone sick.  If you cough or sneeze we are high tailing it away.  It is pretty clear that my kids are prone to chest colds, which turn into ear infections.  It is crazy because I have never had an ear infection and Dave doesn't think he has had one either.  I know I can't control what they might pick up at school, but I am hoping we can avoid any more illnesses.

On a positive note.  Samuel is really curious about all of our names.  He knows all of our full names.  The other day I was sitting on the couch with Joseph and Samuel was asking me how to do something.  I was right in the middle of saying something to Dave, so I ignored him.  He was so frustrated and he said "Mommy Emerson Glasser, look at me."  It was hilarious.  The funniest part is that I have never ever gotten mad at him or tried to get his attention by saying "Samuel Emerson Glasser".  I don't know where he got that from.  He must have seen it on TV or something.

I am hoping for health, sleep and relaxation.

What a week!

Well, you know how the week started.  It is ending about the same.  Samuel started to get better by Wednesday afternoon and Joseph went completely downhill.  Wednesday afternoon Joseph wouldn't take a nap, so I had him on the couch watching TV.  All of the sudden his face got red and he started pulling on his ear.  I took his temperature and it was 102.4.  I gave him Advil and called the doctor.  I wanted to make sure he didn't have an ear infection because the night would be unbearable.  I called the doctor at 3:30 pm and they said to come in by 4:30, which was perfect because Samuel gets home from school around 4 and we could go straight there.

Right after I got off the phone with the doctor, Simone woke up from her nap.  I got her all changed and then started feeding her.  Around 3:50 I saw Samuel's ride coming down the street, so I told Joseph to stay by the back door and not move while I ran and put Simone in the living room, so I could go and meet Samuel outside.  It was raining and I didn't want Simone or Joseph outside.  Plus, I never let Joseph go down the back steps by himself because he isn't normally that stable and he just goes.  I am sure you can guess what happens next, in less then 30 seconds, Joseph is screaming at the back door.  I knew he tried to go down the steps and I was terrified at what I was going to find when I rounded the corner.  He was laying on the ground and half off the last step, he lifted his head up and there was blood everywhere.  I flipped.  I picked him up, ran into the kitchen and made him spit in the sink.  I grabbed wet paper towels and cleaned up as much blood as I could.  I looked in his mouth and there were no loose teeth and no cuts in his mouth.  Then I wiped away the outside of his face again and there was just a gash on his upper lip and right side of his mouth.  He was bleeding a lot, but they were mostly big superficial cuts.  Thank goodness.

At the same time this is happening, Samuel is being walked to the back door.  He does not do well with blood or seeing other people hurt, so he started to freak out too.

I have to preface the end of the story with a recap from Tuesday middle of the night.  Samuel woke up in the middle of the night with a bad dream and I ran into his room.  I got him calmed down and back to sleep, then I went back into our restroom because I felt like I needed to blow my nose.  I reached up with a Kleenex and all of the sudden my nose started gushing blood.  I have gotten nose bleeds before (usually when I am pregnant or really stressed out), but this was unexpected.  I usually can control the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop, so I yelled for Dave and totally freaked him out.  Anyway, my nose finally stopped bleeding and I got back in bed, but I was feeling really light headed like I could pass out.  I ended up falling asleep, but in the morning, I had a conversation with Samuel about if something happens to me and I can't respond or talk that he needed to call Daddy or Savta on my cell phone and tell them and they would get me help.  I wasn't sure if he understood what I was saying, but he acted like I did.

So back to Joseph bleeding.  As soon as Samuel saw him bleeding, he freaked and grabbed my phone and said, "Do I need to call Daddy now?  He will know what to do."  He did in fact call Dave and told him that Joseph was bleeding and hurt his mouth.  Luckily Dave was already on his way home.  When Dave got home I took Joseph to the doctor and he did not have an ear infection (after all that).  He was clearly sick, but no ear infection.

It ended up that Wednesday night the boys slept okay, but not great.  Then last night happened.  In the afternoon Joseph started to get a really high fever.  By 3:30, he had 104.4 fever and I totally flipped.  If you can't see the pattern here, when my kids hurt themselves or are sick I completely freak.  I know I should be calm, but I get so worried and I don't handle that stress very well.  Joseph was absolutely miserable.  Let's just say that for the next few hours, I was not a relaxed person.  Joseph was freaking out, Simone was screaming and Samuel just being a pain.  My nerves were shot.

I had a feeling last night was going to be a bad night, so I set up blankets on the couches for me and Joseph, just in case he needed me in the middle of the night.  At 9:30pm, Joseph was up and a mess.  His fever was still super high (we did try everything to get it to go down) and all he wanted was for me to hold him.  So my night on the couch began at 9:30.  Joseph is terrible to sleep with.  He wanted to sleep right on top of me in the craziest positions.  At one point his entire body was on me, but his head was hanging off the couch, then he wanted to sleep directly on my head, this went on and on.  Around 12:30 am his fever finally broke.  We didn't get restful sleep at all, but he was feeling a little bit better.

The kids on Valentine's Day.

Simone dressed up on VDay.

I made the boys heart shaped sandwiches for lunch. 

Here is my miserable little boy.  This is when his fever was super high and you can see the cuts on his face.

The boys this morning wearing their superhero shirts.  

Week Two

There must be something about Tuesdays lately that means, throw up day.  You know the story from last week, well this week both boys have vomited.

Last night Samuel started coughing a ton and he didn't stop.  All of the sudden I knew that the cough was so bad that puke was coming next.  I ran into his room (this was around 12:30 am) and he had thrown up all over his everything.  I know I have said in the past and I will say it again, I really hate puke.

Anyway, in the middle of the night I changed all the bedding, including the comforters and started a load of laundry.  I changed all of Samuel's sheets, cleaned him up, got him redressed, cleaned up the floor (yes it was there too), got him water and got him tucked into bed.  I laid down with him for a little bit and he finally fell asleep.  Everything took about a hour total.  Then I got back in my bed and I think it was about an hour or so later when he started coughing again.  I sent Dave in this time to lay with him.  I fell back asleep and Dave fell asleep in Samuel's room for a while.  I have no idea when he got back in bed because I was exhausted.

Then around 6:30 or so, Joseph started coughing.  He was basically up at that point, so I rolled out of bed to start the day.

The boys have been coughing like crazy all day.  I obviously didn't send Samuel to school, which broke my heart because today they were having a big Valentine's Day party and exchanging valentines.  We dropped of Samuel's valentines at school and his teacher is going to collect all of his for him and give it to him tomorrow, if he goes.

Then to my afternoon.  I made the boys heart shaped turkey sandwiches.  Joseph inhaled his and Samuel took two bites.  Joseph was acting really tired around 12:30, so I decided to put him down for a nap.  When I laid him down he started coughing too, but I thought he would eventually fall asleep.  I took Simone into her room to get her to take a nap.  She was eating and was basically asleep when I heard Joseph doing the same ridiculous coughing that Samuel did last night and I knew he was about to throw up.  I quickly put Simone in her bed (which she wasn't happy about at all) and ran into Joseph's room just in time to hear him throw up all over his bed.  Are you freaking kidding me?!

I stripped him and the bed down, cleaned him up and got him dressed again.  Then I started my fourth load of sheets and bedding for the day.  It has been awesome.  Now both boys are sitting on the couches, watching TV, covered with blankets and coughing their heads off.  Samuel just told me his bones were hurting, which scares me because I really don't want flu in this house.

Tonight we are ordering heart shaped pizza in honor of Valentine's Day.  The boys are really showing me some serious love today.

I have always hated Valentine's Day and this is just another reason not to like it.  However, because today is the day to celebrate love I do want to say how much I love my wonderful husband.  I couldn't function without you!  I am also extremely grateful for my beautiful kids.  They drive me crazy sometimes, okay a lot of the time, but my life would not be complete without them.  I celebrate this day because of them.

I can't leave out my amazing parents.  Now that I am a parent, I really appreciate everything they did for me growing up.  Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs EVER.  I think they did a pretty good job with me!  I love you guys.

There are other people in my life that I appreciate and love so much.  I am so grateful for my in-laws, my brother, sister-in law, niece, nephew, aunts, uncles, my beloved Zayde and my friends.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Rain makes me tired

It rained yesterday and stormed today.  I get in such a funk when it rains.  It is just so dark and nasty and depressing.

To make it even better, Joseph has had a stomach bug for a few weeks now.  He was just having tons of bowel movements, but starting Sunday it turned to diarrhea.  I know too much information, but it is disgusting and I have to share how disgusting it is.  Yesterday he pooped through two pairs of pants.  He hasn't had a fever during the day or any other problems.  I debated whether or not I should send him to school because I don't send the kids to school when I am worried they are going to pass something along to another student.  Joseph has been acting completely normal and fine, but is just having diarrhea, so I sent him to school today.  They said he was fine, but had one yucky diaper.  Well when I was loading him into the car, I smelled another load in his pants.  As soon as we got home I went to change his diaper and it wasn't a pretty sight.  I immediately put him in the tub for a good cleansing and then started gagging at how disgusting it was.

Samuel luckily is healthy and happy.  He is starting to speak so much more Spanish.  Today when he finished his snack after school, he looked at me and said "mas por favor".  It is really exciting that he is learning and speaking Spanish.

Simone had a rough day today.  She also started pooping a bunch today, which worries me because I really don't want her to get sick.  She has a little runny nose, but nothing else.  This morning when I dropped Joseph off at school, I went in the back seat to get Simone and she had blood coming out of one of her nostrils.  I freaked.  It wasn't a lot of blood, but none of my kids have ever had a nose bleed before and it was just scary to see.  I get nose bleeds when I am stressed out, pregnant or the house is really dry.  I called the doctor and they said that she may just be effected by the dryness in the house too.  I need to watch it and then call them back if she gets anymore.

Life is super busy.  I feel like I don't have much time at all for myself.  But I have to admit, having three isn't much more difficult then two.  I think we got really lucky with Simone.  She is an awesome baby.  I was always jealous of people that said they had easy babies that barely cried and slept great.  Really I thought most of them had to be over exaggerating and just acting like their babies were great when in reality they were going nuts behind closed doors.  Now I can say that happy easy babies really do exist.  Simone is normally awesome.  She naps, barely cries and sleeps from 9pm to 4/5am every day.  Sometimes she will throw in a 6 or 7am wake up, which is absolutely amazing.  She is truly a gift.  Thank goodness she is my last and I can go out on a positive note.

In order to find time for myself I am going to start Bikrum Yoga.  On Monday and Wednesday nights there is a class at 8:45 pm.  The classes are 90 minutes long and I won't get home until 10:30, but that is the best time for me to get in a workout.  The boys would be asleep and Dave can easily put Simone to bed.  Hopefully I will start it soon and I will let you know how it goes.  I am super excited to try something new, get in a good workout and have some alone time.  I am really trying to get rid of this baby weight.  I have lost about 20 pounds and I would like to lose 25 more to reach my goal weight.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

And it just keeps getting better

On Monday I took Samuel and Simone to the doctor.  Samuel wasn't getting any better and I was worried that Simone was getting sick too.  It turns out that Samuel has/had croup.  He has been on Steroids since Monday evening and it has helped tremendously.  He actually slept all night last night with no coughing.  He is on the mend.  Hopefully tomorrow he will go back to school.  I don't want to send him back too early because I know he is just getting better.  If he doesn't have a fever today and if he doesn't cough at night tonight I think I will send him tomorrow.

Simone is just really congested.  Her nose is super running and snotty, but she hasn't gotten any sicker.  The doctor thinks that since I am breastfeeding her she probably won't get any sicker, but I am supposed to keep her away from the boys as much as possible which is difficult because they want to get close to her.  I am doing my best.

On Monday in the middle of the night I heard Joseph cough and it was just one cough but it sounded exactly like Samuel's so I knew what was coming.  He has croup too.  Last night was not great, but I know it will get worse before it gets better.  He woke up at midnight last night and I rocked him for about 20 minutes and he went right back to bed.  Then he woke up around 5 coughing and screaming.  He had a fever of 102.5 and sounds miserable.  Luckily after getting Advil his fever broke within an hour.  He is acting fine, but is sounding horrible.  Tonight I think Dave will be sleeping in the guest bedroom, so he can prepare to sleep with Joseph.  I have a feeling tonight is going to be a sleepless night.

Of course on a night where Joseph wakes up and we have to deal with a sick child, Simone slept from 8:30 pm to 6 am.  She is sleeping great, if only we could be getting sleep as well.

Our house has been a  hand washing pajama party for the last four days, lots of building blocks, fort building, juice drinking, popsicle eating, movie watching, coughing and crying.  I am worn out.  I have barely had any minute to myself.  I am completely worn out.  I have had two breakdowns, which have been great actually. Once I cry myself I feel so much better.  Crying is such a release sometimes.  Dave has had a break from the kids when he goes to work, but then he gets home and it is total kids time.  He is normally holding Simone from the minute he gets home until she starts eating again at night.  She LOVES sleeping on and being held by her Daddy.  Dave and I are both exhausted.  Things can't be easy.  We can't just have a newborn and be exhausted, we have to have two other really sick kids that require a lot of attention and TLC.  Once we get through this it will be smooth sailing.

And the sickness continues

Joseph is feeling much better, but still has a little bit of a cough left.  It is really loose and he is so much happier and sleeping all night again.

Now, Samuel has been home yesterday and I am keeping him home today from school because he has a fever ranging from 100 to 101.8.  He has a nasty cough, but still nothing like Joseph's.  He just feels terrible.  He has been sleeping pretty well at night, but has been waking up around 4am about an hour after the Advil has worn off.  He is miserable when he first wakes up, but then is fine most of the day.  Luckily for me he took a great nap yesterday and so did Joseph.  I was able to get on the treadmill and shower all while they were asleep.

I am so tired at night that I pass out and Dave says that I am snoring like crazy as soon as I fall asleep.  I know I must be because my throat is killing me.  I have a little bit of the sniffles too.  Dave is fighting this cold too.  Basically out house is a mess.

We need to get healthy and quick because Samuel's birthday is next weekend.  I think we are going to take it easy this weekend and everyone will hopefully be better soon.

Joseph cut another tooth yesterday.  He has a total of 8 right now.  Again I think his ear infection was caused by him about to cut a tooth.  For the past couple of months every time he is about to cut a tooth he gets an ear infection.  He has many more teeth to go, so I hope this pattern doesn't continue.

I am off to deal with sick kids and try to relax today myself.

Sick

My lack of posting is due to sickness.  This past Sunday, Joseph was really cranky most of the day, but after his afternoon nap he was just acting miserable.  Not like he had a cold but just really needy and wanting me all the time.  That is a sign that he has an ear infection.  I didn't want to have a miserable night on Sunday, so we decided to take him to the Urgent Care right around the corner from our house.  Laura, Jonathan and Haidyn had come over for dinner on Sunday night, so I just took Joseph by myself to the Urgent Care while everyone else stayed at home.  Sure enough, he had an ear infection in his left ear.  The medicine helped him immediately and he only woke up one time in the middle of the night.

On Monday another one of his bottom teeth cut through, so that was most likely the reason for his ear infection.

I woke up on Monday and my left boob was killing me.  I am pretty sure I developed one of the worst mastitis I have had in a long time.  Joseph is cutting down significantly on breast feeding and I wasn't surprised that I developed a mastitis, but this one was terrible.  By Monday night I had a fever and it continued through Tuesday night.  During all this I also developed a massive head and chest cold.  Currently I am blowing my nose nonstop, coughing up a lung and feeling very sleep deprived.

The boys have been sleeping great at night.  Joseph has been waking up around 6 every morning and Samuel is sleeping pretty well, with little to no nightmares.

I don't think I have been sick for this period of time in a while.  It sucks.

I am looking forward to watching to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion tonight!

I am off to drink my tea and get some rest.  Hopefully Joseph will cooperate and take a little nap as well.

Running on Fumes

The weekend and week has not been ideal. We have been living a life with no sleep for the past 4 days. I think from Saturday night to last night I have gotten approximately 15 hours of sleep total. I prefer to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, but our kids have other plans.

So Friday night Samuel decided he was going to develop a cough and runny nose. He was up all night long having trouble sleeping. He still had a cough and runny nose all weekend, but luckily he went back to sleeping through the night with no problems on Saturday. Yesterday we were driving around in the car during the day and Samuel just started screaming that his ear hurt. He started grabbing his right ear and kept telling me to call the doctor. His exact words "Ear hurt lots, call doctor, doctor look." I love that he is able to talk now and tell me when things are bothering him. It is such a relief to not have to guess. Although this was actually the first time he really told me something was hurting him. I called the doctor and we got in late yesterday afternoon and Samuel in fact had an ear infection. Because his ear hurt so badly he didn't take a nap yesterday, which made for a very long day.

Then to Joseph. Saturday night he started coughing and had a running nose too. Since he can't blow his nose, I was trying to suck out all the snot with those bulb things. Anyway, nothing helped. He was up from 11 pm until 2 am, fell asleep and then woke up at 5, then wouldn't go back to sleep. Dave went out on Saturday night to a baseball game and then stayed out until midnight. That left me dealing with Joseph all night long. So that night I only got 3 hours of sleep. Sunday night it was the same with no sleeping, but at least Dave took over a few times of getting up with Joseph. Last night was a tiny bit better, he slept from 11:45 until 3:30 and then again from 4 to 7. As you can see, we haven't been getting much sleep around here, which makes me a huge BITCH. I don't function well on little sleep.

This is going to be a rough week because not only am I getting no sleep, but when the boys are sick I can't go to the gym. I have found the release of exercise does wonders for my attitude and well being. Oh well, one week off won't kill me. It just might kill the kids!

On a positive note, Samuel loves his big boy bed and has had no problems sleeping in it at night. He has actually been sleeping in the past few days until at least 7:30. Yesterday morning when he woke up, he told me "Mommy, I love my new bed." Makes me so happy.

Well, Samuel is now up and Joseph is now screaming, so I am off to start my very long day.