Happy Friday everyone!

So let's see, we are cranking!  It's almost end of February and spring is in the air.  Well not really as we just had a snow storm.  But hopefully not too much more of winter.  I'm really looking forward to spring.  I'm getting sick of being stuck inside on the weekends.  I don't need much, but I'd like to be able to get out in the mornings and afternoons for at least just a bit.  I envision lots of parks and walks in the future.  It'll be good for the kids and it'll be good for me to get some exercise!

So we decided to get the J-Man tubes!  We went to our ENT appointment and it was highly suggested.  I knew in my heart going in that was going to be the recommendation.  They say more than 4 in a year is suggestive of tubes, we have had 5 in 6 months so it's time.  J-Man took the appointment like a champ.  He was happy and actually let the doctor look in his ears.  The infection from February 1 is gone, however, there is fluid in both ears.  Blah!  He is also extremely congested so the doctor is going to look at his adenoids when he is in for the tube surgery.  The doctor is very suspicious they they are enlarged so it's looking like those will come out.  Unfortunately, we can't do the surgery until he is congestion and cough free!  So at least 2 weeks to get rid of the congestion and then hopefully he stays healthy.  If he get sick again, we'll have to push it back.  So we have the surgery scheduled for 3/29 and he has a pre op appointment 2 weeks prior to that.  I'm scared beyond belief and can't even think about him having surgery at this point, but I know that he will be okay and hopefully infection free!  I plan on spoiling the crap out of him the day after surgery with lots of extra cuddles!

I had my first SPHR class last Monday and they like to scare the crap out of you!  They recommend 9-12 hours a week in addition to the 3 hour class of devoted study time.  Yikes!  I'm trying but it's hard to read when I get home from work.  I'm tried!  I'm trying to read a little at work when it's quiet but I also have a lot of work to do!  It'll get done!  I'll be fine!  I'm still very excited!

It's been 2 years since my mom passed away.  I can't believe how time flies by!  It doesn't feel like it's been 2 years.  Crazy.  We went to the cemetery on Sunday.  My wonderful MIL suggested we go which was the perfect thing to do.  John David never met my mom and has been to the cemetery once, but he was so little.  This time, he was able to walk up to the gravestone and touch it.  I felt very touched when he did that.  We reminded Austin of when she would call him "tiger" and just had a nice visit.  I should have brought flowers, she loved flowers, but I just thought they would wither away, so I didn't.  I won't make that mistake again, no matter the weather, I will bring her flowers.  Flowers always brightened her day.  We also stopped by Great Grandpa David!  It's nice that both my mom and great grandpa are at the same cemetery.  And we also walked around a little "park" they have.   It was a very nice day!

Other than that, we are doing well.

Happenings!

It has been quite hectic in the Artinghelli house!  On Sunday, we experienced some sewage back up.  It leaked in our utility room and onto the carpet.  Ahh, that lovely sewage smell.  Luckily Roto Rooter was able to come out asap to fix the problem!  Service Master came out on Monday to open the carpet and blow fans to make sure everything was dry.  It's been a little chaotic keeping the boys upstairs and away from the fans.  I'm glad they are coming today to put everything back!

We made the ENT appointment for John David.   We will be going on Tuesday to the place where I went to have tubes.  I guess that's a little comforting, I mean they took good care of me, but still, I'm not looking forward to this appointment at all!  We got the records from our pediatrician, I just hope the ENT can read the writing.  I wonder, if all doctors can read each others writing, maybe they all take a doctor short hand sloppy writing class, why don't they just write neat?!?!  One of the doctors had beautiful handwriting, it was legible and all, the other ones, not so much!  I'm anxious, they might have to take x-rays or a CT scan to see what's going on.  John David is 20 months and I know he won't stand still for that.  Poor baby!  He is off the antibiotic, but still cranky, clingy, pulling and the ears and having cold symptoms.  Ugggh.

Austin is Austin!  He is into his dinosaur shirt.  Every morning, when I bring his clothes in, he asks "dinosaur, shirt?"  He doesn't quite understand, that it's dirty from the night before.  Luckily, we do have 2 dinosaur shirts (different), but still, I think I'll have to buy 4 of the same shirts and keep interchanging them!
He has quite the vocabulary and is talking up a storm and I can understand him!  He just loves his grandma!  He loves to watch movies with her on her bed!  Last Friday, they had a movie night, I let him stay up a little later than usual and when I went to go get him, grandma was sleeping and Austin was bug eyed watching the movie!!!!  He said, "mommy, I watch movie"  Too cute!

Kevin is rockin it at All State!  He just won an award for having the most leads!  They gave him an All State jacket.  He gets to pick it out!  Yes, it's not money, but it's the recognition and a coat to keep him warm while he's on the road!  I'm so proud of him!  Today is his last day of vacation!  So hopefully he's doing something fun!

Well, I did it!  I signed up for a 15 week class on Human Resources to prepare myself to take the SPHR exam.  SPHR stands for Senior Professional in Human Resources.  I have my PHR (Professional in Human Resources) which is fantastic, but I feel like I'm ready for the senior status! After all, I do have the experience!  The exam is quite difficult.  The instructors compare it to taking the bar exam for lawyers!  I did it the first time, I can do it again!  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  My first class starts on Monday!  I feel like it'll be a little easier than last time because I know what to expect and I have 5 more years of experience since I last took it, it'll be a little more difficult reading everything and studying with my 2 rambunctious toddlers!  But I can do it!  I know I can!

Wisconsin Dells

We had a blast at the water capital of the world, Wisconsin Dells.  We left Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. and returned home Wednesday around 2:30.  It was just the right amount of time too.  Boys slept most of the way to the Dells, which was wonderful! 

We got there and were able to check in right away.  Room was awesome!  A nice sized living room with a couch and queen bed and then a private bedroom with a king bed.  We quickly got the boys dressed in bathing suits, as Austin was talking non stop about the water slides!  Ah, my little fish.  The indoor water park was awesome!  They had a kiddie play area with tons of little water slides and water ranging from 6 inches to 1 1/2 ft, a pool, lazy river, 2 hot tubs and 4 big slides. 

Austin loved the water, loved splashing, kicking his feet and going down the water slides.  John David liked sitting on the edge or in the 6 inch water and splashing his feet.
He didn't want anything to do with the water slides.  I took him down 2 times (the little ones) when we reached the bottom I lifted him up so he wouldn't get splashed too much with water, but he still hated it!  Kevin took Austin up on the big water slide with the tubes.  Austin wanted to go, but was he really going to go down it? 

He sure was, he loved it, and quickly asked to go again!  So this time, I took him!  As we were going down the slide, he was so excited and he would give me the biggest smile that I have ever seen from him!  So stinkin cute!  I can't believe that he went down the big one.  It's like he has no fear!

The indoor theme center they had wasn't really geared for my little guys!  They had a roller coaster, which Austin desperately wanted to go on, but he was too small.  He made sure to show and tell us his disappointment with a good ole tantrum!  We did go on a train ride, I hated it, but he liked it!  John David also went on it and wasn't a big fan but didn't seem to hate it either, Kevin was indifferent as well.

So since that closed at 4, we needed to figure out something to do before dinner, so we took the boys bowling for the first time.  We thought, why not?  It's vacation after all and if it's a complete bust, it's just one game.  So we got all of the shoes and Kevin took Austin to get a bowling ball, Austin came back carrying it!  He's so strong!  They did great, they didn't understand that you don't run into other peoples lanes, and I apologize to the guy that my kids interrupted multiple times.   (I did apologize when we left and he said it wasn't a problem, so that's good, I bet he was glad we were there for just 1 game).  The boys shared the game, Austin would go first and John David second, and they both enjoyed it.  I don't think we'll be going bowling anytime soon, but it's nice to know that if we are looking for something to do, we can take them bowling.

After bowling we went to Buffalo Phil's.  This is the restaurant where they have the choo choo trains come around and bring you your food!  Austin loves choo choo trains so I'm glad we had a chance to go there.  Austin freaked each time the train came by!  He loved it!  He was so excited and we were excited for him!

So all in all great trip!  Our only dislikes were that the pool didn't open up until 10:30.  What are parents with small kids suppose to do from 6:30-10:30 to try to prevent the noise?  Also, a lot of places were closed, like one of the big restaurants we wanted to take the boys for breakfast. I get it, it's a ghost down during the off season, but still would have liked more options.

Boys were exhausted after our fun little vacation! 











They were passed out within 15 minutes of driving home!

Frustrated

Well I thought we dodged the sickies.  John David has been wavering back and forth, but it really just seemed like a bad cold.  With our upcoming trip to the Dells and the fact that he was super cranky and running mild fever at daycare I thought, I had better take him.

We get in there, temp 98.1 but they like to add a degree since it's under the arm, lungs are clear (woot woot), she looks in his right ear and barely looked and said, "ooh, it's infected", left ear, it's infected too!  Boo! 

So we are at 5 or 6 ear infections in the past year.  1 in January, 1 in September, 1 in October, 1 in November which lasted throughout December so that could be number 4 or could be another 1 which would be 5.  I took him 3 times in Nov/Dec and each time he had the infection, so they don't know if it was a new one or if it's the same.  That's why it's important to go a couple weeks after the infection to make sure it's gone.  And then number 5 right now.  He is teetering on being a candidate for tubes.  I had tubes multiple times.  And it's not until now, that I truly know how my parents felt about me having tubes and undergoing surgery.  It's scary!  Yes, I know it's a 15 minute procedure and that it's a common procedure, but nontheless, he would be under.  We are on yet another antibiotic, this is number 4 since November so I have the concern of giving him too many antibiotics and I wonder if he will be come immune to them!  We will be going back in a month, (as long as he makes it a month) to check the ears again and talk further about tubes.  I might make an appointment, in the meatime, with an ENT to have a consult. 

The good news is that we still can hit up the Dells on Monday.  As long as his ear doesn't rupture we are good to go. 

Dodging

So I think we have managed to dodge Croup and Strep.  John David is still super congested and has a cough.  There was some wheezing and a border line temperature over the weekend.  I played nurse all weekend and I'm glad to be at work having a break. (It's weird calling work a break) It's nice not having to suction the nose and do his chest pounds (to break up his congestion) and I'm sure John David appreciates the thermometer being put away (he hates that thing)!  What can I say, maybe I'm too cautious, but it is what it is! 

Austin was up on an off Friday night coughing!  But when he woke up on Saturday he was his usual wild man self.  You wouldn't have even known that he was up til 12:00 a.m.  I was actually pretty rested too, odd, I know.

We didn't do much over the weekend.  I had to cancel a play date on Friday since John David wasn't feeling well, but was able to go to a birthday party on Saturday with Mr. A-Man.  I'm so thankful for my Mother-in-Law as she was able and willing to stay home with J-Man!  It was really good for Austin to get out of the house!  Sunday, I was needing to get out!  When Kevin got home for work, we all went to Target to grocery shop!  I think we all needed to get out, I know I did.  Ha, never thought I would be excited about a trip to Target to grocery shop.

We did plan a 2 night stay next Monday and Tuesday at Mount Olympus in Wisconsin Dells.  The water capital of the world better watch out, because The Artinghelli Clan is coming!  I'm excited about our room, we got a suite like room, so there is a living room with a couch and a bed and then a room so when the boys go to sleep they can be in bedroom!  Which means, Kevin and I don't have to go to bed at 7:00!  Woot woot! 

So the sickies better stay away so we can have fun next week.  I'm anxious to go get my little men and see how they are feeling!

Anxious

I just want to get past the next few days.  For some reason, I'm very anxious!  This time last year, my little little man John David was in the hospital for pneumonia!  He was almost 7 1/2 months at the time.  It was a very hard time, seeing your baby poked and prodded, having x-rays, and numerous breathing treatments all while crying uncontrollably.   Not to mention having to wake up every 2 hours at night so the hospital staff could take vitals.  They are right, you don't go to the hospital to get rest.  So this time last year, we brought John David in since he had cold like symptoms and a fever.  I remember hearing the wheezing when we were waiting for the doctor to come in the room.  She heard it too and that's when he had his first breathing treatment.  We went home with an antibiotic for his first ear infection and much needed rest.  Unfortunately, laying down wasn't easy for him, as he couldn't breathe as well.  Kevin stayed home with him the next day and he was miserable (both Kevin and John David ;-)  I took him back to the doctor, his oxygen level was in the 90's and he had 2 breathing treatments, his breathing was rapid (you could see it in his chest), hospitalization was talked about, they thought he had RSV.  Woke up Saturday morning took one look at him and just new he was going to be hospitalized.  My poor baby!  I have tears just thinking about it a year later.  We took him in, waited in the waiting room as usual, when we went into the room, the nurse told us if he ever looks like that to ask to be seen right away.  :-(  Oxygen level was at 89, 2 breathing treatments later, the doctor sent us over to the hospital.  We left 2 days later, with John David feeling much better!

Fast forward a year later, John David is coughing, has wicked congestion and croup and strep lingering at daycare.  So this is why I'm even more anxious!  Back off Croup and Strep, Stay away from my John David and Austin!

January 14, 2012

I have been slacking!  I can't believe it's been more than 2 weeks since my last post!  I guess, we've just been busy.

Happy New Year!  Kevin and I had a great time ringing in the new year.  We went out with Kathy and Sean and went to a comedy club and ate dinner and saw a comedian.  Afterwards, we went back to their house and played games until the New Year.   Boys were up early, as usual, but we all got naps in!  It was so nice to be able to go out on New Years.  The last few years we stayed in, and while that was nice too, it was equally as nice to get dressed up and go out!

Last weekend was my work holiday party.  We went to the Herrington Inn in Geneva.  What a great night it was.  The theme of the party was casino night.  Work gave us $1000 in play money per employee, and we got to play, black jack, poker, craps or roulette.  We played Craps the whole time, it was my first time playing, and I must say I really enjoyed myself!  It was nice to be able to play, without spending your money.  We had prizes that we could win in an auction, but unfortunately, we didn't win at the auction.  We did win a total of $1800 in play money, so $2800 total with the original $1000, but that wasn't enough!  Oh well, we had a great time.  We even stayed the night, and let me tell you, that the room was beautiful.  The Herrington upgraded me to a river room, I guess one of the perks of being "the host" and the view was amazing.   The room had a fire place, a huge bath tub and heated bathroom floors!  Incredible!  I wish I could have slept in, but I was up at 730!  Just couldn't do it!  I think the boys have ruined my ability to sleep in! 





View from our room in the morning.

 Boys are doing fantastic!  We just had their 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year appointments and they got clean bills of health.  The are big healthy boys!  Austin is 37 pounds and 37 inches and John David is 29 pounds and 33 1/4 inches.  I was so nervous about that appointment because John David hasn't been able to get rid of his ear infections.  He's been on 3 antibiotics in 6 weeks.  He was pulling at this ears up until the appointment, so I was sure the infection was going to still be there, but it wasn't!  I was so nervous, JD was going to need tubes.  I know we aren't in the clear of having tubes, but at least its not the topic of concern at the moment.

I'm so amazed at both Austin and John David.  We were in the car last night and Kevin would say 1, and John David would say 2, then Kevin would say 3 and the John David would say 4!  I expected that to come from Austin!  And Austin is a puzzle wizard!  He can put the alphabet puzzle together no problem and he corresponds the letters with the object that goes with it, A- Apple, M- Map, P Pretzel, X- xylophone, and we gave him a Mickey Mouse puzzle and he was able to do that one too, so impressed with my little A-Man and J-Man!

Kevin made dinner on Wednesday!  Woot woot!  Kevin's mom has a temp job (hoping for it to go permanent) and she started this week, so we are trying to work together to get dinner and Kevin was up for making tacos.  Boy were they delicious!  He's excited about trying more things in the upcoming weeks! 

I'm so close to being done with my weekly allergy shots.  Unfortunately, I had 2 reactions on my left arm, Mold, Dust and Dogs, so we are trying to have 2 allergy meds on days that I have shots.  It worked last time, but I think it threw my back a week!  And I've been having arm pain, numbness and tingly in my left arm for over a week now.  It's not fun!  I think I have 2 shots left so hopefully, the numbness goes away.  Work has been super busy.  We just integrated a new performance management system and I have been training every employee on the new process.  I have given 1 1/2 hour demonstrations every day last week!  I have 1 this week and probably 1-2 next week!  Any public speaking nerves have gone out the window! :-)

I will do my best to update more regularly, after all, I know you all want to know what's up in the Artinghelli household!  It's never a dull moment here, the boys make sure of that!