HFM and Update

I can't even begin to describe how horrible Hand Foot Mouth Disease can be.....

And it's even worse when two kiddies have it.  The blisters are painful and the boys are cranky, I mean wouldn't you be, if you had blisters all over your body, not just on your hands, feets or mouth.  And for some reason, the worst time of day is the middle of the night.  They were up every 2 hours or so.  I went back and forth between the boys for the first couple of nights, thankfully, the past 2 nights, John David has slept through, but it's been pretty hard for Austin.  I'm hoping tonight is the night that they both sleep though, I gotta tell you, I'm exhausted.   

I think one of the worst parts is I feel so helpless.  There isn't much you can do but give Tylenol or Ibuprofen and extra hugs and cuddles.  I know that they are in pain and I just want to take it away from them, but I can't. 

Yesterday, I kept thinking it was the weekend, but it was only Thursday.  Thankfully today has been a good day, even though it's cold and rainy, we've been keeping busy.  We had a painting day and a fun bath, this afternoon, I think we are going to bake cookies.  Hoping the weekend is nice, probably not, but if it is, we can walk and play with chalk.

In other news, the boys love their new school.  I'm getting great reports about them.  John David has mastered sleeping in a cot and Austin is loving all of the new things he is doing.  I drop them off together in the same room and then the teachers separate them when it's time to go to their classrooms.  They see each other in the afternoon outside for a bit and then I come and get them.  One day last week, I got there a little later than usual, John David was already inside and Austin was outside.  I decided to get Austin first and the first thing he said to me was '"John Babid.  I guess he was upset that John David had to go back inside.  So cute.

Well that's it for now, I'm hoping for a much better weekend!

Post Surgery

  It was like he never even had surgery.  By the time we got home on Thursday, he was his typical self.  He ate 4 eggs and some oranges.  I made the eggs for us to share but mommy had to find something else to eat.  That's okay, I was just happy he was acting himself.  He played with his new toy that daddy got him for doing a great job in surgery, a train that pops balls out.  He was having a blast driving the train and watching the balls fly out.  He loves balls.  He had a cheese stick and some applesauce for lunch since eating the eggs were so close to lunch time and then took a 3 hour nap!  3 hours!  I can't remember the last time he took a nap for that long.  He woke up saying "mommy, where are you"  How cute is that?!?!  We cuddled for a bit and then it was time to play some more.  Picked up A-Man from daycare and proceeded on with our night.  The next morning JD went to daycare and I had a "me" day!  Ahhh, that was nice. I dropped the boys off and went to McDonald's for a nice cup of hot coffee and read my SHRM book while I waited for the DMV to open.  I went to the DMV, renewed my license and I must give props to the Schaumburg DMV, I was out within 30 minutes. I got my license renewed, address changed and got my new license plate sticker.  I thought it would take much longer since there was a line out the door when I got there.  Afterwards, I went to a few stores to get Easter basket goodies.  And then went home, ate lunch with Kevin and took a nap!  It was great.

I must brag about my boys!  They just amaze me everyday and they do some of the cutest things.  So, I'm trying to teach Austin manners.  So I'm always reminding him to say please, thank you, you're welcome, etc. After dinner, I started to have him say 'thank you for dinner" and now he does it all the time.  "Tank you for dinner, mommy"  "Tank you for dinner, daddy" "Tank you for dinner, grandmom"   So so so cute!

John David is learning so many words.  I just love his little sweet voice.  Daddy taught him how to say "Austin" and I really need to get it on video so I can remember that precious voice!

We went to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny on Sunday.  They were both great in line.  Pointing out the cute bunny, talking about how we were going to see the bunny.  There were about 3 people ahead of us, when the Easter Bunny got up and started waiving at the kids and giving hugs and high fives.  I think they were waiting for the camera to upload the pictures so he was just stalling a bit.  He came up to Austin and Austin gave him a huge hug!  OMG, cuteness!!!  John David wasn't too keen on him. Then when it was almost our turn,  we needed to wait for the pictures to come through so the Easter Bunny went and did his thing.  Austin was pointing at him say "sit down and pointing to his chair"  He was ready to have his turn!  So the Easter Bunny sits down, Kevin puts Austin on his lap and now I go to put John David on his lap and that's when John David freaked out!  He was screaming, I pulled away to see if he would get him to calm down and get a picture and that's when we got this one.  I quickly grabbed him and asked them to take one of just Austin.  Austin wasn't having that.  I guess he was okay seeing the bunny with his trusty sidekick, but definitely not alone.  So we are done, and I tell Austin to give the Easter Bunny a high five and he was excited to do that.  I ask John David to give him a high five and he happily did as well, guess he's fine when mom is right there holding him!

So it's the last week at this daycare for the boys.  The conversation went well, I guess.  Glad, it's over but I'm still having anxiety over it.  Hoping we made the right decision and really hoping that they adjust well.  I know they will.  I know the new daycare will be awesome and great for them, I just hope it goes smoothly.

Surgery

Whew.....it's over!  And my JD did AWESOME!  He is currently napping and has been napping for 2 hours so I'm sure he'll be up any minute!!

So we had a very early call this morning, we had to be at the hospital at 6:15, so we were up at 5 to get ready.  I quietly scooped up John David without waking up Austin.  Success!!!!  We got there at 6:15 and they took us in right away.  I was a bit nervous they wouldn't do the surgery since he developed a cough this morning and a runny nose.  For me, they seemed cautious, but Kevin didn't think so. They must have listened to his heart 10 times!  But lungs were clear so they went ahead with surgery.  We put his gown on, he hated it, and by the end of our hour wait, it was removed.  So he went to surgery in a diaper!!!  Ha!  So most of the time this morning was spent keeping him occupied.  We brought toys, they had a tv and a wonderful nurse, who played peek a boo and this little piggy, thank you!  About 20 minutes before they started, they gave him some medicine to help relax him.  Within minutes of that, he was super cuddly and tired.  He was laughing and smiling at me.  Thank you, medicine, you made leaving him so much more easier!  We walked with him part of the way, and he smiled at me as I left.  I thought he was going to scream!  I prepared myself for screaming/crying and was pleasantly surprised that he was fine!  I went downstairs, grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel for Kevin and I, as Kevin waited in the waiting room, came up stairs, ate my bagel and then they were finished!  Wow, that was fast!

Playing with the blood pressure cuff after surgery.

They did the ear tubes, but did not remove the adenoids.  Dr. Ho. was going to look at them and if they were extremely enlarged, he was going to take them.  Since the surgery was so quick, we knew that they didn't take them.  Dr. Ho came and said, he did great.  Gave us post operative instructions and then took us to John David who was waking up.  He did warn us that he was screaming/crying and that it was completely normal but to expect to hear him when he opened the doors.  I gotta tell you as soon as I heard him, I ran to him, hearing that cry, was awful!  This was the worst part, but thankfully, I got to hold him right away and within 10 minutes or so was able to calm him down.  Coming out of that anesthesia was hard.  They had a glider there and it was so nice to rock him.  It made me think of midnight feedings!  The nurse turned on Curious George (he's not a big fan of tv so I was surprised he watched it).  We had to wait an hour and within 20 minutes he was back to himself.  Gave him some water, then some gold fish.  Got him dressed and then off we were.  He was his wild man self when we got home!  Although, his coughing and runny nose was worse and he was super congested.  Good thing we got the surgery done today, because tomorrow they probably would have said no.  Good thing the surgery is finished because I'm sure this cold would lead to another ear infection.  So I think we got it done, just in time!

I'm so thankful that is over with.  He did great and I'm so proud of my baby!  I will be off work tomorrow and look forward to hanging with him one on one.  We have some shopping to do.

My little climber

Well John David has done it!  The boys were in their room, they were supposed to be napping, but all I heard was giggles and laughter.  I went upstairs to get the pack in play to set it up in the play room.   I have done this several times, since they don't nap well together. When I come down, all I heard, was "Mommy, babid in bed"  Huh?  I went in to their room and sure enough, John David was sitting in Austin's bed.  That little stinker!  So, this is what I think happened, he hoisted himself over the crib after stepping on his music toy.  He wasn't crying, so I'm sure he wasn't hurt.  Before bed time, I moved the music toy as I'm hoping I can get a few more months out of the crib, but if he does it again, I'll have to suck it up and realize that my baby is no longer a baby but a big boy in a toddler bed.

I am a ball of nerves this week.  We've decided to change daycare and I'm telling them today.  It's mostly for financial reasons, but it's still hard.  I can't help but look at my boys knowing that what they know, their schedule, their life, their friends are all about to change.  It's eating at me.  I know they will be fine, they will adapt, make new friends, learn the new ropes and I'm excited for them, because I feel that this new place is going to be wonderful for them.  It's a preschool and they will have a curriculum that is designed for their age.  This will be the first time that they will be separated all day, but I'm sure they will get use to it and maybe it will allow for John David to be John David and not Austin's sidekick. Nonetheless, change is hard and I'm nervous about having a conversation with them.

I'm also a ball of nerves because John David has his ear tube and possible adenoid surgery this week.  I can't wait for Friday to be here, so it'll be behind me.  I know he will do great, it's an easy and quick procedure, but I'm still anxious about it.

Austin has the cutest new phrase:  "that's not nice"  I was playing with his hair and he looks up at me and says 'that's not nice"  What?!?  Of course, that's nice, Austin, I'm showing you affection by rubbing your head.  "Oh okay'  Later on, something else was done, and there Austin goes with "that's not nice"  It's the cutest the way he says it.  I'll have to get it on video.  I did get a cute video of Austin yesterday morning.  You can't see anything, but he is trying to tickle and is being tickled.  The way he says tickle tickle is so stinkin cute!

Well, I be sure to update on how the conversation with daycare goes and how the ear tube surgery goes.

Weekend Fun

We were very busy enjoying this beautiful weather we have been having, by going to the park after work and on the weekend or having outside time in the backyard.   The park by the house is awesome in that it has a trail behind it.  Austin is very interested in going on the trails, John David, on the other hand, is not.  What do you do when they both want different things?  I guess this is what they mean by they will be running in the opposite directions.  We have been trying to take turns and I got out the wagon so when John David or Austin get tired when we are walking the trails that I don't have to pick them up when I hear "uppy uppy", I can just put them in the wagon.  I think Austin likes the trails so much because he loves picking up the sticks.  We had quite the collection over the weekend as the wagon housed the sticks when the boys weren't in it.  John David is quite the cautious little fella, at first, he wouldn't even go through the tunnels, but by the end of the weekend, he mastered it.  Still won't go down the big slide, he will the little ones and won't even come near the swings, unless it is to push Austin.  Not sure what it is about the swing.

This weekend we went to Key Lime Cove in Gurnee.  What an adventure we had.  Grandma surprised this trip for Morgan for her 6th birthday.  I still can't believe my niece is 6!  So we all got in Grandma's car and headed towards Gurnee.  Kevin had to work, so he was going to be meeting us after work.  Key Lime Cove has an indoor water park as well as many shops and activities for the kids.  The water park was pretty big and it was very crowded.  Austin loved it!  He loved going down the water slides and splashing around. John David hated the water slides and he just liked pitter pattering and walking around.  He kept telling me "ets o" "come on" as he always wanted to be on the move.

Kevin had a system with the big water slides since you couldn't ride together, all was solo.  Morgan would go down first, then Austin and then Kevin.  So Morgan would catch Austin and then Kevin would be down in a minute.  Mind you the water was on 1 ft deep in this area.

There was another area, that had this wide slide were multiple people could go at the same time, but you were dropped in 2ft water.  It was fun, Austin would slide down and I'd catch him, he'd go under sometimes but someone was always there nearby.  I think he loved this one best.  The smiles on his face were priceless.

I will call you Cookie Monster and you will be mine!

When we were going to dinner we passed by a place that is like "build a bear"  So each child got to choose one, Austin chose a hideous monster, John David, the cutest doggy and Morgan chose this cute doggie that had pink in it.  Here are some pictures of the boys helping the lady "stuff" the dog.  After the stuffing they got out the certificates and the lady asked Austin, "what do you want to name it"  He said, "Cookie Monster"  How fitting!  So now he calls him Cookie Monster.  I named John David's doggie for him, floppy! :-)  And Morgan named her doggie, Pinkie, too cute!

Grandma offered to keep Austin over night.  She got a room that had 2 queen beds.  So Austin stayed in bed with Grandma and Morgan slept with Daddy.  Kevin and i took John David home and came back the next morning.  It was so nice sleeping til just after 7!  I now know, Austin is the one who is getting up at the crack of dawn and waking his brother.  Poor grandma didn't get a lot of sleep.

Day 2 was fun as well!  Austin went down one of the big slides by himself but he really enjoyed those little water slides.  Tantrums were had when we left since he wanted to stay.  He was physically and mentally exhausted.  When we left it literally took him minutes to fall asleep.  He was all snuggled with his new cookie monster.  John David didn't last but a few minutes as well.  The are by far the two cutest sleeping toddlers I have ever seen.  Biased, yes, I know.

Thanks Grandma for a wonderful weekend!!!

March 2

Someone once told me that I need to videotape or write down the cute things that the boys do, or I might forget them.  I have to keep my video camera on me at all times because the boys say and do the cutest things!  However, the minute I bring out the camera, they stop!  So, I need to take mental pictures and videos and now I need to write it down.

Austin, my lovable Austin, has so many words!  He repeats what you say and says the cutest things.  Most days, this is how putting him to bed goes.  Me, "Good night, Austin, Can, I have a hug?"  Austin, Hug, "one more hug", "kiss", "one more kiss" "one more hug" "one more kiss" and then he'll say "Okay, no more"  Then he will say "love you", I will say "I love you" and then he'll say "love you too"  then we proceed to put 5 gigets (blankets) on him and find, lovie, elmo, cookie monster, glow worm, turn on his musical toy and usually he needs a car or a ball.  It is quite the ordeal!

Last weekend, we were in the play room and he saw a book.  He told me to "sit down" and he got his Elmo Chair out and sat in it facing me and began to read.  When he was finished, he said "The End"  Then he said "one more time" and read it again.

He is at such a fun age!  Sometimes, it's difficult because when he wants something he WANTS it!  We are working on it though!  I feel as though he is so close to potty training!  He has asked to watch "Elmo Potty", and he tells me when he poops and pees.

John David is my dancer!  He loves to dance!  As soon as Little Einstein's theme song comes on, he is twirling in circles with a huge smile on his face.  He is great at "fist pumping".  Jersey Shore would love it!  We'll be in the car and I'll catch a glimpse of him fist pumping to country music!  He has the sweetest voice!  When he says "please" it just melts my heart.

He is also becoming quite the puzzle master, like his brother.  He loves to do puzzles and gets a lot of them correct!  It just amazes me!  He is also great at making "caupee"   As you know, I drink coffee every morning.  And the boys mimic me with my coffee drinking, so they think they are drinking coffee since I am even though it's milk.  I'll ask for some more and John David will run and get me some more.  Usually, he likes to fill up the coffee in his play sink and then he'll come back and pour me some more.  It amazing at how much he understands and comprehends even though he doesn't speak all of the words yet.  His vocabulary is amazing though, I think having Austin talk to him helps a lot.

A cute thing that John David did last weekened and the other night....  When Buster comes in from the snow, he usually leaves a little trail and I get a paper towel and wipe it up.  Well, last weekend, I let Buster in, and walked away to get something.  When I came back, John David got a paper towel, cleaned up the trail and threw the paper towel away.  He did it the other night too.  He such a great little helper.  When I vaccum, he takes out his vaccum too!    Also, last night, I noticed that John David mimics what Austin is doing to me before he goes to bed, he wants the extra hugs and kisses too!

I'm so lucky to have such amazing children!  Yes, it's hard but totally worth it!  They are my life!

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.