Pied Piper

This morning we went to Sunday School and church and then had lunch at church. I was very pleased that all three kids ate their pulled pork sandwiches. This represents progress for my older two and the norm for my youngest. We then came home to pick Paul up and drive to the theatre in Williamsport for a children's production of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Ian and Nadia were entranced and went on stage at the end to get autographs from the actors. I'm hoping some day that Nadia will be in a play like that herself! I signed her up for theatre camp again this summer. I have spent a little time today weeding through the myriad of photos I took yesterday. I have a long way to go, but that didn't stop me from taking a few more pictures today. I do love taking pics of my kiddos!

An Amazing Day

This morning I headed out the door with the kids at 8:35 to drive to Nadia's soccer game. Paul and then his parents arrived a little bit later. Paul and I had to go in separate cars because today it was my turn to help in the concession stand after the game. It was already very nice out this morning, which I wasn't expecting. Nadia played during the first, second, and fourth quarters of the game. After I got home from my concession stand duty, all seven of us headed to Knoebels. It was the opening day, and they were selling the handstamps buy one get one free. In the past we have either just used tickets or bought the handstamps that don't include the rollercoasters (not counting the kiddie rollercoaster). Ian and Oliver had those handstamps today, but Nadia and Paul got the "with coasters" stamp today. Knoebels has free parking, and we paid a total of $60 for four handstamps plus a book of tickets for me. We were there about 6 1/2 hours. We could have stayed 45 more minutes, but Paul and I were exhausted, his tummy wasn't very happy, and it was time to drive home to get the kids to bed. I was nervous about the weather forecast (30% chance of rain), but aside from a very light rain that lasted for maybe 2 minutes, the weather was gorgeous (high was 68). The lines were also VERY short. In the beginning Paul took Nadia on big rides while I took the boys on the kiddie rides, and Ian and Oliver rode 10 rides within the first hour we were there. We definitely got our money's worth out of those handstamps today!!!

We had several "firsts" today. It was Oliver's first time to ride most of the rides, and it was his first time getting a handstamp. Nadia was technically tall enough to ride the big rollercoasters last summer, but today was the first day we let her ride them. She rode two big rollercoasters each two times. It was truly a momentous occasion for me to ride a BIG rollercoaster (one of my most favorites no less!) with my child for the first time ever. I almost cried happy tears. She LOVED it. My other favorite moment today was riding the tea cups with Oliver and Ian because both of them laughed their little heads off the entire time. Oliver got up at 5:45 this morning so it's time for me to go to bed although I've only just begun to go through the 130 pictures I took today. I'm sure we'll be back to Knoebels again this summer. We love this amusement park very much!

Never say never

One of the rules of test construction is to never use the words "always" or "never" in a true/ false question, and in life I've heard people say "never say you'll never do" xyz because you might at some point or another. In May 2013 as we were standing along the curb waiting for the afternoon parade to pass by us at Magic Kingdom, I distinctly remember (foolishly) saying to Paul, "we'll never come to Disney in the summer." I was sweating like crazy in May and couldn't imagine how standing there in July or August. Guess what I did today? I paid $164 for us to stay for 7 nights in early July at the same Marriott resort in Orlando that we stayed at in May 2013. If anyone wasn't sure that I really loved my kids, this should prove it. Before we had kids, our two favorite types of vacations were either sightseeing in Europe or relaxing in the Caribbean. We went on many vacations during the first almost 7 years of marriage before Nadia was born, and we never went to Florida. Our last trip to the Caribbean was in May 2012, but that trip was a bit of a bust because the weather was awful for almost the whole time.

The last really nice Caribbean vacation we had was to Antigua in 2009. If we were picking the vacation based on what I would most enjoy, we'd be heading to an island in the Caribbean. We actually have no intention of starting a tradition of going to Florida or Disney World every year. We had planned to take the kids back some day, but neither Paul or I were in favor of returning again this year. Then we started discussing where to go. We have a long list of places we want to take the kids when they're a bit older ex. Niagra Falls, Grand Canyon, Boston, etc., but at ages 1, 4, and 5, they're really not ready for much sight seeing yet aside from places like the zoo or an Aquarium. I am planning on taking them (plus 2 cousins) for a couple of such outings in DC and Baltimore in June. Meanwhile Nadia and Ian have been asking for many weeks on an almost daily basis if we could return to Florida, and they mentioned the pirate ship resort we stayed at even more often than Disney World.

So we finally decided to go there, but this decision was made much later than usual. Typically we make our summer vacation reservations in December or January. The resort has efficiencies, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom units. We wanted a 2 bedroom unit, and they are the hardest to get. I have been checking every morning for quite a few weeks, and the only weeks I could find one were in late May or early June, when Paul will be teaching a lab. His lab doesn't finish until June 26. I also was hoping to go on vacation before Oliver turned two so that he could fly free. This morning at 6:30am I discovered a 2 bedroom unit available for July 3-10 for $164, and I snatched it up even though I know it's going to be hot in Florida in July AND the crowds are much worse in Disney World in July (frankly you'd think the crowds would be smaller in light of the heat, but that's not the case). The days we are at the resort, I won't mind the heat because I will be in the swimming pool. Last year we did one day at Sea World and one day at Magic Kingdom. Although we thoroughly loved Sea World, we've decided this year to do one day at Hollywood Studios (which was called MGM when I was a child) and Magic Kingdom. Paul has only been to Magic Kingdom so that will be a treat for him to explore a new park. We are arriving on a Thursday and plan to go to Hollywood Studios on Sunday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and then leave on Thursday. Last year we did the two park days back to back, and I thought it was a bit much. Hopefully this schedule will work out better. When the kids are older (and we go during a cooler time of year), I am sure we'll spend more than two days at Disney World, but with a one-year-old in tow, two days will be more than enough.

The other downside of going in July is that my parents can't join us, and we had planned to vacation with them this year, as we haven't gone with them since 2011. My brother is spending less than a month in the US this summer, and obviously they don't want to go with us to Florida while he's in Maryland. So we told Paul's parents that we are headed back to the same resort in July, and I think they're going to join us. They love their grandkids to be certain! We are planning to fly from Baltimore, but I think they're going to drive down. The only thing I had on the calendar for those dates were one week of Nadia and Ian's two week swimming class. I called the organization today and was told that one week of private lessons costs $10 more than two weeks of group lessons. I am going to sign Nadia up for one week of private lessons, and if I find out we're moving this summer, I will also sign Ian up for private lessons. If we aren't moving, I'll use the account credit from Ian's swim lessons (they don't give refunds) towards Nadia's next gymnastics class in the fall. For now I am having fun planning out our vacation. There isn't any sweating involved in the planning of the trip, ha ha! :)

Thankful Thursday

1. The grass is green! I mowed the lawn for the first time this year today. Flowers are blooming! It looks so much prettier outside. Now we just need some leaves on our trees.

2. I am VERY thankful for my new flash for my camera. I am learning how to use it.

3. We are all much healthier than we were a week ago!

4. I forgot to mention last week that I was thankful my pastor came to visit us the first night we were in the hospital, and I also appreciated the two beautiful blankets and two stuffed animals Oliver was given (donated by people in the community for patients). He got an extra blanket because he threw up on the first one.

5. The kids and I had a nice dinner at Perkins last night. Last year I used three free birthday dinner coupons - one at the Watson Inn with just Nadia (if you go on your actual birthday you can order any meal up to $20 for free), and I took all three kids to Perkins and Red Robin last April. This year I decided just to use the coupon for the free meal at Perkins. I took the kids in between gymnastics and AWANA, and it went very well, which was a big relief as the last time the five of us went to Friendly's it was a disaster.

6. Oliver took a much longer than usual nap today (1hr 45 min), which was a HUGE help to me as I was able to mow the whole lawn and do a little other housework during his nap.

7. I love that the kids are enjoying games that are more interesting than Candyland. They both enjoyed playing Monopoly this evening!

Textless Tuesday

42

As a child and teenager and young adult I remember eagerly anticipating my birthday each year. You look forward to being a year older when you are young because of whatever new thing you get to experience at a particular age - getting one's ears pierced, driving a car, voting, going to college, getting a job, etc. Somewhere in my 20's I stopped feeling that way because I was single and longing to be a wife and mother. Then once I got married it didn't bother me until we realized that having a baby wasn't going to be easy for us, and then I really dreaded my birthdays because each one was bringing me closer to the big 40, which I viewed as the end of fertility. Once I had Nadia, birthdays became far more enjoyable. In terms of getting older, I actually think that getting closer and closer to 43 will help me because I now view that as the end of fertility. I'm hoping over the next year I can fully wrap my brain around the notion that our family is complete and that we are done doing ivf. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind at all if the gray hair reproduction could slow down just a tad. I don't have any desire to look older, ha ha! Maybe toting around these young children will make people think I'm a bit younger than I actually am. :)

This birthday certainly hasn't gone as planned. Life is like that some times. We had planned to go on a dinner and ballroom dancing date on Saturday night in Williamsport. The pastor's daughter was going to watch our kids for five hours (would have been our longest date in more than four years). My parents were planning to spend the night last night and be with us today to celebrate my birthday and take us out to eat at Bonanza. Paul was supposed to be in West Virginia interviewing today. That was the hardest schedule change to accept. He had a string of phone interviews that did not result in invitations to interview on campus, and then he finally received invitations to interview on campus for tenure track jobs in two states that are on our short list of states we'd like to live in - and he cancelled both of them. I am still in shock. Of course I want my husband to like his job, but it's rather disconcerting that he's 44 years old and has no idea what he'd like to do for a living, especially since he's currently the sole breadwinner for our family of five since I resigned from my position 15 months ago. We are probably going to put the house on the market even though we have no idea where he'll be working or where we'll be living. It seems highly unlikely that he'll have a job within 40 minutes of our house, and it doesn't make sense for him to have a really long commute to work. His current job ends on June 26, and our health insurance ends on May 30.

Paul did prompt the kids to wish me a happy birthday, but none of them ever sang to me today. My parents did sing to me on the phone, and my sister's family in Turkey did sing to me by Skype. Also, my Aunt Tina and Paul's mom both called me to wish me a happy birthday. Paul asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said I just wanted cards from the kids, but I guess he didn't have time to do that. In hindsight, I should have asked my mom to do that with them last week while I was in the hospital. Many times growing up I asked for ham for my birthday dinner because it's one of my favorite foods. I would have been perfectly happy with having leftovers tonight, but given the ordeal it was to get Nadia and Ian to eat the meal yesterday, I decided to pick up one large pizza after taking Oliver to the pediatrician earlier today for our dinner tonight. I'm not a big cake person so I didn't mind that we didn't have any cake, but I thought I'd swing by Dunkin Donuts and get myself a brownie batter donut on the way home from the doctor's office as my birthday dessert. They aren't making those any more as they switched to an Easter peep donut. I really think they should sell those year round as they are in my opinion the BEST donut ever. Well not having a dessert is definitely better for my waistline considering I didn't get any exercise last week.

The weather was really pretty the last two days, but I wasn't up to going to the park due to my fever. I was feeling better today so we did get to enjoy the gorgeous weather. I could handle having weather like this ALL year round. Unfortunately it was on said trip that Nadia accidentally ruined my cell phone, but I was able to reactivate my old cell phone so I am not without a phone any longer. Whew. The good news is that Oliver and I are out of the hospital. He got a good report at the doctor today. The pediatrician agrees that Oliver most likely has asthma, and so he wants us to continue giving him breathing treatments every day for at least two more months. He thinks this should help prevent another hospital stay. He thinks we should hold off a bit on seeing a pulmonologist.

Paul has been very busy grading the past few days, so it probably was for the best that we didn't go out on Saturday night. He gave me a card and two books for my Kindle. My parents got me new tires for the stroller and an external flash for my camera. I am SUPER excited about the flash. Paul is hoping this means I won't take so many pictures with the front door open in the dead of winter, ha ha! I can't wait to figure out how to use my new "toy". Except for doing some laundry, I gave myself the day off from cleaning even though the house is really in need of cleaning because the toilets didn't get cleaned (etc.) while I was in the hospital last week. Tomorrow I'll work on getting back on track with that. I had said that we wouldn't do schoolwork on any family member's birthday, but we did some today since they unexpectedly only had one day of school last week. The BEST part of my birthday was that I got to spend the day with ALL three of my children. I am so, so very grateful for them, even when they do things like throw up (which Ian did this evening). I love them dearly!

Happy Easter!

Normally we get together with extended family on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas each year. It didn't happen this past Thanksgiving, and it didn't happen today. Originally there were going to be 13 people gathered around our dinner table at 4pm, but it didn't seem wise for others to come into our house and be exposed to our germs, especially since RSV is hard on the elderly (thinking about Paul's 91 year old grandmother), Paul's mom's immune system is very weak, my mom was just up here for three days, and my dad is just starting to get over a very bad cold. We did make it to Sunday School and church despite the fact that all five of us have very runny noses and other ailments (in my case a fever). After church we stopped at a park on the way home so I could snap a few pics. I couldn't get many with Oliver because he didn't want to sit or stand in a place long enough for me to get a picture. At the last minute I called a couple from church to see if they had plans for an Easter dinner today. They didn't, and so they accepted my invitation to come and join us for dinner. We gave them some of the leftover ham, but we still have lots of ham, which is fine by me because it's my favorite meat!


Oliver became VERY attached to me during the hopsital due to the fact that #1 he spent 48 hours completely in my arms except when I got up to go to the bathroom, #2 he spent the vast majority of the next 48 hours in my arms although he did sleep in his crib for several hours each night, and #3 when you aren't feeling well, mom's arms are the best. Although he's doing a lot better than he was on Thursday, he's still not 100% back to normal. He hasn't even wanted Daddy to hold him at home; so I was rather nervous about how he'd fare in the church nursery. He started crying as soon as we entered the church building, but he did settle down in the nursery thankfully. Two of his medications (one oral and one by nebulizer) were continued for the first 24 hours we were home. One of those had to be given every 4 hours around the clock. We are very glad that one is done. For the next 4 weeks we are to give him two nebulizer treatments a day. He's supposed to see the Pediatrician tomorrow or Tuesday for a follow-up appointment, and then we're supposed to take him to a pulmonologist in the next month because the hospitalist thinks he has RAD (asthma).

We haven't colored any eggs yet. Unexpectedly spending 5 days in the hospital will wreak some havoc on one's to do list. Hopefully we can get to that tomorrow so I won't feel too delinquent. Nadia sang "It's Easter" with the King's Kids choir this morning. Ian knew the song, but as it was time to go up he looked like he was about to cry, and I didn't want him up there crying so he stayed in the pew. Maybe next month they'll both sing when the choir sings in church.

Egg Hunt #2

Ian got 3 plastic eggs today in the hunt for 1-4 year olds. Each had a piece of candy inside, and two were prize eggs! He won a large bubble wand and a stuffed Smurf. Nadia got 4 dyed hard boiled eggs in the hunt for 5-8 year olds. She didn't find any prize eggs, but they had a table of Happy Meal toys for those who didn't get a prize. Nadia picked a My Little Pony. Both kids had a hotdog and bottle of water (all free!) before we headed home. Oliver was napping as he took two 90 minute naps today.

In the past years I've never bought anything for the kids at Easter aside from a kit to dye eggs. This year I got Ian a Color Wonder superhero book and a chocolate peanut butter bunny. I gave Oliver a new VeggieTales dvd, and I gave Nadia a nightgown for her doll and a chocolate peanut butter bunny. I gave Paul the Reese's peanut butter cups from the basket I was given in the hospital. I'm hoping my fever is gone tomorrow so we can go to church to celebrate the true meaning of Easter! No one will be joining us for dinner since we're all sick, but I still bought a ham. Paul (unfortunately) cancelled his interview in WV on Monday so he'll be here with us tomorrow and Monday after all.

Grateful Good Friday

1. I must give thanks first and foremost to my Savior, who was willing to die on the cross for my sins and then conquered death and the grave. He is risen!

2. For most of the day Oliver's oxygen was at 2.5 liters yesterday, but around dinner time I asked if we could start trying to wean him down. When I went to bed it was at 1.5 liters, and when he woke up at 4am I noted it was back down to 1/2 a liter (where it had been on Wednesday). The nurse who came on duty this morning said let's give him a room air trial and turned it off around 8am, and he passed the test as he was able to maintain a saturation level of 92 after four hours off of the oxygen! We were told at 11:50 that we were going home, but it's 1:06 right now and we haven't seen the doctor yet so we're still waiting for Oliver's iv port to come out of his arm. I am SO thankful that Oliver is doing so much better!

3. I am also thankful that I will be changing into clean clothes later today. I've been wearing this same pair of jeans for four straight days and Oliver has bled on me and thrown up on me many times. Clean clothes are one of those things you take for granted until you don't have access to them.

4. Paul accidentally forgot to bring me my phone charger on Tuesday. My battery had died earlier that day, and I couldn't make any outgoing calls from the landline in the room. I felt stranded! Thankfully a respiratory therapist had a charger that worked on my phone (even though her smartphone was very different from my flip phone). I was so happy when I was able to make calls again on Wednesday!

5. I already knew that I was not a fan of hospital food, and sometimes I wasn't provided a guest tray. Two friends from church put a large basket of goodies together and one of them delivered it to me on Thursday evening. How incredibly sweet!! Oliver devoured a bag of Goldfish crackers last night and loved the toy they got him. I savored a York peppermint patty after my dinner. Today we enjoyed more of the goodies, as they didn't bring me a tray at lunch. I feel like I got an Easter basket, and that hasn't happened for more than 20 years! Paul and the kids will also enjoy the basket of treats. :)

6. I get to see my other two kids this evening for the first time since 2:20 on Monday, and I'll see Paul for the first time since 8pm on Tuesday. I've missed them!

7. I get to sleep in my OWN bed tonight. My bedroom is much darker and quieter than this one. I am thankful that Oliver slept in the crib the last two nights, which meant I got a lot more sleep than I did the first two nights we were here.

8. My mom was such a big help for the three days she was up here taking care of Nadia and Ian, and my dad was very gracious to let her come up here even though he hasn't been feeling well. Paul's dad was a big help on Wednesday afternoon when he took Ian to the doctor and Nadia to gymnastics.

9. I am very glad that Paul and his dad were able to take Nadia and Ian to see the Barnum & Bailey circus this afternoon. I thought earlier this week that they might not be up to it, but thankfully although neither of them are healthy, they were well enough for this outing we've been looking forward to for months.

Good News/ Bad News

The good news is that Oliver slept in his crib for most of the night. He was in bed with me from midnight to 3am, but otherwise he was in the crib. I went to bed at 8pm and over a span of 10 hours got 6 hours of sleep. I feel much better today. Yesterday I wasn't given a guest tray at lunch. I asked the nurse about it, and she said that aside from nursing moms, parents usually only get a guest tray at breakfast. It was one thing to skip lunch yesterday. I wasn't up for skipping lunch and dinner, so when a nurse came in to do his vitals at 4pm, I asked if I could leave and get something to eat since I hadn't eaten since breakfast. There are several restaurants very close to the hospital. I opted to go to Subway instead of the hospital cafeteria. Although it broke my heart to see Oliver crying and reaching his hands for me when I was leaving his room, it was refreshing for me to be out of the room for ten minutes. They did give me a tray at lunch today (everything smothered in gravy again), but I ate the fruit and vegetables and part of Oliver's cookie, so I'm not starving. This morning I got my shower before he woke up, but I didn't have any clean clothes to put on as Paul didn't come out to the hospital yesterday. I need him to bring me some clean clothes this evening for tomorrow and also give him the circus tickets so he can take the kids to the circus tomorrow.

The bad news is that Nadia has finally succumbed to the bug and has developed a cough, but so far neither Ian or Nadia have had a fever today. Ian is eating yogurt and taking his antibiotic twice a day. My dad was given some medications yesterday. My mom is driving back to Maryland this evening. Paul doesn't teach on Fridays. We are very thankful that she was willing to come up here and help us out this week! Paul's dad helped out yesterday afternoon by taking Ian to the pediatrician and later he took Nadia to her gymnastics class. My parents had planned to come up on Sunday for Easter dinner and spend the night to celebrate my birthday on Monday, but those plans have been cancelled due to my dad's health (and my kids' germs also). We're in "wait and see mode" as to whether Paul's side of the family can come up on Sunday. I am doubtful that the kids will be healthy by then, and we don't want to expose Paul's mom or grandmother to their germs. Paul's mom is starting an eight week treatment for her lymphoma next Wednesday. I told the babysitter that we won't be able to go out on Saturday night for our dinner and ballroom dancing birthday date because of the kids' health. We'll have to try again some other month. Paul hasn't decided yet whether or not to cancel his interview in West Virginia. He hasn't been inclined to interview anywhere that involves a move in light of the fact he's not sure he wants to teach for more than one more year, and now that Oliver is in the hospital he's even less inclined to drive down there on Sunday. He's currently scheduled to interview there on Monday. I did submit two more applications for him yesterday to two schools that are 1.5-1.75 hours away from our house.

The worst news is that Oliver took a turn for the worse during the night. He started to need a LOT more oxygen during the night and twelve hours later that hadn't changed much. The doctor ordered another x-ray this morning. Oliver didn't mind the x-ray on Monday night when he was lying on a table, but today they had him sitting on a bicycle seat and his arms had to be straight up in the air and they wrapped these hard plastic pieces tight around his body. He hated it. The x-ray didn't show any pneumonia today. The doctor added some new medications (including an oral steroid that Oliver doesn't think tastes very good), increased the frequency of his breathing treatments, told the nurse to start suctioning his nose (they hadn't been doing so in light of the nose bleeds on Monday night), and added chest PT every two hours round the clock. The last two things added were the chest PT and nose suctioning, and those two do seem to have helped as they were finally able to lower his oxygen a little (from 2.5 liters to 2.0 liters). Yesterday he was on 3/4 of a liter so it was a drastic change when he needed 3 liters last night. If he doesn't continue to improve, I am going to ask that he be transferred to Geisinger tomorrow (much bigger hospital). Today is the seventh day of the virus. Thankfully he is eating and drinking well (off the iv). He can't walk without falling. His sense of balance is totally out of whack. Although I am still missing Nadia and Ian something fierce, it has been easier to handle Oliver's setback since I got more sleep last night. I plan on going to bed at 8pm again tonight, if that's what it takes to get 6 hours of sleep. I usually get eight hours of sleep, but six is much better than the three I got the previous two nights!