Who's Walking?

Alright, first things first! Jackson is feeling so much better today. The antibiotics are working well. He did sleep a bit more than usual today, but he had more energy than he's had for a week, and we had lots of smiles, and even a few giggles tonight. :) I am SO glad that he's feeling better.

CONGRATULATIONS to my friends Angie and Brent! Baby girl Ellie Rose was born this morning at 7:42am and was 7 lbs 10 oz and 21.5 inches. I am so happy for you both, and happy that Michael gets to be the best big brother that I know he will be!!

And in closing, enjoy these videos of Jackson's first unassisted steps! Again, the quality of the video and the sound both suck...we used our old small digital camera. But you get the idea!!

More Sickness and Houston

I feel that all of my recent posts have been negative, what with the boys and Chris being sick, so I'm just going to quickly update you all on them, and then move on...

Chris is doing better and went back to work today. He is exhausted from doing nothing for five days and then working a full day, but for the most part, he is better.

Dalton's other ear is now infected, but he still has plenty of antibiotics, so he should be fine. On a slightly gross note (hey, you gotta' celebrate the small stuff!), Dalton spit his first hocker today! HA! We were at the pediatrician (yes, again) and he coughed and coughed, then suddenly got this horrible look on his face and was holding his mouth open trying to talk to me. So I held out a Kleenex and he spit... Yeah, it's gross, but I don't have much to celebrate lately, so this will have to do! Besides, I am constantly grossed out by the fact that he doesn't blow his nose well, and then sniffs and sniffs and then swallows whatever, and it's so nasty. And you wonder when he'll learn to either blow his nose with the force needed, or, well, hock it up and spit it out. Which is what he did! Small victory for us.

We went back to the pediatrician because today was day eight of fever for Jackson. He is no better, he is actually a little worse and just miserable. The poor kid is either sleeping, or sitting on my lap just listless and whiny. In fact, this morning, he slept til 9, got up with a 103.5 fever, and by 10, he had fallen asleep on the living room floor. Only up for an hour, and already asleep again. So we went to the doctor again, and now on top of suspected influenza (I say it's suspected because he tested negative for it, but he has all the symptoms and the test is only 50% accurate), he now has pneumonia. Poor kid! So he got some sort of drug cocktail shot at the office, and we start a super dose of antibiotics tomorrow and for the next ten days. His doc said he should hopefully have a low grade fever tomorrow, but that it should be gone the next day. I sure hope so. The kid has been a trooper, but you can only take so much.

I'm still hanging in there...I have what I suspect to be a sinus infection, and today picked up a bit of a cough. But no fever, no aches or pains, and I'm sticking it out and not going to the doctor. Frankly, we can't afford another doctor visit right now so I'm self medicating with lots of fluids and vitamins.

Okay, on to better things! I just realized that I never posted pictures of my trip to Houston. Here is my beautiful friend Marcie, beautiful inside and out...I suspect we may have been sisters in a previous life. :) We did NOTHING the whole time I was there. It was hot and sticky and just gross every day except my last day there, which is when we went to the zoo. But honestly? It was fantastic. We did nothing but sit around and drink coffee and watch the kids play, and I cleaned for her, and cooked, and gave her a break (she is expecting her third child). Also her son Ryan, who is 4, and daughter Gracie, who is 20 months. We were at the Houston Zoo when we took these.

And of course, here's me and the boys, at the Zoo.

The kids being goofy. :)

And Dalton being goofy. :) I can't remember where we were, other than that we were at the zoo.

When Marcie's husband Bill got home in the evenings, he'd usually be assaulted by all four of the kids. He was a pretty good sport about it!

Jackson loved their coffee table...he could do laps around it, walking while holding on to it. We don't have a coffee table at home, so he thought this was pretty cool.

Gracie did her own hair bow. Isn't she beautiful?!?

Here is Dalton as the Hulk and Ryan as Spider Man. We played dress up just about every day we were there.

Dalton as the Naked Hulk. What, you've never seen the Naked Hulk movies? You should, they're great.

Ryan is Spider Man on the left, and Dalton is Spider Man on the right.

My long lost sister Marcie. :)

The drive was really hard, but the boys did great, way better than I thought they would. But I'm gonna' have to say that I will only visit during "winter" months...when the temp is below 95 would be great. :)

Well, both boys are blessedly sleeping right now, so I'd better get there myself. Hopefully I'll have more fun and upbeat posts in the next few days as Jackson will (I pray) be feeling better!

Well, it's been a long week!! On Thursday the boys still were running fevers. But Thursday during the night, Jackson just wasn't sleeping well. He was doing this little whiny cry thing all night (not really crying, but more than just whining). I finally went in to check on him about 1:00 am or so (I was trying to get caught up on dishes and laundry and such)...he was SO hot. His breathing was fast and shallow. So I brought him out to the kitchen and just went ahead and gave him Tylenol. Then I took his temp...

When we went to the pediatrician on Wednesday, I was complaining because I have a temporal thermometer, and I told the nurse that it irritated me that every time I took his temp, I had to take his helmet off. She told me that I can get an accurate reading if I just put it just below and behind his ear. The thermometer has been very accurate all week. So when I took his temp that night, I put it behind his ear, and it read 106.6. I thought surely that couldn't be right. So I took off his helmet, and ran it across his forehead. 106.5. So I did it again...107. Then again and again. The last two times I did it, it just said "HI" like his temp was so hot that the thermometer wouldn't even register. I knew then that regardless of what it was, it was too hot, and we were headed to the ER.

So we went...I bypassed the Bentonville hospital (because it sucks!) and went straight to Rogers. When we got there, we were the only people in the waiting area. The lady took my info and told us to have a seat. Then two sets of people came in and checked in...and BOTH OF THEM were called back before we were. I was so irritated, b/c the one girl I get it...she was already diagnosed with pneumonia, and she was having trouble breathing. But the other guy, he'd already been in that night and had a torn rotator cuff, and he was in pain. I would think that an infant with a temp of possibly 106 would be more urgent than his pain, but what do I know? I mean, when you get those high temps, you risk seizures and brain damage!

Anyway, by the time they called Jackson back, he'd had the Tylenol in his system for over two hours, and I had left his helmet off too, to try to bring his temp down some. So when she first took his temp (with a temporal one) it was 100. I told her that was obviously wrong...all you have to do is touch his face to know that his temp is much higher. So she took his temp rectally, and it was over 104.

So we went back to a room, where a nurse gave him Motrin. And then we watched a couple scary movies on TNT while we waited. The doctor said that Jackson probably has Influenza, even though he tested negative, b/c the test is only 50% accurate. He also said that he "doubted his temp was that high, because if it was, then he shouldn't be functioning." But they couldn't really treat him with the Tamiflu b/c it has to be given within the first 48 hours of being sick. So he said for the next 24 hours, to rotate giving Tylenol and Motrin every four hours, regardless if he had a fever. And if he still had a fever today (Saturday) to bring him back for blood tests.

Well...glad I'm going to be charged over $1,000 for a confirmation of what I'm already doing! So home we went... Friday of course, he still had his 103.5 fever. Dalton ran a low grade fever off and on through the day. I got up Friday morning with a border line migraine...not bad enough to be called a migraine, really, but a VERY BAD headache. I took a double dose of Excedrin, which I'm not supposed to do b/c of my stomach...it took care of it for the most part. I'm sure this was just because I'm not getting any sleep.

A friend of ours, Lindsey (who is a saint!) emailed me Friday morning and said that she and her husband Robert wanted to help by bringing us dinner. I told her no...I said don't even think about it. If she showed up ringing the bell, that I wouldn't even open the door to her. She has a new baby at home and I just couldn't deal with possibly making them sick. So a little later, she emails again, and says that her husband "vetoed my rejection" of dinner, and that he would be here after work with food, and that he could "doorbell ditch" with the best of them!

And that he did! He showed up around 5:30 with food from Sam's. Fresh chicken enchiladas that all I had to do was pop in the oven. And tomato soup and french bread for lunch the next day. It was yummy!! (I can't get the below picture to load correctly so you'll just have to look at it sideways!)

He also dropped off a pumpkin treat basket that glows in the dark, for Dalton. And it had candy, too!! Dalton loved that! He's actually mad at me because I still haven't let him have any. Dalton did not eat dinner last night, breakfast, lunch, or dinner today. He just doesn't feel well. And while he needs SOMETHING, it sure isn't going to be candy!! He's getting lots of fluid, though, so that's good.

I did go out for a bit yesterday while the kids were napping to get more liquid reinforcements. The kids aren't vomiting or anything, but still need to stay hydrated, and Jackson is eating solids, but won't take liquids. I had tried milk, water, apple juice, even chocolate milk. I broke down and tried formula. Nothing. So I went to the store and got pedialyte and Popsicles. FINALLY at 8 or so last night, he took 6 oz of formula. I was worrying that we'd have to go back to the ER for dehydration...his diapers were so dry that I ended up having to stick my thumb in it and squeeze it to see if any pee was in there. It was very close for a while. And after the formula, I gave him two Popsicles for good measure. :) He finally had a good wet diaper this morning.

The boys slept mostly through the night last night, and WOW! I got 5 whole hours of sleep! Which brings my total for the week to 10 whole hours! I was feeling excited because the boys went most of the day with no fevers...but it didn't last. Around 5:30 or so, they both had fevers again. And Dalton is now complaining that his OTHER ear hurts. He's been up several times already tonight, crying and in pain.

But right at 5 again tonight...guess who's at the door!! Patron saints...Lindsey and Robert! Lindsey made a homemade chicken pot pie for us. And it was soooooo good! Thank you guys!!

So that's the excitement of the last few days...so far, I'm not showing any signs of getting the flu. I have been drinking about a gallon of Gatorade a day (I just can't drink that much water), and also 5-6 cups of hot tea each day. The ER doc said that hot drinks are good, because it washes all the germs out that you've inhaled and washes them into your stomach, where the acids kill them off. He also told me to take 10,000mg of Vitamin C each day, and 8,000mg of Vitamin E each day, until I am in the clear. So that's what I'm taking!! Along with a multi vitamin, 8 Ecinachea pills a day, and all my regular meds, too. I feel like a drug addict. :) But so far it's working....I have a sinus infection that I've had all week, and my throat hurts from all the drainage, but here's hoping that's all it is!!

Chris's last day in isolation was today, so I am looking forward to a little assistance with diapers and holding and rocking sick kids. :) It will be nice to have him back. Now whether he actually FEELS like helping will be another story, because he's still pretty miserable!

And Your Fortune Is...

I will be short and sweet tonight. On top of the boys being sick, Chris now has influenza, so our house is just a barrel of fun right now.

I was so tired of soup, and just too darn tired to cook tonight, so we ordered in Chinese food. Jackson had his first taste of fried rice, and in TRUE Bane form, he LOVED it. :)

Dalton ate, and then went to open his fortune cookie. I tried to get it from him to read it, but he says, "No, I'm going to read it myself."
Okay.
So he opens it and and then looks at the paper and mumbles a bunch of stuff. I ask him what it says and he responds "It says that it's going to be Christmas tomorrow!!"

Hmmm, that's a new one for me. So I ask him to read the other side... "It says that it's going to be my birthday, too!!"

Wow, Christmas and his birthday both tomorrow, months early!! That IS a fantastic fortune!!

You Know Who You Are

This post is for someone who I will have the decency not to mention by name. I know that it would be devastating for you for the thousands of people that read my blog to know who you are...okay, maybe I'm overestimating the number of people that read this, but I can dream, right?

You know who you are. You called and asked me yesterday if I wanted to go out to a movie. I declined, because 1) I don't have the money. By the time you get your ticket, popcorn, and coke, you might as well take a second mortgage out on your house. 2) I have too much to do. And 3) Frankly, I'm exhausted.

Your response? "How can you be exhausted? You're a stay at home home, it's not like you do anything." For the last time, I do not sit on my ass all day watching soap operas and eating bon bon's while the maid cleans and the nanny takes care of my kids. Sometimes, I wish I did. But that's not what goes on in this house. I just want to give you a run down of what the last three days have been like for me...

Monday...
Get up. Feed the boys. Feed all the animals, medicate them, and start the dog rotations in the yard. Friday we added a couple dogs to the mix, and although this was not my intention, we now have five dogs and six cats in this house. But that's another story for another day. Leave by 9:45 to get Dalton to his swim lessons at 10:00. Then go to Wal-Mart to get everything I need to make personalized cookies for Chris's office food day tomorrow. Home. Lunch. Put the boys down for naps. While the boys are napping, I do two loads of laundry and a load of dishes. I start making the gravestone cookies for Chris and promptly burn the first three batches to a crisp. I figure out on the fourth batch that I need to cut the baking time in half and drop the oven temperature by 25 degrees. Nothing like trial and error. Jackson gets up. Feed him. He feels warm, so take his temperature and he's running a fever and very cranky. Supposed to be making homemade potato soup for dinner but it now needs to wait because Jackson doesn't scream only while attached to my hip. Rotate the dogs again. The Other Nancy stops by with educational stuff she picked up for Dalton and visits for 30 minutes or so. Then sit on the couch with Jackson for 15 minutes until Chris gets home at 5:15. Trade Jackson over to Chris. Start making potato soup. Burn more cookies. Eat dinner. Bathe the boys. Feed Jackson. Clean and disinfect Jackson's helmet. Read to Dalton. Both boys in bed. Make another trip to Wal-Mart for more butter, so that I can make a second batch of cookies to burn in the morning. Feed and medicate all the animals, and rotate the dogs yet again. Then Jackson is up every 45 minutes to an hour through the night, crying, and with a fever.

Tuesday...
Get up. Is this even necessary? Did I ever even go to sleep? Feed the boys. Feed and medicate animals and start the dog rotations in the yard. Go over the US map with Dalton and teach him about Arkansas (where we live), California (where G&G Bane live), Oregon (where G&G Wilhelm live), and Texas (where we went two weeks ago). Two loads of laundry. Lunch, feed both boys. Jackson down for nap. Rotate the dogs again. Dalton "helps" me burn more cookies. At this point we've made over 140 cookies to get 90 decent ones needed for Chris's office. Dalton and I both lay down for a nap, and manage to get about an hour of sleep. Jackson up. Feed him. Medicate both him and Dalton as both have high fevers now...103.5 for J and 102 for D. Clean the cat boxes. Empty trash and diaper pail. Dishes. Dinner, feed Jackson. Make frosting (from scratch, which I surprisingly did not screw up the first time around) and start frosting cookies. Make second batch of frosting and finish cookies. Attempt to make edible spiders from leftover frosting. Throw spiders and rest of frosting away. Wash Jackson's hair and disinfect helmet. Carve three pumpkins with Dalton. Dalton to bed, feed Jackson, Jackson to bed. Medicate and feed animals, and rotate again in the yard. Phone call at 11:50pm from a friend who is struggling with the imminent death of her grandfather. Jackson is sleeping well, but Dalton is up every 30 minutes or so, crying and complaining of severe earache. End up sleeping in Dalton's room, on the bottom bunk with him, as it's easier than hauling myself into his room every 30 minutes.

Wednesday...
How long can a person go without sleep before they are locked up in a padded room? Up, feed the boys. Feed, medicate, and rotate dogs. Call the pediatrician for appointment. Punch out a 5'5" scarecrow for Dalton to decorate the front door with, as well as a large pumpkin, 8 crows, and 34 leaves. Hand write, with a food coloring pen, the name of every person in Chris's department, on the gravestone cookies. Yes, 90 cookies with full names. Lunch. Shower (anyone notice that I didn't get to shower the last few days??). Lunch, feed boys. Rotate dogs. Jackson down for short nap. Drive to Bella Vista to pick up a few items, stop by vet to pick up meds for the new dogs, drive to Fayetteville for pediatrician appt. Get Rx for Dalton's ear infection, test both boys for flu (negative, thankfully). Home around 4:30. Feed Jackson. Rock him for what seems like a year because he is still cranky with a temperature of 103. Chris home. Dalton plays a little in the yard while I sweep out the garage. Chris makes dinner (YAY!!). Carve the fourth and final pumpkin with Dalton. Decorate the front door and front windows with Dalton. Wash Jackson's hair and disinfect helmet. Attempt to feed Jackson but he refuses to eat anything, so put him to bed with nothing (I'll regret that later, I'm sure). Boys went to bed at 8:30 (Dalton) and 9:00 (Jackson). I started this post at 10:52 and we had been in Dalton's room four times, and Jackson's twice. Neither are sleeping tonight. Had to break twice from typing this to attend to a screaming Dalton (stupid ear infections).

There's nothing planned for Thursday, but Friday we have an appointment with the helmet doctor in Fayetteville, and we're supposed to trick or treat at Chris's office in the afternoon (not sure if we'll make that).

Now, in between all of this mundane ridiculously tedious--**COUGH**. Scratch that. In between all of this wonderful mom stuff that I do, I also fart around on Facebook, check emails for myself and the rescue, and check messages and return phone calls for the rescue, and sometimes spend HOURS on the phone with the auto insurance company trying to reach a settlement for the wreck.

Gosh, now that I put it all in writing, I guess I can see where you're coming from. I don't do anything! I get so much sleep, that I'm exhausted from all the sleep I get! Seriously, why can't I find the time and money and energy to go see a STUPID movie for one night? Why haven't I been jogging since before I went to Houston? What the hell do I do with my days? I'm so glad that you've opened my eyes to see how selfish and ridiculous I am. I just don't know what I would do without you.

Dalton's "Kidnapping" and Jackson's First Birthday

Oh, yeah, they are definitely in cahoots together!Look at these two trouble makers!!

Okay, I said I would explain Dalton's "kidnapping", so here it is!! Yesterday morning, Chris got up at his usual time to get ready for work and it woke me up. When he turned the shower on, of course I had to pee, so I went to the hall bathroom to do my business. When I came out, I noticed that Dalton's bedroom door was open. So I went to close the door and poked my head in to check on him at the same time. Only he wasn't in his bed. I didn't remember him being in our bed (which he is, half the time), so I went back in our room to check. Nope, not in there.

So I went back to his room and checked both the bottom and top bunks. Not there. So I went to the living room and checked the couch. Nope, not there. So I went back to his room, checked his beds again, and checked under the bed. Nope. So I went back to our room and tore the blankets off the bed. Nope. Then I went back to the living room and checked both couches. Nope. This is when I start to panic.

So I check between the coffee table and TV (we blocked the TV with the coffee table to keep Jackson from pounding on the TV). Not there. I check the garage. I check under the dining room table. I go back to Dalton's room, tear all the blankets from the bed, check under the bed again, check the closet again. Nope. I then checked Jackson's room to see if he might be in there (he wasn't, and I woke Jackson up in the process). I check our bed again. Nope.

Dalton has recently started sleep walking, so I go back and check all the exterior doors, which all the dead bolts are engaged. There's no way he could have gone outside and locked the door after him. Now I'm really panicked. I'm thinking... This is just like the Amy Smart thing...someone snuck in his window and kidnapped him! So I rush back to our room, go in the bathroom, and rip the shower door open. Chris looks at me like I'm a loon, and I yell at him "Dalton is missing!!" He very calmly (with shampoo in his hair sliding down his face) says "No, he's not, he's on the floor next to our bed."

Oh.

Well, in my defense, he was on the far side of the bed in between the bed and closets, completely hidden under a sheet from his bed.

So then of course I couldn't get back to sleep, but you can bet your booty that I hauled Dalton into bed with me and just about smothered him, I was holding him so tight. Whew!

On to better stories! Jackson's birthday was on October 10th, and we had his party on Sunday the 11th. Lots of people came to celebrate with us...Grandma Pat, Aunt Trish, J's cousins Lauren and Joe, Lance and Lisa, Heather, Jeramy, and Sofia, Betsy, Taya, Gweneth, and Henry, and Meredith, Brice, Davis, and Kate. Oh what a blast we had!!

Dalton got to open a lot of presents! And some of the other kids helped, too. :) Taya is to the right of me in the picture below. She is Dalton's friend, and this is who Dalton stayed with when I was at the hospital giving birth to Jackson. She is also the one who potty trained Dalton in a matter of minutes!!

Jackson's cake...It was a bunch of cupcakes.

Dalton helped with blowing out the candle. I love how Jackson looks here...like "What the heck is going on, here?"

Oh, good, we're about to have our first taste of massive loads of sugar. GOODY!!

I guess he liked it. I think it was "finger licking good".

Oh, yeah, definitely liked it!!

I love this picture. It's almost like he's got a cake/frosting/sugar hangover. Just look at that face!

And Dalton, of course, showing us that he can, indeed, fit roughly one entire cupcake in his mouth!

This is Dalton's buddy Davis. He's three weeks older than Dalton.

I'm thinking that the cupcakes were a hit. It was nice, actually, not having to cut and serve cake. Just grab a cupcake and go!!

Immediately after the party ended, we cleaned up, and then started packing for me and the boys to drive to Houston early the next morning... Tomorrow I'll post lots of cute pics from our trip!!

So. Stinkin'. Cute.

So I just wanted to take a VERY quick minute to say that I know I'm behind again. I owe you pictures from Jackson's birthday, and my trip to Houston, and other stuff, but I am just so exhausted right now. I am getting over a nasty cold, and Jackson still has one (after two weeks!!). He's not sleeping well or napping well, which means I don't sleep well, and this morning I thought Dalton was kidnapped (I'll explain this tomorrow, for sure...but no worries, he was here the whole time).

But very quickly, I want to say...Lindsey came by today with a birthday present for Jackson and a present for Dalton (D is so lucky!!) as she missed the party. And how stinkin' cute are my boys in their matching pajamas? Their matching big boy pajamas with button up shirts?!?