Sick Boy

This poor boy has been very sick. Fever, congestion, cough, no appetite, etc.

But today he is feeling a little better - day 3 of antibiotics and he's starting to feel good enough to play outside on his bike.

After 3 or 4 sleep-deprived nights, I took him to the doctor because I thought he had influenza. The doctor didn't think that was the case and ran a strep test. That came back negative and so he did a facial X-ray to rule out a sinus infection. That showed the problem. The doctor's words were, "His sinuses are junk." So, we went home with a strong dose of antibiotics and instructions to take it for 10 days and then refill it for another 10 days and come back for a follow-up in 3 weeks.

After day 5 on the antibiotics, he still had a fever and no appetite and the horrible cough. The nurse said it could take 5-7 days for the medicine to work when a sinus infection is severe, or he could have a secondary infection. I sort of lost track of how many days it had been since I slept through the night. The poor boy would wake up every 4-5 hours with an awful coughing fit and a raging fever. And when Jonathan has a coughing fit, he usually throws up. We would give him more cough medicine and ibuprofen and tuck him back in bed. This went on for a week or longer, and finally, one night, we all slept through the night. Kind of. The first night Jonathan slept through the night, I woke up around his standard 4:30 am wake up time. But after that I was able to sleep better and so did Jonathan!

I'm pretty sure he had a secondary infection with the massive sinus infection. And thankfully he is much better. Now, if we could just figure out the cause of these recurring sinus infections. I have several questions for the doctor at his follow-up appointment - could food allergies be causing the sinus issues?

The good news for now is that he is feeling good enough to play outside and is starting to tease and torment his brother again. Even Andrew was getting a little antsy about Jonathan being sick. He would walk in the front door after school and his first question would be, "Do you feel better today?" He missed his best buddy and playmate. And now that Jonathan is teasing him again, all is right with the world. At least, our little corner of it.

Week in the Life - Saturday and Sunday

I failed to blog this weekend - life got in the way, along with exhaustion. Keith woke up Saturday morning with a migraine and I had a rough night thanks to some silly stomach trouble. So I was tired and Keith was in pain. Great parenting took place all.day.long!

The kids played in the playroom - Hannah made a mess, Andrew drew Angry Bird stories in his notebook and Jonathan played with Legos.
*note - If your child has not been introduced to Angry Birds, avoid it at ALL costs. To say that Andrew is obsessed with them is an understatement, and we only let him play the game once a week for a limited time.

In the afternoon, Keith was feeling a little better and played Amish Poker with Andrew and Jonathan (found in your local store as Sequence.) This version was purchased in an Amish store in Indiana, complete with poker chips, so I dubbed it Amish Poker. The name has stuck and the irony of buying poker chips in an Amish store continues to amuse me.
I took the little trouble maker, also known as Hannah, to Dillons to get a few groceries. She's a good little shopper and likes to flirt with all the other customers in the store.

On Sunday, Keith and the boys went to church and I stayed home with Hannah. It just seemed like the wisest move. She still has a lot of snot and that's hard to explain in the nursery. No parents like to see that when they drop off their kids, especially me! So we watched a little Food Network and folded some laundry. Such heathens. Then the boys came home, and we had our standard Taco Bell for lunch.

In the afternoon, I went to a Woman to Woman Mentoring orientation class and signed up to get a mentor. That's a scary step for me, but I feel like it's something I need and should do right now! Praying that God would match me up with the right mentor for this time in my life.

I came home and helped get everyone fed a quick dinner of cheese pizza and then we loaded up and went to church for a tasty treat of

New Year's Cookies!
Once a year, the staff at our church fixes these tasty treats called cookies, but they are really more like donuts. So good and so bad for you! Andrew ate 5. I'm not sure how, but he did. Hannah and I shared two and that was enough. We came home and put everyone to bed and then we put our feet up.
(PS I didn't take the New Year's Cookie picture. I took my camera, but was a little distracted to think about taking pictures, so I borrowed it from the Internet.)

And this concludes the Week in the Life of the Ayottes. Not nearly as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Sometimes we do fun things, you know, other than visit the doctor's office.

Week in the Life - Friday

This morning Hannah had her 15-month well-child check-up. Only it was more of sick-child checkup. She's been battling a runny nose and cough all week and really hasn't completely gotten over the junk from Christmas. So, the doctor checked her over and said other than her infection, she seems to be doing great, other than the fact that she only weighs 17 lbs. 14.5 oz.

and is still in the 0 percentile. But she is in the 25th percentile for length at 30 inches. The doctor is still worried about her lack of weight gain, but he didn't give me a hard time this visit because she has been sick for the past few weeks. He said we just need to continue to keep an eye on her weight. *sigh* I was really hoping we had hit 18 pounds. This girl needs to get to 20 pounds sometime soon so that she can be forward facing in the car!

Jonathan and Hannah waiting in the doctor's office for the nurse to bring us Jonathan's new breathing machine. Jonathan was happy to wait quietly while Hannah got checked out as long as he had the iPod touch.

Here's my SuperTarget and pharmacy. Today when I left the pharmacy, the pharmacist gave me my three, yes three prescriptions and with a little evil smile, she said, "See you next week." I told her she better be wrong! (Keith also needs antibiotics for a sinus infection and Jonathan got a prescription for Albuterol for his new breathing machine.)

While waiting for our prescriptions, I found some new barrettes for Hannah. Her hair is getting out of control and always in her face. She left this barrette in for a longer than I expected, but I'm not sure that she is quite ready for them...

""Um, this does not belong in my hair!"

Andrew built these little Lego people

He told me that this was our family before Jonathan and Hannah, and he made little beds for us.
Unfortunately I was interrupted by Jonathan or Hannah so I didn't have a chance to ask him why he didn't create little Lego siblings. Perhaps a topic for tomorrow...

And this little miss is going to be the death of me.

This afternoon, I was working with Andrew on his speech therapy, and I left my chair for a split second to check on dinner. When I turned around, Hannah was sitting in my chair. I immediately accused Andrew of helping her climb up, but he claimed innocence. So I put her on the floor and she immediately climbed back up. Oh.My.Word. She's a climber. At 15 months.
This is the end of my world as I know it!

She was so proud of herself. This picture did not capture her excitement.

Here's Andrew working on his lip press during therapy. This is not his favorite activity!

And here's dinner - crock pot rotisserie-style chicken, Parmesan-basil roasted potatoes, and mixed veggies. I meant to take a picture of the chicken before I took it out of the crock pot. I think it was more impressive, but I forgot.

And finally, Jonathan got to test out his Nebulizer machine. He had a crazy coughing fit right before bed and needed a little help getting it under control. He did a great job keeping it on. Much better than I expected. And we are hoping that this does not become a nightly ritual!

This week in the life should really be called: Why we are thankful for insurance.

Tomorrow is the weekend and there is NOTHING planned. That makes me so happy. Maybe I'll have time to finish my Tracie Peterson book, "Under the Northern Lights."

Week in the Life - Wednesday

This boy is smiling because he went to the doctor and got a liquid Z-pack! Or maybe that's why I'm smiling. He's smiling because he got a new notebook and smiley face stickers at Target while waiting for his prescription. It's the little things that make him happy.

The doctor isn't sure what's going on, but said he definitely needs antibiotics. He's being treated for walking pneumonia, but the doctor said if he doesn't get better in a couple of days that we would switch to a different antibiotic for a sinus infection. They took a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia and it came back mostly clear, but because of the junky cough and the duration, this is the route we currently took.

And it seems to be working. Jonathan took a nap this afternoon again (I know he is really sick if he naps two days in a row!) and when he woke up he was in a dark place and still running a low-grade temp. So I gave him some ibuprofen, a lollipop to help sooth the cough, and a little TV. After about an hour, he was more like himself than he has been in weeks. Praise the Lord!

This little missy on the other hand is not getting better. These pictures don't completely capture her puffy eyes and snotty nose, but trust me, its there. At the doctor's office, everyone kept looking from her to Jonathan trying to determine which one was the patient.

She prefers to read the boys' books rather than her own. And apparently they read better upside-down.

I didn't take any pictures of our day. There really wasn't anything that noteworthy except for the doctor's office and I forgot to take the camera. So I took a few pictures of my pretty little princess before she went to bed. She's going to the doctor on Friday for a well-child visit. I fear it's going to turn into a sick-child visit. But maybe she'll turn the corner during the night and look better in the morning!

Giving a little love to her daddy and mommy. Her favorite part of the day is when the boys go to bed and she has us all to herself. We kind of like it too!

We're looking a little rough here. It's been a long day, but at least we both got to take a nap. I didn't make a dent in that To Do List again, but there's always tomorrow...

Week in the Life - Tuesday

This is how my whole day felt - out of control and a complete mess.
I came across this verse recently. It pretty much sums up my day: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." ~ Proverbs 16:9

It started out in the usual way. Andrew got on the bus without a hitch. Yeah for back to school! I kept him home on Friday because he had a terrible cough and cold and there was no school Monday. We were all ready for our normal routine again!

Jonathan was up a lot during the night, and therefore, I was up a lot during the night. He pretty much stayed in this position the whole time Andrew was at school. I finally convinced him to get dressed around noon. He feels so yucky and was so tired all day.

Hannah slept in, so I crashed on the couch for a little after Andrew left for school. This was the beginning of the end of my productivity.

I was able to take a quick shower and strip two beds before Hannah got up. Then my neighbor called and wanted to cut an article out of my newspaper. Mary is super sweet and I can't say no to her. So, she came over and chatted while I tried to keep Hannah in her high chair and figure out what show Jonathan wanted to watch, all while listening to her tell me about this family that was in the article that used to be her neighbor, and went to their church and their kids went to school with her boys, etc. etc.

Then she left and I thought, now I will get some things done...

This is Miss Destruction. This was the beginning of her mess. Silly me. I thought it wouldn't get much worse than this. I was wrong. I was on the phone with Jill when this mess started and when I turned around, she had the wipes box out and was pulling them out one.at.a.time as fast as she could. I did not take a picture as I was too irritated with her skills to document them.

Then Andrew came home and I didn't have a plan for lunch. So a plan was hatched to have a special treat and leave the house!

This guy was super excited to test out his new car seat that I bought on super sale at Target while shopping alone!

We had a "healthy" lunch at this fine establishment.

I'm a sucker for new foods. These McBites are actually quite tasty. I ordered the snack size thinking it would be perfect for Hannah. Turns out they are crispy and have real-looking chicken inside, so she actually handles the McNuggets better. Fortunately Andrew was willing to trade and the problem was solved.

After lunch, Jonathan asked if I had put his fire truck sheets on his bed. I had just finished - the only task completed so far all day. I asked if he was ready to have a rest and that I would read him a book as soon as I put Hannah to bed. He vetoed the book and just put himself to bed. That hasn't happened, well, ever! My poor sick boy slept 3 hours.

So while the two youngest napped, I finished the kids' Christmas thank you cards - better late than never is my current motto. And then I worked on reconciling our checking account and paying some bills. Good times! Andrew cut out pictures of his latest obsession, Octonauts, which I printed for him on Disneyjunior.com

Then I made chicken tortilla soup for dinnner and cheese pizza for the kids.

This is sick child number one. This picture doesn't show all the snot and watery eyes like I thought it would. It also doesn't let you hear her 80-year-old smoker voice. But she's still pretty happy and very destructive despite all of her symptoms.

This is sick kid number two. He has a fever and feels like garbage. He barely ate two pieces of cheese pizza, one of his favorite foods. He's going to the doctor tomorrow. He just doesn't know it yet.

This kid is not sick and doesn't quite know what to do when his siblings are and his parents are exhausted. It seems to give him extra energy, which we do not know how to contain or channel...

And this is my reality.
Two loads of laundry still waiting to be folded and one more in the dryer. And that picture frame - it's waiting for real pictures and to be hung on the wall, also on my To Do List for the day. And instead of these things, I'm blogging and listening to my daughter recount her day to her friends in her bed for the past hour instead of going to sleep...

And while I had a To Do list, it wasn't God's plan for my day. Today I was a mommy to sick kiddos and my list was not important.

Tomorrow's a new day and hopefully one filled with antibiotics from the doctor's office!

Week in the Life - Monday

Today we had a sick day. Andrew was out of school for MLK day and a teacher in-service and everyone is feeling less than stellar! Andrew has been coughing and snotty for about a week and has been kind enough to share his cold with Jonathan and Hannah, even though they both just had bad colds. So, we just laid low today.

The boys moved their Lego table in front of the TV so they could watch Robin Hood again and several other PBS shows. It was also a screen day.

I clipped some coupons and drank several cups of coffee while they watched TV.

Andrew turned his fire rescue boat into several robots. I love the creativity Legos bring out of my boys!

I did several loads of laundry. I'm convinced it multiplies over the weekend!

The kiddos all had popsicles for a pre-lunch snack. Healthy, I know! Jonathan was having a coughing fit, and we have found that popsicles help calm his cough. Hannah really wanted a popsicle too, but I didn't want to deal with the mess. Obviously I eventually caved. She was THRILLED!

I love this face! It took her a little bit to get used to the cold, tangy flavor, but she prevailed and ate almost the whole thing before it melted. And I love how Jonathan is watching Hannah! So sweet!

After lunch, the boys had some screen time while Hannah napped and I blogged, folded laundry and worked on dinner.

We had a little too much screen time and had to go outside to run off some of our crazies. They thought they needed to play with their Rescue Heroes outside. I let them because it kept them from running too much and stirring up the cough. And it really wasn't that late when I took this picture, but the sun was setting and so it looks much later than it was!

We had Paula Deen's Swiss Steak for dinner. This picture doesn't translate the flavor. So yummy! And no, the kids did not eat this as pictured. They did eat the steak and rice separately, of course.

And for dessert, brownies and ice cream. Hannah didn't get any ice cream, but don't tell her! She was very happy with her little brownie!

Andrew's favorite part of the meal!

bath time

brushing teeth - Super important since we fear this guy has a cavity. We'll find out Thursday...stay tuned.

And finally bedtime stories with Daddy and then bed for the kiddos!

Now it's time for me to meet my husband in the basement to watch the latest episode of Castle.
We survived another day!