but wait...there's more!

If I believed in "jinxes" I would say that I jinxed myself/my family by posting about our recent ailments. Perhaps it could really be attributed to my claiming God's power over our circumstances and the enemy not liking it...well, I still feel God's hand over us despite more injury.

Yesterday I woke feeling better, but still sluggish. I knew I didn't have the energy (especially since I hadn't eaten all day prior) or will power to get the boys dressed and out the door for my Bible study. I was worried that when we got there I'd end up getting sick again and nobody wants that to happen in public! Anyway, we did end up driving down the block (boys in their pi's) to my neighborhood friend Amy's house. It was a really nice break actually, the boys played so nice together for quite a while. 

Anyway, at one point Des was in my lap and I was touching his hair and felt a weird hard spot. I looked at it and he had a lot of dried blood caked in his hair! He wouldn't let me clean it and was acting fine (and rather energetic) as usual so I decided to wait til we got home. Later I was able to clean it better and when I got the hair off the cut I could see how bad it was, and it wasn't pretty. 

The night before Desmond and Malakai had been wrestling and Kai was on top of Des at one point on our laminate floors. Des fell back and his his head from less than a foot off the ground. From where I was it looked like he just hit the floor. Looking back he was way too upset for what I thought had happened. He was in front of our entertainment center, so he must have caught his head on the corner. Somehow between then and the hour before putting him to bed we didn't notice it. His hair must have hid it or it healed over and then reopened in his sleep and his hair stuck to it. Either way, Ben + I felt like terrible parents for not realizing he was hurt! 

I called the doctor and they couldn't figure out just over the phone if he would need stitches. Since it bled again after I got the hair off of it, they thought he should be seen. I got in on a cancellation that afternoon and headed over, but by then it had dried up again and stopped bleeding. Thankfully he didn't need any stitches and they barely touched it (I was prepared for the worst- having to restrain him for stitches). I did however have to also explain the giant gash in his tongue and how it was from a separate incident on the same day. Kiddo had a rough one, mama too. It was embarrassing, but I'm assuring myself injuries like this are normal from rowdy boys of this age and I need to not beat myself up over it. 

He's so resilient, all we need to do is not get it wet so it will heal and let him be. He  is acting completely normal, just as rambunctious as ever. 

I've got new meds that aren't as strong, but will hopefully rid me of this sinus infection for good so I can move on and we can hopefully all be healthy for a while. Now- to break up the boys from hitting each other before someone gets hurt...again. 

illness + injury

I feel like a broken record, I even said this to my Bible study group recently when requesting prayer for my sick family, again. We are entering month 4 of illness in our home. I don't share on social media to get extra attention or to throw a pity party. Sometimes I'm actually embarrassed to admit that we are sick again (or is it still?) but I do, because every time I'm covered in prayer and encouraged by a community of friends, family + even strangers. We've endured countless doctor's office visits, pharmacy pick ups and a 3 day emergency hospital stay. Just when things start to look up, someone else comes down with something. Here we are again.

I'm thankful and so happy to be able to say that last Friday when Des had an ear check, he is over his ear infections (he had one, that turned into two really bad infections while on the first round of medicine). I'm also hesitant, but hopeful in saying that I think Malakai is over his recurring infections. (he had 4 in a row, and tried 5 different medicines that all failed). He has an ENT appointment this Thursday morning, so we will know for sure, but he's been acting more himself and not complaining of any pain for the last week or so. These things outweigh that bad day that we had today...

Last week I was told I have another sinus infection (I've had symptoms that won't quit since January, was treated once in February but never felt better- then recently got much worse). I saw another Dr. in my primary physician's office who prescribed me a stronger antibiotic for another sinus infection. Today is day 3 on meds and I had a very bad reaction. Debilitating headache and nausea all morning that resulted in "losing my breakfast" in the kitchen sink just before lunch (right after Des fell and bit his tongue REALLY badly, it looks like he has a hole in it). Thankfully Ben could come home on his lunch break, get Des down for a nap so I could rest and then he preoccupied Malakai while working from home the rest of the afternoon (he is our Superman). I've been nauseated with the same bad headache all afternoon and just as I went to crawl into bed my sciatica (that I'm waiting on a referral to have treated) took a turn for the worse and I nearly fell over. 

I'm not looking for pity (but I will gladly take prayers). I post all of this because the purpose of my blog is to share with my readers and to document our lives so we can look back on it all one day. Life isn't always pretty, and lately for us it's been rather ugly. I'm not whining or complaining, but merely documenting so when things are good I can see what God brought us out of. Because despite the back to back illnesses and injuries and a hospitalization I know it could be worse and I also know that it's going to get better. 

I'm clinging to God's promises to bless us and I'm focusing on the joy in each moment. The fact that almost any time I ask Desmond to snuggle me, he replies with an excited "okay!", when Malakai loves to color pictures/mail/surprises for anyone and everyone, laughing til I'm crying at the things Kai has said over the past year when I came across Ben's "Kai Thoughts" Instagram, smiling at Desmond's growing vocabulary and constant need to narrate our day, all the sweet innocent questions they both ask constantly, the sweet baby kicking around in my belly, loved ones who check in with is because we've been quarantined in our house for months (thanks for not being offended that I haven't contacted you in weeks...), everyone who covers us in healing prayer, the moments when we can feel those prayers doing their work and know that this too shall pass. 

So I do apologize if I sound like a broken record...It's just a season, one with more challenges than others, but soon we'll be on the other side and be blessed by the suffering that taught us how to better embrace joy. 

planning to catch up...

I'm currently surrounded by a couple heaps of clean laundry, a cluttered dresser and headboard, and a stack of mangled yarn. That's just in my bedroom, the room that we can easily shut in case of company. However, the rest of the house is in the same state. After 6 weeks of sickness and a scary illness that resulted in an unexpected hospital stay (which we all came home from with a new sickness), it's hard to figure out where to start. I'm still not feeling 100%, we all have this lingering cough that just doesn't seem to let go and so I'm having trouble figuring out how to get the house back in order.

I need a plan for catching up. I have a pile of mail that needs sorted, insurance and medical paperwork that need filed away, preschool lessons and finished projects, more laundry, sewing projects that range from just started to nearly finished that all got pushed aside when our healthy began to decline, a bag of items from Ben's birthday that never got put away, Sunday school projects, more shoes and coats than we need all at once next to the door, and probably more laundry. I also would like to get started on our taxes. Oh boy. At least the kitchen is clean, I have a very tired and amazing husband to thank for that (and all the other loads of laundry that actually did get put away). He's incredible. 

What do you do when you get behind on household chores and daily maintenance? Do you make a plan or just tackle it? Do you do a little bit at a time or wait until you get a chance to get it all done at once? 

I'm truly so humbled and encouraged by the friends + family who are still bringing us dinners. It has afforded us the rest and recuperation we need to get back into step with our daily lives and to focus on making sure everyone (especially Desmond) gets and stays healthy. Once again, we thank you. 

As an added note- if you haven't heard of it, the website Meal Train is incredible for setting up meals for people in need. For someone who has just had an illness (or 4), recovering from surgery, welcoming a new baby, or just could use a blessing- it means the world. We've been on both the giving and receiving end of several meal trains. I've used the site to organize meals for new parents, and for my mom after her surgeries last year. It's so easy and so worth it. 

Mystery Ailment: Part 3

This is the last post of updates on Desmond's illness. Click through to read part 1 and part 2. 

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Once we found out all that was supposed to happen at the hospital, we prepared ourselves for the onslaught of tests that our little Desmond would have to endure.

We hadn't eaten dinner yet and the cafeteria closes at 7:15 so Ben ran down to grab us some food while we waited on x-ray. We took turns eating and being by Desmond's side. Thankfully x-ray was done in the room and was rather quick. 

After that Des was wheeled down for his ultrasound. By then he was really tired and ready to be done, sadly we were just getting started. The ultrasound took a long time and he had to lay on Ben to stay still. He got so upset that the tech wasn't able to find his appendix as you have to push rather hard to get the equipment in position to see it. We were informed that this was actually good as the appendix would be inflamed and easy to find if he had appendicitis. 

When we got back to his room we finished eating and turned on the tv to keep him preoccupied until the nurses came to put his IV in. Sadly, the first two attempts failed because he was slightly dehydrated, making his veins harder to get to. They gave him a break before another nurse came and tried again. It was quite the ordeal, and once it was taped on it actually leaked so they had to untape and retape which was painful. It was misery watching him go through all of this and not being able to help.

They started him on IV fluids and thankfully let us wait a while after that to see if we could get him to pee in a cup on his own so we could avoid a 2nd catheter. He had been complaining of pain all day since his catheter that morning. I cheered when we were able to get him to go in the cup, knowing that was one less painful ordeal he would have to endure. 

In between tests and exams I was able to update family and friends on our situation. We immediately had people offering to brave the icey roads to bring us anything we needed. People all over were praying for our sweet boy, we felt very loved amidst a scary situation. 

Ben + I took turns sleeping with Desmond in his bed, the other in the "day bed" that felt more like sleeping on a concrete slab. After a round of fluids they started his antibiotics and we got a few chunks of sleep here and there. There are a LOT of noises in the hospital so none of us could get much sleep. Children have a security monitor on their leg and Desmond's kept coming unstuck, setting off an alarm in the hallway. The IV can only be set for 2 hour increments so that would beep every time it needed to be reset. His bed was an air bed so it would whoosh and groan to adjust the pressure every time you moved and there was a constant rush of air from the ceiling. The nurses also took vitals every 2-4 hours and the nurse he had that first night came in at 2am with way too much pep in her step. She told me he could just sleep through what she was doing, which he was, but then she started to talk to him and woke him up. I was not a happy mama bear. 

4am they started his 2nd dose of antibiotics and I was awake for the day by 6:30. At that point, Ben was in bed with Des and they slept another 2 hours while I sat and prayed and updated friends on Facebook.

{keeping a 2 year old in bed for 15 hours is not an easy task}

That morning we got to FaceTime with Malakai while he was still at Amy's. The boys were pretty excited to see each other.

Dr. R from our pediatrician's office came in that morning to check on Desmond. She said she'd like to see him off fluids to get him to drink on his own. Having him off fluids meant he only had to be attached to the tubes every 8 hours for 30 minutes to administer the antibiotics. This was so great for how stir crazy the poor kiddo was getting. We were able to take him out in the hallway for a walk and in to the play room across the hall. 

Ben's parents were able to come visit and his dad took Ben over to pick up Malakai and to our house for a few things for us as we didn't have time to pack our own bags. Malakai came to visit and was so excited to see us, but more so to see Desmond. They greeted each other with an enthusiastic "Hi, Brother!" Kai was able to go with Des for his first walk around the unit, check out the playroom with us and eat lunch. Ben's parents took Kai back to their place for the 2nd night and he got to play in the snow before it turned into freezing rain.

My parents weren't able to come visit because my mom had a fever plus they live much further away so it wasn't a good idea for them to drive in the snow and ice. I updated them by phone and text when I could.

Des napped and we watched a lot of Disney Jr. Ben's mom left her iPad for him to play with as well. We watched the snow fall non stop outside our window, we were thankful for such a beautiful view.

We did all that we could to pass the time and keep Desmond comfortable and happy. He started to eat better and was drinking a ton by Friday evening. We were still waiting on a culture from the blood they took when they started his IV to see what kind of bacteria he was fighting. That night we all slept much better. It helped that our overnight nurse was as quiet as a mouse when going about taking vitals and hooking/unhooking tubes for his meds.

Unfortunately Malakai + Grandma didn't sleep so well. Kai was complaining of ear pain and couldn't sleep. He was pretty miserable so they brought him to the hospital and Debbie and I walked him down to urgent care on the other side of the hospital while Ben and Grandpa stayed with Des. After a bit of a wait we found out Kai had a fever of 103 when we got back to see the nurse. Of course I immediately had visions of both of my boys being admitted to the hospital with mysterious infections. I was overwhelmed on top of being overwhelmed. During the 45 minute wait in the exam room, Kai fell asleep on my lap.

After being examined by the doctor (who was really great with Kai and even made him laugh) he was diagnosed with another double ear infection. Although an ear infection doesn't cause fever, so he also though Kai might be fighting off a virus as well. We got a new prescription for antibiotics and headed back upstairs to Desmond's room. He had just finished up his last dose of antibiotics.

We ate lunch (thanks to a generous delivery called in by a friend) and waited for Dr. R to come check on Des and let us know if we could take him home. She came shortly and told us his 48 hour cultures were negative and that his most recent labs were much better. His white blood cell count came down from 39,000 to a normal 10,000. Since no bacteria grew on the cultures the diagnosis was vague. We were discharged with a diagnosis of "fever of unknown cause" which is frustrating, but I knew I could discuss it further with his doctor at our follow up appointment. All I cared about was that my baby is well and I get to take him home. We got a prescription for antibiotics and Grandpa went to pick up both the boys' meds and was back just before Des was discharged.

{goodbye snowy hospital}

We got home safely through the snow that was under a thick layer of ice from a storm the day before. Ben carried each of us in the house because there was no clear path through the ice. We settled in and relaxed as best we could.

{Can you tell Kai missed his Desmond?}

On Sunday we were looking forward to a full day at home to recover from all these events when I got a nasty headache. My mom encouraged me to take my temperate and I had a fever. I took some tylenol and waited it out, but felt miserable all day. I went to the doctor on Monday for a flu test and it came back negative. My doctor did say he thinks I have a stomach virus and I'd probably feel bad for a few days. Just what we needed, another illness.

On the bright side, we have amazing family and friends. They've all rallied around us in prayer. Some braved the storms and brought us food to the hospital, and other have started a meal train to bring us dinner while we settle back in at home and recover now that I'm sick as well. It's so humbling to receive so much and be able to give nothing back (at least at the moment), and I'm doing my best to let it be and just feel the blessings overflow as we heal. I know there will be an end to these miserable sicknesses even though it's hard to see through it.

Yesterday morning we had a follow up appointment for both boys. Malakai's exam was simple, his ears looked great! We were also informed that about half of ear infection patients do develop a fever, like Kai had. I was so thankful that he would finally be back to himself.

We originally scheduled with Dr. R because Dr. B didn't have any openings but when she saw that we were there Dr. B "stole" us- which was very sweet and I really appreciated that she wanted to follow through with Desmond's care and give us the information she'd gathered directly.

She confirmed again that nothing grew on the cultures, but she explained that it's actually quite normal to not be able to grow bacteria, even when it's present. Due to the volume of blood you'd have to use to get enough bacteria to grow in a petri dish, it's common to get no growth. So her diagnosis is that he did have bacterial sepsis based on all of his symptoms and his response to the antibiotics. She had even called an infectious disease specialist at Dornbecker Children's hospital to confirm her diagnosis.

It was nice to get information but it was also scary to think that Desmond had such a serious condition. I'm even more thankful for a pediatrician that took the right steps and got our boy well without any complications. What a blessing that Desmond is already so healthy after being in the hospital less than a week ago!

We so appreciate our beloved Dr. B and all the caregivers at Eugene Pediatrics. Malakai especially likes it there because they always let him play with their tools. His favorite is the otoscope and even Desmond got into it and played with the stethoscope.

We came home and had popsicles with our lunch to celebrate a clean bill of health!

Now, after nearly 6 weeks of illness, we are on to getting me healthy and keeping everyone else healthy as best we can in this doozy of a season. Once again, thank you for all your support and prayers!

Mystery Ailment: Part 2

Due to overwhelming amounts of detailed information in these updates, 

I've split them into separate posts. Find Part 1 here + 3 here.

____________________________________

Wednesday Des was acting like he felt better, but usually only when he had a good dose of tylenol or ibuprofen in his system. He'd start to crash again an hour or two before we could give him another dose. The on call doctor gave us permission to switch by and forth between ibu and tylenol to help with that. We decided that if he felt sick in the morning we'd call again to have him seen by his main pediatrician as he was seen by another doctor in their practice and a nurse the last couple of times. 

Come Thursday morning he started vomiting at 5am. After cleaning him up and getting him back to sleep for a couple hours Desmond woke with a fever and it was getting higher. His temp hit 105 at 8am and I immediately gave him tylenol to try to lower it. He was still complaining of belly pain, as he has been since Monday night. I called his pediatricians office as soon as they opened to make an appointment. They got us in on a cancellation with our beloved Dr. B so I rushed us out of the house to drop Kai off at Grandma + Grandpa's and headed to Eugene Peds...in the snow.

That morning it had started snowing just before sunrise. It wasn't too bad so Ben went ahead and drove to work. He goes really early so this was before Des' fever got real high. By the time I left there was quite a bit of snow on the ground and I don't really drive in snow. I took my time driving slowly and cautiously. I only had slight trouble at a couple stops when I tried to go again and slid a bit, but was able to correct it quickly with no problems. 

We got to Dr. B's office at 9:40am and due to his fever and slight cough Des got to wear a lovely little mask. He was amazing about it, he just wanted to play trains. He didn't have a lot of energy and he'd been breathing heavily, but he was talkative- narrating what he was doing while playing.

It was such a relief to see his primary care physician. I trust all the other doctors and nurses at their office, but there is a deeper trust with your main doctor that gets built over having them care for your children over time. 

She poked at his belly and listened to his lungs as she did a thorough examination to figure out what was going on. She mentioned that if this had been accompanied by diarrhea she would have thought it was the stomach flu for sure, but quite the opposite, Desmond hadn't been going poo very often at all. 

She assured me (but I already know) that she would make decisions for Desmond like she would if he were her own son and said we needed to get a urine sample and go in for blood work. My heart sank. I've overcome a fear of needles over all the blood draws and such that they do during pregnancy, but I didn't want my little guy to have to go through any of that. Sadly, to get the best result they wanted to do a catheter for the urine sample. 

The catheter failed miserably and was extremely painful. He must have just emptied his bladder, so they put a bag in his diaper to catch the urine next time he peed between then and our going over to the lab for the blood draw. I called Ben and he met me at the labs. I knew I wasn't brave enough to hold Desmond through it. I'm so thankful he was there, I got light headed and had to sit down. Des whimpered and cried a little, but was really brave. 

It was nearly noon and due to the snow I wanted to drive as little as possible. It hadn't stopped all morning so the roads were covered and it was still coming down. The lab was close by to Grandma's so I drove to pick up Kai and met Ben at home. We fed the boys lunch and Ben worked from home while Des napped and Kai + I played a bit. We expected to hear back on Desmond's labs by 4 at the latest as they put a rush on the results and would page Dr. B directly. 

Just before 5pm I decided to call in, but the pediatrician's office had closed early due to the snow storm so I got the answering service. They took a message and paged Dr. B because thankfully she was the doctor on call at the time. They tell you to call back if you don't hear in 20 minutes, which I hadn't so I did. They said they'd been paging her and would try again. I was worried that perhaps she had trouble in the snow. Turns out she was still in the office catching up on things, she called me back just before 5:30 as Ben waking dinner. 

During all of this I wasn't too worried about hearing back because Desmond woke up from his nap a couple hours earlier in a great mood and no fever. The tylenol had even worn off by then and he was acting himself. 

The first thing Dr. B said was that she knew I wouldn't be expecting this, but Desmond's results were not good. She said was really sorry but if he were her son, she'd take him directly to the hospital. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My voice started to crack and Ben looked at me from the kitchen with wide eyes trying to figure out what was going on. He was just about to toss some spaghetti into boiling water when I waved him off while listening to Dr. B explain the results. 

Desmond's white blood cell count was much too high and his other results were not great either. I explained that his fever had gone and he was acting fine, but she insisted that even so she felt in her gut that he needed to be in the hospital. I told her I trusted her opinion completely and we'd pack up to go. She asked if we'd be able to meet her at the hospital in all this snow, that had now turned to thick sheets of ice, or if she should call an ambulance. Ben was sure we could brave the weather. 

Ben dropped the noodles on the counter and turned off the stove and we started to make preparations. I called Amy, who lives a block away, and I burst into tears. All I could manage was a shaky "We have to take Desmond to the hospital" and she immediately told me "Bring Kai right over!" So I ran outside to start the van to thaw and  we packed both boys a bag quickly, I grabbed a couple snacks for us since we were missing dinner. I backed Ben's car out of the driveway blindly, it was covered in such a thick layer of ice and snow I didn't have time to thaw it out. I attacked the ice on the van until Ben came out to take over. It was so thick after just 5 hours that it broke the scraper in half. 

Ben grabbed Kai out of the car and carried him up to Amy's house. Malakai was thrilled for his very first sleepover at a friend's house (Amy's son Nate is just a little younger than Kai + she has a baby, Luke who Kai also adores). Thankfully he wasn't scared and didn't know to worry about Desmond, as worried as Ben + I were. I texted Amy directions for bed time and such on our way to the hospital. 

Desmond was still in a great mood and asked us where we were going. When we said the hospital, he said "OK!" as we had just been there for x-rays 2 days earlier and he seemed to enjoy the adventure. We slid at an intersection once as we tried to start from a stop light, but we made it safely in the terrible weather. I did NOT enjoy that drive!

We grabbed his bag and headed to the front desk in the lobby at Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend where both boys were born and where Malakai had his hernia surgery a couple years earlier. We were led upstairs to the pediatric floor and immediately admitted. Dr. B met us in Desmond's room and explained his results more thoroughly. His white blood cell count should normally be less than 15,000 was elevated to 39,000. He also tested as anemic and low blood sugar. His crp levels (which I don't really understand) were elevated, which apparently isn't good either. All of these things indicate a dangerous infection somewhere in his body. Her plan to rule out Bacterial Sepsis was to get a follow up chest x-ray to make sure the pneumonia hadn't become visible after the last one. Then have an ultrasound on his abdomen to see if there were any abnormalities and to check on his appendix. Third, was to recheck his urine and lastly was to administer IV antibiotics for 48 hours. That's when we realized we were in for a long stay.

Mystery Ailment: Part 1

I wrote the following post on Wednesday Feb 5th before things took a turn for the worse the next day. 

____________________________

My poor sweet family can't catch a break from sickness lately. At least 2 of us have been sick at any given time for the past month and not one of us has been spared. Thankfully, we did have a small reprieve for Ben's birthday this past Sunday, but it didn't last long.

Yesterday I went to the doctor after a month of coughing my life away and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. What a pain, but I am glad to have some medicine now and that there is an end in sight to this suffering. 

Desmond came down with a high fever suddenly on Monday. He was his happy unruly self and then suddenly he said his tummy hurt and he was burning up. That night he and Ben were up all night and Des threw up so we thought it must be (ANOTHER) stomach virus. Until the next morning when his fever shot back up and he was breathing erratically.

 Since I am still feeling miserable, Ben took Desmond to the doctor. He saw a nurse practitioner who called in one of the doctors and they couldn't quite figure out what was bothering his tummy. Thankfully they ruled out all sorts of serious conditions like appendicitis, he also tested negative for flu. Due to his shallow breathing they sent him in for a chest X-ray. No matter how bad I felt I had to be there for that.

{waiting sweetly for his x-ray}

My angel-neighbor Amy took Kai so I could go to the hospital with Ben and Des. By that point the ibuprofen they gave him at the pediatrician kicked in and he was talking up a storm. He breezed through the x-ray and we headed home. 

By the time we got home he was exhausted and hungry. We were thrilled that he had an appetite again, he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. I went down the street to bring Malakai back home and by the time I got back Ben and Desmond were both asleep. Ben has been my rock through all of this, even when he was sick a couple weeks ago he still took care of all of us, sacrificing the rest he needed so the rest of us could get healthy.

We later found out that Desmond's chest x-ray was clear for pneumonia so our instructions are to keep an eye on him and call back if he vomits again or his fever gets worse. 

It has been so hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. We struggle to get through each bout of sickness only to get hit again and harder. I know this is normal with small children, but this has been the worst season for us by far. I'm so glad to have a handful of people in my phone that I can text at any time to lift up a prayer or run an errand for us. My father in law, Ron picked up dinner and my antibiotics last night so we can focus on keeping Des comfortable. Amy has been dousing my children and I in essential oils to relieve symptoms here and there. Ben's work has been extremely understanding of his need to care for family (it helps that he is such a hard worker, he always catches up).  I know that God is reaching down through all these people to bless our family in this needy time. My incessant prayer now is for a total healing over all of us and a nice LONG reprieve from all that has been ailing us physically.

____________________________

Due to the content of these posts being drawn out and detailed, I've split this update into separate posts.
Find Part 2 here + 3 here.  

What we've been up to...

I have several specific posts in the works, but of course we get slammed with the hefty cold that is going around so they are still in the works. We all got sick in rotation to maximize it's effects on our household. I finally left the house today after over a week of laying around feeling miserable. I still feel miserable, but the kids are on the mend so I took advantage and got us out!

It started three weeks ago, Malakai started acting out and become a bit unruly. I took him in to get his ears checked after he casually mentioned some pain. He had some swelling and fluid but no redness or other signs of infection. A few days later he was still in pain so we went back and he had double ear infections. Then a couple weekends ago Des wasn't acting himself and threw up at the dinner table…with all my in-laws present. What a joy that was, poor kiddo. He didn't vomit anymore but was acting sick and sad for a few days. Malakai subsequently got sick from his antibiotics (even while taking probiotics) so we had to go in for a 3rd time and they switched the prescription. 

Right on cue, as they started to get a bit better Ben + I came down with a hacking cough. It started off as just irritating but mine took on a whole life of it's own. I've not had a cold this bad in many years. Then last week Des woke up from a nap at Grandma's with a fever, that night he woke with a barky cough and stridor. Thankfully we had a refill left on his prescription from last time he had croup so we picked that up over the weekend and he started to feel better. Now he and I have that lingering cough. He only coughs a few times a day, I cough every time I try to talk and then some. 

So, what else have we been up to? Watching entirely too much television, snuggled up on the couch, drinking plenty of water and napping. Thrilling stuff, I know. I'm hoping we can be done with sickness for the rest of the winter and move on with life!

Coming up, I have posts on Homeschool Preschool, cloth diapering, and features and giveaways. Some of you may have seen my posts on Instagram + Facebook, but if you missed it we have a very exciting giveaway coming up from Freshly Picked, who just appeared on Shark Tank this past Friday! I can't wait! 

One other thing- I often use Picmonkey for quick photo edits and other embellishments (like our digital Christmas card this year). Here's a code to use the paid features (Royale) for free for a day http://www.picmonkey.com/free_4_friends/11e4313c1 
Enjoy!

Don't forget to become a fan of our new Facebook page to keep track of new posts here as well as tips, deals, and giveaways exclusive to our Facebook fans. 

'tis the season...

I've said or typed that phrase several times already this year. You may think I'm about to complain about the early Christmas decor, I'm not. Around here, 'tis the season for colds, croup, and earaches. 

My boys started with every mild symptoms that lingered on a couple weeks ago, I thought it was just a slight cold or the change in weather. Kai had a dry cough that was only at night and didn't keep him up at all. Desmond had no symptoms at all for a long while, and then just an occasional runny nose. 

Earlier this week Kai's cough became barky and persistent. Des was still fine, until a couple days later he woke at 3am barking like a seal and his breathing was raspy. Kai coughed so hard twice that he threw up. Desmond's stridor got worse the next day after his nap and we took him in. His lungs were clear but he was diagnosed with croup. We picked up a prescription steroid tablet and he gobbled it up in a spoonful of applesauce that night. His breathing was better that night, but his cough still kept him up. We filled the house with humidifiers and vaporizers and I rubbed Des in peppermint oil mixed in coconut oil. 

Kai started napping daily, on his own just putting himself to sleep and then still going to bed at a decent hour. It was obvious he was fighting something off, he hasn't napped that often for well over a year. 

Last night Malakai woke up yelling "no, no, ouch, ouch, ouch!". We thought he was dreaming and talking in his sleep as he occasionally does, but he said his ear hurt. Homeopathic drops, a hot pack and distractions weren't working, he just wouldn't sleep. He kept saying "I just want the pain to go out!" He and I were up from 11:30-3am. He finally fell asleep in his cot next to our bed after we gave him a small LED flashlight to distract him. By the grace of God I remained calm and reassuring. That, and I remember chronic ear infections as a child and how terribly painful they were. I think remember childhood is something that makes me a better parent on the regular. 

So Kai woke up at 6am this morning totally chipper, obviously excited to be in our room. I asked about his ear and he said it felt good. I called our Dr. and was surprised that even though we'd been in this week already they would have to schedule a full appointment to see him, I was hoping for a quick ear check. I decided against it since he felt better and the nurse said it was likely just fluid build up that had eventually run it's course. I'm so thankful and really prayerful that he won't develop an ear infection. With high deductible insurance it's not at all affordable to go in for sick visits. 

Many of my friends, especially those with small children are all in the same boat. Our pediatrician posted on Facebook about croup being really common right now, some of our good friends have an 11 month old with croup which is so scary to me! So, like I said, 'tis the season…for sickness. 

Stay well everyone, and have a warm + happy weekend. 

a little of both...

In case you missed my diagnosis on instagram, it looks like I am suffering from BOTH a sinus infection and seasonal allergies. I know, you all were on the edge of your seats waiting for that information.

I waited 3 weeks to see a doctor because I always get the "well, it's only been 2 weeks-so it's probably a virus". It drives me nuts because with our insurance we pay for every appointment that isn't a well-check. So I wait and see if the darned symptoms will go away and if they don't I cave and see the doc...most of the time.  I went in to a new doctor today and was rather happy with his style. I'm also pretty sure that he's younger than me, which is a WEIRD feeling.

He prescribed me some antibiotics for the sinus infection and a steroidal nasal spray for the allergies. I should be feeling better in a week or so. It's been a couple days and I still wake up with terrible sinus headaches. Thankfully allergy season is supposed to be coming to an end in the next week or so.

I'm still not sure what the reaction to strawberries was, but I'm waiting to eat them again until after the seasonal allergies and sinus infection are gone. Then we'll see, but I'm REALLY hoping it was just a weird trifecta, or perhaps I just had a reaction to whatever the fields were sprayed with.

During all of this, Malakai came down with an ear infection. Poor dude was having more ear pain than he's ever experienced. Usually he barely notices when he has an ear infection and we just check it because of other extreme symptoms. This time it was the opposite, he never even had any cold symptoms. So, it was most likely from the drainage he was also experiencing from seasonal allergies. He is also on antibiotics, and has been on children's allegra for quite some time. I'm not sure if it did any good, but he doesn't seem to have so many problems during or after being outside.

Here's hoping we can go into the rest of summer without being sick or suffering from allergies. The weather has been gorgeous and I just want to enjoy it!

Happy weekend!

mystery ailment + a cleaning challenge

I've lost count, but  it's been close to 10 days or so that I've been waking up to terrible cold/allergy symptoms. What's odder still is that each morning is worse than the previous. I've never had an illness where I get progressively worse over such a lengthy period of time. It's miserable. It's also really obnoxious trying to figure out what is wrong with me so I can treat it and move on with life.

First I assumed allergies, all the discomfort was in my sinuses and the Willamette Valley is literally the worst place in the U.S. for seasonal allergies. I've lived here all of my life and didn't begin to suffer from pollen allergies until 5 or so years ago, but even still it was fairly mild. These symptoms are not at all mild. 

A few nights ago I woke with trouble breathing, my throat felt like it was closing up. I woke Ben up and we googled strawberry allergies. I'd been handling and eating fresh strawberries every day since I had gone picking 9 days earlier. I noticed that day I went that my mouth felt tingly after just a couple berries, which was uncomfortable enough to make me stop. I hadn't thought too much about it as I ate strawberries in my smoothies and ice-cream and made strawberry jam and sauce, until I woke up feeling so weird. 

Turns out strawberry allergies (like most food allergies) have a lot of symptoms and "levels" of allergic reaction. Some people get that slight tingly feeling so they limit their consumption but indulge once in a while, others break out in hives, and then there's always the extreme cases where you go into anaphylactic shock. It was hard to determine if I was having a mild reaction from too many berries, if I had developed a worse case of seasonal allergies, or if I was (am) just suffering from the worst cold I've ever experienced in my 30-something years. 

My awesome husband woke up the next day to scrub down the entire kitchen and freeze the remaining fresh strawberries. He's some kind of wonderful, that one. I've avoided strawberries for the last 3 days and haven't really felt any respite. In fact, I've still been waking with additional and/or worsening ailments. 

I'm now suffering from sinus pain/pressure, running and stuffy and dry nose and sinuses, headaches of varying types and severity, swollen glands and tonsils, sneezing, watery/itchy eyes, a sore throat (dry, scratchy, burning, tight) that has been worsening each day over the last 10-ish days, on and off ear pressure/pain, hot flashes, fatigue... and the list goes on.

{smiling through the discomfort b/c my boys were snuggly for 5 seconds}

Now I'm certainly not trying to whine about this, but merely communicate that I'm truly confused by what is wrong with me. In an effort to find some relief I've tried apple cider vinegar, local honey, Claritin, Benadryl (at night), tea, lemon, tons of water, resting, not resting and more. Nothing helps for long, or at all. I'm totally stumped. So I guess I'll just do my best to wait this out. Although if it lasts past 2 weeks I'll be sure to get myself into the Dr. to make sure it's not tonsillitis or anything that I should be taking antibiotics for. However, from what I've heard from friends it could be seasonal allergies and I could suffer this way into July! Say it ain't so!

I have been able to get a little bit done around the house in addition to the normal day to day. I'd been inspired by the Summer Simplify Decluttering Series by Ann Marrie over at White House Black Shutters. I did the first week's list of "what is good and what needs to change" and then took up a little decluttering each day.

On the first day, I started very small and just went through the kid clutter on the fridge...

Then I went after our desk, which is ALWAYS a problem...

I do admit, I still need to go through the "in process" and "to be filed" boxes you can see to the left. Another day's project for sure.

And here's what Ben did with the kitchen, which I affectionately refer to as "the galley"...

{He's a smarty and put away our coffee maker since we only use it for Small Group meetings, which are on summer break. I use a french press for my own morning coffee. }

Our BIGGEST project will be the garage. It's FULL of random projects and our laundry room is also in there. We had a garage sale a month ago and while we immediately go rid of 3/4 of the stuff that was left over, there is still quite a bit to be donated, stored, and otherwise reorganized. Then we also put in a new door from the garage to the garden area and that project isn't quite finished so all the tools and such from that are spread across a ginormous table. It's pretty scary in there and unfortunately I have to go through it to get to the garden, and in the midst of it while doing laundry each day.

Sadly I haven't done anything since Friday because I've been feeling so crumby and we kept pretty busy on Father's Day (I'll share our gifts to Ben a bit later). Tomorrow my mom is having surgery (yes again- nothing to do with her cancer, but please say a prayer if you think of us) so Ben is working from home to allow me to be with my dad during that. I'm hoping to feel better for that of course, and to get on with the decluttering starting Wednesday.

It's coming...

The gratuitous after-holiday blog post full of photos of us doing the traditional things will be coming soon. Sadly, all weekend long we've also had illness to deal with so we're recovering from the holiday events as well as a case of the sickies.
Be back soon...







P.S. I did bring my 365 page up to date. I was only about 9 days behind...yikes!

aaaand I'm back!

Yikes.

My blog was down for over a week and I am so sorry for no explanation before it happened. We kept putting off renewing my domain name and then I transferred it the day it was expiring. Bummer is that transfers take 5-7 business days. Whoopsie!

Anyway, I've transferred to purchasing my domain name from Twenty70 Hosting and I'm SO glad I did. Their customer service has already been amazing. Night + day compared to using My Domain before. I received one on one attention and personalized help from someone who actually cares. I highly recommend them for your blog/website needs!

So I'm back and I have a lot of catching up to do. Life has been busy in some good + satisfying ways and in some bad + not so happy ways. We are moving onward with life as always and keeping a positive outlook as we always shoot for.

While the blog was down spring arrived, and then it snowed (photos to come), and then it was sunny for a few days. Oregon. I have also been sick and I keep thinking that I'm getting better, and end up feeling worse. I have a tendency to overdo it when I am on the mend instead of letting myself heal completely. Thank you dearest husband for teaching me this interesting fact about myself.

I have also been terribly behind on my Project 365. I've been taking photos like a maniac, especially since getting an iPhone, but I have been bad about posting them. So I'll take some time tonight and over the next few days to try to catch up here and over there.

Meanwhile, here's a precious photo of my boys from today.

Thanks to those of you who are still around. Hang in there...

out sick

Well Christmas has come and gone, although we do have one more family gathering. Sadly, I came down with the stomach flu the night of the 26th. Yesterday through facebook and text messages I found out that 8 other family members have it too.

Today is better and I'm recovering slowly, trying to rest my dehydrated self and replenish everything I lost yesterday. Now we're just praying that Ben doesn't get it (he's stayed home to take care of me + prevent sharing it at work the last two days) and we're especially hoping that our boys and the other babies in the family stay healthy.

Once I'm feeling better and caught up around the house I'll do my best to update on our Christmas festivities.

Christmas is coming!

I can't believe Christmas is just over 2 weeks away. I need to get on the shopping, making and baking quick! What's worse is that with the sickies hitting us again we haven't even decorated yet. Our tree has been up and without decor since Saturday. I'm hoping we can remedy that this evening and get some cute photos for our annual Christmas card in the process. However, nothing has been going as planned these days so we'll just have to wait and see what actually gets done tonight...

In Hindsight

For the past couple of months, and even more so in the last couple weeks, Malakai has been quite unruly. Many have been the victims of his screeching, crying, kicking, and hitting. I've often felt powerless and unsure of what to do; not only to squash the unsavory behavior but to meet his needs as well.

For the past few days he's been tugging at his ear and Sunday night at 2am he woke screaming. Yesterday he sounded congested and started to cough so we went to see Dr. B. Sure enough he has an ear infection...still, meaning that when he had double infections last month, one didn't fully heal.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

It's obvious that his behavior has been due to pain and frustration. Even when I clued into his ear bothering him, he couldn't really communicate what he felt. In fact, he'd been tugging at his right but it's his left that has the infection. I'm irritable when I'm sick, and I have the ability to communicate my needs. I'm sure I'd be just as difficult to be around if nobody understood me.

Dr. B gave us a prescription for a stronger antibiotic in hopes of finally getting rid of this nasty infection plaguing my little boy. Much to our surprise it cost $71...for the generic! The meds he was on last time were only $4. It also has some strange restrictions, like he can't take it within two hours of having milk. Kid LOVES milk, so that'll be interesting trying to time that out. I mean I only give him milk at meals, but he usually sips on it for a while. I see many "no milk" tantrums in my future.

Oh...and Desmond has thrush again. I'll take that over another ear infection, but still. Challenges, challenges, challenges.

Ear infections are the worst. I distinctly remember being little, maybe 4 or 5, and having a terrible ear infection. I was in so much pain that all I could do was cry because I just wanted my parents to take the discomfort away. My dad had even gone out and bought me a happy meal with one of those chicken nugget character toys in it (we NEVER could afford stuff like that) and I threw it at him. I don't know why I remember this so well,  but I think of it every time my kids are sick.

{keeping ourselves entertained}

I'm really hoping that my sweet Malakai will be feeling better and 100% healthy within the next week or two. I'm also fervently praying that his mood swings will tone down significantly once he gets to feeling better. 

Thankful on a Thursday: support system

After posting about our rough night with Desmond I received a good amount of feedback and support from other mamas. Thanks so much for the suggestions and commiseration.

Our pediatrician had us come back in yesterday to make sure there wasn't something more than colic to Desmond's fits. Thankfully his ear is looking better and he is showing signs of the sickness nearing it's end. She also told us that gas meds like Mylicon are not really helpful, but that there's more research to back up the effectiveness of gripe water. So we went out and bought some last night. We gave him some and he only cried for about half an hour on and off. A HUGE improvement from the 3 hours straight in the evenings prior

This week I'm thankful for...

881. a support system of friends + acquaintances; online and in person.

882. a pediatrician we can trust and that we happen to adore.

883. Desmond napping through Malakai vomiting, taking a bath and needing me to sit with him til he fell asleep for nap this afternoon. No clue what's going on there...

884. the blogger app Ben added to my iPod, which is always by my side for Des' activity tracker. Please excuse future grammatical errors and such as I'm not the best at typing on it.

885. forgiveness.

886. reconciliation.

887. upcoming giveaways around here to treat my amazing readers with (coming soon!)

888. grace.

889. frozen meals: I've cooked maybe twice since Desmond was born between the pre-made meals and those brought fresh during the first couple weeks.

890. the power of prayer. (please pray for our friends' son Christian, he is 7 months old and in the hospital needing a miracle).

I've noticed a lot of you posting daily about what you're thankful for on facebook and twitter. It's so encouraging to see what others count as blessings.

our poor kiddos

Yesterday Kai got to coughing so hard that he threw up. It wasn't actually as bad as it sounds and he wasn't even phased by it at all. However, I decided to call Dr. B's office to see if we should come in. They wanted to take a listen to his lungs and of course just check him out so we went in this morning. Malakai's chest sounds perfect, but my sweet boy has a double ear infection. Only the 2nd time he has had an ear infection (his first one was at 18 months) and we had no clue. Dr. B said it looks like it just started, so that's probably why he hasn't been bothered much except when it's time to sleep.

While we were there she wanted to check out Desmond too (I knew she would, she's THAT awesome) and his lungs sound raspy, which isn't surprising since the kiddos has been snoring almost as much as his big brother. Sadly, he also has an ear infection. His first one at nearly 4 weeks old! Kai had a cold when he was this age, but it didn't get this bad. It happened quick and I was really surprised since I've never had a baby with an ear infection.

So starting today both of our boys are on antibiotics and on top of that Desmond and I have thrush from my having been on antibiotics for mastitis, which means we're both on meds for that too. The fun just never ends in the Pottorf household! So if you happen to think of us, please say a prayer for a quick recovery on all accounts.









P.S. Desmond now weighs 11lbs 7.5oz...that's over a pound per week since birth!!

Thankful on a Thursday

I realized a couple days ago that I missed posting my thankful list for the first time last week. I guess I have a good excuse, but I was a bit disappointed after the long streak I've had over the past couple years. I also realized how much of a positive spin it forces me to put on all the things going on in my life, last week was rough and I could have used a moment to reflect on what I had to be thankful for in the midst of all that was going wrong.

What's funny is I mostly forgot to post because I haven't really been keeping track of the days. I had to check twice to make sure today was in fact Thursday. This week I hadn't left the house since coming home from errands on Sunday evening until yesterday afternoon when we went for a quick walk to the park because it was slightly warm out. Kai was getting stir crazy which started to make life hard for the rest of us. I hadn't planned on keeping us in the house for so long, but with 3 of us sick it's been too cold to go outside (it agitates Kai's cough and gives me a headache) and we can't really visit anyone and expose them to whatever type of sickness we have going on.

So despite us being sick and stuck in the house, dealing with one stressful situation after another, I have plenty to be thankful for.

871. two sweet sons that besides a nasty cold, are healthy and happy.

{tummy time for two}

872. my patient and supportive husband. he's surely the glue of this family.

873. sleep. despite having a newborn and a snoring toddler, I've been getting some decent stretches of sleep, including a nap each afternoon!

874. time with my husband. in the evenings we occasionally get a little one on one time between Desmond's feedings.

875. technology. I have an app on my ipod that helps me keep track of feedings and such for Desmond and another that reminds me when to take my meds. Also, shout out to Ben getting his first ever iphone this week...he was almost as excited as the he was when he met our sons for the first time ;)

876. hearing Desmond find his voice- he was cooing during last night's bath and often lets out little squeals when he's wiggling on the floor.

877. watching Kai learn how to be gentle and play with his brother at the same time.

878. my mom + mother-in-law who are always willing to lend a hand with their grandsons.

879. our hospital bills being fully covered!

880. a God who forgives and provides me with strength and patience and joy for each new day.

Halloween at home

Sunday night we finally got around to bringing in our 3 teeny pumpkins from my garden. We decided to forgo the time and mess that carving would take since we'd end up doing all the work anyway. Instead we got out some crayons and let Kai color on his pumpkin. Daddy made one as well and I drew on one for Desmond. Malakai loved it and there was no mess to clean up!

Last year we got Kai all dressed up and took him to a Harvest Party with some friends. It was a lot of fun and we planned on doing the same thing this year, but Malakai ended up being sick. He'd been chewing on his fingers and drooling a bit so we thought he was just working on his molars. We thought the congestion and snoring were part of teething until he developed a cough yesterday morning. So we decided to avoid spreading his cold and stay in. What a bummer.

However, Malakai refuses to wear anything but his jammies these days. Getting him to wear jeans and a T-shirt ends in a wrestling match and lots of tears. So we knew getting him to wear a costume would be next to impossible. We were going to just let him wear his jammies to the Harvest party. I'm so glad we didn't spend any money on a costume since we stayed in. Ben + I decided to join him and wear our jammies too...

I was starting to envy all my friends' photos on facebook of cute little puppies, monsters, and ladybugs so I had to at least dress Desmond up. I put him in Kai's first Halloween outfit...

Not only did Kai not want to get dressed, he wouldn't even wear his shirt yesterday, at least he was wearing pants, albeit jammies, but pants just the same. Oh toddlers.

Desmond was back + forth between tolerating my photo session and getting a little cranky about the oversized fluff I had him wearing.

Despite Kai being sick we had a nice quiet evening at home, just the 4 of us. Sadly, the evening ended with Desmond having his first crying fit ever. He's been pretty easy to console (food, swaddle, clean diaper, snuggle,  or sleep) but last night he kept screaming. We assumed he had a tummy ache and did what we could to console him. He'd fall asleep for a short period and then wake up super mad again. He was also having a hard time eating. Around 5am we woke to his joining Malakai in a chorus of snores. His first cold. I woke with a sore throat and wonder if that what had been bugging him the night before. Ironically Malakai was also 3 weeks old when he had his first cold...and it was August!

Kai magically slept (and snored) right through all of baby brother's crying and woke up in a good mood. So here we are, 3 out of the 4 of us sick. I'm thankful Ben is feeling well since he doesn't have any sick leave at work. I'm praying hard that he stays healthy and that the little boys and myself get over this quick!