Irish Lassie

Some days seem to bloom into a beautiful blossom after the rain stops. That was my day yesterday, I will skip the rain part and move right to the beautiful blossom.

We decided it was a wonderful night for a walk- the girls and I- so off we went. We saw joggers, bikers, kids playing with their friends in their yards, and beautiful spring scenery (we live close to bike paths and a wild life refuge). The trees were gorgeous and hearing the wonderful sounds of nature was amazing. The kids were truly soaking it all up.

We then saw the most wonderful thing…we were walking on the path surrounded by birch, maple, and ash trees on one side and a huge pasture on the other and in the near distance we saw what looked like deer walking and eating the brush. In all we saw 13-14 deer walking in the pasture, eating and interacting with each other. It was such a peaceful scene and filled my heart with so much warmth. The kids wanted to sit and watch so we did for about 30 minutes or so, it seemed for most of the time the deer were watching us as much as we were watching them. It was a wonderful experience to have with the girls.

We make efforts to spend special one-on-one time with each child, in an effort to encourage individuality and their own personalities. This effort was made easier last week when each of our children took turns running fevers and suffering from similar, but different ailments throughout the week.

As I reflect back on last week and this weekend, 1 thing sticks out…

When we were spending one-on-one time with Kylie, she would ask, “Where’s Kelkie?” And similarly when with Kelsey, she asked, “Where’s Kawlie?” Kelsey actually asked during Kylie’s naptime on Saturday, “Can we wake Kawlie up so she can play with me.” I said, “What am I, chop liver?”

That is when I started to realize that they actually enjoy spending time together. So, in this temporary moment of enjoying my children’s health, I am also enjoying the moment’s of love exchanged between the two of them when the other is absent.

It is so true that absent makes the sisterly heart grow fonder.

Top 10 Surviving Parenthood Techniques

1. Always remember- children are a gift (even when they are screaming at 4am)

2. Follow your gut, question your assumptions.

3. Leave potty training to the wolves, or the toddlers.

4. Expect the unexpected.

5. Appreciate their quirks, humor and laughter.

6. Live hard and rest hard.

7. Schedule breaks and massages into your day.

8. When the going gets tough, make a mixed drink.

9. Live near people you trust who can watch your kids, so you can get a break…

10. At the first sign of fever…run…fast!

Kylie has refused to take her new medication, I tried nearly everything, mixed in juice, Mary Popin’s and her “spoon full of sugar”, water/juice chaser, and nothing seemed to do the trick. Kylie is becoming very savvy to the taste of antibiotics and seems to believe they are no good.

I called the doctor to see if they could just put us out of our misery and hers and supply Kylie with a shot in the butt to take care of the strep. They said we would have to give it a few more doses before going to that extreme.

That is when I remembered a “trick” used in the nursing home to get the Alzheimers residents to take their meds…hide the med in applesauce. I believe they crushed the pills, but I thought this might work for Kylie.

So this afternoon Shane mixed a delicious dessert for Kylie; strawberry applesauce ala whipping cream. My little sweetie was so excited about her new treat she called me at work (actually I think Shane was so excited that he called), but nonetheless we are onto something for a couple of doses at least.

Surprise!

We spent yet another weekend day in urgent care. I almost laugh because it is turning into a predictable weekend scenerio for us…wakeup, sunday school, fever, urgent care, home, throwing up and refusing medication, everyone sleeping, wakeup, dinner, and by 7pm bedtime.

I have little trust in urgent care docs, and I have even less trust in the urgent care offices that culture the germs and sicknesses of every person that goes through them daily. So it surprised me this morning during Sunday School when Kylie started shivering uncontrollably and then crying that my first reaction was to go to urgent care, but she finished her last dose of antibiotics on Friday for the UTI, so I did not expect another fever for at least one month or so (I say this with a great amount of cynicism). My gut reaction was that the UTI was not gone all the way, because she has not been coughing and there were no other symptoms then the fever. The doc did not want to do another urinalysis, you might ask why? Apparently Kylie had quite a red throat, unbeknownst to us…who would have thought UTI, now strep.

It all goes back to my distrust for the clinic germs, and strep is so contagious, damn clinic.

So now we have a new diagnosis, new antibiotic, but the same kid who hates the medication.

Yesterday I was looking on the website to buy a new house. I think I am sick of my current new house and am ready to move on to something better … and finished … and close to young kids to play with my kids.

We have lived in our current house for 1 year and while it is just fine and big enough for us, the basement needs to be finshed, a deck needs to be built, our fire place needs to be finished and I still have to paint several rooms to make it OUR own.

It just feels like a lot of work amongst sick kids and busy work stuff.

All I got for Easter was an achy back (from driving and a poor mattress) and Teddy got a crooked leg.

We went to the in-laws to try to withstand the normality of country living in ND. This is a place where EVERYONE knows EVERYONE elses business. For that very reason, I stick out like a sore thumb. I can’t stand it when everyone knows my business (which is ironically why I blog?). So when my she-law starts asking questions, my answers turn into yes/ no’s until finally I change the subject. The reason for my rudeness is because I can see my innocent conversation about the children’s potty training turn into her suggesting the newest techniques and ultimately Kylie’s potty training habits being published in the local newspaper (on the front page no less, although it has never happened, but it might as well).

Teddy’s crooked front leg seemed to occur following an extreme puppy play date with my brother-in-law’s new 10 month old puppy. They had a blast, but Teddy’s poor 15 month old limbs seemed to have bent under the pressure and his pasture now looks crooked on his left foreleg, poor puppy. He is not limping or anything so maybe it will heal on its own with his normal lifestyle of rest and mild walks. I upped his dose of glucosamine/chondroiten, but I think it is more of a ligament thing.

One more holiday with the she-law survived.

My four year old, Kelsey, proudly exclaimed during her bath last night that not all families are like ours.

She said, “Some families have just one mom, others have just one dad, some have two moms or two dads, and some have two grandmas or two grandpas.”

I said, “You are so right!”

It is amazing what the combination of innocense and knowledge does to a kid!

I really hate the doctor’s office.

I also really hate the feeling of longing that something is actually diagnosibly wrong when a doctor’s visit seems necessary.
Most of all I hate the satisfaction that comes with the doctor coming back after tests were taken with the news that “Yes, something is wrong.” They might as well be telling me, “Don’t worry, your not crazy, your worries are validated, because your child is really sick.”

To me the word “virus” is an evil word, one to be shunned. I would prefer the doctor tell me, “No, the fever is really nothing, in fact a fever of 104.7 is quite normal for your 2 1/2 year old.” Then, of course, I would KNOW they were crazy and it was not just me. As we all know there is nothing to be done with a virus, which was Kylie’s first diagnosis on Sunday.

However, after six days of fevers ranging from 104.7-102.2, we really were starting to believe that 102.2 might be Kylie’s new temperature. If it weren’t for her listlessness and a great deal of crabbyness, this river of denial might have kept us from the clinic this afternoon. But, when the Mommy instinct kicks into fifth gear, everyone better stand aside to watch because “the hell with them, if I wasn’t going to get a diagnosis, even if Kylie turned into a toddler pin cushion and had tubes shoved up her tiny crevices (sorry Kylie).”

So the diagnosis is a UTI, with treatment including 10 days of antibiotics, and a bladder scan in two weeks. I am relieved that we will soon get our once strong-willed, sensitive, and sweet little peanut back.