The girls had so much fun hanging out with Emily today! Anna Kate woke up this morning and came in my room and said, “I need Emily!” It’s so sweet that Noelle includes Anna Kate in all her play dates, so much so that Anna Kate considers them her friends as well. Noelle’s friends always include her and make her feel special! I just love that.
The Pond and Horton girls got together for a spaghetti dinner date!
Our sweet neighbor Lesleigh came along to have fun and help out with the girls. She rocks! I haven’t taken a picture of all three of our girls together in a while. Their little stair step is so cute!
Brylee and Anna Kate got to sit together at dinner, and they felt so big and were so proud! I love these sweet little friends!
So thankful for Mike today… he helps my world go round at just the right times and in just the right ways! Nothing special, just saw this set-up last night and captured the memory of what I was looking at when my heart was all filled up!
My mom, Rose Mary, better known around here as Rara, had a birthday today! We love you so much Rara and hope your day was filled with lots of fun and excitement. Can’t wait to celebrate you and Anna Kate this weekend!!!
As we were walking through a store a couple of weeks ago, Noelle saw this jewelry holder and others like it hanging up high on a rack as we were walking by. I didn’t even notice them. Noelle grabbed me, pulled me back so that I could see them and said, “Mom, these would make the coolest holder for all my Polly Pocket stuff. This way you can hang them in your closet so they will be safe from Anna Kate and Rose.” I studied it and it did made sense, but threw me off how she thought this idea up. I asked her if a friend had their Pollys done this way or how she thought of it, and she said, “It just looked like the perfect idea!” And sure enough it was. She organized everything that she owns in the “small doll world” and it all fit… and there is a back side full of pockets too so her collection can grow! I got all of these Pollys at the consignment sale in a huge bag for $10.00 I think. Crazy, I know! We did good! She’ll get a lot of good play out of them and Anna Kate and Rose after her! And now she has a perfect Polly pocket keeper! Cool Noelle! I like how you think!
Anna Kate’s dance studio recently had visitors’ day! Each child could have 2 visitors come due to space, but we didn’t think they would mind that Rose was tagging along too! Anna Kate LOVES dance and is having the time of her life. They debuted the dance recital piece… so cute and funny! Anna Kate did really good… when she was paying attention, that is. Her first recital will be fun and full of laughter for sure!
We had the most perfect rainy Saturday for a pj day to hang out and cuddle up at home! The girls crafted it up with me, and we had such a relaxing weekend getting everyone well. Rose is on the upswing, and we are looking forward to a great spring break!
Rose has stabilized! You don’t know how happy this smile makes me… this is the first time she’s smiled all week! Her temp has hovered around 100 today, but that’s a great improvement. It’s coming down slowly but surely.
She still has a lot left to break up in her chest, but she is breathing more easily. Starting tomorrow, we only have to do four treatments a day for seven days and then we will be good to go! One of the five of us has been sick around the clock since kindergarten started. I can’t think of a time when we have all been well at the same time. It’s been rough. I know the RSV came home from school too because Noelle had a lot of congestion and sinus pain the days preceding the little ones getting sick, and we’ve stayed close to home for the past couple of weeks due to the littles ear infections. Back in September, my doctor said that since I’ve been with the girls during the day for the past 5+ years, we are going to get exposed to everything for the first time and that this year will just be rough. However, I had no idea it would be week after week, month after month! I hope we are building up our immunities for the years to come, paying it forward so to speak.
Rose is starting to enjoy the nebulizer. I think it feels good to her to be able to take big deep breaths, and she knows what to expect, so there are no surprises. She’s let down her guard a little and knows that it won’t hurt her and that she is safe. After her doctor’s visit on Friday, she was very jumpy, and rightly so! She still gets restless, I think because it must make her feel claustrophobic, but she isn’t fighting us as much. Pinning her down during her treatments has been the worst part, that and hearing the word pneumonia come out of the doctor’s mouth on Friday! So thankful for the rain, for pjs and for rest! Rose is on the mend!
We spent the afternoon back at the doctor today. Her doctor told me at our appointment on Wednesday that if she still had a high fever on Friday, to call her back. When I told them that she awakened this morning with 102, they said they needed to see her. Her RSV has developed into pneumonia, but we caught it early.
They gave her two huge shots full of strong antibiotics and a breathing treatment that was pure torture for the both of us that lasted about 15 minutes. We had to get a machine for our house (fortunately we borrowed one from a good friend who owns one), breathing meds, and will start her on another round of oral antibiotics tomorrow. If she didn’t have a wet diaper before 8:00PM tonight, her doctor made me promise I would take her to the ER for IV fluids. I used a syringe to force her to drink tonight. It was awful, but I held her back and basically squirted it into her mouth so that she would have no choice but to swallow it. That is the only way that she would drink. She was so sick she wouldn’t accept any liquids whatsoever, not even juice.
Right before 8:00PM tonight, she had a wet diaper! At 9:00PM, we gave her her first breathing treatment at home. I made Mike do it because I didn’t have it in me to pin her down again. I left them upstairs. The big girls were so alarmed. They were so concerned for baby Rose! I thought Noelle was about to go rip her out of Mike’s arms. The machine is so loud, the mask that Rose has to wear on her face looks scary and blows out mist, and to top it all off, Rose was screaming her little heart out. Noelle and Anna Kate started gathering presents (their toys) from around the house for Rose to play with when she finished her treatment. It’s been a lot, but we are okay.
So thankful to be alert and on the ball and have such an amazing and understanding pediatrician. She really went above and beyond for us to not have to go to the ER today. It’s such a blessing for me to be with the girls full time and be in tune to their needs. I love taking care of them! It gives me so much joy, and they are my treasures, my crown jewels in life! I would do anything for them, and it is an honor to protect and take care of them. Truly, it brings tears to my eyes to have the privilege to meet their needs. Our next breathing treatment is at 1:00AM. It’ll be a long night again, but we’ll make it. After that, her next treatment will be at 5:00AM. It’s different than breast feeding, because you are waking up to feed in the night, but you are still half asleep because it is relaxing for mom and baby. This situation will wake all of us up to the extreme! I dread it. I feel so badly for kids with asthma and their parents that have this as a lifestyle. So sad to me, and I’m sorry to those of you out there that know about all of this too well.
I don’t think I’ve processed today. I’m still in go mode. Mike is at the store loading up on juices and fruits (yes, at midnight… it’s been a week, I tell you). Mike and I are really okay. I’m weak and tired physically but have a strong constitution.
I don’t know if you can see it, but Rose is smirking in this picture. She thought she was big stuff to lay on all the sofa pillows the girls laid out for her. She was so proud! This picture was taken right after the celebration of her wet diaper and no ER visit tonight. It seemed like she perked up a little after dinner (Mike made bacon and french toast). We think the huge doses of antibiotics via shots are starting to kick in. She went to bed with 100 fever, which is down quite a bit, so that’s good. She is comfortably sleeping right now. Ugh, about to wake my baby for her next breathing treatment… hopefully we’re over the hump and will just keep seeing more and more improvement and a little spunk back in our baby throughout the weekend. I have a feeling the hard part is behind us. And moms have intuition about that sort of thing!
