Croup

 Welcome back Croup!  Not really.  It scared us bad enough almost 2 years ago when Bree had it that I never wanted to see it again.  Well, Bree's body had other ideas.  Friday she and I spent all day at the school watching the kids participate in their fun run (pictures at the end) and I knew she wasn't feeling well but I thought it was just a cold.  We had a great time watching the kids run and then that evening Paul and I went to Portland to see the Pet Shop Boys in concert.  Awesome!  When we got home and checked on the kids we didn't like the sound of Bree's breathing because it was loud both in and out and she was struggling a bit.  We turned on the humidifier and I told Paul to check on her again before he went to bed and he ended up waking me up an hour later telling me he thought she needed to go to the hospital.  Here we go again.  We went to the ER in Longview and they immediately saw her and put her on a cool mist to breathe.  Well that didn't do much and as I was holding her I could feel her whole body straining with each breatheso I rang the nurse and told her to try something else.  She got a steroid shot and breathed in some more medicine and it seemed like it was working for about 10 minutes but then she started struggling again.  They gave her another dose of the the mist medicine but the respiratory guy didn't like the looks of her ribs as she was struggling so he pulled the doctor in who didn't like the looks of her ribs as she was struggling so he wanted her admitted.  I guess Longview doesn't admit pediatric patients (?) so they sent her to Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver because it was closest they said.  She made lots of friends in Longview and they gave her a little green teddy bear and a handmade kid's quilt. We got to ride in the back of an ambulance and Bree was so hopped up on steroids that she wouldn't sleep and she kept watching the cars behind us.  We were finally admitted in Vancouver around 5am and by this time she was doing much better.  I think all the drugs finally kicked in and were doing their job.  We stayed in the hospital until 4pm when they discharged her.  We had plans to go to the pumpkin patch on Saturday with some family but Paul and the kids cancelled that and came to visit for awhile and then spent some time with Paul's sister Carmen's family, where Mason was able to convince her that he needed pumpkin pie.  She made us two!  So I guess the day wasn't a total loss for the kids.  Thankfully we took Bree home and she had a pretty good night that night.  Her breathing was still a bit labored but not to the scary extent it was Friday night.  She is improving and getting her voice back too.  Croup swells up the vocal cords so she could barely whisper for a few days.  She was excited to get her voice back yesterday.  I guess some kids are more vulnerable to croup than others and it looks like Bree is one of those.  We will definitely keep an eye on her in the future.

Here's my sweetheart with her breathing mask.  It didn't work very well because it was too big and the cold air went directly into her eyes so she ripped it off.

She did like her pink toe!  The oxygen monitor was stuck to her toe and it glowed pink, Bree's favortie color.

Feeling well enough for some toast.  She posed for this picture so I knew she was feeling better finally.

 The fun run pictures.  Darcy did awesome!  I was impressed watching her.  She went for it and rarely stopped to walk.  I'm pretty sure she would have rather passed out than wussed out by walking.

 Drew was great again.  She kept a steady pace and ran most of it too, unlike lots of kids who take off like a rocket and then have nothing left half a lap later.  I watched 3 different runs and it seemed the older the kids got the slower they ran and there were many more walkers than with the younger groups.  Maybe we hit our peak at 5?

Mason did a good job too.  I'm hoping in the future my kids all use their running potential and take cross country or track so they will have a love for it and be runners for life.  All three of them are pretty good at it.  They sure don't get it from me!

Back to School

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year!  This year Drew started 4th grade, Mason is in 2nd, and my little Darcy started kindergarten!  The month between returning home from our trip until school started was kind of tough to adjust to.  There wasn't a routine to go back to since we left before school got out, so it felt like we were just kind of hanging out and waiting for school to start so we could have our new normal.  Drew and Mason started out well.  No surprise there.  Drew was a bit miffed in the beginning because the math was so easy but after I attended the parent's curriculum night I think Drew will be in for an exciting, challenging year full of growth.  I love the new vistas opening up to her as she gets older.  No more ABC's and adding and subtracting.  I'm excited to watch her learn this year.  Mason is doing great like always.  He doesn't get down or complain about much.  He's pretty easy going.  He had a kid throw a chair in class early in the year and totally forgot all about the brew-ha-ha it caused in his class till I asked him about it after reading the note sent home to parents.  He just goes about his business and I love that about him.  Its also exciting to watch him learn.  He is a great reader and I LOVE catching him reading a book at home instead of computer games or watching tv.  I love that he loves to read.  Drew too, she just finished the Hobbit and is now reading the Little House on the Prairie series.  I love having conversations with my kids about books and ideas.  Too much fun!

Darcy's first day was OK I think.  I cried pretty much the whole way home after I dropped her off.  My anxiety over her anxiety was out in force that day.  Her anxiety had been working up to the first day of school and I knew it wasn't going to be easy.  She was having trouble letting me go running again in the evenings and she stuck by my side like glue for weeks.  She probably went the first 3 weeks with tears in her eyes as we parted from each other but she is good to go now.  As long as we give lots of kisses and hugs and I love you's at the drop off.  She is doing great in her school work too.  Every day she tries to be the Superstar, where she gets 2 skittles at the end of the day instead of one for being so well behaved and on task.  And the little sweetheart always shares her skittles with me.  Even on a day where she isn't a Superstar we will take turns eating the one skittle she gets.  Its all warm and sticky from being held in her germy little hand, but I never refuse.  She is so kind hearted, I don't want to upset her.  She is getting the routine down and I think she is going so excel at this school business.  She just has to convince herself its OK to do it without mommy constantly by her side.  She is reading the Bob Books at home and is in the stage where she and I have to sound out just about everything and I have to spell everything to her.  Kind of an annoying stage I'll admit as a parent but I know its a short one and it leads to reading! I'm very proud of Darcy and her strength once again.

Bree got a princess backpack this year and for days wore it waiting for her first day of school.  Sorry sweetheart, I'm not ready to give you up yet.  She's only 3 so she has to wait another year till I will put her in preschool.  She wants nothing more than to be big like her siblings, but she also likes a warm, extended snuggle with mom.   I'll hold on to that for as long as I can!