Merry Christmas!

Anyone been sent to genetics?

What can we expect?  I've googled (honestly, I google everything...) but sometimes you just like to hear first person accounts :p  Tell me your story, link me to your posts, whatever you feel up to--I would appreciate it!

Neurology

You know, I'm not even sure if I posted about this a couple months back but Izzy was referred to neurology shortly after she turned two and it was about a two month wait to get in to see someone. But not too long ago, our appointment time was here and off we went to meet the neurologist who will be following her :)

The original referral was mostly due to her speech regression (that followed the same pattern as the boys) and the toe-walking but also a little bit about the frequent walking into things, falling, missing the chair and hitting the ground, etc. 

The neuro doc was really nice and great with her but she would not even acknowledge him, little imp.  She wouldn't look at him, ignored him, and yet she was cooperative when he checked her over.  She did, however, make a big deal out of the female student who was shadowing him--Iz ran to her and gave hugs and played peek a boo with her and generally let it be known that she liked the lady but wanted nothing to do with the man :p

He didn't really see anything of too much concern during her evaluation, although there were a few things she just would not comply with.  But because of her medical history and the family history, he is considering doing an MRI just to have a look at things.  However, that means sedation and so he wants to hold off a bit on that--he gave her a referral to be evaluated for speech therapy and wrote an order for 2-3 times a week if the therapist believes she needs it.  We have a followup appointment with neuro in a few months to see if she has made any improvements.  If she is improving, he probably won't do the MRI but if he thinks she hasn't improved enough or isn't improving, he'll order the MRI.  So fingers crossed that we have improvements because sedation makes me nervous ;)

Oh, and he brought up having her tested for fragile x and possibly having the boys tested as well because of the family history--one of his first thoughts was that this all may be genetic.  I told him her ped had already ordered the test and we are just waiting on results.  S has a ped appointment coming up as well and we should be getting the order to get his test started as well.

Cora Saves Lives

Izzy and I wore our pink today but we never did get a good picture because poor Iz has a wretched cold and I will spare you the leaky nose pics.

But she had on her pink hearts and I had bright pink in honor of a beautiful little girl named Cora who was born four years ago today. A simple, non-invasive, and inexpensive test called a pulse ox would have picked up Cora's critical congenital heart defect and given her a chance at life. Instead, in just five short days, Cora's mum will be facing the fourth anniversary of the death of her sweet girl.

But Cora's mum has devoted herself to making sure Cora's Story is never forgotten and has been instrumental in getting pulse ox screening added in many states as part of the standard newborn screening panel. There are many moms and dads and advocates out there fighting to bring pulse ox to all states but today, I wish to say thank you to Kristine for sharing her beautiful girl with us and making sure other babies get the chance Cora didn't.

If your state hasn't passed a law to add pulse ox screening to newborn screening, write your representatives and ask them to support it. If you know someone who is pregnant, tell them about pulse ox. If you are pregnant, make sure your baby gets a pulse ox after birth. Congenital Heart Defects affect 1 in 100. While a pulse ox does not pick up all heart defects, it does catch many of the most critical and can ensure a baby gets much needed intervention soon after birth.

‪#‎CoraSavesLives‬

Cora's Story 

Today was just peachy

My oldest is off school all week for Thanksgiving break and my middle child doesn't get on the bus until a bit after 11am so today was a chance to sleep in just a little bit.  Everyone stayed up a little later so they would sleep later and it worked!  Almost.  Iz's internal clock is precise and so she was up at the usual time :p  She did, however, agree to lay and cuddle for a bit so while I was awake, at least I wasn't up up.

B's bus was a bit later than normal so we were running behind schedule but not too badly--we would still have plenty of time to drop off Iz and make S's appointment.  We take Iz to PawPaw's house, get her settled in and off we went!  S was both excited and nervous--he worried that the EEG was going to read his mind and he wasn't sure he wanted them to know what he was thinking :p

And then, as we are driving along, BANG.  Out goes our tire :\  We wait nearly an hour for roadside assistance (I cannot get the lug nuts off a tire to change it.  The tow truck driver had trouble getting them off as well and even commented on how tight they were.  No way would I have been able to get them off).  I call up the lab and they say no one is scheduled after S so if we don't mind going in late, they don't mind.  So we get there 40 minutes late, it takes forever to get S hooked up to all the leads and stuff for the EEG......and the equipment isn't working properly.  The two guys in the lab are doing everything they can think of to get stuff working but it just isn't happening.  So the EEG hasn't been done and poor S never got to see his brain waves on the screen.  If they can get the equipment up and running, they will call to reschedule so maybe S will still get to see it :p

In which I vent a bit.....feel free to skip :p

This path we are on, trying to get our kids set up with doctors, and services, and therapies, and such that will help them, can be so very frustrating.  Dealing with red tape, insurance companies, scheduling, normal everyday stuff on top of it, people with egos, people with ulterior motives, people who are busy, people who think they and only they are right, the crazy busyness of the schedule we have right now.  I often hear "I don't know how you do it.  No, really, I can't believe you can handle all this" and yet I also hear how I don't do enough.  Right now, S's special ed teacher is giving me a rough time, claiming that I am not reinforcing her teaching at home and its so important that I do.  And yet I do--I work with him nearly every day, despite the fact that he hates it, that he feels the stuff she sends home for reading is too "babyish".  He tells me she doesn't use this stuff at school so we don't need to at home, he tells her we don't do it at home.  I don't let him get away with it and remind him she wouldn't send them home if they weren't still using it so we will do it anyway.  She was totally played by him and ate it up and I get the condescending email accusing me of not doing enough.  UGH.  I waited several days to reply because my initial reaction may have made her cry and while she rose to the number one spot on my List of People I Dislike, who knows how long she will be S's special ed teacher.  He could be working with her for years so I should try to maintain some peace and need to think through how to respond. 

Research Study

S was invited to participate in a research study at a university not too far away and he is so excited about it :)  He has completed the first part--a four hour evaluation with one of the psychologists--and Monday he goes in for an EEG.  He is really hoping they let him see part of it when it is all done so he can see what his brain wave patterns look like :p 

When I first asked him if he wanted to participate, he was adamant that yes, of course he wanted to do it because it would help the researchers understand kids like him and maybe they could come up with better ways to help kids.  Then he found out he would also be compensated for it and he saw Legos dancing in his head ;)  I am pleased with the fact that we get a thorough workup and already the psychologist he saw has given us some information to work with and take back to his pediatrician that we haven't gotten through insurance channels!

The Goonies and Adventures in Babysitting save the Day

I had the strangest dream last night.

I was with a group of people, the Goonies and the Adventures in Babysitting family.  I was a Goonie and the group was a mixture of the actors and people from my life, some of us adults (like me), some children.  We were in a skyscraper and up on the 300th floor when we discovered that a group of assassin ninjas had infiltrated the building.  Their goal?  To kill Gordon Ramsay, who was hosting Masterchef down on the first floor of the building.  This was also the night he was announcing his retirement so he could become the mayor of New York and the assassin ninjas were trying to get to him before he made the announcement.

So the Goonies and Adventures in Babysitting set out on a mission to stop the assassin ninjas in a fast-paced adventure filled with antics befitting Home Alone and the Three Stooges.  Around the 150th floor, we found a little girl in desperate need of Open Heart Surgery so the Adventures in Babysitting crew continued on the mission to Save Gordon and the Goonies headed back for the roof to steal the Ninjas helicopter so we could lifeflight the little girl to Boston Children's Hospital for her surgery.  Since I flew a helicopter in a video game once, it was my job to get us there (hello, Chuck, didn't we just see this in an episode over the weekend?).

It was so very odd.......

Btw, I woke up before I found out if we had saved the little girl or Gordon.  I'm choosing to believe dream us could overcome highly trained assassin ninjas and save the day ;)

Cheeseburger Soup

Someone passed along a recipe for cheeseburger soup and we tried it and it was 'okay'.  S assured me that I could make it better so we should try again ;)  My version of it is a hit with the kids but instead of shuffling around in my recipe box to make sure I don't forget anything, I figured I'd post it.  My recipe box is a mess so it is much easier for me to find a post :p

2 Large carrots, grated
3 stalks celery, diced
1 small red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon butter

Melt butter in soup pot, pour in veggies and herbs and cook until veggies are tender.



Next, add in:

3 cups beef broth (or chicken or veggie, if you prefer, but the flavor of the soup will be milder)
1 pound of fully cooked beef (my kids absolutely LOVE it if I use meatballs, preferably mini-meatballs.  If they are flavored with Italian seasonings and garlic, they love it even more.  If I have any on hand, I do; otherwise, I just cook up some ground beef into crumbles with a little garlic, onion, cumin, salt & pepper).
3 large potatoes, cubed into bite size chunks

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about twenty minutes (depending on how big your potato chunks are).

While you are simmering the soup, its time to prepare your cheese sauce :)  I have no pictures of this portion because if I stop to take a picture, I will burn it and no one wants that ;)  It isn't hard to make, it just is time sensitive so I suggest you measure everything out and have it ready to go.  This sauce is also excellent in homemade mac & cheese or on top of steamed veggies (if I slather cheese sauce on california blend veggies, my kids will actually eat them :p).

I usually use a small skillet instead of a saucepan--I find I get better results with the larger surface area of a skillet. 

cheese almost melted!

 

Warm the skillet up, just enough that a drop of water sizzles but not so hot you would burn yourself if you touch it.  I usually use a low-med size flame on my stove.  Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the pan--the butter should get bubbly and remain a light yellow color.  Stir in 3 tablespoons of flower and keep stirring.  The flour/butter mixture should get smooth and bubbly.  You want to keep stirring for a few minutes to let the flour and butter cook together.  Stir stir stir to keep it a smooth consistency--when the bubbles start to disappear and its mostly a smooth paste, stir in a cup and a half of milk.  Keep stirring!  As the milk heats up and you mix in the roux, it will turn a golden color and begin to thicken.  If you aren't stirring as this happens, you might end up with chunks.  When it thickens enough that it is the consistency of watery gravy (sorry, that's the best descriptor I can think of), add in two cups of shredded cheese and stir until melted and smooth.  If you want the sauce to have an extra creamy consistency, replace some of the shredded cheese with cream cheese--takes a little longer to melt in but worth it if you like the creamier texture.  It is also a good substitution if you realize you don't have enough shredded cheese ;)

By this time, the potatoes should be cooked.  I usually add in about of cup of sweet corn here--the kids love it.  I think it reminds them of corn on the cob as their favorite side dish to a cheeseburger in the summertime :) 





Now pour your cheese sauce in and stir it up.  I continue to simmer for a bit just to meld the flavors together.  Salt and pepper to taste (we usually don't need any but it mostly depends on how flavorful the beef is) and you are ready to eat :)  My kids normally eat two to three bowls apiece so I am lucky if I get leftovers for lunch the next day!

Delicious bowl of soup!

Parmesan and herb crusted chicken

The kids want me to do this with colby jack cheese next time :p  I rather like the parmesan so I may have to do two kinds so we all get what we want.  

We took some grated Parmesan and mixed it up with some dried basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary.  I sliced boneless skinless chicken breast into tenders and we rolled it around in the cheese and herbs and baked in the oven at 350 for about half an hour.  S is VERY excited about this because it is so simple and easy that he can do it by himself :)  We took whatever cheese and herbs was left in our bowl and pressed it into the tops of the chicken for a little extra "crust"

When it came out of the oven, all the juices and cheese made what S calls a "cheese gravy" in the pan and he declared that to be the best part:

 

We plated some up and took another picture because S declared the "gravy" picture doesn't show how there are also crispy edges and those were the second best part:

I think the very best part of S's love for Masterchef is that he has gotten much less picky when it comes to trying new things.  This recipe is so simple--just cheese and herbs--but a year ago he would have refused to try it.  Now, he helps to make it, eats all of it, and devotes attention to the ways we can make it better next time. 

Crockpot apple crumble

I love my crockpot :)  With all of our appointments and school drop-offs and pickups and playgroups and therapy and whatever else, we spend a lot of time out and about.  It is really nice to toss something in and come home to a ready to eat meal, side, or dessert :)  Yesterday I decided I really needed to use up the rest of the apples from the orchard--they were starting to get a bit wrinkly.  Still good, just not as crisp and fresh as they were when we picked them :p  Perfect for cooking!

S helped me prepare this--he loves to help cook (he is hoping to become a good enough cook to tryout and get on Masterchef.  He really wants to meet Gordon Ramsay).

First, we sprayed the inside of our crock with a bit of olive oil.  We peeled and sliced a couple of pounds of apples (we have a big crockpot so we made a big batch).  We have one of those slicer-thingies that cores and slices the apples at the same time so it made things go a lot faster--peel, press our thingie through the apple, toss slices in crock.

Next step was to add in a half cup of sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon (this is very light on the cinnamon--I am very sensitive to it and if there is too much, I get ill.  A touch of cinnamon gives the flavor without bothering me.  I think normal people would probably use a tablespoon or two of cinnamon?), and a half teaspoon of nutmeg.  We mixed it all together and then prepared our crumble topping.  

One and a quarter cup of oat flour, one cup of whole oats, a cup of brown sugar, and about three fourths a cup of chopped nuts (we used walnuts).  Mix it up and spread evenly across the top of the apples.  Slice up a stick of butter and place pats in crumble topping.  Put on the top and cook for three and a half hours on high.  After three and a half hours, take the lid off but let it continue cooking until the topping gets to the crispness you like (we went about another half hour for ours).

This was a huge hit and S wants to know if we can go apple picking again right away so we can make more LOL

Crockpot Roast with Onion Gravy

One of my favorite meals to make is a roast in the crockpot because it is simple and quick and I can throw it together in under ten minutes and then let it cook all day until it is fall-apart tender.  I have been tweaking my seasoning mix for a while now and I have landed on one that is the current favorite :)  I'm sure eventually I'll start tinkering with it again because its what I do but for now, this is the one we are sticking with!

I usually spray the inside of my crock with some olive oil--makes it much easier to clean at the end :)  I slice up a large red onion (could by any kind, really, but I prefer red and I usually have them on hand)

Next up comes some potatoes--the kids' favorites are baby red and golden potatoes and if they are on sale, I'll pick them up and make sure I plan a roast on the menu so the kids can have their favorite :)  They are small so I can just wash and wedge :)

Iz's favorite part of crock pot roast is carrots but only if I am using those little baby carrots (which aren't really baby carrots).  If I am slicing up regular carrots, she pushes them all to the side of her plate.  She will, however, eat a regular carrot raw but the boys will only eat the baby carrots raw.  Odd ones, they are ;-)  On this particular day, the giant back of baby carrots had been on sale and was half the price per ounce of regular carrots so Iz lucked out and I put extra carrots in for her :)  If we have things like sweet potato or winter squashes on hand, we will throw some in as well.

Next up comes the seasoning mix.  About 1/2 tablespoon of beef paste (I'm not a big fan of the bouillon cubes for broth because they always seem to have some rather odd ingredients.  Many of the pastes do as well but I'm a big label reader and found one that I'm ok with so that's what we go with).  2 tablespoons corn starch (or whatever your preferred thickener is), 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional--the change in flavor is subtle and we put it in about half the time because we like it either way), 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon black pepper.  Mix with one cup of water and pour over veg in crock.  

Next, lay your roast on top, fattiest side up (will help keep your meat moist and tender) and sprinkle it with a light dusting of powdered onion, garlic, cumin, thyme, black pepper, salt, and cardamom (optional).  Basically whatever flavors you put in the gravy mix, put on top of your roast :)  Put the lid on, turn it on low, and wait about 8 hours :)

(PS, these last two pictures are from two different occasions.  S couldn't decide which one was better and wanted me to include both :p  And of course, we have craft supplies sitting on the table in one picture and the laptop in another!)

Thanks, Universe

My front windshield really needed the decoration :/

I wasn't even near any trucks :-|

So I FINALLY find a place that both takes our insurance AND does autism evaluations and diagnoses.  There is a TWO YEAR waitlist.

*head desk*

*sigh*

And so I keep looking......

No nap!

Izzy is at that age where she is starting to transition out of naps.  Most days she is still taking at least one but she does have those days where she just isn't tired enough to fall asleep.  And other days, she is tired enough but just won't admit it :p  Usually when she is tired enough to nap, she will come and ask me to go "nigh-nigh" so I will go and put her to bed.  Sometimes, I notice she needs a nap and I will ask her if she is ready for her nap--probably seventy-five percent of the time she will tell me yes and off we go.  Yesterday was part of the twenty-five percent--she was adamant:  NO NAP.  I told her she at least needed "quiet time" so she settled down in her chair and I turned on Caillou (please please please Netflix, get more seasons on instant play.  It is her preferred quiet time show and I am so tired of the same episodes......).

A short time later, I peek in on her and she has moved from her chair to the sofa and was sound asleep.  So much for no nap, eh? 

BTW, despite the fact that she was asleep, I didn't turn off Caillou and continued to listen to it as I finished up some laundry.  WHY?!?!?!  I had the chance to stop and instead let it keep going.  Its like that e-card going around where you find yourself still watching the kiddie channel half an hour after they went to bed :\  Does it just become habit to have annoying kids shows in the background so you don't even really notice enough to turn them off?  :p

My Fluffy Furball

When Iz was born, my kitty was no longer my kitty--he became completely devoted to her and since the moment she came home, he was her kitty.  But every once in a while, he remembers I am around, too, and gives me a little love :)  The other day I was sitting at the kitchen table working and he came and hung out on the counter that sits behind the kitchen nook bench.  He is a very VOCAL kitty and sat and talked to me for a bit.  And what visit would be complete without him getting closer to see what I am doing?  He has always been nosy and I'm betting if I hadn't been at the table (where he is not allowed) he would have just climbed on top of what I had out to get the best look LOL

Hard to believe he turned eleven this year.  He was the tiniest little bit of fluff when I got him and now he's a big ole bit of fluff LOL  He looks huge but most of it is that fur.  He is still surprisingly lean and trim considering his age.  Must be all of that patrolling he does :p

The Old Man is Snoring.....

Wet and soggy here today so no apple picking :( 

My head keeps singing about that old man snoring :p  And now I am tempted to start googling the origins of that song because I'm curious what the connection is between rain and an old man bumping his head, going to bed, and snoring LOL  My current theory is that when he bumped his head, he passed out (conveniently landing on his bed so that it appears he simply "went to bed"), and so could not turn off his faucet and since he lives up in the clouds, we get rain from his flooded en suite bathroom sink (I have lived in several places now where the sink itself is in the actual bedroom instead of in the bathroom.  It still seems strange to me)

Rain Rain, go AWAY

I have some disappointed little people in my house tonight.  This weekend is supposed to be the weekend of an annual festival in a town not too far from where we live.  We never made it last year but my Mom and I were going to take them this year and then go out to the orchard afterward and do some apple picking.  And, OF COURSE, the forecast for tomorrow is rain, rain, and more rain.  S has not giving up hope yet and he fully expects to wake tomorrow and be able to tell all of us "I told you so!" because he is convinced the weather predictions are wrong and tomorrow will be awesome. 

I hope he's right :p

Make it again!!

The other night, we needed something quick and easy to eat after we got home from yet another appointment for the kids.  We were a bit tired of just sandwiches, so we tried a twist on a sandwich :p  We made hot sandwich pinwheels :)

Lay out a rectangle of dough (could be homemade biscuit dough, store bought stuff, crescent rolls, whatever floats your boat ;) ), sprinkle with seasoning (we went for a dried Italian herb blend), layer on black forest ham and cheese (we did Swiss for half and mild cheddar for the other.  The boys normally don't like Swiss but they loved it in these hot sandwiches with the seasoning).  Roll, slice, put in pan, bake :)  I put mine too close together in the pan so they too longer than they should have to cook but the kids all declared it was well worth the wait and we NEED to have this again.  We had some leftovers that we ate cold the next day for lunch--they weren't quite as good as hot but the kidlets said we should always make leftovers to eat the next day cold LOL  Can you tell they liked this one? 

A little light reading before bed: 

And she's OUT! 

Tomorrowday

Yesterday when I picked B up from preschool, he felt a little warm and they told me he had started to complain his throat hurt and he wanted to lay down.  His temp wasn't too high, 100.8, but it was enough that he wasn't feeling great and meant he got a day off preschool today.  He went to PawPaw's house as usual this morning so I could go to class and on the way home I let him know he would spend the afternoon at home with me instead of at preschool.

"Otay, momma.  I want stay home.  I go tomorrowday."
"Sorry, buddy, you have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.  Maybe you can go back on Thursday."
"The nex tomorrowday?"
"Yep, the day after tomorrow."
"Otay.  I sick, I stay home wit you. Tomorrowday I no go.  I go nex tomorrowday."
"That's right."
"I have a sanwitch?"

LOL  He got his sandwich and lots of cuddles and he is still a little feverish today but I think he is rather enjoying it since he got a frozen fruit pop after lunch for his sore throat :p

The Lazy Man's Garlic Cheeseburger Sliders

We have all been sick the last few days--the kids are feeling better but I am not (yet).  I am still wanting soups with lots of garlic but the kidlets are ready for some "real" food so I added extra garlic to dinner so we were all happy ;)

I have a confession--I HATE hate hate hate touching raw meat.  Hate it.  So when the kids were wanting cheeseburgers, I needed to find a way to not actually touch the ground beef ;)  And so was born The Lazy Man's Garlic Cheeseburger Sliders.

S thought it was fun to help make these :)  First step, we browned up some ground beef with some garlic, onion, and cumin.  Once it was done, we layered the bottom half of some slider buns in a glass baking dish:

Then we whipped up a little flavored mayo--garlic, paprika, and a little cumin.  S normally does NOT like mayo and will not eat things made with mayo unless he is really hungry but he thought this mayo was delicious and would be willing to eat it on sandwiches :p We spread a bit on the buns:

Then we layered the ground beef and some shredded cheddar blend cheese on top:

We added the top layer of the slider buns and then adorned them with some garlic butter (melted butter, garlic, and parsley).  S was excited by the parsley because "the green stuff is what makes garlic bread so good!" LOL

We popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes--when the bread was toasty we pulled them out.  I dished out seconds to everyone so that automatically makes them a hit :)  S even went back after evening chores and ate thirds :)  Now, we have two slightly different pictures--the first one shows how nice and toasty the tops got but S said that since you couldn't really see the "green stuff" on top, I needed to take one with the flash :p

My Busy Little B

B's transition to preschool has been a bit difficult this year.  He was very excited about going, he has the same teacher and the same classroom aides.  Some of the students were in his class last year.  Everything was set up for him to have an easy transition.......except for the fact that he is in the afternoon class instead of the morning.

He has been having such a hard time with not getting on his bus in the morning before S goes to school.  Add in the fact that I went back to school as well and Daddy is off working and his schedule is different every single day.

To help him out a bit, Miss K has made him a visual schedule at school so he can see which days I am picking him up or dropping him off and which days he will be taking the bus.  She asked for a picture of me he can see on his schedule to know when I am picking him up and so he can see which days I will be dropping him off the following day.  The day I was supposed to send the picture, he was insisting I would pick him up that afternoon.  I mentioned that I would send Miss K a picture so he can see that today he would ride the bus and tomorrow I would pick him up.

He pipes up for the back seat that he wants to "pitcher wit you".  I tell him, no, this is for his schedule--just me to show him I am coming to get him that day.  He tells me, "you pick me up.  I go wit you. I pitcher wit you."  I reflect back to him in question form--"because you are going to go with me, the picture should be us together?"  He shouts, "YAY!! You got it!"  So we took a picture together for his schedule :)

I am so proud of him :)  He not only used his words to tell me what he wanted but he told me why.  So many things in his little head are a mystery to us (including his teacher) because he can't articulate why it is so important to him.  And for the very first time, he was able to tell my WHY something he fixated on was so important.  He really wanted the picture to be of us together.  Instead of repeating "pitcher wit you" over and over and over and melted down, he told me why he wanted it to be of both of us :)  I am still just.....in awe.  My Busy Little B is moving forward.

Oh, and I OF COURSE had to immediately email Miss K and tell her all about it :p  Maybe she was humoring me but I prefer to think her excitement via email was genuine and she is just as happy about his progress as I am ;-)

One year and five months....

...since her surgery and we got to spend another lovely evening in the ER :p

Poor Iz has croup and the normal at-home remedies were only effective last night to ease her breathing--today her temp shot up to 105.7 and she started retracting so off we went for steroids.  I would have rather gone to her ped but by the time she started struggling, it was getting close to closing time and they didn't have any open appointment slots.  We don't mess around with retractions so ER it was.

The magic apple juice and its steroids have done her a world of good--retracting has stopped, cough has eased, breathing is easier, and she is sound asleep.  Her poor throat is pretty sore but a fruit popsicle went a long way towards making her feel better in that arena as well :p

Feeling miserable

But not miserable enough to pass up a chance to play

Magic apple juice kicking in and all smiles :)

Dear Fellow Shoppers,

I apologize for briefly slowing you down the other night. Most of you stopped and smiled and enjoyed a moment of silly with us. A few gave us The Huff and went around us. We stuck the the edge of the aisle so we wouldn't block it--it wasn't much different than if we stopped to pick out cheese. It had been a long day and we were rushing through the store so we could go home, much as all of you probably were.

And then we saw it and couldn't help ourselves. Time slowed down. We relaxed. We had a few precious moments of hilarity before things sped up. Thank you for the smiles you shared with us--they really made S's day (he loves the spotlight). Because, really, how many kids can resist whitewater rafting down the cheese aisle?

The Birthday Girl!

Happy Second Birthday, Isabelle!

This has become her favorite dress

Her favorite present was this little cat she named Little Pete.  Pete the Cat is not so sure :p

Ready for her birthday dinner!

She spotted flower cupcakes in a store and loved them so much, they became her birthday cake :)

I think she likes it :)

Happy Birthday, my little warrior :)

One week ago...

...we headed for the Children's Hospital.  We had had many conversations about getting Izzy's cast off and the saw they use and that it wouldn't hurt.  She swung between nervous and excited.  In the elevator, we were having one more round of talking it over to get her ready and she first hid from us:

 And then she declared she wanted to keep her "purl cass"--she loves purple and did NOT like the idea of having to give up her cast!  I guess she forgot all the times she asked me to please take it off :p  She was quite grumpy for a bit:

 Once we were in the orthopedists office, she was too busy playing to think much about it.  She was even excited to go back in the exam room and look at the cool saw........until it became clear the saw was for her.  Poor girl was scared of that thing!  But even though she cried a little, she held fairly still and the nurse was able to take the cast off.  At first, Iz could not believe she was free.

 She kept asking if it was gone LOL.  She started moving and using it right away--when S got his cast off the first time, he couldn't move the arm without crying because the muscles hurt so much.  Iz, though, only complained a little that her arm was still "owie"

 Whenever she would move a certain way and it would hurt, she would come to me and show me where it was "owie" and my job was to lightly rub it until she was ready to play again :)

Her doctor said her x-rays were perfect and the bone healed up really well so she is all cleared.  He said she should try to take it easy on the arm for at least two weeks but that he was betting that wouldn't really be possible with her ;)  If I remember correctly, she was scaling the exam table when he said it :p  This one is such a daredevil!

A few days late...

First day of school!