Not Quite Healthy at Grandma’s

The day started out great. We all had a good night's sleep… well, Vance woke up early & Grandma took care of him so I could sleep. (I know I am spoiled.) No fevers. Both kids ate a good breakfast and kept it down. We had fun playing this morning & even got out of the house for a while. When we got back I turned around to unbuckle Ella from her car seat and realized she had runny poop on the front side of her clothes. The diarrhea I had thought escaped us didn’t. Poor thing, she never even said anything to us. After we got out of the car with minimal mess I rushed her to the bathroom, hosed her down then let her take a bubble bath. Grandma pulled out a bathtub Cabbage Patch Doll that floats and has its own shower. Ella loved it! Just what my sick little girl needed. Then she snuggled up on the couch with her dolls, both blankies & a stuffed sheep (Grandma’s decoration) to watch a movie. Unfortunately the diarrhea didn’t end there. It felt like I changed her diaper 10 times in a 2 hour block of time. Her poor bottom was red & raw. I finally put her in her pajamas & night time diaper in hopes that it had stopped for the night. She was so tired she fell asleep before I finished singing in our night time routine. Both kids were asleep in their beds by 7pm.
My challenge tomorrow is going to be figuring out how to put the car seat cover back on. It had to be washed! The problem was I unhooked so many things I am hoping it will make sense in the morning when I put it back together.

Road Trip to Grandma’s

The kids and I planned a visit to Grandma’s house for a few days. I decided the best time to travel was early morning. Hopefully the kids would be asleep or would fall back to sleep quickly then I could have a couple hours before they woke up. My goal was to leave at 4am. When I went to bed after 10:30pm I realized a 4am departure was not going to work. Instead, I woke up at 4am, got dressed, loaded a few last minute things in the car, fixed my coffee then woke Byron to help load the kids. Ella woke up as he made the tiniest sound in her room. Not what I wanted, but I was able to put a dry diaper on her. Byron took her to the car while I got Vance. I soon discovered he was soaking wet!!!! This never happens. I changed his diaper and took him to the car. My efforts of making sure the path to the car was pitch black so neither kid would wake up was wasted time. But they were both dry which could alleviate a stop on the way and they were quietly sitting in their car seats until….
We were driving down our street and I hear, “I want my daddy. I want my daddy.” I reassured her it was okay and that we would see him soon. Then I hear, “mmm, eeee.” Followed by a 2 year old much louder version of “mmm, eee.” Next I hear, “What happened?” after I touched something in the car that made a sound. Then I heard, “too bright” as we approached some street lights. Then there were giggles followed by a few more statements from Ella. Finally silence. It was over an hour before Vance finally gave in and went back to sleep but my sweet Ella stayed awake for the entire trip.
My goal was to get half way, stop at a Cracker Barrel (something about those places makes me feel safe) & give them their breakfast I prepared before I left. I would go through a drive-thru for myself then we would be on our way. I was not planning on getting out of the car. That was before I had to use the restroom. I kept telling myself I could hold it till I got to my mom’s. But the closer we got to our stopping spot I had to GO! This wasn’t going to be easy with a 2 year old & a 1 year old but I had to find a way to make it work. To further complicate things it started raining, heavy rain. Stopping at Cracker Barrel didn’t work the parking spots were too far away (both kids were in their pjs & Ella’s shoes were in the suitcase). I pulled up to the front door of Burger King. Unbuckled Ella & put her in the front seat. Jumped out, unbuckled Vance then grabbed Ella and we ran to the door. I set her down once in the store but now we had to go to the bathroom. All I could think was, “Unclean, unclean!” I stood them both in the bathroom stall and strongly instructed not to touch a thing. Within seconds Vance sits on the floor then the hands head that way. I stopped him & managed to keep from any further germ disaster. After much hand washing we made our way back out to the van. With one kid on each hip I got us quickly to the car. They both cooperated beautifully as I put them back in their seats. Of course, they both knew breakfast was coming. I put the plastic bibs on them & filled the pocket with pieces of bacon & pancakes. They were happy. I was no longer in pain and ready to fill my tummy with breakfast as well.
After that the only drama on the road was the unbelievable amount of rain falling from the sky. We made it safely to Grandma & PaPaw’s house. The kids were so happy to see them. They played, ate, took naps and then at 4pm when Vance was about to eat supper he started vomiting! No kidding! He was pitiful. He vomited up all of lunch (broccoli & cauliflower). He continued to vomit off & on the next hour or so. Then after he was asleep he woke up vomiting. Ella fought sleep for a while. Finally at 10pm both kids were sound asleep & I crawled into bed. At 1pm I woke up to discover that Ella had vomited in her bed, in Grandma’s bed & then all over herself. My sweet mom had cleaned up everything & changed her pajamas. Her only concern was whether or not Ella had a fever. I decided it was best to sleep with Ella on a twin bed & Mom slept on the bed in Vance’s room. Ella tossed & turned till 3am and then finally settled down. We were able to sleep soundly till 6am.
That wasn’t quite the first day experience I was going for with Grandma. I will say that today has been better. No vomiting! They drank Pedialyte and kept down small amounts of food. Unfortunately they both had fevers today but took very LONG naps. Vance was in bed by 7pm & Ella was sound asleep at 7:22. Grandma & PaPaw were in bed a little after 8pm. I’m heading to bed now but I just had to share these experiences with you before doing so. I am hoping for an uninterrupted LONG night of sleep and some happy adventures to share with you this weekend.

The Things My Kids Eat!!

My greatest adventure in a day is finding food for the kids to eat. Vance can't eat anything made with milk, eggs, nuts of any kind or soy. His blood panel showed a possible allergy to corn & tomatoes as well. So this wipes out ketchup or anything made with cornstarch. So what do my kids eat? Basically fresh fruits & vegetables and some meats. Ella could eat anything. However, Vance is very aware when someone is eating something different than him so we feed them the same thing.
Thank goodness there is a website, www.foodallergy.org where I can find recipes without eggs, milk, soy & nuts. I found a pancake recipe that is actually pretty good. So Vance eats pancakes every morning along with a safe meat & usually a banana. This morning I crushed up some steamed apples & added cinnamon to the pancake batter. Oh my goodness! My kids ate 8 pancakes between the two of them! They weren't super big but not too small either, bigger than the palm of my hand. I started to get concerned about the amount. Then Byron & I realized that they don't eat many starches so it should be okay.
Apple cinnamon pancakes are delicious but I have to admit I have given my kids some interesting food combinations. My latest creation is what I call Hawaiian Rice & Beef. Vance doesn't care for dry food. So I mixed brown rice, roast & crushed pineapples. The kids loved it! I try to always get Vance to eat the steamed veggies first but if he decides he doesn't want to I have (more times than I care to admit) mixed it with applesauce & pureed pears. It sounds disgusting to me but he loves it.
My prayer is that he will grow out of these food allergies very soon. But in the meantime I am thankful he will eat my interesting food concoctions! If I come up with anything else interesting or disgusting I will share it with you.

The Best Husband & Dad

My husband has been out of town for a few days for work. The moment he got home Vance woke up crying. We let him cry for a few minutes to see if he would stop on his own & go back to sleep. It hadn't been long when my husband said, "Want me to go in there?" Really? He just walked in the door from a very long day & he was volunteering to go take care of our crying baby. I think he missed his son and wanted to hold him. As soon as we felt Vance wasn't going to go back to sleep on his own he went back to his room to take care of him. Then in the middle of the night Ella was at her door crying out with a weird panic cry. Who do you think jumped out of bed to get her? My wonderful husband. I just woke up a few minutes ago, looked in the monitor and he is sound asleep in the bed with her. I don't know who is luckier, my kids or me. I am truly blessed to have a husband who wants to help me out & give me a break when he can. (Besides he does know how cranky I can get when I don't get a full night's sleep.) My kids are also blessed to have a daddy that loves them whole-heartedly and longs to spend time with them.
I thank God for the family He has given me!

“I love you both as if you were my real family”

“I want to thank you both for being the best thing that could have happened for me and the kids! I love you both as if you were my real family!” Those were the words from our birthmother in our latest letter from her. Wow!
When we decided that adoption was God’s plan for our lives we had no idea about the relationship we would have with our birthmother. In the beginning of our research we considered a closed adoption where there would be no contact with the birthmother. So glad that was not God’s plan for us. We have been praying for her almost 3 years now, at first as our birthmother & then by name. We long for letters from her and get so excited when one comes in the mail. We love her so much!
I’ve thought about that line, “as if you were my real family.” You know, I think she is our real family. She is the biological mother of our children. Doesn’t that make her family? I think so. So we don’t talk on the phone or take family vacations but we love one another. I love her because she chose to do the most selfless thing in her life & give her children up for adoption. I love her because she chose us to be their parents. I love her because she is God’s creation. I love her because of her love for our children. I love her whether she makes a good choice or bad one. I love her because she is the biological mother of my children.
It is my fervent prayer that she gets on her two feet, drug & alcohol free, with a good support system around her and a good job. I pray that she says no to the temptations that will come her way. I want her to find a strong Christian man who will love her the way she is supposed to be loved. I want a good life for her. And believe it or not, I want her to be alive & healthy the day my children want to meet her.
So she is my family. And I am so thankful God planned it that way!

Time to Catch Up

Well it’s been almost a year since I last blogged. I’ve decided I missed this outlet and wanted to pick it back up again. I can’t promise the frequency of my posts but I’m going to try my best to write more often than last year. I figure the best way to get back in the grove is to fill you in on the past year.
I am the one who always has to say something positive but I feel like as a whole it was a difficult year. We had very little sleep and lots of sickness. I learned to appreciate coffee, sugar free Red Bull & the Disney Channel. But through it all there were so many joyous moments as well. Every day I got to stay home and be mom! I watched my daughter blossom into an adoring big sister & imitator of her mommy. I enjoyed all the baby firsts (smile, laugh, tooth, word, crawling, clapping, etc.) with my son. I was thankful for the times my husband got up in the middle of the night instead of me (he did that often). Even though some of the days & nights were hard I can look back on 2010 with a thankful heart.
Sleep finally entered our home on a consistent basis in November. That is because at the end of October we learned that our son was allergic to eggs, peanuts, milk & soy. Once we stopped giving him milk based formula he became a happy child and could finally enjoy a full night’s sleep. No wonder we had a difficult year. His main source of nutrition was causing him pain and we had no idea. I’m not too thrilled with the food allergies but we are learning to adjust.
The year started out with ear infections & RSV with Ella. It ended with a severe allergic reaction, double ear infection & bronchitis with Vance. I am hoping for a happy healthy 2011. There was much more that happened last year & I may reflect back and share those moments but my children have woken up from their naps. Time to be mom & take the kids outside on this beautiful sunny day!

My Morning

It started at 5am when I got up to feed Vance. I put him back to bed & decided that I could use 30 more minutes of sleep. At 6:10am my alarm went off. It took a few minutes for me to fully wake up and just as I was about to crawl out of bed I heard it...the cries of my little girl from the other room. Seriously!!! Why didn't I just stay up after I fed Vance. All I wanted was a cup of coffee and quiet so I could read my Bible. But the cries didn't stop & I knew Ella was awake for good. I went in to get her, not happily I should add. There she was all cute & happy. I couldn't help but smile. I tried rocking her. Thinking she just might fall back to sleep. But instead I identified everything in the room as she pointed to each thing and said what we can only assume is "what's that?" Then she spotted her baby doll. I handed it to her and she beamed as she hugged her baby. After a few minutes I decided it was time for us to face the day together. I changed her and went in the kitchen to see my hubby had already fixed Ella's breakfast and was making me an omelet. That was nice. Ella didn't eat much and after I was finished Byron said go back to the bedroom and enjoy your coffee. This sounded like a good idea. Vance was still asleep so I could sneak in the room, sit on the bed, drink my coffee & read my Bible. As soon as I sat down D, our dog, woke up and took several long minutes to settle back down. Then shortly after that, Vance decided to stir. I did mange to read and journal some before I had to pick him up. Once again, I decided I couldn't sit here any longer and it was time to start our day. Byron had to get ready for work so Ella, Vance & I went to their room. While I was using the "nose sucker" (I have no other name for that thing) on Vance, Ella decided to climb up in the rocking chair. She has done this several times and always sat nicely and rocked. NOT THIS TIME! I was finishing up with Vance's nose when I heard a loud THUD! I looked to my right to see my daughter & the rocking chair on the ground beside me. Yes, Ella decided to stand in the rocking chair. Immediately I scooped her up as the tears flowed. I sat her on the changing table with Vance because she wanted Mommy. I quickly changed Vance's diaper as both of them cried LOUDLY. Then I picked up Vance in one arm and Ella in the other. We sat on the floor and I was thinking we are all going to be okay. Well...D decided to not cooperate. He got mad and so I had to shield Ella just in case he might bite her. She doesn't get the concept of "walk away from D, he is not happy right now." Byron stepped in, we got D in time out and then Vance started crying because he was hungry. Byron, who was now late for work, started to feed him as I continued working on the D/Ella situation. Everything was under control. I assured Byron he could leave. Ella & I walked him to the door to wave good-bye. All was good till I noticed the spot on her head was not just bruised...now it was a big knot! I called a friend who assured me she was fine.
Ella may have been fine but she was crabby. That's when I decided we could all use some fresh air. That was the best decision I could have made all morning. I loaded the kids up in the stroller and we went for a walk. It was perfect outside! I didn't even need a jacket. Ella was such a big girl sitting in the front of the stroller swinging her legs and looking around. Several times she turned around to look at me and make sure Brother was still behind her. We, well I, enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the outdoors...dogs barking, squirrels scurrying through the leaves, birds chirping! It was simply FANTASTIC! I am so thankful that things greatly improved after such a rocky start.