Tuckered Out

Here's another "journal entry" of our day today:

9 am - leave the house to take the girls to school. Stay in kindergarten with E all day, as her intestinal bleeding has returned. For the record, it's not how I wanted to spend my day, but I am grateful that my circumstances allow me to easily tag along. There's no way she could navigate the bathroom solo right now, but she feels fine 95% of the time, so there's no reason to keep her home.

3:45 - leave the school and head to swimming lessons
4:15-5:00 - watch M in swimming lessons. Realize she's having a meltdown, race down to the pool to mediate between her and her swimming teacher. Resurrect her swimming career, and the little fishy went back with her class afterall. (It was all a big misunderstanding between the 2 of them, and her teacher didn't know about the Asperger's, which drives me a little crazy, b/c there's a spot on the form that specifically asks, "Any special needs we should know?" and of course, I always put Asperger's Syndrome, but of course, the instructor hadn't been told...)

5-6:20 - drive back to the town where their school is located, get them some dinner at a pizza place where they have free kid meal coupons that they've earned from their reading minutes incentive program and school.

6:30-7:15 - Drive over to the school, where we attend the book fair (E got a Fancy Nancy sticker book, and M got the 3rd 'Diary of a Whimpy Kid' book, against my better judgment) and then into the science fair. We were ready to leave after about 10 minutes, but found out they'd be announcing the winners, who get to go on to the district science fair, and you get a cool tshirt if you win, so M wanted to stay... Good thing, 'cause she did win, so now she has a "Science is easy as (pie symbol)" tshirt to wear to the district fair a week from Saturday.

7:30 - Arrive at my friend's house, who is teaching a back-to-basics cooking class, complete with standard grocery lists, menu planning, and easy ways to plan ahead, i.e. cooking 2 whole chickens, boning it, making broth, etc. Sampled tasty chicken quesadillas, fritatas, and soup.

9:00 - Her daughter called with info on amazing clearance at Target. Party OVER, everyone (but us, I think) heads there.

9:20 - We arrive home and practically collapse into bed. M is on the verge of another meltdown and I am hoping I talked her out of "going there." JUST GO TO SLEEP!

Ahhhhhhhh, tomorrow is another day. At least E doesn't have school; I "just" babysit a friend of hers all day (and they've been fighting a lot lately...it's not as easy as it used to be!) and then E has gymnastics after M gets out of school. But at least we are done for the night after that!

I told M I was writing all this down so that when she's grown up and gone from home, I can look back and remember what it was like to be BUSY. Yeah, kinda like child birth...I really don't think I'll forget!

Getting Better

E seems to be getting better. The ecoli test came back negative, so we have her scheduled for a colonoscopy on Feb 4. I am dreading the prep!!! She is feeling a lot better, though, and went to school yesterday and today. I stayed with her so I could just take her to the bathroom when she needed to go, but both days, she only needed my professional services twice, and the blood has decreased quite a bit. I am hoping she'll be able to go back to school by herself on Monday.

In being in her classroom for two solid days, I was so impressed what a great student she is. She is always the one kid who is doing what she's supposed to be doing, and I don't think it's just 'cause I was there, as she was pretty much oblivious to me (as opposed to other attention-starved kids who couldn't leave my side). I was also impressed yet again with her teacher, and was reminded that I could NEVER teach kindergarten! I'm not even sure I could teach full time again. I've come home so tired both days, and I've just been helping out! Some of those kids just have the hardest time following simple instructions; it takes so much patience!

I am grateful for the power of prayer. We still have a ways to go on this journey, but I am so thankful for the sustaining peace and power we have felt as we remember that she is a child of God. We know that she is ultimately His, and that He will help her - and us - through this trying time.

Mean People Suck (sorry for using my strongest cuss word, but really, I think I'm justified)

Look what P found as he returned to the Park n Ride after completing his shift at work. Yep, somebody smashed both the driver's side windows for no apparent reason. The car is 15 years old and there was nothing in there to take. There was another guy arriving at the same time as P, with a similarly old car, whose same windows were also smashed, and he had some tools stolen. They called the police, but they didn't even come.

So, he arrived home at 2am, after driving the 30 minutes home on the freeway in freezing temperatures. Nice. Our neighbor's garage was wide open and empty, and has been for several days, so thinking he would save the car from moisture, he parked in there, planning to move it first thing in the morning. He should have put a note on her door, but he knew that everyone knew his car and who we were, so he just crawled upstairs and went to bed. She called the towing company! I rushed out there and it wasn't hooked up yet, but the driver said he had to take it, since he had been dispatched. Turns out, the contract with this company states that only the HOA president or secretary are authorized to call them for services. Our pres is really going to bat for us, and we are hoping to get our $242 back! And, no, there will NOT be ANY more cookies for this neighbor!

We were able to get the windows fixed today for over $300. Since it's such an old car, we just have liability insurance. Ouch.

The car was fixed in the same town as M's swimming lessons, so we were able to coordinate picking it up with her lesson times, but I'm not familiar w/that part of town (where the shop is) and I missed the exit I needed, and of course, it's at 4:30...the busiest time...so I call and tell them her name and to tell her I'm in traffic and I'm coming...I park, run (literally) into the building and out to the pool, and...no girl. I run into the showers. No girl. I go back to the pool. Still no girl, go over to the lifeguard office (where I had phoned & spoken to someone). Nobody knows anything. I am trying not to panic, but this is a HUGE facility (the 3rd largest YMCA in the country) and my daughter is somewhere in a swimming suit and towel, but not where I said she should be! Just as I was starting to hyperventilate, the swimming director walked in with her...they had gone to help a boy find his mom. I was just happy that M wasn't upset - sometimes things like that make her really anxious.

We all agreed that "Sometimes, days are just like that. Even in Australia." (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day).

Relief Society in Heaven

I had the great opportunity tonight to drive up to Seattle to hear Julie Beck speak. Sister Beck is the General Relief Society President for the entire Church and travels the world visiting sisters and giving service and encouragement. I will have to record some of my impressions later, but right now, I just want to say that I got a glimpse of what heaven might be like...

We have moved a lot while living in the Puget Sound area, and have consequently lived in many different wards (LDS congregations). All women in the area were invited to come hear her speak, so I saw SO many sisters that I have served with and loved and been blessed by over the past 10 years. It was awesome! We arrived 50 minutes early, and I am so glad. Not only did we get good seats, but it was a fantastic chance to watch "old" friends come in and get to hop up and give them a squeeze! I have been so blessed to have each of these women in my life...all different ages and situations, and each has helped me become a better person.

I think that's what the Next Life will be like for us...it might be a great big huge room like that, and as people come in, we'll be so happy to see them...what a great reunion time! Kinda like being on facebook, but in person. :)

What a Week!

Wow, what a week we've had. It continued to be pretty busy, and E has continued to poop blood. We were expecting to have to wait several weeks to get in to see the pediatric GI doc, but they "just happened" to have a cancellation on Friday, so we got her in then. Our poor baby has lost 4 pounds in the last week, and is hardly eating anything, yet all this blood just comes out of her. The GI doc seemed like he knew his stuff and was really great with E. He thinks it is either a virus/infection or that she has ulcerative colitis. We got labs back today (instead of next T/W, which is what we were anticipating) that said she is positive for inflammation, which doesn't tell us a lot, but it does mean that she doesn't have a hole anywhere in her gut that's bleeding. Her white blood cell count was up, so that means her body is fighting something. Now we just don't know what.

I was running the results past my dad (who is a FNP) and he started wondering if she'd been tested for ecoli yet. Turns out, she hasn't, and after talking to the GI doc, (who "just happened" to be on call today) I took her over to the urgent care clinic and left a sample to be tested. We don't know when those results will come back.

I never, ever thought that as a mother, I would be hoping my child had ecoli, but I kind of am, just because then she can take medicine and get better...and avoid a colonoscopy! I SO do not want to prep her for that - nasty stuff to drink and two adult enemas! This is the kid that fights me brushing her teeth!

Plus, having an infection or virus would mean it would be something that could be cured and go away - ulcerative colitis is a lifetime thing, and she's awfully young to have it.

I have pictures of her work in the toilet (that I took along to show the GI doc) but I don't think I'll post them? Yeah, never say I don't do favors for you!

Thanks so much for your support and prayers. This is such a hard time for her, and for us. Knowing we have prayerful cheerleaders makes such a big difference to us!

A Day In the Life

This blog serves as my one and only journal, so indulge me while I recall...

This is one crazy week. Let me share just one day to illustrate:

7 am - get up, get ready, get girls ready, etc. You know the morning routine.
Try not to freak out that E is still pooping blood. (are you sure you want to read this?)
9 - take M to school (this was not a kinder day for E, so she stays in her jammies 'cause she doesn't feel great anyway)
9:30 - go to RS Presidency mtg. Plug E into her portable DVD player
11:00 - mtg concludes. Swing by friend's house to drop off Christmas/New Years gift. Yeah, I'm that behind.
11:45 - arrive for E's dr appt. Dr orders more blood work and we get to take home another cup for a stool sample. She is NOT impressed with the idea of being poked and tried mightly to refuse, but I somehow lifted her up on the table and got her to lay down, then I practially laid on top of her. I wasn't mean...I kept trying to reassure her and give her kisses and stuff. *sigh* At least she got to leave with a dum dum sucker and a sticker, as well as a huge wad of cotton and a printed bandaid on her arm! Cool.
12:30 - stop at WalMart to buy her some more meds. Glance at the clearance toys, but they're not cheap enough, yet! ;)
1:00 - We're home! I make us some lunch and let her watch a movie (c'mon, she's sick) and then I get dinner (tacos) ready. I call my mom and whine. I mean, report.
3:25 - Leave to pick up M at school at 3:45.
3:45 - Grab kid, head to YMCA
4:15- Barely make it in time to have her switch into her swimming suit and join her new class
4:45 - Lesson is done, quick shower, change, and then
5:00 - M has occupational therapy for an hour
(during her lesson and therapy, I read to E - alot! She wound up with 75 min of reading minutes on her log! We also played a few rounds of our favorite game, "Hiss")
6:00 - Leave the therapy center, head for home
6:30 - arrive home, warm up taco meat, etc
6:40 - dinner on table
6:50 - I leave for the church. Gotta be there for Visiting Teaching Interviews. I'm the secretary, so I don't have to conduct the interviews, just keep 'em organized.
7:05 - Arrive, hang out with ladies that inspire me
8:50 - Get home, tuck girls & Paul into bed!
9-11:00 - Clean up, dishes, computer stuff...those hours just disappear!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Then, I wake up and do it all again today, except M just had speech therapy after school, and P just happened to get home as we were heading out so E got to stay home w/him.

(E's lab work came back fine - not anemic yet, and liver function is good. We took the frozen poop into the lab today and results won't come back til early next week. She is seeing a pediatric GI doc on Friday...)

Seeing Spots

Poor E!

She ran a fever on Tues and Weds and woke up this morning feeling a-ok and thrilled to go to school. As I was combing her hair, I noticed a big red spot on her cheek, and several on her neck, and more on her belly, and a few on her back... Dang it!

We dropped M off at school (w/E in tears 'cause she wanted to go, too, and 'cause the spots scared her) and went to the dr's office - with all the flooding, they had plenty of available appts.

One of the first things I said to the pediatrician (who isn't our reg doc) was, "She had a fever on T/W, but feels fine today, but then I noticed these spots and I wasn't sure if I should send her to school or not."

So, she examines her and concludes that it's either a case of break-thru chicken pox (she's had both her vaccinations) or it's from a virus that caused the fever and then spots. She then said, "So, if she feels up to it, she can totally go to school."

I said, "Oh! So, she's not contagious?"

"No, not really. I mean, she IS contagious, but it's only transmitted in the air, so only if she sneezes or something..."

Are you KIDDING me?! Doc, this is KINDERGARTEN! Everything is airborne! Good grief. So, needless to say, E got another day at home, and is planning to go back on Monday...when the spots are gone!

So, to the kids, parents, and teachers in E's kindergarten class: You're Welcome. Now, do the same for me and keep your kid home if they are at all possibly contagious!!!