Updates

On Saturday I took Gerrit to the doctor because he has been screaming the last two nights and I was afraid of another ear infection. The good news is that his ears and his lungs were great, the bad news is that the doctor did confirm that he had the swine flu. So apparently that is what my kids have had. Blake ended up coming down with it and was sick all weekend and even took Monday off of work. Yesterday I started to get a sore throat and today it is on fire. It looks like it is my turn now. So far Kaymin hasn't gotten it and I sure hope she doesn't.
On Monday Deilen had a doctor's appointment with the Opthamologist at Primary Children's Medical Center. They did a bunch of tests on his eye and he has 60/20 vision. At one point I thought they were going to prescribe him glasses since he could see the letters great when he used the corrective lens. However, they are hoping that it will correct itself. Since we didn't see him before Deilen had his eye surgery last year and he was too little the year before to really test him, we have nothing to compare it to. He told me that when the eyelid covers the pupil the brain begins to shut off signals to that eye to work. Now that it isn't covered, he is hoping that the brain continue to send signals and it will continue to improve. So we will take him back next year to see. The doctor we have been going to since Deilen was born is moving further south so we will need to see another doctor or travel the 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive...NO THANKS! One of the other doctor's in that office will be coming up north so we will go and see that one instead. Hooray..now we will only have to travel 20 minutes. I keep am going to keep hoping that his eye will correct itself and the doctor seemed pretty hopeful.

Canning Season

I'm SO glad that canning season has come to an end. I have canned way more than I thought I would and have ran out of shelf space. For now, I have approximately 150-200 jars of food sitting on my floor in my basement. I am guessing I have canned around 400 jars this year. Just for me I wanted to keep a record of what I canned, so here it goes: chicken, salsa, stewed tomatoes, apple pie filling, strawberry pie filling, applesauce (regular, strawberry, and cherry), pear sauce, apricots, peaches, beets, green beans, carrots, potatoes, apple juice, grape juice, strawberry jam, strawberry mango jam, plum jam (I'm not sure why I did jam, I hate it) tomato soup, vegetable soup, and salsa verde. I'm sure there are more that I am missing, but for now that will have to do. Now the task will be to eat what we have to make room for next year's canning. I'm so grateful that my garden was able to produce so much for me to can. It is also nice to have such a stockpile in case Blake were to loose his job. At least we wouldn't go hungry.

Swine Flu?

So Kameni has been sick since Friday. She has been running a temperature of 103+, coughing a horrible barking cough, crying because her body, head, and throat hurts so bad. I figured it was croup so I was letting it runs its course. Then Deilen started in on it. However, with all of those symptoms except for the coughing, Deilen began throwing up. I decided to call the doctor to see if there was a way to test for the swine flu and exactly what to look for. The nurse told me that they definitely have the flu (she didn't specify whether it was swine or not), but did tell me not to bring them in, or take them anywhere for that fact. She told me that they are not doing anything right now for them other than supportive care. So to keep them hydrated, have them get plenty of rest, practice good hygiene, and to alternate between Motrin and Tylenol for the body aches and fevers. Then she told me that it should last between 7 and 14 days. GREAT! Why is it when you have a million things going on. Tomorrow I am in charge of Walk to School Day for Kaymin's school and will be there for about 2 hours and then Kameni has her follow up from her tubes and she has been complaining since she had them done that they hurt. However, Blake is so great he is staying home with the kids in the morning while I go and hand out treats at the school for all of those that walk. AND...IF Kameni is feeling better he will stay with the boys while I take her to her appointment. So far today Kameni hasn't ran a fever (the first in 5 days). Gerrit began running a fever and coughing last night. So far Kaymin, Blake and I are still healthy. THANKS BLAKE, I LOVE YOU!
Adding on Friday, October 9: the kids are doing much better now. Kameni is still pretty wiped out and is taking a nap still, which is NOT like her at all. She hasn't taken naps since was two. However, her and Deilen were taking sometimes 3 naps per day, so one is on the up and up. Kameni still has her cough and Deilen just started coughing yesterday. Kameni's fever lasted 5 days and Deilen's and Gerrit's lasted 3. Gerrit is still cranky and I can still tell he doesn't feel the best. So far, Blake, Kaymin and I haven't gotten yet...hooray.
And as far as Kameni's tubes go, I was able to take her since she was feeling better and as long as she wasn't running a fever, then she wasn't contagious. Before the tubes she only had 20% hearing but now she is in the normal range of hearing. Her tubes look great and the reason she keeps digging at them they believe is because of the sensitive now to sound along with the debris around the tube while it is healing into the ear. Hooray...I just hope they stay in longer than 7 months time.

Gerrit the Monkey

So Blake was really impressed with Gerrit's climbing abilities yesterday so I thought I would post it so I could remember it. Several times I have caught Gerrit climbing halfway up the bunkbeds. Well yesterday I went into the girls' room and he was sitting on the top bunk clapping his hands. Obviously he was very proud of himself. For 16 months old he can get pretty much anywhere. He climbs onto our counter and table. He has figured out how to push the stools around the house to climb onto whatever it is he wants. Two days ago I was clearing out our garden since it went from 80 degrees to 40 degrees and found him on the top rung climbing into our playhouse that is about 6 feet off of the ground. As soon as I got him down, he somehow figured out how to climb onto our trampoline. I have no idea what I am going to do with him. I have thought about a dog kennel like we have for Skipper, our dog. That way he wouldn't get hurt and would stay put. But my guess is, after a couple of hours, he will find a way to escape and climb his way to freedom.

Flu Shot

Okay, so last year we didn't get the flu shot and I swear my kids and I were sick all winter long. Every year before that we have. So this year we decided to get them and compare it to last year and see if it helps. Our insurance only covers the flu shot for kids under 2 so Gerrit was free. The rest of us paid. It cost us $105 for us to the get flu shot so it is quite an expensive experiment on my part. I realize the flu shot only protects against certain strains of influenza, but still....I just want to see. I don't believe in using oils to make you feel better, but my moms does. To me it is like witch doctor stuff...and I personally think it is a bunch of bologna. However, my mom swears it works for her. I really think if you "believe" something will work it actually will. Even if you rub peppermint oil on your tummy for a stomach ache or lavendar oil on your foot for a headache. So I am really believing that by us getting the flu shot it will reduce the sickness in my family this winter. I guess we will see what happens.

Some Fun Moments

Gerrit's new favorite thing is the broom and the dust pan. I put it back and he drags it out about 50 million times a day. It drives me crazy. But he actually tries to sweep and clean even though the broom is twice the size of his cute little body. When I take it away he throws a huge tantrum. He is a little red-headed spit fire. The other day I had to bribe the kids with a bubble bath because they didn't want to come in the house and get in the tub. I ran the water and then went and got their towels. When I came back in the bathroom they were all in the tub with bubbles on their faces pretending to be Santa.

Gerrit Has Another Ear Infection

On Thursday I finally took Gerrit into the doctor. He hasn't been sleeping and has cried a lot. However, his asthma flared up so I was hoping that that was the problem, but once I got it under control, Gerrit was still miserable. So I took him in and sure enough he had another ear infection just 4 weeks later from his last one. The doctor thinks that the fluid behind his ears isn't draining. I have to take him back in 4 weeks for him to be checked. If the fluid is still there he said that Gerrit will probably have to have tubes. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is just a coincidence and the fluid will be gone. However, my luck does not happen that way.