Sick & Tired of Being Sick

When we hit January this year, I have to admit that I thought to myself “this winter isn’t so bad.” We were definitely braced for the worst, knowing that the triplets were in preschool for the first time and Alyssa was in kindergarten = a whole new school full of germs to be exposed to. We had a cold going around in December, but it really wasn’t too bad – so far.

Then about mid-January, the respiratory and stomach bugs started to hit. But, when you have little kids, having colds in the winter almost gets to be like breathing. It was a little annoying, but nothing like some of the past trials we have been through. Besides, sometimes we actually get naps out of the kids when they’re sick, even if it is in the strangest places (like Lauren sleeping on the stairs).

Then March hit. First, it started with Jack and Lauren getting pink eye. Then, a few days later, all  4 kids were on antibiotics for strep throat (we highly recommend the little grocery store clinics for such occasions on Friday nights).

Then, a week later, Drew started really getting sick (while we had all 4 kids at the dermatologist treating the Molluscum epidemic that is also sweeping our house). He got a runny nose, developed a croupy cough (which sometimes made him throw up), and got feverish by bedtime. The poor guy took 3 naps on Saturday and had a 102 fever all day. On particular nap, he just collapsed on the couch while still standing up.

Sunday morning, he woke up with a rash all over. It looked just like the one Alyssa had when she had roseola, so I figured it was that. He was feeling better by then, so then we just watched and waited for Lauren and Jack to get sick, too.

Monday morning, it was back to our normal routine and trying to pretend we weren’t tired with the switch to daylight savings time. But as we got to lunch time, Drew started to fade again and get pale. He fell asleep right away at naptime and was a limp noodle the rest of the day. He didn’t eat much and after dinnertime, and his breathing got labored. I left a message for the pediatrician, and we waited.

We were trying to at least keep Drew hydrated, and we had a good laugh after Dave accidently mixed up Drew a glass of orange Metamucil instead of orange Gatorade. The canisters do look pretty similar. Drew actually said it was “the best Gatorade ever” before we even caught the mistake, too.

The doctor called back and after hearing that Drew was taking more than a breath a second (I have learned this as a new rule of thumb), he said to have him checked out. So it was off to take Drew to the ER again. He was given 2 breathing treatments and some steroids right away, which calmed his breathing down, and he was doing a lot better. His fever had come up to around 101 again, so the nurses gave him a popsicle, which he thought was the greatest. He was also treated to a Mickey Mouse movie. Also, on the way to the bathroom, he got to meet 2 real live firemen, and they gave him his very own fireman hat. So despite being told his throat and ears were pretty red, having blisters all over from his Molluscum treatment, a rash from roseola, a 102 fever and an X-ray showing possible early stage viral pneumonia, Drew was still smiling and very excited about his very own bottle of Gatorade that he got to bring home. That kid is tough!

So, since Drew was doing a lot better, we were released to come home. I dropped him off around 10:30pm for Dave to put him to bed and then headed off to the pharmacy. Of course, there were issues with all 3 of his prescriptions, so I was there past midnight. When I got home, I found out that Lauren had thrown up soon after I left. I think Dave got the rougher end of the deal.

For the next 2 days after that, Drew seemed to improve. Then at 3:30am, Drew woke up coughing. I tried 2 of our high octane breathing treatments that the pulmonologist gave us for Jack (the 1st thing they gave him at the ER a few days earlier), and it only slowed him down a little. So finally 2 hours later at the ER, his coughing stopped. They had to give him 2 ephinidrine breathing treatments, which meant we weren’t going home that night. I was so scared on the drive there, thinking they would have to stick a tube down his throat or something. It was so good to see him stop coughing finally with the medicines they gave him.

Meanwhile, Dave was left with the realization that at 5am, he wasn’t going into work that day. I gave him some options of ways to farm out the kids and told him the first deadline was to get Alyssa on the bus. He called my mom at 5am, and as she said, “It’s never good news when the phone rings at 5am.” She was a real trooper to come over and cover the fort, while Dave rushed in to get some plans ready for a sub. When I called home with my first update on Drew, I was a little surprised to hear her answer the phone. Thanks to her help, it all worked out, and Dave was able to get home in time to get Alyssa on the bus, then took Lauren and Jack off to preschool. It was kind of fun to watch him take over my job for the day. I think he only had to hear “Mommy, doesn’t do it that way” once.

Then, Dave made it over to the hospital shortly after Drew was admitted to his room. At one point, they were considering admitting Drew to the Peds ICU, because he was so sick. He had about 5 breathing treatments in 2 hours and was on 3L of oxygen, and his levels were still only about 95%. Once he started feeling a little better, he didn’t want to have his oxygen canula in his nose, but by the end of the day, he was breathing on his own and still holding at 95%. So the doctor’s concluded that he had a really bad virus and once it turned a corner, he was doing a lot better.  A follow up X-ray also concluded that he didn’t have viral pneumonia, too. So, we went home about 30 hours after arriving. Drew was so happy to show off the balloon, book and stuffed animal he got from Grandma and Papo, though. He was so very excited about the 2 egg omelets he got to eat for breakfast.

Lauren got a really bad cold, but recovered pretty well on her own. Jack got sick with the same virus shortly afterwards. We had to call the pulmonologist and get some steroids and do some breathing treatments, but he was able to stay out of the hospital. Thank God for the preventative medicines he is on!

Then Easter weekend, Alyssa got strep throat again. Why do my kids always get sick at times like the night before Easter? Well, we went to our friendly drugstore clinic again, and she had tested positive for strep there less than 30 days before, they insisted on culturing her specimen (instead of the quick test, which give you results right away). So, that meant no antibiotics yet to kill it until the results came back several days later. Poor Alyssa handled it pretty well, despite not feeling well on Easter. So on the day after Easter, Dave was off on Spring Break and helped me to march all 4 kids into the pediatrician’s office. Only Alyssa tested positive for strep, and our doctor helped ease my fears from the clinic lady  who said she needed her tonsils out!

Things calmed down after that, and aside from bad spring allergies, we hoped the warm weather had helped us back to good health. We even got wild and crazy and started painting the boys’ room – which we had been promising to do “after Christmas” and you now know why we didn’t get to it. (More about their room later – I’m still working on the furniture.)

Last weekend, Alyssa finally got to go to a much anticipated slumber party. It was literally 2 years in the making, as she and her friend had talked about a sleepover when her friend turned 5. Well, the night before the friend’s 5th birthday, the slumber party was in full swing. I had sent Alyssa over there without much of a voice, but I really thought it was bad allergies. I felt so bad when I got the call at 9:30pm: “Your princess has a fever.” She was up to 102 and not feeling so well, as you can imagine and pretty disappointed. She had to miss another birthday party the next day, as she was still pretty puny. But, a day later, she was doing pretty well. We were lucky that none of our kids got it, and the birthday girl and her family at least escaped the fever, but did get some sniffles.

And guess what, now I have it. I have lost my voice and don’t feeling like doing much of anything but sitting. I think my kids are amused by my new “voice” but I have to say I feel pretty lousy. The funny thing is, that yesterday I was getting suspicious that something was about to happen. You want to know how? I was getting caught up on my laundry! Before each of the major things above happened, I got caught up on my laundry. I think it’s God’s way of keeping His promise to not give me more than I/We can handle. But you know what, I’m going to stop trying to catch up on the laundry for a while. I’m done!

God bless,

Amanda

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you had a great holiday. We did here. It gets more fun every year as the kids get into the holidays and enjoy our traditions more and more.

This year we started out the season with decorating the house. The kids loved getting out their baskets that Grammy got for them and have been playing with them ever since (it’s going to be tough to put them away). Grandma and Papo came for a visit, and continued their tradition of dying eggs and buying new outfits for Easter day.

Last weekend, we went to an Easter egg hunt at a local park. It was crazy! There were at least 500 people there. They split up the kids by age and put half on each side. They threw a bunch of eggs all over an open field and set the kids all off to meet in the middle. It was a 2 minute hunt, but afterwards the kids got to have their pictures taken with the Easter bunny. Alyssa also ended up having her picture in the newspaper, too! Here’s a quick glimpse of the madness. (I found out today our camera has a wind filter, so next time it will be better, I promise!)

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

To get ready for the big day this weekend, the kids picked daffodils and placed them in a vase for a centerpiece. I had planned to make cupcakes with the kids on Saturday. But alas, there had to be a complication, right? Alyssa was sick and had to be checked out. She has strep throat again.

Sunday morning, Dave made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, we read about the true meaning of Easter, and then the kids found their Easter baskets, which were hidden in the basement. They were also excited to wear their new outfits for church. That made it picture taking time and we let Alyssa dress up, too, so she wouldn’t feel left out. Once everyone else left for church, she helped me make the cupcakes and frosting. She was quite the little helper in the kitchen. The math she is learning in kindergarten came in handy, too!

When the rest of our crew returned home from church, something was amiss. It turns out Lauren thought it would be a good idea to write all over her hands and through the hole over the knee in her new tights. She got a new flower pen in her Easter basket, so why not, right? And guess where some of the ink ended up? Yep, on her brand new dress. Lucky for me, my mom is the Stainmaster of laundry. I put in an SOS call, Mom did some research, and blotting with rubbing alcohol did the trick and saved the day. She was quite remorseful when she was caught, though.

This was one of many glitches and distractions that happened throughout out the day that lead to some last minute changes to simplify the menu. It also cut into the cute bunny cupcake project (adapted from this idea from All You Magazine) I thought I was going to do with the kids. I ended up doing most of it, due to time constraints, but each kid seemed happy with decorating the face of their own bunny (and later eating it after dinner).

In the afternoon, the kids also got to play some baseball, and we had a much longer Easter egg hunt in our backyard. See if you can figure out from the video why the girls ended up with twice as many eggs as the boys).

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

Then we enjoyed a simple, yet traditional ham dinner. I think that everyone came had a really good time and we did, too! We were blessed to share the day with my parents and some friends from church.

But more than having a good time, I want to celebrate what this holiday means. We truly believe that if Jesus hadn’t defeated death, to pay for our mistakes, there is no way we could go to Heaven. Isn’t that amazing? Please know, that it is my prayer for each and every one of you to see Easter as the celebration of our ticket to eternal life in Heaven. I feel with all my heart, there is no greater decision for you to make than what you believe about Jesus. If you want to talk to me or ask questions, please know that I am here for you. I want you all to be with me in Heaven someday, and I’ll do whatever I can to bring you with me!

I’ll close with another little slideshow of our Easter festivities highlights. I hope you enjoy it. I am so grateful that we are so truly blessed.

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

God bless,

Amanda

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Greetings Family and Friends,       

How are you? How has your year been? Thanks to those of you who have blessed us with your own Christmas updates. We love hearing from you, and we hope to hear from the rest of you soon!

As for us, if we had to describe our year, it felt like a return to normal for us. OK-- normal for having a 6-year old and 3-year-old triplets! For example, instead of having swings, exersaucers or a changing table, our dining room now has a table and chairs in it. How normal is that? Some nights after putting the kids to bed, we just talk and watch TV. We went a long stretch without doing that! We have no booster seats at the kitchen table anymore, and our Christmas tree has no gate around it. Best of all, we were blessed to be able to finish our basement this summer, so most of the toys now reside there. So, the transition from a daycare center to home is going very well! On top of that, no one had surgery or went to the ER this year, either! That hasn't happened since 2004 for us! (Urgent care center visits for sprained knees or extracting broken Qtips from ears or don't count, do they?)

So, since we spent a lot less time at doctor offices, we were able to do some fun things this year. We attended 2 family reunions. We boldly drove the clan to Colorado (only 2500 miles in the van) to see Dave's family. We also took a trip to Canton, OH to see family on Amanda's side. After the kids proved to be so adventurous, we tried some other "firsts" with them, like a bonfire, the zoo without a stroller, a family hike, and movies. We are really enjoying this age with kids and the whole new world that has just opened up to us as a family.

As for the kids, Alyssa is now in kindergarten and absolutely loves it. We are amazed at all the things she is learning, like reading some words already and writing sentences. Alyssa and Lauren took a ballet class this summer, and enjoyed every minute of it. They were also very excited to become roommates this summer, in a pink princess garden room. Lauren, in addition to ballet, has turned out to really enjoy sleeping in on weekends (one day until noon!), puzzles, coloring and music. She walks around often singing little songs she has made up. Lauren, Drew, and Jack are now in their first year of preschool. They are learning a lot about their letters and numbers and seem to enjoy school as well. They also have done a great job with potty training (not without incidents, though), just in time for those funds to go towards the grocery bill. Drew, especially, has grown to be a voracious eater. He works up an appetite running around the house doing sports drills he invented or asking lots of questions about the world around him. Jack and Drew also took a beginners sports class this summer. While Drew couldn't get enough of learning more things to with balls, Jack seemed more interested in calculating the circumference of the balls. His curiosity continues to grow as he tell us all the things around him that are "coo-ul," and he shows a deep love for animals by pretending to be one or cuddling up with 3 stuffed ones as he goes to sleep. He also claims to have seen a crocodile when we were in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Dave continues to run some races throughout the year (including a marathon relay), although he's been sidelined with some minor injuries. He also got to return to his homeland - a Notre Dame football game this year! He and Alyssa enjoyed a trip out the FL for his cousin’s wedding, too. Amanda's health is better than ever, and she's been doing some exercise of her own and is almost back to normal (just had to use that one more time). She has also been organizing some playdates using our church’s warehouse. But the best playdate of all, was getting to see her sister and hubby (who happen to live in Hawaii) ALONE thanks to the World's Greatest Husband manning the fort. It was a great time to visit, while enjoying some much needed relaxation, peace and quiet!

Well, that should do it for our family update. We'll leave you with some favorite 2009 quotes, as we wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the blessings from God in 2010!

God bless,     

Dave, Amanda, Alyssa, Lauren, Drew & Jackson

Alyssa: "Does God have a wife?”
Drew: (while watching a robin in a tree) "He is looking for his wallet."
Jack: "This needs new batteries" (referring to a pencil that needed sharpening) 
Lauren: (suddenly in the middle of lunch) "My armpit is cold."

PS We had rounds and rounds of fun this Christmas. How about you?

Doctorpalooza and Other News-a

I have to say that we have spent quite a bit of time at doctor's offices lately. Dave had to take one day off work to get three appointments out of the way last Monday. I know, you are probably wondering what's new. Well, since reading about doctor's visits isn't the most exciting thing to read about, I'll try to summarize. But thanks to all of you who ask how we are doing and care about this part of our lives!

If you haven't been reading our blog lately, you might want to read our last couple of entries about health problems here and here.

 

The Good News

• Dave's Mom is doing very well and recovered from her surgery. She is driving and resuming normal activities again. Thanks for all your prayers!
• Alyssa went for her 5-year check up and she is doing great, too. She handled her 4 shots like a champ and didn't even cry.
• Lauren went for allergy testing and also did very well with being poked 16 times. Better yet, everything she was tested for came back negative.
• Jack's bloodwork for celiac disease came back negative and also showed a low level of allergy to milk.
• I got my stitches out and my incision is healing nicely from the surgery to repair the permanent stitches from the repair surgery of a 3rd previous surgery!
• We were part of a triplets study and the kids were examined by a developmental physician. All 3 kids tested very well on brain development and Lauren did great on the motor skill testing as well.
• With all the good news on the allergy front, we decided to try wheat with Lauren and Jack again. We are so excited that they seem fine with it now, and this opens up all kinds of possibilities at mealtime (not mention lower grocery bills).
• I went to physical therapy tonight and I have graduated, unless I feel like I need to come back in the next month. My back pain is much better, and I am weaning off 1 of my 2 pain medicines. (The kids may be disappointed about that; they love reminding me to take my medicine.)
• Everyone is over the stomach flu and starting to put the weight back on that they lost. We are so happy not to be seeing ribs at bath time!
• The developmental doctor said that he wasn't concerned about Jack's size, especially since Lauren is smaller and scored so well on the testing. This is especially good news as we had looked into high calorie drinks to supplement Jack's diet, but our insurance company wouldn't cover it as it costs $1300 a month!

The Not as Good News

• Jack had another bad breathing episode and almost had to go to the ER. (Actually, it was the same day Dave's Mom had her stroke. What an exciting New Year's Eve we had!) We were able to get a prescription for the breathing treatment that they give in the ER (which our pediatrician didn't think we would get to use at home). After a couple of rounds of that and some steroids, Jack pinked up and was able to talk without taking a breath mid-word. However, this concerns us that his preventative medicine isn't doing the job, despite recently doubling the dose. Checkup coming next month!
• The developmental doctor recommended that we take Drew for some hearing testing. We have some concerns that his speech isn't as clear as Lauren and Jack. He also had 5 ear infections his first winter, so we want to rule out any hearing loss from that.
• The triplet study that we were part of showed that the boys were behind the average in motor skills. The doctor didn't seem too concerned about it, as these are things that are learned. He also said that this was common in preemies. However, if they are still having trouble by the time they start kindergarten, we should have them evaluated again. That would be the time to seek help if they haven't caught up, as it could otherwise cause frustration in school.

No News

• We are still awaiting bloodwork to see how Jack's immune system functions in regards to previous shots. We also haven't been told his allergy levels for egg, peanut and cashew antibodies.
• We are also awaiting bloodwork for Lauren to make sure that her milk allergy is officially gone.

Other News

• Lauren is now proudly wearing "big girl panties" and is doing very well with daytime potty training. (I think I'll wait until this summer for the boys, though.)
• After looking at the budget, we think we are up for sending the trio to preschool one day a week next year. Do you know what this means!? I may have time to try to find my sanity again!!! Maybe.
• We have jumped on the refinancing bandwagon. We are hoping that our loan is approved soon, so that we can apply some of the money to finishing our basement and making it a playroom. There is hope that our house may not always look like a daycare center after all!

I look forward to the day when I don't have much to say about doctor's visits. Until then......

God bless,

Amanda

http://four-and-no-more.blogspot.com/

Christmas Vacation???

Dave here...

One of the best things about Christmas Vacation is watching some of the best Christmas movies out there, like Charlie Brown's Christmas (the dance moves on the stage by the Peanut's gang are unreal!) and A Christmas Story (tongue sticking to the pole, pink bunny suit, leg lamp, Fah Ra Ra Ra Ra). Another favorite of mine is Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. In the movie he has many ups and downs (trying to get his house lit up, putting up with Uncle Eddy, stressing about his bonus check to pay for the pool), and I found myself experiencing ups and downs like Clark over the two weeks I had off. To begin, I really wanted to get the Christmas lights up early this year (around the bushes and our tree). I love the holiday season (especially with kids!), and I wanted to get the lights up as soon as possible. But, one thing after another occurred (broken lights, GFI blew, circuits blew) and I felt like Clark Griswold all over again. Finally, the lights worked (for the most part), I didn't get electrocuted (does cutting a cord with scissors while it's plugged in count?), and our house looked pretty cool from the outside. So, all was going pretty well, until I received a phone call from Riley Hospital. Amanda had taken Jack there to get some allergy tests done, and while there, they also met with a pediatric pulmonologist because of his asthma problems. The nurse told me when the sweat test was going to be. Sweat test???? What in the world was that? Why a sweat test? Are they going to put a two year old on a tread mill to see how much he can sweat or something? Then, the nurse explained that a sweat test measures the amount of sodium and chlorine on a person, and that helps to determine if a person has Cystic Fibrosis or not. My heart sank as I feared that our little Jack had CF. Since Jack has had some upper respiratory issues and he's been having trouble gaining weight, the doctor wanted to rule out CF. The problem was that he wouldn't be tested until Dec. 29th (about 3 weeks), so that was a lot of fun (NOT!) waiting until that day. 3 stinkin' weeks!!!!!! I looked up the symptoms on the Internet (yes, I know that isn't wise because then you find that your kid has apparently symptoms for 90% of all diseases), and I began to wonder. Since one of the symptoms is salty skin, there were many times in December (this is going to sound very weird people) where Amanda and I licked Jack's arm or back to see if he tasted salty. We both thought he tasted rather plain, but what did we know? Eventually, December 29 rolled around (what a stressful day that was! They make you call a hotline # for the results!) Thankfully, we found out that he didn't have CF, and we celebrated by taking the crew to Chili's.

How about another downer?  The second day I had off from work (Tuesday before Christmas, which was on Thursday), Amanda had a doctor's appointment with her doctor who had performed surgery on her tummy region last year. Apparently, one of her six permanent stitches from that previous surgery came loose, and she was told the only way to fix it was to have surgery (later scheduled the day after Christmas)! It was a quick surgery, but this made 5 surgeries for Amanda in the less than 3 years. Sadly, I feel like these surgeries are almost routine, and Amanda being on a first name basis with the nurses isn't necessarily a good thing.

So, on the same day we find out that Amanda has to have surgery, we hear one of the triplets (Jack) barfing. (Amanda did a nice blog entry on this a couple of entries ago.) Nothing like cleaning up barf chunks from the carpet. Then, I start getting a stomach ache, but we got all the kids down to bed, and Jack was feeling better. We were hoping all the kids would get a good night sleep, but around midnight I hear Drew barfing in his crib. We get him all cleaned up, and before long, we hear Lauren barfing. Knowing that this virus lasts a few hours, we got her up, and together, all three of us went downstairs for a nice puking party. All three of us took turns barfing, and before long, Jack started crying upstairs in his crib because he felt left out. So, Amanda brought Jack down, and we started watching Finding Nemo at like 1:30 in the morning. Once their barfing subsided a few hours later, we went to bed, and my barfing episode finally quit the next morning. Then, Alyssa got it and spent a few hours hugging the toilet. Fun, huh?

Amanda's Mom and Dad came over for Christmas Day a day later, and we thought everyone had a clean bill of health. We enjoyed Christmas dinner and opening gifts, and went to bed early knowing that Amanda had surgery the next morning. Want another downer? Poor Amanda's mom calls at 5:40 in the morning stating, "I've thrown up 3 times already this morning." She was planning on coming over to watch the kids while I took Amanda to the hospital for surgery, but plans obviously change! Since Amanda had to be there at 6:30am, she just drove herself there. Thankfully, Amanda's dad was able to meet her at the hospital and bring her home (good thing he gets up at 6am).

A few days later my Mom and Dad came up to visit, and we had a great few days with them. Yep, you guessed it...another downer! My mom's omelets are amazing, and she makes me one every time she comes up for a visit. My Mom and Dad were planning to eat breakfast and then drive home (4 hours away). As I was eating the omelet, she made a glass of grape juice for herself and picked up the glass. A split second later, she dropped it, and it shattered. She started talking in a slurred manner, and I thought she was making fun of herself for dropping the glass. But, she continued slurring her words for a few minutes, and my dad and I knew something was wrong, so off she went to the ER. They did a lot of tests at the ER (X-Rays, CAT Scans, blood work, ultrasounds, etc...) Her CAT Scan came back saying that her skull was grossly intact, so we were thankful about that (:-).  However, one of the ultrasounds showed one of her two carotid arteries (they bring oxygenated blood to the brain) being around 90% blocked. So, she was put on a blood thinner and aspirin, and surgery was eventually set for the following Monday. Thankfully, the surgery went very well, and she came back to my home the following day and back to her home the day after that. Talk about a crazy couple of weeks!!!!!!

Thankfully, everything turned out well, just like the movies. In Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold finally got his bonus check. In Charlie Brown's Christmas, Charlie Brown finally learned the true meaning of Christmas. In A Christmas Story, Ralphie finally got the Red Ryder BB gun he'd been dreaming of. And, in my two weeks, I can look back and thank the Lord for His provisions over these hectic holidays. Jack is starting to eat better and put on some weight, my mom now is healthier than she was a few weeks ago, my wife's 5th and hopefully final surgery over the last few years is over, and my favorite football team, Notre Dame, finally won a bowl game! Amanda and I even got a Wii for Christmas! Despite the ups and downs, God has been so faithful to us by providing us with His peace and goodness. Well, that's it for now. We need some "relative calmness" in this house for awhile.

Until next time! 

Dave

I've Got Chills - They're Multiplying......

We did a little, er, ah, family bonding last night. It was one of those nights you shudder to think about as a parent to 4, but it appears the storm has passed. Some kids will do anything to watch Finding Nemo at 2am! Alyssa and I are the lone ones standing, although I think we have both had a touch of the bug. She served her time with something similar 2 weeks ago, though.

It's never a good day when you start it by doing two loads of laundry at 12:30am. But despite all the people up and down the stairs, pulling cribs apart and wiping them down, and the laundry room churning at full throttle right across from Alyssa's bedroom, she slept through the whole thing!

We'd appreciate your prayers for us during this rough time. In particular, we have had some concerns about Jack lately, and him not gaining weight. I took him last week to see a specialist (pediatric pulmonologist) about his breathing troubles, and she did give us some good tools to use to try to keep us out of the ER (4 times in 4 months is too much).

However, she also ordered some further testing to rule out other problems. We are awaiting the blood test results to see if he has celiac disease or if his immune system responded well to some shots he was given in the past. Most concerning, is that he will be taking a "sweat test" next Monday. This is to rule out Cystic Fibrosis. The doctor thinks that, most likely, his problems are due to childhood asthma, but we have to make sure these other issues aren't a problem. Please pray with us that all test results will come out well. We may not get the results for another month, so the waiting is tough, too.

Jack was also tested by an allergist. He took those 16 pricks in the back like a champ. We did confirm that he is officially allergic to peanuts, cashews, milk and eggs. There is a 20% chance he could outgrow the nut allergy and a 70% chance he will outgrow the milk and egg allergy. (Alyssa was allergic to milk and eggs and did outgrown them at age 3.) We also found out that he is allergic to a mold that is common in the fall. That was a very helpful piece of the puzzle. The last two autumns, we have had a lot of sickness. So next year, we will start Jack on an allergy medicine and hopefully avoid some of the past misery! Lauren has to go in next for allergy testing, as she has shown some problems with milk. There have been some serious reactions to milk in England recently, so we need to get on top of that, too.

The good news is that both of the boys seem to be over their last cold. I think that Jack enjoyed having the company during the breathing treatments, though. He's back to being the lone ranger (get it? He's wearing a mask.) with preventative breathing treatments twice a day now.

I'd also appreciate your prayers for me as I am still going through physical therapy for some back problems. I need prayers for good health in general! It's time to get on with life!

More fun stuff later!

God bless,

Amanda

My Life is a Sitcom

People ask all the time what life is like for us with 4 kids under the age of 4. I think now it is really getting to the crazy stage that people imagined it would be. Sometimes I feel like I should look around for the cameras, because it almost seems like their are producers and writers mapping it all out, and we are just along for the entertainment. I couldn't make some of this stuff up if I tried. So let me tell you about my day today.

To get you up to speed, I'll have to give you a little background information first. A week before Thanksgiving, I was rear-ended. Alyssa was the only one with me, and the damage to the minivan was minimal. The accident really wasn't that big of a deal, I was just sitting at a roundabout (those of you from here can guess what city I was in), waiting for my turn, when the lady behind me bumped me. She was very nice and apologetic. I didn't see her coming, however, so my neck snapped back. I spent 3 1/2 hours at MedCheck to find out I have strained muscles in my neck and back. Other than a really bad headache the day of the accident, that's the only injuries we had - thank God! The best thing for me to heal is rest. Ha! Like that will happen in my life! The doctor understood, as he had twins and 3 boys after that. He just said in my case it would take a lot longer to heal, but overall I should be fine. He gave me a prescription for muscle relaxers, that I was a little hesitant to try. Do you remember Jenny from 16 Candles who was so loopy at her own wedding? That's the last thing I want to feel like in my job. But, I was told I can also use heat and Advil to get me through the day.

I've also been having bad insomnia again. So after waking up every hour or two, I finally started my day. Well, I should make that Alyssa started my day. She came in at 6 am wondering who was in the shower. At first I thought she was sleep talking, but then I realized she probably heard the toilet flush. We got her to climb into to bed with us and told her it was too early to fix her oatmeal. Dave had to get up and take his shower by then anyway, so I got her to lay with me until he got out. Alyssa usually doesn't get up until Dave has left for the day, but it was nice that he was still there. He fixed her breakfast so I could hop into the shower.

Afterwards, Alyssa wanted to watch cartoons, so I got her dressed and set up to watch her show before I tackled the babies, who were now up. As it turned out, we had a mess on our hands. Let's just say Drew had it coming out of both ends and needed a bath right away. Just before leaving for work, Dave changed Jack for me, but had to put him back into his crib while I finished bathing Drew. At least that was one less stinky diaper I didn't have to change. Poor Lauren was also stuck in her crib and they weren't too happy. Drew just seemed stunned as to why I would want to dunk him first thing in the morning. But I quickly got some clean pants on him and his siblings, too, and let them play around upstairs in their bedroom.

Then it was time to detoxify Drew's bed. I got the washer started (our laundry room is upstairs) and started making trips back and forth. Luckily, all the toys in Drew's bed were machine washable! After my second trip to the washer, the trio had figured out the laundry room was a fun place to play "demolition crew." At one point, they had drying racks and vacuum parts all over the floor in a such a way that I couldn't get in through the door. This did not make me happy as I was carrying some stinky stuff! Then when I tried to start the washer - nothing! Tried a different setting - still nothing. Unplugged it and plugged it back in - nothing! I ran back to get my last load and pleaded with God how I would lose it if I had to deal with a wet, soggy, stinky load of laundry and a broken washer. He had mercy on me and it started up when I finished loading it. Thank you God!

The next mission was to get all 3 kids downstairs with as little hauling as possible. Lauren and Drew went down on their tummies pretty well. Lauren seemed in a race, but she and Drew were done racing while I chased them before Jack realized that the gate at the top of the stairs was open, luckily. That left only one kid to get downstairs.

Then it was off to get formula and breakfast. My husband is so thoughtful and always makes some formula and sets out the breakfast supplies for me. However, today only having 2 sippy cups of formula ready to go made for one angry triplet. Jack was the unlucky one who got there last and started showing off his redheaded temper again. But I got him a drink quickly and was able to get breakfast set up for the trio. By this time, Alyssa's quota of cartoons were over, and she decided she wanted to sit on my lap while I fed the babies. I tried to explain about the boo boo on my back and how it would hurt, so she left me alone for a bit. About 2/3 of the way through the oatmeal, everything Drew had consumed made a second appearance. I had another fun mess on my hands to clean up. The poor kid was looking pasty white, so I felt badly for him. So once I got him and his chair cleaned up, I let him sit on my lap while I finished feeding the other two. Well, Alyssa didn't like that one bit, so she snuck back up on my lap, too. At least by then I had gotten some Advil into my system! The rest of breakfast was luckily uneventful. So I cleaned up the breakfast mess and the kids played, or perhaps you would call it resumed the destruction of the house.

I was happy for them being occupied, so I could call about getting our van fixed. The insurance company found a shop that was only 4 miles away, which was nice. As the phone rang, I looked at the calendar trying to figure out which day we could do without our only vehicle with 4 carseats in it. The lady answered the phone "Oh, you’re the Honda Odyssey!" Huh? Most people answer the phone with “Hello"!!! I said, “Wow, you are good!” I can understand that Caller ID would tell her who I was, but does Caller ID now include the make and model of your car now? Evidently, she was expecting my call and had all my info from the insurance company. Things like that can really freak people out who are already spacey from Advil and muscle relaxers!

After getting the babies dressed for the day, I noticed Jack's diaper showing that he might have Drew's illness, too. More fun to look forward to on this dreary rainy day! Then, I tried to catch up on some email, and warn the babies NICU nurse who was supposed to come over for dinner tonight to stay away. (That will teach us to invite anyone over for dinner!)

Then Alyssa came over whiny and crying to be picked up. My first impulse was to try to explain about the boo boo on my back again, but then I looked at her. Ut oh! She was pale and pasty white, too. They were falling like dominoes. It could be me and 4 puking kids by the end of the day. Yikes! So I took my shivering daughter to the couch, bundled her up with 2 blankets, and convinced her that she could wash all her germs away if she drank enough Pedialyte. Of course, we usually only buy clear Pedialyte for situations such as these. Guess what, today we were out of the clear. All I could find was orange. That will be another fun mess to clean up. I told her if she felt the urge for anything to leave her body to please throw the covers off and sprint to the bathroom, where I would meet her.

On the way back to the kitchen, I realized what was my nice clean house last night has now turned into an obstacle course. So what did I do instead of picking it up - take a picture! And since misery loves company, I sent it to my husband in an email telling him that the kids had cleaned the house for him. By this point, Drew was at least feeling a little better and the color had returned to his cheeks. Maybe he had pity on me and was trying to help clean up as he pushed his toy vacuum cleaner around. Alyssa decided that Daddy needed to know that she had a fever, so I helped her call him and leave a voicemail.

After watching Lauren pull two pairs of sock off, I gave up on keeping her feet warm. Jack was crawling in and out of the cabinets and the drawer under the oven. Drew was walking across the floor with a baseball in his mouth. And Alyssa was playing at the kitchen table, using the Game of Life as another backdrop for her pretend play. That, along with sternly reminding the trio to stay on their tushies when climbing furniture rounded out my morning.

Next, I fed them lunch and I was relieved that it was uneventful, except for Jack losing patience over being in the highchair instead of booster seat (they take turns in it). Alyssa ate a little and made just one fairly tame trip to the bathroom. I was starting to believe that I might not be living out the pie eating scene in "Stand By Me" after all. Yeah!

So after lunch I went about cleaning up the high chairs when I heard a high pitched beeping sound. It was Jack. He had found the phone. I forgot to hang it up when Alyssa called her Daddy. So I pulled the plug from the wall to prevent him from calling China. (He's also been known to call his grandparents, too.) After I got the phone away from him and heard an ever louder redheaded tantrum from him, I plugged the phone back in and it immediately started to ring. I thought that was odd. Thanks to Caller ID, I saw "Out of Area" and decided not to answer it, as last time I did it was a telemarketer. Then I get a second call and it was from the same number. Then I started to get suspicious that maybe Jack did get a call out. I unplugged the phone again and hit "Redial". Sure enough, up popped the same number that the Caller ID had just shown (with several extra digits behind it). Yikes! They were coming after me. What does etiquette dictate you do for this situation? Call and apologize? Call and make Jack apologize? Hope they go away? Never answer the phone again? I decided to ignore it and hope that it went away. They didn't call back at least.

Whew, by this time it was only noon and I was completely exhausted! I knew today would be an adventure, but this is not what I had in mind! At least it was nearly naptime and cleaning the kitchen was such a lost cause that I didn't feel too badly lying down myself. During my nap, I had a dream that I was nanny for a lady with 6 kids! Am I a glutton for punishment or what?

But I am thankful to say that the rest of the day went pretty well, and no one else threw up. Alyssa told me that she felt much better after her nap and that she washed all her germs away, but she still had her fever.

Dave went and got the estimate on our van done, and for some reason came home wanting to talk about getting toys out of our house after the pictures I sent him. Hmm, I wonder why? It's not like Christmas is coming and we'll get more or anything like that.

No wonder people are so amused watching us. There's always something going on here. Like I said, it's like a sitcom.

God bless,
Amanda

PS I wrote this entry during a break my husband was nice enough to give me after dinner. When I came back downstairs, I was greeted with, "Guess which one of your children is going to have a black eye tomorrow?" Ei yi yi! I'm scared what tomorrow's episode will bring. Evidently, it will include Drew with a black eye.

PPS I did have one really precious moment today I wish I had videotaped. Alyssa was doing her ballet dancing to the Sound of Music soundtrack, Lauren was trying to twirl around and imitate her, and the boys were watching and clapping their hands in their own toddler way, as if to cheer them on. It was too cute.

This was copied and edited from our previous website on Babysites.

Medical Update

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to give you a quick update on how we are doing. Thanks so much to all of you who have been asking. The trio is doing much better now. Things were pretty much back to normal in the GI department, so I decided to try some wheat in their diet. (They have been completely off wheat for about a month.) Well, that led to a couple more days of diarrhea, so I guess they aren’t ready for that yet. I may give the doctor a call and make sure that sounds normal to him (that they aren't ready for it yet).

We are finishing up another round of colds and fevers. I suspect that Jack had roseola. He had a temp of 104 and then got the rash a few days later. Lauren had a high fever, too. But the good news is that the kids seem to be doing much better now. They are so much happier, too.

As for me, I am doing pretty well, too. I went to my endocrinologist and he's very happy with how I am doing. My last TSH test was 1.7. This is within the normal range, yeah! However, it is higher than the previous one, which was 1.4. Also, to suppress the potential regrowth of cancer cells, it is recommended to get my TSH down to 0.5. The only way to do this is the raise the dose of thyroid medicine that I am taking. So he raised my dose of Synthroid back up to 125 micrograms. I was taking this before, but after 6 weeks I had way too much in my system and even got hand tremors. So I have been on 112 micrograms (the next lowest dose). Unfortunately, after a week back on 125, I am getting bad insomnia again. I don't want to go back to the 112, as I also had much lower energy (which is obviously in great demand with my crazy life). I have a good friend who is a pharmacist who mentioned some people take 112 one day and 125 the next. So I think that I am going to try that next.

I’m glad to report that I am doing so well, that my doctor doesn't want me to come back until May or June! I haven't gone that long without seeing a doctor for 2/12 years! In April (while Dave is on Spring Break), I will go have a follow up scan to make sure that the radioactive iodine worked. It's a pretty involved 5-day protocol (but not much I have to do except for the last day). But I won't have to go through "slugfest" again this time. Yeah! The best news of all, though, is that I have actually had times between all this bouncing around with thyroid med doses where I feel pretty good. Make that better than I have felt in 2 years! So that is so encouraging to me. It's a little tough when I am feeling so good to want to stay that way, but instead I swing back and forth between a hyper, moody insomniac to a lazy bum who is numb to the world. But I am hopeful that the end is in sight and I am very close to getting back to myself someday soon. Thanks so much for all of you for sticking by me through all of this.

Want to hear one last good thing that happened to me!? I didn’t change a single diaper yesterday! It just kind of happened by luck, but that hasn’t happened since the babies were in the NICU. And today I only changed 2 diapers. Is my husband awesome, or what!?

God bless,
Amanda

http://four-and-no-more.blogspot.com/

This was copied and edited from our previous website on Babysites.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I've been told that there's an old Spanish proverb that says, "Be careful what you wish for, for you just may receive it." Well, that's happened to me twice this last week or so.
My sister was in from Hawaii for Christmas, so we got to spend it with my family, and then saw Dave's parents a few days later. Everyone has been so great about being flexible and doing what works for us best. I kept mentioning that I really needed to get out of the house. (Christmas shopping was actually something I looked forward to doing -- I had to be alone and I was getting something big done!) Dave has been great about letting me get out as much as possible, but it's been a long couple of months as the kids have had lots of colds.
So anyway, we planned one evening at my Mom's, one at our house, and one at my Dad's. Well, as you may have read already, I spent most of Christmas Eve at the hospital with Jack, so that threw all of our plans out of whack. We didn't even open any presents until the 26th! I have to say it was kind of nice not to have the focus be on presents, though. We had some nice family gatherings squeezed in with some good food, and that was great for me. Somehow I don't think next year Alyssa will wait to see what we got her until the night of the 27th, though!
So now I find myself at the hospital once again. This time I am here with Drew, and we are next door to the room where Jack was. At least Drew was nice enough to get sick during the day instead at night! He also has RSV and a couple of small places with pneumonia on his lungs. He's actually been on antibiotics since Thursday, so he should be getting better soon. He wouldn't eat very well for us this morning, and it seems he got dehydrated. He had a scalp IV put into his head (not fun for baby or Mom!), but it fell out. But now he is doing so much better that they are letting him keep it out, yeah! He still has electrodes on his chest and his toe (also known as the ET phone home light). He's had some breathing treatments that seem to help, and so far he hasn't needed oxygen. He definitely looks better than when we got here, so I am so grateful to see my little boy doing better!
I never thought I would use my NICU knowledge again, but it's just like riding a bike, I guess. Drew is on all the same monitors he was as a newborn. But I have learned a lot, too (like double check what the ER doc says with the pediatric hospitaltician). I think the boys have learned a lot, also. It didn't take them long with all the poking and prodding to look at everyone who came into the room with distrust. It's like their little faces were saying: “What are you going to do to me?” But it seems that most of that is over now - thank goodness!
I have to say that it's much quieter here than at home, but when I dreamed of peace and quiet, this is not what I had in mind!!!!! We are at a new hospital, though, that is more like a hotel than anything. So if you have to be in, this is the way to do it! That will teach me to wish away my life or want other things, huh? Hopefully, we'll get some rest and be home soon. I am fighting a sinus infection, too, so I need some shut eye myself.
As for Jack, he is doing much better. Yesterday, he really smiled a lot and seemed like his old self. He is still wheezing a little bit, but the RSV lasts around 2 weeks, so that's expected. Lauren is hanging in there so far. She is starting to wheeze and cough, too, though. She is also cutting her first two teeth, so that is making her nice and cranky!
So we could really use your prayers for our family to get healthy and stay there. 2006 has been quite a tough year, and I have to say I'm kind of glad to see it go. I'm looking forward to 2007 and the fresh start (and hopefully sleep!) it will bring.
God bless you all and Happy New Year!
Amanda

Copied and edited from our previous page on Babysites.