Recently, while at an expo, Ben and I took our kiddos to set up. I was under the weather, but Ben was willing to stay for me as long as I would set up the display. Our kids were instructed to stand against the wall and wait quietly for us. That's exactly what they did... though Jack would wander away a bit. When he did wander one of the older Turkey Bottoms would take his hand and quietly lead him back to his allotted place.
It was one of those moments where you look up and you see your kids, really see them, and think... man, they're wonderful.
We had lots of compliments... some people said that their kids would never stand there for as long as they did. Others simply said, "Your kids are so well behaved." After a few compliments I started telling people that we drugged them... Ben heard me and he chuckled... then later he used that line himself. But, the lady he told responded, "No. Not drugs, good parenting."
It's not the first time we've received this kind of compliment... and so I've decided to write a blog with all of my parenting secrets. I'm not saying that we're the perfect parents -- um, so far from it -- but this is what we've learned so far on our journey with five kiddos.
First and foremost, we are a Christian- Bible believing set of parents. That means that everything that we do (and don't do) is because based on biblical principles. We believe in training a child in the way he should go so that he will not depart from it later on in life when he/she is out of our home. And get ready for this unpopular statement... we don't spare the rod either. But, there is more to parenting then using a rod.
For those of you who don't know us or get to experience our family on a day to day basis here's what you don't always see... We're an incredibly fun family!! We have 5 kids because we enjoy them! They crack us up with the things that their little heads come up with... if you need some evidence you should read my Facebook statuses from time to time! They are incredibly smart also! In a large family you may not always get the attention that you want when you want it - or need it. So we have always encouraged the kiddos to be problem solvers. Think of way that you can accomplish what you need if Mommy is elbow deep in dirty diapers or feeding a baby or a hundred other random things that come up in a day at Turkey Bottom Haven.
At a very young age everyone in our family is given duties. Currently our three oldest turkeys pick up the table after every meal. One will wash the table, one will sweep, one will help take dishes out of the dishwasher, they put the chairs back to the table, rinse dishes, etc. etc. They also fold laundry and dust. The girls run the vacuum (and at times fight over who gets to run the vacuum). They clean their own rooms and make their own beds... even Gabe makes his own bed. Gabe cleans his room, throws dirty diapers away, carries things to the laundry room as needed and helps with general picking up around the house. While some may think that it is laziness on our part to have our children have so many duties we strongly believe that it instills in them a strong work ethic. They will never be spoiled or entitled... at least as far as it is up to us they won't be. I really believe that this is good parenting.
Each one of our children also know the rules. The most repeated phrase in our house is, "Listen and obey right away!" Obedience is something that all parents need to demand from their children. Obedience doesn't squish their ability to be creative or whatever mumbo-jumbo you'll hear new-agers saying. Instead obedience saves lives and keeps people out of prison. We are not here to raise children. That bears repeating. We are not here to raise children. If your end goal is a 30 year old child you have missed the mark. We parent with the intent to equip our children to become God-fearing adults who will live to impact their world for Jesus... we do not raise children to one day populate prisons and harm those around them. I am not being over-the-top here. Disobedient children become disobedient adults and their parents play a major role in that. So I say again, each one of our children know the rules. They must know the rules so the rules must stay the same. I see so many parents who think it's funny one day when their child picks up an inappropriate word at home and repeats it ... and then they get to church or out in public and all of the sudden it's not so funny and the child gets the beating of a lifetime. How is that right? Here's a better rule... if their behavior would bring shame in public it brings shame in the home... and should be punished.
Punishment is not fun for anyone. Good willed parents do not like "bringing the thunder" with the rod. I don't like it when my children hurt. I especially cringe when I know they're going to get in trouble with Daddy. But, this brings me to my next two points. Mom and Dad you must win. Ben's dad told me this early on in our parenting and it's true. There are battles to be won in parenting. You will get tired. You will get discouraged. You will get off track. You will think that you will never get that child to listen and obey right away... but the only way that is true is if you give up. Once you give up, you lose the battle and Satan wins a victory in the life of your child. My adorable little Emma is a perfect example of this... I remember days when it seemed like all I did was spank her. She would going into screaming fits of rage. She would bring an attitude never seen before and she would place herself in open rebellion and disobedience. I would cry as I put her over my lap. But, I also would pray and pray and pray. I prayed that God would first bring her under His authority and then under her parents authority. I prayed that God might help me to break her of her disobedience, but not break her spirit. I knew that her strong will and desire to stay the course will one day be her greatest character traits... so long as it was placed in the right direction. Today she is growing in the wonderful answer to that prayer. I cannot remember the last time I spanked her ... and that's great for all of us! Once you've determined that you will be a battle-winner you must also determine that you will be consistent. Every time a rule is broken you will bring correction to your child. While I've repeatedly mentioned spanking as a form of correction we do use other forms of punishment such as going to bed, not getting snacks, taking away toys that they love... Yelling is not a form of correction. I'm not saying that we don't ever yell, because (perhaps to our own shame) we do yell. But, yelling at a child accomplishes nothing. Kids are smart. So if your rule is no snacks without asking and they gobble up a box of Oreos without asking and you yell at them in return... so what?? They got to eat the Oreos and no real punishment was given and at the next opportunity they will gobble up another box of Oreos and another and another. And now YOU have taught them that disobeying you is okay. This may not seem like a big deal now, but one day that child may outgrow you and you've taught them that disobeying you is okay and the older and bigger they get the harder it will be for you to train them in the way they should go.
So I'm not revealing all of our parenting secrets today... but would love to hear what you've found works for your family! I think down the road I'll also write a blog about our epic parenting fails... but that might have to wait until they're all 18 and on their own as the proof is in the pudding! :)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The flu... chunks. Except when it doesn't...
With being the lone survivor of all things sick this week I was pretty sure that my Super Mom cape was showing. I tried to play it down by saying things like, "Well, I must have missed the flu bug when I was sitting in the hospital with Jack." In reality I knew what was going on. I'm bionic. For those of you who are unsure of what I mean by bionic, I simply mean, having extraordinary strength, powers, or capabilities; superhuman. We all know that moms don't have time to be sick, so perhaps we're all a little bionic... but I'm super-bionic...
Then on Thursday night my cape was ripped off and reality reared its ugly little head. And, to be perfectly honest, I blame Ben. Thursday as he was going to bed he did the ultimate no-no. You see, when 1 person gets sick in my family I start making rules. Rules that have gotten in the heads of my little ones and will probably scar them someday... but all the same. Rule #1 No kissing. We are an affectionate family and kisses are given not only at bedtime, but periodically throughout the day. Until the moment someone shows any signs of sickness. I call a ceasing on kissing and no one is allowed to get near me with their lips. Heartless? Perhaps. Practical? Absolutely. You see my Turkey Bottoms are 7,5,4,2 and 1 and that's a lot of kids that can't take care of themselves if mom goes down.
So Thursday night as Ben gets ready to go to bed he kisses me. And not the type of kiss that you give your grandma. And as soon as he walks away I literally gag. I panic and think, "I'm going to get the flu!!" I guess my bionic intelligence was working overtime, because by 5 AM Friday I was puking. Puking is a truly terrible thing. At one point I was puking so violently that I thought I might choke and die... which at that point wouldn't have been completely horrible. Now when you add puking to liquid pooping it gets worse. Okay, too much information I realize that... but how much worse does life get when you're sitting on the toilet and puking into a bucket? Not long after this I had nothing left to give the bucket, but that never stopped the dry heaving which is painful. Bring on the cramps and the general "discomfort" in my stomach and now I can't get comfortable enough to sleep. So I drift in and out of consciousness without ever really feeling like I was getting quality sleep. Add on top of this that Ben watched 40 war movies with lots of loud shooting and I'm ready to jump out the window. For reals.
So I finally fall asleep and wake up in the weirdest state of chills that I have EVER experienced. I knew that I had the chills prior in the evening when I had 2 quilts on and a space heater pointed at me and Ben was sitting in his chair without a shirt on... So anyhow I woke up with the chills and literally half of my body has a sheet on and is sweating, while the other half without the sheet has goose bumps. How does that even happen? Ben tried to explain it to me today and was saying something about my body trapping heat, blah, blah, blah... but my superhuman intelligence shut off and he might as well have been explaining it to me in Greek.
The good news... I'm on the mend... no chunking or heaving on this fine Saturday. I am reminded that God's mercies are made new every morning!
Then on Thursday night my cape was ripped off and reality reared its ugly little head. And, to be perfectly honest, I blame Ben. Thursday as he was going to bed he did the ultimate no-no. You see, when 1 person gets sick in my family I start making rules. Rules that have gotten in the heads of my little ones and will probably scar them someday... but all the same. Rule #1 No kissing. We are an affectionate family and kisses are given not only at bedtime, but periodically throughout the day. Until the moment someone shows any signs of sickness. I call a ceasing on kissing and no one is allowed to get near me with their lips. Heartless? Perhaps. Practical? Absolutely. You see my Turkey Bottoms are 7,5,4,2 and 1 and that's a lot of kids that can't take care of themselves if mom goes down.
So Thursday night as Ben gets ready to go to bed he kisses me. And not the type of kiss that you give your grandma. And as soon as he walks away I literally gag. I panic and think, "I'm going to get the flu!!" I guess my bionic intelligence was working overtime, because by 5 AM Friday I was puking. Puking is a truly terrible thing. At one point I was puking so violently that I thought I might choke and die... which at that point wouldn't have been completely horrible. Now when you add puking to liquid pooping it gets worse. Okay, too much information I realize that... but how much worse does life get when you're sitting on the toilet and puking into a bucket? Not long after this I had nothing left to give the bucket, but that never stopped the dry heaving which is painful. Bring on the cramps and the general "discomfort" in my stomach and now I can't get comfortable enough to sleep. So I drift in and out of consciousness without ever really feeling like I was getting quality sleep. Add on top of this that Ben watched 40 war movies with lots of loud shooting and I'm ready to jump out the window. For reals.
So I finally fall asleep and wake up in the weirdest state of chills that I have EVER experienced. I knew that I had the chills prior in the evening when I had 2 quilts on and a space heater pointed at me and Ben was sitting in his chair without a shirt on... So anyhow I woke up with the chills and literally half of my body has a sheet on and is sweating, while the other half without the sheet has goose bumps. How does that even happen? Ben tried to explain it to me today and was saying something about my body trapping heat, blah, blah, blah... but my superhuman intelligence shut off and he might as well have been explaining it to me in Greek.
The good news... I'm on the mend... no chunking or heaving on this fine Saturday. I am reminded that God's mercies are made new every morning!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Christmas Gift and Decorating Ideas!
I'm including some gift giving ideas as well as just some pictures of my favorite things from At Home America! Enjoy!
Above I have a couple of pictures of our Absolutely Red Heritage Bowls. In the top one you have the two mixing bowls with a cookie jar mix and cookie cutters. Which would be a perfect gift for a neighbor with small children (or grandchildren). I had a complete brain fart in the second photo which I intended to add some white mixing spoons with the cookie jar mix. Again a great gift for a teacher or friend... perhaps the mother-in-law who has almost everything. You could also include a stack of recipe cards tied in Christmas ribbon!
This decorative plate would be a nice gift for newlyweds, grandparents, wives, anyone you would love to have a long future with you. It's pictured on the Wright Brothers Clock stand (which is one of the ways that clock is so incredibly versatile). I was thinking today that newlyweds rarely register for Christmas items which makes decorating somewhat costly in the first years of marriage... so why not give Christmas decorations as a gift that they will get years of enjoyment out of?
Above is the Westminster Lighting Company Antique Copper Lantern with removable tealight holders. On its own it's an impressive lantern. But to "jazz" it up a bit for Christmas try this...
By adding a bit of rafia and a few pieces of the Silent Night, Holy Night Nativity set you now have a complete stable set! If you're wondering why the Baby Jesus is missing, it's because He doesn't come until Christmas and is placed in the manger before unwrapping Christmas presents!
Can I just say that I.HEART.THE.SHEEP. in this Nativity? 'Cause I really, really do! My neighbor, and new friend, Carol got this nativity set with her hostess credit. She collects nativity sets, which I think is wonderful! Honestly, I want to start a tree collection (actually more of a tree farm), but how much better to have a reminder in each room of the house what Christmas is actually about? Love it!
This picture isn't the best because it makes my walls look grayish when in reality they're more sagey. I love this combination of wall art. I wasn't completely convinced from looking at them in the catalog that I would like these pictures, especially the Heartfelt Favorites Christmas Memory (the bottom picture) but I really like it in real life. So of course the same thing is happening with this picture that you can't get the full effect, but trust me on this... it's fab. Once you decide to trust me on that fact that it truly is fabulous, you'll want to book a party and get it free (it's one of our booking bonus items and you'll want it)!
Oh, and the stars on the wall stay up year around. They're handle pulls that I bought at an amazing store in Waverly called Millie Mays... unfortunately she's gone out of business. :(
One of my favorites is the Rustic Reindeer and I love them paired up and surrounding the tree. They really are fun! And I should note that my fingers are beginning to cramp so my descriptions might (will) be getting shorter.
More lanterns, this time with a stand! Love these also! They're huge! The top one The Chateau by Gaslight has 8 ball ornaments and a star ornament just a little smaller than my hand... it's no where near full that's how big it is!! The second lantern is called the Chateau by Moonlight lantern and it's pictured with two of our Forever Glow candles which are battery operated, but still have a vanilla scent to them! The candles are 4x6" and 3x4" and you never have to worry about them around kiddos. Plus they flicker so they look like "real" candles. Genius.
Lastly I have pictured the 24 Pocket Countdown Tradition which is stretched above the entry of our kitchen and just shy of the length of our dinning room. It's huge. Each pocket is 5 1/2"SQ. So assuming I did my math correctly (and that's a big assumption) it's 11 feet long when the pockets are side by side (no swooshing). Of course there's plenty of room for 5 pieces of candy for each of the Turkey Bottoms, but what I'm most excited about is writing out 24 for Bible verses leading up to the birth of Christ to share with the kiddos. Can't wait!
Ok, so that's all for now folks! Love what you see? Order online at www.athome.com/kellydriscoll or email me at kellydathome@hotmail.com to book a show and get your favorites free! November and December are double hostess points months... meaning you double the amount of free homewares earned! Think of all the Christmas gifts and decorating you can get done for free!! :)
Oh, and the stars on the wall stay up year around. They're handle pulls that I bought at an amazing store in Waverly called Millie Mays... unfortunately she's gone out of business. :(
Ok, so that's all for now folks! Love what you see? Order online at www.athome.com/kellydriscoll or email me at kellydathome@hotmail.com to book a show and get your favorites free! November and December are double hostess points months... meaning you double the amount of free homewares earned! Think of all the Christmas gifts and decorating you can get done for free!! :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
NOT THIS AGAIN!
Last March Jack and Gabe were admitted to Covenant Hospital for RSV. Jack also had croup, bronchitis and pneumonia on top of the RSV. Gabe was hospitalized for 4 days, Jack was 7 or 8. It was a hard time. The boys had excellent nurses and a great doc, but it was too long to be away from the rest of the family. The boys were in isolation and the other kids couldn't visit much. It's hard not sleeping in your own bed and having nurses come in every 2 hours. It's hard having sick kiddos.
Jack woke up this morning with breathing difficulties. He's had a cold for at least 2 weeks now. We haven't had him at church because colds for him always turn into something more. On Tuesday of this week I really felt like maybe he was turning a corner and I even felt confident enough to take him to Awana. Again this Sunday (today) we kept him out of church. We decided on Saturday night that we'd all stay home from church because Gabe has been throwing up and anyone with a Facebook account knows that everyone has a 24 hour flu. Ben worked today, so everyone would stay home. As I was getting Jack dressed this morning I saw that he was having trouble breathing. His nose was running and I immediately got the nebulizer out for a breathing treatment. It seemed like it helped and he was able to sleep. When he woke up I could tell that he was still struggling a bit, but it was time for lunch and I would give him another breathing treatment after he was done eating. He never touched his food and was crying hysterically. So unlike our Jack... he always eats and hardly ever cries!
Since it is Sunday I was going back and forth trying to decide if I would take him to the ER or wait for the morning to go to the doctors office. Julayne walked in around 1:30 and mentioned that she thought Jack was doing so much worse. His breathing was very labored and he was wheezing. I stopped cleaning up from lunch and asked if she would watch kiddos so I could run him over to the ER.
At the small hospital in our hometown there's no receptionist on Sunday (which always struck me as odd since you would think more people would come in on the weekend) so you go directly back to the nurses station in the ER. Immediately 2 nurses were waving a doctor down and an EMT came out from no where to check him out... that's how loud and labored his breathing was. There were no rooms available and they were racing around to find a room. An elderly gentleman named, Cliff, came out of his room and said, "That baby needs this room more than I do. I'll wait in the waiting room." Thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes.
Over the next hour and a half Jack had the usual oxygen monitor hooked to his toe, a nebulizer treatment and a chest x-ray (which was and always is horrible). Immediately after that they gave him a shot. Still unsure what the shot was... note to self ask nurse to look that up for me. Immediately after that they strapped him to a board so that there was a strap holding his head in place, his chest in place, his arms in place and his feet in place. They did this in order to put an IV in. I was already crying at this point and left the room, but could still hear his deafening cries from the hallway. The nurses will tell you that they cry more from being strapped down than any pain from the IV, but when you walk in and see a towel with your baby's blood on it you know they're liars. After the IV came the RSV test which doesn't seem painful but they insert fluid into his nose and catch the drainage. At least I think it's his nose... after as many RSV tests as he's had you'd think I'd pay more attention. But, by this time I'm always so upset that I think I go into a fog that allows me to function while being somewhat unattached to what's going on around me... or else I'll end up on the floor in a pool of tears.
Before the lab results and chest x-ray come back the doctor tells me that no matter what he'll have to be admitted to the hospital. The nebulizer treatment helped the breathing, but with 3 minutes afterward he was already retracting and needing more help breathing. So, I think, "Oh, no. Not this again."
Once the chest x-ray comes back we are pleased to hear that there is no pneumonia. They did see a problem in his abdomen ... something called (spelled phonetically) an ill-ee-us. Basically its a lazy bowel. It should correct itself but for today it means no food or drink... IV fluids only. This meant two things. The first is that even though his throat is sore, he can't drink. Secondly, he would have to go to Covenant via ambulance since the IV was started at the ER.
The labs came back negative for RSV and influenza. Still having problems breathing so another neb treatment is given. While waiting for the "rig" to come Nana Susan shows up with a Diet Coke for me and hugs for Jack. Jack was very eager to go to Nana ... he was upset with Mama. As a matter-of-fact he had hugs and cuddles for the Doctor and Ben when he arrived ... not so much for Mama.
The ambulance arrives and Jack is placed on a huge gurney and looks dwarfed and especially sad. He was not a fan of them buckling him in and who could blame him? We stick around long enough for them to put Jack in the back of the ambulance before I'm racing to the car to get home to pack a bag. I'm not sure what's in the bag... but it was done in the matter of a few minutes.
Upon arriving in the hospital we go to the all to familiar elevator to the 4th floor ... as the doors open the EMTs that brought Jack in are leaving. Arriving on the peds floor we can hear Jack crying. Upon seeing us he calmed down some.
It took a long time before he finally calmed down enough to fall asleep and when he did his oxygen levels kept dipping and I knew it was only a matter of time before he would go on oxygen. The "magic" number is 92. If it stays at 92 they keep him off the oxygen.
I know the quality of the pictures is pretty crummy, but I didn't have a camera so I was using the web cam. The top number is the one that holds my attention. When it goes down any further a yellow light will start to flash and it will beep letting everyone know that Jack runs the risk of becoming more distressed. He eventually went on oxygen which was horrible. He hated it and would try to rip it off of his face. So the first hour with oxygen on I had to hold his arms to his side. Which lead to more screaming. Not fun. I repeat not fun... absolutely miserable and had both Jack and I in tears. Before he went on oxygen we got a call saying that Hannah had thrown up 3 times in 25 minutes, that Emma had started throwing up and Benjamin was complaining of a sore belly. Ugh. Ben left so they would have at least one parent at home. Besides, it's just not right to have Julayne clean our kids puke up.
So after Jack finally fell asleep a nurse graciously came in to change his diaper at midnight. Really? He screamed for 3 hours and finally fell asleep and you think it's a good idea to wake him up to change his diaper. If I had any more energy I would strangle you. I'm not sure that either one of us got much sleep after that. We finally get out of bed exhausted at 6:30 am.
Jack was coughing and had a sore throat, but with the order to have him on IV fluids only there was little I could do. Except what any mama would do... I totally gave him drinks of water after coughing fits... lazy bowel or not, my babes was in pain. The morning was more of the same. Another x-ray (Chinese torture is what I like to call it) that had him in fits. But the good news was that all was well and he could go back on solid foods and liquids. You should have seen him shovel Cheerios in. The poor guy was starving.
After breakfast he finally fell asleep again!
But guess what?! Another nurse decided that she wasn't pleased with his O2 levels and decided to move him. Hmmm. The end result... more screaming. I was t.i.c.k.e.d. I'll fast forward a little. He was taken off the oxygen and things looked pretty good. Until he fell asleep again and again after 15-20 minutes the nurse decided he should be suctioned out. What kid sleeps through that? I was s.u.p.e.r. t.i.c.k.e.d.
Not long after, we are offered the option of going home since he doesn't need to be on the IV, and I took it. We discussed the dangers of going home with the flu at our house... but decided Jack was already exposed and so it was worth the danger just for the little guy to get some uninterrupted sleep.
So we are home and it's about time for nebulizer treatment. Praying we stay home.
Jack woke up this morning with breathing difficulties. He's had a cold for at least 2 weeks now. We haven't had him at church because colds for him always turn into something more. On Tuesday of this week I really felt like maybe he was turning a corner and I even felt confident enough to take him to Awana. Again this Sunday (today) we kept him out of church. We decided on Saturday night that we'd all stay home from church because Gabe has been throwing up and anyone with a Facebook account knows that everyone has a 24 hour flu. Ben worked today, so everyone would stay home. As I was getting Jack dressed this morning I saw that he was having trouble breathing. His nose was running and I immediately got the nebulizer out for a breathing treatment. It seemed like it helped and he was able to sleep. When he woke up I could tell that he was still struggling a bit, but it was time for lunch and I would give him another breathing treatment after he was done eating. He never touched his food and was crying hysterically. So unlike our Jack... he always eats and hardly ever cries!
Since it is Sunday I was going back and forth trying to decide if I would take him to the ER or wait for the morning to go to the doctors office. Julayne walked in around 1:30 and mentioned that she thought Jack was doing so much worse. His breathing was very labored and he was wheezing. I stopped cleaning up from lunch and asked if she would watch kiddos so I could run him over to the ER.
At the small hospital in our hometown there's no receptionist on Sunday (which always struck me as odd since you would think more people would come in on the weekend) so you go directly back to the nurses station in the ER. Immediately 2 nurses were waving a doctor down and an EMT came out from no where to check him out... that's how loud and labored his breathing was. There were no rooms available and they were racing around to find a room. An elderly gentleman named, Cliff, came out of his room and said, "That baby needs this room more than I do. I'll wait in the waiting room." Thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes.
Over the next hour and a half Jack had the usual oxygen monitor hooked to his toe, a nebulizer treatment and a chest x-ray (which was and always is horrible). Immediately after that they gave him a shot. Still unsure what the shot was... note to self ask nurse to look that up for me. Immediately after that they strapped him to a board so that there was a strap holding his head in place, his chest in place, his arms in place and his feet in place. They did this in order to put an IV in. I was already crying at this point and left the room, but could still hear his deafening cries from the hallway. The nurses will tell you that they cry more from being strapped down than any pain from the IV, but when you walk in and see a towel with your baby's blood on it you know they're liars. After the IV came the RSV test which doesn't seem painful but they insert fluid into his nose and catch the drainage. At least I think it's his nose... after as many RSV tests as he's had you'd think I'd pay more attention. But, by this time I'm always so upset that I think I go into a fog that allows me to function while being somewhat unattached to what's going on around me... or else I'll end up on the floor in a pool of tears.
Before the lab results and chest x-ray come back the doctor tells me that no matter what he'll have to be admitted to the hospital. The nebulizer treatment helped the breathing, but with 3 minutes afterward he was already retracting and needing more help breathing. So, I think, "Oh, no. Not this again."
Once the chest x-ray comes back we are pleased to hear that there is no pneumonia. They did see a problem in his abdomen ... something called (spelled phonetically) an ill-ee-us. Basically its a lazy bowel. It should correct itself but for today it means no food or drink... IV fluids only. This meant two things. The first is that even though his throat is sore, he can't drink. Secondly, he would have to go to Covenant via ambulance since the IV was started at the ER.
The labs came back negative for RSV and influenza. Still having problems breathing so another neb treatment is given. While waiting for the "rig" to come Nana Susan shows up with a Diet Coke for me and hugs for Jack. Jack was very eager to go to Nana ... he was upset with Mama. As a matter-of-fact he had hugs and cuddles for the Doctor and Ben when he arrived ... not so much for Mama.
The ambulance arrives and Jack is placed on a huge gurney and looks dwarfed and especially sad. He was not a fan of them buckling him in and who could blame him? We stick around long enough for them to put Jack in the back of the ambulance before I'm racing to the car to get home to pack a bag. I'm not sure what's in the bag... but it was done in the matter of a few minutes.
Upon arriving in the hospital we go to the all to familiar elevator to the 4th floor ... as the doors open the EMTs that brought Jack in are leaving. Arriving on the peds floor we can hear Jack crying. Upon seeing us he calmed down some.
It took a long time before he finally calmed down enough to fall asleep and when he did his oxygen levels kept dipping and I knew it was only a matter of time before he would go on oxygen. The "magic" number is 92. If it stays at 92 they keep him off the oxygen.
So after Jack finally fell asleep a nurse graciously came in to change his diaper at midnight. Really? He screamed for 3 hours and finally fell asleep and you think it's a good idea to wake him up to change his diaper. If I had any more energy I would strangle you. I'm not sure that either one of us got much sleep after that. We finally get out of bed exhausted at 6:30 am.
Jack was coughing and had a sore throat, but with the order to have him on IV fluids only there was little I could do. Except what any mama would do... I totally gave him drinks of water after coughing fits... lazy bowel or not, my babes was in pain. The morning was more of the same. Another x-ray (Chinese torture is what I like to call it) that had him in fits. But the good news was that all was well and he could go back on solid foods and liquids. You should have seen him shovel Cheerios in. The poor guy was starving.
After breakfast he finally fell asleep again!
Not long after, we are offered the option of going home since he doesn't need to be on the IV, and I took it. We discussed the dangers of going home with the flu at our house... but decided Jack was already exposed and so it was worth the danger just for the little guy to get some uninterrupted sleep.
So we are home and it's about time for nebulizer treatment. Praying we stay home.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Feeling the Favor of the Lord!!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Barely survived a deer attack.
If I've failed to mention (and we all know that I haven't) I'm having an open house this weekend unveiling my Christmas goodies from At Home America... you know the ugly/fabulous Christmas Sweater Par-tay!! Well, I have a vision for my 7-Tier Bowl Rack with Baskets...
When you look at in the photo above it's used for laundry/cleaning supplies which is one great use for it... but I've seen it with poinsettas coming out of it and I love it! The end result is a super festive poinsetta Christmas tree!! But, honestly I'm not sure if I'm going to have the time or the money to buy enough silk poinsettas before Saturday morning rolls around. I keep forgetting how many Christmas decorations we lost in the floods this past summer. And before I go into a rant about losing 10 Christmas stockings... man did they smell... I will start getting to the point of our great pinecone hunt.
In complete Turkey Bottom style we decided to go on a nature hike and pick up pinecones along the way. I wanted to see what they'd look like in the baskets. Ben takes us to a county park and we trek through the woods. We go down a long path and before long discover that there is not a single evergreen tree in the entire park! We decide to finish going down the path and back to the van before we go to another park looking for pine cones. On our way back Ben picks a short cut that leads us through thorny overgrowth and down trees. Poor Gabe keeps tripping ... but in the most adorable fashion. He would fall down and jump up and say, "I ok. I ok, Mommy." On the sixth fall (not exaggerating) as he's laying sprawled out on the ground he looks back at me and says, "You alright Mommy?" I laugh and assure him that I'm just fine. "Alright, Mommy? You alright?" He asks again. In the meantime Benjamin has a stick-turned-gun and is shooting all of the bad animals and telling a long drawn out story about how if a deer tries to bite me he will kill it with his gun... but it's not a real gun Mommy... so if a real deer really tries to bite me or even eat me... I will be ok because he can beat the deer with his stick that really is a stick and not a gun. By the grace of God a deer never attacked me. Whew...did better then the guy in the clip below!!
When you look at in the photo above it's used for laundry/cleaning supplies which is one great use for it... but I've seen it with poinsettas coming out of it and I love it! The end result is a super festive poinsetta Christmas tree!! But, honestly I'm not sure if I'm going to have the time or the money to buy enough silk poinsettas before Saturday morning rolls around. I keep forgetting how many Christmas decorations we lost in the floods this past summer. And before I go into a rant about losing 10 Christmas stockings... man did they smell... I will start getting to the point of our great pinecone hunt.
In complete Turkey Bottom style we decided to go on a nature hike and pick up pinecones along the way. I wanted to see what they'd look like in the baskets. Ben takes us to a county park and we trek through the woods. We go down a long path and before long discover that there is not a single evergreen tree in the entire park! We decide to finish going down the path and back to the van before we go to another park looking for pine cones. On our way back Ben picks a short cut that leads us through thorny overgrowth and down trees. Poor Gabe keeps tripping ... but in the most adorable fashion. He would fall down and jump up and say, "I ok. I ok, Mommy." On the sixth fall (not exaggerating) as he's laying sprawled out on the ground he looks back at me and says, "You alright Mommy?" I laugh and assure him that I'm just fine. "Alright, Mommy? You alright?" He asks again. In the meantime Benjamin has a stick-turned-gun and is shooting all of the bad animals and telling a long drawn out story about how if a deer tries to bite me he will kill it with his gun... but it's not a real gun Mommy... so if a real deer really tries to bite me or even eat me... I will be ok because he can beat the deer with his stick that really is a stick and not a gun. By the grace of God a deer never attacked me. Whew...did better then the guy in the clip below!!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Arm and a Leg... plus some!
An arm and a leg - defined by Urbandictionary.com as
So about those smoke detectors and heat detectors... looks like we're all going to die because wowzers those babies are expensive! If I had to choose between feeding my kids this year or buying Master Guard smoke detectors... um, looks like food wins!
At least for now. Cindy called to tell us to check them out on ebay where you can buy them for a price that doesn't include a comma!
***Note*** Ben talked to a friend tonight who's also a firefighter and he told Ben something along the lines that all smoke detectors are created equally! :)
Figuratively, what one would have to sell or otherwise place as collateral in order to afford something of great expense. Comes from the fact that, when buying things of great expense, it actually feels as if you are having to offer said appendages as collateral for said item you are purchasing. | ||
So about those smoke detectors and heat detectors... looks like we're all going to die because wowzers those babies are expensive! If I had to choose between feeding my kids this year or buying Master Guard smoke detectors... um, looks like food wins!
At least for now. Cindy called to tell us to check them out on ebay where you can buy them for a price that doesn't include a comma!
***Note*** Ben talked to a friend tonight who's also a firefighter and he told Ben something along the lines that all smoke detectors are created equally! :)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Dinner with the Millers = No sleep for the rest of my life...
Yesterday at church Cindy asked if Ben and I would join her and Dan for dinner at the Homestead in Indee tonight. Cindy scrunched up her face in the way that only she does as she explained that she had a phone call saying that they had won free dinner in a drawing that they had entered. Neither her, nor Dan, could figure out who had entered the drawing and Cindy was slightly nervous about whether or not we would arrive and find out it was a big hoax! Part of the deal was they could bring a couple or two with them and they invited us!
When we got there the hostess looked at us like we were on drugs and had no idea what we were talking about. They finally figure out that we're there for the fire safety presentation and send us off to a back room. Um, fire safety presentation? No one said that we would have to sit through a fire safety presentation. Oh, great, here we go!
Turns out the man that held the presentation was a Lisbon graduate. As a former, Mustang this didn't sit well. But, he was slightly entertaining and well, we were with the Millers so how boring could it be? The presentation started off with dinner which included real mashed potatoes, meat loaf, rolls, cole slaw and pie. I would have never ordered that particular meal, but it was decent! Ben later said that my meat loaf is much better ... so he scored points there!
So I'll give you the highlights of the presentation. You're going to die. Everyone is going to have a house fire in their lifetime, most people will experience at least 3, 2 minor and 1 major. Smoke detectors fail 55.8% of the time and children, elderly and really everyone else will die. You can die from burns, suffocation, toxic fumes, super heated air and a billion other things... but you will die. Your children are going to die. Your grandma is going to die. You're going to die! Of course they get you with the whole, your children are going to hide, you won't be able to find them and well, you're going to die looking for them when they're already dead. Get the picture? I seriously had a panic attack at one point and wanted to get up and leave because I was pretty sure that our house was on fire at that moment and I needed to go home because if my babies were going to die I needed to be there with them... dying. Ugh.
So of course Master Guard has the solution with a zero failure rate... and tomorrow the guy is coming to try to sell us his lifetime guarantee smoke detectors, heat detectors, death detectors. I can hardly wait... first they put you in the mindset that if you don't do this you'll die. So how much is your life worth? From my understanding it will mean a life time of payments... I'll let you know how much it's going to cost us!
When we got there the hostess looked at us like we were on drugs and had no idea what we were talking about. They finally figure out that we're there for the fire safety presentation and send us off to a back room. Um, fire safety presentation? No one said that we would have to sit through a fire safety presentation. Oh, great, here we go!
Turns out the man that held the presentation was a Lisbon graduate. As a former, Mustang this didn't sit well. But, he was slightly entertaining and well, we were with the Millers so how boring could it be? The presentation started off with dinner which included real mashed potatoes, meat loaf, rolls, cole slaw and pie. I would have never ordered that particular meal, but it was decent! Ben later said that my meat loaf is much better ... so he scored points there!
So I'll give you the highlights of the presentation. You're going to die. Everyone is going to have a house fire in their lifetime, most people will experience at least 3, 2 minor and 1 major. Smoke detectors fail 55.8% of the time and children, elderly and really everyone else will die. You can die from burns, suffocation, toxic fumes, super heated air and a billion other things... but you will die. Your children are going to die. Your grandma is going to die. You're going to die! Of course they get you with the whole, your children are going to hide, you won't be able to find them and well, you're going to die looking for them when they're already dead. Get the picture? I seriously had a panic attack at one point and wanted to get up and leave because I was pretty sure that our house was on fire at that moment and I needed to go home because if my babies were going to die I needed to be there with them... dying. Ugh.
So of course Master Guard has the solution with a zero failure rate... and tomorrow the guy is coming to try to sell us his lifetime guarantee smoke detectors, heat detectors, death detectors. I can hardly wait... first they put you in the mindset that if you don't do this you'll die. So how much is your life worth? From my understanding it will mean a life time of payments... I'll let you know how much it's going to cost us!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Christmas Sweater Par-tay!
Hey, I'm not sure if you heard but I'm having a Holiday Open house this Saturday and it's going to be a blast! Not only will I be unveiling my Holiday Homewares, not only will I be giving away the hostess benefits... but I'm also encouraging everyone who comes to wear an ugly Christmas sweater!! Woo-hooo!
If you come to the party you'll be entered to win all of the hostess benefits! If you RSVP you'll get an extra entry. If you order you'll get an additional entry for EVERY $10 you buy! If you book a party you'll receive 5 entries. If you bring a friend you'll get an extra entry! And if you wear a fabulous Christmas Sweater you'll get 2 more entries!!! I LOVE IT!
If you need some ideas I would totally recommend checking out http://www.myuglychristmassweater.com/ but I know that my friends have it in them to find their own terrific finds!
I actually know a few people who love sweaters like these so if you find something special at Goodwill and decide later that you won't be needing it to make this Christmas season extra jolly, I could probably send them on. Of course if you have anything this special you'll want to hold on to it for years to come...
If you come to the party you'll be entered to win all of the hostess benefits! If you RSVP you'll get an extra entry. If you order you'll get an additional entry for EVERY $10 you buy! If you book a party you'll receive 5 entries. If you bring a friend you'll get an extra entry! And if you wear a fabulous Christmas Sweater you'll get 2 more entries!!! I LOVE IT!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
At Home ... America!! Cause I love it.
Since starting with At Home America I've been blessed to see God's hand at work. I've been able to see Him bless my business even after just a few short months. I love the company. I love the products. I love making money! I love free stuff.
Since beginning with At Home America I have earned $1,230 worth of almost free things (I paid $1.08 plus s/h). Um, I love free stuff. Also Ben loves that I'm earning free stuff because he loves At Home America almost as much as I do. Of course I'm also bringing in a wage which is nice too.
Right now we have a promotion going on called "Focus On Your Funds" which means that if I have at least $1,000 in sales from Sept.-Dec. 12th the company will give us a 10% bonus on top of what we've already earned! Hello Christmas fund!!! So far I'm on track, but I'm always on the lookout for people who'd like to book a show and help a girl out! :)
I could go on and on and on about how much I heart At Home America. But, in summation they're a faith based business who's morals and beliefs are shared with my family. I've met the owners and I have the best mentor in the biz! So, failure is not an option and I'm just doing my best and leaving the results up to God! www.athome.com/kellydriscoll Wait, how did that get there again? Complete mystery.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)