St. Thomas Ground Breaking

It seems like we are spending a lot of time at church lately, but there has been a lot going on!  Tonight, Bishop Wolfe came to St. Thomas to bless the ground for their expansion project.  It was pretty special to be part of that ceremony.

 Bishop Wolfe speaking to us.

Gar with the members who have been part of the congregation since the Sock Hop. 

The congregation creating the walls of our new building, along with their shovels to start the work. 

Ahhh, the perfect way to end this day... with a killer migraine!

Eric Does Not Do Antibiotics!

At the beginning of this month, Eric started battling an infection in his foot.  It was spreading, so he was put on three antibiotics (two pills and a topical cream).  A week into the course of antibiotics, he got a fever and wasn't feeling well.  Before bed, he started developing a rash that was even worse when he woke up.  He called into work and started working out treatment - the doctors office was too busy, so he went to Urgent Care.  They were going to give him IV steroids, but his blood pressure was too low, so they sent him to the ER.  So on to the ER around 11am, where they admitted him and gave him IV prednisone and benadryl.  

Three years ago, he had a similar allergic reaction when the free clinic gave him an antibiotic when he had mono.  It caused the exact same reaction, trip to the ER, and IV steroids.  

So Deb and I hung out in the ER with him - while they did blood tests, pee tests, and chest X rays to try and figure out why his fever was staying above 103 degrees.  He was released around 4pm and we all headed home.  Deb bought Chinese food and we watched some TV.   

On a side note - today was my first day back to work!  The new job is going great!  I took a half day on the first day of work...but it was no problem.

Rash from last night. 

Freezing in the ER. 

The rash in the ER - practically solid in most places, it looked like a sunburn.

Day 296: Naps

Phew, I came straight home from work today for a nap.  Then when I woke up at 7:30pm, I found that Eric had done the same and I didn't even wake up when he got home.  It was a little scary when I first woke up because I felt well rested and the light was dim outside - so I didn't know whether it was night or morning!  My allergies have been crazy bad over the past few days, and a nap helped me ignore the itchy ears, nose, and throat for a few hours.  Eric was just exhausted from waking up early for a morning shift.

After we woke up, we went on a walk to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and then came home and watched "Hot Tub Time Machine" on Netflix.  It was a pretty good movie, we both enjoyed it. 

It's nice living in a town where we can walk to get everything we want!

Day 275: Medicine, Paint, & Dancing

This morning I woke up early and headed to Meijer, Michigan's version of Walmart or Target.  Their pharmacy had a generic version of azithromyecin for only $15.  I took the first two doses and went back to sleep for another few hours, and was already feeling better when I woke up.  Eric and I did nothing at home all day.

We picked Cash and Declan up from daycare around 5:30, and let them do some painting with homemade paint (equal parts of flour, water, and dish soap, colored with food coloring).  Cash practiced his pointillism - painting with one fingertip while saying "I'm getting soooo messy Duck-Duck!"  Declan just wanted to splash his hands in the paint, and wasn't thrilled about moving them to his paper.

After Molly got home from work, we broke out Just Dance 2 and had a really good time.  I danced to "Rasputin" with Declan on my hip and he LOVED it, Cash danced to "Jump Jump" with me and did pretty good following directions, and Molly and I did "Rasputin" and "Iko Iko" together.  That's about as much of Just Dance as any one person can take.

Overall, today was MUCH better and restored my faith that this could still be a good vacation.  Between medicine, sleep, and lounging around most of the day - I feel back to life and think I'll make it.  Eric is still complaining of an itchy throat, but it doesn't appear to be progressing and definitely doesn't look like strep.  Thank goodness!

Remaining Comments

Day 274: Declan's Birthday and More Badness

On Sunday we woke up and played with Cash and Declan, got the cars loaded up for the party and made sure we had everything we needed before heading to Ellen's.  I was feeling a little better than yesterday, but not by much.  I opted to not do face painting for the kids at the party so I wouldn't get them sick.

The party went really great! Eric and I decorated Ellen's garage again (same as Cash's first birthday) and helped set up tables and food.  Molly and Ellen made stuff for sandwiches, potato casserole, chips and dip, fruit salad, cake, ice cream and soda.  After we had lunch Declan (aka Cash) got to open his presents.  Then all of the kids got to do a neat turtle scratcher craft project, and then it was time for cake!  Declan thoroughly enjoyed the cake and didn't mind getting messy.

Shortly after we got home from the party, Eric and I headed out to an urgent care clinic.  When I'm out of network I can choose between 50% of a doctors office visit or $75 for urgent care.  I doubted I could make an appointment, and that appointment would end up being cheaper than the urgent care.  The doctor looked at my throat and said it was strep, decided to swab anyway and said strep again when he ran the swab, and confirmed it with the rapid culture.  I got really upset because it looked like Eric was also coming down with it and I thought we would have to leave Michigan in the morning to prevent infecting the kids.

Then we went to three different pharmacies before finding one that was open at 8pm on a Sunday night.  They told me I could pick it up in 45 minutes, so I just bought some face masks and we went home.  When we returned to Walgreens an hour later, they pointed out that prescriptions are not covered when I'm out of network and my azithromyicin would cost $42.  I took the script paper back and planned to try Meijer in the morning because the doctor told me they had free antibiotics.  So, one more night untreated and I can barely swallow my own spit.  Hopefully Eric remains healthy and everyone else I've exposed to it since Friday.

Dec really enjoyed his lunch and the turtle spinner from Monica. 

 Everyone enjoying a festive lunch!

The kids were enamored with this blow up turtle because it makes a loud squeaking noise when you squeeze or squish it.

 Molly is looking great!

Dec is so close to walking!  He takes a few steps at a time right now. 

Cash actually did all of the present opening. 

 "Happy 1st Birthday Declan!"  Molly and I make a great cake decorating team!  She does all of the work, and I just make the surrounding look good enough to compliment the cake!

It's hard to see, but that's a tea light on top of the cake!  This is while we were all singing "Happy Birthday".

Mmmmmmm 

 Yea!  It's my birthday party!

I had a crepe paper boxing glove after cleaning up! 

What a good looking family!  

Booooo, we waited for an hour after the doctor saw us before a nurse gave me my prescription.

Day 273: This is NOT Fun

We arrived at Molly and Nate's house about 6:30am, and promptly went to sleep. An hour later Molly popped in and said she was leaving for her 5k race.  This meant I was getting up to watch the boys and get them ready to watch Mommy cross the finish line.  -yawn-

Nate drove us all there and we were all unprepared for how cold it was.  Declan was pretty intrigued by all of the runners and Cash did a great job yelling "Run Mommy Run!"  We watched Molly's wave start but didn't see her in the crowd, then took a shortcut to the finish line.  The boys were sad and we were running out of steam when Molly crossed the finish line with a time of 34:28.  Nate's sister, Kristyn finished about 7 minutes before that.  Then getting back to the car took us another 15 minutes, brrrr!

By the time we got home, my throat pain was getting much worse.  I helped Molly with some cake decisions and decorated the cake board, and Nate took Eric to the golf course for some driving. Eventually I took a nap and ended up sleeping for the rest of the night. I had a fever that spiked at 103.2, and medicine wasn't bringing it below 102.

Molly, Nate, and Eric went to a benefit dinner for people going to Africa to teach people how to use computers.  They tried some beer and wine from around the world, ate some somewhat Americanized versions of African meals, saw traditional dancers, and a play about the way of life of Kenyans.  After they got home I woke up long enough to eat a popsicle and ask them how it was, then everyone headed to bed.

Cash was alternating between cheering for Mommy and crying because he was cold or bored. 

There goes Molly! 

Molly said she felt like she was really going to throw up when she crossed the finish line, because when she saw us she sprinted the last leg of it. 

She was really excited about the sign, which I made in the car (in the dark) at about 2am last night.  We were the only people with a sign! 

Dec and Eric chilling. 

I was sleeping like Andrew, with my hands behind my head.  So sick that I wasn't even concerned with exposed armpits! 

The guy on the right looks like Eric!  Hmmm, have you been to Kenya before? 

The fruit display at the benefit dinner. 

Goat leg - Molly, Nate, and Eric all liked it.

Day 272: 13+ Hours of Driving

Today was pretty eventful!  Eric's front brakes have been squeaking occasionally for a few weeks, and we knew it would be best to get them checked before we went on vacation.  He took the car in at about 9am and it took them until after 1pm to get finished.  Luckily the repair place is close to my work, so he was able to walk to my work and borrow my car for his pre-Michigan errands.

After work, he picked me up and we went to pick up our "hitchhiker", Justin.  We found him through an ad on craigslist, and planned to save a little on gas money by giving him a ride to St. Louis.  We had to stop to pick Eric's car up from the shop, and then in Eudora to say goodbye to the kitties and pack up Eric's car.  Next we stopped at Mom and Alan's house to pick up some gifts for Declan, and to leave a house key with cat-sitter-Ashley.  Our last stop before really starting the trip was at Papa's, to pick up a book for Molly.  Then we were on the highway!

We made good time and I slept most of the way to St. Louis.  One of the best parts of that stretch was the KU game.  We lost reception for the last 10 minutes of the game, but Justin got a text from one of his friends confirming our win.  I texted Alan anyway asking for the final score because we missed it.  This is what the rest of the conversation looked like:

Alan:Ku 75 Bu 76  ten seconds left

Me: Yikes!

Mom: I can't believe it

Mom: I thought you were smarter than that

Mom: 72 53

Me: OF COURSE I'm smarter than that!  Our hitchhiker got the score on his phone and I wanted to see what Alan would say :)

Mom: Lol

Alan: You suck

Alan: And so does your hitchhiker

Deb: I wondered why you didn't ask us.

Alan: Eric is ok

Me: He says "YES!"

Our parents were out to dinner at D'Bronx, so this was entertainment for everyone!  It was quick and easy dropping Justin off at Union Station in St. Louis, and then Eric and I took a walking break to visit the arch.  It very pretty at night, especially with a cloudy moon.  The worst part of the trip would have been the sudden sore throat that attacked me.  We had to stop at a Walgreens for medicine, a drink, and cough drops.  Bleh!

Eric kept driving after St. Louis...until 2am!  He drove for 10 straight hours, madness!!!  I barely made it the last three and a half hours, but we made it to Michigan around 6:30am - hooray!

What an awesome sight!

While searching for parking, the GPS told us to turn right on "road".  This ended up being the 42 stairs up to the arch from the riverfront road, ha!

You can't tell, but the Arch is behind us!

Another cool picture of the Arch.

Day 180: We Love Our Babies!

I'm working on making sure we've got plenty of pictures of Mystic.  She is still the happiest cat you've ever met, I think her purr'r is broken, because she never stops!  She's obviously getting more sick, but it's not hurting her yet.  For anyone who hasn't been following all along - we lost her brother, Bubsy, just after the wedding to kidney failure.  At Mystic's most recent vet appointment, she was showing the same signs of starting down the same path.  Over the last year or two she has lost a lot of weight and is barely holding on the 6-7 pounds, and now she's drinking water like it's going out of style.  The vet said we have a few months to a year left with her, but we're making sure it's all happy times!

 I was so surprised, neither cat objected to this!  Usually they both cry when I hold them together.  Also, this shows just how fluffy Addy is!  She is twice as big as Mystic, haha.

Day 131: Adventures Galore!

Today was a no-good-very-bad day for me at work, and I came home grumpy.  I made Eric skip his class to keep me company, and we ended up having a really great night.  Strange as it sounds, we started out by paying all of our bills for the month.  Then we went to the Lawrence Public Schools Health Fair where I got a flu shot and both of us got trinkety prizes from various places with booths set up.

Then we went to Prairie Park for my elementary school's Fall Potluck and Trick-or-Treating.  We had an awesome (and free) dinner, and then we got to hand out candy to the kids.  The crowd didn't look too big, so we were giving away 2 pieces at a time...but then more and more kids came and we ran out!  Oops!

Dr. Pepper and Mr. Pibb make their elementary debut!

Day 81: Andrew's Home!

No more wires!  Andrew is free from his hospital hell!  He was able to nap without needing oxygen, hooray!  He was sent home with an albuterol nebulizer treatment that he has to have every morning, and an albuterol rescue inhaler for when his breathing gets raspy during the day.

 Eric looks super happy to be feeding Andrew!

Day 80: More Time at the Hospital

Today I was back to work, and Eric spent his day with Kris and Andrew.  He picked Kris up at the hospital and took him to his probation meeting in Lawrence.  They headed back to Olathe so Kris could take a real shower and Eric could ride the motorcycle.  Andrew was supposed to be released today, but his oxygen levels fell while Kris and Eric were out, and the doctors want him to nap without needing supplemental oxygen before he can go home.

Andrew really loves his Uncle Eric, and Eric had him in fits of laughter from shaking his poofy hair in his face.

Giggles from the prison!

Hair!

Day 78: At The Hospital

Oops!  This morning I slept through church because my phone, which has my alarm on it, was in the living room overnight!  Ashley was a good sport about it and went to the service anyway, go her!

After I woke up, Eric had to take off for work as usual.  My nephew, Andrew, was admitted to the hospital on Friday for a bad cold that was causing him trouble breathing and keeping his blood oxygen levels up.  Kris was a trooper and spent the entire weekend at the hospital - I decided to go up to give him some company and see the poor baby all hooked up to monitors.

When I got there, Andrew had been sprung from his crib and the nurses were preparing to take him to the toy room.  So with the rolling monitor and plenty of cords in tow, we took him to a fun little play room.

I spent the next 12 or so hours with Kris and Andrew - Kris and I walked over to Crown Center for a break from the hospital (while Andrew was napping), then Ashley came for a few hours and we left her with Andrew while Kris and I got dinner for everyone at Wendy's.

 Andrew and all of his wires, they didn't stop him from playing!

These are all of the food toys that had to be washed because he chewed on 

It's really hard to change his diaper with all of the leads connected to him - he ended up getting away and showing off his bum.

They had a cool car that you could take the kids for a ride in.  Andrew looooved the red car!

Here he is nomming the kitchen toys - sad that they'll only give him formula, he tried to find real food!

It was Irish Fest at Crown Center, or something like that.  The fountains were green!

Kris had to test if they would dye his feet...it didn't.

Andrew hated his breathing treatments, it was really sad to watch!  He had to be held down while getting them.

His prison!  The bars slid up and another cover slid down so there was no way to escape!

He really liked the mirror in the play area!

There was a construction set with safety goggles that fit Andrew perfectly!

Kris became a pro at swaddling and getting Andrew to sleep - which was important because the nurses woke him up so often to check vitals!

Kris and I at Crown Center