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Early morning doorbells, X-ray boy and a LONG night

Posted on April 15, 2008 1:49 pm by TheAngelForever

Yesterday officially started April break for NHL. He has the entire week off, plus next Monday since it is the start of Passover. The morning began with the doorbell ringing before 8:00. JL looked outside and saw a man with a bright orange helmet on and neon yellow vest. He went to the door. They were a tree service working for the power company taking care of the lines. They wanted permission to go in our yard and possibly use our driveway for their truck with the bucket to reach the trees. I granted them permission to use the yard and told them to let me know if I need to move my car later.

Just after getting JSL down for a nap I hear the truck pull into our neighbors driveway. This sucker was loud and parked right outside my window. I went to the yard to watch and remind them to let me know if they needed me to move my car. A little while later they asked me to move my car so they could haul all of the tree branches up to the front without a problem. I moved the car. Then they told me that they had to come back and climb our trees since they were unable to reach the main problems with the truck. I decided this was a photo opportunity. I went into the attic and took these photos. They are not the best, but were what I was able to get through the window with my zoom.

Just watching made me nervous

Another man in a different tree

At 11:00 we left the house since they were finally up at the other end of the block. They really took a lot off the trees, so hopefully we will not have any problems with the lines as we had feared before this.

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I packed the boys into the car and went to where JL works for NHL to have his adenoid x-ray done. JL met up with us and we told NHL that they were going to take a photo of inside his body. He was very intrigued with this. JSL and I stayed in the hallway while it was done.

Afterward the x-ray technician showed NHL the films (they are all digital now). He was able to see his spinal cord, his skull and most exciting to him – his new big boy teeth. They are underneath his current teeth and ready to come in soon. NHL was beyond thrilled to be shown the films. We then had to wait in the hall to make sure the films were good enough for the radiologist. While we were waiting I took a photo of my three boys.

What you can not see in the photo is that JL is wearing a Sesame Street tie and NHL has on an Elmo sweatshirt. Everyone there thought we had planned it, but we did not. Right after we had the clear we went to visit people in JL’s department and then went to the cafeteria for lunch.

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After we went shopping for a few things the boys and I went home. When we arrived I saw a package on the porch. Inside the package was the malabrigo yarn (Kettle Dyed Pure Merino Wool for those that do not know) from Pony Knit. Oh my goodness this is the most amazing yarn that I have ever felt. Now I just need to figure out a project that is worthy of this fabulous fiber. Thank you so much!

The most amazing yarn I have ever felt

Once inside things started to fall apart some. From this point on JSL was a mess. He would not stop crying, clinging to me and would not eat any solid foods. He only wanted to nurse. Not something you would expect from a baby who was 11 months old yesterday (I can not believe my baby is going to be 1 in less than a month). I chalked it up to major teething pain, being constipated, and possibly an earache. I gave him teething tablets, they did nothing. Finally I decided it was time to do Tylenol per the dentist’s instruction. It hardly helped. JSL nursed a few more times before bed and woke up early on. He was all congested and was a mess. He eventually fell back to sleep in our bed for the night.

The poor little guy was not comfortable. He kept waking up at least every hour and would cry for his binky. There were other times that he wanted to be rocked. Finally at about 4:00 we felt he was overly congested so I used the saline and bulb syringe to clean him out. Let me just say – ICK! That helped him to nurse some and fall back to sleep breathing a lot better.

Today is pretty much the same. He has solved the one problem thanks to drinking lots of milk. At least I know his stomach is better. Now he is just congested, clingy, screaming, crying and all around miserable – please note the sarcasm here. I have a feeling it is teething (3 molars moving in and another tooth about to cut can do that), but worry that it is his ear. If his temperature goes up more and we have another bad night I will have to call the doctor tomorrow. Slight conflict since NHL has his allergy testing tomorrow in the late morning. The mucinex is helping JSL to be less congested and the tylenol seems to be allowing him to nap for the time being in his crib. Hopefully he will be fine and those pesky teeth will move along quickly.

Tonight I have to be to the airport at about midnight to pick up my parents. They were in California for my Cousin M’s wedding. I was so bummed about missing this.

Mazel Tov again M and B on your special day and have a wonderful honeymoon.

Categories:
allergies house jl jsl knitting nhl photos sleep teething

More sickies, allergy testing, and the teething monster

Posted on April 11, 2008 10:58 pm by TheAngelForever

The following should have been my clue:

NHL never takes naps anymore. This is what JL and I found when we went to ask NHL a question while making dinner on Monday night. I had put on a movie for him to watch and minutes later it was very quiet. He went to get a pillow and snuggled up on the couch. The rest of us ate dinner and when NHL woke up he had something as well.

Fast forward to 9:40 when NHL woke up crying hysterically. For the first time in his four year life he told us his ear hurt. He was in agony and kept telling us. We took him to the couch and found no fever. Motrin was given to help the pain. I was concerned, but for once we may have lucked out. Earlier in the day I had called our doctor asking for a referral to a great allergist/ENT. I called to see when I could get an appointment while waiting. I just happened to bump into a cancellation for the next day – WAHOO! So all we had to do was keep NHL comfortable through the night and he was going to see the specialist in the morning.

It was a long night. NHL did not want to settle, but finally did in our bed. The next morning I took both of the boys to NHL’s allergist/ENT appointment. When Dr. K looked in his ear he yelped in pain. Sure enough infected again and on antibiotic. I believe it is the same ear that had fluid in it when he had the flu a few weeks back. We also talked about NHL’s congestion, snoring and other concerns about recurring ear infections. He told me that he would like to schedule NHL for an adnoid x-ray, allergy test, and hearing test.

We will go Monday for the x-ray where JL works. Originally we were going for the hearing and allergy test on the 25th. That was changed yesterday. They could not do the hearing test that day. That was changed to the 29th. Again I was SO lucky. I was able to score a cancellation yesterday to do the allergy test next Wednesday morning. The best thing, my mother will be home that day to go with us. I was dreading the 45 minute test since I know NHL is going to flip when he sees the panel coming at him.

With any luck next week we will have some answers and be able to help the poor little guy breathe a little better.

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Thursday I took JSL for his first official dentist visit. Yes, babies now are supposed to head to the dentist too. Our group likes to see them when they are 1, JSL will be one May 14th. He has been to the office before when we had the cysts in his mouth at 6 weeks old. Thursday we met the only dentist in the group that we had not seen. Dr. J was amazing. She actually has a little girl that is 11 months old. JSL was great and let her really get a good look.

I was right tooth #8 is SO close to breaking through. This sucker has been very pesky for weeks now. In addition to this she showed me some other fun news. Sure enough the poor little guy has three, yes three molars moving on up. *sigh* No wonder he has been so fussy lately. Dr. J said they may take a while to move and cut, but the pressure he has is definitely intense from all of this going on. She did not feel the eyeteeth yet, but those will come soon enough. In addition to this she said please to give him only Tylenol, not Motrin because you do not want an to stop the inflammation. Teeth move through an inflammatory process and by using Motrin you make it a longer time frame. So we will try to avoid it unless we need it for fever control.

Another comment she made floored me. Dr. J said to let him use his binky as much as needed. I had noticed in the last 2 weeks that JSL has become a binky addict. It all makes sense now. She said the binky sucking helps to relieve the pressure from the teething, so he wants to do that more. She told me not to worry and if we tried to take it away he would use his hands . . . and that is worse to try to take away later. So two of the three dentists in the group are pro-binky use if taken away at a certain age. Works for me.

As you can see the boys are keeping me busy, but they are so worth it.

Categories:
allergies brothers doctor jsl nhl photos sick kid teething

Nursery School Passover Seder

Posted on April 10, 2008 10:49 pm by TheAngelForever

Ready or not, Passover is coming quickly (officially begins next Saturday evening). Since next week is April break, NHL’s school had their Passover Seder that parents were invited to this week. So, yesterday my mother, JSL and I went to NHL’s school for their mini-Seder. It was absolutely adorable to watch NHL, especially when he saw that Nana was with us. Here are some photos and a video of the Seder.

JSL had a great time in Nana’s arms for the entire Seder. He loved watching all of the kids, especially his big brother.

NHL sat down at a table with some of his friends, so we joined him to wait for everything to begin.

This is how the table looked when we sat down. In case anyone is curious the tongue depressors represent the shank bone that is on the Seder Plate.

Before we were able to try the Passover foods the kids all performed some Passover songs for us. Here is a small part of my favorite song. It was too funny hearing all of the little ones singing the chorus in the halls prior to this. As you will see some knew the other parts, but they all chime in for the chorus.

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NHL loves to perform. As you can see he was quite happy when he was going back to the table after singing.

NHL gobbled up everything that was on his plate (although he was not in love with the radish).

JSL was able to try some of the Charoset thanks to it being a nut free building. Nana said he loved it!

Of course the kids did not have wine, instead it was grape juice all around.

A fun little seder for all. I am SO thrilled that NHL was able to go to this school. I have fond memories of it when I was little and I know he will too.

Categories:
fun holidays jsl nhl photos school video

Visiting with Mimi – a fun afternoon

Posted on April 4, 2008 9:50 am by TheAngelForever

My boys love seeing people. This is especially true when it comes to visiting my grandmother – we call her Mimi. NHL’s nursery school just happens to be right next door to the apartment building where my grandmother lives. Almost every day when we leave he asks to go and see her. Wednesday I surprised him with the new that we were going there to play for a little while. After some "fun" in the car that almost canceled the visit, we continued on our way.

I have to say it is wonderful to watch everyone interact. I do not know who enjoys it more, my grandmother or the boys. Here are some photos from their visit.

JSL has gotten very attached to Mimi. He loves when she sings songs to him. While there on Wednesday he wanted some water and was making too much of a mess with his sippy cup. Mimi helped him to sip some water from a big boy cup. He loved it!

Of course I had to get a photo of Mimi kisses!

Before eating some chicken soup with matzah balls NHL went for a ride in his favorite chair.

JSL wanted to be with Mimi to see things. He was very curious about this container and wanted to see what was inside.

We stayed for several hours until it was time to meet JL home for dinner. NHL had such a great time that he went to sleep quickly. A little while later JSL woke up and we found NHL in his bed in a way that was not so good.

Thank goodness we found him before he went off the bed. After the photo was taken I moved him back up to the pillow end of the bed.

More adventures to be shared later.

Categories:
family jsl nhl photos

The “sick” week in photo review

Posted on April 3, 2008 11:42 am by TheAngelForever

Now that everyone is as healthy as we have been in months (I will not dare to say we are healthy – that would be bad news), it is time to play some catch up. Last week NHL was home sick from school and I then had what he was ill with, so blogging took a back seat.

***Note to self: Be sure to work on the new rules of sharing with NHL. There are limits that are acceptable – flu is not included!

Last week I blogged, but I did not write as much as I have in the past since I was so exhausted at the end of the day. Thankfully I had the energy to take photos. Here are some highlights of the week gone by.

On Monday (3/24) JSL decided to try NHL’s Doodle Pro. He had fun with it at first and then realized that his big brother was missing.

He set off on a mission to find NHL in their room. This was by far one of his longest crawling adventures to date!

Little brother on a mission

Finally he arrived at the destination of choice.

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On Wednesday (3/26) I gave each of the boys a little gift. I wanted to give NHL something for doing his nebulizer treatment. JSL received a Fisher Price Little People egg that had a little boy in it. It was an Easter toy, but aside from the egg holding it you would never know. I was a sport for $1 (and the next day they were ten cents). JSL was in LOVE with his new toy. He would throw it out in front of himself and crawl to it. Here he is playing with me while NHL slept on the couch.

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By Friday (3/28) NHL was going stir crazy from being in the house all week. We had to come up with things to keep him busy. All of this while Mommy was getting a fever and horrible body aches.

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On Sunday (3/30) I was feeling slightly better. I forced myself to do all of the laundry from the week that had not been done. NHL went to his room for being naughty and actually fell asleep. At the same time JSL fell asleep in an interesting position on Daddy.

After both boys were up from their naps, JSL decided he wanted his sippy cup. He noticed that he was under the dining room table. I thought it was hilarious how he was hunting for the cup. I grabbed my camera. Soon after this JL got his out and was shooting away with me.

NHL even got into the act, but he apparently forgot his camera.

Fun photo shoot

At one point both JL and I were taking a shot at the exact same time. The result of the front and back shot of this moment is really neat (also know that I was taking this photos blind since my hands were under the table and my head above).

In the end we gave him some quiet time after bombarding him with all of the flashes from the camera. As you can see he just wanted to drink some water and read the newspaper!