Nebulizers & Albuterol

I hate January!!

Let the games begin!!
My mom kept the boys on Thursday because I found out my girlfriend's little boy had pnemonia, right. Well, I called about lunch time to see how the boys were doing. Much to my dismay, my mom said that Caleb's cough was getting worse - really tight & wheezy and Nash couldn't quit coughing even though she'd given him RX Hydrocodone cough medicine. So, I left school right after it got out (I was supposed to stay and work with my newspaper kids & go to a meeting with the parent organization at 6:30). I got home about 4:30 and took both kids with me and went into town to visit Instacare. After nearly 2 hours (and MUCH frustration with NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY Nash) I was told both boys have a double ear infection AND RSV. ARRGGHH!! It's a good thing my sister owns her own nebulizer so that I could borrow it instead of rent one. Both boys are on antibiotics & liquid Albuterol in the nebulizer.

I had to take them back in today for a follow up with my pediatrician. Caleb's oxygen level was 96% so that was good. HOWEVER, the dr. at Instacare decided we should try Caleb on Augmentin since this is his 5th (YES FIFTH) ear infection since October. Why is this a problem? Augmentin has Penicillin in it which myself & Nash & Samantha are all allergic to. We get hives when we take Penicillin, so I also have to watch Caleb to see if he breaks out in hives from the Augmentin.

My Pediatrician was telling me what things to watch for to make sure Caleb isn't getting worse. He said that only about 50-60% of kids get RSV. Of those 50-60% only about 1% actually end up in the hospital. At this point he looks at me with a smile & says, "So that means you probably have a 90% chance of ending up there!" Like I told my girlfriend last night, I have GOT to quit having kids because they are costing me a fortune! He was kind enough to offer to put us up in the same room we spent time in last January when Nash had Rheumatic Fever!

Good times, right! Have a great weekend!

Dr. Appointments

Beware! Tis the season for many dr. visits. I had Caleb in on the 19th for his well check. We did his four immunizations & a flu shot. We also got Dexamethazone for his croup cough. Nash also got some Dexamethazone for his croup cough. Mind you this is Caleb's second dose in like a week and a half! My reason for taking Nash was that on Sunday we discovered he had a TERRIBLE smell coming from his EAR. Come to find out that he has an ear infection and it is draining and that's what we could smell. Nasty! We're talking dead pit at the farm kind of smell - knock your socks off from several feet away! Poor kid! We got him some ear drops and he is doing much better (and he smells better too!). I also took Samantha. Just before we got her first set of tubes she was continually asking me to repeat myself, even if I was looking right at her and speaking loudly. She was also speaking quite loudly. Come to find out she does still have her tubes in (3 years in March for this set!!) but they are both really clogged with ear wax. SO, we got ear drops for her too!! I just keep telling myself at least we got it all in one trip this time! My girlfriend that keeps the boys has a son that is 2 1/2 years old. He started with croup after Caleb did. She had him into the dr. Sat. and then again on Monday. The dr. on Monday did an xray to rule out pnemonia (sp??) and told her he just had croup. She took him back in today & the poor boy actually does have pnemonia! Good thing mom is close by to keep boys! Unfortunately, she now has the same cold as Nash and Samantha!! Good thing I still have 5 sick days left I can use!!
Hope you have a great (and germ free) week!!

It's the little things in life...

What made me do the happy dance today? I FINALLY got the boxes on my desks at school! Yes, I did say FINALLY & boxes on my desks! What have my kids been using? Fabric pockets over the back of their chair that my mother ever so graciously spent an entire day putting together! Thanks mom!

Back to Reality

So today was supposed to be our first day back to school. I got to school at 7:30 & was greeted with, "You need to call each of your students & tell them that school is canceled today..our pipes are frozen & we have no water." Well, that was an unexpected gift! I was able to be a bit productive & it's nice to feel ahead of the game for a minute! Unfortunately, when I got home there was 3 inches of new snow in my driveway!! I think we got a total of about 6 new inches of snow today. Is it ever going to stop!! As soon as I have a chance I'm going to take pictures! I know I'd better label them though because they will look just like last year's pictures!! For those of you posting where it's warm, just know this: it was -16 Saturday night & -9 Sunday night. We hit a tropical 7 today & are looking forward to hitting nearly 20 tomorrow. How sad is that when 20 degrees is warm?!! Yay recess, here we come!!