Growing Up

This Christmas has been a good one. We traveled to Alabama to spend the holiday with our families. Watching the children here, it's scary how much they've grown up since last Christmas. We see them everyday, so it isn't as obvious to us, but everyone back home just can't get over how big they are and how much they have changed. Cate even got her first haircut this week while we were home. She was actually pretty good. She only cried when they sprayed her hair with the water bottle. Will was very good at church on Christmas eve. He was actually one of the quieter kids in the service. Their routines have been totally thrown off this week, and they've missed several naps. While, I hate to leave our families and I'm dreading the drive back to Oklahoma, I am looking forward to getting back to our normal daily routines. I am not ready to go back to work, but it must be done. I'm heading to Little Rock next week for a 2 week rotation. I'm excited but I'm worried about my family being in Tulsa without me. Anyway, the kids are doing well, and that's a good thing. Hopefully I'll have some wonderful stories to tell about my adventures in Little Rock.

Sick Again!

Catiebug is sick again. I'm sure I've brought home RSV or something else to her. It seems like half our patient census has RSV right now. Cate has runny nose, cough, congestion...you know, the usual. She had fever on Friday, but none since, thank goodness. I hope she doesn't get bad. Some of the kids in the hospital are pretty sick, but they are very little too. I just hope she gets better by the time we head home on Saturday.
I'm so excited about being able to be home for Christmas with my entire family. This will be the first time that we've been home for Christmas with both kids. My parents, brother, and sister will be there too. It's going to be so fun! Like everyone else, it's a Christmas on a very tight budget, but I don't care. I wouldn't care if I didn't get any gifts as long as I can see my family. I miss them very much, and I can't wait until we're able to move back to Montgomery for good. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures next week of the kids playing with their grandparents and aunt and uncle. Until then...

Sorry!

I know I've been a total slacker, but I have a good excuse! I've worked 85 hours each of the last 2 weeks. Anyway, Will had his eye surgery yesterday, and he did well. His eye is red and swollen from it, but he seems to feel okay. He participated in the children's music at church Sunday night. He was supposed to sign something, but they had him go very last, and he was so tired and fussy that he didn't do it all. He looked really cute though! Cate had her Christmas performance at her preschool tonight. She did so good. They stood up on the stage and did motions to a few songs. It was very entertaining! I don't really have any other updates at the moment. I'll try to be better about updating the blog this month, but no promises. I'm 9 days into a 21 day stretch, so when I get home, I play with the kids and then go to bed. I hope you guys enjoy this video of Cate at her program tonight. More to come...

Good News Bad News

Well, Will's labs all came back normal, and he hasn't had diarrhea since Monday, so things are looking up. He made it through school on Tuesday and Wednesday without any problems and is now on Thanksgiving break. I still don't know what's going on with his bruising, but we'll keep an eye on it. He is such a great kid. I just wish he could catch a break, you know?
Cate ran into a window sill today and tore her frenulum (the little piece of tissue that connects your lip to your gums). It keeps bleeding on and off, so we called the dentist. His nurse said there's nothing that can be done and that she could bleed all weekend. Something to look forward too, huh? Her school pictures came at great. I wish I could post them, but the website has a sign-on and password. Anyway, I'll post another picture of her so you can see how cute she is (again!).
Thanksgiving is coming up, and I have to work 24 hour shifts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week. We're planning on spending Thanksgiving day at my boss' house. She's been very kind to our family. She even put us up during the ice storm when we had no power. I'm sure there will be pictures, and I'll post them next week. Hope all of you are doing well.

This is gross. I apologize!

I warned you...so here goes. Will has had diarrhea for 2 weeks now. He'll be okay for a day, so we take him to school. They call us and tell us he had a blow-out and to come pick him up. We've been doing this for the past 2 weeks. We finally took him to the doctor last week, and the doctor ordered stool studies. Well, if you don't know, that is the cure for diarrhea. So, no poop for 2 days. Then, the blow-out to top all blow-outs. I turned in his poop today to the lab, and the initial test came back negative for blood. This was a huge relief because I thought I saw blood in his poop this weekend. There are two more tests pending. I'm hoping he just has some sort of terrible virus, and that it will stop soon. Being a doctor, I fear the worst. I've got to stop doing this to myself. The thing that makes me worry is that he seems pale to me. He's also eating less and more tired than normal. This is improving, thank goodness. He has always bruised, but there seem to be more than normal, and they're hanging around longer too. Again, I hope I'm just worrying about nothing. Please pray that Will is okay. He seemed much better tonight, and Jeremiah and I are hoping that we're wrapping up this disgusting period in our life.
Catiebug has yet another cold, but she is doing well. She is a feisty little thing. She likes to do whatever her brother does, which often gets her into trouble. She is learning to talk, and her favorite word is doodoo. Lovely, huh? I think putting her in preschool was definitely what she needed as far as her development. She has a speech therapy appointment in another week or two. I think we'll take her, but I'm not sure she'll need it for long. At least, I'm hoping she won't. I think that's about it for now. More to come.....

Done with PICU!!!

Well, I'm finally done with PICU!!! My last day was October 31, and I've never been more glad to be done with a rotation in my entire life. I did learn a lot. I got to intubate a patient 4 times and assist with some line placements, so that was good, but it's just not my thing at all. Anyway...
Will was supposed to have his eye surgery today, but he was sick all last week with some pretty nasty diarrhea, so it was postponed until December 8. God knew what he was doing though, because the change is allowing my mom to come for the surgery and allowing her to see the children's music and baby parade at church as well as attend Cate's Christmas pageant at school. I can't take time off to be with Will, which totally sucks, but at least my mom gets to come. He's better now...no more diarrhea (praise the Lord!).
Cate is doing well. She was her first ever school pictures tomorrow. I've ironed her clothes and laid everything out. I'm going to fix her hair before I leave for work in the morning, but I'm still nervous about how they'll turn out. I wish I could take her to school and make sure she looks okay, but I have to go to work. Pray she looks cute and doesn't get some ginormous scratch on her face or spill something on her dress.
Anyway, I really don't have any other updates right now. I am attaching a video of the kids playing that is pretty cute. I'll post again soon, when I actually have something interesting to say! Until then...

Video of Will

So, I tried to post this video to facebook, but the video application is all jacked up, so I'm going to try and post it here. It's Will on the couch with me just being Will. He does display some of his speech accomplishments like saying hi, waving bye, and blowing a kiss. You'll also hear his babbling, which I'm convinced we'll find out one day is some foreign language and that he's actually completely verbal. Anyway, enjoy!