Onto the Next Illness

Here we go again ...
Conall didn't seem himself at all yesterday. He was grouchy, whining a lot, and seemed much less energetic than usual. I kept asking if he felt ok, but he kept telling me he did. I thought maybe he was having allergy trouble since it is spring and he was sneezing and seemed to have drainage.
He woke up last night with a fever and complaining that his throat hurt. He woke up this morning around 5 with puking. I don't know if he has strep or something else -- the fever doesn't seem high enough (yet) for strep, but we're going to try to get him in to see the doctor today.

Slide show of Conall's First Soccer Game/Practice

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Conall's First Soccer Game

We signed Conall up for YMCA soccer this spring. He'll have a game every Saturday through May. He is on a team of 6 kids and 2 of them are in his class at school, which he is excited about. Even the coach said it helps at this age if the kid knows at least one other kid on the team.

The first game and practice was this Saturday a little before 8 a.m. It was wet, windy, and cold. The soccer field consisted of mud, mud puddles, and some grass. The boys loved it (other than the cold), but the rest of us froze! One of the mothers made the comment "If the weather were any worse they'd have to cancel the game!"

Conall did really well for a 5-year-old who has never played any type of team sport before. Of course, he was highly distracted by the large mud puddles, but he wasn't the only kid out there with that issue. He and his teammates named his team "Cheetah Stars" -- I have no idea why.

Here is a picture from the game -- it is my favorite and one of the funniest because Conall saw me taking pictures, stopped in the middle of the field, and posed for the camera. Forget the game that was in progress -- he was having his picture taken! (Conall is in the far right corner of the photo grinning really big -- he's the kid farthest away from the goal. If you double click on the photo it will bring up a bigger version of it and you can see his ornery grin better).

I'll post more photos later once I weed through them. Most of them look pretty similar, but I'll pick out some of the best and put them in a slide show.

Teddy Bear

Aunt Amy bought each of the kids a stuffed animal awhile back and keeps forgetting to bring them with her. She remembered when she came to visit on Monday.

Caitlin's bear is HUGE and pink. She immediately knew that it was hers saying "My bear" and "It's pink". Conall liked his bear, too, because it has a hat "that he can wear to go fishing at the cabin."

Just Tired

The kids seem to finally be over this stomach bug. Conall hasn't had a fever since Saturday afternoon and went back to school today. Caitlin is back to normal and eating like a horse. I think she is trying to make up for lost time!

Stu and I are just tired. Really, really tired. The kids are a little more clingy since being sick and a little spoiled, too. Caitlin has been a nightmare to get to sleep.

Everything is still mommy, mommy, mommy and "mommy want to hold you." Aunt Amy came over tonight and both kids let her read bedtime stories which was a huge help (Conall hasn't been letting daddy read stories -- mommy has to put him to bed).

I switched my Weight Watchers day to Monday because I couldn't stand the Thursday leader and because I have 3 friends/acquaintances going on Mondays. I couldn't believe it, but between Thursday and Monday I lost 1 lb. I've lost almost 8 lbs. now!

We Shall See

Well, so far today,we made it with no puking. Since it is 11:30 at night, I think it is safe to say that.
Conall is still running a low grade fever and hardly eating. He experienced some diarrhea-like cramping, but other than seeming really tired, he seems to be better.

Caitlin is well on her way to regaining her weight with her enthusiastic appetite. I think she is literally grazing all day with a few meals thrown in to break things up!

Too Good

It was just too good to be true ... Conall is puking again tonight.

Article About Stay at Home Moms

A Facebook friend of mine, who is also a Stay at Home Mom, posted this article today. I liked it so much that I asked her to email me the file. Here it is -- enjoy!

Better Today

Both kids were MUCH better today. Caitlin had no tummy troubles, ate snacks all day long, and was really active. Conall stayed home from school and didn't have any vomiting or diarrhea, but did still have a fever. He'll be home again tomorrow due to the fever.

Caitlin's Kitchen

Grandma found Caitlin a play kitchen at a garage sale today. She also got Conall and Caitlin a set of stainless steel pots to play with. Caitlin LOVES her kitchen and Conall does too.

Microwaving her fruits and vegetables

Cooking

"I'm stirring, I'm stirring"

Cooking on her stove
Using her kitchen

Grabbing as many of her toy groceries to "cook" as she can

My Sweet Boy

Conall is such a sweet, sensitive little boy. After he woke up puking, I cleaned him and his bed up. He kept crying and screaming every time I touched him while I was helping him change his clothes. At first I thought he was upset at puking or that my hands were too cold (he also has a fever). He was crying and told me "don't touch me!" and kept moving away from me.

I made him tell me why he didn't want me to touch him, in case something else was wrong. He burst into tears and said "I don't want you to get my virus -- you'll get it if you touch me!" I gave him a huge hug and explained as best I could that touching him wouldn't make me get sick.

How sweet that, as sick as he is, he was worried about his mommy getting sick! My eyes tear up just thinking about it. He is such a sweet, kind-hearted little boy.

I hate that my babies have been/are this sick!

Round 2

Well, I guess it was inevitable. Conall now has this horrible virus. I wonder who is next?

Boo Boo Buddies

Caitlin has been better today, but is still dealing with cramping and tummy pain. When her stomach cramps (right before a bout of it hits) she asks me for her boo boo bunny, kitty, or puppy.

I've tried rubbing her tummy or giving her a baby hot water bottle, but she is convinced the boo boo buddies will fix anything. They don't help the cramps, but she still keeps asking for them.

Here are a couple of pitiful photos of her putting her boo boo buddies on her tummy. I hope she feels a lot better tomorrow -- other than all of the obvious reasons -- it has been so difficult watching her be so sick.

Better ... I Hope

Yesterday and last night were really rough around here. Caitlin's vomiting seemed to be back full force and the diarrhea had not improved at all.

However, she slept most of the night last night, kept her breakfast down, and although the diarrhea isn't gone, it is improved today. She also napped about 2 1/2 hours this morning.

Although she is really weak and has lost a lot of weight (well, for her), she is smiling and laughing again today. I'm really hoping this is it and everything will be better from here out. Please keep her in your prayers -- she has been one sick little girl.

The Cat in the Hat

Conall's class is celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday today. They sent a note home Friday that they'd like the kids to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character today.

The class is also making Green Eggs and Ham (I had to miss helping with this because Caitlin is sick -- Conall is really mad at me about it) in the classroom this morning and will be reading Dr. Seuss books all week and learning sight words from it. Because Caitlin was so sick, we didn't have a lot of time to put together a costume, but we did manage to get Conall dressed up as The Cat in the Hat.

Still Sick Part 2

Not much new to say. Caitlin is still sick, mainly with diarrhea, but still some vomitting. She's sleeping and then waking up about every 2 hours during the day and night.

My washer and dryer are running non-stop. I'm to the point where the puked and pooped on stuff may have to wait so I can wash basics like socks.

The fever is down, but not gone. Caitlin is very frustrated that she can't have milk yet and is currently screaming, and has been for about 15 minutes, about wanting chocolate or plain milk. I will be glad when she's well -- seeing her this sick is killing me.

Caitlin and her Guardcat

Update

Molly only has a sprained leg. She has some medicine to take once a day for the swelling, but otherwise she should be ok. She is one lucky dog.

Please Pray for Us and our Stupid Dog, Too

This is turning out to be one long, challenging, exhausting weekend. Caitlin woke up at 4 a.m. with her fever. Because it is so cold outside, the dogs were in last night. Molly kept pacing and wanting out, so I let her out to potty.

I refilled her water bowl and then went to get Molly, thinking she'd be right there wanting back in, since it is so cold. No Molly. You all know the escape artist that Molly is. I kept calling her name and looking into the dark back yard for her. I didn't see or hear anything, so I figured she'd taken off already. Caitlin is sick and has a fever and I had her to take care of.

About 10 minutes later I kept hearing a weird noise and the dogs in the neighborhood were barking. Our neighborhood is completely surrounded by woods, so at first, I thought maybe it was a wild animal. I kept hearing it. I looked outside and could see Molly trying to get back over the fence. She was stuck.

I put Caitlin down and woke Stu up, which also woke Caitlin back up. Stu went out with flashlights and came back in looking for wire cutters and asking me to call the emergency vet clinic. Molly had slipped in the snow and somehow got her leg stuck in the fence.

Stu and Molly are on their way to the 24 hour vet clinic. Molly's leg is rapidly swelling and she won't put weight on it. We think it is broken.

This really hasn't been a good weekend.

Still Sick

Caitlin is still pretty sick. The vomiting seems better, but the diarrhea is pretty bad. She's also running 102-104 degree fever and threw up her last dose of Tylenol.
So far, the rest of us seem ok.