The kids both came down with the flu the week before Christmas. Natalie was sick on the 18th and Toby on the 20th. I was home Natalie that Monday. She kept me very busy that day, cleaning up all kinds of accidents….from both ends. Toby started getting sick Wednesday evening at Amy’s house and then in the car on the way home and several times that night. Luckily they were both over it fairly quick. Toby was actually back to Amy’s on Thursday and seemed fine that afternoon.
On Friday 12/22, we had a nice visit with my cousin, Trent, and his wife, Jeni. Their kids are the same age as our kids…Alex is only 2 days older than Toby, although MUCH bigger, and Hope is 3 months older than Natalie. Amy and Jeff and their kids came too. The kids all watched Cars on Trent’s big screen (not just any big screen….this thing is the size of the wall). It was fun to be with family and we learned a lot about Jeni’s progress as she continues her trips to Russia for stem cell treatments.On Saturday 12/23, some friends and I went out to celebrate Antonie’s 30th birthday. It was nice to get out, but I couldn’t get too crazy the night before Christmas Eve. There were just too many things to do to risk having a hangover.
Christmas Eve turned out to be pretty eventful. I was busy taking care of last-minute Christmas preparations while Tim was busy wrapping presents. Toby was (supposed to be) cleaning his room when we heard a terrible crash. I walked in to find his piggy bank smashed into pieces, money EVERYWHERE and poor Toby in the center of it all. My first reaction, of course
, was “What in the world are you doing?”, but then I saw blood and immediately panicked. It turns out Toby wanted to put some pennies in his bank, which is on the top of the dresser. He couldn’t reach it, so he stood on this wobbly child sized folding chair and grabbed the bank, which fell on his head, broke and then a piece of the glass sliced his forearm. He had a ½” open gash which we figured would require stitches. I called the doctor and we took off for the ER. Because the cut was superficial, the doctors were able to use some medical super glue instead of stitches. There were also chards of glass in hair, but luckily no cuts and no bumps. We cleaned up the mess once we were home. The money alone weighed 17 pounds and I’m sure the bank would have added at least another couple of pounds. I think we’ll be taking a trip to Coinstar and Toby will get to make a nice deposit into his savings account. We finished up our Christmas Eve with a nice, long drive looking at Christmas lights (Toby spent most of the time looking for Santa Claus in the sky) and opening Christmas presents from my dad (who lives in Illinois) and Tim's dad (who lives in Georgia).
Christmas was wonderful, but busy as usual. Santa came to our house and was very nice to the kids. (Note: Santa loved the pumpkin bread and chocolate milk we left for him.) Although Tim and I don’t buy gifts for each other, he gave me an ipod Nano (that he won at his company’s Christmas party). I didn’t care where it came from, I just wanted one so badly. After our own Christmas, we spent a few hours at my mom’s house with her and my brother and my grandparents and then we had Christmas dinner with Tim’s family at his aunt’s house. Tim and Natalie then went home while Toby and I went on to another Christmas with my extended family. It was a LONG day. Click here to see the pictures from Christmas.
For the next several days I opened, assembled, learned to operate and put away all of the kids’ new toys (and clothes). Our families and friends are so generous!!
, was “What in the world are you doing?”, but then I saw blood and immediately panicked. It turns out Toby wanted to put some pennies in his bank, which is on the top of the dresser. He couldn’t reach it, so he stood on this wobbly child sized folding chair and grabbed the bank, which fell on his head, broke and then a piece of the glass sliced his forearm. He had a ½” open gash which we figured would require stitches. I called the doctor and we took off for the ER. Because the cut was superficial, the doctors were able to use some medical super glue instead of stitches. There were also chards of glass in hair, but luckily no cuts and no bumps. We cleaned up the mess once we were home. The money alone weighed 17 pounds and I’m sure the bank would have added at least another couple of pounds. I think we’ll be taking a trip to Coinstar and Toby will get to make a nice deposit into his savings account. We finished up our Christmas Eve with a nice, long drive looking at Christmas lights (Toby spent most of the time looking for Santa Claus in the sky) and opening Christmas presents from my dad (who lives in Illinois) and Tim's dad (who lives in Georgia).Christmas was wonderful, but busy as usual. Santa came to our house and was very nice to the kids. (Note: Santa loved the pumpkin bread and chocolate milk we left for him.) Although Tim and I don’t buy gifts for each other, he gave me an ipod Nano (that he won at his company’s Christmas party). I didn’t care where it came from, I just wanted one so badly. After our own Christmas, we spent a few hours at my mom’s house with her and my brother and my grandparents and then we had Christmas dinner with Tim’s family at his aunt’s house. Tim and Natalie then went home while Toby and I went on to another Christmas with my extended family. It was a LONG day. Click here to see the pictures from Christmas.
For the next several days I opened, assembled, learned to operate and put away all of the kids’ new toys (and clothes). Our families and friends are so generous!!
We had a simple New Year’s Eve at home with the kids. We celebrated with a Little Caesar’s pizza (which was a treat for Tim…he’s lost about 35 lbs. in the last 8 weeks) and some board games (which was not a treat for Tim…he hates games). Toby started to come down with a fever that day (yes, again) and slept on and off, but was up at midnight to see the ball drop. He’s not sure where it dropped to, if it broke when it dropped or what a New Year is….but it was still fun!
Wednesday was definitely the least fun of the past few weeks. Natalie was sick (yes, again). She was coughing all day to the point of throwing up. When I got the kids home from Amy’s, her temp was 103.5 and she was just miserable. I called the doctor and got the nurse on-call. She said that the fever was not a concern, that the cough was probably aggravated from her asthma and that she was most likely fighting a virus. I gave her Tylenol and a couple of breathing treatments and she was in bed at about 8:00. I checked on her a few minutes before 10:00 and she just didn’t seem right. Her breathing was terribly fast and heavy and she was still quite hot. The nurse suggested I take her into the ER. I was on the phone with my mom arranging to drop Toby off at her place while I took Natalie to the ER when I heard a noise from her room (I honestly don’t know what the noise was, or if I even heard a noise at all….I just felt compelled to run to her room). I found her in her bed having a seizure. I told mom to call 911 and hung up the phone. I kept screaming at Natalie. I called 911 and just cried into the phone. I didn’t know what to do and Natalie was turning blue. After a couple of minutes, she started taking some shallow breaths and seemed to be coming around. About that time, the medics came into the room. They took her vitals and explained that this was a Febrile Seizure caused by the high fever. At the time EMS arrived her fever was back up to 103.6. I gave her another dose of Tylenol and they suggested she go to the ER for an exam and I opted to take her myself after they assured me she was ok. My mom showed up shortly after the EMS left, in tears and panic. She stayed with Toby while I took Natalie in. I left a message for Tim and told him what had happened. He was on his way home a few minutes later. Natalie spent the next few hours in ER where they did a chest x-ray, took a strep test and finally decided she has Fifths Disease (not to panic…it’s not really a disease, just a strong virus with a terrible sounding name). She’s doing better now, but may not be back to normal for a week or two. Tim was home with the kids yesterday, and again today.
It’s been a hectic (and unhealthy) few weeks, but I’m sure things will turn around soon. 2007 is sure to be a good year! Tim will continue to work in Jackson through much of this year (Monday-Thursday working there, Friday’s and weekends at home). It’s not easy for any of us, but we make it work.
Amy will finish her medical schooling at Olympia in March and we’ll be looking for new day-care. I figure we’ll have to limit our search to Jenison since Toby will be starting school soon. We have absolutely YlovedY having Amy and Jeff watch our children. They have been a blessing and will always be a special part of Toby's and Natalie's lives.I have to apologize to those who did not get a Christmas card from us this year. I love sending the cards and our annual picture of the kids with Santa, but because of everything that’s been going on, only ½ of the cards were mailed this year. (I can get a copy of the picture to anyone who would like one.)
Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy 2007 to you all!! Please feel free to leave comments/messages on our blog so that we know who's looking.
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