CROUP !!???!!

Severin woke up at 2am and couldn't breathe. He had a super "barky" cough. I know and I'm just going to say it, so those of you with virgin eyes, now is the time to advert your eyes...ok. SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL?! I have been indoors since October! How was my baby exposed to the croup? I have been so protective. I was just telling all my Bunco Ladies last night the good place we are in with him. I wanted to be hospital free this year. I'm not going to count the ER. I know this is just one of those regular childhood illnesses. He is a heart kid so my mind wanders. Is it his pulmonary veins, pulmonary artery, enlarged heart, diaphram, heart failure...on and on. We have tried so hard. My kids wash and wash and change clothes. They haven't had friends over for months. We just barely have been crawling out of our hole, and then this, SLAM! For the past three months he gets a cough, snotty nose, gooey eyes right before his Synagist is due. So on Weds. when he started with a snotty nose I just thought here we go again, his Synagist is due on Monday. It quickly turned into something more. Thankfully the ER Doc. at UVRMC was willing to treat Severin. If you remember back when his NJ tube was clogged they wanted NOTHING to do with him. The staff adored him, and he did all of his tricks for them to ooo and ahhh. The miracle of steroids and we were on our way. Boy do I need a nap!

Cookies and Milk anyone?

Severin kept screaming at me and reaching for my cookie, so I gave it to him to see if that was indeed what he wanted. Um... YES!
Severin takes his chocolate chip, with a few ounces of fortified mommy milkey, milkey to wash it down. YUM!

My little helper!

While I was in the living room working with Severin and Mary the OT, Neleh comes in and informs me she is doing the dishes. Yes she was, all by herself! It doesn't matter that she was rewashing the clean dishes,AND dirty dishes, her heart was in the right place! She was so proud of herself. She really is my Best cleaner. Look at that dimple who wouldn't love her!

The Kindy 500

Johnathen had the "Kindy 500" today at school. All the kids bring "cars" and "drive" around visiting places in America. Johnathen even had an engine under his hood. This was a fun Johnathen/Dad project. I forsee pine wood derby in our future.

just hanging out waiting for Spring...

I don't know if I love spring for all the goodness that Spring brings, or if it is because it is my BIRTHDAY! Either way I wish it would stop snowing, and warm up. Two weekends ago it was warm and sunny. We were all outside. Severin sat in the exersaucer for an hour slient, just taking it all in. The next day Morgan received her YW in Reconition Award, and spoke in church. So Severin and I went briefly. I waited out in the foyer listening for someone to cough, sneeze or hock up a loogie. The coast was clear. After the opening prayer we bolted in and sat with the Fam. As soon as Morgans talk was over we left. I feel like Marlin and Nemo leaving the anemone. "We go out and back in, and then we go out and back in". At church Severin was in visual stimulation overload. He jumped when the organ started playing. He does not have a quiet voice, or church behavior. He was screaming, pulling hair, jumping, bouncing back and forth between Thom and I. Most people have not seen him since he was two moths old so I'm sure he was a welcome suprise. We will get him "church trained" just in time to go back in hiding for the winter.

Well baby visit March 2

Severin had his six month well baby visit and immunizations. I know, I know he is eight months as of today. We are a bit behind. He is 16 pounds and 14 ounces. He is 26 inches long or short depending on how you look at it. He is in the 10% in weight, 5% height, 40% for head circumference. Most heart babies hang around the 10% for weight, lower height, and bigger heads- for whatever reason. But lets keep it in perspective Neleh just barely made it on the chart at 3%, and Johnathen was always in the 95%. Severin is just being "average" for once. YEAH! Developmentally he is right on. He doesn't roll. He decided to skip that mile stone, and move on. He was off of oxygen for about a week, but now he is back on. Darn snotty nose and cough. He might take longer to heal from illnesses too. But it certainly doesn't help to keep getting it either. Public schools are a buffet of petri dishes, and my kids partake.

Good Bye Lillee Dog

We had to say good-bye to our Lillee today. She has been a part of our family for almost seven years. We do not know how old she is, just that she was old when she came to us. Many may not know the story of how Lillee came to be... I will share it in honor of her today.
It was May the month before Thom and I would be married. My apartment was close to both of our jobs so we would meet there for lunch. One day Thom was late. He called me from his cell phone, and said he just hit a dog. At first I thought lame excuse to stand me up for our lunch date. But then I asked if it was dead. He didn't know. He was turning around to check, but it didn't look good. The dog was on its back with its legs in the air. When he got to the dog she was coming too, a little dazed, trying to get back on all fours again. He looked around for the owner-no one. Asked the near by house if they knew this dog-no one knew. He called the Animal Control to come and pick up the dog. They were having a busy day, so after waiting awhile Thom took the dog to the shelter himself. Thom visited her everyday, I think even more then once. Her family called to see if she was there but never came for her. After the grace period of five days, she was up for adoption. Thom took me to see her. I immediately took her out of the cage and started for the desk to fill out the paper work to adopt her. She was small, but had huge brown eyes. After adopting her I went straight to PetSmart and spent a small fortune to outfit a dog. Morgan was so excited when I picked her up from school and told her it was our dog. Thom wanted to name her "pugsey" because of her big eyes. I wanted her to have a girly name. We kicked around names for all of dinner. Then I said she needs something like "Lilly of the Valley". That was it. And to make it more like us her name was spelled with two "e"s. We had a dog in my "no pets allowed" apartment.
So Lillee was our best road kill prize. She came potty trained, & well mannered. She rarely got on the furniture. She didn't like to be held or picked up. She'd just lay at your feet and keep you company. She would let Thom hold her like a baby and scratch her belly. but only for a moment. She could meow like a cat, chase deer like she was bigger then they are, as well as dogs, cats, birds,& grasshoppers.The grasshoppers, worms, and moths were a tasty treat. She would beg on her hind legs and air scratch with her paws. That made her look like a chipmunk. A really BIG chipmunk. Oh how she hated fireworks, and brushing her teeth. She loved Grandpas hotdogs, and looked forward to them everynight. She liked it when the peas were in season and could eat as much as the kids. She could be found scrounging food off the kitchen floor or in a small space snuggled up- her snoring would give her location away. Her tags made an unmistakable jingle. She would smile when you scratched her good spot. Bark everytime we left her, and watch us go from the livingroom window. She liked a good car ride, but knew when we were getting close to home. Anytime someone would come over she was so excited and thought they were there to see her. She was just like the kids, I call them "the entertainment commitee". She was always protective over the new babies. She would lay right by them and watch over them. Then as they grew they would chase her around. At first she didn't need to go too fast, she would hide until they were old enough to understand "soft" and then she would snuggle next to them again.
It is amazing how attached we can become to someone we love even if it is an animal. Lillee brought joy and comfort to our home. There is a void in our house tonight, she is greatly missed.
Good Bye Lillee Dog, We love you!