Poor little guy....

Last Wednesday, Tyson had a fever in the afternoon.  I gave him Tylenol, and it came down.  This became the pattern every four to six hours for the next day and a half.  

We decided Thursday night that I would take him to the clinic Friday morning.  We were planning on heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend, and I wanted to make sure his ears were ok before we drove all the way up there to spend the weekend in the camper. 

So, turns out, he had an ear infection, and most likely strep.  So, on anti-biotics he went.  This of course leads to some nights of not-enough-sleep.  I am pretty sure he is getting teeth,  and that is what is causing the ear infection.  He tends to get the infections when he is teething.  So, hopefully the amoxicillan will take care of it, and this teething thing will pass soon!

What the Hell Wednesday!

This is my version of a "What the Hell Wednesday". 

My "What the Hell" for this week (and last) is this crazy sickness that has been nagging my boys since last Sunday.  

That is one point five weeks ago.  

It started last Sunday night when Kayden work up and threw up.  I figured he was just sick, so he stayed with Grammy instead of going to daycare.  He was pretty much fine all day, so I sent him to daycare on Tuesday.  

Ever since then, Kayden and Tyler have been on a cycle of throwing up, and pooping like crazy every one to three days.  I swear, they seem fine, then allofasudden, one of them barfs. Or has super-duper runny poops.  

I know this might be a little TMI for some of you, but I need to talk write about it. If you don't want to continue reading, I'm not offended.  Besides that, I'll never know whether you read this or not ;)

I thought we were in the clear, then last night after supper, Tyler threw up all over the kitchen floor. 

All three boys were in bed by 8:30, which, for our house, is early.  But, I figured they'd had a rough week with all this sickness going on, so they were just tired. 

11:00, Kayden comes into our room crying, and then "blaaaaaaaaahhhh" (is that the sound a person makes when they throw up?) He threw up all over our white bedroom carpet.  

Cleaned up, and got him back in his bed.  

2:00, he is back in our room, saying he "pooped".  Yep, in his underwear, jammies, bed.  

Cleaned him up and put him in our bed.  

7:00, I called the clinic.  Explained what has  been happening, and the nurse said there is a bug going around that lasts about 5 days, but this sounds like something that is re-occuring, so they should maybe be seen. 

So, my conclusion at this point is to hope to God that they are fine today and tonight.  If there is any more pooping/puking before tomorrow morning, I will take the day off, and we'll head to the clinic. 

Pray for us people. This sucks. 

Is it over yet????

It has been one helluva week around here!

Let's go to the beginning (actually the end of last week).  Mike left Friday night to go fishing with his brother.  The boys and I spent most of Saturday at home.  I wanted to give them some time to relax and play at home, and I wanted to get caught up on some laundry and cleaning. 
Saturday morning I realized that I was out of Tyson's prescribed ear drops.  So, after naptime, we packed up the car (we were heading to my parents to spend the night), and headed to Target.  I was dreading the trip for two reasons: 1.  it was 50 degrees on a Saturday in April in Minnesota.  I knew it was going to be craziness! 2.  I was taking three boys, 4 and under to a store where they were bound to see toys. 
So, I loaded everyone into a cart, and we went in, got the $140 ear drops (don't get me started on the price), headed to the baby aisle because Tyson needed new generic Robeez since Mike lost one of his (which we of course found 2 days later), then to electronics for new ink for my printer, then to the dollar section to get Kayden a $1 prize for going potty by himself ten times, and a $1 prize for Tyler for--I guess I'm not real sure why he got a prize :) Then, we were out the door.
We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon/evening at my parents' house. 
Tyson woke up early Sunday morning, and threw up while I was holding him.  A little weird, but whatever.  He seemed ok, playing like normal, etc. 
A little while later I went to get Tyler out of his bed only to find him covered in vomit.  Again, weird.  He had had a really runny nose, cough etc, so I just figured he had either coughed hard enough that he threw up, or he had gagged on some of the crud that was coming out of his nose.  So, we got them both cleaned up and the rest of the morning went fine. 
Sunday's plan was go to Bounce Depot with Leah, Sydney, Karsyn and Rhonda. So, we picked up Rhonda and headed home to meet Leah and the girls.  The kids played for a little while, then we headed out to lunch.  After lunch, we spent an hour or so at Bounce Depot.  By the end of our hour, Tyler was wanting to be held, and just layed his head on my shoulder.  This is really rare for him, but it was almost 1:30, so I figured he was just tired. 
Wrong. 
As soon as we got out to the entry way to put the kids' shoes and coats on, he threw up all over the floor!  I'll spare you the details, but it was yucky!  I got him cleaned up, and we headed back to my parents' house. 
On the way to my parents' house, I got a call from our daycare provider, saying that there would be no daycare on Monday.  This was fine, because I was figuring I'd have to keep the boys home anyway.  So, I called Mike, and we decided that he'd stay home on Monday. 
Tuesday, daycare was closed again, and the boys were feeling better, but still not eating much, and lots of yucky diahhrea.  They spent the day at Grammy and Grandpa's house. 
By Wednesday evening, Kayden was getting hit.  His temp was right around 100, and his "tummy hurt".  He spent the evening laying on the couch.  By 9:00, he had thrown up the first time, and it was confirmed: I'd be taking today off to stay home with them.

Good thing he's so tough!

Yesterday was Tyson's appointment with his doctor at the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic.  His pediatrician referred us back there to try to get to the bottom of this ear infection problem he has. 

He was at the regular clinic last Wednesday, and his ears were not infected(he was still on his antibiotic at that time--finished it Friday). So, yesterday when Dr. Hanson looked in his ears, I expected them to look fine. Nope. Infected. Both of em.  One tube is blocked.

So, he is back on an antibiotic and ear drops, and will go back to the ENT next Friday.  The doctor said he will try to fix the problem first, but may end up needing to replace his tubes. 

I am assuming we'll be replacing the tubes, since it has been plugged once before, and was cleared, but is now plugged again. 

Poor little guy!

What a week!

It has been a strange week in the Frericks household.  

It started Tuesday morning when I got a text from our daycare provider that Tyson was coughing, wheezing and his temp was 100.6.  

So, I told her to let me know if things got worse, or if she wanted me to come get him early.  I didn't hear from her again, but I decided to call our pediatrician, just to find out if she wanted to see him, or if I should just increase his nebulizer treatments.  So, I left a message for her, and by lunchtime she called me back.  She asked a few questions and then decided that we should just increase his nebs.  

My mom picked the boys up for me that day and met me in Albany because I needed to take Kayden to the eye doctor.  

During Kayden's appointment, I got a text from my dad that I better stop and get some Tylenol for Tyson.  By the time I got to my parents' house, he was burning up and wheezing worse that ever!  I gave him some Tylenol, snuggled him for a bit and headed to my meeting.  

By the time I got back from my meeting, it was bedtime for the boys, so we got them in their pj's and gave Tyson his bottle, and headed for home.  When we got home, we did his nebulizer treatment.  

And so began night number one of zero sleep for Tyson and Mommy.  

It was rough. 

He was miserable.  He gets sick a lot, but he is always still a happy baby, so I knew things were bad when he wasn't smiling, and crawling around after his brothers. 

I had decided(I think around 3:00 a.m.) that I was going to call in sick on Wednesday, and take the poor baby to the clinic even though our doctor said she didn't need to see him.  I wanted, number one, to have someone else's opinion, and number two, I wanted someone to listen to his breathing since it was worse than any other time.  

5:30 a.m. my cell phone rang, to tell me that due to a March snowstorm in lovely Minnesota, school was closed for the day.  Perfect.  Saves me a sick day.  

So, after the boys were all awake, I got Kayden and Tyler to Sharon's and Tyson and I braved the storm, and headed to the clinic.  

To my surprise, we were one of two families in the usually over-flowing walk-in clinic waiting room.  (Fun tid-bit:  the only other child in the waiting room was named Tyson too)

They called us back, and started a nebulizer treatment right away.  

By the time the doctor came in, his breathing was sounding better already, but she did order a chest x-ray and a flu test, just to be sure.  

If your kids have ever had a chest x-ray, you know how miserable that whole procedure is, and this was his second one in a month!

So, eventually, we were sent home with instructions to continue his nebulizer treatments, and Tylenol for his fever.  If things aren't better within 3 days, we should go back.  

I later got a call that the flu test was negative, and as far as the chest x-ray, I'm assuming no news is good news.  

On a good note---his ears were not, I repeat, NOT INFECTED! This could be due to the fact that he was currently on an anti-biotic....=)

By Tuesday night Tyson was better already.  It's amazing what the nebulizer can do. He still isn't sleeping at night, but we'll keep working on that.  

His pediatrician also put him on an "Asthma Action Plan".  She has diagnosed him with "asthma due to infection".  So, basically, when ever he gets a cold, his asthma kicks in. 

Just another trip to the clinic

I'm pretty sure the Target pharmacists and I are officially on a first-name basis.  It seems like I am there at least once a week for prescriptions for someone in my family. 

Yesterday I was at the clinic.  Kayden had his 4-year well-child check, and Tyson was there to have his ears and lungs re-checked.  

Let's start with Tyson. Dr. Peitso listened to his lungs, and decided that we should keep him on his nebulizer "until the lilacs bloom". That's like, May.  Ugh.  

Then, she looked in his ears.  Left ear, perfect.  Wahoo!  Right ear, waxy. She cleaned it out.  Behind all that wax?  Wait for it:::::: ear infection!  WTF???  Seriously!  So, she is treating him with drops and an anti-biotic, and referred us back to his doctor at the ENT.  It's getting a bit ridiculous.  I can't wait to see his doctor at the ENT, and see what he has to say.  

Then, there was Kayden.  When he went in for his 3-year appointment, he didn't cooperate for his hearing or vision check, and didn't even let them weigh him or measure his height. So, I had been preparing him for this appointment for the past week or so.  We talked about the doctor checking how big he is, testing his hearing and vision, and maybe shots. I was pretty sure she had told me last year that he wouldn't need shots at his four year appointment, but I wasn't making any promises because I know how things can change.  

So, first stop was the little room for his hearing and vision check.  He had done both of these at his pre-school screening, and had cooperated, so I was hoping he'd do ok. 

**side note:  at his preschool screening, they had suggested I have his vision re-checked, so I was curious what they were going to come up with at this appointment**

After some brief instruction, he did great on his hearing test.  Then, the woman explained the vision test to him and got him started.  He held the little pirate-patch-looking thing over his left eye, and recognized all of the shapes. Then he moved it to his right eye.  He did fine on the bigger shapes, but once she got a little further into the test, we noticed him peeking out from behind the little eye cover.  The woman reminded him to keep his eye covered, and he said, "But mommy, I can't see if I do that"::Uh oh::

So, we had him cover his eye and do his best.  Once he kept his eye covered, he had trouble recognizing the shapes.  She said she'd let the doctor know, and then we'd decide if he should be seen by an eye doctor. 

Next, we met with his regular doctor.  They had him put on a little hospital gown(way cute, but apparently not very cool, because he immediately wanted his blanket to cover up his exposed legs--whatev).  She checked his ears, eyes, tummy, breathing, etc.  Everything looked fine.  The only "concern" was that based on his weight and height measurements (39 pounds and 39 inches) he is "almost in the zone of overweight".  WTF??????  Are you serious?  So, quick lecture on giving him skim milk and healthy snacks.  I listened, but pretty much let that go in one ear and out the other. He is by no means overweight! I am still in shock over it, but whatev(again). I could go on for days about this, but I'm not going to let it bother me,and I'm just going to forget she ever said it.  

The doctor mentioned that he could get all of his kindergarten shots today.  I think the total would have been like five or six shots.  I told her that I hadn't really prepared him for shots, so I thought doing all of them might be a bit much.  We decided to do two shots and wait until his 5 year appointment for the rest.  So, out goes doctor, in comes 2 nurses for shots. This is where I got a little nervous.  I wasn't real sure how he was going to take this.  But, I laid him up on the exam table, talked to him and held his arms while he got one shot in each thigh, and believe it or not::::NO TEARS!  I couldn't believe it!  He did awesome!  

Once the shots were done, we packed up and headed out the door, since I had to get Tyson home and get Kayden to school.  
So, since we were REALLY short on time I took my apparently overweight kid through the McDonald's drive through, and we were on our way.  What?  I got him apples instead of fries.  Geez. 

Sick baby (again)

For some reason, my little Tyson just can't stay healthy!  Although he is one of the happiest sick babies I've ever seen, it seems like he's always got something going on.  

Toward the end of last week, he started a little cold/cough.  It seems like whenever he gets a cold, it goes right to his lungs.  I picked him up from daycare on Monday, and Sharon had a look of terror.  She explained that she had to give him the "baby heimlich".  She said that he was sitting on the floor, then started coughing and couldn't catch his breath.  She had to flip him over, and hit his back.  Nothing came out, so she stuck her finger in his mouth to make sure there was nothing in it, and then he just threw everything up. He's been sounding really wheezy, and when things were getting worse rather than better, I decided that I'd take him in yesterday afternoon. 

We waited for about half an hour in the germ-infested walk-in clinic waiting room before we were called back.  The doctor that saw him found an ear infection, and said his breathing sounded really bad. She decided to treat him for the ear infection, asthma and possible pneumonia. 
So, I headed to Target to pick up FIVE different prescribed medications.  He is on drops for his ears, an anti-biotic for his ears, his albuterol in his nebulizer, a steroid in his nebulizer and prednizone.  I literally, had to make a schedule for his daily medications so that we can remember when to give him each one.  It's going to be a miserable two weeks....

My Motherly Instinct

Poor little Tyson has just NOT been healthy lately!   A week ago Friday, his ear started draining a lot of yucky stuff.  I let it go, and figured his tube was just doing it's job.  By Thursday, he was pretty congested, and his breathing was sounding really rattly.  Not terrible, but not normal. We were headed to Arrowwood for the weekend, so I talked myself into taking the afternoon off on Friday to take him to the walk-in clinic to have it checked out.  For my own peace of mind, really.  I called the clinic Friday morning and talked to a nurse about his symptoms, and she said I should bring him in.  So, I left work at 11:30, and picked him up at daycare.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the clinic. Chest x-rays, RSV test, flu test, nebulizer treatment, the list goes on. By the time we left we had a diagnosis of an ear infection :::insert annoyed groan here::: and pneumonia.  We were sent on our way with prescriptions for ear drops, albuterol by way of nebulizer, and augmentin.  I got to the pharmacy and talked them out of making me buy new tubing for the nebulizer we already have, as well as $144.00 ear drops which I still have left over from one of Tyson's other 500 ear infections. 

I had planned to make a quick trip to the clinic, a possibly stop at Target for a prescription, a quick stop at Cobourn's for groceries for the weekend, then home to pack the last minute things for the weekend, then pick up Kayden and Tyler on our way out of town, and  be to the waterpark before supper time.  Things didn't exactly work that way.  Instead I spent the entire afternoon at the clinic, went to Target to hand over my pay check in exchange for some drugs, then ran through the grocery store, and got home in time to hap-hazardly throw a few things in a suitcase for myself, whip up some sloppy joes for the weekend, feed Tyson a bottle, and make our way out the door.  Needless to say, we didn't get to the hotel until about 7:00. 

Back to the subject at hand--Tyson does seem to be feeling better.  That nebulizer really works.  He was up twice last night, but I'm not sure if that was because of his ears, his breathing difficulty, new teeth, or just because we've been gone for a few nights and out of routine. 

Rhonda came over last night to babysit while Mike and I went to dinner with some friends, and she said Tyler sounds like he's getting something.  Maybe bronchitis.  

Really???  

Ugh! 

Pray for me people.

Basketball, fishing, a movie, and pink eye.

**WARNING: This post is a little random, and fairly boring, but since this blog serves as a family journal for us, they were things I needed to write about.  So, fell free to skip reading this entry if you have better things to do***

This weekend was one of those weekends.  We started by making the last-minute decision to go to Amazih's basketball game on Friday, and boy are we glad we did.  She had a great game!  She was the player of the game and had a triple double!!!  We had Rhonda watch Tyler, so I actually got to watch most of the game, and we sat with Eric and Amy and my mom, so there were plenty of people to help with Kayden and Tyson.  

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to Brainerd to Pat and Leah's.  Mike, and his dad, and brother, and Rhonda and her boyfriend were fishing in the big fishing tournament up there, so the kids and I were going to hang out with Mike's mom, Leah and the girls. The kids spent the morning playing, then Leah and Sydney and Kayden and I left around 11:00 to go to Target and a movie!  We went to see Tangled.  This was Syd's first movie theatre experience and both kids did well, even though there were a few scary parts where they both declared they were ready to go home :)

While we were gone, Doris(Mike's mom) managed to get all three little kids to nap at the same time, so things weren't too crazy for her.  We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening playing and eating ;)  Then, after we had supper, everyone played with Kayden's Christmas present from Eric and Amy, Big Buck Hunter, which is an interactive hunting game for the TV.  

Bedtime went well, although my boys did not sleep real well.  Tyson was up by 12:30, Tyler at 2:30, and Kayden at 3:30.  Then, by 6:00, Tyler was awake for the day.  I'm going to assume this had everything to do with just not being at home, and assume things will go back to normal very soon (fingers crossed).  

Sunday, we hung out, made a huge mess of Leah's house, cleaned up, made another mess, cleaned up, you get the idea.  The guys fished in the morning, and were back in time to have a late lunch, then we packed up and headed home.  

We had Amazih overnight, because my parents went to a casino/hotel for my mom's birthday, so the boys had fun playing with her before bedtime, and I took advantage of her being there to watch the little kids so that I could give Kayden and Mike a haircut.  Yes, I cut their hair myself.  Kayden went to a real salon for his first few haircuts, now I just cut it whenever I do Mike's.  Tyler, on the other hand is in desperate need of a haircut and will be going in very soon!  

***Side-note:

This week's illness in our house is pink eye.  Friday night at the basketball game, I noticed that Tyson's eye was a little bit mattery, and red.  By Sunday morning, his eye was pretty yucky, but Tyler's eyes were worse.  Daycare didn't want them there with pink eye that wasn't being treated yet, so Mike stayed home with them, and I called the clinic to have a prescription called in.  Thankfully, so far it's just the two of them, hopefully it doesn't spread to the rest of us!

New Years 2011

Warning: if the idea of vomit grosses you out, stop reading now.  You've been warned. 

I wasn't going to blog about this, but the more I thought about it, I realized it's something I want to remember, and since this is my journal/scrapbook for my family, I better write it down.

We had actually planned to spend New Year's Eve at home.  We'd probably be in bed before 10:00, and I was totally cool with that.  Then, my friend Kristy invited us over, and said we should bring the kids too.  So, we decided we'd go over there instead.  I figured we'd still leave before 10:00 because the kids would be cranky, and ready for bed.  To my surprise, they were playing really well, and we ended up staying until 11:45 (terrible mother I am, I know:::who keeps three kids under 4 years old up until 11:45???).  We headed back to my mom's, put the kids to bed, and headed to bed ourselves.  By 1:00, Mike was tapping me on the shoulder.  "Do you have extra pajamas for Tyler?  He threw up."  What???????  Yes, I had extra pajamas for him.  I got the jammies out, and headed into the bedroom to get him up and change him.  OMG!  We needed more than pajamas.  Not only did he throw up, but he rolled in it, layed in it, you get the idea.  And, if you've seen Tyler's curly, long hair, you can about imagine how much was stuck in it.  Yuck!  So, I pulled the poor, tired baby out of bed, and headed for the bathtub.  I woke my mom up to help me find new sheets and bedding for the crib. As I was trying to peel his pajamas off, I was gagging, so I had to go get Mike to take care of that task.  Vomit and I don't do well together.  So, Mike bathed him, my mom and I changed his bedding, and we put him back to bed.  He threw up just the one time---thank God!---and seemed ok on Saturday.  I thought maybe he just ate something bad. The more I thought about it, I realized he hadn't eaten much that day at all, and he usually eats A LOT.  So, maybe the flu.  By Sunday, it was confirmed.  He had been sick.  My mom, dad and brother had Tyler's flu ;)  Thank God, Mike, Kayden and I never got it. I do think Tyson had a baby version of the flu earlier in the week, but I'll spare you the details on that. 

A little catch-up

Without boring you with all the details, I will just tell you we had an awesome Christmas.  We were very busy, running here and there, but we made it to all of the places we were supposed to be.  We were blessed to spend time with all of our families, immediate and extended.  We have one last celebration with Mike's mom's family this Sunday. 
We took Kayden to church on Christmas Eve, and left Tyler and Tyson with my parents.  He did really well for the first half hour (before Mass even started), and then he fell asleep ;)  We got to church early, knowing it would be packed, but by the time we got there, the actual church was already full, and we had to sit in the "gathering area".  Sitting out there is fine, it's just not very church-ish. 


It was so fun to watch the boys, especially Kayden opening presents.  He's really starting to "get" the whole Christmas/Santa thing.  He was so excited about all of his presents and loves to show them off.  When people asked what Santa brought, he'd tell them, "You just have to come to my house and see, there's too much to tell you!"  I WILL post pictures eventually, as my camera issues continue. 

Monday I kept the boys home, and Morgan and Amazih came over so that I could take Tyson to the clinic---again---yes, another ear infection.  I decided to take him in, because he had been sleeping worse than ever!  I was really hesitant to take him in, and I couldn't get an appointment with his doctor (or any other doctor for that matter), so I took him to the walk-in clinic, and I am so glad I did.  He's back on ear drops and an anti-biotic.  The doctor that we saw suggested that we wait a few days for the meds to take care of things, and then we need to let him cry at night.  So, we will.  This has been my plan for a long time, but it's really hard to find two or three nights in a row where I can let him cry, especially since he'll wake up Kayden and Tyler.  We'll see how this all works out. 


Yesterday (Tuesday), the boys went to daycare, and Amazih and I had a shopping day.  She had some gift cards to burn, and I had a couple returns to make, we shopped, had lunch, and headed home in time for my dad to pick her up since she had a basketball game. 
At the last minute, I decided that we'd go to her game too.  So, my mom and dad picked up the boys at daycare, then picked me up, and Mike met us at the gym.  Things with all three boys went a little better this time.  I wonder if we'll ever get Tyler to sit semi-still to watch the games???  Dumb question, I know. 

Today (Wednesday), I took the boys to daycare and I am supposed to be crossing things off my ever-expanding "to-do" list.  Instead, I sit here writing. 

Germs, and a little sleep!

The sicky-ickies have finally made it to me.  I went to the clinic today and found out I have an ear infection and pink eye.  So, antibiotics and eye drops for me.  I swear, there is always someone on an antibiotic at our house.  

On the up-side of things:  Tyson woke up just once last night, and Tyler and Kayden slept all night! Of course, I was awake before Tyson woke up at about 2:00 a.m because my ear REALLY hurt.  BUT, he woke up just once!  I REALLY hope this isn't just a coincidence, but rather, a sign of things to come.  

We have no plans for tonight or tomorrow night. Thursday I will be home with the  boys all day, since I don't have school.  We'll finish wrapping presents, clean a little and make our birthday cake for Jesus.  Then, I work Thursday night and by Friday, the holiday craziness begins!!!! 

GERMS!

This weekend will be spent cleaning and disinfecting our house to try to get rid of all the yucky germs that have been lurking, causing lots of runny noses, coughs, head-aches, and over all crankiness in our house.  

The cold symptoms started for all three boys on Monday.  Tyler definitely had it the worst to start out with (I think for him, it was a combination of the cold, and new teeth coming in).  I took Tyson to the clinic yesterday because his breathing sounded horrible, and even our daycare provider (who doesn't worry often) said that it worried her a little, and she'd have it checked out.  Turns out he has an ear infection (yes, even though he had tubes put in just one week ago) and croup.  So, he's back on ear drops, and a steroid for his croup. 

As of last night, Kayden is really starting to feel the symptoms too.  He was home with Rhonda while we went to my sister's basketball game, and she texted me to see what she could give him for his cold/cough/aches. 

I, also started to feel some of the cold-ish stuff coming on last night, but I am the least of my worries:)

So, we'll spend our weekend relaxing at home (with the exception of my dad's family's Christmas celebration tomorrow) and try to get everyone healthy before the highly anticipated Christmas time finally arrives next week! 

Something's brewing....

Tyson woke up at his usual, 1:00ish.  I tried to let him cry for a while, but since he wasn't giving up, and I was tired, I went to get him up.  ::usually, a 15 minute process at most.  change his diaper.  feed him.  hold him until he's for sure sleeping.  put him back in his bed::  Not this time.  Soon after I got Tyson out of his bed, I heard Tyler whining in a sad, scratchy voice.  I went to tell Mike that if he didn't quit whining in a few minutes, he'd have to go get him up.  (We would usually just put him in our bed or rock him, and within minutes he'd be sleeping again.)  Next thing I know, I hear Kayden and Tyler's bedroom door creeeeeeeeeak open.  This tells me Kayden is now awake too.  ::or Tyler activated his go-go gadget arms to open the door from his crib::  

So, I head to our bedroom to tell my snoring husband that he needs to get up NOW, because we now have all three boys awake.  So, he rolls out of bed.  Makes what seems like a 5 minute pit-stop at the bathroom, and finally makes his way into the boys' bedroom.  I hear him talking to Kayden, and finally they come out.  Kayden heads to his pillow on the living room floor, while Mike rocks Tyler, and I feed Tyson.  

15 minutes later, Tyson is sleeping, so I put him in his bed, go back to carry Kayden to his bed, and then I head back to bed myself. Within minutes, Mike and Tyler join me.  Tyler lays with us for a few minutes before he is squirming, and whining.  "Wah-er".  He wants water.  So, to the kitchen I go.  He has his water.  Still awake.  So, him and I go to the living room to rock.  I attempt to put him in his bed twice, and he wakes up both times.  Finally, at 3:02 a.m, he's sleeping and I'm able to put him in his bed.  Remember what time I got up with child #1?  1:00ish.  It's now 3:00ish.  Ugh.  

Now, the reason I worry about what might be brewing:  We were with Sydney and Karsyn this weekend (Mike's nieces).  They both had miserable colds and coughs.  Karsyn went to Urgent Care to find out she has an ear infection and the start of pneumonia.  It's coming.  Tyler sounded terrible when he woke up last night.  His throat sounded like it hurt.  Bad.  He seemed fine this morning, and I texted Sharon at lunch, and she said he seemed fine.  I just wonder what's going on, because he NEVER wakes up at night.  We'll see. 

4 more days...

Just four more days of forcing my biggest baby and my littlest baby to take that yucky, yucky medicine!  They're both on the same prescription---and it's yucky! Tyson was on amoxycillan(sp) for an ear infection about a month ago, and he took that like a champ.  Not this stuff though.  I had my mom hold him down while I gave it to him this weekend (it wasn't as torturous as it sounds, "hold him down").  As fast as I could squirt it in, he spit it out, right in Grammy's eye.  Kayden has to be bribed/threatened twice a day to take it.  He hates it, but he's doing really well with it.  Yesterday I told him, if he doesn't just take it, we'll have to go back to the doctor and get different medicine.  His response?  "That's what I wanna do".  (Maybe I should have specified, "yuckier" medicine). 

Turns out....

Caution:  This post might be a little TMI for those who don't care about Kayden's vomiting, BUT--there's good stuff at the end, so keep reading=)

Turns out, Kayden's vomiting incident at daycare yesterday was probably MY fault =)  He threw up just once.  I did have my dad go and pick him up from daycare though, because I figured he would probably rather be around less kiddos while he tried to recover from his rough morning.  Anywho--I have come to the conclusion that the vomiting was MY fault, because I gave him his dreadful medicine in the morning before we left the house.  I sorta forgot that he is supposed to take it with food.  So, today, I sent it to daycare, and I'll leave Sharon with the challenge of getting him to take it =)

Now, a few side notes:

Tyler is crazy.  This time change has really screwed up his sleeping habits.  I think every day this week, he's been awake by 5:15.  This morning he was yelling, "Mommy!!!".  When that didn't work he switched to, "Daddy!", and when he still got no help, he started yelling, "Papa!!!!".  Now, if only Papa could have been around to deal with him!

Tyler has also really been working on talking.  He is getting better and better at telling us what he needs or wants.  He has a pretty clear , "juice", and if you don't give it to him, he has a pretty clear, "NOOOOO!".  He is also working on his brothers' names.  Kayden is, "Day-in" and Tyson is just, "I".  It's pretty cute, because he tries to fight with Tyson the way he fights with Kayden.  He's always saying, "No, I!!!  Mine!"   

I guess I kinda needed a day off anyway....

Tyler fought a fever all day on Sunday.  By Monday morning, he seemed ok, so I sent him to daycare, and told her to call me if she thought he seemed sick.  I warned that they'd had a LONG weekend, and they would be tired.  I texted Sharon (our daycare provider) later in the morning, and asked how Tyler was doing.  Her reply was, "Tyler seems fine.  Kayden's temp is 101.2".  What the ??????   Ugh.  So, she had Kayden take a nap, and I picked him up at our normal time.  We got home, and he was pretty sluggish.  Laying around on the couch.  We talked about skipping pre-school, but in his mind, that was NOT an option!  So, as soon as Mike got home, off to school we went.  He seemed fine at school.  He even got to stay and watch me play volleyball.  

We got home, put him to bed, and I checked his temp in the morning.  It was 100.3.   So, I decided I'd keep all the boys home, and take all three of them to the walk-in clinic that morning, and as long as everything was ok, I'd go to work after lunch.  

I was a little nervous about taking them all to the doctor, by myself.  They did amazingly well!  I loaded Tyler and Tyson in the double stroller, and explained to Kayden that he needed to be a big boy and be my helper for the day.  Thank God, Tyson slept through everything until the very end of the appointment when the doctor was ready to check his ears.   Verdict:  Kayden has an ear infection and (as he says) "a pink eye".  Tyson has an ear infection, and Tyler just had a virus, and is still trying to recover.  

Next stop, Target.  We shopped around a bit to give the pharmacist time to fill the prescriptions.  Kayden chose a $3.00 toy, and we picked up our prescriptions and were on our way home by noon.  Tyler fell asleep on the way home, and took a 2 1/2 hour nap, Kayden played with his new toy while he watched a movie, and Tyson had a bottle and took one of his longest naps to date!  All of this gave me some time to catch up on laundry from the weekend, dishes, etc. 

This morning, I took the kids to daycare, just like any other day.  Kayden had a strange meltdown as I dropped them off, but I figured he was just tired and a little cranky.  Sharon distracted him while I snuck out the door.  

My latest text from Sharon, "Kayden threw up.  He seems ok now.  That explains his behavior this morning.  I'm making him soup".  

Ugh!

Tired? Sick?

We've had a flu bug going around our house. I was sick Sunday afternoon/night, and Mike wasn't feeling well yesterday. When I dropped the boys off at daycare yesterday, Kayden cried and screamed for no apparent reason, other than he was tired and/or not feeling well. I was hoping for the tired! I stayed a few extra minutes before sneaking out (I was not at work, but sat at the hospital with my mom while my dad had surgery. (read about that here.) and by the time I left, he seemed ok.
When I got back to daycare to pick the kids up, Sharon (our daycare provider) said Kayden was tired, but didn't nap (not unusual. I actually prefer that he not nap). So, we went home, had early supper, early bath, and by 7:00, Kayden asked if he could have a brownie, and he laid on the couch and was sleeping by 7:30. Hopefully this was all he needed. A good night's sleep. He woke up on his own this morning, and had a much better drop off at daycare. Let's hope the extra sleep cured whatever might have been going on with him!
Tyson went to bed as usual, around 9:00. By 11:00 he was awake and crying, but his eyes weren't really even open. I knew he wasn't hungry yet, so I just walked around with him for a while. He had a huge burp, spit up all over my shirt (which I didn't realize until I felt it when I went back to bed since it was dark), and then cried for a while while reaching for his ear. God, I hope he's not getting an ear infection! Although, I am REALLY surprised he hasn't had one yet. Kayden and Tyler both have tubes in their ears because of the outrageous number of ear infections they had.
We'll see when the health of our house goes.....
P.S. Meeting with new realtors tonight to re-list our house and take pictures!!! AND, my friend Pam got me a statue of Saint Joseph to bury in my yard--he's supposed to make your house sell. Man, could we use his help!!!

Sick baby, Birthday Dinner and Splash Pad!

Tyson relaxing at the Splash Pad

Tyler trying his best to enjoy the water even though he wasn't feeling 100%

Kayden is into checking out his shadow lately...

Tyler relaxing at home on his "sick day"

This is how Tyler spent most of his day on Friday

I picked Tyler and Kayden up from daycare on Thursday and I thought Tyler felt a little warm. I took his temp when we got to my mom's house and it was 101. So, Kayden and I headed to the Drug Store to pick up some Tylenol for Tyler. One dose of Tylenol and he went down for a late afternoon nap. They boys spent the evening at Grammy and Grandpas while Mike and I went out to eat with Pat and Leah for his 30th birthday. We went to the new Fuji Steakhouse in St. Cloud. The food was very good, and we had a really good, kid-free time (which is rare). By the time we got back to pick up the boys, Tyler was still warm and had thrown up once. So, I called in to work for Friday and Tyler and Tyson and I spent the day at home.

Friday afternoon, Tyler seemed to be feeling better, so we packed up and met Grammy, Tammy and Emma, and Auntie Ruthie who had all of Holli's boys (Zach, Brady, Ben and Ryan) at the Splash Pad in Waite Park. It took a while for the younger kids to warm up to the idea of getting wet. I think the randomness of the sprinklers and the number of kids there was a little intimidating at first. After a while though, they started to really have fun. Enjoy the pictures!