Spoke Too Soon

It never fails. . . I guess I spoke too soon. Maybe I should have knocked on wood when writing my previous post. Yesterday was Easter Sunday. When I went to pick Tyler up from his Primary Class (children's sunday school) at church, I got there just in time to catch him eating a milk chocolate Easter egg. Luckily he only ate1 tiny bite. I hurried him out of the room & went to get the diaper bag with Tyler's medicine from Jeff. Unfortunately, the Epi-pens and Benadryl were still on the kitchen counter. (I had taken them out to send with Jeff when he took Tyler to the movies on Friday.) So we rushed home to give him some Benadryl. We gave him the Benadryl & he seemed fine. We took some family pictures in our Easter clothes. Shortly after that Tyler began complaining that he didn't feel well & that he was itchy all over. We inspected his body & found that he was bright red from head to toe and he had hives blistering up on his neck & shoulders. Then he began wheezing. At that point we had to give him his Epi-Pen. We grabbed some snacks, since we hadn't had lunch yet, and headed out to the ER.
We went to a different hospital than usual. This one was the county hospital & it was sooooo ghetto! We had to pass through a metal detector & have our bags inspected to enter the hospital. Apparently, this is the hospital where the inmates receive medical care because a few beds down from Tyler was a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit & handcuffs being guarded by a police officer. The man in the bed next to us got in a fight with his neighbor & had a head injury. He had about 20 different people in & out visiting him and every other word they spoke was the "F-Bomb." We will never go back to that place again!
Anyway, the nurses were all shocked that Tyler was still so red after his Epi-Pen. The doctor put Tyler on oxygen & gave him steroids. They kept him for a few hours to make sure he was OK & then we headed home to celebrate what was left of Easter. We were still able to have Aaron, Sheree & their kids over, just a few hours later than we originally planned. Tomorrow we'll have our Easter Egg hunt & decorate our Easter cookies. We will definitely remember this Easter for many years to come. Maybe Easter had to involve some drama since we had an uneventful, regular Valentine's Day this year! Who knows?

Improvement

Tyler just had his yearly blood test to see how allergic he is to milk. We got the results yesterday & found out that Tyler's allergy has improved!!!! In July 2007 his IgE level was 16.5. In March of 2008 his level increased to 23.72. His March 2009 level dropped to 12.2! We are so excited and hopeful that this means he will be able to outgrow his allergy! Tyler's pediatrician said that we could repeat this test again later to see how it looks, but that he still needs to completely avoid milk products. The allergist told me that once he has multiple tests where his level drops, if it gets down to showing no reaction, he should avoid milk for another year & then we could come to her office for a food challenge. When I told Tyler that his allergy was getting better, his response was, "So now I can eat pizza!!!!" Well, not quite yet, but maybe when he's older, pizza just might be an option for him! HOORAY!!!!

The Breeze

I guess I am just the frazzled new Mommy. Today, I snuck out of Primary to use the restroom. When I was done, I peeked in the Nursery & chatted with Michelle for a couple minutes. While talking to Michelle, Cassie came running down the hall & did me the hugest favor in the world. She let me know that my dress was tucked into my nylons! Yikes!!! So, apparently I'd walked all the way down the hall & stood there outside the Nursery door with my butt hanging out for everyone to see! How embarrassing! Am I really that out of it that I didn't notice the draft? I did something similar when Claire was 3 weeks old. On Christmas Eve, I finished nursing her in the bedroom & came walking out to visit with Jeff's side of our family with my shirt still pulled up. That time I think I noticed it before anybody caught a glimpse of my top half. With only 2 kids I must have had a few brain cells left so that I could notice. Not anymore! Someday, I'll return to my pre-baby intellect (I hope). For now, anyone who notices me walking around with part of my body flapping in the breeze, please let me know. I can't even manage to keep myself dressed properly & I'm supposed to take care of my kids' every need!?! Who's idea was it for women to be so scatter-brained when they have new babies? Maybe the reason I can't keep myself put together is that I am so focused on caring for my cuties.
Well, here's to a better day tomorrow!

No Need for Naps

Tyler does not like to take a nap. He fights me over taking a nap everyday. I've been told that he might be getting to old to need a nap anymore. I'm pretty sure that he still needs a nap & here's why:

Me: It's naptime.
Tyler: No! I don't want a nap! I'm not tired! I want to roller-skate outside! I want to play! I don't want a nap! I'm not tired! (And on and on.)
Me: Fine, just leave Claire alone so she can take a nap.
Tyler: OK, Mommy.

So, Tyler got his helmet & pads on and went outside to play. He got bored playing by himself & came in to wake Claire. I told him he'd be in trouble if he woke her. A few minutes later, I heard Claire screaming in her room. I went in there to find her sitting in her bed, holding her shoe. Apparently Tyler went in there, chucked her shoe at her and told her to put her shoes on & come outside to play. So, of course, Tyler was in trouble for waking her & throwing shoes at her. I sent him for time-out on the rug and I continued making dinner. About 15 minutes later, I realized that I forgot to tell him he could get off of the rug. When I went to tell him he could go play, this is what I found:

Wouldn't you say that looks like a boy who is not tired and does not need a nap?

What am I Going to Do with Claire?

Sure, she may be absolutely adorable . . . .

. . . . but what am I going to do with her and her mischief?

The Bathroom Sink

While changing Matthew's diaper, I heard the water running in the bathroom. As soon as I was done, I went to the bathroom to investigate the running water to find Claire standing on the toilet (with the lid closed) and this mess. I made a gasping noise followed by "Claire Ann Cosme!!!" (Everyone knows that parents are really mad when they use full names, right?) Claire's only response was "Sorry, Mommy." I sent her for time-out on the rug & went to get my camera. When I first found the mess, the water was only inches from the top of the sink. At least it was in the sink & not the toilet. A couple months ago she took a whole roll of toilet paper & dropped it into the toilet. I had to fish it out - yuck! No wonder we go through so much toilet paper these days. Now that I'm the one paying for the toilet paper, I can't believe my parents ever let me go toilet papering as a teenager!

The Markers

I found Claire at the kitchen table, coloring with Tyler's markers. I asked her if she put the markers in her mouth and she replied, "No, Mommy." Something tells me that she wasn't being completely honest with me. After I cleaned her up and sent her out of the kitchen, I found a lovely marker drawing that covered about 5 or 6 tiles on the kitchen floor. I wonder how that got there!?! Thank goodness for Crayola's Washable Markers and Crayons. That's the only kind I ever buy. They were definitely invented for the parents of sneaky kids. Look what can happen in the few minutes it takes to get a load of laundry going.

My Little Stinker

Like most parents say, "It's a good thing she's cute!" Even when she's naughty, I can't help but love this silly little girl! She's so cute and fun! She keeps me on my toes! She tests my patience, but how can I not love that face?

My Healthy Habits Challenge

For the past week and a half I've been attempting a 12 Week Healthy Habits challenge. One of the daily goals is to write a personal journal entry and blogging counts for that particular goal. As you can tell, I haven't earned the points for that one yet. I've been taking lots of pictures of funny things that happen in my house, so today I'll start adding the stories. I'm even going to break my personal rule about posting pictures of my kids on the blog because the pictures are what make the stories funny. So enjoy.

The Expert

The other night at dinner Tyler informed us, "Mommy, Daddy, I am an expert!"
So of course I had to ask, "An expert at what?"
Tyler replied, "I'm an expert at knowing that eating beef jerky gives me stinky breath. Eeeewww!"
We were dying! It was such a random comment. Jeff & I tried, but couldn't really contain our laughter. What a funny little boy we have!