Staples out...Independence declared!

Jonny got his staples removed at Quick Care this morning. He did good especially since two of the three got stuck and she had to pull pretty hard to get them out. He's got quite a bit of 'gunk' that needs to be cleaned out of his hair around the staples which she told me hair conditioner would work great at loosening up...other than that, he's doing GREAT!

After getting the staples removed, I had a few things I wanted to get at ALCO so we stopped by there before coming home. I let Jonny walk since we'd only be in there for a few minutes and I figured he could use the exercise. HOWEVER, he taught Mommy a valuable lesson! He has been in the habit lately of using this adorable little phrase "Right Back...Stay". So there we were in ALCO and I was walking just a head of him when I heard him said this adorable little phrase and heard his little feet take off in the other direction. I spun around and headed after him but he cut through another isle and under the clothes racks and disappeared! Yes, I lost my son! I'm not proud of this in any way but he did disappear. I made my way to the front door as Jonny had been saying something about wanting his Tiggy before he declared his independence and ran off. Toward the front was one of the managers. I asked her if she'd seen him which she had not. I told her he was missing and I glanced out the door at the parking lot which was empty except for our pick up (I had driven it because of the rain). The manager lady posted someone at the door and then the other 3 employees in the building started looking for Jonny with me assuming he was hiding somewhere. When I had made my way back to where we were originally and still had not found him I was starting to get worried. Then the lady at the front door said, "I think I found him." When I got back up front, she said, "I saw a little boy in a red coat get out of that white truck." Just then, Jonny came running around the front of the truck, just as innocently as could be and headed straight for the store. When I met him, he said disconcertedly, "Mommy, Tiggy no truck!" I didn't know whether to spank him or hug him! Needless to say, we had a VERY stern talk about running away from Mommy in town! Daddy talked to him too, but I don't know that the magnitude of what happened really sunk in with him...but it sure did with Mommy! Needless to say, Jonny won't be walking in a store again unless he's got his Monkey tethered on!

Our New Livingroom

Abi is so excited she keeps saying "When someone comes to visit, they'll think we got a whole new room!"

I don't have the room completely finished yet, but I just couldn't wait to post pics! As you can see, after moving things around, the one corner looks very baren. I think I'm going to take down the group pictures we have on the one wall and rearrange things. I am also thinking of getting one of those wall stickers customized but I haven't figured out what I want it to say. (I've got about three of those I want now...)

As you can see, the colors go very nicely together. The slip covers fit very well...all except the chair...I'm gonna have to do a little 'fix it' work on the chair as the cover is a bit too big in the back. Marion was very impressed with them...he had visions of sheets draped over the furniture and was very pleased with how well they 'custom' fit our style of furniture!

The kids have absolutely LOVED this corner that I made to house their bean bags. They have made it a house and have played so many things with it that it has been well worth the rearranging of the furniture.

The one thing that has taken a bit more getting used to is that the TV is now on the south wall. The kids are not sure they like it there as they don't have anywhere 'good' to sit to watch their movies...which I am fine with...maybe they'll beg to watch it less now! I'd rather have the room arranged more for conversation and visits than for TV watching.

Overall, we are very happy with the slip cover conversion. I think they will be much nicer to have on the furniture and easier to care for in the long run. And to be honest, they weren't hard to put on so it shouldn't be hard to wash and replace either!

Miscellaneous pictures...

Abi & E

Awe...a loving big sister!

Loving to pose!

Look at me...I'm running in place!

Giddy up Horsey!
(I was giving horsey rides and Marion was rather 'surprised' that I could get all 3 on at the same time...lol)

Ethan's Bronchiolitis...

Well, when it rains it pours and pours and pours…

 

Though we are three for three now, Marion says we are NOT going for six of six!!!

 

So, after determining Ethan had a 102 temp this morning and having the doctor say ‘bring him on in’, we got to the doctor’s office sometime around 10ish!  I took Jonny with me for various reasons and overall he did GREAT!  Especially considering we didn’t get home until after 1:00 p.m.!  Yep…that is right…we were at the doctor’s office/hospital for over 2 hours and then had to go wait at the pharmacy for another ½ hour!

 

It was determined that Ethan’s oxygen levels were a little low and that combined with the raspy breathing and fever warranted more tests, so off we went to the hospital to get lab work and a chest x-ray!  Jonny did great through all this, just watched and did what I told him to do!  Once all that was done, we came to the hard part of waiting for the results to get back.  Ethan pretty much slept after being poked, prodded, and observed for almost an hour, but Jonny needed more action, so we sang songs, colored on the table paper, played games, and even cuddled.  Several times he said, “Jonny ready to go.”  And he’d grab my hand and start pulling it, but when I explained we had to wait longer he usually calmed down and waited.  Toward the end I did have to promise him a snack if he’d wait just a bit longer, but by then it was getting lunch time anyway so his snack was really lunch!

 

When all the tests were back, the doctor felt sure Ethan has viral bronchiolitis, which is actually a very common respiratory infection in children.  Usually caused by a virus there isn’t really anything that can be done to treat it.  Ethan was tested for RSV again but we won’t have that test back for a day or so…though RSV and bronchiolitis are often related.  The biggest concern was his oxygen levels.  Where infants Ethan’s age breathe solely (or almost solely) out of their noses, if they are congested with mucus it poses a big problem.  The doctor didn’t feel that the amount of mucus in his lungs warranted a nebulizer at this time and thought instead that if we could keep his nasal passages clear with a suction device that the rest would clear up on its own….so we are renting a suction machine from the pharmacy (which is why we had to wait there so long, they had to calibrate the machine and show me how to use it). 

 

I do have to admit that after suctioning his nose, Ethan does seem to be sleep better now than he has the last few days but then again he had a rather traumatic morning too!  We will keep you posted if anything further develops, but we pray that this is the end of our eventful week!

On a more cheerful note...

Well, after finding Ethan with a temp of 102 this morning and anticipating when the doctor calls me back that we will be taking another trip to see him making us 3 for 3, I decided to post a more cheerful totally off the subject post!

Here are a couple of pictures of my beautiful snow ball bushes (and my bridal veil spirea too):

The kids love to pick the balls off and throw them! Seriously! But I've always loved the snow ball bushes and I am very excited that I have two of them that are doing so well! In the top picture you can also see the bridal veil spirea is about to bloom too...and in the bottom picture I'm not sure if you can see them or not, but my rose bush is just loaded with buds! I am very pleased with how the north side of the house is turning out...we've lost some bushes and had to replace them but overall they are all doing very well...even the roses from Mark & Karla are doing great this year!

Well, I've got to run...the doctor just called back and we are indeed headed in to see them...please pray it is nothing serious! THanks.

Jonathan's Accident...

Well, we just got back from the E.R. Jonathan apparently was trying to climb the swing we have in the front yard when he fell and hit his head on the stone border around it. As a result he got an 1 -1 1/2 inche gash on the back side of his head and a small puncture on the side. Fortunately Marion and Grandpa Schlatter were filling trucks at the bins close by and I was able to get Jonathan to the ER fairly quickly!

The doctor gave us two options: shave and numb the area to put in stitches or use staples and be done with it. Since the wound is clearly in his hairline, I opted for the lesser of the two procedures and went with staples...he needed three of them!

Below is a picture of his staples...if you are queasy about things like this you might not want to look:

We did our best to clean him up but he can't fully bathe for 24 hours!

Marion said I was pretty excited - maybe even a bit panicked - but I didn't feel panicked - in a hurry yes, winded from running yes, but not panicked! You have to admit, seeing your two year old child with blood running down both sides of his head and an fairly big gaping wound which you couldn't exactly see because he wouldn't let you get near it would shake you up! I was more worried about finding someone to watch the other kids than I was about Jonathan - he was actually very calm and simply asking for a 'ban-ban'. I really didn't want to have to take all four kids to the ER...but I would have if Marion wouldn't have been so close by!

I am sure with 3 boys in the house this won't be our last trip to the ER...in fact, I guess you could say he was just following in his father's footsteps! (Marion had to have stitches when he was younger as he tripped and fell into the corner of a clock...he still has that scar!)

Our New Chore Chart

Hmm...let's try this again...the first time, I got an error.

For those of you whom I have been talking to about chore charts, I thought I'd post a picture of what I ended up doing! I had previously seen a chore chart called "I Can Do It" or something like that by DeeAnne Gist. I like the fact that her idea was a less 'over the shoulder' kind of tactic. You simply put up the chores the child is to do, then when they are done the child puts the chore in the "I Did It" spot.

Though I liked her idea, I wasn't liking the idea of paying $15 for a board for each child. So I decided to make my own. My original thought was to make a poster board with little pockets and slips of paper with each chore on it. I tried this with Abi for a while but it just didn't fit us. Too much paper work back and forth!

So my next idea was to put up the individual chores with a slip that could be put in the 'all done' slot when the chore was done. I wasn't overly fond of this because then if a chore needed to be changed, I'd have to remake the board again...however, when I found a hanging photo sleeve, I came up with this:

Each slot has a chore listed that can easily be replaced by printing a new card. The brown cards are daily chores, the blue cards are Saturday chores, and the really dark one is 'as needed'. Then the bottom one is the all done spot. I put pink and blue slips of notecards to indicate whether it is Abi's chore or Nate's and can rotate them if it is something they both can do! When Jonny gets old enough we can add in green ones.

I have four slots at the top that are empty because they are too high for the kids to reach. I might change things around and put the Saturday chores up there since they won't need to get to them each day. I"m still working on perfecting it, but so far it is pretty nice. I simply tell the kids that it is chore time, they have till 9 am to get them done, go pick your chore and get started! (Nate still needs some help as he can't read them, but he knows his chores anyway so it is just a matter of him learning where I have put each chore so he can move his slip.)

For those of you who have been struggling with this same topic, I hope this gives you some ideas.

Oh...and the laundry basket idea from my Aunt Patti is working GREAT! We no longer have piles of clothes on the floor that we trip over and that they kids mix as they run through the kitchen. I am able to stack the baskets next to the washer and it keeps them out of the way until I get them in the wash! AND, it is nice to have a basket for the clothes to 'rest' in while waiting to be folded instead of laying on the table and getting tossed around too!

I'm feeling so organized! :0)

Baptism of Ethan William

We were very blessed to have several of our family members joining us for Ethan's baptism. Marion's brother Mark and wife Karla with their kids, Grandma and Grandpa Schlatter, Melanie's sister Roxanne and two of her kids - Kim and Tyler, and Grandma Makey. Though all our family couldn't make it, we greatly enjoyed sharing the day with those that could.

Here is a picture of the pew...Abi is behind Jonny's head and the yellow bag...you can even see Aunt Karla and Cousin B a bit...


Borrowing the idea from Cousin C's baptism a few weeks ago, we had a picture of Ethan displayed on the projector screen during the baptism.

Here we all are up front...

Abi, Nathan and Jonathan sang a music special for Ethan's baptism "Jesus Loves the Little Ones like Me".

Here is a great shot of the actual baptism...

After we ate lunch, Aunt Roxanne brought out the Easter eggs that we didn't get to hunt on Easter...the kids enjoyed finding the eggs...

Grandma Makey enjoying seeing Ethan again after several weeks of being away!

We caught Aunt Roxanne cooing back at Ethan!

Just a happy go lucky little guy...content and satisfied with the day!

A picture of Pastor Pat and our family to remember the day.

Checking out the loot from the egg hunt...

Visiting...

Our Family...all six of us...

Again, we are so very thankful for all who shared in the celebration of this day with us whether you were able to be there physically or not we are thankful for your thoughts, prayers, and support! We are truly a blessed family!

6 week check up....

Well, we had our 6 week check up today (though it is actually 7 1/2 weeks now)! Ethan is doing great - he weighed in at 10 lbs 11 oz which was a 2lb 7 oz gain in three weeks! His length was 22 1/2 inches and his head circumference was 14 1/2...so he is growing amply now! We talked about his extreme spitting issue and decided at this time to give it some more time. We've been trying the Zantac but I'm not so sure it has been doing anything remarkable and since he is growing amply it is not necessary to go the g-tract route yet! Dr. Overmiller did have a few suggestions for me to try so we will see how things go over the next few weeks.

As for me, I got the all clear...no more restrictions even though my blood pressure is still slightly elevated. The Dr. felt it would continue to come down the further out from the delivery we went. I also showed a 6 lb loss from my prepregnancy weight (my scale at home shows an 8 lb difference). Either way, I am very excited that I didn't come out gaining on this one! We have continued to try to keep our diets in line with the diabetic diet (even though we are eating more sandwiches now that the weather is nicer) and I think that has been helping some too. My sugar levels have returned to normal and there is no concern there but we all felt better so we decided to continue. The one thing I have noticed to be different is my lack of stamina...I don't seem to be able to walk as far as I used to without getting winded and sore and I've noticed it in other smaller things too as I've been working around the yard - so I'm gonna have to start working toward building that back up again...I'd really like to get to jog/walking again soon - the delima of course is finding the time!

Well, that is all the news we have on our 6 week check up. The rest of the family is doing well. Marion has been struggling with quite a bit of mucus that causes him to cough a tremendous amount at night but says he doesn't feel sick just full of mucus. Jonny has been having a cough as well with an occassional runny nose but he doesn't complain about being sick either. The other two are doing great! I have heard alot from around town about a mucusy cough thing so I assume it is just par for the course this spring. We are just so thankful that for the most part we are feeling well and being able to enjoy the beautiful spring unfolding before us.