The Puddles

We went to the doctor’s office.  The school nurse called this morning and said that Ben was in her office complaining of dizziness and his chest scar hurting.  Really?  His vitals were good, but he wanted to talk to me because he was worried.  Well I think he was worried about the test tomorrow.  He has been feeling a little anxious these days about everything.  Testing, Dad leaving, Easter plans, etc. But he has been complaining a few aches and pains lately and we have are not allowed to give him Motrin/Tylenol or anything in their drug family.  So I thought this would be a good time to go and talk to the Nurse practitioner about  another drug he might be able to take or possibly a pain cream he could rub on.  But that is not how this visit went.  By the end of the visit, the cardiologist had been called and now he has to go for an EKG and Holter monitor.  Really??  I explained to the nurse that I wasn’t concerned about the dizziness and that I just needed to some alternatives to Tylenol and Advil.  She said that you might not be worried about the dizziness but we are.  Of course, there were other symptoms going on (like high blood pressure).  Again, I was not worried.  So when I practically ran out of the doctor office at the end, it was out of my fear that they would order more testing. I at least talked them out of Ben wearing a Holter during the STAARS test.  That would certainly cause him stress during his testing process.  So after Dad leaves, we will add that to our to-do list.  

After the last family member left, Madie asked her siblings if they wanted to go outside and play with her.  Of course, they said yes! I love the fact that after a long day filled with tons of people (from church to family) that they chose to spend the last hour of their day together.  Even the dogs were outside playing nicely with them.  It was a miracle!  They may fight, but they love each other. It was nice seeing them hang out and play games in the backyard before they had to get ready for bed.

Chris decided that he wasn’t done running a fever on Saturday.  After we got home from taking pictures in the bluebonnets, Chris’ illness had taken a turn again for the worse.  I was tired of dealing with all of this.  So I loaded him up in the car and decided to take him to a different clinic/ER.  After the first two places were closed early for Easter, we found Physician’s ER.  This turned out to be a wise decision.  We finally found a doctor who dealt with his situation seriously.  They pumped him full of fluids and drugs.  They got him home that evening feeling much better.  He made it to church that day and the morning went perfectly!  He was a little pale and he put caution tape on his door to keep everyone out, but he was there!  His sermon was spectacular!  It was a good day.

And it was rewarded with BBQ with family. We all worked hard getting beautiful pictures. Debra took them so they will be great! I can’t wait to post them. Thank you Papa and Grandma Lake for your field of bluebonnet and lunch! It was delicious.

The day started at 3:00 am. This was when my husband woke me up.  I should tell you that my “yesterday” only ended at 2:15am, so I had only been asleep for less than an hour.  Chris woke up and declared that he was sure that he had the same bug that Madie had on Monday.  He decided he needed to go to urgent care to have it looked at.  After all he is leaving the country on Tuesday and Easter is Sunday.  Of all of the times of the year to get sick, today would not be my first choice.  After he arrived home around 6:00 and told me that he officially had strep, I got him set up in bed with drugs, water, and food.  Then I went downstairs and fell asleep on the couch.  I was a tired girl and a little concerned that I might be next.

After sleeping in a little (I was concerned about getting rundown myself), I woke up and hit the office to get to work.  At lunchtime, I stopped and sat with the kids for lunch.  Ainsley then decided that she wanted her Mom to quick working so  . . .

she handcuffed me so that I wouldn’t go back to work today.  Unfortunately, after much reassures she released me from my bondage.  I think that all of the late nights from the last few weeks had caught up to her because she melted soon after.  I heard her crying in the shower and after running up to help her I found out that she was upset because the shower sprayed too close to the wall.  After I got her out and dried off, she told me that she couldn’t keep her eyes open.  She was just exhausted.  She feel asleep for the rest of the afternoon.  Madie had an appointment at church to walk to Prayer Path that afternoon and then have a playdate with a friend, so we headed to church to drop Madie off while Chris and Ainsley slept.  Of course, I was praying the entire time that Ainsley wasn’t coming down with it too.  This picture is how we ended the day.  Ainsley woke up, felt a lot better, smiled for the first time that day, and decided that she really wanted to go and walk the prayer path for the first time.  The picture above is from the prayer path at one of the stations.  The rest of the kids and I headed up to church and walked the prayer path.  We were lucky enough to be able to sign up for the slots right before service, so that as soon as we ended we were able to head over the church for Good Friday worship.  So the day has been long, but it ended well.  Good Friday is a hard service, and it is rare that I am able to walk away without tears in my eyes. Now I am ready for Easter morning.  I pray for healing in my household. I pray that this illness ends with Chris.

Well, we are leaving early in the morning to take pictures in the bluebonnets and to give Chris a quiet house for the morning.  So off to bed!

I can’t believe that it has been six months since the last time I posted here.  I’m not sure why.  I’d like to think that it is because I’ve been busy.  But my life has been any busier in the last six months than it was the six months prior to that.  I think it has more to do with the ebb and flow of life.  I remember why I started this blog to begin with.  I started this blog to document the life of the Puddles.  When I first started Madie was in second grade, we didn’t know that Ben was going to need a second surgery, Ainsley was still my baby in preschool, and I didn’t work outside of the home.  Oh, how life has changed!  Now Madie is in sixth grade, Ben is still our BenBen only taller, Ainsley is dominating third grade, and I work full time.  How has life gotten so crazy?!

In the past year I’ve really been leery to share too much online.  Madie now reads this blog avidly and I wouldn’t want to say anything to embarrass her or the other two.  (Truth is . . . I can embarrass her without ever posting anything online.) But I don’t want to forget these moments with them.  All too soon they will move out and start their own adventures. So I’m not sure where the line is.  I’m sure the Puddles will let me know when I’ve crossed it!

This is a worthy venture. I don’t want to forget all of the small moments that we share together as a family.  Life has already started to change.  Instead of looking forward to all three sitting an snuggling with me on the couch and telling me about their day.  Now I look forward to two of them snuggling, while the other child will come over and give me a hug but prefers to tell me about her day while sitting in her own chair with her feet up.  As they grow older their needs will change. And then they will change again. And again.  If there are any guarantees, it is that life is constantly changing. Madie has challenged me to blog more (or give up Dt. Coke, so I picked the easier of the two to try) for Lent.  Well Lent is over and I’ve posted a whopping . . . zero times.  So now its time to try again.

Hopefully this will be the first of many for 2014 . . .

She has become fascinated with knee socks. We are loving the look today!

Ben and Ainsley are hiding on the stairs hoping to antagonize their sister and all of her friends that had come to spend the night for Madie’s birthday party.

Don’t they look stylin’? They all visited the optometrist that I work for. They were threatened within an inch of their life to behave. They were awesome and they all got cool shades to wear.