Wordless Wednesday

It's a girl thing

A little 10 minute snapshot around the Starr house...

Happy and playful.

Cranky and stubborn, and now in 'time out'.

A couple of minutes later.....

Reset.

A happy girl again!

It's just a girl thing, and it definitely starts early!

Cookie, Please?!?!

Whenever I am working in the kitchen, Natalie follows me around with her step-stool, and gets up to the counter.  She loves to be involved!

This particular day, I had made a batch of cookies.  She had already had one, and was ever-so-sweetly begging for another one.

Her way of saying, "Oh never mind, Mom, I think I'll just get one myself!"

Conversations with Kids

At the age of 5, Kaitlyn is very intrigued with the whole marriage thing.  She talks about when she grows up and gets married and has kids.  We've already had to discuss how it's not okay that she marries her brother or any of her cousins, and that she will most likely marry someone she doesn't even know yet.  I think that scares her a little bit right now.  

The other day in the car, we were talking about something totally unrelated, and she randomly asks me, "Mommy, like, how do you find a husband?  Do you just...like...drive around in the car and look for a husband?  I mean, how do you find one?".

Oh boy!  Is it really starting already?!?!

Snow!!!

The kids were so excited to see the snow.  (Okay, we all were!)  They couldn't wait to play in it.  But talk about being caught off guard!  I didn't buy snow boots this year, because I bought them last year and they never got worn.  Good thing we only live a couple of miles from Walmart, because that's where I was headed to buy snow boots so everyone could have fun outside.  They hardly had anything left, but they had at least one pair in each of the kids' sizes, and they were on Clearance.  They insisted they didn't have any more in Natalie's size, but when I looked on the shelves, they had one pair left... and they were pink and black.  Hey, 4 pairs of snow boots for about $9.00/pair?  I say, Thank You, Lord!

It's so pretty!  I love just looking out the window and watching it fall.  Snow just seems so peaceful!

(Back yard)

(Front porch)

Eating lunch. Natalie just seemed mesmerized by it.

Finally getting to play in it

Natalie's first time in the snow.  She loved the idea of it, but it was colder than she had anticipated.  She tried to pick it up with her hands, and it made her mad, but she refused to wear gloves.  She did like walking around in it with her new boots, though.  She just looks so stinkin' cute in her snow gear!

Time to build a snowman

Trying to roll a big snowball

Taking shape

Oh, look.... it's Russell Wilson!

I turn into a kid again when I see the snow.  I love to play in it with the kids and just have fun.  We had two really good days outside in it before it started getting slushy and nasty.  It was perfect!  Now if I can just go skiing, my winter will be complete!

Wordless Wednesday

Kaitlyn's Hospital Adventure

Kaitlyn got really sick, and ended up spending a couple of nights in the hospital. 

She had gotten the stomach flu in the middle of January, and got better after just a couple of days.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, she started running fevers and having stomach aches again.  The fevers went away after a day or two, so we thought she had caught another stomach bug.

On Tuesday, when I got home from work, her temperature was 103*, she had a stomach ache, was pale and lethargic, and could hardly stand up on her own.  I decided it was time to take her to the Children's ED at Randall.  It was starting to snow really hard, so Papa and Granny offered to drive us.  

(Febrile and feeling awful in the ED)

After an x-ray and a series of lab tests, they discovered that she had Pyelonephritis (a kidney infection).  She was really dehydrated after vomiting repeatedly, so they gave her a couple of boluses of IV fluids, and a dose of IV antibiotics.  She looked much better after her fever came down, and she was starting to drink some fluids, so they decided to send her home on oral antibiotics.

Then, right before they took her IV out, she spiked another high fever (almost 105*), and she started vomiting again.  By this time, her WBC count came back pretty high (21.6 for my nursing friends).  They decided to admit her overnight for IV fluids, and to give her more IV antibiotics.

She seemed to do really well as long as she didn't have a fever.  As soon as she spiked, she started vomiting and looking terrible.   They were giving her scheduled Zofran around the clock to keep her from vomiting, but it didn't help when the fevers hit.

This was our happy girl after Aunt Melanie came to visit and brought her a new Hello Kitty.  She was afebrile, and feeling fabulous!

All snuggled in with her animals.  She really wanted me to sleep with her, too, so it turned into quite the slumber party!

She did have a couple of really high fevers during the night, but by late morning on Wednesday, she started looking better and drinking pretty well.  They decided to send us home.  

Then, it was deja vu.  She started getting really sick and vomiting again.... and the fevers were back. Ibuprofen wasn't keeping them down, and she couldn't keep down liquids.  On top of all that, right before her antibiotics were due, her IV went bad.  The problem was, when she was febrile, she got mottled and clammy, and they could not find a vein anywhere.  They poked her 4 times, and we decided to give her a break and wait until the fever broke. 

Papa and Granny stayed with her, and Melanie ran me home so I could grab a few things.

Anthony and the kids came up to visit for a while, which made her really happy, and Grandma Bauer and Aunt Kayla stopped by for a few minutes.  

We got another IV around 10pm, and she was back on IV fluids for the night.

On our way back to the hospital, we had stopped to get her some balloons, and Daddy got her a big monkey...which she loved... and now had to have space in the bed as well! 

When they restarted her IV, I asked them to recheck her labs- mainly her WBC count.  It came back even higher.  Despite this, she had a good night, and the Ibuprofen managed the fevers well.

In the morning, the doctor came in and told us that the urine culture came back, and the bacteria in her urine was Group B Strep (very rare in children), and that the antibiotics she was on may not be treating the kidney infection.  So, they switched her to a different IV antibiotic.  She was looking really good, had not had fevers overnight, and she was keeping down liquids.  They decided to keep us for two doses of the IV Ampicillin, and send us home.

She had a couple pieces of fruit for breakfast, and I convinced her to try something for lunch.  She ate some mashed potatoes...and kept them down!  Yeah for solids!!!

That morning, it started snowing.  It had really started accumulating by the time we were ready to be discharged.  Thankfully, Papa and Granny came to our rescue again, and picked us up.  Little did we know, we were in for such a long ride home.  The usual 35-45 minute trip home from Portland, took us about 3 1/2 hours in the snow and traffic.  It sure beat staying another night in the hospital, though!  After about 8 hours of sleep in 4 nights, I was ready to be home and sleep in my own bed!
Kaitlyn is requiring a little more sleep than usual, and is still a little pale, but is doing really well.  We've spent a lot of time praying for our sick little girl, and are so thankful for God's healing touch!

We are so appreciative of all the great care we received while in the hospital, as well.  I have such amazing nursing friends that brought me breakfast and coffee every morning, as well as dinner one night.  They took such great care of Kaitlyn and me.  Friends checked in constantly to make sure we didn't need anything.... going so far as to offer to take home laundry and wash it for us- even all of the blankets that Kaitlyn had thrown up on!  I feel so blessed to be able to work with such an amazing group of doctors and nurses!