For the Record and Other Updates

Mike wants it noted (for the record) that when we ran to the store for some essentials tonight that it was me, not him, that told him to put the movie Iron Man in the cart. I knew he wanted it and was going to buy it whenever he got the chance anyway so I figured that we were at the store and it was there, so why wait? What's the difference if we spend that $14 now or in a few days. But like I said, he wanted it noted so there you go.

Other Updates:

Tank is doing well. The Dr. thought he looked good although he did develop a little ear infection through it all. We go in for more blood work next week to check on those platelets then we have to do another EKG in 6-8 weeks then a third in 6 months. Overall his mood is so much better and we have seen no real signs of any sickness. He did have one throwing up fit tonight but I am crossing my fingers that it's just a fluke.

Mike leaves for 3 days to Vegas in the morning. So I will have almost 3 full days and 2 nights with all 3 of the babes. I may take a couple hours on a couple of days and do some lunches with some old co-workers. The babysitter offered to watch them if I wanted her to and I think I'll take her up on it. I will need a couple breaks and I have been meaning to catch up with these guys for a while. I think to pass some time tomorrow Caleb and I will watch the Iron Man movie since we haven't seen it yet. It better be good since it was my fault and all that it "jumped" into the cart. :)

Hooray for Home!

We finally got released from the hospital last night and got home around 7pm. It was a pretty uneventful night and I was so pooped I crashed by about 9:30. Tank is doing really well today, still pretty sleepy but when he's up he's just a ball full of smiles. It's nice to have that back.
However, Caleb woke up this morning thowing up and has been sleeping most the day away. No fever though so we aren't too concerned. Both of the twins had gotten spoiled the last couple days being alone with one parent either at home or the hospital so they are both wanting a lot of attention when they are awake so we aren't getting much done today. It's almost 2 and I am still in my pj's! We go back to see the Dr. tomorrow for a followup on Tank and probably another blood test to make sure everything is going well.

Reporting From Room 3017

As most of you have heard, things took a turn for the worse with our poor Zaden (aka Tank). The Dr. office called late on Wednesday night and were concerned about some of the blood work that came back. When talking with the on call Dr. about 10:30pm , Tank was finally calm and relaxed sleeping in our bed. The Dr. thought that if that was the case that it was more important that he was comfortable and just to keep our 2:00 apt the next day with Dr. Joe. But then told me not to hesitate to call him if anything changed.
Well Tank slept for a bit then had his Daddy up and down with him every hour or so and they did a lot of rocking. But he was soothed so we weren't too worried until about 6am when his fever spiked again. So we had the on call Dr. paged and he told us to go to Primary Children's Hospital ER and that he would call ahead and let them know we were on our way and give them some info. We got the other kids together and got the babysitter ready to take them and sent them to her then headed up and got here around 8am.
After a few hours and a few labs they still had no idea what was going on with this poor little boy but decided that he was too sick to go home and admitted us to the hospital, which took another 3-4 hours of us sitting there waiting. Now during that time, Mike had mentioned to the resident Dr. that his younger brother had Kawasaki Disease when he was young and asked if it could be that. She replied that he was too young for that and pretty much dismissed that idea. So after getting a room, his regular Dr. contacted the staff here and ordered a bunch more blood work/labs to include tests for Kawasaki Disease...hmm where have we heard that?
Turns out that's most likely what this whole thing has been. They ran more labs this morning to double check and to also check for a couple other viruses just in case. But they are going to start treating it as if it is at this point. We also have an EKG scheduled at 11 am to make sure that this didn't damage the arteries in his little heart. Wish us luck and I will update this post at the end of our day. You can read more about Kawasaki Disease Here.

*Update: The nurse says the EKG came back fine, with no abnormalities..hooray! However, they will have to keep their eye on it probably for a couple of years and on his platelet counts, just in case. And he seems to be somewhat responding to the gamma globulin (purified antibodies) that they are treating him with. His rash is pretty much gone and he seems a lot more comfortable, he's been sleeping a lot today and this afternoon his appetite is back so he's eating some and he's keeping it down. Dr. Joe says we have to stay until his fever breaks. That's the one thing that seems unchanging. It's not going up any which is good. But it's not coming down either. So we'll see what happens overnight. Mike brought in Caleb and Zaric tonight for a little while. Caleb was a little freaked out when he first saw his brother with all of the monitors on but settled down when we explained them to him and then was telling the nurses all sorts of stuff. Zaric was smiley like always so it was nice to talk and play with a happy baby since I have been cooped up with his sick miserable one the last couple of days. I can't wait until he gets back to being Tank too. I am crossing my fingers to go home by tomorrow night.

Around and 'Round We Go!

After another miserable day on Tuesday and an even more miserable night and next morning we ended up at the Dr. office again with Zaden and his rash/fever. We didn't get to see his normal Dr. again as he was out for the afternoon but the Dr. we saw today doesn't think it is Roseola....What...What...What? He even brought in a third Dr. while we were there for a second opinion. They are calling it Vasculitis. So now we are learning all sorts of things. He believes it probably did look a lot like Roseola when we brought him in on Monday but thinks it can't be now as it is darker and more bruise-like now. They also did blood work and a urine sample (poor thing) to make sure it wasn't effecting anything like his kidneys or liver and to check his platelet counts.
Talk about scaring a Mom to death!!!!! After being there for over 2 hours the urine sample came back clean which was a big relief. They should be calling us with the blood work result any time now. And then we go back to a 4th appointment tomorrow after. Thankfully, this one will for sure be with his regular Dr.

Fourth time's a charm right? We'll keep you posted.

Caramel Apples

Happy First Day of Fall! It's been a long and miserable day with Zaden being so sick. Check out the update to the last post to see a final diagnosis....grr what a long, hard and frustrating day. Plus the day started out rainy and dreary. But I was committed to celebrating fall in some way so Caleb and I made some caramel apples. He had never had them before so it was a new, fun experience. I had to cut him a little piece off of his to try it out first but once he got a good taste he was digging right in like a pro. I am so glad that he likes so many things that I like since Mike doesn't like much of them.

Poor Little Man Stumps the Dr.

Zaden got over his cold just in time to get sick again. He had a pretty miserable Sunday at home and then this morning woke up with this nasty little rash. So I ended up at the Insta Care this morning playing stump the Dr. The Dr. we saw says that most of the sickness is caused from an ear infection, however the rash is probably something else. BUT he couldn't tell me what. He could tell me what it wasn't. It's not chicken pox, not a rash from strep, not Rosiola and not the Mumps or Measels (thank goodness for immuniations). He's hoping that the rash goes away with the antibiotics for the ear infection or suggested possibly giving him some Benedryl. Anyone out there have any thoughts/ideas on what it may be? Just click on the pics for a closer view.

*UPDATE: After a very miserable day we took Zaden back to the Dr., this time to his regular Dr. office although a different one was on call. Turns out the Dr. at the Insta Care had no idea what he was talking about. Zaden doesn't have an ear infection and, in fact, has Rosiola. Looks like we just have to wait it out and probably expect the other two to get it. It's going to be a long couple of weeks.

Fall...My FAV!

Early this morning we decided to take a little drive to Little Cottonwood Canyon. It's only about a 30 minute drive from us. It was something cheap and easy to do and I have been dying to go check out the fall colors. I absolutely love this time of year. Nothing could be better. It was also sprinkling rain a little bit, but we didn't let that put a damper on our fun. I took some samples and brought them home to make a little arrangement (as you will see in a pic, 5th one down). It took us a while to get towards the top where most of them were, but as you see in the pictures, it was well worth it. I couldn't believe the great pics I got. I feel like a real photographer. So enjoy! I was reminded how much I love this time of year and I am ready to celebrate it. I think I'll do something special on Monday (the official first day of fall) and I was also reminded why I still LOVE living here in Utah and the mountains.

Caleb's Life Lessons

Too often we are judged on what our children are learning from us. However, I wanted to dedicate this post to 3 things that Caleb taught me last week. I am thinking maybe I should make it a weekly post of "things my kids taught me this week". What do you think? So here is this weeks posting:
1. Caleb taught me that a baseball helmet, also doubles as a 4-wheeler helmet while hot-rodding around our yard/motorcross. Safety First, you know?
2. A glow in the dark Halloween shirt is the best suprise EVER and it must be worn right away and for 2 days straight so you can show it off to your friends and find places to go in the house during the day that are dark enough to watch it glow.
3. When you get new slippers with The Incredible Hulk on them, it is then mandatory that you get into your pj's at any opportunity just so you can put them on. This is true even if you've just gotten home from preschool and it's only 11:30 am. Why wait?

Double the Pleasure, Double the Snot

The boyz have come down with their first ever cold. We took them to the Dr. today but it's nothing serious just a virus and they should be able to fight it off in a few days or so. In the meantime though, I have set up what I like to call Sick-Central in our family room. I loaded up on blankies and took down toys and the humidifier and quarantined us to that room as much as possible. I had feared that when they both had a cold it was going to be aweful and I was right. They wanted to be held all day today, especially Zaric who has the worst of it.

After Mike got home they both then wanted Daddy which I was ok with because it gave my arms a break. I hate them being sick but at the same time, it was kinda nice to cuddle all day. This was really nice with Zaden since he's not the normal cuddly type, that's Zaric's role. However when it got closer to bed time, Zaric wanted Mommy back and that made me feel good. He doesn't seem to want to sleep in the crib so I got him to settle on the swing for now. Guess I will be sleeping on the couch tonight so I can be close to him.

I did get a couple of things done today while they napped though, like I put the new high chair together since we had been sharing only the one for now but that's getting harder with them eating solid food more often. I did it without using any instructions so I am pretty proud of myself. Mike, however, thinks it will collapse at any moment :). Then I cleaned out the old costume box and put a bunch of them up for sale on the KSL website. And in 5 hours I have already sold potentially 5 of the 10 I posted. 50 %, I would say that's pretty good! The rest of the house did suffer though, thankfully I have Mike who doesn't mind helping out once he gets home.

Here's a pic of Mike holding both sickies and rocking them tonight. Disclaimer: He is wearing pants (ok sleep shorts) but you can't see them through the blankies:). Let's hope this is really a couple day stint and that they are free and clear for our weekend get-together with Garrett, Laurel and little Maddie.....cross your fingers for us.

Sock Monkeys

When I was very young, probably 4 or 5, I told my Grandma, Wauneta, that I wanted a 12 pack of Oly (My Grandpa's beer of choice) for my birthday. Well that's exactly what she got me. Well, at least the box for one. Inside the empty box she had made me a sock monkey that I loved. Whenever I see a sock monkey I am reminded of her and I keep a ornament of one for our Christmas tree every year. So one day while cruising around the Internet looking for costume ideas for this Halloween, I came across these and had to have them. The boyz are so cute in them. So this Halloween is dedicated to Grandma Great (as the kids in my fam called her). I often wish she was still here, especially to give me pointers on raising the twins. But I know that she knows how much I miss her and want her around.

P.S. Zaden is pictured first, Zaric second. I am also determined to tie them into the theme that the other 3 of us finally settled on. I'll let you know how that goes.

Weekend in a Nutshell

We had a good weekend here. On Saturday we were alerted by some friends of a big yard sale given by the Salt Lake Mothers of Twins group. So we headed over early in the morning to see if there was anything good. We got a few sets of clothes for when the twins are bigger and Caleb picked out some books and found a Spiderman jacket that was just his size! And yes, I finally paid my dues and joined the club so we'll see how that goes. Then later that day our friends Scott and Holly came up from Lehi and we went bowling. The pictures are from that adventure. Caleb had a blast and the three babies were all really good and just hung out in their carriers for the most part like a little audience. We got asked more than once if they were triplets... Oh heavens no! I lost of course and Mike won, so he rightfully gloated.

On Sunday we just hung out at home and watched football and some Sponge Bob then I was able to do a little crafting last night. So all in all. I would say a successful weekend.

Mission Accomplished

So I did it! I went all day (and night I might add) without even touching a keyboard one time. I will admit I was tempted more than once. But I had something to prove. This also gave me time to think about why I was addicted and here's the conclusion I came to.....I BLAME HIM! It's all Mike's fault. I didn't used to be this addicted when we only had the home pc. Here's my evidence to support my case.

Exhibit A: He insisted that I get myself a laptop last year at the Black Friday Sales.

Exhibit B: He set up a wireless network in the house so I could get onto the internet from anywhere.

Exhibit C: Then he also bought a wireless printer so I can now print from anywhere in the house. Or even probably on the roof if I so choose.

So there you go....HIS FAULT!

Also in my last blog I mentioned that I had been reading some humorous blogs and I marked one that I like. Since I couldn't write about it yesterday I am throwing it on this one. I found this blog http://witsbitch.blogspot.com/ I can't help it, I like a little sarcastic and even crude humor once in a while. Most of the time I am a very wholesome person (stop your snickering) but something about this girl makes me laugh. I will warn you, it's not for everyone, but if you are feeling adventurous check it out sometime.

Addict

Hello, my name is Rebecca and I am a computer addict. I have noticed since I have been home that I am a little bit addicted to my computer. Don't worry I have my laptop here centrally located in the kitchen so I know what's going on with the boyz at all times. I guess that comes from having a desk job for the last 10 years. The daytime seems like I should be sitting at a computer doing something....anything. So I usually start off the day (after baby needs of course) with checking my email and visiting some of my favorite sites and checking out cnn.com to check on the world. I usually log into my instant messenger too so I can talk with Mike throughout the day as well as a couple of friends. Seems tame...right?
Mike has been teasing me about it, so last week I told him that I was going to have at least one day a week where I do nothing computer-wise. But that's kinda hard when I also married a computer geek and we have 3 of them around the house at most times. I tried really hard last Thursday and made it until about 4pm and I only got on because all 3 boys fell asleep and I was bored to tears. I could have done something else I know, but baby steps (bear with me).
Well today was no exception. I started off with my normal routine then I found myself coming back to it every time the the babies were playing with the play gyms or napping at the same time. I checked my email several times (like I was really important and someone was actually going to email me...yeah nilch, nada). Then I read the normal blogs then found myself searching for other blogs to pass the time. Google is becoming a real close friend. I knew I had been bad already but then Caleb came up from playing downstairs and said something like "Mom, why do you like being on your computer all the time, every day?" Ooops! Can't believe he really noticed so I told him that I like to because it's fun, just like his toys are fun for him. He understood but it still hit me a little hard. Then Mike came home and I was engrossed in humorous blog I had found of some random person. It was great but he kept giving me a hard time about it too. In my defense, I did do some other things today before he got home, such as:
1. Got Caleb up and ready for school, drove him there and back to the house then drove back to pick him up.
2. Bathed the twins
3. Did 2 bottle feedings and a solid food feeding for both twins
4. Got some vinyl cut for crafting with
5. Cut up a watermelon so my family could get some nourishment
6. Called a fencing place for a quote
7. Got the dishwasher started (Mike says that doesn't count but I disagree someone had to put the soap in and turn the dial)
8. Played tummy time with the twins during one of the rare times today that they were awake at the same time.
9. Made Caleb a sandwich for lunch while I had a tasty banana.
10. Tranferred all of the birthdays for both of our families onto the new 2009 calendar I recently purchased.

I know some of these are menial, but they all add up to time that I was actually A W A Y from the computer. None the less, since Caleb made me take another look at my routine I promised to him that tomorrow I would spend ALL day away from the computer. It will be rough, but I think I can handle it. So I will talk to you all on Saturday and let you know how it went.

Picture This!

We finally got our family pictures back that we had done about a few weeks ago. They turned out nice. This first one is proof that the twins looks just like their big brother. Which means they look like their Daddy.

We couldn't get Zaden to smile for the camera and then he fell asleep before we could get a pic of the twins together but I think even with the serious face, it's still a good one. Zaric certainly didn't have any problems smiling away. He's so smiley all of the time so I think this picture completely shows that.
There were a couple poses of Caleb that I loved so I got wallets of this one and then some bigger ones of the other pose that I haven't put on here. He looks like he's up to something here which is usually the case so it's perfect again.

And last but not least here's the whole family. We chose yellow this year because I had already gotten the twins these cute outfits for a wedding that didn't happen (wink, wink you know who) But they were too cute not to use up.

Don't worry Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunt's and Uncles. Copies will be on their way to your mailboxes. If there's a pose that you are dying to have and any certain sizes let me know and I will do my best to get them to you.

The Good Old Days

Over the weekend, one of our old Financial Aid staff members was generous enough to host a BBQ at his house for all of us old-timers. It was nice to see so many of them.

We were even able to have a couple people there that have moved out of state to Oklahoma and Wyoming. Here are a few pics from the festivities.
The last one is of my two former bosses. Ruth is on the left and then Craig on the right. In the middle is Craig's wife Pat. Caleb had a lot of fun playing with Jon's son Jace and with a little girl named Alex. He likes their patio because he could dig in the sand between the rocks which is what he's doing in the picture. Then they played frisbee and looked for bugs.

We talked about the good old days and how much fun it used to be when we were working together. We talked about the time we held the Financial Aid Olympics in the office and about the nasty remodel where we found things like Shag carpeting under the book shelf. It's too bad things have worked out the way they have. It would be a blast to still be working together. But times change and people move on. At least we are able to keep in touch and hopefully we will have more get togethers like this in the future.

Zoo-rific

Last weekend in the midst of the painting project we also realized that our annual zoo membership was about to expire at the end of September and thus decided that we would make at least one more trip while it wouldn't cost us anything. So here are some pics that we took. These first couple are of course Caleb playing on the playground. Next are the famous lion drinking fountains. I remember these being one of my favorite parts of the zoo when I was young. I thought I was pretty cool when I took a drink from the inside of the mouth. Caleb also liked it. I was glad these are one thing that stays constant while the rest of the zoo continually changes almost everytime we go. The last picture is one of me and Caleb on the new Conservation Carousel they built. Caleb insisted on riding the polar bear so we hurried through the gates to get to it first. I got on the warthog next to him and off we went. It was a quick couple hour trip but a nice little outing for our family and it was nice to actually be outside walking around and enjoying the cooler weather. I am sure we will be renewing our membership again so that we can continue to enjoy this as our kids grow older too. For those of you from Utah, do you know what happened to the coin machines that would make the wax animals all through the zoo? I miss those terribly each time I go. I always had to make a few while I was there and wish my kids were able to do the same. That was one of the best parts for sure. While change is necessary, it still stinks when you can't share your childhood favorites with your kids too.

Detached

I mentioned to Mike on Tuesday night after we put the boyz in the twin basinet at the end of the bed that maybe it was time to start moving them into the crib as they are getting bigger and sleeping through the night on a more regular basis. Well that was apparently all he needed to hear. On Wednesday while I was reading to Caleb before bedtime, Mike sneakily slipped them both into the crib. I came into the bedroom and looked down to tell them goodnight and there was no-one in the basinet. I reminded him that I had said MAYBE it was time. He just smiled.
The first night they both slept great and made it through the night with no problems. Last night was a little worse, they both woke up screaming around 1:30. It only lasted about 20 minutes before they fell back asleep but still made me sad. So now I am feeling detached and separated. I know they are just two doors down but I find myself checking on them again just to make sure they are breathing. Last night I kept jumping up at every little noise I heard in the monitors. I know I will get through this anxiety and be happy about this change in a week or so but for now I will keep going in to check on them several times and probably cry when I take the basinet down this weekend. :(

Mommy-dom

Wheeeww..I have made it through day 2 of being a real stay at home mom since the babysitter still watched the boyz last week. I know people are going to start asking what I am doing with my time and here's a quick rundown....
Day 1- Got everyone up and dressed to leave by 8:30 and get Caleb to preschool where he took the twins for Show and Tell. Then came back to do some housework. Made a quick trip to Kid to Kid with the twins then back to preschool to pick Caleb up. Then we made it back home and made lunch. Hot Dogs was the meal of choice. Then all 3 boys napped AT THE SAME TIME! What a blessing. I was able to also take a little siesta with them. After Dad got home we made a trip to Costco and Harmons for some essentials. And mixed in there was several feedings, fussy fits and a couple of spitups. After they went to bed, I was able to finally finish reading Breaking Dawn. I've been working on that for a few weeks now.
Day2- Today we hung out a little longer at home then all 4 of us went to a friends house so Mom could craft and Caleb could play with his friend Braxton. We packed a lunch with us and stayed until about 2. The boyz were having a pretty fussy day so I didn't really get much crafting done. Then we came home to wait for Dad and then we cooked some spaghetti for dinner. Again mixed in there were several feedings, play time and a tons of spit ups that forced me to change my clothes the moment I got home.
So we are off to a blazing start here. So far, I am hanging in there and the kids are still alive and fairly healthy. What more could I ask for? Better than sitting in that office all day for sure. Tomorrow we will do the preschool routine again then Friday will be a suprise on what we get done, or don't get done as may very well be the case. Guess we'll just see.

Weekend Project

Right after the twins were born and were still in the hospital Caleb was spending the weekend in Price with Papa. We decided to suprise him with new bedding since his was looking kinda young for him and we thought it was only fair that if the babies got a new room maybe Caleb should too. We chose Nascar as that's about one of his 5 favorite things right now, plus it was on clearance at Sears that day...huge bonus. It took us a few months now to get around to doing the rest of it but this weekend we finally buckled down and got to painting and putting up some border and wall decorations. So Here are the results. This first one kinda speakes for itself. Mike was going to draw and paint some cars on his own but I had a 50% off coupon at Michaels so was able to get the decals for pretty cheap. These next two are Caleb hanging on his bedding while we were still hanging things on his wall, hence the hammer and the spray bottle. Then his name hanging over his dresser.














Last is a picture of the cool coat rack I was able to score. It looks like gear shifts from different cars so it fit in perfectly. This was a very long and tedious project but I am thrilled at the final result. So here's hoping that it lasts another 3-4 years before we do it again.