My Nice Quiet Afternoon

Ha ha ha ha! I am laughing just reading my own title. When does a mother ever have a nice quiet afternoon? After getting Holland on his bus and taking Romania to his school, Egypt and I ran some errands. I needed to get a portable CD player for a new audio program we are trying out through Holland's OT. I also stopped at Toys R Us to look for a stroller that can carry a child weighing more than 40 pounds. I've been thinking I will need to have a larger stroller on hand when Egypt's arthritis flairs up again and she can't walk. Then I stopped at the bank.

Egypt and I came home, colored, read and ate some lunch. She then set up her pillow and blankets on the couch downstairs and decided to nap. I've let her do this before, but she never sleeps. Today she actually slept. So it was no surprise with a quiet house and a sleeping child, that the phone should ring and someone from Romania's school would tell me that he was throwing up and having diarrhea. Holland would get out of school in 30 minutes so I had to call them and tell them not to put him on the bus. Then I had to wake up Egypt and pack her in the van, drive to pick up Holland and then drive over to Romania's school. His face was ashen white and he was sitting in front of the boy's bathroom with a garbage can in front of him in case he needed to throw up again. Poor guy. It took him all of 5 minutes to fall asleep in the car.

He woke up when we got home and asked if he could play. I told him he needed to rest and once on his bed, all snuggled with blankets and "The Cricket in Times Square" audiobook, he fell asleep again.

What was I going to do today?

Well, I didn't see this coming

Today I ended up at a doctor's office, but it wasn't with my normal patient. Egypt has been having leg pain every morning when she wakes up for about a week or so. It usually goes away, so I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was a leg cramp. But this morning, super-hero dad noticed that her knee was swollen. After dropping Romania at school, I called our pediatrician to get in as soon as possible. They had an opening at 10.

After the doctor looked at her swollen knee, I knew something wasn't right. Egypt hasn't taken any falls recently and there was no bruising. She gave me several possibilities and the main one was juvenile arthritis! Her symptoms are consistent with an arthritic joint because there is no external bruising and the pain goes away after she's been on it for awhile. She asked if Egypt had been sick recently and I told her she'd had a high fever 3 weeks ago that lasted for 3 days. She said it's not uncommon for a viral infection to bring on arthritis. Her x-rays were normal; no fractures. She also had blood work done and we'll know the results in a few days. The doctor wants us to get in with a pediatric rheumatologist as soon as possible. Then we'll know for sure what to do from there. Meanwhile, she's on Motrin three times a day and I have to make sure she doesn't get stiff and do some movement exercises with her.

Luckily, the new doctor will be at the same hospital that Holland's been at. I totally know how to navigate my way around!

Clean Up! Clean Up! Everybody, Everywhere

You never want to have to post about puking. But I've succumbed to reporting everything that happens. And I'm up, so I might as well.

It started off with Egypt waking up from a great nap and us playing. We're downstairs and I hear this gush and turn around and she's projectile vomiting all over the floor. I set her down in the kitchen with a big bowl and clean up the mess. While giving her a bath, dad comes home with the boys from an afternoon of playing basketball and raquetball. First words out of Holland's mouth are "Romania threw up in the car!". Well, of course he did, I thought. Murphy's Law says you can't have just one kid sick.

Hardly anyone ate any dinner. We get all three kids in bed and at 10, just before I'm heading to bed, I go to check on Egypt. Smell hits me right away. She had puked all over herself and her comforter. Get her completely cleaned up, sheets changed and I'm heading back down the hall and Romania is in the bathroom. "I threw up on my bed." So have another set of sheets to change and clothes to change. The smell is the worst. If any smell would make me want to puke, that would be the smell.

I only have one more kid. I think he's up on deck ready for the pitcher.

What's for lunch?

Today my 8 year-old packed his own lunch. Only a crazy person would let her 8 year-old pack his own lunch, right? Well, my 3 year old woke up covered in soupy diarrhea. Holland went upstairs when he heard her wake up. Her bed, sheets, blankets, taggies and pajamas were soaked with this goop. I can't believe she slept through it. What is it with my kids sleeping through raucous bodily functions? Romania slept right through a bout of vomiting the other night. So we got her into the bathroom, stripped her of the mess and popped her in the tub. This was at 8.10 this morning. Bus comes at 8.30. So in the middle of stripping her bed and getting her and her pajamas cleaned up, I told Holland he needed to get his lunch made. He was in heaven, I'm sure. I have no idea what he packed. He hates sandwiches. I pack string cheese, but apparently I bought the wrong kind of string cheese. My mistake. I thought all string cheese was the same. So I have an opened package of string cheese in my fridge that no one will touch. I think he said something about 2 juice drinks (good, now he's hydrated) and some crackers. His teachers are probably going to think I'm some kind of nut packing 2 juice drinks and crackers for a growing boy's lunch.

Well, now I need to go retrieve some Halloween candy from the diarrhea girl. I guess she thinks candy will cure what ails her.