Katie update

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that the swelling in Katie's knees was a strep infection?  Well she was on penicillin for 10 days and there was no change.
Last Wednesday, the dr called back to check on her - I told them her knees don't look any different. She said she was expecting that...a few doctors had met and talked about Katie's case (cuz it was pretty puzzling to them) and they brought in the Infectious Disease Specialist at Children's Hospital. They agreed that given the high strep results, and the swelling joints it has to be treated as a type of Rheumatic fever.  It just means infected tissue....that, if left untreated, damages children's kidneys and heart valves.

So - Katie has been put on 6 months of penicillin (at least) and we go had to go back to the clinic on Friday for them to take a urine sample and more blood tests to see if her kidneys have been damaged so far.  It took a while, but Katie had her first "pee in a cup" success.  Then they wanted to draw more blood for a Lyme's disease test.  I pointed out that we requested that test during the last blood draw, and it was negative.  Sure enough...that request saved Katie from having to get another needle!

The clinic called us about 3 hours after Katie's appointment to let us know that her kidneys look good so far.  They'll probably check again in a few weeks to make sure everything stays functional.  They also did an EKG, which looked good, but was sent on to the pediatric cardiologist at Children's Hospital for a second opinion.  Then, in 3-6 months we have to go do an echocardiogram to check the status of her heart valves.

We go back in 6 weeks for a checkup. 

Letting the cat out of the bag

I guess I'm ready to let the cat out of the bag.  I say that like I've known for a long time, but I actually just found out a few days ago.

My nephew and his girlfriend are expecting a baby in August.  I switch between moods of extreme calm about the whole situation and flipping out because he's my nephew.  Granted, he's 21.  I figure if he can build a computer, he can figure out a diaper. 

I wish he had told me sooner.....BUT it'll give me some fun stuff to look for at garage sales this summer.

Oh, and I also know the sex.  Do you want to know?

Remember my foot??

A few weeks ago I posted about my foot and how much it hurt - don't think I ever updated you on it. 
I did get x-rays, went and saw a podiatrist cuz after 3 days it just wasn't any better and by 5 or 6 pm, I couldn't put any weight on it at all. 

Nothing was broken.  He thought he saw a crack, but turned out just to be lines in the bone (or something like that).  From the exam he could tell that the long tendon that ran under my foot and up the outside of my ankle was swollen and VERY tender.  So I got the typical dr advice...ice it and take Aleve.  I skipped the pills, but I did ice it for a few days as much as I could.

He also said that I shouldn't run on it for 2 weeks, and then when I do start - start at the very beginning of a running program.  Well, 2 weeks was up yesterday so I was interested to get back on the treadmill.  I had been able to walk normally for about a week - no pain, and the run went well too. 

I started an 8 week 5k program, and even though I felt I could jump to week 4 or 5, I didn't.  I also didn't start with week 1.  I started with week 2.....yeah, I'm a rebel.  I guess it'll be good to follow a program and see if that helps me get a better time at the end of 8 weeks.  Before....I was just running til I got tired, then walk, then run a bit, the walk a little, etc. with no measurement or knowledge if I was really pushing myself more each time. 

Dream drama

Don't you hate it when you have a pretty involved dream.....a bad dream actually and the people in it make you so mad that you wake up angry?  And you just want to say "So what the hell was THAT last night?"  But you know that they would stare at you blankly and assume you're crazy.

That was my dream last night.  I dreamt that John left me for some chippee in Decorah, but he wasn't telling me about her - just that he wanted out of our house.  Pleasant, huh?  So then I visit his apartment in Decorah and found remnants of a girl being there.  Talk about a nightmare!  I kept waking up, tossing and turning - then going back to this stupid dream - all. night. long.  I was never so glad to get up in the morning. 

So as John came down the stairs, getting ready for work - it was all I could do to keep from yelling "Who was she?!"  Again...I stopped myself because I knew I'd get the blank stare and the assumption that I had left for crazy town.

As far as dream interpretation goes, this probably means I want a puppy or something.

Fun animals

If you have time, check out this site - it streams animals from all over the world.  There is an eagle's nest near Decorah, IA that has 2 eagles egg-sitting currently.  We're keeping an eye on it to see if we can see the babies soon. 
Also - the CA squirrel is fun to watch in the morning....up close and personal.


http://www.ustream.tv/pets-animals

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday today to my sister, Janet and my friend, Julie! 

Happy Birthday and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Janet, my sister, in her glory days of high school.....a bit of time ago. :)



Japan's Devastation

I'm sure you've all been watching the news, reading the stories coming out of Japan.....but here's a new angle from someone who's actually living it. 

http://marosu.blogspot.com/

It's a blog written by a friend of a friend of a friend. :)  He's an IT Specialist over in Japan who is originally from Minnesota.  It's amazing to read his account of all that's been happening.  If you have time - check it out. 

Happy Birthday Jordan!

Happy 17th Birthday to my nephew Jordan.  Sheesh - 17!  I think it's totally sad that I had to look back at last year's post to make sure I wasn't going insane, and that he really was 17!!!

Happy Pi Day!

It's 3/14.....Happy Pi (3.14) Day. :)

It's Monday - another weekend in the books, and it's already mid-March.  This past weekend John manned the house himself with both kids.  I was off to WI (no, not to Madison).  I spent the weekend with girlfriends from college and had a wonderful time.  We went out to eat, had some drinks, and skyped with some friends in New York City and Texas.  I should have taken the camera along....but of course, it was left at home. 

College gals....spent the weekend with the bottom 3....and that's me up on the top.

John had to take Katie to a birthday party on Saturday at the bowling alley and Katie really had a great time.  Sounds like the girls bowled, danced, and had yummy cake.  Will talked John into playing some video games while there and I guess, from the conversation at the dinner table last night, Daddy let them get away with just about anything. :)  That's ok - maybe it'll make it easier to get away in the future.

Before I sign off - we got the test results back on Katie's knees.  Remember last week we took her in because of the swelling in her knees?  They drew blood and ran a bunch of tests to see what was going on and it turns out she has a strep-type infection in the fluid and tissue surrounding her knees.  According the pharmacist, it's more common than you might think.  So she's on antibiotics for that and hopefully, we should see her knees return to normal in a week or so. 

Molly's in the mood for love....

Yesterday I thought Molly had eaten something she shouldn't have or was feeling ill....today it hit me.  Duh, she's in heat.  How long does this last again? :)

It's snowing again today, but we aren't due for much more than 1-2 inches....we'll see. 

"Pebbles" is still with us, and fitting right in.  She seems to be getting louder...that's probably a good sign.  Also, the last 2 days she's wanted to sit on the little potty every time Will went to the bathroom, so we did it a few times on Monday....and then Monday night I was told she actually went pee on the potty at home for the first time.  Yep, sure, I'll take credit for that. :)  (Odds are it may be a while before it happens again.)

Yesterday we took Katie to the dr. for a little check-up because we'd been concerned with her growth/weight gain and her knees.  Anyone that knows Katie, knows she's always been petite...and probably always will be.  However, in the last 2 years we've seen her grow 2 inches, and gain 4 pounds.  On the handouts they give at the doctor's office it says "Average weight gain for a 6 year old is 6 pounds a year."  Hmmm.....
Well, long story short - they aren't concerned at all, we don't have to alter her diet, she still "makes the chart". 

Now her knees....we noticed about a month ago that one knee was really swollen - much larger than the other one....and actually they both looked weired.  It didn't seem to go away, but it wasn't bothering her - no pain or discomfort.  We still wanted to get it checked out and the doctors that looked at her were a bit puzzled too.  They took x-rays, which showed nothing, and they drew blood for various tests that will tell us if the swelling is due to specific inflammations.  We get those results back in a few days. 

Ok - is it my turn?  Now me....my foot is killing me!  Geez, last night all of a sudden whenever I put weight on my left foot, I get a shooting pain on the outer side of my ankle.  If I walk on my tip toes - it feels fine.  And I can do ankle circles, flex my foot, etc. - no problem.  But if I walk for a few minutes, I can't take it.  I ran on Monday....felt fine.  So I called a dr. and I'm gonna go get it looked at tomorrow.  From what I am reading online - it seems as though there is a bone/joint out of position that just needs to be popped back in. 

On to Will and John......
Will is fine and John is playing raquetball tonight - be careful! :)

End of week 1

I'm at the tail end of my first week as a full time babysitter.  I've really liked this "peek" into what life is like with 3 kids.  In some ways it's easier than I thought.  Katie and Will are really helpful with "Pebbles".  Probably because they aren't related to her.

Will loves to run and get a diaper when we need one.  Katie enjoys entertaining in the afternoon, showing off all her stuffed animals.  There've been no bumps, no bruises, Pebbles is still alive and smiling.  That's a successful week in any house.

Look for some more Wizard of Oz pics coming soon....I was just e-mailed a link to 703 pictures that were taken over the last week of production.  105 of them are of Katie......

It's later, so here's more.

The kids are asleep right now so I will take the opportunity to write a bit more.  Katie is at school.

It's day #2 of my babysitting gig and it's going great.  Little "Pebbles" is very cute, just the "right" age - 1 1/2, and Will adores her.  Since I've already had 2 this age, it doesn't seem like much has changed.  Katie comes home from school and I have 3 for 2 hours or so....but that's not bad either since they all have a way of entertaining each other. 

I am now driving the truck because it's the only vehicle that will hold 3 car seats in the back seat.  But that's not bad either because I know John is happy to drive the car. 

I would say it's longer hours than helping the elderly woman, but much less stress.  Basically, I can just go about my normal day....play in the morning, home for lunch, home for naps....which we would be anyway.  On the weekends we try to head to IA, it would be nice leaving town before 5:30 pm.....so hopefully we can strike a happy medium there. 

Goodbye Wizard, Hello Pebbles

"Pebbles" is here at our house for day #2.  Yesterday went very well - her and Will (Bam-Bam) get along very well and Katie likes having another girl around.  More later....