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2:00 AM Tamiflu call

Posted on October 11, 2009 11:50 am by TheAngelForever

Monday morning I went to the doctor to get my lungs checked. I was really having a tough time with my asthma thanks to the illness from the previous week. The doctor said that she was 99% sure I had the flu, likely H1N1. Of course, I expressed my concern about hubby and the boys getting what I had. She was worried about NHL because he also has asthma, but particularly worried about JSL due to his febrile seizure tendencies. She told me that she was going to grab his chart and give me a prescription for Tamiflu to have on hand. She said the minute he got a fever and started having my symptoms to get the script filled.

Tuesday night hubby was not feeling so great, but still no fevers. The little guy fell asleep peacefully in my bed.

JL and I kept going in to check on the little guy because he was super restless. We would find him at one end of the crib and then the other. It dawned on me that we had to check his temperature. Just before midnight he stirred again and was cool. A little before 2:00, JL heard horrible breathing noises on the monitor. He went into the boys room and JSL not only sounded horrible, but was burning up. We quickly took his temperature to confirm that he had a fever.

I went to the computer to find a 24 hour pharmacy that had Tamiflu suspension since we had the prescription. I finally found one and my parents were lifesavers and went to get the script. At about 3:00 JSL received his first dose of Tamiflu. About 30 minutes later he was making horrible sounds again. We ran him into the bathroom just in time to well toss his cookies. This happened again about 30 minutes as he was almost asleep. The poor kid had so much mucous he could not stop gagging and threw up.

Thank goodness the next dose of Tamiflu went much better. We did it on a full stomach, with mucous medicine in him and everything stayed put. Two days later JSL’s fever went away and by Friday his nose was hardly leaking anymore (just red like Rudolph). Last night he was happy and running around before bed. At about 9:30 we heard horrible barking sound and gasps for air coming from the boys room. It was JSL and he was trying to sleep through it. We brought him into our bed to prop him up more and tried to keep him comfortable. At 3:00 in the morning he was really bad. It was time to see if a steam room treatment would help. It worked nicely and he slept breathing much more comfortably until 8:30.

This morning he is breathless, like I was Monday when I went to the doctor, and has the barking cough. We put in a call for the doctor to see if we should try nebulizer treatments or something else. Meanwhile the little guy is super cuddly.

Hopefully we can do something today to make him breathe easier and not have another horrible night.

Categories:
jsl looking back photos sick kid sleep

Wiggly Waffle on Sprout

Posted on October 8, 2009 10:03 am by TheAngelForever

A few weeks ago, I got up early and went to stand at the box office to get tickets for a concert. No, it was not to see Billy Joel, Five For Fighting or Bon Jovi. These tickets were for a family event. Once again, we are going to see The Wiggles!!

We are huge fans of The Wiggles. We have been watching them for over five years now. We have not only been to two concerts, but last year we sat in the front row of the show.

This year, we are taking the newest Wiggles addict in our family. JSL will finally be able to see The Wiggles live and he has no clue what to expect. He has only seen the show at Wiggles World in the Six Flags park near us.

Of course, NHL grew up watching The Wiggles on Playhouse Disney. Did you know that The Wiggles have a new television home in the United States?

Not only are The Wiggles on Sprout, but they have a new show that is on weekday mornings from 6-9 on Sprout. Sadly, our cable company (Time Warner) does not provide us with Sprout. We have been asking for it for many years now, but still have not been able to get it. Of course, with The Wiggles move to Sprout I am once again starting my crusade to get this cable station added in our area. I not only went to WigglesPlease.com, I am also planning to call my Time Warner Cable to make the request again.

When I was asked by Family Review Network to help to get the word out about The Wiggles moving to Sprout I jumped at the opportunity. We were also told about Sprout being on Facebook. If you are on Facebook head on over to check out the Wigglemania Facebook Contest.

In addition to helping to get the word out about The Wiggles new television home, we were also sent a DVD to review. When the DVD arrived my little Wiggles fans were eager to check it out. We received The Wiggles Present: Dorothy The Dinosaur. As you can see, we are no strangers to Wiggles DVDs.

The Wiggles Presents: Dorothy the Dinosaur is different from other Wiggles DVDs that we own. This DVD takes us to Rosy Town where we meet up with Dorothy the Dinosaur. Dorothy begins by showing us her book that is filled with some of her wonderful memories. As she turns the pages of her memory book we are transported into her past. We get to sing and dance along with Dorothy, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octapus, Captain Feathersword and special guests that include Francis Awaritefe, Rachel Beck, Troy Cassar-Daley, Kathy Gothadjaka, David Hobson, Jane Kennedy, John Rowe, Leo Sayer and Don Spencer.

Some of The Wiggles Songs included on this DVD are:

Balla Balla Bambina
C’est Wags, C’est Bon
Come On Let’s Jump
I Look in the Mirror
I’m Dorothy the Dinosaur
I’m the Postman
Lettuce Sing (Fresh Fruit and Vegies)
Say Aah at the Doctors
Vegetable Soup

10 other songs are also included on the DVD along with the following Special Features:

The Wiggles Jukebox – The Band Sings and Plays Some of Their All-Time Best Songs
Join The Wiggles for Wash Your Hands – UNICEF’s official song for Global Handwashing Day
Two Bonus Episodes from Dorothy the Dinosaur’s TV Series
Photo Gallery

What our Wiggles fans thought:

NHL (6): He liked the songs that were included. He immediately got up and danced along with Dorothy. When the DVD was over he asked where Sam, Anthony, Murray and Jeff were. Being older he is used to the more traditional Wiggles DVDs where they are front and center in the production.

JSL (2): As a newer Wiggles ~~addict~~ fan, the little guy asked to watch it again when it was over. He loved dancing and singing along to several songs that he recognized. After watching it a few times he now sings along with everything and especially love the song featuring Leo Sayer who is also in the You Make Me Feel Like Dancing DVD that we already owned.

Parent View: We could appreciate the brave move to try something different. Putting the spotlight onto Dorothy and seeing her memories in song/dance was a nice change. As always, we love the educational push that all Wiggles DVDs have in them. There is a lot for children of all ages to learn from watching this DVD.

There is no doubt that our Wiggles DVD collection will continue to grow. Look for new Wiggles concert photos coming in about a month when we take JSL to his first live Wiggles event with Sam, Anthony, Murray, Jeff, Captain Feathersword, The Wiggle Dancers, Dorothy, Henry and Wags.

If you have Sprout, know that we are extremely jealous of you and please be sure to tune in and watch Wiggly Waffle each weekday morning. For now the boys and I will continue to watch our Wiggles DVD collection and play on The Wiggles area on Sprout Online.

Disclosure: This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Sprout Television, who provided the DVD for review.

Categories:
jsl looking back nhl photos Product review show television

Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Posted on October 5, 2009 9:53 pm by TheAngelForever

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The sad truth is that most of us probably know someone that has breast cancer. Last June, someone I knew was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went for her yearly mammogram and something did not look right. Her doctors called her back in for a biopsy. The result was surgery and yet another at the end of June. During this time, I knitted this cloth for the new breast cancer warrior.

When we parted ways, I gave her a big hug and wished her luck on her surgery. Fast forward to September when I saw her again at school. She looked amazing, strong and was proudly sporting her pink bracelet.

Last October, I wrote about a hero of mine. My Aunt S is now a six year breast cancer survivor. I know this because she was diagnosed just before I gave birth to NHL. Thank goodness Aunt S caught her cancer early, fought it aggressively and is with us today adding lots of precious memories with our family. She is a huge part of our family and see her often since we live close. The boys are especially love to see and play Aunt S. Aunt S is special because she will toss on snow pants to play and make snow angels, build sandcastles at the lake, and take time to talk. This summer, they spent some time at the lake with Aunt S and the rest of our family. Each of the boys loved their time sitting with Aunt S on the boat with the wind in their hair. Here is Aunt S with each of my boys.

Please remember not only this October, but every month to check your breasts. Don’t put off having your yearly mammogram and be sure to have a baseline done when your doctor recommends it if you have never had one before. Early detection is crucial so be sure to…

Categories:
family health awareness knitting looking back photos

Name that virus

Posted on October 3, 2009 9:33 pm by TheAngelForever

Last Sunday I had a headache during the day. I took medicine, napped some and then took NHL to a birthday party. When we got home I really felt lousy and took my temperature. It was elevated for me. I took some ibuprofen and went to bed. During the night I woke up with chills, body aches and the headache was still there. I knew this was not a good sign. Needless to say since I was sick, I drank and ate a little over Yom Kippur. The boys stayed home with me as my temperature started to climb and JL went to temple.

Tuesday I felt a lot better. I did laundry (sheets had to be washed from fever breaking several times) and in the afternoon took NHL to the dentist. That night I had a mild headache, but nothing too bad. My temperature was down quite a bit. Wednesday I took it easy in the morning. In the afternoon, I brought JSL to my Aunt’s house to stay with her and my grandmother. NHL had an eye doctor’s appointment that would take at least an hour and a half and I did not want to have the little guy tag along. I made a large mistake before going to that appointment. I did not take iboprofen. By the time I was home that night I felt wiped.

Thursday morning I took it easy again and that night felt well enough to go to open house at NHL’s school. We did not stay long and I kept my distance from everyone. Friday was not a good day at all. My fever kept climbing to 101 when it is normally just about 98 on our thermometer. I had chills, aches and to add to the mix a cough joined the party.

When I talked to my doctor’s office earlier in the week about the flu shot for JSL, I asked the nurse about my symptoms. She said so many people were sick right and it was likely a virus. She agreed that there was no need to be seen. During the night I tossed and turned. At 4:00 I woke up with a horrible coughing fit. I could feel a slight trickle down the back of my throat and it was driving me batty. I took something to try to help it and sat on the couch watching Roku for three hours. By the time the boys woke up I had a pounding headache. The coughing, fever and lack of sleep caught up with me.

I tried to nap as much as I could today, but it did not come easily with the noisy boys, cough and headache. Tonight, the cough is back and although I feel like all of the energy in my body is zapped…the fever has not spiked YET.

My theory is that I picked something up in the ER when we were there last Friday. Everyone looked like I feel and they were coughing, wheezing and some had masks on while others did not. My family guesses that this may be the Flu, possibly H1N1, but we are not sure. Now my biggest fear is passing it along to the rest of our family no matter what it is. Fevers scare me with the febrile seizure history.

So, please excuse me if I am not here as much for a little while. I will be taking a little more me time this weekend to try to mend a very sick me. If I am not much improved, or the coughing get worse I will be taking myself to the doctor on Monday to get check since it will be a week with whatever virus has taken over my body.

Categories:
bad news looking back losing my mind me moments sahm sickness

Hockey game memories

Posted on October 2, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

The other night, we took the boys to a pre-season hockey game. The event was free for the community, so we figured it would be a great time to go. This was the first ever hockey experience for JSL. NHL has been to a few before, but so many years ago that he does not remember.

When we decided to go, I told TechyDad that I was going to do something that I never thought I would do. I actually asked for seats behind the nets. Since it was only 24 hours from our ER visit with the little guy, I wanted to make him less of a puck magnet.

To understand why it was painful for me to do this, you should know that for several years I had season tickets to our hockey team. My season tickets were a few rows back, on center ice and right behind our home team’s bench. The seats were amazing when I was into it, but as a parent they make me a little nervous with pucks flying by. Of course, reality also hit during the game. I realized that it has been ten years since I had season tickets. My how time flies!

Both of the boys liked the hockey game. NHL had fun watching the instant replays, chanting for the home team and screaming when prompted. JSL got a little antsy, but was content with a snack.

Of course, one of JSL’s favorite parts was when the zamboni came out. He sat there mesmerized by the big "car" and kept jumping up and down each time it was close to our end of the ice.

Toward the end of the game, I asked NHL if I could get a photo of him wearing his hockey shirt. Check out the only photo he would allow:

So my question for you this week is inspired by our recent fun at the hockey game:

What is your favorite sport to watch in person (not on television) and why? Feel free to shout out your favorite team while you are at it!

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.