Spring Break

For the first part of spring break we headed down to Bradenton, Florida to enjoy the beach and a Red Sox vs. Pirates spring training game. We left in the evening which seemed like a good idea until we hit terrible traffic less than an hour into our trip and Cate kept getting sicker and sicker. She had a fever and was coughing every 2 seconds (seriously, I timed it) for the first 3 or 4 days. She was miserable and so the rest of us were too. Actually, Brooks was sick too but he never complains, he just gets lethargic. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
That first night we couldn't find a room. It seemed like every single hotel was booked for some event or another and we ended up staying in a pretty dumpy place. However, the kids were thrilled with the playground! A run down, homemade merry go round. They are pretty easy to please.We were all thrilled to be able to hit the beach for a couple of days. I've said it before and I'll say it again--the gulf beaches are the most beautiful I've seen in the whole world. White, sugary sand and warm, clear blue water. If it's big waves you are after this isn't the place for you. But otherwise, it is heaven and so close to us! Also, a great place to collect shells:
I'm so glad my kids love the beach because I don't think there's anywhere I'd rather be. Hey, do you think they need and Oral and Facial Surgeon down there? This is at Manatee public beach on Anna Maria Island.
Really, if you are looking for a great beach vacation I highly recommend the gulf beaches. Alabama's are great and from what I've seen of Florida's they are great too.
I had to include this picture of Cate coughing so we can all remember how miserable she really was.
Lewis and the big kids also squeezed in a baseball game while Cate and I rested in the car in a Target parking lot.
They lasted through the 5th inning until they were too hot and whiny for it to be fun anymore. But they had a great time, especially Lewis, and loved being so close to all the players.

Spring Training

This year, for the first time, we signed Brooks up for baseball. It is a really low key league called Joy League which is perfect for a kid like Brooks who is very nervous about anything new. I was worried that he wouldn't like it and wasn't expecting him to be excited about it, but he had a great time. Originally we weren't planning on being at this first practice, but because we drove straight home from Orlando on Friday night we were able to be up and at practice by 8 on Saturday morning. Here he is playing catch with Lewis:

Getting coached at first base:
And getting ready to run the bases at the end of practice. Most kids just ran around once but Brooks kept going and going and going. Maybe he has some distance running genes after all....
All in all it was a smashing success. He LOVES tball and can't wait to go back. In fact, he has been practicing with Lewis and Aiden every evening since.

31 weeks aka now I am huge

and I couldn't find my usual picture shirt so this will have to do f0r this week. I got huge this week, I think I am at least as big as I was when I had Cate.
Spring break in Florida and first day of baseball for Brooks posts coming soon.

30 weeks

50's Dance Day

This is not my child but she's a friend of Brooks' and I couldn't resist posting this. Especially for those of you who don't live in the south. Here, mac n cheese IS a vegetable. I will explain in more detail on a future post.

At our school the kids do a Dance and Rhythm unit. The preschool through 2nd grade learns 50's dances and each class dances to a different song. This year I finally broke down and made Aiden the poodle skirt she's been wanting the past 3 years. And the elastic broke right before she danced. Luckily she has inherited Lew's short legs and was able to roll the skirt a couple of times to make it tight enough and it was still not too short. Please excuse the terrible pictures.
Brooks doesn't love anything that is not part of his normal routine so gelling his hair back and wearing jeans was really stressful for him. But he was really brave and did it and had a great time onstage.

Sports fan

So Cate is our little sports lover.
She loves to race.
She loves to watch sports on tv. Especially football. She will watch baseball, soccer, tennis,basketball or anything really but her favorite by far is football.
She kicks her little tiny soccer ball all over the house all day long.

29 weeks

What do you think of Lola? Deanne Lola? Lola Deanne? Hmmmm. It's just an idea but I think it's the front runner right now. Don't hate.I forgot to take a picture yesterday and today was super busy so I forgot again. So this is me tonight right after my long hot shower:
I am so exhausted. I get so tired of hearing people complain about being tired so I hate to do this, but really I am so wiped out. I wake up and all I can think about all day is getting back in bed for a nap! With my other pregnancies I remember feeling tired but having a little bit of time when I was full of energy and projects. There have been a couple of minor projects I have completed but nothing like what I've done in the past. Maybe these last 10 or so weeks will be different. Here's to hoping!

Last weekend we took the kids to ride bikes in the soccer field parking lot and Cate decided she needed to take Georgia for a walk.
She's so helpful.

And a much needed Cate the Great update. As a baby she spit up A LOT. Not just the usual burp and spit up, more like she threw up so much I thought "she must be spitting up more than she is eating!" Lately, she had been having some issues with heartburn (grabbing her mouth and throat after eating), throwing up really easily, and crying after she ate so I finally made an appointment for her to see the doctor.

And here she is giving me attitude.

He referred us to the hospital for a swallow study which she had last week. They basically stripped her down to her diaper, tied her arms above her head and her legs together, and made me leave the room since I'm pregnant. Then they had her drink a barium "shake" and took x-rays for about 10 minutes. It went really quickly because: a) she drank the whole shake fast and b) she didn't cry or fight them while they were doing the x-rays. I was so glad and I think I was more traumatized than she was.

This is her pose while saying "I no idea!"

Luckily, we found out later that day that her problem is not due to any problems with her anatomy. She has level 3 reflux (there are 5 levels) and has been taking a prescription to help with it ever since. It seems to be working and the is no longer crying after she eats. We're hoping that this will help her to gain some weight, although we are all thrilled that she weighed in at 25.2 lbs at her last appointment!

Go Cate!!

That night (after I had taken Cate to the dr.) I started feeling really sick. I just had a cold, but I guess my asthma combined with being pregnant can make a chest cold pretty yucky. Lewis told me to go to the MEU which is like an emergency room just for pregnant women and have a breathing treatment because I was having a hard time breathing and my usual inhaler wasn't working.
Now, I'm new to this asthma thing so I just kept thinking that I would feel better any minute. When it got to be about 9pm and I wasn't improving at all and wasn't able to sleep I tried waking Lewis up to find out where the MEU was. He would only open his eyes, look at me and then either point off into space somewhere or start using medical lingo that is foreign to me. To be fair, he is so sleep deprived it's crazy and this random medical talk is nothing new. It was just bad timing when I NEEDED HIM!! I mean I was worried that my oxygen levels were dropping and the baby was getting deprived and all he could do was that?!?! COME ON!!
Anyway, I survived the night and when I called to see if my doctor could see me that day they told me to get to the MEU for a breathing treatment right away.
I went in and they had me strip down right as I walked in! And get into a hospital gown! And hooked me up to about 17 monitors! And then left me in there and sent in a intern! Hello!!! My husband is a resident, I know that the interns don't know what they are doing, please send a real doctor, give me a breathing treatment and let me leave!!!! But no, I waited and waited. Then I got the breathing treatment. During which Lewis made a stop by to see me after he looked on the hospital computer and saw that I was really there. Unfortunately he had to leave before I even finished the treatment because some joker got in a motorcycle accident. (BTW: Why don't you come over and talk with Lewis if you ever thing getting a motorcycle is a good idea)
Then I waited some more for someone to come back.
And then some more because the "dr." thought I needed a strep test and a flu test even though I knew I had neither strep nor the flu.
My real doctor came in at this point (she was in the OR at the time), said hi and told me to go because she knew I didn't have strep or the flu.
The breathing treatment made me feel better for about an hour.
And when I went to get my prescriptions they had written them all out wrong.
But by Wednesday morning I was feeling a lot better and was able to take a deep breath.
And now I am hardly even coughing anymore.
A special thank you to the robitussin and tylenol pm for helping me though it all.

Oh, and I almost forgot about Lewis' MRI last week.
He had "hurty knee". The poor poor bunny!
He injured it while trying to help Brooks boogie board in Hawaii last October. Oh, at Sunset Beach. SUNSET BEACH people! Not for woosies or 5 year olds.
But nothing major showed up so I guess he has to run through it and deal with the popping for now.
We're trilled beyond belief that tomorrow is his last day of general surgery. Someday I'll take the time to explain what this means, but mostly it means that for the next FOUR months Lewis won't be taking call (staying overnight at the hospital), working insane hours (just 6am to sometime around or before 5pm) , or working weekends (except for moonlighting which is a blessing and a curse let me tell you). So hooray for anesthesiology! Now he'll have waaaaaaay more time to word it up with friends.