Christmas pic

oh...too much excitement

Well, let me just start by saying that in my last post I almost spoke too soon by adding up the days in the hospital that we spent. On Monday, Christmas Eve, Griffin had been suffering from a terrible cough and needed the help of his breathing machine all weekend, so I took him into the doctor. She listened to him and took his pulse ox. ( his oxygen level) which read 88%, the hospital will admit if it is 92 or lower, so in a calm, yet panicked state, I asked if we could do a breathing treatment in the doctor's office and have it rechecked as to not spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in the hospital. Being the return patients that we have become in that office all the nurses came in to say hi as he was getting his treatment, and his reading went up to 94%, thank God. There were prayers answered on that day...

We went on to have a very fun and exciting time getting ready for Santa and opening presents all day. My sister had to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas, so we did half of presents on Monday night and the other half Tuesday night, which I think that Griffin really enjoyed.

The year in review

Us on a horse drawn carriage...Griffin was excited...

So as we come to end of yet another year, I can't help but look back and reflect on the many adventures that we have encountered...

Our family continues to grow with the birth of our little McKenna in May, which was an adventure all its own. Then Tyler entered our family when my sister got married in October. We sadly had to find new homes for our cats as Griffin's allergies to them were just too great.

Tim transitioned to a new job in September, and I was able to quit mine in April to stay home with our babes.

Between Griffin's hospitalizations for pneumonia and tonsil removal and my emergency c-section we spent 18 days in the hospital during the year of 2007- that is a lot... we found out that both our kids are allergic to nuts...Griffin is allergic to everything, dogs, cats, nuts, dust mites, grass, molds, etc...that has been a challenge, but one we are conquering...

As the end of the year comes we still have the event of Christmas, that we are impatiently counting down, as packages being to arrive and Griffin wants to tear into all of them, the anticipation is becoming too great. However, my birthday is tomorrow so Griffin can help with any packages there and that should subside his craving for ripping and tearing...maybe... (it will probably make it that much more intense)

With the new year we are looking forward to a HEALTHY 2008 for us and all our friends and family....

Merry Christmas!

9-1-1 What's your emergency...

So we are a proud and excited family...my sister is on a fast track to an ever changing life as she just recently got married and started a new job as a 911 dispatcher. The cool thing is that she was interviewed and had an article published about her training and the turn over rate within the department in the Arizona Republic. She has taken a few unbelievable calls, but when she says she loves what she is doing in the article, she really does. Way to go Jessica.....

ok, seriously...

Well Griffin had his tonsils removed this past Friday, and let me give you a little history leading up to this day. McKenna had a fever on mon. and tues. and when it reached 104 I called the doc immediately and she said to give her Motrin and call if she still had a fever on wed. well her fever broke and she was fine wed., then thurs. came and she had a fever of 102, so I took her in and they said she had double ear infections. We woke up at 5:15 in the morning fri. to get ready for our trip to the hospital. Gave McKenna her medicine and off we went.

We checked in at 6, surgery was at 7:30 and he was in recovery at 7:50, very fast. I am glad we had it done, as much as i didn't want him to have to go through it, his tonsils were enlarged and still growing that they touched in the back of his throat and it began affecting his sleep, eating and speech. So the nurse came out and got Tim and I to sit with Griffin as they began to wake him up while my parent stayed with McKenna in the waiting room. Griffin was taking a while to wake up so Tim went out to tell my parent and he came back and said that my dad had gone to the store to get benadryl because McKenna had a rash from head to toe. We got Griffin into his room and my parents brought McKenna up and I thought that she was having an allergic reaction to her antibiotics, so I made a call to her doc to get a different prescriptions. My parents took McKenna with them for a few hours so we could be with Griffin...my mom called and said they were on there way and she had given McKenna more benadryl because she still had a rash. Long story short, after her rash would not go away and getting a small fever again I ended up downstairs in the ER with her while Tim was upstairs with Griffin, since he had to stay overnight. McKenna had gotten the 3-day measles and that was what her first fever was for and then the ear infections on top of that...so after some steroids and more antibiotics she is doing just fine. Just our luck though...

Griffin is recovering great, Sunday and Monday were rough, but a part of me enjoyed that fact that he wanted to cuddle and lay with me for an extended period of time, he is pretty much back to normal. Hopefully we can get some weight on him now since he only weighs 9 lbs. more than McKenna...

the season for crafting

the holidays are a great time creatively for me. every year around thanksgiving i get this unending desire to craft, bake, decorate, try to create a Christmas feeling as i go outside in short sleeve shirt and flip flops. however, the last few year, i just haven't found the time or energy to do any of these things. working a full time job (usually 50-60 hours a week), having griffin, and squeezing time in for sleep made it hard to just get all the gifts that I needed by Christmas day.

this season however, with staying home now, i have decided to jump feet first into a sea of creative projects to keep us occupied, inspired and counting down til Santa arrives. in years past it was requirement to make a gingerbread house in the recreation program i worked in. so for 4 years i have filled the house with the scents of gingerbread just to cart it off to assist children in the construction of their creations, a couple of castles, a farm and sponge bob square pants house...yes pineapple shaped gingerbread house. So this year I wanted to fill my house with that same aroma, but let my little guy be the creator... let him pick out the candy...let him decorate...even though there was more decoration between his teeth, on his tongue and in his tummy, he did manage to get some amazing work accomplished.

We also made a Santa construction paper advent calendar, he reminds me all day that he gets to take a ring off after he brushes his teeth, when it is dark outside...

I also have carried on this tradition of making Christmas stockings from my mom, she made all of ours... mine has two reindeer and Santa, and my sisters is even grander and then my youngest sister's has tons of details and bead work,they got more detailed and extravagant with each child so I seemed to carry that on as well. I made Griff's, but did a little here and there over the course of a few months, so this year as I am making McKenna's with a snow woman and lots of packages and beads and sequins and "girly stuff", I am trying to put a rush on this one, but finding time with two babes...that will be the magic...

my upcoming project is cookies with all these assortment of 100 cookie cutters i found for a great bargain, but the trick here is that they have seemed to have turned into teething rings and toys...we'll see how it goes