Work Halloween

This year at work we as a department dressed up as Holiday Fun. Each person took a different holiday and made it their own unique costume. Everyone did a great job!

Back row: Labor Day, Christmas, Easter Bunny, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's & Father's Day, Valentines

Front Row: Happy New Year, 4th of July & Halloween!

We find out Monday at noon if we won group costume or not. The last two years we have won. It would be great if we could make it three!

Another Congrats!

Another congrats going out this time to my cousin Jena and her husband Adam. We are so happy baby Brayden Berry is here with us. We love you all and can't wait to meet him!

Congrats and Much More!

First off I have to say Congrats to our good friends Nick & Sam! They had a baby girl Adeline Jo last night. After a couple of long weeks they brought a beautiful baby girl into this world. We are so happy and can't wait to come and meet her.

Yesterday Harry was first on-call. Since he has started this has basically meant that he has had the day off. Of course yesterday when I wanted to go shopping for Christmas presents with Laura, Harry got a call at 1:30 AM. That is ok though because he just went to Dodgeville and then was back by 2:30 so he met me in LaCrosse and we did a kid swap. Laura and I got lots bought and had a great time.

Today Harry is North of Ottowa (I think-in MN) and he said it is snowing periodically. Keep it up there! I am not ready for snow just yet. Although that would mean closer to Lil Harry coming. Due to the windy and rainy days that we have had the last couple of days with it being in the low 40's...Harry started the wood stove. Yup I don't want to go outside now!

Harry has been approached by Kwik Trip to think about possibly going to nights. This would secure 4 days on and 2 days off rotation and guarantee him miles as this would only be to the outer stores that are 400+ miles away. Monday night he did a test run to see if he liked it. He liked it all except the night part. He left at 2:30 and got home at 5:30 (right when I was getting up). He stayed up and saw the kids until we left for daycare and then he went to bed for awhile. Harry did put his name in for the night runs but of course this goes by seniority and so we don't know if he will get it or not. We are just praying for guidance at this point.

Ok I just realized as I reread the last paragraph that I am missing a lot of information for you. Starting February Kwik Trip will start sending a semi to the outer skirt stores each night with all groceries and fresh goods on one truck. At this time there is one semi going every other day and a fresh truck going every other day. By sending everything every night on one truck they will save millions a year. But they will stay the way they are with the more local stores. Due to the amount of product and time sensitivity this needs to be done during the night when the customer base is lower. At this time they are doing test runs to two stores until Feb. This is where Harry has gotten approached is to do the test runs and possibly be able to train the other guys in Feb.

I Don't Want To Forget

This afternoon Ellaree went for a little trip with Papa Harry to The Dells to pick up Nonie off the train and then she will spend the night at the farm house. She was/is super excited. She wanted to be pretty for Nonie so I dressed her in a purple dress with pink hearts & flowers on it with pink tights with hearts and a pink shirt under the dress (the dress was short sleeves). She was adorable. But then I put on her pink sweater/coat that is pink, purple, brown & orange with flowers on that goes to her knees and a denim insulated hat that covers her ears. Again I have to say she was adorable. After helping install her car seat into Papa Harry's truck I told Ellaree she needed to go inside and tell her sister goodbye. This is the part that chokes me up and shows me how big she is getting every day...

"I will miss you sissy. Be a good girl while I am gone and I will see you tomorrow morning...Ok!"

Ellaree was crouched down by her when she said this and it just about got my tears aflowing. It was so precious.

Pajama Program for Christmas

For many years I have went together with my sister and have done Toys For Tots. I feel it is very important for each child to know what it is like to get a gift. Last year I found a website called Pajama Program. This program is dedicated to children who are in need of pajamas and a new book. Most children are waiting and hoping to be adopted.

Last year I let Ellaree pick out a pair of pajamas and a book to send to a little girl her age. I feel this was such a great learning opportunty for her in knowing that there are others out there her age less fortunate then her. Please click on the link and see what it is all about to help out the little children this season. http://www.pajamaprogram.org/

Cutting Wood

Did you know that cutting wood consisted of digging a tractor out of the mud for a couple of hours! Harry and my dad went up to Papa Harry's farm to do some cutting wood. There was some good hickory and oak logs down in the bottom but you would have to cross the crick to get to them. Well guess what...it is still wet down in the bottom by the crick. They got one log out of the whole ordeal and lots of back labor to go with it! I am sure this winter they will really appreciate the hickory when they are burning it.

Dr. Appointments

Well Monday night was Ellaree's last dose of Cipro and we all celebrated as she didn't like taking it and it was so hard to keep track of when she could and couldn't have dairy products. Tuesday morning we also celebrated by being able to have coffee again! Some thought she would kick the habit while on this medicine...but I new better.

Today was my 28 week checkup and since I was going in I asked Dr. Radamacher if we could wait until today to do Ellaree's urinalysis and to start her on her new antibiotic. He agreed that would be fine. So into the clinic we went today with a big agenda. Urinalysis for Ellaree, glucose test for me and regular appointment.

Lab went smoothly with having Ellaree go pee pee and them taking my blood. We got back into the room and had to wait for 40 minutes to Dr. Nancy. Any other day this would not have been an issue but this morning Lorelai got up at 4 and Ellaree 5 so we were a little on the overtired side and climbing the walls. Needless to say that my visit was short and sweet as I wanted to get them out and home for naps. I measured right on at 28 weeks and the heartbeat was really good. No need for heartbeat numbers when you have a baby sitting on your lap trying to eat the goop from my belly and a 3 year old "helping" with the doppler! Oh the wonderful memories we are making.

Dr. Nancy did check both girls out as after Monday & Tuesdays fevers I found out there is a little girl at Tiffany's that had pneumonia. So I just wanted her to check to make sure all was well. Both looked great with ears and chests sounded great.

Ellaree's new antibiotic is called Sulfamethoxazole. This is what she will be on for a year and/or until her body no longer accepts it. She only has to take once a day and there are no weird side effects like not taking dairy. Also I checked and it is already grape flavored so hopefully it is enough otherwise Harry will have to go in and get more flavoring put in it. It has to be yummy otherwise it is a battle!

I just received a phone call from Nurse Lori in regards to my glucose test. I barely pasted. At this time I don't have to worry but it might become an issue later. I wondered about this as with the girls I had iffy pregnancies but pasted my glucose tests with flying colors. So since this pregnancy has been pretty smooth with not many bumps in the road I wondered if it would be just the opposite results. I was close in my wondering.

Still waiting to hear from Dr. Radamacher's nurse in regards to Ellaree's urinalysis results.

28 Weeks

Yesterday marks 28 weeks or rather 3rd trimester begins. This also intails the glucose test which is scheduled for Thursday along with other milestones of registering at the hospital and in 4 weeks starting to go to doctor appointments more frequently. Fun and games! Yesterday I called in and made the rest of my appointments throughout the end of my pregnancy. I am hoping the last one I made can be Lil Harry's 1 week visit versus my last OB appointment. But we will have to wait and see what Dr. Sherman says when I go in for our c-section consult.

Harry and I have decided that we are not telling our c-section date again this time around unless you are crucial in the delivery (i.e. watching the girls). I am sure most of you will be able to figure it out as I have commented in previous posts what my wishes are but in the end you won't know the exact date. We have to keep you on your toes one way or another. :)

Fevers

Well both girls have fevers. As I said Elly had a 102 fever and I chalked it up to another UTI. I am not ruling it out yet but since Lorelai also has a fever it makes me think that it is probably more the common cold for both rather then a UTI. I am monitoring her symptoms and just kind of waiting to see before jumping the gun and taking her in for an unnecessary visit. We are not able to have the girls at daycare until they are 24 hour fever free. Therefore I am at home this morning with them and waiting for Grama to get here so that I can go in for at least 4 hours today. Other then drainage they are completely fine. Just the wonderful fall common cold running through our house.

Defeated

I am feeling very defeated this morning. Last night as we were getting the girls ready for bed Elly was shivering. We figured it was from her just getting out of the bathtub and still having wet hair. But when we checked she was very hot. We got the thermometer out and yup 102 temp. Tylenol is our best friend right now along with the Cipro that she is taking. This morning she is holding her back, complaining of belly hurting and fever, which indicates that her UTI is back and the Cipro is not working. So do I stop the Cipro or finish it off like Dr. Radamacher said. Obviously there is nothing we can do today but tomorrow Harry or I will be making a trip into the clinic for another urinalysis and change in meds. I feel defeated as it seems like we just think we are getting ahead of it and then Wham! we are back to square one.

Harry was up in the night with Elly as she didn't sleep well and she cried periodically through the night. I on the other hand was sleeping peacefully...and then I woke up from my dreams. No really I was in our bedroom with Lorelai who is teething yet again and she was inconsolable. And yet my kids were up at 6 AM ready for the day to start. How do they do that? Barely sleep through the night and yet still have energy so early in the morning.

Crawling

Well Lorelai has started crawling. She has been rolling for quite some time now to get to what she wants. Now she will crawl 4 or 5 strides and then it is almost like she is fed up with how long it takes her and she drops to the floor and rolls the rest of the way. It is hilarious! She is definitely on her way to being much more mobile these days. Especially when her sister has something that she wants.

Other things that Lorelai is doing these days is giving kisses, she stands by herself while leaning against the couch, she has walked the length of the couch and loves to stand as much as possible! And the big one...she loves to feed herself, she gets mad at me if I try to feed her-can we say independent? Hmmm sounds like another Harry Jr. I have on my hands. She is still getting up in the night but only once and that consists of me handing her the bottle and going back to sleep. She definitely likes to eat more then her sister. Maybe some will rub off on Ellaree someday.

Results of Procedure

Well this morning is over...thank God! Elly did awesome considering all that went on. She screamed through the whole procedure...well I would too!

We did see Dr. Radamacher afterwards. She does have a reflex. This is a level 1 out of 5 and will not have to have surgery as he feels this will resolve on its own over time. She does have to finish off the Cipro as he wants to get rid of the bacteria and then she will be on a daily antibiotic for a year. After a year we will meet up with him and see how things are going and hopefully will be off the antibiotic for good.

This being said, if she has any signs or symptoms we will need to go in to see him with a urinalysis each and every time. He said that there is really nothing more or less we can do at this time to help prevent the UTIs. Pushing more water and/or cranberry juice will not make a difference. This is just the course that it needs to run.

We want to again thank everyone for the love, support and prayers that you have given us through this whole ordeal.

Just Thoughts

So basically this post is just me jotting down my thoughts of this week. So please bare with me.

First I have to ask for your thoughts and prayers as we venture into Thursday. Elly has been asking a lot of questions about why she is taking her medicine and why she has to go see Dr. Radamacher - her bottom feels better. In her little mind her bottom is all better so there is no reason we need to go back. I have been trying to explain that he wants to just check her and wants to take pictures of her. So then she smiles. I wish it was that simple. I have started a journal of her symptoms, something I should have started from the beginning but did start since putting her on the Cipro. So far she has had no appetite and complaining of her belly hurting. She hates taking the Cipro but more then that she hates that she can't have dairy. I told her that hopefully she can get off this after Thursday but it all depended on what Dr. Radamacher said. She is so grown up with these kinds of issues. I hope that this doesn't change her mind about the hospital as she loves going to the hospital because that is where you have babies. She is so excited right now to go back that I don't want that to change her mind.

A cute story that has no regards to UTIs or Urology appointments. Sunday night we switched our phones from Verizon to US Cellular plan. My cousin Darren is a manager for US Cellular therefore he met us at my sisters house where we were having Maddie's birthday party and got us all set up with new phones and all the great accessories. As I told her that Cousin Darren would be there and getting us new phones she had two questions for us. 1 - will Cousin Darren have cookies? As he always has a cookie ready for her. And 2 - can we get a pretty phone momma. Well how do you say no to that. So we had to get a pretty phone for me which meant a cover. She also wanted to have my old phone when I was done with it. Ok that is fine. So then I had to get another pink phone so that it matched her phone. Last night on the couch she was the best behaved kid around as she was sitting on the couch text messaging everyone. Not really but she was so excited as she explained how she received a text from Grapa and then from Uncle Jerod. Nonie is calling you momma. Oh wait I have to text Nonie about something. She went on and on until well past her bedtime. She was so animated it was hilarious. I told Harry that she would be asking for a real one before you know it. And of course don't forget that it needs to be pretty!

Harry is in Chilton, WI today. There are some new stores opening and so he has a good route today with over 400 miles with 6 stops. He is going to be tired tonight. That will make up for him having 2 days in a row off from work. Yes you heard me right and it about killed him to have 2 days off. Even though he went over to the farm yesterday and cut wood.

Trials & Tribulations

Well with the Cipro medicine comes trials and tribulations. If any of you know my daughter then you know what a fanatic she is about her coffee in the morning. She is worse then me. She can't function without it. Well with Cipro she can not have dairy 6 hours prior to taking this medicine and 2 hours after taking it. Therefore there is a small window of opportunity for her to have dairy products. Last night she had a fit about not having milk with her dinner. This morning she had a fit about her coffee as she has a ton of creamer in it. So the minute she took her medicine I started the timer and told her that when it went off she can have her coffee. There were many tears but now she seems to be ok with it. It is going to be a long 10 days of taking this medicine 2 times a day.

Lorelai news is that she finally popped her two top front teeth through yesterday! Yes we can all sleep again. She was so miserable. The night before she was up every hour in pain. Poor little monkey. So we are up to 4. Along with other news I have taken her off all baby food as she was not satisfied and/or didn't like the taste. Therefore she is on all table foods and last night was her first night with spaghetti and meatballs. She loved the meatballs. Not so much the noodles but I think because it was so hard to pick up off her tray. She is really getting into the food.

Lil Harry has been behaving himself for now. He has been kicking and letting me know he is around. My acid reflux has been through the roof this time around so I am anticipating another child with hair when he comes out. That is ok with me. Thankfully the generic Zantac takes care of it and I only have to take 1 pill when I feel symptoms come on which is not every day.

Culture Growing

Just received a phone call from Dr. Radamacher. Although Ellaree's urinalysis came back absolutely normal, her culture came back growing what is called Pseudomonas Bacteria, this is the same they found in August when she was so sick with vomiting and fever. Thankfully she has not had those symptoms as of yet. This is not a common bacteria found in children, more in adults that have been in the hospital. He has seen it in a few cases of children, just more common in adults. I asked him if he was concerned with this and he said not until after we see the ultrasound images and compare. So off the old antibiotic and onto a new one called Sipro...this is commonly used again for adults but will do good for Ellaree. She will have 5 mg 2X/day for 10 days. He still wants her to go through the ultrasounds (no rescheduling due to the culture growth necessary).

I called the pharmacy to ask them about flavor, it needs to be yummy tasting you know. Well this is not a commonly stocked item due to them not using it that often. Therefore the pharmacist is calling some of the bigger places like Walgreens or Walmart to see if they might have it on hand. If they do not, they will have to call Dr. Radamacher back and find out what he wants to do since it is the weekend and they won't get anything in until Monday if they order it. So we sit and wait until we get a phone call back from the pharmacy.

Call back from pharmacy and Walgreens does have the medicine. Thank you God! Therefore Harry will pick it up and we will start her on it tonight.

We thank you for your continuous thoughts and prayers during this time. Hopefully Thursday comes sooner then later.

Happy Happy Wednesday

Well we had Ellaree back in the clinic today. Yesterday she started complaining about her belly hurting along with having issues with dribbling in her panties. Two huge signs that she is not doing well with her UTIs. Dribbling in her panties is a good sign something is up but whenever she tells me her belly hurts I start to worry because the one time her UTI did come back positive is when she spiked such a high fever and was vomiting; that day she had complained all morning of her baby (which means belly) hurt. I try very hard not to show her I am concerned.

I called yesterday and talked to Dr. Radamacher's nurse who in turn had him call me directly between surgery cases. First thing we had to do today was get a urinalysis and then we might have to change her medication. I just received the call from Dr. Radamacher himself (wow two days in a row directly from the dr...I am not use to this). Her urinalysis came back normal, imagine that! We are going to continue giving her the antibiotic once a day and he said that after her ultrasounds then we will know more. But he reassured me that I did the right thing by calling in and telling him what was going on with her and that every time she has signs/symptoms I should call in and let him know of any changes. This is reassuring but frustrating at the same time. I can't wait until next Thursday when we can find out what is going on.

If Harry's schedule stays the way it is then he will not be able to be there during the procedures but he will be back in time to meet with Dr. Radamacher to go over the results afterwards. That will be nice as two sets of ears are always better then one, especially when you have three year old that doesn't want to be there.

Thursday Fun

Thursday Grama came up to watch the girls so that I could have a relaxing day at the salon getting my hair done. I tried once taking both girls with me while I got my hair died, cut and styled because I scheduled a haircut for Ellaree also. Yeah we will never do that again. We will always have separate appointments unless daddy is coming along. Thank goodness Auntie Laura didn't schedule anyone during my appointment so that she could hang out with the girls. Anyway, off the beaten path there for a minute. When I woke Thursday morning I could not get Lil Harry to move. I had not felt him move on Wednesday either so I did my mommy tricks of drinking cold orange juice, ice water, putting a clear glass of water on my belly to watch for movement. Yup nothing. So when Grama got to the house I left, called the nurse and told her I was coming in for a quick doppler test to make sure everything was good. Had I not been going into town I would have pushed more of my mommy testing but I figure it was better just to have it checked out. When I got into the clinic they put the doppler on my belly and nothing. They strapped me to the monitor which shows babys heartbeat and if contracting. No heartbeat but I was contracting every 3 minutes...although I was not feeling them so they were pretty mild. So Dr. Nancy came in and did an ultrasound. Yup Lil Stinker...I mean Lil Harry was laying there as content as could be. He is kind of a lazy boy right now and didn't feel the need to let his momma, nurse or Dr. know where he was or what he was up to until we found him hiding at the bottom of my belly....the very bottom of my belly. What a turkey...I blame it on his name! I know some that would object this but I am saying that he is starting to pester me like his daddy already. What next?

Random September

Here are random pictures from September. I have been slacking about getting pictures uploaded and especially into the blog. Just wait until Lil Harry comes...I will never get time to upload pictures.

Loving sister time watching cartoons.

Lorelai helping daddy make coffee in the morning.

Frozen Go Gurt are the best! Especially when I can do it all by myself.

The Biggest block tower ever made by daddy & Ellaree!!!!!!

Ellaree loves construction paper and scissors. She will sit at the table for hours and just cut paper until it is in the tiniest pieces imaginable. Confetti at our house every day!