Urgent Care

*Update*
I woke up this morning with a headache. Again. I also felt really nauseous and couldn't even think about eating anything. (No, I'm not pregnant.) I called my primary care doctor and was able to get in to see him this afternoon. He told me to keep taking my Imitrex for the migraine, but up the dose and add naproxen (Aleve) to it. I told him that this headache is a little different than my typical migraines, in that whenever I bend over, or turn my head quickly, or exert any force (like sneezing, for example) the pain is throbbing. So he decided to check out my sinuses and sure enough, one side looked inflamed and blocked. So, in addition to the Imitrex and naproxen, I will now be taking loratidine (Claratin) and Nasonex nasal spray. I already took the allergy/sinus meds, and I'm about to take the massive dose of Imitrex shortly, and I pray that this headache will finally, over 48 hours later, GO AWAY!

*Original Post*
I spent the better part of this afternoon in Urgent Care. After enduring a 24 hour migraine and then throwing up at work, I thought it best to leave work and to to Urgent Care. When I got there, it was discovered that I had a 100.5 degree temperature, which explained the chills I had been having all day. I was shaky, my fingers felt tingly, and I was light-headed. My blood pressure was fine. I was hooked up to an IV, which became very painful and infiltrated, meaning the vein was punctured and the fluid was going into surrounding tissues, causing the IV site to swell. So, the IV was switched to the other side...the same side where I had already gotten blood drawn. I received two bags of fluid to rehydrate me. I was given Toradol through the IV for my migraine pain, however the doctor did not believe it was a migraine, since my usual Imitrex did not help and since I had a fever. The Toradol ended up helping after about 45 minutes, but it did not take away the pain completely. They finally gave me an injection of Imitrex, which took away the last of my headache. The doctor believes I have a viral illness. I already feel 90% better. Nathan is sleeping and Joe took Ella to McDonald's to play on the playland so I could have some quiet time. I plan on going to bed early tonight. I have a babysitter scheduled to come over tomorrow morning for a few hours, so I can spend some time packing for our vacation. We leave for Shelby, Michigan on Saturday morning. We, along with my parents, rented a cottage on Lake Michigan for a week. I'll post pictures when we return. Time to go rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Book Review

I just finished reading, "The Night Climbers," by Ivo Stourton. Do I recommend it? No. Am I sorry I wasted my time reading it? Yes. Am I surprised it sucked since I got it at the dollar store? No. On to the next...see my side-bar.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Here are two videos, one of Nathan playing with the house and Ella lounging in the pool. I can't figure out how to switch the order of my posts, so make sure to scroll down past the dancing videos to read my other new post. Enjoy!

My New Obsession (keep scrolling down for another new post)

I posted before about the show, "So You Think You Can Dance" and I'm going to do it again! I was told that my link to a particular dance was a bad link, so I'm going to try again. There are three dances that I have absolutely LOVED so far this season and I want to share them with you! Apparently, I am a huge fan of contemporary dance and lyrical jazz dance. Who knew? So, here they are:

Jason and Jeanine

Kupono and Kayla

Ade and Melissa

Hopefully the links will work this time. Stay tuned for a much longer post re-capping (is that a word?) the past 2 weeks.

And for you praying folks out there, please pray for Stellan. Click on the button on the left side-bar to read his story. Also, please pray for my wonderful, beautiful, and brave friend, Christine.

I've added a link to my Memory Walk website, also on the left side-bar. Joe and I are walking to support Alzheimer's research. If you would like to donate, click on the link. Hopefully, many of Joe's family will be walking and raising money as well, however, Joe and I are the only members of our team currently. Let's get with it family!!!

Busy, Busy!

That's what we've been lately! I'll start with last Saturday. Our friends Paul and April came over with their son Jackson, our Godson. If you remember from a recent post, the last time Nathan and Jackson were together, Nathan made Jackson cry! There was no crying this time! Nathan isn't a bully! Our other friends, Brian and Jenny, came over as well. We spent all evening on the patio and we tried out our new fire pit. Jackson was able to go to bed at our house, so all the kids were sleeping by 8:00pm. We were able to enjoy some much needed adult time. We even made s'mores...yummy! We had a wonderful evening, up until 11:00pm.

Nathan woke up at 11:00pm, crying really hard. When we went up to check on him, we discovered that he had a 103.3 temperature. It was scary seeing him just laying on Joe, not really crying or moving much, eyes glassy. It was a long night, but by Sunday evening, Nate was back to his old self, just in time for Gigi and Papa's arrival.

My parents arrived on Sunday and stayed until Friday. As usual, they were so helpful. They are just so great with the kids, constantly playing with them. And Ella's new thing is, "Will you play with me?" Over and over and over... Joe and I were even able to sneak out one night to see the new Harry Potter movie. What a luxury! We were lucky to have my parents here since Tuesday night, Nathan again woke up with a high fever. I ended up taking him to the pediatrician on Wednesday and there really wasn't anything they could do. He tested negative for strep throat and ear infections, so mostly likely it was viral. My parents stayed around the house on Thursday, while Joe and I were at work, to take care of Nathan. My dad did duck out to meet with a realtor, since they are seriously considering moving to Wisconsin in the next year or two. I am thrilled about this news! It will be so nice to be just a short drive away, not a 6 hour drive away. Oh, and Nathan seems to be fine now. But then Ella had the exact same thing! High fever one night, nothing for 2 or 3 days, then another fever today. What is this???

I started pilates on Wednesday, through the New Berlin Recreation Department. It happens to be taught by the same woman who taught the Zumba class I was in this past winter. Pilates is hard, but it makes me feel more flexible and ballerina-like. (haha) It's only a 6 week class, but hopefully it will help me tone up a bit. I love my kids, but man, did they do a number on my body!

Friday evening, we packed up the van, picked up Joe from work, and drove up to Green Bay. We stayed with Joe's sister Julia, her husband Greg, and their almost 6 month old, Harry. Harry and Nathan will eventually be in the same grade in school, which will be really neat for them as they grow up. We enjoyed some pizza and beers and went to bed early (since we're all parents of young kids!) On Saturday, we went to a place called Bay Beach. It was so cool! There were mostly rides for little kids, so Ella was able to ride most of them by herself. We all rode the train around the park, and Joe and I went on our favorite, the Tilt-A-Whirl. It was cheap too...only .25 a ticket, and most rides only took one ticket. Ella wasn't scared on the rides, but had this very serious expression much of the time. She took her first pony ride as well! While the babies were napping, Julia took Ella and I to the local pool. It was a lot like Wirth Park, which I wrote about in my last post. Ella even went down the big water slide with me. I was so proud of her! What a great weekend! Thanks to Julia, Greg, and Harry for a wonderful time.

Nathan is not crawling yet, but he is sure getting close! From a sitting position, he can get onto all fours, but that's where is ends at this point. He gets really frustrated that he can't move forward! He is so ticklish, it's hard to keep my hands off his sides. When I feed him his bedtime bottle, he puts his fingers up by his eye and tries to touch his eye lashes. And when he's tired, he grabs his face and kind of pulls down. He is such a sweetheart. A little high-maintenance at times, but still a sweetheart. I have so much love for my kids. It still surprises me sometimes, just how much I love Ella and Nathan. I can't even put into words how much they mean to me. When I walk into a room, and Ella says, "Hi Mom," I get the biggest smile on my face. Something as simple as that. I am so lucky and so blessed to have two healthy, happy children. And I don't forget that for a minute. (Well, maybe when Ella is having a tantrum, but otherwise, I don't forget it!)

Water World

Wasn't that a movie, staring Kevin Costner? Didn't it suck? In any case, we went to our own "water world" this past Wednesday. Wirth Park, in Brookfield, has a fabulous aquatic center, with a zero-depth area for small children. The kids got in free (although Ella wont be free in two more months when she turns three) and I only had to pay $3.75. The aquatic center had a nice play structure and a sand area. Nathan enjoyed sitting in the water and splashing. I couldn't keep up with Ella...she's a little fish! She went down the water slide several times! I have been scouring the Internet for other wading pools and splash parks in the area and have found quite a few. We will be visiting them in the next few weeks hopefully. On the way home from Wirth Park, I had to stop and get gas. Parked next to our car was a Miller beer truck. And here is the conversation that followed:

Ella: "What is that beer truck doing Mom?"

Me thinking to myself: "How does she know that's a beer truck?" So I ask, "Ella, how do you know that's a beer truck?"

Ella: "It has to be a beer truck."

Me thinking to myself again: "Okay, I guess it has to be a beer truck. Silly me."

Ella: "See, it says BECDEFG."

Me: cracking up

Her tone of voice was so serious during this whole exchange. What a riot!

Joe's parents have purchased a Zoo Pass for us again this year, which is such a wonderful gift. We can go to the Milwaukee County Zoo whenever we please, and we can leave after staying only an hour if necessary, and not feel guilty about buying a ticket and then not getting our money's worth. It's great! There was a special event called, "Kids Night," for Zoo Pass holders only. We went with Joe's sister Liz and her boys. Currently, the zoo is home to a traveling Australian bird exhibit. It's incredible! As you walk in the building, a zoo staff member hands you a popsicle stick with some bird seed stuck on the end. Then you enter what looks to be one enormous cage, with hundreds of birds flying around your head! When you hold out the stick, birds come and land right on your hands, or in my case, on my head. Even Ella was able to get some birds to land on her popsicle stick. It was a very neat experience. A not-so-neat experience happened shortly after our bird feeding frenzy.

We had all decided to walk to see the lions and tigers, so we began our trek to the other side of the zoo. At one point, there is a fairly large hill with the zoo train tracks at the bottom. Well, for those of you who know Ella (and even if you don't, you can probably imagine, just by reading about her) she doesn't walk, she runs. Everywhere. All the time. So there she went, running down the hill with her cousins, getting a bit farther ahead of her cousins, crossing the train tracks, and then

Ding ding ding ding ding ding

Ella is on one side of the train tracks as the gates come down, lights flashing, while we are on the other side. Oh crap. Luckily, a nice woman from the other side of the tracks stood by Ella until the train passed and we could get to her. Ella thought it was funny. I was torn...was what just happened hilarious or terrifying?

I had Nathan's 9 month pictures taken. Here is a sneak-peek!

We have lots of fun things planned in the next few weeks, so I will try to keep up-to-date on my posting.

Operation Breastfeeding Complete

Nathan is 9 months old. Incredible. After much contemplation, I've decided to stop breastfeeding. And guess what? Nathan could care less. I'm proud of myself for breastfeeding for 9 months. 3 months longer than with Ella. I thought breastfeeding was supposed to give babies antibodies so they wouldn't be sick as often. Then why has Nathan been sick more than he has been healthy? Well, I hope it was good for something! I'm a little sad, knowing that I will never breastfeed a baby again (unless some divine intervention occurs.) Nathan was already used to formula, since we supplemented with formula from the beginning. I will feel better knowing exactly how much liquid he is consuming, since it doesn't seem like it's enough. Nate had his 9 month appointment today, and the doctor didn't seem too concerned about it. He weights 19 pounds and is 29 inches long. Only the 35th percentile for weight, but again, the doctor didn't seem all that concerned. He's in the 75th percentile for height.

Nathan is doing some pretty neat things lately. He's getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. Crawling is just around the corner. Ella crawled at 10 months, so I figure I might still have another month or so of a sedentary baby. He grabs a toy in each hand and bangs them together. I gave him his first hair cut yesterday! He looks like a little boy...not so much a baby anymore. *Sniff sniff*

We spent the entire day yesterday in downtown Milwaukee, watching the Circus Parade. The whole state came to watch, I think. There were so many people. It was hot. I didn't enjoy it. But, like Joe says, everything we do now is for the kids! Joe's sister Liz and her boys joined us. The history of the parade is pretty interesting though. It hadn't occurred since 2003, and it probably wont happen again for a long time due to lack of funds. So...it might have been a once in a lifetime event. Ella clapped and marched in place to the music. She had a blast. We were sitting in chairs in the middle of a blocked off street, with the sun beating down on us. No shade. By the time we got home, we were completely drained. It was nice to see so many people gathering in Milwaukee to support the parade.

We've been trying to find new and exciting things to do on the weekends. On Saturday, we went to Grant Park, on Lake Michigan. They had a fun playground for Ella, which included a water table. She thought that was pretty cool. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then walked along the beach, dipping our feet into the water.

I'm not feeling very creative in the writing department right now, but I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Can I Have This Dance?

I recently became a fan of, "So You Think You Can Dance?" This is the first season that I have watched the show, and I am completely hooked. Last night was especially good. I wanted to share this performance. The song, "Gravity," is sung by Sara Bareilles, an artist I have also recently become a major fan of! I just can't put into words how much I loved this contemporary performance. The only word I can think of is amazing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Click here to watch video

Question of the Day

By:

Ella

"Why am I not a duck, mom?"

Scrubs (and a recap of the weekend, of course)

Scrubs...the hilarious TV show? No. The awesome song by TLC, popular roughly 10 years ago? Nope. What I do to my floors on a regular basis? Absolutely not! Scrubs...my work attire. They are ugly, unflattering, and expensive! Ella asks me why I'm going to work in my pajamas, and I think they make everyone look like they are always 5 months pregnant. (Okay, maybe not the guys, but they're not any more flattering on them.) There are some good things about scrubs, believe it or not. I don't have to think very hard about what I'm going to wear, which is quite helpful when your 9 month old still doesn't sleep through the night. They are comfortable. I think that's it. I'll let you know if I discover anymore positives. Randomness aside...

Super fun weekend! Ella came home on Friday. I didn't realize how much I missed her until she was back in the house. I think she grew taller in the 5 days that she was gone. I think her vocabulary expanded as well. She continues to say the funniest things...one of her favorites being, "Tell me about it, Mom." (Or Dad, or Grandma, or...you get the idea.) So I'll try to tell her about whatever she's asking about, but it's never good enough, because she'll say, "No, I mean, tell me what happens next." There's really only so much I can come up with as to why cats poop in a box rather than the toilet, ya know? She's a riot! Joe and I took her to the New Berlin 4th of July celebration, which included a small carnival. Ella went on 2 rides and it was the cutest thing to watch. She was having a blast! I didn't have my camera with me, unfortunately.

We went to the New Berlin parade on Saturday. Joe's parents and his sister Liz, along with her husband Brian and kiddos, Dylan and Henry, joined us. We had great seats and the kids came home with a huge bag of candy. I mean, like Halloween amounts of candy. I saw kids arriving to the parade with bags, just for that purpose. Oh, and when did parades become so popular that people stake out areas on the curb, with rope and everything?

Everyone came back to our house after the parade for a BBQ. We got attacked by mosquitoes. Poor Ella looks like she has some sort of disease on her back, from all of the bites. (Note to self: put bug spray on your children at all times apparently.) Here's a link to my latest Snapfish album, with many more pictures from the weekend: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=851364002/a=18495995_18495995/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Sunday brought even more fun and excitement. My nephew, Dylan, turned 5 years old! It seems like just yesterday that Joe and I would babysit him every Thursday evening. I so looked forward to those nights. It was after spending so much time with Dylan, that Joe and I decided to start a family of our own. My nephew has gone from adorable baby

to big boy Kindergartner in the fall

Where has the time gone?

I got to spend a little time with my other nephew, Harry, who is just about 5 months old. He is changing so much. We don't get to see him as much, since they live in Green Bay, so every time we do see him, he looks much different. We are going to visit Joe's sister Julia, and her husband Greg, in Green Bay in 3 weeks, so I will get lots and lots of Harry time. I can't wait!

I'd now like to share a really funny picture of our cat, Whisper. She's a long-haired cat and absolutely hates to be brushed. Despite our best efforts (or rather Joe's best efforts), she continues to get nasty matted fur, and every 2 years or so, needs to be shaved. It's called a "Lion Cut." She has to be given anesthesia in order for it to be completed, since she would freak out otherwise, and probably have a heart attack. So here she is...our little beauty.

And finally, I have made a big decision. I think I'm going to grow my hair out. I've had it short for quite some time now, and I think I'm ready for a longer style. I miss being able to pull it back. We'll see how it goes. I'll probably change my mind.