The ABC's of Asthma and Allergies

A is for Advair, Afrin, Albuterol and Atrovent.

B is for Breathing Treatments.

C is for Catching your breath, coughing.

D is for Doctor

E is Extendryl

F is for Flovent

G is for Gunk in the lungs

H is for Hospital and Hungry

I is for Inhaler, Injections, IV, & Irrigating the nose

J is for Junk in the nose & throat

K is for a Kiss to make it feel better!

L is for Lungs

M is for Mask and Mucinex

N is for Nasonex, Nebulizer and Nexium

O is for Orapred

P is for Patanase, Peak Flow Meter and Prednisone

Q is for Q2, Q3, and Q4 treatments

R is for Reflux

S is for Scared and Steroids

T is for Tightness in the Chest

U is for Unrest in the Family Routine

V is for Very Tired

W is for Wheezing

X is for Xopenex

Y is for Yawning

Z is for Zithromax

So when did I find the time to think of these ABC's? During the 3:30 am breathing treatment, of course!!

p.s. did you know that red heads are more asthmatic and allergic than other kids? The nurse told me that yesterday-- Go figure, I've got 3 of them!!! And... kids with super, super long eyelashes have lots of allergies. Interesting stuff I am learning in my life experience nursing course!

Thank you!

Well, last week I was going to post this. However, after coming home yesterday- having OPENED and CLOSED the doctor's office, I am so Thankful!!! My wonderful DH had straightened the house, done the laundry, vacuumed, swept, mopped, and had the kids all happy and playing as we drove in. WOW- thanks hun! You ROCK!!!



Brock is about the same, his asthma doc, Dr. W- seems to think we were discharged too soon. Coming out of the hospital and drastically reducing the meds made him rebound and get worse than he was when we went in. We spent the entire day at his office TRYING to stay out of the hospital. So far: SUCCESS! Brock did 8 breathing treatments, watched 5 1/2 movies, and was a total trooper! I finished Breaking Dawn (yeah!... I can't believe Jacob imprinted on Reneesmee... sort of sweet & sick at the same time- WOW!), improved my texting skills, and helped Brock with all his "stuff." We are hoping he is going to turn a corner today and start feeling better. He's on 9 meds. am & pm and breathing treatments every 2-3 hours. Nurse Julie here! Brock is out of school & football for the week and on bedrest. Any healthy visitors are WELCOME!



And a big shout out to friends who continually come to the rescue with lunch, dinner, breast pumps, treats, child care- etc. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! Thank you so much, I owe you!



And to Bill-- you are wonderful, I love you!!

Hospital Food Critique

So, apart from where I gave birth to Bauer, (where they had a chef who made your food to order and the menu was fabulous... including a steak & lobster celebratory dinner the night before we went home!) I've never been fond of hospital food. But hospital drinks and ice ROCK! Why do they always have grape juice in hospitals? I love it! And the ice- pebble ice, sonic ice, whatever you want to call it-- must get me a machine like that! I hear they're pretty expensive :(

So why this random post? Well my friends- Brock and I have been hospital dwellers for the past 2 days. We just got home (thank goodness!) late last night. My bed never felt so good!

Brock is asthmatic and allergic to about 90% of all outdoor allergens. Trees, grass, pollens, weeds, bushes, AIR, you name it. Add a cold to the mix and it's a bad thing. Friday morning, Brock came into my room wheezing like a freight train. We immediately started a Xopenex breathing treatment... no improvement. Rescue inhaler, no improvement. Another Xoponex, no improvement. Coughing attack- barely able to inhale... time to get to the dr. Our Peds. office had just opened so we went right in w/ no appt. They took us right back (note to self... if you ever don't want to wait in the waiting room- threaten asthma attack), and started another treatment. His oxygenation wasn't too bad- but he was so wheezy and congested that Dr. G decided to give him a nice shot of Solumedrol (steroid) in the HINEY!! Brock just LOVED that! The nurses told Brock that he "took it like a man" and that last week when Dr. G got the same shot he "screamed like a little girl." Brock took note. Dr. G comes back in the room:

Dr. G- "Did that hurt Brock?"
Brock- "Yeah! but the nurses said I took it like a man." (between heavy breathing)
Dr. G- "I had to get that shot last week and it KILLED!"
Brock- "I heard. The nurses said you screamed like a little girl!"
Dr. G- "I did!"
Brock- "Yeah, I figured it's cuz you're a Cowboy Fan."
Dr. G- "OUCH! I think I can arrange to get another shot in here for that!"
Brock- "No thanks!"
**Brock & Dr. G have a love/hate relationship when it comes to Texas & the Cowboys. Dr. G is a born and bred Texan and LOVES the Cowboys. Brock would rather be in California!**

After the shot, Brock improved quite a bit. We were sent home w/ some prescriptions, an order to rest, and to call Dr. W (allergist/asthma doc) to let him know Brock was having trouble.

A few hours later, Brock had another attack and his stats were falling. Not good. We called into Dr. W's office and they told us to head to the emergency room. So, after dropping Barrett off at Rebecca's, Brock & Bauer and I were headed to the hospital. (side note: Bauer was on day 2 of a pneumonia diagnosis & meds for that!) (another MAJOR side note: Daddy Bill is out of town.)
We checked into the ER, got more breathing treatments, more steroids, two tries to get an IV in and- after 8 long hours, an admittance to a private hospital room w/ fuzzy cable and two very "comfy" hospital beds- hey, I was REALLY grateful for a bed for me! I know it could have been much worse!

Our other 3 kids were farmed out at friend's homes all over the place (thank you Emily, Katie, Heather, Rebecca & Kristan!) and Shelley came down to pick up Bauer and take him home for the night. (seriously, THANK YOU!!!) Brock got treatments every 2 hours round the clock, chest physical therapy, lots of drugs & IV fluids, some slammin' hospital meals, a personal game cube, borrowed from Child Life, and a cool nightgown. I got: Brock's leftovers (not much when you're on steroids!), 2 days of the same outfit, a breast pump (all the breastmilk had Brock's patient labels on them- I am sure the nurses were wondering why I was breastfeeding my 9 year old! LOL), and some WAY interrupted sleep.

However, I convinced them of my awesome abilities to administer drugs and breathing treatments and they sent us home late last night- boy were we grateful!! He's doing a little better- hoping he doesn't get a secondary pneumonia infection... and staying home for a few days. Needless to say, we are grateful it was a short stay! Love you Brock, and Love you Hospital Ice.

We survived...

I guess I should have posted this a few days ago- SORRY! I've been a little busy! But we survived, in fact we hardly got hit at all. Kinda boring, I was ready for a storm!! Oh well, better to be prepared, eh?!

Now we're in the throes of sick kids. Bauer's got a double ear infection and the beginning of Pneumonia. He got 2 shots of Rocephin (sp?) today, 2 more tomorrow and hopefully he'll be feeling better soon!

Goodnight! Julie

Ike is our Friend!!!

Right? Please Ike, be our friend!!

We're prepared- we've pulled as much as we could into the 1 car garage as we need to pull both of our cars into the 2 car garage this afternoon.

Bill put the rest of the heavy stuff under the trampoline- hope it stays put.

We're hoping Ike holds off until after football today and we can get home and hunker down in our home. We're supposed to get 55 MPH winds and 3-5 inches of rain from late afternoon to tomorrow morning. Wish us luck! We'll keep you posted!

Football today......

This morning we have pictures and football- trying to squeeze it in before our friend Ike comes to visit. Here's a quick shot of Bill, Brock, and Hannah heading out the door for team pics.

As Hannah was heading out the door she said,

"Mom- you know what I get to do at the football game today?"

I said, "NO! What?!"

She said, "I'll give you a hint- it starts with a U."

(i gave up)

"Introductions and our halftime dance!"

"Hannah, 'introductions' doesn't start with a U-?"

"I know, I wanted to give you a letter in the middle of the word... you know, 'introdUctions?' "

Funny girl.

Pine Cove...

Hunter had a fantastic 3 days at Pine Cove Camp in Tyler Texas with his entire 5th grade class. His favorite part was horseback riding and zip lining. We missed him, but he sure had a blast! Can't believe he's old enough to venture out on his own like that!! Thank goodness for chaperones!

More pests!

Really, I'm not trying to scare off any visitors... I mean, with all these pests and our FANTASTIC weather (IKE), Y'all come visit now, ya hear!?!?!

By the time anyone comes-- we'll be PEST FREE!!! (btw- that's in the garage).

My new COUCH!

Remember those chairs I was going to "re-cover?" Not so much...

I decided to get a couch and sell the chairs. Sold 1 on Craig's list for $150-- the other one is still for sale. Anyone want it? $100 and it's your's!

But I got my new couch!! Yeah! This is actually couch #2 for my bedroom. The first one wouldn't fit around our 90 degree turn to get into the room-- BUMMER! So, short of cutting a hole in the wall, I decided to return it and resume the search for a new perfect couch. And I found it!!! :)

Found it at Costco, believe it or not! It was originally $699, but the last one- floor model for $300!! WOW! What a steal-- LOVE IT! It's dark brown microsuede and Oh so comfy!

GIRL POWER!!

Thank you Sarah Palin...

We are all about GIRL POWER!!!!!!!!!! The glass ceiling has been broken, women can do ANYTHING... except be a prophet. (in the LDS church)

In fact, today Hannah bore her testimony at church:

"I'd like to bear my testimony, I know the church is true. I am thankful for my family, and I know that one day I am going to be a prophet.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

She came bouncing down the aisle with a smile on her face, then sat down and said, "Mom, why is everyone laughing?"

I replied, "They thought it was so cute how you said that someday you'll be a prophet- usually girls aren't prophets... I think you meant to say that you're grateful for the prophet, right?"

Hannah said, "Yeah, that's what I meant."

"That's ok sweetie, everybody knows that's what you meant-- your testimony was so neat, thank you for bearing it."

She just has to be the sweetest girl ever! And so she does have a little spunk in her, just like her mother... besides, wasn't Hannah in the bible a prophetess? She just forgot the -"ess."

Love you Hannie Girl!

Which would you rather?

A Brown recluse?

or a Black widow?

How about both?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So they say everything's bigger in Texas... and more poisonous, and more plentiful, and more scary and IN MY VERY OWN HOUSE!!!

We had Pest Control come today. Now granted, being the frugal person that I am, I have opted for the past 2 years to do my own version of pest maintenance. I have a nice supply of Raid (even "floral scent!), some fire ant poison, and a dustbuster. And that's pretty much taken care of the problem. Until NOW.

Lately I've been seeing lots of spider webs. The other day as I was sweeping the front porch, I couldn't even COUNT the spiders as they scurried up the walls as I swept away their webs. So, I decided it was time to take matters OUT of my own hands and into the hands of the trusted professionals. So they come today and within 3 minutes the guy says: "Ma'am!" (gotta love TX!) "We've got a problem here. I've been an exterminator for 20 years and I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've found a brown recluse inside a home. See all those dead ants? The only insect that can kill ants are brown recluses. You've got three in this corner alone." WHAT?!?!? And I was just thinking, "why do these ants keep crawling to this corner and dying?" (as I vacuum them up on a weekly basis.) So... next time you find a pile of ants and you know you haven't sprayed your floral scent raid, look for a nice brown recluse. They're smaller than you think- in fact, all 3 are curled in a ball and dead in the first pic, but that's them!

Now, onto the widow. She was outside tonight when Hannah went to get the mail. I guess the guy sprayed up into the eaves and she must have come down to her web to die. She's HUGE... ay, yai yai. DO YOU KNOW THAT BOTH OF THESE SPIDERS ARE POISONOUS AND THEIR BITE CAN BE FATAL? SERIOUSLY NOW. I guess I should be counting my blessings that we're all alive and well-- and that I finally hired a REAL pest control company! EWWWW!

p.s. I bet you $100 that I have spider nightmares tonight! I am already feeling like I've got spiders all over me all day. AHHHHHHH!

Happy Birthday B-ROCK!!!

Brock turned 9 on Aug. 30th. He is such a great kid. My favorite 9 year old around! (sometimes my favorite kid- hey! I can say that since it's within a week of his bday:) Grammy & Papa Sivley came into town for the Labor Day weekend and we had a blast! It went by way too fast!

We started off the day with FOOTBALL- of course!

Bill is assistant coach for Brock's team this year- it's fun to see them both out on the field!

Then we headed to Gattitown for some fun- NOT REALLY... Bill and I vowed we would never visit again. Hate that place! Just like Chuck-e-Cheese, but a little better, but still! AUGH!

We ended the day with presents-

Including ROCK BAND!! Thanks to mom & dad, nana & papa, and grammy & papa! We've played it and I must say, Bill and I rock! Oh yeah baby-- Bill on Drums, me on guitar.

And of course- Grammy's BEST EVER Chocolate Cherry cake-- YUM!

What should I wish for?

How about a wish that your parents will not hog your new

Rock Band and actually let you play!?! LOL

Happy Birthday buddy, we love you!

Mom says "yes!"

Just some random thoughts from the past few days and conversations w/ the kids:

So my 2 1/2 year old is telling me what to do... all the time. When he does something he knows he's not supposed to do, or that I have previously told him NOT to do, he just looks at me and says, "Mom says yes." Really mom- do you say yes? Maybe Barrett will listen to you since he's not listening to me! "Nana says NO!"

Brock has some requirements he's working on for scouting and one of them was to tell someone why America is special to you. He didn't really get the question, so I asked, "what do you have in the United States that others don't have? Why are you lucky to live here?" To which he responded- "Do people in China have internet?" Not the direction I was thinking.

Hannah came home from school yesterday wanting a playdate. We had a busy afternoon and it just wasn't happening. So, being the only girl in a family full of boys, she started in on the drama: "Nobody likes me, why won't anyone listen to me? I want to play with a friend! Are you listening to me mom? You are SOOOO mean! PLEEEEEAAASSSEEE let me call a friend! If you don't then you don't like me! MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!" waa waa waa. She was promptly given a hug and sent to her room until she could stop crying. Fast forward an hour later- (still begging for a playdate!) I am getting Bauer changed and dressed to take the boys to scouts. I say, "What do you think about going to the park by the church to play while the boys are at scouts?" "Oh mom- you are the best mom EVER!! You know I didn't mean any of that stuff I said before, I'll always love you and think you're the best mom in the world! Thank you!" It's amazing what an hour and an offer for the park changes!!

More posts with pics coming soon... we had a fun weekend w/ Bill's parents for Brock's 9th birthday. I'll put those up shortly!