As if it wasn't enough that today has been spent cleaning very sore bottoms from a plethora of poo (yes, the antibiotics that the kids are taking for their pneumonia is taking its toll!) a whole bunch of times - it seems that mummy's throat is now sore and I'm starting to wheeze.
I wish I could sleep (as I think that not sleeping well is running me down) but it seems that sleep doesn't want to come to me until well after 3am at the moment. The kids were responsible for a lot of it (I mean if it wasn't one kid it was the other - I swear they organize who is going to wake up during the night before they go to bed and alternate so that each one gets a good night's sleep but daddy and mummy don't!) but now I'm in a pattern and trying to get back is a nightmare (pardon the pun!)
Anyway, back to the cough medicine and vitamin C drinks and hopefully some sleep!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
So very tired....
So, against my better judgement, last weekend we went to the Oysterfest in Rockport (about 1/2 hour away). The reason it was against my better judgement was because we have SOOOOO much to do to get ready for the move and at that time we needed to get deadline over and done with.
But to the hell with it we both said! And it appears that we're paying for it big time!
The Oysterfest was held in the bayfront park with minimal parking (but they were expecting 30,000 people over the three days mind you!) and boy it was laid out awkwardly. We've been to a couple of festivals since we've been down here - one with the tents configured too far apart (Rockport Art Festival) and then there was Shrimporee. It was laid out well but the food choices were poor and minimal.
Oysterfest was cramped with no seating (apart from what was under the tent) and even though there were fantastic tents providing wonderful shade, the guy ropes were in everyone's way due to the two main tent's proximity to eachother. For a festival that was expecting the amount of peeps they were expecting they needed to create some more public space for the loitering people to (obviously) loiter in.
Oh and because I really need to vent about it here is my last rant about it. They (the organizers) came up with this splendid idea that all the vendors who were selling food couldn't sell anything that the other vendors were selling so despite the fact that there were 15-20 various vendors, the main oyster vendor and three separate tents selling beer, there was only one place selling water and soft drinks. Their sign was minimal and none of the other vendors were happy to advise us (the non-drinkers) of the location of this small vendor - of course that's if they even knew it existed in the first place!
Anyway, I digress.
The real ticker of the whole day was the fact that it was sunny but windy. As a result the dust and dried up grass was a'floatin' all around and ended up irritating Kendall so much that by nightfall she was coughing up a fit!
Sydney ended up coming down with a cough on Monday. Yay! What fun just when they were cough free for a week and a half - what did I expect huh?
So after a couple of nights of sporadic coughing and sneezing (but no fever - important to note!) with Kendall, Sydney really got hit hard on Wednesday night. I mean she was exhausted as she didn't stop coughing every 10 or so seconds the entire night. How do I know this? I spent the entire night listening to her struggle with it, trying to figure out what I should do. Humidifier, medicine? Nothing worked so in the morning we went to the Dr's.
Luckily we saw the Dr this time and not the PA. I love the PA though and think she is really good but Dr Almouie gives me a bit more confidence. He took about 3 seconds listening to Syd's lungs through the stethoscope and told me it was pneumonia. He kept listening at other positions on her back and chest and kept a-ha-ing about it. Yep, it was. My heart sank.
Kendall was confirmed as the same but she also has bilateral ear infections. God bless the child as she had not complained of anything considering how bad he said they were! My heart sank further.
The kicker into my already pounded heart was when the Dr told me that it was good that we had gone in on that day otherwise we would have been in the ER come Friday night with Syd.
So, two breathing treatments and two IM antibiotic shots later I left the office carrying both children to the car with orders to return the next day for another IM shot for each child.
How do you tell a child that to make an IM shot much less painful you just need to not flinch after you feel it go in? When I laid them down on the table for their shot on the second day both girls went into hysterics and it only got worse from there.
Anyway, I forgot to mention that on Thursday I came home from the Dr's visit to find Storm in pain and needing to get to bed ASAP before he got worse (he has a certain pattern to his descent into sickness so we know the drill)? So he worked on to get the magazine to print and then went to bed. More yays!
I made soup.
So, to summarize:
Two kids with pneumonia? Check
One sick husband? Check
One puking dog? Oh yes - this happened yesterday...puke all over the dining room and loungeroom!
And one very, very, tired mum. The nights have been rough and we've been sharing our bed too which (until we get a much bigger bed) is always rough because I always end up in a position that puts my neck out. So I'm one very, very, tired mum with a sore neck that needs adjusting. I gotta wait until Monday for that one though.
I take the girls back to the Dr's on Thursday for a follow-up. We will be discussing asthma prevention as Dr Almouie believes that it is asthma that caused all of their issues that we've had since November.
Yes, six colds in five months (now including RSV and Pneumonia!).
Yay. I hope South Carolina doesn't cause the girls to have these kinds of issues. Although the Dr did say that the fact that they were preemie and had immature lungs will only be an issue until they're about five. Fingers crossed. Until then they'll take meds.
So, there it is...my rant and evidence of my descent into the madness that is caused by nights of minimal sleep.
But to the hell with it we both said! And it appears that we're paying for it big time!
The Oysterfest was held in the bayfront park with minimal parking (but they were expecting 30,000 people over the three days mind you!) and boy it was laid out awkwardly. We've been to a couple of festivals since we've been down here - one with the tents configured too far apart (Rockport Art Festival) and then there was Shrimporee. It was laid out well but the food choices were poor and minimal.
Oysterfest was cramped with no seating (apart from what was under the tent) and even though there were fantastic tents providing wonderful shade, the guy ropes were in everyone's way due to the two main tent's proximity to eachother. For a festival that was expecting the amount of peeps they were expecting they needed to create some more public space for the loitering people to (obviously) loiter in.
Oh and because I really need to vent about it here is my last rant about it. They (the organizers) came up with this splendid idea that all the vendors who were selling food couldn't sell anything that the other vendors were selling so despite the fact that there were 15-20 various vendors, the main oyster vendor and three separate tents selling beer, there was only one place selling water and soft drinks. Their sign was minimal and none of the other vendors were happy to advise us (the non-drinkers) of the location of this small vendor - of course that's if they even knew it existed in the first place!
Anyway, I digress.
The real ticker of the whole day was the fact that it was sunny but windy. As a result the dust and dried up grass was a'floatin' all around and ended up irritating Kendall so much that by nightfall she was coughing up a fit!
Sydney ended up coming down with a cough on Monday. Yay! What fun just when they were cough free for a week and a half - what did I expect huh?
So after a couple of nights of sporadic coughing and sneezing (but no fever - important to note!) with Kendall, Sydney really got hit hard on Wednesday night. I mean she was exhausted as she didn't stop coughing every 10 or so seconds the entire night. How do I know this? I spent the entire night listening to her struggle with it, trying to figure out what I should do. Humidifier, medicine? Nothing worked so in the morning we went to the Dr's.
Luckily we saw the Dr this time and not the PA. I love the PA though and think she is really good but Dr Almouie gives me a bit more confidence. He took about 3 seconds listening to Syd's lungs through the stethoscope and told me it was pneumonia. He kept listening at other positions on her back and chest and kept a-ha-ing about it. Yep, it was. My heart sank.
Kendall was confirmed as the same but she also has bilateral ear infections. God bless the child as she had not complained of anything considering how bad he said they were! My heart sank further.
The kicker into my already pounded heart was when the Dr told me that it was good that we had gone in on that day otherwise we would have been in the ER come Friday night with Syd.
So, two breathing treatments and two IM antibiotic shots later I left the office carrying both children to the car with orders to return the next day for another IM shot for each child.
How do you tell a child that to make an IM shot much less painful you just need to not flinch after you feel it go in? When I laid them down on the table for their shot on the second day both girls went into hysterics and it only got worse from there.
Anyway, I forgot to mention that on Thursday I came home from the Dr's visit to find Storm in pain and needing to get to bed ASAP before he got worse (he has a certain pattern to his descent into sickness so we know the drill)? So he worked on to get the magazine to print and then went to bed. More yays!
I made soup.
So, to summarize:
Two kids with pneumonia? Check
One sick husband? Check
One puking dog? Oh yes - this happened yesterday...puke all over the dining room and loungeroom!
And one very, very, tired mum. The nights have been rough and we've been sharing our bed too which (until we get a much bigger bed) is always rough because I always end up in a position that puts my neck out. So I'm one very, very, tired mum with a sore neck that needs adjusting. I gotta wait until Monday for that one though.
I take the girls back to the Dr's on Thursday for a follow-up. We will be discussing asthma prevention as Dr Almouie believes that it is asthma that caused all of their issues that we've had since November.
Yes, six colds in five months (now including RSV and Pneumonia!).
Yay. I hope South Carolina doesn't cause the girls to have these kinds of issues. Although the Dr did say that the fact that they were preemie and had immature lungs will only be an issue until they're about five. Fingers crossed. Until then they'll take meds.
So, there it is...my rant and evidence of my descent into the madness that is caused by nights of minimal sleep.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Overheard....
So here's a little something about a conversation overheard tonight.
Location: Hallway outside the girl's room
Time: Way past their bedtime with no chance of sleep even close to happening
So it went a little something like this...
Syd: I go shops at HEB (local grocery store)
Kendall: I go shops Wal-mart (other local variety/grocery store)
Syd: HEB!
Kendall: Wal-mart!
Syd: H-E-B!
Kendall: WAL-MART!
Syd: I GO SHOPS AT H-E-B!
Kendall: NO! GO SHOPS AT WAL-MART!
Syd: H-E...(sentence unfinished)
Kendall: WAL-MART!
And so and so forth for a couple of minutes. Storm and I had to stifle our laughter while the intensity and volume increased and stepped in only when each child decided that jumping added to the joy of the argument and an injury was imminent!
Yes, this is what my childrenargue talk about!
It is really cute though.
Location: Hallway outside the girl's room
Time: Way past their bedtime with no chance of sleep even close to happening
So it went a little something like this...
Syd: I go shops at HEB (local grocery store)
Kendall: I go shops Wal-mart (other local variety/grocery store)
Syd: HEB!
Kendall: Wal-mart!
Syd: H-E-B!
Kendall: WAL-MART!
Syd: I GO SHOPS AT H-E-B!
Kendall: NO! GO SHOPS AT WAL-MART!
Syd: H-E...(sentence unfinished)
Kendall: WAL-MART!
And so and so forth for a couple of minutes. Storm and I had to stifle our laughter while the intensity and volume increased and stepped in only when each child decided that jumping added to the joy of the argument and an injury was imminent!
Yes, this is what my children
It is really cute though.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Quick catch-up
Sorry.
Kids have been unwell with colds AGAIN!!!!!!! This is the 5th cold in four months that we've unwittingly welcomed into our household. I'm not happy that's for sure as tissues and cough medicine are becoming far too common on our shopping lists.
The kids are fine during the day - well mostly anyway but it's early evening where things get a little hairy and go either way very quickly. Yes, they've dropped their midday nap but since they've been unwell again they have been known to nod off every now and then if given the opportunity.
It's nighttime that is causing the most trouble. For several nights both girls have coughed their way through the entire night. They are not getting good rest, their throats must be so sore from the constant attempts at coughing away whatever it is that they're trying to expel and it makes for a very, very long night.
Now I don't sleep very well at the best of times but it's darned near impossible when I have one child in distress let alone two. I cannot sleep knowing that they're in discomfort and am pretty close to the end of my tether. However, I must admit that my thighs have been getting great workouts from getting in and out of our bed throughout the night from tending to the kids etc. It's been quite funny trying to explain that no I didn't work out hard, I just got out of bed!
On a brighter note we're getting closer and closer to being prepped for the move. Each weekend we've been knocking out tasks and crossing stuff off our list and that sure does feel nice. Last weekend I painted the hallway (Storm leaves that stuff to me as I like doing it) and this weekend signals the arduous task of kitchen cabinet painting. It's the prep that's gonna kill me on this one though so not really looking forward to it.
We've got boxes all around the house and need to get our butts to the storage shed to organize it and make some space here for some rearranging and more packing.
We're taking the girls to the Sesame Street show that's going on down here for the next couple of days. They don't know it yet and we're not going to tell them until we're in there tomorrow. Kendall has been looking at the ads on TV when they've come on screaming "Elmo, Elmo!" so I've got a good feeling that they'll enjoy it.
Storm's off to Las Vegas again in five weeks. Don't ask me why we planned another move around the biggest conference that our business attends each year. We're just suckers I guess. We've also got two deadlines between now and then so it's heads down and butts up for us!
We've also got Storm's friend from high school coming to San Antonio from Los Angeles for a wedding that we're planning on catching up with. So we're planning a weekend up there catching the zoo and the drive through safari that they've got up there before catching up for lunch with her and her hangover on Sunday. Should be fun as we haven't seen her since I was pregnant with the girls.
Oh, we started the girls in a dance class that is held by a private company at the daycare facility that they attend. They are so, so, so cute running around dancing and following the ladies. They giggle and scream with delight and have the best time. I've watched them by hiding down behind a lounge chair so they wouldn't see me. I didn't want to spoil the fun. Next time I'll get piccies but I think that they'll somewhat resemble a private eye's photos - fuzzy, out of proportion and focus. Oh well you'll get the gist of it I'm sure.
So, it's all go down here. We're busy packing, fighting coughs and planning the next couple of months.
It's going to be so nice to be settled and (fingers crossed!) in one place for a long, long time. We knew that Las Vegas wasn't our ideal location to live and thought (rather hastily I might add) that Portland would be a better fit for us. In some ways it was but in most it hasn't been.
Third time's a charm isn't it?
Kids have been unwell with colds AGAIN!!!!!!! This is the 5th cold in four months that we've unwittingly welcomed into our household. I'm not happy that's for sure as tissues and cough medicine are becoming far too common on our shopping lists.
The kids are fine during the day - well mostly anyway but it's early evening where things get a little hairy and go either way very quickly. Yes, they've dropped their midday nap but since they've been unwell again they have been known to nod off every now and then if given the opportunity.
It's nighttime that is causing the most trouble. For several nights both girls have coughed their way through the entire night. They are not getting good rest, their throats must be so sore from the constant attempts at coughing away whatever it is that they're trying to expel and it makes for a very, very long night.
Now I don't sleep very well at the best of times but it's darned near impossible when I have one child in distress let alone two. I cannot sleep knowing that they're in discomfort and am pretty close to the end of my tether. However, I must admit that my thighs have been getting great workouts from getting in and out of our bed throughout the night from tending to the kids etc. It's been quite funny trying to explain that no I didn't work out hard, I just got out of bed!
On a brighter note we're getting closer and closer to being prepped for the move. Each weekend we've been knocking out tasks and crossing stuff off our list and that sure does feel nice. Last weekend I painted the hallway (Storm leaves that stuff to me as I like doing it) and this weekend signals the arduous task of kitchen cabinet painting. It's the prep that's gonna kill me on this one though so not really looking forward to it.
We've got boxes all around the house and need to get our butts to the storage shed to organize it and make some space here for some rearranging and more packing.
We're taking the girls to the Sesame Street show that's going on down here for the next couple of days. They don't know it yet and we're not going to tell them until we're in there tomorrow. Kendall has been looking at the ads on TV when they've come on screaming "Elmo, Elmo!" so I've got a good feeling that they'll enjoy it.
Storm's off to Las Vegas again in five weeks. Don't ask me why we planned another move around the biggest conference that our business attends each year. We're just suckers I guess. We've also got two deadlines between now and then so it's heads down and butts up for us!
We've also got Storm's friend from high school coming to San Antonio from Los Angeles for a wedding that we're planning on catching up with. So we're planning a weekend up there catching the zoo and the drive through safari that they've got up there before catching up for lunch with her and her hangover on Sunday. Should be fun as we haven't seen her since I was pregnant with the girls.
Oh, we started the girls in a dance class that is held by a private company at the daycare facility that they attend. They are so, so, so cute running around dancing and following the ladies. They giggle and scream with delight and have the best time. I've watched them by hiding down behind a lounge chair so they wouldn't see me. I didn't want to spoil the fun. Next time I'll get piccies but I think that they'll somewhat resemble a private eye's photos - fuzzy, out of proportion and focus. Oh well you'll get the gist of it I'm sure.
So, it's all go down here. We're busy packing, fighting coughs and planning the next couple of months.
It's going to be so nice to be settled and (fingers crossed!) in one place for a long, long time. We knew that Las Vegas wasn't our ideal location to live and thought (rather hastily I might add) that Portland would be a better fit for us. In some ways it was but in most it hasn't been.
Third time's a charm isn't it?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Yummmmmmm...
Chocolate ice cream anyone?
They enjoyed it. And will again soon-ish... (once I clean up the mess!)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Kitchen fun!
The girls have been wanting to help more and more around the house. Stuff like cleaning, sweeping, feeding the dogs, vacuuming, washing the windows, cooking etc.
Now you need to know that this is a good thing but it also has its drawbacks!
It's good because they're learning new things and learning about helping etc.
Bad because it takes so long for them to do some of these things and sometimes the outcome is messier than it was before.
It's a toss-up I suppose and it all depends upon time and our patience.
Now for their 2nd birthday Henry and Karen bought the girls a learning tower. This great piece of furniture allows the girls to get at counter height so that they can see what we're cooking as well as help in anyway that they can. It's a lot of fun for them and keeps them safe as they watch.
So, keeping their new found sense of eagerness and independence in mind we gave them plastic knives to "assist" in the veggie prep for dinner and other cooking stuff. Yes, they're helping cut the veggies, cheese, salad stuff, anything that is able to be cut with a plastic knife for dinner.
The benefits of this has been two-fold. Firstly, it's the independence skill thing and secondly, they're eating the veggies as they cut them which has been fantastic (even raw zucchini!) and other stuff they help prepare
Here are some piccies.
First, making OJ with daddy. Yes, our orange tree kicked in massively and we have an excess of oranges (and as a result - OJ!)
Syd is helping first. Look at that determination! Kendall is learning patience and not too happy about it.
Making sure the job is done right...
Pressing it down hard to get the maximum juice out of an already juicy orange! (oh, sidenote: orange is pronounce "on-ag" by the girls - the "g" is like in giraffe not garage)
Kendall is also as determined.
Kendall is so focused but Syd found the bowl that they used previously to make the cupcakes with.
Here they are helping with the salad and veggies.
Carrots, lettuce - all is fair in salad prep!
Please note that Kendall has now got the concept of holding the knife the right way - sharp side down!
Kendall is still a dribbler. She just concentrates so much and forgets to swallow. I'm not what the neoghbours think when they hear us say to her "Swallow Kendall and wipe your chin!"
I'm looking forward to the new house where the layout of the kitchen will be better for the kids to help out with us both and keep on going with the food prep!
Now you need to know that this is a good thing but it also has its drawbacks!
It's good because they're learning new things and learning about helping etc.
Bad because it takes so long for them to do some of these things and sometimes the outcome is messier than it was before.
It's a toss-up I suppose and it all depends upon time and our patience.
Now for their 2nd birthday Henry and Karen bought the girls a learning tower. This great piece of furniture allows the girls to get at counter height so that they can see what we're cooking as well as help in anyway that they can. It's a lot of fun for them and keeps them safe as they watch.
So, keeping their new found sense of eagerness and independence in mind we gave them plastic knives to "assist" in the veggie prep for dinner and other cooking stuff. Yes, they're helping cut the veggies, cheese, salad stuff, anything that is able to be cut with a plastic knife for dinner.
The benefits of this has been two-fold. Firstly, it's the independence skill thing and secondly, they're eating the veggies as they cut them which has been fantastic (even raw zucchini!) and other stuff they help prepare
Here are some piccies.
First, making OJ with daddy. Yes, our orange tree kicked in massively and we have an excess of oranges (and as a result - OJ!)
Syd is helping first. Look at that determination! Kendall is learning patience and not too happy about it.
Hooking in with the wooden spoons. Mmmmm...cupcake batter! Yep, she's taking after her mummy.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
It's catch up time with our Aussie Day party!
I hate January. It always goes by so quickly and is so very, very hectic in the Kulhan household with the business taking front and centre with tax reporting stuff and deadline stuff etc. I am absolutely disappointed that my birthday falls in January because I feel that I don't have a lot of time to enjoy it and that it is so soon after Christmas and New Year.
Anyway, the reason that I am blogging now is that I finally am having a chance to do so as I am almost (and I mean almost) caught up with everything and breathe again.
It has been a horrible couple of months healthwise. Syd has been sick several times - seriously twice - and Kendall - seriously once - so it has been rough. The Dr thinks that Syd may develop asthma as she seems to tbe the one that gets sick first and hard too.
Anyway, back to being caught up. So now I have a huge amount of piccies and things to post about and I don't know exactly where to start so I will start with the Australia Day party that we hosted yesterday.
So here is the low-down...
Now you may be asking - Is this the first Australia Day party that we've held since we've been in the USA? That's correct and the reason is because in Vegas, our house was too small to hold a party just inside. And Vegas in January means being inside for any festivities as the weather is not exactly pleasant (or predictable!). Also we never had any room for a jumpy castle to amuse the kids (in summer we had the pool for the kiddoes to play in but winter? Nothing...)
So, in this house we have the room for a jumpy castle and of course, the weather is splendiferous in winter and it is so easy to have the doors and windows open with the kiddoes running around in and out.
So I spent three days (in between work and kids) baking Anzac bikkies, Chocolate crackles, lamingtons, butterfly cakes and sausage rolls for 30 people. I was a little stressed but in the end I was really pleased how it all turned out. Oh and everyone loved the food except for the samples of vegemite that I gave. One friend referred to it as "burnt dirt"! Oh well, to each their own.
So here are some pics...
Here is some quick piccies of the banner and stuff that I bought and hung up. UNfortunately I didn't take them during the day so they're a little dark - sorry!
My first batch of lamingtons. So time consuming but oh, so tasty!
Both girls had a blast playing on this. They couldn't stop giggling and enjoyed falling over and playing and jumping and generally enjoying being jostled around by the big kids. Kendall cried when we took her off it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)