Strep, Well Check-Up, St Patty's Day, Refinancing and The Flu

So - it has been quite awhile since my last blog. Our house has been infested with sickness, and extra time has just not been there. And what extra time that has been found has been spent fixing up things around the house to prepare for the appraisal as we are trying to refinance our house.

It started off with Gryfinn running a fever. He tends to catch EVERY virus that is out there, so we try not to run to the dr each time he gets a fever. But once it spikes, we know that it is either an ear infection or strep. And this time, strep was the culprit. He was so miserable. But he took his 'pink' (amoxicillin) medicine very well this time. We have learned that to get him to take any medicine, we have to count down. The dosage syringe has #'s 0n it - so we just count down. Works like a charm. So glad we thought of this. After a couple doses, we could see improvement, and we just pray that the other kids don't catch it.

Caelyn has her well check-up.
9 month stats
height: 26 3/4 inches 50%
weight: 15lbs 11oz under 3%
She is crawling at rapid speed.
Pulls to standing on everything.
Cruising the furniture, the dog, the kids, us.
Lets go and will stand alone for several seconds.
Walks steadily while holding two hands.
Walks a bit wobbly while holding one hand.
Signs 'milk' - every time I walk by. :-)
Waves bye-bye
Says 'MaMa' 'Bye'Bye' and 'Wow, Wow, Wow' or maybe it's 'Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!' - and other words that I think she says, but am sure that she is just babbling, and I am hearing what I want to hear! :-)

The dr is concerned about her weight. She only gained 11 oz from her last appointment. He said there is nothing wrong with being little, his concern comes from the change in her growth curve. If she had stayed on course, she should have weighed 19 pounds. And she was not close. He told us to give her 3 slices of American Cheese each day, and to get her to nurse as much as possible - as most of her calories still come from the breast milk. She still nurses quite a bit, but maybe not as much, cause she LOVES food. She wants to eat anything and everything. So - she is still eating anything and everything, with us now adding in American Cheese, and I nurse her more. He said that he wants her to gain a pound in a month. If she does not, he wants to run tests to make sure that her body is absorbing what it needs. It has been over two weeks, we weighed her Sunday - she has not gained anything. I try not to worry. She is an active lil bee - buzzing around all day long. Into everything. Mover and Shaker is a good way to describe her. She cruises, she crawls, she dances, she stands and bounces up and down and up and down and up and down, the she waves bye-bye, gets down, and crawls to something else. This is all day. So I tell myself she is fine, she just has a high metabolism, and she burns off all those calories as soon as she eats them. (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just gain a pound. PLEASE!)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful St Patty's Day! I have some adorable pic's. But they are not on this computer, so I can not post them. I promise to do that soon. Promise.

We are trying to refinance our house. With the economy, our insurance changes (which suck. BIG TIME!) we are trying to do what we can to get ahead. And lowering our house payment will definitely help. So we are doing what we can to make sure the appraisal goes through. We worry that with the way the economy is, that the value of homes has dropped. We hope that our neighborhood is ok, but we just worry. So we are trying to add more value to our home. We had already finished our basement. That has now become our office/family room/toy room. So that in itself will help - as it adds more living space. Our back porch is enclosed, and has insulation. So, we are making it a dining room. We have painted the walls and the concrete floors, our next step is to put flooring out there. This is all stuff that we wanted to do - but had the push of doing it now. So I am grateful for that. The porch/dining room is beautiful! I love looking out at it.

So - Gryfinn is more than halfway through his 'pink' medicine, and he starts fevering again. So the quest is on to find out what on Earth is wrong. We get nothing from him. You ask 'does anything hurt?' and he replies 'me all bettor' then goes into 'me neck all bettor' 'me eaor all bettor' 'me leg all bettor' 'me buck(butt) all bettor' and he will go through all of his body parts, saying they are all better. I think this is his way to keep the dr away. Cause he LOATHES the dr. The mere mention of the word dr sends him into hysterics! It was more on the lower side for a Gryfinn fever, so we were doing the 'if it lasts 48 hours, we will call the dr' bit. At about 40 hours, the fever subsides. I think he heard us say the 48 hour bit! But within hours of his fever going away, Caelyn's starts. Hers hovered right around 101. And she is, as crazy as it sounds, a happy sick baby. Compared to Gryfinn. Who whines, whines, whines, cries, has break downs, whines, is super clingy and whines some more. She had her moments, and it would just break my heart. Like when she would cough, and it would hurt, and then she would give this lil pouty face, and this tiny, most pitiful, and oh so heart wrenching whine. And the snot - there has been so much snot. One of them would sneeze - and I have no idea how that much could come out of one of their little bodies at once. If Caelyn sees you walking toward her with a tissue, toilet paper, or any kind of paper product, she will instantly cover her face. Neither one of them has slept - as when they try, they cough, and it wakes them up. Gryfinn did not nap for longer than 15 minutes. And night time they would both be up off and on. Last night - I bathed them using a eucalyptus soap, and then oiled them up with a massage oil with eucalyptus. And they slept better(not good, just better) than they have in nights. Don't know if they are just getting better, or if the eucalyptus helped. Either way, they have to feel better getting more sleep.

I just PRAY that Jarrod and Jayk stay healthy. And Kelly and I too.

I have tons of pic's, from the park, from St Patty's Day, from randomness around the house. I so want to share them....

I leave you with a sweet comment from Gryfinn.

The set up:
We were lying in bed, I was nursing Caelyn and he reaches over and rubs my arm.
"Mommy, you so handsome" pause "You handsome wike me!" :-)