Max and Ruby

Today I was able to go with Eliana's class on a field trip to the civic center to watch Max and Ruby. We all had a blast. We got front row seats right in the middle. They didn't allow any photos to be taken during the show which was a bummer! Eli had a great time with her friends and afterwards they had a picnic in the grass and ran around for a while. It has been a really fun day!

Happenings in March

I feel I have completely neglected my blogging lately. I consider blogging the only form of journaling I do and it is a way to stay personally connected with friends and loved ones. I have to blame how crazy my life has been lately and that I created a facebook account. I was completely addicted to it at first and I am trying to slow down and reconnect myself with reality.

Now that I have successfully stunk up my kitchen I can retreat to the office and blog. Here are some of the latest happenings of the Damato family:

-Tristan never fails to crack us up laughing. At bed time he said he missed our little dog Lanie (a Yorkie that we had to find a new home for). Chris said that maybe when Bella gets old and dies we can get another dog. Tristan replies, "I'm going to pray that Bella has an accident and dies so we can get a new dog". That kid! We obviously had a laugh then a little talk. Funny because he loves Bella.

-The babies are finally starting to walk!! They are almost 15 months old and still aren't brave enough to move those little legs. Soren will walk by himself across the room with encouragement. I even spied him walking down the entryway on his own accord. Barrett is extremely stubborn. He loves to cruise around the house walking on his knees. Every time I try to hold his hands or arms to walk him he buckles his knees and refuses. I just wish this would happen sooner than later. It is much easier to hold their hands and take them places than it is to carry two 26 lb. babies.

-OK I started this draft a couple weeks ago and never finished it. SO here it is and I am on to a new post. ;-D

under the weather

I am SO sorry I have not posted consistently. Most my days have been like yesterday...sick with a bad sinus infection, babies pulling on my legs all day and being a referee while Eliana and Tristan fight all day. Soren has another rash and this time I have no idea what it is. SO we are off to the Dr this morning. The kids have been home because in good ol' Savannah GA schools are off Monday and Tuesday for St Patty's day. We are avoiding downtown today. Tristan is off to Chuck E Cheese with Maddox from his class and Eli is extremely jealous so she is coming with me to the mall and a Dr. apt for my sinus issues. I am looking forward to a few hours away from the house and the babies. I just hope I don't feel rushed to get home. I hate feeling that my time away is always in haste.

On a brighter note, I have many thoughts I want to post about so I am planning a big one soon. Loves to all my friends.

slip and slide

I read a friends blog and she had her 3 boys mopping the floors for her. I thought that was a fabulous idea and put my little ones to work. We made a game of it and Eliana had a blast! She asked if we could do it again tomorrow. Tristan got burned out halfway through. All in all we had a fun day today.

I am NOT a Doctor!

I will make this brief since my last two posts have been long. Today Soren broke out in a rash which immediately explained EVERYTHING! Soren had Roseola. Eliana had it when she was a baby so I know all about it. I am a little annoyed that the Doctors nor I thought of it. Basically Roseola is a virus that is not very contagious. It's incubation period is 9-11 days then a high fever lasts for 3-5 days.

Can the fever cause a seizure?

Yes. The high fever of roseola may trigger a seizure (a convulsion). Febrile seizures (convulsions due to fever) are common in children between 18 months to 3 years of age. They occur in 5% to 35% of children with roseola.

So there you have it! I was wrong. How VERY odd that after such a long incubation period the fever would show up the very same day he had his immunizations. I am disturbed that the Dr prescribed antibiotics for a sinus infection. He told me some craziness about a sinus infection normally turns into a bacterial infection. When am I going to stop being such a push over when it comes to Dr.'s telling me what to do. I regret letting him have all his shots at the same time. I should have spaced them out but I was pushed by the Dr. I just need to think things through before I agree to treatment of my children. Which is never easy when they are rushing you out for the next patient.

Well, that is my ranting about this past week. I truly hope things slow down and life can get somewhat normal around here.

Getting better

After 4 long nights of 104-105 fevers I think tonight might be better. Soren is slowly getting better. He had Doctor visits Tues, Wed, Thurs and Friday each time with a different Dr. The Doctor on Friday diagnosed him with a Sinus infection. He refused to believe that the DTaP shot caused any of this. He believes Soren developed a bad virus in conjunction with the shots which escalated his fever. I am not as convinced of this. My children have been continuously sick this whole year with viruses and infections. They have never had a consistent high fever that even Motrin or Tylenol wouldn't bring down.

I read the CDC's web site about the side effects of the DTaP vaccination.

Moderate Problems (Uncommon)
• Seizure (jerking or staring) (about 1 child out of
14,000)
• Non-stop crying, for 3 hours or more (up to about
1 child out of 1,000)
• High fever, over 105oF (about 1 child out of
16,000)

Eliana had a mild cough this past week so she probably brought a bug home from school. Since Soren's throat was red and he has some post nasal drip (PND) it was a good excuse to diagnose him with a sinus infection. His flu and strep tests came back negative. I am not a Doctor so my opinion doesn't count for much. Whether he has some kind of infection or he had an allergic reaction to the DTaP, I am glad he is on an antibiotic and starting to get better. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Barrett doesn't get sick. I think that is also why I am so skeptical about the sinus infection. Barrett is always more sickly that Soren and he is still well. Maybe God knows I couldn't handle both of them being that sick at once. Well, that is enough of my ranting. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

The most TERRIFYING moment in my life!

There is no feeling worse than thinking I will lose one of my children...

Soren had his immunizations Tuesday morning. He started running a fever, which is common. Wednesday afternoon his fever started to spike up to 104. I took him into his Peds doctor and everything was perfect except for his high fever. She said to keep him on Tylenol and Motrin. We came home, fixed dinner and started to get ready for bed. As soon as I laid him on the bed to change he started shaking violently, rolled his eyes to the back of his head and went completely limp. I immediately called 911 for an ambulance. I was terrified that he was dieing. I didn't know what was happening to him. His lips and face started to turn blue. I couldn't give CPR because his heart was beating extremely fast and it was hard to tell if the little guy was breathing or not. My neighbor came over just as he was coming out of it. Soon after the ambulance showed up. It took them 7 mins to get to my house ( I was told the national average is 8 mins, so not too bad). His vitals were fine and he seemed to be getting back to normal, except for his high fever. The ER was a traumatic experience for him. He kept jerking every time they tried to get the IV in. Then on the way to X-Ray the IV came out and he bled all over me. He had to draw urine and blood. All the test came back negative for any type of infection. His fever was due to the immunizations. The seizure was cause by the rapid increase in fever in a short amount of time. With a lot of help from great friends we got home around 2:30am. He was so exhausted from this experience that he crashed out until morning. I have to keep him on a 3 hour rotation of meds and we are going back for a follow up this morning.

Even though it was something that didn't cause any permanent damage to Soren, it still scared me to death! It aroused so many emotions and it also revealed how I react in an emergency. I think I did most everything right but it makes me question if I am knowledgeable enough to handle emergency situations that could determine my child's health or even life.

A HUGE thank you to my neighbor Patty for coming over to stay with the kids then drive all the way out to the hospital to pick me up. Also to Marilyn for taking over at home and staying so late. It is comforting to know I have such wonderful friends.

BTW, if you are wondering where Chris is...he is in AZ for flight training and today he goes to Dallas for simulator time. It figures that things like this would happen while he is gone.

DADDY's HOME!!!

Chris got in late Monday night. I loaded the kids in the truck and my friend Kayleen followed us out to post in her truck to put all the trunks in. It was nice having a good friend wait with me and keep me company for the 1.5 hours until Chris came out. We were able to wait in the truck right by the flight line. His flight was scheduled to arrive at 9:20 and it didn't land until 9:45. When we finally saw him Eliana ran to him and gave him a huge hug. I was holding Soren while Tristan and Barrett were still asleep in the truck. After all the hugs and kisses Chris woke up Tristan and carried him out. My favorite part was watching Eliana go with her dad to get all his stuff and bring it over. There was this little blond girl standing amidst all these army guys waiting for her daddy. IT was the cutest thing ever. Tristan and Eliana had huge smiles on their faces and daddy sat with them in the back the whole drive home. Oh, how could I forget the little bit of drama we had? As soon as we loaded up to go the truck wouldn't start. I guess all that waiting and listening to music killed my battery. Thankfully Kayleen's truck had jumper cables and we were on our way. Since then we have been enjoying our time having daddy home. The first 2 days Eli wouldn't leave his side. If Tristan noticed he wasn't in the same room he would ask where his daddy is. They have done well with him going back to work. All in all, we are adjusting to Chris' return with ease. We are all thrilled he is back with us.

Annoyed

I JUST got a call from Chris saying they are delayed another 24 hours. AHHHHHH!!!! I think I am going to stop telling the kids when he is comming home. I dont think they can take all these change of plans. Good night.

The Truth...please.

Today there have been lessons of truth.

-Eliana did something to make Soren cry. When I asked her she looked at me in the eyes and said Tristan did it. Well, Tristan happened to be on the other end of the house. After her time spent in her room we had a little talk about telling the truth. I taught her that telling the truth, even if it gets her in trouble is always better than telling a lie. And that the punishment is always going to be worse for telling a lie. The rest of the night Eliana was very forthcoming about every little detail of the night. Who did what..when, where and how it happened. It was a little over kill but I am glad she got the point.

-Tristan brought me the pack of string cheese and was counting how many where in it. I opened one for him and told him to put the rest back in the fridge. When he came back I asked if he did it and he said yes mom. Tonight I open the silverware drawer to find a whole pack of string cheese.

-The truth is the military can never keep anything on schedule. I was hoping Chris would have come home this past Tuesday. Then it was firm for Saturday afternoon. Then it was delayed till Sunday in the middle of the night. Now it is still a mystery. I am truly hoping I can pick him up before Monday morning arrives.

-The truth is I am dreading getting off my bum to clean the kitchen and mop the floors.

-The truth is I am completely burnt out on my children being in a constant state of sickness. This is the third Sunday in a row that I will miss church.

-The truth of it is...I can still manage to be totally happy because I love my husband. I adore my children. I am happy with who I am. I have faith in my beliefs and peace in my heart.

Could it get any worse?? Of course it could!

Ok, all the kids have been sick for a couple weeks now. Last week I took Barrett in and he had Bronchitis. I thought all the other kids just had bad colds that were taking a while to get over. No...I was wrong. We now have pink eye in our house. Soren is wheezing really bad (bronchitis) and Tristan has a bad ear infection. Eliana complains of ear aches at night but then is perfect at day. I might be taking her in just to be sure. I think God knows I am a little stressed because I felt myself get sick a few nights ago with coughing and achiness that only lasted 3 hours than it was gone. I truly hope this sickness stays clear of me so I can take care of all the little ones. Thank goodness I have a housekeeper coming on Monday to clean. I just don't think I can get everything done before Chris comes home. I guess he would understand. Even when he is home things are never perfect. I am sure he will just be glad to be home. I hope I can get all this sickness out of the house before then. Well, I am off to bathe all the kids and put them to bed. Love to all!

Biter

So Barrett is my Biter boy. He bits shoulders, knees, fingers, backs and legs. Soren has suffered many battle wounds and they mostly happen just after bath with they are exposed. I would separate them after bath but that is their favorite play time. I dry one baby off and throw him in the crib then I quickly get the other baby and throw him in the crib. As soon as they are united they get HUGE grins and start wrestling and hugging (and biting). Well, last night Barrett totally made me crack up laughing. He was standing there jumping and saw his luscious arm that looked SO tasty. He leaned his head over and took at nice chomp on his arm and then followed a terrible cry. It would be nice to think he learned a lesson by biting himself but I still don't think he gets it.

Chris is coming home!!

Today I was counting the days till Chris comes home and it has totally snuck up on me. One WEEK! Yes, just one week. I truly hope we can get all this sickness out of the house before he gets home. I have a jam packed week with appointments and projects so I am sure the time will fly. We can't wait to have Daddy back home with us!!

Albuterol blues

It is a love/hate relationship we have with Albuterol. It helps with the wheezing and chest congestion but it gives the jitters. Little Barrett was up till 10pm last night with only a 1 hour nap in the day. Needless to say it was a long day.

All my 4 children are sick with this nasty cough. Barrett isn't getting better yet and Soren's cough is getting worse. I am really hoping Soren can kick this on his own and doesn't spike a fever. Keep us in your prayers.

Dang DOGS and new bus driver!!!

On Monday I got a notice from Eliana's bus driver that the route would be changing a little bit. Her pick up time in the morning is about 10 mins earlier but the afternoon drop off is the same. These changes where to take effect today (fri). I get her off fine but I realize that it is also a new driver. So this afternoon I was getting Barrett, Tristan and his friend Lilly ready to walk to the bus stop. I have Barrett buckled in the stroller and the kids let the dogs out!! I got Diesel in no problem but Bella is a pain in the ____! I still had a few minutes till the bus was to come so I wasn't stressing too bad until I am standing on my front lawn holding Bella by her collar and I hear the bus stop at the end of the long culdesac EARLY. I drag the dog into the neighbors front yard to where the bus driver and Eli could see me and I wave her down. But she wasn't getting off the bus. I keep waving and...nothing. After 4 cars are waiting behind the bus I decide I am going to have to drag this dog by the collar and run down to the bus stop. The new driver chewed me out thinking I expected my daughter to walk herself home and that was against the rules. I had to be at the bus stop. I looked at her a little crazy and said can you not see this dog I am holding by the collar?! You could see me clear as day and you wouldn't just send her to me 4 houses down? REALLY! If it were the normal bus driver there would be no issue. But I was the terrible mother who expects her 5 year old to walk home alone and leaves a 1 year old alone in the garage buckled into a stroller with a 3 and 4 year old running loose.

Anyway, that is my ranting for the day. I am off to bed!!!

Poor Barrett

Yesterday the babies got their tubes put in. They both did great. Soren took off with the nurses in a little red wagon and came back to me smiling the same big smile. Barrett left me sleeping and came back crying. I knew he hadn't been feeling well and he had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia. The rest of the day the babies had low grade fevers which is common.


Today Barrett spiked a fever to 103 and his cold/cough had gotten much worse. It is amazing how quickly babies health can turn. I took him into the Dr. and he has Bronchitis (again). Poor little man is on Azithromisin, Albuterol and Prednezone. He is wheezing and has a terrible cough. I laughed at the Dr when he told me to keep the babies apart as much as possible. Like that is even remotely possible. I finally got home and collected my other two kids at 7:30 and rushed to get everyone fed, bathed and to bed. Oh, and medicated! Eliana had a hard time falling asleep. I could hear her singing to herself then 20 mins later she finally stopped singing.

PS...TP...FP

How could I have forgotten the other mess I came across today? Barrett and Soren have discovered the wonders of the bathroom. I caught Barrett splashing around in the toilet surrounded by a mountain of toilet paper on the floor. I tried to keep the bathroom door closed all day but it is hard to teach the kids new rules. Soren made his way and found the joys of unwinding the toilet paper too. They both are learning to give mom the dirty look/cry when I take them away from their fun adventures in potty land.

Soren has discovered the fireplace. There is NO barricade I can find that will keep Houdini out of the soot. They aren't even walking yet and I can't turn my back for one minute. I might have to move one of the couches in front of the fireplace.

Goldfish snowflakes and the little drummer boy

At least these are the words Tristan used when trying to explain the insane mess I encountered after getting out of the shower. Both babies were napping so I thought it was safe to shower. But NOoooo.....Eliana comes in the bathroom asking to use the scissors to cut off a piece of paper to make a card. I knew Tristan would steal the scissors so I told her to wait until I was done. I was nervous to see what surprise may await me. I was hoping Eli would still have her long beautiful hair. Instead Tristan gave his Giraffi a little trim. The real drama wasn't giraffi's lack of hair it was the sea of crushed up goldfish strewn across my whole house. Tristan took the BIG box of goldfish and threw it all over the house then crushed every single one. I wont go into detail of the aftermath. Needless to say I REALLY hope that doesn't happen again.

As I am sitting here I hear this LOUD drumming noise that has a steady rhythm. At first I thought it was the TV then it was too real sounding and it didn't stop. I checked it out and Soren has two Lincoln logs in his hands and is banging on the table one thud after another with a BIG grin on his face. I guess he was auditioning for his imaginary band. That boy has some rhythm!!

PARANOID?

My husband sent me this article and video. I personally have a Concealed Carry Permit. I believe strongly in my right to protect myself and my family. I think Susan Gratia says it well. If you have 5 mins to spare it is worth reading this article and watching her video.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86317

crib wrestling

If you take the time to watch this little video clip of my boys you will quickly see how loud an animated they can be. Soren can scream just as loud as his sister Eliana. Don't worry, all of the cries you hear are just for show. Barrett might have been a little upset when he bumped his head. BTW. I tried to edit out as much of the (revealing parts) as possible. This is for you DAD...can't wait for you to come home so ALL the boys can wrestle while Eli and I referee.