Oh, El.

Cory thinks El is going to be a lawyer one day.  She's very argumentative and always trying to negotiate.  (Perhaps I need to nip that in the bud sooner rather than later!)  

Today she was in time-out (surprise, surprise!) and she wanted to apologize to me.  Cory told her she could come down, apologize and then sit on the couch to finish her time-out.  I heard her say, "That's not the deal."  (but missed the rest of their exchange on the matter).  I'm curious to know what she thought "the deal" was....? 

 Then when getting some books for bed, she told me she wasn't happy with only having 3.  She needed 5.  I told her she could have 4.  And she continued to explain to me that she needed many more and she was happy with 1, 2, 3.... (she counted) all the way to 14.  I told her she could have 4... and if she kept arguing with me it'd be back to 3.  She gave in - only because she had to.  

I guess if she does end up being a lawyer... maybe I can look forward to a nice retirement home in her back yard someday.  ;)

Home!

It is eerily yellow outside... I am wondering if I should check the weather for tornado warnings!  It's not too common in these parts, but you never know!  We have had quite a few storms over the last couple of weeks.  

Despite the weird sky outside....  I am happy to tell you that Eloise was discharged from the hospital just after lunch time today!  They actually teetered on whether to keep her, however since we are experienced with the nebulizer (for her breathing treatments), they figured she would be OK to come home and rest on the couch.  Here she is when we found out she could come home....

She was definitely more upbeat when I arrived at the hospital this morning... 

and boy, was she glad to see me!!

Once we got home, she was not a happy camper having to be confined to resting on the couch.  But, those are the doctor's orders for now... until she improves.  She's had good and bad moments throughout the afternoon and evening... but I can definitely tell she is improving.

And she finally took those muck boots off last night around midnight!

Here she is home, bathed (no more stinky feet!) 

and relaxing on the couch.

(Woo Hoo for those old Smurf sheets!)

A huge difference from even 12 hours earlier!

Little Miss Dinah seemed to have a good time with my sister and niece.  

I have a suspicion that they'll probably share some silly pics over at my sister's blog!

Thank you again for the prayers and kind thoughts!

OH!  And on a side note... I JUST realized I had a TON of comments from weeks/months ago through yesterday that I had never "approved".  I assumed if I got a comment that it would show up in my email as a notification.  Apparently it doesn't!  So I apologize to those of you who wondered why your comments didn't show up!  That was a total "OOPS" on my part!!  Thank you for all of the comments on my previous posts!  I truly appreciate you taking the time out to write your thoughts!

Have a good weekend!

A Trip to the ER

Poor little Eloise is sick.  She has had a bit of a cough since Sunday and woke up on Tuesday with a barking cough (I actually thought it was the neighbor's dog barking!).  We had her to the doctor and they said she seemed to have a virus.  We got a prescription and instructions to give her breathing treatments and headed home.  Once home, she was really wiped and "rested" on the couch (she actually napped though she doesn't like to admit it!).  When she woke up she had a 103.1 temp... We monitored her through the day, gave her meds, etc etc.... and she just seemed to get worse.  Cory kept her downstairs at bedtime... bless his heart - he let me sleep (though it was pretty fitful knowing she was having a hard time).  In the morning she just wasn't herself and had labored breathing and a constant, non-stop cough.  Knowing she has RAD (Reactive Airway Disease)... where her respiratory system is more sensitive than normal... we decided to take her to the ER instead of waiting for the Pediatrician's office to open, schedule us, etc.  WHAT A DAY!  

Poor girl had to endure over an hour of getting an IV port in.  The nurses kept having problems with it.  I don't fault them - they can't help it - and they were super nice!  On the 4th try, they got it in... and it was defective and wouldn't let them hook up the tubes!  So the 5th time was the charm... but unfortunately it was on El's dominant hand since they had poked her other arm so much.  It was pretty traumatic for her!  They moved her up to the ICU, where they keep the kids (since it's a "watched" wing) and we spent the day doing pretty much nothing.  She would doze, watch TV, I'd read her a book... she wanted to play with Lion King toys we brought... but once we got them all out, she just didn't have the energy.  She's been getting fluids and breathing treatments and meds.  

 

If you notice in the picture(s)... she is wearing her muck boots.  She refuses to take them off... and I'm going to bet that they are going to be plenty stinky once she finally does!  My mom said that she knew if she took them off she'd have to stay... unfortunately, she had to stay anyway!

Cory is spending the night with her.  I wish I could be there... but Dinah needed me at home.  She spent the day with my mom and niece... and my sister will come tomorrow so I can head over early.

It'd definitely tough watching your little one be so miserable!!

But El's a trooper!  We're praying she's back to her old self in no time!

14 Weeks

At this point I'm about 14 1/2 weeks... 

but the picture below was taken at 14 weeks (this past Sunday).

I have to say... I am much bigger than I anticipated I would be at this point.  I've gained a little more in my first trimester than I did with either of my girls... but the doctor isn't concerned.  I just had an appointment today and all seems well with a heart rate of 144. 

Dinah turned 17 months this week!

She adds new words to her vocabulary pretty much every day - which is fun.

Though she's going through a very clingy stage - which is not so fun for me!

And this weekend we will celebrate Cory's birthday!  I am waiting for a present to be delivered... I hope it makes it in time!  If not, we have a few little things to wrap up anyway.

I am thankful for nice weather.  A few rain showers here and there... but we haven't had any scorchers yet and I'm happy about that!!   I know the girls are loving playing outside in the evenings.  We are blessed with wonderful neighbors who don't care if we take over their lawn and driveway!  For some reason the girls automatically gravitate there!

We have been working on plans with a contractor to add onto our little house (a downstairs bathroom - hallelujah!! - and a bedroom) to make room for Baby... and are excited to be able to view the plans on a computer with a virtual tour that we can "walk through".  Not sure when they'll have it ready... but I am ready ANY TIME!  :)