RIP

Some of you may know of my love affair with my Town and Country. Some of you it may be news to. But as a child I always dreamed I would be a mini van driving mamma. And I was.... even if it was for 1.5 years.
You see about 4 months ago my van started making this horrible metal on metal sound. We took it to the car doctor and the diagnosis was not good. My baby needed a new heart. The guys said the whole bottom half of the engine was shot and we could either get a used rebuilt one for 3 grand. Or a brand new one for 6 grand.

To say the least I was heart broken. Not a day went by that I didnt say how much I loved my van. Here are a few things that I loved:

The room!!

The duel power sliding doors.

The third row

The leather seats

Duel climate control

Domestic car!!

5 in dash cd changer

and the list goes on and on.

So our options were drive the car until it exploded and left me stranded somewhere with my 2 kids and then not be able to trade it in.

Park it and pay for it every month while driving Dustins car. Meaning waking up super early and taking him to work.

Or lastly trade it in ASAP.

Well the Latter was the most logical so thats just what we did.
Since Dustin works for Toyota it was only natural to go with a Toyota. For several reasons number 1 being that we could get a car for a little over cost. And they would be willing to work with us since they know where Dustin works ;)

2nd they are super reliable and hold their value very well.

I tried so many times talking Dustin into another minivan. The Siennas are quite nice. But they only had 2 used ones on the lot and they were a little out of our price range and plus Dustin had his heart set on a Camry.

So I got an 07 Camry. It is silver and very nice. I am having a hard time letting go of my minivan though so it is hard for me to really fall in love with the Camry. Dont get me wrong it is super nice and trust me I know how blessed we are to be able to do this but you dont understand the love I had for my van. Well maybe now you do, or maybe you think I am a little crazy but either way.. I loved my van!!

So Rest in Peace Minivan!!

Here is a pic of the new car.

FIRST EVER ER TRIP!!!

Let me tell you about my week. Well the week was pretty uneventful. Just your normal bible study on Monday, School for Jakob Tuesday and Wednesday. But Wednesday night was more excitement than I want to experience again.
You see since Tuesday Katharine has been running a fever of around 101-102 (under the arm)
Well on Wednesday it was no different so I just medicated her as needed and she pretty much was fine most of Wednesday and I was able to get lots of errands done, Such as tires rotated and balanced, oil changed, Car inspected(Finally-after 10 months).

By the evening Katharine started running another fever. It was around 7:15pm and Dustin was working late for some event . I got the kiddos fed and upstairs for a bath. I put Kate in and washed her quickly because she started to get fussy. When I took her out of the tub she started Projectile vomiting. Everywhere.

After I got her calmed down and cleaned up I got Jakob out and told him to put on his jammies and I got Kates jammies on and gave her her blanket. When Kate is sick she likes to cuddle up with her blanket. So I got Jakob into bed without a book because I knew Kate didnt feel good and I wanted to give her some medicine.

I got downstairs and gave Kate Tylenol for her fever. I wrote down the time as I always do because I am super paranoid about medication and the time was 7:50. I sat down on the couch with Kate on my chest and turned on the tv. Then Kate started convulsing. Her eyes were blinking separately and her eyes were rolling in the back of her head, she was moving her mouth strangely and it sounded like she was choking. Her body was twitching a little bit but not like you would expect during a typical seizure. I immediately called 911 because it just didnt seem right. I called them at 7:52 and after about 15 times trying to tell the lady from 911 my address. (note to self next address must be one number and an easy street name, like 2 smith street)
Finally they dispatched the ambulance, meanwhile Kate is still seizing in my arms. Her lips were starting to turn blue and I couldnt hear her breathing, and as you may or may not know when you have a seizure you are unconscious so she was of coarse unresponsive. I honestly truly thought that her body was shutting down for some reason and that was it. I was terrified.
The Seizure lasted for a good 3 minutes the whole time I was on the phone with 911, About 2 minutes after it had ended the Ambulance arrived. Kate at that time was a wet noodle and completely limp and lethargic.

I carried her out to the paramedic and I told him that I believed she had a febrile seizure. I know this because I am an information Junkie and have read on this several times. I also know that they are normal and completely harmless but it scared the crap out of me none the less.
They took her temp once we were in the ambulance and it was 105.
So the paramedic suggested we take her to the hospital just to get her checked out to see if we could find the source of the fever. By this time Kate was still lethargic but starting to get a little spooked so they gave her some oxygen.

I called Dustin to tell him what was going on. I have to always remember when calling him to start off calmly and tell him the following: everything is ok, I dont want to scare you but....
So I did. He was just around the corner and was a little freaked out to say the least but he handled himself well.

I took the ride in the ambulance with Kate and Dustin got Jakob out of bed and followed us to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital Kate was screaming like a banshee. Which is always a good sign!!
The ER doc checked her out and they said everything looks fine. Staci came and got Jakob and took him home with her(Thank God for Staci)
They checked Kates urine for a UTI and it checked out ok so they took her vitals again and again her temp had jumped up to 103. So they gave her some Motrin and told us to alternate every 2 hours Motrin and Tylenol. Which scared the crap out of me because like I mentioned before I am terrified of Medication.
So we came home and Kate slept in bed with us. And when I say slept I mean she woke up every 30 minutes either in discomfort from the fever or from confusion as to why mom and dad were in the same bed with her.
By Thursday morning she seemed fine. I made an appt with the dr as the ER and my grandmother suggested and once at the drs they took her temp under her arm and it was 99. But she was burning up so they took it rectally and it was 103 again. So they gave her some Motrin and did her blood test and the result.......

A virus.
I love this. This is why I never take my kiddos to the dr. Because I know I know that whatever is making them sick its just a virus and there is nothing we can do for it but let it run its coarse. So I usually avoid drs because I dont need them telling me what I already know and me having to pay them 50 dollars for it.
So I was sent home and told just to watch her and if she has a fever by Saturday(today) than come in and they will run more test.

Well today is Saturday and there has been no fever since the Drs. office. YAY!!
Though lately she has been getting these "Mysterious fevers" and they have no symptoms and they last for a few days and then go away for a few days and then come back. So i am not counting my chickens yet.

So the number one thing I have learned from this experience(because I believe God uses all these kinds of things as learning tools) Is from now on check temp rectally because it is the most accurate and the under the arm thing is usually way off.

So that was Kates very first ER trip and ride in an ambulance. She wont remember any of it because she was unconscious and to young.
Hopefully it wont happen again and we wont have to make another trip.

Here is a video of my sickly girl sucking it up and showing off her dancing skills :D

My week with 4 Kiddos

Last week was a week full of fun and excitment.
It all started Thursday when Staci dropped off the Twins(I hate saying this but I am writing it for a dramatic effect) and took off to Canada for 4 days.

I have to say Staci is blessed in the baby department. Man those kids are good. When Katharine was 5 months old all she did was scream all the time. I can probably name about 3 times that they cried. Never at the sametime and mainly because I wasnt fast enough with the food.

Friday we went to Mops. It was an experience getting a 3 year old, 18 month old and 2 5 month olds up and ready and in the car by 8:45am but we did it. Luckily Staci dropped off the "limo"(twin stroller) so it was possible for us to get out. Kate helped me push the limo while Jakob held on from the side. It went as smooth as silk.

Saturday we dropped all the kids off with someone so Dustin and I could enjoy a kid free night to see one of my favorite Singers, Jeremy Camp. It was an amazing show and we had awesome seats!! When we got home I crashed at 11:00pm. Boy I am old. I remember going to concerts in my early days and staying out the rest of the night. Sheesh.
We did get to sleep in Sunday because there were no kids crawling into our beds at 6:30am. We also decided to skip church and pick up the kids later. It was so relaxing. And much needed.
Later that evening we picked up all 4 kiddos and went back home.
Monday we all went to bible study and by the end of bible study Staci was home from Canada and took the babies home.
We had such a great time watching the babies and look forward to when we can do it again. Maybe not over night next time, I really did miss my sleep ;)

So here are some pics of the weekend. Mostly of the big kids feeding the babies.
Enjoy!!