What a Busy Day!

We had such a fun, busy day yesterday!  We took the boys to the pumpkin patch with some of our friends from playgroup in the morning.  It was a little cold when we first arrived, but it was actually pretty comfortable weather-wise while we were there :)  There were so many fun things for the kids to do, there was a big mesh cage filled with rubber balls and a sort of castle wall built out of hall bales for the kids to mock-battle (this was also fun for the grown-ups! hee hee)  There was also a huge hay slide with sleds for the kids to ride on the way down, a zip line, pumpkin tether balls, an awesome (LONG!) hay ride, a barrel train with a speed-demon driver and these long irrigation tubes the kids could roll balls down like a chute.  Aside from the kiddo activities, there was also a 10 acre corn maze that we did not venture into, we probably would have been there all day if we did!

After the pumpkin patch we headed to a friend's house for a birthday celebration! It was super fun with an amazing food-spread and yummy hot apple cider!  The boys had a ton of fun having balloon-lightsaber battles with their friends, running around in the sunny backyard, and watching a little star wars!  We always have a great time with our buddies!

We weren't able to stay for the whole party because we had over-lapping parties that day (what are the odds!) so we hopped back into the car and headed to another friend's house! We arrived about an hour late, but this was a "science party" and we showed up just in time for the experiments!  The big boys got to build baking soda volcanoes, make slime, create pudding masterpieces, and blow off soda bottle geysers!!  They had a blast!  They even each received their own lab coat, ID badge and clipboard to conduct their experiments, it was super cute :)

We made it back home in time for dinner and the kids couldn't stop talking about all the fun things they did that day.  I agree, it was an awesome fun day - but I am really glad we have a wide open schedule after church this morning!!

The sick germs have left the building!

So last weekend I came down with something nasty! This rarely happens to me, but I was laid out pretty flat on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for me I had to work on Friday night!  I managed to make it through my little three hour shift, but there were a couple times I was kneeling down to pick up items off the floor and I honestly wondered if I was going to have the energy to get back up! haha  Saturday morning I woke up feeling worse! (imagine that) I had a bad feeling it was strep throat, so I drug myself to the Dr for a test and sure enough, it was strep!  I can't believe it still, something like 90% of strep throat cases occur in kids 15 and under - I thought I was well past my strep throat years!!  I came back home equipped with penicillin and locked myself up in the bedroom to wait out my 48 hours of contagious time so I didn't share the love with my husband or the kiddos.  That's the bad news.  Since I was contagious and super sick, I also had to miss my Grandmother's 90th birthday celebration that day as well as a fun night out with my girlfriends to celebrate two of their birthdays that same night.  That's the other bad news!!

The good news is - my self imposed quarantine WORKED and a week later, no one else in the family has come down with any sore throat or fever symptoms. Yay!!  The other good news is I am back to feeling like my fantastic self again ;-)  But the best news of all is I got super sick THIS month, instead of NEXT month when we will be in Disneyland *whew* The kids also all had a pretty yucky head cold last weekend and early this week, so we are hoping that will ensure their good health for the trip as well!  All we need to do now is get our flu shots and we should all be in business!! *fingers crossed*

Officially Enamored

When we moved to our town about four years ago, I went through the dreaded process of finding a new pediatrician for the kids.  I HATE moving to a new town and trying to find a person I feel I can trust with the health of my children. Moving to a place where we didn't know anyone else compounded the problem, because I couldn't even ask for reliable recommendations from friends or family.  In the end, we found the clinics that were in network with our insurance and took a wild stab in the dark.  I can actually remember calling the clinic to make the boys' new patient appointments.  The receptionist listed off four physicians who were accepting new patients at that time and asked me who we wanted to see.  I picked the doctor with the most interesting name :)

Over the years we have thanked our lucky stars on numerous occasions because our pediatrician has turned out to be the ideal doctor.  He is great with the kids and really pays attention to them when they have something to say, he relates to parents unbelievably well because he has three young children of his own and most importantly - he is willing to settle in and listen to your concerns and answer any questions you might have.  He never makes you feel rushed or unimportant.

Before today I would have described my feelings towards the kids' pediatrician as "appreciative," "grateful," "impressed," "relieved."  But today, I have officially become enamored.

And here's why:

Middle-Bug had his fourth birthday last week and today I was taking him in for his annual portrait.  We always go to a photo studio in the mall down town and have typically had a pretty good experience with them.  Today was unfortunately an exception, but that is a story for another day.  Towards the end of our photo session today, Middle-Bug went to sit down on a small stool in the waiting area.  When he sat on the stool it tipped over backwards and Middle-Bug cracked his head on a table top on his way to the ground.  He instantly started to cry and I went over to inspect the damage.  When I got close to him I could see that he had actually split his head open and was bleeding quite a bit!  The employees at the studio were swarming all around us, one called an ambulance (probably a bit of an over reaction) one brought paper towels, one brought an ice pack, one brought stickers for all the kids and started entertaining Big-Bug and Baby-Bug and one ran to the back to print our photos out at no charge.  In hind sight their response was so smooth, I wonder how many times they have been through this drill!

When the fire crew arrived they took a look at Middle-Bug's head, asked me a few questions about his mental status (which was fine) declared his injury safe enough for private transportation and then I signed some wavers so I could take him to be seen in my own vehicle. The EMT who did the exam recommended the urgent care facility at the local hospital rather than the ER because the wait time is shorter, so I packed everyone back up into the car, called my husband and told him what was going on and then headed to urgent care.  When we got there I unloaded all the kids (and Middle-Bug's ice pack!) and we headed across the loooong parking lot to the entrance.  Unfortunately when we got to the door there was an employee standing outside who asked me if we had an appointment.  WHAT?!  An appointment for urgent care?!  She said if we really wanted to we could come inside, but we most likely wouldn't be seen today.  I asked her where else we should go and she (very rudely!!) said "another urgent care I guess."  *sigh*  So I packed everyone BACK to the car again and called the boys' doctor to see if he could recommend another local urgent care.  They told us to come right in and the doctor could do any necessary stitches/staples himself.  By this point of course, I was pretty shaken up and was trying my best to keep from breaking down in tears while I was on the phone and it was such a comfort to finally feel like we had a solution.

We drove the short distance to the clinic, checked in at the reception desk and were immediately seen!  Their doctor checked Middle-Bug over from head to toe, decided his (extremely minor) head wound was already clotting and sealing up so well he didn't want to mess with stapling it and opening the wound back up, checked his ears and nose and throat for swelling and determined that Middle-Bug was in fact Wolverine.  (To Middle-Bug's unending delight)
This awesome doctor has seen us through an electrical shock, a knocked out tooth, a broken arm, infant hernia surgery, a super-sprained foot and now....a (minor) head wound, each time in a way that has made the experience feel comfortable and safe. I mean seriously, could there BE a greater pediatrician on the planet!!