Doctor knows best?

I was trying to get the blog updated before I posted this but I can't. I really really don't like posts out of order. Oh well.

It seems like we've been in the doctor's office alot lately. Alekisio used to go all the time when he was younger for ear infections, since then Isabelle's taken his place with a huge cyst, asthma, and bladder infections. Yes bladder infections. She had her first around a year old and the doctor thought it was probably bad enough that if she got another one it would be in her kidneys. About a year later she's on her third round of antibiotics for a bladder infection that just won't go away. Let's hope it goes away this time.

It seems Alekisio will be having his share of appointments again as well. He throws up randomly without a fever or any other symptoms. I thought it was just a bug when it happened so I didn't pay too much attention to it. Now I feel like a bad mom. Since we've in Ohio I can remember this happening about four times, three for sure. Once was about two months ago and the other two happened Thanksgiving night and about ten days later. He wakes up from sleeping to vomit, sometimes repeatedly for an hour, and then wakes up in the morning with no signs he was sick the night before. I took him to the doctor and she referred us to a neurologist. I wasn't exactly sure why since he doesn't really complain of headaches that much. Then again he doesn't ever really complain when he's sick at all. We went and the doctor asked him some questions. He used to say his head hurt sometimes but more often it's his stomach. He told the doctor that his head hurts when he throws up. The doctor is sending Sio for an MRI and an EEG just to be sure there's nothing in his head putting pressure on his brain. What I'm worried about is the pill he wants Sio to take every night before bed. I'm not certain he's having headaches, and if he is they aren't more than once or twice a month. The medicine is prescribed for high blood pressure, treatment after a heart attack, and angina.

Alekisio is a really sensitive child. He stresses out about things that alot of kids wouldn't think about. And even though we try not to talk in front of him about these things I think he may have heard someone talk about his head hurting when he's vomiting so he thinks it's the right thing to say.

I want to make sure Sio is healthy. I keep thinking I should have paid more attention when he was vomiting instead of assuming it was the flu. I don't really know what to do but I think I'd like to be more certain about what's hurting him and how often this is happening instead of just giving him medication like that. The doctor told me to keep a daily food, sleep, and illness journal so we can tell how often this is happening and maybe what triggers it. I think keeping a journal for six months and then revisiting the neurologist is a good idea. I just need to keep telling myself that the doctor's are great but sometimes I as a mom need to make decisions that I feel are right for my child. I just hope they both start feeling better soon.

Halloween 2010

For Halloween we headed to Michigan to hang out with our cousin Kim so the kids could play. Kim is a Halloween lover and always decorates so I knew the kids would love going there. The house was of course awesome. The garage was a haunted house and mom dressed up to help. The kids played all day and got strung out on candy. Then they set off to trick or treat. Alekisio ran ahead with Myles and Mason which probably made him feel like a big kid. They live in a subdivision and know everyone so I wasn't too worried about it. Luckily they fell asleep on the drive home!

the front yard

the garage

inside the garage

tinkerbell

I just want to squeeze her all the time

all the disney characters

Jack-O-Lanterns

Carving pumpkins was pretty funny. The kids picked they design they wanted and helped us cut out the top and clean the seeds. Alekisio wouldn't touch inside the pumpkin. He's always been a little weird about his hands being clean, he never wanted to finger paint because his hands would get dirty. Braylen wasn't touching it either. Who would have thought the boys would be the wusses and the girl would be the tough one. Isabelle always loved finger painting so I wasn't surprised when she dug right in and put the boys to shame. I think the pumpkins turned out fantastic!

Boo at the Zoo Part 2

We were lucky enough to get free tickets to Boo at the Zoo. However we had already bought our tickets so our lucky little candy monsters got to go twice. The first time was freezing with a side of freezing rain. We saw the australian section of the zoo where they had a puppet show, petting zoo, and a bubble you could stand inside. We made it to the magician as well which was the best part for Alekisio, he was surprisingly shy in the dance area. He got a shy smile and stared at the girls telling me he didn't want people to watch him dance. What a silly kid. He's already worried about girls. AAAAHHHH!

The second time at Boo at the Zoo was also really cold but the rain didn't start until half way through. We went through the maze, made faces on some potato head style pumpkins, watched the pirate themed animal show, and a magic show. My fingers and nose were freezing. We took the wagon but the boys wanted to run and check everything out. Isabelle was the only one who wanted to be in the wagon covered with a blanket. She's a smart one.
The zoo does a really great job. There were all sorts of characters to greet you when you entered, everyone who worked there was dressed up, and there were some really great entertainers that volunteered their time. I wish we would have been able to watch the fire dancer but his hands were getting slippery from the rain and no one wanted fire flying at us. We didn't get to see everything but it was a really great time.

The Greatest Show on Earth!

I have been wanting to take the kids to the circus for a long time. I remember going to The Ringling Brothers when I was younger with my Aunt Carol. Of course when the circus came around I was ready to go! Aunt Carol came too of course, what would the circus be without her there too? The kids were so excited. Isabelle was dancing around and trying to sing with the songs, and Alekisio sat mesmerized. When the motorcycle was riding on the wire Alekisio looked at me with his eyes wide and said,"That's so dangerous mommy!" Everything was magical and went by so quickly that just about the time Isabelle started getting tired it was done! I hope they have memories of how great the circus is for a long time to come.

Boo at the Zoo Part 1

Freezing rain. That pretty much sums up Boo at the Zoo the first time around. The girl I work with, also named Nicole...hey it's a great name, volunteers at a non profit and they had left over tickets and we were the lucky recipients! The kids were really excited so although is started to rain and was extremely cold, oh and my fingers were frozen, I grabbed some overpriced umbrellas from the gift shop and we were ready to party. There were some snags that we learned from to make the next time better. For instance it's late so don't forget the wagon, kids don't walk that fast when they're tired. Oh and make sure to remember the tape for Isabelle's shoes because she walks even slower when her shoes are flopping on and off(they were dress up Tinkerbell shoes). Other than that the kids loved petting the bearded iguana, the puppet show, the magic show, and I would have thought they would love the dance party but Alekisio is suddenly shy in front of people. It's funny to see his face get red with embarrassment since last year he wasn't that aware and wouldn't have cared. It was great to know we had another night so we didn't feel bad taking the kids home without doing more. One of the best parts are the cool people dressed up when you walk in. Of course I don't have pictures because after taking a picture in the parking lot the battery died. Yep, I'm great at not charging batteries. It happens alot!

Mapleside Farms

After we went apple picking I took Alekisio to hang out with my friend Julie, her husband Dave, and her son Mikey. We went to Mapleside Farms and let the kids run wild. There was a bouncy slide, play area with a fort, apple dumplings, a corn maze, a hill to roll down, and a hayride. Alekisio was most excited to hang out with Mikey. He doesn't have alot of kids to play with here his age so ever since we went to the splash park this summer he couldn't wait to hang out with him again. They rolled down the huge hill and ran around like crazy. I know they played hard because Sio fell asleep in the middle of eating his onion rings five minutes into the ride home. The corn maze was cute because they made it a scavenger hunt so the kids weren't bored walking through. I mean a maze isn't really super exciting when you're that age. We took flashlights for the maze when it got dark but we finished just as it got dark so the boys ran around playing with them until the hayride. It was a great night but for me the best part was hanging out with Julie. I don't really have friends here and it would be great to make friends at church but honestly I used to try and say hi to the ladies my age at church but I gave up because I'm not going to force people to befriend me and they don't ever say hi. It was nice to hang out with someone who, although I haven't been around her for years, cares and it's easy hanging out not forced. Anyway enough about that. Sio had a ton of fun and it was great watching how happy he was. He's enjoying the fall as much as I am!

Apples!

The kids have wanted to go apple picking so we took them to Miller's. I expected picking to take awhile because I have memories of picking at the church farm and being there all day. Now I realize that's because we were pruning, picking, and working in the warehouse, so picking this time took no time at all. We allowed about an hour and it took about 15 minutes to pick two bushels! We got yummy, huge, tart, winesap apples. Isabelle and Braylen just wanted to hold the bags which got so heavy they couldn't even lift them. Isabelle wouldn't even go in the trees to pick because there were mushy gross apples she didn't want to step in. She's such a girl sometimes. Alekisio got the hang of twisting and pulling them off and filled up the bag almost as fast as I did. This was a few weeks ago and since then we've canned applesauce, pie filling, and we're doing apple butter. YUM!