- Halloween-ing... -

After a very eventful in "kind-of-a-crazy-and-not-the-best-way"September [get the 4-1-1 here and here!], we decided to spring for an eventful in "more-of-a-drama-free-and-fun-filled-way" October!  Because with the changing weather + fall vibes + Halloween festivities all wrapped into one big chunky sweater, isn't October always just SUPER FUN by default?! ...We definitely think so!  

There was no shortage of October/Halloween fun for this crew between Fall Fest at Willoughby Farm with some of our favorite friends...

...Boo at the Zoo with some of our favorite cousins...

...and the Great Godfrey Corn Maze with some of my favorite coworkers [that was actually a maize maze this year, after too many years of growing corn for the maze depleted all the necessary nutrients in the soil, L to the O to the L]!

...[^^ I have to say, I love this photo on the right of the best sonographer in the world + Harper. She scanned me when I was 7 weeks pregnant -- so, first one to get a "photo" of Harper and also first one to tell us that our very wanted rainbow baby had a heartbeat! -- and here they are together now when Harper is 7 years old! LOVE.].

We finished off the Halloween festivities by carving/painting pumpkins at Uncle Brant and Aunt Hollie's...

...trick-or-treating at the grammies and papas' houses...

...celebrating Halloween at school for Harper...

...and at school for Scarlett...

...and at work for Mommy...

...and finally by hosting our very own annual Halloween + trick-or-treating house party!

October, you were a great one!!!  BRB while I go grab another handful of the kids' Halloween candy while they aren't looking! ;) :)

*fades out spooky music*

- ...and settling OUT of September! -

Well Juliette awakened from her nap at just the right time last week, leaving me NO CHANCE to dive into the details of Scarlett's saga. I had mentioned at the end of the last post that she had an ear infection and made it through 8 [of 10] days of amoxicillin before waking up on a Saturday morning covered HEAD to TOE in hives of every shape and size! I talked to our pediatrician via her exchange later that morning, and she instructed me to administer Benadryl every 6 hours as needed for itching and to watch for other more serious reactions/symptoms throughout the day like nausea/vomiting, fever, shortness of breath [and also joint swelling, which would be "more rare but very serious".......................]

So, we gave the Benadryl as instructed and hit the road to celebrate our niece's wedding later that same afternoon.  Excited for the festivities, Scarlett donned her blue frilly dress and silver sparkle heels ready to conquer the world. She made it through the ceremony [pausing many times to scratch her poor hives] and danced her little booty off at the reception [running over many more times to ask if it was time for more medicine yet]! 

 

Around 9:15pm, Scarlett approached me and said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to leave the reception.  She had been taking Benadryl as directed all day, but the hives continued to look horrible and the itching was relentless.  We packed our things and hit the road for Grammy and Papa's house, where we planned to have a sleepover.  By the time we arrived there 20 minutes later, she was fussing for me to get her out of her car seat because "her yegs [legs] hurt."  I figured she was just tired/exhausted from a full day and not feeling up to par, but when I set her down inside she fell to the floor screaming and crying in pain and could not stand or put any weight on her legs!  I noticed that both ankles were red and puffy, so extremely swollen that the "ankle bone" was hardly visible at all.  Her right foot had areas of purple bruising, and she was covered in goosebumps and shivering.  In 10+ years of being a nurse and 7+ years of parenting, I had my first "oh, sh*t!" moment and knew I wanted her seen/evaluated by a physician ASAP.  If the allergic reaction had "amped up" that much in our 20 minute commute from the reception to my parents', what would happen overnight?! Would it start causing shortness of breath while she's sleeping and would she die in her sleep?! ...More realistically though, would she be able to tell me if things were actually getting more intense/more painful if she was asleep?  By then, it was already about 10:00pm; all area Urgent Care clinics were closed and I decided to pack her up and take her to the E.R. back home [45 minutes south of where we were when I noticed this issue!].  To top it all off, the AT&T cell towers were down in my parents' hometown, so I couldn't call Brian [still at the reception with Harper] to tell him what was going on OR get a hold of the pediatrician's exchange [to see if they had any recommendations] from any of our phones! 

 

Halfway home, my cell service resumed and I got in touch with Brian and also with the pediatrician on call. She agreed that Scarlett needed to be seen, and we arrived to the E.R. at ~10:45pm. 

 

Long story short:  checking into and being evaluated at our hometown E.R. was the most underwhelming experience ever!!! I mean, I do realize that I brought in a 4-year-old with an allergic reaction while other people were in there complaining of drug overdoses and severe COVID vaccine reactions, but after waiting for 3.5 hours in the waiting room and observing that her ankles were not getting any worse [though certainly not better, either] and her breathing had not changed, I did consider walking out and taking her to Urgent Care in the morning [which would've only been a handful of hours later by this point!].  Also!  While it probably worked in our favor, this E.R. took patients back IN ORDER OF ARRIVAL, which is kind of ridiculous, right?  Triage, who?!  ...Just saying, if I was the drug OD shivering in the corner or the COVID vaccine reaction with a 104* fever and shortness of breath who couldn't feel his left arm at all, I'd be freaking out that a girl with hives was being seen before me. That's all.

At 2:00 am, we were summoned to an exam room; and 15 minutes later, the attending pediatrician came to the bedside for a grand total of TWO MINUTES. He did not even look at any of the hives on Scarlett's body [just glanced quickly at the ones on her lower legs that were sticking out of her pajamas] OR have her stand on her feet to evaluate our chief complaint.  He gave her a dose of Benadryl and prednisolone right then and a couple Rx's to fill and continue at home.

 

Then! There were two discrepancies in med dosing on discharge papers... Like whhhhat in the world?!  I asked the nurse for clarification when I noticed them, and she just blew some smoke which totally rubbed me the wrong way.  This is what the discharge paperwork said:

 

But since we were seen at 2:15am, it was technically already "tomorrow"...so when do I give these steroids again?!  I read it over real quick when the nurse gave it to me before I signed:
Me: "Benadryl 2.5mL? Is that what he recommends?"
RN: "That’s what he wrote..."
Me: "Well I’ve been giving her 7.5mL at home for the weight based dosing..."
RN: "Well we gave her 12.5mL here tonight."
Me: …..
RN: …..
Me:  "So do you think he meant to write 12.5mL, then, instead of 2.5mL?"
RN: ……………."Probably, knowing him." 

 

SO HOW MANY MLS IS IT??!  Yo' numbas don't add up, dopes. These people better count their lucky stars that I'm a nurse with some common medical knowledge and wouldn't take my kid home and OD/UD her!!!

In conclusion:  1 out of 5 stars, do not recommend this E.R. for multiple reasons!!!!! ...including the filth factor, which was highlighted by a bloody gauze face up on the ground in our exam room when we walked in.  In retrospect, I definitely wish we would've rolled when my gut told me to roll and gone to Urgent Care the next morning for a way better experience with the same outcome and probably 1/8 of the bill!  

But this is life, right?  Live and learn [and try not to die of an allergic reaction in the process!]!

Scarlett and I made it home a little after 3:00, pulled down the blackout curtains, and crawled in bed together.  

What a night! :/

Oh! And to round out the month, Juliette's babysitter gave us notice on that next Friday afternoon that she was no longer able to watch our girl on Mondays, effective the very next Monday [so, you know, like 60 hours later!].  I hate to be a whiner but IS THIS FOR REAL RN, GUYS?!

Sadly, it's real! 

WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS...

...or, maybe just let me get a taste October first and see if I want to sleep until November instead...!

I kid. Sort of. ;) :) 

October 1 was the Feast Day of St. Thérèse who is the patron saint of our beautiful Juliette Thérèse... She is well known for her flowery outlook on life, and I'm gonna cling tight to her ways of living with simplicity and keeping Love at the forefront!  

To God be the glory!   

St. Thérèse, pray [so hard] for us right now, and BRING ON OCTOBER!!!

Settling into September...

^^ IDKKKK, it seemed more appropriate than my usual, "Wake me up when September ends!" lament post title!  September started with a bang [and ended with even more of a bang.bang.boom-boom.BANGGGG, so stay tuned to the very very end to catch all the month's drama AND MORE!]!

But, beginning with September 1: 

Gymnastics here!   

Soccer there!  

Cabinet installation EVERYWHERE!

Living through organized chaos (AKA a beautiful mess) is the way we roll, and I'm starting to think we're not half bad at it! :)

Amidst getting into the full swing of school + the scheduled weekly events, we also attended Brian's annual family reunion/carnival/town homecoming...

...^^ where Juliette rode her first ever carnival ride [hello, jerky carousel!] and watched her first parade nestled in her stroller parked right between Papa and Grammy.

The kids spent an embarrassing amount of time the following morning sorting candy of all shapes and sizes, because zomg #TREASURES!

We also got countertops for the new buffet cabinets in the dining room...

...celebrated being BACK TO SCHOOL with all of Harper's 2nd grade pals at Joe's Pizza...

...and went to a drive-in move at the kids' school [in the church parking lot], which suchhhhh a super fun night! 

Harper started piano lessons after Labor Day, and I am SO SUPER PROUD of her for wanting to do this and literally can hardly wait for the day that she's able to play duets with me (and/or Grammy). I absolutely loved duet-ing with my mom as a kid [and we still enjoy playing together today!].  I know learning piano is a skill that Harper can use all the way through life, and I pray that she always has heavenly music in her heart just like her patron saint. St. Cecilia, pray for us! 

For some Friday night funsies, we took the kids to a high school football game to cheer on our cousin! Go, Tigers! 

As evidenced by winter coats and hats here ^^ and short and short sleeves there, the weather was all over the place this month [but no surprise for a typical midwestern autumn!]. Mid-way through the month, Brian spent a week in Orlando at Universal Studios [he said he was on a "work trip," but after seeing all the photos of beers and desserts and day-long tours of Harry Potter Land and more beers, I'm really not quite sure how much work was done, hehe].  When he came home, we took the kids to a Cardinals game, which just so happened to be Juliette's first time at Busch Stadium! She loved cheering for the Redbirds and hanging with her fam for a special night out!

Meanwhile, Scarlett was 3 days deep into an ear infection, and me -- being my total dumb-mom self -- did not even put 2+2 together that the loud cheering [especially when #5 came up to the plate.....!!!] would really bother her ears!  Needless to say, after just a few roars from the crowd, Brian and I ended up trading off with pushing the double stroller [with Scarlett and Juliette in tow!] all around the perimeter of Busch Stadium until finally we threw in the towel and made a dash for it.  We watched the end of the game from home in our pajamas, and [now my memory fails me, but] I think they lost and I also think Pujols hit a homerun that we missed en route from the stadium to the house. #lifewithlittles #letsgocards #698

On the ear infection front, Scarlett made it through 8 [of 10] days of amoxicillin before waking up on the last Saturday morning of September covered head to TOE in hives of every shape and size!!! I immediately gave her Benadryl and did NOT give that morning's dose of antibiotics. I talked to the pediatrician later on in the morning, and she instructed me to administer Benadryl every 6 hours as needed for itching and to watch for other more serious reactions/symptoms throughout the day [including joint swelling, which would be "more rare but very serious" reaction.......................]

...And so, if you've followed me for long, you know that this is about to turn into the saga of all sagas...

...and SINCE the baby is up from her nap and this isn't anywhere near finished...

...I'm cutting it off here and starting a brand new post lata on!

STAY TUNSIES, 'cause I'll be backkkk with all the detailed drama you're waiting on. ;) :)