We're Still Here..

I know some of you may have been wondering if we were still here... My apologies for being MIA lately. We've had a lot going on!! :-) We'll start with the bummer news and move to the happier news...

~*~*~Illness~*~*~

This winter has not been kind to my sweet little girls. About 3 or 4 weeks ago, Maddy and Amelia were coughing with runny noses and just overall feeling under the weather, so I tried to take them to the doctor. The doctor on base was all booked up (it was a Friday), so they gave us a referral to go off base to a different pediatrician in town. I took the girls, and we saw a Physician's Assistant. She told me that Maddy had Bronchialitis and Amelia was okay. She put Maddy on a nebulizer with Albuterol. This was the weekend that Bryan had to go out of town with work. Oh boy!!! Maddy did so much better than I expected with the breathing treatments, but the side effects from the Albuterol were TERRIBLE!!! Maddy was not my sweet little girl. By Sunday night I had had enough and I stopped the breathing treatments. She no longer sounded like she was wheezing (which I had heard before the PA told me that she was), and on Monday I called our regular doctor. We saw the family practitioner on base and he advised that she no longer needed the breathing treatments, and she was good to go!! He also shared that there is a different medication that can be inhaled through the nebulizer that doesn't have the awful side effects, so next time we should ask for that one!!

Fast forward to last weekend... On Thursday afternoon Maddy was playing on the floor with Amelia and out of no where started vomiting. We trudged through and after less than 24 hours, she had no appetite, but the vomiting had stopped. Sunday morning, we decided that she really hadn't eaten anything since lunch on Thursday, so she needed some calories. We gave her some Gatorade and no sooner did she swallow, she was asking for her bucket back. This momma had had enough!! We took a little trip to the ER where we were given antibiotics (to take 3-5 days at our discretion???), Zofran (for nausea) and one other medicine for stomach cramping (which I repeatedly told them she was not suffering from). We gave her one dose of the Zofran and did the antibiotic for 3 days. She immediately started keeping popsicles down and perked up pretty quickly there after.

Wednesday of this past week, the girls both started coughing again and had runny noses. Given that we had been down this road just weeks earlier, I called the doctor's office first thing Thursday morning, and was told they had no appointments (I was the 2nd person to call that morning), but they had one appointment left for Friday. I took the appointment for Amelia and we pushed through one more night. Friday morning, I loaded everyone in the stroller and we walked to the clinic. While the doctor was checking out Amelia, I asked her to listen to Maddy as she woke up that morning sounding wheezy to me. She hesitantly listened to Maddy as this was an appointment for Amelia, not Maddy. Upon listening to her, she realized that I was right... She was wheezing. I gave her the short version of what had been going on and she immediately ordered a chest x-ray!! What?!?! Yes, a chest x-ray to make sure Maddy didn't have pneumonia. When we got to radiology, they asked if Maddy would be okay going back alone. I gave them an "are you crazy" look, and they told me that Amelia was too young to go back. They matter of factly told me that my choices were to send Maddy back alone or leave Amelia in the stroller in the hall alone. Really?!?! You're making me make this choice?!?! I sent Bryan a quick text message, he talked with his instructors and was there before they called Maddy back!!! My knight in shining flight suit came to my rescue!! Once everything was said and done, the doctor diagnosed Amelia with RSV (a respiratory virus) and Maddy with Bronchialitis (again). Maddy was once again put on the nebulizer (we're getting our money's worth out of it). She suggested the Albuterol and I told her that wasn't an option and I wanted the Xopenex. After explaining what happened before, she agreed. She also put Maddy on a Predni-boost steroid. Steroids are no fun as they cause MAJOR mood swings, but this should hopefully knock everything out once and for all!!! As for Amelia, we tried a breathing treatment at the doctor's office, and her oxygen levels remained the same, so it seemed to do nothing for her. The treatment for Amelia is simply time because she is so young.

I am pleased to report that both girls are doing MUCH better!!! Both are still coughing and have a little runny nose, but things are definitely on the upswing!!! Here's a photo from my phone of Maddy being a trooper with her breathing treatment!!




~*~*~NEW STROLLER~*~*~

Bryan and I have been trying to find more things to do as a family on the weekends. Since our time together is so limited, we want to make the best of what we DO have. Bryan enjoys running and since this last little bit of baby weight (some from Maddy, some from Amelia) isn't going away, I thought I'd give it a go. I have been very careful not to overdo it because the last thing I need is to blow out my knee... For a 3rd time!!! So far, so good!! We only had a single jogging stroller before, so there was no way that we could all go jogging at once. When we filed our taxes and saw that we were getting a refund, we decided to purchase a double jogger. The girls LOVE it!! Maddy asks to ride in it whenever we go ANYWHERE!! I have run a couple of times with it, and I, too, love it!! We went for our first family run yesterday, and while Bryan had to go a little slower than he's accustomed to, I think this might just work out for us!! Here's a photo of our happy girls hanging out in their new stroller!!



~*~*~Jesse Hair~*~*~

Yesterday morning I knew that we were planning on our family run, so I didn't want to take a shower until after that, and my hair was a MESS from sleeping on it, so I had to do SOMETHING!! I decided to braid it (the high was 92 yesterday). When I came out of the bathroom, I asked Maddy if she wanted her hair braided too and showed her mine. She took one look at it, and said she wanted "Jesse Hair". It took me a minute, but I realized that the only person she's probably seen with a braid is Jesse from Toy Story!!! LoL. You never know what will come out of that kid's mouth!!!! :-)


~*~*~Track Select~*~*~

Bryan is almost finished with his T-6 training!!! We couldn't be more excited!! That marks the approximate halfway point of training!! Woo Hoo!!! On April 1 we will find out which plane he'll be going to next. There are 3 options... T-38's which are the track that you go if you are interested in flying fighters... T-1's which are the track that you go if you are interested in flying "heavy's" (pretty much anything other than fighters and bombers)... Or T-44's which are the track if you are certain you want to fly something in the C-130 family. Laughlin AFB (which is where we currently are) has T-38's and T-1's. The T-44's are at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, TX. If we go T-44's, we'll be moving... The move could be as early as 6 weeks from now!! YIKES!! Bryan will get to fill out a "dream sheet" to tell his instructors what his preferential order is for these planes. We have talked at great length about what he wants (and a little bit about what I want), so we'll see what the final verdict is when he fills out his dream sheet... shortly followed by what the Air Force thinks is the best for us!! Keep us in your prayers that the best option presents itself!! I am sure it will, but I'm getting anxious!!

I guess that's about it for now!! Sorry for the lengthy blog, but it's been 2 weeks!!!! I hope that some of you will blog soon!! I miss hearing from you all!!!

Love you guys!! :-)