Pictures of the place.

I thought that I would show you around our new place. This is were we will be living until we find a house that we want to buy. We could be here for another month or another six months, who knows.

Our living room/Caroline's bedroom.


Our bedroom.

The dining room with all of Will's feeding gear.

I am standing at the couch looking over at the office/play area/Will's bed/Will's TV watching area.

Another view of the play area/Will's bedroom.

I am standing in our bedroom and took this picture of the kitchen.

The other side of the kitchen.


The devil.

Notice that the devil is missing the knobs, that is because Will can reach them and turn it on!!

My only saving grace.

That is it, home sweet home!

Pros and Cons of Hotel Living

Pro:
Housekeeping comes everyday and makes the bed, cleans the bathroom, loads the dishwasher (and starts it) and vacuums. It's marvelous!!

Con:
Though the housekeeper comes daily, the quality of cleaning is lacking.

Pro:
My only house "duty" is picking up and doing the laundry.

Con:
The washer and dryer costs money!! And I am cheap!! It costs a dollar to wash and a dollar to dry, but most loads need another dollar to get the clothes dry.

Pro:
The dog was able to come with us to the hotel.

Con:
I have to take the dog out to do his "business". The dog insists on peeing on every blade of grass outside, it takes awhile! And during the day, I have to take the kids with me, not fun when it is raining outside!!!

Pro:
Most of our stuff is in storage so there is not a lot that I have to pick up.

Con:
Most of our stuff is in storage. If I want something that is in storage...too bad, there is no way to get it. The storage unit is packed full and there is no way to get at anything.

Pro:
The hotel has a pool.

Con:
It is an outdoor pool and will not be open for another month or so.

Pro:
The hotel room has a kitchen so I am able to cook meals and limit our eating out.

Con:
The stove is the devil. It is a little bitty electric stove, only two of the four burners work and I have burnt everything that I have tried to make on it.

Pro:
There is one bedroom with a door, so if I need to take a break from the kids, I can go into the bedroom and shut the door for a minute.

Con:
The door has a lever door knob that are low enough for Will to reach. My break never lasts more than about 30 seconds until he comes and finds me.

All in all our time here at the hotel is going well. It is close quarters but we are managing. I will have to take pictures of our digs and post them for all to see.

Earrings and Hello Kitty

Caroline has been asking to get her ears pierced for a few weeks now. The first time that she asked I told her that we should talk about it in a week and see if she still wants to do it. I was very up front with her and told her that it was going to hurt. The pain would go away fast but it would hurt. I also told her that if she got one ear pierced she had to get the other one done too. She said that she still wanted to do it and that she was going to be brave and get her ears pierced.

So we picked out the earrings and she waited bravely in the chair for the lady to get ready.


One last picture of her naked earlobe...


Aunt Teresa was there to hold her hand...


The lady was ready to go...

And she got her ear pierced...

At this point she refused to get the other ear pierced. She was screaming, yelling, kicking and almost hyperventilating. Her exact words, "we need to go and get out of here Mom!" My heart was breaking for her but I reminded her that she was the one that wanted them done and that the deal was that she had to do both ears. I knew that it wasn't going to go well when she screamed in the young woman's face that was piercing her ears. So my Sister in law, Andrea and I tried holding her down, it was NOT happening. So we had to pull out the BIG guns, HELLO KITTY. There was a Hello Kitty store right next door, so Teresa ran over and got this Hello Kitty stuffed animal that Caroline was eyeing when we were over there. Once Caroline laid eyes on the Hello Kitty doll, she sat still and had the other ear pierced.

Here she is, showing off her new lobes! ...plus a tear or two.

This happened yesterday, today she says that she is very happy that she got them done and that they don't hurt or anything!

Settling In

Cow is settling into hotel life too...

A little Snuggle...

My two angels watching television...

Random Acts of Cuteness!

I have finally had a chance to download pictures from Easter, you know, with the lack of housework that I have to do these days (insert wickedly evil laugh here). I found these pictures of William and oh my goodness, I love this little guy. I mean, just look at all of this cuteness...

Need I say more?

All moved!

Well, we are moved. What a long weekend. All of our belongings are in storage (which from what I hear is full to the brim and NOTHING else is fitting in there) and we are all moved in to the Townplace Suites.

Caroline is adjusting very well. She is excited about looking for a new house and about staying at the hotel. She can't wait until it gets warm outside because there is a pool.

Will is doing just fine too. Nothing has seemed to bother him.

3 days left...

We are moving this weekend. I am three days away from moving. I am not prepared for moving. I still have lots to do. But I am going to try to download the pictures that I took at Easter tonight and let ya'll see them! I have lots of packing to do before then, but "I'll be Back"...(in my best Arnold voice!!)

Feeding Update

Will just took his first tube feed since March 30th without vomiting!! He took the entire feed (5 ounces of Pediasure, applesauce and rice cereal) without getting sick. I think that we are through this cycle!! Yippie!

Home Sweet Home

Will was released from the hospital yesterday evening. We weren't sure if he was going to be able to go home but the doctor seemed to think it was okay. The nurse told us that she thought it would be okay for him to have a tube feeding of his pediasure before we left the hospital. He had been drinking his pediasure by mouth all day and was doing fine with it so she thought that tube feeding him wouldn't be a problem. Wrong. He vomited Every. Last. Bit. Of. It. The doctor came back in and said that the medication for the CVS (cyclic vomiting syndrome) only works to prevent future cycles but does nothing for the present vomiting, he would have to cycle out of it himself. So she went ahead and sent us home because he was managing his oral feeds well.

We are home, happy to be home and all slept well last night.

We are going to give Will days of just pedilyte tube feeds and pediasure orally to let his belly take a rest. Hopefully after that time he will have cycled out and we can add in the pediasure tube feeds back in.

As hard as it was to hear another syndrome diagnoses, it completely makes since. If he goes vomit free for three or four months after being on his new medication, then we know that it is CVS.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. It was comforting to know that so many people were praying for him.

Update

Josh called at 8:30am to tell me what Dr. Brady said...

• He looked much better this morning.

• She believes that he has Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome which would explain a lot of Will's vomiting issues. Basically, Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a condition characterized by recurrent, stereotypical bouts of intense vomiting interspersed with periods of completely normal health. CVS usually occurs in children 5 years old and older. Dr. Brady has only diagnosed two other children Will's age with it. She started him on medication to help with it. He will be on the medication for 6 months and then they will start to decrease his dosage until he no longer needs it. CVS is something that children grow out of, he will not need the medicine forever.

• Caroline didn't go to school today. She woke up at 6:30am and threw up. I don't know if it is a nervous stomach, being very hungry or a bad turkey sandwich from yesterday. She is not running a fever and seems perfectly fine right now. She is missing her Easter party at school today and is not very happy about it. I am going to stop by the school and pick up her goodie bag for her, she was happy about that. All I can say is: Enough with the vomit ALREADY!!!!

• Dr. Brady seemed to think that Will would be able to come home some time today. They have already given him his sippy cup with his pediasure. All day yesterday he would say "ma" which is his "milk". He was asking for his milk, broke my heart! Especially since he seems to understand that if he says the word then he most definitely gets what he is asking for. He just kept asking me for his "ma" and I had to tell him no. I even caught him digging through his backpack looking for his cup. :-/ Poor guy. I am sure that he is a happy camper now!!

a quick update

Will has his IV, he is getting pepcid and carafate for his reflux and was sleeping as of 8pm tonight. Josh came home from his business trip to San Diego and made it to the hospital at about 7pm. Since he had his suitcase with a toothbrush and pjs he stayed with Will tonight and Caroline and I came home. I will be taking Caroline to school and after I pick her up from school and head to the hospital to check on my boys.

Will has been going through this cycle of being well for a month, two months then all of a sudden vomiting everything for days. This last occurred in December, but has really been occurring since the beginning. The vomiting started this time on Saturday night, during the night he threw up in his bed. Then woke up twice Sunday night after vomitting. Monday he threw up all three of his tube feedings but was keeping down what he drank by mouth but didn't drink that much. On Tuesday he threw up once in the car, all liquids that he took by mouth and all tube feedings. On Wednesday he threw up twice in the car (once taking Caroline to school and once picking her up) before going to our noon appointment with GI. He has lost over a pound and was becoming dehydrated. They did blood work and a urine culture to check for anything abnormal.

Today when the doctor told me that she wanted to keep him, I cried. I cried and told her that I am soooo done with vomit, I just want it to stop (as I am sure that Will does too). Hopefully, there will be some answers in the morning.

The doctor said today that she would be in to see him before 8am so Josh should know something in the morning.

In the hospital

This is Jessica Myssie's friend, mom to Alex 18 months (RTS).
She asked me to update her blog and let you all know that Will was admitted to the hospital this afternoon at St.Johns. He has been throwing everything up, including water, and has lost over a pound in 2 weeks. He will be getting iv fluids, and tomorrow they will try feeding him. Once they are convinced he can keep things down he can go home. Myssie and the doctors think this is a GI issue, and not the tummy flu, so it could be more complicated to fix.
Keep Will and Myssie in your prayers, being int he hospital is hard, especially at night.

Not so wordless

Sorry, I have no wordless Wednesday today! But I feel that I have lots to tell you...

• We sold our house!! We close on the 22nd of April, only a few short weeks away. Josh and I were not prepared at all, we had no place lined up to move to. We have since found a place in St. Peters to rent but there is a kicker. The house isn't going to be ready until June 1st, 6 long weeks after our closing date. We have decided to stay at an Extended Stay America (sort of a long stay hotel) until the house is available. It sounds crazy, and it probably is but Josh, the kids, Buster and I will be living it up at the hotel for 6 weeks. The good thing is, if we get there and decide that we can't handle the close quarters, Josh's brother and his wife have so nicely offered to put us up for as long as we need.

• Why are we doing this and not just finding another house to rent? Because we only want to sign a 6 month lease, so that if a house comes on the market that we love, we can jump on it and not worry about being stuck in a year long lease. The folks renting the house in St Peters to us have been very nice in helping us out and working with us to only have to sign a 6 month lease.

• I have started packing, what a nightmare!! I hate packing! I have too much junk...any body want to buy some junk...I got some for sale!!!

• Will has been refluxing majorly bad the past few days. So with major reflux, we get major vomit. He hasn't been able to eat anything for 2 days, I have been giving him water and pedilyte, which he is tolerating alright. We have an appointment with GI today. I am worried that all of this bad refluxing lately could cause damage. We don't want that. I have been giving him his reflux medicine, but he has been throwing it up too. I know that he doesn't have the flu, he has no flu symptoms and acts perfectly fine when not refluxing. My mom asked me a question the other day when I told her about this, she asked how do I know if he is refluxing. I know because I can see him. He will hiccup and then swallow really hard. Most of the time when he gets the hiccups I take him to the sink because I know that the vomit is soon to follow. I hope that the doctor has some answers today.

• Caroline is excited about moving to a new house. We haven't told her yet that her friends aren't moving with us. I am sure that she will be fine, but I am sure that she will be sad. We haven't decided what we are going to do regarding Caroline attending preschool until the end of the school year. We close on the house on the 22nd of April, the last day of school in the 21st of May. She only goes three days a week so I am not sure if I will drive her back and forth to school for that time or not. They have grandparents day and graduation within that month, both of which Caroline is really looking forward to. We are still talking about it all, haven't yet decided.

• The other day Will waved and said bye, bye at the same time!! That was the first time he had ever said and word and signed it at the same time. I think that this was a huge milestone!!

We have been super busy and things are only going to get busier. I will be happy when we are all settled into our new home in St. Peters!!