Happy Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween!!! 

Emma decided to "edit" her costume and go for the "rabid cat" look instead of the black kitten ;) What better time to be covered in blisters than Halloween?!  We have to make the most out each situation, right?!

~I love this one~

"Let's go Daddy"

~and I love this one~

I look like I'm smuggling a watermelon ;)

~She's sneaking away with candy~

Prayer

I felt like I needed to post this since I have been running on fumes lately.

Heavenly Father,walk through my house, and take away all my worries and any illnesses, and please watch over and heal my family and friends. Bring quiet where there is chaos, bring light where there is darkness, and put love in our hearts. In JESUS' name, AMEN.

 I spent all morning with Emma at a pediatric "express" lab (that was not very "express") to have her varicella titers drawn. I then called my OB to update him on possible chicken pox exposure and  now I am needing to have my varicella titers checked as well (which I will do tomorrow on my lunch break at clinical). 

Emma woke up this morning with more sores around her mouth but the rest of her body looked about the same as yesterday. Her blisters are very red and a lot are scabbing over. The areas behind her knees bother her the most because she crawls off the table when I try to apply the Bactroban cream to those spots. It will be another day or two before we get any lab results. 

I Was Wrong!

Well assuming Emma had HFM after a diagnosed case in her class wasn't too far-fetched I don't think...but I was wrong! I managed to get the same angle picture (on my phone so sorry for clarity) from day 1 till day 3 (today) and it is crazy to see how intense this rash got!

Day 1 (Friday 100.5 fever after nap at school)

Day 2 (Saturday)

Day 3 (Sunday-100.4 fever after nap)

Day 2

Day 3

Face Day 3

So I took Emma to Goodnight Pediatrics since it is a Sunday. The Dr. walked in and said "she's the one with a rash?" and I said yes and proceeded to pull down her leggings and socks. She said "oh!". I told her I initially thought it was HFM since there was a case in her class and she shook her head "no". I proceeded to tell her her history or strep throat followed by double ear infections and recent completion of a 10 day course of Omnicef. She checked her ears and said "nope" they are still infected. I just had to laugh sarcastically--what else could this sweet little girl have to deal with?!?!

I explained to her how the rash is getting worse by the day and the blisters are rupturing. I also told her how Emma was screaming in pain last night. We had given tylenol, motrin, and benadryl just to help give some relief....which only lasted a few hours. They did a rapid strep test since unresolved strep can lead to a widespread rash--it was negative. Emma has these blisters in her throat and even has one on her ear. 

Diagnosis: Impetigo (a secondary skin infection of the rash) and possible chicken pox exposure. She had the varicella vaccine at her 12mo appt and although getting the chicken pox from the vaccine is rare...it can happen. 

Medications: Clindamycin 3 times a day x 10 days, Bactroban cream 3 times a day x 7 days, OTC tylenol, motrin, benadryl.

Plan: They swabbed an open blister and sent it for culture so we should know in about 48hrs what kind of bacteria is growing (staph vs strep). They went ahead and sent her strep swab for culture since the rapid tests aren't always accurate. Emma has lab orders for blood titers for chicken pox, which we will do tomorrow since the lab was closed on a Sunday. I did ask about my risk being pregnant and she said "if this is chicken pox it can be dangerous in the 3rd trimester."

Praying!!

Hand Foot Mouth

Yesterday Emma came home with a fever...story of our lives right now. She was 100.5 which I was thankful for after the last few fevers of 105. Her teachers said she was very fussy but ate and napped well. 

She also came home with a mohawk....

They had 1 diagnosed case of hand foot mouth (HFM) in her class a few days prior so I was immediately suspicious she had caught it. She stirred quite a bit through the night but remained fever free (much to my surprise). 

And this morning....she most definately has HFM.

Hand

Foot

Mouth (sores on bottom lip and in back of throat)

Back of legs (this is her usual spot for her eczema flare ups so I am guessing the stress of a virus has her overreacting in this area). 

She also has spots on her abdomen, arms, cheeks, etc...basically everywhere. There really is nothing we can give her since it's a virus so there is no point in going to the pediatrician right now. She's very slow with the fluids but this child will not pass up food! Mouth pain is the most common complaint of HFM and most kids refuse to eat...but NOT Emma ;)

31 Weeks & Scarlett's Nursery!

Only 9 more weeks (or less most likely) until Scarlett's arrival!! 

I had a routine check up with my OB yesterday morning and everything is on track. My fundal height is perfect and fetal heart rate was145. I go back every 2 weeks from now on.

Yesterday afternoon I started contracting...A LOT (every few minutes for several hours and they were very uncomfortable). I started drinking ice water immediately and hurried and finished some schoolwork and the dishes in case we had to go in to get them to stop. It ended up taking 3 huge glasses of ice water to slow them down enough for me to go to sleep around midnight. Sleep did the trick because they have no stopped thank goodness!!

31 weeks

On a better note, I am in LOVE with this lamp I found for Scarlett's nursery!! It's the perfect color ivory and vintage looking. You can't tell in these pictures but the porcelain base is actually crackled. 

I also found this red vintage bird mirror but I'm not completely sure it fits with the room. I might try and add some ivory paint to it (not sure yet). 

I'm struggling with the curtains. We are now on our 2nd set of curtains and I just can't seem to get the look I want. Not sure what the plan is just yet...ha! I've also been on the lookout for a french arm chair or some sort of small vintage ivory chair that I can possibly reupholster with matching fabric. It's coming along though....

1st Sewing Project

I finally sat down to take a picture of my very 1st sewing project: 

Spider Trick-or-Treat Bags for the girls

Reese keeps saying "that's mine?!" and of course picked the one with the purple eyes :)

My cousin like them so much she asked me to make 2 more for her (which she has already received and loves)!

I am having so much fun with my new sewing machine. The hardest part was just learning how to get everything ready: wind the bobbin, thread the needle, etc. I have to admit I was kind of scared my fingers would get caught in the needle but now I am much more comfortable with the machine ;)

I have several more projects in line to do, so stay tuned....

30 Weeks!!

Only 10 weeks to go! I can't believe the final stretch of the pregnancy is here already. I am really starting to feel like I can't possibly get any bigger. Even my maternity shirts are struggling to cover the bottom of my belly already...what am I going to look like in 10 weeks?!?! I have been doing a walk around the neighborhood almost daily now to try and maintain the weight gain. Scarlett already looks lower to me than my previous pictures. 

30 weeks with Scarlett 

(I hung curtains behind our tub this week)

30 weeks with Emma

30 Weeks with Reese

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We took advantage of this wonderful weather and took the girls to a pumpkin patch :) They had a lot of fun picking out the perfect ones!!

~hugs~

Reese saw a bug!

Emma was THRILLED over the hay!

Reese counting money before paying

It's amazing how much changes in a year (pics from 2010):