Epi pens and Bee Stings

If someone told me years ago that I would have a child who needed an epi-pen, I would have been surprised. Now, if they had told me that I was going to have two children who would need these things, that would have been even more shocking.

Lily needs hers because of her peanut allergy. She gets peanuts on accident and it's massive, migrating hives for 72+ hours. Which is why is has only occurred once, by accident, and we keep vigilant about watching what she eats.

Hattie on the other hand...turns out her body doesn't like bee stings so much. Which is really of no major surprise since I don't do well with them either.

Rewind to August 27, 2015.

Let's set up the back story: I had taken Ben to BMX and left Jason at home with all the girls. It was a lovely summer evening and Ben had biked well. I had gotten a nice break just sitting in the stands cheering him on.

Upon returning home, I hear Jason say: Hattie, go show mommy your lip.

Oh great. What happened? I'm bracing for a scraped lip or please don't let it be another chipped tooth. (Another story all on it's own, but a quick recap: I went to Vegas for a long weekend with a friend. Upon returning I find that Hattie has a chipped front tooth. Apparently, Ben was helping her brush her teeth and lifted her up to spit into the sink. She slipped out of his arms and hit her front tooth on the sink base and the rest is history.)

I scooped up my baby girl and was met with a very swollen top lip. She had gotten stung by a wasp while I was gone. I was alarmed to say the least. This lip was huge and I really wasn't very comfortable going into the night hours with a reaction like this. Jason assured me that it was actually looking better. It wasn't nearly as red as it had been at the beginning. (Somehow, this was doing very little to alleviate the stress that was building in my gut.) I went to bed that night with Hattie by my side. There was no way I was going to leave her in her own room with this level of a reaction going on. I barely slept that night, watching the rise and fall of her chest and listening to her breathing.

I woke up to this the next morning:

Her lip was enormous and I was freaking out.

Notice how insanely large her top lip is compared to her bottom lip?!?

I immediately got out the benedryl and administered her some. We waited and after and hour plus it hadn't reduced the swelling at all. Not. At. All.

I quickly dialed the pediatrician only to find out that she was booked solid for the day. I politely mentioned that this was sort of urgent and that I was worried about a potential anaphylactic type of reaction to a bee sting. They got me in right away.

When Dr. Spandl came into the room, she was taken aback at how large her lip had become. I told her I was pretty sure I wasn't dreaming, that it had actually become even more swollen since I had called in.

Dr. Spandl looked everything over, including listening really well to Hattie's breathing. Hattie's lip was starting to split on the inside from all the pressure and swelling. Since it had only been about 18 hours since the actual sting and the swelling usually peaks around 48 hours, it was obvious that intervention was needed and that Hattie's lip couldn't handle any more swelling.

The Pediatric Allergist was called and instructions given that Hattie needed steroids, and she needed them quickly. We got a prescription called in and were told to head directly across the street to get them. Dr. Spandl gave me strict instructions not to even leave the pharmacy parking lot without giving her the steroids first. We ended up having to give her 3 days of steroids along with benedryl round the clock for that same time period.

We now have an epi-pen for Hattie and bees have taken on a new meaning in our family. This fall has been more stressful with the crazy amount of hornets and wasps flying around. The pediatric allergist concluded that since this was Hattie's first sting of her life and that she reacted so, so poorly that the next one could very easily end up putting us in an anaphylactic situation.

Sweet Memories

I have such a pathetic memory, so this blog is sort of my gateway to the past...and so I write.

*****

Hattie and I were snuggling at bedtime last night, like we always do. This girl is 2 1/2 years old and I still lay with her while she falls asleep each night. I know, I know...she's old enough to fall asleep on her own. And there are days that I really feel like that. Then there are those nights where we snuggle. She nuzzles her neck into mine and curls her legs up in a ball burrowing herself into me as close as she can get. She loves close contact and somehow, when she's that close to her mama, all is right in her little world. It's a quite the feeling to know you hold so much for one little person. That your simple presence holds so much.

Some nights we lay and talk. She tells stories from her day and I quietly listen. I breathe in the sweet smell of her hair. I stroke her face gently. Knowing that all too soon she won't need me in this same way. That all too soon I will hear the words "I can do it by myself, mom." And I will no longer be needed in that capacity for her. I sigh and try to take her in, I try to cement the memories so they won't be forgotten.

Last night was one of those nights. One of those "I don't ever want to forget this night" kind of night.

As we were snuggling and talking about our day, Hattie turned her face towards mine. I could feel her little breath on my cheek as she spoke.

"Mama, I like you..."

"I like you too, Hattie."

"I like your voice"

"I like your voice too, honey"

She then gave me one of her sweet little butterfly kisses on my cheek and hugged me tight.

And that, folks, is when you know you are truly loved by such a little creature.

Kid Funnies

There is never a shortage of funny quotes from the peanut gallery around here....

*****

 

Hattie: Does Lily only get medicine?

 

Mom: Yes, Lily is the only one sick, so she's the only one who gets medicine. She has an infection.

 

Hattie: I want a inflection! (infection)

 

*****

 

Dad: What time was mom born? (meaning what time of day)

 

Lily: A LONG time ago! That's true, right?!?

 

*****

 

I was quizzing Cora on her Spanish colors and she answered so many of them correct.

 

Mom: How do you say blue in Spanish?

 

Cora: Azul

 

Mom: How do you say red in Spanish?

 

Cora: rojo

 

Mom: How do you say yellow in Spanish?

 

Cora sat there deep in thought, trying to remember, she spoke up finally and said: awkward?

(it's amarillo, but close honey)

 

*****

 

Lily: (pointed to her foot and asked): Are these knuckle buns?

 

Mom: No, they are your ankle bones. :)

 

*****

 



"Show Me The Love, Mama"

That's literally what she said: "Show me the love, mama."

This girl is so full of spunk. Cora comes up with the funniest things to say. I just love her and can't get enough of her. She has such an infectious personality and a smile that absolutely melts this mama's heart.

Her giggle is contagious and I can't help but laugh along with her. She can take my bad mood and make it disappear in mere seconds when I hear her belly laugh. Cora is endearing and tenderhearted. I love the way she can be so gentle and soft. Her sweet spirit draws me to her. I connect with her, I enjoy her, I love her deeply.

I can't wait to see how God uses her. I just know she is going to do big things in this life. I am so incredibly grateful to God for brining her into my life and allowing me to be her mother.

Cora has taken to saying "I love you more than you love me, mama!" (which by the way can't possibly be true!) She has opened up her heart to me in such a profound way, letting me see her at her most vulnerable. This girl just amazes me and I am in awe of her.

I love you, Cora Jihee.

Suds

Do you ever have one of those days when you just can't win?

No? Well, then we live on totally different planets. Cause my day included this:

"Error: Too many suds" ...thanks Mr. Washer for that message. I couldn't have problem shot this one on my own. I'm sure I would have been sitting in front of the machine for hours scratching my head trying to pin-point the issue.

Sigh...after buckets full of suds being removed and washed down the sink, my machine seems to be happy again.

Seriously! Who put so much soap in the machine?!? Children? Who?

*crickets*

Oh, it was me. Sheesh.

Blueberry Smoothie Anyone?

Ever wonder what blueberry smoothie would look like on your wall?

No? Yeah, me neither.

But that doesn't matter when your two year old accidentally knocks the glass off the table, and with bated breath, you see it fall through the air in slow motion, hitting the floor...watching the drops take flight and hit with a loud splat.

And just in case you think that if you wash it off fast enough, it might not stain, let me assure you that that's not how life works. Just trust me on this one.

Japanese Lantern Festival

Since Lily, Ben, and Ella are off on the Grand Adventure 2015 with Grammie and Papa, we decided we needed a little fun in our lives too. So we loaded up Hattie and Cora and drove down to St. Paul. Como Park...specifically the Conservatory.

I had heard of this festival and thought it might be interesting to go check out. Demonstrations, booths with japanese wares to buy, and japanese food to try. They light 300 lanterns at dusk and float them in the pond. What could be more beautiful, serene, and peaceful?

Beautiful. Serene. Peaceful.

Those were 3 things that were not exactly part of the evening.

We arrived at Como Park to find that there wasn't a parking spot to be had in what seemed like a 5 mile radius of the festival. Apparently, I had not done my due diligence and done some homework. There were shuttle busses everywhere and the place was crawling with people. After some very slow moving traffic, we settled on parking around the lake and walking. The gps said it was a 17 minute walk just to get there.

We hoofed it with Hattie in the stroller and Cora piggybacking on Jason. We had to do a little off-roading so poor Hattie probably felt like a can of paint in the paint mixer machine at Menards by the time we got there. Much to our surprise, there were about 30,000 more people there than we anticipated. And clearly, we weren't the only ones. Even the organizers hadn't anticipated such a crowd. They had 1 line for cash and 1 line for credit. When I tell you that these lines wound around every sidewalk, tree, and building around this place...uff-da. It was just ridiculous. We really should have cut our losses at that point, but we had driven all the way there so we thought we should at least try and get it.

Once in, our first order of business was to find some food!! We were all starving and Japanese food sounded pretty tasty! We wound our way around the crowds and throngs of people and had to cut through this huge line that people were in waiting for ice cream. Ice cream?! Yeah, ice cream. Why is that so crazy, you ask? Because the weather was cold. Unseasonably cold for August. I was dressed in 3 layers and jeans, Hattie had a long sleeve shirt and two sweatshirts on, Cora the same. And Jason...well, he was in shorts...cause that's what he wears year round. Anyway...it was windy and cold...and here stood over 200 people in line for ice cream. Crazy.

As we rounded the bend to the row of food tents, it suddenly became very clear why everyone was waiting for ice cream. There were only two tents that hadn't sold out of food yet. One was mini donuts and brats/cheeseburgers. Whaaaaaat? Sigh.

To top that, the brats/cheeseburgers were closed for 30 minutes while they prepped more food. You see, that wasn't their original menu. They had *ahem* SOLD OUT of everything already and had someone make a run to get more food. What they got? Brats and cheeseburgers with waffle fries. Jason and Cora promptly got in line knowing that was our only food option. $33 later and freezing, we sat down to eat on the grass. Our sad "Japanese meal" consisted of overpriced cheeseburgers, coke, and fries. Not exactly what we had hoped for.

After our meal was finished, we thought we better take the girls to the bathroom before we searched out a spot around the pond to watch the lanterns. Upon investigation of said porta-pottys, we noticed a rather long line winding up the hill and around and around and around and...you get the picture. No lie, it was the line to use the "facilities". All 6 of the porta-pottys. 6 of them. For 30,000+ people. I was ready to scream.

We decided we were just going to have to chance it, because there was no way Hattie was going to wait in that long of a line and not pee herself even if we stayed there. We regrouped and walked towards the pond where the lantern lighting would be taking place. To say there wasn't a spot on the grass is an understatement. There wouldn't have been a spot for a bird....even a really tiny bird. We stood. On the path. For 55 minutes. All while listening to Cora say over and over:

I'm so bored.

I'm so sick of standing here.

When can we go home?

This is so boring, Mom. Isn't there something else we can do?!?

I don't like this.

This is no fun.

I'm hungry again.

 

and then..from Hattie:

I have to go potty.

 

 

Shoot me. Just shoot me.

 

Jason scooped up Hattie and left the festival all together in search of a toilet. I didn't see him for the next 30 minutes.

 

The time finally arrived for the lighting of the lanterns. Each one was very slowly (*very* slowly) placed on top of the water. And after about 15 minutes, we sighed, admitted defeat, and started our walk back to the van.

 

I got up this morning, Cora came downstairs and said:

 

Mom...I had soooo much fun at the lantern festival yesterday!

 

WHAAAAAATTTTT????