Wednesday, April 29, 2009

alyssa






well today alyssa cooperated on some pictures after her bath! i have 2 great videos but for whatever reason i can't get them to upload on blogger. i double checked the MB size and they are under the max allowed so i don't know what the problem is.
any suggestions?
other than that, we are doing great! 20 days of school left! the only downside right now is i was notified by the school yesterday that there probably will NOT be 1/2 day kinder for griffin this coming school year. i am seriously bummed. they are going to decide for sure very soon but it doesn't look good at all. how disappointing.
i hope everyone is doing great!
xo
susan


Saturday, April 25, 2009

alyssa and griffin outside

griffin on his bike looking pretty cool (i think)


alyssa in her (savannah's old) barbie jeep power wheels (and sporting a new gymboree outfit too)


cuteness from head to toe


trying to buckle her seat belt!

Friday, April 24, 2009

arrrrrgh, pirates!

capt griffin wondering why the rum is gone :-)
ok, a little crossover here...pirate garb but a cowboy pistol...

alyssa blurry but cute!

arrrrgh, pirate alyssa!

"wook at me brover, i a pirate too!"
well griffin and alyssa had fun dressing up like pirates a few days ago! she even came in saying "arrrrgh, i pirate!"
all is well here. we have battled and overcome the sickies. i ended up with a nasty 24 hour tummy bug last sunday afternoon. oh my i haven't been that sick in quite awhile! but we're all doing better and *knock on wood* none of the kids have gotten the tummy bug!
the kids are all doing well, keeping busy and out of most trouble. we have 23 days of school left. i can't wait for summer break! i also can't believe alyssa will be 2 in june. where does the time go? and griffin starting kindergarten? don't get me started....
shane is doing well with his coumadin. his levels are staying steady so far so that is good! he has follow up appts this coming week with his specialists. hopefully they all have good things to say. his blood is checked on monday too...i am hoping he's in the good range again. other than that he is planning to work in the yard some. we are finishing up the backyard landscaping and putting up a big playset for the kids. it won't get a tremendous amount of use during summer but it will definately be in full "swing" for fall. we've got rock to bring in, dirt for the swingset pad and more trees to buy and plant. it's hard to landscape an acre. well, when you're doing it yourself anyway! shane's been back to work 1/2 days for 2 weeks and it's going well. i'm sure he'll be easing back in to full days this week when he's not at doctor appts. his bad leg swells up during the day so when he gets home he has to put it up for an hour or so. i guess that will go on for another 6-8 weeks.
other than that, we are just doing the same old thing and feeling blessed to be able to do the "same old thing" at the same time.
i hope everyone has a great weekend!




Wednesday, April 15, 2009

random update!

well it's been awhile!

we are still sick. cassandra is better and went back to school on monday. i kept savannah home but sent her yesterday. today she is home again with a fever and bad coughing/congestion. i guess i sent her back to school too early. we'll see. griffin is still congested but it's not slowing him down. i felt horrible yesterday but fine today (thanks, in part, to claritin D). alyssa started out with the virus, ended up with an ear infection and is also cutting her 2 year molars! good times :-)

all that said we are laying low. the weather has been strange, very very windy off and on which is hell on allergies. today we are 71 degrees but supposed to be 92 by monday. go figure. i guess we should be thankful for all the breaks but the wind is so bad you can't open windows anyway to enjoy the cooler temps because the house would be covered by a sheet of dirt inside.

shane is doing well, his blood levels were a bit high (too thin) so he's doing some adjustments and must be rechecked on friday. he's doing pretty well on his new eating habits. he even tried some fish on easter (he hates fish). i can't say he enjoyed it but he's trying.

other than that, just keeping a low profile and trying to get well. i can tell you i am so sick of TV i could puke. none of us ever watch that much tv but when the kids are sick there isn't much else to do. i can't wait to get them out to the park when everyone is well.

cassandra had to miss her county fair with the goat. she had missed the AIMS test at school and the make up tests are this week (during county fair) plus she has missed so much school i couldn't see taking her out for 3 more days for showing. i know she's disappointed but she can still show holly in the fall.

take care and be healthy!

xo
susan

Friday, April 10, 2009

Coloring Easter Eggs

Poor sick Alyssa and her colored eggs (she has croup)
this coloring thing is pretty cool!


it takes longer than i thought it would!

cassandra's working on more eggs

savannah's all done!



some of griffin's finished products!


let's work together!

would you like to see my eggs?

getting started....

busy hands!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh feel the love?
so today we dyed easter eggs. cassandra is getting over 6 days of fever and sickness. alyssa has a cold and croup. savannah and griffin were bored from being stuck home so we got our eggs done! they had a blast! even alyssa was happy for the time we were coloring the eggs!
all else is well and shane is enjoying being home!


Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Shane is home!

Shane got home today!!!

That's all I can say for now!

Susan

Monday, April 6, 2009

Shane is in the hospital

Well I don't know where to begin...
A week ago this past Sunday (so March29th) Shane was having shortness of breath, not feeling himself and some leg pain in his left calf muscle. He went to bed in the afternoon and had night sweats terribly. So Monday morning we went to the doctor. The doc said he had shortness of breath from bad air quality over the weekend and the sore calf was most likely a strained muscle. They gave us some things to look for (changes) and if that happened come in immediately

So Tuesday night Shane had a rough night. Sweats again, pain, moaning a lot. I get up Wednesday morning to his leg swollen up, red and hot to the touch. We called the doc and got in immediately. He told us he wanted an ultrasound of his leg. That was scheduled for later in the afternoon.

We went to the ultrasound and the tech did his good leg, said all looked great. Got to the other leg....silence. They told us to wait as the doc read the results, came back and told us he has blood clots in his leg. We waited for his GP to call back on what to do next. They sent us immediately to the hospital across the street where they met him in the ER with a wheelchair and he's been there ever since.

What we do know is he has dozens of little clots in his lungs. He has a bigger (maybe multiple?) clot(s) in his leg. He is on coumadin (blood thinner) to get his blood to a "theraputic level" and on shots in his stomach to help with the disolving of the other clots. The pulmonoligist said the small clots in his lungs will most likely dissolve in 2 weeks or so. The one in the leg is the troublesome one and will be closely watched too.

Shane didn't really have the typical things that cause blood clots. Those things being: recent surgery, diabetic, long distance travel via airplane. Because there was no answer why they did genetic testing. It turns out that Shane has Lupus Anti-Coagulant which means his blood coagulates in his veins. The symptoms (besides clotting) are: insomnia, sleep apnea, hair loss, digestive upset and more. All of those are Shane to a T. And yet, it was never caught until now.

So he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life. We are so lucky that it was caught early and that no clots made it to his heart which is fatal. This condition is hereditary so i have a call into our ped to find out what we do to check or monitor the kids.

So Shane will be released when his blood reaches the theraputic level, he will continue the shots until his lungs are clear. He will have CT scans of his lungs also until those clots clear. He will also have ultrasounds of his leg to monitor that progress and he will get blood draws every 2 to 3 days to monitor the level of his blood. It is a lot to take in but we are managing. I have a lot of help. My mom has watched the kids daily since Wednesday so I can visit Shane. She's cooked for us and been a shoulder too. I don't know what I would have done without her support.

Shane's dad and his wife have been up to see Shane a lot. They have offered their help as well. Shane's brother and wife have been up to visit and offer help. Some of the group that Shane works out with in the gym came to see him. Our dear friend Doug came to see him, Doug's wife Cindy checks on him as well. I know a lot of people are praying and pulling for Shane and it means a lot. I can't mention every person because there are just too many to list. Just know your thoughts and your prayers mean the world to both of us.

I'll keep you updated as I can. With 4 kids (3 of which are sick) and going back and forth to the hospital 2 times a day (most days) it's a little crazy around here.

Love,
Susan