October 28, 2010

Thursday started out as any other day around here. Piper had a little dress up activity for school which made us run a little late in the morning. Then Violet had a pj party at her preschool so we got ready for that as well. Like I said, normal. After Ruby and I got home from dropoff I noticed that she seemed a little tired but we still played for a bit and then I decided to lay down and nurse her so that she could rest before we had to pick up Violet at noon. She felt a little warm but it is still mid 80's here and I am hot as heck myself so I blew it off. Before we left to pick up Violet she seemed much warmer so I decided to take her temp just to see what it was and it came back 101.2 so I gave her some Tylenol and we left. Before we got to the main road I heard her scream but it wasn't a normal Ruby scream it was weird. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw her staring up at the ceiling. I called to her but she didn't respond so I immediately pulled over. She wasn't responding to me at all and then she started to have a seizure. Her little eyes rolled back in her head and she was shaking. There was nothing I could do for her. The next few minutes will forever be tattooed on my brain. I got my phone and dialed 911. It felt like an eternity for the ambulance to get to us but it was only around 6 minutes. Damn Brawley traffic. I was trying to talk to her, the 911 operator, and then just plain crying my eyes out. I left panicked voicemails to Matt and my friend Rachael. No one was answering so in addition to what was going on I was worried who would get Violet? Who would be there for Piper to get off the bus? The EMS got Ruby and I into the ambulance put an IV with fluids in her and we were off. While in the ambulance both Matt and Rachael called back. Thank goodness for Matt being off this weekend so he was able to come up from work and be with us. We got to the hospital and Ruby was just clinging to me. Matt arrived almost the same time with Violet - think he drove a little fast? It appeared that what Ruby had was called a Febrile Seizure which is a seizure brought on by your temperature rising very quickly. Then they started talking CT scan and blood work. The worry that you feel when they talk about the alternative possibilities is overwhelming. The CT came back fine but her blood work revealed a high white cell count so we had to also get a chest x-ray and she had to have a catheter to get a urine sample. My poor baby had a seizure, was poked, prodded, x-rayed, and now the uncomfortable catheter inserted all in one day. Bless her heart she was so good the entire time we were at the hospital. I am so thankful to still be nursing b/c I don't think that I could have comforted her w/o it. She nursed for probably 3 hours while we were there. Yes, much of that time I was her pacifier but I will gladly be that for her if it makes her feel safe in a very strange situation. Finally 4 hours later everything came back ok and we were free to go. She will see her regular doctor today (Friday). I can't stop crying over it. Everytime I think of my baby having that seizure I burst into tears. We are so lucky that it wasn't as serious as it could have been and hopefully this will be an isolated incident.

I want to say I will eternally be grateful to Rachael for checking her voicemail before heading in to volunteer with her daughter's kindergarten class. Taking our older girls made our day that much easier. I know that the EMS won't read my blog (lol) but his name was Dan and he was fabulous! Took excellent care of my babe and calmed me as well. I don't know that emergency nurse's name at the hospital but she was fabulous! She was caring and sweet with our baby even though she had to do uncomfortable things to her. There were many nurses that heard a baby was in the ER and popped their heads into our room, it was nice they all seemed to care about her. Our hospital gets a bad rap sometimes but they came through for our family yesterday.

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Team Up Thursday - Calm

Ahhh, the calm. Right! My life is anything but! That is ok b/c I am used to it and wouldn't have it any other way :) Angie's cat knows calm. Most cats do. Pets have it rough lol :) We had tornado watches/warnings the past 2 days and it has rained every day this week too - calm? I went to an archive from our beach trip this year since I haven't posted any of those pictures yet. I love pelicans and the ocean and to me there is no better place to calm you.

More Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

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WW - Premonition

One little

Two little

Three little witches

Won't clean up their room
Won't pick up their britches.

"When you're done with a toy
put it back where it goes"
"A pile in the corner
is not the place for your clothes!"

"What can I do
to make them help out?"
"I am tired of asking
and don't want to shout."

"No Halloween this year!"
the mama witch said,
"Now put on your pj's
and get into bed!"



LOL - think I'll do it? Ok, I am a softy when it comes to my little witches :)

More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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Lunch With My Kindebeaner

Today Ruby and I went to Piper's school and had lunch with her. She reminded me like 10 times that lunch was at 11:00. "We eat at 11 mama, don't be late ok?" Does she know me or what? Ruby and I arrived 10 minutes EARLY b/c I was so afraid of getting caught in traffic and being late lol :) The look on her face when she saw us almost made me burst into tears of joy. That excited little look she has. Lunch was fun. She laughed a lot and helped Ruby eat her sandwich like the little mama she is. It was a good 1/2 hour. Now, she won't want to be caught dead having lunch with me at school in 10 years so I will hold this memory close to my heart and treasure it forever. Tomorrow I will be chopped liver though b/c Daddy is going in to carve pumpkins with her class.

The Paper Mama has a b/w challenge this week and I thought I would participate. I love how clear and light Piper's eyes look even in b/w, it is like looking at my Great Grandpa.

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Spooky Girls

A few weeks ago the mama group that I belong to had it's annual Trunk or Treat. It is so much fun! Our family has gone all 4 years that they have had it. Here we are this year. Piper's costume cracks me up! I got it last year at Target during their 90% off Halloween clearance. It is some sort of skeleton bat girl and she LOVES it! Violet of course is a purple witch which I also scored the same day. My costume as well as Ruby's are old, old, old!

Ruby and I won the Mommy and Me costume contest. It is b/c I have some really loud friends that cheered for us - ♥ them!

Here is the one dressed up as a bean who was camera shy. We will welcome this little one the end of May. Our family is so blessed and excited!

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Pear Tree Christmas Card Review & Notecard Giveaway

I love Christmas cards and seeing what everyone sends out. I like saving the cards and each year pulling them out to see how much everyone has changed. Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing Christmas cards from Pear Tree Greetings. If you have not heard of this company you NEED to check out their site!

The first thing that went through my mind when I held one of the Photo Christmas Cards was how thick and nice it was. Each card is made from heavy 100 lb Matte Card Stock, which is also 100% post-consumer recycled! The picture on the card was beautiful and the coloring on the card perfection.

There are so many designs to choose from that you won't worry about having the same card as everyone else!



I like my Christmas card to stand out. With the selection from Pear Tree Greetings yours will and the turnaround time is so quick! You should get your order within 4-9 business days, which includes 2 days for processing time. With hundreds of brand new designs for 2010 you are bound to find something you fall in love with!



Need Christmas Party Invitations? No problem! Do you love sending out special Christmas Thank You Cards after the holidays? Pear Tree Greetings has a large selection of both to choose from all VERY reasonably priced.

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The Giveaway!
Pear Tree Greetings is generously offering one of my readers a free set of personalized note cards (up to 16 cards). Your choice! All you have to do to win is leave a comment telling me about the best thank you card you ever received. If your contact information is not shown on your blog profile or you do not have a blog please leave me your email address so that I can contact you if you win. Giveaway will run until November 2, 2010 at 11:59 pm. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email. Good Luck!

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Team Up Thursday - Bubbles

The theme this week was bubbles. Flashback? I choose mine b/c the bokeh also sort of looks like bubbles. I wish Piper weren't so washed out in it but hey she is a pale kid :) Angie's is so romantic. I love the lighting and subject. Lovely shot mama!

More Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

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WW - Muwah!

Feeling down in the dumps? Feeling like no one cares? Come to our house and our Ruby will cheer you up. She is full of love and kisses. She kisses EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING! She went back and forth with Violet and Piper kissing them until they finally tired of it. Me? I never get tired of it :)

More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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I heart Faces - In The Orchard

We didn't make it to the apple orchard this year. Violet, Ruby, and I are the only ones that will eat the delicious fruit in this house anyway. You should see how this kid destroys eats an apple. Half the time I wonder how many seeds she consumes lol :)

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Team Up Thursday - Fun

Life hasn't been very fun around here. I mean you try and make the most of the days but we are all still a little bit under the weather. One nice thing though it has been warm. 80-85 warm. So when we do have a little bit of energy we head out and do chalk or bubbles. Bubbles are fun. Everyone loves bubbles :) As I type this I hear my baby in bed coughing and hope that this crud leaves soon b/c we are so done! Angie's shot of a horseback ride is my girls new idea of fun. Since going to the stable for a birthday party all they do now is talk about going back. Lovely processing on Angie's shot as well ♥.

More Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

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I heart Faces - Beef

Somedays I get a craving for a hamburger and when that craving hits I try to convince my family to go to Red Robin. Their Burnin' Love burger is my favorite. Yum! I coordinated my craving with this weeks iheartfaces challenge sponsored by TxBeef.org. Matt wouldn't take a bite of this burger if his life depended on it so he is strictly my model. I finished off this little beauty shortly after this shot was taken. Mamas got to eat :)

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Sickies

I totally flaked on Angie and our team up - sorry mama. Early this week when the girls woke up with runny noses I just figured that it was a little cold. Piper still had that runny nose a few days later but Violet now had a cough. A nasty sounding one at that. So much so that I googled whooping cough. I am not a hypochondriac but I heard of a case in a neighboring town so I at least had to check. I am pretty sure we don't have it :) So here was Violet - pathetic isn't she?

Then there is Ruby. She isn't sure if she is getting sick or not yet but she has been really mellow today so I am guessing she will have it soon - ugh!



I told Piper if she started to cough she had to come home from school. Her worst nightmare! Thank goodness she didn't need me to pick her up b/c when I tried to start my car the battery was dead. I feel cruddy, Violet is down, Ruby is in between sick & well and I am keeping my fingers crossed for Piper :) Perfect week.

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A House Full of Babywearers

Matt and I have been wearing the girls since they were days old. Our girls have benefited from that closeness and I must say I have too. I love them being near me. Here is a ring sling that I made for Piper b/c she wanted to wear one of mine all the time. Gosh, she wasn't even 2 here. You might recognize that she is wearing "Naked Baby". I actually had to ask Violet who Piper was wearing. I guess this taken before "Naked Baby" was naked? lol :)

and this week with Violet and Bolt lol :)



There hasn't been many days since having Piper over 5 years ago that I haven't worn one of my babes. Sometimes it is to comfort them, let them nap, or if I just need an extra hand and they need some extra mommy time. They immediately are in a calm place when they are worn. Many people have commented on how content they are to ride along with me. I can't imagine my life without babywearing.

Over 100 people have already linked up at Adventures in Babywearing. If babywearing is important to you share your story and link up as well! Also check out the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance (BCIA) Facebook page and share your story with them.

More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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Inspired By Finn Amber Teething Necklace Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Lauren Ali who is the winner of the Inspired By Finn Amber Necklace. Please respond to my email within 48 hours to claim your prize or another name will be drawn. Thanks to everyone who entered. If you didn't win please take advantage of the awesome coupon codes that were offered. You won't be sorry purchasing an Inspired By Finn Amber Necklace.

Thanks again to Inspired By Finn for sponsoring this giveaway :)

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New Baby

The girls went to a birthday party on Saturday at a nearby stable. They just had a new baby on Tuesday. This little guy was only 5 days old! Consensus with the mamas was "Awwww".

And b/c I can't help but share a picture of a nursling :)

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I am in a rut

It isn't normal but I have nothing to say lol :) During the day I think of things that we have been doing but I gotta say we are pretty boring around here lately. I have gotten a few awards though so I am going to share them. First is from Young Wife and Mom and she gave me this award.

Next award is from the sweet Michelle @Flying Giggles and Lollipops and she gave me this one.



I feel so blessed and I will pass them on - this week - I promise :)

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A New Ballerina

Piper is not doing dance this year and with all the road construction going on outside our door I am not making the drive to a neighboring town to go to the old dance studio. Even though I LOVED it there and it was nice b/c they had a play area for the little ones the thought of sitting in traffic for an hour to get home doesn't appeal to me. We decided on a little studio around the corner from our home and the class time is during the day :) Violet went this past Wednesday and just loved it. I knew she would b/c she has been watching her sister do it for 2 years. Who knows if we will let her do it again next year but she is a ballerina this year for sure :)

This was the uniform that they had to wear at the old studio. Pink tights, black leotard, and hair in a bun. Not so much at the new studio though. It is sort of like a free for all there. Violet will wear this though b/c we have it and I can't help but think she is the cutest one there :)

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