Scariest day so far

I have so many things to post about. So many little trips and happenings in our family. I feel behind here. But all that will have to wait. You see, last night I went to bed without washing my face. I was so exhausted and fell asleep snuggling a crying baby and I just didn't care enough to get up and wash my makeup off. I don't think in all our five years of marriage Brian has ever seen me not wash my face at night. I do it every night. But after going through the scariest day so far, and trying to catch up and throw a birthday party after that, I was tired. Just really, really tired.

So what was this scary day? On Tuesday afternoon my little Ellery had a seizure. Well, she either had three seizures, or one long one, depending on how you want to look at it. I went into her room to wake her up so we could get ready to go to the dinosaur museum with Katie and her kids. Elle sat up in her crib as McKay climbed in to play with her while I was getting things ready. The next time I looked at them Ellery was laying on her side at McKay's feet, very obviously having a seizure.

Thank goodness Brian was home because I called him right in and I was excused from being the "medical parent" which I am not at all good at being. It was then I began to be the hysterical parent, which I do just fine. Ellery was still seizing and her lips and hands were blue. I wanted to call 911, but Brian was doing "medical things" to her and so I waited for instructions from him. We're guessing the seizure only lasted about a minute, but every time Brian would pick her up, to take her out of the crib, or to take her to the car to go to the doctor, she had another seizure. I called 911 and Ellery just laid on the floor moaning with her eyes closed. I have never been more scared in my life and as I was waiting on the phone with the dispatcher I could not believe that I was calling the paramedics for my ten month old baby. It was strange that this was actually happening to us.

The paramedics came and assessed her. They checked some more "medical things" and I tried my hardest to calm down, on account of my three year old who was witnessing all of this. A shaking sister, a frantic, crying mother, and six grown men in full uniform in your house is unsettling, to say the least. McKay didn't know if he was supposed to laugh, cry, or get excited about what was going on. He did a little of each. They told us that she needed to go to the emergency room and that they could take her or we could. We opted to take her ourselves.

I can't even begin to write about our day in the ER. I will have to condense majorly, because we were there for eight and a half hours. It was a very long, scary, and worrisome process.

Brian's dad came down and they gave Ellery a blessing. I was really overwhelmed with the power of the priesthood as I watched Brian's dad silently walk in the room and wait for the nurse to leave before they gave her a blessing. I just really felt the power they had as they were waiting for the chance to give it to her. I feel really grateful for that blessing and feel that Elle's outcome was a result of it.

Snoozing between tests. Don't look at my dirty heel, please.

They tested Ellery for everything that they thought could have caused a seizure- CT scan, blood work, and a spinal tap. It was so hard to see our baby going through such traumatic procedures. Basically every test they ran came back negative. They couldn't find a cause for the seizures, which was scary and very frustrating. Elle was a trooper though. She mostly just laid in our arms and slept between pokes and probes.

Recovering from the spinal tap. Loopy and sweet and very happy to see her daddy.

At about hour four I suddenly realized that Brian would have to quit his job and just watch Ellery with me all the time. We would have to sleep by her and watch her every second. We would have to buy a little mattress to put by her crib. And I couldn't' drive anywhere with her because what if she had another one in the car. Would I see it? Would I know? I also decided that I could no longer nurse her because if it happened during that I might not ever recover- emotionally or physically. I was pretty sure I would have to worry about her having another one for at least a year. . .maybe longer.

After about six hours in the ER, Brian felt her and noticed she was warm. He took her temp and it was 103. The doctor didn't really know what to make of this, but after conferring with her pediatrician they thought that it may be a febrile seizure (from a fever) but that the seizure came before the fever, when usually it's the other way around. So this was good news because that is the best cause for a seizure because they are usually isolated incidents and won't happen again. We were relieved to get to go home but also unsure of just what would happen. I was also very relieved because I had a Lion King party to throw the next day, and I really wanted to be with my little boy on his birthday.

We saw her pediatrician the next morning after an uneventful night. . .well. . .uneventful if the mother of all breakdowns once the kids were in bed doesn't count. After hearing the complete story and checking her out he was fairly sure that the seizure was caused by the fever, but he was concerned about why she had a fever. They could find no source for the fever. He decided that we'd just say it was from her runny nose/cold and watch her really closely. He also talked to me about the likelihood of her having another one, which was small, and also told me that if she did it would probably be in the next few days. Cancel the mattress, and Brian doesn't have to quit his job. Whew! Now I feel more prepared if she does have another one, and although it would be scary, I feel like we could handle it if we had to.

After her appointment we scrambled around and received help from my mother-in-law to complete party preparations, and we were able to enjoy a fun, busy day with our little birthday boy. Ellery was pretty tired and wanted to be held a lot, but we were happy to do it.

I am so relieved and happy that she is okay. I was more scared than I have ever been. There is nothing like seeing your baby like that. Nothing. Today I am able to think about it without getting teary, but it's taken three days. I am so grateful for the prayers that were offered on her behalf. I really felt them. I know that our whole family and many of our friends were praying for her, and it was really neat to be the recipients of that. I know that they made a difference.

And now today. Today it took us until three o'clock to get ready for the day because we just gave ourselves the day to do nothing. It felt good. We felt like we needed to get out and do something so we went to a park and played and then treated ourselves to dinner. I feel rested and although I'm still pretty jumpy and paranoid about any little movement Ellery makes, I'm better than I was. And she's for the most part better. And when McKay isn't retelling the story of what happened, he's better. And Brian? Well, he was pretty cool and collected all along, so he's just the same. And now I'm off to wash my face.

Long, I know

That post was really long. It's no secret that I'm a long winded writer. I'm sure everyone's noticed. I just can't help it. And this was a pretty major story for me to tell, so it's long.
It's who I am, I can't help it!

Today We Had Twins

Brian and I spent a good part of our Sunday afternoon taking care of our new twin babies.

Sid is the big baby in the blue and that extra happy one is Seapot. Or Sea Pot? I'm not really sure, you'd have to ask Sid.

Mostly they just crawled around together and stood there at the shelf babbling at us. Sid is much more advanced than Seapot is and when she had a messy diaper Sid thought about putting a diaper on himself, but then opted to use the potty instead. It's sure nice just having one twin in diapers.

Sharing Time

In our house band aids are pretty much as good as magic. McKay will be hysterical from some sort of bump or scrape, and as soon as we mention the word "band aid" it somehow helps. The other night he woke up with an ear ache and was repeating his usual ailment phrase, " . . .but it still hurts!" There's really no talking him out of the pain when he starts doing that. After several different tactics for his ear ache I asked if a band aid would help. He looked up at me with his lips pouted but his eyes hopeful and nodded. So I slapped that band aid right over his ear, and what do you know, it eased the ear ache. Magic I tell ya!

So, obviously we go through a lot of band aids around here and I definitely have a favorite. Nexcare Waterproof Tattoo band aids. I love these! Not only do they come in fun characters- we have Nemo right now- but they are so light and really water proof. With old band aids we'd stick one on McKay and he'd take it off in less than two minutes because it was so bulky and wouldn't stick completely, which was frustrating when he actually needed one. Not with these. They are so light and make a seal over the cut so nothing gets in.

I'm still trying to convince Brian about the roll of bandaids in our house. He will look at me and say, "He doesn't even need one." Yeah, but. . .they're magic. . .so who cares? As long as they keep healing him I'm going to keep using them. Try them- you'll love 'em too!

Montana Highs and Lows

Finally, our Montana trip! We had such a great time in Montana with Brian's whole family. Here are the highs and lows of Montana, or rather the lows and highs. Bad news is always better followed by good news, right? Okay, here we go!

Lows:

• McKay throwing up the evening before we were scheduled to leave.
• Sarah practically having a mental/physical/emotional breakdown because of the above mentioned low.
• Waking up at 4am to start the nine hour drive.
• Lindy getting sick on our second day in Montana, as well as Brian and me, but not as bad as Lindy.
• Elise and Jaynie getting sick on our second night.
• Sarah wanting to cry on our second night.
• Ken, Adele and Missy getting sick on our third day.
• Feeling 100% responsible for your family throwing up and feeling miserable on a vacation.
• Getting eaten by mosquitos and seeing those pesky bugs on my little baby.
• My bangs freaking out. They did not like Montana.
• Realizing when we got there that I had packed all my garment bottoms. . .and NO tops! Nice.
• Realizing right after that I had also forgotten deodorant. Yum.
• Sharp teething.
• Allergies for my left eye.
• Oh no, we're not done with the throwing up yet. Jenn getting sick the day we left. Not a fun drive for her.
• Having the reunion in Montana end.

On the the Highs:

• McKay getting a blessing in the car in the dark at 4am and not getting sick again. Also, being SO excited about going.
• No crying, fits or vomit on the nine hour drive to Montana.
• Traveling with our portable DVD player. We LOVE our portable DVD player!!!
• Having two amazing aunts who helped our babies to be angels in the car.
• Breakfast at Smitty's in Idaho Falls with aunt Shauna.
• Staying in cozy cabins in the gorgeous Montana mountains.
• Playing games as a family while the kids were all sleeping. That hasn't happened ever!
• Seeing two black bears, plenty of bison, dozens of elk, a big horn sheep with a million babies, and a few moose.
• McKay naming his stuffed buffalo "Hootie". I just could not be more in love with the name he chose. Hootie.
• Somehow, Brian and I got the least sick out of everyone. So not fair, I know, but a high for us nonetheless.
• Ellery finally crawling forward!
• Horseshoe tournaments
• Listening to "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" on cd in the car.
• Swimming in crazy creek.
• All the fun sights and places to visit in Yellowstone.
• Talking on the radios between cars and giving each car a nickname.
• A beautiful picnic in the mountains.
• McKay finding an old fence in those mountains to be a cow in. . .or was it a sheep? Oh I can't keep all his animals straight anymore. It was one of those.
• Cousins playing together.
• Ice cream almost every night.
• Our family still loving us and being nice to us even though we got all but three of them sick.

And now for some proof. All together we took about 935 pictures so get comfy. . .there's a lot.

Here's the little sicky himself. Hard to believe that something so cute can cause something so awful.

Old Faithful

Picnic in the mountains. Top right corner is McKay being a cow. Ken is also cut off of the family picture in the center. . .but you can still see his leg. . .sorry Ken.

Church in a "barn". McKay has never been more excited to go to church! And church in a barn is pretty popular. It was packed!

Visiting Mammoth. I sure hope that's what it's called. We saw a ton of elk here, just hanging out on the lawn of the hotel. We also saw a bear and a big bull elk on the drive back. Very exciting.

McKay and Elise. So precious.

This here is the behind of a girl who can now crawl. It's kind of amazing given the load she has to carry. She was so happy and content to just hang out in the middle of the floor of the cabin- that's pretty much all she did.

At the cabin.

Lindy and Jaynie. I just liked this picture so I put it up. We went to this pretty waterfall that was pretty close to our cabin.

Crazy Creek. This was the weirdest river I've ever seen. It really was crazy. It was this raging river rushing down a mountainside. You can kind of get an idea from the top left picture. The water was very fast and very cold. But we found some little pools to enjoy and aside from the mosquitos taking advantage of our bare skin, we had a lot of fun.

Being tourists in Cooke City.

And that's it! But next up for me is a little trip. . .

with these girls. . .minus Elle, plus Missy. Can't wait!

the end.

mourning a loss. . .

I guess I will finally concede to Brian's label that I am a person who loses things. I am. I once lost my wedding ring- thought it was left in a hotel in California- but it was really just tucked into a crevice in my bag. I've lost my credit card a few times. And the big whopper, was last year when we sold our car. Brian's schedule was super busy so I was in charge of selling the car. Me. Nice, huh? Anyway, after the final transaction was made, somehow I misplaced the $10,500 check that the Arab gentleman had given me for our car. I thought maybe Brian was going to kill me. That was by far the worst, and after that incident Brian christened me with the title of someone who loses "important" things.


Well, I've been at it again. On Saturday night I was at the mall trying to take advantage of the Gap Friends and Family discount and my kids were just about done with the day. McKay found a stick in the parking lot and got a sliver in his hand and was crying about it the whole time. The sales lady gave him two bandaids and another one gave him a bear sticker and nothing helped. He was kind of out of control and SO tired. Ellery was extremely tired as well, but at least she wasn't crying. While I was in line I moved McKay to the stroller so he could have his breakdown in a comfy seat, and I carried Ellery. After I made my purchase I was trying to juggle Ellery in my arms, push the stroller and hang on to my wallet. I decided I didn't have enough time and energy to put my wallet all the way back in my purse which was buried in the stroller basket, so I stuck it on the sun shade of the stroller and thought to myself, "Okay Sarah, don't forget your wallet right there. It's not the usual place." Well, guess what I lost on the way from the Gap to my car? My wallet. So I'm mourning.


You may think I'm mourning the $100 bill that was inside. Well, it stinks that I lost that, but no that's not it. I mourned for that already.


You may think it's the cutest giraffe print wallet that I got in Texas at the one and only Sam Moon. Nope.


You might be thinking it's my credit cards. Wrong again. Those have already been cancelled and replaced.


It's my driver's licence. Or more specifically my driver's licence picture.


I just got home from the DMV where I got a new licence and the mourning began. You see, my old licence had the best driver's licence picture of all time. It was my twenty-first birthday. I was a size two. I had just come back from Hawaii and was extremely tan. My hair was long and blond and had not yet gone through the sacrifices of having babies. And it was just a really good picture. And I'm sad. Today my hair looks like a seventies disco dancer (not in a good way) and my face is round and white. Please mourn with me.


I know it's not a major catastrophe and as my dad would say, "No one died. Your children are healthy. You're okay." But I just want to be a little depressed about it for awhile. So I'm taking today. . .

And for those of you who are still concerned, we did get a replacement check, but I sure felt dumb asking for it : )