February Monster Truck

I'm thinking this should be a monthly feature. I've compiled all the pictures of the monster trucks that John left around the house when he was done playing with them. For those new to my blog, John loves his monster trucks and besides his camera, they are the only toys he plays with. When he's done playing with them, he just gets up and leaves them; and I find them in some of the strangest places. If you feel up to it, you're welcome to check out previous posts. Just click on the 'Where's Monster Truck' link over there on the right. I'm way too lazy right now to link them myself.

I took this photo just today. I picked John up early today due to a dr's appointment and we had a few minutes to play before we had to head out. Apparently, Bounty Hunter is a girl. Who knew?!

Maybe they were just cold and decided to warm up next to the fireplace? I suppose this would have worked a little better if there had been fire in the fire place.

Since the fireplace wasn't doing any good, they moved over to the couch to be warmed up by the sunlight beaming in from the window. Chaos ensued and they decided to hold their very own Monster Jam right in my living room!

After all that chaos, they lined up and 'parked' for the night.

The next day, they decided to try out their cheerleading skills.

P.S. John's dr's appointment today went better then expected. His oxygen level was at 98! This was very good, especially for how bad his breathing seemed earlier today. The dr did say he was having a mild asthma attack and gave him a trial pack of Orapred and said to take it for 2 days. Also perscribed him antibiotics for an upper respitory infections, more albuteral for his nebulizer and said to buy Zyrteck for the allergies. Specaking of which, I need to make a trip to the pharmacy.

It's a straw! It's a trumpet! It's...

John with his nebulizer.

I have a feeling steroids are in his very near future and I may just lose my mind.       Again.

At least he has a sense of humor about it now!

She'll be comin' round the mountain...

Me + John + New VTech Camera/hand held game system + grocery store = She'll be comin' round the mountain song stuck in mama's head. That song was playing over and over again all through the grocery store, and the weird part is that I never even realized it until we were in the car getting ready to leave and I started to hum the song. Of course, the song on the VTech didn't have any words, just the tune. So it it took me a few try's to figure out what the words were. Now, I can't get it out of my head.

She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes.
She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes.
She'll be comin' round the mountain, she'll be comin' round the mountain, she'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes.

I can just see you there singing the tune. There, if I have to be stuck with it so should you! You're welcome!

I decided to take pictures of our outing today and as I sat down to edit some of the photo's, John decided he wanted to sit on my lap. He and I sat at the computer messing around with photo's when my cell phone rang. I got up to answer the phone and when I got back a few minutes later, John had taken over my photoshop. He was messing with a photo I had almost finished up. Somehow, he manged to place photo's on top of it. Now, it took me a good week to figure how I needed to go to 'File' and 'Place' to put photo's on top of one another, so I was a little baffled that John had figured it out so quickly. I sat back down and placed John on my lap again, opened up a photo he had taken of our trip with his camera and let play around with it. I eventually learned how he placed photo's on top one another. Did you know you could take open photo's from your project bin and by drag and dropping them onto your photo, you have successfully 'Placed' your photo? Yeah, me neither. Until John showed me how.

Here is John's collage of our outing today.

And this is John's story as told by mommy. But I'm pretty sure it would sound just like this if he were actually telling it.

We met daddy for lunch at Culvers. Mommy was weird and took a picture of the lady who brought out our food.

When we left Culvers, I saw daddy in his truck on his way back to work.

Then we went grocery shopping where I took lots and lots of pictures of mommy.

Now she knows how I feel when she tells me to 'Smile'. No, mommy doesn't really look like those two pictures on the bottom. I just used my camera to make her look weird.

Mommy took pictures of my new shoes and my runny nose. Then I refused to open my eyes, so mommy started tickling me. When we got home with the groceries, I helped put the water away. I always bring in the water; but today, I decided to show mommy how strong I am by bringing in two at a time. They were really heavy, but I did it. Mommy was so impressed.

Then, I had to show mommy how to use her Photoshop because she is so inept at these things. After that, I watched tv until mommy said it was time to pick up bubba.

That John, he's such a story teller! :)

A series of fortunate events

Warning: If you have a strong gag reflex towards sappiness, I urge you to turn away now. This post will be oozing with compliments, praises, and lots and lots of bragging.

I’ve often wondered why God has blessed me with the husband that I have and the kids He has entrusted to my care. I know I didn’t do anything to deserve such wonderful people in my life, but I am so very grateful.

This past weekend, James had planned to be away all day on Saturday at a worship retreat. I try not to make many plans for Saturday’s because this is my day for laundry and house cleaning. This particular Saturday, I decided to finish painting our living room. The only thing that needed finishing was the fireplace. After James and FIL had left, I drug out all the paint supplies and got busy. The boys were happily watching tv and playing with their toys in another room, so I was left to listen to worship music and paint. After about 30 min, John decided he was bored and came to find me. Of course, he wanted to help paint. I grabbed an extra brush and dipped just the tip into the paint and let him have at it on the other side of the fireplace. Every few minutes, he would tell me he needed more paint and I would dip the tip of the brush in the paint and hand it back. Soon after John joined me, Gary came in and found us painted. Now he wanted to help paint too. Being that there wasn’t enough room in front of the fireplace for all 3 of us, I told Gary when John ran out of paint on his brush he could have a turn painted. The boys switched back and forth like that until the entire bottom half of the fireplace was painted.

A few hours later, after the fireplace painting was complete and we had cleaned up, I treated them to McDonald’s for a job well done. The boys ordered their usual, a chicken nugget happy meal with french fries and a chocolate milk. I let them play while the food was being prepared. As I stood in front of the counter waiting, a couple of kids walked in, no more then 5 or 6 years old, with their arms loaded with nerf guns and darts piled high in a Halloween pumpkin bucket. They headed straight for the play place, their parents no where on their tails. A few minutes passed and 2 young women with babies walked in and stood in line to order their meals. When my order was ready, I grabbed my tray and headed into the play area, no longer thinking of the kids or the young women. I called the boys to the table and we started eating. It soon became apparent that the 2 young women were the mothers of the boys that had walked in by themselves. These kids were shooting anything and anybody in their path of terror. They were screaming, climbing on the outside of the play equipment, going UP the slide, knocking little kids out of their way, and generally reeking havoc on the whole place. The moms? They were paying no attention to their children. They were chatting away as if nothing else was going on. As the chaos ensued, I looked at my own two boys who were quietly sitting there eating their lunch. I said a silent prayer of thanks for them right then and there. Then, they blew me away even more. John had reached up to grab a fry and accidently knocked over his entire lunch. Nuggets and fries all fell on the floor. John managed to grab a fistful of fries as they were all flying and then started crying. I picked up the box and managed to salvage a couple of the nuggets for him, but he still wasn’t satisfied. Just as I started contemplating buying him more nuggets, his brother came to the rescue. Gary had given him the rest of his fries and one of his chicken nuggets. Since he hadn’t eaten hardly any of his fries, this was quite a sacrifice. These boys never cease to amaze me!

And if that isn’t sappy enough, read on…

My dear sweet husband took great care of me while I was sick yesterday. I thought my head was going to explode from all the sinus pressure and I wouldn’t come out of my blanket for anything. He made sure I stayed comfortable, took care of the kids, ordered pizza for dinner, and loved on me. I hate being sick and most of the time will fake wellness just so that I don’t have to be catered to. This was not one of those ‘fake it till you make it’ kind of days. I was sick, and I wanted to be catered to. James happily obliged.

I love these boys and love being boy trapped!

A plea to the medical community

Dear Medical Community and the people who research and find medication to help aid in the symptoms of Asthma,

The Albuteral y’all came up with is awesome. I love how you found a way to administer it both slowly via a nebulizer, and quickly via an inhaler. This has got to be the greatest accomplishment y’all have come up with towards aiding in the symptoms of Asthma, and I thank you for it.

However, when the Asthma flares up and becomes severe, the Albuteral does not work as well as it should. That’s ok. I understand that additional medication is needed to help reduce these symptoms. But I beg you, I plead, I am down on my knees grabbing at your pant legs begging you to please come up with an alternative to steroids.

My once sweet baby boy becomes possessed by evil beings. I’m afraid very soon his sweet bald head will be spinning in circles and he’ll be spewing green stuff. He used to delay gratification, but OH.MY.WORD! If there’s something he wants, it better be given to him or all hell will break loose. The screaming, the tears, the tantrums… I don’t know how much more I can take. When he’s not wanting something, he’s constantly in motion. He walks around the kitchen island mindlessly with one hand on the counter and hums. He climbs on the furniture and gets stuck. Observe for yourself:
























Please Mr or Mrs research person, find a suitable alternative to steroids for the sanity of all parent-kind.

      

*sigh*

UPDATE:

I believe I called it almost exactly as it would happen. John's oxygen level was at 93 when he got there. They gave him 3 breathing treatments, an x-ray, and steroids. The x-ray results showed pnumonia, so the biggest difference with this hospital visit was an I.V. After James called me around 9pm to tell me they were giving him the I.V., I made my trek up there. I managed to just miss the I.V. poke, for which I am grateful for. He was on 100% oxygen and he did not like the tube up his nose. He kept trying to rip it off. His little tears streaming over the tape made me want to cry with him. But I managed to keep it together.

They removed the tube around 10:30 and he fell asleep around 11. The respitory therepist came in and administered another breathing treatment. James and I kept ourselves busy with a card game for a couple of hours. Finally, around 1am they discharged him. The final diagnosis is Pnumonia with asthma and an upper respitory infection. They gave him antibiotics and steroids. This will be a fun couple of days....

Original Post:
While I would love nothing more then to post about Gary's recent birthday and the parties that took place because of it, I will have to put that post on hold for right now. One, because I need to get the film developed due to a toilet incident involving my digital camera and my 3 year old... but also because that 3 year old is currently on his way to the hospital.

My mommy senses are on high alert as daddy makes the trek to Mendy's place. Our sweet little cherub has been battling asthma since he was 5 months old, and this time is no different. The triage nurce will check is oxygen and see that it's around 94-95, they'll get him back almost immediately. The doctors will order a breathing treatment, then another one, then an x-ray and finally some steroids. They'll send him home with a perscription of the steroids to take for 5 days. Mommy will go insane again, John will get better and all will be well. This is John's crazy cycle.

So, please pray for John and that his breathing will ease up and for daddy who there with him and the nurses and doctors who will be treating him.

Thank you!

The trees I stare at all day

This is the view from where I sit all day. In case you were wondering!




It's getting chilly here in the desert. Mostly inside the office because I think they still have the A/C running. The simple fix: To steal my husbands jacket! That's right dear, you stole my coffee cup; I steal your jacket!

Speaking of my dear sweet husband; I have to mention this because I told him I would and he said he wasn't worried because I wouldn't remember anyway! :) I love you dear!

On Sunday evening, John was having some breathing problems. I sat him down on our bed and administered a breathing treatment. The breathing treatment takes about 15-20 minutes, so to pass the time I turned on the Disney Channel. James walked in while John and I were engrossed in an episode of Hannah Montana.


*Miley's friend, Lily, had just confessed to Miley that she had a crush on her brother, Jackson. Lily was begging Miley to find out if Jackson felt the same way about her and this whole thing disgused Miley.*

James gave us a digruntled sigh and asked if he could change the channel. I told him no, John was watching it while he was getting his breathing treatment. So James propped up a pillow and sat down with us.

*Turns out, Jackson did feel the same for Lily, but Miley had lied to Lily saying he didn't and told Jackson that Lily really didn't feel that way about him. Lily and Jackson then decide to be angry at eachother the whole rest of the show. During a t.v. interview with Hannah Montana and friends, Lily and Jackson both praised Hannah on what a wonderful friend she was and that she would never lie all the while bashing eachother.*
By now, John's breathing treatment had finished and I was trying to get him to say on the bed and watch the show so that I wouldn't be sitting their watching Hannah Montana without an excuse. But, John had plans. One that probably included booby trapping doorways with Monster Trucks, so off he went. James and I stayed...

*While Lily and Jackson were busy praising their friend Hannah on what a wonderful friend she is, Hannah was trying to say that maybe she wasn't such an awesome friend. After a full blown fight broke out on the set, Hannah finally stood up and told the truth. That Lily really did like Jackson and that Jackson felt the same about Lily. There was a round of awwwwww's from both Lily and Jackson and Miley/Hannah made her speech about learning her lesson about lying.*

The show ended; I turn around to say something to James and he's got this goofy grin on his face. As soon as he noticed me looking at him, the grin was wiped off, and I pointed and laughed at him! The pillow was thrown and I was tackled! I'm just so glad he didn't see the stupid grin on my face.


      

Back to the 'normal' random musings...

You know, the one written by the overworked, underpayed, under appreciated (by the kids, never by the ogre husband), and stressed out mommy! The randomonium was all started by Mrs. Nurse Boy over at Poop on Jelly. So head on over to her blog too and check her out. She's awesome!

***First thing on my husbands honey-do list this weekend was 'Clean Bathroom'. Ask me if the bathroom got cleaned?
**Answer is: No, of course!
*I really think he waits a really long time until I get too disgusted with it and clean it myself.
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***Only in AZ -
**Is it still flip-flop weather in late October
**Can you watch the kids get off the school bus in all various forms of winter/summer dress. One kid was wearing shorts and short sleeves, one girl was wearing capri pants and short sleeves, some wearing pants and short sleeves, some wearing pants and jackets, and one was wearing shorts and a sweater... hmmm, go figure.
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Last week, when I was sick and off work - John and I played Guitar Hero. John was getting upset with me because I only let him think he was playing, but really his guitar wasn't even plugged in. So finally, I decided to let him actually play.

The next day I was home again, and apparently, I didn't get around to making lunch in a timely enough manner to suit John. So he took matters into his own hands.

Yep, he got the sandwich stuff out all by himself, then grabbed the peanut butter. Why 4 pieces of bread? Because I apparently wanted a PB&J sandwich as well. And yes, John got the one with the finger dents in it!

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I hate it when my kids get sick. I especially hate it when I was probably the cause of them being sick. So once again, I am home. Only this time with a sick Mustard. Asthma issues...

and a temperature...

John has gotten rather used to the breathing treatments, so last night after putting the mask on (he's very independant these days and wants to do everything himself, so he had to turn the machine on), I turned around and saw him playing with the steam that came out of his mask. Did you know that by holding your breath and then taking short breathes out you can make the steam do some pretty wild stuff? Of course, I had to make him stop because he had to get it down into his lungs. Poor baby...

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You're probably also wondering where I found his monster trucks this morning. I actually got up in the middle of writing this to go find them. Can you guess where they are this morning?

Yep, I actually found them in the toy box! *GASP* I know! Frightening, isn't it? My kids actually do put their stuff away. Shocked me too.

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In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6