Oh the pictures.....

Remember last Saturday when I promised pictures of our outing to the park? Well, here you go. I never promised when.....did I?

This first picture is of Baby Vanessa. Check out those Angelina Jolie lips. LOVE IT!I love this picture. Claire was bending down talking to Vanessa like she was such a big girl and V was a baby. It was very cute. That's her mommy whom my kids lovingly call Icky Bug. :) (Her real name is Jennie)After visiting with Jennie we headed to the park. Claire had fun in the swing.

This is how Jack spent his time at the park. He was freaking out Grandma Karen (Tracy's Mom).

This is my nephew, Spencer. He locked himself in the swing and couldn't get out. I even had a hard time getting him out.We were met by the Ferber's and had a good time. I thought this picture was cute.
Here are Nathan, Spencer, and Dawson. Spencer is 6 years old. Dawson is 5 and Nathan is almost 5. Look at how Spencer towers over the boys. He's a very big boy.

Here is Spencer on the slide. The batteries died in my camera before I could get a picture of Claire on it. I physically had to remove her from it. She LOVED sliding!

Caymen isn't sure that she loves the park. :)

And here is a picture of Natey swinging. I've never seen him do it the right way. I guess for him, this is the right way.

The result

So there we go! It's a little more red than I wanted, but I think it will be just fine. I kinda feel like this is a mug shot. Natey was taking my picture and telling me 'have fun with it Mom'. Um, thank you son, but you're kinda creepin' me out!

I should have taken a picture of Char's hair. Her color was outstanding if I do say so myself. Anywho, there is my new color - at least for now. :)

UPDATE: Here is a picture of what it was before. Just for you Heidi. I think it was probably a litter darker than it was in this picture. I don't know.....this is close anyway.

We went from this

to this......

....totally not fair.

I got to clean Claire up twice yesterday after looking like this.....

What can I say? She loves too-tee's (cookies).

I found out she still likes to have her alone time......

....she was asking me if I could shut the door for her. Ha!

And last but not least - Rubba Dubb Dubb - Jack Meyer's in the tub!

A quick post

I have a few minutes so I thought I'd type. The only thing I can think of that I'd want to pass along today is that Jack had one alarm last night. After two nights of no alarms, I kinda thought that maybe the machine had malfunctioned and that Jack really wasn't having alarms. Well, that obviously isn't the case. We'll just continue to monitor him, knowing that it's important to keep him on his monitor.

My friend Char is coming on Wednesday so she and I can do each others hair. I'm very excited! I think I'm going to color my hair brown and then put in some subtle highlights. I like having one really light foil in the front of my hair - so we'll have to see. I want a really rich brown color - but not too dark. My hair tends to grab dark color, so I'll have to treat it before Char comes so my color doesn't get all funky on me. Did I mention that I'm excited?

Remember my friend Char? She's the one that got married in Hawaii in January. I can't wait to hear all about her wedding and reception. Justin and I planned on going to the reception, but Jack was released from the hospital the day before and I just couldn't leave him. Then it snowed and I wouldn't have been able to get there anyway. So now I'm super excited to hear about it all.

Well, it's time for me to go home, have supper, and go to bed so I can get up and come back to work. I have to recertify in medical dispatch tonight on the computer. I'm not overly excited about that, but it has to be done.

Have a good week everyone!

Ha-larious!

I got this from my sister in an e-mail and then found it on YouTube. I laughed so hard I cried. My sister and I couldn't decide what was funnier, the actual slip of the tongue or the fact that this mother tried her hardest not to laugh. Don't watch this with your kids around - but do watch it.

Finally!

I was finally able to take all 3 kids outside yesterday. It was beautiful out there! My nephew stayed the night with us, so I decided to take the kids to the park. Tracy called and said that she would bring Happy Meals if there were picnic tables. Lucky us - there were! So Tracy came over with the kids and her mom who's visiting from Pierre. We had a good time.

Tracy's mom, Karen, was KILLING me! The park we were at is about 2 1/2 blocks from our house. As Tracy got every one's food ready for them to eat, Natey told me he had to go potty. I looked around the park searching for some place for him to go outside. There wasn't a single place so Tracy let us use her vehicle to run home. When we got back, Karen was holding Jack. It wasn't long before she got him to sleep. She was beyond nervous that he was going to stop breathing in her arms. I understand her fear, but it was cracking me up. Tracy kept trying to reassure her that he was going to be fine, but she was nervous as all get out. It was so sweet.

Let me just tackle that subject while we're on it. The machine that Jack's on is a sleep apnea machine which records his heartbeat and respiration's. It will alarm when his heart is beating too fast, too slow or if it stops completely. We've never had any of those alarms, thank God. It also alarms if he stops breathing - which is the type of alarm we've had. We've never had to do rescue breaths or anything like that. He's always started breathing on his own when he's had an alarm. Remember, his breathing is a non issue when he's awake. It's when he sleeps that we have to watch him. The past two nights he hasn't had any alarms so that's great!

I'll post some of the pictures later today or tomorrow. Until then, have a good weekend!

Alarms

I guess it was good that Jack had his doctor visit when he did. I would have never taken him off that monitor had I understood that he was at a greater risk for SIDS. It scares me to death just thinking about it. Last night he had 4 alarms (or was it 3?) within about a half hour time span (meaning that he stopped breathing for too long of a time). Then it sounded again this morning when I was holding him. EEEKKK!

I'm not sure what's going on. There is a self test that I need to do to make sure he's not having false alarms. That first alarm scared the crap out of me. Justin and I have never gotten out of our bed so fast. The first time it sounded 3 times. The machine is set to go off if he stops breathing for a set number of seconds, but I don't know what that number is. I told Dr. Henry that I knew Jack stopped breathing for 7 seconds one night because we were face to face and I counted. He said that that was pretty normal and nothing to get too excited about. He said it's when they go 15+ seconds is when we need to get concerned. My guess is that it's set for at least 15 seconds and will sound after that. The first alarm went off for probably 3 seconds - I'm guessing a beep/second. The second one sounded 2 beeps and the last one (or 2) were just one or two beeps. It was enough to scare the crap out of me, I know that much.

The first thing I'll do today when I get home is reset the machine to make sure we're not getting false alarms. Either way - I'm more than thankful for this machine than ever before!

Special

This picture is so special to me. Not only do I think it's cute because of Jack's fingers and toes, but it's special because of the ring that's in the picture. That ring belonged to my Grandmother who passed away when I was pregnant with Nathan. My wedding ring doesn't fit right now because of the weight that I've gained since having children, so when I wear a ring it's this one. The day I had Jack' s pictures taken I had no idea that my hands would be showing up in any of them. I love that even though my grandmother hasn't met the kids on this earth plane, I've been blessed with a beautiful picture that keeps her memory alive in my heart.

Isn't this picture adorable? It was taken at Black's Studio a few days after Jack got out of the hospital.

Yesterday was Jack's check-up with the Pulmonologist. He's such a nice guy. Last Tuesday Justin and I decided to take Jack off the monitor he was put on after leaving the hospital. It was such a pain to carry around everywhere and he'd only had 1 actual alarm. Well, Dr. Lundein put him back on - for 2 more months. I was a bit put off by this until Dr. Lundein put things to me this way. He said that Jack is at a greater risk of SIDS than most babies because of his breathing disorder. That totally made sense to me when he put it like that, but I'd never thought of it like that on my own. Had someone said that to me in the hospital I would NEVER had taken him off the machine in the first place. Lordy! The doctor said that the risk of SIDS in any baby drastically decreases after 6 months, so that's why 2 more months on the monitor. We'll see him again at that time.

When Jack was in the hospital he started getting a diaper rash. They said it was probably from his medication and just to watch it. Well we watched it all right - we watched it grow and grow. We tried everything we could think of to make it go away to no avail. I decided to take him to Dr. Henry yesterday for his post hospital check up and to get help on this diaper rash. He said that it was a fungus and to get some over the counter anti-fungal to treat it. We got some last night and hope that he's doing better soon. It got to the point where it really started hurting him so I hope he'll be getting some relief soon.

Last night Nathan and Justin were playing Backgammon. Natey LOVES to play that game with his dad. Natey was socking it to Justin and then the game took a turn and Justin started winning. With every good move Justin would say to Nathan "Who's your daddy?" It wasn't long before the game turned again. Now Nathan was handing Justin his hind end on a platter. Natey tried to taunt Justin the same way he'd been taunted. Natey said "Who's your son - It's me, It's me." Somehow it just didn't have the same effect. HA!

Reza

Last week I got an e-mail alert from ticketmaster. When I opened it up I was quite surprised. I saw a very familiar name and then a familiar face. The alert was about an upcoming event in Sioux Falls of an illusionist named Reza. I knew right away that I knew this guy, however, the last time I saw him he was just a boy.

I worked at a salon in Brookings about 13 years ago called Campus Hair. It was on the Campus of SDSU. I worked there for about 2 1/2 years. While working there, there was a little boy that kept a box of treats in our back room. His mother would bring him in every couple of weeks to get his money and restock the box. She made no bones about it that it was Reza's business and that he was responsible for it. There he was, a very shy little boy, and an entrepreneur at the age of (about) 8.

Yesterday while I was working I went to his website. I decided to send him an e-mail and tell him that I was proud that he's making such a name for himself and reminded him of his young days at Campus Hair. Much to my surprise, there was an e-mail back from him when I got to work for my overnight shift. He asked if I'd be able to make it to the show in Sioux Falls and if I was then he wanted me to make sure to say hello. I thought that was so nice!

While on his site I saw that he was going to be at the Dakota Playhouse in April. I sent an e-mail back asking for more information on that show because I wasn't able to find tickets for it. I also asked if this was a show for kids. However, after looking more at his site I think it must be. He's pictured with many young kids. Fun stuff, huh! Take a look at his tour trailer. I think the show looks awesome!

Reza Tour Trailer

Not to be outdone......

8PM Central

Yesterday I called home to talk to Justin quick. Nathan answered, as usual, and said "Mom, I've got something to tell you." I said, "Ok". He said "Do you know what comes on tonight at 8PM Central?" I laughed and told him that I didn't. He was so excited! He said "It's SCOOBY DOO 2!!!" I'm not sure why this was such a huge deal, but it was. He has the DVD so it's not like it couldn't be on at 5PM Central when we got home and settled for the night, but nonetheless....

The other day I heard Nathan talking to Claire. He said, "Peach, I think you're old enough to hear this. You're a pussycat." They both laugh and he told her again, "You're a pussycat". He heard it on Tom and Jerry. I asked why Peach needed to be 'old enough to hear it' and he said he didn't know. As it turns out, Jack is even old enough to hear it. He too is a pussycat.

Yesterday after I got off work, Justin called and said he would be late and wouldn't be home for supper. I told him I was going to go through McDonald's on our way home because I didn't want to try to make something we all could eat. Natey wanted to drive around for a bit while he 'decided' what he wanted. He needs to decide what he wants from McDonald's? Are you kidding me? Tracy and Linda both have taken the kids to McDonald's and could probably tell you what Natey's going to want: a cheeseburger Happy Meal with no pickles and chocolate milk. It hasn't changed in 3 years and I don't expect it to soon.

We went through the drive-thru on the way home from daycare and driving around (rolling eyes) and Natey said "Do you smell that? It's the sweet smell of a cheeseburger." HA! Where on earth did that come from? He's such a funny little guy.

Today is the Day O' the Irish. I'm not wearing green. Go ahead, pinch me - I can take it. I remember being in grade school and not wearing green on purpose to see if kids really would pinch me. They did and I bruise easy. Ha!

I'm ready for the weather to be nice and stay nice. I know that I'm asking for quite a bit here in the great state of South Dakota, but I really want it. If I will it - will it come? I'm ready to have the kids outside playing. I'm ready to take the kids to the park and play. I'm ready for Natey to ride in his Lightning McQueen car and watch Claire chase him up and down the sidewalk squealing with delight. I'm ready to load Claire and Jack in the stroller and go for a walk while Natey rides his bike along with us. I'm ready to have late suppers and late bed times because I was the one that wasn't ready to come inside. I'm ready for all those things.

It's rhyme time with Nathan!

Ok, so Natey, like any other almost 5 year old, likes to rhyme, right? Well he was sitting with me at the computer last night having a snack when he started to rhyme. "Duck. Duck. Duck - cluck. Duck - buck. Duck - fu$#." I said "NATEY!!!" I started laughing so hard I could hardly talk. He looked at me with such fear in his eyes - which made it that much funnier. I totally scared the crap out of him and he was as caught off guard at my reaction as I was at his accidental potty mouth. I said "Don't say that word!" (laughing so hard I was crying). I couldn't stop laughing. It was so innocent. He said "Can I say it in my head?" I said "NO!!!"

Dorfus ChickenHiney

Ok, so I know you've seen this in an e-mail, but my 'new name' cracked me up and wanted to see what you all came up with.

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your New first name:
a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloppy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

Ka-Pow

Having a lightning bolt on your face is a very serious thing - as you can tell in this photo. Nathan's not messing around. He IS the human version of Lightning McQueen and don't kid yourself of thinking otherwise. We had to have a 3 minute argument deciding which way the lightning bolt should go. He's serious as a heart attack, people. Don't mess with Texas has nothin' on Don't mess with Natey. This picture cracks me up. He means business!

Not much is new at our house, which is a good thing. Jack has a follow up appointment with the Pulmonologist next week. I'm looking forward to getting rid of the machine we've been toting around. I took him off it yesterday to give us all a break. He's napping right now. When he wakes up I'll give him a bath and put it back on him. He's growing so much. He's trying to roll over! You know how babies get all the way over and then get suck on their shoulders? That's what he's doing. I didn't remember them doing it this young, but Jack is. The first time he did it Justin had laid him on his side. Day before yesterday I laid him on his back and he did it again. It won't be long now before he goes all the way over. Superstar! (ha)

Peach had to get her second flu shot today. Justin took her for me. I'm just not good at it. It hurts my feelings to have to hold them down so they can feel pain. Again she took it like a trooper. Nothing to it. She cracks me up. Each night she lays in her crib talking up a storm. Last night was no exception. She laid up there going "Oh, Hi Swiper! Hi Dora. DIEGO! Oh, Hi baby....mmmm-aaaah (kissing it...baby is her bunny that she sleeps with). BOOTS!" She makes me smile.

Natey and Justin are at coffee right now. It's a big deal...coffee. I love that men complain about women being gossipers yet men live for 'coffee breaks'. I'm sure it's the actual drink that brings them together. Double standard. :)

Natey has spring fever something fierce. He can't wait to get outside to ride his bike, ride lightning, blow bubbles, doesn't matter - he just wants to be outside. Today he wanted to wear some shorts. I told him it wasn't warm enough outside for that. After a brief meltdown and a choice to go to coffee he decided a long sleeve shirt and jeans would work just fine. Ah, the art of redirection.

Do the math

People are constantly trying to guess the gender of a baby at conception. I was told of the following theory; you do the math. Add the number of the month (ie: January - 1, February - 2, March - 3, etc.) and the age you were when you conceived. If the number you come up with is odd, it's a boy - even, it's a girl. Let me know if it works for your kids. If you don't have kids, use yourself as the example.

Nathan - Conceived in August (8) when I was 27 which = 35. (boy)
Claire - Conceived in July (7) when I was 29 which = 36. (girl)
Jack - Conceived in February (2) when I was 31 which = 33. (boy)
**Nathan was a toss up because my birthday is August 6th. I know he was conceived on the 13 though.** :)

How do your kids work out? (This is all very scientific.) Hee Hee!

Justin worked the day shift on Friday. We decided that going to Brookings to get groceries would be a good thing to do after work. We were low on just about everything in the house. Justin picked up the kids at daycare and had the kids ready to go when I got home. We decided that we'd just eat supper somewhere quick in Brookings. Natey is all about 'going in' to eat. It wouldn't matter if it were Applebee's or McDonald's, for some reason it's better if we go in.

I'm still not eating dairy which makes eating out a bit of a challenge. We pulled up to Pizza Ranch, but I really didn't want to eat there. I could eat the chicken, but if I was going to have chicken I would rather eat at KFC. So down the road we went to KFC. Natey was excited to eat Mac & Cheese.....inside of coarse. :)

Justin got us our buffet plates and drinks. Then he went and got Natey a plate of food. While cutting up the things for him I went through and got Claire a plate of food. While I was cutting up her food Justin went and got his food. While he was gone Natey said this:

"Mom, this was a GREAT choice! (pause - and you always know it's going to be good when there's a pause....) You're one HECK of a Mom!!!" I laughed, of coarse I laughed. He said "I think I'll say that to dad too." Show off. ;)

Visual DNA

Other bloggers have gone to this website and compiled their Visual DNA. When I clicked to see their results on their blogs, I couldn't understand what I was supposed to be looking at. I did mine today and this is what it said about me. I'll highlight the things I strongly agree with.

Mood: You're romantic in your outlook and love a good fairytale. You are a bit of a dreamer, you've got a great imagination. When it comes to art, you're definitely unconventional. You like to think differently, always from another perspective. You have a good sense of humour. As for music, it's the soundtrack to your world. An open road, your favorite tracks - cliches are there to be enjoyed! Your choice of treat reveals that simple pleasures make your day. You love relaxing, unwinding, and pampering.

Fun: You like simple pleasures, and take time to appreciate all corners of your life. This makes you content and balanced, someone people love to hang out with. (I hope.) For kicks, you like to experience life at full volume with the lights on full. You're extremely passionate and emotional, and a bit of an exhibitionist? (Justin has been calling me an exhibitionist for years. I STILL don't agree with him!!) You express yourself and don't mind who's watching. (Boy, that should be in flashing neon!) When it comes to holidays, you'll take experience over comfort every time. You love to be in charge of where you are heading - the freedom of choosing your own direction. (Amen)

Habits: Even if you have a healthy approach to life, you still have your little vices that keep you going. It is all part of the routine, you're a creature of habit.

Love: You're a real home soul. You care deeply about family life and all that comes with it, the love of a child is very special. When you think of freedom - you think of technology providing you with the links to communicate wherever you are. Opening more doors.

This and that - take 3

After Jack was born, Amber asked me if it was different having 3 children. I mistakenly told her no. Actually, I must have been off my rocker. Those of you with two children, jumping on the #3 express should not be taken lightly. Our house is utter chaos. Those of you with 4+ have to be nuts! :)

On Mondays I work until 8am. This past Monday I was tired when I got off work. Everyone was still sleeping when I got home, so I went right to bed. Sunday afternoon when I got off work Nathan was at Dawson's house playing. They brought him home after I was in bed, so he wanted to say hello to me before he went to school on Monday. That was fine, but I couldn't get back to sleep. Needless to say, Monday night I was tired.

Tuesday I took Jack to get his pictures taken while Justin took Nathan and Claire with him to do something else. I'm SO excited to get Jack's pictures back. I took him back to Black's and am so glad I did. She took pictures of his feet and hands which I think are beautiful. I can't wait to show them off.

Wednesday Jack was super cranky. He wanted to be held all day long. About every 3 days he does this. As much as I love to hold him, I get NOTHING done. He still has the monitor which means just getting up and doing things isn't that easy. I have been 'just a minute(ing)' my children to death. Know what I mean? "Mom, can you get me some milk please?" My standard response - just a minute.

Natey had school Wednesday and on those days he tends to come home with more of an attitude. On the days that he doesn't go to school he doesn't nap (except for Thursday's at Pam's), but he has to have quiet time. Without quiet time, time to rest, he's a bear. By the end of the night I was going crazy. We had to eat in shifts because Jack was so fussy. By early evening the kids were so hyper you'd thought they both ate a sack of sugar. Now that I think of it they did eat some candy. Anyway, Natey and Claire were playing while Jack was trying to sleep and they would get louder and louder. CALGON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally Justin came home and I was more than happy to have him take care of the big kids. After getting out of his uniform he laid on the couch with them. Claire was bouncing on his legs saying something over and over. When we finally listened to what she was saying we heard "Shake - your booty - shake, shake - your booty". I said "Claire, are you saying shake your booty?" She got a HUGE smile on her face and said "shake, shake your booty!" I was crying from laughing so hard. Where on earth did she hear that?

Oh, get this! On Tuesday I went to warm something up in the microwave. I pushed the button to open the door and a huge spark came out. I had a brief flashback of Michael Jackson with his hair on fire while doing that Pepsi commercial. YIKES! Do you realize how often you use your microwave? When Justin got home that night, he took the dead microwave out and put it in the garage. All day on Wednesday I found myself looking at the clock that no longer existed in the open hole where the microwave once lived. When it came time for supper, I grabbed some frozen hamburger and walked to my pretend microwave to thaw out the burger. Oh, duh! I guess that's not going to work. Actually nothing is going to work because everything is frozen. I had no idea how much I depended on that thing. We got a different one yesterday and I haven't used it yet. The first thing I did was set the clock on it though. We're such creatures of habit.

Tracy and Dawson came over last night. It's always fun when they come to play. Claire wanted to know where Caymen was. She stayed home with her daddy. Didn't really matter to Claire though - she got in there and played with those boys. The boys don't love it when they have to include Peach, but they did pretty well.

Tranquility - enough said

Cute little video

Some funnies

Nathan: (In the bathroom in Lewis Drug) Mom, would you hold my coat please?
Me: Sure.
Nathan: Thanks Mom. (pause) You're very helpful today!
(Other days, not so much?)
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Nathan: Which way is North?
Me: (pointing towards the North)
Nathan: Which way is Pole?

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Nathan: Why is Santa bald?
Me: (I REALLY wanted to say 'male pattern baldness' but didn't.) I don't know I guess.
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I've saved the best for last.

Today I was on the phone with Tracy while doing laundry. Natey came down to the basement to shoot some hoops while I was down there. In his best announcer voice he said "And starting for the Madison Bulldogs - a 5 foot Senior - NATHAN MEYYYYEEERRRR!" The poor thing has no idea how correct he just might be.

Is it wrong? Is it intrusive?

How many blogs do you read? I have 14 listed in my favorites. Of those 14 I personally know 9 of the people. What draws you to other blogs? Is it a comment? Is it the picture that's next to the comment? For me it is usually a combination of both. I'm a very visual person. I'm more likely to click on someones blog if they have a picture with their comment. If there is no picture, that might be enough to make me go looking for one. I like to feel like I know who I'm talking to.

The last two days I've been wondering on to other people's sites though the comments of fellow bloggers. It's interesting how many familiar faces I see commenting on those sites too. Most of the people that comment on my site are from South Dakota, however, I have people that visit my site from all over the globe (although I'm not sure why).

Is it wrong to go other people's sites? Sometimes I feel as though I'm equivalent to a window peeper. There are other sites that I'm locked into and would be very sad if for some reason I couldn't go there to check in. Actually, I was telling my boss about one of the sites that I go to every day. She asked why I would want to read about someone that I didn't even know. I explained to her that to me it was the same as reading a book that never ends. She said that she bets in the near future there will be many books as results of blogs. I agree.

As far as my blog goes, at this time I don't care who comes and reads. It doesn't bother me that there are way more readers than people that comment. Actually, I find it interesting. Don't get me wrong, comments are fun and I welcome anyone to comment if they so choose. However, for some people it seems like it's a contest to see how many comments they can get. For me it's not a means of validation. I would blog if nobody commented. Blogging isn't about that for me. It used to drive me crazy not knowing who you were and why you were here, but you come back every day and you are welcome here. Please don't ever feel like a window peeper - I don't view you as such.

When I make the rounds each day reading every ones blogs, I often wonder who it is they are blogging for. I started my blog for my extended family when I was pregnant with Jack. I had my mother and mother-in-law in mind with many of my early posts. Both of them live 2+ hours away from me and I wanted them to feel as though they lived across the street. I didn't want them to miss their grandchildren growing up and this was the easiest way to get that done, through stories, pictures and video's. I used to e-mail a baby update after each doctor visit. I did this with all of the kids. I would get confused and forget to add people to the list and would always end up leaving someone out. I thought if I did it this way, nobody could blame me for leaving them out. I never thought my blog would be read by a complete stranger. Maybe that was naive on my part.

When I started my blog the only people I personally knew with blogs were my cousin Nicole and my friend Jennie. I admit, I thought it was a bit silly when I started it. For some reason I felt embarrassed to have a blog. Just saying or typing the word blog was like fingernails on a chalkboard. Thankfully I've gotten over that.

As for now, I still blog for my family, but I also find it quite therapeutic. Not long ago Justin said to me in amazement "You don't have a sensor button, do you?" I guess not. I don't think I ever have - my guess is that I never will. (It had nothing to do with my blog. I just thought it was funny...and true.)

So take it or leave it. It's always your choice to Experience Life ~ Kerrie Meyer style. ;)

Fun Photo's

Check out the most adorable picture of my two little boys.

Here is a picture of the boss in our family. :) She's going to be a handful.

Here are a few pictures of Natey enjoying the snow.

If you're ever at our house and can't find the right place to sit, ask Claire for some assistance. She'll be happy to clear her toys out of their rightful place just so you can be comfortable. ;)

Have a good week!

The child in room 1153

On Monday , February 19, 2007, after visiting the doctor I knew our next stop would be the hospital. I feel very familiar with this hospital. I myself have stayed there 3 times and had 4 surgeries (3 c-sections and gall bladder). As far as pediatrics goes, Claire was in this hospital twice so I felt like I knew the ropes. I went from the doctors office to the front of the hospital to register Jack.

A lady got us all checked in and then asked me to wait in the front for someone to take us to our room. After a short wait, the lady came back and asked us to come with her. We got to the peds floor and we went to a wing that I wasn't familiar with. When we got to our room I thought to myself that this all seemed very strange. This room was nothing like the ones that Clarie had been in.

As we were getting checked in and they were assessing Jack, they put on masks and gowns and said that any of the staff that got near Jack would have to wear 'this get-up'. Um, okie dokie. I was a bit overwhelmed to begin with. This all seemed strange to me. I understood that they didn't know what was wrong with him, but was it so bad that they were afraid they would give it to another child? They later explained that anyone with RSV or any kind of flu got the same treatment.

One of the nurses said "Do you know why you are in the ICU?" I said "I didn't know this was the ICU. I knew this all seemed different than what my daughter had gone through, but I didn't realize this was the ICU." She explained to me that he was there because of the lack of beds in the hospital. When Doctor Henry came that night he said "He doesn't 'need' ICU care, but I'm really glad he's here." The nurse said to me "There are very sick kids in this unit." I guess I figured that much out on my own. People came and went, in and out, over and over. Due to the fact that I'm a nursing Mom they brought me my meals. They also let me have all the juice, pop, and water that I wanted to help me maintain my milk supply.

After getting settled in, I began to look around at my surroundings. The doors on the rooms in the unit were glass sliding doors with curtains. I noticed that the room directly across from Jack's, room 1153, was filled with balloons, flowers, and stuffed animals. On one of my trips back to the fridge I noticed that the child in that room was on a ventilator. I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with that child. Was it a girl or a boy? How old was the child? My guess was between 6 and 10. I wondered how long the child had been there. They had pillows under his/her motionless legs. People came and went from the room. I once saw a young girl reading to the child. She left the room crying.

Jack was on a monitor that measured 3 different things. It measured his heartbeat, his oxygen level and his respiration's. If his monitor went off and a nurse was in a different room, a pop up window would come up with the following information: name, room number, stats. This way if they were in a different room and he stopped breathing they would know to come help. This was the same throughout the unit. One of the alarms that when off often was room 1160 - Cheyenne. You would have thought Jack and Cheyenne were in some sort of contest to see who could have more alarms. One of Jack's sensors was on his big toe, so if he started moving around then the alarm would sound. It would also sound if his oxygen level went too low.

I thought 'Can't we just have one false alarm from room 1153 so at least I know if it's a boy or a girl?' Finally it happened. The alarm went off and the pop up window showed that Katie B was the child in room 1153. Finally. Some how it felt better to pray for the little girl in room 1153 instead of the unknown child.

Late Wednesday evening I noticed that they put a sign on the little girls door. It said "Minimal Stimulation Please". I wondered what happened that made them put that up. I felt so horrible for this little girl and her family. When people would leave her room they would normally be in tears.

Thursday morning I noticed that the balloon's had been grouped and the flowers were moved out of the little girl's room. I once again started to wonder what was going on. There were toilets in our rooms, but not actual bathrooms. They had a curtain that you could pull around for privacy, but the actual bathrooms were down the hall at the end of the unit. Early Thursday afternoon I left Jack's room to go to the bathroom. As I opened the brown metal doors to go out of the unit, I noticed that people were gathered in the hall, one of them a clergyman. I felt stupid, sad, and overwhelmed. I felt as though I'd just walked into a place where I had no business being, however, that was untrue. I had no other way to get to the bathroom and had just as much business being there as they did. Nonetheless, I felt as though I was intruding. I recognized the people's faces as being the loved ones coming in and out of room 1153.

By the time I returned many of the people were already in the little girls room. The curtains were drawn and nurses were quietly coming and going. Our nurse said that she was helping with the room across the hall and to just push the nurses button if we needed anything. I figured that the little girl was dying. People came and went in large groups, all of them sobbing as they left. I felt so bad.

At 11:30pm our nurse came into our room. She said they had to move us to the regular peds floor. They had an admit and needed the room. That was the last information I had on Katie B. When Jack was discharged on Friday, I couldn't help but wonder if Katie B died or if she made it through the night. I decided I'd check the Argus Leader obituaries for a few days to see if I could find some of the answers I'd been looking for. I looked for a few days and then got caught up with my every day normal life.

Today when I came to work, one of the officers asked me if I'd seen the news about the 8 year old girl that had died from the flu. I'd even heard on the news one day that South Dakota had had it's first death from the flu and never even thought twice about it. However, when the officer asked me about it I jumped to the edge of my chair and said "Was her name Katie?" He couldn't remember. He has a daughter who is also 8 which makes things like this hit home. As quickly as I could, I turned to our work computer and got on the Argus Leader website. Sure enough there was the obituary for Katie B. It's here if you would like to read it. This is a story about it on Keloland. There was a lady at Katie's bedside that looks so much like she does. I can only assume it was her mother. It looks as though Katie lived until early in the morning on Tuesday.

Now I have the answers to the questions I had. I'll continue to pray for the child in room 1153, Katie B., Katie Boterman and her family. I'm sure you will now do the same.

You might be a redneck if.....

(Grandma Karen - you're going to LOVE this)

Nathan went over to the clock on the entertainment center and said "MOM! Do you see what time it is? It's PM 7:Jimmie Johson! Can YOU believe that???"

I c*r*a*c*k*e*d up! For those of you who are not NASCAR fans - the time was 7:48. #48 is Jimmie Johnson's number. HA!!!