When I picked Joshua up from preschool on Monday, Mrs. Ford told me that they had a little 'scare' with him and noted how bad his coughing was. He was still on antibiotics from our last visit and he hasn't had any fever that has registered on the thermometer we have (although admittedly he doesn't sit very still for us to take his temp) so we had sent him to school since he shouldn't be contagious. But, listening to his breathing that afternoon, I agreed with her that it seemed labored. So, I called and they got us in immediately. We saw Dr. Krack, who looked in both of Joshua's ears and noted that he had fluid on both of his ears and that he definitely is wheezing pretty bad. He gave us a much stronger antibiotic, he said, and increased his breathing treatments to three times a day until the cough goes away and the steroid to twice a day. In the meantime, I had called the reflux doctor about Joshua's coughing (since every once in awhile it causes him to vomit and he told me his chest & neck felt ouchey on the inside when I asked him). He also is losing weight, I can tell, because his clothes are getting looser on him rather than smaller. The gastroenterologist told me to go ahead and put him back on his full dose of Prevacid and they'll call to have him seen again in three months. So, Joshua is now on all sorts of medicine, and we're hoping it helps. The first night Daddy gave him a little too much medicine of the antibiotic accidentally, but after calling the pediatrician and poison control, we realized it was no harm, no foul.
Hopefully the Bean starts feeling better. Well, that's the thing, he doesn't really seem to feel bad. The day we were at the doctor's, I asked Joshua "do your ears hurt?" and he replied "Nope!" and he also says that he feels good every time I ask him. But there are times that he's struggling to breathe and will say he feels fine. This child always keeps me guessing (and a little worried, I'll admit). I called the pediatrician's office later that night to say that his breathing was labored even after a treatment, but I got a nurse who told me to wait two hours and try again. Two hours?!?!? But, he did eventually calm down and perk up with his breathing. We just need to keep praying for our little Bean.
Daddy is also on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine for his back (which has definitely helped since now he can move his leg again!). He also started physical therapy yesterday. They told him he can only sit on hard surfaces - no sitting on couches, recliners, beds, etc. So, he can sit at the kitchen table, on a hard chair with a back support or the floor. They also gave him some new exercises to do which they told him should be done round the clock. They think he injured his back and now the tissue around the injury is inflamed. So, he's got to work hard to get it under control rather than letting it go.Last night I went for a jog even though it was getting dark out just because the weather was a little nicer (like just above freezing) and I was itching to get outside. However, I was half way to the park when I thought I was having another gall bladder attack. Knowing my gall bladder is gone, I assume maybe this was my liver or something? Anyway, I don't think I've ever hurt this bad before in my life. I literally grabbed onto a nearby tree to keep me upright. Since it was chilly out (although I wasn't cold at that moment), I knew I couldn't stay there until someone found me so I crawled home on my tip toes grabbing my side in tears. As I walked in the door, Shawn had the boys shoes on and was about to come looking for me. I made it, thankfully. I could barely move, though. So, between the two of us last night, we were lousy company. Haaa!!! He can't sit anywhere to even watch TV except the floor and I didn't know if I could make it off the floor if I got down there. So, we ended up going to bed just after the boys did, both taking some pain medicine and calling it a night. I'm still sore this morning, so I didn't get up early to work out. I think I'll take another day off and try again. Hopefully I didn't tear anything internally yesterday. Not sure how you tell other than waiting it out.
Earlier in the day since I had severe cabin fever, I called Grandpa Georgia to see if he'd like to go to the Pennsylvania Farm Show. After really thinking about it, weighing the idea that he'd always wanted to check it out and yet he has some sort of issue with one of his legs that has been hurting when he walks, he decided to come along. I drove to Harrisburg and we sat in the traffic to find off-site parking. A shuttle bus then took us right up to the door. Here's Grandpa & the Bean on the bus.
As we were walking up the shuttle, I saw a coat that reminded me of my friend Julie. Then I saw her sister and realized that it was Julie's coat! I said "Jules?" and she turned around. What are the odds? They rode our shuttle but I didn't see them afterward. The Farm Show Complex is gi-normous! Before departing, I took a picture of them. Julie is on the right, her sister Patti is on the left and Jude is behind Kate in the stroller.
And Julie was nice enough to take our picture all together. In hind sight, I would NOT have taken a stroller there at all. We ended up having to carry it most of the time. There was one elevator for the entire crowd and a line a mile long to get on it, so we folded up the umbrella stroller and I carried Caleb. This was just one other thing to carry then. We did use it some, particularly for Caleb to eat in, but all in all I think it may have been easier not having it. I was glad I didn't bring the double one I was planning on.
The first thing we did was look around for the advertised "Big Wheel Races." However, after finding the area that it was supposed to be in (after looking at the map and then asking for directions), there were only tractors there. Joshua still liked the tractors, but to walk down the steps to see them closer looked like a pain with the stroller since we had just put Caleb back in. We walked around some more to get our bearings and then Joshua begged for some lunch. So, we went to the food court and got chicken nuggets for the boys, a chicken sandwich and coleslaw for me (which I shared the bread with the boys), and chicken corn noodle soup for Grandpa. Then Joshua saw a milkshake and pleaded for one. So, I stood in the mile long line to get him a chocolate one and a vanilla one for Caleb & I to share. Meanwhile Grandpa stood in line to get the fried cheese cubes that someone had raved about to us. I didn't think they were anything to write home about, and I gave the rest to Dad. We threw the last one away. Joshua didn't want the last half of his milkshake, so Grandpa took the lid and straw off (to keep the sickness away) and drank the rest out of the side. Caleb does okay with a straw now, which surprised me, and he drank over half our milkshake and loved it.
From there we went to see the animals. We saw horses, cows, roosters, ducks, chickens, chicks, pigs and piglets, sheep and more!
I let Caleb walk in this area and Grandpa graciously took the stroller and back pack with Joshua's inhaler (just in case!), pull-ups & diapers (again in case!) and wipes (which we used as napkins at lunch).
Thankfully the weather was a lot nicer yesterday, so we didn't freeze as we walked around. However, I will also say that most of PA was there. We couldn't believe the crowds mid-day! Everywhere we walked was shoulder to shoulder, nose to nose, feet to feet. We could barely move around and see things, which isn't necessarily my cup of tea. Here's Joshua in front of the chicks that had just hatched. We also saw a few hens lay an egg.
Here's Caleb in front of the winning "medium" duck. I'd hate to see a big duck if this one was only a "medium!" Joshua's library book this week was "The Ugly Duckling" so we enjoyed seeing this display. A lady came up and gave me a balloon for each boy that says "I love eggs." They've enjoyed playing with them.
Here's a sheep trying to see Grandpa's program. After seeing the animals, even though there was lots we didn't get to see, we decided to head out. It was nap time, and the crowds were getting to us. I'm glad we went to check it out, but I think the Manheim Farm Days are just as fun and less far away and less expensive (since it was $10 to park). I was thankful for my GPS which brought us right home. :)
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