The Puppies & splashin' baby

I thought I'd do a quick update since I have such cute pictures to show off. I have the luxury of being home alone w/Avery (she's napping, though) so I promised myself that if I mopped the kitchen floor I could have some computer time. Riley is at Totally Arts camp and then will be going to Coco Keys w/her Brownie troup and Shelby & Daddy are at Magic Waters.

Shelby got quite the treat on Wednesday to go w/Grandma Nea to see her neighbor's new puppies. Shelby is totally in love w/the mother dog and has been quite anxious to go see the 3 pups. They're only about 3 weeks old and Shelby got to hold all 3 of them! Enjoy the pictures! She had a wonderful time!

June fun

We purchased Rockford Park District pool passes this year for me & the big girls. Since Daddy is around right now, the 5 of us have gone twice this week to Sand Park Pool. Of course, Riley & Shelby spend their time in the big pool swimming under water, but Avery is really enjoying the fantastic kiddie area they have. I am appreciating the fact, too, that she isn't walking yet as I watched a mom w/a child a few months older than Avery chase her toddler around yesterday. Avery stays in one spot except when she decides to get adventurous and crawl a few feet.

I am almost done w/my paperwork for the afterschool program. One more to go! Yea! Then its play, play, play....I wish!

Hope your summer is coming along nicely, too. We like/appreciate being home & not in the hospital :) Thank you, again, for your prayers for Shelby. Take care!

Home! :-)

I just copied my entry from the Liver Families Forum....so those of you that read that, this will sound familiar!

We're home. This is the deal per Dr. Alonso (Chicago). Finish up the final 3 days of Zithromax. If this (fever about 102) should happen again and she isn't looking too bad then take her to the Pediatrician's, not ER. He will run CBC w/differential and CMP. If her ANC comes back under 250 then she will get a shot of broad-spectrum antibiotics that will cover her for 12-24 hrs. while blood/urine cultures "cook." That way she's covered w/antibiotic protection if they do grow anything. If she doesn't look good and has the fever and her LFT's are elevated, then she will be admitted for further observation/study. Each time her ANC drops below 250 Dr. Alonso will be notified. If it becomes a pattern, then weekly Nupogen injections will be given. They are giving her more leeway on the ANC level b/c her "normal" WBC is so low (2-3) to begin with. Right now we're just using good precautions in keeping her away from public places/sick people/extra good hand washing. This afternoon Avery woke up from her nap w/"The Cough" and now has a fever of 102...so it was something viral...let's hope it doesn't go around all 5 of us and then back to Shelby. Thanks for your info and prayers.

Night update: A dose of Tylenol has brought down Baby A's fever. She ate supper, had fun in her swing outside, had a tubby and is now sleeping. Let's hope her night is calm and restful.

I start a new job tomorrow. I still have my site coordinator position w/the after school program, but that is almost done for the summer. My new (2nd) part-time job will be as co-director of @ Centennial United Methodist church's Saturday Kids Club. I am looking forward to this as it is very part-time, there is back-up if Shelby (or Riley or Avery) is sick, and its working w/kids and in a very familiar church environment for me. Once I learn the ropes I will take Riley & Shelby with me as the program serves children ages Kindergarten-Sixth grade.

Thank you for the prayers for Shelby.

Admitted

Shelby & her teacher, Mrs. Giardono, on the last day of Kindergarten

Shelby was admitted the other night. She has no fever now, but has diarhhea and tummy pain when she coughs. I thought her cough was getting better, but last evening started to get worse again. We are mainly in here because her ANC is so low and no one is making a decision on what to do with her about it....a repeat of March....very frustrating. Don't be freaked out by the link for the ANC, it just gives a good description of what it is.

Labs were just drawn so, we'll see what those show. Her ANC when we came in Wednesday night was 805, yesterday it was 648, and soon we'll see what today's is. Its not liver issues that are keeping her in this time, its those low blood counts. Someone needs to figure this out. In March her ANC went from 700 down to 150 when she was sick. It took an injection of Nupogen to bring it back up....is that what is going to happen again? Its only a bandaid on top of the real problem (which no one has figured out what that is). Sorry to ramble....frustrated here. She's not really sick enough to be here, but there's enough going on for her to not be at home.

Riley ready to head to camp on "Crazy Hair" day

On to my other kids...Riley has enjoyed a week of Camp Winnebago. It is a day camp just north of Rockford. Today is her last day and they will be taking the kids to the Y to swim. Riley will be in heaven! She also will be exhausted from being on-the-go all week. Some R & R time will be in order for her.

Avery in her hot rod. Watch out, I'll run you over!

Avery, Avery, Avery....what a cute, happy chubby baby! We thought she was handling the shuffle from Daddy to Mommy to Grammie, but according to Daddy (who got to sleep at home last night) she was up on and off during the night. We'll have to make sure she has her nap in her crib today. It was just too exciting at Grammie's yesterday with cousin Katie there and all the ceiling fans for her to nap good. And she's so darn cute, who can resist a baby who wants to play instead of sleep?!?!?!?

And...to add just a bit more stress to this. Scott's ASSHOLE boss let him go May 29th. Just out of the blue...what an asshole. It is helpful to have Scott around and is nice to spend time with him, but he's lookin' for a job. Anybody know of anything?

I'll update more later.

Shelby in the ER

We are at the ER @ RMH w/Shelby right now. Her what-I-thought-was-an-allergy-cough now includes a fever of 102. She is acting so-so, but doesn't have much of an appetite. Prayers please that we go home tonight and are not admitted. I'll update when I can.