Not Me Monday!

It's been ages since I've played along with MckMama, and it's been eons since I've blogged about anything, so I thought I'd join in today.

My house is always perfectly spotless--so clean it pings, as a matter of fact! That is why when Lily wanted to show Grandma something in her bedroom, I didn't think twice about it. I certainly didn't moan, "Oh NO! You probably won't even be able to walk in there; it's so messy!" ...then go on to rant and rave how the simple act of walking into their bedroom causes me instant stress. Noooo, I wouldn't ever do anything like that.

After returning from a week of puppy-sitting at my parents' house, I didn't allow the suitcases to go unpacked for a couple of days. No way did I have to declutter the girls' rooms just to unpack their bags and fit all of their clothes back into their dressers. And, NO WAY is one bag still unpacked! I wouldn't ever procrastinate like that!

I did, however, take all my laundry up to my parents' house to wash. This would be because my dryer sucks, as I believe I have mentioned in the past. (According the the dryer repair guy, it's not actually the dryer that sucks, it's the way the builders have it vented to the outside that renders the dryer grossly ineffective.) At least I had the decency to feel like a tool for doing it, even though I know they don't mind. And, I was able to bring home all clean clothes, which must count for something! Besides, it's not like I still had laundry leftover from (Indian) summer at the bottom of the laundry bags or anything.

I did not spent hours yesterday going through Lily and Leah's bedroom, giving aways stuffed animals and old books, packing up hand-me-downs for the people we pass on clothing to, and unpacking their suitcases. I didn't have to do that because their room is perfectly clean and tidy. Their bed is made right now in fact. I'm just sure it is!

And, while watching the Vikings game last night, I never told my husband (or anyone on Facebook) that I didn't know if my stomach could take it if the Vikings actually made it to the Super Bowl. Nor did I have to leave the room several times to make hummus, unload the dishwasher, and otherwise clean my kitchen because I just couldn't stand the heat! Nope, never happened!

And, you can head on over to MckMama's site to check out what everyone else has not been doing this week.

They're birds! They're planes! No, they're....

....SUUUUUU-PER GIRLS!

Or at least they were for awhile this afternoon. (They were also Dora, Diego, Alicia, and Boots, but that's beside the point).

Leah: "My super power is helping people with their attitudes."

Me: "Oh really? And, how do you help them?"

Leah: "Well, I just talk to them, and then they don't have bad attitudes anymore."

Me: "That's a pretty awesome super power you have there!"

Lily: "And, my super power is that I get people out of jail!"

Me: "Do you help good people get out of jail or bad people?"

Lily: "I help people get out of jail."

Me: "Yes, but are you helping the good guys or the bad guys?"

Lily: "The good guys."

Me: "Oh, well, that's good then."

Quickie Update

We had lovely Thanksgiving with family. Lily was still a little sick but has tolerated it fairly well. She's been on a little O2 off and on.....actually had to go over to Mark's Grandma's house Thanksgiving Day with her O2 on. It was so nice seeing my parents, sister, BIL, niece, and nephew! My mom, sister and I went Black Friday shopping, which is always fun. I know some people really hate the crowds, but I honestly don't mind. It's kind of fun.... I usually don't have a huge agenda on that day....something I just *must have,* so maybe that makes the day a little less stressful. A few hours into it, when our legs and feet were aching like crazy, we all stopped in Brookstone for a few minutes in one of their awesome massage chairs. SO worth it, I tell you! Ahhhhhh......

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Lily saw her pulmonologist yesterday for her yearly follow-up. She is now 10 days from the onset of her latest bug, and her lungs are still very wet-sounding. Verdict is: Bronchitis. She's on some antibiotics and oral steroids, so hopefully we'll start seeing a clear up soon....and a healthy Christmas!

My name is Mommy

Lily: "Mom, why did you born me?"

Me: "Well, you were in my tummy, and you needed to get out."

Lily: "Mommy, were you born?"

Me: "Yes."

Lily: "Who borned you?"

Me: "Grandma Kathy."

Lily: [Aghast] "WHAT?!.....Wh-wh-why did she born you?"

Me: "Well, I was in her tummy, and I needed to get out."

Lily: "What did she name you?"

Me: "Robin."

Lily: "Why?"

Me: "Well, she liked that name."

Lily: [decisively] "Well, I named you mommy. I like that name."

So, there you have it. My name is mommy.

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Lily has a bit of a cold again. Nothing serious, just a runny nose, coughing, and lots of mucus. We're keeping up with nebs and vest treatments and hoping for a healthy Thanksgiving!

Desperately Seeking Adventure

Cooped up doesn't even begin to describe how these last couple of weeks have been. Living in a bubble has certain advantages, not the least of which is being able to stay in your jammies day in.....day out.......for a week! Having groceries delivered to your front door....yep, another advantage.

Nevertheless, at some point, there's this inherent need to pop the bubble!

And, pop it, we did! Last Saturday afternoon, for the first time in 2-1/2 weeks, I left the house on what was not a hospital-related excursion.

Ah, feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, and watch that dune buggy drive right on by your sporty little minivan... Wait--did I say dune buggy? Yes, I did. To my knowledge, there are no sand dunes to speak of in our great state.

Still, my husband was trying to convince me how great it would be to have a dune buggy for a commuter car. (Right......that sounds downright comfortable to tootle around in all winter. You know, considering he drives the motorcycle 3 seasons out of the year!)

Lily has been doing a lot better, but we still felt like we should be careful to limit our exposure to people and new germs.

So, we went to a park where we could walk around, but avoided any sort of playground, much to the girls' chagrin.

While walking, I spotted an area with a lot of leaves. Jackpot! We kicked a huge pile together, and......

....Lily jumped in....just a little early...

....I'd hoped to get a photo of all three girls jumping in at the same time.

Guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

Ahhhhh.....invigorating adventures!

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Lily Update:

She is almost back to normal. Her lungs sound clear the majority of the time. I did take her to PT and OT this week. We are still doing nebs/vest tx's twice a day, but that won't end any time soon. Now, Lily just needs to work on getting her stamina back. She still tires easily, but we are elated that she's doing so much better!

Heavy Laden {with pictures}

In the spirit of lightening the mood, here are some pics from the last couple of months...

The Vikings shirts Elise and Leah are wearing were made by Mark. Yes, made! One football Sunday, those two were feeling sad and left out because they didn't have any Vikings paraphernalia to wear. A couple of old t-shirts, one large pack of Sharpies, and my husband's artistic talent later......and voila!

This was taken of Lily just a few days before she got so sick and ended up in the hospital.

While searching for an apple orchard to pick our own this year, we came across this little gem....

It was a small-ish, family-owned farm...

The apples were in the peak of perfection...

The trees were smaller and easy to pick from...

And, we were even able to pick Honey Crisp...

The son in the family loaned us his wagon for all of the bags we purchased...

I don't think they normally have people who come to pick as many apples as we picked!

Check out Lily's potty watch! It arrived in the mail just a few days before Lily ended up in the hospital, but it's been amazingly helpful!

If you give a daddy a garage to clean, his three little princesses might decide to build a house out of old linoleum and chairs....

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Happy Halloween!

As is our custom, the girls trick-or-treated at Mark's grandma's building again this year. Unfortunately, Lily was unable to go, being that she had just been discharged from the hospital.

This was taken right before the girls left (ignore the dinner all over Lily's face).

While they were gone, Lily and I snuggled, watched Veggie Tales, and did nebs/vest treatments. After they got back, it was Lily's turn to trick-or-treat. Mark and the other girls went up to their bedrooms, and Lily knocked on each door to fill her jack-o-lantern with treats. (I followed along behind to make sure her oxygen tubing didn't get stuck on anything.)

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As of today, Lily is doing much better. Her O2 sats are in the upper 90's in room air, and she's finally tolerating it very well, without paying for it later with awful nights and massive O2 needs the next day! Her lungs still sound squeaky and creaky with occasional crackles, but I'm very happy with all the positive gains she's made.

The "Glad Game"

Elise and I started reading "Pollyanna" a few weeks ago. H1N1 has slowed up our progress, unfortunately, but we'll get there.

On this Monday, here are a few things I'm glad about....

I'm ever so glad and thankful that Lily is alive.

I'm glad to be able to sleep in my own bed at night.

I'm glad for oxygen concentrators, the vest, neb machines, and the ultimate in stethoscopes.

I'm glad to know that the nurse at our pulmonology office (B) is only a short email away! (She was on vacation last week and is back today).

I'm glad that the rest of my family is mostly feeling better again.

I'm glad we were all able to rest so much over the weekend.

I'm glad my husband has such a great job and an awesome boss who allowed him to take off the time he needed while Lily was in the hospital.

I'm glad my IL's were able to come and stay with Mark and the girls while I was in the hospital with Lily.

I'm glad for so many friends and family members, and people I've yet to meet in real life who have prayed for us and cared for us during this time. Each one of you holds a special place in my heart, and I don't know how to thank you enough!

**And, I'm glad, glad, glad no one in my house has lice!**

I'm sure I could come up with a million other things to be glad about too, but I'll stop for now.

To give you a quick update on how things are going here...

If you don't follow me on FB, you probably don't know that Lily was confirmed to have H1N1 and pneumonia. She was discharged last Thursday, with instructions to come back if her breathing effort worsened. We took her off O2 completely on Thursday, and Lily spent the entire day in room air. That evening, her O2 sats were dipping, so I fired up the concentrator. After 10 minutes of running, it alarmed "call for service." I tried again with the same results. By this time, I had hooked Lily up to an O2 tank, which isn't my favorite solution, but it's better than no oxygen. I called the DME company (durable medical equipment), and they agreed to come out in the morning (Friday) with a new concentrator.

Our vest set-up arrived from Hill-ROM on Friday, and we've been using it ever since. I love it, but Lily doesn't. Although, I did adjust the settings, so they aren't quite as aggressive as they were in the hospital, which has helped with her tolerance.

Lily has been on anywhere from 1L of O2 all the way up to 5L (which is what she is on right now), and her sats are in the low to mid 90s. We are still doing nebs 4-5 times a day. Last night (technically this morning since it was 2 am) Lily had a coughing spell with de-sats that lasted for over an hour. I gave her 2 nebs and finally a popsicle to help calm her croupy cough and soothe her poor throat. I'm glad we were finally all able to sleep for a few more hours.

**After I finally fell asleep again, I dreamt about lice. My head still itches just thinking about it.....maybe you had to be there....or just be glad you weren't!**