Pryce came home a week or so ago and showed me the letter "B". He went onto tell me that the entire Kindergarten was going to have an alphabet parade and he was to dress up as something that began with the letter B. With baseball on my mind, I announced he could be a baseball player. Perfect, right? We have all of the attire and it begins with a B. Pryce said no. He came up with the idea to be a baker. Pryce wanted a baker's hat and a little spoon to carry. Good idea.

Mason-Kate is feeling much better though still slightly congested. Funny story on her....yesterday I picked her up from school and as we were walking out, she opened a lollipop that had been given to her by one of her teachers. We were just taking our time getting to the van, she was telling me about the playground which of course meant stopping to look at the playground, she was showing me her artwork, she was telling me who had been nice, etc. Then, she gave me the half-eaten lollipop. I told her that if she did not want it, to go throw it away. She loves to throw things away. So she threw the lollipop away, came back to me and we began our walk AGAIN to the car. Then she stopped, turned around and ran to the trashcan saying "mommy, eat, please". Here is this two year old child, practically hugging this nasty trashcan, screaming for me to save her lollipop. Lets just say that trying to explain to a two year old who has a visual on the item she wants, and cannot have, in the nasty trashcan is not an easy task. So, we came home, and she proceeded to lick the neighbor's flowers.

The Unexpected

Sick? Who said I was sick??

Wednesday MK woke up with a small cough, maybe a little runny nose. Thursday MK woke up with a runnier nose, cough still the same and she seemed to be breathing fast. Friday MK woke up with a more distinct cough, runny nose and a low grade temp. The fast breaths were gone, or so we thought. Friday evening MK was eating at the ballpark, playing with Pryce, happy as a lark. Then in the flash of a minute it all changed, literally. MK started coughing, coughing, more coughing, then gagging, then screaming, then breathing fast, faster, faster and then she was asleep. Her eyes were puffy and her face full of tears. I was worried. After waking her for a bath, she was just laying in my arms still not breathing right. I was worried and was kicking myself for not taking her into the dr. earlier that day though she had seemed, for the most part, ok. Thankfully we have a friend who used to be a respiratory therapist. We called and he came over to assess her....sounds silly but we just weren't sure what was going on and we really didn't want to go to the ER if it was just a "virus" as we are so often told. An hour later, on a Friday evening no doubt, we found ourselves in the ER.....hmmmm. An hour after our arrival to the hospital, we found ourselves struggling to hold our strong, sick MK down for xrays. Two hours after our arrival to the hospital, we found ourselves, again, struggling to hold our MK down as they attempted an IV....the dr. is the only one who could get a good stick. Three hours after our arrival, after there had been a steady coming in of patients, we found that we were the only ones being admitted. We got a diagnosis of double pnuemonia, low oxygen stats and a stubborn fever that wouldn't respond to Tylenol/Motrin. Four hours after our arrival, we found that the dr. who would be admitting us to the hospital is the doctor in our practice who is adopting from China, special needs to boot. At three in the morning, I found myself wide awake, rocking poor MK, talking peacefully to the nurses about adoption and China. At four in the morning, an awakened MK chooses the elevated crib for us to sleep in, together, over the nice, larger sized pull out bed. I am small, but this was a crib, not a bed with large rails, a crib, which made for an interesting night of "sleep". And at six in the morning I found myself waking to the nurse poking on a sleeping MK. The nurse leaves, MK opens her eyes, says "Hi Momma" and then pitifully points to her boarded, taped up, iv-ed hand and says "mommy, boo boo, ouch". And at noon on Saturday, we found ourselves being discharged after going all night and morning without needing oxygen. Ryan and the boys picked us up and Ryan proclaimed, "I don't mean this to sound bad, but you do smell like a hospital"....thanks honey. And with that, MK and I came home to take nice, long, hot, sterilizing baths followed by a nap. Awww, home again.

Now, that's better!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the boys were up bright and early to sell lemonade during our neighborhood yard sell.