One of *those* weeks

So, the trip to the pediatrician has mixed reviews.  For the most part, I felt that I was listened to and that she took my concerns seriously.  Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted and forgot to ask her to swab Kai for the flu or any of those other things (croup, RSV, etc.)  See, as we pulled into the parking lot at the doctor's office, Finn lost his breakfast all over the car.  So, I had to do a makeshift job of cleaning the car and the carseat and had to strip him of his coat.  His pants still had a bit of a smell to them, but there was nothing more I could do.  We made it through the appointment pretty well, so that was a victory.  The doctor diagnosed Kai with a "nasty" cold, although on the exit paperwork it said URI (upper respiratory infection) which sounds a bit better than "cold" but still.  We paid a whole lot of money to hear the word "cold".

Finn was coughing a bit on Monday but by Tuesday he definitely had Kai's virus.....whatever it is.  So, we increased treatments to 3 times a day and hoped for the best.  I debated on sending Kai to school on Tuesday, but ended up deciding to keep him home.  I was grateful for that decision when early that afternoon he lost his entire lunch.  Grr.....every time I thought someone was getting better......

At least they don't *look* sick

Wednesday morning Finn's cough was sounding bad.  So we made the move to 4 treatments a day.  This was the day that I realized why it is hard for me to do 4 treatments a day---all of Finn's equipment is in the basement in front of the TV.  To do treatments we all have to stop what we're doing, make sure we're down stairs and sit down in front of the TV.  4 times a day??  Really?  Too hard.  So, we improvised and brought his equipment upstairs.  It made a BIG difference for us.

The only way we can get in 4 treatments a day.  See that washcloth?  Finn walked around with that cold, damp washcloth for 3 days.  I actually think it kept his temperature down at times.  But he ended up chapping his lips because of it.  It's taken me two days to get his lips back to normal!

I just happened to hear about snow headed our way on Wednesday night that morning and realized that I better send Kai to school.  He was still sounding pretty bad, but I wasn't sure that he would get another chance at school this week and according to school standards he was fine to go.  So, off he went.  And then I spent the next 3 hours missing him.  Funny, huh??  He had been home for 5 straight days, why would I miss him for 3 hours?  But I did.  And then the snow started to fall that night...

Finn ended up moving into my bed on Wednesday night despite his protests.  I think it's funny that he likes sleeping with Kai in that room so much that he no longer wants to sleep in my bed.  But unfortunately I'm 7 months (almost 8) pregnant and I can't squish into his bed comfortably any more and I also can't keep getting up every 30 minutes to help him through his coughing fit.  Being in my bed just made a lot more sense for those reasons and so that Kai could get his sleep.  (Oh yeah, he [Kai] had spent 2 nights sleeping on a mattress in the living room, but we moved him back to his bedroom on Tuesday after we saw that the codeine cough syrup helped him to not cough at night and that the light in the living room made it difficult for him to sleep.  It made sense to have him back in his normal bed in his room.)

Thursday school was indeed closed for snow and so the boys and I were home yet again.  This day I learned why parents put their kids in front of the TV when they are sick.  Every time I sent the boys off to play I would end up with two boys in tears within 5 minutes.  They were just tired, sick, and miserable.  In fact, they both asked to take a nap that day!  So, we all napped together.  I also called into Finn's CF clinic this day and let them know what we were dealing with (cough, fever, lack of appetite, vomiting from coughing so hard, etc.)  They prescribed an antibiotic for him and encouraged us to keep the increased treatment.  His fever spiked as high as 101.8 this day.  Drats!  Also on Thursday Reid came down with whatever this virus is and stayed home from work.  He spent the entire day locked in the guest room napping.

The only way to keep the peace this day.

Friday our school district decided to open (a questionable decision in my opinion) and once again I was torn about sending Kai as he was still not always keeping his food down and has a nasty barking cough.  Thankfully, around 8am we got an email from Kai's teacher indicating that the heating in the building was not working and so the elementary school was closing for the day.  What good fortune that just Kai's school closed for the day!  We/I needed him home that day!

Finally, Saturday arrived.  Both boys had been invited to birthday parties, but I declined for Finn.  He was just too sick to go.  After a lot of wavering, I decided to let Kai go to his party.  I was glad I did as he had a great time and was able to see most of his school class there.  But it did make for a busy day.  We dropped Reid's car off at the dealer for repairs at 9am and then headed home to drop off Reid and Finn.  Kai and I then went grocery shopping and present shopping.  The lines at Wal-Mart were crazy and I didn't know why at that point.  After lunch it was back in the car to drop Kai off at the party and take Reid back to the dealer to claim his car.  Finn fell asleep on this journey (thankfully--he had spent the past 3 nights sleeping with me and we weren't getting all the sleep we needed) so I decided that I had earned a chocolate concrete from Freddy's.  Yay for drive-throughs!  After just about 30 minutes at home (I put Finn on the couch were he continued to nap) I headed back out to pick up Kai from his birthday party, cancel our membership at the YMCA (we weren't using it) and grab Advil for Reid.  It was on this trip out that someone mentioned the "blizzard" coming.  No wonder everywhere I had gone it had been super busy.  Saturday night Kai fell asleep on the couch at 7pm.  Too bad Finn didn't fall asleep until nearly 10pm (for the second night in a row!)

Today we actually did get a blizzard.  I don't think we got much accumulation but snow has been flying everywhere all day.  Our ward (and most others) canceled our Sunday meetings and so we spent the day at home again.  Kai is sounding much better and actually kept all of his food down today.  He is down 2.5 pounds from this crazy and icky week.  Finn, however, still has something going on that I don't know what it is.  I'm thinking he might be struggling with asthma attacks, but I don't know.  His albuterol inhaler (rescue inhaler for attacks) isn't working at all.  He is having coughing fits that last a good 5 minutes at a time.  It's hard coughing that results in bringing up a fair amount of mucus and a little food at times (thankfully he is not emptying his entire tummy).  And this afternoon he was turning red and having a hard time talking at all.  It is hard to watch and not know what to do.  He even grabbed his inhaler at one point and told me he needed it, but he has been getting it nearly every 4 hours all day long and his clinic has said if he needs it more than that he needs to be seen.  If it keeps up tomorrow I'll be making a call again.  (Oh, and he's lost 1.5 pounds this week, too.  NOT good!)

Finn "resting" during one of his coughing spells.  It was the only way to get the coughs to stop.  I eventually decided the best way to contain him so that he didn't get worked up was to give him a bath.  You can't run around in a tub!

They spent the entire afternoon as superheros!  Too bad they were both exhausted.  I found Kai asleep on the couch at 4:30 and had to force him awake so that he would go to bed at a decent hour.

So, that's our crazy week--not in a nutshell.  I'm hoping this next week gets better.  It better or I may just take a vacation!