getting ready to go

in case you were missing us, we are back home now. we have been in kansas for a week and then had some friends visit for a few days when we got back. obviously, i have a lot to post and will be working on that the next few days. but i need to tell you about our excitement just trying to leave home...

i already posted about the water troubles we were having over memorial day weekend, but tuesday morning brought doctor office calls and appointments. first i called the pediatrician to ask about madelyn's continuing symptoms and then i called the dentist to see about getting my missing filling replaced.

i was starting to get worried that madelyn's symptoms might be something more than a bug after she had been complaining about stomach pains for a week, complained about a sore throat, and then started running a 102-103 degree fever. and since we were leaving town very early on thrusday morning the clock was ticking. the pediatrician is always super booked, but given the variety and length of her symptoms they wanted me to see the doctor; we got an appointment for 6:45pm tuesday night.

now for me. i was able to get an appointment around lunch time so that matt could come home and watch the kids for me. i ran errands with the kids for our trip in the morning, came home for a quick lunch, left the kids with matt, and ran over to the dentist's office. turns out that i was lucky the filling fell out because it exposed some decay that was hidden by the 'seal' put on my molar some time after i turned 12. it didn't show up on x-rays from 8 months ago. the point of this explanation is that it took longer than i (or the dentist) had planned. i raced home so matt could go back to work and i could get to work before taking madelyn to her appointment.

the doctor was pretty perplexed by madelyn's symptoms and physical exam so she ordered urine and stool samples, blood tests, and an abdominal x-ray. madelyn did outstanding! in the lab they had me pin her down but she didn't even flinch when they took her blood. the tech couldn't believe it. really, he was shocked and gave her three stickers instead of one. i could even hear them still talking about her as we walked over to get the x-rays. madelyn isn't afraid of needles. we have always talked about it frankly and never indicated that there was any reason to be afraid. she actually watched them put the needle in, draw the blood, and fill the vials. she told me it hurt a little but just for a second. then we went for the x-ray. because i am pregnant i couldn't stay in the room with her but they had a little window so she could see me. it is a good thing that i was taller than the tech because she wouldn't have been able to see me otherwise. madelyn did a great job laying still on the table and when the tech told her to hold her breath she put her hand to her mouth to try and literally 'hold' her breath. thankfully, the x-ray was clear on the first try (madelyn pulled her hand at the exact time they were taking the x-ray).

after all the testing the doctor felt that madelyn had just caught two different viruses. thankfully, it was just bad luck and not something more serious. she also assured me that madelyn was no longer contagious and should be fine to travel.

and of course mason came down with the diarrhea on wednesday and started running the high fever on wednesday night. thankfully, his run with all this only lasted a week instead of the two to three weeks madelyn's illness was lasting.

the good news was that we were all okay overall and matt and i did get to bed at a decent time on wednesday night and completed almost all the things on our to-do list. love.