Merry Christmas to Everyone

I've got about 40 minutes left at work so thought I'd use the time wisely and write an update :)

Things are still hectic here, it really does seem like we get one thing finished and off the "to do" list and then another thing (or usually 2) pops up. We finally got our living room walls and ceiling patched and repainted after having speakers and recessed lights added about 9 months ago, we got our carpets cleaned (I shudder to think what colour the water was), I wrote and posted my Christmas cards, did the majority of my shopping and we even found time to buy the Christmas tree.

Some stuff just wont disappear from the list, no matter how hard we try - like our new dishwasher. Our old one broke at the beginning of November and we decided to replace it as it was pretty crappy anyway. We found one we liked, went to Sears, ordered it and found out that it was back ordered. Not to worry it would only be a couple of weeks. Finally the day arrives for the installation, the technician goes to get the dishwasher and promptly comes back and says some catch on it is broken and he'll have to take it back oh and by the way in his years of experience the make we chose is known for breaking down so maybe we should reconsider. My poor hands by now are complaining loudly that they weren't made for this washing dishes lark. So we call Sears back, explain the situation, cancel the first order and place a new order, sorted! surely it will be here soon. We keep calling to see what's going on, they reassure us that it will be here soon and definitely by Christmas. My phone calls become more and more frequent as the days start counting down and having to listen to pipped Christmas Musik every time I'm put on hold is driving me batty, even though I always get the name of the person I speak to they never seem to be there when I call again and I have to go through the whole story of who said what on what day a million and one times. Sigh, we still haven't got our dishwasher and I'm contemplating paper plates for Christmas dinner.

The other big thing that got dropper on our laps was that day care suddenly announced, in the car park while trying to strap both kids into their car seats, that they thought Callum needed a full time shadow/aide at school because he keeps running off and they are afraid that he'll get hurt. Oh and by the way can we have someone there by January 3rd! I don't mind the request for an aid, but how it was done and giving us a grand total of 10 days over the Christmas holiday without even mentioning before that this might be a possibility had me very pissed off. They had backtracked a little and said as long as they know we're working on it then that's OK. We have had one person contact us about the job, she's doing her masters has a younger sister with Down syndrome, has experience as a nanny and as a day care teacher and really wants to work with a child with special needs, keep your fingers crossed that it works out.

We are just about prepared for Christmas, Mark's mum and her boyfriend arrive tonight and my youngest brother Jack and his mate Jack arrive on Christmas Eve. Jack is like me and loves Christmas so I'll have someone joining me in the wearing of reindeer antlers and singing Christmas carols all day.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

I think things are settling down

Kieran is on day number 9 of the yucky antibiotics, it's still a struggle to get them in him but only 3 more doses to go. We've been able to stop his breathing treatments for the moment as his chest has cleared up. The Singulair granules really do seem to be tasteless and Kieran will eat it mixed with apple sauce with no problems. His sleep is still pretty bad (at least 2 wakeups a night) but it's taking less time to calm him down. I think the sudden very loud crying at 2:30 in the morning is having an effect on Callum though. He's been grumpy and whiney the last few mornings which makes me think that Kieran's crying is disturbing his sleep as well. Hopefully things will improve next week and we can all get back to sleeping better.

I am sort of getting organised for Christmas. The cards are done and were only sent out 1 day after the last posting day to the UK. That is pretty good for me, I'll quite often write the cards and then forget to send them completely. We're getting our tree this weekend and I'll decorate while the boys are napping and Mark is watching the football (soccer). Maybe that will finally put me in a Christmas mood.

We have Mark's mum and her boyfriend flying in on the 23rd and then my brother Jack and his friend Jack arriving on Christmas Eve. We'll have 8 of us for Christmas dinner so it should be fun. I need to start planning menus and stuff because they'll all be here for a week and I have no idea what to feed them all.

I think Callum will actually "get" Christmas a little this year. We have a toy Santa at home that Callum keeps asking for and he tries to sing along with Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Day cares Christmas party was yesterday and Callum was pretty excited to see Santa, Kieran just cried :-(

Long time no Post

Kieran has been sick, yet again. he's had a double ear infection for about 6 weeks now. His ears looked clear when Mark and I went on vacation and almost as soon as we came back it was back again. We knew that he was allergic to penicillin, but now it looks like he's also allergic to cephalosporin type antibitoics as well. No dramatic visits to the ER this time, just a rash that spread all over his tummy and back the 2nd time he took it. That left us with 2 types of antibiotics - Zithromax (once a day for 5 days and doesn't taste too bad) or Bactrim (twice a day for 10 days and very yucky tasting), of course we went for the Zithromax. Everything seemed to be ok, then 6 days later he had a temperature of 103 and back to the doctors we went. The infection was still there but now it was even worse, so time for the real yucky medicine. It really is yucky, I got a little bit on my finger and it leaves a really bitter aftertaste, it's also really really grainy no matter how long you shake it for. I think the first 2 attempts ended up down his chin, but we've got a technique now where we squirt it into the side of his cheek, hold his mouth close and blow quickly on his face which startles him into swallowing, follwed by a cup of milk to take the taste away. We're half way through now so I just hope it works. We've got an appointment with an ENT to see about getting tubes in his ears but that's not 'till early January.

At his last doctors visit he was also wheezing pretty badly (again) and his doctor said he was actually pretty sick (you couldn't really tell as he was cruising round the room talking away). He's now on an anti infamatory called Singulair for the rest of the winter. It's granuals that are apparently tasteless and just need to be sprinkled on his food, we pick them up today so I'll let you know how that goes. His wheezing meant more nebulizer treatments, twice a day with Pulmicort and Xopenex every 4 hours (even during the night when he's at his worst) . No one's actually diagnosed him with asthma yet, but everything is pointing that way.

He's hardly eaten for days (one of the side affects fo the Bactrim), his sleep is atrocious (possible side affect of the Xopenex/Pulmicort). last night he was awake about every 2 hours, got up for the day at just before 5am and went down for a nap at 8am. I'm so tired that I feel like a zombie.

Caught red handed

Caught red handed
Originally uploaded by * Naomi *.

Same birthday party as mentioned bfore. It had an Elmo theme so lots and lots of bright red frosting. Click on the photo for a bigger version and you'll really see the mess Callum made.

Bang the Drum

Bang the Drum
Originally uploaded by * Naomi *.

We went to a birthday party yesterday afternoon and they had "Music Bob" as a special guest. All the kids loved it and Callum got a real kick out of playing the drum.

Santa Kieran

Santa Kieran
Originally uploaded by * Naomi *.

Shopping at Target on Sunday morning. Kieran found a santa hat that he liked so we took a couple of pictures. It's only with a camera phone so the quality isn't great but at least he kept the hat on for a few seconds!

Santa Callum

Santa Callum
Originally uploaded by * Naomi *.