Catching Up

It has been two weeks since I last posted and I am going to attempt to catch up again. Logi and I were hit with a beast of a virus (not the flu), and it took us down.  Now that I feel human again... I am finally catching up on life.  The boys and I have been spending too many early mornings at the lab.  Poor Owen's veins are just bruised and scarred but his levels are just crazy.   His Prograf level keeps coming back at 18 (goal range is 6-8)... too low you risk rejection, too high you risk kidney damage. His INR (coagulation level) is new to us since we started Coumadin in January.  His last INR came back at 8.0 and shouldn't be higher than 1.8-2.5.  I was told to wrap him in bubble wrap and watch for bruising all over. Hopefully after skipping a few doses we will have better results tomorrow. 

Our team at Stanford still hasn't presented Owen and while I understand there are urgent cases that come up, it has been seven weeks.  Seven weeks that I have been talking to social work, Psych, insurance and signing consents.. I'm anxious to know what their plan is going to be moving forward. 

Owen has been working hard with his teacher and crushed all of his IEP goals we set for him in the fall.  We are going to have him do the second grade reading and math state testing to get a baseline of where he is currently at.  He isn't motivated to read, but I force it on him every afternoon and he gets lost in his books.  He doesn't do math "by the book" but closes his eyes and comes up with the right answer.  I have no idea how he finds the answer, but he does it. 

His weight is a daily battle.  He is down to 42lbs and I am using his gtube around the clock.  It's seriously so frustrating!  We had him up to 47lbs three weeks ago before that darn stomach bug hit him.  His little lips are always so dry and I pump him full of fluids.  Perhaps too many diuretics?  It's always a balancing act.  We will get there. 

For the most part.. he is a normal little guy who loves to play at the park, build Lego creations and hang with his cousins. 

Kam has been slammed!  Last week they had the Golden Scholar assembly for the kiddos that have maintained a GPA of 3.8 or higher over the past 4 quarters.  Kam, Connor and Ry were all awarded!  (Insert proud face here)  Kam has been applying for summer internships and volunteer opportunities in the medical field so cross your fingers that all the letters of recommendations and good grades will help. We are only two weeks away from Spring Break and I'm sure she is the most excited of us all!  We are staying home this year and I'm sure clocking plenty of driving hours... she really needs to get her license soon. :)

Mr Logi is almost 15months! Daddy gave him a legit haircut and I only miss the shaggy look a little.  This little munch is the most active little guy of our three.  He loves to run around the park, go outside, ring the doorbell, ride his trike, go for rides in his little push car, play at the pool, and go "bye bye" with anyone that is leaving.  He eats one day and then refuses the next.  He loves to wash his hands in the bathroom sink all by himself and is Mr Independent lately.  He is the best snuggler and is generous with his kisses. Logi loves his books, cars, blocks and balls. He always cleans up his messes (with a little help).  He has a naught side too... splashing in toilets, throwing things in the trash, turning off the tv or computer when you are not paying attention to him, and getting into the big siblings things.  He is the sweetest bubba chubba around and none of us can get enough (except Owen, he has had enough by about 9am).

That's a wrap on this update. I'll post more day to day happenings the rest of the week. :)

Sickies Sickies Go Away!

Ten days ago, Daddy came down with the stomach flu.  Despite my best efforts of disinfecting everything.. Owen was victim number 2.  Bummer.  Kam was victim number 3.  Seriously? Logi and I were rock solid and never got sick!!  I think it's safe to say that now because the bug is outta here.  When we have a house full of sickies home from work and school... we do lots of snuggling.  I'm pretty sure we wore pajamas for 7 days straight.

We spent way too much time on the couch and had electronics going around the clock.  Kam and I watched the entire Season 1 of Jane the Virgin on Netflix... so funny!  Even Owen watched a lot of the episodes with us.

Of course, Owen was the sickest of the crew.  I don't know what I'd do without his gtube.  I was able to pump him with fluids and help keep his meds down.  He was pretty miserable for a 24-48 hours and then made a quick turnaround.  We had a previously scheduled cardio visit this past Thursday and his Echo looked about the same.  Dr Zangwill showed us his cath pictures and Owen had lots of questions.  I feel like I got a lot more information and he filled in the blanks for me.  The team at Stanford will be presenting Owen in conference this Friday and we will have a solid plan soon.

Little Logi was so cooped up all week so I made sure to get outside and let him run around a little bit everyday.  He loves being outdoors like his mama.  Yes... my kids own shoes.  Getting them to wear them is the problem.

Kam is all caught up on school work.. of course.. she is a rockstar!  She had to choreograph an entire dance in 4 days and perform it when she was at her sickest.  She did great and I'm so proud of her for pushing through.  They are starting all their dances and getting ready for this spring concert and end of the year performances.  I am amazed at this girl everyday... she is so fun to be around!

That's a wrap on last week.  This week has been much more adventurous... more on that tomorrow.

Celebrating Owen

I'm doing a little bit of catch up this week!  The stomach bug hit us hard last week and now we are busy enjoying warmer than average temps for February. :)

Owen's birthday celebrations lasted over several days and he wasn't complaining about all the attention.  On the morning of his birthday he woke up and couldn't wait to open his present before everyone left for school and work.   He had been waiting for MONTHS to get the new Lego Avengers game and even tried to get Santa to buy it before the release date.  I think his patience paid off... he was thrilled!

I probably saw more of the back of his head on his actual birthday as he was too busy trying to pass every level of his new game.  He kicked butt and completed it in record time.  Now he can go back through the game and unlock all the characters.  I Love my little gamers.

We eventually got dressed and headed to Joes Farm Grill for his free birthday lunch.  It was fun sharing chicken fingers with my favorite boys.  We picked up Kam and headed to Some Burros for some more free goodies before heading to pick up Daddy early from his conference at the Zoo. 

Owen's dinner of choice was NYPD Pizza.  This skinny little boy takes his pizza very seriously!! He is very picky about where he gets his pizza and how they cook it.  We always let him order the pie and since we are frequent customers, they know just how to get Owen's pie crust super dark but not burnt. 

After devouring half the pie, the waitress brought out a giant cookie and Ice cream for his birthday.  Logi had a case of the wiggles so Daddy took him out on the patio.  He thought he was pretty hilarious and made squishy faces on the window.  Thankfully we were the only crazies in the pizza joint at 5pm.

Food Coma anyone??  I'm certain we consumed entirely too many calories for one day and that means that Owen actually may have made some ground in the weight gaining department. 

We had already celebrated Kam and Owen's bday with Carson's family so it was time to celebrate with mine.  Gigi's 13th Birthday was a week after Owen's so we always do all three kiddos at once.  We got to spend time with Nana and the kids had fun with all their cousins.  I should have taken more pics.. but I was enjoying the moment... and making sure Logi stayed out of the cat's food.  Gross.

That wrapped up the birthday celebrations for this year.  Logi, Kam and Owen all have birthdays within 40 days of one another.  It's super fun to celebrate my babies, but I always breath a sigh of relief when it's over.  Happy Birthday to all my kiddos and Gigi!  I can't believe how fast they are growing up.  A friend posted on FB today... "The days are long, but the years are short."