While we are on the topic already..

So to make our whole injury week even worse after our bee sting on Wed, Kaitlyn now has a bad infection in her leg. She has just kept getting scraps and cuts on her poor knees and the other day she got her knee and top of her ankle/foot at the same time. Yesterday I noticed a red rash like ring around both areas. This morning it was much bigger and her whole leg was swollen. So thankfully our doctor works on the weekend so off we went...now we are on a strong antibiotic that we were told tastes nasty...yeah that should be fun to give her tonight.

On a good note though, I think our two year old is a genius. We were sitting and eating dinner the other night and Julie was getting in trouble for something and so I started to count to 3...well I said 1, then Kaitlyn said 2,3,4,5. I think that I almost fell off my chair. I would have never guessed that she could do that. So I tried to go more and she can count to 10 all by herself...wow!!

I don't know who it hurts more..

So we decided today to take a day trip to the San Francisco Zoo...I know some say I am crazy especially since we had to be home by 5:30 to get ready for soccer and it is about a 3 hr drive. So we arrived a little after 11 which meant that we had a little over 3 hours before we had to head home. I know you think I am crazy too, but I have always wanted to go and I can convince no one to go with me so I said what the h..l. The kids were having a lot of fun, but in between the children's zoo and eating lunch and seeing a few birds we didn't have time for much else....So as we were just seeing some of the bears, Julie said that she once again had to go potty and she really had to go. So I put her in the stroller, Kaitlyn on my shoulders and there I was trying to run to the potty while pushing a 4 yr old in a stroller trying to push it with one hand and trying to hold onto Kaitlyn so that she didn't fall off my shoulders....thankfully we made it and I am sure all that saw me had a good laugh. So we were leaving the bathroom and walking to our next animal and Kaitlyn was being a typical 2 yr old, meandering behind us, picking flowers, touching everything, so I turned around to tell her to hurry up and she was grabbing a line divider poll. She all of a sudden gets a scared look on her face and keeps freaking out and then she starts screaming. I thought that she got her finger pinched in the roll up divider thing. But this was a cry much worse then that. So I ran over to her and looked at her finger only to find a stinger from a bee....all I can think of is she touched a bee on the pole and it stung her. Well I have never been stung, but those who have said it hurts like hell for like 2 hours. The people working in the restaurant brought us some ice which she let me put on it for like a minute. She was just screaming and crying and nothing I could do could comfort her. Poor Julie was so worried about her little sister and kept checking on her. Then she told me that she thinks that we should go home now. OF course we were on the far end of the zoo and had a long way to walk to the front. I was carrying a screaming toddler that kept saying boo boo and holding her hand since she got stung in the thumb and crying, I was trying to also push the stroller and help Julie. I got the stinger out but she was still screaming. So I called Adam and had him look online to see what to do. It said that it will hurt for at least 2 hrs and to put Ice(yeah right) so that it will keep swelling down and help with pain and to give Motrin. So I gave her Motrin and a double dose of Tylenol and was prepared for a very long car ride home, with a painful screaming toddler. I think it hurt me almost as bad as her. To have your child cry and know that there is nothing that you can do to make things better, it makes your heart hurt, you wish that you could just take the pain away somehow....She finally cried herself to sleep after about 30 minutes, only to wake up halfway through the ride home, crying and saying boo boo and holding her hand. Her hand was swollen and painful and thankfully she fell back asleep. Hopefully she wont have horrible memories of the zoo and we will be going back soon so that we can see the whole thing this time.

Do you believe???

Let me say that I have always been on the fence about all natural medicine and homeopathic fixes...I believe that in some cases it has sucess but in the back of my mind I also think that we have prescription drugs because the stuff in nature didnt work. So I guess I say that my thinking isif you combine it with a prescription maybe it will improve things yes, but on its own...I am not quite sure. Except for today when a miracle happend before my eyes and it was all in part to a homeopathic remedy....let me explain.

I was at a new clients house do a consult for pet sitting and we were going outside to look at the plants that needed taking care of also(she is a landscape designer). Well as we opened the door she became very upset because a small hummingbird had run into the plate glass window of her bonus house/room and was lying on the ground. We went out to see it and it was on deaths door. Being a vet tech, I didnt want to say it but the bird had no chance. It was laying on its side, eyes closed, beak flat against the ground, struggling for its last breath of life. It was very sad and we were both upset. She has put decals up on the window to try and deter the birds but she said it still happens. She was thinking what to do because she didnt want to leave it there and have her cat get it....the only good thing was that it looked like it had been knocked out so it probably no longer felt the pain...she then told me that she has some homeopathic medicine that she has used before and although she didn't think it was going to work on this bird because of the state he was in, she has seen birds get up and fly away before after receiving this...in the back of my mind ?I was thinking yeah right.....no way, and especially not on this bird. So she ran inside and came back outside with what looked like an eye drop bottle. She placed a small drop on the birds beak and then a few small drops on his back. Within seconds, he jumped up and fluttered a few steps and then sat on the ground....it was dazed but up....I couldn't believe it. Now I was thinking no what the heck are we going to do with a broken bird who cant fly and it we leave him here he will surely get eaten by the cats. He looked at us and he was so beautiful. Well we went along to leave the little bird to rest and check out the plants. When we came back about 5 minutes later he was still sitting in the same place. So we went closer and stood by him and talked to him...before we knew it, he took off flying over the roof and back to wherever like nothing had ever happened to him before...I asked her what she gave him and it was some drop made for animals that is used for trauma....WOW. I believe....

Different from the start, even in utero

As we make our way back across the united states from New York to California, I cant wait until we get home. Not for the reasons that you may think though. Lets go back to the beginning. When I was pregnant with my first, she was very mellow even in the womb. There were times I didn’t feel her move or kick all day and I would get worried and then have to drink some juice and do kick counts to make sure all is well. After she was born, she was the easiest, most mellow tempered baby and child. Everyone would remark how good she was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old. Accepting everything with ease. To this day she is still very mellow and easy going except for the typical 4 yr old things. We could take her anywhere and not have to worry…restaurants, long car trips, airplanes and know that we would never have a problem…….
Let’s jump to number 2…..I started to feel her kick in the womb at 11 weeks(really early) and she never ever stopped kicking or moving. I swore up until my ultrasound that she was a boy because how dramatically different this baby was. My doctor would just keep telling me that it was just a different personality….but I wasn’t convinced. Now I must say to Dr Burke….you were right on the money. She is very high spirited, easy to anger, stubborn, and if she doesn’t get what she wants or thinks she deserves watch out. There are no tricks to help with her either.
So lets get back to our plane adventure that we are currently on. We left Ny around 1pm for our first leg of the flight which was an hour and 45 minutes. Let me say now that I am so very sorry to the people who were in front of us…if she wasn’t karate kicking the seats she was yelling no and getting angry that I was holding her legs….then when drinks came she decided that it would be fun to use her small straw to blow apple juice all over the back of the seats and I hope not on the people in front of us. We tried everything from our arsenal of snacks, food, drinks, colors…to no avail. It was one of those flights that before I had kids, I would have said, why cant those people control that little brat….lol. Let s just say we were so thankful to land at Atlanta Airport where we stopped at Fridays for a bite to eat….at this point she was trying to lay on the table, sit on the table, crawl over the table, throw all of the sweetener at people, crawl and lay under the table…well I think you get the picture. Needless to say she didn’t eat much so of course when we got on the plane, she was still hungry…we had a 3 hr layover in Atlanta so we decided to let the kids run like crazy up and down the airport to tire them out even though they were already exhausted. So we board the plane to Sacramento and I am sure that Kaitlyn(the 2 yr old) is going to fall asleep at any second….but oh no. For the next 2 hrs she screamed, kicked(thank god we put dad in front of her this time), cried, threw things, and just caused a ruckus. She wanted her window shade up, then down, then up….she wanted the earphones on and off and on and off….she wanted some of the cheese and fruit we bought but only on her terms. She was mad that her sister fell asleep leaning against the side of her car seat….and then about 20 minutes ago finally…peace…her eyes are closed and she is finally sound asleep. I thought that it would never ever come. Only another 2 hours to go until we land..lets hope that everyone stays fast asleep.

I need am going to need a vacation from my vacation...

So we are in the middle of our 8 day vacation to New York to visit the in-laws, attend my husbands cousins wedding, and go to a baby naming ceremony for my niece. Boy am I tired, and the worst part of that is my in-laws have been doing most of the running around with the kids...which has been a godsend for me. It is not that I am not having fun, it is just that our days have been very full of things to do. My husband told me today that he has been to more Jewish celebrations this week since before we got married. (which has been 6 years). I love seeing my nieces since we mostly see them through pictures only since we live on different coasts. Also I have to say that I have seen the wonderful girl that my older daughter has become. I can't believe that she sat through a whole ceremony at the temple and a baby naming with no complaints or problems. I even asked her if she wanted to go out with the younger kids, she said no. She sat there for 2 hours as good as can be. By the end of the ceremony, she was the only child still there, so the rabbi came by and gave her a special candy. Then today we attended a wedding which was very long and hot and my younger one was all over the place, in fact I had to miss the ceremony because she wouldn't be quiet. But my 4 year old sat there as good as can be, like a little grown up. She danced and played and ate and behaved herself. My husband and I left early because my 2 year old needed a nap, but she wanted to stay behind. Everyone said how good she was, dancing and being polite and enjoying the wedding with all of her heart. It makes you proud as a mom to hear that and realize that although there has been some very hard times, it is all worth it and I did things right with my little princess. If she can go out with others around and have compliments about how good she is, then I am proud. She is growing up to fast....as I look back and everything has went by so fast. She goes to school, she is an excellent swimmer and an even better horseback rider. She no longer needs her mom as much as she did, she is growing up and branching out in this world....she is only 4, but man am I proud of her. Tired, but proud!!

Garlic Festival or Bust....plus Kailtyn's 2nd birthday

Wow has it been a busy two weeks. We finally made it to the Gilroy Garlic Festival which I have always wanted to go to...well let me tell you it was such a disappointment and I didnt even get to taste the one thing that I have always wanted to try when I got there. Lets just say it should have been called the Festival of Lines...because that is all we did...we left after only 45 minutes. The bad part is we waited in line on the freeway to get in for 2 1/2 hours in which time we only had to go 2 miles.....waste, and the line was so long for the ice cream it would have been another 2 hrs just for a taste. I think if you ask Julie the only good thing about it was that now instead of throw a ping pong ball and when a goldfish, you win a hermit crab which she did and brought home and added it to her zoo.....

My little girl also turned 2, I can't believe how fast the girls are growing up. It seems like I blink and they have gotten much bigger. Julie is such a talker and very smart. She has very intelligent conversations for her age and Kaitlyn is a handful, very independent and stubborn...but sweet too. She had a great time at her party which we had at a small lake by our house with our family and a few close friends. She went for her 2 yr check up and she was 28lbs and 35 1/2 inches.....she is very tall for her age.