Owen's Pharmaceuticals

Owen is taking a crazy number of medications right now. Some are permanent, some temporary, some new, some he has taken for a while. Owen had three doctor appointments in the last 8 days and the medications varied from appointment to appointment, so you should have heard me trying to stumble through the answer to "Is he taking any medications?" yesterday. It's not like they're all 1/2 tsp doses, either. We have asthma medications that are measured in number of puffs and number of times per day. We have drops to put in his ears. We have medications given by dropper (different dosages at different times of day). And we have granules to mix in with a little bit of food. And all of this information is only in my head. I should probably write it all down for James so he could have a clue of what Owen needs if I'm not around (whenever that might be) but I would probably need a day planner to do it. It's not helping that Owen just decided that he doesn't like to take medicine by a dropper any more. We've never had any trouble before...

So why all the medicine? He has been taking asthma meds for a while now and there was actually talk of getting him off those after the winter, but then spring came (or bloomed) and now he has a 'sinus' infection (probably triggered by allergies), which has triggered a blocked ear tube and more asthma symptoms. I say 'sinus' because that's what the ENT called it, but the pulmonology NP told me children this small don't actually have sinuses yet. Whatever it is, hopefully we can get rid of the infection with this round of antibiotics and maybe the allergy symptoms will subside soon too. Owen's ENT doctor said it is a "miniscule percentage" of kids who block their SECOND set of tubes after an adenoidectomy. That's my boy! What he was trying to say was that the blocked tube was caused by the 'sinus' issue, not his ears by themselves. Let's hope springtime will not always be this complicated in the future!

Not that any of this is a huge deal, but on the positive side, the nurses at the pulmonology office rock! They gave us free samples for three different medications (and would have given us a fourth if they hadn't run out)! And they said to ALWAYS ask for samples because they know how expensive it is on private insurance. I came home with a bag full of free medicine! Add that to the samples the pediatrician gave us and we shouldn't have have to pay for any prescriptions for a couple months!

Simplicity

I don't mean to take over Angela's blog, but I seem to have time lately to post, while Angela has not. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on things, whether it is Angela being gone, time with the kids, trying to be more environmental, or my latest thought this week - simplicity of living. It has been a crazy week for us starting last Wednesday when Kate threw up at church right after dinner and then threw up in her bed Wednesday night. She was better Thursday, but Owen got it and was throwing up Friday night and woke up Saturday morning to a bed full of diarrhea (very pleasant to come in to first thing in the morning). He seemed to be better Saturday, but Angela got it Saturday night and I had it by Sunday night into Monday. I think we are finally over the sickness, but it was a rough week, especially the weekend in the Hemrick house.
Now I am stressed over a week of work where everything is hitting at once (of which I already missed Monday and was supposed to be off Friday - I may be working at home), I am hoping Angela is over her sickness (she was still feeling kind of funny last night) and that the kids don't get it again, and I am having one of those weeks where events keep me thinking about the choices I have made and am making about life. Things like career, lifestyle, where we are serving, and what we should be doing with our resources (not necessarily in that order, as the order changes daily).
Anyway, I came across by chance a blog yesterday that Angela has linked on this blog ("Remodeling This Life" - http://www.remodelingthislife.com/). I wanted to repost a piece of it that I came across yesterday. This sounds like our life lately and maybe what we should be doing more of.
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Broken

My laptop? Broken.
Internet connection? Broken.
Dishwasher? Broken.
Vacuum cleaner? Broken.
Kids? 2 ear infections.

Some days I have grand plans to get all sorts of things done. Maybe this all is my reminder to just stop. Let the dishes pile up for a few hours, let the sand spend more than 3 minutes on the floor before it gets cleaned up. Let the emails go unread for a day or two. Sit down and snuggle the ones who need me. I am pretty sure this is a not so subtle nudge telling me to slow down. Prioritize. Appreciate. Today, I plan to do just that.

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Not knowing I was thinking about this last night Angela gave me a great present when I got home. She had brought to my attention earlier in the day that she had heard Ben and Jerry's was giving away free ice cream cones. When I got home she was not feeling up to it, but she sent Kate and I out for ice cream while she put Owen to bed. Needless to say, free ice cream, my little girl (who was on her best behavior), and beautiful TN spring night made for a perfect end to a hectic, stressful day. So, sit down and snuggle the ones you love...slow down and enjoy some simplicity.

Victory Garden

We have joined the fad and decided to plant a small garden this year. We were actually thinking about doing this before it became popular (I promise) since we wanted to start eating more organic produce (which is really expensive in the store) and more locally grown produce (what is more local than your own back yard). We will still try to support the farmers market as well, but it is hard to drag two kids and our lazy selves downtown each week.
So we are going to start small (a four foot by eight foot raised bed) and see how it goes. Not only will we hopefully grow a few things to eat, but it should also be a fun learning experience for Kate. Above is our plan. The Marigolds, Nasturtium, and Sunflowers are "companion" plants that should help control bugs. We have started to grow what we can from seeds and will "direct sow" the other stuff in early to mid May. I built the raised bed yesterday and we filled it with dirt and planted lettuce seeds, some spinach seeds, some spinach plants we had been growing from seeds and some sunflowers Kate had been growing from seeds today. It was a fun family activity (Owen was sleeping, but we will let him get his hands dirty next time). Angela took some pictures, but they have not been downloaded yet. Hopefully we can get them posted soon as Kate was really cute with her shovel and rake.