Gymnastics

Today was Payton's first gymnastics class and I think she really enjoyed it!  She was a bit apprehensive at first, so I was worried she'd cry at the start, but her big friend Keira (she just turned 5) is also going at that time slot.  All the kids start out together and then break off into smaller classes divided by age.  So, Keira and Payton headed down the stairs together and Keira showed her how to sit on her little carpet square and wait for the teacher.  I could tell P was a bit lost during the warm up, she tried doing some of the stuff but was often an exercise behind or just sat starting at them all.  It just happened that only one other little boy was there for her age group, so that was really nice for a first day.  She got a lot of attention from Ms. Barbara and a lot of chances to practice.  You can watch the entire class from either upstairs in a parent viewing room or outside the 2 gymnastics rooms.  I started out upstairs but then they moved into a room and I couldn't see her, so Stef and I went to watch her.  BIG mistake, she saw me and started crying, Bad Mommy!  I know better then that!  But, I don't think she cried long and before too long they moved back into the big gym so we could continue to watch her.  She did seem a big uncertain, but she did everything the teacher told her to do, she carried her little carpet square all over the place, sat when she was supposed to and jumped up to practice when the teacher called her name.  She is the youngest kid there, so I imagine she'll need a bit extra help, but she did so great and was just grinning from ear to ear when the class was over.  There were a couple times that she'd wonder off and go stand back by Keira, but she didn't cry when the teacher guided her back to her group.  Her "ta-da" needs a bit of work, but that's what makes it all so adorable!  She just stared at the teacher every time she wanted her to do "ta-da".  In all honesty we've been working on it for weeks and she just stares at me too, apparently it's not her thing, lol!!
I wish I could have videtaped the entire class, she was just SO stinking cute! 

Black eye

My poor Payton!  She took a little tumble yesterday and had a small scrape over her eye, it didn't look bad at all.  This afternoon after her nap as I was wiping her nose, again, I noticed that her eye was blue and swollen.  Poor thing has a black eye!  The entire eye lid, a portion of her eye brow and under her eye are all black and blue and swollen.

March is not Payton's month at all!

Electricity

Well, what an interesting morning around here!!  I was sitting at the computer, Payton was still sleeping and Garrett was watching his one tv show, when the power went off.  My immediate first thought was, did I pay the bill?  Then I remembered, yes, on Thursday, I remember getting a confirmation and seeing it come out of our bank account.  So, I called my neighbor, nope, she had power, so now I was really wondering.  It took my a few tries to get through, but when I got a lady on the line from BTU, she said our power had been turned off due to non payment!  I said, but, I paid it, I have a confirmation, she said well, you didn't pay all of it.  I was $45.41 short.  Apparently I paid last months bill twice!!  I was mortified.  She then told me it would be $245.41 to get it turned back on, I was stunned!  I then asked if there was nothing we could do, it was an error and obviously I paid the wrong bill, she even was the one to figure that out for me.  She just kind of uh huh'd me.  I got a bit mad, I know she probably hears all kinds of excuses every day, and she doesn't know me, but it looked kind of obvious to me, we've never been late, never had a short pay, never had our electricity turned off, I mean is there nothing she could do for us?  She agreed to waive some of the fees, so it took me $85.41, I paid an extra $40 for mis reading my bill :-(  Then, she dropped the bomb that it could take anywhere from 4-12 hours to be turned back on!  I almost dropped the phone.  She gave me all these instructions to do when the meter read a certain thing, but said she could give me no idea when it'd be back on.  Since my car was in the garage and Payton was sick, I really couldn't go anywhere, I am SO thankful it's a decent weather day, no heat or a/c needed, and bright enough to have the blinds open and not really need electricity.  The kids needed baths desperately, so they took a bath in my tub, it's really sunny in my bathroom in the morning.  Breakfast was cereal, so that was easy.  Lunch became an issue though.  I couldn't heat anything in the oven or microwave, and I tried the stove but it's an electric starter, so I couldn't cook either.  I was starting to get really frustrated with the whole ordeal.  On a whim, I checked the meter and it was back on!!  It took me a few tries to get the meter back on, but I did it.  So, after lunch, we ran one errand and now Payton is napping and Garrett is playing in his room.  I've agreed to let him watch some tv, since his show got cut really, really short.  so, lesson learned, pay extra close attention to the dates on your bill!

Strep Throat

Payton was terribly whiny yesterday morning, since we were headed to the health department for shots (at least I thought she was going to get shots), I had given her some Motrin.  She was fine the rest of the morning, even ate a really good lunch.  But, I think the Motrin was masking an underlying issue.  When I woke her from her nap, 3 hours after I laid her down, I noticed she wasn't really sleeping but was just laying there, and she was really red, but not sweating.  When I picked her up she was on fire.  Her room was pretty warm so I thought maybe she had just gotten hot napping, but again she wasn't sweating which was weird to me.  I took her pants off and Matt noticed she started shivering.  It took me a few tries to find a working thermometer, but when I did, it said her temp was 100.4, so def not terribly high, but she was squirming like crazy and didn't want her temp taken, so I wasn't sure how good of a reading that was.  Well, she refused to eat any dinner and just kept doing this whine/crying sound.  Matt sat with her on the couch and she was just really hot to the touch and very lethargic.  When Garrett asked if she wanted to go outside (her favorite thing ever) and she said no, we knew something was def up.  It was about 6:30 and I knew urgent care was open until 8, so I decided I might as well take her in.
There was one other little boy waiting to be seen, so we didn't wait very long at all.  Sadly, now that we've been there 3 times in a month, the staff is getting to know us.  The nurse took her temp and it was 102.4.  I heard the nurse relay this to the Dr in the hall as he headed in to the other exam room, next thing I knew the nurse came in with some Motrin, I've never had a Dr's office give either of my kids meds, so I was surprised by that.  When the Dr came in, Payton started crying and clinging to me, but he managed to look in her ears and he started asking me more questions and I thought great, it's not an ear infection, what then?!?!  But, then he looked in her throat, and said, ah there it is.  She has strep.  He took a swab and confirmed it was bacterial and we headed home with some antibiotics.  He did say she'd get worse before she got better and he wasn't kidding, her cough is just horrible today, but he did say she could go to school tomorrow, we'll see.  I'm half tempted to keep her home, but next week is spring break, so 2 weeks off doesn't appeal to me as much, but I won't send her if she's feeling crappy, I'm not that kind of mom!

Shots

Since we don't have any health insurance I bit the bullet last week and applied for Chips for the kids, this is a state aided insurance program for children.  Based on the conversation I had we did qualify, but because we have only been self employed for one year, it's not going to be easy to get approved.  It'll take about 45 days for that process, and no it was not an easy decision, I actually got teary as I faxed the paperwork in.  There's just something so sad about the term "state aid", but as a lot of people reminded me, we are the reason for state aid.  We aren't looking to take advantage, we don't plan on being on it forever, we have hit a slump and it terrifies me not having any insurance for my kids.  Both kids need well visits, Garrett needs his vision checked again and a dental apt.  Plus, with Payton getting the UTI and needing x rays, it was time to do something and conventional health insurance is just not an option, we just cannot afford it! 
Anyways, I didn't want Payton getting too far off her shot schedule because I know that can mess things up down the line, so I decided to go to the health department,. I checked into it, and it's $5 per visit per child, no matter how many shots they need.  I figured P needed only one, but $5 is still cheaper then the $150 I'd pay at her ped's office for her well visit and a shot.  Turns out she doesn't need any :-)  She had fun playing in the lobby of the health department while the girl at the desk and I tried to sort through her records, half were in the database made for this reason and then we found the rest on her Dr's shot records.  Turns out she is set until she turns 4.  Garrett's weren't complete in the Immtrack system either, so when we got home I called our ped's office and it looks like he's set until he's 11!  So, as soon as we can either afford it or get insurance I'll take them for their well visits, but I have no concerns about either one, so I feel like waiting another month isn't going to be too detrimental to their health.  Funny how your prospective on Dr's appts changes when you have to pay cash for everything!!

Payton's arm

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Austin to go measure a winery storefront that Matt is installing granite in at a place called The Oasis Mall.  On our way, we stopped at this Kolache place in Caldwell to get some kolaches and doughnuts for the kids.  Inside, I picked Payton up kind of funny, we were playing around and I picked her up by her hands instead of under her arms.  She cried out, so I immediately let her go, she didn't seem too upset so we didn't think much more about it.  When we were eating lunch, she was just whining really badly, but she also has a cold, so we didn't give it to much thought.  While Matt took the measurements he needed the kids and I wondered around and I noticed that she wasn't using her arm to pull up or touch anything.  I mentioned it to Matt but he didn't think it was much to worry about.  Then we drove 2.5 hours home.  At dinner we noticed it again and when she was playing we really noticed that her arm was just hanging limply at her side.  We gave her some Motrin and by bedtime she was using it a very tiny bit.  Sunday we observed her closely and noticed she was barely using it at all and upon closer inspection noticed it was her elbow, not her shoulder.  We decided it def wasn't broken in any way and didn't seem dislocated, we thought it might just be a sprain, but on Monday when she still wasn't using it and now would say it hurt, we decided I should take her in to have it looked at.  The ped was $104 just for an exam and they do not do xrays in the office, but St. Joe urgent care was $50 and they do xrays on sight, for $20 each.  I was pleased with them when P had that UTI, so I thought I'd go back over there.  It was a bit more of a wait and when P got in the exam room and saw the Dr, who just so happened to be the same one that gave her the shots, she freaked!  The Dr couldn't tell if she was screaming because her arm hurt or because of her, so she ended up ordering xrays for her.  By this time I had decided this was overkill, but since the Dr really couldn't get a good look, I had no choice.  Of course, the xray machine was on the fritz so it took forever to get the pictures down.  I could tell the nurse was really frustrated with the machine and taking pictures of a 2year olds sore arm was not that easy!  But, it was worth it, in the end it was determined that it was just a sprain and while we were there the Dr went ahead and checked out her cold symptoms and assured me it was nothing more then a virus.  If course, today she's using it like it was never hurt in the first place!  I could have waited one more day and saved myself $90!!  She is my more active, dare devil child though, so I am not at all suprised that she's the first one of my kids to need xrays!

Garrett update

My parents came to visit for the kids birthday and helped me out a TON!  Of course, Garrett loved all the extra attention from them and Aunt Heather, so when they left, he was pretty sad.  I think Payton was too, she moped around the house the day after they left looking for them.  But, a few days later as we were driving around he asked me why they left.  I explained that Aunt Heather and Grandma needed to get back to work.  He was quiet for a bit then added in "And Grandpa had to golf", lol.  I love that he thinks Grandpa's job is golf!

Yesterday, Garrett finally got the hang of riding his two wheeler with no training wheels!  It took him only about 3 tries and then he was off and so proud!  He's having a lot of trouble getting going from a stop though.  The neighbors said it took their little boy almost 2 months to figure that out, so we are working on it.  In the meantime, he's super excited to show everyone his mad skills :-)