Sick babies

As I said in the last post my parents came at a very lucky time for me. Not so much for them. The day before my birthday Nathan came down with a fever. I kept him home from school and let him relax with the family since they were visiting. As the afternoon went on a cough that he had seemed to get a little worse

On the morning of my birthday he was coughing so hard that he was vomiting. I decided to take him into the hospital to see what was up. The hospital here is very small and unfortunately for me most people don't speak english. There was one doctor that I could speak to so he would come over and translate while he could but we were working with the pediatrician. After several hours a breathing treatment and a shot Nathan went home with what I thought was the flu and a throat infection. He improved quickly but remained pretty weak through the next week.

By the following Monday Andy started coughing at night I worried a little because it had hit Nathan so hard. My parents were still visiting but they were pretty happy to stay close to home. They visited the pool and the beach and helped with the kids. By Wednesday morning Andy had a fever and was looking grumpy. During the morning I had thought to wait for my mom to get up because I had wanted to take her to the local bakery. They would be leaving the next day so I though we would pick something up and then I would take Andy into the doctor. As I was waiting for my mom I realized that Andy was really starting to have a hard time so I decided that I should go right then. Once at the hospital he started to look really worn down and his breathing started to get a little labored. Within and hour Andy went from being sick to being really sick and having a hard time breathing. He was given a breathing treatment but it wasn't helping and he continued to struggle. They decided to get and x-ray and it confirmed that he had phemonia.

I am thankful my parents were around because Jake was several hours away and Nathan was still feeling down and hadn't gone back to school. I was able to get a hold of Jake and let him know what was happening. He made arrangements to come home. It was kind of a crappy situation because I didn't have a way of getting a hold of my parent because they didn't have a Dominican Phone Number I could all so they were stuck wondering what was happening. They didn't find anything out until Jake walked in the door about 6 hours after I left.

I was very thankful for Jake because around the time that Andy was at his worst he arrived. That evening Andy's fever was up above 104 and we were very worried for a few hours. Thankfully it broke around 9:00 and he was able to get some rest. The next morning Andy was doing a bit better. Jake was able to bring by my parents as they left for the airport and then he and Nathan spent a few hours visiting. Pretty much the next few day's it was up and down. Sometimes Andy would be doing great and look like everything was ok. Then he would get a fever or his oxygen sat's would go down. It was a very happy day when we were able to go home from the hospital. I don't ever want to see either of my babies that sick again. As of now the boys are doing well. They both still have a cough but they are doing great.

Well that was a little catch up. I have a few more posts but hopefully that will hold me over for a bit.

The parents come a visiting

My parent's came out to visit us a couple of weeks back. Having lived out of State for the past few years I am kind of used to not seeing everyone as often. I have found it hard though because while living in Elko we would take a trip every couple of months to see family. Add to that Jake being gone 5 days a week and you start to get homesick every so often. Last month my dad called me and told me that they had the time to come down during my birthday. That made me a happy girl.

Mom and Dad flew in on a Tuesday  It is a long and tiring flight so I took them out to lunch and then home so they could rest. Dad then accompanied me to pick up Nathan from school. The boy's were super excited to see grandma and grandpa. We spent the first couple of day's relaxing and enjoying the pool and beach. On the Friday it was my birthday. Jake came home with a cake he had ordered from a nice bakery near Santo Domingo. It was very tasty. On the Saturday we decided to go to a beach that we had been told was amazing. It did not disappointing. It is about 45 minutes from our home but it has a different feel to our beach. The water is shallower and the waves are smaller. Also the sand was so nice. We spent the whole day there and just enjoyed the sun.

My dad and Jake spend some time body boarding and my mom enjoyed talking to all of the peddlers on the beach. She ended up buying jewelry and a figure made out of petrified wood. It was a perfect weekend.

We really enjoyed my parents coming. It was a very good timing on there part (at least for me) because the kids got sick and ended up needing care at the hospital so it turned out to be a very big blessing that they came at that time.

We enjoyed having them here with us.

My beach babies

With Nathan's school schedule we aren't able to go out and swim everyday. I try to make sure that we get some beach time though. Considering that we will only live here for a couple of years I plan on spending as much time as possible out there. We spend several evenings a week going on a walk before dinner. It is one of my favorite times of day.

Nothing but trouble

Maybe it's the age but Andy has been a handful the past few months. First off he is a shoe thief. He likes to take Nathan's shoes and put them on his hands or feet and walk around the house. The big problem with that is that he usually ends up putting the shoes in a secret spot and we are left scrambling trying to find them. Did you know that kitchen cupboards are a great spot to store shoes and backpacks?

Andy's other naughty actions includes diapers. If he finds that if can he will take his diaper off and run. It escalated recently when he decided that whenever that happens he should try to relieve himself has soon as possible. I have found both puddles and poops! Let's just say I am happy that we have all tile floors and he is lucky he is so damn cute.

Easter

Easter was definitely different here in the D.R. I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to find Easter candy down here but thankfully I had my friend Holly coming to visit a couple of weeks before. She was very sweet and brought us a lot of candy to enjoy. 

Nathan got the week off of school and Jake also had a short week. That allowed for a little Easter fun. I had hoped to make some Easter cookies but I realized once at the store that there was no food coloring and the only sprinkles they had were dinosaur shapes. We made the best of it. 

Nathan thought it would be a good idea to leave out a treat for the bunny. We left him a cookie and a carrot. I am happy to report that the bunny seemed pleased. He left us some treats and a few scriptures to read. I will say he did leave a mess though. He had dirty feet and let bunny tracks all over our house!

Fridays

Friday's around here are always an exciting day. Not only is it the weekend but it is the day that dad comes home. The is usually 2.5 hours between picking up Nathan from school and Jake walking through the door. On these day's I have to keep the boy's occupied otherwise I am pretty sure they may explode. Most of the time we go out into the courtyard and run races. It is fun to see Nathan and Andy interact. Nathan is a pretty crazy kid but when it comes to Andy he is so gentle. If Andy falls over or trips he will always stop to check on him to make sure he is ok. It is always fun to see them run around and every so often as we are out Jake will get him and they will both come screaming. I can say they are a pretty sweet welcoming committee.

Dad Time

Around here dad time is VERY limited. The boys like to make the best of that time. 

Sunrise

One thing that I have learned as a mom is that sleep is something that you won't ever get much of. Before I had babies I though waking up at 6:30 was an early morning. I now find it a very very exciting thing if I sleep past 6:30. That being said I feel we have utilized our time well while we are here living on the beach. A few of the extra early mornings I have decided to take the boys out so we can watch the sunrise over the ocean. It has proven to be something that we enjoy.