Simple Math

12 kids + 3 pools + 1 sprinkle = LOADS OF FUN!

Seriously...

Could he get any cuter?

Today was Gavin's first soccer camp. OK - It also involved basketball and tee ball...but he couldn't care less about those. He just wanted to go "soccering". Also, please note, when Gavin goes "soccering" and poses - he ALWAYS puts his hands on his crotch. Is this just a guy thing or what?!?! He wouldn't even take off his shin guards to play tee ball. What a hoot!

Evelyn loved just playing on the swings and slide right nearby so it worked out well!

PA trip and Cedar Point

So I told my neighbor, Christa, I was only going to blog the good points of this trip - since there were so many awful ones I could talk about...like Evelyn knocking her 2 front teeth almost out (they may have to get pulled - but probably/hopefully not), not once - but TWICE...how Gavin almost got struck by lightning in the lake and now has an absurdly crazy fear of storms like his mommy...how the hotel we stayed in was less than 1 star and had mold on the ceilings and crack druggies checking in...or how Evelyn learned how to crawl out of her pack and play so we got little to no sleep at night or during naps and how that made Patrick have to stay with her and miss my cousins wedding.

No. I am choosing the high road and will talk about the fun points. Like seeing my family at the wedding, dancing like crazy while rocking a side ponytail, visiting my 95 year old Great Aunt Emmaline who taught me how to play bingo, seeing our friends from Italy and spending time with them, watching Gavin go on his first real roller coaster, enjoying watching Patrick teach Gavin to raise his arms above his head while on said roller coaster, having Gavin volunteer to be a karaoke singer with Snoopy and the Peanuts gang while dancing on stage in front of a large audience. These are the things I chose to share with you. So in true blogging fashion...here are the pictures to accompany such stories...

The Why Family at my Cousin Jay's wedding...

Gavin singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - press Play!

Dancing With Snoopy and Charlie Brown and Gang

Snoopy Hugs

Italy Family - Katia, Antonella, Davide, Danielo

Patrick and Gavin lifting their arms on the big roller coaster - they are in the back row

Gavin and Daddy on the Matterhorn ride

Mommy's only ride she would go on - the Ferris Wheel which still scared the poop out of me!

La Chatelaine

Last night we had one of our first meetings of the new year (since Doctor's years are July-June). We met at La Chatelaine Restaurant and Bakery in Dublin and had some delicious desserts and drinks! We invited the new spouses as well as some spouses of attending physicians - and had almost 25 people! It was really fun - and besides some loud music - I think everyone really enjoyed themselves!
The Advocates to the 6th District Board Members

Irene Bell receiving the Osteopathic Spirit Award (being watched by the 20+ members)


One of the delightful desserts served!

Franklin County Fair

Funnel Cake

Big Slides

Helicopter rides

Motorcyle rides

Evie's 1st Carousel ride

SUPER FUN!

Fresh Faces

Yesterday we were able to get our pictures taken from our dear friend, Melissa (www.melissajonesphotography.com or melissajonesphotography.blogspot.com). Evelyn was not in a great mood for picture taking - but Melissa did managed to snap one decent one. Gavin was hamming it up. Here are 2 of the pics she took - but more importantly - SHE IS HAVING A CONTEST ON HER BLOG - so go vote. Gavin is #22 and Evie is #23. But there are tons of super cute kids - so vote carefully!

Ortho BBQ

Last night the new chiefs for Patrick's Ortho residency held a BBQ (at our favorite Homestead Park) to welcome the 5 new guys (3 new interns and 2 adopted residents from a program that got shut down). It was great to see everyone, and despite the off and on rain, we had a blast! Gavin got to play with some old friends, Daddy got to talk to a bunch of people, and mommy got to catch up with the girls. We had delicious food and even whipped out the fishing poles and caught a HUGE fish (so big, I couldn't even reel it in on the Lightning McQueen rod - we had to manually pull the string in ourselves). It is so nice to see the residents hanging out outside of work, and is a great indicator for the year to come!

Tag

Memory Lane...the tag that gets everyone involved
I got this from Laura's blog. I thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Oh No!!!

This is what we learned Evelyn could do tonight:

Random pictures from our weekend

Here are some random cell phone images from our weekend:

Evie loves to climb on top of EVERYTHING! Her newest trick is climbing on the toilet, into the sink to brush her teeth.

The kids asked to get the blow up pool out to cool off in the hot hot heat!

Both Gavin and Evelyn love helping with the Swiffer Vac.

We went fishing on sunday with the Christensens. The fish were biting left and right and each of the kids got to actually catch a fish on their own. Kelly caught 3, Gavin 2 and McKenna 1. Here is Angie waving the fish in front of Evie and Camille to entertain them.

McKenna and her fish.

Kelly was a bit nervous - but still loved it!

Next best thing

Since Diego was not available - we got the next best thing.


*** For those concerned friends - The pics of the raccoons are just taken from Google. They were not real. I made sure to stay away! Also - Patrick did not find any coons in there today. No nest - nothing. So the fireworks may have scared them off. He is sealing the roof today to avoid this happening again!

Diego - Where are you?

So anyone who knows my kids - know that they LOVE Diego and Dora. Diego, the Animal Rescuer, has saved us many times with his videos, games, etc. My kids could literally sit ALL day and never move if Diego was on tv. Kinda sad - but has been proven to be useful more times than not.

Well, now I need Diego for real. My neighbor called today and said she saw the cutest raccoon playing on our playset out back and then climb up the pole attached to our shed and climb into our shed through a hole where the roof attaches. And tonight, while the fireworks just started (we were watching from the safety of inside out house since Gavin was afraid of the loud noise), I saw the raccoon climb out and shimmy down the pole and off into the night. Then another. And another. I counted 6 adults (and that was just what I actually saw) plus HEARD numerous babies freaking out because the adults left and the fireworks scared the crap out of them. So I think we have a brothel/nesting area for some slutty raccoons. Diego - come rescue these animals before we resort to inhumane resorts! (For those animal rights activists - I am just kidding - we will handle this appropriately...and for those hunters - let me know when you are available).

God Bless America - Happy 4th of July

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today,
' Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee,
Across the plains of Texas from sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to L.A.
There's pride in every American heart and it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.

**PS - Those are my yummy pretzels for our neighbors party today!

Little Girl who cried wolf

So, thanks to Hailey on our vacation together, Evelyn's new favorite phrase is, "I stuck". She uses it very appropriately, and besides "Go Diego Go", it might be her only real words she puts together. In her high chair, when strapped in her stroller or a shopping cart, when she really gets stuck behind the couch - basically all the time she is saying "I stuck". So today when she was laying down to take a nap - I hear her yelling "I stuck". I mean, she says it all the time, so why would I believe she was really stuck. I don't think much of it (probably 10 minutes of her saying it) until I hear "that" cry when you know something bad is happening. Turns out, she got her legs(knees) stuck through the crib spindles, unable to pull them back out. She kept trying herself and ended up getting pretty swollen around her knees - making it even harder to get out. I had to try to pry apart the spindles with one arm and a leg, while pulling her backwards to get her leg out. It was not easy, but I got her out. Now if she would only use the phrase when she REALLY means it...

Sick Boy continued...

How sad is it to be a parent when your child is sick? Gavin had spurts of good moments today (when his ibuprofen set in) but for the most of the day was pretty yucky. He seemed ok at dinner - although he ate NOTHING but at least asked for chocolate milk - but then asked to be excused to go lay on the couch. At least he remembered his manners. Then I was taking Evie up for a bath and he started whining that he wanted to go. So upstairs we went - into the tub. Things were fine until I asked him to stand up so I could rinse him off. Then he started SCREAMING and crying asking, "Mommy - why are you hurting me? Stop hurting me please!" He was shaking like a leaf with awful chills and grabbing his body in pain. I quickly swooped him up into a towel and grabbed Patrick to help (since Evie was still in the tub). Patrick took Gavin and got him dressed as quickly as possible. Then Gavin (unable to move himself since he was still shaking) asked to be put into bed with extra blankets, no lights and no fan. He was doing that swallowing thing you do before you puke - so we laid a towel down just in case. I asked him if he wanted me to stay and he said no - he just wanted to sleep. All this was done by 7:15pm (and he had a 2 hr nap). Poor guy. You feel like a schmuck when you can't do anything for them!

Guess who is sick now?

Poor guy

Super Scary

So tonight we had another super scary event with one of our kids. Here's the summary:

Evelyn woke up from her nap feeling a bit warm and not wanting to eat or drink anything. I figured it was her 2 year molars since she had been waking up some nights and was chomping on anything she could get her hands on. Anyway, I ended up giving her some Tylenol because she started to get warmer and I had to leave for a New Intern Welcome party for Doctor's Hospital. I handed off kid duty to Patrick (who also had to watch our friends Nathan and Carter since Ashli was joining me) and I was off to mingle and recruit new doctor's spouses. As soon as I pulled into the driveway of the party Patrick called. In a very calm voice he said, "I just called and ambulance for Evelyn." I thought he was joking because we kid about how crazy she is and adventurous - never would I think he was serious. I even told him that he needed to quit joking - I was just getting to the party and had to go. Then he said again - very matter-of-factly (in doctor mode now that I look back), "I am serious. I had to call and ambulance, Evelyn had a grand mal seizure and was not breathing for almost 2 minutes. She is ok now, but we need to take her to the hospital." I immediately dropped everything off and headed home.

He said he had taken all the kids outside to play and she was running around like normal - maybe a bit slower than usual - but nothing way wrong. Suddenly, the boys wanted to go in for a drink so he turned to get her and saw her start walking funny and then she just collapsed. She started seizing in all 4 quadrants and her eyes rolled back and she was not breathing. She had a rapid pulse but was starting to turn blue. He took her inside and checked her airway, breathing, circulation. He called 911 and she started to gasp and breathe on her on again. She slowly came out of the seizure and stabilized but was in a post-seizure state...sort of like a rag doll. She didn't care when the EMS took vitals, etc. I got home when the ambulance was there so they let us drive her in since she was stable and Patrick was a doctor. We got top notch care at Children's and Ashli took Gavin for us during the whole thing (A HUGE THANKS).

I had an eerie sense of calm, maybe because Patrick was so calm, maybe because my mommy instinct told me she was ok. Evelyn has had a history of febrile seizures before so we knew that a rapid increase in her temperature could set it off. We have to be very careful even when she shows the slightest sign of a temp. It turns out she has hand, foot, mouth virus which caused the high spike in temp, which caused her seizure. We are grateful there was a logical reason behind it - at least we don't have to worry about WHY she seized. But we always have to be careful when she gets a temp because once they have multiple episodes, they are more likely to keep getting them. The febrile seizures usually go away by the time they are 6 - but that is 4 more years of worry!!!

We want to make all of our friends aware - since we were at playgroup, over friend's houses, etc and this is a communicable disease. Please check for fatigue, fever, rash on hands, feet and mouth. Ashli told us Nathan also spiked a fever tonight - so it is definitely going around!

Anyone who knows me...

photos by nbc4i.com

knows I slept under my FITTED sheet covers last night. After be woken up at 11:45 by thunder lightning and TORNADO sirens, I tried to wake Patrick up (a very hard feat). He did not believe me so I turned on all 3 local channels and saw on of my worst fears approaching...severe thunder and lightning storms as well as a tornado warning. The storm developed so quickly they did not have time to even have a "watch". Hail, lightning that was non-stop and lit up the sky...all of it developed right over our streets in Hilliard (over our exact location in Hilliard as they showed on the NBC radar - following the worst parts of the storm street by street). I was totally freaking out as the weathermen were telling us that "This is NOT a drill, get in your basement now". So, did we go to our basement? NO! I was frozen in fear (for real) and Patrick kept sleeping!!! Even when I heard the golf ball sized hail - I started shaking Patrick again, who kept assuring me we would be fine. Next time - I am really not listening to him. Although the storm did eventually pass (after about 30 minutes), we saw that there were 2 other storms JUST like it following it's tail. So we braced for rounds 2 and 3 (well actually just I braced - the kids and Patrick slept through it all). The power flickered on and off - but there was no wind. The national weather said they spotted a tornado on their radar during the 1st storm, but then lifted the warning for the other 2, downgrading to just a severe thunderstorm. Once the 3rd storm finally passed (over an hour and a half later), I was so shaken up I couldn't fall asleep for another hour or so. Overall, a terrifying experience for me!!! The only cool part was watching the live radar and really tracking the storms. They could turn the radar into 3-d mode and you could see the HUGE storm cells - all 3 traveling in a row. It was a beautiful and magnificent show of what mother nature is capable of.

Baby steps...

I loved this little poem to match this picture of Evie I took at our playgroup today. We went to Ballantrae Park (aka the Bunny Park, the Fountain Park, etc). We were just about to leave and she FINALLY started getting wet and playing in the water when she decided to talk a little stroll. I followed the baby step footprints and found her, staring up at the huge hill with the bunnies on top. I also included some other cool pics from the day...


Someday I'll jump through puddles, take a stroll or run a race.
Someday I'll walk across the street, or maybe walk in space.
Someday I'll scale a mountain, or join a ballet corps.
Someday I'll walk a tightrope, or explore the ocean floor.
Someday these feet will do some things that only heaven knows,
But for today they're happy just to wiggle all their toes.

Nathan having fun splashing the water around.


Gavin running head/face first into the water spray.


Evelyn getting up the courage to go near the fountains.


Gavin on top of the Bunny Hill.