Bohlinger Christmas

Bobo, Jon and Anna came to town on Dec. 28th for a Bohlinger Christmas of sorts. It had been a wary week getting to their arrival. Noah had a sinus and ear infection. First ear infection since his tubes, and they are totally doing their job.

Right before the Bohlingers pulled into town I was at the pediatrician with Abby who was diagnosed with croup and double ear infection. Her croup was so bad that the pediatrician didn't want her taking an oral steroid because it would take so long for it to start working.  So she suggested a shot in Abby's thigh. This didn't go over well with Abby. It has only been a month since her 4-year-old shots and she had to get 4 in one visit. But with a little coaxing, and the tease of a lollipop she was on board. Until the nurse walked in with the shot. It seems that Abby was too skinny to get the shot in her thigh, the only way to give it to her would be in her butt. This made Abby crazy mad. She was practically crawling up me to get away. Noah on the other hand was having a great old time watching the whole scene unfold. The nurse and I eased Abby into a monkey hold, wrapped around my body. She stayed this way for the shot. My little girl was so brave, a tear very dropped. She was pretty sore afterwards and it still took about 24 hours for the shot to work but when it did it sure made a huge difference. 

By the time we got back to the house our guests were settling in and poor Abby could hardly be held because her rear end hurt (she'll correct you if you call it her "butt") so bad. She recovered by the end of dinner just in time to open presents.

 The highlight of the night was the snow that seemed to travel with our visitors, we got about an inch of snow at our house. For most of you that might seem like nothing but to our little kiddos it was an amazing sight. They could hardly wait to get outside and play in the falling snow the next morning.

 We had a big waffle breakfast Saturday morning followed by a good hour in the snow. Yes, we played in just an inch of snow. The Minnesotans might have thought we were a little crazy but we will take what we can get. We have a great mini hill on the side of the house, perfect for the small amount of snow and repeated walks back up the hill for "more."

Even Proton got in on the fun racing Abby down the hill.

And it wouldn't be a day at the Pleimann's without some monster golf.

Abby didn't get into the golf she was busy building an ice house.

December Update

I'm not sure where December went but I would like it back. We did so much and had so much fun, as exhausting as it was a blast. Here's a quick look at some of the many events this month.

 Bobo came to town for a day, he made the kids their own Elf on the Shelf. He did it free hand. Abby calls him "Elfie." Abby taught Bobo how to play "I Can Do That" by Dr. Suess. It's awesome and silly.

 Grams asked if the kids could have Christmas early from her. They didn't argue, Fancy Nancy, trains and Buzz were a big theme this year.

If you haven't heard Santa asked David to help him build a dollhouse for Abby. It was quite an undertaking. David was a little overwhelmed by the whole project.

 We hosted the 4th annual Festivus.

 This was festivus in 2009.... and this is how excited Abby was this year. She was right up there questioning Santa about many things including Elfie.

 Christmas Eve the kids were so excited to for Santa, they left milk, cookies and carrots. Yum, yum.

 Christmas morning there was a train, a doll house and lots of fun to be had

 Noah moved into his big boy bed! He is a great sleeper. It's a good thing we moved the lock to outside the door though, he gets up every morning banging to get out.

Scary Day

Thursday started out like any other day at the Pleimann house. Kids were up at 4am, and we were off. Cleaning house, doing laundry and playing in every room in the house. Everything seemed fine until about 7am when Noah started melting down. He had a fever of 101.
He was definitely sick. I gave him some Tylenol and laid him down on the couch. We just hung out for awhile. He asked for a snack so I gave him some craisins and crackers. Shortly after this Noah had massive diarrhea, down his legs out in his pants. What an awful mess. So about 11am I made Abby some lunch and Noah took a little nap on the couch. At some point I checked his temp at it was up to 102.5 under his arm, which when you take a temperature under the arm pediatricians say to add a degree, so there we were at 103.5.  He also puked during this time too, if was after his nap but before Abby went upstairs.

His nap right before it all happened.

After Abby finished lunch Noah woke up but was still chilling on the couch so I left him there while I took Abby up to put her down for her nap. As I came back downstairs I could see something was wrong with Noah, he has this blank stare on his face and couldn't respond to me. I sat him up and tried to get him to take a drink when he still didn't respond I started to get really scared. I picked him up and took him in the kitchen because he started to gurgle or choke on the water. I thought he might have puke still stuck in his throat so I stuck my finger in his mouth to make sure he was okay. Dumb idea, he clamped down on my finger and started seizing. So scary. The actual seizure didn't last very long about 20-30 seconds. Some how I got my finger out and called 911. He came out of the seizure and I laid him down on the floor. I yelled for Abby to get downstairs and put on her shoes. She did without missing a beat, awesome kid. Noah didn't get upset or anythingm he was just really lethargic. The EMT checked him out and recommended we take a ride over to Children's Hospital. I threw on some shoes, grabbed my purse and off we went. All of us riding in the ambulance. Noah was strapped to me on the gurney and they had a car seat for Abby to ride in. Thank goodness.

On the ride there I called Dave on my cellphone, it went something like "Hi Noah had a seizure, he's okay, we are in an ambulance, meet us at children's, bye" Seriously not the greatest conversation. I threw my phone back in my purse and was dealing with Noah. The EMT's decided Noah needed more meds so we gave him some ibuprofen. Bad idea, a few seconds later he threw it up all over me. As we were approaching the hospital, I checked my phone to see I had 6 missed calls. See I had put my phone on silent when Noah was sleeping and never turned the volume back up. So Dave was freaking out not really knowing what was going on as he drove to the hospital. By the way, Abby had a blast in the ambulance. Sounds weird but the EMT's gave her a hat and a glove that they blew up, plus she could see everything out the window so she had a grand old time.  She called her glove "Pete the Pirate Parrot."

Finally at the hospital we were left at triage, since Noah was no longer seizing we checked in with a nurse to wait for a room. Because he had puked up all the meds he had been given they had to give the poor kid a suppository of Tylenol. His fever was still about 102 at this point. Dave must have drove like a maniac to get there because he was walking into triage as we were checking in. We had to wait about an hour, Noah spent most of the time cat napping on my shoulder. He wasn't about to do anything. They had a small play area and a bunch of kid books to entertain Abby.  Even without a nap, Abby was awesome and perfectly well behaved. 

Finally we saw the doctor. By this point we had a pretty good idea Noah had a febrile seizure. It's common among little ones and caused by high fevers. The doctor's only other concerns were that it could have been caused by a urine infection or meningitis. The only way to test for the urine infection at Noah's age would be to put a catheter him. Which sounded mighty traumatizing. Noah wasn't showing the signs for meningitis so it wasn't a real concern. We decided against the urine test and just to watch for the other signs that it could be the cause. We were released with a prescription for an anti seizure medicine, in case it happens again and lasts for more than 5 minutes. 5 minutes, I can't imagine how awful it would be to watch a child seize that long.

Noah's cousin also has febrile seizure as did his uncle and grandmother all on Dave's side. The doctor did tell us they are hereditary and once he's had one he's much more likely to have another with a high fever. Not words this Mama wanted to hear. After a discussion with the doctor we were released and home by dinner time. Noah was playing and having a good ole time by 6pm. It was the strangest thing. I did attempt to sleep on the floor of his room.   Around 10:30pm he spiked another bad fever near 104.  So Dave cooled him off with cold cloths while I tried to comfort him.  We did this for well over an hour, until around midnight.  We decided to wake up in an hour to make sure the tylenol had brought his fever down.  We got up around 1:00 and checked.  He was still warm, but fine. 

By Friday morning his fever was down to 101.5 and has been dropping most of the day. He's had a lot of Tylenol but it seems to be working. I had him nap on the couch so I could watch him.
By Saturday he was back to his old self. Today he went back to school and all seems well. Thank goodness!

Sharing the Football

Abby had just woken up and we were watching the Rams game.
Abby: "Daddy, why doesn't he share?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Abby: "I always share.  It's nice to share."
Me: "What isn't he sharing?"
Abby: "The football!"
Me: "Well, yeah.  He's supposed to keep the football away from the other team."
Abby: "Oh."

Sea Lions At The Zoo!

We've been trying for months to get a close look at the new sea lions at the zoo but haven't had much luck. So a few weeks ago we tried yet again, this time it was cold. Temps were in the 40's and it was a school day so the place was desserted. The exhibit has an underground walk way to get up close with the sea lions. 

It was perfect. The sea lions were playful and loved to follow our hands across the glass.

 This little guy was extremely playful, he loved Abby. He must be the youngest in the exhibit.

 This is the best shot of Noah, he refused to get too close to the glass. He didn't really understand that you couldn't touch the sea lions and was much happier just watching from his stroller.

 Abby couldn't of been happier. I think she would have stayed in the tunnel all day if I would have let her.

 I love this shot, it's like she's holding the sea lion.

 How awesome is this!

So this the video I shot on my phone, if you get motion sickness easy I would suggest skipping this video. Sorry in advance for the shakiness. And yes I'm making kissing noises and talking to the sea lion like he can hear me. What can I say I love the sea lions just as much as the kids.

St. Nick's Eve

 Dear Santa - These two can be double trouble. Like tonight when they both ended up in time out for hitting each other. It's a rare evening that they behave so poorly. I hope you can look over their troubles to see that they play well together most days. Looking out for each other, sharing stickers and play-doh. They laugh at the same bathroom humor and know when the other one needs a hug.
Love, Abby & Noah's Mommy

 Dear Santa, I'm sorry for hitting Noah.

 For Christmas I would like glitter glue, a doll house and clothes, love Abby

Dear Santa, I'm sorry for hitting Sissy. For Christmas I would like a choo-choo (train) Love Noah

Insulation Nightmare

When we moved into the new house, I knew that we needed more insulation in the attic.  There was around 8-10 inches of blow-in insulation in the attic.  Definitely not enough.  Knowing how terrible this job is (I did it at the old house), I put it off for two years.  Finally, it was time.

With Thanksgiving, I was off for the last five days.  If I picked up the insulation machine on Wednesday, then I would get to keep it until Friday instead of the normal 24 hours (Lowe's was closed on Thursday).

I did some prep work on the attic on Wednesday morning.  There were several things to do:
1. I had to move the existing insulation to the outer parts of the attic.  With the blow in machine, if you're not careful, you can cover up the soffit vent and block airflow in the attic.  My way of combating this is to pile the existing insulation carefully up to the soffits, but not block them.  Then I can blow the new insulation right up against that pile.
2. I used expanding foam to fill any gaps or holes in the drywall (wires, fans, etc).  I ended up using 6 cans.
3. There was a 2x4 walkway along the length of the attic.  It sat right on top of the ceiling boards.  Since I would be blowing in 20-24 inches of insulation, I needed to raise this.  So, I cut all the wood and built the walkway up 12 more inches.  This will allow me to access most any place in the attic without disturbing more insulation than necessary.

I wasn't quite sure how long this would all take.  So, I went to get the machine.  I also bought 50 bags of insulation.  I thought this would be a good start, although I wasn't quite sure it would be enough.

Without getting into details, checking out the machine was a NIGHTMARE.  Out of the 10 Lowe's people I worked with throughout this ordeal, only ONE new what he was talking about.  Only 15 bags fit in the car at a time, so I had to make four trips to get it all home.

I got half of the attic finished with the prep work, and wanted to start blowing some of it in the attic.  Only problem?  The machine wouldn't work!  It was so frustrating.  We had it all ready, dragged the hose up to the attic, moved bags of insulation, and it didn't work.  I initially thought the hose was clogged.  Cleaning it out took 20 minutes.  Still didn't work.  We had already put a bag of insulation in the machine, but I was starting to suspect that was the problem.  So, I had to empty out the machine (another 30 minutes).  Then I found the problem (or so I thought).  The bottom was completely matted down insulation.  Spent another 20 minutes cleaning that out.

Then it seemed to be working better.  So, we got all set up again (another 15 minutes).  Still didn't work.  Argh.  The hose was clogged again.  Got everything down and taken apart again.  You have no idea how frustrating it is to spend so much time just getting it set up, getting all the gear on, getting the kids set, etc just to not have the machine work.  So, I got out of the attic again and cleared out the hose again.  Looked at the machine, and it was gunked up again too.  Spent an hour cleaning the two things out.  This time I tried to get every last bit of insulation out of the machine.  It was awful.  By this point, we had insulation all over our front porch.  We had two trashcans full of insulation that should have been in the attic by now. 

This took us in to Thanksgiving day.  We messed with it a while longer and then went to Thanksgiving dinner.  I was cautiously optimistic that it was fixed, but wouldn't find out until the next day. 

The next morning, we went at it again.  Got the kids in front of the TV, got all dressed, got everything out and the hose to the attic.  Again, got about two tiny pieces of insulation in the attic, and the hose clogged.  Argh.  Spent another hour cleaning out the hose and machine.

I decided to call Lowe's to see if they had any solutions.  By this point, I had already spent at least 5 hours cleaning out the machine.  The guy who answered kept calling me "boss."  I was already angry, and he wasn't helping.  I asked if there were any things that typically go wrong that I should check for.  He responded "do you smell a belt burning, boss?"  I replied "no" and instantly knew he had no idea what he was talking about.  This machine doesn't even have a belt on it!  Argh.  Strike another one up to useless help from Lowe's.  I asked if anyone has ever had a problem with this machine before.  He said, "No, boss."  STOP CALLING ME BOSS!  This guy clearly had no clue. 

So I called my dad.  They were going to be taking the kids overnight on Friday.  They came over and dad felt the air blowing out of the machine.  He didn't think the airflow was fast enough.  So, we started taking the air blower out.  We expected it to be all gunked up with insulation, but it wasn't.  Then we noticed the problem.  The air intake for that was completely clogged.  There is a metal screen that keeps the insulation out of the blower.  It was caked with at least 1/2 inch of dust.  This was the reason for the clogging.  The air wasn't blowing hard enough to blow the insulation through.  We cleaned off the screen and FINALLY it was working.

And the "boss" dude can't convince me that no one has ever had a problem with this machine before.  That screen clogged two more times just in our use of the machine.  In addition, the machine was clogged when we got it.  So, clearly the previous user had issues as well.

Long story short, Peggy and I spent the rest of the afternoon blowing insulation into the attic.  We went through all of the 50 bags.  Peggy did a great job loading the machine.  Unfortunately for her, she thought we were almost done at the end of the 50 bags.  After the 50 bags, I was only a little over half done with the attic.  So, we went up to Lowe's to get more bags.  Yeah, this is how we spend our time without kids (which is a VERY rare thing!)  We got 59 more bags (one less so Peggy could fit in the car on the way home :-)  We had less than an hour to get ready and get to dinner with our friends. 

We got up Saturday morning and got to the insulation early.  We ended up blowing around 24 inches into the attic.  That should settle to around 20 inches, giving us a nice greater than R-60 rating.

The piece of wood you see sticking out is the corner of the new walkway.  It is about 18 inches above the top of the drywall.

I NEVER want to do that project again and we're VERY happy that it's done!