We May Put Him Out to Pasture...

I ask of you, "What exactly have I done to anger the barnyard population?" We, the Fitzpatricks, have had a particularly spotty, shall we call it, relationship with those favoring the pastoral life this fall. And I frankly have no idea why.
It began in October when Maddie was having trouble sleeping one night and we discovered, to our shock, dismay, and, if I may admit it, digust, that she had acquired pinworms. And when I say worms, I mean worms. While most moms know that pinworms are super common in little kids, especially in ones that put their hand in their mouths - as does thumb sucking Maddie - it was no less disconcerting to see those suckers at midnight. Jameson also seemed to have a small case, so the entire family was treated. With something called Vermox. Doesn't that sound like an inocuolation for a goat?
Jump forward to November when we apparently struggled with the swine flu. I know, I know, it's called H1N1, but let's call it what it is. The big fat fault of the pigs! That really sent us to the edge. Jameson wound up in the hospital for 6 days, Maddie was sick at home with fever for 8, as was Katie.
Now we enter December. I am finally feeling good about everything. All 3 kids are back at school. Life seems to be returning to normal. Then Jameson starts getting blisters on his hands and feet and one or two on his face. Hand, foot and mouth disease (referred to as hoof and mouth in the animal community). Again, another popular childhood ailment, but another one attached to farms??????? It is running its course...but not without other possible victims. It seems that some blisters are showing up on Chris' hands and maybe feet. I am thinking he may be paranoid, but don't tell him that. Irregardless, if it is hoof and mouth, I'm just going to put him in the yard.
Now if I could just do something about the bovine I see when I look in the mirror.....
Happy Holidays to you all!

Jameson's New Do...It's a Turkey!

Chris decided that Jameson needed a hair cut. In all honesty, he did. I was out of the house and came home to a very shorn little boy. I must say, however, that he looks pretty cute. And much too old. My baby is growing up too fast. While I do not want to go through the exhaustion of an infant again, I want to savor every last moment of his infancy. Bittersweet.

Well, Thanksgiving greeted us with sickness again this year, just like last. While Jameson and Maddie are finally feeling better (knock on wood), Katie is now going on day 8 of a fever. She did 3 days of Tamiflu, with no positive response. They switched her to antibiotics, as they felt that it had crossed the lines to a bacterial infection. She is on day 2 of zithromax and I am ready for the fever to break. It has been so long (November 5) since all 3 kids were at school. We are hoping it breaks today.

Jameson's latest round of blood results show that his liver levels are finally going down. Our doc here is still trying to figure out exactly what happened with him and is running some viral testing on his blood. She is also doing some allergy testing and a test for celiac disease, I think. Hopefully we'll know something soon. We are having him tested for allergies since Katie has a nut allergy and seasonal allergies.

We had a nice Thanksgiving here. We ate chicken, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, corn and strawberry cake. All in all, quite nice. Today the kids are enjoying a Disney Movie Marathon on Armed Forces Network (the military TV station) - Wall-E, Bolt, and High School Musicals 1, 2, &3. Chris is headed to Tuscany today for a weekend golf tournament. I have two weeks of grading to do and final exams to start writing. It never seems to end.

While November has been a looooooooooooooong month for us, we have much to be thankful for. It is a blessing that Jameson is okay and out of the hospital. A guardian angel was certainly watching over him. We hope you are all as blessed. Much love, M.

Those %#@* Pigs

In an effort to be PC (but do we really care about the feelings of pigs???) I guess that I should state that I do not directly blame the pigs for the swine flu; but who else can I blame??? Certainly not the letters H and N and the number 1, so I digress...
Well, Jameson is home. It is so good to have him here and hear him cry and laugh and make a mess at the table. Mess is bliss. All tests have shown that he does not have diabetes, as so many seemed certain. Our best guess for what happened last Friday is that he either had a febrile seizure or that he had a hyperglycemic response to the virus (note that no pigs were mentioned...). The doctors at the hospital do not like that answer, but our family doctor here told me the day that it happened that she did not think he was diabetic and that she felt it was probably a response to illness. Anyway, it is so good to have him here.
Maddie is still fighting this flu. It is a difficult fever to manage, but when she is medicated, she feels pretty good. She does get a little loopy at times, like last night when she told me she did not know where her egg was. At this point I checked her temp and dosed her with Motrin and yogurt (because all moms know that you can't do Motrin on an empty stomach...). I am hopeful that it will taper off over today and she will be on the mend. I am also hopeful that Katie, Chris and myself do not get it. Katie has been home from school all week, too. It (note again that no pigs were mentioned) is making its way around the elementary school and since she was most likely exposed, we thought it prudent to bore her to tears and keep her in the confines of the apartment. MEAN PARENTS!
Thanks to all of you for your well wishes. At this time of year it seems that we have even more to be thankful for...and perhaps I will cook ham this Thanksgiving. After all, the turkeys are CERTAINLY not responsible...
much love, m

...and so it goes

Well, a trip to the Health Unit this morning left us with doses of Tamiflu for the entire family. Maddie and Katie are both running temps, and they started Maddie on the medicine this morning. I am to hold off on Katie until tonight to see if her fever persists. The doses for Chris and myself are just in case. Jameson is already past the time when he could take it, but he is still on the antibiotics at the hospital.
That being said, Jameson's blood sugar is holding in the upper 70s, which seems to be good. He is not eating a whole lot - probably a combination of feeling a little yucky and the marginal hospital food he is being fed. We should know the results of his H1N1 today, not that it will make a big difference at this point. It seems that it is more likely that he is NOT diabetic, which makes up very happy, obviously. Chris is staying with him today, as we felt I should just keep the girls still and quiet at home. We will probably swap tomorrow.
Oh, and by the way, Maddie puked in the car on the way home. It has been a rough several days. Please keep up in your prayers.
marsha

Jameson...

Jameson is still at Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu here in Rome. He is doing much better. His blood sugars were 77 at last check and they are still checking every few hours. He has had the iv drip (glucose, insulin and saline mix) removed and they are now letting him eat food. He had a big dinner tonight of soup and mozzarella (welcome to Italy!). The doctors said his blood work looked good, other than slightly elevated liver enzymes, which is typical with a viral infection. We will receive the results of the influenza test tomorrow and they will start testing him for various forms of diabetes, as well, if my understanding is correct. He is still on antibiotics and we anticipate him staying in the hospital for a couple more days. If the tests come back positive for diabetes, we will be there longer to become educated on how to regulate his sugars at home. He is pretty frustrated spending so much time in the bed and Chris and I have watched "Cars" with him at least 6 times. We have also played with cars and looked at cars out the window. He giggled and grinned some for me tonight and I must say that it was the best feeling ever. It has been a long few days and the girls are now starting to show signs of some illness. Hopefully not flu, but we are taking care of them, too.
Please know that we appreciate all of the prayers, good wishes and positive thinking that everyone has sent our way. We know that you all make a difference and to have you thinking of us means more than you know. We will keep you updated.

Jameson. . .

All,

I just wanted to give everyone an update on Jameson. Without getting into too much detail, he was taken to the hospital today after having what we think was a febrile seizure. Marsha did a great job in getting him help. He is now at one of the best pediatric hospitals in Rome or Europe so we are told. He was not 100% this evening but was alert and could tell me what sound a cow, horse and dog make. He even wanted to play with some trucks, which was nice.

He will be in the hospital for the next few days as they want to run some tests on him. Keep him and us in your thoughts and prayers. We are all doing okay, but it was quite a scare.

Chris

BOO!

Let me first wish you all a very Happy Halloween! We have been celebrating here in Rome - it seems to be one American holiday that other countries like to participate in (unlike Thanksgiving, for instance...). Katie had a party and parade at school, we had a Trunk or Treat party at Chris' office, and the school held a "Fall Festival" party today. I am Halloweened out! The kids had a good time, though. Chris and I realized that all the kids held true to their own personalities with their costumes this year. Katie was a cowgirl, Maddie was a ladybug - with sparkly dots, and Jameson was a golfer, complete with a tam and plus-fours. Really cute. I dressed up as a teacher and Chris was the disgruntled dad handing out candy to rude kids. We all played our parts well. :)

The weather has been very nice here lately. It was in the 70s today and has been like that often. I am sure it will change soon, but we are enjoying it now. The kids and I went down near the Trevi Fountain almost 2 weeks ago and it was so beautiful that I could not imagine a nicer day anywhere. The skies were cloudless, the sun was bright and the temperature was mild. It really was Bella Roma. It is tough to be in a bad mood when the weather is so cooperative

I have finished my first quarter at school. I had to fail several students, and I am sure that it was more painful for me than it will be for all but one of the students. Frustrating. The 9th graders have started Macbeth and I honestly think that they like it. They don't really understand it until we read in class, but they are totally getting into it and appreciating even the humor. I am excited for the time when they are ready to act some of the scenes out. Should be fun. The eighth graders are reading the last 4 chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird this weekend. They have really grasped Harper Lee's message and I think they have been quite moved by the story. They will have an essay test in a week and will be starting independent outside reading (non-fiction - YUCK they cry) and Romeo and Juliet in class. I keep that bunch busy. :)

Well, I wish I had some funny tales to tell this time, but I am pretty tired. I hope you enjoy the pictures. It was nice to find some fall leaves for the kids to play in. We miss that.