Hoke Family

Hoke Family

Friday, October 16, 2009

H1N1...GO AWAY!

Well, in my last posting, I had mentioned that only 3 of us had gotten sick with the flu. With a new week came a new onset of the flu.

On Monday evening, we went to swimming, then out to grab dinner. In the middle of dinner, Brandon complained of a stomach ache. We thought, "okay, here we go..." We got home & he went right to bed. He woke up the next morning, still complaining of a stomach ache & a headache, so I kept him home from school. However, by lunchtime, he was just fine... bouncing around the house.

He woke up on Wednesday feeling fine, so he went to school.

In the middle of the night on Wednesday, Brandon crawled in bed with us. Mike & I usually brace ourselves because that means we're in for a night of kidney kicks, face slaps, and lots of wiggles! Brandon is not a calm sleeper... However, he was weirdly calm, but kept moaning & breathing in a way that only HE does when he has a fever. And guess what... he did.

I called school & let him sleep in. By the time he woke up on Thursday, his temperature was at 101. It climbed to 102.5, and I gave him some Motrin. And with the Motrin comes an entirely different kid! It's a wonder drug as far as I'm concerned!! But, once the Motrin wears off, he's a dishrag. He took a 3.5 hour nap!

Well, it's Friday, and the little man is still running a fever. It's lower today, and is hovering around 100.5 without Motrin. But he's still complaining of a headache -- and well, who could blame him. I'd have one if I had a fever too. :(

However, he was giving me a little attitude earlier today. That could mean...
1) he's tired of being sick
2) he's tired of the flu
3) he's feeling better
4) he's tired of me
5) all of the above

I'm hoping his fever leaves him soon, and that he's on the road to recovery. I'm hoping for a germ-free house!!

Take care,
Jenni

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Catching up, part 2

Okay, clearly I stink at keeping this thing up lately! I think I need a secretary.

Once again, I'm going to let the past go & just go with what has happened recently. Sound like a plan? Okay!

My grandparents came from Arizona to visit us Hoosiers in September. We were SO glad to see them!! I was lucky enough to score a home visit from them. They hadn't seen our new house yet. My parents came over as well. We all went out to dinner at Mitchell's Fish Market, where we had our own private room. Oooh, swanky! Actually, that was a last-minute dealie... that we all really enjoyed!

Brandon turned EIGHT on September 20th!! Where did my baby go??
We celebrated his actual birthday with my mom & dad. They spent the night the night before, and were able to spend Brandon's whole birthday with him! We went to church, then out to Brandon's favorite restaurant, Macaroni Grill. And Brandon got to order whatever he wanted. For an appetizer, he ordered Calamari. Yep, calamari. He LOVES calamari! (yes, that's what is hanging out of his mouth...)

We weren't able to fit in a party around his actual birthday with busy weekends and all. So, we opted to have his party on October 4th at one of his favorite places...BOUNCE PLANET!

Brandon invited his buddies & had a great time.

Bounce Planet is a really great place for children of any age to run around. It is split into 2 different "play" rooms. Each room is filled with giant inflatable playthings (i.e. slides, obstacle courses, etc...).

They can run & jump as much as they want. In fact, it's highly encouraged!! Where were these places when we were little?? Anyway, you spend 35 minutes in each play room. Then, you have a private party room where you have pizza & cake.

After you eat, then you get tokens to play video games. Again, WHERE were these kinds of places when we were little? I have to admit, I think Mike & I had just as much fun as the kids did. We each got in & jumped around with them too! Mike & I also raced each other through the obstacle courses. Let me just tell you how one obstacle course can let you know just HOW out of shape you are! However, I'm happy to report that Mike & I were neck-in-neck the entire way through it. Although, he didn't seem to be breathing nearly as hard as I was when we finished... ;) At any rate, tons of fun was had by all!!

Both boys are in swimming right now. Ryan is on a swim team of sorts through our YMCA. He is quite a powerhouse in the water! It's been amazing watching him refine his strokes & get stronger and faster with them. He swims constantly for 45 minutes M/W/F. Brandon is in regular swim lessons, and continues to improve as well! This session ends the beginning of November, and I'm hoping they'll want to continue with them!

Our family got hit with the H1N1 flu already. Ryan came home from school this past Monday (10/5) not feeling so great. By that evening, he had a fever of 100 degrees, was coughing, and was achy. Tuesday morning, his fever was up to 104.4 degrees along with all of the mentioned symptoms -- he was flat-out miserable. I called the doctor, and because of his history with asthma, they wanted to see him. So, we went. She said we could do one of two things... have him tested & because of his history with asthma, if he tested positive, he would receive Tamiflu for treatment; or do nothing & just let him ride it out. We opted for the test. The test is supposed to take 10-15 minutes for the results. Our doctor was back in at 5 minutes...he had already tested positive. Oookay. So, off to the drugstore we went to get his Rx for Tamiflu filled! While we were waiting for that, I went to the grocery store (left Ryan in the car -- doors locked, don't worry!), got the "essentials", and rented several movies. We came home, I put a tv/DVD player in his bedroom & per doctors suggestions, QUARANTINED poor Ryan in his bedroom. Now, before you start thinking I'm some terrible mother, just know that Ryan was ALL ABOUT having a TV in his room -- it's quite a novelty because Mike & I don't like TV's in the kids rooms. So he was watching movies like they were going out of style. And, when he needed something, he would... are you ready for this?... TEXT me. Kids have it so rough thesedays. ;)

I'd love to say that the flu ended with Ryan. But it didn't. I was the next victim, only to be followed very closely by Mike. By Wednesday evening, all 3 of us had assumed positions on the couch. Mike's boss sent him home on Wednesday & told him he didn't want to see him until the next week! While Mike & I didn't have it quite as badly as Ryan, it wasn't fun nonetheless. Between the 2 of us, we represented most of the 7 dwarves... snotty, sneezy, coughey, achy, pukey, poopy, and grumpy. Oh wait, these are the OTHER 7 dwarves that you don't hear about all that much. ;) We were a sight!

Today, Sunday, was the first day I ventured out of the house since I took Ryan to the doctor. Fresh air!!

So far, and we're keeping fingers & toes crossed, Brandon has escaped the flu. We really hope it stays that way. His nose was a little out of joint when he'd leave for school each day. He wanted to stay home & "have fun" like the rest of us. Hmmm, either we have a sick & twisted version of fun, or he got some erroneous information. I'm banking on the latter. That being said, Friday, he thought he needed to stay home because "his arm hurt". Sorry, unless you have a fever, you're coughing uncontrollably or your body aches so badly that it hurts to move, you're going to school! He went, but he was NOT happy about it! ;)

Here's hoping we have an UNEVENTFUL week this week!

Love,
Jenni

Ramblings from a Midwest Mom