Firstly - Amelia is feeling right as rain. Her blood tests came back normal, and while she hasn't gained as much weight as expected over the year she doesn't have anything majorly wrong. It appears to be a diet related issue - I changed the bulk of our dry goods to less processed, organic, multigrain etc and her digestive system has improved, her energy is back and she is gaining weight. Hurrah. We go back in November to have a re-weigh to see if she continues improving on the new diet.

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A little cold came through our house last week, but no one really got anything worse than some minor sniffles on Saturday and Sunday (we did covid tests just in case and we were all negative); however after the rest of us recovered over the weekend, my little boy did not. He just kept getting worse and worse sounding. Monday he was a busy little whirl wind, albeit crankier than usual. Tuesday when he woke up he looked and sounded awful and I immediately said we had to get to a doctor. I considered the emergency room, but the walk in was just opening so I figured we would be seen faster there.

I knew it was going to be busy at the clinic, people always line up early, so leaving the house at 7:55 meant we were going to be in a decent sized que (they open at 8am). I was dismayed to see that there was indeed a line up out the door, and my arms were already feeling the burn of carrying Cedric. The check-in line went relatively quickly, and after I checked in I turned around to see there was a chair free in the corner! Thank god! We hustled over to it and settled into our 45 minute wait.

The poor little guy didn’t even put up much of a fight being held (usually wants to be free to explore) – and kept falling asleep on my shoulder. We got in to the exam room and the doctor listened to his chest; looked at me and said he was sending us to the hospital to pediatrics – go straight there and they will be expecting you. That makes a mom get filled with dread.

My Dad happened to show up at the clinic because he was worried about his grandson, so he followed us to the hospital and helped entertain Cedric while waiting on the pediatric doctors. After an exam with them he was given a puffer to help open his airways – that sounds so innocent and simple in the written form. It was a blood curdling screaming event that involved 3 of us to hold him still/administer medicine. I wish there was a way to make them understand that it will help them.

After the initial consult with Peds we were given a room to spend the next two days in. Every 3 hours he was given a puffer. This lead to him wailing anytime someone in a yellow gown arrived (we were listed as a contagious room so everyone who came in had to gown up). He is going to have PTSD over the colour yellow. After a few rounds on the puffer they gave him some foul tasting steroids to reduce the inflammation in his lungs. I was quite convinced he was going to vomit everywhere and he gagged pretty hard. The other method of torture - in Cedric’s eyes - was the nose sucker. We had to wrap him in a blanket and hold him down while they cleared his nasal passages.

As the day progressed he became more interested in his surroundings, and had bouts of energy before hitting a brick wall and needing to rest. Thankfully Cedric is in a solid routine for sleeping and he fell asleep just after 7pm and was able to go back to sleep after each of his nightly interruptions. I did not sleep so well, but I would rather be uncomfortable and present, then sent home.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the nurses and doctors who work in the pediatric unit. They were thoughtful, friendly, confident and supportive. They went out of their way to build a rapport with Cedric so he wouldn't be so upset - I couldn't have asked for him to be in better hands.

As a side note: Good thing I went home and got snacks for us, Cedric would have been howling in hunger. The breakfast they served him was a single fruit pouch. Lunch and dinner were 2 small containers of Pablum and a ¼ cup of mash potatoes with a fruit pouch. Cedric eats more calories in 1 meal that what they fed him in the whole day. I was glad to see that his appetite never left despite how sick he was.

What a fun filled last few days - We took in the Northern Estates Winery Sunflower Festival, had friends over to swim in the pool, went over to another friend’s house and did a big grocery shop. . . yes grocery shopping is a fun family outing, it used to be just a chore. I had planned to take Amelia to the BCNE, but we ran out of time, and it was hot.

Saturday morning was the day I decided to book us in for the Sunflowers, but it did not open until 10am. To pass the time we decided that we should head out to Tano Fuel to fill up the truck. This is usually a calm relaxing drive – not this time! I had no idea what set Cedric off, but he hollered the e.n.t.i.r.e way out. Full on wailing! I even stopped along the way to smell him to see if he had a poopy diaper. When we finally parked, we took him out of the truck and he immediately happied up – then I heard Amelia wail “mommmmyyyy”. I opened her door thinking she just wanted out and she pointed to the giant wasp crawling around. I am now fairly certain Cedric either was stung or had been scared by the wasp. The wasp that immediately was terminated.

Needless to say, the drive from Tano fuel to the sunflowers was much more enjoyable. The kids had a blast running through the paths and climbing some structures in the photo areas. I did not have such a wonderful time, it was hot. I love heat when I can sit still, but heat does not do wonders for my POTS if I am moving around, so I started off happy and finished a bit crabby. However, I really love the photos I was able to get of my kids and my husband, I was not sure how they were going to turn out since my children are masterful at moving at the last second. I did get a lovely array of the back of their heads along with the posed photos. My husband was able to get one photo of me, so at least there is evidence I was part of the adventure.

At the end of the sunflower area there was a little animal zoo set up - Cedric adored the chickens and the two ducks. He thought the goats were neat but babbled enthusiastically to the birds as he bounced up and down in glee. Amelia briefly looked at the animals, but her target was the playground. She really wanted to go down the slide, which I had not anticipated being so fast! It launched her right off the end and onto her face . . . whoops. She was understandably a little leery about trying again, but I promised I would catch her. She went down the slide a few more times before moving over to the swing to pretend to be Isabela off Encanto. We finished up our visit with some delicious ice cream and cookies.

The little ones were very tired after their big morning and napped soundly for a few hours recharging for our afternoon pizza and pool party with some friends. Overall, a very busy but fulfilling day.

Last week was stressful because Amelia has not been feeling 100% and has had some troubling symptoms. We did get in to see the doctor who sent us off to do some bloodwork and whatnot done. The good news is they didn't call us immediately to come in *phew* so whatever is bothering her is not a medical emergency. We have an appointment to go over the results in a few days. 

She was an absolute trooper at the lab, didn't put up any fuss and stoically sat while they drew their samples. I was envisioning a meltdown, but I had pre-warned her it might pinch and whatever little pain she felt would go away quckly. Neil said the nurses were super - three of them work together to distract, hold and poke.

With that stress on my mind, I wasn't inspired to finish my latest image. I do have it open right now, and feel I can dedicate my time to it again. For fun I played with some AI, a completely new-to-me platform to spark some new creativity. It is controversial as the computer does the work on entered parameters - in this case a representation of my little ones enjoying each others company, mother and child, and a random bird below. I will not offer any AI work for purchase, just a fun thing for me to tinker with.

Other than being stressy stressy I took the little ones to my parents' garden and Amelia helped Grandpa pick potatoes. He would dig the hole and she would pick up any potatoes that rolled out. Cedric was befriended by the sweetest little cat, but I would not allow him to pet it. He can be a bit (ok a lot) overenthusiastic when he pets small furry creatures, so I did not want to risk him getting a bite or scratch. He amused himself by running up and down the garden paths and looking at the array of cartoony windmills.

Tomorrow it is back to the grind, and Cedric will go to my parents place while Amelia heads off to daycare. T-minus three weeks until Cedric also joins the world of daycare! Exciting! Also upcoming is the Sunflower festival next weekend, I bet the kids will find that super fun.

We went on a little adventure this weekend to pick berries at the u-pick farm called Sweder Berries (approx. 30 minutes south of town). It was a drizzly drive and I was immediately regretting my decision to wear tennis shoes instead of my rainboots - I also had not anticipated needing the kids’ rainboots or mud buddy suits (lying weather network). By the time we arrived the drizzle was letting up leaving it a perfect temperature to pick in. I put the kids in their raincoats and hats and sprayed them with insect repellent before letting them loose. My Dad said there were no bugs, I'm not sure what he was looking at but there were definitely mosquitos lying in wait (Cedric has the marks to prove it haha).

Amelia and Cedric enjoyed running up and down the rows of berries and watching the group pick Saskatoons. Grandpa reached in and was able to bend a few trees over so Amelia could also pick (plus the juiciest berries were on the top branches). My mom told her that Saskatoons are delicious, so Amelia gamely tasted one….she immediately went “blech! Yucky!” and made a face of disgust while trying to scrape her tongue off. I told her they taste better in pies.

Cedric sampled a few but also spat them out. He did however have a great time trying to remove the picked berries from the pails. I eventually got him his own little container with a few berries so he could play. After a bit of time shaking saskatoons out of his container, he made his way back to the big pails and used his bucket to smoosh the berries :S At least we noticed what he was up to before he did too much damage.

All-in-all we were there 1.5 hrs before the kids were thoroughly wet and getting tired. Thankfully I did bring them changes of clothes. On the dirt road back to the driveway we came across two Mule deer bucks running down the lane so followed them towards the highway. They eventually found an opening and bounded off into the woods. When I told Neil about the deer he immediately asked 'how many points" . . . . you know hunting season is approaching when . . . .Neil had missed out on the trip because he was working nights that day and needed to sleep.

Amelia made it all the way back home awake, but Cedric couldn’t keep his eyes open zzz. Overall it was a great day or fresh and family time.