Nimitz Beach

Ko Olina

Hickam Beach

Ella and I went to visit Emmi and Christina and hang out at the playground while Dad and Jackie saw the Arizona Memorial.Then it was off to hickam Beach ...And Finally out to dinner for my birthday!!!

Papa's Here!

Papa arrived Monday night and Ella has been on cloud nine since his arrival!!

Nature Lesson

Ella was stung for the first time by a bee. How do we know it was a bee? Well, after the hysterical crying coming from the playground and then calming her down enough to have her say, "a bug bite me", we examined her finger and saw that it was bit red and swollen.

"Did an ant bite you?"
"Yes"
"Did a bee bite you?"
"Yes"
"Did a spider bite you?"
"Yes" ...hummm

"Was it on the ground?"
"Yes, I catch it with my hand"
"Before it was on the ground, did it fly?"
"Yes, mommy a bee bite me."

A little ice and some quick KidsHealth.com info on bug bites, we were able to get the stinger out of her finger tip and all seems to be well.

It's our fault really. We encourage her to look and learn about bugs and even catch geckos in our house and put them outside to "go back to your family, gecko." I don't kill bugs in front of her, I act excited to see one and distract her so I can squash the sucker. So it stands to reason that we would catch a bee in our hand if the opportunity arose, right??

We have nature to thank for this latest lesson and had a big talk about what things are safe to catch (ladybugs, beetles, geckos, worms) and what we should never touch (bees, spiders, centipedes). Ella's finger is fine, complete with a Dora The Explorer band aid which is purely for the pity and hugs she gets when she reminds us of the traumatic event. Just another war wound in the life of a 3-year-old. :)

Update

Ella is doing much better. Her blood work came back and all is normal. The antibiotics are working and her cough has substantially decreased, you wouldn't even know she's been sick. Ron and I have caught the beginning of this bug, we're under the weather a bit, he's got a mild cough and I have a sinus cold. Ahhh, the joys of living in a small house and sharing all the germs!! :)

Despite this, we started our backyard project today. We're building a raised-bed veggie garden. I'll post photos of the progress but our seeds have started to sprout and we're in the process of staining the wood for the beds, one is complete so we may begin planting tomorrow...I love Hawaii :)

Improved

Ella has been much better today. No leg cramps and her cough is subsiding. I canceled her doctor's appointment this morning as she was treated and given new antibiotics last night. The doctor called and I updated her but she seemed agitated that we went to the acute care clinic (ACC) and essentially got a second opinion. She said the new antibiotic was the one she was going to prescribe today and basically said everything that I just told her but made it sound like it was her diagnosis and that she knew it to be the case all along. Seeing as her diagnosis consisted of "I'm not sure", "Ella you're a conundrum", "it sounds like", I wasn't too impressed. If it's such a "conundrum" why weren't further tests done?

We did go to the lab for Ella's blood work and as soon as she figured out what the tech was doing she tried to run in the opposite direction - not surprising after last night's failed attempts. She cried, but he got a line in one go and once she realized it wasn't all that painful her cries turned to whines of "Mommy, I need a tissue for my tears". A lollipop put the tech back in her good graces and she thanked him and waved goodbye. Off to McDonald's for lunch and Walmart for a Dora coloring book... all seems to be well in the house :)

Latest Fever and Cough

We have been through a lot this week with Ella's illness. She's had a fever and horrible hacking cough since early Saturday. By Wednesday, it hadn't improved so Ella's doctor checked her out and said it sounded like pneumonia and prescribed amoxacillin which we started right away.

Ella woke up from her nap yesterday with cramps in her calf muscles but because it was only a minute I thought her leg had fallen asleep and she was experiencing "pins and needles". Then again in the middle of the night she woke up to pee and couldn't walk to the bathroom her calves hurt so bad. She immediately fell asleep after and only had the pain when she tried to stand. In the morning, she had such severe muscle pain that it took her most of an hour to walk properly so I took her back to the doctor. This entire time she's not had any change in character and has been her same chipper self which has made it especially frustrating because though complaining her legs hurt, and refusing to walk then slowly limp around, she still wants to watch "Zaboomafoo" and play. ?????

Today's doctor's appointment went no better, the urine culture came back normal (no muscular infection) but I was told to stop the amoxicillin and come back tomorrow... though I was assured it wasn't an allergic reaction, Ella's doctor had never heard of such a thing and had no idea about the leg cramps.... not at all reassuring.

At 4 this afternoon, after stewing on many unanswered questions, Ron, Ella and I were off to the acute care clinic as I wanted better answers and proper tests done. After 5 hours and a chest x-ray (blood work was ordered for tomorrow as they couldn't get a vein tonight) a middle-aged doctor determined that it is bronchitis. He was surprised that pneumonia was diagnosed with no chest x-ray or further blood work (my exact concerns) and questioned the use of amoxicillin when there is a better one out there. Also, the calf cramps, he said, can be common from this type of infection coupled with fever and dehydration. The fact that he didn't seem at all concerned or STUMPED by them made us feel better. The blood work will determine if Ella's bronchitis is viral or bacterial but for now Ella's on a different antibiotic. Hopefully this second opinion gets Ella back on the fast track to good health.

On a side note: despite the long 5 hours, the 3 failed attempts to draw blood, and the other screaming kids, Ella was on her best behavior! She followed the doctors and nurses' instructions and didn't even cry until the third attempt at drawing her blood was failing and it was hard even for the nurse to watch. Then sat quietly and watched Disney on the large screen TV in the waiting room until the x-ray results came back. She can be quite the big girl when she wants to :)

Ella and Mommy

Happy Mother's Day

It's always a great day with a wake up hug from Ella, flowers, and breakfast from Ron. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Dear Mom,

We hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. Though we can't be with you in Atlanta, we celebrate with you in spirit. We miss you. We love you. xoxo














Love,
Ronnie J., Tracey & Ella

I miss my mom everyday. Some of my favorite pictures and memories...