So much to blog about!

A LOT has happened since last I blogged.

Make 'em an offa they can't refuse
On Friday morning our realtor called us with VERY good news: the couple that had viewed the house on Wednesday made an offer!! So far everything is going smoothly—we’re waiting for the housing inspector to stop by sometime soon. Our house was only on the market for 3 weeks! This is definitely an answer to prayer.

ER
Also on Friday morning Karis woke up gasping for breath. I brought her to her doctor who gave her an ambuterol (sp?) treatment which seemed to help a little bit. He sent us home with a prescription for antibiotics (although he thought she had viral bronchitis, he wanted to prevent phenomena) and a nebulizer just in case she had breathing problems again. That was around 10:00am. Around 12:45 she started gasping again, so I (frantically) put Abbie down for her nap and gave Karis another breathing treatment. Which didn’t help at all. So I called a friend to come stay with Abbie while I brought Karis to the ER. Matt met us there and they took us back right away. One epinephrine treatment, one steroid treatment, three x-rays, and 3 hours later, Karis was diagnosed with croup. Which both Matt and his dad had when they were younger. I stayed with her at the hospital overnight, and by about 3am she was breathing normally again. I was so proud of her—she handled the experience like a champ.

Potty success
After Abbie’s bath on Saturday night she was running around the house without a diaper and had a tiny accident. I brought her to the potty and after a few minutes…she peed! Last night we put her on the potty again before bed and had another successful visit! So today we started potty training in earnest. We have a few pairs of cloth training pants and bought some pull-ups to use in lieu of diapers. We’re using homemade banana chips, dried cranberries, and banana nut cheerios as incentives to stay on the potty. I know potty training is something most parents dread (I’ve read that some people actually HIRE professional potty trainers to train their kids—can you believe that?!) but I think it’s going to actually be a fun experience. Since Karis was born I sort of have to parse my attention during most of the day, and usually only get to spend one-on-one time with Abbie during bedtime. But sitting on a folding chair opposite her sitting on the potty lends opportunity for all sorts of fun---we count cheerios, point to our elbows, ankles, knees, ears…sings the ABC’s while I teach her signs for the letters, and even read books. It would be so awesome to have her out of diapers by the time we move in with Matt’s parents!

Scraped knee
On Sunday Abbie got her first scraped knee while walking from church to our car. I loved putting Neosporin and a band-aid on. I felt like a commercial mom!

Eight hours
I nursed Karis last night at 11:00. And didn’t nurse her again until 7:45 this morning. GLORY!

And that’s why we don’t vaccinate (against non-deadly diseases)
Here’s my rant: what is the deal with this swine flu epidemic?! How in the world did a virus that infects pigs morph into a virus that could infect humans (and, as an aside, is resistant to the two oldest forms of the normal flu vaccine—there are four altogether). Oh wait, I know. Maybe because everyone and their uncle is too much of a wuss to deal with a little seasonal flu that they rush out to get an unnecessary vaccine which then causes the virus (that a normal person’s immune system would be able to fight off without a problem) to morph into a super virus that even a normal immune system has problems fighting! Is it really in the interest of public health to perpetuate these sorts of vaccines?