Year: 2015

Spencer came down with a cold last Sunday. He had a mild fever and developed a cough. He stayed home Monday and Tuesday, and I knew he was really sick, because he actually took naps. Wednesday he seemed better and the fever was gone, so I sent him to school, but he got sent home in the afternoon with a mild fever. I called the nurse, and she said to wait until Friday to bring him in if it didn’t go away. Thursday morning he seemed good and his fever was gone, so he went to school, but he got sent home again. I decided he should stay home Friday and made an appointment at the doctor. When we got to the doctor, his blood oxygen level was only 88 % . They gave him some albuterol through nebulizer, but it did not improve. A chest x-ray showed likely pneumonia, so they put him on oxygen, and sent him to the hospital. So we got to ride in an ambulance, ( no lights flashing) which was exciting. Thereafter ensued 48 hours of boredom. He stayed on oxygen for most of the first day. They tried taking him off while he was sleeping, but his oxygen level was too low. Around noon on Saturday he finally went off oxygen, but they still wanted him to stay one more night, to check him while he was sleeping. He did much better, and we are finally getting ready to go home. To complicate matters, Clare is in California for work this week. Thankfully, Clare’s parents are nearby and always ready to help. They took care of Meg so that I could stay with Spencer. They did come to visit a couple times, which was nice. When they came to visit Saturday, they brought crafting supplies. Meg made a reindeer with Santa clauses for antlers. She is so creative! Spencer and I passed the time by playing cards and games. I taught him the card game spit, and also Risk. He has been wanting to play Risk for some time, but I have been telling hook it takes too long. We finally had several hours to kill. It really stinks being in the hospital, and it seemed like a bit of an overreaction to me, but having personally known a healthy person who died of pneumonia, I’m really glad to know he is okay.

After a week of traveling for thanksgiving, we are enjoying a lazy day at home, keeping warm with a fire. The kids are enjoying watching some ninja go together.

Meg went to the art museum with mom and grandma. She loved the pictures of flowers (Bloom exhibit), especially the interactive components. There was a wall of flower smells, a digital interactive program to design still lifes, and Meg’s favorite, the Flower studio where she painted, drew, and crafted her own flowers. She also showed Grandma her gift shop treasures. It was a fun afternoon for the girls.

The first grade visited the zoo last Thursday. Spencer saw lots of animals, including a sea lion show, an elephant show, a growling tiger and more. It was a perfect day for it and a very busy 3 hours.