Spring Fling

Thursday was Spring Fling at Rainbow Station--each class has chosen and practiced a song or two that they perform on stage.  Em had been practicing and was really excited about it--I asked her on the way to school if she was going to sing in her loud voice so I could hear her.  She responded "no, I'm gonna sing in my beautiful voice."

They all did a great job!  Em sang her heart out, and loved it!  Here's the video: Click Here

I stopped to pick up some flowers that Mick could give Em when her performance was over, and she really loved them--she was so proud!

When we got back in her classroom and were ready to leave, she decided to try on this St. Patrick's Day hat and pose with her flowers :).

Development

One of the things the teachers do at Rainbow Station is developmental evaluations twice a year.  I feel like I talk with Em's teachers enough on a daily basis to know what's going on, but I like the dedicated time to hear their input and ask questions.

Ms. Kathy, who we've known since Em started Rainbow Station two years ago, is actually leaving in a few weeks, so this was our last teacher conference with her.  Em will really miss her, and we will too--she has a great connection with Em, and Ms. Kathy is great with structure and discipline in the class, which we appreciate.

Em will be moving to her next class (Gold Room) in August, so she would have left Ms. Kathy's room anyway, and she really likes her other teachers now too (Ms. Nancy and Ms. Cheryl).  Ms. Nabila, who was in her room earlier in the year, will also be coming back now, so I'm glad Em will still have all familiar faces!

Easter

On Saturday morning, Em was almost completely back to normal--it was crazy!  I was on the planning committee for our neighborhood Easter Egg hunt, and it was supposed to rain all day. 

We moved the entire event into the clubhouse, which turned out fine.  We had a good number of people show up, despite the weather.  The kids enjoyed face painting, pictures with the Easter Bunny,

 and an indoor egg hunt!

We also incorporated a cupcake contest, and there were some great entries!

Em and Brady (who lives next door to us) were some of the cupcake judges.  Em even ate a cupcake and felt fine, so we were pretty sure we were completely out of the woods.

I forgot to take a picture of her Easter basket on Sunday morning before she found it, but it was full of every chocolate bunny I could find (Em is totally a chocoholic!), along with a kite, a badminton set, and a butterfly net.  The weather is starting to warm up, so she's looking forward to getting outside--especially after being sick for a week.

The butterfly net was a hit--she spent the morning outside trying to find a butterfly!  We even went next door to the model home where they have all these beautiful tulips, thinking there might be one.  They must have seen her coming, because we didn't see one butterfly. 

Sunday afternoon, she wanted to dye more eggs!  This was a tye dye kit, and she really liked using the little dropper to make the eggs different colors.

Sick Days

Last Saturday, Em woke up around 1:30 AM and came in our bedroom, saying her tummy hurt.  I went in her bedroom with her and around 2:00 AM, she started throwing up.  She said her tummy hurt on Friday night, but really had acted fine and went to bed okay.

She was sick all day Saturday, and must have thrown up 20 times--she couldn't keep any liquid down, and had no appetite for solids at all.  She had no other symptoms (not even a fever), but couldn't stop throwing up.  Sunday was more of the same, so we knew she wouldn't be at school on Monday.

I called her doctor Monday morning and we got her a 9:30 appointment that morning.  She didn't get to see her regular doctor, but the one she saw checked her out and determined it wasn't her appendix and there were no signs of strep, so we were assuming a virus.  He prescribed an anti-emetic so she could get over the nausea enough to at least stay hydrated.  It worked a little, but she kept throwing up anytime she drank too fast or a large quantity.

On Wednesday, we took her back to the doctor.  She saw a different doctor who told us she was really dehydrated--he tested her blood and urine to rule out anything more serious, and said we needed to double her fluid intake or our only other option would be IV fluids.  Her vomiting had slowed a little, but we still had to be careful with her drinking too fast or too much.

I found some apple flavored Pedialyte that she really liked, so I bought every bottle they had at CVS.  Mick and I were taking turns staying home with her all week.  She was so pitiful with no energy at all--she really only wanted to lounge around and rest, and didn't get out of pjs all week.

On Thursday, I stayed home with her again, and she had a quart of Pedialyte by 10:00 that morning.  She hadn't thrown up in over 24 hours, was feeling much better, and really wanted to go to the Easter Egg hunt her class was having that day.  I called and talked to her teacher, and we headed over--she was weak from not eating, but felt up to running around with her friends and playing for a few minutes.

We were there for about half an hour and then headed home.  I could tell she was wearing down fast, but was glad we made it for the little while we were there.

Soon after we got home, she threw up again.  I regretted taking her at that point, because I think it was just too much activity before she was ready.

That afternoon, she felt terrible and stayed in bed.  She was so happy that Bella wanted to come upstairs and comfort her.  Bella would gladly take over any of our beds, but isn't usually allowed upstairs. 

On Friday, I kept her at home again.  When she threw up again that morning, we decided to take her back to the doctor.  We saw someone different (they only had a sick clinic open since it was Good Friday), and she reassured us that she looked good, and didn't show any signs of dehydration anymore.  What was funny is that Em started feeling better while we were in the doctor's office.  She asked her to do some jumping jacks, and Em went to town--the doctor explained that any major stomach issues would have prevented her from jumping like she did.

By Friday night, Em was almost back to normal!  She wanted hot dogs for dinner, and was dying to get into the Easter candy from her school egg hunt.  Instead, we made mashed potatoes together and she ate some of those.  Just to have any appetite back at all was a relief for us.

By Friday night, she was dressed as a princess and wanting to dye eggs! 

This kit had glitter and sequins for the eggs, so she really made them beautiful.

Finally, we were doing something that felt normal again after a terribly long week of sickness!