Why do I do this to myself? Wait for like five days and then try to catch up all at once?
Because that’s who I am, and that’s what i do.
Procrastination – one of the many services I offer. Or might offer. when I get around to it.
So – Saturday.
Started off (not-so-bright) but early with an awesomely fun shoot with my sissy for 2Sisters Photography of newborn twins. We had done the maternity shoot for mom back in September, and we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her precious baby girls! it was a good time. until we had to lug out all our stuff in the freezing rain after it was over!
Kendall woke up that morning soaking from leaking from her tube site. No idea what was causing it other than I think she is pretty backed up, in spite of having overgrowth treatment all week. We have slowed down her feeding pump rate from “mildly dehydrating” to “almost guaranteed to cause dehydration if she decides to stop drinking orally”. But at least the leaking lessened. It is just pouring back out into her farrell bag (a bag that attaches to her G-tube to allow her tummy juices to drain all nite, as well as anything coming back up that she might feel like trying to puke up). Either way – something’s up with her tummy cause she is super-ticked whenever you try to get near it, which is highly unusual for her (meaning – do NOT touch me, it hurts like a mo-fo). As is our typical M.O. with stuff like this, unless or until she needs obvious help in the form of IV meds/fluids or other testing to find the source of the pain, we will let her work it out, give her ibuprofen as she needs it, and hope she doesn’t tip over into autonomic mode (where her body’s autonomic system in trying to stabilize the pain or infection or whatever is going on in there swings too far to one side and things start going haywire.)
Like I said in another post – Whack-A-Mole. Fix one problem, and another one or two pop up. but she keeps life interesting, and she is who she is, and we love her for all her quirky craziness. i just hope she is actually feeling better soon.
So I left a crazy leaky Kendall with Ben so he could drive the big girls to dance, Zesty and I went to the shoot, I came home and got Kaylen, and we went to pick up the girls from dance.
I am working on a “yearbook” type project for our studio, so I went a little early so I could get some shots of the different classes/groups that were practicing at that time. I am so blown away by the amazing talent of some of these kids! We all had a good time at the studio…
and then we came home to get Daddy and Kendall and we all went to Dollar Tree!
I know. It sounds awesome. But the point was that the girls could each pick out something for everyone in the family. The concept was lost on everyone except for Kealey. Kaylen 
kept picking out things for herself and trying to convince me that her sisters wanted her to have it. Karissa was just worried that SHE wouldn’t get anything. And ben once again wiped out the freezer of the packs of Icee’s. It was a good thought. And i think they kind of had fun, and kind of got it a little bit. Obviously I have lots more work to do in the “better to give than receive” department!
We 
then went to rent “A Christmas Carol” and got some chinese chicken to share amongst ourselves for a good fun family nite in, with the crappy freezing rainy weather that was trying to turn to snow. The movie kind of freaked Karissa out a little (but then again, so does her shadow on most days…), but Kealey was REALLY into it. I remember LOVING the story as a girl about her age. I love pretty much everything by Dickens though. And this Disney version that is animated really captures the story visually I feel like. (ok forgive the lack of grammatically correct/stunning reviews…I should have quit typing three hours ago.) But really, the movie was awesome. I’d like to own it someday for them, watch it every year, see if it ever does start sticking for the middle two! it could be a fun part of future family traditions for our December dailies….
And then we made brownies and hot cocoa and I put the babies’ hair up in curlers as is our typical Saturday nite routine. Kealey spiked a 103 dgree temp, and it is starting to really frustrate me because that is the third time she has done that this week – but she will inevitably respond to tylenol and be fine by the time its school or dance or whatever. She claims to have a super sore throat, has an annoying hacky cough – but that is really it. It’s gotta be some kind of lingering virus – and I am hoping that its not somehow connected to Kendall’s tummy stuff (i know that makes no sense, but kendall usually fights viruses by diverting energy away from her gut first,and THEN acting sick). Anyways – it is very unlike Kealey. She is definitely my high fever kid – but she’ll usually spike to 105-106, be knocked flat on her back and sleep for three straight days with only a few waking periods to take meds for a sore throat, and then she wakes up on day four really weak, but is good as new by day 6. Without fail. She gets this same virus every year, typically in January, early February.
So to have this one being so weird, and so early, is frustrating. And i hope her immune system will just kick it already!
But that was our Saturday.
It was definitely a lot of family fun, family memory and tradition building.