Sick once again...

Once again the Toepfer boys are sick. Last week was a busy week, we went to the Library, we met daddy for lunch a couple of days, we visited old friends at Ring & Du and we went to the zoo!! We had swim class on Saturday morning and since it was raining we took a quick trip to Rockford to see Nana, Papa and Alisha.
Friday afternoon Jacob looked like he had gotten sunburn. I was stumped because I had put suntan lotion on him. Well, what looked like sunburn turned into a rash. Then we thought he was allergic to the sunscreen. However the rash was not going away. Saturday late afternoon we called the pediatrician to see if we could give him Benedryl and how much. She said that it might not be a reaction to the sunscreen, it might be something viral or strep throat. I was still thinking it was a reaction to the sunscreen, however Sunday morning Ben woke up with a rash. The thing that confused Josh and I is that the rashes looked different. So we kept them home from church. Jacob was so bummed to miss Sunday school class. Then I decided not to go meet with some friends. One of our friends has cancer and we were hoping to catch up, however, I remember with my aunt how critical it is. So, not knowing exactly what was going on I decided not to go. Becky and Brian thankfully did take our dear friend some meals!!
So this morning I took both boys into the pediatrician, half thinking and hoping nothing was wrong and that it was just the reaction to the sunscreen. Unfortunately, they both had red and enlarged tonsils, congestion, rashes and Benjamin had 103.1 temperature Sunday evening and did not sleep through the night. The doctor did a strep test on both of them. The rapid test came back negative but she did sent it in for the two day test. So she said to treat them for a viral illness: warm fluids or really cold fluid, popscicles and motrin for the sore throats. So once again the Toepfer boys are ill. Hopefully their little bodies fight it fast and we can have healthy boys again. They really have to stop sharing their germs.

"Easter"
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life." John 3:16

We talked with Jacob about Easter and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins (the naughty things we do, like pushing our siblings, not listening to mom and dad, etc.), but on the third day God raised him from the dead. Jesus conquered death so that we can spend eternity with him if we accept the free gift of Grace that God has available for everyone.
In church Jacob kept pointing to the two cross's in church. Jacob said, "Jesus died on the cross." Yes, Jacob Jesus died on the cross, but on the third day, he rose again!! We reminded Jacob that Jesus is in Heaven with God. Jacob loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me". It is precious as a mother to hear a little child sing this song. We talk often of how Jesus loves us. My hope as a mother is that Jacob and Benjamin accept God's free gift of grace, so we can spend eternity with them. My prayers are for God to use them for his glory and honor. Josh and I are so blessed to be parents of these two little boys.

Computer Trouble

Oh yes, please forgive me for not updating the blog sooner on Josh. My laptop is out of commission for a while. It is being serviced by my wonderful I.T. person (a.k.a. Josh). Unfortunately it needs to be reconfigured. It was attacked by a nasty virus. Josh thinks he should work for the CIA so they can take out all those mean people who create computer virus's. Maybe once AutoCAD creates a Linux compatible application I can stick my tongue out at those virus creating people. I would rather not have my wonderful hubby working for the CIA, as cool as it would be, there are two little boys that need him at home. I need him home to, who would fix my computer when I have problems???? I can do many things, however, fixing computers is not one of them.

Update on Josh

Monday Josh called the doctor's office to find out the results from his tests. The doctor's secretary called him back an told him that there have been no changes since his last set of tests. However, the doctor still wanted him to come in for an appointment. He scheduled an appointment for June 1st, which was the earliest he could get in.
I thought I would feel relieved after this set of tests, however, I don't. I think part of it has to do with the appointment scheduled 6 weeks after the tests. So, we wait some more until the appointment.
Monday morning I also took Benjamin in to the pediatrician. He was inconsolable for almost half an hour after his bath. I had flashbacks back to his colic. I finally was able to have him take some Tylenol and he fell asleep for an hour before we took him in. The doctor said he had an ear infection in both ears and his eyes looked like they were getting pink eye. Hmmmm, Jacob had pink eye on Friday..... yeah, if only they did n0t share germs so much. If only they could share toys and not germs, we would be in a much better position.

Update on Josh

This morning Josh had his CT scan, X-ray and Ultrasound. He said that they did not tell him anything. We will have to wait until the doctor calls Josh to find out what the next steps will be. It was a very long morning and Josh wanted to spend some time with us. God knew we needed him at home today.
This morning Jacob woke up with pink eye. He also complained his ear hurt. So, after deciding whether or not to take him into the doctor again this week, I called and made an appointment for him with Dr. Esser our pediatrician. The appointment was not till early this afternoon, so I decided I could try and get some cleaning done this morning since Grandma Pat, Grandpa Tom and Uncle T.J. were coming to our house for Easter.
I was trying to clean the windows when Josh came home. Josh decided to eat breakfast and the boys had a snack with him. While I was cleaning one of the windows one of the screens was coming out of the track and Josh came over to look at it. Jacob had gotten down from his chair and went over by Benjamin. He grabbed the Windex spray bottle and proceeded to spray his little brother in the face with it. Ben was screaming, Jacob was laughing (He later said he thought it was water). We were steps away. I turned on the water, we grabbed Benjamin and doused him in the water for a couple of minutes, then we pulled him out to let him catch his breath. The poor little boy. I called poison control center immediately, they told us to put him in the shower for another 10 minutes to wash his eyes so that any chemical that could have gotten to the back of the eyes would be rinsed. So Josh took him into the bathroom and rinsed his eyes, it was the longest 10 minutes ever. Benjamin was such a trooper, he just kept looking like what just happened. He threw up and everything it was just awful. We got him out and warmed up, dressed him and just held him. After twenty minutes or so, he wanted to play with daddy and Jacob. The poison control center called back and asked how he was. I told them that he threw up and she said that was totally expected. She said to watch out for drainage or puss from his eye, but otherwise he should be fine.
Then we did lunch and Jacob and I headed to Dr. Esser's office to get him checked out. I told Dr. Esser about it and he said that he thought that Windex would be deluded enough that the amonia should not have damaged Ben's eyes. He is on call this weekend and told us to call with any problems. Jacob does have pink eye, but his ears look great. So, now he has some drops for his eyes to take care of the pink eye. I will not be washing or cleaning anything unless the boys are sleeping or gone. At least for some time.
We will update on Josh once the doctor contacts us. Thank you so much for your prayers!!

Quick trip to Grandma's house

Jacob wanted to go see Grandma on Wednesday morning. We knew that she had off and was going to be at church in the morning, but by the time we would get up there she would be home. However we needed to be back in time for supper so that Josh and I could go to our last Financial Peace class. So, we headed up, the weather was still a little chilly, but the sun was shining. Jacob pointed out the zoo, we ducked under bridges, he pointed out cows, trucks and farms. He told me I was going the wrong way to Grandma's house. Grandma and Grandpa go a different way. It is amazing how quickly he is becoming very independent.
Grandma was thrilled to see the boys. Benjamin kept giving her lots of hugs. He is such a sweet little boy. Unfortunately, we were not able to stay long enough see Grandpa Tom. We did get to see Uncle Andy and Jacob was glad to see him.
We made it home to grab supper and make it to church for our last Financial Peace University class.

Tuesday

What can I say for Tuesday 4/7/09. I was planning to have a somewhat uneventful Tuesday going to "Momtime" and taking Benjamin to his pediatric dentist appointment for his recent injuries from Sunday and Monday. However, while I was drying Jacob off after bath time I noticed a rash on his arm. I thought it might be ring worm, but it did not have a ring around it. I had a nasty ring worm infection I got on my head after I fell off the monkey bars in elementary school. So, in my mind picturing the horrible experience I had, I called the doctor to make sure it was not ring worm. Also, to make sure it was not contagious. So, we hung out at home for a bit before we took Jacob to his morning doctors appointment, with just enough time to meet Josh for a quick lunch and rush out to Hartland to make Benjamin's dentist appointment.
Ben had bitten Jacob almost a month ago and it was a pretty deep. Benjamin had broken through the skin and Jacob has a hard time leaving things alone. Needless to say, the doctor said, he didn't think it was ring worm since there was no outer ring. He did feel that it was impetigo though. He said that human bites are not as bad as animal bites, for example cat bites. However, if the skin was broken and Jacob rubbed at it with dirty hands, he probably infected it that way. So, he gave us some antibotic ointment and sent us on our way. He said if it didn't get better that it may be ring worm, but he highly doubted it.
Benjamin's appointment went well also. The dentist was great, he talked tractors with Jacob and kept trying to get Benjamin to smile. Benjamin did great and cried only a little bit. (Dr. Esser our pediatrician would be jealous, Ben screams bloody murder at his office). The dentist said that his tooth may turn gray, but it did not look like he cut off all of the blood supply to his loose tooth. He highly doubted that it would fall out and said he should be fine. Benjamin does have an underbite, so when he bites down he could injure it again and cause more bleeding. The injury was right at the gum line.
On our way home I stopped by Waukesha North High School to drop off the keys for Josh. It was kind of sad to officially add that chapter of his life. He really enjoyed coaching the girls. It is too bad it turned out the way that it did.

The Adventures of Jacob and Benjamin!!

Is it warm outside yet???









Are you sure it is not warm outside yet??








Ben in his favorite set of wheels!!! He just got all four first year molars within the last month. Yeah!!







I am finally caught up on my blog!! So, what adventures happened in the Toepfer home this weekend. It was the first swim class of the season on Saturday. Ben was a little nervous in the water, which kind of surprised us. He was a fish in the water last fall, plus he loves playing in the bathtub. The teacher said that he is at the age where kids form a fear of the water, it is totally normal and he should get better. Jacob was splishing and splashing away. Josh barely held on to him, he was doing pretty well on his own.
We took a quick trip to Walmart to pick up a few things and picked up Subway for lunch. As soon as we got home Jacob threw up. Josh mentioned he had swallowed quite a bit of pool water. O.K. not a huge deal, he has a sensitive gag reflex and throws up easily. I am not sure what we were thinking, but we let him eat lunch and then put him down for a nap. He kept telling Josh he was mad. I think actually his tummy hurt and he didn't feel good, but his tummy must hurt when he is mad also. After he woke up from his nap he threw up again. Since we were not sure if it was too much pool water or the flu we kind of confined ourselves home. We limited Jacob to fluids and soda crackers.
After chicken noodle soup for lunch on Sunday we thought things were getting better. Which they were for Jacob, but poor Benjamin has had a tramatic two days. Sunday after lunch Josh was holding his hands and he was walking with him. Benjamin let go and fell down. Josh didn't realize he had a Thomas the train whilstle in his mouth. Benjamin fell down, started screaming. Josh picked him up, I looked at him, and blood was starting to come out of his mouth. Finally we calmed him down and got the bleeding to stop. He injured the roof of his mouth just behind his top middle teeth. He fell asleep after being so upset and it was nap time. When he woke up he must have had some more bleeding. Josh kept saying he was fine, I am on the opposite extreme, so I called the pediatrician. Really I was ready to take him to at least the walk-in clinic. So, we compromised. She said he should be fine. It would take at least 5 days to heal, give him medicine for the pain, and try to give him soft foods. Did I mention Ben likes to eat... a lot. So, pretty much besides playing he was my sidekick all evening.
This morning I thought, he slept through the night, things are looking good. He ate breakfast fine, bananas and an eggo waffle (it was pretty soft). Then he played most of the morning and bugging his brother. We ate lunch, turkey, cheese, mandarine oranges, turkey, more eggo waffle, yougurt. Like I said he eats a lot. We were just about to go up for nap time and Bejamin fell by his little Fisher Price play tent. More screaming and more blood!!! So, I calmed him down and got the bleeding stopped. He bit his bottom lip this time and looked like he might have reinjured the top of his mouth again. One of his tooth seemed a tiny loose so I called the pediatrician again. The nurse recommened seeing our dentist or a pediatrician dentist. So, tomorrow we have an appointment with a pediatrician dentist. They said that there is not much that they can usually do, but it would be good to check the damaged tissues. Like I always say, there is never a dull moment in the Toepfer household. Especially with two young boys in the house!!

Benjamin and Jacob Making Snickerdoodles!!

Jacob's First Bowling Experience!!

The last weekend in March we planned a family day to go bowling. So we headed over to the AMF in Waukesha. We had a coupon for $0.99 games, yeah!! Jacob had a blast!! It was a little slow at first until they offered us a ramp. The first game took an hour, waiting for Jacob's balls to go all the way to the end!! The next two games went much faster. Jacob did pretty good for his first time bowling. Benjamin can't wait to be able to bowl, we just need to convince him that walking is better than crawling in public!!

Trip to Illinois

The third weekend in March we headed down to Illinois to visit Josh's family. We had hoped to have a big day on the farm and have Benjamin get his first tractor ride. Unfortunately, it was pretty chilly down there. Benjamin did get to walk around in the barn, watch the cows and tried to catch the tails of the kittens.
Sooooo... we headed into town to see Grandma Schultz. She was happy to see us. Benjamin was checking out her cupboards to see what fun things she had in there. Both of the boys played with the magnets on her refrigerator and the fun tractors she has at her house!!
Later that night Nana and Papa babysat so mommy and daddy could go on a date!! When we got back Jacob was not quite asleep and asked me if I was done with my date. Josh was not in the room, so he asked if daddy was still on his date?? I am not sure if he was trying to understand or if it was the fever talking. He was starting to feel pretty warm. He woke up that night crying. He was burning up and he woke up his brother also. Josh and I gave him some Tylenol and put a cold washcloth on his head. We finally got them both back to bed and Jacob woke up again. He had wet the bed :o(. So, at 4 a.m. I am trying to change bed sheets, trying to find a new mattress pad and get sheets on the bed without waking up everyone else up. Jacob was chatting away ready to wake everyone else up because he thought it was time to wake up. I finally got the bed changed and Jacob back in bed and he told me his ear was hurting and he wanted to keep the ouwa inside of his ear. Finally we all got back to sleep and slept in the longest we have ever slept in.
Jacob's temperature did break on Sunday morning, just in time to head back home.

Great Grandma Schneider's Birthday!

The first weekend in March we were up at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tom's house. We went up to spend some time with them and bring Andy down to the airport again. Since we were up, we thought we could pop in for a gathering for Great Grandma Schneider's birthday. Once again, it snowed in Wisconsin!! Big surprise, the party was post-poned till the following Sunday. We decided to not come back on Sunday evening as planned and left early Monday morning to get Andy to the airport on time. This time however, there was a ton of ice that came before the snow and our truck was froze shut. At five o'clock in the morning we were scraping and heating the truck to get it open and cleaned off so we could get Andy to the airport!!
The following Sunday we did sneak up to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Schneider!! Thankfully we were able to do that!! The following weekend my grandmother was rushed to the hospital. She had heart trouble and they put a stint in and gave her tons of medicine and put her on oxygen. My grandfather has Alzheimers and is on quite a bit of medications also.