Yuck...

We have had a yucky weekend here at the Madden ranch. The weather is yucky and B and B have been sick all weekend. Brody vomited twice yesterday and has had a fever off and on. They both have had diarrhea all weekend. Bryan and I said that if anyone asks what we did all weekend, we would say that we changed dirty diapers. At one point yesterday, we were changing dirty diapers about every 30 minutes:( Neither of them have really drank or ate much of anything over the last couple of days. Brynn will atleast try to eat stuff, but Brody refuses most of everything except fruit snacks. B and B have been laying around a lot and requesting to watch their favorite movies; The Lion King and Balto. We're hoping that we are on the downhill swing of this virus and that they start feeling better soon!

Crown Center

Yesterday, we took B and B to Crown Center to the Under the Sea Adventure. It was a big room filled with cut out wooden rooms with different mazes and play areas to stimulate an underwater world. It was way too crowded for Bryan and I's liking, but B and B had a great time running around. Brody quickly realized that he could take off running and hide in a million places that would make it difficult for me to catch or even find him. After several scary chases, we decided to leave and venture out around Crown Center. We stopped to check out the train outside of Fritz's Restaurant. I had to laugh when B and B sat down on the bench and waited for a second and they both said, "It's broken, Mommy." I think they thought they were going on a real train ride:( They loved the waterfall in the Westin Hotel and both would have loved to jump in. We also let them run through one of the tunnels that connects all the buildings together down there. They ran the length of the tunnel twice. Brody wore all three of us out chasing after him. Bryan and I often think he could run forever! Boy, is he fast too! Of course, neither of them would hold still long enough to take any good pictures.

Snake Saturday

Yesterday, we spent most of the day having a family day. We went out to breakfast at First Watch and it was delicious! Then we went to the Snake Saturday parade in North Kansas City. B and B had a really good time at the parade! Brynn enjoyed watching all of the different Africian American dance drill teams. Brody really liked the Patriot Gaurd (the group that protests against Westboro Baptist Church and their leader, Fred Phelps) riding all their Harley Davidsons through the parade. It was nice to hear people cheering for them! B and B thought that they needed to eat every peice of candy thrown toward them. I finally had to put a stop to that when someone dropped about 20 suckers in front of us. It was a really fun day and was especially nice to spend some time outside in the great weather!

Jesus

The above pictures are of B and B giving Jesus kisses and hugs. Brynn has taken a real interest in Jesus lately and talks about him often. Since our kids are a "monkey-see-monkey-do" duo, Brody is starting to take an interest in Jesus also, but not like Brynn. We have a crucifix next to our front door and several times Brynn has asked to give Jesus a kiss on the way out the door. Bryan said on Friday that she finally saw the "owies" on Jesus and was asking about them. Bryan said that he told her that Jesus got those "owies" for her. Bryan said she immediately became concerned and wanted to kiss Jesus' "owies" to make him feel better:)

Spring Fever

We are starting to get back to our normal routines around here. Although, we have had so many things going on, I am not so sure what "normal" is anymore! B and B are back to their old selfs and as ornery as ever! Brody is finally starting to cut the last of his molars. He has been doing really well using the potty and actually goes #2 on the potty more than #1. Brynn apparently has been spending too much time with Daddy because she keeps trying to potty standing up:) I find it surprising that Brody hasn't even attempted that yet. Leave it to Brynn to be observant of those kind of things! We have been loving these warm days we have been having and spending as much time outside as we can. We are so looking forward to spring and summer!

Our First Hospitalization

We have had a very scary, long, and stressful week. B and B started not feeling well last Sunday. They started not eating, running temps (Brody-101s, Brynn- 102s), and coughing A LOT. We kept them home from daycare on Monday and Tuesday. We had been giving Brody breathing treatments as needed and they both had been getting Tylenol and Motrin pretty much around the clock. On Tuesday, Bryan said they acted okay and even played a little as long as they had Tylenol and Motrin on board. They still weren't eating, but drinking okay. That night Brynn spiked another fever and I decided that when Bryan got home from work the next morning that we would take them to Urgent Care at Mercy South. I had had B and B's ears checked the week before, so I figured that this was just viral anyway. When we arrived at Mercy South, neither B or B had a fever. They checked their o2 sats and they were both ok, a little low, but nothing to be too concerned about. When the doctor came in to assess them, he didn't like what he heard in Brody's lungs. He said his lungs were crackly and wheezy and that Brody was retracting. Brody got 2 albuterol treatments and deep suctioned. His oxygen levels started deterioating and his sats were only upper 80s/lows 90s (normal 93-100%). Brody then got a racemic epi breathing treament and he still wasn't improving, so they put him on 2L o2 via nasal cannula. His sats remained upper 80s/low 90s. His sputum came back positive for RSV and he was also diagnosed with a mild ear infection. The doctor said Brody needed to be hospitalized, so Brody and Mommy got to take a ride with Children's Mercy Critical Care Transport Team to KU where he was admitted. Brynn was diagnosed with an ear infection and sent home on antibiotics. She mostly likely had RSV also, but her lungs sounded clear and her o2 levels were ok so she didn't need to be hospitalized. Brody was in the hospital at KU until Friday. He started out getting nasal suctioned every 2 hours, albuterol breathing treatments every 4 hours, and pulmicort breathing treatments every 12 hours. He stayed on this regimen his whole hospitalization, except they changed the suctioning to every 4 hours. You wouldn't believe the amount of mucous we suctioned out of him. Suctioning him was quite the task too since Brody is very strong and it required me actually sitting on him and holding his arms down while someone else suctioned him. I know it sounds awful, but it had to be done:( Throughout his hospitalization, he required o2 as needed, especially when he was sleeping. Fortunately, they gave me the option of him having an IV for hydration or me pushing fluids on him. I opted for pushing fluids and we managed to avoid an IV. He did have to get an IM shot while we were there for his ear infection though. He barely ate in the hospital at all, except on Friday, he did manage to eat some sausage for breakfast and some pizza for lunch. As soon as he woke up from his nap on Friday after we got home from the hospital he has been a new boy. He started eating and was already getting into trouble:) We are still giving him pulmicort treatments twice a day and albuterol treatments as needed. We even gave Brynn a few treatments, which seemed to help her a little too. They both are not 100% yet, but a lot better. A giant "thank you" to Grandma Farnan for staying a night with Brody in the hospital so I could spend some time with Brynn and get some rest. I have never been so thankful to have my entire family under one roof as I have been this weekend. Brynn told me several times Friday that she wanted to go see Brody. This was the first time since their birth that they have spent any nights apart. However, I think their missing each other has passed because they have gotten in trouble for fighting several times. Although, I don't like them fighting, it means that they're feeling better:)

Painting With Cool Whip

Last night, we let B and B paint with cool whip. Boy, did they have fun! They painted the table, their faces, and their shirts. It was really nice to let them play with stuff that they could eat if they wanted to. Surprisingly, it wasn't really that bad to clean up and it was B and B's bath time afterwards anyway. Brynn decided on the way to the tub though that she would just wash her hands in the toilet:) Brody got his first black eye on Friday. He has a nice multi-colored bruise under his eye and along his inner eye. It looks a lot worse in person than it does in the pictures:( Bryan said he wasn't quite sure what happened between him and Brynn. Our guess is that Brynn decided she had finally had enough. Either way, we will be working on playing "nicely" this week.