Take Me out to the Ball Game!

We had fun last week going to an Astros game with the cub scouts. Unfortunately for me, Toby had class that night so I was braved and took all 5 kids myself, downtown at night!! I did not want Tanner to miss going with the other boys in the pack. He had a good time and the Astros won big! With lots of hitting and base running the game was action packed enough to keep the older boys interested.

The younger two....not so much. Within 5 minutes of sitting down, S said "Let's go home, now". He had been there, done that and was ready to go. I knew then it would be a long night. Because for the next 2 hours I was repeatedly told...time to go home, I want to go home and other such remarks. I was able to buy some time with a potty break and walking around a bit. Then I bought some cotton candy which worked for about an inning to keep boys happy. Then I got out my camera and let them take pictures which worked well, but there was some fighting over the camera. I finally taught S the Take me out to the Ball game song and told him we could leave after it. Which was almost true. The Astros scored alot in the bottom of the 7th so we stayed. We saw the Minute Maid train go for a grand slam. That excited the boys who love trains.

I knew I was loosing my battle at the start of the 8th and we slowly made our way out. It was about 9:30 by the time we reached the car so way past little boy bedtime. But we had a good time. We just need Daddy next time, Maybe then Mom could enjoy it all a little more!!

His Face!!!

This month has been a wild ride in our son's medical history. See the picture above, He is not making the face to be silly or cute. He cannot move the left side of his face. He is not blinking, cannot completely close the eyelid and cannot move that side of his mouth. It is temporarily paralized due to Bell's Palsy. The nerves were damaged somehow (the reason or cause of Bell's palsy is unknown) and now we must wait for the nerves to regenerate. It can take weeks or months.

Let me back up and explain the whole story. Our son was born with a cleft lip and palate. He has had several surgeries over the years and we had a surgery scheduled on July 13th to help A with his speech. We got this date back at the end of April.....the dr is busy!

We went to a Pre Op appt a week before surgery with the ENT who will be doing ear tubes at the same time as the palate repair. At the office A was diagnosed with a sinus infection, he had been a little sick over the weekend. The ENT also heard some noise in A's chest. He prescribed an antibiotic and we expected Austin to be well enough for surgery by next week.

Well, he got worse not better. I gave it 2 days to see if the antibiotics would kick in and improve things but no. He did not want to stand up or get off the couch. He did not want to eat much and I finally decided we need to see the pediatrician. She checked him out and listened to his lungs and she heard crackling and wheezing. She sent us for a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. The x-ray did not indicate that but she did diagnose us with walking pneumonia and gave us lots more meds. DUE to this we had to cancel surgery because Austin would not have been approved to go under anesthesia.

The next day was Friday and busy. He slept in, I went grocery shopping, then lunch and had to take his brother to scouts. It was not until mid afternoon that I really got to look at Austin and I notice.....half of his face is not moving. I call the Ped office to ask if this could be a side effect of any medicine he was on. She said no, go to the ER. She suspected Bell's palsy over the phone and told me to get it checked today. I was asking to wait until Sat Morning office hours not wanting to do the ER thing. So off we went to the ER where we got the official Bell's Palsy diagnosis and more meds. Did I mention Austin hates to take medicine!! Now he was on lots!! Not Fun!!

By Saturday, he is feeling much better and was up and moving and eating. So the Ped's meds helped. But the Bell's Palsy remains. I call the cleft team Dr office to tell them about the Bell's Palsy and they now want to wait until that gets better before operating. So we wait!!!

I only hope that we get all of this taken care of before the start of school!! I hope his face is better and we can get this surgery done so he can start off the school year successful!

Children's Museum

At least once a year, sometimes more, we go to the Children's Museum in Houston. It is a fun place to play. This year my kids were even more excited because of all the new things that have been added in the past few months. We loved the improvements!

One of the new things was Kidtropolis. It was fun (but crowded). My kids enjoyed getting a taste of real life kid size! Kidtropolis mirrors a real city with a city hall, municipal building, bank, news center, grocery store, returant, and even a vet clinic. My kids were fasinated with the ATM machines and having a Kid card which was a debit card. The worked the jobs and got paid checks then went to the bank and deposited the money. Then off to spend it!

Powerplay had my kids rock climbing, running an obstacle course, and climbing a cool tower called the power tower. It was neat to just look at!

Cyperchase had lots of fun games and my kids had to try them all. C was fascinated by a bike she could pedal to contribute to the power supply at the museum.

The water works area outside had tons of activities for kids to play in water.....and not get too wet!

Everything seemed new. Some favorite toys and area, like the Shadow room were moved and combined with new stuff and it made them fresh and new again.

I can't wait to go again and play....and watch my kids play and have so much fun. We had a great family day!