Demotivations

Okay, we don't have to look far for things in our lives to demotivate us. So why not acknowledge it. I am a big fan of the demotivating posters--Despair. And you can even make your own. So, of course I had to try one. This is what it ended up looking like.

And all those who don't know not to take these posters seriously---No, the real reason to invite people over is true friendship, or true love, or the fact that the larger size bag of chips was on sale and you don't want to eat the leftovers.

Chills and Thrills

Sheila: My chill for the week was another epidural cervical shot. It is in the neck for my herniated disks. If I could fast forward to 3 days after the shot, that would be sweet, but the days right after the shot are worse than just the pain from the herniated disks. I was held up in bed with a heading pad. However, my thrill for the week is that the end to this current phase of my federal career is coming quickly. I have resigned, effective at the beginning of February. I have several conferences where I am presenting and several projects to finish up before I leave. It will be sad to quit, and I am sure I'll have some time where I won't know what to do with myself since I have worked since high school. But, I am looking forward to this next phase. And, yes, I know that being a mom is a full-time job, but the people who need to understand what I just said, did.

Everett: I basically only have thrills this week. The Christmas tree is up, I can almost catch the cat, and I am pulling up to STANDING, rolling around, crawling faster than the speed of light, and think that the bathroom is my personal territory. Beware any of you who occupy that room without me!

Erik: My chill is that I am in charge of the ward party that will be in two weeks, and it is hard to see that anything is really done or resolved for it. The theme is pretty cool, "The Retro Christmas Party". My thrill--putting up blinking colored lights on the Christmas tree, which is very reminiscent of my childhood.

Help with UT Sweater Seek and Find

So, I am not going to directly talk about what happened on November 23rd in College Station. As we all await the bowl game assignment, we are on the look-out for an "ugly UT sweater" for Everett (size 2T to 4T). Erik and I will be competing again in the ugly UT sweater competition now scheduled for the next game day, and Everett needs to be in the running.

For those who are unfamiliar with our tradition, every year Erik and I compete against each other for who has the ugliest UT sweater . . . and we wear the same sweaters every year. Last year we did not hold the competition due to bedrest and overall newborn parent fatigue (aka we forgot). In the previous years--Sheila reigned as winner in 2005 while in 2004 Erik held that title.

I could put a picture of us wearing out sweaters but it would give Everett undue advantage. So, I need your help in finding Everett the ugliest UT sweater . . . post a message on our Guestbook or email us with your find.

(BTW, we when we say "ugliest" sweater, for those of you die-hard UT rivals, having a Texas insignia on it does not qualify for "ugliest" . . . "ugliest" refers to the style or handcraft of the sweater--not the fact that it is burnt orange or has a longhorn on it.)

***Note as the official November Adoption Month comes to an end, don't miss out on this article:

The Changing Faces of Adoption

Happy-happy . . .

All of you can pinpoint it, you know, that part in the movie where music is used to move the plot along, accelerate the rising action . . .

• Like the Karate Kid practicing his moves before the big competition--


• Like the make-over/shopping spree to transform a geek before prom--


• Like the grinding practice to get the move "just right" in The Cutting Edge before the Olympics--

Like my day today. And, you can't just choose any music to build the anticipation, the excitement of the upcoming execution all the while making hard, tear inducing work seem effortless.


Today, the music (selection shows I am a good early 90s girl . . . it played in my head) helped me fast forward a great deal of my work . . . leading up to. . . my FRIDAY. I am off the rest of the week. Happy Friday, Sheila!

by Jeff Lyons

Cool Stuff Continued

So, it is obvious that my cool stuff is mainly about designs and trends that I like:

Orna Lalo jewelry---Saw these colorful accessories in Macedonia and love, love, love the creative flair each piece has.

Another place I like to go is Etsy--

And, in case you are looking for some inspiration----I really enjoyed seeing the lengths of theme that these photos show of one artist going to the maximum effort to bring Alice in Wonderland life.

When I need something unique looking or unusual to fulfill a baby related item like bibs, etc . . . I start with Mommies with Style.

And, a something a friend sent today:

Best Sign Ever Seen In a Grocery Store

Thinking About Some Cool Stuff

I am constantly thinking of what Everett is going to need next for clothes, etc. My two most pressing areas--tree houses and chairs.

Tree Houses

Recently, especially since he is able to tackle stairs, of course I was thinking of the next logical step, tree houses. Kind of overstepping some key developmental areas, but who doesn't love a cool tree house?

Check out my two tree house fantasies:

KidsCrookedHouse (see pictures to the left)

The Children's Cottage Company

Chair for Evy

Evy needs a chair. Why? Well, he looks so darn cute sitting in one---So, maybe need isn't the right word. But, looking led me to this chair--P'kolino

The Keys

The following video clip highlights a talent and constant focus of our son, Everett.

That concludes our exercise in getting videos onto blogger. We hope you appreciated our learning experience.

Chills and Thrills

This week's "Chills and Thrills" are presented family style:

The Family Chill: Can't really think of one . . . except that we finally put in a baby gate, something we thought would forever dispel any misunderstood notion that we are handy.

The Family Thrills:

• We were able to visit Rosie and her family for Thanksgiving.

• We also were able to catch up with the Stipes who were visiting from the Detroit area. The husbands went to MBA school at Chicago at the same time.


• We also had dinner at Cafesano and visited with sweet Kyra and her mom and dad.


• Everett is a super crawler and is now going up and down steps.

Evy the Rocker

Enjoy Everett's singing debut and note the exceptional skill working the microphone cord.

Pre-Cub Scout Lessons from Dad

Lesson #1--Firestarting

Fires are best to have when the weather gets cold. Sometimes you have to be patient and let the fire grow.

Don't get too close when you watch the firewood burn.

Lesson #2--Extreme Peek-a-Boo

The trick is to pop up over the edge of the crib unexpectedly and catch the other player's hair.

Lesson #3--Sound Effects

"Roar" is the latest in the ongoing and practiced repertoire. First introduced by fellow "Pre-Cub" Austin, Everett's cousin, Everett and Dad have roaring competitions, usually in the car while waiting for Mom.

Our neighbor Nina surprised us today with a portrait of Evy that she wants us to keep. We knew she was doing a portrait of Evy for her painting class but we had no idea that we would be able to keep her finished work.

Chills and Thrills

We are introducing a topic called "Chills and Thrills" that will help us encapsulate what was exciting about our week and what is something that was more worrisome for us.

Erik: My chill is that one of my best friends Megan isn't feeling well. We love her! My thrill is that I got to see the trailers for the movies that my brother Steven acted in this year.

Sheila: My chill was definitely being sick and having Everett experience such a nasty episode of sickness. My thrill was that Everett is feeling better. I also kind of have a mini-thrill in that we bought a fake Christmas tree that is taller than our old 24 inch-high tree. We figured Everett would enjoy the bigger tree. (real ones bother my allergies) I didn't have a chance to decorate for fall---I am looking forward to breaking out all the Christmas decorations.

Everett: I guess the chill was that I was sick all week. I am feeling better, though. The thrill was definitely learning how to get some speed going while crawling. I discovered that I can't scoot on my bum on the carpet when I am wearing my flannel or fleece pajamas. Crawling works really well, and I can get going really fast when Mom or Dad chase me.

November-Awareness Month

Photograph by Julian Ward

As the world dedicates more and more months or days to special events, people, or specific areas that affect our lives, there is a tendency to not really pay attention to any of them because we see so many. October was Breast Cancer Awareness month. Following on the heels of that campaign to raise money and concern are two areas that I find very important:

November is Prematurity Awareness Month and National Adoption Month. (November 17-National Adoption Day)

As most of you know, Everett was premature. We are very lucky to have had relatively few complications compared to many of his premature peers. We are very thankful to the doctors and nurses that have helped us with Everett so that he could come home and to those that have taught us along the way how to help him grow into a strong boy.

Whether we realize it or not, all of us are touched by adoption in some form either we are adopting or were adopted or we have contact with a family who is adopting. Erik and I have some dear friends who are traveling this weekend to welcome a baby girl into their home. A close colleague at my work has a foster son in her home, and I admire the love and tender heart that she has for this teenager in raising him alongside her other two sons. We believe that families are eternal, and we should do more to ensure that all children have the opportunity to be a part of a happy home.

It isn't a fluke that I work for a program targeting children who are at-risk. I feel a strong responsibility to do all that I can in my personal and professional life to make a difference for children who cannot do for themselves and who do not have strong advocates.

As all of us get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and friends, I would like to challenge you to to keep those families and children that are touched by prematurity and adoption in your prayers and scope of reflection.

AAhhhhh . . . . and Breathe

No tragic or dramatic events occured today. Both Erik and I went to work and tried to save the world in our respective fields. This evening, I took Everett to the pediatric neurologist. Everett will have an MRI and EEG done in the next month or so to give us more information.

Everett doesn't seem phased by that information or by the events of last weekend. He is back to his usual antics of chasing the cat, trying to sneak into her food bowl (and snack on her food), and making us laugh all the time.

The fall foliage is beautiful right now. The reds are really red and we are enjoying it. Erik doesn't see the light of day as work is really intense right now, but he hopes to get outside this weekend if it isn't too cold.

I am ready for a relaxing weekend that is sure to be busy but not as busy as last weekend.

For Those Who Can Relate

The Drama Slows Down

I went back to work, and Everett went back to Michelle's today. He did not throw-up once which means his cough is getting better. He is now asleep, and I haven't heard him cough at all since we got home. I am also better to the delight of everyone.


The house is bit by bit getting put back together. My basement has laundry piled as deep as some of the piles of fallen leaves around here (it is clean laundry!). Erik is off planning the ward Christmas party, and I am enjoying the quiet.

The Grant Finale . . .

. . . included a viral rash and a chest infection.

Everett and Sheila stayed up all night partying until 7:00 am to the tunes of "Hacking Back Into My Love," "It's My Party and I'll Cough If I Want To," "Throwing Up Is Hard To Do," and "Crying All Night Long." To end the festivities with a statement, Everett continued with an all out hunger strike this morning, and so we all went back to the doctor.

At the doctor, Sheila discovered that sometime between 8:30 and 8:50, Everett started exhibiting a rash.

Evy, for educational purposes, show the fans out there what we mean.

After some smooth talking on Erik's part, we were moved up a bit in the line to see the pediatrician and had blood work as well as some more x-rays taken. We were sent home with a new antibiotic (Dear Drug Makers, Please start making antibiotic suppositories.) and have stayed fever free for 20 hours.

Evy is still not eating or drinking, but he'll be fine. We are thinking that the not eating is part of having a sore throat from all that throwing up. We are actually surprised that his baby teeth haven't rotted out due to all the stomach acid. He is currently crying because he wants to be held while he is sleeping. Don't we all. Well, maybe only some of us do. Don't worry, Erik is taking a turn rocking him while he sleeps. We'll have to go through some major sleep training again when all this is over.

In the aftermath of this weekend's blowout event, among other things, we have done 10 loads of laundry, found 5 opened containers of baby Tylenol (when you are in a rush, you are in a rush), and used up two boxes of Kleenex.

BTW, he has 6 teeth coming in.

No Monday Night Fever, People, So Sleep Good!

The Morning After

The current time is 10:45 in the morning. The house is thrashed. And, I mean the kind of thrashing that a place gets when a bunch of greedy burglars ransack the place looking for the very well hidden cache of jewels and gold bullion. And, when they can't find any, just like there is nuthin here, they throw extra stuff around for good measure.

We have used every towel in the house and a couple of sheets to catch throw-up. Every dish is dirty, though I am not sure why. I am now wearing a work shirt because all my other casual ones got messy, and I finally took a shower (I think 48 hours without a shower is long enough).

We love suppositories. I mean, really love them--like I would kiss them if the body heat from my lips wouldn't melt them.

Everett has had several hours now with a temperature below 101 degrees. We are almost sighing a sigh of relief, and I refrained from taking his temperature for almost 3 hours in a row. I am sure he has a stronger feeling about that than you do. He woke up this morning with a huge dried booger on the tip of his nose. What a cutie!

He still isn't taking his antibiotics, but, at this point, I don't really care. Check in with me after I get some sleep and I am sure I'll be obsessing about it.

We just put him down for a nap. He's talking to himself right now. I'm going to do a bit of laundry and try to catch some Zs. Erik is going to shower and then he's off to nap during ward council meeting.

1:16 AM Suppository Run

So, Erik and I haven't gone to bed yet. We are battling a horrid cycle right now.

Everett's fever is back up again. We need to give him Tylenol and Motrin, alternating between the two. The thing is that, well, Everett has such a sensitive gag reflex because of his acid reflux. He coughs, then throws up. He takes the medicine, then throws up. Then we are back to square one because he needs the medicine. Forget trying to mix it in something. He won't drink pedialyte and he has a freaking 8th sense about us sneaking stuff into his bottle.

At this point, he is tired of getting medicine. It takes both of us to hold him down and give him his medicine right now. What if this continues as he gets older? He is already strong enough so that we are straining.

We checked to see if either Tylenol or Motrin were made in suppository form. Erik just left to go to a 24 hour pharmacy far, far, away that says they have some Tylenol suppositories in stock . . . Motrin doesn't make a suppository according to the pharmacist at that CVS.

Also, we've gone through 4 thermometers this evening trying to find the least intrusive but mostly correct one. You know, if Everett is sleeping and I think he is getting warmer, I want to verify that before I wake him up.

No go on getting an easy thermometer. The ear ones are too unreliable. We did find one where you only need to hold the thermometer heat reader on the patient's temple. Great idea, but no go, again. It even said that our carpet had a temperature of 95 degrees. We aren't in Texas.

BTW, my anxiety about his temperature is almost hysterical. Every time I feel his forehead or tummy or back, I think it is the hottest he's ever been. Thank goodness Erik is able to help out until I feel better. Otherwise, the poor baby would be getting a rectal thermometer up his rear every half hour.

He has been sick before, but we haven't had to give him medication every two hours with the consequence of not doing so that he might have another seizure. I am sure we'll figure this out, but in my humble opinion loss of sleep is a small price to pay for never, ever having to go through a seizure episode again. My heart goes out to those who deal with seizures on a daily basis, not just when their child has a fever.

One thing about me is that even though I do have my control tendencies in many areas of my life I don't act like the Department of Health whenever Everett gets sick. I don't walk back in time in my mind to everywhere I've been and try and pinpoint the perpetrator of the germ crime. Why? Seems pretty futile to me. Now, that doesn't mean I encourage Everett to lick the ground. But, after the past 36 hours, I may start putting him in a bubble. Anyone have an extra one they can spare?

The Night the Ambulance Came

Evy and Sheila have both been pretty sick for over a week now. Coughing, hacking, sniffling, complete with talking in raspy voices were the main events of our home. But, this morning at 2:00 am, we took it up a notch when Everett continued to whine and fuss without settling down and woke up Sheila. (Erik was sleeping in the basement because the two sickies were too loud at night.)

Sheila got Everett up and checked on his fever, around 102 degrees. His temperature had gone up again after getting it down the previous evening. This was Everett's first fever, ever (not too bad considering he is a preemie).

She decided to give him a sponge bath and see how that went. She noticed that Everett was pretty jerky, but she just chalked it up to getting a cold rag across the back. She was feeling pretty sick and scared the crap out of Everett every time she coughed. So, she went down to get Erik so that he could finish giving the sponge bath. While continuing to sponge down Everett, he was rather unresponsive and lethargic. We were both like, "Wow, he must feel really bad."

Erik picked him up so Everett's head rested on his shoulder, and Sheila noticed that Everett's eyes were rolling back. At the same time, he started to convulse. The next period of our lives was the most terrifying as we experienced watching Everett go through a long and labored seizure, waited ON HOLD for 911 to answer our call, and let the EMS workers into our home.

Everett and Sheila took a trip to the hospital in the ambulance with Erik following behind. Everett was rigid and unresponsive and then uncontrollably sobbing during the ride. After the evaluation in the ER, (luckily we had that ct scan taken in the hospital Friday morning) the doctor explained that Everett most likely had a febrile (feveral) seizure. (click on the phrase for more info) Also, we suspect that he had at least one seizure before Sheila got him out of bed.

Febrile seizures are caused from a rapid increase in temperature, a spiking in temperature, not from having a high temperature. We were discharged after several hours in the ER and spent most of today with our pediatrician. In all, the doctors believe that it was an abnormal febrile seizure, due to the abnormal length of the episode. There usually are no harmful effects from these seizures. However, we have some concern because his right leg is not functioning normally when he walks.

The next steps are to continue with a full developmental screening with the county and to get a full evaluation done with a neurologist. We also have to be hypervigilant when Everett gets a fever so that it is under total control in order to prevent it from spiking again and causing other seizures.

This morning when he woke up in his crib, safe at home, we were so grateful to be a part of his life. We were seriously the biggest pushovers. We were so grateful and wanted to help him to be comfortable and happy (he is still cranky and sick) we even busted out his Christmas present because we knew that he would enjoy it. He loves it. (and we don't have to go through the mess of wrapping it, YES)

Merry Christmas, Evy

Everett Doing the "I Love This" Spinning Dance

He literally spun around laughing!

Also, we discovered that Erik is the bigger of the pushovers between the two of us. He let Everett take the phone out of his hands (after calling the doctor) and let Everett play with the phone until Erik realized that we didn't want Everett to inadvertently hang up on the doctor if she called because we really needed to talk to her. It took Erik another full minute to get the phone from Everett because he was so reluctant to disappoint Everett.


Everett did smile and laugh a bit today like his normal self (he did when he "opened" his Christmas present). Mostly, he just wanted to sit on our laps and in our arms and be held. We don't think he remembers the seizure, but he is aware that he is sick, and we know he HATED the hospital experience.

There have been times in our lives when bad, unfortunate, hard things happen to us. I (Sheila) usually go through a period of irritation or fury with our Heavenly Father when I don't understand or see the logic or if I believe it is unjust or unfair. However, we were only grateful this morning to our Heavenly Father that Everett is going to be okay. We are both grateful to have thoughtful neighbors---one of which was woken by the ambulance and followed us to the hospital (without us knowing) to make sure that we were okay and get us anything we needed (Thanks, Cliff!). We are grateful for qualified and conscientious medical staff and adequate medical coverage to be able to have the best care for our family. We are grateful for the act of prayer and for blessings when we are sick.

On a silly note--if they ever decide to delve more into Nacho Libre's childhood, we discovered this morning that our very own Evy could play the part.

Nacho Libre as an Adult

Nacho Libre as an Infant

(okay, Evy would need contacts and a dye job)

Today

Okay, so not only did Everett have to have a CT scan, he is also teething and has a cold. And, not to gross you out or anything, but when Everett has a cold it also means that he throws up because his gag reflux is so sensitive that when he coughs--everything comes up.

Poor thing. Rather than work on weaning off the bottle, we've been working being able to tolerate hats. He hates hats. But, take a lookee. He did really well. Go, Evy!

In addition to that feat---As Everett and I were coming and going out of his room, and he was pointing the way we should go as usual; he spied the following on his bedroom door.

Yes, it is a booger. Evy's booger.

We can't figure out how it got up there unless we missed part of a sneeze. That was one thing I would have never predicted would have happened when being a mom . . . random boogers found in the oddest places. Actually, I probably shouldn't be too surprise by it.

Also, while we were out and about after suffering from cabin fever, we walked into a store ,and a lady said, "Oh, Yes!" and then started laughing. Erik and I looked at each other and then back at her.

"I'm a marketing consultant for GAP, and I scout out and approve baby models for their advertising. Your child is perfect! Big round head, beautiful blue eyes, smallish mouth, and red cheeks. He is a perfect baby model!" she explained.

The Scan

Today's CT scan of Everett's head finished very quickly and they did not need to sedate him at all. He was so still with his head cradled in the very stiff trough shaped head holder. He didn't even seem to mind the heavy lead apron.

While the machine was working the magic of taking a picture of the inside of his head, we sang songs to pass the time.

He had to fast for eight before the scan, and even though we tried to get the earliest time we could, he was still famished afterwards. Thank heaven there was a plastic Wendy's spoon in the car to distract him when he gobbled up all the food I brought. We made it home without incident. and he was content with the spoon the entire time.

Next is the developmental screening.

I'm a Model, You Know What I Mean

And I do my little turn on the catwalk.

Yeah, on the catwalk on the catwalk, Yeah,

I do my little turn on the catwalk!

Dizzy

Today, Everett and I had a great time spinning around and around and around while Erik finished up a business call. After our spinning, Everett tried to spin himself . . . by shaking his head back and forth--really, really, fast! Nice!

Typedrawing

License REVOKED

Watching Everett play with some of his new vehicular toys is an experience. He totally gets that the large machines with four wheels such as the Dump Truck and the School Bus* are for moving across the floor, back and forth and back and forth with the occasional FLING with glee.

*Not "bus" as one youngster corrected me at a recent party--Thanks, Eliesons, for helping the Sjolseths with our vocabulary!

Today, though, his license was revoked. The action was not due to a case of carpet road rage or inappropriate sign or verbal (babbbling) language. The action was not caused by repeated improper parking incidences or forgetting to feed the meter. The loss of driving privileges was not due to application of makeup or talking on the phone while operating heavy machinery. The action was imposed after several huge, disastrous, Little People injuries.

Oddly, when playing with the Little People Farm, he never works the tractor hard enough to throw the driver or any of the animals. Is it because of his love for animals, his ever pressing need to track down and pat our animal, Twiggy, (while pulling her hair in love) or is it really about his parents' driving? (Nah!)

Or is it something as simple as we haven't drawn the lines and structured his driving experiences? Do we really need one of those "city carpets" that show kids where the cars and larger vehicular mobiles should roam? Or can we continue with our undefined, unstructured way of driving and maybe grant him a learner's permit after a successfully completing a driver's ed course?

Must, must add that he loves, loves, loves the songs that play on these toys.

Daylight Savings Update in Random

I've discovered that the weekend of Daylight savings is fun for those only with self-sufficient kids or kids that can tell time. Everett woke up at his usual time 6:30 . . . and that would be 5:30 to the rest of us.

Erik and our home teacher conquered the eyesores of our home with a nice coat of paint, including our "antiqued" fireplace this weekend. We aren't finished, but we were able to bring on our neighbor's Little Giant Ladder without knocking out a window or otherwise causing bodily harm. We'll be finishing up the ceilings in a week or so. He is also busy with gearing up with planning the events for our church for the holidays. He is the Event Chairperson.


Sheila developed a nice case of laryngitis, a yearly event for her. It came a little earlier this year. Right now she is serving as the intern to the Event Chairperson, a task she volunteered to do. As intern, she has decided she'll pick what she wants to do like inventorying the closet full of decorations. A hard job, but it has to be done. "No, I don't want to go to Cosco and buy 400 hot dogs."

Everett is busy, busy, busy---teething something like eight teeth at once. He does have his molars coming in right now. He also is only interested in the food on Mom's plate . . . though the exact same food is on his plate, too. He had a recent check-up, and at 26 and 1/2 pounds and 31 inches long, he'll be going in for a CT scan of his head on Friday. Seems the rate of growth is a concern for the doctors even with a "big" headed mother. And, it seems his motor delays are widening compared to his age rather than closing. So, he'll have a developmental screening done through the county.

A big development for him this past week is he can get to the sitting position from laying down. I know that most babies have done this by 6 months. But, our little boy is taking his time. It is great that he can do this now because he doesn't get frustrated as easily especially if he falls down.

Despite the concerns, Everett is a crack up. He makes us laugh every day as he is able to communicate more and get around more. One of our favorite games is chase. And, he is really good at finding Mommy or Daddy, especially if they are in the bathroom--he loves the bathroom. He also loves pianos--this kid can spot them and scoot towards them often sooner than Mom can clue into what is going on . . . the doctor's visit created a great chance to try out a Little Tykes piano. (The fact that it only has 4 keys wasn't limiting in the least.)



His favorite things right now are the cat, the toilet and tub, and his tub toys. So, the other day when the cat was drinking out of the toilet next to the tub and the tub toys . . . well, he loved it!