Almost completely healed!

The good news: The girls mouths are looking ever so much better!! I think the sores are all gone inside their mouths and just have their lips to clear up and Dr. MOM will call them completely healed.

The Magic-Mouthwash was hogwash!!

All it really did was coat the sores and maybe numb the area for 1.5 hours, but we couldn't dose again for 30 more minutes (every two hours, how do you actually do that through out a day??). So for 30 minutes they were crying and whining again. That is what made this virus they caught so exhaustive for me: Crying and whining X 2 girls, Magic-Mouthwash treatments (1 tsp. swished every two hours) X 2 girls, and then Elizabeth thinking she needed mommy all the time too. No one got a good nights sleep in the house.

The doctor had asked us to stop doing the salt treatment my husband had started on Brianna before we even went to the ER. She said it was harsh on her little mouth.

I did the magic-mouthwash for 4-5 days pretty faithfully until Brianna's medicine ran out. When it didn't look any better in either of their mouths I decided to go back to a salt treatment of my own, using sea salt on a q-tip (pretty easy, and inexpensive). I also q-tipped some hydrogen peroxide on the sores. After only a couple of my magic treatments you could see instant reduction in the size of the sores and they were less inflamed. The next day they were willing to brush their teeth & eat (finally!). To think I could have gotten rid of it earlier ... ARGGGGH!

Oh, and I did go the (semi local) herbal store * and got something called Kid Viral. Although both of them complained of the taste and only did one dose each, I'm hoping it will help me keep the kids Virus free...

I'm not sure my lesson learned here, but I will keep my magic treatment(s) handy for the future, and toss the Magic-Mouthwash!!

* I am going to do a plug for the hormone balancing "Restore" from Herbally Grounded, the a fore mentioned herbal store.

I was starting to feel very imbalanced mentally, for lack of a better term. I felt cranky all the time, not very patient with my kids, lack of motivation, and scatterbrained all the time. I had considered going to the doctor for some legal "Happy Pills." A very good friend said she had been feeling the same way and actually got some medication from a doctor then a friend of hers said she had done the meds and found these herbal pills that did the same thing only less addictive.

Long story short, I tried them...and they seem to be doing the trick. I am less cranky, a little more patient with my kids, feel more motivated and focused. I actually want to get out of bed (after a few more minutes under the warm covers...) and feel a little more hope,that there is light at the end of the never ending tunnel of laundry/dishes/crying babies etc.

If you have been questioning your hormone balance, give the herbal remedy a try.

Big Shoes to fill

The other night Elizabeth was trying on her Daddy's new shoes.
They are almost half her height alone.
The amazing thing is she could actually walk around in these massively huge shoes (10 1/2 6E)!
"Moon Boots"
She was cracking us up.

We hope you enjoy the video too.

Sweet Sweet Sleep

Her daddy told me to get the camera...
she had fallen asleep watching tv on the couch
with her older siblings.
She tries so hard to be a big person, it wore her out!

For Rose and Fiona

The other day Brianna got a package in the mail. This package was from her favorite (blond) aunt, Rose, and her cousin Fiona. The instructions in the sweet letter from her cousin (who, by the way, had spent her Christmas money on the gifts) read:

"Share with your sisters."

Here is the long promised picture of the girls "sharing" some of the stuff in the package. They love to dance! And they love all things girly...

Thank you Rose and Fiona, they loved your package!!

New Nick names "WaaDo" and "WaaNa"

Herpangina: a painful mouth infection caused by coxsackieviruses, most common in children. Symptoms usually associated are high fever and sore throat.

Why do all the viruses have to sound so horrible?? I'm sure if I knew the Latin terms for things then it would all make more sense. This is not the same thing as the herpes virus the doctor told me.

Poor Brianna, "WaaNa," and Kaitlynn, "WaaDo," got this "horrible" virus and are currently on the mend. They had been very whiny over a few days and were both running a bit hot. I was enjoying the naps they were taking and kept the fevers down with a fever reducer but when the mouth sores showed up I decided we needed to go to the doctor. They were full in the Pediatric clinic for all walk-in calls, so we did the next best thing...we went to the ER (got to enjoy those military benefits, for a few more weeks anyway).

Three hours after getting there, we walked away with double doses of everything they prescribed. The doctor was very sweet and gentle with the girls. She kept telling them those sores look like they really hurt and that she was going to give them something that would make it feel better. I need to work on my compassion. Ofcourse they were going to be complaining about their teeth hurting. Once the sores showed up I felt badly for them. It was hard to eat. I was giving them Popsicles so their mouth would be numb for a bit while they tried to get something down. Then that was all they wanted. Now they have the doctor's permission to eat lots of Popsicles and ice-cream.

They are still not happy about the sores.

Neither am I!

New addition - better photo

See, I knew it wouldn't be long till I took a better picture of Rusty.

Sometimes it pays to be patient.

It helps that we took off that silly cone, and that he was sitting still for a change!

New Addition to the Family

Don't mind the terrible picture, I'm sure there will better ones taken in the future.

This is RUSTY, our new dog. We rescued him from the local Animal Shelter. When my husband asked what I thought about getting a dog the first thought that entered my was we'd better go now. We went to the shelter that day and found this rusty color Labrador-mix (matches Kaitlynn's color to a tee). Elizabeth seemed to bond to him immediately. The workers offered us a deal since he had been there a while. They had to keep him overnight to neutered him and we picked him up the next day. OH, was that hard on the kids! I'm still not sure who was more excited Greg or Joe.


So far he has fit right in. Kaitlynn is more stand-offish right now, but she usually is with most animals. Elizabeth is right in the mist of the action, usually getting bowled over since he has to wear the "cone." Brianna is brave unless it involves getting too close to his mouth, smart girl.

Welcome Rusty to the Porter clan, we love you already.

New Hair-Do Update

As per a few requests, here is Kaitlyn with her '09 Coif, not too bad. It is going to be a challenge with the really short spot, but we may be able to come-over the longer bangs for a less noticeable effect. My sister made the suggestion to give her a "Posh Spice" look but the sides were just not long enough. The hair-dresser mentioned that many parents actually want a shorter cut for their kids, it's easier to take care of.

This makes her look younger and yet somehow more sophisticated, if that is possible at three.

The new look will grow on me. I will always love her smile and blue eyes!!

She starts Primary this Sunday. I wonder if anyone will notice...