The Long Awaited Pulmonologist Follow-Up

Ok, been a bit busy and a tad drained, ready to jump back in with both feet- back into a whole lotta life and a bit of blogging to boot.

I just have to start off by saying that, although Mn/DOT was reporting some 600 accidents in the Frozen Tundra alone, we were not among them. I paced part of my morning away, secretly hoping our violin teacher would call to let us know he wouldn't be heading to his northern lesson location due to some very bad roads. He didn't call, he's bound and determined, and kind of like the post office when it comes to weather events. Not wanting to be the wimp that I know I truly am, I managed to get the troops bundled, packed into the van, and a few towns over on time even. Impressive, I know. The roads weren't as bad up here as the reports of a few miles south, but they were bad enough in town to feel the anti-lock braking system show us what it's made of. We made it there, we made it back, and I'll be hunkering down drinking hot cider for a while, thank you very much.

Asthma & Pulmonologist Appointment Update:
The girls are doing peachy! Grace (just turned 7) did better than well on her PFT (pulmonary function test), pushing more air and faster than an average 7 yr old of her height and weight, which means that her asthma is under control. After she took "a puff" of albuterol (a bronchodilator) her numbers remained essentially unchanged. If she had shown significant improvement, that would've meant her asthma wasn't under control when she walked in the door, follow?

This was excellent for more reasons than one. It was and is excellent because our darling needs to breathe, and breathe well, but more than that, it is excellent because they didn't have a need to pressure us into putting her (and her sister) on more maintenance meds day in and day out for the chance that she might have a flare-up every couple months. I was not comfortable with the level of daily medicating their initial doctor had wanted to see, combine that with the very uncomfortable feeling that I got as she asked about our homeschooling, sized up my children and said "I guess they're doing okay, they seem happy."

I wish there was a way I could convey the tone in her voice, and the looking down her turned up nose way in which she watched my 4 girls play in her office. It was weird, and I decided I was done seeing her, and by proxy, the girls were done seeing her too. Not all people are going to agree, I know that. Not all people are fond of homeschooling and/or our right to do such a thing, I get that. To each their own, but we don't have to keep seeing someone who so obviously disagrees with a very important lifestyle choice of ours, when there are so many other doctors in their practice who seem so very homeschool friendly, or who at the very least are not so condescending. Sheesh, enough complaining.

We saw one of the docs that we met when the girls were in the PICU at St. Paul Children's a couple months back (time flies when you're having fun, eh?). He was fabulous with the girls and he handled things so well when 4 yr old Hope tried to melt into the corner. She had been terrified ever since I mentioned last Friday that we had an appointment with the doctors down by Children's on Monday... she immediately started crying, and when Hope starts crying, it takes her a while to regain some sort of composure. She had the weekend to recoup, and then it started all over again the minute Dr. P pulled out a stethoscope and started listening to Grace's breathing. It took some convincing, but she eventually consented and got a good report herself. We don't need to go back until spring allergy season, at which time she'll be 5 and able to try her first PFT.

It was cold on Monday, but not single digit cold (I think it was in the low 20s). I'm glad we got our appointment in before this winter storm moved in. I most definitely would not have enjoyed the trip down today, and I most certainly would not have walked several city blocks with 3 young girls (I brought just turned 3 yr old Mercy with as well, to make it easier on the babysitter) to stop at a St. Paul landmark pizzeria for some afternoon food and fun and almost 1 on 1 time with my children.

3 to 1 is better than 7 to 1. It just is, and it's cheaper, at least it would've been if I would've stuck to buying pizza. Cosetta's may have some of the best pizza in town, some of the biggest slices around, and even serve some great baklava, but unless you've got plenty to spend, I'd suggest getting some ice waters to wash it all down. Let's just say that I'm glad I only ordered 2 chocolate milks for the girls to share, and a can of Coke for myself, a can, nothing special. After getting our food and managing to get the girls up the many stairs to the upper level seating, and after managing to find a table, get settled in (coats off), and remind the girls not to touch the little oil candle that was lit right there on our table, my math mind kicked into gear and I started to wonder how our total had ended up $8 more than the price of our pizza, with 3 little drinks. I pulled out the receipt for a closer inspection, and was slightly shocked to see $5.70 for the 2 chocolate milks, and $1.55 for my can of Coke. Seriously?! I just paid $1.55 for a can of Coke?! Whatever, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we starve, or something like that. I wasn't exactly thrilled about the $2.85 a piece for the chocolate milks either, but that's what I get for ordering without reading the fine print. Oh, well, special occasion, right?

It was special, the girls loved it- the restaurant, the walk in the big city, the people watching, and the Bing Crosby singing his ever so loverly and mellow White Christmas piped in nice and loud, causing Gracie to sigh a big silly sigh and exclaim "this must be a place where people go to get in love." and then start smooching the air around her. Good times.

Our girls can eat, but they were no match for those slices of pizza. Hope came the closest to finishing, but in the end there were 3 partial pieces for leftovers. Who doesn't like leftover pizza?! If for some reason you don't like leftover pizza, first- shame on you! second- I'll have yours, there, problem solved. Ok, maybe I'll arm-wrestle my teenager for it.

So, to make a long story short, the girls are doing great, Cosetta's is a Twin Cities must, and so is knowing the drink prices before you order...

I just watched the temp on my little digital weather station thingie go from 7.9 to 7.7 and back to 7.9, I'm guessing there was a cold gust of wind? At any rate, it's below 8 degrees outside and not scheduled to get any warmer for a while. I'm thankful for the 68 degrees in my house, for the wood burning furnace that keeps us cozy, for the husband who installed it, and for the teenage son who keeps the fire going these days!

Big pots of soup, hot cider and cocoa, and warm cozy sweaters abound in the Ordinary home- how are you staying warm this week?

Happy knitting-
ali

ps- now it says 4.3, brr!

pps- to make some wee little girl Girly Mitts, CO 24 sts, work one less Cable Repeat (4 rows) and work 13 sts before starting thumb gusset (rather than the 15) they're cute, and fit my just turned 3 yr old, will update pdf as time allows (that's so much more reasonable than saying as soon as possible)