Weary

Tuesday evening Judah was put to bed and I noticed tell-tale signs of respiratory distress. I had heard him coughing but not seeming to struggle so it was a bit of a shock. We tried Albuterol via an inhaler with a spacer to no avail. So it was off to the hospital of our choice (as per the pediatrician). I chose Texas Children's. There are many places closer but after spending much time there as a mom-of-many-asthmatics (many less asthmatics after moving to the farm but apparently some still fall prey to the wheeze on occasion) plus having almost lived there one horrid August when Sara had a brain tumor--TX Children's is my hospital of habit.

Except this time we stepped off the elevator into a lobby that should have been dead quiet and instead looked like a lock-in from hell.

So we asked for a quickie check of his blood oxygen level to see if we could chance a trip back out to Cy-Fair. We could and we did.

I got home just in time to kick the bed and mutter "Tim! Time to milk!" before falling into bed. He did, waking me up when he came home from driving the morning bus route. We then went to Conroe to get bottles for this weekend's milk and Chinese food and chat time for nutritional and emotional sustenance.

Then home for a nap for me--only for me to awaken to the realization that the upper respiratory bug that had assailed Tim and sundry offspring this week had gotten me as well. And Dixie to boot.

So we managed to make it through evening chore time, visited with Morgan Weber of Revival Meats when he came to pick up three of the Ossabaw Easter piglets, examined Linnea's injured eye then fell into bed--for stuffy-nosed Dixie to fuss and fidget all night long. So a second night of very very little sleep.

Woke up to Linnea's eye still weeping and red so off to the local pediatrician--then off to the Houston specialist who confirmed that she had a corneal abrasion. Interestingly in Waller they were more interested in admiring the baby than hearing how she hurt her eye (erecting a fence to protect her expanded Fall garden). In Houston there was much questioning and amazement over the fact that a 14 year old could and would garden. Antibiotic drops RX, myriad errands and business calls on the way home--now maybe to sleep?

To sleep, perchance to dream...???

Tomorrow--Noah's sixth birthday! The first baby born after we moved to the farm, he is our first 100% 'farm kid'.