The Week

Dear Kids-of-the-Future and Interested Readers:

It's been a rough week, sad and stressful. The Bronco Babies' Mom is tired. I don't want this to be a complete downer of a post so I'll try to add a lighthearted touch. I don't know if I will do a very good job at that.

We made the decision over the weekend that it was time to let Canyon go, so that cloud hung over everything while we waited to find out when the vet could come to our house. We tried to enjoy our time with her and she had several hot dogs and slices of American cheese while we waited for the phone to ring.

On Saturday, I took the kids to a birthday party at the Old West Museum and they had a really good time. After nap, I noticed that Will had a few spots on the back of his neck and when I lifted up his shirt, he had a pretty big rash around his belly button and on his back. By 7:00 that night, he was covered in hives. We tried to make a trip to the urgent care place but they were closed so we called his doctor, gave him some benadryl and assumed that it would be gone by Sunday morning. It wasn't. We stopped at urgent care on our way to Denver (previously planned day at the Museum and zoo) and got a prescription for prednisone that I hoped we wouldn't have to use. Excruciatingly long story short, we had a nice day in Denver but the benadryl made Will tour the zoo in the back of a wagon periodically opening his eyes and lifting up his head to look at animals.

Reina was a little more active but 'active' involved screeching when she couldn't push her own stroller or finish her own ice cream. Reina has a lot of ice cream drama at the zoo. Monday was a sad day.

I've had this picture sitting on my desk since I started working at the Dept of Ag. It was taken in the winter of 1995 when Canyon was not quite a year old. This was the winter that she learned to sit, speak, whisper and smile. She was a great companion during a long, cold and slightly lonely winter in Steamboat. She was going through a chewing phase and everything in my paltry apartment had exploratory teethmarks by the time we moved out in the spring. This picture is from the summer of 2004. Yes, I said summer. It was Frontier Days and I think the high temp that day was in the 50's. Canyon and I took some out-of-town guests to the Frontier Days parade. Glenn and I had been dating about 6 months or so but he was out of town that weekend. Canyon loved the parade. She'd shake and stare hard at the horses and other livestock. Ironically, she would hide and quiver at the people dressed as animals. McGruff the Crime Dog scared the you-know-what out of her.

I should also mention that on Monday, Reina had a fever that hit 102.7 at one point. I started to think that maybe I wouldn't be going to work on Tuesday.

By Monday night, Will looked like this.

His feet and ankles were also starting to swell.

On Tuesday morning, I took both kids to the doctor. Will was obviously having an allergic reaction to something but we had no clue what. We racked our brains trying to figure it out and we can't come up with anything that he hasn't eaten before, used before or been previously exposed to.

Wednesday, he was still covered in spots so we kept him home because he was self-conscious about how he looks. I think it might be the hair...
Thursday, Glenn stayed home with both kids because while Will was feeling better, Reina's fever was back. I had a quick trip out of town so Glenn was on his own.

Today, both kids made it to school and we both went to work. Over the lunch hour, Will's teacher called because the spots were back. I made an appointment with an allergist for next week and picked him up early. The rash had faded by the time I picked him up from school and tonight, there are just a few spots where it's obvious. We have no idea what's going on with him but hope to get some answers next week.

With everything that happened this week, I was grateful for the extra time with the kids. Will's vocabulary is expanding every day and he thinks of the craziest things. He told me tonight that he was going to marry a nice girl. He also has to keep growing so that he can go to cowwege. Reina's added "stop that!" to her repertoire. Both kids have been sweet and Will knows that Mom's a little sad this week.

We've made it to the end of this long week and I can say that things seem to be getting a little better. We all miss Canyon but we're starting to be able to think about all of the happy times we had with her and be grateful that she's at peace. I still get a little teary-eyed when I drop food on the floor and she's not there to scoop it up, but its not the sharp pain of earlier in the week. The kids are feeling better and knockonwood the rash has not made another appearance today. We have a quiet but fun weekend ahead of us and I'm definitely ready for it.