I Get Knocked Down

But I get up again. Ur never gonna keep me down. I get knocked down...
Lol! Ok, some people reading this are shaking their heads (everyone), but I DO know that SOME people are singing along with me. And they'll continue, cause that song will NEVER LEAVE YOUR HEAD.
Where was I? Oh right.
So this past week was pretty much crap. James was sick, then Eve got sick, then I got sick. Like, bad sick. Fever, shaking, up all night with a throat that felt like I swallowed a steel brush type crap. Needless to say, we watched a ton of cartoons this week. To the point that at one point, James just asked if we could turn off the TV. Woops...
I have to say, I'm encouraged because this is the first significant illness James has had where he didn't lose a whole pound or more, and, well, we didn't end up in the hospital for a month...sooo...all in all, coulda been worse. In fact, through the worst of it, I was really encouraged. But then (!!) his body had to come off the 'roids. Holy shit, it was crazy. He had dark circles under his eyes, he was in a complete brain fog, he was moody, nauseous, stopped gaining weight, and really was just all around unpleasant to be around. At the same time, his sister was a compete pain in the butt and I was not my most stellar self. I realized also (cause I'm super smart) that because James' nose was so runny, he really wasn't getting the intranasal B12. This is super interesting because while we knew it was helping heal him and was a good thing, we weren't sure how long he would need it (treating symptom or cause). Evidently...pretty necessary right now. Cause we've seen a definite difference.
Once I clued into this, I double dosed him yesterday and today (cause deep down, I'm a doctor ---disclaimer---probably don't be like me). I was still fairly worried about the way he was looking, his energy levels, his attitude and appetite, until later this afternoon, when all of a sudden his dark circles disappeared, his cheeks had color and filled out, his eyes were bright, and he went wild. In a good way. :)

So onward and upward we go...again...
We are still worlds ahead of where we were not that long ago.
Aaaand...if you have a sick kid...stay the fuck away from us.
Lol. I'm just kidding. (I'm not kidding.)

A Day in the Life

Most of you know we raise grass fed beef. Know what you need when you decide not to feed grain? Um...grass. Know what grass is like in VA in the winter? Neither do I, cause you don't really see it.
Springtime is soooo exciting for everyone, especially grass eaters. The horses and the cows are thrilled beyond belief to have something besides hay. But, well...the grass is always greener and all that.
The other day a few cattle busted through a gate and I looked out the living room window to see a few steers munching around the lawn furniture. Of course this happens when I'm alone with the kids, who are sort of the opposite of helpful in these situations. I ran out to assess and hopefully chase everyone back in. Turns out, no one really cared if I chased them.



This is our senior bull. We call him Mr Moto. He's no Angus, but he is not...small. I had to physically push him through the gate. Lol. Too bad he's so scared of humans.
Anyway, I decided I couldn't herd the cattle through the gates because the rest of the cattle were standing right there. Eve and James and I (oh yeah, big helpers) tried to get them to follow the truck but, again, they just didn't care.
Then I remembered...our mower is in the shop and my parents are coming into town...



So I blocked off the driveway...






And let them work for a living.

It was a good day.

Animals for Therapy

We've all known how therapeutic animals are for a long time now. Anyone who has been visited by a service animal in the hospital knows this. Whether its getting your hands dirty working with them, companionship, or just a snuggle, our animals have been a big part of all of our recovery processes.
They watch over us....


Lead the way....


Have endless patience...even the worst best ones...








Cart us around...


Provide photo ops...





Are our oldest friends...


Always provide the opportunity to laze on the couch...


Help us remember our place...


(www.mikeburnsphoto.com)

And are super tasty.


(Too much?)

A Leeeeetle Scare...

We've been having such great days lately. James is feeling fantastic, his school is amazing, he's continued to gain weight, he's eating better. We even spent a week helping out with long days at the barn which even a month ago would have resulted in major health problems, weight loss, hospital stays...you know, the usual. It's why I barely ride anymore, because any time we tried to rejoin society, we were punished big time. It was just easier to stay in our bubble. So anyway, the week was amazing for all of our mental health cause everything was...fine! Dare I say...normal? We keep taking extra deep breaths in relief and amazement.
This is ironic because this morning, James couldn't breathe. Totally fine yesterday, woke up this morning coughing and panicking, bright red (but not blue, so that's good), and could just barely suck in air. Tom was just about to leave but fortunately hasn't yet! We took him in the bathroom to breathe steam but after that wasn't helping, we called the dr on call and then when he STILL wasn't getting better, 911. About 10 min later, he was still wheezing, but taking in air much better. FYI, ambulance still hadn't arrived. Next time we won't bother with that call. Scary thought. Anyway, we figured better not to scare him with even seeing the EMTs, so when they finally arrived after 18 min, we sent them away (they are awesome btw, just really far away!).
Alright, so my first thought when I was holding him was asthma attack. Not that he's ever had asthma, but we have family members who do and there's a lot of stuff blooming right now...yada yada. And my actual, calm, and rational train of thought was: well, everything's been really good, so it would stand to reason that we will now start dealing with life threatening asthma. Okey doke.
Um, he has croup. Never really occurred to me he just had a virus. And I know it can be serious in some cases, obviously. This was pretty bad. We are armed with steroids and a nebulizer now. And yes, I had to explain to them that I totally know how to use it. I used to have to nebulize a horse. I'm good. And we were also instructed not to hesitate to call 911 again if he gets worse. I didn't explain that we'd probably just drive ourselves cause its faster.
Anyway, the eastern part of Rappahannock county was up in arms this morning wondering where the emergency vehicles were heading. So thank you for all the calls and texts and prayers. It was us. Again. ;) But hey, at least it was for a NORMAL reason!
Then we went to the toy store so I could overcompensate for the morning's torture.


Then I let Eve play with dog food and dog water. Hey, I did throw her a towel.
Is it 5:00 yet??