Song: My Wish








Song: Stand





All graphics courtesy of photobucket



Cheers! ~MacKenzie

I was on Yahoo this morning and they had an articlefrom Relocate-America.com with the top 10 best places to move. They are:

Charlotte, North Carolina
San Antonio, Texas
Chattanooga, Tennasee
Greenville, South Carolina
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Asheville, North Carolina (last year's #1 spot)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Huntsville, Alabama
Seattle, Washington

What??? NO New England states at all??? Well, oh well... all the more room for us!!! Someone just doesn't know what they are missing.

Actually, in the hospital last week with Parrot, one of the doctors told me an interesting theory why allergies and asthma are increasing in Maine. Apparently by some, we have been nicknamed the tail pipe of the US. The jet stream from Canada flows towards the top of Maine and the other jet stream that crosses the country often ends up near the New England states and drops off all that nasty carbon dioxide and soot and all the other nasty things associated with pollution down on us. I'm certainly not amused to hear this, especially since I love where I live!!!

What environment would fit us best if we did decide to move?

You Should Live in the Country

You are laid back, calm, and good at entertaining yourself. You don't need an expensive big city to keep you busy. You'll take the peaceful life over the stressful life any day of the week.

tee hee... Okay.. I really didn't need a quiz to tell me that. I do think I might prefer a little more... civilization? ...to what we have right now. I enjoy the Ellsworth, Maine area. That area just branches off towards so many different possibilities. It isn't on the ocean, but one can get to the most spectacular ocean spots within the hour. It has small shopping districts, restaurants for in case you just don't feel like cooking that night, a little bit of night life, but there's still a focus on smaller communities there. You can't get lost in Ellsworth. And the educational possibilities for the girls are so much better. The only thing it's really missing is family. Most of the family has dug in their roots right where they are and whether they lived in the middle of a roaring city, a desert, the worst climate I could think of, or in the middle of absolutely no where, it's with family that I want to be with most.

Have you lived in an area that you absolutely loved? That you thought of as home immediately? Are you still there or did you have to move? Do you desire to go back? questions, questions, questions, I know.....





No matter where you live, I hope you have a beautiful Friday!!!!!

Cheers! ~MacKenzie

Our front door, and kitchen chairs, our own towels and shower and computer. Favorite blanket, gentle sway of the bed as I snuggled down into its softness. The outdoorsy, woodsy, floral and citrus, (we all have our favorites) sometimes a bit of incense scent that blends together and says HOME. I can reach out in front of me: one Parrot, one Monkey, one Pumpkin and then reach over and grab the arm of one Honey and wrap them and the family energy the best I can in my arms and squeeze... and we are all there, all together. Happy sighs, happy tears, Pumpkin rolling her eyes at me as once again there they flow.....

As soon as Parrot started to get just what she needed she began to move right through all the tests required in order to come home. She didn't need oxygen any more as her blood level reached 93% and higher for over 12 hours, then her heart beat, although still a little high went into an acceptable range, her breathing wasn't as shallow as her respirations became slower and steadier and less wheezy, she began to take medications by mouth rather than IV, her fever went away even without medication, her cough became looser more productive, didn't require nebulizer treatments every 3-4 hours and as long as she kept drinking, the IV finally came off and was able to stay off. I've never heard of a hospital releasing someone at 8:00 at night, but they did, and home we came late last night. Today we've just spent time adjusting.

First thing this morning, for about 5 minutes, the twinadoes just stared at each other after they woke up. Complete silence... just a measured, concerned, assessing look. Monkey barely looked at Parrot in the hospital. I can't really imagine what it must have felt to be in Monkey's shoes and see her sister/ closest friend like that. We didn't push the interaction between the two as we knew it had to be hard. Finally Monkey made a move and said she got a pink Barbie mermaid, just like the one Parrot got. And that was it, off they went, hand in hand to find and compare the pink and the purple Barbie mermaids. Barbie magic strikes again!!! I watched them off and on today whispering to each other, the occassional hug, the look of mischief as they began to connect to each other after their first time ever of being apart.

We have quite a to do list and to watch and observe list for Parrot. I should NOT have been surprised at the price of a nebulizer, but well... still, I was. As long as it works though, I don't care!!!! Wouldn't it be wonderful, though if it was one of those purchases that only collected dust in the back of some cabinet, never to be used??? We'll wait and see and hope that is the case.

Even today it feels like I have been away from home forever. Today it was all about being together as a family. Tomorrow, it's putting things away and getting back to life, and dealing with the call of the "real world's" pull on our family unit.

I really, really enjoyed today.

Thank you so much to all who left comments. It may take a bit of time, but I do want to get back to all of you and I do want to visit with you.

Have a wonderful evening and don't forget to snuggle your loved ones tight!!!
Cheers! ~MacKenzie

Honey is out running a few errands for us and Parrot is with a volunteer about 20 feet away making necklaces and other fun stuff. It's nice to see that she is able to get along and doesn't seem too upset that her sisters aren't near by. I had worried about that.

She had an excellent afternoon yesterday and an even better night. Although we are in the pediatric intensive care unit, she isn't hooked up to anything at the moment. Up to last night she wasn't getting the oxygen into her system that she needed to. But... fortunately we tried going without it last night to see how she would do and she really held her own staying at an 88% or above level.

Meds for her asthma symptoms have finally kicked in. She's been on antibiotics for 48 hours and that seems to be helping now. Big things now are keeping her hydrated as she still doesn't always want to eat or drink (although the do have her on fluids so that I'm sure effects her desire to drink, etc.) They are hoping that if she continues to be as good or better, they will start to give her her medications orally and get her off fluids. If things improve over the day, there is actually a possibility she will be able to go home tomorrow rather than Wednesday. And I have to tell you, thoughts of my own bed nearly make me drool...

It feels as if it has been forever since I was home. The worst thing about this is... Monkey is sick as well. Didn't get a chance to work through feelings regarding that. She is running a 100-102 temperture. She's coughing and her ears were beginning to hurt so she had to be checked out by a doctor on Saturday. Looks like this nasty bacteria is causing havoc, but in different ways in my darling twinadoes. Monkey is home with Mom C and Papa. I feel so horrible not to be there with her as she's sick, but yet, I can't leave Parrot either. I feel really torn and guilty and well... there's crazy feelings going on. I'm sure part of it is due to sleep deprivation, and part is just a mommy "thing". I did finally get some sleep last night, but a lumpy cot is not really the best for trying to catch up on some good healing sleep.

I know I just have to have a lot of faith and confidence that everything is all right with the both of them. Then there is the feeling of guilt as another mother cries over the worsening condition of her child while mine is getting better. I don't want to be happy while another is in such despair, but I can't help but be thankful that Parrot slowly seems to be making ground. To see her pale and lethargic form struggling for a wheezy unproductive breath was beyond heart breaking. One just tends to take everything to heart here. An infant hooked to monitors and such is a horrible sight. A child with cancer with an extremely difficult road to recovery.. seeing how it effects both family and child just... stinks. I don't know quite how to express it right now. One knows it happens, but seeing it, having all fears realized even further is just different.

Thank you so very much for the comments below. It is extremely comforting to know there are those who care enough to say so as well as think of us all.

My time on the computer is at an end and I don't even have time to spell check... We'll see how this reads back in a few days time.

Sincerely ~MacKenzie

Did I mention that I am just sick of hospitals??? Well, after three weeks, this is the third hospital that I have been to in the past three weeks.

Our youngest, Parrot, was admitted to the local hospital on Friday. She has bacterial pnemonia (sorry for the spelling). Unfortunately the doctors are saying so far that the bacteria is also effecting a possible dormant asthema condition that we had no idea about. It was pretty bad yesterday and earlier this morning, but now she is finally starting to breathe easier. We hope and pray that it will stay that way. Yesterday afternoon, she had to be moved to Eastern Maine Medical, THE hospital to be at here in this part of Maine, so although we are further away from home, it's the best place to be. And well... we'll just wait and see what's going on. They said that maybe if all goes well, perhaps we can go home on Wednesday.

We'll, there's Honey. Family is coming and he was wondering where I was. So.... obviously.... I don't know when I'll be around.

I do wish all the mothers a wonderful Mother's Day. Parrot all ready gave me the best gift when she gave me one of her Parrot smiles.

Have a fantastic week. Maybe I can come back later, or maybe not. We'll just wait and see!!!!

Cheers! ~MacKenzie