March highlights {basketball tournaments, ER visit, First Confession, library, outlets}

 1) basketball tournaments. Greta and Cece both played in tournaments at the beginning of March and did very well! it was a great way to cap off the season for both of them. Cece's team played aggressively and made it to the semifinals where they lost by just a few points. we were so proud of them! 

no one needs to remind Cece to put her arms up!

#33's first foul on the board... the coaches love her aggression

I was on call for work this week and got paged literally nonstop during the hour of one of her games. fortunately I was able to watch through the glass doors and managed to get this photo of her snagging a rebound

Greta's coach entered them in a 5th grade tournament that was a lot of fun. the JV team is comprised of 5th and 6th grade girls so during the regular season, the 5th graders tend to hang back a bit and rely on the more experienced players. the school's JV team was so large this year that they split into two, but for the 5th grade tournament, all of the 5th graders came together in one team. they quickly had to learn new plays and figure out how to work together as a team! they also made it to the semifinals, and Greta really found her stride, scoring more baskets in one weekend than she had the entire season previously and playing some great defense. 

training up the little ones in the way they should go

the first time she got to start with the tipoff! 

I had to put these photos side by side. watching her play I kept thinking, "where have I seen those arms before?" then I remembered my brother, playing in high school, in the crimson and white!

a compilation video from the weekend!

after their last game. such a good group of girls! now they need to spend their summer eating a lot of protein and growing about a foot to come back as seasoned 6th graders next year.

2) ER visit. one of the scariest days of my life was March 10. I came home from work to find all the kids playing in the yard. Greta came over to me and started telling me about her day, but she was stuttering, repeating herself, and having trouble finding the right words. "my hair -- my hair -- my hair hurts. I mean, not my hair, my -- my -- my head." I was immediately alarmed but then she turned around and started doing flips on the trampoline, so I chalked it up to kids are weird. but the altered speech continued. she told me she had developed a headache earlier in the afternoon, which is not uncommon for her. I did a thorough neurologic exam on her, which was completely normal. I asked her point blank if her friends had been talking "funny" that day, because it's so completely the kind of thing I could see a group of 5th graders doing for some sort of TikTok challenge. finally I decided to just make dinner and see how she was doing after that. then she said, "my hand -- my thumbs -- my hand is dead." she kept grasping the fingertips of her right hand with her left hand and shaking them out. "you mean they're numb, like you can't feel them properly? they feel tingly?" I clarified. when she nodded her head yes, I immediately told Nick, "I'm taking her in." 

my biggest fear in the moment was something stroke-related -- my sister had a stroke at 30 without a clear trigger, my maternal cousin had a stroke in utero, and I have the Factor V Leiden clotting mutation (discovered due to recurrent miscarriage; I've never had a clot or a stroke!). statistically speaking, I knew the most likely culprit was a complex migraine, but as we got in the car and drove over to the Children's ER, I couldn't help but wonder about other life-threatening things -- brain tumor, encephalitis, brain abscess! despite all of this, my default setting was just calm and business-like. we got checked in and called back about 30 minutes later (I debated about causing a ruckus to try to get seen sooner -- like, if she was actively having a stroke, every minute matters! but as we were waiting, she said her hand started to feel better and her speech did start to improve). 

the nurses, resident physician and attending were so great. they took my concerns seriously in terms of the family history. I was afraid I would have to push to get head imaging but they ordered her an MRI and an MRA (which looks specifically at the blood vessels), as well as routine bloodwork. her neuro exam was completely normal too except she was still stumbling over her words a bit. Nick was able to join us just after she had the MRI (thank goodness for our neighbor who came over to stay with the younger kids) and Greta was so glad to see him. while I still had these fears in the back of my mind, once I recognized that Greta was getting all of the testing I wanted her to have, I just relaxed. the hospital environment feels like home to me -- I speak the "language", I know what the protocols are, I know how to adjust the bed and silence the monitor alarm. I did my pediatric rotation in this very hospital! the familiarity helped soothe my nerves, especially since Greta was already improving on her own even without any medication yet. the MRI was super quick, just ten or fifteen minutes, and she got to choose a movie to watch while she was in the scanner. they are so good at keeping kids calm! 

Nick got her a blueberry muffin from the vending machine -- she had been asking for one since we got there but wasn't allowed to eat until they cleared her

we waited for about half an hour after the MRI for the resident to come back in and tell us the results. in this period of time I did let myself wonder if we'd be spending the night for more tests ... or if they were going to find something definitively bad on the scan and we'd be heading to the oncology floor. so crazy how in an instant your entire world can be flipped upside down. then, the resident came in and said the MRI looked good! Nick immediately teared up and I think I was still so much in my "medical brain" that I didn't have a huge emotional response -- it was more on to the next thing and deciding what to do from here. they gave her a migraine cocktail through the IV (magnesium, Toradol -- like ibuprofen, and compazine for nausea) and she finally fell asleep. the ER staff consulted with the neurologists who reviewed the scan, agreed with the diagnosis of migraine with aura, and recommended discharge to home with outpatient neurology follow up in one month. and finally, at 1 AM, we were on our way home feeling like we had just dodged a giant bullet! 

hooked up to the IV and getting some fluids and meds

3) First Confession. Cece has spent the year so far in catechism classes preparing to receive her First Holy Communion at the end of April. she has also been preparing with her school class, and the second grade class all had their First Confession during the school day one afternoon. she came home absolutely glowing! it turns out that one of the young priests from our church had been there to help hear confessions, and she was able to go to him. she felt so comfortable with him and said he made it "not scary at all". we celebrated with Drumsticks (that the kids always beg for and which I usually refuse to buy because we go through them in two days). 

already changed into her leotard for gymnastics class that evening

we also did some online shopping for First Communion dresses. I ordered two from JJ's House and one was absolutely a hit! she wanted a little bit more bling, so then I ordered a beaded sash to add to it for her big day. it's hard to believe she is so grown up, and yet, she is spiritually so mature and absolutely ready to take this next step in her faith. 

dress number one was not quite it

dress number two is the winner!

I feel like this should be a painting!

4) library. one warm Saturday I decided to take the kids on a walk down to our local library. it's about half a mile away, so just the perfect distance to feel like an adventure without the chance of meltdowns. 

my mom gave them these personalized bags for Christmas. perfect for a library haul! (E is using Greta's because we couldn't find E's at the moment. it later turned up underneath her bed.)

well, as we got up to the library itself, the man who entered before us turned around and said, "are you here to pick up holds?" no, in fact, we planned to go into the library. he told us that the circulation desk was open for hold pickups, but the stacks were inaccessible and the children's room was closed as they were replacing all of the carpeting. major bummer! we pivoted with donuts at the local shop across the street, and then walked home and drove to the library the next town over to actually get some books! one of those books, Pit Stop Princess, became Elizabeth's preferred nightly read-aloud for weeks. it's about a girl who drives a racecar and competes against all the different classic fairy tale characters. she loved pointing out the different cars -- perhaps she will follow in her daddy's footsteps!

when we got home, Cece suggested a "backyard book club". I was all in for that!

"it helps me read better"

5) outlets. my best girls and I met up at the outlet stores an hour north of Pittsburgh, a convenient place to meet between here and Erie! we really need to do this more often. we laughed and talked and shopped. years ago, we stumbled upon a serendipitous pair of jeans at White House Black Market that worked for all three of us (at the time -- Amelia was living in California then), and we've been chasing that high ever since. we all tried on the same jumpsuit that did not work for all four of us, but was still fun... and I purchased a different jumpsuit, my very first! then we had a delicious lunch at a nearby winery and eventually headed back home. most of the time when we all spend time together, it's with kids in tow. sometimes we just need friend time!!

it is also tradition for us to take a fake-laughing picture.

Blair remembered that we always wear black tops, jeans, and black flats to go outlet shopping. I would not have remembered this -- this is why we need each other

besos!

6) bonus round. just general toddler cuteness. 

breakfast for dinner on Fat Tuesday

Cece made a little pancake face

wearing Daddy's garage hat

Elizabeth started Soccer Shots at daycare one morning per week and loves it!

one day Victoria insisted on wearing her hat from her Halloween costume around all day

looking at the photo book Sabrina created of their trip to Disney World last year

baby in a box

discovered Elizabeth in Greta's room, wearing her silk pajamas

babies and books!

plus also, we established care at a new dental office that is fantastic! our previous dentist was very sweet but he was a solo practitioner and did not employ hygienists, so it could take us all afternoon to get through routine cleanings. our new dentist has four hygienists and was able to see Greta and Cecilia at the same time. Cece needed two cavities filled in her molars and the new dentist made it absolutely painless. I'm so glad for Cece's sake -- I've written about her dental woes before and I definitely don't want her to be traumatized by necessary dental work. 

Cece took this picture of the babies in the dentist's waiting room (and also the back of my arm, but I can't crop it out without cutting into Elizabeth!)

a few weeks later, after one cavity successfully filled. I promised her Starbucks afterward, which I'm not sure the dentist would have advised, but whatever. the barista drew these cute little cats on our drinks! mine was an iced cherry chai, which was delicious. 

Your turn: Have you had an ER trip that turned out better than expected? How often do you visit your local library? Would you and your friends, as full-grown women, wear matching outfits?