Santa Babies

Family Wii Play

So we bought a Wii for the family. All I can stay is we haven´t stopped playing with it for the past week or so. What a fabolous family activity game. Wii Fit and Wii Sport are a big hit. António is a Boxing and golf Pro. Everyone and I mean everyone was trying to beat him but with no luck. You can see how frsutrating it was for some grown ups with childish behaviours LOL!

Moments to cherish

Christmas Evening

Christmas Eve Dinner was at our place, as usual. The table looked lovely and the whole family had a wonderful time. Opening presents had to happen before dinner for obvious reasons. Kiko was thrilled with his new toy that Rosária gave him. He´s been fixing our floors ever since. The Lopes Vieira´s were greatly missed but I guess we will have a turkey day in February to make up for Christmas.

António - End of 1st Term

António had his school Christmas Party on the 20th of December. There was singing, laying and multiple activities. He was very proud to show us his work. This term they did an extensive research on dinosaurs. He is still very academic orientated. He favorite activities include reading, letter and number games. He now knows all the letters of the alphabet and can even read some things. He knows all numbers up to 100 and can play with them nonstop. We are very proud of him.

Vicente is HOME!

What an emotional moment.

Fever Free for mor thean 24h

Feve is gone for good! Waiting for Ped's visit and hoping she will release us. Will come back to update.

Fingers crossed!

It has now been 18h with NO FEVER at all. Maybe, just maybe we can go home tommorow. All tests have come back negative so far so we will probably never find out what bacteria it was. He was also checked for Rota Virus today and that was negative to so I am very happy but keeping slient so I don´t jinx myself!

Morning Update

Last night around 11 p.m I lost - I snapped! Fever came as high as 39.8 TWICE in a 4h period after having dropped to 37ºC. I called Dr. Volker (his regular Ped) and just sobbed the entire phone call. He was worried (probably more about me) so he made me threaten the entire staff that I would take Vicente into the ER room myself if a doctor wouldn't be here in the next hour. Well after 30min. this "Tia" Ped comes too see us. AFter taking a look at him she tells me he has a breathing infection ???? WTF???You should have seen my face. Anyway, I din't make a huge fuss over it because she asked for all tests to be repeated ASAP. So more blood and X-Ray. His blood results came back much much better than the previous ones so the anthibiotics is working on the bacteria. She still says that after seeing the x-ray she believes he has a viral breathing infection which for me is total BS. I mean of course he has something virul going on but its not his breathing that has been infected! Anyway, in an hour or so the morning Ped (a different one, so I hope) will make his call.
Night was a breeze. Vicente was so tired that he only woke up once for a feed and Zé slept here with us. His fever is in the 37.5ºC range and has been for the past hours so he isn't taking any meds and we are hoping his body can do the tick on its own. Will update as soon as we have more news.

Evening Update

Urine culture came back negative as did the poop culture. So where the heck is (was) the bacteria? Fever is still high - 39.6ºC around 5 p.m. This one only came down after nearly 3h so lets see how long he now lasts without a fever. Vicente has now had 6 full days of high fevers and that worries me. I just don't know what to think anymore. I want this to pass but I also want some answers. My brain is too tired to think properly so I don't even know what to ask the doctors. Lets see how he sleeps tonight.

Morning Update

Night was crap. We have nurses coming in every hour to check fever, oxygen levels and whatever they do more. His fever rised yet again during the night and he has 39.1ºC at the moment. So something is going on in there and they still suspect it a virus he caught (probably in the ER) on top of everything else. He didn't sleep much nor did I but we will work on that during the day. Waiting for the Ped to come this morning so we get more answers. Zé took some wonderful photos so we will update them soon.

Doctor was just in. Virul infection has been confirmed on top of everything else. So another 3 days here. He is very grumpy this morning probably due to lack of sleep.

Vicente is in Hospital

I am sorry for not updating here but I have been text messaging people but I guess here is the best place to keep you all updated. I am copying all the messages I have sent and will update everytime I have fresh news!
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Saturday Evening:
He has had very very high fevers 40ºC and above so he was addmited for xray, blood work and urine. His blood work came back with some kind of infection, a bacterial one - unknown - possibly menigitis (sp). So we are in Hospital for the next 3 days and I will keep you all posted.

BTW - The good news is that our room has Internet access!
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UPDATE 1: (sunday morning) Well, the night was crap.. my poor poor baby. I had a break down episode - just exploded in tears which did him no good either but it was just to much stress acumulated. His fever is under control because he has been taking fever medicine every 3h. His anthibiotics are taken only ever 24h so not much to say on his improvment specially because he has only had one dosage. He is very unhappy and cries most of the time. My heart is the size of a pea as of now. I really dont know what to do. I just feel so helpless. Anway we will have more blood results tommorow morning because the ones missing take longer. As of now we are ruling out menigites (sp) - only on Tuesday we will know if he needs to remove fluid from his spine to test for it. I hope not - I really dont think he has menigites and mummy gut feeling has to count for something, right? LOL! So not really that much to update. Just feeling very sorry for my poor baby and for myself, I guess.
Thank you all for you thoughts.
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UPDATE 2: Sunday night - His blood work came back and thankfully the reults are indeed slighty better. Our aim at this point was simply for them not to be worse. Still don know what kind of bacteris it is but we will be getting more results tommorow. Bad news is they suspect he has a stomach bug too so they checked his poop for analysis and to check for virus. Good news is he smiled a few times and finally made some eye contact.
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UPDATE 3:Monday morning - Another crappy night but not as bad as the night before. Vicente has been withou a fever for the past 12h now!!! Happy about that. He woke up this motning all smiles and has been a happy and comunicative baby this morning. Happy about that too. Not to happy about the virus he now has on top of it all. He has bronchiolitis (sp) again so we start breathing therapy today. There goes my hope to go back home. We have been told maybe just maybe tommorow. Menigitis is now ruled out so that is a big relief but I knew it wasnt that. So now all we need is for him to start breathing properly and to find out what kind of bacteris he has.
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UPDATE 4: (Monday Evening) Well... the fever is back. Just like that, without a warning it just came right back and high too. He has been so happy and smily today so why is the fever back? I am so shocked and sad. So now the docs say it could have just been a fever spurt and if in the next 12 hours he is fever free, then thats all it was. If he does coninue with fever then it means the medicine isnt working as expected and we will have to dig in further - whatever that means. Besides all of this I have been negleting my food intake so I had a colapse this afternoon due to very low blood presure. So now I have a nurse forcing food down me. Oh, and one more thing - so we are in probably the best private Hospital in the country (which insurance will only cover up to 3 days - but thats a whole new story). So this feels like a Hotel and it has an amazing huge window with a very surprising view - The cemetery! I just LOL each time I look out the window, I mean a top noch institution could have afford a place with a different view!
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UPDATE 5:(Tuesday morning) - Unfortunately it wasnt a fever spurt. his fever is def. back. Every 6h it raises straight up and only comes down with appropriate medication. I really dont know what to think now. He obviously wasnt released today and we have already been told no such luck for tommorow. I dont want him released until we figure out what is wrong with him so im fine with that. The urine sample is still being "cultured" all samples that have gone to culture we still dont know any results. I think everyone is in a guessing game now - like it might be a virus on top of the bacterial infection or it might just be that the anthibiotic is so generic that its not working where its supposed to etc... I know I shouldnt search the Internet but I would love some answers.

Vicente is healing nicely

Most of you don´t know but Vicente and I spent hours in the ER last Thursday. This is him now, sleeoing peacefully - (just so my father doesn´t run to the phone to call me worried LOL! )He has been very snotty (so I thought) and fussy too but because it has been so cold and everyone has runny noses and/or a cold I thought nothing of it. Well it turns out he had bronchiolitis. When I got home from work I noticed he had difficulty in breathing so off we went. It turns out his oxygen levels were very low and he needed propper treatment for the nasty virus. So he was on oxygen for a few hours and was addmited so he could take propper medication. I felt awful because I didn´t realize how serious it was. Anyway, we are home and he is improving imensly. We have check up calls with his ped every 24h so he is on top of things. So thats our news - not so good I guess but just another reason to keep me from sleeping!

Three is a Charm

Bath Time Fun

Watching TV

Kiko is not a TV child. I truly don´t know how a toddler can show no interest in such an amazing thing. How useful it would be if he would sit still for at least 10 minutes. Slowly we might accomplish such treat - he is so into Sesame Street right now that he actualy asks to watch Big Bird spill a bucket of water over and over again. So that keeps him busy for 2 minutes until he asks to see it again and again and again! On the other hand, my other men are very much into TV!

And Vicente has a new outfit!

Vicente is such a good baby and a Happy one too! He has been waking up once for a feed. Goes to bed around 8.30 p.m - wakes up once somewhere between 2 and 5 a-m and then goes back to sleep until 8 - 9 a.m. He is all smiles during the day and just sits and coos wherever he is. He is a brilliant sleeper. 3 to 4 hour afternoon naps too. The Third is truly a charm! I caved and bought his very own new outfits. This is one of them.

Three in a bed!

Some nights are too tough for words!

Last night Vicente woke up for a feed at 2.30 a.m.

Last night Kiko woke up at 4 a.m for a wee

Last night António had a nightmare so came to our bed around 5 a.m.

This morning this is what our bed looked like (minus the two of us!)

Kiko funny

E já que estou numa de perguiça e a pensar em Português aqui vai uma do Kiko:

Fomos ao teatro (só nós os dois) ver a Rua Sésamo ao vivo. O Sebastião no seu melhor reproduzia tudo o que era pretendido pelas personagens que estavam no palco. às tantas vira-se para a senhora que estava sentada ao meu lado e pergunta:

- ò senhola... tu não bates palmas? A senhora, envergonhada, começa a juntar as maus timidamente até que o kiko se vira e diz - não é assim (e levanta os braços no ar e mostra-lhe as verdadeiras palmas). A senhora obedientemente eleva os braços e logo de seguida ouve-se:

- Boa senhola, boa!

Coisas de Gajos!

Ontém quando fui buscar o António à escola, tristonho, diz-me:
- Ó mãe, sabes, não sou o melhor a dar arrotos! O Gustavo é imabatível. Ajudas-me a convencer o pai a ensinar-me a dar arrotos - gostava tanto...
- Ó mãe, mas sabes, sou o melhor a dar puns! Eu e o Gustavo somos uma dupla imbatível!

Assim sendo, perguntei se tais "concursos" tinham lugar na sala de aula ao que ele rapidamente me responde - Claro que não, só fazemos na hora do descanso - ou seja enquanto os meninos de 3 e 4 anos dormem mercida sesta! Pobres crianças...

E assim começa nova etapa nesta odisseia de viver entre homens! One down two to go!!!

How silly can a 5 year old be?

Some days are to silly for words. Its either a sentence that will repeat itself all day long (preferably slightly rude) or its the way he answers any question one makes or even the way he treats his brothers - can someone please tell me this to shall pass! Now, try to get a decent picture of António - very tough job.

Happy Birthday to Me

Best 35th Birthday present I could have

How do you like my new look? Honesty accepted and welcome!

My men...

He´s up to something, as usual

Not enough hours in a day!

I confess... I am not superwoman. I do feel like one sometimes but once in a while reality kicks in. Between spending mornings with Vicente and running around for errands, working 4h a day (not enough - and I end up bringing work home) and then collecting kids from school and taking to activities and dragging myself to the gym - I am exhausted at the end of the day. Every night I need to prepare stuff for the next day, check work stuff and I seem to be running around constantly. I work 2 full days a week (Thursdays and Saturdays) and only have Sunday off - if you can call "off" when you´re handling 3 kids and trying to do family stuff or a one on one activity. So this week I counted the number of hours I slept... after a considerable amount of people told me I looked like crap. So I have been sleeping 4 to 5 hours per night on average. I need my kids to sleep through the might urgently! On a positive note - I am losing weight. Have lost 14kg - only 5kg to go for me to fit my normal clothes. And then... there are all the things I would love to do.
I miss my IVF friends - I haven´t been online forever.
I want to have more time to know what´s happening with Rita and Francisco, whom I haven´t seen for over 2 months now.
I would love to go through all my paperwork and just have everything filed.
I need to communicate more with my 3 godsons.
I would love to know in detail how Kerry and her family are and most of all how her sister is doing.
I need to speak to Sandra and check out how her adoption process is.
I need more time for my grandparents who are going downhill on a daily basis.
I would love to be able to watch more than 5 min. of a movie without falling asleep.
My dearest Sis Julie who has so much going on in her life always seems to have time for a quick line - how does she do it?
I could go on and on, but I won´t. Sorry for this pity party - some days aren´t so good and full of guilt.

Priceless Moments

We are the Famous FIVE

António and sports

António has had 4 lessons now. Not only does he love riding but I think he is actually improving. He is very much at ease on a horse, for his standards. I am very proud of him. He is totally adapted to his new school and he is left at the gate and walks all alone to his class. My big Boy! This makes my life so much easier, not having to take all kids out of the car to leave him. However, he has been quite challenging lately. He is a spoiled brat, I know but we need to deal with that now. Whenever something doesn´t go his way he becomes impossible to bear with. He usually cries or charges of to his room for a sob and then gets all sulky. He is still very much anti people... doesn´t really bother to great people and is borderline rude. I don´t want to make him great people because I think it should be his initiative but I also don´t want him to think its ok just to ignore whoever speaks to him. It always seems to be a mind game regarding his education. He can be so clever and obedient but rather challenging at the same time. He is also very aware of his limitations. He knows when he isn´t good or as good as someone else at something but instead of making an effort he quits. So we are working hard towards his swimming lessons. He is improving but not as much as his other classmates so they will probably move ahead and I don´t know what to say to him when he realizes he will be left behind. He can now swim but certainly needs improvement and other skills. At this stage I am 100% confident with him in the water so that is amazing for sure. He can dive in and paddle around and obviously doesn´t drown but as soon as he feels tired he is done! So motiviation is needed in big dosages!

First smiles

Vicente has been smiling for a while now. Capturing it on camera hasn´t been easy. We managed this morning! He is still eating every 3 hours - at night these are streched to a first period of 5 to 6h and then back to every 3h. He is quite a Happy baby. Not the easiest of the 3 because that certainly was Kiko (once upon a time) but somewhere in between. All is well on our end. Looking forward for a long night sleep and specially looking forward to see my father who arrives today. We will all be having dinner at Pedro´s house and I am sure more pics will follow soon.

Dinner at Pedro´s

No more fancy Lopes Vieira dinners - no more meals wonderfuly cooked by Debbie so now we have LOPES VIEIRA GUERREIRO TAKE AWAY! It works wonders...

Three Young Men

This photo isn´t the most recent one but its the only one with my three boys!

My Niece FRANCISCA

Last Monday, 15th September around 12.30 Francisa was born weighinf 2.500g and 43cm. Is is tiny and definatley the smallest baby I have erver held. She is beautiful and ever so perfect. It amazes me how one so small can be so perfect and wonderful.

Vicente is always on the go...

This kid NEEDS to always be ready to go out. He is such a trooper. He does have a busy schedule for a month old baby but I am sure he loves it. I, on the other hand am not to happy about this on the go stuff. I seem to spend my day driving kids around and and strapping seat belts. This routine sure keeps me going - I only wish it would make all these extra curves and kilos disapear quicker.

Showering Kiko

The shower is Kiko´s new thing now. He absolutely loves it. Now that he is fully potty trained, we are also trying to enroll him in swimming classes. The only accept older than 3 but because there is no way I can find time to jump in the water with him for a whole hour and also because he is so at ease in the water we might get lucky. Will know sometime next week. He is full re-adapted to school routine and still very much in love with Vicente. He is such a family oriented boy. All is well as long as we all do it together. What a charmer too...