The Move 2012

As many of you know, Jorge just landed a new job, so our family is on the move again. Here's what you might've missed...

1. For now, we are living in an extented-stay hotel until we get a house.

THE GOOD: Housekeeping cleans up & makes our beds every day. The hotel provides a delicious breakfast every morning. Every evening during the week they serve heavy appetizers, desserts, and wine! They shuttle Jorge to work when needed, and they'll even go buy our groceries if we want to cook in our little kitchenette. And did I mention that they serve wine???

THE BAD: All 6 of us are living in one room. Sebastian talks as much in his sleep as he does when he's awake. And sweet little Karol is about to eat Blaise. My kids might need some space soon. Plus, I've had more warm cookies and wine than I've had workouts.

2. We found a house & hope to be in it by early August.

THE GOOD: Thanks to God (and the prayers of St. Joseph), someone is taking our house off of our hands. Our new home is in a fantastic neighborhood within walking distance to an exemplary school. It has a huge kitchen, so I foresee many more cupcakes in our future.

THE BAD: We paid full-price, because that part of town is a sellers' market. Boooo. But hey, Karol will have some space & won't be tempted to eat any of her brothers in the full-priced house.

3. Jorge is loving his job.

THE GOOD: The people at his job have been extremely warm & welcoming. The university really takes care of its employees. The perks around here are unbelievable. Some of you may not know this, but they'll even cover our kids' college tuition. (Thanks be to God. Call me crazy, but I feel like the more we give into God's plans, including letting him plan this big ol' family, the more we see His providence.)

THE BAD: I'm experiencing a bit off culture shock. I've taught intercultural communication. I understand that different groups have different ways of communicating, eating, functioning, etc. In the past, I've adjusted to a variety of people, but this group is new. I don't mean to offend, but I've never been around so many... rich people. Don't get me wrong - I have friends who are doctors, successful business owners, etc... but the type of wealth around here seems WAY different. I was at a grocery store that didn't even sell Ramen! *gasp* ;) Like all other situations, I'll learn to adapt & appreciate.

No transition is completely easy, but we're in God's hands. Wishing each of you continued blessings too. <3

Spackle

I never update our family blog (oops), but for those that have been concerned…

I often call Rocco,“Deditos,” which means “Little Fingers” because this baby has the quickest fingers I’ve EVER seen. I know all babies are quick & curious, but this one is especially Houdini-esque! For instance, when Rocco was about 5 months old, I was about to put a Cheeto in my mouth, but within a split-second, it was in HIS mouth! I said, “HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE DO THAT???”

So here’s the story of how these little fingers brought us a VERY frightening experience this week.

We’re moving in less than 3 weeks, and our house is currently on the market. Monday morning, painters had been working on the formal living room and the playroom. (My little playroom mural is gone now.) Since Jorge & I had been so busy with the impending move, I wanted to take the kids out to the Rec for a swim & some summer fun that afternoon.

I stepped away from the baby for about 2 minutes so I could go get a swimsuit out of the dryer. I heard Rocco in the playroom (which has always been a “safe zone”) but when I walked in, he was eating spackle. He looked like a bear with a tub of honey. This particular spackle is light and looks like Cool Whip. (I presume that one of the painters left it somewhere in his workspace. How on earth did Rocco even open it in that amount of time?) My heart sank.

I rushed him to the sink to wash off, and immediately called Poison Control. At first, the Poison Control lady didn’t seem worried & tried to calm my frantic fears. We hung up so she could call the on-duty toxicologist. Three minutes later, she called me back & told me to rush him to the nearest hospital… not to the Greenville hospital 20 minutes away… the NEAREST local hospital RIGHT AWAY.

The kids, in their swimwear, loaded the van and we hurried to the local hospital. The kids & I prayed fervently and cried, but tried to remain calm. One of Jorge’s co-workers dropped Jorge off at the hospital moments after we arrived.

At the hospital, we found out that spackle has glycol in it, the poisonous substance found in anti-freeze. Since Children’s Hospital in Dallas was the closest location that carried the anti-dote, they decided to care-flight the baby to Dallas. I was planning to fly with Rocco, since I’m his mom and his main food supply, but the hardest news was about to come. All of the helicopters from Children’s Hospital were in use, so Rocco would have to fly in one of the medical helicopters out of Greenville, Tx.

The good news: The helicopter would arrive quicker. The bad news: Greenville helicopters don’t have a seat for parents to fly with the patient.

When I heard that I wouldn’t be able to fly with my baby, I-lost-it.

The entire time, Rocco looked fine. No throwing up, no acting unusual. He was only upset because of the IV and lab pokes.

We knew we needed to get to Dallas FAST. We only had 1 vehicle, so while Jorge & the kids waited with Rocco, I sprinted on foot to our house to get our bags packed so we could get on the road ASAP. (I think my sprint time could’ve qualified in the Olympic finals.) When Jorge arrived with the van, we tossed in our bag & were on the road. That was the longest hour-long trip to Dallas EVER. We prayed and cried, prayed and cried. My phone had a small amount of battery left, so I made a few calls, including a call to my sister and a text to Rocco’s Godfather. As I expected, Rocco’s Godfather had started a long prayer-chain for our little guy.

On the road, I received a text from my sister who lives in Dallas: “Am here at hospital. They let me in his room. Holding him. He looks good. Just a lil fussy.” I was so thankful that Rocco was fine, and also very grateful to God for the gift of my sister who could hold & console my baby.

In the ER at Childrens’ Hospital, I was trying to explain what happened to the doctor & nurse. While the nurse was prepping to draw some of Rocco’s blood to send to the lab, the nurse turned his back for a moment, and like lightening, Rocco grabbed the nurse’s lancet (finger-pricker) and gauze! Oh, Deditos.

Labs were drawn every 4 hours and they looked fine. The doctors wanted us to stay overnight, just in case. Jorge & the kids stayed the night at my sister’s house. In the morning, they put the antidote in Rocco’s IV just to be safe. Rocco continued to look good. He laughed and smiled, and brought so much joy to those around him. God had protected him in this time of trouble.

Everyone at the hospital was so sweet and understanding. Apparently, our situation is not an uncommon one, but that didn’t seem to make me feel better. Out of the 10 different doctors that we encountered, one said something that upset me. She said, “Well, I bet it’s hard to watch him when you have 4 kids.” I understand that this is somewhat of a current cultural perspective, but seriously? I felt bad enough about this situation as it was. And by the way, do people really follow their 10-month-old crawlers a full 100% of the time? If so, how do they brush their teeth, stir dinner, and go to the bathroom? (And yes, I’ve taken my baby with me to the bathroom a number of times. Sheez - by the way - WHERE IS MY BABY right now as I'm writing this?!!? Just kidding. He’s with his dad.) The truth is that our baby has THREE EXTRA people that are usually watching him too and care sooo very much about him. Even our 4-year-old yells if he sees Rocco picking up a leaf that the dog dragged in! For this one person to blame my large family for this situation was irritating, to say the least.

By Tuesday evening, we were discharged. Rocco is fine, and we’ll never look at things the same again.

The hospital gave Rocco a cute little stuffed bear. We've named him "Spackle" to bring us laughter through all of our tears. We say, "Rocco, this is the ONLY Spackle you can put in your mouth!"

We have had Poison Control brochures in our house for years that I’ve read several times, but now I have read them with a new perspective. One says that poisoning is possible any time, but especially DURING MOVES and WHEN GUESTS ARE IN THE HOME. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for not scouring the playroom after the painters left, but I’m forever grateful that guardian angels and a loving God protected our precious little treasure.

Today’s Bible study verse for me was this:

“Give glory to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endures forever.” Psalm 135:1

Indeed we will, because indeed it does.