Seriously, Give Us a BREAK!

Remember not too long ago when I was going to write this post about “why us” and then decided against it? Well, I have had it. HAD IT! I am just plain mad and upset about a lot of things right now. The top one on my list? Everyone in our house is SICK:

Josh
Scratchy throat, possible sinus infection

Me
Got cold again, what feels like the same one and FINALLY starting to feel better.

Olivia
Still getting over her ear infection, and I have the fabulous task of giving her the medication in the morning. She is so tired of taking it now that she spit it at me (in my face!) this morning.

Bea
Croup is back with a fever. Yesterday was her LAST day of pneumonia antibiotics. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Oh, and let’s not forget the cats, who we had to take to the vet this weekend for just a small fee of $275:

Tiger
Eye infection – eye medication three times a day for 10 – 14 days.

Moo
Her “this time of the year allergy” where she pulls out her hair and has a fat lip and needed her annual steroid shot.

I’m SO tired of this. So tired. But most importantly I want to find out if Bea doesn’t have an underlying problem, and it’s something that we are getting to the root of now. I pray that everything is ok. It just can’t be any fun living half your life sick, which she pretty much has. She’s probably been out of daycare more than she’s been there this month, but we still have to pay for it when she is not there…just incredible. I’m not asking for sympathy or anything like that. I just need to let this all out. And now I’m done.

And in case you missed it, Bea’s 2 year one month letter is below…it quickly got pushed down because I wanted to rant.

Girl's Night Out

Last week I had the pleasure of going to a girl’s night out…

But when I thought about it, it felt wrong for two reasons:

1) I was going to leave Josh at home with two girls who might be cranky
2) Bea and Olivia are girls, too, right?

Anyway, I had made the decision to take one of the girls with me. If you’re thinking that this was a bar-hopping, liquor drinking night out, that’s not where I’m at anymore. We’re talking dinner – at the mall. Not in the food court, but at CPK.

Choosing which girl was the hardest part. One was cranky from not enough naptime and the other just wanted to spend time with her dad. I chose the one that wanted to spend time with her dad: Bea. Anyway, she was very entertaining…shy, at first, but once she sat over on their side of the booth, it was like partytime for her. She felt like one of mama’s friends, I think, and was hamming it up.

After dinner we strolled around the mall. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a horror for those indoor children playgrounds at the mall. Have you seen those on the weekend? So many kids packed into one little area – a breeding ground for germs. We avoid them at all costs. In any case, we made our way to the one at this mall, and there were only about 5 kids there. I gave Bea the go ahead, and thanks to my friends, we had Purrell on-hand for afterward.

As the night drew to a close (at about 8:30 PM – hey, it was a weeknight and her bedtime!), we said our goodbyes inside the mall. It was a very fun evening for us, especially for a weeknight, and we went home to Olivia going to bed for the night. It was just nice to get out.

So, I am just wondering if my fear of those mall playgrounds came true for our child…because she started not feeling well the next day. Croup. Then mild pneumonia. She is finally on the upswing. At least she had a grand ole time before she started not feeling well.

Thank You, Uncle Todd (and V)!

We went to Target today, and as we were looking around at some things I got distracted. Little did I know that Bea grabbed "Sally" while I was holding her. I heard her making lovey noises as she hugged this toy and looked down and noticed what she was holding. She has been very much into the movie "Cars" lately, and Sally is the girl car. She's a porsche, a pretty blue one. So I asked her if she wanted Sally and she said yes. Then I thought to myself, my daughter has a Porsche before I have had one!

Sally is her new favorite stuffed toy. And while it won't replace her bow-wows, it is very special to her right now, and I am sure it will be for quite a while. I am sure that tonight she won't go to sleep without it. So, thank you Todd and V. She loves her gift. Here she is with Sally:



And on a different note, I am sad to report that both girls are sick. Olivia has a bad cold and Bea, well she has mild pneumonia. It's been hard. They both started with the croup earlier this week and Bea took a turn for the worse yesterday. Last night I wanted to write a post because I was so mad that my family is sick all the time. I had it all planned out, especially when my father-in-law brought my child to me in state that I have not seen her in before - as she clung to me and was so happy to be home I was ready to cry. After being home for a while, she snapped out of her state. I still wanted to write that post, but I was too tired. This morning we took her back to the doctor for her second round of a shot antibiotic. As I looked around the waiting room and saw all of the other children with probably the same thing, I noticed something different about Bea (and Olivia, too) from the other children. While those kids clung to their parents, my children were laughing, playing and trying to entertain the others. Though they don't feel well, I am happy that they can still keep their sunny dispositions through it all. Then I thought that it could be worse...though, I don't wish that on us, or anyone. As I think of what this night might entail, I pray that Bea will not choke in her sleep (as she has the past two nights) and proceeded to vomit all over the place. We could all use a little bit of sleep around here.

I have looked closely at my children the last couple of days and find myself so happy and so in love with them. I just want them to be well.

A Believer No More

When I blew out my birthday candles in the year 2000, I wished that I would become engaged to the man of my dreams. I did.

In 2002 and 2003, I wished to become pregnant, and I made sure I blew them out with a single blow. It took two years for that wish to come true, but it did.

As for every other year of my life, the wishes have been somewhat materialistic. Except for this year. This year I wished for something for myself AND my family. I can already tell you that my wish has not come true and is well beyond coming true, at least for me.

Without saying exactly what I wished for (because maybe there is a glimmer of hope and I don't want to break the "don't ever tell your wish" rule), I will tell you that it doesn't even have a chance right now of breaking even. Why? Because the worst cold ever flew through our house knocking everyone on their butts right after my birthday. Since then, I have had a kidney stone. And now? Well, let's just say I have the worst sore throat that could be one of two things - Strep or some new irrating cold. But, maybe it is just a side effect of going off of those nice pain pills. It hasn't even been a MONTH since my birthday!

My wish that I put a lot of thought into? Out the window, folks.

Next year, I could be wishing to win the lottery instead. Because with that, my friends, I at least have a one in forty-two million shot at.

Everyone else here is healthy right now, except me. And it's fine...really, it is.

A Bit Under the Weather

The last week has been torture.

First, Josh. He started feeling sick last Wednesday and was out of work Thursday and Friday.

Then, Bea. Not exactly sure what happened with her. She threw up in the middle of the night on Thursday. Then threw up again, then again. She was happy as can be, not grumpy at all. So on Friday I got her ready for daycare. Right as we were making our way to the front door she threw up again. So, she stayed home with Josh. And was happy.

Next, me. I started feeling some aches on Friday night, which then turned into a sore throat, plugged ears and achiness all over. The same thing Josh had. Still have sore throat, plugged ears and general head cold.

Finally, Olivia. She threw up on Saturday. Then threw up, and then threw up some more. Let's just say I'm not entirely sure that O was sick. I was exhausted and not feeling well, and she was cranky and ready for a nap. I popped her in her swing, where she swung for a very long time. Motion sickness? It's a possibility, for exhausted mommy did not turn off the swing once she fell asleep. Still, it was at moderate speed and swinging furiously through the air. I still feel horrible.

It's been a trying week for us all. I'm still not feeling well. It appears everyone else is feeling better now, which is nice. In times like these, I tell myself over and over again that it is only temporary. And, seriously, this round of Bea puke was bearable...maybe because we've just gotten used to it. The best present ever? A month of no sickness in our house. Well, that would just be the best gift EVER.