Vaccinations really aren't that bad

I have been in a pregnancy and parenting group on Facebook since I got pregnant with Mila.  In lots of ways, it has been super handy.  Any time something came up with baby Mila I could post the question in one place and get numerous comments of advice.  I also like being able to pass on my experience for other new moms.  

Lately, that page has been a source of angst.  For some reason, the hot topic of vaccinating your children has come up a lot recently.  The majority of those women are anti-vaccines and it stresses me out to no end.  I think it is sad that so many children have been infected with measles when it is a completely avoidable situation.

I have worked in vaccine research and development for years now, so I have seen many examples as to why this work is done. Thankfully, one mom recently posted this amazing blog post with link after link after link to various sites promoting vaccinations.  It is a GREAT read and I recommend it if you have children or know anyone with children.  Keeping up with your boosters as an adult are key in preventing unvaccinated infants from becoming infected.

There is no way for me to convince someone to take in the CDC with even a modicum of trust when they have already decided they are corrupt.  But I am heartbroken for their children.  The best I can say is luckily for them they live in a country with great medical abilities, so if their children get avoidable diseases their chance of survival is much higher than those who live in countries without these vaccines.  People in third world countries would give anything to receive the vaccines that are so readily available to us.  It's saddening to think so many people throw this concept in the trash.

Time Scales

My dad went in for his bloodwork last week.  The creatinine was still too high for the CT scan so he has an appointment to go back this week and check again.  This waiting is driving me crazy!  But the doctor seems comfortable with the time scale we're working on right now.  He said its not a particularly fast moving form, so we don't need to worry about anything drastic happening between now and when they can get a good picture of the whole thing.  Plus, if he gets it now, the iodine might kill him.  So, you know.  Worth the wait.

Came across this video about a girl who wanted to learn to dance in a year.  It's impressive. 

Dad's Home!

They unplugged everything except for the kidney tubes, made him stay for 24 hours to make sure nothing failed then sent him home Thursday evening!  Ariel has been staying with him to make sure he's okay and to help him around the house.  His swelling was entirely gone, so he looks much better.  He was most excited about being able to roll over in bed because he's not plugged in everywhere.

He's expecting to go back to the hospital this week to get blood drawn.  If the renal values are low enough they'll schedule his CT scan.  I'm hoping everything goes smoothly!

My Dad has Cancer

Somewhere back in January of this year (when we were visiting for Christmas), my dad started having some urinary tract symptoms.  I don't want to go into too much detail for his privacy, but I want to point out that this didn't exactly happen over night.  My dad was planning to come visit in Texas immediately after we left and bring back Callaway.  His symptoms prevented him from coming.  He said he was going to get better, then come down later.  

Weeks go by and I start urging him to go to the doctor.  He's always been healthy (as far as we can tell), so he has managed to avoid seeing a doctor for decades.  I'd bet he hasn't seen one since he and my mom were married (prior to 1996).  My dad's a "don't worry about it" kind of guy so I don't know the details on his health.  He lives alone, so I've kind of always worried something would happen to him at home and no one would know about it.  I always figured it would be a heart problem since those seem to run in his family.

About a month ago, his texting dwindled down to nothing.  He used to message me at least five times a day so when he stopped, I got suspicious.  The week of my wedding anniversary I called him to see how he was doing and he sounded horrible.  His voice was weak and he complained about being so tired that he had to sleep every afternoon.  There were several new symptoms, all of them worth a visit to the doctor.  He'd told me he'd been to the doctor a month prior.  Obviously, the medication wasn't working so I urged him to go again.  He seemed really out of it.  The next day, my sister called after having a similar phone conversation with him.  

In fear, I decided to go behind his back and call his good friends to see if they would go check on him.  When I talked with the wife, she admitted that he hadn't been out for Whiskey Wednesday with her husband in over a month.  They used to meet every Wednesday to try out fancy whiskeys at one of the bars in town.  My dad is the poster child for 'social butterfly', so this news scared me even more.  That night (Friday), she called me back to give me the update.

I was on the road to Austin to visit friends for the weekend.  She recounted her husband's visit and it was horrible.  She said my dad was pale and had no energy to stand.  He had told me he hasn't been eating much lately so I asked if he looked like he'd lost weight.  She said he was so swollen, she couldn't tell if he'd lost weight.  I called Ariel and that's when we decided to drive to Illinois (I looked into plane tickets, but the last-minute cost was outrageous.)  Unfortunately, I was almost to Austin by this point.  We opted to use the weekend to make arrangements for our jobs and my family, then leave first thing Monday morning.

We got a late start on Monday, so we didn't get in until 4 am Tuesday.  We didn't tell our dad we were coming and went straight to our mom's.  In the morning, we went to the store and bought some easy to prepare foods and drinks, then headed over to his job site.  We didn't know where he was, so we were discussing which way to go in when we heard a weak, "You're not supposed to be here..."  It took me a moment to find where my dad was sitting.  He was slumped on a bench between two trees not moving at all.  He looked horrible.  Exactly as his friend has described.

He asked what we were doing there and we told him it was a Father's Day surprise.  We know how much he has fought going to the doctor so we didn't want to scare him away immediately.  But then he said he felt bad because he didn't have the energy to do the fun stuff we probably wanted to do.  I told him we just wanted to go to his house and make him lunch.  He immediately refused and said he'd rather go out for pizza.  At this point, I knew he was avoiding us going to his house.  Our college-aged brother had gone by to bring him food a couple weeks prior and said our dad had apologized constantly about the smell and mess.  He hadn't had the energy to clean the house and Callaway was having accidents inside.  

It took some coaxing, but we convinced him to let us come over.  Ariel drove his car and I played chauffeur.  The house was dusty, but I didn't notice any odor.  Alex had come over the weekend before to take Callaway for him.  He must have cleaned up that mess.  The one thing I did notice is how hot it was.  He complained about being so cold all the time.  

Dad obviously did not want us in the house, so he announced we were going to the pool.  He was in no state to walk anywhere.  To appease him I said, "Sure, go get changed."  It took him HALF AN HOUR to change clothes.  He was wiped out so I told him to go take a nap.  While he was sleeping we cleaned his house and did some laundry.  When he woke up I listed off all his symptoms together and explained he was going to the doctor and we weren't leaving until he did.  Hoping he would take the bait, I gave him three options: his previous doctor, urgent care or the ER.  He said he didn't like his doctor, "so I guess take me to urgent care."  It was weak annoyance on his part.  He honestly didn't have the energy to fight us.

The urgent care doctor took a blood and urine sample and said he had a mass in his abdomen.  Go to the ER immediately.

We hobbled back to the car and headed to the ER (where I wanted to go from the start).  They brought him in back immediately.  I am seriously impressed with the efficiency, cleanliness and friendliness of that hospital and all it's employees when compared to ours in Texas.  No wonder it's a Magnet hospital.

The doctors announced the mass was his entirely-too-full bladder.  Something was blocking the proper flow of things and it caused renal failure.  His kidney values were through the roof.  They worked their magic to relieve his immediate discomfort and admitted him that night.  We were back at my mom's by midnight.  

A week after he was admitted, the doctor was finally able to do a cystoscopy and found a large tumor in his bladder.  He removed two thirds of what he could see.  The pathology report stated it was malignant bladder cancer.  The next step is to do a CT scan to determine the extent of the tumor.  They use iodine (a dye) in that procedure, but it is renal toxic.  After his kidneys recover, they will do the scan.

Ariel and I spent as much of our time as possible in the hospital with him for two weeks.  I needed to come home to attend to my family and get back to work, but Ariel chose to put her job on hold and stay with our dad.  I'm going to try to get back on here and give some more details about what happened during those two weeks soon.

Another Trip to the Doctor

Mila's ear infection/fluid on the ears will not go away.  I made an appointment with her pediatrician last Monday so we could discuss everything: Three months, four antibiotics for her ears, two topical ointments and an oral anti-fungal for diaper rash (as a result of oral antibiotics and subsequent diarrhea) and she STILL has fluid on her ears.  Thankfully it wasn't a full on infection, so the doctor sent home a prescription for a fifth antibiotic in case she developed a fever before I could get her in with the pediatric Ears Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist.  

The appointment with the ENT was yesterday.  We never had to fill the fifth antibiotic.  SHOO.  Before we saw the doctor, Mila had a hearing test.  It was hilarious.  I was trying so hard not to laugh and distract Mila the whole time.  We sat in a chair in the middle of a tiny sound proof room.  There were three speakers: one in front of us and one on either side.  Next to each speaker was a TV screen and a box with a remote control toy inside.  The hearing specialist went back and forth between sound frequencies/voice recognition on the speakers, pictures on the TV's, and movement with the remote control toys.  Mila turned her head to look at things when they made noises.  I wonder what she was thinking.  It was so strange.

Afterwards, the hearing doctor explained that Mila was just a little outside the normal hearing chart.  They did something where they put headphones on that touched the bone behind her ear.  She said that way they could bypass her eardrums to test her hearing.  She passed that part fine, which means it's just the fluid impeding her hearing, not any permanent damage.  Yay!

A little while later we were sitting with the ENT. She said only 6% of children still have fluid on their ears, three months after their initial ear infection.  Mila is part of the 6%, so she recommends getting tubes put in her ears.  So, surgery it is!  Her surgery is scheduled for May 28th, the day after Memorial Day.  I know it's not a serious surgery, but it's still going to be so hard to hand her off to the nurse while she's wearing tiny baby scrubs.  =(

Mila's Ear Infection

Wow.  So I forgot about blogging for a little while.  Sorry 'bout that!

The past two months have been a little stressful with Mila.  She's had an ear infection that just will not go away.  She had two different oral antibiotics, then we tried the shot and now she is on Augmentin.  They gave her a crazy high dose, so she has an upset stomach and lots of diarrhea.  Like five times a day.  We started the newest med this past Thursday, so the diarrhea didn't get going until Friday night.  Since I was around to keep an eye on her, I was able to change her diaper the moment I heard her blowin' it up.  By Saturday morning she'd developed a rash I'd never seen before - some in her diaper, some down her leg.  I called our pediatrician's nurse help line.  The nurse was unsure what to do, so he called the doctor, who in turn said to bring her in if it got worse.  At that point, we didn't know if it was diaper rash (why would it be down her leg?) or an allergic reaction.  Sunday afternoon it seemed to be getting better so we didn't bring her in.

Monday (yesterday) evening, Mila's teacher told me she had horrible diaper rash.  I looked at it as soon as we got out to the car and sure enough, it had gotten worse.  Raw, broken skin.  It looked bloody, but there was no blood in her diaper.  I ran through the McDonald's drive-thru for Aiden, dropped off the casserole I had brought down at my friend's mom's house (her husband died a couple weeks ago) and then headed to Pediatric Urgent Care.  

We walked in the door at 5:45.  I guess I've never been on a Monday evening, because that place was FULL.  Every chair was filled.  I guess I have seen it that way, but Aiden was over a year old, so I took him to the regular urgent care clinic next door.  I checked in Mila, Aiden made friends with one of the kids waiting (who was thankfully in for a bug bite, not a sickness) and we started our wait.  

You know in the movies, when there's a couple at a restaurant and some family is letting there child run around screaming, dragging their spoon on the back of everyone's chairs?  Well that kid was in the waiting room last night.  See here for more info.  He was around 2 years old, shoeless and wild.  His mom kept trying to hold him on her lap to keep control, but he would just flail and scream.  Then she'd give up for a bit and he'd crawl under all the chairs in the room, putting anything he could find in his mouth.  He made it to the end of the chairs and another lady in the waiting room said, "Uh.  He just put an orange peel in his mouth."  The mom grabbed him when he crawled back and proceeded to pull out the orange peel, 5 fruit snacks and a rock.  Thankfully he's was the first to get called in back.

Mila peed through her diaper onto my lap twice.  I don't know why the diapers decided to stop working.  Maybe they weren't on tight enough?  Both times, I had to take her out to the car because I hadn't brought in any diapers.  I don't carry a diaper bag with me during the week because we just go to daycare and back.  I keep a couple extra in the trunk of my car for situations like this.  But each time I had to go out, I was trying to hurry so I didn't miss getting called in back.  I was out in the sun on Sunday without sunscreen so my shoulders are burnt.  I was carrying my purse on my shoulder, plus Mila will not sit on my hip because it hurts her too much.  Instead she clings to my shoulders like a baby monkey.  Normally it wouldn't be so bad.  With fried shoulders it's a little uncomfortable.

I was next in line to be called in back and a family comes running in carrying a limp child who's eyes are rolling back in his head.  I'm not a doctor, but that seemed more like a trip to the ER or maybe even taking a ride in the ambulance.  Anyway, obviously that kid got to go ahead of us.  

FINALLY at 7:30 we got called back.  The nurse took Mila's vitals and the doctor walked in right away.  She took one look at her and prescribed two ointments.  She took a sample to run a culture to check for staph.  We are medicating for staph anyway, since the culture won't be ready to read until Wednesday.  So!  Over to Walgreen's.  

I checked in at 8 o'clock (Aiden's bedtime and an hour after Mila's) with the pharmacist.  She said one of the meds needed to be compounded and it would take 30 minutes.  I pulled the car around to a spot, gave Mila a blanket and Aiden my phone (thank goodness for YouTube) and waited again.  I pulled into the drive-up at 8:30 and they said it would be another moment.  Fifteen minutes later another car pulled up behind me and I decided to drive around so that car could be helped.  At 9 pm, they gave me the medications.  The pharmacy tech said, "Sorry you had to wait so long.  We don't mix up that ointment until the customer arrives because of cost reasons."

If that glass was not there I think I would have slapped that woman.  If I would have known that, then I would have sat at that window from the start.  I only pulled around so other people could get through.  I was too irritated (sunburnt, tired, hungry, two tired/cranky kids) to go sit inside.  I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she was making up excuses for why it took so long.

Despite eating 5 of Aiden's leftover fries and 4 whole Jolly Ranchers, I was starving.  I just wanted to go home, gorge myself, and sleep.  What I really did was go home, get the kids ready for bed, medicate Mila (pure torture for her and me), eat a cup of couscous salad while watching some news coverage on the horrific Boston bombing, listen to Travis while he showed me how to use a lock box he bought that day (I'll try to remember to write about that later), clean up the house, THEN get ready for bed. 

My dad said parenting is perseverance.  True dat.

These doctor appointments for Mila are $30 a pop.  She has had 5 appointments for her ears and diaper rash.  Plus antibiotic costs.  It's been an expensive venture.  Thankfully Mila is our problem child since our income is a little healthier than it was when we had Aiden.  

Ugh, I'm cranky today.

Never Again

Whoopsie!  I totally forgot to post about our road trip to Illinois.  It was pretty horrific, so honestly I think I was just trying to block it out for sanity reasons...

The drive TO Illinois wasn't anything extraordinary.  We left the area by 7, after a full day of work.  Ariel, Travis and I were supposed to share the driving responsibilities, but an hour into Ariel's first turn threw that out the window.  She got pulled over because the license plate lights were out on the truck (we had no idea).  She was mugged a while ago and has never gone back to get her license renewed.  I don't really understand why, but that's how it goes.  She's been using her Passport as a photo ID in the meantime.  When the cop pulled up her driver's license on his computer, it turned out her license was expired.  He was really nice and let her off with a warning, but that took her off the drivers list.  Less sleep for Nikki.  We stopped at the first truck stop we passed and bought replacement bulbs so we wouldn't get pulled over again.  The entire trip took us 17.5 hours.  Before kids, the trip took us 16 hours, so I didn't think that was so bad.

The drive back was a horrific nightmare that easily competes with the Hurricane Ike evacuation.  Here's a quick overview of the Ike drive: 4 humans, 3 dogs, 3 cats (One of which was mewling incessantly and peed all over herself.  After the Benedryl she drooled all over her cage as well.)  Two hours into our hungover ride back, all the luggage fell off the roof rack into traffic on the Interstate.  Imagine all the headache/nausea-ridden people chasing down suitcases before a semi ran over it.  Good times.

But this trip may have been worse.  I think it was because it lasted three times as long.  The drive back from Illinois took us 22 hours and here's why:  We left at 5 pm and I was the first to drive.  It was POURING rain, so we had covered the bed (with all our Christmas presents, luggage and Ariel's new moped) of the truck with a giant tarp.  The radar on weather.com showed a giant red rain cloud over our entire route.  We decided to change our path so our entire drive would not be in rain.  

Two hours into our trip (still in Illinois), all traffic was being directed off the Interstate.  All of it.  No cars going, no cars coming.  We stopped at a gas station for dinner and to see what was going on.  When we got out of the truck, we noticed the tarp had split in half and all our belongings were soaked.  No tarps for sale at the gas station.  Traffic was being redirected because there had been a hazmat semi accident/chemical spill TWO DAYS PRIOR and they were still cleaning it up.  I remember saying, "Starting this trip off with a bang."  There was no advance warning about what we were supposed to do.  How hard is it to get a road sign out there?  We were redirected onto some tiny two lane road without street lights.  Because it was so late, it was mostly 18-wheelers out on this winding, dark, wet road.  SO SCARY.  Three miles later, we were back on the Interstate headed to the nearest Walmart for a tarp (20 miles away).

It was 45 degrees out and we weren't up for spending the remainder of the trip soaking wet, so Travis picked up some rain ponchos when he got the new tarp.  My hands were numb by the time we got the tattered remains of the old tarp off and the new one on.  That stop took us an hour and a half.  Three hours later we stopped for gas and noticed the second tarp had tore in half as well.  We gave up on it at that point. 

Travis and I took turns driving 50-60 mph in the torrential down pour.  It finally let up when we got to Mississippi.  We made a stop for gas at some point.  Aiden had to use the restroom so I took the time to check Mila's diaper.  At some point unbeknownst to us, she had a complete poopy diaper blowout.  I couldn't believe none of us smelled it.  Maybe it was packed under her well enough we didn't notice?  Maybe we were all too stressed to notice anything aside from the task at hand?  Thankfully I had an extra set of clothes for both kids in the cab of the truck.  I threw Mila's clothes directly into the trash since I knew the stain would set before we made it home.  I didn't want to carry her through the gas station, so she got a bath by baby wipes in the parking lot.  Between cleaning her and her car seat I think I used half a pack of wipes.

Back on the road again... I think it was 7 am when we stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House.  The kids were both awake (Aiden didn't sleep much) and I wanted to give them a chance to stretch their legs.  We had a greasy breakfast, refueled the truck and got back on the road.  About an hour after breakfast, Aiden decided it wasn't sitting well with him and regurgitated the entire meal.  Thankfully he complained first so I had a bag handy, but some of it made it down his front despite our efforts.  Stop #352.  Wipe bath #2.  Hoping there were no more stops for clothing changes or our kids would drive the rest of the way naked.

That was it.  I think.  Travis, Mila and I were all on the tail-end of horrific colds during the drive.  Ariel was on the front-end of her's.  Aiden made it through it all without ever getting it.  We hadn't slept all week because Mila was teething, so she thought waking up between 4 and 5 every morning was necessary.   Needless to say, it was the worst drive of my life.  I was absolutely exhausted and thankful I had taken Monday off from work to unpack and do laundry.  I was hoping to take a nap that day, but of course I didn't.  I took a couple breaks to read though.  

I think, at this point in the kids' lives, the longest road trip we will tackle is 4 hours.  When they get older, perhaps we'll try it again.  I remember taking lots of road trips when I was a kid and I remember them fondly.  Though most of them were in an RV, so we had room to sprawl out.  No different than being stuck inside on a rainy day at home, really.

See why I was blocking it out?

Sick Day

Mila's fever came back Monday afternoon. The daycare has a policy that if a child develops fever they're not allowed back within 24 hours. That means I got today off of work! She still had a low-grade fever this morning but it was gone by this afternoon.

This morning I met with the insurance adjuster so we could make a claim for the hail damage we got in April. Looks like we're getting a new roof!

I dropped Aiden off at daycare before lunch and went to meet Ariel. We ate at a restaurant on Galveston Seawall. Mila may have had a fever but she was in good spirits!

Strange Weekend

I felt like such a bum Saturday.  I had plans for a girls night out and didn't feel like doing much during the day.  I didn't sleep very well Friday night because Mila woke up a few times.  Travis came home sick Friday.  He was vomiting, so he had trouble getting much done at work.  He slept all afternoon, woke up for a bit in the evening and was back in bed by 8.  I'm not sure if it was a stomach bug or a migraine.  Usually he gets a headache, then starts throwing up.  But he threw up, then got a headache on Friday.  Meh.  I don't know.  

Needless to say, Travis was well rested by Saturday morning.  He proceeded to clean the entire house - vacuumed, swept, mopped, cleaned the bathroom, took out the trash.  It was awesome.  Except I felt guilty because I only had a few moments to rest during the day when I wasn't taking care of the kids or getting myself ready to go out.  It was super nice to see such a clean home though!

Saturday afternoon was a birthday celebration for my friend Inaia.  My girlfriends picked me up and we went to a nail salon.  We had a Groupon for a mani-pedi.  I don't usually get manicures.  One, I am very particular about my fingernails and I don't like it when other people mess it up.  Two, there is no point painting my nails because they WILL chip within 24 hours.  It's pointless.  If I get them painted at a salon, sometimes it will last two days.  But still, it's just a waste of money.  But this Groupon was for gel color.  One of my friends gets this done fairly regularly and her nails always last two weeks.  Most of the time, she takes off the color because her nails are growing out.  I'm up for the challenge!  I am currently on Day 2 without any sign of wear and tear.  Now if only I could afford to get my nails done every two weeks!  Ha.  Oh, another plus?  The gel helps prevent nail breakage.

After we were all primped, we stopped at Starbucks.  We are all old ladies and were falling asleep after the relaxing afternoon at the nail salon.  We chugged our coffee and headed into Thai Seafood for dinner.  We had so much fun.  15 people made it to dinner, including several of Inaia's friends from Houston.  They were hilarious.  Our server was quite the comedian, a little old Thai man who pulled out a few jokes.  Good times.

Everyone was planning to go to the bars on the island.  Since it was already after the kids' bedtime by this point, Travis had no problem with me going down with them.  We went to a pub I used to go to all the time when I was in college.  We played darts and I even saw an old friend at the bar.  We eventually made our way over to my sister's dance club.  I definitely got a work out there.  My calves are a little sore today from all that dancing.  LOL!  

I didn't want to be a party pooper, so I went with everyone over to another person's house for the "after party".  I'm too old for that.  I didn't get home until 5 IN THE MORNING.  Sweet bejeebs that is insane.  I had horrible sleep until 10, then I got up to help with the kids.  

We recently hired someone to mow the lawn every other week.  On the off week, Travis edges the yard so it stays nice.  It's frivolous, but Travis works so much.  The only time he has to do the lawn is on the weekend.  It takes him 3 hours to mow the lawn.  Let's just say I am excited to have him around for that extra time each weekend.  Next frivolous activity: hire someone to deep clean the house once a month.

Anyhoo, Travis took Aiden outside while he edged the yard. That's when Aiden stepped in a fire ant hill.  Travis didn't hear him crying immediately over the weed eater, so Aiden got eaten up pretty badly.  We smashed all the bugs on him then rushed him into the bath tub to soak his feet in cold water.  I know that's what makes me feel better when I get bit.  Afterward I saturated him in Bactine to numb the pain a little.

I was in the middle of getting some food in the crock pot when Mila started to get really cranky.  I felt her forehead - it was hot.  I checked her temperature and of course she had a fever.  I didn't know how much Tylenol to give her, so I called the Nurse's Line at our pediatrician's office.  It took them about an hour to get call me back.  That's when the nurse recommended not giving her any.  She said, if the fever is under 102.0, it's considered a "beneficial fever".  Soooo, Travis just let her sleep on his chest while I finished getting the food in the crock pot.  

The rest of the day was spent alternating our energy on each of the cranky kids.  HORRIBLE day to have a hangover.  Really, as a parent, there is never a good day to have a hangover.  Just a fact of life, I suppose.  

This morning I had to send Aiden to daycare in the sandals he was wearing when he got bit.  He has 10 bites on one foot.  Then there are several more on his other foot and on his hand.  Those sandals are the only pair of shoes that don't rub his bites, so that's what he wore today.  His daycare has a "no sandals" policy, so that means he doesn't get to play outside with the rest of the class today.  I feel so bad.  Not only is he in pain, but he doesn't get to play with his friends for part of the day.  Poor kid.  

Both kids are going to be so cranky tonight.  Mila didn't have a fever this morning, but her cough got worse again and she is not her normal happy self.  Personally, I'm still exhausted.  Mila woke up twice last night, despite the Tylenol I gave her before bed to help her rest.  I'm thinking I might break my "No TV on a school night" rule tonight.  It was pretty much a sign when I received a free Redbox rental code via text a few minutes ago.

Gummy Bear

Well, Ariel still has not scheduled an appointment with the neurologist or the follow-up visit with the general practioner.  She continues to have episodes pretty much every day.  She said she can feel it coming on for an hour beforehand.  It sounds horrible.  Sometimes I find her very frustrating.

We had a good weekend.  A friend came to visit from out of town so I had a few of our mutual friends over for dinner.  We stayed up late and I drank too much.  It was totally unplanned, but we had a great time!  We let Aiden stay up since our friends had their daughters with them (3 and 8 years old).  Both girls fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie.  Aiden was sitting straight up, eyes wide open, refusing to fall asleep.  When everyone left and it was time for him to go to bed, he still fought us.  I swear, that kid would never sleep if it was up to him.

Sunday we went over to the Yeager's house for dinner.  Aiden and Luke had a dance party towards the end of the night.  I had turned on music before everyone came on Saturday and he showed me his break dancing moves for the first time.  I had no idea he liked to dance like that!  In the past, he has pretty much refused to dance for us.  That's why we put him in the dance class at his daycare.  I guess it opened him up to getting his groove on because he chose to dance on his own.  The funny part is he and Luke have very similar moves.  It was so cute.  They really enjoyed dancing to this music (it really is very catchy):

Another Hospital Visit

Thankfully this trip was not for Mila.  This time it was for Ariel.  You know how more often than not, men refuse to go to the doctor for one reason or another?  Ya, well Ariel is the same way.  She only goes if her life is threatened.  The last time I took her to the ER it was because she stepped on a rusty nail on the beach.  Two days later, her foot was red and swollen to the size of a softball.  This trip was for something much more tricky. 

A week ago on Saturday she had some sort of an episode.  When she first told me about it, she said she'd had a seizure.  But after she described it to me, it sounded more akin to a stroke.  She said her left arm curled in and her face drooped on one side, complete with drooling.  But then she said it lasted for 30 minutes, then went away.  It happened again, daily, for four days.  Then Friday rolls around and she has three episodes in one day.  It was affecting her ability to do her job because she couldn't work during the episode and afterwards, her hands are immobile. 

My entire family, and Robert, spent the entire week trying to convince her to see a doctor.  Last weekend she said she'd go on Monday.  Monday evening rolls around and she promises to get in by Thursday.  FINALLY, on Friday afternoon, she caved and had Robert take her to the ER.  Robert had to go in to open the bar for Ariel before he left for his new job at a steakhouse on the island, so he left.  After work that day, I ran the kids home to Travis and then headed back to the hospital to sit with Ariel.  I brought her food, since by that point, she'd been waiting for her turn for over 4 hours. 

While she was in the waiting room, after Robert had left and before I had arrived, she had another episode.  The nurses thought she was hyperventilating (she has labored breathing during the event), so they gave her a Xanax.  When I got there, her thumb on her left hand was immobilized.  I gave it a wiggle and it was trying to break a branch of a tree.  Stiff as a board.  So strange.  I was finally able to hear all her symptoms in person. 

Turns out, it's basically a Charlie horse in her hands, arms, shoulders, neck and lower face.  She said the pain is excruciating and it makes her groan uncontrollably.  She can't talk very well during, because her lips are affected, but she is fully conscious and aware during the entire thing.  She can still walk, but she usually ends up curled in a ball from the pain.  Afterward, she said it feels like she just ran a marathon with her upper body.  She is sore and exhausted.  It takes longer for her hands to uncramp for some reason, but they always loosen up eventually.

The ER doctor, RN and PA were all baffled.  They called her the mystery girl.  The doctor asked Ariel if she uses her hands very much.  Ummmmm.  Just curious doctor, do you eat with your hands?  Open doors with your hands?  Wipe your ass with your hands??  I'm pretty sure my sister does too.  And that's just the basics.  Because they have to document some sort of diagnosis, the doctor put it down as carpal spasms.  HA.  When the nurse told us that, I laughed so hard.  I looked at Ariel and said, "You're having carpal spasms of the FACE!"  The doctor told her to do HAND STRETCHES.  Because that'll fix everything.  Ugh.  The best thing he did was refer Ariel to a neurologist.  That clinic was suppose to call her yesterday to schedule an appointment (I haven't talked to her to see if they called).  I hope to god Ariel actually gets her butt in gear and makes it to that visit.  I don't know what's wrong with her, but the problem needs to be addressed by a professional.

Oh!  Forgot to mention, the nurse gave Ariel an entire Xanax pill.  She was so loopy by the time we left that hospital, giggling at silly things.  Robert was working late and Ariel had left her purse in the truck, so she didn't have her keys to the house.  So, I brought her home with me.  I think we got home at about 10 PM.  It was probably for the best because she kept feeling like she should go into work.  That girl's guilt about missing ONE night of work is outrageous.  I can't imagine Ariel sitting in a bar with a bunch of drunk people while she's all looped out on Xanax.

The Solution

Hopefully it's not dangerous, but we've found the solution to Mila's nightly cough attacks.  LET HER SLEEP IN THE VIBRATING CHAIR.  It's slightly elevated so she's not lying completely on her back, allowing for the mucous to drain.  It's really very fantastic.  We've done it for three nights now.  The first two nights, we put her to bed in her crib.  An hour and a half later she was hacking up a lung so we moved her to the chair.  The third night we just put her straight in that chair.  Last night was the first night I have slept all the way through the night. 

Like I said - FANTASTIC.

Can you die of sleep deprivation?

Mila's sniffles never went away after her stay in the hospital.  It got worse the weekend after and now it seems to be slowly dissipating.  The problem now is that the mucous seems to have thickened, making her cough all night.  Last night she developed a raspy cough/voice.  Poor thing. 

Before bed, I turned on the vaporizer, hoping it would help loosen things up a bit.  Her cough kept waking me up until I finally got out of bed at 2 AM and did the saline spray and booger bulb.  I think that helped her breathe better.  But her cough persisted.  It got to the point where I had a momentary anxiety attack that she might have whooping cough.  I suppose it's still a possibility, but after visiting the Mayo Clinic website I decided there's not much I can do yet.  She doesn't have a fever and she doesn't cough to the point of turning red or blue, or vomiting.  According to Mayo, that's when I should take her to the doctor.  Hopefully we don't get to that point. 

4 o'clock rolled around and she was ready to eat.  It was Travis' night to feed her, but it still kept me up.  I feel like a zombie today.  I hit snooze three times and finally got out of bed after Travis' alarm went off.  I got up to make coffee and Aiden came running out of his bedroom immediately demanding milk and cereal.  I swear he was waiting at his door for one of us to get up.  I still don't understand why that kid only sleeps 7-8 hours a night.  Is that even okay for a small child??

Too Much

Ugh.  Travis and I are both sick now.  Thankfully neither of us have a fever.  Just pressure filled sinus cavities that require a box of Kleenex per day. 

I feel horrible that my mom's visit has been filled with so much chaos.  She came two weeks ago and stayed with my sister for the first week.  It rained that entire week.  She came over here last Thursday and we went to the hospital Friday.  Now we're sick.  Not the best visit, that's for sure.

Sunday night I hurt my neck in my sleep.  I have no idea what I did.  I'm not sure if it was a muscle spasm/cramp or if something went out when I rolled over.  Either way, the pain woke me up.  I fell back to sleep as soon as it went away.  When I woke Monday morning, I couldn't turn my head to the right at all and there was some pain when I looked to the left.  Thankfully I was able to make it to the chiropractor last night.  I haven't been in over three years.  He thought I'd moved away.  HA.  I said, "No.  I just have kids."  I'm a little sore today from the adjustment, but I feel SO much better.

Today was Mila's 2-month Well Baby visit. The appointment was in the middle of the day so I had to pick her up from daycare and bring her back.  It was also considered her post-hospital-stay check up.  The doctor was pleased with her. 

• She is in the 75th percentile and she has gained sufficient weight (she lost a few ounces since her stay in the hospital - she's at 11 lbs, 14 oz, 23.5 in. long) that the doctor is okay with her feeding on demand throughout the night.  At the moment, we wake her up between 2 and 3 to feed her.  I'm really excited about the prospect of being able to sleep through the night, or at least most of the night.  I'm hoping if we feed her close to 10, before we go to sleep, then she will sleep all the way until my alarm goes off in the morning.  Fingers crossed.
• She received 4 vaccinations, 1 oral and 3 intramuscular.  One of which is for two types of meningitis.  That means if she ever goes into the hospital again, they will be MUCH less likely to do a lumbar puncture like they threatened to do.
• The doctor hypothesized that Mila is sensitive to fevers.  When she was 7 days old, she had an elevated body temperature of 99.6.  That's not considered a fever, but the doctor wanted to see her at the time anyway.  We were told to monitor her and bring her to the ER if it went over 100.4.  Thankfully it never did.  It's so strange because Travis, Aiden and I rarely get fevers.  I get a cold once a year, but that's about the extent of it.  Hopefully it's all just a fluke.
• I got the doctor's approval to take her outside with baby sunscreen on.  Not that we spend much time out in this humid heat, but it's good to know!

When I signed in at the front desk for her appointment, the receptionist said Mila was not listed on my insurance.  I about shit a brick.  She said perhaps the paperwork hadn't gone through yet.  But when we were in the hospital, the nurse said the same thing and I totally forgot about it.  I got really caught up in what they were doing with Mila and it slipped my mind.  I called human resources immediately to see what is up.  They said they never received my paperwork (I sent it via email).  Holy crap I should have checked on that!

Meh.  After some back and forth with HR, I found that they will add her to my insurance immediately and since I already have family insurance, she will be covered from birth.  THANK. GAWD.  Hospital stays are expensive WITH insurance.  I don't even want to think what it would be without it.  The receptionist was hopeful that my insurance would come through, so she did not make me pay for Mila's appointment this morning. 

I'm so exhausted.  Still figuring out how to live life with two kids.  Mila spent the weekend in the hospital.  She still has a stuffed up nose, so she's not sleeping well.  Travis and I are both sick.  Travis is on-call this week (he had to go out on a job last night).  I hurt my neck.  Trouble with insurance.  Aiden fights anything we ask him to do.  On top of it all, we're approaching the end of the fiscal year which means its our one annual chance to make changes to our benefits at work.  I'm working to create a more lucrative retirement plan to my account and a flexible spending account for daycare.  Both will take a chunk out of my paycheck, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

I wonder if anyone would notice if I curled up under my desk for a nap...

Looooong Weekend

I am EXHAUSTED.  Mila was released from the hospital yesterday at 5 pm.  She never developed more than a fever and a booger nose.  She was really tired on Saturday, but I'm sure that's because they kept her up so late with the poking and prodding.  Her doctor was an infectious disease doctor, which turned out to be a godsend.  He didn't freak out about her fever and immediately do a lumbar puncture.  Apparently that's standard procedure when babies under two months have a fever.  Because she was exhibiting cold symptoms (she also had a slight cough) and her brother had the exact same thing at home, he didn't jump the gun.  I am very thankful.  She was poked enough (blood draw and a catheter to get urine).  No need to get her in the back as well!

I stayed at the hospital all day Saturday.  Travis came back up late that afternoon to trade me places.  I went home for a much needed shower, ate dinner and went straight to bed.  We postponed my birthday party that was originally planned for Saturday night.  For dinner we ate leftovers from the dinner my mom made for my birthday on Friday, since I didn't get any - fish tacos.  Aiden woke up once in the middle of the night.  I heard his door open so I went to see what he was doing.  When I asked what he was doing, he said Phage pooped in his room.  I didn't see or smell anything, so I asked him where.  He pointed to a few spots by the door.  I picked them up with a tissue and realized it was vomit, not poo.  When I went to flush it in the toilet, I found a giant clump of cat vomit wrapped in toilet paper already in the toilet.  Aiden had cleaned up Phage's mess.  Aiden likes to help, but sometimes I think he tackles tasks bigger than he's capable of doing.

Travis said Saturday night was fairly uneventful - just the regular vitals checks from the RN.  Her last recorded fever was Saturday afternoon.  I fed Aiden breakfast and headed up to trade spots with Travis.  I was hoping he'd go home and rest, but he chose to clean the house instead.  Someday this refusal to rest is going to catch up with him.  I spent Sunday afternoon with Mila just watching TV and playing around on Pinterest and Facebook (all accessible on my phone).  I was ecstatic when they finally let us leave at 5. 

For dinner, my mom and Travis made broccoli-cheese soup with bread.  We have a lot of food from the cancelled party we need to eat.  We'll save the canned and boxed foods, but the perishables won't last until we can reschedule.

Last night was miserable.  Mila's nose was completely stopped up last night . She won't drink more than an ounce or two of formula before she gets too angry about not being able to breathe.  Since Travis had horrible sleep at the hospital Saturday night, I stayed up with her last night.  She was awake off and on until midnight.  She had horrible gurgling out the nose until that point.  When she woke this morning she seemed to be able to breathe better.  Not perfect, but MUCH better than last night.

The daycare won't use the booger bulb.  I'm really bummed because I know that means she will have a really hard time eating today.  I asked if they had any other kids sick last week and they said there were a few that went home in Aiden's class.  Bummer.  Hopefully we've seen the worst of it.  I need some sleep.

Croton, Begonias and 4 o'clock

Last Wednesday I ended up being sick.  I already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for that day.  I was going to drop Aiden off and go into work in the morning, then leave for my appointment before lunch.  Instead, I laid on the couch feeling like I was going to die while my dad took care of everything for me.  I am SO lucky he was around this past week.  He brought Aiden down to daycare for me.  Then he came back, picked me up and drove me to my appointment.  I was feeling really achy, so the thought of having to wield a steering wheel was highly unappealing. 

After my appointment (weight is good, nothing important to speak up), my dad bought me lunch and then I passed out on the couch for the afternoon.  I had set my alarm so I could wake up in time to get Aiden.  But a few minutes before it went off, my dad walked through the living room saying he was going to pick up Aiden.  He had spent the entire day working in my yard, taken care of Aiden and then came home to make me dinner.  The dinner part is even more fortunate because Travis ended up not getting home from work until 11:30.  I would have had to take care of everything by myself that evening had my dad not been around.  THANK YOU DAD.

I was super busy Thursday and Friday.  I actually can't even remember what we did.  I need to pull out the camera and see if it gives me any clues.  I do know that my dad built a new plant bed between the patio and the chain link fence next to the driveway.  He and Travis are looking for soil they can remove from around the yard to build up the area around the raised walkway that now leads to our front door. 

Having that plant bed already makes the area seem more finished.  I'm planning to move some bamboo out from under the awning of our house and planting it there.  I found out in the past few weeks that it is a full sun plant, which explains why it hasn't grown very much back in that dark corner of the house.  The bamboo will double as a barricade between our play area and the busy concrete driveway. 

My dad bought four croton plants to plant in front of the wall in that new plant bed.  I bought some red wax begonias to plant in there as well.  My dad planted a bunch of seeds for me a week or so ago.  They're all sprouting and we were able to plant the 4 o'clock seedlings already.  I still need to plant the poppies and hopefully we'll be able to afford purchasing a plant here and there so we can fill in the rest of the bed.  My dad sat down with me and we prepared a landscaping blueprint so I know exactly what I need and how much of each.  I'm so excited I can't stand it!

It's been raining a bunch here, which was a huge bummer because we had planned on working in the yard a lot this weekend.  There was a break in the rain Saturday morning, during which time my dad and Travis put together a new gate for the wall that we never got up.  I think they did a really good job!  It's not a heavy duty gate, but it will be better than the two chairs I had setting there to deter Aiden from leaving through there.

I took this photo while under protection of an umbrella. The lakes were forming.



Bodily Functions

Sunday night after Aiden went to Chuck E Cheese was a little rough.  He woke up at 1:30 vomiting.  I woke when I heard him crying and heard the (unfortunately) familiar sound of wretching.  I ran in as quickly as I could.  There was vomit all over his pillow and Mr. Lion.  Travis eventually woke up while I was holding the trash can in case there was more to come.  He eventually stopped spitting and we began clean up. 

The last time he was sick we threw away two pillows.  I didn't know what to do with them.  I was sure they'd be ruined in a wash so I didn't even mess with it.  After that, I had several people tell me you can wash your pillows in the washing machine.  I don't know what would happen with feather pillows, but since these were just stuffing I gave it a try.  It came out perfectly!  Perhaps a little more fluffy even.  We weren't able to do this wash immediately, so we just grabbed another pillow and put new sheets on the bed. 

Another thing I learned from last time: place a towel in the spray zone to expedite clean up.  It may not contain the liquid, but it gets the chunks (sorry to those with a sensitive stomach).  So!  Thirty minutes later when the next wave hit, clean up was much quicker.  He also seems to be grasping the concept of puking in the trash can.  YAY.

Thankfully, the rest of the night went without further adventures.  I assumed Aiden had too much excitement to contain and had to release some of the pressure during the night.  It's happened before.  He throws up dinner in the middle of the night and that's the last of the illness.  So the next morning we got ready for work and daycare like normal.  Well, mostly normal.  I was exhausted from getting to bed at 10:30, waking up when Travis got home at 11:30, waking up to take care of Aiden at 1:30 and again at 2:00.  We were in the car and had just hit the island when Aiden started saying he needed to go potty.  I told him we would be to daycare soon.  A moment later he had gone pasty white and was gagging/coughing. 

I started having flashbacks to That One Time When Aiden Showered the Back Seat of My Car.  I pulled over as fast as I could and pulled him out to the grass.  Thankfully he hadn't eaten or drank anything yet that morning (which should have been a sign of what was to come), so it was just a little bile spit up.  After he'd had a moment to recover, I brought him to Ariel's.  He threw up bile again when we first walked in.  During the chaos, I had a sudden urge to do a #2 and used their downstairs bathroom.  The door was locked, which was a little strange.  I found the keys, unlocked the door and did my business.  OF COURSE it turned out the toilet was out of commission.  When I tried to flush, nothing happened.

I went up to knock on Ariel's bedroom door. 

"Ariel?  Sorry to wake you, but I have some problems.  Can you help me?"

She comes out the door all morning-time-groggified.

"Aiden's vomiting.  I can't take him into daycare.  Would you mind watching him for a couple hours while I run into work?"

"Ya sure.  No problem.  Don't even worry about it."

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.  Also, I used your toilet downstairs."

"Oh no big deal.  It has a leak so we turned off the water.  Just turn the water back on and you can flush it."

PHEW.  I run downstairs and do as she recommends.  I was mortified to find I had clogged their toilet.  Ugh. 

I walk out sheepishly, thankful it's Ariel who got up and not Robert, "Do you have a plunger?  Sorry."

"Actually no.  I have no idea where it went."

GREAT.  I promised her I would take care of it, but it has to wait until I get back from work. 

"Do you mind if my deuce hangs out while I run into work?  Sorry to drop off a vomiting toddler and a clogged toilet first thing on a Monday morning."

She watched him while I ran into work to take care of a few pertinent items.  After work I stopped at CVS to buy a plunger.  I decided on my walk into the store that this purchase was more embarassing to me than getting condoms or tampons.  I couldn't find the plungers anywhere and decided to brave asking for help.  The only person I could find was the cashier.  I asked if she knew where plungers were.

"PLUNGERS????  Hey LaQuisha!  Do we have any PLUNGERS?!"

Mortification.  Pure mortification.

LaQuisha's response, "PLUNGERS?  Nah I think we're out!  I'll go check.  The PLUNGERS are on aisle 5."

She comes back a few minutes later.  No plunger.

"There weren't any PLUNGERS on aisle 5.  Let's call in back and see if they have any there."

Nope.  No plungers there either.  I felt like personally walking up to every customer and the store and explaining that I was the one with a toilet clogged with poo at home.  Me!  It was me!  In case you weren't sure after all this yelling about PLUNGERS!! 

Thank goodness the Dollar General down the street had some.  Of course that cashier wanted to have a conversation about how cool it was that it came in a combo pack with a scrub brush, maybe she should grab one too?

Plunger and frozen pizzas in hand, I returned.  Ariel mentioned she didn't have anything to eat for lunch and it was the least I could do.  When I got back to Ariel's, they said he had eaten some dry cereal and hadn't thrown up at all.  Figures.  Although I was happy he had stopped.  I took care of my mess and left with Aiden, hoping Ariel and Robert didn't learn to dread my surprise visits. 

Aiden was lethargic for the majority of the day, but he didn't throw up anymore.  We had chicken noodle soup (in the shape of Cars), he took a long nap and then we watched TV for the remainder of the day.  It was nice to rest a little, although I was unable to take a nap.  My body seems confused on how it needs sleep. 

The saga of our crazy days continues tomorrow... hopefully... if I have time to write again...

More talk of poo

There is nothing more disorienting than waking up at 2 am to find your toddler vomiting all over his pillow.  I'm talking whole bean regurgitation on his self, Mr. Lion and the bed.  Twice.  We ran out of bedding for him to up chuck in.  My twisted pregnant stomach, after an hour of wiping sour Mexican food from my son's face, decided it need to be fed.  Although, I guess I don't really have a sensitive stomach.  It just seemed like I shouldn't be hungry.  Sadly, I have to deal with a lot of gross stuff at this job and my previous job, take an hour lunch, then get back to it.

I'm not sure what was wrong with Aiden on Sunday.  Saturday we let him take an extra long nap because we made plans to eat dinner in Houston.  Shannon was celebrating her birthday in Houston, so we drove up for the child/prego-friendly part of the plans.  We don't get to see Shannon very often since she moved out of town, so it was great to see her.  I used to work with her at the vet clinic I worked in during college.  Good times. 

Anyway, Aiden fell asleep in the car around 10:30 and we got home at 11:30.  The vomiting commenced not long after that.  Travis laid in the room with him so he could direct as much vomit into the trash can as possible. (THANK YOU, TRAVIS!)  The next day he seemed much better.  I introduced water and food to him slowly to make sure he was fine.  No problems there. 

But around 10:30 that morning the constipation hit.  This was the worst it's ever been.  He bent over and cried for 30 minutes.  We offered him prune juice, but he wouldn't drink it.  After a while, we decided to put him in the tub.  I've heard that can help soften things up a bit.  He was in the water for an hour without much output.  He was crying almost the entire time.  We got him out of the bath tub and put him in front of the TV for some distraction.  He wouldn't sit down, but he calmed down and kneeled on the couch.  He wouldn't sit down for lunch so I put the food and juice on the coffee table for him.  I offered him lots of whole grains and fruit, hoping to get something in there to help move things along.  Thankfully he ate a prune.

I didn't think we would be able to get him down for nap because he was in pain.  But at the same time I wasn't surprised that he passed out the second his head hit the pillow.  While Aiden was asleep, Travis ran to the gas station to grab some apple juice.  Aiden loves that stuff, so we didn't have any trouble getting him to drink a lot of that after his 2-hour nap.

We had planned on going to see the Polar Express in 4D that afternoon, but there was no way I was going to take him anywhere like that.  He would bend over and cry periodically.  We try to comfort him, but most of the time he gets angry and pushes us away.  It's so horrible being that helpless.  Finally around 6 or 7 he pushed out a giant rock.  Travis claims it was the size of his fist, but he has big hands.  I'm not sure that's physically possible.  With as difficult this one was, perhaps he wasn't lying.

I think Aiden is having sympathy pregnancy pains.

The day that puts stores in the black

The rest of the weekend was great for me.  Sadly, Travis had to work all day Friday and most of Saturday.  Aiden and I had it off.  At the beginning of the week, I noticed that Aiden was acting really cranky and he had a little cough when he first woke up.  I was checking his temperature every morning.  Monday it was normal, Tuesday it was a degree high, Wednesday it was at 100 degrees.  When Travis was getting him dressed, he pointed to his ear and said it was ouchy.  How amazing is that?  He told us what was bothering him!  That has never happened!  In the past, we knew something was wrong because he wasn't eating, or he was cranky, or he slept a lot.  But we had to go to the doctor to figure out what it was.  Sometimes we never really found out exactly what the problem was.  He's totally growing up. 

I'm sure someone will frown on this.  I took him to daycare that morning.  I gave him ibuprofen before we left the house, but I had so much to do at work that I had to get in.  I was hoping they wouldn't call me before noon to come pick him up.  I got my wish.  I was able to get him after work and take him to Urgent Care.  I called that morning and his regular doctor's office was busy all day.  I'm not surprised, being that it was the day before a holiday.

We waited for about two hours I think.  It seemed like forever.  There was a woman in the waiting room with a little boy, 3 or 4 years old I would guess.  He was sleeping on a chair by the fish tank - Aiden's favorite area.  So of course every time Aiden went back there and would try to talk to me (talk, not yell or scream), the mom would shush him and say, "He's sleeping.  Shhhhh."  Gah.  I understand that sometimes it can seem so important that your child sleep, but geez lady.  He was just saying, "Fish, Mommy?" as he was pointing at the fish tank.  I tried to keep him out of that back waiting area from then on, but I didn't try too hard.

Sure enough, Aiden had an ear infection.  I'm so happy we were able to get medication for that before the 4-day weekend.  Thanksgiving could have been a lot more difficult. 

So!  Friday morning, I got up BEFORE DAWN and tried out a little Black Friday shopping.  It was my first time to go out the day after Thanksgiving.  Honestly I was a little nervous.  You always here about people getting trampled to death for a $10 toaster.  I didn't want that to be me. 

I only went to a few stores and only one of them was right at opening.  Shoe Carnival opened at 5 am and gave out $10 off gift cards to the first 100 people.  My friends and I made it in the first 100!  Plus, they were having great shoe sales.  I've wanted to buy boots since last winter, but could never get over the guilt of such a large purchase.  The cheapest boots I could find were $60 at Target.  If you went to a department store or DSW, forget it.  You'd be spending $100-200.  As much as I want boots, I'd rather have groceries. 

Back to Black Friday - I bought a pair of $60 brown boots (up to my knee) for 50% off, plus my $10 off gift card.  I got a pair of boots for $20!!  Can't beat that.  Totally made my morning exhaustion-caused nausea worth it.  After we all made our purchases, we went to the Sephora next door.  We also stopped at Walmart, but I didn't buy anything else.  I had what I wanted and was just along for the ride at that point. 

I was home, in bed by 6:45.  I had to be home by 7 because that's when Travis leaves for work.  I was sure that Aiden would wake up when I got home and I wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep.  But I was wrong!  I got to sleep in until 8:30.  Then Aiden climbed in bed with me and we watched Transformers.  The rest of the day was pretty lazy.  That evening we went to the Ramby's for dinner.  Alexa made a Thanksgiving casserole using leftovers that was absolutely amazing.  She heated up some gravy that we poured on top of each serving.  If I ever have enough leftovers to make that, I'll totally be doing it in the future.  Mmmmm...

More later.  I don't want to overwhelm you with my play-by-play's.  Cheers!

Need to organize photos...

Aiden and I went to Illinois this weekend for my cousin's wedding, hence the lack of proper posts.  I do not have my thoughts or photos organized as of yet.  I can say that I came back 3 pounds heavier with a northern head cold.  Oh and also lots of excellent memories.  Hopefully I can get those memories posted over the next few days.

We got back Monday night, but I took Tuesday off so I could get everything in order before heading back to work.  I had a doctor's appointment first thing yesterday morning and I got my flu shot.  I spent the rest of the morning running errands for Travis and I.  When I got home I was exhausted.  So I slept for almost FOUR HOURS.  Ha!  I didn't want to get up, but I forced myself out of bed to go pick up Aiden from daycare.  I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and doing laundry. 

I'm in the middle of the nasty, dribbling part of a cold.  My sinuses are on fire and I have a box of Kleenex attached to my hip.  It's always tough for me to be sick.  I generally have a lack of appetite, but that doesn't mean I can just stop eating.  My body doesn't work that way.  Since I didn't have much of an appetite this morning, I only had a tiny bowl of Cheerios.  When I got to work I realized I was going to need more than that so I stopped at the coffee shop and got a protein shake.  I wish I had five bucks to blow daily because I would totally get this shake every morning.  It has a banana, peanut butter, nonfat milk, protein powder and the barista recommended a shot of chocolate.  AMAZING.  I'm not allowed to bring food into the lab I work in, so I've spent the majority of the morning standing in the hall with that shake.  Can't. Put. It. Down.  If I could chop ice as finely as they do, I would make it at home.

Anyhoo, hopefully I'll get to organizing my brain so I can post about the trip.  It was GREAT to have an entire weekend to visit with my extended family.  We rarely get to do that.  I wish we could all afford to do it more than once every 5 to 10 years.  What are you gonna do?