Flu Weekend

After this weekend I'm pretty convinced that any form of influenza is created in hell. This weekend was Jason's last weekend in our house and also his birthday. Rachel was supposed to go to GrampE and GramE's house to spend the night then we were going to head to Disney on Ice. I bought tickets back in March or April.

Instead, Rachel came home on Friday evening and started running a fever. Jason actually didn't go to work on Friday and came home earlier than planned. I figured 24 hours and everyone would be fine.

WRONG!!!!!

Saturday was just okay. Rachel's fever kept going up and we'd get it down with Tylenol or Motrin. Jason just stayed in bed all day.

Saturday night around midnight Rachel woke up crying and saying she was sick. Jason's cough had gotten worse and he was up all night. I took her temperature and it read 103.9°. I told Jason to get dressed and I loaded them both up and went to the MedCheck.

By 1 AM we found out that both had confirmed cases of Influenza Type A and they were both prescribed the same medicine: Theraflu. By 1:30 we were home with the medicine and getting Rachel ready to go back to bed, she was so tired. We all were.

By 3 AM she'd thrown up two doses of the medicine as it wouldn't stay down. The pill form of the medicine Jason had made him horribly nauseous.

I gave up on the medicine and decided to try again in the morning. We all went to sleep and slept in very late.

Sunday I realized Disney on Ice wasn't going to happen. Heartbroken I sold the tickets online and tried to keep up with taking care of everyone.

Another round of medicine in Rachel came up again and I'd had it. I called the doctor and they informed me they would call in the same prescription for Rachel but in pill form which could easily be mixed into Applesauce to cover the taste, but might have the same effects. Since Jason's insurance hasn't kicked in yet and we were paying out of pocket I was really loathe to get more expensive medicine.

So I head out for my 5th trip to a pharmacy in 3 days and was informed they were out of stock and she told me the price of the new pills. It was outrageous. I get in my car and I broke into tears. All the plans for all the fun things we wanted to do were crushed. Rachel was sick and I felt helpless trying to get both she and Jason well again. Both of their fevers weren't going away. If this flu medicine didn't work what if she got pneumonia and then ended up in the hospital? We could afford the medication, but a hospital stay would hurt. So I just sat there and I cried and cried.

When I got home (and of course felt better after my pity party), I decided to not work on the flu medicine, but let's work on her fever. My mom called me back and informed me it was going to be okay if the flu medicine didn't end up staying down in her system. I started trying 1/2 doses and found that if I did it in small increments, it would stay down. Especially since her fever had gone away. She was eating and drinking just fine....I mean, she wasn't doing much of either, but whatever she ingested was staying down.

Jason made me sit down and assured me I was doing a fine job of taking care of both of them and they were in fact getting better. That made me feel so much better!

Sunday Rachel spent most of the day in front of the tv and taking a really long nap. She even went to bed on time. She didn't sleep through the night and did throw up once from coughing so hard, but at least I knew she'd gotten most of her daily flu dosage.

Today I kept her home from Day Care again due to the fever and just to be sure. I saw how sick both Jason and Rachel were and I was NOT about to tempt fate by giving this to someone else at day care. She played and we read books, although she didn't eat much before she went down for a nap around 11 and she's been out for 4.5 hour as I type this and she's still sleeping. I had hoped to get her up and go run some errands but I don't think she's feeling THAT much better yet.

Jason was well enough to go back to Newburgh today as he really couldn't miss another day of work.

Needless to say, I'm so sad and disappointed this had to happen, but I'm so grateful for so much. I didn't get sick (at least not yet), everyone is starting to feel better, and we were still able to get a lot of stuff loaded into Jason's vehicle that the movers won't move.

This is Rachel's last day in our Fishers home. I hope she remembers this place, even just a little. Even though the first few days of this flu were absolutely frustrating and exhausting, I have had fun keeping her home for just a little bit. She'll start her new school on Monday afternoon. I know she's going to love it.  

The Joy of Moving

Is there really any joy in the moving process other than the finished result? In my opinion: NO THERE IS NOT!!

A few weeks ago I made the difficult decision to go ahead and quit my job and get us moved much earlier than I had anticipated. I had hoped to be up here until May. You know, when I could have a garage sale and sell off the crap we don't want, take our time to move stuff to Newburgh and take our time getting the house down there cleaned out.

Things were moving along ok......until I started trekking back and forth each weekend with our 3 yr old in tow. It was the weekend she woke up with vomit at both ends of her bed and we didn't know she'd been sick in the night. After waiting for the 3 loads of laundry with her bedsheets and clothing in it to be done we set out. Before pulling out of the driveway I looked back in my rearview mirror at her and saw huge tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't see me, she was looking out the window at her daddy and was crushed we were leaving. Once on our way I tried to get snacks for her and she wasn't eating. Not a good sign. And sure enough at the 2.5 hour mark she erupted again. That sealed the deal. I was done. No more. If it was just me going back and forth every single weekend I could do this no problem. But Rachel? No. The 8 hours per weekend in the car, the constant uprooting of her routine then adjusting to each house over and over again was more than I could bear to watch her go through. That Monday afternoon I scheduled time with my boss and burst into tears to tell her I was leaving.

The more I looked at this situation as a mom instead of just as myself I saw how this just wasn't going to work. I know, it's only been 2 weeks, but I can't do this to her anymore. So the plans are set. My last day at work is January 31. Rachel will be starting a new school on Monday afternoon and I'm actually very excited. We've chosen to try out the Montessori school down there. It just so happened Geri had spare time and visited the school for a few hours to observe and ask questions for us. She found out they were having an open house this past Saturday while I was there. The teachers already knew our situation and our names and that was so nice. We watched the video they provided to learn what exactly a Montessori school is. If you don't know and you have small kids, check it out. The program is REALLY different but very interesting. Something I think that will work with Rachel very well.

My biggest concern was that they begin taking children at age 3, but they need to be potty trained. While we are finally making headway we aren't there yet. They said they don't have enough students and they would be willing to work with us on it. Then I saw the pricing. It's a few hundred dollars less than what we're paying up here at the Goddard school. Considering it was really our only option on short notice we were elated the cards lined up as nicely as they did. I called the school yesterday and enrolled her then mailed in her application. They got it today and she's all set! Monday, February 3rd we'll go in during the afternoon and go through an assessment process then Tuesday she's spending the day there. I know she'll do just fine and she'll like the program.

This past weekend was thankfully a long one. (I took an extra day due to weather and just generally not wanting to make the drive back again). During this weekend we got lots done at the house and Rachel has done a phenomenal job with potty training progress. We bought a new toilet set that has both and adult and a child seat so we don't keep having to remove it. We also got a new stool and I think she likes the set up. We bought training pants and while we were there she kind of got the hang of it. In just the past couple of days she's been pretty vocal about telling me her diaper is soiled or wet. She finally understands the difference and at one point told me she was poopy and "You need to change me." Yeah. Another reason to bump up the move. If we're in one place and she doesn't have to keep adjusting to everything, hopefully she'll get over this last little hump and be done!

On Saturday evening we went to a restaurant for Aunt Cindy's boyfriend's birthday. I won't lie: we typically don't go out to eat often. 1. It's really hard with a child 2. It's expensive 3. We just don't go out much. She smelled like she was soiled so I took her to the restroom and just for funsies set her on the toilet and told her she could try to potty. Low and behold.....our first BM was had and it was in public in an unfamiliar restroom! So my hope is once she gets this potty business under control she won't be so backwards about doing #2. A lot of kids can get the potty down but not the BM. C'mon. I've been wanting her to catch on to potty training for 2 years. Now that she kind of needs to for school, let's get this party ended, shall we?! Perhaps it's the incentive of candy and money that I've been offering her? At this point I'm ready to buy her a car if it means we're done with diapering. We're so close!

For Christmas this year she got a puzzle from her Aunt Heather. At first she really struggled with it. Then we came back home and my mom got her a Disney Princess puzzle she also initially struggled with. They're both floor puzzles with big pieces but at first she seemed to have trouble connecting the colors and patterns. I sat with her a few times with the Princess puzzle and she caught on and can now put it together on her own. (I've noticed she'll put it together on her own if I'm not in the room. If I'm in the room, she whines and gets frustrated so I'll help her). She can also do the puzzle Aunt Heather got her all by herself as well!

A few cute stories:

On our way to Newburgh this past weekend she pointed to a billboard that had Gisele Bündchen on it and she said, "Look mommy, that's you!" Ah.....who wouldn't be flattered?

This morning I had rollers in my hair and got her breakfast made then left the room to finish getting ready. When I came back in she said, "Oh mommy, you're pretty!"

She REALLY wants to be able to do her own buttons. We have one pajama set that has buttons she can do, but she's really had to work at it. Another set has smaller buttons and she struggles. She's slowly getting the hang of it. So each night when those are the pajamas we wear I wait patiently to see if she'll get it or if she'll get frustrated. More often than not her shirt is buttoned crooked but I don't care. She did it on her own and I want her to feel accomplished! She tells me as we get dressed, "I want to do the bundts!"

She's quite the conversationalist. We have some conversations I know I'm a part of because I'm saying words, but I have no idea what we're talking about. She enjoys telling me, "Um, I don't think so" about lots of things.
Me: "We're going to need to go to bed soon
Her: "Um, I don't think so."

Me: "I'm going to go to the restroom"
Her: "Um, I don't think so."

Never rude or sarcastic, she really means it.

Oh....another thing. The singing. Melt my heart it's the sweetest thing. Sometimes I'll play the kid station on Pandora or if we're watching a movie she's seen several times, like Aladdin, I can softly hear her trying to sing along even though she doesn't quite know the words. But it's so sweet! She loves to sing. This evening in the bathtub I heard her rendition of Old MacDonald:

"Oh Mac.....(mumbling) a Farm. EE-EE-Aye Aye-Oh. With a moo moo there and a moo moo there Old Mac.....(mumbling) a Farm. EE-EE-Aye Aye-Oh.

The alphabet is another cute one. She's got some of the sounds down and she definitely has the melody, but she doesn't quite have the letters yet.

I am really having a tough time around all this cuteness. I have a sweet angel one moment and the next I've got a demon spawn that sounds/acts/looks nothing like my daughter. She's screaming and throwing fits when I drop her off at school and she's fighting me on everything: eating dinner. Taking a bath. Going to bed. Playing with toys. Watching a show. Even if I'm giving her everything she's asking for I can't do it right or fast enough. I know it's hard for her to be up here right now. But Sweet Lord Almighty I am having trouble working all day then having a bi-polar mini human butter me up and then whine and cry at me all night.

Knowing this is temporary and that I'll soon have all of this worked through and calmed down does help. I know this is for the best. A part of me wishes this would hurry up and happen while the other part of me is in a panic because there are so many dominos to line up in the right order.

 

Snowpocalypse 2014

Rachel and I are back home again braving the blizzard. I'm thankful I drove home on New Years Day! The next day before I headed into work we got about 4" of snow. I wasn't happy that I parked outside. I immediately came home and cleaned out space in the garage so I could park in there again.

The following weekend we headed to my parents' house to visit and we got there a little early. I'm glad we did because for the first time I got to take Rachel sledding. I hadn't been in years and had forgotten how good at it my mom is. So the three of us had a ball!

Later that evening both of my brothers and their significant others came over and we went sledding again at night, which was awesome. Arlene is right now pregnant with Baby Liam and she went as well! Rachel, however, didn't get into the sledding spirit as much as I did and kept wanting to go inside. I was a bit disappointed, but glad she at least stuck it out for a little while.

That night everyone gave us another pile of presents. Rachel received a Doc McStuffins doll and other accessories, a La-la-oopsie doll that matches one Alana has, a floor puzzle with Cinderella and Ariel, a shopping cart that turns into a tea cart and some pajamas. Needless to say, I have several toys that will be finding their way into other homes or garage sales!

I am ever so grateful for the timing of all of this. Sunday it was supposed to be bitterly cold and begin snowing so I opted not to go to church. It began snowing around 7 AM and it didn't stop the entire day. When it was all said and done we received about 10 - 12" of snow. Here's a photo I took....can't remember what time:

By Sunday night my office had closed and so had Rachel's day care. This meant we were snowed in! Sunday she and I both had a difficult time being closed in. I wanted to get stuff done, she wanted to play and neither of us agreed on how to spend time. As soon as she went to bed on got on the Google Machine and found activities I could make up with stuff we still have in the house and keep her busy.

1. Paint her nails - she loved it! We did this both Sunday and Monday. On Monday she actually found a paper towel, set up the chairs, and sat at the table patiently waiting on me to come and paint her nails. She held still and the polish was perfect for her. (She picked it out.....it's a China Glaze, Hello Gorgeous).

One of her favorite activities while being snowed in was making a necklace out of a shoe string and cheerios:

Then I tried to engage her with the Christmas cards from this year and stickers and that didn't go as well as I had hoped:

And we tried on the Christmas present from Aunt Cindy....

Finally, who doesn't love a bouncy ball?

Ok, now we're caught up!

Christmas 2013

After the disappointing complacency of Rachel's 3rd birthday (Again, thank you mom for helping to make it so special!) I didn't want to slight Christmas too. Right before we moved we went to Sam's Club and it's the first time I heard Rachel acknowledge Christmas. She saw a tree and excitedly exclaimed "Look! A Christmas!" For the next few weeks anything Christmas related (Santa, lights, reindeer, trees) were described as a "Christmas". Due to the move I didn't put out any Christmas decorations. We spent about a week down at the new house getting ourselves settled in. Moving, cleaning, painting. It was exhausting. And poor Rachel there weren't a lot of toys there as we left her down there a week early without planning. Considering all the activities and changes she did SO well. Her Grandma did a great job keeping her entertained while Jason and I tried to get the house in order.

For Christmas we got a REAL tree, something I've never done. Since we waited until the 23rd to get it, we got a great deal and surprising got a gorgeous tree! Rachel loved it. She kept trying to open the presents we'd placed under the tree.....that weren't hers!

I tried to explain Santa and on Christmas eve put her to bed with promises of presents in the morning. I don't think she really believed me. But the next morning there were presents under the tree and she was so excited!

Let me interrupt here and explain the fiasco with the presents this year. Jason and I waited until about a week or a week and a half before Christmas to decide we were going to get her some toys. Inwardly I cringed. We're already overflowing with toys and I don't want to move all of them. Adding more? It's a little overwhelming for me. But he had done some research and really wanted to get her a castle with dolls to play with. So we picked out the castle and it wouldn't arrive until close to Christmas when we'd already be gone. I had it sent to Newburgh. The dolls and the furniture I had sent here and most of those arrived before we left. One, however, didn't. I had one of Jason's cousins bring that down with him later.

We get to Newburgh and the castle was supposed to arrive the Friday before Christmas. According to UPS it was delivered, yet we didn't see it anywhere. Then Howell told me that I've been sending mail to the wrong address for 10 years. He felt so bad. He should have said something sooner but he said that the mail always arrived so he didn't think anything of it. I decided we'd just wait until after Christmas to track the package down.

Turns out while out and about Geri wanted to stop at a toy store and Jason went in with her while I waited with Rachel in the car. Jason found a castle similar to the one we had ordered online and I lost so he got her one to make sure she at least had something to open. He also got her a huge pirate ship.

Back to opening presents. Rachel opens the castle we got her and didn't want to open anything else. Seriously, she was so excited about the castle she was annoyed when we told her there were more presents to open. She loved the castle.

A few days after Christmas (Friday, in fact) I finally called UPS and tracked down her other Castle. Thankfully, Jason hadn't bought the same one twice. It was delivered to a house just down the street and they hadn't returned it yet. So she came out with 2 castles, 2 sets of dolls, 1 set of furniture and a huge pirate ship. Needless to say, she was kept plenty busy! Her Aunt Heather also gave her a puzzle that she loves putting together.

Here's a few photos from Christmas (there were probably hundreds taken):

It came together and was a wonderful Christmas!

So sorry for the brevity, I have a lot of stories to catch up on!

Turning the big 3

This year has been a difficult year for celebrations towards the end. Jason took a job down in Newburgh and once he accepted our lives started to spin up with preparations. Not to mention my trip to India and tackling a pretty tough exam. I returned home just in time to wish our girl a Happy Birthday. We kept the occasion low key. This will be the last year we can get away with doing something really small to celebrate for Rachel.

Jason bought her a sweet little cake and a candle and we gave her a puppet (that she isn't really interested in).

The following week was Thanksgiving and my parents and brothers came over to celebrate. Mom brought with her a slew of presents that Rachel loved! A Doc McStuffins doctor bag, Melissa and Doug Pizza party and Birthday cake set and her very own set of Legos. She played "Birthday" for at least a week straight with the birthday cake set and the Legos are an almost daily favorite! We combined them into a few sets we already had and she likes to play with the horses and people.

Things were such a blur I didn't even get the chance to take her picture!!