A Return Visitor

Dagnabbit!

Our Home ~ Our Petri Dish

Yes it's true.. SweetPea is battling The Goo once again. The night before last she was cranky and overly-clingy (the combo we found out quickly was a red flag). Last night she wasn't hungry, a little lethargic and her nose was extra gooey.

At 1am she was up coughing and crying. I gave her some meds and rocked her to sleep. At 2am we were at it again. This time I stayed in the room and let her sleep on me until 3:00. She was up on and off (as was I).

Poor little Boo!

Today I am home (thank God my employer is so understanding!) waiting to see how she does when she wakes up. A day of rest is in order (and possibly a trip to the doctor). And to think she almost made it two weeks straight without being sick.. a record..

DH is still recovering from our last round and, although I managed to dodge the last two PlagueBullets, I now have a cough and a scratchy throat, as well. Sigh...

One Tough Season

A Boogery Week In Review...

So Monday started off with a high fever, low oxygen levels, an RSV diagnosis and trip to the hospital. The upside? I do believe we have a future doctor on our hands:

Tuesday and Wednesday were a blur between doctor appointments, medicine taking and slimy nose wiping. The good news is SweetPea is on the mend and was back in daycare on Thursday. The bad news is DH and Little Buddy are both feeling crummy. I, too, have a sore throat (once again) but choose to pretend it's not there.

Ignorance is bliss, right?

Next week there are two big visits taking place.. one of which may cause some serious issues for LB. Our awesome social worker will be present and assures us if there is any sign of tension or discomfort on either child's part, she will stop it immediately. I have 100% confidence in her and we're bracing ourselves for the coming storm after the fact.

Sending up prayers for peace and comfort for both kiddos..

Say Hello To My Little Friend(s)

RSV ~ Without The "P" ...

That's right, RSV is our latest plague. SweetPea was under the weather yesterday and I told the gals at daycare they might want to keep an eye on her. Not surprisingly, they called later in the afternoon and told me she had a fever. DH was at his local office here in town and was able to pick her up lickity split.

He took her to Urgent Care where they quickly discovered her oxygen levels were dangerously low and she tested positive for RSV. Unable to maintain proper oxygen off the machine, they transported her (non emergency) to the hospital by ambulance. Apparently, she dug the drive and charmed the EMT's.. DH said one of them was looking here and there for a teddy bear to give to her before he left.

Trust me, it doesn't take long to fall in love with this little darling.

DH earned a few new DadBadges.. she threw up on him 3-4 times in the waiting room while checking in. He made balloons out of gloves, assisted when she struggled, kept her feeling safe and as comfortable as possible. All things considered (being almost 2, feeling crummy, etc) she did really well.. and so did he. They got home about 8:00pm.

Today she is a bit better.. not as lethargic but still has a ferocious cough and labored breathing. The fever is down for now. We have to do a follow up doctor visit and pick up a script later today. Hopefully we can blaze through all that so I can get her home and rested.

Poor Little Boo.

Pink Eye & Sniffles & Ear Aches ~ Oh My!

Little SweetPea welcomed the week with a gooey eye and trip to the doctor's office. Lo and behold, early stages of an ear infection were setting in, as well. She was also super boogery. Poor Boo! The bright side? Our little-un is on the mend and should be good as gold for the family gatherings Friday and Saturday.

The tricky part? Keeping the rest of us healthy so Christmas festivities can go on as planned.

On top of all my usual scrambling, I have a mountain of toys that need to be wrapped. From the looks of things (ie: my lack of time management skills this holiday season) I'll be in the basement until the wee hours of Christmas morning (undoubtedly cursing Scotch tape and losing the scissors). Fear not, my friends.. Frank, Nat and Bing will be crooning the classics and my trusty wine glass will be close at hand.

... And I'll be loving every minute of it!

Survey Says...

Bronchitis

Unable to kick the goo that has plagued me for the last week and a half, I hit the doctor's office yesterday and took the rest of the day off. I'm Zpacking and feeling better today.

Well, I think I am so that's all that matters.

DH got home early yesterday and started putting Christmas lights up on the house. One of the workers picked the kids up from day care for a visit and brought them home afterwards (great timing for me.. I got to stay in my jammies and rest all afternoon). When they got home I could hear Little Buddy from the car yelling, "Lights!! Lights!!! Daddy put up lights!!"..

That alone made me feel better.

I Thought I Looked Both Ways Before I Crossed...

.. But it sure feels like I've been hit by a bus just the same..



This week has been utter madness. We started the kidlets in day care and getting them adjusted to that schedule alone is a struggle. Throw in me being horribly sick, going back to work and nightly visits from various social workers into the mix and it makes for a chaotic week.

BAH-RU-TAL

The good news is the kids are doing really well considering these (and the other) challenges they have faced. We completely adore them and all this crazy is worth it. I've already told Little Buddy tomorrow is a pajama day and he's cool with it.

Thank God.

News From The House of Pestilence...

Don't worry, I'm no longer contagious.. no need to back away from your monitor..

We're pretty much over the tummy issues but still fighting the bronchi crud. Personally, I'm okay with that. I would much rather go to work and be achy, stuffy and blow my throbbing nose all day than.. well, you know.

JuneBug continues to flourish. Every day she does something new and sweet.. totally out of her shell and blossoming into an amazing little chicklet. We're obviously in the dark about the case but (from what we can gleam) her visits with mom are getting better and things are going well on that front.

Court came and went but no one called to give us any info. With all the cutbacks, I believe the workers are under even more pressure and I try not to bug them unless it's absolutely necessary. Apparently nothing came up that would affect us one way or another.

Err, we think.

Once again, not knowing how much time we have, all we can do is just love on JuneBug and enjoy every moment we have. 2 1/2 is such a silly age (although the diva melt downs are a sight to behold). She never ceases to amaze and crack us up.

Bottom Line? JuneBug is a little gem and we love her dearly!

I Fought The Crud..

.. And The Crud Won..

No lie.

In the weeee hours of Monday morning I was hurling my guts out. On top of the flu-like thing I had going on all weekend.. yep, I was a mess. The good news is I'm feeling better and back at work (infecting coworkers).

HA!

Okay, I'm no longer contagious.. ya'll can come back into the room now..

On a brighter note.. Princess JuneBug started PrePreschool today. We've got her signed up at the school we had Jack, Jill and Mannie in for a few hours a couple days a week. She needs to hang with kiddos her own age and it's a wonderful environment for her to be in. The county has yet to approve her attendance (due to cutbacks) so it very well could be out of pocket. We'll see..

Nantie dropped her off and was delighted to report she stomped in like she owned the place. Not a single tear. Yay JuneBug! When she went to pick her up she didn't want to leave. The kid loves school... Yay, again!

(P.S. In response to Sheri's comment... yes, I did lose 5lbs in 24 hrs.. LOL)

Doing Shots & Throwing Up ~ Our Wild Fri Night..

And you and I both know it had nothing to do with bar hopping, right?

The past few days I've been coming down with a cold/tummy bug courtesy of DH (who has been down for the count for the last week). Come to find out, I'm not alone. At 8:30 Friday night, Little J was in my arms fast asleep. After being put to bed, worn out, not feeling well-me was on a mission: Hop in my comfiest, softest jammies and do a shot..

Yep, NyQuil.

Snuggled in, I was all about drifting off to sleep watching Apolo. A good night of sleep was just what the doctor ordered.. but JuneBug didn't get that memo.

I first heard her coughing on the monitor. I thought, "Dang it.. here she goes getting sick again.." and then she starts to cry. Weird. I go to her room to make sure she's okay.. low and behold what do I discover? Barf.

Everywhere.

I would be crying, too. Poor little Boo.

DH got cracking on bedding clean up while we hit the shower. I had no idea how impossible it was to get barf out of hair. Blech. An hour later, a squeaky clean JuneBug was fast asleep in her clean bed. Sweet relief.

Messy? Yes. But no hangover, right?

History Repeating...

With the Olympic spirit in the air, I declare JuneBug takes the gold for being a trooper (as does Nantie--who had quite the time with her on Tuesday). Little J did great last Friday night but things went downhill on Saturday. She came to us with a runny nose and cough and was just miserable.

And she let us know it.

As some of you may recall, within hours of Jack and Jill's arrival to our home we were in Urgent Care with Jill. She was sick as all get out and ended up having Type A Influenza. That's right.. the flu.

SO, here we are again.. a year later with a new little one sporting a gusher nose, congestion and very very cranky. Déjà vu? Sure felt like it. This time though, we didn't have a fever to contend with and she bounced back fairly quickly.

Yay JuneBug!

I am pleased to report our little darling is back to her ornery, sweet, silly self. She is an absolute joy and has us all wrapped around her finger.. including DH.. and may I state for the record there is nothing more heartwarming than watching a 6'3" man turn to mush over a 2' tall pixie.

*Grinnin'*

The Weekend & Recovery

Jill still has a bit of a cough and awoke at 4:30am with an earache. We medicated and fell back asleep for a few hours only to wake up again in tears. Poor little girl. We came down to the couch, Motrin'd and have a heating pad in place. She is resting comfortably.

Jack got a touch of the goo but pulled through rather unscathed. Vitamins and a healthy diet have attributed to his ability to dodge the constant crud. Jill is much smaller and we struggle with weight gain and maintaining health. She'll just be more susceptible to everything until we can get her up to where she's supposed to be height and weight wise.

So today we ride the couch and it's a Jammie Day. Somehow the Cartoon Network got flipped on and it seems there's a Flapjack marathon running. Dagnabbit!! I've said it before and will say it again: Freaking Weird. I'm devising a plan to distract them long enough to change the channel...

Oh For Crying Out Loud..

This whole bronchial thing I've got going on has gotten downright annoying. I've missed 4 (FOUR!) days of work and that is a new personal record. I thought I was going to make it in today but after being up for just about 20 minutes I knew better. It was my worst day yet. Dagnabbit! I really do hope to go in tomorrow. A short week for sure but at least it would be something.

Jack and Jill have done really well and try to remember I'm down for the count. I must say the house is eerily quiet when Nantie is running them to various appointments or when they're at preschool. What show lulled me to sleep this afternoon? The screaming on Jon & Kate + 8, of course. Ah HA!

Back to the couch..

The Plague Continues

No magic overnight... I actually took a turn for the worse. I called off work again and went to the doctor (something I rarely do). My boogery nose from last Thursday is now acute bronchitis. The bright side as per Missy MooMoo?

"At least it's not an ugly bronchitis".

(Ya, that took me a second to get, too).

I'm going to pop my 'scripts, hit the pillow and stay hunkered down until Thursday.

Sigh.Cough.Cough.Sigh.

Dr Seuss & NyQuil

Bad combo. My head is still spinning.

Whatever this crud is it's kicking my bootie. If I had $1 for every time I've blown my nose, DH and I could retire comfortably. The left side of my head weighs 20 pounds and I feel like I'm under water. It feels like it's moving down into my chest and that is a concern. My hope is I'll be magically better by tomorrow and be able to handle a day of work (I called off today).

DH was gone snowmobiling over the weekend so Nantie basically had 3 kids to care for. I just gotta say, everyone should have a Nantie! Jack and Jill were on their best behavior. They knew I was feeling really crummy and did their best to be good. Although we have had a few rough patches they really are awesome little kiddos.

Hi Ho Hi Ho Ho, Off To LaLaLand I Go..

Friday Night At Last

Auntie MooMoo (Missy) came over to spend some time with the twins this afternoon. When I got home the kids were already in jammies and homemade chicken noodle soup was bubbling on the stove.

One word: HEAVEN!

The kids had already eaten and were soon off to sleep. AN EARLY NIGHT! It's 8:30, I'm already showered and in bed with DVR'd Supernanny. Could it get any better?

Nope.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be rainy/snowy/cold/icky. Perfect to stay snuggled in with the kiddos, hunkered down watching movies and hopefully recover from this stupid cold. DH is off snowmobiling for the day and Nantie and I will hold down the fort. In sweats, no doubt.

For now, it's a shooter of NyQuil & JoJo... Nighty night.

Oh No, Not Again..

**Warning: NyQuil Induced Post Ahead**

We survived the hellacious flu in the first days of Jack and Jill moving in. There have been bouts that have popped up since that we've dodged. Eventually I was bound to have another go-round.

That time would be now.

I've got so much to do, so much to write but for now, I must sleep.

Stay Tuned...

Uh Oh..

I awoke this morning with a tickle in my throat. Not an "I slept with my mouth gaping open" tickle, either. More like, "If you don't start popping the Zicam now you will be flat on your back tomorrow" tickle.

It never fails.. my little body always tries to do this the week of Thanksgiving..

Dagnabbit!