Just Breathe

Whew! The last few weeks have been... well, EXHAUSTING! I get it now. My mother always told me that being a mother was the hardest job of all. Sure, I "heard" what she had told me, but I guess it took me becoming a parent to truly understand what she had meant. We have been incredibly fortunate to have two extremely healthy children. Of course, occasionally everyone is bound to get sick...and these last few weeks were just one of those times. Poor Joseph got the nasty bug first..and ended up at Children's Mercy in the middle of the night. Next came Sophia ( who never likes to admit when she is sick). She came down with cold-like symptoms beginning with her rosy red cheeks (always a cue to me that she is getting sick). After I determined she would not be able to fight it on her own, we took her to After Hours Pediatrics about a week ago. They diagnosed her with an ear infection (which I thought was odd, as she never complained of ear pain) and prescribed her with a heavy duty yucky antibiotic. In the mean time I got the stomach bug just for a day...and thankfully my mother was able to come to my rescue and help with the kids so I could rest. Sophia's cold then turned to tummy troubles. She spent 4 days laying on the sofa watching tv all day (a rarity in our house) without eating or drinking a thing. She had us all very worried.....such a headstrong little girl....she only drinks water, milk and apple juice even when she feels well. So yes...to all those doctors out there... I am aware that she needs to have plenty of fluids when sick....but what do you give a child who will not drink any other juice, sprite, 7-up, gatorade, etc. And, no, she will not touch popsicles either!! Anyway....slowly but surely, her appetite is coming back.... her first request was home-made sugar cookies. I was glad to make them and thrilled when she ate two in a matter of minutes. In the mean time, poor yiayia.....got the nasty nasty stomach bug even worse than we had it. I still feel terrible that she got it because she was here helping me. Okay... still more.... Even though Sophia was regaining her appetite, I felt like she was not fully recovering, so we took her to the doctor again only to find out she had pneumonia....and Joseph ( who cried for 2 days and 2 nights straight) had an ear infection. Oh my! So...2 separate antibiotics for the kiddos. I thought Brett might just escape the yuckiness... but not quite....he is now on steroids for a sinus infection or possible pneumonia that won't go away. I walked away with the best....just a sinus infection and only your run of the mill antibiotic!
Whew... I should take a picture of our breakfast and dinner table so you can see everyone's meds in front of their plates! We are quite the pharmacy.

Everyone who knows me knows how awful I am around sickness! I guess I will have lots of practice in the years to come. But for now... thank you thank you thank you thank you to Brett who is so good with the kids when they throw up....to Yiayia who is never afraid to catch the nasty bugs, to Pappou for telling me what doctors to call in the middle of the night, to Thea for coming over with supplies like disinfectant and Hello Kitty toothbrushes....and for helping me take care of the kids, to Omi who always has great home remedies, and Auntie E who always offers her nursing skills. I don't know how I could do it without all of you.

So...it was a nasty few weeks....hopefully the worst is behind us..... But there were some good memories.... we had lots of time to read books, watch Olivia on tv, make valentine's boxes and valentine's trees. Sophia had a great idea to make a Valentine Tree like one we had seen in one of her books. So, on a walk to the mailbox (b/c that is about the farthest we have been besides the doctor's office) we picked up a few branches, planted them in a pot, and added hearts. Sophia wrote all of the things she loves on the hearts...... This is what she chose to write:
Itty and Cheer Bear
Lipgloss
Mashed Potatoes (she had a lot of these this week) and Ice Cream
Bob the Builder
Olivia
Halloween
Christmas
Mama, Daddy
Joseph and Willie