I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted - almost six weeks! I have so much I want to blog about, but I honestly don't make much time for being on the computer anymore!
Samuel and Audrey are both sick - she was diagnosed with bilateral ear infections last Wednesday and he has a left ear infection as of this Tuesday. She's on amoxicillin and he's on augmentin. Samuel was also diagnosed with "seasonal" allergies and asthma. I put it in quotes because we're going off of the hope that he's only like this during high pollen times. He was outside with Brad pretty much all day last Saturday, when the weather was beautiful, and then he developed a horrible cough that got much worse at night when the weather turned ugly on Sunday. I was worried about him going into respiratory distress, which he's done before, so we went to the pediatrician for the third time in less than three weeks! Anyway, he's now on daily singulair and claritin, although he's being such a trooper about all of his medicines. He even encourages Audrey with hers!
I'm at work right now and have realized that whenever I have down time I just reflect so much on how blessed I am with my wonderful husband and precious children. I hate that I appreciate Brad so much when I'm here, but by the time I get home and am actually around him, I'm too tired to even speak or think and never get around to telling him how much all of his hard work means to me. I hope he knows that I love him so much and I don't know what I would ever do without him. He's such a great Daddy and a supportive husband. He's really been helping me a lot with the dishes over the past several weeks. I have always struggled with doing them in a timely manner, and he's such a big help. I've realized that my "love language" has changed over the years. When we first were married, I felt loved the most when he would spend quality time with me. Now, acts of service make me feel more loved than anything. I think having kids has obviously contributed to that a lot! There is always so much to do for them, besides stuff that has to be done around the house, so the more he helps me with, the less stress I feel. I'm so thankful for him.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Age, Attitude and Adorable Children
I thought about doing this post while I was trying to get some rest during the short 20 minutes when both the kids were napping yesterday (technically, although it's still the same day to me)! Audrey fell off of our bed on Tuesday evening, right after Brad had left to play basketball at church. I went to get the kids' clothes out of the dryer and of course she leaned over so far while "sitting up" with assistance from the Boppy that she was able to push herself off of the bed with one kick of her little legs. I obviously should've known better because she loves to kick and kick and kick all day long, but I guess I'm just a bad mommy. I actually wasn't terribly broken up about it because it happened to Samuel the first time when he was eight weeks old, and I knew she was fine since she didn't lose consciousness! All that to say that this afternoon when I was reading to Samuel on our bed, he kept pointing at the floor and saying, "Baby ow," right at the spot where Audrey had fallen. I know that's probably not that remarkable or even cute to most folks, but he has not been very verbal up to this point and he just started talking more in the past few weeks.
We went to Office Depot on Sunday afternoon and I took him with me to CVS with the intention of meeting Brad at Office Depot. Samuel loves to walk and run around, so I thought he'd enjoy it. He runs so fast that he always falls all the time, but he actually cried when he fell in front of Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I felt badly for him, but he was better after a few minutes. Anyway, the entire rest of the way to Office Depot he kept pointing at the ground and touching it lightly and saying what sounded like, "Give me ow." It was just the first time he had ever done that and I thought it was so cute. He also started saying the same thing every time I took him up and down the steps with me while doing the laundry on Monday, in reference to when he fell from the top step all the way down to the basement on his birthday. I was impressed that he remembered something from two months ago - it just seems like a long time ago for someone his age!
That was going to be my entire post, but I've had a lot of emotional turmoil since arriving at work at 6:45 PM. First, my brain is not functioning properly, I'm guessing due to lack of sleep, so that's enough on its own. Then I was talking to some people about how old we all look and two people said I look like I'm 32 or 33. I absolutely do not think that those ages are old in the least, but that was hard to take considering that I'm 27. The people who guessed those ages were shocked to learn my real age. One said it's because of my hair, which I do not understand at all. I was having a hard time dealing with that and when the other night shift people got here around 10:45, I asked one of them who I'd worked with last time I worked night shift here about it and she said, "Oh, you don't look that young (32 or 33) - you look your age now." I nearly burst into tears and told her that I am 27, so what does "look my age mean?" She apparently thought I was very quickly approaching 40. I came in feeling like a young mom and was suddenly approaching menopause within the next four hours!
In our shift report I asked her why in the world she thought I was that old, and she commented that she didn't realize I was so young the first time we worked together (I was 21). I said that I was and that is why it hurt my feelings so badly when one of the other nurses we had worked with commented that I was a know-it-all. This same nurse who told me I look at least 10 years older than I really am then proceeded to tell me that I don't act like I know everything, but I do act like I "know a whole lot." I am still reeling from that comment now and still on the verge of tears. I have struggled my entire adolescent and adult life with people thinking that of me and I truly do not feel like I know much at all! I strive so hard to avoid coming across that way, and yet that is exactly the impression that everyone reports getting of me! It is so incredibly discouraging.
On top of that, one of my patients, whom I've had several times since coming back to the floor, just received a bad prognosis earlier. He's only 2 months old (exactly) and his parents were told that there's not much hope. Please pray for this precious one. I cannot imagine hearing news like that. The family is understandably devastated. I'm praying that the rest of this night is uneventful.
We went to Office Depot on Sunday afternoon and I took him with me to CVS with the intention of meeting Brad at Office Depot. Samuel loves to walk and run around, so I thought he'd enjoy it. He runs so fast that he always falls all the time, but he actually cried when he fell in front of Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I felt badly for him, but he was better after a few minutes. Anyway, the entire rest of the way to Office Depot he kept pointing at the ground and touching it lightly and saying what sounded like, "Give me ow." It was just the first time he had ever done that and I thought it was so cute. He also started saying the same thing every time I took him up and down the steps with me while doing the laundry on Monday, in reference to when he fell from the top step all the way down to the basement on his birthday. I was impressed that he remembered something from two months ago - it just seems like a long time ago for someone his age!
That was going to be my entire post, but I've had a lot of emotional turmoil since arriving at work at 6:45 PM. First, my brain is not functioning properly, I'm guessing due to lack of sleep, so that's enough on its own. Then I was talking to some people about how old we all look and two people said I look like I'm 32 or 33. I absolutely do not think that those ages are old in the least, but that was hard to take considering that I'm 27. The people who guessed those ages were shocked to learn my real age. One said it's because of my hair, which I do not understand at all. I was having a hard time dealing with that and when the other night shift people got here around 10:45, I asked one of them who I'd worked with last time I worked night shift here about it and she said, "Oh, you don't look that young (32 or 33) - you look your age now." I nearly burst into tears and told her that I am 27, so what does "look my age mean?" She apparently thought I was very quickly approaching 40. I came in feeling like a young mom and was suddenly approaching menopause within the next four hours!
In our shift report I asked her why in the world she thought I was that old, and she commented that she didn't realize I was so young the first time we worked together (I was 21). I said that I was and that is why it hurt my feelings so badly when one of the other nurses we had worked with commented that I was a know-it-all. This same nurse who told me I look at least 10 years older than I really am then proceeded to tell me that I don't act like I know everything, but I do act like I "know a whole lot." I am still reeling from that comment now and still on the verge of tears. I have struggled my entire adolescent and adult life with people thinking that of me and I truly do not feel like I know much at all! I strive so hard to avoid coming across that way, and yet that is exactly the impression that everyone reports getting of me! It is so incredibly discouraging.
On top of that, one of my patients, whom I've had several times since coming back to the floor, just received a bad prognosis earlier. He's only 2 months old (exactly) and his parents were told that there's not much hope. Please pray for this precious one. I cannot imagine hearing news like that. The family is understandably devastated. I'm praying that the rest of this night is uneventful.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Part Time
I left my previous position at Children's on January 16th and now am working part-time night shift on the oncology floor (where I worked before I went to the clinic). It's going all right so far, and I am getting so much more time with my precious ones, which was my goal. Night shift is a better shift as far as hospital environment goes, but obviously it's much more difficult on your body. I hate how zombie-like I feel when I'm trying to sleep during the day and feed Audrey when she's hungry, but I've been recovering from it without too much difficulty.
Audrey turned five months old on Valentine's Day. I can't believe how fast she's growing up! She's really started holding her own body weight well and I'm sure she'll be sitting up completely on her own very soon. Samuel's become such a great big brother, although he does have his moments!
Brad's birthday is coming up very quickly. I really would like to be able to go away somewhere by ourselves, just because we never get to be alone, especially with me working night shift, and I know we'd both benefit from a few days of relaxation and a break from routine. I don't see it happening, though, because it just seem frivolous right now, when I just went to part-time and we're trying to pay off our home equity loan before it is up in October. We shall see.
I wish I could think of something cute or interesting about the kids. One thing that comes to mind is how much Audrey adores Samuel. She laughs so hard whenever he's laughing while talking to her, and she follows him everywhere he goes (with her eyes at this point). I know it sounds crazy, since I have an infant, but seeing the two of them together makes me want to have more children! They're just so precious. Right now they're both asleep on our bed and it's so sweet. They are such incredible gifts from the Lord!
Audrey turned five months old on Valentine's Day. I can't believe how fast she's growing up! She's really started holding her own body weight well and I'm sure she'll be sitting up completely on her own very soon. Samuel's become such a great big brother, although he does have his moments!
Brad's birthday is coming up very quickly. I really would like to be able to go away somewhere by ourselves, just because we never get to be alone, especially with me working night shift, and I know we'd both benefit from a few days of relaxation and a break from routine. I don't see it happening, though, because it just seem frivolous right now, when I just went to part-time and we're trying to pay off our home equity loan before it is up in October. We shall see.
I wish I could think of something cute or interesting about the kids. One thing that comes to mind is how much Audrey adores Samuel. She laughs so hard whenever he's laughing while talking to her, and she follows him everywhere he goes (with her eyes at this point). I know it sounds crazy, since I have an infant, but seeing the two of them together makes me want to have more children! They're just so precious. Right now they're both asleep on our bed and it's so sweet. They are such incredible gifts from the Lord!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Mixed Feelings
Our family has had a weird week. Brad felt horrible on Monday, and Samuel was obviously markedly more sick as well. Brad normally keeps the kids on Monday so I can go to work, but he wasn't feeling up to it and I didn't feel right doing that to him. He actually had a pretty high fever for an otherwise healthy adult (102.8) and I did what I could to help him out. Tuesday I'm normally home anyway and Brad still felt poorly, so I took Samuel to the doctor and picked up his prescription and shopped while Brad kept first just Audrey and then both of them. Samuel turned out to have bronchitis and a raging left ear infection, poor guy. He's such a tough one. Anyway, I felt almost 100% except for a slightly annoying tickle in my throat until about 10:30 last night. Then my throat started getting sore, and by the time we woke up (for real) this morning, it was pretty bad. I say "for real" because I was up about 4 times for a total of an hour and a half or so with Audrey and/or Samuel, even though they both usually sleep fine all night (for the most part). Brad had to go on his own insurance plan this year because of some cutbacks on my benefit options, and the plan he opted for (the cheapest one) is pretty restrictive. We felt comfortable with that, though, because he hasn't been in for a sick visit in the nine years we have been together! We spent a good bit of the morning trying to figure out how we could get seen, because my OB is basically my primary physician, but he doesn't see "sick" non-gyn issues as far as I know. Brad finally just had to make an appointment for tomorrow morning with his chosen primary care physician and I went to a clinic my mom recommended.
While I was pulling into the parking lot, I managed to run over a beer bottle that someone had conveniently stood straight up for someone to hit and was afraid that I had damaged a tire. Then I had to get a later appointment and come back, which drove me to tears for a few minutes. My dad checked the tires out for me while I was in the area and I'm thankful that I didn't do any actual damage. Anyway, my entire point for the post is that today I've felt probably the worst I've felt in a good four years, even compared with a botched c-section recovery and VBAC recovery, but when I got weighed at the clinic, it was a good feeling! I weighed five pounds less than what I thought! Yay! Not that I don't have a ways to go. That perked me up just a little, though. Of course, I do have strep throat and thanks to the miracle of amoxicillin, which I got for free at Publix, I already feel a bit better! Yay again! Now to keep poor Audrey from catching our family sicknesses.
While I was pulling into the parking lot, I managed to run over a beer bottle that someone had conveniently stood straight up for someone to hit and was afraid that I had damaged a tire. Then I had to get a later appointment and come back, which drove me to tears for a few minutes. My dad checked the tires out for me while I was in the area and I'm thankful that I didn't do any actual damage. Anyway, my entire point for the post is that today I've felt probably the worst I've felt in a good four years, even compared with a botched c-section recovery and VBAC recovery, but when I got weighed at the clinic, it was a good feeling! I weighed five pounds less than what I thought! Yay! Not that I don't have a ways to go. That perked me up just a little, though. Of course, I do have strep throat and thanks to the miracle of amoxicillin, which I got for free at Publix, I already feel a bit better! Yay again! Now to keep poor Audrey from catching our family sicknesses.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Time flies...
Well, I knew it had been a while since I'd blogged, but I didn't realize it had been that long! Anyway, I've thought of tons of things I could write about on here, but haven't really had the time. I went back to work on December 8th. I tried not to focus on it while I was on maternity leave and it came all too fast. I hate having to work outside of the house and miss time with my precious ones, and it was even harder this time around because I'd done it before with Samuel. I will be leaving my current position on January 16th and will be starting a part-time job on the oncology floor, where I used to work. I am exicted about more time with the kids because I'll be doing two twelve-hour night shifts a week, but I'm not excited about being a night shifter again. The shift itself is great because it's *usually* quiet and I think night shift workers are generally good, but missing time at night with Brad when he's home and missing sleep are not terribly appealing.
Anyway, Samuel turned two on December 16th and we had a party for him on the 20th. He's much like both of us in that he doesn't enjoy being the center of attention, because he didn't enjoy the cake or presents part of his birthday party until everyone quit paying attention to him. Once he wasn't being watched, he got into it. I can relate to that - I was again very stressed at his party and think we might do an even smaller one for Audrey's first birthday. We shall see.
It's not letting me upload pictures of these things, so I'll try again another day.
Audrey got an ear infection as soon as I returned to work, just as Samuel did, but hers was worse because she already had a cold. Samuel got sick again too, and currently all four of us are feeling less than 100%. I was fine last weekend, but I caught Brad's "sexy" voice and can't get the frog out of my throat.
The most interesting thing I can remember that I was planning to blog about is my recent adventure in photo ordering. I was using samsclub.com because you can have the prints shipped to your home for only $0.08/print, and that presents significant cost savings if you order enough pictures. I had some problems with the website and to make a long story short, I ended up getting 1221 prints for FREE! We haven't received them yet - I just placed the order this week - but I am thankful because now we likely need a new dryer. I would have felt horrible about spending that much on pictures - $150! The reason I ordered so many pictures is because I hadn't really printed any pictures at all since Samuel was seven months old! I printed a handful of them shortly after Audrey was born - although I don't remember doing it - let's hear it for sleep deprivation, but I've been given so many photo albums and I wanted to have some pictures in them. The big frustration is going to be putting all of them in order, but I'm going to try to take it a few pictures at a time.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Anyway, Samuel turned two on December 16th and we had a party for him on the 20th. He's much like both of us in that he doesn't enjoy being the center of attention, because he didn't enjoy the cake or presents part of his birthday party until everyone quit paying attention to him. Once he wasn't being watched, he got into it. I can relate to that - I was again very stressed at his party and think we might do an even smaller one for Audrey's first birthday. We shall see.
It's not letting me upload pictures of these things, so I'll try again another day.
Audrey got an ear infection as soon as I returned to work, just as Samuel did, but hers was worse because she already had a cold. Samuel got sick again too, and currently all four of us are feeling less than 100%. I was fine last weekend, but I caught Brad's "sexy" voice and can't get the frog out of my throat.
The most interesting thing I can remember that I was planning to blog about is my recent adventure in photo ordering. I was using samsclub.com because you can have the prints shipped to your home for only $0.08/print, and that presents significant cost savings if you order enough pictures. I had some problems with the website and to make a long story short, I ended up getting 1221 prints for FREE! We haven't received them yet - I just placed the order this week - but I am thankful because now we likely need a new dryer. I would have felt horrible about spending that much on pictures - $150! The reason I ordered so many pictures is because I hadn't really printed any pictures at all since Samuel was seven months old! I printed a handful of them shortly after Audrey was born - although I don't remember doing it - let's hear it for sleep deprivation, but I've been given so many photo albums and I wanted to have some pictures in them. The big frustration is going to be putting all of them in order, but I'm going to try to take it a few pictures at a time.
Happy New Year, everyone.
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