The past couple weeks have felt wild around here. Both the kiddos have been suffering from cold symptoms, Lyla was even diagnosed with a mild version of croup. Just as she was recovering from that, she got hit with a double ear infection. I know little babies are prone to getting them, but this was our first experience ever. We've dodged any ear issues for over three years, so I am grateful for that. Ear aches are not fun. I thought I would actually find some enjoyment from her being sick. It would give us some down time to simply snuggle on the couch. Plus, having a sick Lyla means less barbie voices and less play dough crumbs scattered around the kitchen. In reality, she looked so sad and helpless that I started wishing she would get up and make a mess. Please make chocolate milk and spill it all over the floor. Please smear my make-up all over your face. Please get fingerprints on the clean table. Can you at least dance and sing? Please please please don't be sick anymore! Ha. It's a confusing situation! She's been on an antibiotic and finally back to acting like her cheerful little self, making me play barbies against my will and whatnot. I served her breakfast in bed a couple days in a row. She must have thought that was pretty awesome since she has tried faking sick since then. Haha! Silly girl, you can't fool your mother!
Meanwhile, just last night Max woke up with a fever that rose to an alarming number of 103.5! According to my doctor there is no need to rush to the ER unless the temperature hits 105, especially if his overall behavior is still normal. But once again, my experience with fevers is limited and that number sent me into a state of panic. I instantly brought him to bed with me so I could monitor his temp. Sleeping with one eye open is a skill I think most moms have mastered. Luckily his fever went down after a couple dosages of medicine and Max displayed no additional signs of being ill. He had some very interesting green discharge leaking from his eyeballs, but it didn't seem to bother him. I took him to the doctor anyway just to be sure he didn't have any ear infections as well. And guess what? The doctor found nothing wrong. His ears show no infection, however he did find some fluid in his right ear. I don't even really know what that means, but apparently it will drain on its own. His eyes look healthy. His lungs sound good. Errrm so what's up with the fever, doc? It's so hard to determine what is wrong when they can't tell you how they are feeling. His guess is a sinus infection or possibly a virus and we just have to ride it out. So more antibiotics and we will keep our fingers crossed that my baby boy is on the mend too! I really don't want to see another doctor until Max's well check-up when he turns two. Pretty please.
Also, I don't want to make this all about me buuuut it seriously seems like my kiddos get sick every time I have family coming to visit. What the crap. I think I'm cursed. I've been disinfecting my house from top to bottom. Posted a sign that reads "germs aren't welcome here" and put hand washing into overdrive. I should really be better about making them wash their hands before meal times anyways since most of their foods are finger foods. We're trying to make that a habit, I just always forget because I'm not really a germ freak --- unless we are at the mall or the children's museum, I always feel like we all have poop on our hands after leaving those places. Oh, and the zoo too. Yuck.
Having sick kids doesn't mix well with my insistence on having the house in mint condition when our guests arrive. I don't know what my problem is, but the true perfectionist in me comes out when I know visitors are in route. I'm a little bit of a clean freak anyways, but since having kids I've learned to let go of the minor details. I still keep things tidy, but sadly the dust bunnies stick around longer than I would like. I have hope that I can return to the land of having [long-lasting] fine polished furniture one day, but for now it is a big waste of time. I shine my fridge and it looks like crap again within the hour. It is just the joys of being a parent I suppose. Anyhow, back to my point. If I have family coming to town, I let crazy out of her cage and scrub the whole house until it meets my old standard of cleanliness. My claws even come out if the kids walk on my fresh vacuum lines. Don't worry though, it's only temporary. I relax and put crazy back in her cage when our guests arrive and see my house in its cleanest condition for five minutes. I just like to create the illusion that I have my shit together. I think it's a disease or something.
My last task was to remove the wet dog smell that's been lingering around the house. It makes me want to cut off my nose. Ugh. Baking soda is my friend. Overall, my house is looking pretty spiffy. We are ready for the festivities. Here's to hoping the kiddos aren't sick & cranky for all of the upcoming adventures. We have my dad visiting first, followed by my mom and little brother. Then my mother-in-law and sister are coming. April is looking like a great month. Having my family in Texas is going to be the best birthday present ever!
PS: Lyla had her first soccer practice today. She was super shy in the beginning and it gave me flashbacks of my early days of being a human. It made me feel sad for her because I know what that anxiety feels like. But eventually she warmed up and had a great time. There is one other girl on the team. They held hands while running down the field during the scrimmage. They were even planning their first play date afterwards. Obviously we aren't expecting any expert skills to be mastered this season, but there is no doubt it's adorable watching all those little tots kick around a soccer ball. I think some parents are definitely taking it pretty serious though. That should make for some laughable moments on game days. I'll keep ya posted!!
PSS: I did not participate in "What I Wore Wednesday" this week because we've been sick and I've been cleaning like an idiot. Don't worry, we will make up for it next week by looking super duper amazing.
