Happy 2015 or something

Holy smokes! I didn't realize how much time had gone by since I last wrote. I hope your New Year got off to a great start. Ours was less than ideal.

The end of 2014 was brutal health-wise. Button has gotten the worst of it getting both strep throat and RSV at the end of November. I followed up by catching something from her. My guess is RSV but officially it was a sinus infection. That lasted essentially the month of December. Button then came down with the flu right before Christmas. And I have to say that the flu was the only thing that managed to keep that child down. Everything and everyone was looking better until Wednesday when her face started to swell and she began running fever. Had she just had the fever I probably wouldn't have worried so much but the swelling freaked me out. So yesterday I took her to Urgent Care after calling the on-call doctor who didn't really seem to know what to do. The Urgent Care doctor didn't know either sending us to the children's hospital ER. So that was a waste of an hour and a co-pay.

The ER doctor was more helpful but in the end I'm not convinced she entirely knew herself. Anyway, it was not a fun day at all. Traumatizing is the word I believe. At least BT was off to stay home with Bub because I could not have dealt with him too. Poor baby Button had to have an IV and a CT scan because they were afraid her glands might be abscessing. The CT scan was pretty horrible for us both. They had to wrap her up papoose style and strap her down so she would be still and she's crying and I'm crying and it was not okay. She calm down when they started and there were some stickers in the machine that interested her. They also drew a lot of blood so they placed a catheter in her hand for that and also to give her fluids. They seemed pretty convinced that she wasn't eating or drinking but they were wrong. Her appetite is essentially the same as usual.  Anyway, something kept going wrong when they tested the blood drawn out of her hand so the phlebotomist came in and drew some blood out of her arm. All in all, Button filled 9 vials for the hospital. Finally the doctor came back and said she thought it was parotiditis, the swelling of the salivary gland. Somehow Button managed to get an infection and that is what is causing the swelling. They think. 2 doses of intravenous antibodics and we were good to go. Well, that and a lot of tears and 1 interrupted nap and 5 hours.

Button was pretty much a champ about the whole thing. There was the breakdown about the IV and the one about the CT scan but who can blame her? It's scary enough for a lot of adults much less a 2 year old. But she handled it pretty well all in all. She didn't say much though most of the day which is unusual but once we got home she was herself again. To say she was not a fan of the hospital is an understatement. She was pretty cheerful leaving saying bye to everyone we meet on the way out. It helped that BT and Bub had come at the end and she had her big brother with her. So it looks like she's on the mend again. She'll have a follow-up with her regular doctor on Monday so she's out of daycare for the next 4 days. Hopefully this is it for my poor baby girl. I just hope that this is not an omen for 2015. It's definitely not how I pictured spending the first day of a new year.

Sick and tired, tired of sick

I just realized that I've barely posted this month despite having the occasional topic to write about. I've been sick for 3 weeks now which unhappily coincided with BT leaving for training for his new job and leaving me to care for the 2 hooligans. I thought I was getting better but then I relapsed or something because this weekend I ended up feeling worse. I ended up at the doctor on Monday where I got a shot of cortisone and an antibiotic.  I also swung by the aromatherapy place for some thieves oil. Both of these things seem to have helped and technically I can breathe through my nose but I'm still congested. I thought I'd be well by now. I don't know what this cold is but it hangs on, that's for sure. I'm just hoping, at this point, to be well for Button's birthday next week (!) and all that is going to be going on for that.

Day 20 and 21: BT and feeling better (The Grateful Project)

Yesterday I went back to work after being off for 3 days with the sickness and dealing with my car. BT has been really wonderful about getting the car to the body shop and taking care of the rental and the insurance and all that. So for that, on day 20, I will say that I am grateful that my husband is taking car of this whole car wreck fiasco and getting things moving in the right direction. I haven't had to do anything which is a relief.

And, for today, I am grateful for feeling better. I feel so much better today than I did yesterday and infinitely better than I felt on Sunday. It sometimes takes me a while to get over being sick especially the older I get. I am not a good sick person and this time was even harder because I had two sick kids to deal with and that is no good. But anyway, I am finally feeling better.

Day 17 and 18: Hot tea and naps (The Grateful Project)

Sorry. I didn't realize I'd be so bad at this. We had kind of bad weekend around here. Everyone but BT is sick. Bub had strep throat and was home from school Thursday and Friday. Button has a cold with double ear infections and I have a sinus infection that is just wiping me out. On top of that when BT was coming home from bringing Button to the doctor on Saturday, he was rear-ended by a guy who somehow failed to notice of at least 4 cars waiting to get into the roundabout. So my car is all messed up. Plus we didn't get to go to the Christmas event we always go to since Bub was 1. So we missed for the first time in 5 years thanks to being sick. It sucks. Now I'll have to figure a new place to get Santa pictures, preferably not at the mall. Anyway, I'm trying to find a small moment to be grateful for in the midst of all of this.

So, Day 17, I am grateful for hot tea for a sore throat. Seriously, this illness is kicking my butt and I am missing too much work for this late in the year especially with having a presentation to do next week, but you really have to take care of yourself first. My cough and runny nose have made my throat so sore but hot drinks especially tea have really been helping.

Day 18 I am grateful for toddler naps even if they come too late. Button doesn't let being sick slow her down, that's for sure. I've been trying to get her to take a nap most of the day but she won't do it. We watched a movie in my bed as a last resort and she stayed up to see it. Then she put on a learning Leapfrog movie and passed out... 15 minutes before we need to leave to go get her brother. But she is finally sleeping. A toddler without a nap is a terrible thing. A sick toddler without a nap is even worse. Luckily my mom is going to go get him so I won't have to wake her up. If only she's slept earlier so I could have too. *sigh*

Sick Day

It's been a little pitiful around my house lately. Luckily not with the kids but unfortunately with BT and myself. He took off a few days of work for a little mini vacation from Friday to Monday. But sadly he got sick on Friday and was out of it all that day and was still blah on Saturday. Cue to me Tuesday. I woke up and had a few stomach issues but went on to work anyway. On the drive over I could feel the nausea and I knew that I had whatever he had. I tried to tough it out but once I threw up I knew it was over. So I left for the day. Button was very happy to see me home but she was less enthusiastic when I went to take a nap (she was avoiding her own). I slept about 2 1/2 hours which was nice and when I woke up she was asleep on the couch. My mom came for her right when BT left for work so I had a few more hours alone. It was nice. My mom picked up Bub after school and bought them back home. It wasn't a good night after that. I fixed them food even though it made me queasy and we barely made it through homework and bedtime was a mess. I wish I was a better sick person because I feel like I was a terrible mom last night. I did what I could but I wasn't happy about it.  I wonder how other moms deal with being sick and having to take care of their kids too. Am I the only one who does it grudgingly?

Poor little sick me

So I broke down and went to the doctor because having a fever for three days is not a good thing, especially when people are freaking about the new flu. I went to the new Urgent Care place and I was the first patient there so that was nice. Anyway, it seems I have strep throat which I've never had before. I got a shot of cortisone (which hurts) and a prescription for an antibiotic if I don't feel better soon. I'm going to fill it tomorrow if I am still feeling bad. So I've missed 2 1/2 days of work but at least it is for a reason.

When we were little and had to go to the doctor cause we were sick or just had to get shots, I was always the good one. My sister (who is 2 1/2 years older than me) would back herself into the corner and say "Wait, wait I have to tell you something" and the adults would wait and she couldn't think of anything so they would try again. They would do this several times until my mom would get exasperated and grab her and then they would give the shot. I was never afraid until I was in the room with my sister. Because it really only hurt for a second and we had a great nurse who would say "Okay deep breath, little stick and done" and that would make me feel okay. Also I sat on my mom's lap a lot. We would get some gum, the really sugary kind, and a sticker. And a lot of times my mom would buy us a treat or a coke or something afterwards.

The end of BEDA

So it's the last day of BEDA and I'm sick. Not about the end of BEDA, although I am sad about that, but just sick in general. My husband is convinced I have the swine flu but I think it is just a cold from being run down. I don't sleep enough and every now and then my body breaks down and is like no, you will sleep because I will make you miserable. I came home early yesterday and slept for 4 hours and decided to take today as a day of rest too. I took the little man to daycare so I don't have to mess with him and hopefully not make him sick too.

So anyway the last day of BEDA...I'm actually feeling sad about this. I have enjoyed this experience and I'm glad I decided to take part. Usually I think about doing stuff like this but then don't and regret it. It was fun and I meet some great people through BEDA and found some blogs that I like to follow and my BEDA buddies are great so it was a fun experience.

I managed to blog everyday and I'm proud of that. I have no idea what I talked about, but still I found that it's hard to think of topics for everyday and that some days are better than others. I don't know if I'll keep up the everyday thing but I will definitely being blogging a couple times a week if not more. I've gotten into the habit and that's cool. So thank you to Maureen Johnson and her one off comment on Twitter about blogging everyday in April that became the huge thing called BEDA. It was fun.

Wash Your Hands!!

I'm not a doctor and I certainly never played one on TV or am in no way fit to give medical advice, except as a mother. But if I can give advice on anything, it is this: WASH YOUR HANDS!

I have been reading and seeing about the swine flu everywhere I go today on the internet. It has even infiltrated my Twitter which I love like delicious cake. I'm getting a little paranoid here. My husband called and I was all so what about this swine flu? Apparently the girls at his work are getting paranoid too. But from what I understand it is mostly passed from person to person and not swine to person, as most people don't go around with pigs all day. And the best way to prevent getting it, like any flu or sickness, is to wash your hands! The fact that anyone needs to be told this worries me. I thought people washed their hands periodically, just for cleanliness sake and if nothing else then after you've used the restroom. It's just gross if you don't (sorry). Thanks to Peeps by Scott Westerfeld and the afterword (and having a baby), I wash my hands obsessively. I think the best way to make sure you wash them long enough is to say the alphabet to yourself (or aloud if that helps) while using soap and scrubbing your hands together. Warm water is best.

I also use hand sanitizer but you are not suppose to overuse cause it can lead to sickness (is that ironic? I'm afraid to say it). I can't use Purell or the regular gel sanitizers since I have eczema outbreaks on my hands and it is basically like pouring pure alcohol on open wounds (well, it is actually pouring pure alcohol on open wounds but I digress). I use Clean Well All-Natural Hand Sanitizer which is a spray and smells like an herb garden. The one I like the best is Burt's Bees Hand Sanitizer which has aloe and witch hazel so it smells really nice. It has alcohol but doesn't burn like the others.

Anyway, if you have learned nothing from this but one thing, it should be this: Wash your hands, esp. after petting your pet pig.
Now I'm off. I'm feeling a little paranoid now, gotta wash my hands.