Da Funk!

There has been this funk going around Milledgeville (& the rest of America, really from what I can tell on blogs and Facebook).  It's been going around our schools and daycare since before Thanksgiving.  I have tried my darnedest to stay away from it, washing my hands constantly, keeping sanitizer handy, and refusing to touch my students more than I had to. Mean?  Maybe.  But I really didn't want this funk!

I just prayed day for Lucy's health, knowing my odds of her not catching it were slim, with her only being 16 months old, in daycare, and constantly putting her hands in her mouth, swapping toys with peers, etc.

And she did.  She caught it.  5 days before Christmas break.  She threw up at school.  Only once.  But as soon as they called me, I took off running to the office to sign out to get to my baby.  Last time she vomited, she was so scared! I wasn't going to leave her without the comfort of her mama long.  I didn't want her to feel fear like that again.

When I got there, she was fine... Playing with the other children, had eaten snack and drank juice, and was holding it all down like a champ!  We got home, and no real change.  Other than spitting up a few times, she was her regular sweet, playful self!  5 1/2 hours passed...

...and she threw up again!  FIVE AND A HALF HOURS!!!

Only once, and then back to slep.

Although this time of her being sick hasn't been near as forceful, frequent, or fearful, she still needs her mommy.  And I still need to nurture and care for her.  So, we're slumber partying in the guest room, books and all!  She's asleep now, but I'm fearfully waiting 5 1/2 hours until her next due time to throw up. because I want to take her fears.  I want her to feel comforted, loved, and protected.  So I'm passing my time keeping up with what she's eaten and when, the times that she threw up and went to sleep so I can have documentation just in case it's needed.  

I'm fearful for her, but strong for her. 

It's a weird catch 22.  

Having a sick child is the worst part of parenting so far... 

25 Days of Christmas: Days 2 & 3

So, I've already failed on my 25 Days of Christmas Blog Posts, but not by far!  I can still catch up!!

 

Day 2:

 

Yesterday was Sunday, and I had big plans to start going back to church, and even try out the Methodist church again (since I miss traditional church), but got up and read facebook and read WAY too many posts about people having this awful stomach bug that's been going around.  I'm trying my darndest to stay away from it, and I just pray every day that Lucy doesn't catch it from daycare.  I hear it's AWFUL!

 

She slept in until almost 8:30!  I love weekends when she can sleep in, even though I still wake up early -- it's so nice! :)

 

Chris went with his mom to City Wholesale to pick up Big Mama's table and chairs that we used at Marshall Rd. and he brought them back here.  I helped him load them into the house and into the kitchen.  They look pretty good, not ideal, but decent enough.  I hate losing the open space that room provided, but we needed a table there, especially one that Lucy could bang up and us not feel like she was destroying money.  I love the meaning the table has, too though.  We all three sat around it last night and had stew meat for dinner.  It was our first family meal around a dinner table just the three of us.  As Chris & I ate, and Lucy banged her juice cup on the table, Chris smiled and said "Big Mama would be thrilled to know we were using this table and that she was having fun around it."  He is so right.

 

Lucy took an incredibly long nap yesterday -- nearly three hours!  Which was odd, especially for her having slept in... We got a lot done while she slept though.  I had bought a set of three bar stools (for $99!) at Bed, Bath, & Beyond a couple weeks ago and Chris decided to put them together.  No wonder they were only $99!!  They came in a bajillion pieces!!! He finally got the base of one put together, and when he brought it into the kitchen to see how it measured up in height, we noticed it had a terrible rock to it from the pieces being unbalanced in length... so we just packaged them back up.

 

Lucy finally woke up and we went over to visit MaMa & Pop.  It's so nice them being so close.  Lucy wasn't too keen on visiting, wanting to be by herself a lot and not being her usual sweet self.  She has learned how to make some pretty mean faces lately, and she was casting a lot of them at MaMa, although I don't think it was intentional...

 

We came home and played and went to bed.

 

Day 3:

 

Well, it was a typical Monday, starting off by running late!  Mondays are always the busiest mornings for me, because I have to make sure I have all of Lucy's stuff for daycare.  They send home her stuff on the weekends, so I wash it and bring it back on Mondays.  This includes her bookbag that has a change of clothes, boogie wipes, wipes, and diapers (which comes back and forth daily, because you never know when we might run over to Cindy & Smiley's or something...), her lovie, and her sleep mat (although they provide her with a mat and sheet at school, I still want to know, that I know, that I know, that I KNOW that she's sleeping on something clean.  Besides, it's super cute! :)  I take ALL of this, on top of my coffee & lunch, usually her jacket, and sometimes her quart of milk (Dr. Ivey recommends that she drink whole milk until she's at least 2 -- daycare only provides 1%, so I take a quart every couple of weeks).

 

Today was strangely warm for it to be December 3.  It was a high of 75.  So strange, but so appreciated!  I love living in the south!!

 

I had a typical day fighting off cooties, dousing myself in hand sanitizer at every thought of it, and trying to get things turned in on time. 

 

I was extremely late picking up Lucy because of a meeting I had after school.  Bummer. :(  I usually feed her a snack around 4:00 every afternoon.  By the time we got home (4:45) she was starving!

 

Chris came home from the gym with Wesley and they finished the steps.  They can't be walked on for at least 24 hours. Chris is bummed, because that meant he couldn't watch wrestling upstairs.  Because of our wood floors and how big our house is, we have to watch the tv on super low volume at night when Lucy's asleep.  Poor thing!

 

I finished up my research paper for grad school.  I only have one more small assignment to turn in by Thursday and I'll be done for this semester!!!  Then, I'll only have next semester (2 classes) and I'll have my Masters in Library Media!!! :)  Yay, me!

 

I suppose that's all. Until tomorrow... :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

I'm ashamed to look at this blog and see that it has been since the end of September since I've written, but that only means that we have been BUSY! 

 

It's the first day of December, meaning I'm going to kick of a 25 days of Christmas Blog Posts.  Mmmmhmm, to make up for lost time.  Ready, GO!

 

Lucy:

You are 16 months old!!  I know in just a blink of an eye, this blog will be saying "Lucy, you are 16 years old!!"  I'm not ready for that... 

 

You had your 15 month check-up back at the end of October, and you were 21 pounds!  Dr. Ivey said you had the vocabulary of a 2 year old!  You are saying so many words, your Daddy & I can't keep up!  You're not talking and putting together sentences yet, but you put a label on EVERYTHING and love to point out things to us.  You can make all kinds of animal noises (Cow -- moo, Duck -- "duck-duck", Dog -- haahaahaa, Lion -- ROAR!, Monkey -- Aah Aah, Goldfish -- *kissy noises*, Snake -- sssssss), you can even tell us what Santa says (Ho, Hoooooooo).  You're OBSESSED with the moon!  Every time we go somewhere at night, you point to and say "Moon!" over and over and over again until we get there.  The only time you'll stop saying it is if I sing "The Moon Song." 

 

I see the moon.

The moon sees me.

The moon sees the one,

that I want to see.

God bless the moon,

and God bless me,

and God bless the one I love.

 

You still LOVE Elmo and call him "Mel-Mo."  You've even figured out that the remote to the TV is used to turn your Elmo DVD on/off, and when you want to watch it, you'll go get it and point it to the TV. 

 

You love my phone, mostly to play Elmo games, but occasionally put it up to your ear like you're talking on it.  Instead of saying "hey" though, you always say "Bye!"

 

You love to give hugs and your favorite game to play at night is running back and forth between your Daddy & me giving the best Lucy-Goose hugs in the world!

 

Your teachers at daycare (Ms. Wendy & Ms. Morgan) say that you are very smart and attentive for your age!  You are one of the youngest, and are in a class of about 15 kids.  At circle time, they say that you and only a few others will sit the entire time, singing songs and participating in the movements.  You always clapped to "If you're happy and you know it," but now you'll point your little fingers to your cheeks at the right part.  It's the sweetest to know you're learning while at school!  Speaking of, you also have gotten so grown that when I drop you off, you turn around and tell me "Bye-Bye!" and wave, and then blow me a kiss!  It melts my heart every. single. time.

 

Bath time continues to be your favorite time of the day.  You have gotten to where you could stay in there forever if I would let you.  And sometimes I do.  Nothing brings me more joy than seeing you happy -- and that giggle, oh, it's what keeps my heart beating! 

 

You're still in love with reading!  This makes my teacher-heart so happy!  You have your favorites: Brown Bear, Peek-a-who, The wheels on the bus, My first 100 words, etc.,  You also love books that have things you can feel.  We've ordered you several here lately.

 

You do some really funny things that keep your Daddy & I laughing.  For instance, we've talked about when is the right time to have another baby.  The other day, you & I were playing in your playroom and were feeding your baby doll a bottle, you handed me the baby and I started to "rock, rock" the baby and sing the same songs that I sing to you at night.  You very quickly ripped the baby out of my arms and threw her behind you and didn't play with her again that day.  I suppose now is not the right time... :)

 

You have also started making a "mad face" when you don't get something you want.  Such as today, you were standing up in the fridge, looking for something to eat, and your Daddy moved you out of the way so he could shut the door.  You started walking in circles with a furrowed brow like you were so frustrated!

 

You are the joys of our hearts, sweet girl!  We love you!

 

 

Chris:

I never ever update on us, but one day when I look back, I want to know what we did, too!  So...

 

In case it ever changes, you go to work from 7:30-4:00 every day, and work out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4:00-5:30 with Wesley.  This puts you getting home around 5:45.  I wish you got home earlier, but I know the gym makes you happy. :)

 

You've been working very hard at finishing the upstairs bonus room of our new house.  It's been a long process, one you hoped would be finished by your birthday, but will be relatively finished by Christmas.  At this point (Dec. 1, 2012), the main room up there is complete, minus office furniture, you had the closet finished with carpet, and you and Wesley installed shelves.  You spent about a week painting the new shelves, and you and I worked on putting in your ginormous collection of DVDS.  The bathroom remains unfinished for now, but today, you and Wesley also started the process of finishing the stairs.  Your dream space is slowly coming together, and you've done it all your way.  I am proud of you!

 

You and I are quite a pair!  We can get things done if we work together, and love to spend time together.  The time we get, just the two of us, is far and few between these days, but I cherish the sweet looks, kisses, and snuggles at night.  You are my better half, and I couldn't imagine being the wife to a better husband.  I don't tell you how much I appreciate you all the time, but I do so much!  You are a strong man, with big dreams for yourself and our family.  You work hard to provide for us, and never make us feel that we have to do without anything.  I love you so much, Christopher Michael! 

 

 

Me: 

I am teaching Kindergarten at Creekside Elementary.  I am loving my year, but wait on pins and needles for each break so that I can be a full-time Mom for Lucy!  I love my time with her, and it is more important to me than ANYTHING in this world!  

 

I am looking forward to Christmas, having spent more money this year than I should have, but I am so excited for Lucy's (first) Christmas.  It's really her second, but poor thing was sick with RSV last Christmas, and so we couldn't go anywhere, and she couldn't really enjoy the festivities of Christmas.

 

I want to start going to church again, now that Lucy has gotten a bit older.  I think that we will try the Methodist church some this season.  I miss traditional church.

 

I don't really know what to say about myself other than how much I love the life that I've been given.  I love my husband, my daughter, my house, my job, and my family.  I am so blessed!