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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

And...she's sick again

Ugh. Audrey had a cold a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember if I wrote about it, but I was literally blowing her nose every ten minutes for a week. I'm fairly certain I gave it to her, even though it was different for me, since almost losing my voice was my main symptom.

She was better for a week, during which David got sick with the same symptoms as I had. Then yesterday, she spiked a fever of 102.8, which scared the poo out of me. Even though she runs a normal 98.6, I've always been around 97, so a fever that high really scares me.

But she looked so normal yesterday morning.

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I knew she was getting sick on Monday, though. And my first thought was (after feeling really bad for her), Great. Her birthday party is on Satuday, and we'll either have to cancel it, or she will be miserable.

But thankfully, she just has an ear infection. This is only the second one she's ever had, so I'm very grateful for that. The doctor said she should be feeling better by Saturday. So the party is on!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Play set

I've been wanting a play set for Audrey that she can use, one with a swing and a slide. I thought maybe Santa Claus could bring it, but then I decided that Santa couldn't afford it. Yikes. Those things are expensive.

My mom heard about a family whose house was being foreclosed, and they were selling lots of stuff. They were asking $75 for a play set. My mom bought it, sight unseen, mainly because she knew the family needed help.

And wow...was it ever dirty. Their back yard had a lot of good 'ole red Southern mud, and it showed. But my step-dad and Mom cleaned it up, and it looks pretty great. See?

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I did something stupid after they brought it here, though. I climbed to the top, went through the hole up there, and then proceeded down the slide with Audrey. Now, that might not be a big deal for a normal person, but for me? Major mistake. My muscles just can't handle that. When we got to the slide, I realized something...my hips weren't going to fit. So I had to angle myself to the side so we could get down. Needless to say, after a crash landing at the bottom, I was seriously hurting.

It's just that, even after all these years, I sometimes can't get over my physical limitations. If I have a day when I'm feeling good, I'll end up doing something stupid like that and mess myself up again. Before the fibro, I was fairly athletic and would try just about anything. I was in excellent shape from Pilates and yoga. Now? I can't even make it through a prenatal yoga video.

Well, enough self-pity. David's mom and grandmother came over to visit yesterday, and they were playing outside with Audrey. His grandmother said, "Does Audrey have a friend that can come over and play with her?"

I immediately got defensive. I answered, "No, ma'am." Then she went on and on about what a shame that was, that David's mom had lots of friends to play with when she was growing up.

I wanted to say, "Listen up. There are days when I've struggled to get out of bed and take care of Audrey. I can't take her anywhere by myself without considerable pain. Do you think I have the energy to troll the neighborhood for friends?" I was soooo angry. I've feared that my fibro will isolate her from kids her own age, and here was someone pointing that out to me.

Aargh. She may not have meant it that way, but it was like a kick to my gut.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The weather outside is...really beautiful

Okay, so our tree is up, I've changed my blog template...in other words, I'm prepared for the holiday season. I even have all my winter clothes out, although to be truthful, some are still sitting around in bins. But guess what the temperature will be today? 72! It was yesterday, too. Now, I really don't love cold weather. I like semi-cold weather, where I can be outside with Audrey and not get frostbite. And I know I'll be complaining about the cold later this winter.

But this is ridiculous! It felt like spring yesterday. And it was nice to take Audrey outside, don't get me wrong. She's been cooped up in the house for a while because she was sick. But during the week of Thanksgiving? It just feels strange.

At this point, David will probably be wearing shorts and flip-flops to Thanksgiving dinner. On the bright side, it looks like we've gotten out of having two Thanksgiving meals in one day. I cannot tell you how thankful I am for that. We've done that a couple of times in the past, and it's been a nightmare. By the time we got to the second dinner, we were disgustingly full. And that was before we had Audrey.

David took control yesterday and figured out a way for us to do Thanksgiving with his family tomorrow instead of Thursday. Since they're all in the same school district, everyone has Wednesday off. I'm thrilled! Although this means David won't have Wednesday to cook, but I think he's willing to make that sacrifice.

So come on, weather. Can I at least be able to wear long sleeves on Thanksgiving day?

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But despite it all, I'm so thankful for having a wonderful, healthy child this Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 18, 2011

"Tis the season...

...for birthdays. There's an onslaught of celebrations in my family. It starts in October with Mom and Katie, skates through November very easily with just Gracie's and one of my friends from high school, but December? Wow. Let's see. First there's my first cousin's, Sonya. Then comes Audrey's, closely followed by Owen's, and then mine rounds out the year. My ex-SIL's was after mine, but we don't have to worry about that anymore:) All these are before Christmas, mind you.

When I was pregnant, I was a little concerned that Audrey would be born on someone else's birthday. She was due on Owen's birthday, and part of me thought it would be kind of cool to have them share a birthday. In the end, though, I'm glad she has her own day. Honestly, I was just terrified that she would be born on ex-SIL's birthday...oh, the horror.

So here are some pics from our fun times. For some reason, Mom wouldn't let me take any pics of her on her birthday, so I'll just post one from the next weekend.

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Then Katie's.

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Yeah, she was pretty excited about the Talking Woody doll, but it scared the snot out of Audrey. She also got a beanbag, which Audrey seemed to enjoy.

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And then The Three Musketeers at Gracie's party.

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And no, I don't know what's going on with the expression on Katie's face.

Audrey enjoyed one of Gracie's gifts, too, even though I couldn't get her to smile.

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Whew. The first wave is over, and my friend's 40th birthday card is in the mail. I'm preparing for the second wave now.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Really?

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Isn't she cute, standing there with her stuffed monkey around her neck, beside the...what is THAT? A Christmas tree?

Yep. David put it up on November 13, the earliest we've ever done it. Even when I was pregnant and we wanted to make sure the house was decorated after we got home from the hospital.

It feels kind of weird, since it's so warm outside. It feels like September and here we are with our tree up. But David just bought it on Sunday, and he was really excited. We had to throw out our old one last year, so we were tree-less. The bulbs on our new tree look yellow in the pic, but they're slightly larger LED bulbs, and they look great.

We're not the only ones in the spirit, either. There's a house near us with serious decorations; it's hard to see for sure, but we think there's a merry-go-round in their yard, and, of course, several decorated trees.

On Monday, the day after it went up, Fed Ex came to deliver a package. Now, normally I don't open the door to any stranger when David's not home. Too paranoid. But I had to this time, since David was expecting an important package.

So I open the door in my pajamas, since it was so early. Makeup-less, glasses, no bra. And believe me, I NEED a bra. I saw the guy look past me, at the tree. Then he looked at me, which was when I realized I was in Christmas pajamas.

I have an explanation for that. I wore something entirely different to bed, but I woke up drenched in sweat again. Stupid night sweats. So I grabbed the first thing I could get in the middle of the night.

But that's okay. I gave that guy a funny story to tell his wife.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Poor me

Audrey doesn't let me rock her before naps anymore. The routine used to be that I would read her a couple of books (while she's in my lap), and then rock and sing to her before I laid her down.

Well, that came to a screeching halt recently. She still wants me to read her books before nap time, but now she stands beside me. Or, she drags her little rocking chair in front of the glider, with her back to me, while I read and sing. Annoying? Yes. Nap time has become a serious struggle, with her crying and screaming when I leave the room no matter what I do. Sad? Most definitely. I miss holding her and rocking to her.

David's having the same problem. He normally puts her to bed at night, and I think she does the same thing to him. She lets him hold her once in a blue moon.

At least she still lets me hold her when I read to her. That is, when she lets me read to her. Lately, she gathers a bunch of books and brings them to the couch. I'll say, "Do you want me to read those to you?" She'll say, "Nope, honey" and proceed to look through them by herself.

I know she needs to gain independence, but it's hard for me. Bittersweet. Or maybe just bitter. I miss this.

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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Halloween this year

This Halloween was kind of strange. I can only think of a couple of times when I wasn't with my nieces for trick-or-treat or some kind of celebration. Last Sunday, we were all supposed to go to the Trunk or Treat that my parents' church was sponsoring.

I was very excited because I really love Halloween. Not the blood and gore stuff, but I love seeing everyone's costumes, especially now that I have a little one to dress up.

When we got to Mom's last Sunday, Katie was there, but Gracie wasn't. For some reason, she hadn't come. One of Katie's friends from when she was very little came with us, though. They hadn't seen each other in years, but they had the strangest connection back then, and they still do. Not creepy strange, just odd.

At Katie's birthday party when she was about 4, I met this friend, Johnny, for the first time. He gave her a pink heart necklace (which she still treasures) and stayed by her side the entire time. David took a lot of pictures at that party, since Owen was in the hospital with a kidney stone and couldn't come. David put the pics and a song about daddies and daughters on a CD; I know it brought a tear to my eye.

Here's a cute pic of Katie and Johnny right before we left.

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And then one after Katie's wig got itchy, even though I think they're WAY too close (I know, I'm protective).

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But seriously, don't they look like tiny teenagers on their way to prom? Yikes.

Audrey was a little freaked out at Trunk or Treat, but I think she handled it well. There were TONS of people there; it was so far to walk that they were using golf carts to take people back and forth to their cars.

They had lots of blow-up stuff that the kids could bounce on, and Audrey was on a small one with some other toddlers. There was a little girl dressed up like Abby Cadaby, and she was adorable. She was bouncing and laughing, while Audrey just kind of stood off to the side, not wanting to leave us. Just when Audrey was getting comfortable, Abby took a nosedive off the side. It was horrifying, and there were people standing right there who didn't even try to catch her. And David inadvertently caught the whole thing on video! Well, after we determined that Abby was okay, we were done with that.

I was just disappointed. I missed being with the girls. Gracie wasn't there, and Katie spent all her time with Johnny. (When I passed by a huge bouncy castle, I saw the two of them holding hands as they jumped down the slide). Things are changing, and I don't always like change.

But we were blessed to spend time with my mom and our little cheerleader.

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