The Lazy Days of Summer

Enjoying a Popsicle to make her feel better. They are the "slow melt" kind- I suggest them to all parents!
Lazy Days of Summer....
Well, not really but wishful thinking I guess! Both girls are still sick. Melanie is improving though. She is just still a bit congested (coughing a lot makes her throw up- now 2 times) but her personality and energy seem normal. She loves her antibiotics and keeps asking when she can get some more. Last night we bribed her to eat mac and cheese with antibiotics. Whatever, weird child. She is not eating too much these days (not b/c of being sick)- though she still has some thighs and a booty she is getting skinnier and skinnier. I guess she is losing her baby body :(

Natalie is another story. I wouldn't be surprised if she gains 10 lbs with this sickness (and if I lose the 10) b/c she loves the comfort of nursing and that is what she is doing...quite often! She is absolutely pitiful and I feel for any parent that has a truly sick (like way more than Natalie) newborn b/c you feel so helpless. She just whines, sneezes, coughs (a really nasty cough), sleeps, eats, and throws up. She has thrown up on me, yes, literally on me 3 times in the past 24 hours. After her bath last night she was on her changing table and we were playing peek-a-boo and she threw up in my face- like projectile up into my face. GROSS!! Though I feel super sorry for her it was so sick. And the grossest part of it all...Shelby loves to attack the throw up and see how fast she can lick it up before I get it cleaned. I'm calling the doctor back this morning to make sure there is nothing different we should do for Natalie. Pitiful little baby!

By the way the pics are from the baptism from a family friend...I didn't get any pics and thank goodness he took some and emailed them to us!

She is explaining that she got a Popsicle b/c she was good at the restaurant. She then says that she had nice hands with Natalie (a couple of weeks ago she slapped Natalie...we are working on that) Don't ask me what she starts talking about at the end of the video...just going into a little time to express whatever is on her mind I guess!

What a Week

This past week began on Saturday with the birthday of Sarah, my friend Elizabeth's little girl. Sarah had been sick the week leading up to the party so Clint stayed at home with Natalie and I just took Melanie. The doctor had given Sarah the okay for kiddos to be around her. The party was a cute swim party and I think Melanie would have stayed in the pool for 4x as long as I let her and eaten even more cake (my old parapro Sara made the cake and she can make one heck of a cake!).
Then we moved on to Sunday with the girl's baptism. It was a wonderful time for our families to come together and celebrate the girls. The baptism took place at Clint's family's church where if we were to ever go to church regularly we would pick to be members (well, I guess technically everyone is a member but me). The day started off a little rough though. Melanie seemed a little under the weather and my dad's dad (the one who has been battling bone cancer for almost 2 years and who lost his wife to ALS the week Natalie was born) has been struggling the past couple of weeks and my dad got a call the morning of the baptism that he needed to come up to Chattanooga immediately. So, my attention was pulled in two places that morning. After the baptism we were all getting ready to go over to Clint's parents because his mom had made a wonderful lunch for everyone. However, my mom got a call when we left the church implying that we needed to come up also so my mom couldn't make it to the lunch and yet again my attention was divided between two events. So, after a very yummy lunch Clint and I quickly raced home and I packed in 10 minutes (for me and the girls), Clint put gas in my car, and I went back to Lilburn to get mom and head to Chattanooga.
It turns out that my grandfather was given a 90% chance of not making it 24 hours at 4:30 am that morning. There were times that night that I thought he was about to pass away he was breathing so bad. However, he beat the infection and was given some fluids and so he came around some and was able to recognize and talk to all of us there by the next day.
However, that night (we were spending the night at my mom's parents) I slept with Melanie in my bed and Natalie in a crib in our room. First off, I have NO IDEA how parents sleep with cribs in their room. You can hear EVERY noise and I would never be able to sleep through that. But, Melanie kept getting closer and closer to me in the bed. Sometime in the early morning hours she ended up sharing my pillow (even though we were on a queen bed) and I realized she was a million degrees. So, I woke her up and took her in the den to take her temp (yet again a booty temp in which she told me "I'm okay...I'm not sick") and it was 102.9. In my rush of packing I did not pack the medicine cabinet so in my diaper bag I had some infant motrin. So I gave Melanie a little "extra" b/c her weight was not even a choice on the infant drops and stayed up the rest of the morning with her. (We did not even get back to my grandmother's until after midnight so my sleep was VERY limited). Well, it turns out that was just the tip of the iceberg. As my attention and emotions were with my grandfather I was being torn to now 2 sick kids. Natalie's temp went up and Melanie developed a yucky congested cough and runny nose. The next night neither girls slept and my mom and I rotated holding them throughout the whole night. They both wanted me (by the way...Clint had to stay in Loganville to work so it was just me and my mom dealing with all of this b/c my dad was basically staying 24/7 at the hospital) so I would hold that one until I calmed them down and then switch to the other one. They both had temps and were so hot to hold. Natalie would only calm down if she were nursing so I think she got a weeks worth of food in one night b/c I basically had my shirt up all night. At one point Melanie fell asleep with my mom and I changed Natalie's diaper and took her temp and gave her medicine on a dog bed (it was large, I threw a blanket on top to do all of this b/c the changing stuff was in the room where Melanie was sleeping) and Natalie stopped screaming and was content. I was like whatever, I am delirious without sleep for 2 nights, emotionally drained, so I pulled up a pillow and slept on the dog bed for a couple of hours with Natalie. What a trip!
By the end my grandfather was semi-stable and it looks as if his kidneys are failing and they may be was eventually causes him to pass away. The doctors tell us as death goes, this is not a terrible way to pass. So, that apparently may occur anytime between now and the next two weeks. So, mom and I had to get back (partly for our work and partly b/c my grandparents that we were staying with had to go back to work and they were our childcare while we were at the hospital each day) so I was able to tell my grandfather goodbye and we were able to tell each other we love each other. It was quite difficult for me and later on my dad's brother and then my dad to tell him bye knowing it would probably be the last time we see him alive. My grandfather is very comfortable in his religion and does not cry and tells his sons not to cry. He knows he is going to Heaven to be with his wife and that he will see us all again.
By the time we got home I thought the girls were starting to feel a bit better. However Thursday morning Natalie woke up with an awful cough (Melanie's had been awful but Natalie had avoided it). So I freaked out and took them both to the doctor. Let me just tell you, that event solidified the fact we are only having 2 kids. I have NO IDEA how anyone takes more than 2 sick kids to the doctor themselves. I'm trying to carry a diaper back, the baby carrier and Melanie...anyone who wonders how new mom's lose weight quickly there you go...and they are both crying and coughing. We get situated and go to triage. Melanie weighed 28.5 with no temp and Natalie weighed 14 with a slight temp. So we see the doctor. Natalie has a this point broken out with a full body rash and she has a virus that has manifested itself into a rash but there is nothing to do for her, her temp or her cough...just let time heal her. So, I wasn't too nervous about Melanie b/c she is pretty tough. Well, come to find out she has a virus that has spread to a double ear infection. Poor thing! It's her first ear infection. She never cried or said her ears hurt and the doctor can't believe when she was checking that Melanie didn't cry or act like there was a problem. Even now you can ask Melanie if her ears hurt and she'll tell you no. So Melanie is on her first antibiotics. So, she wins the award for super healthy...no meds until the age of 2 1/2= pretty impressive...hooray for nursing for 1 year super immunities! Now I am just waiting on both girls to get well (Natalie is no longer sleeping through the night...at all b/c when she coughs it wakes her up...ahhh!).
So, though our weekend started out quite wonderful it turned into an exhausting week both emotionally and physically and I am wishing health and peace for both my girls and my grandfather.
And by the way...THANK YOU!!!! to my grandparents for watching the girls for us. It was a crazy few days of toys, temperatures, snot and crying. I know it was exhausting for them also!

New Swingset

Boy is she photogenic...or maybe not! She had pooped on her clothes and it was almost bath time...no need for a new outfit :)
We have had our new swingset for about 2 weeks now and love it. We considered the expensive wooden ones and the expensive plastic ones but settled on the old trusty metal ones like we grew up with (that are about 10x cheaper!). So, here are a few pics and clips of the girls playing.

While the big sister sleeps....Natalie has a party :)

I LOVE my time when one of them is sleeping and I get to play with the other one. However, my games with Natalie are quite limited- pretty much what you see is what I do. Look at how happy she is. This is pretty much her. Just always happy unless she is hungry or sleepy.

Finally, the Vacation Post

Well, I just noticed on my friend's blog...she just got back from St. George with children around the same age as mine and she has 435 pics!!!! So, my number of pics seems miniscule compared to hers! But, we had a wonderful time. Melanie rode down with my parents and Natalie with us. Both girls were awesome on the car ride down there. It takes a few extra stops when you have little ones but it was no big deal. The place we stayed was a complete dump from the outside- I'm talking UGLY!!! BUT...it was AMAZING on the inside. It was beach front and maybe 25 yards from the beach. It was built a long time ago before they had to be on stilts so we could literally just send Melanie down to our cabanna by herself from the screened in porch. We loved it! It was 4 bedrooms so each girl got her own room which made for good sleeping by all. Natalie loved the beach and would sleep in her bouncy seat on the beach for hours (under the cabanna). No one got burned which was lovely. Mom and I took a much needed girls shopping trip one day. Last year we took Melanie but that was not so fun so we decided she can't go again until she is MUCH older. We had planned to go to a fun wine place and sit out on their deck with wine that day but I was feeling gross from throwing up the night before. I have no idea what happened. I didn't drink a lot and no one else got sick even though Melanie and I shared our dinner. So we were scared I was pregnant. So, the next day I went to the local gas station (it's pretty gross) and bought 12 pack of Carona and a pregnancy test. I went to the gas station bathroom and THANK GOODNESS...no baby! I have no desire to pregnant now and possibly ever again. So I think I had 24 bug b/c I felt kind of puney for a little while and then perfectly back to normal. Clint and I had our anniversary date night while we were at the beach also. It was WONDERFUL!!! We went to one of the semi-nice places for dinner and then to the wine place I wanted to go with my mom. Then we went to a "club" (a building on the island) and listened to silly kareoke and danced. We stayed out way past "curfew" and loved it! However, when we got home it was quickly back to normal b/c Natalie didn't sleep through the night at all during vacation so I had to be ready for the middle of the night feeding. The boys fished and fished and Melanie even fished a little bit with her Dora fishing pole. It was funny watching her reaction to fish. She really learned about them by the end and would tell the other people what kinds of fish we caught and what kinds you have to throw back. The first day she loved the ocean and would run straight in and just laugh and scream when the water got on her. Then 2 waves hit her and she HATED the water the 2nd day. We were thinking this is going to be a grand vacation. So, dad dug a giant hole right beside the water and it filled up with water and it was Melanie's mini ocean. But, with a lot of patience by mom Melanie learned to love the water again. She just really loved the beach and didn't want to come home. Melanie was much easier (in some respects)this year than last. She really can play a lot this year and that was fun. But, she learned how to work all of the adults to her advantage and that was not cool. So we had a few major meltdowns (but what else is new) but we are SO THANKFUL that my parents were there b/c it would have been too busy to be considered a vacation otherwise. The ride home was not nearly as fun as the ride back (put it this way...Clint and I stopped at Mexican in Loganville before we ever made it home and we fed the girls and got Margaritas). Everyone knows...people are much happier on the way to vacation than on the way home! All in all a wonderful vacation and I wish we could do it more than once a year!

Day 'O Fun

We had a super fun day today. Zach and Grace came over this morning and played for a few hours. They played in the backyard, played dressup, played kitchen set, played chase, played with play-doh and who knows what else! Melanie I think really enjoyed beign around kiddos. Then we went to the playground at McDonald's where she played and we ended the day playing in shaving cream. I recently found a plastic picnic table at a garage sale for $10 and I couldn't pass it up. It has been a fantastic purchase b/c Melanie can play with all of her "messy" things (including shaving cream and play-doh). She also loves to eat out there by herself with Shelby stalking her waiting to get all of this fun that she can reach. What fun!