Quite the Eventful Weekend

Well, as a mom you have to make choices (and sometimes listen to your gut). Saturday morning Natalie woke up and the skin around her eye looked a bit red and swollen. I thought possibly pink eye. So,I called the nurse answering service and I began a 2 hour run around with them trying to finally talk to someone who would either tell me to come in or not. However, by the time I finally got someone who told me "it is your choice" it was 8:30 and Melanie had plans for breakfast with Santa around 9:30. So, I had to make the choice of letting Melanie see Santa as planned or telling her that plan was off b/c it was a possibility that the redness around her sister's eye was pink eye (like my gut told me). I also had a really big weekend planned so we went with maybe it was just drainage from Natalie's 3 week cold and we decided to not worry about it.

We went to see Santa at church and he was wonderful! He was so kind and spent a lot of time with the girls. Neither girl cried though Natalie wasn't overly excited. Melanie told him she wanted a Baby Alive for Christmas. She completed some crafts, ate pancakes, took pretty good pictures and we were on our way home to begin the long line of plans.

I REALLY needed a girls day out. I haven't been away from the girls (and not at work) in almost 2 months. So, I had plans to get my hair cut and colored and then meet Ruth at TEN at the Avenue for a deluxe, amazing pedicure (for those of you who have never been there you get a hour long spa pedicure in complete silence with a massage and this eye mask, and ahhhhh goodness!) So I went about my plans and Clint tried calling various clinics to see if any of them took babies- (the answer is no, only Children's Healthcare of Atlanta satellite offices). Then when we returned we went to TJs Christmas Party while the Gilbreath's kindly watched the girls for us to have a "date night." The nurses Clint talked to pretty much chalked it up to her cold and told us not to worry.

THEN, Sunday morning arrived. Melanie and Natalie woke up with eyes glued shut with gunk and they were all red, swollen, and pitiful. Clint had plans for his much needed guy day away to play golf. So, I was left with the sick girls. Though none of the clinics would see Natalie they would see Melanie (you had to be 18 months). So, I took her to one of the weird clinics in CVS. They were really nice. I wouldn't go for a real illness but something like pink eye which I could diagnose I feel comfortable with their care. Melanie most definitely had pink eye (it was really obvious as pus is oozing out of her eye and stuck in her eye lashes) and was put on eye drops. However, I couldn't make Natalie just suffer so I broke a rule, yes me, broke a rule. I read up and studied and the eye drops were fine as long as you: a) were over 2 months, b) were not pregnant, and c) didn't put them directly on sperm- WHAT? So, since those ideas didn't apply to Natalie and I never touched the droppper to the eye I gave Natalie 3 doses of them also.

By this morning, Melanie seemed on the path to improvement, and Natalie wasn't gunky but the skin around her eye was BRIGHT red and swollen and I was sure that I should have followed the rules and not shared antibiotics around my children and that I was causing Natalie to go blind. So, I called her dr office and brought her in this morning to get her own prescription for pink eye drops. Well, it turns our her 3 week cold finally moved to her ears and she had an ear infection full on in one ear and developing in the other ear, pink eye in both eyes and she is getting 4 teeth in all at once. Poor thing. So she is in on antibiotics, eye drops and Motrin as needed. As the evening wore on they are doing so much better. Their eyes are dramatically improved. Smarty pants Melanie was listening at the dr when I asked her about how to get Melanie and Natalie to open their eyes for the drops she said it was fine if their eyes stayed shut and I squeeze in the corner b/c they will blink and open and it will get in. So, at home I go to put Melanie's drops in and tell her to please open her eyes for me and she replies, "The doctor says I don't have to open my eyes. She said I could leave my eyes shut." That little twerp!

I'm sad b/c I think Melanie will probably not be well enough for her gymnastics show tomorrow (though technically she will have been on antibiotics long enough I don't want anyone else to get it). I just hope she is fine by Wednesday and Friday for her school holiday party and the play that she is in- she is a sheep :)