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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Stomach Bug

The dreaded stomach bug.

I would rather the girls and I get the flu, cold, pneumonia or something like that than the stomach bug. Unfortunately this is Campbell's second bout of the stomach bug. Both the girls had them a few months ago and it lasted 7 days with each girl. It was awful. Nonstop vomiting and diarrhea. I threw out so many sheets, towels, blankets, and clothes because they were all ruined or I just got tired of rewashing them several times a day.

This bug that Campbell has now has really, really hit her hard. We are on day 8 of the bug, and it is starting to ease up a little. She has not thrown up today, but has had it from the other end several times today. It started on Thursday of last week and it wasn't too bad in the beginning. In fact, I thought it was getting better by the following Monday. But Monday night, things really went downhill. I have never seen a 1-year old throw up so much and have that much diarrhea. She did not eat Sunday-Tuesday morning and when she did eat Tuesday, she immediately lost it. It got to the point where she couldn't even keep gatorade down. I took her back to the pediatrician Wednesday morning (I took her last Friday just to see if they could do anything, which they could not), and after a thorough assessment by the pediatrician, she stated she was pretty concerned about Campbell. Campbell was pretty dehydrated and it was taking a toll on her body. Her heartrate was really high, she was very lethargic, her blood flow was a little sluggish, her eyes were sunken, she was very pale, and she was just pitiful. Her mouth was somewhat moist but her lips were chapped. The pediatrician told me that I had until 5 pm that day (it was 11 am) to get her to keep 1 ounce of fluid down, 5 goldfish, and have two wet diapers. If she did not do that, she would have to be admitted to Children's Hospital for IV fluids.

We went back home and after her nap (she was so exhausted from our trip to the drs), I worked with her to keep fluids and goldfish down, and begged her to tinkle. Not sure when I have ever cheered so loud when my kid tinkled. She was able to keep gatorade and 8 goldfish down and had one wet diaper. I was supposed to call the pediatrician if Campbell didn't have two wet diapers, but I decided against it because she was perking up already so much from being able to keep gatorade down. Today she is doing better about keeping fluids and food down, so hopefully we will be done with it soon. I have been making sure Peyton does not share ANYTHING with Campbell during this bug because I don't think I can take another round of this nasty bug. Campbell is starting to act like herself again and that just makes my heart feel so much better. Poor baby has been through a lot this past 8 days!

I HATE STOMACH BUGS!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

How am I going to survive?

Days like today reaffirm (?) the fact that I do want to be a working mom. I love my kids dearly and will do anything for them, but man, sometimes they kill me! I love, love, love being a mom and honestly, I don't know what I did with my time before I had them. Well, I did manage to get sleep every now and then back in the day. Nowadays, not so much. I have finally accepted the fact that I most likely will not sleep again for years.

But, back to my day. Campbell had school today so that made things a little less hectic from 9-1. Peyton was fairly good during those hours while home with me. But as soon as Campbell got home from school, all hell broke loose.

I attempted to get Campbell down for a nap, then I walked back into my room. Peyton walked into the room a few minutes later and her face was covered in pink. I half-laughed, thinking that she got into the markers again and it would come off easily. Then I noticed a strong odor. A smell that you encounter when you walk into a nail salon. Yep, the girl broke into my hidden stash of nail polish and decided to paint her face with the brightest color ever. These bottles of nail polish aren't for me, but for Peyton. I have to keep them hidden because she wants to paint her nails every hour of every day. I would like to avoid having nail polish in the house, but if you ever come across us in a store after Peyton sees the display of nail polish, you will understand that I do not have a choice. The girl will have a HUGE dramatic meltdown if I don't purchase a thing of nail polish. So anyways, after discovering that Peyton painted her face, I spent 30 minutes washing it off. I gave her yet another stern lecture, telling her to STAY OUT OF THE NAIL POLISH OR ELSE. Ever heard of that working on a 3-year old? It doesn't.

A little while later, Peyton walked into my room BUCK NAKED. I yelled and asked where her clothes were. Apparently she had a little accident involving number 2. I said ok, and said we will clean it up then she can get in the shower. I didn't want to yell at her because all toddlers have accidents. I walked out to the living room and discovered that when she was trying to clean it up before telling me, she had spread it to every surface possible. Come on! Her room, her bathroom, the living room, and dining room had traces of poop everywhere. After spending another 30-45 minutes cleaning, mopping, cleaning, and mopping, I gave Peyton yet ANOTHER stern lecture. I am pretty sure it went in one ear and out the other. About this time, Campbell woke up from her mini nap and let me know that she had managed to take her diaper off and decorate herself and her crib with number 2 as well. GEEEEZ. So spent more time cleaning that up. Threw the girls and myself into the shower.

During our shower, Peyton decided to pour shampoo into Campbell's eyes in attempt to help me clean her. Of course she didn't use the Johnson tear free shampoo, she used my expensive shampoo that HURTS. I gave up with the shower, got them dried an dressed, then sat them on the ottoman in my room while I got dressed. I warned them both to NOT MOVE ONE INCH until daddy gets home. A few minutes later, while I was getting dressed in my closet, Campbell screamed bloody murder. I ran over to where she was and discovered that Peyton had pushed her off the bed and on the way down Campbell slammed her face and head on the bedside table. She now has a gash on her nose, a swollen nose, and a huge bruise above her right eye. REALLY??

I give up. It's 5:55 pm and I am fairly certain I will be handing the kids over to Brad and going to bed in about 30 minutes.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Where does the time go?

I love reading blogs and usually visit several different blogs several times a day. Some days, it's how I keep my sanity. Before Campbell was born, I used to update my blogs (I have two, one for the family and one for me and my close friends where I can vent without being judged, hah) on a regular basis. But nowadays, I am awful at updating. By the time nighttime comes around, I am just too tired to update. I am going to try harder though, so that way I can just update a little bit every night or every other night instead of having to do very long updates once a month. We shall see.

Campbell is now 13 months old! Craziness. She is walking and has been since she was 10 months old. She is into everything and loves playing/fighting with her sister. She will eat anything and everything, including inedible stuff. She is still on formula because she cannot tolerate milk. When I did try milk, she proceeded to outdo the girl from the exorcist and coated my car with vomit. I'm still cleaning that up a month later. I will be trying lactose-free milk as soon as I can muster up the courage to do so. I might have to do fat-free or reduced fat milk because the girl has some meat on her bones. I mean, she is a porker. She hit the 24 pound mark this week. Thankfully she is on the taller side. She is wearing 18-24 month sized clothes, and some of those are snug on her. You would think I feed her hot dogs and cheetos all day (I don't). She is very bowlegged and I will be looking for a pediatric orthopedic this upcoming week. I was hoping she would grow out of it, but she is getting more bowlegged as time goes on. So between her chunkiness and bowlegged-ness, she is quite a sight to watch when she waddles down the street.
Campbell is FINALLY sleeping through the night on a regular basis. Only took a year for her to do that. Peyton started sleeping through the night at 6-8 weeks old, so we had a hard time when Campbell refused to do the same. I think she is finally over her reflux, which is nice. No more tossing stained clothes out. Campbell goes to Mother's Morning Out at our church two days a week and I think she is doing well with it. Sadly I've only been able to drop her off myself once so far due to work. Let's see, what else. She has 8 teeth and I think molars might be coming in soon? Campbell was talking a lot a few months ago, but all of a sudden completely stopped. She went from saying several words and being able to point things out and calling them by name. But now she will not talk at all. She will babble occasionally, but it's nothing like it used to be. The pediatrician is in the process of setting up a hearing appointment soon and we will go from there.

Peyton is doing well. However, she is teaching me that the terrible twos are NOTHING compared to the troublesome threes. She cries and whines everyday and throws temper tantrums on a regular basis. No matter how hard I try to get her to stop and start acting like a big girl, nothing works. She can be extremely difficult nowadays, especially with bedtime; she wants to sleep on the ottoman in our room every night. I cannot wait until she grows out of this phase. I miss my sweet girl!
Peyton recently had a hearing, speech, and developmental assessment at school. She failed her speech and developmental exams and will need to be reassessed again in the near future. If she performs poorly again, she will need speech therapy and developmental (?) therapy. I knew her speech was off and the way she talks is kinda funky. But I was surprised by her developmental exam. Peyton went from young 2s class to 3K this year; everyone else in her young 2s class went to the older 2s class, she didn't. I think by that, she missed learning some skills and is therefore a little behind than the rest of her 3ks classmates. So I am not too concerned about it but we will see how the reassessment goes.

Ok, that is a little update. I will really try to update on a regular basis!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Holy. Smokes.

The MINUTE Peyton turned three, she turned into this drama queen who thinks whining and crying should be done every second of the day. We have had more meltdowns and tantrums during the past three weeks than the entire year she was two. Seriously, the terrible twos was a vacation compared to the troublesome threes.

Bedtime has become a huge nightmare. She screams and protests for an hour, maybe even two some nights, and refuses to go to bed at her bedtime. So with her finally falling asleep around 10 pm every night and waking up several times during the night, and coming into our room around 6 am, she is seriously sleep deprived. This sleep deprivation is playing a huge role in the numerous meltdowns. I have exhausted every breath explaining to her how important sleep is, but she often blows me off, and I swear she has even said "whatever" once or twice. Bedtime is torture around here nowadays.

We also have had heated discussions about what she wants, can, and cannot wear to school. She usually has a great sense of fashion, but sometimes her outfits are just not appropriate. Like the time she wanted to wear an Auburn sweatshirt with hot pink tights, no shorts, skirt, or pants - just tights and a sweatshirt. That is just wrong on so many levels, with the Auburn sweatshirt being the most offensive part of the outfit. ROLL TIDE! But, I have learned that I just need to pick my battles, and if she wants to wear a hot pink shirt with purple shorts and green shoes, then so be it. At least I won't lose her in the crowd.

Sharing is another issue. According to Peyton, Campbell has to share every single toy she has, but Peyton doesn't have to share anything at all. I have seen screaming fits and meltdowns that are so dramatic, it's comical. If Campbell has a book and won't let Peyton take it away from her, it's the end of the world for Peyton. Like seriously y'all. Nothing else matters - food, water, shelter, air - NOTHING is more important than that very book Campbell has in her hands. Oh the horror!

I am really hoping Peyton will chill out soon. If not, I will have to start going to the salon to get my hair colored. Gray hairs will be sprouting VERY soon if she doesn't take a chill pill!!!

Peyton - PLEASE! Give your momma a break. I promise, you will be ok if you don't get your way every second of the day. I promise.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

I'm not ready...

I'm not ready for Peyton to turn 3. Maybe I'm so sleep deprived and can't remember, but I think the terrible twos wasn't so bad. Don't get me wrong, Peyton is a handful, to put it mildly. She has an endless supply of energy that wears us thin most days. People, after spending a short amount of time with Peyton, often comment on her hyperactivity. She's a busy girl. And in my mind, she has won several Oscars for Most Dramatic Meltdown and Drama Queen. The kid knows how to use her lungs. In fact, she is teaching Campbell quite nicely how to efficiently use her lung capacity when she wants something NOW. Thanks kiddo.

But, she's getting older! I often find myself in awe when she says or does something that an older kid would do. I am just not ready for it. I have enjoyed the past year with her so much, I am afraid to see what the new year is going to bring us. Is she going to start being too cool for her mommy and daddy? Sometimes she calls me Mom or, gasp, Katie! Don't stop saying mommy yet please! I am so not ready to be Mom. What if she doesn't want to snuggle with me anymore because she needs to divert all her attention on selecting an outfit for the day? Oh the horror.

I will have to admit that it is pretty neat seeing her develop into her own person. Her fashion style is impressive (on most days), and her vocabulary is expanding by the minute. Speaking of, this afternoon when she was frustrated about not being able to open her lunchbox, she muttered "oh damnit." YIKES. Definitely have to watch Every. Word. I. Say. Her new favorite phrase is, "Oh, that's so cool!" It cracks me up everytime she says it. Could she BE any cuter?

One of her favorite things to do nowadays is sing. And I may be a little biased, but she is awesome at it! She learns the words to a song much faster than me, and she loves to sing at the top of her lungs. One of her favorite groups is Sugarland. Like I said, they kid's got style. She snaps, she swings her booty (or head if she's in the carseat), and she belts it out. I absolutely love it.

Dear Peyton, please don't grow up too fast for me. I just cannot handle it! You are my firstborn and have a special place in my heart. Love you sweetie!


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Anyone up for some shoplifting?

This past Friday, I took the girls with me to a cute store at the summit called Swoozies to pick out invitations for Campbell and Peyton's birthday parties. First of all, taking your grumpy two-year old to a nice store is not a good idea. Peyton touched everything and picked up only the things that were breakable. The poor sales lady was sweating with worry. After 30 minutes of deciding on the right invitation for both girls, picking out the cutest font and wording, we were done. We looked around the store for a minute and found some cute lunchboxes for the girls, then finally went to check out. The sales lady and I were having small talk while I was paying, and the girls were quiet for once. Side note - quiet = someone is up to no good. We walked out, loaded up into the car as quickly as possible since it was 98 degrees, and off we went. Just as I pulled out of the parking lot, Peyton says:

Mommy, look at my ring. Oh, it is just so pretty.


My mind was quickly replaying every step in the store, and instantly my stomach started getting queasy.


Um, Peyton, we didn't get a ring.

No, mommy, look!


I finally mustered up the couraged and slowly turned my head back so that I could see what had. Yep, a really cute ring was sitting on her tiny finger. (Side note - the kid's got style.)

I was horrified, yet found myself laughing. Only Peyton.


I wasn't able to return the ring that day, then I am working all weekend, so Monday we will make a return trip to the store so Peyton and I can apologize (profusely) and pay for the lovely ring. I can't take it away from her, that's just too mean. She is only two afterall. Plus I might be borrowing that ring a few times. She really did pick a cute ring!

Hopefully there won't be a WANTED sign posted on the store window with a picture of Peyton on it...

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

She's walking!

Campbell is walking!

She's been taking a few steps at a time for the past month or so, but as of this week she is taking several steps at a time. And she's only 10 months old! Well, she will be 11 months on Sunday, but I'm still writing it down as walking at 10 months. What a genius!

I am long overdue on uploading pictures and I will do so soon. I am amazed at how some moms blog every night or every other night. By the time bedtime arrives for the kids, I am begging to get in bed myself. Two kids under the age of three really keep you busy. And I am sure it's going to get even crazier now that both can walk. Yikes!

Other accomplishments Campbell has achieved/things about her:
Two more teeth are coming in (her top front) for a grand total of 4.
She is clapping, dancing, and waving bye bye.
She can say mama, bye bye, milk and other words that I cannot think of right now (I'm such a bad mom!).
She no longer uses the bath seat in the bathtub; she now sits in the tub like her big sister, which isn't always the best thing since the floor is a slippery little sucker.
She likes "talking" on the cell phones, knows to hold it up to her ear.
She LOVES climbing up on things.
She figured out how to climb on and off our bed, but is unsuccessful quite a bit (the bruises say it all).
She has the best belly laugh!
When she does talk, her voice is always so hoarse - probably from her screaming nonstop the first few months, thanks to colic.
She will eat ANYTHING you give her or she snatches away from her sister.
She loves blueberries, puffs, toddler cheetos, sweet potatoes; ok she loves all food.
She uses the sippy cup so well; still drinking formula and water, no juices yet although I'm sure she would love to.
She wears 12-18 months clothes. The kid has some meat on her bones.

Overall, she is a happy, healthy little girl who loves playing with her big sister!

I cannot believe that in a month, Campbell will be 1 and Peyton will be 3. Crazy!!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Wait, are they twins?

No, the girls are not twins, obviously, since they are 2 years apart - two years and 4 days if you really want to know. Try to ask me their birthdays and it takes me a minute before I say them correctly (August 27th, 2008 and August 31st, 2010). But, going back to the whole point of this post, Campbell has recently developed two traits that are IDENTICAL to Peyton and it makes me wonder.




The first trait is the infamous crawl. Anywhere we went, people would stop and watch Peyton crawl. She never once crawled like a normal infant. Instead, she would always tuck her left leg under her torso and use the right leg and her hands to crawl. You see this exact same thing with gorillas to give you a better image. In fact, one person even named her crawl as the 'gorilla crawl.' Although it was very awkward and amusing to watch, Peyton knew what she was doing. The girl was a speed demon. Her poor left leg was always covered in scratches, but she was very efficient and had no trouble going anywhere she wanted. I often found myself running after her she was that fast.




We were all waiting to see how Campbell would crawl and at first, she crawled like a normal infant. But then one day out of the blue, Campbell started tucking her left leg under and now she is a speed demon. I think she started doing it so she could keep up with Peyton and her nieces. I was content have a normal crawler that wasn't able to get around too fast, but I will admit, it is pretty neat and fun watching Campbell crawling an awkward crawl her big sister used to do.




The second trait that Campbell has developed is not a good or cute trait. In fact, it is a very smelly and bad one. Peyton became well known for her ability to rip her clothes and diapers off during nap time, no matter how many layers of clothes and how many layers of diapers, and use that newfound freedom to poop in the bed and then use that poop to decorate herself and the crib. I did everything in the books to get her to stop doing this. I seeked advice from all parents I knew and even dedicated my facebook status to the "help me stop Peyton from decorating with poop" cause, asking everyone for advice on how to get her to stop doing this. It was a daily struggle that lasted months. Finally, I was able to successfully address the issue by putting footed PJs on backwards on Peyton, thus making the zipper out of her reach as it was now on her back. It took awhile to learn how to put footed PJs on backwards, but man, it solved the problem and all was well.




Until one day, I walked into the nursery to get Campbell up for her nap and I was met with overwhelming smell and sensation that it was happening again. Yep, Campbell was standing there with a huge grin on her face and buck naked. She had taken her clothes and diapers off, pooped, then decorated her crib with her new art material. I screamed and screamed and screamed. HOW COULD SHE KNOW HOW TO DO THIS??? Why do BOTH my girls insist on doing this?? What is the deal??




Campbell has demonstrated her new skill twice now, and the second time it was so bad that I spent 30 minutes scrubbing her down with a TOOTHBRUSH and soap because she managed to get the stuff everywhere. Campbell screamed the whole time, so maybe when she thinks about doing it again, she will remember the scrub down and decide not to decorate. But, knowing my girls, Campbell will continue to do it. Time to get the footed PJs out from storage.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Thankful

Two weekends ago on May 14th, my parents hosted a huge graduation party at their house for my brother and his friends since all graduation ceremonies in Tuscaloosa were cancelled due to the tornadoes. Several of his roommates, his girlfriend and her family, several high school friends and their families arrived to party in style. Dreamland BBQ was served and every type of alcohol was provided. Good conversations flowed in between good company. All the baby girls were cute as could be and behaved so well. The weather was perfect, allowing us to sit on the porch and enjoy ourselves. Mom's BFF and interior designer added perfect touches to the house and it looked beautiful. It was a perfect night and gave us the opportunity to celebrate Taylor's graduation the Ritchie way. At the party, I would occasionally look over at my brother and become overwhelmed with pride (and annoyance - Dean's List, really Taylor? Smartass.) that he survived college. And that he survived a massive tornado that took so many lives. I still can't get through one day without panicking, thinking about what could have been if the tornado had taken a slightly different path. Everyday, the image of the huge F4 tornado slowly (in reality, it was too fast for adequate warning) creeping across Tuscaloosa, taking lives with every second it lasted on the ground flashes before my eyes. I truly, truly thought I was watching my brother die as I sat on the couch, watching the live feed on tv, quietly sobbing my heart out. Those few moments are something I never want to experience again. My brother and his girlfriend emerged from his apartment physically unscathed, but filled with emotional scars. They have been so brave during the past few weeks and I constantly find myself in awe of how well they are handling things.

The graduation party had a special meaning to my family and me as we sat there and celebrated another milestone achieved, and celebrated this delicate thing called life.

So proud of you Taylor.

Monday, May 9, 2011

She's a storyteller

Peyton's new thing is telling stories. And it is hilarious to see and hear.

When Brad or I come home from work, she will launch into stories of what happened that day. My favorite part is that she will reenact the story with different voices, face expressions, and hand gestures. She will imitate who said what, even including when the dogs howled at the tornado sirens - I died laughing at her howling. Often she throws in words and noises that we cannot decipher, but they make us laugh so hard. I am going to try to get a video soon, it is just too funny.

But with this new thing, I have learned that I really, really have to watch what I am saying. Nothing goes unrepeated nowadays. Peyton really got into this story she told Brad, and repeated every single word I said. Including adult words that accidently slipped out of my mouth. Whoops.

Also, with this new storytelling feat, it can be really embarrassing. Like when she told her teachers that "mommy pooped on the potty like a big girl, good job mommy!" Thanks a lot Peyton. Sure glad we shared that with everyone. I have a feeling that everyone is going to know everything about us soon. Ah, the joys of having a toddler.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Eight Months Old!

Today Campbell turned 8 months old. Meaning, in four months, I will have a three year old and a one year old. How crazy is that? Where has the time gone? I know how the time HASN'T been spent...

Campbell is quite mobile nowadays. She is crawling and even has these speed crawling bursts where she is able to cross the room within seconds. She pulls herself up on anything and everything, including objects that are not stationary. Meaning, she has a lot of bruises on her poor head. She has stood up without support for very brief moments, so I am wondering if she is going to be an early walker. When I hold her hands and try to get her to walk across the room, she is no where near being stable on her feet, so I think it might be a little longer before she is actually walking. But that is ok with me. I am not ready for both girls to be that mobile!

Campbell loves baby food when she is not sick. Loves her veggies, especially green beans and peas, in addition to squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. She has started to eat the baby stage cheese puffs, and has fallen in love with those. She also likes yogurt melts, ice cream, and whipped cream. My pediatrician would die if she knew Campbell was eating some of the foods she does. But, when you have a big sister like Peyton, you are going to be offered anything. Including foods that Peyton doesn't want to eat for dinner. How convenient for Peyton...

Campbell is a happy baby, laid back and likes to watch what is going on around her. She definitely has her moments where she wants to be held and will not be happy until she is held. She knows how to cry on cue, demanding the nearest person to pick her up at that very moment.

Poor Campbell has spent most of her first eight months sick, but she is such a trooper, even when she has those high fevers. Peyton was occasionally sick during her first year, and only had a fever maybe 2 or 3 times. Campbell, on the other hand, sports 103 fevers like it's a fashion trend. But, she tolerates them well and even lets us (mom and dad) love on her for those brief moments she sits still.

She has two teeth, but doesn't look like any more are coming in soon. She still does not sleep through the night, but is getting better about it. The reflux is still miserable, especially during times where she has nasal/chest congestion, but it's slowly improving.

She really is a fabulous kid, just a little high maintenance and busy. Peyton adores her and does so well with her. We are loving life as a family of four, although we could use more sleep around here!

Friday, April 29, 2011

Maybe if we tried...

Maybe if we tried to be sick all the time, we will actually be healthy? There has to be something I am doing wrong because the kids and I are sick all. the. time.

Both girls had nasty eye/sinus drainage last week and despite being on antibiotics, both their nastiness moved into their lungs and took a toll on their little bodies. Campbell is on antibiotics and eye drops, and Peyton is on two strong antibiotics and eye drops as well. Brad has been sick with the girls but I had successfully managed to escape the germs. Until Wednesday. Woke up and knew it was my turn with the gunk. Today I have felt worse than I have in a very, very long time.

Last night was a very long night. The girls took turns waking up with fevers and forceful coughs that caused them to throw up. And as soon as I was able to lay my head on the pillow for a few brief moments, I would wake up to Brad coughing so hard it shook the bed. (Yet, he slept through it. Really, folks, really?). This morning at 8:15, I got on the phone with the pediatrician and made an appointment. Thankfully, we were able to get an appointment for 10:30. I was planning on taking a long shower during that time to ease my chest discomfortant and let the girls play while I did that. But nope. It took us two hours to get ready because as soon as I would get Campbell cleaned up from vomit, Peyton would be covered in green gunk, and so it went on. Back and forth, back and forth. I added three new loads of laundry to the ever growing pile.

Finally, I was able to throw the girls in the car and off we went. Of course today would be the day we had to spend forever in the waiting room. We have been very lucky with extremely short wait times, until today. Finally it was our turn. Both girls had temps over 100, and both were very irritable. We went over the entirel list of symptoms (which took a good 10 minutes) and the doctor was concerned about their coughs and decided to check their oxygen saturations. Peyton was 87 and Campbell was 91%. Nothing dangerous, but too low for comfort. At this point, the doctor discussed the possibility of admitting both girls to the hospital since, 1) they have been sick for awhile now despite being on strong antibiotics, and 2) due to the fact that there is a large outbreak of severe bronchiolitis going around. She already had to send two other patients to the hospital that morning. Breathing treatments were ordered for both girls and wow, they were so good with those. Peyton had a little meltdown at one point, but I think it was because everything hurts and she really just doesn't feel well. Afterwards, both girls' oxygen levels went up to 94 and the doctor said no hospital at this point. But if they do not improve, or if they get worse, over the weekend, off to Children's Hospital we go.

So we are home with the diagnoses of bad cases of bronchiolitis for both girls and we are doing the inhaler every 4 hours for two days in addition to the antibiotics. Eye drops have been stopped thankfully. Do you know how hard it is to put eye drops in a two year old's eyes? Not an easy feat, let me tell ya. I am begging both girls to take a nap to rest their bodies and to let me rest as well. But of course, they are wired from the inhaler and running laps around the house. I think a nap is going to be out of the question. I did ask if I could give Peyton some Dimetapp for her cold and cough, and unfortunately was told no, not until she is four years old - something I knew, but hey, a mom can hope for a good night of sleep, right?

TIME FOR US TO GET and STAY HEALTHY!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sharing is Caring

Today, BOTH girls woke up with swollen eyes, nasty green drainage, and low grade fevers. Peyton has really embraced the "Sharing is Caring" philosophy. Unfortunately, she only applies it to germs. Thankfully the pediatrician (who I have on speed dial) told us we could come by the office this morning and pick up some eye drops. She is awesome! Those drops are over 20o dollars, and she is giving them to us for free. I'm sure we have already paid for them with how many sick visits we make a year.

Brad totally won some major points today. Our anniversary is tomorrow (sadly, I have to work), but this morning I received a gorgeous necklace, a pretty ring, and some beautiful flowers! Earlier last week, he also surprised me with a trip to Boston in June to see a concert (I don't know who yet, still a surprise). We are going to make a long weekend out of it, and we get to spend an entire day sleeping!!! 24 hours of nothing to do but sleep and lounge in bed. BEST PRESENT EVER! I feel awful, I did not get him anything. I was going to wait till Boston to give him his anniversary presents. So I have some catching up to do and find some awesome gifts for him. Maybe a nap?

So this weekend we are going to spend some time getting the girls healthy again. Sadly, we are missing a birthday party today that we have been looking forward to for some time. But I know my kids will gladly share their germs with everyone and that would be a nightmare. I have to work tomorrow and miss Campbell's first Easter, but I know the girls will have a lot of fun with their daddy. I think we are going to do a last minute Easter Egg hunt for Peyton later this afternoon, depending on how everyone is feeling.

Happy Easter!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Go away germs!

Poor Campbell has struggled with lactose intolerance, reflux, and having a big sister who loves to share her germs she brings home from Mother's Day Out. For the past month and half, Campbell has had a cold and cough. Coughing plus reflux = a lot of spit ups, discomfort, and changing clothes/sheets. Campbell does eat solids which help with the reflux, but she is still miserable a lot of the time. I am thinking about going ahead and starting the zantac to help with the reflux, something I have been trying to avoid but it may be time to do it. No one in this house is getting any sleep at night and that just makes our immune systems even weaker. Brad and both the girls are just getting over fever viruses (amazingly I was able to avoid it) and no one slept a wink during that time. I am just getting so frustrated with the fact that Campbell is sick all the time and that she has not outgrown the reflux yet. I can count on one hand the number of times she has slept through the night and she is almost 8 months old. We really did get spoiled with Peyton - she was a fabulous sleeper starting at 6-8 weeks.

As of today, Peyton started having some nasty green/yellow eye drainage so I will be making another call to the pediatrician tomorrow. Seems like no one can get a break around here!

Sorry for the venting, just had to get it out.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Who needs sleep?

A few weeks ago, not long after Brad and I had finally put Campbell down and got into bed ourselves, I woke up at 3:45 am to Brad jumping out of bed and running down the hallway leading to Peyton's room. I quickly followed him to find out what was going on and when I got to her room, Peyton was sitting up and screaming, "daddy, help me, they are biting me!" She was crying, screaming, and clawing at her legs. When I reached down to grab her and stop her from scratching herself, I then realized she was burning up. Turns out she had a 104 fever and was hallucinating, thinking that bees were stinging her. Seeing your two-year daughter hallucinate like that is truly disturbing, and I hope I never have to experience that again. Brad and I were able to give her some Tylenol, change her into lighter clothes, and then bring her back into bed with us so we could watch her and make sure her fever went down. Ever since that night, Peyton has slept horribly!! In her crib, she refused to lay down and go to sleep so she would actually fall asleep standing up, leaning against the railing. She absolutely had to have a night light or some sort of light on, something so unusual for her since she has always wanted the room dark at bedtime. She now has even claimed that it is scary being in the room by herself. She was so traumatized from the hallucination that she became scared of being in her own room. The girl is afraid of nothing. Well, except for feathers. That's right, my tough girly tomboy is afraid of the softest thing on the planet. Anyways. So, in an attempt to her to like bedtime again (and to finally move Campbell into the crib), we moved Peyton into her big girl room with her big girl bed. I should have known that my extremely busy, hyperactive toddler would realize that she is no longer confined to her bed and is able to get up as many times as her little heart desires. She literally gets up every hour, sometimes two or three times an hour. She has not been asleep before 11 pm for the past week and half since we moved her into her big girl room. The lack of sleep is starting to catch up on everyone. We are all grumpy, irritable, and snapping at each other. I have tried closing the door (she opens it with no problems even though the doorknob is from 1930), I have threatened her with spankings, I have given her spankings, I have lectured her on the importance of sleep, I have begged her, and I have cried to her. I even put a gate up in front of her door. What does she do? She simply removes it from the door frame, carefully lays it on the floor, and walks right by it. THE KID IS UNSTOPPABLE! Today, shortly after I arrived at work, someone asked me if I had been able to get any sleep lately and I just lost it. Talk about awkward! In between tears, I admitted that no, I haven't gotten any sleep for quite some time now. Campbell still does not sleep through the night, and now with Peyton getting up several times a night, sleep is nonexistent in this house. I have never wanted something so badly for Christmas, and it's not even April yet. I secretly fantasize about checking into a hotel room for a night (or two), and sleeping for hours and hours. Isn't that ridiculous? So here's to hoping. Hoping that Peyton will realize that sleep IS important and stay in her bed during the night. Hoping that Campbell will realize that she's almost seven months old and it's totally time to start sleeping through the night. Hoping that Brad and I will finally get some sleep. Wish us luck. We need it.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Poor Campbell

I just realized that I have hardly written any posts about Campbell. Poor thing, it's hard being the baby of the family.

Campbell is now six months old (!!), will be seven months on March 31st. I cannot believe how fast it has gone by. She went in for a sick appointment in the beginning of this month and weighed 17 pounds and 6 ounces, a few ounces heavier than Peyton was at this age; however, Campbell is a lot longer than Peyton was. In fact, I think Campbell will be as tall as Peyton soon!

Peyton started sleeping through the night consistently at about two months old. Brad and I now realize how lucky we were with that. Campbell has had colic since two months and still has it some nights. For awhile, Campbell was screaming and crying from 5 pm to 11 pm every night. It was very hard for awhile for everyone. But it does seem to be getting better and we are so thankful for that! Campbell still does not sleep through the night, but it is getting better. Now that we have finally moved her into the crib in the nursery, she only gets up once or twice a night. Brad and I have some serious sleep deprivation since Campbell gets up a few times a night, and Peyton (who just moved into her big girl bed) also gets up several times a night to come snuggle with us. So, our main goal for now is to get some sleep soon!

Campbell absolutely loves eating green beans and peas with oatmeal. I haven't tried any other food yet because I want to keep her on vegetables for now. Peyton became rather fond of bananas and sweet potatoes and wouldn't eat anything else. So for now, it's just the veggies and oatmeal.

Campbell has been sitting up for about a month now and is THISCLOSE to crawling. She can go from laying down to sitting, and sitting to laying down. She has become a champ at rolling over and rolls over so quickly it's scary. And as of two days ago, she has two teeth!! After months (yes, months) of teething, her bottom two teeth finally came in. Unfortunately they came in at the same time, so we are stocking up on Motrin and Tylenol, but overall, she is handling it pretty well.

So that is a brief update on Campbell. Overall she is adorable but a handful. Peyton loves, loves, loves having a baby sister and does so well with her. We are surviving and love being a family of four!

Monday, January 31, 2011

I'm so sorry...

Peyton has this new thing where if she runs into you or accidently hits you with something, she says "I'm so sorry" in this dramatic southern belle voice. I often fall over laughing when I hear and see this because it is just too cute.

Well last night, all four of us were on the bed. I was holding Campbell and Brad was trying to hold Peyton, but she was bouncing around like mad. We often joke that she has a stash of mountain dew hidden somewhere in the house because the kid is WILD. Anyways, so Peyton was bouncing around trying to body slam anything in her path. She successfully threw herself against the headboard and went flying backwards and landed on top of her baby doll. She immediately hopped up and with THE most dramatic voice said, "I'm so sorry baby, I didn't mean it" and gave her baby doll a hug. Then she threw the baby doll across the room. And by the time the doll bounced off the wall and onto the floor, Peyton was already back to her body slamming already having forgotten the poor doll.

At least she tries to apologize?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Getting so big!

Campbell will be five months old in just a few days and Peyton is talking more and really starting to act like a big girl. They are just growing up too fast for me. Peyton has started to be a little jealous nowadays of her baby sister. She wants to be held more, wants to snuggle with mommy and daddy more (no complaints there!), and wants us to take pictures of her every night. Just too cute. But for the most part, Peyton loves being a big sister and loves entertaining Campbell.

Earlier this month we had a snow/ice storm and we were so fortunate to not lose any power, have lots of junk food on hand, and be able to stay home and enjoy the show (both Brad and I were able to avoid work). This was the second time it has snowed for Campbell, the first being on Christmas day. The girl has seen more snow during her first four months than most Alabama folks see in their lifetime!

Here are some pictures of the girls from this month: