Mama Called The Doctor

Oh man, it has been a looooooooooong weekend.

Poor little Libby hasn't been able to catch a break. Two weeks ago, she had strep with a 105 degree fever. Cue 10 days of antibiotics. Then came pink eye. Cue the eye drops. Tuesday morning she finished her antibiotics and spiked a low grade fever that afternoon. Her fever steadily climbed all week, peaking at 103.8. There was an ebb and flow-like nature to it, her little body getting progressively warmer and more lethargic until tylenol and motrin were given, plunging her temperature (and energy) back to near normal only to rise again. We took to sleeping in the guest room together, mama's presence comforting Libby's sick body and putting my mind at ease, knowing I was right there to monitor her temp and listen for every Darth Vader-like breath. (It also had the added advantage of promoting as much sleep as possible for both of us, despite frequent interruptions.) By Friday morning we were back at the clinic, and headed home with a diagnosis of an ear infection and more antibiotics. (The antibiotic issue is a whole story in itself.)

Her fever hung around until Sunday morning. Since then, she has slowly been on the mend. She still isn't sleeping through the night, but went to bed tonight in her own bed for the first night in a week. She still is catching up on rest, willingly napping during the day, which is very unlike Miss Elisabeth. Her appetite is nowhere near back to normal, but at least she is eating some solid foods. These small steps are much needed for a mama who spent too much time over the past few weeks worrying.

Asleep in her own bed. Keeping my fingers crossed that she stays there the whole night.

Thinking back on the past two weeks leaves me exhausted to say the least. My job involves taking care of sick babies and having my own sick baby at home has given me no reprieve from the stresses of the job I can't help but love. Although I will admit, I love it more when it isn't my own baby that is sick. Not to sound selfish or anything...I think any parent would feel the same way. It took sitting down tonight figuring out what to post to realize that even though the weeks of illness has been tough, there have been plenty of good moments in it all. After all, when the tylenol and motrin were working, I still had a busy little bee on my hands who did not think very highly of being housebound. Thank goodness for cameras that catch the bits of good fun interspersed with boring and stressful parts of life. Thought I would share some of it with you.

Picking out what kind of "noonles" we want for lunch. There are 7 varieties there...Cars won out.

Tea party for lunch.

Built a fort and ate dinner in it. And laughed about "pikey" hair.

Crafting. Her latest obsession: scissors and "goo".

Guilty indulgence: popcorn sprinkled with chocolate! Goes great with Burlesque!

Sleeping sitting up.

A visit from Chuck and Colleen.

Just a few of the good little things that found their way into days of snot and coughs and fevers. That's the beauty of life, right? That no matter how bad things seem, there is always something good right there at your finger tips. You just have to be willing to see it and experience it. So maybe I had to call in sick to work on Wednesday because Libby couldn't go to daycare; I got to eat dinner in a blanket fort in the middle of my living room. Maybe my Friday started out on too little sleep and a trip to the doctors; the resulting stop at Target where Libby was given $2 to spend was a hoot. Apparently when you are two, $2 will buy you a new swimsuit, a pineapple, a bag of springtime Oreo's, multiple items from the dollar section (including an Easter card, stuffed flowers, and a birdhouse), paper plates, and "noonles." At least, that was what Libby put in her basket to buy with her "munnee." And maybe I didn't get to catch up on sleep on my weekend off; the time spent watching over my little Darth Vader in the middle of the night gave me the opportunity to plan budget friendly mini-makeovers for my living room and Libby's room and the garden. Yay for lists and web surfing to find great inspiration!

This is the inspiration for my living room makeover. That and a Better Homes & Gardens I stole from gymnastics last week.
Isn't it gorgeous?! What do you think Holly?