Strep, flu, bronchitis, bronchiolitis - OH MY!!!

Augh.  What. A. Week.

Monday when I woke up I just didn't feel 100%.  My chest had started feeling heavy on Sunday and Monday I just felt worn out.  Monday evening a low-grade fever set in.  Tuesday I stayed home and slept.  Wednesday, back to work, glad to have the fever gone!  I only worked a 1/2 day because Colin had an OT evaluation.  By Wednesday evening, my fever was creeping up again.  Early Thursday morning I woke up SHIVERING and knew the fever was back.  Took some tylenol around 2am.  By the time I woke up on Thursday at 5:15 my fever was up to 101.  BLECH! 
I BEGGED Steve to stay home because I knew that I needed to get to the dr and I couldn't drive myself with that kind of a fever. 
Around 7:30 I started trying to get Natalie ready for the day but she didn't want to get out of bed and she was full of fits, drama & tears.  GUESS WHAT?!?!  She had a fever of 101 too.  Grrr.  The day was shaping up to be bad.  So I sent her back to bed. 
Colin had been kinda congested and gunky for about 2wks.  Wouldn't you know - he wakes up Thursday morning and now a nasty cough has set it.  It sounded like a bark. 
I knew it was best if all 3 of us got to the dr.  The kiddos went at 1:30 with Steve.  Natalie was diagnosed with strep & the flu (HELLO!  She had a flu shot!!).  Colin was given a breathing treatment and sent over for a chest xray.  Steve came home, picked me up and dropped me off at my dr.  Then took Colin over for his chest xray and back to the pediatrician.  Meanwhile, I met with my dr who said it was definately bronchitis.  Steve talked to the pediatrician again who said that Colin had bronchiolitis.  He was given prednisone and was started on breathing treatments, 3x/day for the next 4 days. 
Friday we were still all home (except Steve, he had to go back to work).  Colin very quickly started to sound better.  Natalie finally had her fever break in the afternoon and decided to get out of the chair and play with her barbies.  DEFINATELY a good sign.
Colin has decided that he doesn't like his breathing treatments.  He cries during them.  It's hard to listen to him cry and know that I have to continue it, even though he HATES it.  I just remind myself that it's for the best.
Sooooooo...  Back to the dr tomorrow with Colin.  Hopefully the Dr will be pleased with his progress!  I think she should be.  He definately sounds better!
And me?  I'm slowly getting there.  Still very run-down and definately not 100% yet.  Getting there - slowly.

Colin receiving his breathing treatment.  Here is he actually calm and tolerating it.  

Wordless Wednesday

Back to the {DAILY} grind.....

And it SUCKS!!!!!
Monday I started back at work. Sunday was hard and that night I had a major meltdown. I felt like I wasn't doing what's best for Colin. It breaks my heart. Steve, as always, was my rock. He calmed me down and reminded me that I am doing what's best for him. I'm not one of those mom's who feels that her baby shouldn't be around other kids or in daycare. I strongly believe that Natalie one of the reasons why Natalie is as well-rounded as she is has to do with her being in daycare! But let's face it..... Colin is a special needs baby and I feel like he needs "more" then Natalie did. More encouragement, more stimulation, more support, etc. I just want him to have the best chance at life. I know all mom's feel this way. I know he is in good hands, but they're not MY hands and that is what hurts.
Today, I was cuddling him during Natalie's piano lesson. He had a different "smell." It wasn't my "smell" and that made me sad.
I know that being around older children will be good for him! And let's face it.... Spring break can't be that far away, right????
So, until then I was give him hugs and kisses each evening when we're home. I will continue to remind myself that I am doing what's best for him.

"HELLO LADIES!"

Colin wanted to say hello to his biggest fans!  The ladies!  Since he gets so much attention wherever he goes!  It must be the hair.  :-)

I mean seriously, can you even resist this adorable face??!!??!!

See!  He's ready for kisses!!

My boy has a silly personality!  One of the things he loves to do is put things in his mouth and suck on them!  He loves his thumb.  And his shirt - if it's close enough to his mouth.  Well, the other day he was playing on his mat and he managed to get the hanging toy in his mouth.  So, I went to grab my camera and by the time I came back in it was out and he was he was trying to get it in his mouth again!

He's trying........

Still trying.....

And....  HE GOT IT!

And he managed to suck on it for a few minutes!

That's my ladies man!





The Blizzard of 2011

......and what a Blizzard it was!  I headed to the gym on Tuesday around noonish, pretty sure that I wouldn't make it to my 7pm session with my trainer because of the incoming snow.  Around 1ish the snow started, and it was coming down hard and fast!  Natalie's school let out an hour early.  We were all in, and ready for most of it to begin!  We watched Toy Story 2 last night.  Love family movie nights!  ......Even if they give me a hard time because I always fall asleep!

This morning, this is what I woke up to:

Steve had said last night, "Unless my car is hidden by snow, I won't consider this a major storm."  Yea, well hang on there Mr!  It was only 8:30am!!  We had a lot of snow ahead of us.

So, Natalie sat in the front window for awhile and watched the snow falling:

And Colin hung out on his playmat!  He loves this thing!

He had no idea what was going on outside!  But, little did he know, he would find out later today when we took him out for a brief while!  hehe

At one point, I looked outside and couldn't see across the street!  The snow was coming down hard and fast!!  (do you see the fire hydrant at the edge of our side yard?)

Delicious breakfast followed!!  I love making pancakes and sausage for the family on days like today.  Delicious!

Colin didn't get to eat the good breakfast, but he did keep us company!

We spent the day relaxing.  At one point I was curled up in the recliner with Colin, Natalie, and my cat!  Steve had fallen asleep on the couch.  I dozed for a few minutes until......  SURPRISE!  My sister calls.  Woke me up.

Once the snow stopped, around 3pm, we finally headed outside to explore a bit, see how deep it was, and begin the digging-out process!

This is what we found when we opened the garage door:

Steve almost got his wish to have his car buried in snow.....  Almost!

Colin decided to see how he compared to the drift!

Natalie starts digging!

So, how much did we get??

The ruler says 17.5" Give or take an inch or so!

FINALLY!!  Driveway is plowed out!

......And one last picture of my little guy!

Tomorrow, everyone's home again.  Snow day!  But I told everyone it's a workday!  LOTS to do that we didn't do today....  :-)  And I hope to not see this type of snow for a LONG time!