Wednesday, March 30, 2011

SURPRISE Baby Shower!

Another reason I needed/wanted to leave early for our trip to Utah was because me and my mom were covertly trying to plan a surprise baby shower for my sister, who is pregnant with her first baby.  It's hard for us all to get together at the same time, so I figured why not during our Snowbird week, when everyone's already there.  It was so fun being sneaky and planning it all the while staying at her house.  I was so worried she was going to find out....but we pulled it off magnificently!

We disguised it by having a girls shopping day down in Salt Lake (which is a very normal thing - no suspicions there) and having lunch at Olive Garden, where everyone would be waiting when we arrived. It was fabulous! Except for the hostess guy who nearly ruined it when he said to us "Are you here for the baby shower?" and my sister-in-law fiercely whispered "Shut up!!!!!" But then they led us to the back where everyone (cousins, aunts, a couple friends from college) were waiting. She was so confused! And surprised! I'm so mad I didn't get a picture of her face.

fun times....

good food.....

and lots of presents!

Oh, and I pulled out my Kelley-crafty skills and made this beautiful diaper cake.  I'm impressed, at least.  And it matches the baby's room (which is all done in pink and black and white paisley).  So adorable.  I can't wait to see this baby already!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Bon Jovi....again!

What do you do when you are planning a trip and you find out that your good friend Jon Bon Jovi (remember how he practically loves me) is performing in that exact same city, only a week before your scheduled trip????  Leave your husband with the kids and buy tickets of course! 

First I must say that my husband rocks.  He puts up with my craziness (and that of my sister as well) when we spontaneously decide we need a girls trip...and to see Jon again.  Now I didn't leave all the kids with him, just Caiden, as we were already pulling him out of school for a week for our annual Snowbird trip.  I felt it would be irresponsible of me to have him miss another week of school.  And since I'm the picture of responsibilty itself, I took Paige and Preston with me.  You know, priorities.  Casey wasn't exactly happy about this plan, nor did he share my excitement (in any way, shape, or form), but he went along (if a bit begrudgingly) and didn't try to tell me no.  Mostly because it is highly unlikely I would listen :) but also because he rocks.  Plus, I told him he would have a fabulous time bonding with his oldest son, just the boys.  AND it was obvious I needed to get away as I was starting to lose my mind after having just gotten over the RSV fiasco with Preston and adjusting to life with 3 kids.  Seriously, I had a MAJOR crazy-full-on-lost-my-mind (and memory) moment...and it was clear I needed a break.  (It's actually a funny story, maybe I will share it sometime, if I get over my embarassment first :)

But on to more important matters....the concert itself.  We had a blast!!!  It was so fun and they put on such a great show.


And check out how great our seats were!  I'm pretty sure he spotted us....and was happy we were there.




Unfortunately, we did not get to stalk meet him after the show.  I had 2 children I needed to pick up and get to bed.  That's just me, being all responsible.  Like I said, priorities.   

Saturday, March 12, 2011

RSV and No Teeth

Preston is approaching 2 months!  And what a crazy past few weeks it has been.  It all started with Paige getting sick...and then it was downhill from there for everyone.  (Not that I'm blaming her, that's just who it started with). 

First she randomly gets sick in the middle of the night and then develops a cold.  Then, Caiden wakes up one morning and his eyes are freakishly swollen. (Wish I had taken a picture).  That lasted a couple of days and it was very weird.  My eyes watered every time I looked at him.  Then my throat starts hurting REALLY bad.  Thought maybe I had strep.  Then I wake up with a lovely fat cold sore on my lip and my mouth is FULL of ridiculous, painful canker sores. (TMI, I know.  But it hurt!)  I could hardly stand to eat or chew anything and was pretty much on a liquid diet for a few days.  (However, it did help me lose the last of my baby weight hanging around :)  I tried so hard to keep all of this nastiness from Preston, but how is that even humanly possible with both kids sneezing and coughing all over (and their idea of "covering their mouth" is anything but that) and me being in such close contact with him all the time????  It's not possible, I tell you.

So sadly, Preston starts to develop a cold.  First the runny nose and congestion, then slowly a cough develops, which seems to get worse as time goes by.  Then he starts to lack in nursing and I can't get him to eat very well.  So I take him in, honestly thinking he has an ear infection.  Nope.  RSV!!!  I sorta freaked out when his doctor told me.  Isn't that a serious thing? 

So then all the tests are ordered.  First they start with the nebulizer, which he actually LOVED.  I literally watched my baby get high right before my eyes.  His eyes got all lupe-y looking and his arms fell to his sides as he breathed in the vapors.  It was pretty funny.  Then a blood test, with not one, but two pokes.  They couldn't get it in the first arm and had to do it in the other, all whilst screaming bloody murder.  Not so funny.  I just couldn't handle the tortured scream coming from my baby.  You know the kind where they let out a huge cry and then they're silent and breathless for a few seconds, and then comes the next one even louder and they're shaking in pain? Yep. I pretty much lost it too and cried with him.  Then a chest x-ray - not as bad as the blood draw, but not as pleasant as the nebulizer.  Then, back up stairs where they put a huge long tube up each nostril and sucked all the junk out of his lungs.  He didn't love that either.  THEN, the doctor tells me RSV almost always leads to ear infections and the fact that he doesn't have his first set of immunizations would put him at risk of menigitis.  Don't want that.  So 3 more shots it is, right in the thigh.  I fail to mention that Paige is with me and doesn't understand why they are torturing our baby.  After the first failed blood draw, she put her hands over her eyes and says "I don't want to watch anymore!"  Me too girlie.

So the doctor contemplates having him stay the night in the hospital.  Huh?  But she sends us home and tells me to watch for a fever and if his breathing gets any more labored.  Then we go back the next morning and the next morning for follow ups.  They get his blood tests back and there's something detected that shouldn't be there.  They're thinking just a contaminate, but not sure.  So guess what?  Another blood draw.  And in both arms too.  He cries, I cry, Paige hides.  Then his doctor says his lungs sound not as good as the day before and with it being Friday and not able to come in over the weekend she decides he needs monitoring at the hospital overnight.  Before we go they do one more nebulizer treatment, which he LOVES, and then a steriod shot, which he does not love so much. 


And that's how he ended up in what I call the baby jail.  Is this not the most frightening looking crib you've ever seen.  Every time the nurse checked him, she raise the rail all the way up, and as soon as she left, right back down it went.  I mean, he's a baby - not an animal/criminal, and I'm right here.  I can see if he suddenly learns how to sit up, roll over and fall off a bed. 







So me and my boy just hung out with this obnoxious little cord wrapped around his little teeny tiny toe.  It monitored his oxygen levels, which needed to be above 95 and the closer to 100 the better.  Gradually they got stronger and he started eating better and never once developed a fever, which is good.  And his blood tests came back okay.  So the next day we went home. Yay!  Then come Monday morning we go back to the doctors office for a follow up, and what do you know - an ear infection.  So he's on antibiotics, but totally over the cough and weird labored-wheezing breathing.

He's even started smiling a bit.  Mostly at the walls and ceiling, and only a little bit at us.  We're pretty sure he has imaginary friends.  I'm just SO grateful he's back to being his healthy little self and it really puts into perspective how hard it would be to have a baby that needed constant monitoring and in and out of the hospital.  My heart goes out to them.  I think Heavenly Father knows what I can and can't handle.  I cried over a blood draw for pete's sake.

Speaking of things I can't handle, here's another one.....


This crazy kid has had his 2 front teeth loose FOR-E-VER.  It literally got to the point where they were dangling and when he would talk it would hit his bottom lip and move.  I could NOT bear it.  I tried pulling out the first one, and Caiden nearly died of a panic attack.  No joke.  He started breathing heavily and saying "m-my h-heart is b-beating s-s-so F-FAST!!!" and then "I think I'm gonna throw up" and runs to the bathroom and starts gagging (but no throw up).  Are you freakin kidding me?  I used to pull my teeth out in school.  Seriously.  I get bored easily.  So when Casey got home, I said "Go pull your son's tooth out NOW!" and wa-la, he yanked it out.  Then a few weeks later the other one was ready to come out and Caiden lost all trust in Casey.  He would not let him near his tooth.  But after much convincing and wailing and gnashing of teeth (literally) Casey ripped the other one out.  And now we have this toothless little boy who speaks with a lisp :)

And Paige....what has she been up to?  Just her crazy little hilarious self.  I've no pictures, but take my word for it.