I am feeling very blessed to live in this tight knit community. I love that we not only know our neighbors but we look out for each other and take care of each other.
Breahna and I have been pretty sick, her longer than me (at least 2 weeks now!). I took her to the Dr. on Friday because she was coughing so hard she was choking and holding her breath. She couldn't eat or sleep. Poor baby is miserable. They took a swab to test for whooping cough which I was told is really bad this summer. I started getting sick last Monday and it has rapidly progressed. It might possibly be pneumonia but I'm still not sure. Of course it's a holiday weekend so the lab won't get test results for Breahna until at least Tuesday and if we want any medical care our only option is going to the E.R.
Yesterday Breahna was really scaring me. She was coughing so hard she threw up at least 3-4 ounces of milk. It was coming out of her nose and her ears.
I freaked out and called a few people to confirm my baby would survive. Then I calmed down and did what I've been doing a lot, I prayed. I am grateful for prayer and it's calming influence to help us out in any situation. I was able to know what I needed to do to comfort her and to especially be comforted myself to know she would be okay.
Last night she was at it again. It was almost funny, one of us would start coughing and the other would follow right behind. It's like we were egging each other on who could cough harder and longer. I feel bad for Jake who was in the room with us! About 2 am she was gagging and choking and in a lot of pain. She couldn't quit coughing and couldn't seem to find relief. It was scary being the parent and having to make decision if she needed the E.R. or not. I was able to again be comforted to know we would both be okay and to know what I needed to do to relieve her symptoms.
Back to our neighbors and friends. We have had a lot of phone calls and people stopping by just to ask if we're doing okay and if we need anything. One sweet friend brought a get-well basket with tissues, medicine, tea, oranges, and a 'Happy Birthday' bag of candy for Alexander.
Another neighbor brought over some peach jello salad something and rolls.
Today, the little boys are with a friend at a lake at the sand dunes. I sure wish we could be there instead of stuck in bed! But I am grateful the kids were able to get out of the house.
I am also extremely grateful for Jake (and the fact that he's not back in school yet). He has really taken care of all of us this past week. Me and Breahna have been able to sleep a lot, which has been awesome.
This is what we've been dealing with this past week while I was also trying to plan and execute a Star Wars party for Alexander. I can't believe this little baby is three years old!
I'll start at the beginning of the week:
I started feeling symptoms of getting sick last Sunday. It was just an annoying dry cough so carried on with party preparations for Alexander's 3rd birthday. All he could talk about was Star Wars. He was very excited to have a Star Wars party with his friends.
I created invitations to pass out to his friends:
I am very proud of how the invitations turned out. I am not at all comfortable or familiar with creating on a computer. I got one of their Star Wars books and scanned in the picture of Yoda and stole the Star Wars logo off Wikipedia online. I opened a blank word document and played around with everything. I was excited when it worked out! I burned it onto a disk and took it to the local copy center to print copies. Our printer is out of ink and with all that black I'm sure it was cheaper in the end to pay, what was it? Maybe 50 cents a sheet, so 25 cents at most an invitation - worth it to me!
Pretty soon I got the stuffy/runny nose. Achy head followed as I continued to cough. I had too much to do this week and I couldn't slow down and rest. What a very inconvenient time to get sick!
Wednesday was a crazy day. I felt like our whole apartment was going to fall apart. It all started with our internet going down (later found out it was because some construction crews cut a line!)
I baked the dome shaped cake in a big silver bowl then decided my dishes were already dirty so I might as well make the rest of the cake. I made enough batter for 4 more layers. Went to heat up our oven and it wouldn't turn on! Our neighbors were out of town and had left their keys under their rug so I helped myself to their kitchen. I got two pans of cake batter in their oven then got the brilliant idea that we should unplug our oven and plug it back in. Wouldn't you know it, it worked! I was able to get the rest of the cake done in our kitchen. Glad we were able to cancel the work order for people to come look at our oven. They weren't scheduled to come until the week after!
I took Kaleb to his speech therapy appointment. He is doing so awesome!
Afterward I drug myself to several stores to get party supplies and food.
I felt like I had no time to every really rest. Jake kept telling me to stay in bed, rest. I couldn't, I had to plan and prepare! I couldn't even sleep at night because Breahna was coughing and wanting to eat at least every 3 hours. Alexander is still wetting the bed.
Just go-go-go
Thursday I decided to make two more layers of cake or R2 would be really squatty (he still was!)
Friday was doctor appointment for Breahna and more preparations. We were planning on decorating the cake after the boys went to bed. As day wore on into night I was hitting a serious low point and felt like I was going to collapse. My eyes couldn't focus and my whole body was shutting down. Alexander had a fever and was lethargic - greeeaaat.
By this pint I couldn't handle anymore. I couldn't fight any longer. I couldn't be the super mom I wanted to be. My body is only human. I had to make the sad decision to call our friends and tell them the party was canceled. I just couldn't do it. Physically or mentally.
I was so disappointed. Especially for Alexander. He was so excited to share his love of Star Wars with his friends. He's so sweet. I explained to him that we had to cancel his party but assured him we would still make R2D2 and eat it on Sunday as a family. He got a big grin and declared "it's going to be yummy!"
I am so blessed to have these kids. They are amazing and wonderful. They don't need a super mom.
Saturday we all rested. That evening Jake and I made the cake. We make a good cake decorating team. I make cake, frosting, and fondant (this time I bought it!) I frost the cakes and such. Jake has a really god eye for shaping the cake and the fondant pieces.
I really want to take cake decorating classes and learn how to smoothly frost a cake.
We did our best and we were extremely proud of our 8 layer R2D2 cake.
The boys were equally excited and kept coming in to watch our progress and to pick at the cake scraps.
Alexander kept dragging everyone by the hand "come see, come see!"
Sunday was Alexanders birthday. Jake took the boys to church. Breahna and I stayed home, slept and coughed at each other.
After church we made the birthday boys dinner request - heart shaped waffles! Breakfast for dinner, I can handle that. Glad it was easy. We made it a full meal with bacon, scrambled eggs, and Jake's favorite, hashbrowns.
The boys couldn't wait for us to pull out the cake. Alexander was so tired (it's hard having church at 1:00!) He couldn't even manage a bite of his long-awaited cake.
that's a lot of cake!
We had a few presents for Alexander to open:
I think Alexander had fun. I hope he knows how loved he is. We cut up the rest of the cake and took huge slices to our friends. We weren't going to eat it all! Not to mention we have all the rice crispy treats to eat.
Now I can rest as I hang out with this little girl. She is such a blessing. She is so miserable and yet she is still very smiley and laughs easily. I think I'll get us out for a short walk today, it would feel good!
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