"Alllll better!"

{Don't recognize the quote? Watch this adorable video of my Carter Man =}

Well, we're home. Everything went beautifully. It was so fast... they gave him "silly juice" {I need to get me some of that} we got him changed into the hospital gown, handed him off, walked to the waiting room, I answered a few work emails, Bob checked last night's Phillies stats on his iPad, and Carter was done. 14 minutes. That's all it took to make him "alll better!" =)

The doc came out right away and told us that they got a TON of fluid out of his ears and that he'll be able to hear much better now. He made sure to tell us that he makes no promises that he'll actually listen though. ;)

In the waiting room...Just before surgery {and post "silly juice"}...And now- cuddling and watching Cars with daddy...He was groggy when he woke up and he threw up from the anesthesia, but he seems to be much better now. Thank you SO MUCH for all of your thoughts and prayers. I mean it. You guys are the BEST!

We moved down to #11...
How about a vote for new ears? =)

Your Three Words

17.2 inches.

That's how much snow we got yesterday.

Someone please shoot me. Okay, it's not that bad. But close.

For the first time EVER, Carter asked to go out and play in the snow. I was shocked. He even went and got his coat and shoes and tried to put them on himself. That's when I knew he was serious. I ran around the house looking for his hat, gloves, snow pants, and fleece jacket liner so that he would be all bundled up {picture Randy... "I can't put my arms down!"} for his big adventure in the snow.

Because this was the first time he actually wanted to go outside in the snow, I wasn't prepared at all. I had to run around the house looking for everything while he yelled "Bubba, I go outside!" I found everything but his hat and gloves {of course!} so I ended up just putting his hood up and throwing on Brynn's mittens. {Shhh, don't tell.}

After getting him all dressed, I carried him right out front, put him on the sidewalk and he immediately screamed "It's cold! It's cold! I don't want too!"

Nice.
I at least made him stand out there for a few minutes. After getting him all dressed up, there was no way I was letting him off the hook that easy.It only took about 2 minutes, before he started helping us shovel!
Then, of course, he didn't want to come in. He never once stood in {or even touched} the snow. He was strictly a sidewalk man. Oh well, I was just happy he actually wanted to go outside.

And here's a cool picture that I took of the tree in our front yard. The snow was so heavy that it was pulling down the branches...
Brynnie Girl stayed in her warm pj's all day. That's my girl =)
But my poor baby has a 101 fever and is headed to the doctor's this morning. Not to mention that Bob has been sick with the flu since Monday night. We just can't win this winter, can we?? Thankfully both kids had their flu shots, so I guess that mess is headed straight to me, huh?

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#17! You guys are awesome!!
And we're so close to #16!

Your Three Words

What. a. week.

First it was Carter's double ear infection, strep throat, and high fever. Then my mom was admitted to the hospital {and she's still there!} What's next? My mom has always said that "bad news comes in 3's." I'm just waiting for something else to happen.

So, in the midst of this craptastic week, there is something that stands out to me as the highlight of the week.

Food, of course. Five Guys Burgers and Fries, in particular.
Hungry yet?

Yesterday, after sitting up at the hospital all day with my mom, dad, and sisters we decided to ditch my mom {what?} and go grab some dinner. We were so excited to find a Five Guys right down the street.

It was seriously the most greasy meal of pure deliciousness that I've ever had. And, by far, the highlight of my crappy week.

So, thank you Five Guys. I don't care that I doubled the recommended caloric intake for a single day in just one meal. It was totally worth it.

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Playing Catch Up

I apologize for my lack of blogging this week, but it has not been a good week so far. Carter Man has had a fever {spiking to 103 at times} since Monday night and after an appointment this morning with our pediatrician, we found out that he has a double ear infection and strep throat. My heart is literally breaking just seeing him like this.

He just fell asleep watching Nemo {a movie that I have yet to turn off even though he's been sleeping for an hour} and I am continuously taking his temperature and giving him extra lovin. I can't wait until these antibiotics kick in!Let's play catch up, shall we...

Well, besides the fact that the world's tallest man was sitting right in front of us, Les Mis was ah-mazing. The songs were beautiful, the actors were great {though I'm sure I could sing better ;} and we had a wonderful time at dinner and the show. It was such a fun night with my mom and sisters!I swear we got a group shot, but I think it's on my sister's camera...

On Sunday, I went to lunch with my mom and sister, Kacy and then we headed to the mall where I finally got a chance to use a few gift cards I got for Christmas. I spent the rest of Sunday snuggling with my babies.

On Monday, Bob and I headed out for a surprise birthday lunch for Reenie {who is practically my 3rd sister.} It was soooo nice to have Monday off and spend the day with friends and family at the wonderful restaurant El Vez. {Bring on the margaritas!!}Monday night is when Carter starting feeling sick, and with being back to work, we haven't done much since then. I'm home today and we'll see how my handsome boy feels tomorrow. So far, so good with Brynn... though she has a little cough/cold thing {AGAIN!!!} she doesn't have a fever.

I have a few blog posts in the works right now and I also have a major blog overhaul coming up that I can't wait to share with you!

An Update

I plan to write a "real" blog post later today, but for now, here's an update:

My mom is feeling a little better. She has a ton of meds and she's "resting." I put that in quotes, because my mom doesn't really rest. For example, yesterday she wrapped Christmas presents and made 4 dozen Christmas cookies {with the decorating help of my sister, Kacy.} How's that for "resting"? Mom, you better be laying down when you read this, woman...

As for Carter, it got worse before it got better. Friday night he was moaning in his sleep and then woke up screaming at 5:30am. I mean screaming. I couldn't calm him down. He felt a little warm and was pulling on both ears saying "it hurts! it hurts!" :(

Once the Motrin kicked in, he seemed to be fine, but he woke up screaming from his nap later that day. We called the pedi and she said it sounded like a double ear infection and called in a prescription for him for ear drops. At this point, I was out Christmas shopping while Bob was home with the kiddos, so I left the mall and ran right to the Walmart Pharmacy.

When I got there at 6:05pm, they informed me that they didn't have the ear drops. WHAT?!? I made the pharmacist call around to see who else had them, b/c I was not letting my child go through another night in pain. Most pharmacies closed at 6pm on a Saturday night, but he did find another one that closed at 7:00pm that had the drops in stock.

After a breif meltdown at the Walmart express register that closed seconds before I got in line {you should have seen all the other registers... the lines were down the aisles} the woman let me pay for my milk and bread {after begging her} and I was on my way to the other pharmacy.

I made it there just in time to get the drops and they have been a Godsend ever since. Carter is like a new boy and hasn't complained about his ears once! This is his first ear infection that he's ever had {I know, we're lucky that he made it two and a half years without one!} so I had no idea what to do. My sister Kristi, who is an ear infection/tubes pro, helped calm me down, so I want to thank her so much for that!

My question to you other ear infection pros out there- Do you think the double ear infection caused Carter to throw up the night before?? I totally forgot to ask the pedi about that... the stomach bug is going around too so that could have been the culprit as well.

Thank you so much for all of your healthy vibes!

#24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys are seriously THE BEST!!! xoxo

Your Three Words

Sorry for the delay, we have our work Christmas party all day today {bring on the mimosa's for breakfast, the mid-morning gift exchange in which I was given "Beers of Pennsylvania Brewery's", and the lunch at a BYOB Italian place in South Philly! I sense a theme here... :)}

In all seriousness, last night was rough. It was more than rough. Poor Carter Man was so sick and was projectile vomiting everywhere. This was really the first time he's thrown up and my poor baby was so scared. I kept him next to me all night and would bounce out of bed as soon as I sensed that it might happen again.

Needless to say, no one slept in our house last night. Well, except for Brynnie who happily snored away in her crib all night.

Bob stayed home with the kiddos today so that I could come to my work Christmas party. :::sips mimosa::: I do feel bad though. I never want to see my baby boy like that again. Bob said that Carter seemed like his old self this morning, so I hope everything is out of his system now!

In other news, my mom was diagnosed was a "serious case of pneumonia" yesterday afternoon. Sigh. Please send healthy vibes this way, thank you very much. =)

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#26! Thank you for all of your wonderful votes!!

Your Three Words

Well, the streak is over. More on this in a minute...

I never get sick. And, if I do, it's usually allergy/sinus related. Not this time. I got that stomach bug that's been going around. And let me just tell you... it is the worst thing EVER. The stomach spasms alone want to make you shoot yourself. On Wednesday night, I was getting them once a minute all. night. long. I couldn't sleep at all. {It was worse then labor! Labor, people!} I ended up pacing around the living room and kitchen for a few hours, puking my guts out, and "sleeping" on the glider in Brynn's room because it's next to the bathroom.

I want to thank my mom for watching the kids yesterday because I never would have made it. I ended up staying in bed from 8am-3pm trying to catch up on sleep. I haven't eaten a thing in 2 days {except for saltines... ya think this will help my diet?} I really just want to feel better!

Now, back to the streak I mentioned earlier. I am some sort of machine and I haven't thrown up since I was 10 years old. TEN. I'm not kidding. I never ever throw up. Well, this stomach bug must of been some kind of awful {oh, it was} because I threw up for the first time in 21 years. Yuck.

I'm feeling a little better today, but I'm still getting those stomach spasms. Sigh. Let's hope this is a 48 hour bug...

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Y3W

Ugh. Carter and I have been so sick the past few days. C started on Tuesday with a pretty bad cold and constant runny nose. Poor guy. He's been acting perfectly normal, but we have been wiping his nose non-stop. Then he gave it to me. Which is fine, as it's likely my fault he got the cold to begin with... after all, I was the one that took him out in the freezing rain to look for a Christmas tree. Oops. Between that and the Santa incident, he's sure to be packing his bags and moving in with Aunt Kacy any day now.

Since Wednesday afternoon, I've had a tissue box in my hand 24/7. Yes, I have even been sleeping with one. The pressure alone makes me want to shoot my nose off. My eyes are watering like crazy and I honestly feel bad for Bob because he has to look at me like this, lol. Ugh.

I do feel a tiny bit better today and I think the medicine that I can actually take may be working a little. But I still feel like complete crap. Carter and I plan on laying around today and watching Christmas movies, which sounds like the perfect day to me if I wasn't having an affair with a tissue box. I think Bob is starting to suspect something...

House full of sickies...

Sorry for my lack of blogging recently. Carter's been sick since Thursday and I've been sick since Friday night. It made for an excellent weekend. I'm happy it was crappy outside, so it didn't seem like such a waste. I've never took so many naps in my entire life {like 2-3 a day, which is a lot for me. I don't nap.} I slept every time Carter slept. I even had to call out sick yesterday. Ugh.

Despite being sick, Carter is in such a good mood. Poor guy hasn't been able to keep anything down for days. The virus that he has is now causing a rash on his back. The doctor said that he isn't dehydrated and seems to be okay despite the stomach bug, so there's not much really we can do about it. Poor guy. He even lost a pound! I told him it was because he wanted to use his Jumperoo longer {the weight limit is 25lbs... he's now back down to 24lbs even.} Hehe. I took a few pictures of him yesterday (in outfit #3 for the day, lol.) He's still handsome :)

Concentrating on the kid in the mirror...
He loves all his toys.
Hi Bubba!

Excited that Comcast finally put a new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse onDemand...

Mr. Carter

Fell asleep eating... again.

I love how he's holding his hands. He thinks it's still the bottle, I'm sure ;)

My handsome little boy.

I have a feeling I'm going to get this face/attitude for years to come...

He loves being up on all fours and rocking. He hasn't moved yet, though!

Get better Carter!!

Hospitalized

Carter hasn't been feeling well since about Sunday night. He's been coughing and sneezing with a runny nose... ya know, the works. Well Tuesday night into Wednesday morning his "cold" went to the whole next level. He woke up choking and vomiting. Poor thing :( Bob called the pedi as soon as the office opened and got him an appointment right away.

This is where things got interesting. Bob took Carter to the doctors while I was at work yesterday (and calling a million times.) The doc gave C a breathing treatment because he was struggling for air and wheezing pretty bad. After the first treatment, there was no change so they gave him another one. Still nothing. He was not responding to the breathing treatments. They told Bob to take him to the ER immediately.

I met both my boys at AI DuPont Children's Hospital with my sister, Kacy. We went straight from work and we were thankful that there wasn't a ton of traffic at 3:30 in the afternoon. I was sad to see that Carter was so pale and the area around his eyes were bright red. He was in great spirits though and he was smiling and laughing at his Aunt Kacy as soon as he saw her.

So, to make a long story short, Carter was diagnosed with a pretty bad case of RSV. {SUV? SVU? No? ...too soon for jokes?} He was given 7 breathing treatments and finally responded to the last one. We were very thankful that he didn't have to be admitted and we could take him home with us. I wasn't leaving that hospital without him.

I think you know me enough, by now, to know that I have pictures for you.

My little man in his hospital gown {and happily laughing.... his good spirits made it so much easier for us all to handle.} And once we were home...

Laying on his Poppy.
Yet another breathing treatment...poor guy :( But, like I said, he has been a happy little man this whole time...

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers yesterday.