Blue Christmas

Collin had a pediatrician appointment first thing this morning. I spoke with a nurse last night & after five days of fever & coughing, she told us it was time we come in to have Collin examined.

Only we didn't get any answers.

His ears were checked for infection. Nothing. Chest listened to for pneumonia. Nothing. Body checked for a bite or rash. Nothing.

My poor Boobah (one of my many embarrassing nick names for Collin) was so scared & being poked & prodded at by nurses & doctors was enough for him to have a complete breakdown. Fun.

The ped thought it might be a case of flu, but wasn't convinced since I'm not sick (I decline to get a flu shot every year). She ran a quick swab test & told me Collin also needed blood work. A five day fever had her stumped.

Awesome.

I had to hold Collin down as he fought me & started at me confused & bewildered. Scared & sick. Worst. Mom. Day. Ever.

Once we were loaded back up into my car. I had a mental Mommy breakdown. My African Lizard Flu concern was no longer at ease. I wanted my baby to feel better already. I hate seeing him so sick & hate that he doesn't understand why he is feeling badly.

The blood results came back around 2PM. Negative for flu, blood work was normal...aside from a low white blood cell count. Which is because he is fighting off some kind of viral infection. Doc said she thought it could possibly be the tail end of a flu & that is why it's not showing up positive on the swab test.

She told me if we had any travel plans for the holidays, that we should cancel them because we aren't 100% sure what he has & because he needs to be closely monitored over the next 24-48 hours.

Awesome.

We were already packed up for LA.

After discussing it with Greg, we decided that he would still go down to LA to be with his side of the family on Christmas Eve....& so he could take Meaghan & Ethan to see a doctor since Ethan lives there with his Dad. Collin & I would stay here. Suckage.

I was worried Ethan would wake up & open his elf gifts before I got back from the ped's office, but he was still sleeping when we returned home. Poor guy was up all night coughing & with chills.

Collin spent most of the day sleeping & Ethan spent it in our recliner watching Netflix cartoons on our Wii.

{ Sickie Ethan with his elf gift. }

{ Open, open, open! }

{ "Holly!!!! The elves got me what I wanted!!!" }

{ Collin is more & more intrigued with these gifts as the days pass by. }

{ "Mama! The elves brought me a weapon of mass destruction!" }

{ Okay...maybe it was a book! }

{ Collin loves books! Just like his Mama! }

{ Bokeh obsession. }

{ Blood work boo-boo. Sad face. }

{ Eating some dinner. Very politely. }

{ Keeping up manners...even when he's sick. Atta boy! }

{ What a proper man! }

{ Told ya! Obsession. }

{ Chocolate?!?! Not moi?!?!?! }

Greg, Meaghan & Ethan left around 7PM. Collin went to be shortly after.

I miss my husband.

I miss the house being full of people & life. That is what Christmas is about.

Life happens & Greg will be back Christmas Day, but I'm still sad & lonely.

It is way too quiet around here.

...& I'm alone with all of the chocolate.

Elf Visits: Night Five

Sweet dreams, blogosphere!

Baker, Baker, Cookie Maker

Funds are tight this year. I know we aren't the only ones struggling to provide a good Christmas for their family. Instead of buying gifts for our families, this year, we decided to bake goodies for everyone. It's a great way to show you care & are thinking about them & it's also light on the wallet. Is baking for a family of 34 (yes, you read correctly, my husband's family is 34 strong...35 including myself) easy? H-E-double hockey-sticks, no!! But I did put more time & effort into these cookies than I would have any other gift from off of the store shelf.

Collin's fever is up again. Ethan is now experiencing the same symptoms. He was feeling so sick, he didn't even remember his elf gift until late this afternoon. I'm pretty sure this illness isn't from Collin's vaccines, now that I factor in these two things. I have an appointment for Collin at crack of my ass in the morning to see his pediatrician. I am not a morning person. I must seriously love this kid.

Plus, we are supposed to leave for LA tomorrow evening. Bag packing, present checking, blogging, medicine grabbing, laundry washing, dog feeding, cat feeding, window checking, door locking car loading.....& pediatrician appointment.

Way. Too. Much. To. Do.

Good thing Collin can cook.

{Chocolate covered pretzels.}

{Snickerdoodles.}

{Peanut butter cookies.}

{Rice Krispy treats.}

{Elf gift unwrapping.}

{Elf gift nomming.}

{Collin's elf gift, a wooden toy car.}

{Ethan's elf gift, a set of stamps.}

{Mama's chef.}

{"Zees is how ve stir ze sauce."}

Elf Visits: Night Four

Those sweet, little elves. Only three days left.

Sweet dreams, dolls.

Gingerbread Houses & Christmas Tree Photos

It was another rainy, gloomy day today. You won't hear me complaining...except for the fact that it provides the most craptacular lighting for photos. Dude. Seriously.

My apologies ahead of time for the grainy, dull photos.

Collin is still not completely recovered from his sickies. He is still weak & tired. Eating very little. Drinking no milk. Just water. I'm hoping tomorrow I will feel comfortable enough to give him milk again.

Poor Ethan. He will never want to visit us again. All the, "Ssssshshhhhhhh! Collin is sleeping!" Has got to be annoying the kid. And the rain! We have a park around the corner from us. It's sheer torture for the kid. Bummer.

Lucky for him, I bought a gingerbread house kit for him to decorate. He waited patiently...the elf gift was a nice distraction...until Collin went down for a nappy. Then he was sent to work.

After Collin woke up from his nappy, Meaghan & I decided we needed pictures of our boys by the Christmas tree. Tell me Collin doesn't look completely adorbz & pathetic all at the same time? My pobrecito!

Elf Visits: Night Three

Those elves are tricky! I tried staying up to catch them in the act, but somewhere between The Real Housewives of Atlanta & cutting myself yet another slice of pumpkin log, they arrived!

Hope your dreams are filled with visions of sugarplums.

The Old Man is Snoring

It's raining, it's pouring! The old man is snoring!

It's another grey, cloudy, rainy day & I couldn't be happier about it! When you live in the desert, rain is a welcome friend...especially when you're missing snow. This is what winter is supposed to feel like & this is Christmas is supposed to be like.

Cloudy. Rainy. Wet. Fever breaking. Healthy baby. Elf gift unwrapping. Lazy. Leftover chili. Garfield cartoons. Animal naps. Baby naps. Warm fireplace. Christmas tree gazing.

I wish I could bottle this day up.

I'm of to watch some Christmas movies, now. Hallmark channel, whaaaaaaat?!?!?!