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.

Germs from Hell

{ Collin waiting at the pediatrician's office & Ethan falling asleep during a breathing treatment. }

Right now, my house is full of mucousy, coughing, sniffling, sneezy, feverish, miserable boys. Ethan (Greg's grandson, who is visiting for Christmas break) started feeling sick yesterday & had a temperature. Collin's fever never really went away completely. We had a few false hopes when we got normal readings, but they were dashed away within hours. Ethan's cough got so bad last night, Meaghan had to give him a breathing treatment for his asthma. The kid was so exhausted, he fell asleep during it! And those machines are not quiet

These poor kids.

I took Collin to the doctor. She had no answers for me. It's not an ear infection, not pneumonia, not a rash, no bite marks anywhere. She said possibly the flu, but that she can't be sure since it is day five.

She ordered blood work.

Blood work, people!

On a 13 month old!!!

I am so thankful she is being thorough......but Oh. Em. Gee.

I hated pinning him down for the four vials of blood they drew. It was even worse when he looked at me with those pitiful eyes filled with fear & despair. Seriously. I felt like the worst Mama evaaarrrrrr.

I am now anxiously waiting for the results from the lab so someone can finally tell me WTF is going on with my poor kid.

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."}

Sick Day, Take Two

My hopes of Collin getting better over the course of the night were quickly dashed away when we woke up to a crib o' puke. Thankfully, I have a fantastical husband who cleaned it all up & allowed me to get in an extra half hour of sleep. I know, he rocks! That earned him at least one uninterrupted football game.

We all stayed in our jammies for the day. Partly from laziness & party because we knew we weren't going anywhere...so, why bother?

It was raining all afternoon, so poor Ethan was cooped up in the house with a sick baby & a house full of adults telling him to once again, "shoosh."

Good thing the elves came last night.

Ethan opening his gift from the elves. The lighting was horrible & he was way to excited to wait for me to switch to my low light lens. Boo!

I think he digs these visits.

Slinkie!! Woot, woot!

Collin needed loads of coaxing to even look at his gift.

Finally! I was dying to see what they brought him!

A fun book about snow! Yay!

Sniffly boy. I still couldn't resisit tying the bow around his head.

I know. I know. Worst Mom ever.

Collin's fever got up to 101.2 today.

He is still not a happy camper.

I am still worried about African Lizard Flu...

...but I do have to admit, Greg & I are soaking in these extra cuddles.

Even if they are tear stained & snot soaked.

My current view. Poor little dude.

Mama, leave me alooonnneeeee.

Lovin' on his Daddy. Cuddles.

Christmas Sickies

Collin woke up late this morning, which was a welcome surprise for this Mama. I am definitely not a morning person. He then refused breakfast, but accepted a bottle of milk. Ethan (Greg's grandson) is visiting, so I decided to allow it since Collin was eager to play with him. Halfway through his bottle, he decided to vomit all over my couch & rug....& then to vomit again....& then once more for good measure.

This was my very first experience as a Mama with puke. Not spit up....puke.

Not the way I like to start off my morning...er, mid-morning.

Since then, he has been lethargic, running a fever, coughing & sneezing.

I'm 99.9% sure he has a cold.

Everyone gets a cold sooner or later.

I know this fact, but every time Collin gets sick, my brain goes into a panicky frenzy. I get anxiety over him having some crazy bug that comes only from the jungles in Africa & that he will suffer a torturous, miserable, slow, painful death....from African Lizard Flu a cold.

I'm pretty sure this is the same for all Moms...right. Right? Right?!?!?!?!

My sick baby boo. iPhone picture because he was OMGWHINY! Typical male.

Whose kid is this? Not mine. This laying down thing is unheard of!

You have to admit, our humidifier is cute!

I had to remove his changing pad to make room for the massive elephant that can't fit anywhere else.

One thing I do know for sure. The cool mist humidifier has officially been taken from it's normal storage space in Collin's dresser cabinet & is out for the cold season...

...& that Mama is in for one long night.