Sick & Unhappy

We had a fun weekend of volleyball which I will blog about tomorrow, but today let's talk about a long week with Carson. He woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday night with a terrible cough. He tends to get a croupy cough every time the weather changes, which I had kind of forgotten about. The doctor has always told us that he has a narrow airway so any cough sounds exaggerated. This cough was definitely more significant than any he's had in a while, so we called the doctor to get him in on Monday. 

He's been complaining about his back hurting for a couple weeks, so the appointment was dual purpose. She said his lungs, ears, and throat looked fine, but she did want to take some x-rays to check on his back. She wasn't worried, but just to be safe. Everything came back normal, so that was good news! She said his cough was probably due to the change in weather. 

Darrin and I split Monday and Tuesday so we each worked a half day and stayed home with him the other half. It's hard for Darrin to take off this time of year, but I had some deadlines at work too. We managed and felt sure that he would be better on Wednesday. Unfortunately, he woke up during the night with a high fever. Our forehead thermometer wasn't working, so I tried to get him to put a regular thermometer under his tongue, but he wouldn't do it. He kept it under there for around 5 seconds and it was already up to 102. There is no telling how high it really was. 

Darrin ended up staying with him on Wednesday, I stayed home on Thursday, and Darrin's parents stayed home with him on Friday. It was a long week, but we managed. I was actually able to get quite a bit of work done on Thursday. 

The hardest part about Carson being sick is that when he feels bad, he acts TERRIBLE. Example A. I tried to give him a bath on Tuesday night and by the end of it the entire bathroom was covered in water, I was drenched, and he was screaming. There was so much water on the walls, floor, and mirrors, that it me two bath towels and one huge beach towel to clean is up. In complete rage, he threw an entire cupful in my face. When I finally got him out, he was begging and screaming for me to hold him. I sat down on his bedroom floor and held him while he cried. He felt so bad for how he had acted. Even though his behavior is so bad at times, he is usually very remorseful. He often says sorry without any prompting. I find that characteristic very interesting for a three year old and can't wait to see how that manifests as he is older. Miles doesn't really have that quality, as most kids probably do not, so I just think it's interesting. He seems to feel deeply with his emotions, whether it be joy, excitement, remorse, or sadness. 

He ended up running fever off and on until Friday. I think it was just a virus, but I did question if it was the flu b/c of how pitiful he was. I wanted to take him back to the doctor to see if it was the flu, but there was no reason to pay for a doctor's visit when there's nothing they could do anyway.

In the breaks when he would feel a little better, we tried to get a little fresh air. 

Being outside is the key to his happiness. He is an outdoor kid through and through. 

Last night, Miles fell asleep on the couch around 6pm which is very unusual. I thought I might jump out a window if he was sick, but he woke up after a little nap and appeared to be fine. He's been on fall break all week and while he hasn't done a whole lot, he has kept later hours than usual. I guess it just caught up with him.

I have off tomorrow for Columbus Day. I'm ready to send everyone to work, school, and daycare and get a few things done. We are so ready to get back into a regular routine around here!

Weekend Wrap Up

It's taken me a couple of days to get to this weekend wrap up b/c Carson has been sick with a croupy cough which has made him exceptionally needy. He's on the mend now, thank goodness. We are all ready for the schedules to go back to normal tomorrow.

Friday night, Carson got to go to Darrin's home volleyball game. This is a rare occasion as I usually get a babysitter or stay home. He was very excited and I have to say that he was really good even though the game went five sets and lasted almost 2.5 hours. 

He was very excited to see Darrin when we walked in. I was afraid that he would want to be with Darrin during the game, especially since Miles sits on the bench, but he didn't. 

He was fairly content to sit with me at the top of the stands.

It was Dig Pink night for Breast Cancer Awareness, so we celebrated with our favorite breast cancer survivor, Stephanie. 

Aunt Crystal surprised us and brought Olivia and Ava to the game. It's a long drive for them, so we were very thankful. 

Aunt Crystal and the girls were helpful with Carson too. 

Brotherly and sisterly love :)

Uncle D with Olivia and Ava...

These cousins don't get to see each other as much as we would like for them too, but they always have fun together and pick up where they left off.

After five long, stressful sets, we came away with a win!

Then, Granny & Pa took the boys so Darrin and I could celebrate our anniversary weekend. All the years that Darrin has been in coaching, it has never worked out for us to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday (the same day...we got married on my 25th birthday). Darrin usually plays on Friday and Saturday, but this year his games fell on Friday and Sunday.

We left after the game on Friday and drove to Memphis to stay at the Big Cypress Lodge for two nights. 

We had never stayed there, but I heard the rooms were really nice and that there were several things to do within the hotel. We really liked the rooms and agreed that it was probably the nicest hotel we have stayed in. The pictures don't do it justice. It's a cabin feel and even has a fireplace. The bathroom was really nice, but I forgot to take pictures before we took it over.

Through the French doors in the room, there is a balcony that overlooks the inside of the hotel. It has rocking chairs and plenty of space to hang out. The detail inside the hotel was fun to look at.

You can see the Bass Pro shop, the elevator that goes observation deck, and there is water below with lots of fish and even a section with alligators.

The purpose of the weekend was to get away and REST. We have both been so tired from work and the kids. We shopped a little...

...and ate...

...and slept! We were so tired.

This is from the observation deck. I didn't love the elevator ride to the top, but it was a pretty view and the weather was nice.

It was very nice to spend time together celebrating 18 years, even if we did talk about the kids a lot and wonder what they were doing.

We asked a woman to take our picture. She took the one above and then told us to kiss. It was pretty awkward, but kudos to her for her effort.

The boys had a great time with Granny and Pa. Miles and Pa went fishing twice.

They went to see Aunt Crystal and the girls at their house on Saturday. That's always fun b/c they have dogs and chickens. I love when the boys get to spend time with their cousins.

On Sunday, Darrin and I woke up and drove 4.5 hours to meet Darrin's team and play their second game of the weekend. It was another stressful five sets, but we won again! We had a 4.5 hour drive home from there and finally walked in the house at 11pm. Miles waited up for us b/c he missed us so much, but he told me several times how much fun he had. Carson woke up during the night with a terrible cough. As I was giving him a breathing treatment at 3am, he told me "I have fun at Granny and Pa's house". I thought that was pretty special for him to recall that in the middle of the night. He also told me thank you for giving him a breathing treatment which was really sweet. I don't know when we will get to celebrate our anniversary like that again, so I'm very thankful for our weekend away and for two big conference wins!

School Days

Carson had his annual St. Jude Trike-a-Thon at daycare. 

Carson's class with his teachers, Ms. Connie and Ms. Tiffany.

He told me about all the track. I think this is so cute.

He was wearing Miles' helmet which I think was a little big for him. It looks crooked in all the pictures. They really wanted helmets at school, but he doesn't normally wear one at home yet.

I couldn't decide whether to take his big wheel, which he calls his motorcycle, or an antique tricycle that my mom bought for him.

I decided on the tricycle because it seemed so perfect for the occasion.

He hasn't perfected riding anything that he has to power on his own, but he sure looks like he's trying hard in every picture.

I think he had a great time!

Miles had a fun science project the other day. In groups, they had to make a bridge from one desk to another using tape, paper clips, and straws. Then, they had to stack science books on top. The group with the most books won. When telling me about the project, he said the winning team cheated because the desks had to be certain distance apart and theirs was not. He said he went over and measured himself. He has a lot of life lessons ahead of him as he figures out that life isn't always fair.

The teacher posted pictures on the class FB page and I laughed out loud when I saw that one of the pictures captured Miles measuring the winning group's bridge!!! He was totally busted. Everyone else is amazed and interested in how many books they are stacking and Miles is sneaking in to measure. Typical.

I predict he will be an attorney or accountant one day. He argues like no other and loves for everything to be precise and exact :)

Less Words Wednesday

Pics from our baseball weekend...

Carson is in the cutest phase right now. He says so many things that I know he won't say long and then he'll start speaking more clearly and correctly. A few things I'll miss...

In the morning, when he's ready to go to school he says "I ready a go."

When we are watching TV together on the couch or when he's snuggling with me in bed on the weekends he gets right next to me and says, "I sit side you."

When he's trying to sell us on an idea he says "That a good idea?" and nods his head with puppy dog eyes.

He says "Tank you momma" and "You welcome" all the time.

At night, when we are reminding him to stay in his bed or get on the cot without waking us up he says "I get in you bed." For the record, he has stayed in his bed all night for the last two nights. Fingers crossed that we are onto something!

He played so well tonight with his stuffed animals and Paw Patrol books.