Last 5

9.04.2018


Apparently I blog once a week now. Is anyone even here still? I mean, I'm barely here myself. August was not my favorite, and I won't lie, I've been in a terrible pity party mood lately. Don't even comment and try to encourage me because I don't deserve it. I was just being ridiculous and not joyful and I won't excuse myself, but I will say that August was packed full of VOMIT and SICKNESS and I paid a doctor copay for every single member of my family at least once, a few people twice. Because did I mention vomit? Three Sundays in a row someone in my house puked. I don't want to be one of those crazy people who blame everything on the devil, but it seemed suspicious.

Related side note: I once edited a book written by a lady who told me that the reason her book had errors is because it was correct when she emailed it to me, and the devil--I repeat THE DEVIL--intercepted it in transit (across the internet?) and changed it all. She also argued with me about commas and said she knew what was correct because she got an A in English class in the eighth grade. Oh, and her book was about a talking squirrel that lived in her backyard and was based on a true story. She insisted the cover of the book be white with a rainbow across it. Naturally.

Anyway, what I really popped in to share was the last 5 photos on my phone. I thought that might be an easy way to jump in and share a few of the goings ons in our lives lately. Of course, I'm not showing you the actual last 5 photos, which are all of clothes because recently I've gotten very obsessed with selling clothes online and have half my phone memory used up with different angles of shirts and pants. That's all I'll say about that! ha.

ANYWAY. The kind of last 5.

1. Family ice cream date
If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen this photo already and might notice that yes, I did photoshop Jordan's shirt and the giant image of Bonhoeffer's face. As much as I love Bonhoeffer, he was ruining what is otherwise a lovely photo of the four of us. If you don't follow me on IG you have no idea what I'm talking about, so just ignore.

I told you that August was hard, but we did have some good times, including a weekend date to the local DQ for some ice cream. R got some vanilla ice cream in a cup with sprinkles, Jordan and I got blizzards, and J got bites of everything.

2. Pony rides and triple birthday parties
Forgive me if this is actually a horse, but I think it's a pony?

Near the end of August, our church group got together for a triple 3rd birthday party two friends and I hosted for our three kids, who were all born in August 2015 just a few weeks apart. We had a 1-year party, and now two years later they are all 3! We were all standing around going, didn't we just do this? Our friends have the perfect house for hosting, with a huge backyard, a trampoline, and even rides on their pony (horse). Sadly, it was just R and I because J was sick and Jordan had strep, but it was nice to just have one child to worry about, and we could stay later without them anyway ;)

3. Toe infections
Jordan and I have different ideas about when it's necessary to go to the doctor, and we argue about it all the time. I grew up basically never going, and Jordan grew up going a lot. We noticed R complaining about her big toe hurting a few weeks ago, and Jordan said we should take her in but I wanted to try soaking it and putting antibiotic cream on it and seeing what happened. So we did that for a few days, but it was clearly getting worse, so we took her to the doctor (compromise!). Turns out, she had a bad infection, and the dr put her on a strong antibiotic with instructions to take it 3x a day and soak her foot in warm/hot water 3x a day for 20 minutes. And we were supposed to do the soaking and the medicine for ten days.

Confession time: We have never gone the distance with either kid giving them the advised amount of antibiotic for any doctor visit. For like a week we start out strong, and then we forget a dose, and then another one, and we slowly just stop around day 8 or 9 and just toss the rest once we realize it's a week later and we never finished the final few.

But the doctor said that if the infection didn't get better, we would have to take her to the hospital so they could put her under and cut the infection out of her toe, and so we got majorly serious about the medicine and the soaking. Today as you are reading this (Wednesday) is day NINE, and I am very proud to say that we have not missed one dose of medicine, and we make her sit and soak before we leave for daycare, right when we get home, and right before bed. This is a breakthrough, people!

She looks less than thrilled in the above photo, but actually she asks to sit and soak her toe, and she sits the entire time, I think probably because she gets to watch Veggie Tales. We rarely let her watch TV, but this past week and a half she's gotten 20 minutes of Veggie Tales 3x a day, and she's loving every minute. She also loves to take her "pink medicine." She's always been really good about taking medicine. I don't know if that's weird or not, but I'm thankful we don't have to fight with her!

4. Wagon walks
This one doesn't so much need a giant paragraph. After work sometimes I'll load up the kids in our wagon (that I bought off Craigslist for $20) and take them for a walk. The kids love it, and the weather has not been too terrible! And by that I mean it's been in the low 90s. Perspective ;)

5. Snuggles
J continues to be the most snuggly bean there ever was. He has always favored me, but lately he seems very attached, and I don't hate it. Maybe if I stayed at home all day I'd get tired of him wanting to be held and tired of him crying whenever I leave his sight, but I don't stay home, and I don't get tired of it. 

This is probably definitely the reason he's not walking yet: because I carry him almost everywhere. I don't care. He vomited a lot in August. Like, so much vomit every couple of nights for two weeks straight. We weren't sure what was wrong and even took him to get blood drawn to make sure his liver is functioning properly. Everything came back normal, so we aren't sure if it's a food allergy or a bug or what, but it's super random and doesn't seem to be related to any particular food or situation. All that said, he hasn't been feeling 100% lately, and we've been having lots of snuggles.

This summer has absolutely flown by. When I took J to get his blood drawn, the dr asked me how old he was, and I said he just turned 1 a week ago. Then I was like, no wait, he turned 1 almost two months ago. HOW. 

So that's a quickish snapshot of life lately! There have been a lot of great moments and some moments I will not miss one bit, but overall we are happy and (mostly) healthy and trying not to wish these little years away. We are blessed and thankful indeed.
Ashley H said...

Ok hold on... a lot of people don't finish their antibiotics and think it is no big deal but since she is so young (her immune system isn't fully developed yet anyway) and there is SO much drug resistance, this will be a huge deal to her when in 20 years she can't get rid of an infection because she has developed resistance to all of the bacteria! Arguably one of the top five worst things you can do is NOT finish your antibiotic course. This is why we have drug resistance! It's a real thing.

The Lady Okie said...

We definitely don’t think it’s no big deal. Sorry if I made it sound like that 💛 I always feel super bad when I forget a dose, and I do the best I can. We usually do most of them (I probably stupidly exaggerated our medicine-taking procedure). But we are almost to day 10 for this medicine and have done every single one 3x a day! I filled out a medicine form for daycare, and they've been giving it to her at lunch, and I bring it and take it home every day. Her toe still isn’t completely better, though, so I might have to take her back anyway :( Hoping by tomorrow it’s looking really good!

Amy @ A Desert Girl said...

I want to give you a hug because August sounds like it was just really not a good month. I hope J feels completely better soon and that R’s toe heals and is infection free and needs no interventions that require anesthesia and cutting and so forth. Also, the face on the shirt in the family pic being photoshopped out really took that photo to the next level. I liked it on Instagram, but I really, really like it now. Well done. :)

Amie said...

I am always paranoid about not getting Bowen all of his antibiotic..sometimes a dose does get missed so I just extend the time til I get all of the doses in. I have no idea why that is ingrained in my head...weird. I am sure with two little ones that's just how things go sometimes. I hope her toe gets better soon and no surgery is needed. Love those baby snuggles and they just get better as they get older. I have a mama's boy on my hands for sure and I could not ask for more :)

Lauren said...

YIKES, heres to September being better

The Girl who Loved to Write said...

hello yes I would also like to blame the devil for intercepting my perfection and turning it into mistakes in life, thank you very much.

Audrey Louise said...

The only thing that could've made the squirrel story better is if it'd have been a best seller. Hahahaha!

I love that you photoshopped that picture! Ha! Hoping R's toe heals up without any issues and J starts feeling a little better (but not less cuddly!)!!

Kristen @ See You In A Porridge said...

ugh i'm sorry august was such a bust for you. i can barely handle my own vomit, let alone anyone else's.
wow. that lady sounds like she has all her screws nice and tight.
i grew up with not going to the doctor often, unless something was bleeding like, proper bleeding. i remember i went out to my mum once and said my head hurts and is bleeding, and she told me to go back to my room after seeing a bit of blood on my forehead. then i turned around and she said my entire head was red. fun times! we obviously went to the doctor for that.
go you for giving R all the medicine!
love the last 5 photos idea! great way to give a snapshot of life lately :)

Nadine said...

I am sorry everyone has been so sick. That is awful! We had some illness floating around with Chris and Zoe at the beginning of last month, and it isn't a fun month to be sick in. That is scary about R's toe! I try to be vigilant with medicines, but sometimes I forget. Those wagons are life savers!

Michelle said...

DYING over the book lady. My word. 😂

Poor R!!! I had a wicked toe infection back in March. I couldn’t walk for days and it took an eternity to heal. That’s just miserable. I hope you get a reprieve from the vomit!

Katie @ Live Half Full said...

I'm still here! And I love this post idea! Hope you guys get better soon! We had a major sickness streak last year, and Amazing Grass for kids helped B so much. Just a tip from one daycare mom to another! :)

Callie said...

Ugh, you're funny, you totally have reason to be a little discouraged about August with all the puking! I can count on one hand the amount of time my kids have puked, and the blessing of that is not lost on me. Vomiting is the worst, you have all my sympathy!

Jenny Evans said...

That is me - I've always blogged three times a week without fail, even when I HAD A BABY but for some reason this summer has just been killing me. I've been enjoying myself and my family but the blog has suffered and it's all I can do to write once a week. School started today and I posted something, so I think maybe I'll get back on top of things now.

Rachel said...

Aww! I liked getting to see a bit of life lately, even if August wasn't the most fabulous. Months like this sure make you appreciate when everyone is healthy! Little skin rashes and infections are especially common here because of the climate--I am always inspecting Cyrus and we have taken him into the doctor for a little finger infection, because my baby sister who was born here had a surgery when she was a baby to drain an infected abscess that started from a little skin irritation--traumatized us all! Way to go on remembering all the antibiotics doses!! Superhero!

Unknown said...

I am so sorry to hear that y'all have gone through so much sickness! Hopefully September shapes up to be a better month.
That book lady story is CRAZY and is so, so funny. Before you went into editing, did you ever imagine that you would have clients like that?

Rach said...

Regarding the lady who blamed the devil for intercepting her book and making all the errors: Woooooooow.

Also, I'm glad you had some good moments in August, but whew, it sounds like it was mostly a rough month. I'm so sorry you guys have dealt with so much sickness. I hope September has been much kinder to you so far!

Sarah @ Sometimes Photojenik said...

Gosh I just love everything about this post and think it’s a great idea to share the 5 pictures on your phone. I HOWLED at that paragraph Of the lady who said the devil intercepted the manuscript omgggg hahah. Also, I’m still impressed with your antibiotic system still and I wouldn’t feel alone in forgetting to do all the antibiotics- you’re just one of many. In fact if I can dose something twice a day versus three times a day I try to cuz I feel like compliance is better. Also- I’m with you on the never going to the doctor so I liked your plan! Glad she got the antibiotics though haha. I’m glad August is over for you- vomit is my thing and I can’t deal so I feel for you

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