Ear infections

This has been the longest month of sickness it seems. Just when the kids were getting better Deagan woke up in the middle of the night on Tuesday crying because his ear hurt. He has had so many issues with his ears since he was born that he hates having his ears touched, so he wouldn't let me put in any drops or put a warm compress on his ear. As a result he was up pretty much all night. I felt so bad for him but it was kind of frustrating because he wouldn't let me help him. I am just not my best person at night I realized.

Kayden had a dr apt the next morning for immunizations so it really was good timing to get Deagan in. They wouldn't look at Deagan's ears those because he didn't have an apt. While I understand "policy" it was incredibly frustrating. We were able to get an apt for an hour later, so I was very grateful for that. Deagan cried the whole time though. As soon as we walked in for Kayden's apt he started crying and didn't stop until his apt. I am sure I looked like such a great mom then. :) When the dr came in to look at his ears he stopped crying and was very brave. I was so proud of him. They diagnosed him with a double ear infection, so I am very glad we took him in. The bright spot in all of it was that we had a credit on our account so i didn't have to pay a co-pay. What a sweet little blessing that was!

After some confusion in getting his medicine we finally got what he needed and two days later he is himself again. He is so much more pleasant when he feels well, but who isn't?? I just hopes this doesn't become a recurrent thing because he will have to get tubes again if that is the case, and he would really hate that. Fingers crossed his ears stay healthy!

First Snow

This past weekend it finally snowed and stuck for longer than a few hours! But then it rained and it all turned into ice, but it still snowed! We took advantage of it while it lasted and the kids loved it! I just hope it snows enough at some point to build a snowman because that's all the kids wanted to do. We might just have to wait until we get to Wyoming though because it doesn't look like we will be getting snow anytime soon.

It is funny living in an area that is not use to snow though because you hear the word snow in the forecast and all the milk and bread is gone from grocery store shelves. This past Monday all government employees didn't have to start work until 11 because of the "storm." At that point there wasn't any snow, just freezing rain. I think they did that though because traffic is so bad to begin with that any wrinkle in it just makes it impossible. I was grateful to have Greg home for a few hours though! It's nice to have the extra help in the morning.

I am grateful that we have had such nice weather this winter, but I oddly miss the snow. I better be careful what I wish for though :)

Funny Moments

Deagan has picked up whatever bug Kayden has and is just miserable. I hate seeing them this way. I decided to take the boys outside this afternoon to get some fresh air, but I think the cold air almost made it worse because they couldn't stop coughing. Deagan was coughing so much that he made himself sick. It totally took him by surprise and he looked down and said, "Well there goes my smoothie." It was so funny because it was just such a random thing to say in that moment. He seems to be feeling worse since that happened so who knows what tonight will bring. I just hope they start to feel better soon!

ER Visitt

Late this evening, Kayden woke up and felt soo hot. We checked his temp and it was 104. We called our doc and with the symptoms we described he wanted us to take him to the ER. So I took him while Greg stayed here with a sleeping Deagan.

Surprisingly, we did not wait at all to be seen. I was so grateful for that. He was really scared of the whole experience though. There were so many people in and out of our room doing different things to him. Everyone was super nice, but they were all strangers. Poor thing cried through the whole thing. He had a throat culture , nose culture, and an xray to check for phenomia (sp?). None of those tests are really kid friendly.

He was so cute while we waited for the results though. He was asking about Deagan and Daddy and looking at pictures of them on my phone and telling me they were taking a nap. (In Kayden language of course that actually sounded like, "Deedan. Daddy. Nap".) He loves his family!

All tests came back negative. They diagnosed him with an upper respiratory infection; 2nd one this month! I am glad that he is "fine" but our copayment was $125 for this visit, and for that price it would have been nice to have been sent home with something to "fix" him. :). This is the 2nd time we have taken him to an urgent care/ER in the past month and both times we have paid out of the you know where just to be told there is nothing they can do. I guess unless someone is bleeding or obviously in some sort of emergency we will not be going to an ER/ urgent care any time soon again. But in that moment where your child seems really ill and just keeps getting worse, you don't really know what to do. I am just glad he will get better soon.

Our health has been bad it seems since we moved here and we have had a lot of unexpected health expenses lately. It's stressful. On the drive home from the ER I was definitely feeling overwhelmed about the price of our visit. I prayed though to help me see the big picture here and prayed that would be able to make it through another unexpected expense. I am holding onto my faith here that my prayer will be answered.

We are all home and Kayden is in bed, but I wanted to record our experience. I am hoping that by doing so, one day I will look back and see how far I have come and how much has changed.

I am praying that we will all get some rest now because we are all running on fumes here.

Out of the spotlight

Poor Deagan has been feeling the effects of not getting as much attention as he would like with his younger brother being so sick. He is constantly asking to help with something or he will just jump in a do something that he thinks he is helpful but in reality turns into a big mess. It's hard to get mad when I know he means well you know.
At a bust moment tonight Deagan grabbed a marker and decorated himself. Again I knew it was a cry for attention from him, so instead of getting frustrated we laughed. And it's true what they say; laughter really is the best medicine.

Sickness and New Hair

I feel like a broken record but our boys are sick again this weekend. Kayden is the worst, but Deagan has similar symptoms. Kayden was only healthy for 2 weeks for getting sick again. Poor guy. He has a super high fever, a croupy cough, and a runny nose. He is just miserable, and to be honest, everyone else in our family is too.
Greg gave Kayden a blessing tonight in which he talked about how getting these sicknesses helps our bodies develop immunities to the sickness in the future. He also talked about how some of greatest trials in this life are I'm relation to out bodies, but on the contrast our bodies are one if the greatest gifts from our Father in Heaven. I just loved that. It reminded me of the scripture (that I can't think of now) that says there is opposition in all things. We can't experience health without sickness. It is hard for us in the moment right now but it is a great reminder that there is always a bigger picture that we can't see. I am grateful that God is in charge and not me.

So the next part of this post is not nearly as deep, but I cut my hair short. This is a big step for me, but I love it. I have come to accept that I just can't have long hair with the hair I was born with. And that's ok :)

Becoming A Proactive Mother

I have been making it a point this year to be a more proactive mother to my boys. I want to enjoy this season that I am in because I know it will be over before I know it.

Part of being proactive is making goals and working at them each day. As a result, I have made two daily goals for myself:

1-Get out of the house between 10-12 everyday.

2-Play with the boys outside everyday: despite the weather!

Having two specific goals to work towards every day has done amazing things for my self confidence as a mother. Sometimes I am a fun mom! :)

Each morning I thank my Heavenly Father for my two little shadows because they truly are what keeps me going every day.

What did I do to deserve these sweet little boys?

Our 2012 Goals

Greg and I both made some goals for the New Year, and we wanted to post them as a way to keep track of them.

Michelle's Goals:

• Go outside to play every day with the kids despite the weather; dress SUPER warm if we need to!
• Go on one "date" with them once a month (at least!).  
• Put Deagan in swimming lessons while I am in Powell.
• No treats for the month of January (and possibly until Greg deploys in March) After that, eat treats on days of the week that start with "S."
• Run 1-2 Half Marathon, and 1 full marathon.
• Go to the temple once a month
• Do a session at the temple with Greg before he deploys.
• Get a dog!
• Read the entire standard works using this guide. 
• Read entire Book of Mormon as a family.
• Buy a house by November!
• Save a specific amount of money for each member of our family by the end of the year.
• Get CPR certified.
• Read 24 books this year. (Or MORE!)
• Think about expanding our family??

Greg's Goals:

• Spend 30 min/day working on my Urdu reading proficiency and try to be at the high intermediate proficiency level by the end of the year. 
• Apply for the Urdu fellowship through work
• Maintain solid scripture study throughout my deployment
• Read the entire Book of Mormon as a family.
• Run another half marathon with Michelle after I return from Afghanistan.
• Train daily for the half marathon while I am deployed.
• Work hard to get first promotion before I deploy.
• Work hard to become an expert in my field at work and get 2nd promotion by August.
• Buy a house by November
• Visit family and friends

We have quite the year ahead of us I think! Good luck in your resolutions!

Choose the Right!

Our little Deagan is now a CTR in Primary. He was given his first CTR ring yesterday, and he has hardly taken it off since. He constantly looks at it and reminds himself to choose the right. He will say, "Mom, if I ever feel like doing something bad I will just look at my ring and I will choose the right instead." His innocence and sweet spirit just melt my heart.

But I think he will need to wear that ring a little but longer before he really he gets better at choosing the right :) He is really a sweet little boy, but he feels as if he constantly has to pick on his brother. I feel that this is just a pattern of what is to come though. :)

Sickness brings you down

Our little Kayden was quite sick this past week. He woke up from a nap Tuesday and felt warm to me. He had a low fever at that point, and I hesitated to give him any medicine at that point because I have heard you shouldn't always immediately drug them up; treat the reason for the fever first.

Well the day dragged on and he got worse. I could not pin point a reason to his fever, so when his fever went over 100 I decided it was time to help him feel comfortable. From that point on for the next 2 days his fever stayed above 100 despite medicine. He wouldn't eat, but would drink a little.

Greg gave him a blessing and was promised a full recovery, but it was quite the week waiting for him to get better. He hardly slept, which meant I didn't sleep. He was the grumpiest little boy in the world; I know I can be over dramatic but honestly it was bad. I couldn't blame him for being grumpy when he was so sick, so I had to keep reminding myself that he wasn't trying to test every ounce of patience that I have in my body.

His fever finally went away but then he developed a rash. We took him to the urgent care yesterday and they assumed it was just viral because they could not pin point anything. A $50 co-pay was the hard part of that visit. I am grateful that there was nothing seriously wrong with him, but man I wish there was something they could treat so I would feel better about paying that kind of money. Oh well :)

Today is the first day where I feel we almost have our full Kayden back. The first picture on this post is right in the middle of the sickness and the 2nd was taken today. You cam definitely tell he is feeling better, and I am so grateful for that! Being healthy is truly a blessing.