This Little Light of Mine

My child is such a creature of habit (wonder where she gets that from?! ha!)...every night we have very specific routine and it's very important that we stick to our specific "duties" or she has a fit! Ha! It's really funny, actually. Jamey fixes her milk while I get her jammies on. Jamey sits in the recliner with her while she drinks her milk and watches Dora (goodbye, Barney...hello, Dora!). Jamey carries her in the bedroom and hands her off to me, then I get to rock her. She loves to sing while we rock. If I don't start soon enough, she'll say "I wan sing"...then she tells me exactly what to sing!

Her very favorite these days is "This Little Light of Mine". But we don't sing the original version. One night I happened to switch it up a little and sing "when I play with friends, I'm gonna let it shine...", I started something that night! So now every night she tells me how to sing it and we have lots of verses!

She loves to sing about Heath and Jack (when I play with Heath, I'm gonna let it shine...)
We sing a lot about Granny and Pap (when I go to Granny's house, I'm gonna let it shine...)

When I play with friends...
When I ride in Momma/Granny/Daddy/Pap's car...
When I take a bath...
When I read my books...
When I play outside...

Tonight I cracked up because we had to sing "When I shop with Momma..."! Ha! She is my child!

Conversations

I have to say that I have loved every single moment with MG and I have loved every single stage, but this age/stage has to be the most amazing! I've seen her first smile, first giggle, learn to roll over, crawl and finally walk. I heard her first word and first phrase...but the talking these days is amazing! It's like every single morning she wakes up a little more "grown up". I love it and hate it! Ha! It is so fun, though, to have an actual conversation with my girl. I can ask her questions...and she answers!! If something hurts, she can tell me. That, in itself, is a miracle!

I don't know why, but it always seems like these things happen overnight. She just woke up one morning and was ready to speak in sentences! I'm afraid tomorrow she'll wake up ready to go to high school!

And the Academy Award for Most Dramatic Goes To...

Molly Grace! Ha! I don't know if it's the sickness, the meds or the looong night we had last night (I finally fell asleep close to 1am and MG was still squirming and coughing), but it has been meltdown after meltdown all afternoon and evening. If we looked at her wrong or breathed in her direction she was on the floor screaming (and I don't mean a little girly scream; I mean face red, tonsils showing, hurt your ears screaming!) and kicking. I'm just praying it's one of the things above and not part of her new personality!

Another Ear Infection...Surprised?

We paid a visit to "Sick Call" at our pediatrician's office this morning. One of us cried...and it wasn't MG! She's had this nasty, croupy cough; snotty nose; and high fever. Last night she started pulling at her ear saying "ear huht". She looked in her ear and said it was just "awful". Yeah, we hear that word a lot when it comes to her poor ears! The surprising part came when she looked in her throat and said "oh no!". She hasn't been eating or drinking much and now we know why. Her throat was read and infected, too. That's when I had to bite my lip to keep from breaking down in tears! Her lungs were pretty clear, but she has a tiny touch of the croup - just based on her cough and breathing. We're hoping, praying and crossing our fingers that the next 10 days of antibiotics can just get her through and keep her healthy until her tube surgery on the 5th. If she has a fever, her ears aren't clear or her lungs aren't clear, they'll postpone the surgery. Which is the last thing we need!

I know that I am 100% blessed and lucky that my child doesn't have cancer or some other awful disease. But at the same time, it's so frustrating to see your child sick so often. I'm so tired of hearing the word "awful" to describe her ears! Just once I want someone to look in there and say, looks great! I hate having to keep her little body on antibiotics all the time. I can't even count how many antibiotics she's had just so far in 2012, much less how many she's had in her little lifetime. By the time she's 12, she'll be immuned to every one of them - like her momma!

The silver lining to this is that MG and I got to have a lazy day at home! When we got home from the dr and picking up her medicine, I asked if she wanted to lay on her couch or sit in daddy's chair and watch Dora. Her answer..."Momma's bed". That's how I knew she felt bad! We laid in my bed snuggled up watching tv, she ate lunch in bed, then we turned the tv off and she went right to sleep...for 4 hours!

She woke up feeling better - but super clingy and cranky. She did finally eat, though. I made chicken and dumplings hoping they'd feel good on her throat. We laughed all through dinner because she was hunkered over her bowl shoveling spoonfuls into her mouth! Then she turned the bowl up and drank the rest! That never happens - usually we have to bribe and play games to get her to eat!

I'm hoping she wakes up tomorrow feeling better. I have to go back to work tomorrow and it's so hard to leave her when she doesn't feel good!

There Were 5 In the Bed and the Little One Said...

"more, more!". Ha! I couldn't help but think of that little song when I was tucking MG in tonight. She is in her bed with:
1.)"Strings" - which is the scarf she carries around and sucks on the strings
2.)4 blankets (one we call "bwankie" and one we call "cubbers")
3.)Fluffy the dog
4.)Pink "Bear"
5.)"Baby" which is a stuffed cat wearing a diaper and sucking a passy - she was mine when I was little and MG found her the other day at Mom's and now loves her!
6.)Dora - because now not only does MG love her own hair to suck on, but Dora's hair is "mmmm nummy"!

Tubes again...seriously?!

Yep...seriously! MG had her follow-up at the ENT today since she finished her antibiotic. Honestly, I expected to go in and hear that everything was great and walk out with a smile! Yeah, not so much! Evidently, the tube in her left ear tube was pushed out by the major infection she had. It's sitting in her ear canal just floating around. She JUST had tubes not even 3 months ago!! WTHeck?! He is going to put titanium tubes in this time. They have a better grip and are supposed to stay in longer. Fingers crossed!

I asked him when she should start outgrowing this. I expected him to say around 3...Ok, I HOPED he'd say around 3! Nope, evidently, kids hit the peaks at either 2 or 5. We obviously missed the 2 year old peak, so we just have to hold on another 3 years! Can't wait!

On the plus side, she was the best little girl while we were there! She played in the waiting room, followed the nurse back to the room, talked to the nurse and doctor, sat in the chair like a big girl and let the dr. check her ears, colored while we waited...then acted like a little monkey while I checked out! ha! I guess she held it in as long as she could!

Happy Day (aka Valentine's Day!)

Hands down, this was the best VDay yet! I got to wake the sweetest little love bug up this morning and dress her up in heart tights, a vday shirt and a froo-froo bow! We got to color Valentine's for her friends last night and even made homemade heart-shaped crayons for her classmates (thank you, Pinterest!).

My "other" kiddos (my 1st graders) made me smile all...ok some of the...day! I got some sweet valentines and pictures from them. I always love the gifts that they obviously picked out or made themselves: a balloon weight, with no ballons; conversation hearts glued to paper; a tissue rose (even colored red with marker!)...those are the ones that mean the most!

I got to come home to the sweetest little love bug on a sugar high! She loved her balloon - she's easy! I had the sweetest date for the night...Kindermusik with my love bug! We were half way there and from the backseat I hear "mama...mama...happy day mama...happy day"! That made my day!

We got to sing Barney's song, play with the parachute, bounce balls, flash flashlights and sing Twinkle Twinkle, get a sucker and get handstamps...I'd say Molly Grace's night was pretty close to perfect!

And now my little love bug is in bed and Jamey and I are too tired to even talk! Ha!

Where Did The Weekend Go?

Why is it that the weeks drag on, but the weekends fly by? I think I would prefer to work 2 days and be off 5!

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. Friday night we ordered pizza in and just hung around the house. It was great...until midnight when I woke up in horrible pain from a gullbladder attack. So at 3am, Jamey and I headed to the ER! I'm so blessed to have parents who live so close and are willing to get up in the middle of the night and come sit with our girl! She never even knew we were gone. When we got there, I told Jamey that the last time I was there, they took me to Memphis and he was NOT to let them send me anywhere else! We hung out in the ER until around 6:30 am. They gave me some really awesome pain medicine, drew lots and lots of blood, and did an ultrasound...all to tell me I was having a gullbladder attack! Duh! I told them that when I went it! Ha! It wasn't infected or bad enough to need to come out ASAP so they sent me home and I get to make an appt. with the surgeon. I just want this thing out of me! We got home just in time to grab MG out of her crib! And I have to give my amazing hubby credit because I don't remember anything for the rest of the day! He let me sleep and took total care of MG! What a blessing. We did get out and grocery shop Saturday night. We were in desperate need of food and I really needed to get out of the house!

Sunday morning we layed around and almost missed Sunday School, but we made it! I was exhausted and the Devil just kept trying to convince me that being lazy would be so nice! And MG was especially dramatic and DID NOT want to get dressed. She kept saying "No fwiends...no fwiends". We just barely made it! And MG had a meltdown when we dropped her off. They had to pretty much rip her off of me! But we never got a page and she was happy when we picked her up. I can handle the screaming and crying when we drop her off, it's when she's still doing it when we pick her back up that makes me unhappy!

After church we headed to the SportsShow. MG loved the petting zoo and the fish. Her very favorite was the turkey! It kept gobbling and she giggled her little head off!

MG fell asleep on our way home and slept about 4 minutes before we had to get her out. She woke up thinking she had had her nap! She layed in her crib talking and playing for an hour or two. Never cried or got upset, so at least she rested! But she was not going to sleep. So she's been a barrel of fun tonight! She was in bed and asleep by 7:30!

I can't believe it's back to work tomorrow. They're calling for winter weather - snow and sleet - tomorrow and tomorrow night. I'm really praying for a half day tomorrow and a full snow day Tuesday! It wouldn't upset me at all!

Potty Training?

We've been tossing the idea of potty training up in the air lately, but had pretty much decided to wait until summer when I'm home with MG. I lucked out, though, and found a pink, princess "thrown" potty at Target on clearance a couple weeks ago. It's been in the closet since then, but we decided to pull it out last night. MG was ecstatic! She spent I don't even know how long sitting on it and flushing it! Today I got a call from my sweet girl and all I heard her say - in a whisper - was "potty potty potty" then louder "I pee pee potty mama!". She asked Granny to let her potty and she actually did! She was so excited and so was I!!

Tonight she pee peed twice on her princess potty!! She was so excited and so were we! Who ever thought the highlight of my day would be doing the "Potty Dance" with a 2 year old?!

Over the Sickness...Finally!

MG has been fighting an ear infection in her left ear for 4 weeks now - even after her 2nd set of tubes. It has been draining (and smelly) for the entire 4 weeks. We've done Ciprodex drops and an antibiotic and just assumed it was over, but last week it just kept on draining (and smelling) and Friday she started pulling at it and crying. Mom brought her up to school for our nurse to look at it (what an awesome perk to my job!) and it was grossly infected. She let me look in there and all you could see was bubbling, couldn't even see the tube. We called the ENT and they said if there's any kind of draining and especially if it smells, then there's an infection. He called her in some different drops and Sulfameth (Bactrim), an antibiotic that's pretty strong that she's never had before. We go see the ENT for a checkup a week from today - praying for GOOD news!

We picked up her medicine Friday night on our way out of town. We'd been planning on driving up to J's parents' and since she had meds and acted fine, we didn't change our plans. We picked up Sonic on the way and she was perfect the entire time. When we got there, she played, took a bath and went to bed. Everything was fine...until 2am when she sat up and puked all over both of us...then puked again...and again! She was burning up with fever and miserable. She slept fine the rest of the night, but was pitiful in the morning so we headed home pretty quick. The only thing we could get her to eat was a banana before we left. She slept the entire way home, until we hit Bono...and she puked...and puked again! We had to just keep driving and get home because there was no cleaning it up!

She ran fever and slept all day Saturday and Sunday. Today her fever's gone and she's back to her self. She's still whiny and dramatic so she's not 100%, but she's way better.

I've never seen her so sick. I hated it. Her poor little eyes were dilated, bloodshot, yellow and glassy. I hope I never have to see her that pitiful again - but I know I will.

Our biggest problem now is that her poor little bottom is covered in the worse diaper rash I've ever seen. It doesn't seem to bother her at all, but it looks horrible. We've been so blessed that she's never had diaper rash issues so I'm not really even sure how bad hers is, but it looks bad to me!