3 Little Birds

I was having the most crap-tastic week last week when I heard this glorious song on the Toddler Pandora station (a/k/a auditory torture worthy of the CIA)



Aaaaahhhh... that's right! The hubs and I are on our way to Jamaica in 2 weeks. How lucky am I to have a "repeat" vacay from our rain drenched Amelia Island adventure in May.



Oh yeah. My in laws are moving in while house hunting. They graciously offered to keep the kids while staying with us for a few days. We considered going the Destin route or the PCB flight, but decided to go somewhere where someone would wait on us hand and foot for a few days!! :)

We're going to Iberostar Grand Rose Hall which looks fabulous. We went to the Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana and it was amazing. Butler, NO KIDS, all inclusive, amazing food, etc etc... And we bought the highest level of travel insurance i.e, cancel free for anything. So if any nasty little hurricane decides to blow over Jamaica, we can reschedule. Slightly excited as this is 2 weeks away.

Beautiful!!!

I'll be getting a lovely spray tan before leaving. Unfortunately SPF 80 is on the list as my mommy skin will fry instantly. I got sun poisoning in Punta Cana and it was awful. Now we are waiting for Nate's renewed passport to come in. I chose Montego Bay because the flights are faster and actually, less expensive than the DR. Mexico is out of the question from my college experience and watching too many drug lord documentaries. We plan to come back with steel drums and braids of course.

So how are my 3 little birds?? Sick is a good answer!!! I have gone to urgent care and the pediatrician about 18 times in the past 2 months.

Poor Townes suffered the most in the past 2 weeks with croup and a nasty ear infection. None of my kids have had croup believe it or not. We've had everything else under the sun multiple times, but not croup. He had the croupy cough then woke the next morning with really bad stridor and sucking his ribs in for air. I felt really bad because I probably should have been more vigilant the night before. I took him to the doctor where they gave him a steroid shot, breathing treatment and oral steroids for the next few days. The breathing treatment was AWFUL because I had to hold his arms plus hold the mask up to his face when he was wiggling and screaming hysterically. I knew it had to be done, but he gets extremely worked up in the situations and is very hard to calm down. I usually have to resort to the colic tricks like shshhing in his ear and rocking him. By the end of it, I was crying because I was having flash backs of his seizure. I knew he wasnt going to have one, but he was acting exactly the same. Once we got 3 lollipops in him, he was ok. Steroids also make you extremely irritable and plain miserable so he was a joy staying with for the rest of the week.

Then on Saturday, I noticed some green pus coming out of his right ear. He has tubes so knew we had to get him in ASAP for an infection. I took him to an urgent care nearby and distracted him with my phone while he tried to run out of the door with his now mortal fear of doctors. We finally got back and got a prescription for Augmentin. It sounded like waaay too much for a 2 year old but I got it. It was 2.5 teaspoons which doesnt sound like a lot until you see it for a toddler. On Monday, I picked them up from school and after dinner, I noticed what looked like chocolate milk on his shirt and shorts. Oh no, diarrhea coming out of the back of his SHIRT!! I dont want to TMI anyone here but thank goodness it weirdly didnt smell at all. He was screaming because of my reaction and attempt at pulling his clothes off quickly. Of course, Natalie was trying to help and getting in the way. After this struggle, it was on the floor and refrigerator door. Uggghhhh... Ran him upstairs for a shower. He finally calmed down while Natalie looked on in horror and Caroline was screaming downstairs for who knows what reason.

The next morning, he was clear. So I thought. After breakfast, all hell was unleashed! Every 15 minutes, no joke.  Augmentin can cause diarrhea so I knew it had to be the cuplrit, but this was excessive. FOUR times of changes and cleanings until I called my pediatrician for help. My regular doctor was off so I decided to go in because deep down I knew the Rx was wrong. Turns out it was FIVE to SIX times what he needed! So insanely frustrating after 2 co-pays. Thankfully, the dr gave me a sample of ear drops instead of oral antibiotics. Before, the discharge was too thick for drops. This time, there was some space and no charge for the meds.

Believe it or not, he DID feel sick :) I was super proud to take all 3 to the dr at once for the first time. It's hilarious how in awe everyone is when you bring them around.




The girls had some form of a cold which was probably croup, but not as severe. I was so thankful for that because Nate has been out of town so much and I was at nervous breakdown status. I couldn't have handled 2 other simultaneous cases of croup with breathing treatments and steam showers! I am getting over a stomach virus which was probably acquired at one of these 18 doctor's appointments.

Other than sicknesses, the kids are doing great. Their vocabulary is expanding and I almost think Caroline has caught up or surpassed Natalie. They LOVE "Shrek" and Caroline managed to tell me about Lord Farquad last week. I can actually handle hearing these movies over and over. "Finding Nemo" and "Bob the Builder" make me want to murder someone after 2 consecutive days. Natalie and Caroline get along better separated in classrooms. Townes is still very clingy and cries at drop off. It breaks my heart, but I know he is ok after a few minutes.

Here is a bonus video of them trying to play horse after way late naps and perhaps cupcakes at a cousin's birthday party:



Crazy, crazy, crazy...