NOT Hand Foot Mouth

Sister has not been well since the beginning of January. I had just gotten over a sinus infection, and pretty much everyone in town was sick with something. Mike took her to Urgent Care on January 3rd to see if she had ear infections...or something that was making her so sick.  The doctor told Mike she *might* have a virus, but he really thought she was just teething. I just shook my head...and we moved on. About a week later she was coughing and still full of snot...and not sleeping. 

Around that time Blip got a sinus infection. He was fine after a few days of rest and antibiotics. Sister was still sick. So back to the doctor she went...and she was diagnosed with a sinus infection, too. Poor baby.

During that week I got another sinus infection and that same cough. It was diagnosed as an upper respiratory virus. I was down and out for two days...it was awful. The fevers are always really hard on me. Mike had to take off work to care for me and both kiddos. It was really awful.

A week passed and she wasn't any better. That Monday Mike called me at work and said that Sister had a rash. He sent pictures...it was all over her body. He called the doctor to get her in, but the nurse triaged him over the phone and said it was Roseola. Sister's rash looked just like the pictures we found of Roseola...and it didn't seem to be bothering her. She was still sick and full of snot...and still not sleeping.

On Tuesday I was at work when Mike called to tell me Sister's rash was much (much) worse. He was very concerned and was calling the doctor. When he was finally able to get an appointment he called to tell me I would need to be the one to take her. I left work and met Lisa and Sister at the doctor.  

A very young doctor we had never seen before walked in and immediately said Sister had Hand Foot Mouth Disease. I wasn't so sure, so I asked a few questions, but could tell the doctor didn't want to be questioned. We were concerned there was something going on with the Amoxicillin, too. I didn't know much about HFM, so I let it go. I pulled up the Mayo Clinic's page on HFM and started reading about it. Sister's rash was AWFUL. It was red, raised, hot, and EVERYWHERE. She looked like a hot mess...although the rash didn't seem to be bothering her. Her rash looked NOTHING like HFM.

I finally sent pictures and a quick story to my cousin Anthony.  He agreed it wasn't HFM. He thought it was something called Erythema Multiform. He asked me lots of questions and told me he would consult with another doctor on Wednesday. When he did that, he let me know that's what it was. There was nothing to do except let it run its course. He said it would be better in a fews days to a week.  By Friday Sister's skin looked mostly back to normal. She still had some of the rash, but NOTHING like the first few days.

Sister and I are still getting over our cough...and she is still full of snot, so I'm not sure she is really getting better yet. But it will be nice for her to feel better and start sleeping through the night again. We are exhausted.

FOUR

I've been dreading Blip's birthday for a while now. I have no good reasons for it...I just didn't want him to turn four. FOUR. How have four whole years passed since I became a mother? The days just seem to fly by without any hope of them slowing down.  

Blip had a big party last year, so I had zero intention of having another party this year. I honestly hoped we would take Blip to Disneyland for his fourth birthday, but we just couldn't swing it this year. Having two kids in daycare is expensive...plus formula, diapers, furlough days, loss of holiday pay, etc. Disneyland just wasn't in the cards at the moment. What was worse is that Blip even asked Mike if we could go to Disneyland for his birthday.

He talked about it the entire month of January. It was hard to tell him we had to pick something else to do.  

He also talked about having a birthday party with all of his friends for his "Captain America" birthday...so I had to be the one to tell him we weren't having a party this year. Although it was my choice to only have a party every other year...it was a lot harder than I expected to tell Blip we weren't having one. Ugh. In the end I was glad I stuck to my guns, but it sucked.

A few weeks ago I asked Blip what he wanted to do for his birthday with us. Of course he started with going to Disneyland. I told him  to pick something else, so he said he wanted to go to the zoo. Mike and I decided it would be fun to drive up to Camp Verde and go to Out of Africa. Neither of us had been there, so we thought it would be a fun day trip. And it was.

We woke up and had breakfast- homemade waffles, eggs, and bacon. I cleaned up the kitchen and we got ready to go. We didn't get there until about 12:30pm...just in time for the Tiger Splash show. After watching the show, Blip was able to feed the tigers. We grabbed cheeseburgers for lunch and then stayed put to watch the Giant Snake Show. Blip was selected to participate, but after the show he went with Mike to touch the large Python. And then I took him over to get a picture of us holding the snake...he was slithering all around us while we took the picture. Blip was very brave! We had a good time doing that together.

We wandered around and looked at more animals, watch them feed the predators, and headed back towards the front of the park. We walked too slowly and missed the tram for a tour of the other part of the park, but since we I was just getting over being sick, Sister was still covered in her rash and getting over being sick...we decided it was a good time to go. It was really warm (79*) in the sun, too.
  

For his birthday Dave, Amy, Trevor, and Avery gave Blip a gift certificate to buy something in the gift shop. Before we loaded in the car to head to Papa's house for dinner we let him pick out something. He chose a stuffed snake. Perfect.

I asked Blip a few days earlier what he wanted for his birthday dinner. He wanted McDonald's. A cheeseburger from McDonald's. Ugh.  Really? We tried to think of some place good to talk him into, but Nana said we should just all get happy meals. If that's what he wants for his birthday dinner, he should have it. As much I did not want McDonald's, I agreed that was the right thing to do. So we sent Mike and Grandpa to McDonald's to get us all Happy Meals...and that's what we had for dinner. It turned out to be perfectly fine...although that's not what I will be choosing for my birthday dinner.

Nana made Blip's special cake that he asked for- a chocolate Captain America cake with whip cream. Nana created a large Captain America shield out of chocolate cake and even made the white part of the shield out of whip cream. It was awesome. He LOVED it.

We opened gifts before heading home. Mike and I got Blip a Baymax flying character thingy and a Captain American bike helmet. I got him a couple other little things too. Grandpa and Grandma got him some money to go to Toys R Us and pick something out. Aunt Chelle and the boys got him some books, some new shoes, and some pieces for his Little People Disneyland. Aunt Robyn gave him some fun super hero clothes for next winter and some puzzles. Nana is going to take Blip to a play (Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day) in a few weeks. I'm sure my brain is forgetting something, but he was spoiled.

I can't believe my baby boy is four. He's getting so big, so smart, and he's just fun to be around (most of the time). He is doing great in preschool, loves his friends, loves to be outside, ride his bike or scooter, play with sidewalk chalk, and he loves to read. He loves his monster trucks, and he, of course, loves to watch his shows.

Blip was the answer to my prayers. He made me a mother...and he is my little miracle. I hope he always knows how much I love him...and that he was longed for, prayed for, and wanted.