Everything I did on Friday, January 3, 2020
Location: Pasadena, CA
6:30am Gibson crawls in our bed and wakes me up
6:50am I get out of bed to cough and blow my nose for awhile. I've been battling a cold/laryngitis/possible bronchitis for a week. It's getting old.
7:00am Make a cup of tea. It does not taste like vinegar, thankfully. My electric kettle had a bunch of mineral deposits on it yesterday so I tried a vinegar soak. Now it's nice and clean. I find a package of Hawaiian hot dog buns in the cupboard that need to be used up so I toast two and add PB&J for breakfast.
7:15am Gibson comes into the kitchen pretending to be Gus because he wants the jelly bean Gus is owed from last night (our current bribe for using the bathroom by oneself). I feed them some generic Lucky Charms. They mainly eat the marshmallows.
7:30am the boys go back to bed to jump on Daddy. DF switched to a new job this year where the vacation time schedule is very flexible, and he was able to take two full weeks off for the holidays. We've definitely enjoyed having him home! I text our relatives in San Diego that we won't make it down to visit this weekend, since I'm still sick. We'll have to celebrate our belated Christmas even more belatedly, I guess.
7:50am Remember that it's the first Friday of the year and I need to start writing this list. DF and boys get up and play blocks in the playroom (Whomp Kings, a game they made up). I hang out with them for awhile.
8:15am Unload the dishwasher. It has been leaking lately. I clean out the "gunk" trap over the drain, which is super gross. Hopefully that will help. Wash dishes still hanging out in the sink from last year (ha ha). We had company for a week over New Years and we're still recovering. DF and kids are playing Lego Star Wars on Wii now. I take a long hot shower and inhale as much steam as I can before my California guilt kicks in about wasting water. I decide to be brave and wear contact lenses today. We had pink eye making the rounds here so I was wary of sticking my fingers in my eyes, but the kids seem to have recovered fully. Try to install the new phone screen protector I got for Christmas. Drat, it's the wrong size.
9:15am Gibson requests a cookie. More tea for me. Clean off the pile of stuff that has accumulated on the top of our dryer, the family temporary storage area. Send a Christmas card that got returned for an old address. Read the news about impending war with Iran. Try not to despair about the state of the world.
10:00am Time for more Mucinex. Watch the Wii game. Gibson is whining sooo much about the game my ears are about to explode. DF turns it off and takes a shower. The kids and I play "what animal am I thinking of?" and other pretending games.
11:00am I eat black eyed peas and greens for lunch. More good luck coming my way! The boys are playing Legos. They eat some beef jerky, apple slices, and corn muffins. Gus blows muffin crumbs all over the place. He informs me his New Year's resolution is to make more messes. <eyeroll> We have a discussion about death, the afterlife, and options for disposal of bodies. This is a fairly common topic of conversation.
11:30am DF takes the boys to a thrift store to look at toys because they want to spend their Christmas money. While they are out, I run the robot vacuum and do some laundry. I get deeply involved in making a "decade in review" post on Instagram, scouring my photo archives for images to represent the spectrum of my life for the last 10 years. I also reply to some messages that come in from a volunteer organization I work with. We are making plans for our 2020 fundraiser. Just as the boys come back, I field a call related to the fundraiser and croak out some words on the phone for 10 minutes. Doing so makes me feel like a productive member of society.
1:15pm Shoppers return home. They are loaded down with swords, light sabers, smash balls, Legos, and other things I don't recognize.
1:30pm Snack time - granola and frozen blueberries. We all play with the new toys. I trim my fingernails and convince the boys to sit on the front stoop so I can trim theirs, too. DF assembles 26 smash balls.
2:40pm all smash balls have been destroyed. They contain little rubber sports-themed figures. I drink more tea and do more laundry. The kids picked up some banks at the store and want to transfer all their coins from their previous banks to the new ones. We practice some Spanish - hola, adios, te amo - because we're planning to send the boys to a dual language Spanish program for elementary school. I send the robot vacuum to the back of the house.
3:40pm cracker snack. Watch Sponge Bob Square Pants. I install a new game on my phone because I recently got a new phone and am going crazy enjoying all the memory space, lol.
4:25pm load and run dishwasher. Fold laundry. The kids are watching Super Wings.
4:45pm turn off the TV. Attempt to get the kids out the door to a restaurant for dinner. They attack me with light sabers.
5:05pm They are finally dressed. (They had been wearing PJs all day. I let them wear PJs nearly whenever they want because soon enough they'll have to get dressed in a uniform for school every day. If they whine about it, I plan to say, "Remember when you were little and you used to wear your pajamas all day every day? That was nice, huh? Now you are big kids who go to school, so you need to wear your uniform.") We finally leave at 5:15. Stop by the UPS store to return my phone screen protector to Amazon. I don't even have to put it in a box. Whoa, such service. We eat dinner at our favorite diner that has a special with 3 hamburgers, 3 fries, and 3 drinks for $11.99. The boys share a burger (and don't even finish it) and I drink water, so it's a great deal for our family! On the way home, we try to pick up an item from our local Buy Nothing group but the family wasn't home.
6:40pm We're home. I unload the dishwasher, which did not leak on the floor. Yay! The kids are excited to see their toys again.
6:50pm Take anti-anxiety medicine, my current best friend. Drink more tea. Motivate the kids to clean up the playroom by rebuilding one smash ball for each small amount of cleaning effort.
7:45pm Snack time. Gibson requests peanut butter on a spoon. Gus ignores my repeated warnings of bedtime approaching.
8:00pm Time to get ready for bed. Gus, predictably, objects that he didn't get a snack. He scarfs down a few pretzels while Gibson brushes his teeth.
8:15pm DF tells them a bedtime story. It's still called a "Goldilocks" story and bears little resemblance to the traditional narrative. Usually, I do it but we've reached the point in the evening where my voice has faded and the coughing intensifies. I go to make a cup of (disgusting, licorice) Throat Coat tea. While I'm waiting for the water to boil, I read the ingredients and notice it has cinnamon bark. Whoops, I'm allergic to cinnamon! I'm off the hook and choose Sleepytime Vanilla instead. Write some Amazon product reviews while sipping tea.
8:35pm Children are loudly singing the rainbow song from their beds. I go in and tell them it's time to quiet down. After one last hug and drink of water, they go to sleep. DF and I watch a few episodes of Undone, a new Amazon show that is really trippy.
9:45pm I take Mucinex and vitamins and head to bed, propped up on 4 pillows.
Thanks for reading! You can check out previous days in the life here:
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 <-- the most exhausting one
Showing posts with label sickness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sickness. Show all posts
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Friday, January 27, 2017
Saying "Yes" Again
I've spent the better part of the last two years saying "No." No, I can't eat that - I'm pregnant. No, I can't attend that evening social event - the babies have to go to bed. No, I can't commit to attending those meetings regularly - my kids are always sick.
But other times, saying "no" was more grating. Since the twins were preemies, our doctor advised us to keep them away from germs as much as possible last winter. That meant we were basically quarantined in our house until April. They were also taking three naps a day most of the winter. So that led to an avalanche of "nos." No, we can't attend church. No, we don't take them to play groups. No, we never go anywhere or do anything more than shop at Kroger, and even then I'm hyper vigilant for anyone sneezing in our vicinty!!
At first, saying "no" just seemed normal. I didn't really think much of it because I meant I was saying yes to other priorities. As an example, when I was pumping for the babies, saying "yes" to feeding them breast milk meant I had to say "no" to anything that disrupted my pumping schedule too much. No to going out to lunch. No to seeing a movie. No to leaving the house for more than a couple hours at a time. I wanted to provide milk for them as long as I could, so those "nos" weren't too tough to accept.
But other times, saying "no" was more grating. Since the twins were preemies, our doctor advised us to keep them away from germs as much as possible last winter. That meant we were basically quarantined in our house until April. They were also taking three naps a day most of the winter. So that led to an avalanche of "nos." No, we can't attend church. No, we don't take them to play groups. No, we never go anywhere or do anything more than shop at Kroger, and even then I'm hyper vigilant for anyone sneezing in our vicinty!!
I hadn't thought about all this until the other day when I was talking to a friend, and she mentioned how she has to say "no" to some things because of what she wants to prioritize. Then it hit me - I am able to say "yes" much more often now! This winter is so much different than last. The boys go to MDO twice a week and happily play in the nursery during church activities. I'm volunteering regularly in the community. Both DF and I are back to singing in the choir. The kids and I visit the zoo, parks, and lots of other germy places with just hand sanitizer to protect us. Sure, we still have a nap schedule to contend with, but that's fairly predictable these days.
I'm looking for other things I can say "yes" to, so if you know of something local that I/the kids might like, let me know!
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
My Brain Is Done...No Clever Title
For the last week and a half, my hobbies have been as follows:
In other words, the kids are sick again. Baby B came down with the unknown illness first. It lasted about 5 days. He finally recovered a few days ago, and then Baby A woke up with a fever yesterday. Arrrrg!
I know people say, "Oh, kids get sick all the time. Don't worry about it." How am I NOT supposed to worry when my kid's temperature rises to 105 degrees?! That is not 100.5, it is 105. At 3AM. PANIC MODE! Actually, I was too tired to totally panic. I gave him Tylenol, fed him a cool bottle, and attempted to lay a wet rag on his head (he wasn't a big fan of that 3rd technique). Within an hour, the fever dropped back to the 99-degree range and he fell asleep on my lap. Successful mothering!
But guess I do obsess a bit much over their health in general. Part of it is probably because they started out as NICU babies, so I view them as kind of medically fragile. Really, that's unfounded though b/c they were quite healthy in the hospital and even got to come home before their original due date. I really need to get a handle on my hypochondria before the nurse line cuts me off. They still call me back pretty promptly and I'm always sure to thank them for their advice. They say, "Call anytime - that's what we're here for!" But I bet they are blessing my heart up and down behind my back...
- Taking baby temperatures (using my super-handy forehead scanner thermometer!)
- Obsessing about results of said forehead scans
- Snuffing out little noses
- Calling the pediatrician's nurse line
- Googling symptoms and remedies
- Trying to convince myself the babies don't need to see a doctor yet
- Taking babies to the doctor anyway
- Rocking crying babies
- Experimenting with baby dietary changes
- Not sleeping
- Grouching at everyone
- Worrying
- Doubting my calling as a mother, as my patience evaporates
In other words, the kids are sick again. Baby B came down with the unknown illness first. It lasted about 5 days. He finally recovered a few days ago, and then Baby A woke up with a fever yesterday. Arrrrg!
I know people say, "Oh, kids get sick all the time. Don't worry about it." How am I NOT supposed to worry when my kid's temperature rises to 105 degrees?! That is not 100.5, it is 105. At 3AM. PANIC MODE! Actually, I was too tired to totally panic. I gave him Tylenol, fed him a cool bottle, and attempted to lay a wet rag on his head (he wasn't a big fan of that 3rd technique). Within an hour, the fever dropped back to the 99-degree range and he fell asleep on my lap. Successful mothering!
But guess I do obsess a bit much over their health in general. Part of it is probably because they started out as NICU babies, so I view them as kind of medically fragile. Really, that's unfounded though b/c they were quite healthy in the hospital and even got to come home before their original due date. I really need to get a handle on my hypochondria before the nurse line cuts me off. They still call me back pretty promptly and I'm always sure to thank them for their advice. They say, "Call anytime - that's what we're here for!" But I bet they are blessing my heart up and down behind my back...
Monday, July 18, 2016
Traveling with Twins
We recently returned from two weeks in Oregon with the babies. Wow. Traveling with kids is a whole new ballgame, that's for sure! In this post, I'll focus on the logistics of travel itself. I'll warn you now, it's mostly a lot of whining! I sure hope that traveling with kids becomes easier in the future.
Before Kids
I used to travel for work all the time, so I had a pretty good mental packing list when it came to personal trips. DF and I would wait till the night before or morning of our trip to throw some stuff in our carry-on bags, call a taxi, and arrive at the airport no more than 90 minutes before our flight. On the plane, we'd play on our phones, watch movies if provided, read books, nap, eat snacks, and generally relax. Upon arrival at our destination, we'd either use public transportation or pick up our rental car and head off for adventures. Maybe we'd be a little tired if we had to get up early for the flight, but we caught up on sleep within a day or two of being footloose and fancy free.
With Kids
I started fretting about flying with the babies before we even bought tickets for this trip. About 3 months before departure, I created an overly-detailed Google spreadsheet for everything we could possibly need (including items to pack, buy in advance and ship, and borrow or buy in Oregon), which probably resulted in stressing my parents out as I convinced them to drive all over the Willamette Valley borrowing baby goods.
A week before we were scheduled to leave, both babies (of course) came down with colds. They kept waking up at night and needing me to snuff out their noses. Then one night, A screamed for quite awhile, so I took them both to the doctor in the morning to discover A had an ear infection. B's ears looked fine, but he was still grouchy. When travel day arrived, then, both DF and I were already exhausted from a week of sleep deprivation and cranky, sick, teething babies.
We managed to fit our copious amounts of gear into 3 checked bags and 3 carry-ons, plus our two infant carrier car seats. We almost forgot the snap-n-go folding stroller, but luckily the taxi had only driven about a mile away from our house when I remembered it! We arrived at the airport two hours early and had to wait in line to check our bags. I don't recall the last time I had checked luggage!!
Going through security was rather chaotic. There were no TSA personnel on the "load your stuff" side of the screening zone to tell us what to do with our carseats and stroller, so we just sort of stood there looking confused until someone finally pointed us in the right direction. Once through security, we had to buy some bottled water so we could make the babies' bottles while traveling. We also attempted to feed ourselves, semi-successfully. I didn't really want the boys to crawl around the waiting area eating all the crumbs and dirt they found on the floor, but that meant we each had to hold one, and they weren't super happy about being constrained.
We didn't purchase seats on the plane for the babies (so expensive!) but got lucky on leg #1 of travel (Memphis-Houston) that there were unoccupied seats, so we got to bring their carseats on the plane. Yay, babies napping in flight! We weren't so fortunate on leg #2, the four-hour jaunt. Four hours of holding a squirming baby who refuses to nap. Yeah, that's about as fun as it sounds. I think they were too distracted by all the people who wanted to stop and talk to/make faces at them. I mean, it was nice that the other passengers were being friendly, but they wound the kids up too much to sleep! I just kept shoving Cheerios in the boys' mouths. It was extra tricky because the four of us couldn't all sit in the same row - there is only one extra oxygen mask per 3-seat row, so only one lap baby is allowed. We wound up sitting across the aisle from each other. We survived (barely).
Upon arrival at PDX, we found out that Southwest had lost our luggage. I don't know how they managed to do that because we were on the same plane all the way from Memphis! Apparently someone took our bags off the plane when they shouldn't have. Argh! And then there were a series of car accidents causing big delays on the highway, so a usually 1.25 hour drive took nearly 2.5 hours. We were all cranky and exhausted by the time we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Well, maybe not DF because he has the mental fortitude to decide not to be cranky, but the other 3 of us aren't as capable of controlling our emotions :)
Predictably, I had packed the babies' white noise sound machine and sleep sacks in one of the lost suitcases. So, we all had another long and sleepless night as they had none of their usual sleeping comforts, besides pacifiers. The luggage was delivered to my parents house early the next morning. Hooray, things are looking up!
Before Kids
I used to travel for work all the time, so I had a pretty good mental packing list when it came to personal trips. DF and I would wait till the night before or morning of our trip to throw some stuff in our carry-on bags, call a taxi, and arrive at the airport no more than 90 minutes before our flight. On the plane, we'd play on our phones, watch movies if provided, read books, nap, eat snacks, and generally relax. Upon arrival at our destination, we'd either use public transportation or pick up our rental car and head off for adventures. Maybe we'd be a little tired if we had to get up early for the flight, but we caught up on sleep within a day or two of being footloose and fancy free.
With Kids
I started fretting about flying with the babies before we even bought tickets for this trip. About 3 months before departure, I created an overly-detailed Google spreadsheet for everything we could possibly need (including items to pack, buy in advance and ship, and borrow or buy in Oregon), which probably resulted in stressing my parents out as I convinced them to drive all over the Willamette Valley borrowing baby goods.
A week before we were scheduled to leave, both babies (of course) came down with colds. They kept waking up at night and needing me to snuff out their noses. Then one night, A screamed for quite awhile, so I took them both to the doctor in the morning to discover A had an ear infection. B's ears looked fine, but he was still grouchy. When travel day arrived, then, both DF and I were already exhausted from a week of sleep deprivation and cranky, sick, teething babies.
We managed to fit our copious amounts of gear into 3 checked bags and 3 carry-ons, plus our two infant carrier car seats. We almost forgot the snap-n-go folding stroller, but luckily the taxi had only driven about a mile away from our house when I remembered it! We arrived at the airport two hours early and had to wait in line to check our bags. I don't recall the last time I had checked luggage!!
Going through security was rather chaotic. There were no TSA personnel on the "load your stuff" side of the screening zone to tell us what to do with our carseats and stroller, so we just sort of stood there looking confused until someone finally pointed us in the right direction. Once through security, we had to buy some bottled water so we could make the babies' bottles while traveling. We also attempted to feed ourselves, semi-successfully. I didn't really want the boys to crawl around the waiting area eating all the crumbs and dirt they found on the floor, but that meant we each had to hold one, and they weren't super happy about being constrained.
We didn't purchase seats on the plane for the babies (so expensive!) but got lucky on leg #1 of travel (Memphis-Houston) that there were unoccupied seats, so we got to bring their carseats on the plane. Yay, babies napping in flight! We weren't so fortunate on leg #2, the four-hour jaunt. Four hours of holding a squirming baby who refuses to nap. Yeah, that's about as fun as it sounds. I think they were too distracted by all the people who wanted to stop and talk to/make faces at them. I mean, it was nice that the other passengers were being friendly, but they wound the kids up too much to sleep! I just kept shoving Cheerios in the boys' mouths. It was extra tricky because the four of us couldn't all sit in the same row - there is only one extra oxygen mask per 3-seat row, so only one lap baby is allowed. We wound up sitting across the aisle from each other. We survived (barely).
Upon arrival at PDX, we found out that Southwest had lost our luggage. I don't know how they managed to do that because we were on the same plane all the way from Memphis! Apparently someone took our bags off the plane when they shouldn't have. Argh! And then there were a series of car accidents causing big delays on the highway, so a usually 1.25 hour drive took nearly 2.5 hours. We were all cranky and exhausted by the time we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Well, maybe not DF because he has the mental fortitude to decide not to be cranky, but the other 3 of us aren't as capable of controlling our emotions :)
Where is our luggage??
Predictably, I had packed the babies' white noise sound machine and sleep sacks in one of the lost suitcases. So, we all had another long and sleepless night as they had none of their usual sleeping comforts, besides pacifiers. The luggage was delivered to my parents house early the next morning. Hooray, things are looking up!
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Stay-At-Home-Mom, Literally
We are emerging from the fog of sickness over here, finally. The pediatrician thinks Baby B might have had a bad cold or RSV, but at least we're at the tail end of it now. Sheesh, two weeks of two sick kids is a lot of sickness!
I realized that I've hardly left the house at all for the month of January. I am literally becoming a stay-at-home mom. Here is a list of times I can recall actually going anywhere since 1/1.
People keep telling me, "it's going to get better." I'm trying to believe them. I heard that 6 months is the magical age when life with twins suddenly becomes easier. If we're going by adjusted age, I have about 3 more weeks to go. Then it will be all rainbows and unicorns and butterflies, yes?
Actually, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just recently, the babies seem to have discovered each other, and I'm happy to say they think the other is pretty interesting. I put them both in the same crib for a bit the other day when I was doing something in the kitchen, and when I came back they were grabbing at each other and giggling. It was cute :) If they are able to entertain each other, that will be awesome! I might be able to get something done every now and then.
As for leaving the house, well, if they stay healthy maybe we can even manage to get out and about once in awhile, too. I've got them on the waiting list for Mother's Day Out at church for the spring. Then I'd really be footloose and fancy free!
I realized that I've hardly left the house at all for the month of January. I am literally becoming a stay-at-home mom. Here is a list of times I can recall actually going anywhere since 1/1.
- Church - once
- Doctor's appointments - 4 times
- Target and UPS Store combined trip - once
- Kroger - once
- Batteries Plus - once
- Sam's Club (which was actually a trip to Walmart to return a Christmas gift that turned out to be from K-Mart...but I didn't want my drive all the way down to Winchester to be wasted...) - once
- Walks around the neighborhood - maybe 8-10 times
- Random drives to make the babies fall asleep - approximately 3
- Lunch at a restaurant with a friend! A real, grown up experience! - once
People keep telling me, "it's going to get better." I'm trying to believe them. I heard that 6 months is the magical age when life with twins suddenly becomes easier. If we're going by adjusted age, I have about 3 more weeks to go. Then it will be all rainbows and unicorns and butterflies, yes?
Actually, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just recently, the babies seem to have discovered each other, and I'm happy to say they think the other is pretty interesting. I put them both in the same crib for a bit the other day when I was doing something in the kitchen, and when I came back they were grabbing at each other and giggling. It was cute :) If they are able to entertain each other, that will be awesome! I might be able to get something done every now and then.
As for leaving the house, well, if they stay healthy maybe we can even manage to get out and about once in awhile, too. I've got them on the waiting list for Mother's Day Out at church for the spring. Then I'd really be footloose and fancy free!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Sick Kids
Oh my gosh, how do parents of more than one kid deal when they are all sick at the same time? Baby A & B both came down with a cold last weekend, their first ever. I feel like all my hypochondriacal efforts at quarantining them for their first 7 months of life were worth it because taking care of 2 sick babies is EXHAUSTING. I read a parenting article that said most babies get 6-8 colds during their first year of life. Um, nope, that is not happening. I am not interested in spending the next 5 months as a human snot rag.
A is sicker than B. He was really being fussy and not eating well, so I took him to the doctor on Monday. Turns out he has an ear infection. Poor little guy :( He is on antibiotics now and seems to be doing a bit better. But he has been demanding a lot of attention. Then I feel bad for B, because although he also is coughing and has a runny nose, he isn't being as fussy as his brother. So he's been spending a lot of time in the bouncy seat, watching me hold/console his brother.
Seriously, if I had more kids, what would I do? Keep with this same triage system and attend to the one who is squawking the loudest or coughing the hardest? During one feeding yesterday they were both having coughing fits and I wound up sitting on the couch trying to hold them both at the same time. That really doesn't work very well, but it did calm them down enough to eat a bit more.
Baby A has only been eating about half of what he usually eats. Maybe this will be B's chance to finally catch up to him, weight-wise! The doctor said that as long as he still has plenty of wet diapers not to worry if he's eating less. I guess it makes sense, since when I'm sick I usually lose my appetite, too.
They were doing pretty well with sleeping up until they got sick. Now they keep waking up all night from being stuffed up or coughing. Then I have to do my motherly duty and literally suck the snot out of their noses. It is gross! I can't believe this is what my life has come to.
Here's hoping they get well soon. But they've actually been taking longer naps that usual, so that's kind of a nice bonus.
A is sicker than B. He was really being fussy and not eating well, so I took him to the doctor on Monday. Turns out he has an ear infection. Poor little guy :( He is on antibiotics now and seems to be doing a bit better. But he has been demanding a lot of attention. Then I feel bad for B, because although he also is coughing and has a runny nose, he isn't being as fussy as his brother. So he's been spending a lot of time in the bouncy seat, watching me hold/console his brother.
Seriously, if I had more kids, what would I do? Keep with this same triage system and attend to the one who is squawking the loudest or coughing the hardest? During one feeding yesterday they were both having coughing fits and I wound up sitting on the couch trying to hold them both at the same time. That really doesn't work very well, but it did calm them down enough to eat a bit more.
Baby A has only been eating about half of what he usually eats. Maybe this will be B's chance to finally catch up to him, weight-wise! The doctor said that as long as he still has plenty of wet diapers not to worry if he's eating less. I guess it makes sense, since when I'm sick I usually lose my appetite, too.
They were doing pretty well with sleeping up until they got sick. Now they keep waking up all night from being stuffed up or coughing. Then I have to do my motherly duty and literally suck the snot out of their noses. It is gross! I can't believe this is what my life has come to.
Here's hoping they get well soon. But they've actually been taking longer naps that usual, so that's kind of a nice bonus.
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