Croup Happens. As Does Pink Eye.

So Cee has croup.

Elle has a lingering cough that keeps her and Jeigh awake at night.

Dee has a tooth growing in on top of a baby tooth that has decided it's staying put.

And Jeigh has a black eye.

Oh wait. Make that a black eye AND a pink eye.

Pink eye. Awesome.

I thought this week was starting to get kind of crazy. And then last night happened.

It. was. horrific.

Cee in her croupy discomfort tossed and turned and wheezed and cried with every cough. She didn't want to sleep in her bed. She didn't want to sleep in my bed. Or in the recliner. Or in her bed with me beside her. In fact she didn't/couldn't really sleep at all.

She would sleep for about twenty minutes at a time and then wake up upset and in pain or struggling to breathe. That or one of her restless siblings would turn on a light or come looking for her or me and wake her up again.

I couldn't do anything for her. I would try to cuddle her, but she'd wriggle away or kick me. I'd try to give her medicine and she'd bat it away. I'd try to leave her be and she would get even more upset.

By 2:30 am, I couldn't take it anymore. We had already been through a couple of restless nights. Multiple children were crying at once. Every time Cee would cough and cry, her roommate, Dee, would start crying, convinced she was going to die. I felt so powerless and short-fused. I'll admit it. I am not a good mom after 1 am and on so little sleep. I was quickly loosing my cool. After many frustrated prayers, I had no idea what to do or who to ask what to do.

So I called my husband. Who was sleeping peacefully in a motel five hours away.

Poor man.

Can you imagine being woken at 2:30 am by a hysterical wife with four crying children in the background?

He did his best talking to the kids over the phone trying to calm them down and allay their fears. He let me cry and vent to him too. He never complained. He didn't even try to end the conversation quickly. He gave us what he could from where he was.

And I sure love him for that.

The rest of the night was just as restless. The older kids finally fell asleep, but Cee never did sleep longer than 20 to 30 minutes at a time. But at least I was able to endure it without going crazy.

Today I feel like a character from The Walking Dead, although I can't decide if I'm a Walker or someone who is just hanging on, trying to survive.

Later in the day I discovered the Pink Eye Plague had claimed its second victim. Poor Cee.

We're dropping like flies around here. Stay away if you want to live.

Ahhh Croup!

On Saturday evening, right before dinner, the 6 year old, Jeigh, threw a shoe up in the air (???). What goes up, must come down. On her face. A nice big bruise immediately began to form on her left cheek. Ouch!

Not twenty minutes later, child #3, Elle, was sitting in the bathtub and sprung a leak. A bloody nose! Just from sitting in the tub.

Not five minutes later, I lifted the baby of the bunch, Cee, from the tub and began to dry her off. As I did she began to wheeze and cough that croupy, barky cough.

What the--?! Ten minutes before I had put a perfectly healthy two year old in the tub and pulled out a toddler with croup? Is that even possible?!

So within a half hour time period, all three of my girls were crying or bleeding or both. What is going on here?

Fortunately, the bloody nose dried up, and the bump is gone leaving behind a nice little shiner, but the croup remains. And I know it's croup because I took Cee to the doctor today. Fever, coughing, crying with pain, complaining of everything hurting, no sleep. I could take all that, but that heavy, labored breathing was freaking me out. Even if it was a "waste" of twenty dollars for a co-pay, I needed to make sure she was okay. Which she is. It's just one of those darn "wait it out" things.

You know you're a mom of multiple children (I would even boldly say three or more children) when you can't remember just which of your children had what in the past.

The doctor asked me if Cee had had croup before.

Uhhh???

I can remember when Elle had it. But that's only because it was our first bout with croup ever. It was Thanksgiving night. I rushed her to the ER in Arizona convinced she was dying. I left the ER at 3 in the morning and as I drove home I saw lines of Black Friday shoppers waiting outside of all the department stores. And I miscarried the next day. Black Friday. It was pretty memorable.

I know we've had several episodes of croup and Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and penicillin allergic reactions and dairy anaphylactic reactions and pneumonia and roseola and staph infection and H1N1 and rounds of diarrhea and snotty noses and gastric bugs and sleepless nights and loads of laundry and jugs of Gatorade and pots of chicken noodle soup before and since then.

I just can't for the life of me remember who and when. I blame it on all the sleepless nights.

Sheesh! My kids' immune systems are going to be made of titanium by the time they reach adolescence.

Three for Thursday: Back from the Dead

Turkey Tail Feather / Don Van Dyke

It's Thursday again! Maybe that is nothing remarkable to you, but Wednesday morning around 4 am as I was leaning against the wall in my bathroom praying my children wouldn't find me unconscious or dead I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see another Thursday again.

Sparing you most of the gory details, let's just say Panda Express and I are through. For life. And not to slander Panda Express because it wasn't food poisoning that affected me so, but it just happened to be my last meal before...well, you get the idea. And now I can hardly type the words Panda Express without dying a little inside.

Moving on! 

Three things that I am grateful for from the year 2011:
1. Neighbors. I know, I know. I'm getting a little obnoxious with the I-love-my-neighbors thing, but they came to my rescue again yesterday when I called upon them for a priesthood blessing and help with my children. I am so grateful for good people!
2. Baby Cee. She was born right at the beginning of 2011. How I love this gorgeous, sweet baby of mine.
3. Getting laid off from my job. A few months ago I couldn't have said this, but I have finally been able to see what a blessing me not working has been for my family and home. Suddenly I have more time in my day. My house is cleaner, my children are happier, and I am more satisfied with how I am fulfilling my duties as "mama".


Three things “I’d rather not”:
1. I'd rather not give the kitchen table and chairs the deep down exfoliating scrub they so desperately need but that will require ninja skills and an exorcism to complete.
2. I'd rather not plan the Thanksgiving menu right now. My stomach just isn't up to it. Yet.
3. I'd rather not talk on the phone. Like ever. I really hate phone conversations. I freeze up. I can't hear. I would really just rather not ever use it for talking into.

Three Thanksgiving plans, traditions, or memories:
1. Plan: Cook my first gluten free Thanksgiving feast. Wish me luck!
2. Memory: A bird pooping on my head while I was hanging off the side of a moving suburban.
3. Tradition: Eat. Lots.

Three sneaky things I do:
1. Add spinach to the morning smoothie.
2. Watch the garbage man between the window blinds to see if he's irritated about my overly full garbage can.
3. Eat chocolate covered pretzels in the kitchen as quietly as I can while my children watch TV in the next room.

Three things that I missed the boat on:
1. Pop culture. Friends, Frasier, Lost, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Wonder Years, The Office. If it's popular I probably didn't read it or see it until it was all published or airing the final season.
2. Sushi. I didn't get brave enough to try it until a couple of years ago. Oh the years wasted!
3. Natural childbirth.

Three pictures:

Why wouldn't it surprise me to see Lady Gaga in this outfit?

Four of my greatest blessings

Thanksgiving 2009 in Arizona. Too small and too quiet. How grateful I am that we are close to family again.