Saturday, November 28, 2009

Mommy's Getting OUT!

I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself!!!!! Wednesday is my birthday and when John asked what I wanted, I told him that the most amazing thing in the universe would be to go out to dinner with him... ALONE! I haven't been out in over 6now and even though the girls are awesome, I am extremely eager to have a date with my husband! This will be my first real break since Adrienne was born but it's just a small price to pay to breastfeed her.

I had been missing the motor to my breast pump since we moved last April and I didn't think I could pump enough milk to sustain Adrienne while we were gone. Because of that, I was just going to feed her before we left, leave her with her cereal, and then kind of hurry back. As luck would have it, about 2 weeks ago I was cleaning out Brooke's toy room and in the bottom of her toy box I FOUND THE MOTOR!!!! Now my wonderful breast pump is back and in working order and I have been stocking up the freezer with milk for Miss Adrienne. It's good to have on hand anyways but I'm mostly excited that I'll have enough to leave her some while we're away on Wednesday night. We just started her on a soft spout sippy cup with some water in it (mainly to occupy her at dinner) and she LOVES it. She's never taken a bottle so I think she'll drink the expressed milk just fine out of that.

After dinner, John and I are going to head home and put the girls to bed and then head back out to the movies!!!!!!!! John's sister is going to sit here for us and I think I could kiss her feet for doing so. Lol! Again,I haven't been out baby free for over 6 months now so this is HUGE!! Adrienne sleeps through the night but I'm going to make sure I pump extra milk just in case she wakes up for some odd reason.

I cannot wait to dress up and get out with my husband. It's been a long time coming and it's going to be absolutely wonderful!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Half Way to A Year

Dearest Adrienne,

Today you are 6 months old! Each month I am amazed at how quickly the time is flying. I wish that I could freeze time and soak up every essence of your babyhood because I know that soon you will be grown.

The thing that I love the most about you is how content you are. You rarely fuss or complain when mommy has to put you down to make dinner or to take care of Sissy. You always occupy yourself just fine and you seem to have lots of fun doing so. Our home is filled with your squeals and laughter on a regular basis and it gives me so much joy to hear how happy you are!

You are a little bit of a "late bloomer" but that is another one of your most endearing qualities. In the short 6 months that you have been here, you have taken your time achieving milestones. You are more of a social butterfly than an explorer.. Just like your mama!! It was only a week ago that finally figured out how to roll from your back to your belly but now that you have mastered that, you are starting to get around pretty well. I think that life is about to get a lot more crazy (and fun!) now that you are moving around a litte bit more.

I love our nursing time together. As you eat, I have a hard time keeping you focused because you like to stop and chat with me or smile at me. I wouldn't have it any other way though! You just started this new silly habit of hitting me over and over again while you eat and it's just so goofy. I am so privileged to be the only one who can feed you!

I can tell already that you and Brookie are going to be the best of friends. The way you hang on her every word and laugh at her constantly just melts my heart. Aunt Alison was my very best friend growing up (and now!) and I am so excited that you will have a big sister just like I did. Brooke adores you and she thinks it's pretty cool that you are a part of our lives.

These first months of you life, Miss Adrienne, have been so precious to me. Having you as my daughter has been nothing but an honor. I am so thankful that God placed you in our family and I am so excited to watch you grow. Never forget how loved you are, baby!

With all my love,
Mommy

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had such an amazing Thanksgiving today! I'm not sure that it could have gone any smoother or that I could have enjoyed myself any more than I did.

The girls and I started our day by meeting my mom and sister at McDonald's for breakfast. It's been a long-standing tradition and it was nice to be able to spend some time with them in the morning because we didn't share Thanksgiving dinner together. We usually do Thanksgiving with John's family and Christmas dinner with my family. It really works out well for everyone and just makes the holidays less stressful.

When we got home from our little outing this morning, Patty (John's mom) came over to help me with the girls while I cooked and cleaned. She and I had a wonderful day together and I seriously don't think I could have done it without her help. The girls love her, so that's a HUGE help, and she was an enormous help in the kitchen. It was just a great day of preparation!

The food turned out perfectly... Yes, even that darn turkey. It sure did give me a scare but hey, it kept it interesting there for a while! I can't think of one thing that didn't turn out just as I had intended for it to and it's safe to say that nobody left hungry!

Adrienne will be 6 months old tomorrow (which is unbelievable!) and we were going to wait to give her her first rice cereal until then but because Thanksgiving fell only one day short of her half-year birthday, we fed her today for the first time instead. It's funny because after slaving over a hot stove all day you would think that I would have been eager to eat but I was more excited to feed Miss Adrienne. That was probably the highlight of my day! She devoured her cereal and absolutely loved it! She even cried in between bites because I wasn't feeding her fast enough. Lol! My camera is broken so I wasn't able to capture any pictures, which made me SO sad, but there will be other times for that, I guess! She was absolutely precious and giving her first food on such a special day was really awesome. I can't wait to feed her again tomorrow!

At the end of such an incredible day, I sit here in awe over how good God is. He has blessed my family and me beyond measure and if I had to tell you what I was thankful for, you would need a couple of hours to listen to me because I could go on and on. John, Brooke, and Adrienne are my entire universe but we also have so many others in our lives that we could not live without and I am so thankful for that. I am so extremely grateful that our girls will grow up with both sets of grandparents and countless aunts, uncles and cousins that all live close by. We have so much love and support!

I hope that everyone else had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as my family and I did. Life is so good!! :-)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

My Wonderful Man

Whenever I have a massive task ahead of me (such as cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 20), I'll admit, I can be pretty hyper. I'm not a very focused person so in my efforts to get the job done, I can very easily walk all over the people that I love... Especially the person who I love the most- John. I might not directly say mean things to him, but my whole attitude must completely put him on edge. I snap into crazy mode and race around the house from task to task and before I know, I have about 75 different things that I'm working on all at once!

Our Thanksgiving preparations took an interesting turn of events tonight when we came home from church and found our 24 pound turkey to still be frozen. After a week of thawing, you would think that it would be good to go, but NO. That's apparently too much to ask. I'm thankful that it's not completely frozen, but it's definitely got a ways to go before I can successfully remove the crap out of the middle. This, to me, is a cataclysmic event to have occur the night before I host 20 hungry people! I was freaking out and absolutely frazzled when we made this discovery and my wonderful husband put his arms around me and said, "Baby, it's okay. The turkey will be fine!" He didn't freak out with me or get upset.. He just listened and reassured me.

John had to be at work tonight by 11 and being his first night back for the rotation, he really, really needed the rest to get through night. However, he gave that all up for me and put himself to work around the house. Because I'm neurotic and freakish about the house being tidy for company, I had decided early in the week that it would be a good idea to steam clean the carpets. We didn't get to it until tonight and instead of saying to me, "Gee, Jillian, that's a huge undertaking the night before Thanksgiving, especially with a frozen turkey on our hands," John spent two hours cleaning the carpets. I insisted on taking over for him, but he would hear nothing of it

After John left from work, I ran upstairs to put some laundry away and on our dresser mirror was a Post-It note that he had left for me. He just left me a little message about how much he loves me and how the turkey would be fine. It's like he read my mind and KNEW that darn turkey would be constantly on my mind!

He just got out of shift briefing and he called to tell me that he would be stopping at the grocery store in the morning to get some last minute things that I forgot about. Who really wants to go to the grocery store after being up all night? Not me! What a good man I have!! :-) On top of that, he's only sleeping until noon tomorrow, so he's going to be running on very little sleep. Why? Because he loves me and searches endlessly for ways to help me.

When I'm frantic, John is calm. When I'm irrational (which is often), he's completely rational. He's that voice of reason for me that I simply cannot be for myself. He keeps my life in perspective for me and when I need a little reminder to slow down and enjoy life, he lovingly and gently gives it to me. We are polar opposites and without him, I'm not sure how I would get through life! I am so thankful that God gave me a husband who makes up for my many weaknesses. He balances me out in a way that I could have never dreamed of. Only HE could somehow get me to believe that this turkey ordeal isn't quite the end of the world!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Plans

Wow, I'm so excited because I updated the editor setting on my Blogger account and now I have all of these wonderful new (to me) features! What could be better??


Anyways, the real reason behind my post today is not to brag on Blogger, as awesome at it may be, but to get my mind in gear for Thanksgiving. I have so much to do to prepare and it's only three days away. Yikes! As I said a couple of posts ago, we're hosting 18 people at my house (like we did last year) so I definitely have my work cut out for me.


I must confess, this year I'm a little anxious about how it's all going to work out. John has to work 11-7 the night before Thanksgiving and he also has to go in that night. John is incredible and extremely sacrificial when it comes to his sleep time and he said that he's going to get up around noon to help out. I don't want him to have to do that, though! The man needs his sleep for work that night. However, if he doesn't, I'll single-handedly be cooking for the masses AND caring for our two  young children! I like to pretend that I'm Super Mom sometimes (HA!) but I'm not THAT super, in reality!


So, here's what on the menu:
  • Turkey (obviously)! This bird is 24 pounds so it's going to be a lot of effort to get it in the oven!
  • Homemade stuffing with dried cranberries and apples. Yummy! It's kind of my signature Thanksgiving dish.
  • Cranberry sauce.. I opted for canned because apparently that's what everyone likes best anyways.
  • Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad - I hate to make this but everyone raves about it at every family gathering and I don't want to disappoint my guests!
  • Candied yams
  • Various veggies- Creamed cauliflower, broccoli, corn, and brussel sprouts (my favorite!!)
  • Mashed potatoes with homemade gravy
  • Yeast rolls (that taste pretty close to Texas Road House's, if I do say so myself). I'm also going to be making a whipped cinnamon sugar butter to pair with these. It just sounds festive to me.
  • Homemade applesauce that I already made and froze. All I have to do it is thaw it, warm it up, and sprinkle some cinnamon on it.
  • For dessert, my only responsibilties are to make coconut custard pies. I was going to make apple pies, cheesecakes, pumpkin pies,  and a chocolate pie but Patty (my mother-in-law) insisted on doing something. I didn't want to have to trouble anyone and I love making pies,  but as I said earlier, I have A LOT on my plate with John having to work.
  • We are also having some light appetizers such a cheese, crackers, pepperoni and a nice veggie tray. Last year we went ALL out with tons of hot appetizers and stuff but we threw so much of it away. We opted to save the money and go light on starters this year.
Am I missing anything?? Getting that list out on paper made me feel so much better because I just realized that there really isn't all THAT much to do. It will all come together.. It always does! I just like to stress about it in the mean time:-)


Does anyone else have any exciting Thanksgiving plans?

Saturday, November 21, 2009

For All You Police Wives

I recently came across an awesome website that lists blog after blog of police wives. It has been wonderful to read some of their post and see that other people really do know what it's like to have a husband in law enforcement! So, without further ado, I thought I would just do a post on our journey through law enforcement. Here goes nothing!

John and I started dating when I was still in high school. He's three years older than me so he was already in college studying criminal justice. His lifelong ambition had always been to become a cop and as a young and crazily in love teenager, that sounded pretty darn sexy to me! I'll never forget meeting a cop's wife at Red Lobster (where I worked as a waitress at the time) and I was raving to her that my boyfriend wanted to be a cop. She said, "Oh honey, you do NOT want to marry a cop. Search around for someone else!" Needless to say, her words of "caution" were of absolutely NO significance to me!

John had taken the civil service test and received a good grade and he had also successfully completed the physical fitness exam. However, as many of you know, the whole hiring process took what seemed like an eternity! It was almost a year before he heard anything from any of the agencies that he had applied to... And it happened to be 3 days before our wedding when he finally did! They called him in for an interview and while he was on the phone with me raving about how wonderful it went, they called him back and offered him the job. Talk about exciting!! He was hired that Wednesday, we were married that Saturday, he left for our honeymoon as a Coca Cola Merchandiser and returned a cop. It was just crazy how quickly everything changed in our lives!

The academy started shortly after we had settled in as a married couple and it was really, really tough on a new marriage. I wasn't used to seeing the man I love under such immense pressure and strain. Man, they worked him so hard in the academy! As if the PT (Physical Training) alone didn't wipe him out enough, there were also so many other aspects of the academy such as studying, shooting, and field training that were added to his plate. Somewhere in the middle of the academy, in June of '06, we found out that we were expecting our oldest daughter, Brooke. I had a special dinner prepared to tell John of the great news and he walked in the door and threw up everywhere. It was during DT (Defensive training) and he had come home with such a horrible headache that he got sick. It wasn't quite the romantic celebration I had planned! Lol! Anyways, long story short, it was a tough 6 months and we were NOT sad when it was over!

After the academy, real life as a police wife started... The weird hours, the adjustment to having a husband who was putting his life in danger, and getting used to an altogether new routine and lifestyle. During the academy John had normal hours (8-4) and he never had to work holidays, nights, or weekends, but the first shift they threw him on when he had complete his training was the dreaded evening shift (3 PM to 11 PM). That was so hard for us to adjust to, especially after the luxury of the academy's hours! We got through, though. We always do!

A few short weeks after John was on the road he experienced his first fatal accident. To respect my husband's sensitivity to this issue, I'll be brief when I discuss this, but it was really tough on him. He was a rookie cop ready to take on the world (I'm sure!) and he was the first on scene to a terrible accident where a teenage girl was killed while her boyfriend, who had been driving, was still alive. As if that wasn't enough, he even had to go to her autopsy the next day and it was just A LOT for him to take in. That's when I realized that the years ahead of me of supporting my police officer husband would take much wisdom, understanding, and compassion on my part. It was NOT going to be easy or quite as "sexy," as I once thought.

John has been a cop for almost 4 years now and I would like to say that my endeavor to adjust to his career has always been easy, but I would be lying if I did! We have experienced absolutely NO stability because his schedule keeps getting switched. Every time we adjust to a new schedule, sure enough, it changes. I'm still fearful for him while he's working. Right now he's on the night shift and there are nights when I go to bed scared to death that he won't come home. My heart also pounds when he comes home late or when I can't get a hold of him for extended periods of time. He has also experienced more than his fair share of horrible situations and I am still learning on what he needs for me when he experiencing those tough situations. He vows to never bring work home but at times I feel as though that's detrimental to his thought processes and I really think that he needs to be able to get his feelings out!

I am SO PROUD of my man. Being a police wife is not easy but it is so rewarding to know that I am supporting my husband as he does what he has always set out to do! And besides, he sure does look pretty nice in that uniform:-)

Friday, November 20, 2009

WAY Too Many Clothes!

I'm extremely tidy, as far as my house goes. I tend to have all of the laundry done, the floors mopped, carpets vacuumed, furniture dusted, beds made, dishes washed, etc... But, I do have to confess, I am also one of the most unorganized people I know. You may walk in my house and think that it looks clean but just don't open up my cabinets or look in my closets. All bets are off if you do!

I am started to feel really frustrated by my lack of organization with the girls' clothes. I'm telling you, I have more little pink and purple clothes than you can possibly even begin to imagine. When we just had Brooke I could manage the bins of clothing and keep decent track of them, but right now, it's complete chaos in that department. The problem is that the girls were born in different seasons so my large plastic bin that once housed Brooke's newborn/0-3 bin is now overflowing because I had to add Adrienne's clothes from a completely different season. It's also hard because our house doesn't have a whole lot of storage space so the girls' closets don't have much room left in them for huge bins of cloths!

Another thing that frustrates me is that Brooke can still wear all of last year's dresses and shirts (just not pants because she got taller) so instead of simply having this year's wardrobe to work with, I have last year's wardrobe out still. Each of my girls has a CRAZY selection of clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but knowing how to keep all of these clothes organized and stored properly is beyond me.

I'm also thinking that if Adrienne had been a boy then this whole process wouldn't have been as frustrating... That way I could have completely started from scratch and I wouldn't have had to worry about the existing boxes that we have. This is so much work! She's so worth it thought and I'm SUPER glad she's a girl:-) Heaven help me if baby #3 is a girl, though, because then I'm REALLY going to be overwhelmed with pink clothes. Lol

Does anyone have a magic system for storing/organizing baby clothes??? Something... anything.. has to be better than what I'm doing now!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Mommies Have Feelings, Too!

I know that this is totally stupid but I'm just being completely honest... Brooke made me so sad tonight:-( John was putting her to bed (as he always does) and they were enjoying their usual routine of putting money in Brooke's piggy bank, reading a story, praying, and singing 3 songs. I heard them laughing and giggling so I went into Brooke's room to join in on the fun. She got a weird look on her face and started to fuss a little bit so I asked her what was wrong. She looked at me and said, "Could you, um, get out of here?" I was cramping her style:-( She didn't want me to be a part of her nighttime routine. Only DADDY can do that.

There are so many times that I feel like I'm like the last person on Brooke's list. She's a daddy's girl through and through and if there's grandparent around (remember, she has 4 within close proximity), forget about it. She always wants me when she's sick or hurt, which should make me feel good, but all bets are off when nothing's wrong with her. Lol

I was talking to Alison about all of this and she reassured me a lot. She said that as moms, we're always worrying about the ins and outs of our children's care- What they eat, if they've brushed their teeth, if their hair is fixed, if they've gotten a nap, etc... Because of that, we don't always get to be that super fun parent like Daddy. I'm with Brooke ALL THE TIME and obviously John has to work so she's not with him as much. That probably makes Daddy a little bit more cool than me, huh?

I am SO thankful that John is such an attentive and amazing father. I really and truly am. I love his help with the girls and I could sit back for hours listening to Brooke cackle as John wrestles with her. It's priceless. Somehow, though, I feel like that old fuddy duddy mom who just ruins the party.

Again, I know that it's silly to let a 2.5 year old dictate my emotions but I'm human! I'm still her mommy and nothing will ever change that. And besides, next week she just may decided that she's MY girl again! Lol

Monday, November 16, 2009

Fear and Pain

I don't get Brooke lately. It's comical because she's either petrified of something or complaining of her latest ailment. I'm not sure where all of these new feelings are coming from but I am bound and determined to help her get past them!

Here are her latest fears:

*Riding in the car... Especially when there's a pothole, rough road, steep hill, or sharp turn. It's not always easy have to reach back for her little hand as she insists that I hold it!

*Taking a bath. This one baffles me because she's always fine after she gets in the tub and becomes acclimated with it. Whenever I tell her that bath time is coming she cries and says, "Cuz I'm afraid of the bath." Lol

*Her toy room. She has massive room that is specifically for her toys and it is worth absolutely nothing because now she's afraid to go in there. I asked her what the problem was and said, "Cuz there's a monkey." We took the plastic toy monkey out and put him on the deck (Because she asked for him to be put outside) but the other day when it started to rain she got very upset and asked us to bring him back in. So, now that the monkey is back in, we've come full circle. I spend a lot of time playing with her in there and she seems to be okay as long as I "pave the way" for her, but she will not go in there and play independently lately.

*All of her stuffed animals. She's had me rid her room of all the things that she used to snuggle with while she slept. How odd is that? I put a bunch of them in her closet and now she freaks out if the closet door is opened while she's trying to go to sleep.

*Washing her hands. Yes, you read that correctly. One time we were at McDonald's using the bathroom and when I went to hold her up to the counter to wash her hands I accidentally hurt her by hitting her leg on the wall. Now she associates that with washing her hands and it's an argument for us every single time. I feel so bad about that!

As for Brooke's mile long list of things that hurt her, she complains that her "fung" (tongue) hurts and we have no idea why. She also says that her bottom hurts, her hair hurts, her finger hurts, and her teeth hurt. The only that apparently doesn't hurt is her ear. Lol! Hmmm... It's hilarious because every 5 seconds she's coming up to me with a new pain and all I have to say is, "Here honey, have a drink," and that seems to do the trick almost everytime. Lol!

This is definitely an age that is filled with many challenges, I would say. It keeps things interesting, I guess! I'm wonder what she'll be afraid of in the morning?

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Returning to Normal

It has been a slow transition from sick to healthy in our home but I think it's safe to say that things are almost normal again! YAY! Brooke woke up Wednesday fever-free but was still miserable, sleepy, and she wouldn't eat. Thursday she was a little bit better and it's only been uphill from there. Thank you, Lord! As for me, I feel great.. Maybe a little bit sleepy from it all, but I feel as healthy as I can be!

I am so happy for Brooke because she got to go to the Sight and Sound Christmas show with my parents and her cousin, Nathan. My parents have had this planned since April so when she got sick last week, I was a little bit worried that she would have to miss out. Thankfully she was well enough to go, though! They left yesterday morning and went to the show and stayed in a hotel and she should be home within a couple of hours. I was a little bit anxious about her going just because she's been SO sick, but obviously I trust my parents to care for her... After all, they raised ME and I'm not so bad! Lol! My mom said that she was laughing and singing and running around just like old times and that put a huge smile on my face when I heard that:-)

John has been off since Wednesday morning so when he goes back in tonight, it's going to be so sad. I have enjoyed having him home SO VERY MUCH and it's never, ever the same without him here. We're loving the new schedule though, even if it means that we're apart at night. Having him home for dinner and bedtime is a more than fair trade off.

We're hosting Thanksgiving for John's family (about 20 people) again this year and I'm really looking forward to it. His family always draws names for Christmas gifts(because they have a large extended family) but John and I aren't participating in that this year... We're going to give Thanksgiving dinner as our gift to everyone! I can't wait to make it extra special for everyone and for them to just be able to come and relax. I just started my shopping for that this week and I will feel much better when that aspect of it is all out of the way.

Alrighty, it's time to go clean up this house. It kind of looks like a cyclone hit it after everyone being so sick!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Never-Ending Sickness

I have not had time to sit behind the computer lately because Brooke has been extremely, extremely sick. Since my last post on Friday, things have only gotten worse and it has been quite the ordeal. She has been running a fever since Friday morning at 1:20 and it was up to 104.7 at its highest. Even though we rotate Motrin and Tylenol, her fever never breaks.. It only lowers to maybe 100.5 if we're lucky.

When this all started out I assumed that it was the virus that's been spreading like wild fire. After Brooke had a horrible night's sleep on Friday, however, I gave the doctor a call because I was deeply concerned about her high, high fever. The nurse that I spoke to said that they absolutely did NOT need to see her because it sounded like she had the flu and there's nothing they can do to fix that. I was satisfied with that because, like I said, the flu (among other bugs) has been going around. This theory was also proved more to me when I became sick on Saturday night. I had an awful headache, fever, cold-like symptoms, and a cough. Adrienne also had caught the cold part of this sickness, too:-(

Well, after bumming around on the couch for a few days, I have started to feel decent. My fever isn't continual and if it comes back, it's low-grade. Brooke, on the other hand, has continued to run at least a 103 degree fever and she has been extremely miserable, lethargic, and grumpy. She won't eat anything at all and I have to fight with her to drink. When she woke up still so sick this morning I called the doctor back. Her condition just didn't set well with me. The nurse on the phone, once again, reassured me that it was "just the flu" and that it can last sometimes for 7-10 days. I told her that I was worried that maybe it was a bacterial infection that she could be treated for like an ear infection or something. She replied, "Well, has she complained of her ear hurting?" I explained to her that she was 2 and that's not always a very accurate barometer of what's really going on with her. She kept trying to tell me that the flu would go away eventually and that I should just give her plenty of fluids and medicine. I said, "I understand that but my daughter needs to be seen. Something's wrong." She finally listened to me and she scheduled us an appointment.

Lo and behold, on top of the cold/flu/virus (they're not exactly sure which one)Brooke has, as the doctor put, a severe ear infection. She literally gasped when she looked into her ear. Then she had me look in Brooke's ear and she showed me that there was a bulging bubble of puss. MY POOR BABY! The doctor put her on an extremely aggressive dose of antibiotic and I'm thankful that I've already got a dose in her. I'm hoping that tomorrow she starts to show some improvement.

I'm filled with so many emotions right now. First all, I feel guilty. I hate that I listened to those people who told me not to bring her in. I'm also deeply saddened to think of the excruciating pain my girl must have been feeling all this time without anyone knowing. It brings tears to my eyes to think about it. It just makes me so angry how that nurse handled this. If I hadn't of put my foot down, my daughter would still be nowhere near on the road to recovery. My daughter has not moved from the couch since Friday and has been more sick than anyone ever deserves to be and I just can't get over how this could have been avoided.

I'm still under the weather myself and I'm completely exhausted and emotionally and physically zapped. Please say a prayer for us that Brooke would wake up markedly better in the morning and that I would start to regain some energy as well. Thank you so much!

Doesn't she break your heart?? :-(

Friday, November 6, 2009

Poor Brooke:-(

Wow, it's been a really long day. It all started this morning at 1:30 when Brooke woke up with a 103.4 degree fever. Luckily she took some medicine and fell back asleep until 9:30. At that point, her fever was only 100.5, even though medicine had completely worn off, and she was her regular happy self.

Things were really pretty normal with Brooke.... Until about 1. She started to get really grumpy and miserable and just wanted to be held. From that point on, her fever has hovered around 102-103 for the entire day. I have been rotating Tylenol and Motrin and I gave her a bath but I have yet to break the fever. I feel so bad for her! Because John's schedule is all out of whack he somehow ended up with last night and tonight off and I am SO thankful that he has been around to help because she has really only wanted her daddy all day. He is such a help, too. Let me tell ya! My husband is wonderful:-)

I actually have tears in my eyes right now because Brooke just went to bed with a 102degree fever:-( She had Motrin at 3:30 so she can't have any more of that until 9:30 and she had Tylenol at 7 so she can't have that until 11. I would have liked to have kept Brooke up super later to give her the 9:30 dose of medicine but she was asking us to go to bed. She needs to rest so badly and she must have really felt awful to ask to lay down. I've been going into her room very frequently to check on her and I'm just praying that that fever breaks. My poor princess!

I was going to take her to the doctor this morning but there's a virus going around and I'm pretty sure that's what she's got. Even if she has the flu they aren't going to be able to do anything of her so I figured that I would just keep her away from the doctor's office and all the germs. If she was showing signs of dehydration or anything, I would obviously bring her right in. It's always so hard to know how to properly deal with these things, isn't it?

Despite the sickness, it really has been a nice day at home. We've all been bumming around and playing with toys and stuff. It's nice to just simply be together as a family. I made homemade cream of potato soup that was to die for, too!

Alrighty, I'm going to go relax with John and watch a movie. Something tells me that we'll have a visitor in our bed before the night is over. If you think of Brookie, please say a prayer for her! Thank you:-)

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

And So It Begins...

John wasn't supposed to start his new schedule until tomorrow night but his sergeant called him and he has to start tonight:-( I think that the first couple of nights are going to be the most difficult so I guess it's best to just get them over with.

Right now I keep thinking to myself, "If John was on that other shift, he would be coming home in less than an hour." BUT, I can't think like that because if he was on the other shift, he also would have missed a nice night at home with us tonight, too. It's a trade off and I know that I just need to keep a good attitude about it. I KNOW we can do this and I KNOW we have made it work in the past and I just need to focus on that.

In other news, I think my Brookie is getting sick:-( She just started today with a nasty cough and runny nose so I'm HOPING it's just a cold but she's been coughing pretty bad since we put her to bed. We decided to stay home from church tonight to not get other people sick and so she could rest. I love going to church and I feel like it's important to be there but not at the expense of getting people sick. Even though we missed being at church, we had a really nice lazy night at home and I made breakfast for dinner. I love it!

Well, that about sums it up for today. I'm off to go send my husband out the door. I can almost guarantee that it will be a long night for me as I HATE sleeping without him. I know, I know.. We'll adjust.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Change is Always Coming

I'm learning that being a cop's wife means that life is just going to be inconsistent. As soon as I become comfortable with a new schedule, it's guaranteed to change. I don't especially like change and I don't feel as though I do great with it but I really am learning to just roll with the punches and do the best that I can do for my family.

With that being said, you guessed it... John's schedule is going to be changing again as of Thursday night. In a few days, he will be working nights again (11 P.M. to 7 A.M.). Any of you who follow my blog regularly know that we like this shift far better than the evening shift because we get lots more family time together. However, the transition to this shift is very difficult. For starters, John gets nasty headaches and is continually tired for a couple of months as his circadian rhythm is out of whack. It's also hard because with him getting home at 7:30 in the mornings, the girls and I will probably forgo our morning snuggling/cartoon time in our bed so he can sleep. Earlier mornings for them will probably screw up our nap time routine as well. The thing that will be the hardest, in my mind, is learning to sleep without John again and not freaking out over stupid noises while he's at work.

I suppose that I could do myself a favor though and focus on the positives.... We will eat dinner together as a family every night. I can't wait to actually get to cook for my husband regularly again! I enjoy that responsibility. I'm also excited to have quiet nights together at home just doing nothing. I have missed that! It will also be great because I won't be left to do the bedtime routine with the girls by myself anymore. Thank goodness for that!

I know that this change is going to ultimately be for the good but right now, I'm a little apprehensive. I just need to take it one step at a time though, right?