Update On Christian

First of all, THANK YOU for all of the comments, emails, thoughts, and prayers today. They have helped tremendously, and we feel very blessed to have such a big support system behind us.
We didn't get in to see the doctor until 4pm, which was a bit frustrating in itself. Throughout the day, Christian developed a lovely, bright red, itchy rash that is from head to toe. We got in and out of the doctor's office fairly quickly, so here is the breakdown of what's going on:
1. He has Scarlet Fever (strep throat with the nasty rash)
2. He got a wonderful rocephin shot and should be back to his normal self by tomorrow morning, although he can't go back to mother's day out until Thursday
3. The doctor viewed the footage I had taken of him sleeping that shows how he snores and has trouble breathing at complete capacity, and he decided to go a slightly different route than what I had originally hoped for. The doctor wants to try a liquid steroid, a nasal steroid, and Zyrtec for a week, and then he wants me to re-take the footage of Christian sleeping and come back for a follow-up apppointment next Wednesday.

I know there are varying opinions on this matter--and each to their own. I understand both sides....there are pros and cons to the meds and then to just going ahead with a call to an ENT's office without the doctor's full approval. John and I will be considering all options and making an educated decision soon as to how we want to handle all of this. Ultimately we want what's best for Christian, and that's why it won't be a rushed decision. At least for now I can sleep knowing he will be feeling better and getting some sleep himself. More later...

Monday Morning

This momma is tired. Physically and mentally.
I'm ready for answers, and they can't come soon enough.
I'm ready for Christian to be back to the normal, happy, loving, bouncy little 4 year old that I know he is. We are going to the doctor this morning to address the issue of his tonsils--again.
From the picture you can see what we are dealing with here. I couldn't get a shot of the inside of his mouth, mainly because he can't open that far. He doesn't feel well, and I have exhausted myself trying to help him. He desperately needs to eat and breathe normally, and those are our main concerns.
We'll update when we get some results. Until then, keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Friday Fess Ups

I did not eat 10 Nilla Cakesters (with banana cream filling) while my children were napping. I also didn't spend the entire next 3 days running back and forth to the bathroom with intestinal discomfort of the worst kind from eating such bad-for-you items. If, in fact, I had really eaten all of those, I would have sworn the company put laxatives in their cakesters, just to punish people for overindulging in them...but I wouldn't know anything about that.

I certainly haven't avoided cleaning the toilets and bathtubs for 2 weeks now, just because I think it's the most disgusting job on the planet--next to cleaning up poop from underneath a certain child's bedroom door and from his carpet.

Target has not made a fortune off of me this week because I haven't gone there 3 times...and counting. It's not like I was in desperate need of clearanced thank you notes, wrapping paper, and party supplies. I can say no to red tags at Target any day--really. I'm not lying.

I didn't visit the local Starbucks this week because I came downstairs and there was no freshly ground coffee to be had. Not that I was too lazy to push a button on the bean grinder and make my own coffee at home. That's just rediculous.

I definitely do not hide dirty dishes in the refrigerator if the realtor calls and I have clean dishes in the dishwasher and no time to unload them. Nope.

I have never put my 3 darling C's to bed at 7:45pm (their bedtime is 8pm) just so I can sit down, take a deep breath, and eat a fudge pop while watching Houston Animal Police on Animal Planet. That would just be absurd.

John and I are not such crazed LOST fans that we would sit up until 3am watching previous seasons on DVD just to catch up and completely be "in the know" when it comes to the new season. After all, we need our beauty sleep.

Oh yeah--back on the subject of Target--I am certainly not one of those chickies that shops the clothing clearance racks in the little kids section, leaves some good deals for others, and then just-so-happens to call a friend up while she is shopping there (a day or so later, mind you) and convince her to go ahead and purchase 2-3 OTHER items for my children off of the above said clearance racks so I can pay her back later and not have to make a 4th trip there. I would never think of making my friends shop for me or support my clearance-buying habits.

I do not ever move John's things around, thus causing him to lose them--or lose his mind trying to find them--which ever comes first. I totally respect his stuff and the odd/irritating places in which he puts them. I would never think of hiding his much needed items in drawers or closets just to get rid of the clutter. I haven't ever forgotten exactly where it was that I "moved" them to either.
And he isn't missing his ever-so-important knee straps that allow him to run without pain. Arggg

Monkeys...Bicycles...Grapes

*UPDATE* read at bottom of post for info on what I Googled concerning grapes

Christian is SUCH a deep thinker. He spends 98% of his time in the car talking to me about random, out-of-this-world things that he obviously spends a lot of his time pondering.
Today, the conversation went as follows:

C: "Momma, why does Curious George ride a bicycle?"
Me: "Because he wants to, sweety. It's fun!"
C: "But Momma, monkeys really don't ride bicycles...right?"
Me: "Well, yes. Curious George is a special monkey though, so it's ok for him to ride it."
C: "MOMMA....monkeys DON'T ride bicycles!"
Me: *deep sigh and a small chuckle*

about 5 minutes later....

C: "Momma, you know Iris in my class at school?"
Me: "Yes...."
C: "My teacher said Iris is allergic to grapes. Isn't that weird?"
Me: "My goodness, that IS strange. I'm sorry to hear that."
C: "I think it's really weird. I love grapes."

And there you have it folks. Apparently it's disturbing to him that Curious George rides a bicycle and Iris is allergic to grapes.
Come to think of it....the whole grapes thing has me curious. Must go Google that and see if it's a true allergy. I'll update later with my findings. :)
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*UPDATE*
According to Google:
Q:Is it possible to have an allergy to grapes?
A:It is possible to have an allergy to just about anything, so the answer is yes.
There are several special problems about grapes worth noting:
They are heavily sprayed with pesticides, making them the most toxic fruit you can buy.
Grapes naturally grow yeast on their skin.
Like any fruit, mold can grow on grapes.
Rather than a grape allergy, you may instead be allergic to pesticides, yeast or mold.

Well what do ya know? Maybe Iris has something going here...

Just For Today

Since the day we put our house on the market, I have kept it immaculately clean. I wake up every morning with the mindset that at any given moment, someone may feel the need to call the realtor and want to take a tour. All beds are made, bathrooms sparkle, floors are swept, and toys are tucked away. It's become such a habit that I don't leave a single dirty dish or spoon in the sink--ever.
It's been almost 6 solid months of me living in a super clean home. Although I find it nice, it's very tiresome. Over 1/2 of the kids' toys are stowed away in the storage closet, and they tend to get grumpy with me when I follow them around and clean up after them--even if they weren't finished playing yet.
I'd get grumpy with me too.
So, just for today I'm going to let it slide. The bathrooms aren't sparkling, the laminate floors haven't been mopped, and my kitchen counters have spots of coffee on them. The laundry isn't finished--and the piles that are clean haven't been hung up. The beds aren't made and not all of the blinds are opened to insure the best lighting for viewing purposes. The hallway closet hasn't been de-junked and cleaned out. The garage is a disaster. Caroline is currently playing with the farm set on the floor, and I'm not going to get up and hurry her along, just so I can pick it all up before we leave the house.
I'm going to let it slide, just for once.
After all, they are just children. I am only human. We can be allowed to be imperfect for 24 hours. We still live here, and it's important for me to take a deep breath, unclench my jaw, release my frustrations, and live a little.
If, by chance, someone decides they want to take a tour of our home, they will just have to deal with the fact that we are a family and very comfortable in our surroundings.
Just for today, I'm going to let it slide.