Tonsillitis

Our sweet little munchkin went from her silly, fun-loving self...

to sleepy, feverish misery. 

It all started last Wednesday when Ella was running a low-grade fever. The fever continued for a couple more days with lots of naps, a lot less playing, and periods of lethargy combined with a loss of appetite. 

On Sunday morning we went to mass and Sunday school, and Ella barely made it through either. So we came home and I cuddled with her in our bed all afternoon. I kept her hydrated and lowered her fever but she slept ALL day. The next morning I phoned the kids' pediatrician's office upon waking. 

The nurse thought that her fever had gone on for too long, so she scheduled an appointment and I took her in. The doctor took one look at her throat and declared it "angry-bright-red with one swollen tonsil covered with pus." He also noted her swollen glands and performed a throat culture thinking that she might have strep, but that came back negative, so her final diagnosis is tonsillitis. 

There were a lot of ill children to be seen yesterday, which meant that our wait was longer than usual. When  the nurse took her temperature it had spiked to 104.4 and Ella was feeling pretty crummy. Because we had to wait both to be seen and then for the strep culture, Ella fell asleep both in the waiting room and in our examination room. 

The doctor prescribed antibiotics which have helped some. What seemed to make her feel better today was a Pedia Lite pop and a lukewarm bath which broke another 104 degree fever. 

Hopefully our munchkin can kick this tonsillitis to the curb and start feeling better as soon as possible. I miss my spunky, feisty, spirited little girl and my heart hurts to see her so ill. 

 Please pray that she feels better by the week's end. 

January Catch-Up

 2014 is off to a great start! I have been severely neglecting this blog, however, so be prepared for a long(ish) post with lots of photos. 

I have been wearing this lovely gold feather necklace given to my by my best friend since Christmas. I love it and have received so many compliments on it!

Winter means creativity in the kitchen. I have been making soups and roasting lots of these yummy brussel sprouts with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. Mmmm. I could seriously eat them everyday. I think all veggies are better roasted. 

Jeff's aunt and uncle got Ella this Leap Frog pencil that she loves for Christmas. We downloaded the letter tracing app and she's been practicing her letters during school hours. 

This is her "I am so proud of myself" face. 

One afternoon after staying up way too late the night before, Nicholas and I spent the day cuddling on the sofa while Ella spent the afternoon with my mom. We watched movies, sang songs, read books, did some school lessons, and took a few selfies:

 The we pretended to be asleep. I really wanted to be asleep, but spending time quality time with my guy was much more fun!

The kids got this space light projector for Christmas so we turned it into an astronomy lesson. They loved turning off the lights and watching the planets, stars, and asteroids light up the ceiling.

We spent two different weekends cheering on the Seattle Seahawks (who are now in the Superbowl, woohoo!) with the Darling family. Ella adores her best friend, Bella. They have so much fun playing together!

 I have been on the hunt for little home updates because after putting away Christmas decorations, I always feel like our house could use some love. Take this ottoman/bench. I found it at Target a few weeks ago and it's the perfect little seating space for under a beautiful photo collage of our family. Then I found this gorgeous kiln pillowcase to put on an unused bolster pillow and it became a darling addition to our living room space. As you can see, Ella gravitates there for reading. But its more of a sit down and tie my shoes space for me. 

Last week I was driving to work and the sunset just about took my breath away. I pulled off the highway and walked down to the marina to capture the beautiful sky at dusk. 

And speaking of work, I feel so blessed to work in such an amazing place with such amazing people. Sadly, the priest that I have worked with for the past five years will be moving to another parish in June and he will be so missed. This was likely change some of my job responsibilities so I am trying to plan and prepare for a more intensive workload and possibly additional hours to my work week. 

But this is the view I see every evening when I leave work. Beautiful, right?

Ella has been dressing in her dress-up clothes a lot these past few weeks. Part of me thinks she really does believe she's a princess. I kind of love it. 

Last Friday I took the kids out to see Disney's Frozen in the theatre. We all enjoyed it and there we pretty much had the whole theatre to ourselves, which was wonderful because Ella got out of her seat and danced to every musical number. Lol!

Ella is continuing her tumbling/tap/ballet classes and is improving with each week. My sweet mother comes to our house on Ella's dance practice days to watch Nicholas so he can stay home and avoid any cold/flu germs that he might be exposed to in the dance academy waiting room. She often takes Ella with her when we return for an afternoon together. 

I found this art and knew I needed it for our living room. It's my favorite quote and I say it all the time. Plus it's distressed and vintage looking which makes it even more lovely. 

We got Nicholas' new Tobii eye gaze computer a couple of weeks ago and our boy is so thrilled to be doing some independent learning and games. It has really opened up his world and we are so grateful!

Hello 2014

Our new year has been pretty great so far, just 6 days in.

My awesome brother was home for Christmas but had to go back to Orlando on New Year's day. We spent New Year's Eve with him watching We're the Millers and it was a fun, laid back evening. He went to the Nike employee store after Christmas (he has a friend who gave him a pass) and bought himself and Jeff these awesome Seahawks jerseys. Jeff really likes his and wears it every time he watches a game, whether the Seahawks are playing or not. 

A few days after Christmas I pulled out a nightgown that I had bought for Ella way back in October. She was beyond thrilled to see that there was a matching nightgown for her doll, Leila, which fit her perfectly! 

The day after Christmas our whole family got a nasty stomach virus. It was awful. I, luckily, was only ill for 24 hours, but Ella and Jeff were sick for over 48 hours, and Nicholas still isn't feeling 100 percent. He's on the mend, but likes to be on his room on bi-pap more than normal. One thing that brought him comfort while he was feeling really crummy was a bath. Having the shower nozzle pour warm water over his whole body brought him some relief from the aches and pains of the virus. 

We had Chinese food for dinner several nights ago and Ella and I split a fortune cookie. Lucky us, there were two fortunes in that one cookie, so we both got our own. 

On New Year's Eve, Jeff read Ella her last bedtime story of 2013. This is particularly amazing because it's rare that Jeff ever reads to the kids. He doesn't think he is a good reader, but the kids really love it when he reads to them, so with Ella's adorable pleading (she really does have him wrapped around her finger), he finally gave in. 

For Christmas Ella and Nicholas got this adorable puppet theatre from my parents. Ella loved performing Goldilocks and the Three Bears for us one evening. Since Nicholas was still not feeling well and in his room, she brought in there to do a special performance for him as well. 

After I put the Christmas decorations away each year, I always feel that our house looks sparce. Truth be told, I think it's kind of cluttered when the Christmas decorations are out, but love all the beautiful, festive decorations so much. So, I have added a few things to compensate for the lack of things.

Recently I was at Home Depot and found these adorable tiny succulents, so I bought several. Then, later that same day I went to Pier One and found these cute little cups to pot them in. Now we have tiny succulents all over the living room, dining room, and kitchen. They make me happy. 

I also decided to switch up some of the art in our bedroom. I found these cool antique keys and then at our local antique store I found this frame to place around them. Viola! Brand new art for our bedroom wall. 

Last Saturday, Jeff, Kris, Jami, and I went to lunch in Portland for our friend, Ben's 37th birthday. 

We ate some yummy beer cheese dip, some Reuben sandwiches (my absolute favorite), and shared a beer sampler. 

It was so nice to have a few hours for a date! 

Cheers to 2014! I am looking forward to a fun, productive year!!