Still Alive

So I last left off by putting Andrew to bed with a low grade fever. Then I headed to bed and didn't feel too great so decided to take my temp. Well I had a fever too. I told Drew as I was drifting to sleep, "I'm apologizing now for me being no help this weekend." Andrew ended up waking up several times through the night and thankfully Drew was able to tend to him.


We spent Saturday and Sunday doing nothing. Really Drew just took care of all of us. He was so helpful. Finally by Sunday evening I was starting to feel semi human again and by Monday everyone was fever free and on the road to recovery.

Monday night I woke up with really strong contractions. I sat in bed with millions of thoughts going through my head. "I'm so not prepared." "I can't call my mom in the middle of the night to stay with the boys, what if it's a false alarm?" "I'll let Drew sleep until I know more." So I started staring at the clock and timing them. They were lasting about a minute and ranging from 10-15 minutes apart. This lasted from about 1-4 and at 4 I had two really strong ones. I finally woke Drew up and told him what was going on. I told him I'd keep him updated. Then about 4:30 they just stopped! I was relieved that I had more time to prepare but also frustrated that I had been up all night.

The contractions came and went for the next few days and I was excited when Thursday came around to see what my OB said and if I had progressed. Of course it was Andrew's Halloween parade at school which I felt horrible about missing but Drew was able to go watch and help him with his costume...thank goodness! Well the good news of the appointment was that I had lost 3 pounds:) The frustrating news was that the contractions were "teasers" and nothing had changed from the week before. Oh well, I wasn't too disappointed considering I have lots of baby laundry and decorating to do. At least I was motivated by this event and started to get things in order. We'll keep you posted! Looks like it's going to be a November baby as planned.

WHAT-A-WEEK

Tuesday started off as a great day. Drew had been out of town since Monday. The boys slept through the night which was my biggest prayer and Andrew had school. I decided to take the boys to Chick fil A for lunch since they did so well while dad was gone. We had a nice lunch and headed home for naps. To my surprise Matthew was still asleep after 3 hours. RED FLAG. I went in to get him after 3 hours and 15 minutes and you guessed it, FEVER. NOOOO! I got tylenol in him and didn't panic. He had a relatively good evening and went to bed without a problem. He woke up once but we just gave him Tylenol and he went back down. When he woke up in the morning he still had a fever and started a cough. I decided with all the "hoop la" going on with the flus to call the doc and get their opinion. They told me they were seeing kids with fevers and coughs if I wanted to bring him in. I told them I was okay with just watching him and if he got worse I'd bring him in Thursday.

Well he got worse fast. He woke up from his nap Wednesday with a 104 temp! I FREAKED OUT. I called them back and the nurse was extremely helpful considering we are new patients and have never been to the pediatrician before. She told me to get him in the car and rush in. If I could get there by 4 they would see him. Great, except I had NO clue where I was going. She gave me directions which I jotted down but was TOTALLY unfamiliar with that particular part of town. I called Drew hysterical. He told me to get in the car and he would call me back with detailed directions. Of course I couldn't calm down and was being difficult to work with but he stayed patient and I managed to get there at 4:05 (don't worry, they let us in:)) Of course being a new patient I had to fill out lots of paper work. I was sweating, Andrew was trying to calm me down (mom, I love you more than you can imagine), and Matthew was a little tomato that looked horrible. They called us back and had one nurse take Matthew's vitals while the other asked me all the questions. Then a very nice doctor came in and took one look at Matthew and said, "oh you poor thing."

She did a thorough check up and ended with the throat. Of course she had to pry it open. Well she took one look at it and said, I'll be right back with a strep test. She took a swab of his throat and the swab was full of blood. Oh my poor baby! Of course he was beside himself so I just held him while we waited for the results. She came back in and said it was negative but they would also do the overnight test. She diagnosed him with acute tonsillitis and prescribed steroids and an antibiotic. She said she wanted to see him back in a couple of day to make sure he was improving.

I left feeling under control, relived that he didn't have THE flu, and happy with our choice of pediatrician. I dropped off the prescription, Drew picked up dinner and we managed to get everyone in bed.

Thursday I woke up at about 5 with what felt like an elephant on my chest. Oh no. I got Andrew ready for school, dropped him off, headed to my weekly OB appointment. Luckily Drew was able to meet me there and drive around while Matthew slept. I progressed a little bit this week and everything sounded good with our little girl. I told my OB about Matthew and he of course was concerned about me. He told me to call the pediatrician back and MAKE SURE HE DID NOT HAVE THE FLU! I told him we were going back and I would talk to Matthew's doctor. I felt like I was going down hill during the day but kept on trucking. Drew of course had to go to a board meeting and didn't get home until 7. About 6:30 the tears started to well up in my eyes again. I'm just going to blame it on the hormones.

This morning Drew got up with Matthew at 5 and I got up with Andrew at 6:15. (Thank you dear). Matthew cried from 6:15 to 7:45 at which point he fell asleep on my lap. We had to get ready for our follow up appointment so I laid him down got me and Andrew ready, got Andrew in the car and then ran out with Matthew PJs and wet diaper included. Of course once again we walked in the office looking like a total wreck. I'm sure they are really starting to wonder about us. We saw a different doctor today... a little odd but still very nice. He said Matthew throat was still pretty irritated but there wasn't really much else they could do. They were happy he was drinking and his fever was down. I told him about my OB wanting to be sure it was not the flu. He said he highly doubted it but since I was prego he would go ahead and run the test. Apparently a VERY irritated throat is not common with the flu. They did the flu test and said they would have the results in 15 minutes. Well the doctor came back in about 5 and said it was POSITIVE. NOOOOO! Of course this opened a whole new can of worms. I had to call my OB, he was out of town, the nurse had to talk to a different OB, they finally decided I need to be on Tamiflu as a precaution...any guesses on the cost of Tamiflu?

OH but the day doesn't end there. Andrew just came to kiss me goodnight and YES, his neck felt warm! Drew was like, "oh he was laying on me, we were all warm and cozy, do you want me to take his temp?" Well sure enough, it's only 100 but MAN! More to come, I'm sure!

Spooktacular Weekend

Well we're getting into the Halloween spirit around here. Saturday our neighborhood had a "trunk or treat". The boys had a great time going from car to car getting candy. Then we went in the club house for some crafts and snacks. We did discover that Matthew has a MAJOR candy addiction. Lots of tears when the bucket got taken away. Should make for an interesting Halloween.

Trunk Or Treating

Hanging out in the trunk

Sunday we decided to have a little family get together celebrating our new house, calm before the storm, and Halloween. The guys came out early to play golf at the course right by our house and then the moms came out later for Halloween fun. Unfortunately Christina was sick so John skipped golf and brought Josie out later. My mom came early to help me get ready and entertain the boys. The guys had a great time playing golf and we had a great time hanging out with the family. All the cousins put on their costumes for a photo op. We had a Mexican themed dinner. Christina sent out a yummy mexican dip, I made tacos, my mom brought out chicken for fajitas and Jill baked a delicious pumpkin cheese cake. It was a great night and took me all day Monday to recover:)

The cousins

How cute is Miss Josie?

Cooking Away

I made the kids mummies for their dinner

Field Trip

Last Tuesday Andrew had his first field trip. We went to the pumpkin patch of course. It was quite a chilly day I must say but the kids didn't seem to notice. Drew was able to take off a few hours of work and meet us there. That was extremely helpful since it would have been difficult for me to crawl through the pitch black hay maze. We also got lost in the corn maze as a family. It was pretty comical. Andrew and Matthew had a great time and we ended with a nice and chilly hay ride.

I think Andrew was a little nervous so Matthew became his security blanket...the nicest he's been to him...EVER.


In the corn maze


So grown up

I think he's coming out of his shell
Are those goats?
Is the tractor for the hay ride here yet?

I Feel Loved

Like I said in an earlier post Drew gave me a gift card to a spa for my birthday. He said part of the gift was that he would take a half day off work so I could go to the spa AND it would be a day that Andrew did not have school. Wow, what an offer! So Friday, he took the morning off. I scheduled a "Mommy to Be Pedi", manicure, and brow wax. It was a rainy day but he followed through with his plan and took the boys to Clayton so they could take a ride on the MetroLink (or the bus-train as Andrew calls it). I called them when I was finished and they were hanging out a Lowes waiting for me. I met them at Lowes and then we headed to a family lunch at Qdoba. It was the perfect morning!




Our new house is in a little cul de sac with 4 other houses. So our neighbors invited us to a "welcome to the court" party on Saturday evening. They brought out a TV so the guys could watch the Cardinal game (they probably would have rather not after that outcome). The kids ran around and played. Unfortunately once the sun went down it was absolutely freezing! Thankfully our new neighbor Brandon invited Andrew in to play at his house and Drew and I took turns keeping Matthew warm. Then we took him into the house where Andrew was and Brandon's older sister took him under her wing so naturally. I think we've found a babysitter! (She's only 11 but in a few years it will be perfect!) Drew said we'll end up paying for her first car.

Sunday we were crazy and went to every store in town. I started to panic that the baby was going to be here before we knew it and we had so much we needed to get for the house and the baby. We got about half of what was on our house list and hopefully we can get to the baby list this weekend. The boys were REALLY troopers! I'm getting closer to posting inside pics of our house.

Video of Matthew while Andrew was at school

Busy Weekend

We decided our weekend project would be painting Andrew's room. He was beginning to notice that Matthew's room was rather put together and his...well resembled a white box. I saw a cute idea in Pottery Barn Kids that I thought would be perfect for his room. And thanks to my wonderfully creative husband, he was able to pull it off. We met at Chick fil A on Friday evening for a quick dinner then headed over to Lowes to pick out the paint color (not an easy task with 2 "handsy" boys, we had every color sample imaginable in our cart). Then we headed home to tape off the room so we could start painting bright and early. After we put the boys to bed I got a text from my friend Lindsey inviting us to the Cardinal game with the boys. How could we pass that up.


Saturday Drew woke up and started priming while I searched boxes for Cardinal gear and winter coats. Yes, a cold front moved in overnight. Amazingly we got everything together in time and headed to the game. The boys were pretty good at the game. It wasn't the most exciting game but they lasted about 7 innings. Andrew said his favorite part was riding in the golf cart from where we parked to the game (hmmm maybe we'll work on that next season). Both boys fell asleep on the way home so Drew dropped me off at a few stores to run some errands. Then we grabbed dinner and headed home for more painting. Poor Andrew had to sleep on his mattress in his baby sister's room for a few nights but he didn't seem to mind.


Sunday we went to church, Drew painted, bought Andrew a dresser, boys had naps, I grocery shopped and then we headed to Sunday dinner. This particular Sunday dinner was to celebrate the September birthdays (Drew, me and my dad). It was the prefect night. My mom had special Halloween books for all the kids as well as some goodies for our baby girl. The kids ran and played for hours and the adults were able to catch up on everything going on in each others lives. Thanks for the birthday wishes and gifts family, you're the best!

Side note: John and Christina brought an ice cream cake. Andrew waited all night to have cake. He ate it so fast that he got an ice cream head ache but he didn't know what was going on. He started running around, crying, and screaming, "I FEEL FUNNY!" Drew saw the entire situation unfold so he filled us in on what was going on...I must say, it was a classic.

Visitors!

The Fitzpatricks made the trip out west! They are the neighbors that lived across the street from us on Chelsea. It was the perfect end to our rocky 1st week. Drew and I had been talking about ways to let Andrew know we did not move to Mars and the world as he knows it does still exist. So Timmy’s visit came at the perfect time! When the pulled into our driveway he was jumping up and down with excitement. He was on top of the world. Andrew gave them the tour and we played in the playroom and the basement. He was so excited when I told him they could stay for lunch. We had pizza and then played in the backyard. It was so fun to see them running around having a blast. Thanks for coming out Fitz’s.

Wednesday we had a visit from Josie and Christina. Josie was all smiles when she arrived. Andrew gave them the tour and then we walked to the pond to show Josie the ducks. The boys were so excited to see their little cousin and Aunt Christina. It was so nice of them to make the trip.

I Quit

Ever have one of those days where you think…”ok, I’m done.” Well that happened to me 2 Mondays ago(Sept 21...still trying to catch up). I was still fighting the head ache, struggling with whether or not to stay medicated (I was starting to worry about taking so much medicine with the baby), being tired from the move, lack of sleep and 3^rd trimester, AND being in a new place feeling lost. So anyway, I made it through the morning and was happy to know it was naptime. I ended up having to let Matthew cry which was painful but when he finally calmed down I decided it was worth it. Andrew continued to get out of bed and yell from his room. I tried bribing, threatening, sitting in his room, sitting at the door and he could have cared less. Finally he jumped over me and started running around the playroom yelling, at which point Matthew woke up (After being down for 20 min). Well I totally and I mean totally LOST it. I sent Andrew down stairs so I could try to calm Matthew down and get him back to sleep. Andrew ended up coming in and making a scene so it was useless. I burst into tears. Andrew looked at me and said, “Mom, why are you crying?” I regretfully said, “Because you made me!” I mean I was hysterical. I called Drew and left him a message that I’m sure he could not understand. I tried gaining my composure several times but for some reason I would just burst into tears again. Because of my hysterics Andrew was nice to me for about an hour and Matthew gave me millions of hugs and grabbed my face between his hands. The rest of the day I did what I could to survive and once Drew got home I made dinner put the boys to bed and went to bed myself. I was glad the day was over. Thankfully the week got better. Baby steps.

**The picture above is what Andrew drew as I was melting down.

Our First Weekend in O’Fallon (still backtracking)

It has always been a Saturday tradition to go walk to a little bakery by our old house and get breakfast. We decided to try and find a similar place and keep the tradition going. Well our first Saturday we ended up at Starbucks but our biggest critic Andrew was satisfied because he got an Old Fashioned Donut. Then we needed to head back to Lowes to get a few more things for the house (black out shades for the boys rooms and ceiling fans) and Babies R Us in hopes of finding something to keep Matthew in his crib.

The Lowes trip was successful but we were unsuccessful in finding something to keep Matthew in bed. We headed home to let the boys run around and start our many projects. Unfortunately I could not kick the head ache I had had since Wednesday and was getting to the point where it was unbearable and Tylenol didn’t touch it. I hate calling the exchange but after Drew and my mom telling me it was worth the call I did. Turns out it was a sinus headache and I would need to take Sudefed along with Tylenol to feel relief. I’m so was relieved it wasn’t something more serious.

Shockingly, the boys took great naps and we were able to unpack a few boxes while they did. After naps we decided to go back to Babies R Us since we still had my dad’s truck because we found a great deal on a dresser/changing table for our little girl (still nameless). We also ordered her crib. I was relieved to know she will now have a place to sleep and a place to hold her clothes (hopefully we’ll get a few pink items before she arrives).

Saturday night went much better. By taking out Matthew’s bumper pads, he wasn’t able to have any leverage in getting out of bed. Sunday we woke up to a wonderful thunderstorm. We thought it was wonderful until we were headed to our first mass at our new parish and could barely see the road. Then we had to take two trips into church since we only had one umbrella BUT we made it. It was a little weird being at a new church and not really knowing the regulars we’re used to seeing but I’m sure we’ll get used to it.

After church we drove the truck out to my parents to get a load of stuff then grabbed some lunch and headed home. My parents offered to come out and help which was awesome. I was able to work on the kitchen and go to the grocery store while Drew put together our dining room tables, set up our living room, and hung a huge picture and the boys were entertained. Unfortunately my parents had to deal with the beginnings of Andrew’s extreme disobedient/aggressive phase. We aren’t wondering where it came from but we are wondering how to deal with it. He has so much going on in his little head and doesn't know how to verbalize it so he's taking it out on Matthew and us. Hopefully we'll get over this speed bump quickly.