I HATE you, RSV.....

So......about a week ago, my daughter became very ill.  After taking her to the doctor, we discovered that she tested positive for RSV  (Click on the link for details)  Basically, it is a really nasty respiratory infection in children.  If adults get it...no big deal.  Small children?  Very big deal.  Luckily, Ava rallied back pretty quickly, and I thought, "Okay....atleast Parker didn't get it.  He's only 11 months old, and his respiratory system is still very tiny."

Apparently, I didn't have a big enough piece of wood nearby to knock on.

We have been planning Parker's first birthday party for weeks.  My parents even flew in from Kansas to make sure that they could be there.  So, of course, what happens two days before the party?  That's right.....My poor baby boy gets TKO'd with a 102 fever and a horrible cough.  In a matter of hours, he can barely lift up his head.

I take him to the pediatrician.  Yep....RSV positive and an ear infection.....just like his big sister.

Obviously, we had to cancel the party (postponed for a couple of weeks or so since it is very contagious) and just take care of our little boy.  I'm not so upset about not having the party on schedule--although it was a pain to contact 40 people in 24 hours to cancel--but I'm more upset that my mom and dad came all this way to be here for it, and they won't be able to be part of that now.  Boo.  I have to admit, though, if my mom wasn't here, I don't know what I would have done.  She literally traded back and forth with me all night with Parker--one would sleep, and the other would sit upright in the rocking chair with Parker--trading off every few hours.  ALL. NIGHT. LONG.   Mom--you are a blessing.  I love you.

So.......instead of my little boy blowing out first birthday candles yesterday, here he was.....just trying to get some help in those little lungs.

I HATE you, RSV.  I don't use that word much, but I do.  If there was any way that I could join a fight club just to lay a mommy-sized smack down on you for what you have done to my children, I would.  I would drown you in a boiling ocean of vitamin C and Lysol.  Then, I would put on my sharpest rings and backhand you in your stupid viral face while giggling like a little school girl.

Needless to say, we continue to ask for prayers for our little ones.

And don't worry, Parker.  We are going to have that birthday party for you.   It may be late, but it will be wonderful.  Stay strong, son.....like we know you are. 

RSV....I'm coming for you.  Sleep with one eye open.

Oh, Ava.....I love you....

Here is the conversation that I JUST had with my daughter.  Please enjoy this little nugget of hilarity.....  These are the conversations that I get to have ALL....DAY.....LONG......

Imagine, will you....Ava in the bathroom on the potty, and I am in the family room on the couch ordering birthday party decorations for Parker's upcoming 1st birthday.....

AVA:  Mommy!

ME:  Yes, honey?

AVA:  I went potty AND poopy!

ME:  Great job, Ava!  Make sure that you wipe very well and wash your hands.

AVA:  You wanna come see?

ME:  No, thank you.

AVA:  Why not?

ME:  Because I am eating lunch while I work, and I don't think I want to see it while I am eating.

AVA:  But it's a big, giant one!

ME:  That's okay.  Just flush it down.

AVA:  Mommy?

ME:  Yes, honey?

AVA:  You should come here.  Seeing poopy is sooooooo much fun!

ME:  (Sigh....)  Okay, honey.  I'll come see it.

(I'll spare you all of the details, but my daughter was correct--it was poopy, and it was big and giant.....)

At this point I put her up on her stool at the sink and get her started washing her hands.  I walk back to the couch and sit down to continue my work.

AVA:  Mommy?

ME:  Yes, honey?

AVA:  Does daddy have a silly bottom?

ME:  (Giggling--I remembered that Ava walked in on Eric going to the bathroom last week)  No, honey.  Remember?  Daddy just has a boy bottom.....just like Parker does.

AVA:  I think it's silly.

ME:  It's not silly.  It just looks different than a girl bottom.

AVA:  Yeah.....like a tail.

I'm still laughing.

I'll miss you, Gidget.

I know that my blog tends to stay on the comedic side, but I also write this as my "diary" of sorts during the various phases of my life.....both good and bad....

That being said, our family suffered the loss of our dog, Gidget this past week.  I had Gidget for TWELVE wonderful years.  She was my only roomate for seven of those years.  She was pretty much the only loved one from my "old life" that I got to bring with me to Arizona when Eric and I married almost five years ago.  She was my girl....and I loved her.

This post is for you, sweet girl.  You are missed so much already....and I will never forget the blessing that you were to my life.

(August 16th, 1995--January 31st, 2010)

Goodbye, Gidgey-girl. I'll love you forever.

Six months and counting....

Okay, folks....  Here's the deal.....

Eric and I have been planning, since our honeymoon, to plan a special five year anniversary trip when we hit the five year mark.  Our friends, Kim and AD got married exactly one week before we did, and we all went to the same honeymoon location (our first night at the honeymoon location was their last night).  That night, the four of us made that pact--big five year anniversary trip for all four of us to do together.

Well.....five years is quickly arriving.....in June.

I can't wait!  It's going to be so much fun!  We are planning on renting a beautiful house in St. Maarten for TEN DAYS!!!!  WHOO HOO!  There's going to be sun.  There's going to be sand.  There's going to be margaritas.  There are going to be swimsuits....

There are going to be swimsuits.....  Uh oh.....there are going to be swimsuits. 

You may ask, "Kristi, why do you fret so?" 

Hmmmmmm......Travel with me, would you, down this brief trip down memory lane.....

Here I was on our honeymoon almost five years ago.....

Yay me!  To this day, when I go to my "happy place" in my head....this is what my body looks like.

However, a year and a half later, this is what I looked like:

Yep....you can thank my daughter for that. 

After having her, I didn't wait too long before I apparently missed looking like I was going to explode at any moment.  So.....

Within two years, here is what I looked like AGAIN:

Yep....you can thank my son for that....and that was only ten months ago..... 

That's right--I've had two children in three years....and my belly, each time, got comically larger than most pregnant woman.  I look like I ate pregnant women for breakfast. 

Needless to say, I don't have the same taut physique that I possessed four and a half years ago.  In fact, I think that, in the wee hours of night, I can still hear my stomach muscles screaming out for help.  It's hard to tell, though, because they are now pushed to the outsides of my gut and covered in layers of fat.  I'm sure that is what it is, though:  scared, cellulite-muffled screams from my tummy muscles as they quiver in the fetal position deep within....

Momma's got some work to do.

So, last night, at my Mom's Night Out event (where it was my job to take a dessert and a bottle of wine), I reminded myself that it was time to started acting on it.  We all discussed various work out videos that help.  Sure, we discussed these options as we were drinking copious amounts of red wine, eating cheese and dipping marshmallows in chocolate fondue, but let's not get caught up in the small details.  What is important is that I took that all important first step. 

So, get ready for this blog to reach a whole level of comedy over the next six months because this is going to get interesting.  I, Kristi Lawrence, am determined to get myself back into some sort of shape (other than round) for our trip this summer.  Sure, my bikini days may be gone, but if I can get to the point where I can wear a swimsuit on the beach without having the immediate urge to throw myself into the watery abyss of the ocean, I will be proud of myself.  I'm GOING to do it....you just wait and see.....  Somehow, I--a mother of two children three and under (who also just started my master's program this month)--AM going to also whip myself into the best shape possible for me to attain. When am I going to fit it in?  Not sure.  How am I going to do it?  No clue.  But it is going to happen.....(Enter "Eye of the Tiger" music here).

But, I made the mistake of making an extra pan of dessert to leave home with my family.  Yep....fudge cupcakes with cherry frosting.  Apparently, I also thought it was a good idea to eat one of said cupcakes for breakfast this morning along with my coffee.  Hmmmmmmm.....I guess "Operation Baby Blubber Blastoff" will start TOMORROW.  Baby steps, people....

T minus six months.  Wish me luck, people.  I'm going to need it....