Ok blogger friends — Chris and I have decided to be serious about dropping some pounds.  We are too heavy (10-15 lbs) & want to look sexy for our cruise in September!  We are going to be joining the YMCA & working out on a consistent basis (I cannot WAIT for the pilates class!)  However, I’m hoping for some practical suggestions from you on meals. 

Cooked dinner/meals would be helpful – however, with our current schedule, we don’t cook much because of Chris’ late nights.  I’m really looking for quick meals? Like food while at work for lunch/breakfast – and some type of idea for me at dinner time while Chris is at work. 

What’s worked for you?  Would appreciate any suggestions — and if you have specific receipes, please email to summer.mccool@gmail.com

Thanks!

We all have good days and bad days – and in the midst of these days, we also have pretty amazing days.  Days that are sometimes indescribable.  No true words or descriptions can help you fully comprehend someone else’s amazing day, except to say ‘amazing.’Yesterday was one of those days for me.  Sunday, June 21st.  This day was going to be a day of 2 celebrations: first being Father’s Day – Chris’ 3^rd official year of celebrating this day.  Second being Morning Alone with God at Townlake with GP.  We began our Father’s Day celebration late Saturday night because I wanted Chris to open his gifts.  Thankfully I scored!  Yay for me.  He’s a hard guy to buy for.Sunday morning began early (for a Sunday) because we were meeting GP at an earlier time due to the outside heat.  A few months ago, we had decided to implement a Morning Alone with God concept.  This was something introduced to me via a friend Jeff Galley on my Eurotrain adventures.  I was a little excited/nervous about our Morning Alone with God, much like the feeling you get when you are going on a date.  The feeling of being unsure of how your time will be – will we connect – will we not?  Should I expect anything or just allow myself to ‘be’ with God?  How can I go into this hour with Him with no expectations, no action items, not begging for quick results?  When we got to Townlake, we met up with our friends to briefly go over how to go about this next ‘hour’ with God.  Some went for a jog/walk, some hung out by the lake, one stayed near her home (ON the lake!) and spent time out on Lake Travis.  For myself, I found a beautiful Joshua tree, plopped myself on the blanket, and plugged in my ipod.  I always like to start with Worship music in my quiet times because it helps me focus – takes away all random thoughts & lists I have going for the day – and allows me to concentrate.  I sat & looked at the most amazing Austin skyline and became so thankful Chris and I didn’t move out of Austin.  I love this city.  We are meant to be here.  I became overwhelmed with a sense of peace & happiness; my nervousness went away.  Images of friends that are spiritually searching began flashing through my mind – friends that I intentionally stay connected to because I love them & hope to provide opportunities for them to connect with God.  What does it mean to make disciples of Christ?  How do you know when a disciple is then making another disciple?  Success is not in numbers but in lives/conversations/journey’s.  This is a hard concept to fully grasp when my whole life it has been just the opposite.  Thankfully, this past year God has taught me (still is) that we are the body of Christ, the church – not a building to attend.  And the hope is not just to ‘invite’ people to a building, but invite people to into our lives.  And sometimes that’s pretty messy.  My hour under that tree went much too fast – and I was sad to see our small group gathering up at 11:15 am.  The quietness was growing on me – and I didn’t want it to end. Chris and I were able to enjoy a relaxing quick lunch afterwards before heading to pick up little love from Auntie Lena.We treated Chris to a movie (sorry babe, no Transformers until Wednesday…what a bummer….can you feel my sarcasm…).  After the movie, we had a little water sprinkler action in the backyard and at 4:00 pm, I realized our daughter had not napped! Yikes. Dinner was scheduled for 5:30, so I needed her to take a power nap, quick!  We ate at Lambert’s downtown…and I’ve just got to say – not a fan!  I’m not a big BBQ eater anyways…but even the salad I ordered…yuck.  I knew for sure I’d be eating cereal later for dinner J  I think Chris enjoyed his and Tatum was still half asleep…and of course, we were eating at the Senior Citizen time, so by 6:30 we were done.  Downtown was completely dead – all stores closed, so we enjoyed a nice little drive in the air conditioned truck.  On our way home, we stopped to buy Tatum her little swimming pool from Wal-Mart and spent the rest of the night swimming & sliding!  She’s so cute & getting so big.  And apparently very smart because she somehow told Amanda this morning that mommy is having a baby?  Very interesting.  Because as of today – I am not.  I was sad to see my weekend end – and dragging a little today at work.  Hence the reason I’m writing a personal blog…. Ha.  Chris’ bday week is this week – officially bday being Saturday!  We are headed up to Frisco to play with the Davis’ for Friday/Saturday – and we cannot wait! 

I stared at my fingernails all the way to work today — Man, I need a Mani.  Not to mention a Pedi as well.   I haven’t had a Pedicure since April!  My nails grow fast.

So our patio project is more than on its way to completion! Chris and I have been dreaming & talking about this day for YEARS. We used to have a beautiful backyard with green healthy grass when we first moved in – until our month long trip to Europe in 2005 – much grass DIED while away. And it’s taken us years to get grass to grow back there. Now with an energetic toddler that always wants to play ‘at-slide’, it was for sure time to do something drastic. Thankfully, we were able to give ourselves this reward due to our Dave Ramsey budget lifestyle. With paying off both our cars early this year – we thought, what a good reward to ourselves (and happy birthday and happy father’s day to Chris?) to build the patio – and then get back on Dave Ramsey envelope system track.

Thursday began Day 1. Chris ordered the rock, which was delivered the SAME DAY. What an overwhelming feeling. We began digging up dirt – we had so much space that was unleveled – and would require a lot of work to level out. Seems that it wouldn’t take long to do, but really takes almost an entire afternoon. By end of Day 1, we had outlined our area and dug up existing holes & grass & dug ¼ of the needed trench for the retaining wall (yes, everyone, I did this all by myself!) End time: 11:00 pm.

Friday began Day 2. Chris realized we needed more supplies, I forget which ones…sand maybe? While Tatum napped, Chris finished up the trench for the rest of the retaining wall & laid 3 levels of brick & mortar on the right side of the patio. Sergio & Mike (Amanda’s dad) stopped by to see our progress & give thoughts. They had built a similar patio last year. We were on the right track for the most part (and doing ok for rookies), so that was a confidence boost. We grabbed a quick dinner after I got home from work & got right to work. By 10:30 pm, we had finished most of the 3 layers of retaining wall & called it a night.

Saturday began Day 3. Again, we needed a few more supplies! We headed to Dripping Springs & the guy gave us the rest of the rock for free (it was a very little amount, so nice of him). We spent the majority of the afternoon leveling out dirt (with Chris making more trips than I can count to pick up dirt from a nearby area of ‘public dirt). I’m totally forgetting now what happened because my days are running together.

By the late afternoon, we knew we were ready to begin the next process of adding the layers of sand, then sand/cement mix before laying the rocks. This is where Russell Boyd’s wisdom (and Ileah’s vocal direction) came in to save the day! RB has experience with this sort of project and they volunteered their Saturday night to our backyard. A shock & super nice surprise.

Ileah, Tatum, and I went to buy 1,400 lbs of sad (20 bags, 70lb each) at Home Depot. When we returned, the guys were playing Tetris with the rocks – so I jumped in, and Ileah brought back each bag of sand, 1 by 1, on a wheel barrel. Strong chic. By 11:00 pm, we had layered ¼ of the patio with dirt, then sand, then sand/cement mix, then ROCK! We watered & let it set for the night. Our patio was actually coming together and making sense.

Sunday began Day 4. The morning time we had reserved for house church – several random occurrences happened with a few of our friends, so the morning ended up being extremely relaxing with us cleaning the house (yes, it was a disaster, the cleanliness felt soooo nice). Chris needed (again) to go get more sand & dirt, and I was not feeling the best. Tatum and I napped while Chris did his thing.

I jumped back in the game at 4:00 pm ready to get our next section completed before the weekend ended. I had really hoped that the whole patio would be completed by Sunday night – but with all the work it takes to do one of these suckers, I knew that was an unrealistic expectation. Chris and I put about 18 buckets (is that right?) of dirt on our 2nd section and I began leveling out with a rake.

RB & Ileah showed up a little bit later, just in time for us to lay the layer of sand. I never thought it’d take 6 hours to lay sand, level out, then lay sand/cement mix, level it out, and then begin putting rocks back in. Adjusting the rocks so that they are level is what takes so much work. But by 10:30 pm – section two was watered & completed!

For some reason, I was not able to sleep! You’d think I’d be more than exhausted by this time. Maybe my mind was in patio mode. I honestly contemplated staying up to watch Mall Cop that Nicole had brought over, but I knew Chris was ready for bed. I think by 1:00 am, I was fast asleep.

So, hopefully next Saturday will be the day that it’s completed! We have 1 more section to add dirt (literally tons of dirt), sand, mix, and then readjust the rocks. Can’t wait to have a BBQ so we all can enjoy it together! PS – I did not wash my hair since yesterday (but yes, I have showered), and it is so disgusting today. Even in a pony tail.

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
   Love doesn’t strut,
   Doesn’t have a swelled head,
   Doesn’t force itself on others,
   Isn’t always “me first,”
   Doesn’t fly off the handle,
   Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.  Love never dies.

At Graceland People, we’ve been talking through what it means for us as a community “to live by faith, to be known by love and to be a voice of hope.”  Last week, we focused on Love – and broke down what is known as the ‘love chapter’ —–1 Corinthians 13.  Many times we hear these inspirational words in a wedding or we see them written as quotes on plaques or notecards.  They are moving & motivational — and can also hit you smack dab in the face — when faced to see beyond the inspiration & look to applying what it means to truly love.

So is the case with me.  Our challenge Sunday was to focus on 1 (or more?) areas (listed above) in which is a daily struggle for us to ‘love’ in everyday situations.  I automatically knew mine: Love is not envious (doesn’t want what it doesn’t have).  I can’t tell you how many times a day I see or think about friends that have the opportunity to be home with their children.  I go to Target & see young moms with their young kids — and I get sad.  I read FB statuses of what so & so did today — and I get sad.  I think about things Tatum and I could do — but at 6:00 pm — and I get sad.   I am amazingly grateful for my job, the company I work for, and we have been extremely blessed since I have switched jobs over the past year.  I know that I am a natural mother by saying I wish I had more time with my kiddo – and I also know the sacrifices that come with ‘not working.’  My heart is hopeful for the day that our last debt is paid off (hence the reason I am working) so that I can have the option to work part time (I know I could not stay home full time, I might go insane) & have a few days a week with the kids to play, swim, go to the park, read books outside, etc.  Until that day – my struggle is to learn to be happy & joyful for my friends that have chosen the decision & made that sacrifice.

This weekend reminded me of more flaws that I have — Love is not easily angered (doesn’t fly off the handle).  Why is it that the closest people to us sometimes frustrate us the most?  Why do the smallest, most ridiculous things ruffle my feathers?  The Mr. Potato Head toys were not put back correctly.  The plate is in the sink, not the dishwasher.  The 6 loads of laundry are all washed, but in the laundry basket getting wrinkled.  The pillow that we washed 5 weeks ago is still laying in the bathtub drying (it’s just got to be dry by now, right).  All stupid ‘tasks’ that in the big scheme of life mean nothing.  NOTHING.  Yet, the frustration builds when things aren’t done (my way I suppose) or my mind is not being read.  So silly. So immature. Yet, my daily battle.

I sometimes wonder why we, or maybe it is just me, over think certain holidays – and analyze way too much.  Yesterday was Mother’s Day. A day I always tried to do something for my mom, rather it be a neat gift, a special card, or taking her to dinner – something to make her feel a little extra special for that day.  But now, I’m the Mother as well.  Which is strange to hear myself say & type – a mother of a 2 year old.

I recently celebrated my 31^st birthday & had fabulous celebrations that lasted for weeks. J  So, in my head, I thought, no need to overdo anything for Mother’s Day – I mean, I just finished my birthday parties!  And outside of celebrations – I’m a very lucky girl with a wonderful family & life – why the extra?  The guilt of spending more money & making me feel more special than I normally do on an everyday basis didn’t seem so important – until the actual commercialized day of Mother’s Day.I wake up to my daughter bringing me a card & a new throw blanket (wrong color…but still, he tried!) for my couch.  We had a wonderful discussion (church) with our friends at Zilker Park with perfect weather.  We rode the Zilker Train with Tatum & then let her play in the rocks & pool for a little bit.  But during her nap time, I get ancy. Cranky.  Why am I sitting on my couch watching boring Bi-Centennial Man while Chris is surfing the net?  This is not how I (now a mother!) should be spending her mother’s day afternoon. Where’s the sparks? The love? The extra special extras you get for this day?  And why am I spazzing out — for a commercialized holiday? What’s so wrong with relaxing…maybe even taking a nap?My quietness becomes evident to my husband — who realizes even though I said, ‘don’t worry about mother’s day, no big deal’ – knows I’m lying!  I cry for being cranky – he feels bad for not listening to the ‘read between the lines’ conversations – and I cry for making him feel bad!  Seriously. What’s the deal here?  Why on this day is it more important than the rest?  I take a moment, check my email, coach myself on not being so silly & girlie, and to realize Chris had kind of a game plan for us as a family – just didn’t communicate it, or paint it on the wall with finger paint, or write it in the sky with clouds….I just need to chill.  No need to waste my day on feeling sorry for myself.  So, FB doesn’t help because I begin seeing friends from all places having ‘special surprises’ and large gifts — HAHA…and I lose it again.  So, I tell Chris – I’m outta here – I need a break!  I return my throw blanket at Target to get the correct color.  I come home back to being normal Summer – and wanting Chris to stop feeling guilty because of my emotional outbursts.  He’s the perfect husband – and why on this DAY I’m feeling left out?  So silly.By 4:00 pm, we are happy go lucky, hopping in the truck for my favorite meal at Matt’s & then to “ice” (snow cones).  We end the evening cheering for my Joan Rivers on the Celebrity Apprentice!  I know now that no matter what I’ll say in the future, for all my birthdays & Mother’s Day….I’ll always want a little extra love & attention.  And I’m preeetttttyyy sure Chris is aware of that as well.  Ha! 

Tatum and I returned from our CA tour Wednesday night.  What a fabulous birthday gift to myself, I must say!  I have been to California a few times in my life, but it was nice to be a part of friends’ everyday lives, and not do all the touristy stuff.

Kelly (who is very preggo, yet doesn’t look it and looks amazing) picked us up from the airport.  We hung out at Venice Beach for a few hours.  The CA weather was nothing like Austin – pretty cool actually, I think the highest it got while we were there was 65 or so degrees.  Definitely not bathing suit weather (which I secretly was happy about).  

The last time I visited Venice Beach, it was COLD & RAINY (anyone from our LA missions trip … SAGU…remember that?)  It has a neat eclectic feel to it.  Tatum was able to put her feet in the sand – which didn’t go so well…ha.  However, she loved the ‘play’ (which is playground in baby terms) and kept herself busy doing that for a while, giving Kelly & myself a good chance to chat.  At about dusk, we realized, we needed to head out of there! 

We met Vida at a very ghetto Taco Bell/Pizza Hut that was guarded by a police officer.  I swore he had a tazer in his hands.  Tatum was exhausted & I was starving – so we treated ourselves to a greesy little meal with watered down pink lemonade.  Ick.

Vida then carted us off to beautiful Santa Barbara.  I could not wait to see her fun little town.  I hadn’t seen Vida since October 08, however we talk regularly.  But as we all know, talking in person is much better than email, phone, or video chat. 

The weather was perfect.  We walked basically EVERYWHERE, which I loved.  Saturday (my actual bday) we took our time getting up & around (Vida got a good taste of what mornings with Tatum are like:  waffles, peanut butter, and Elmo).   We then went to do a little sightseeing of the beauty in SB.  Flowers, greenery, trees everywhere!  Everything is so bright & colorful – a natural high for your mental health.  Kind of gave me the itch for gardening. J

We shopped, ate, walked, shopped some more, ate some more, walked some more.  I was glad I had myself a stash of money from my bday – so I could enjoy every minute without thinking “budget” – like normal life is!  One little shop was treating everyone to beer, cokes, or margaritas.  Nice having yourself a mid-afternoon (FREE) frozen margarita.  Tatum wanted a taste – I think she thought it was “ice” (meaning snow cone).  Don’t worry, she didn’t have any.  We also tried the beach that day – but like I said, it wasn’t beachy weather, and all the sudden there was a sand storm!  So, we lasted maybe 20 minutes.  Enough to get a few windy pictures & write Tatum’s name in the sand! Somehow, we also both managed to break our ankles on the walk.  Every 5 minutes, one of us was tripping over something. Amazing how we didn’t injure ourselves!

We really needed Zach to tag along with us – because we realized, no ‘group’ pictures, unless we held the camera ourselves for close face shots.  That silly Zach – he had better plans than to spend his whole day with us. J

That night, Vida had planned a yummy dinner at a café that serves amazing desert (so I hear).  However, Tatum was not the best trooper & half way through dinner, we had to call it an evening!  She was tired, cranky, low grade fever, and I had had enough of her whining!  So, we headed home & put her to bed.  I think when you get to be a parent, you get used to having some of your plans change last minute – whether or not you like it.  I was pretty upset for a bit, but then just let myself forget about it.  Can’t blame a 2 year old for being off her schedule, right?  So, even though bday night was a bust – relaxing on a soft comfy couch eating Sour Apple Twizzlers with a good friend isn’t so bad.

Sunday, we were even MORE lazy in the morning, but who cares – that’s what vacationing is about, right?  Tatum was still not herself – so we made sure to do a nap in the morning before we ventured out into the world.  After the nap, we made sure to buy some Children’s Motrin for her small fever & some shakes/drinks since she was eating.  It seemed to help for the most part.  That afternoon, we did more shopping, had PinkBerry, and then more shopping!  I found a super cute dress that would have been perfect for our cruise and/or wearing to Wicked (IF I’m not huge & preggo by then) – however the top button was broken.  Saved me $50 I guess.  I then found another cute long dress just for summertime fun.  I was pleased.   Note:  we learned that Tatum is freaked out when any sort of male figure approaches her to pick her up or give her a present.  Wow. She FREAKS out.

We had yummy pizza at this little joint & then Zach took us around the houses on the hill (Monticello?).  I mean, how can people live like this! Huge HUGE houses!!  The roads were so windy & curvy, by the time we got back home, I was feeling a big nauseous!  Vida was coming down with a cold, so we all plopped ourselves on the couch and caught up on Heroes (and finished off the Sour Apple Twizzlers). 

Monday was the day to head back to LA to spend time with Scott & Kelly.  Kelly met us at In & Out burgers with the kiddos and we enjoyed a yummy lunch.  It was sad saying bye to Vida – especially since we weren’t sure when we’d be ‘face to face’ again.  However, we had a great time in SB.  Exactly what I was wanting from our trip.

I was anxious for Tatum to play with Zooey & Keeton!  They are all so close in age, I knew it’d be fun to see their interactions together.  Once we got to Costa Mesa, we walked to a nearby park to let them get rid of energy.  We basically played the whole afternoon!  Kelly made yummy homemade waffles (note, Tatum was STILL not herself & barely eating, but somewhat playing ok).  After bedtime, a friend from High School came & picked me up & we went to have dinner together to catch up.  Poor little Tatum, while I was at dinner, she woke up & just cried. Thanks to Kelly for getting her back in bed! 

Tuesday was a little cloudy in the morning, so we went to a nearby outside mall to do a little window shopping & ride the carousel.  We admired all the fun things in Anthropology & Lucky stores.  I just LOVE clothes. Really.  We wanted the kids to ride the carousel – and it was so cute.  We need carousels in Austin!  $2 a ride is not bad to see a smile on your kiddos face.

We came home to have the kids play some more because the sun started to come out.  Ha, I swear, Tatum kept falling!  Let’s see, she skinned both her knees TWICE in a 30 minute period outside (major Boo Boo on her knees).  And then later that day, she fell down little steps outside Kelly’s patio trying to push her baby in a stroller.  Wow, so many tears, I was about to go insane!  Not mad that she was hurting, because there were plenty of tears for lots of other things as well.  However, it was confirmation to me that she is a normal 2 year old because there were other little tantrums from other little kids during our visit.  So if mine wasn’t crying, Kelly’s were for something or other!  Kind of comical now. Scott came home for dinner & we all ate & visited for a while that evening.  Of course, Little Miss woke up about an hour into her sleep & wouldn’t stop crying, so early to bed for me. J  I was sad to cut our conversations short, but had to let Tatum sleep.  Seriously – 4 days of crankiness had to end!  The low grade fever was still occurring, she still wasn’t eating or napping well – I think Kelly might have been worried about my sanity. 

Wednesday was the end of CA trip for us.  We had a tattoo party (thanks to Vida) with the kids.  We let them “color” their own tattoos, which ended up meaning marker all over their arms.  Thank goodness it washes off.  We took a nice little stroll around the neighborhood and then came back to eat a little lunch.  Scott took us to the airport & helped me get all our luggage together.  We definitely don’t travel light!  Let me tell you – I was starting to worry that Tatum had the swine flu because of all her crankiness that week!  BUT – the minute I ordered us a pizza in the airport, she ate 1 whole slice by herself.  Really.  Was she just wanting to be alone with her mommy in order for her to be in a good mood?  GEESH!  And the plane ride home she was PERFECT.  She watched Elmo on the DVD player, laughed, played, read a book, and then fell asleep in my lap for the last 20 minutes of the flight.  Too cute.

My love greeted us with flowers for me and a balloon (her favorite) for Tatum (that said, Get Well Soon…hahah).  Yes, please God, let her get well soon! Haha.  I knew he missed his girls.

It was a fabulous trip – even with all the temper tantrums & crankiness of my daughter.  I resorted to giving her the pacy, blanket & baby most of the trip – just to calm her nerves!  Now we are back settled at home & I’m at work catching up from a week’s worth of emails & things to do.  I think everyone should return from their vacation on a Friday – makes going to work easier.

Today will be a venting session, so please hold on tightly.

With a beautiful array of visitors that have passed through our home the past week, my daughter has now decided that our bedtime routine is no good.  She was spoiled & stayed up late for a few nights (meaning 8:30 – 9:30 pm).  And in those late nights, she also loved the idea of getting out of her bed, over & over again. I have watched my fair share of Super Nanny shows & took on some of her techniques.  They are working – just taking an hour to work!  So far I tried two things.

Our normal routine is get our blanky (blanket) and paci (pacifier), say goodnight to Bro Bro & Daddy and walk to her room.  We climb in the rocker, pull out a few books and read.  After we read, we rock for a few minutes while we say our bedtime prayers (she likes to pray for Rophie, Manda, Isiz, Lo-Lo, Nanna, Lena, BroBro…the list goes on…).  After her big ‘AMEN’ we kiss and go night-night.  And for the past 1 1/2 years…that has been it!  Easy as pie.

Now, she climbs out, turns off her music, and sits outside her door with her blanky & paci – I immediately come, pick her up (without saying a word), lay her down and go ‘night night.’  Try to make it as boring as possible.  Lately, I’ve just plopped myself at her door inside the room – which keeps her from actually getting OUT of her bed – but she still plays and plays for a very long time.  The minute I think she’s asleep, she climbs out, and the routine starts all over again.  Anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.  My patience is completely gone by this point – but I hold my tongue so tightly so I don’t get angry at her or raise my voice.  But man, do I want to blame SOMEONE!!!  But sadly there is no one to blame right – this is just part of life.

It’s been a week – and now with her going to bed later….she also wakes up EARLIER!  Say 5:00 am, when it used to be 7:30 or 8:00 am.  I’m dying. I’m angry. I’m frustrated!!!  AND…I go to bed upset & wake up upset – not good. 

Super Nanny, please help!

Rain to me can be depressing.  Thankfully this week while it’s rained, I’ve been stuck in the office.  I’d hate to be the person that had errands to run.  But it still makes me want to nap, curl up in a blanket, or watch a movie & be lazy.

I’m going to try & jet out of work early today so that I can spend some quality, fun time with my mom before she leaves tomorrow. Nanna has been cooped up in the house all week with no car & a sick, cranky kiddo.  I believe they BOTH need a break!  Getting out & about can help that….ONLY if it stops raining! PLEASE.

The term croup does not refer to a single illness, but rather a group of conditions involving inflammation of the upper airway that leads to a cough that sounds like a bark, particularly when a child is crying.

Tatum has the nasty croup that is going around.  Sunday night after we got home from playing at the park & Farmers Market, she all the sudden turned into Miss Cryer and was very upset.  We were grilling out, making dinner, having a good ol time, and I thought, who is this cry baby!?  I picked her up & noticed she was burning up – had a fever of 102.1.  Tatum never really has had a high fever before so I knew something was up.  Poor girl wanted just to be held and lay on my shoulder.  We gave her meds, a cool bath, and she was out like a freight train (snoring)! 

Monday morning Tatum wakes up & comes into our room about 5:30 am, still burning up.  Still high temperature – so we give her more meds, and put her back down to sleep.  I was concerned because her fever had not gone down, so I called the after hours nurse, and she told me not to worry – fever is normal in a child – and to just let her ride it out (I actually felt like she was reading a script & not really TALKING to me, very frustrating).

I decided to work from home, in the case that I chose to take her to the doctor if her fever didn’t break. And it never did – and a nasty chest cough developed earlier that morning, which everytime she coughed, Tatum would cry. So sad!  The doc took us immediately around 1:30 pm yesterday – and they are so fast at getting us in and out!  I love ARC (just not the night nurses!).  Dr. Amy said that it was Croup – that this is going around, and Tatum’s lungs and ears look good – so that is very positive. Whew.  It could have gotten worse.

We ran to Wal-Mart to get more baby meds and Dora the Explorer popsicles.  Of course, since Nanna is in town, our cart became full very quickly with a Dora the Explorer bouncy ball, a new Elmo (kiss me) toy, toddler plates, fake Crocs…lots of things!  Manda & Isiz were at Wal-Mart, too, so that changed Tatum’s demeanor!  She was so excited to see her friends.

The moment we got in the car, crying again, high fever, and then she CRASHED out in the back seat. Poor thing.  She slept for hours yesterday afternoon, holding a high fever the whole time.  I love cuddling with my girl, so makes me so sad when we are cuddling and she’s sooo friggin hot.  After bath time, her fever was 102.7.

I had set my alarm to wake up at 11:30 so I could give her meds again to help the fever.  At that time, it was 102.9 and I was so concerned! Shouldn’t fever go DOWN with baby tylenol, not up?  So, I called the night nurse AGAIN.  Why I call them, I don’t know b/c I am always pissed every time I hang up.  The nurse acted as though this was no biggie – don’t worry, as though I was inconviencing her and wasting her time unless the fever was 104.  I’m sorry lady – my daughter’s breathing sounds awful & has 102 fever for more than 5 hours straight….I’m going to worry! URG!  I was SO upset. I hung up quickly b/c she was just no help and started crying.  What can we do? You feel so helpless!

So I grabbed my pillow and blanket & stayed in her room until her fever went down.  So many things went through my mind:  What if I didn’t worry – and there was something else wrong with Tatum that we would never know unless I called?  High fevers can be dangerous at times, and although this might be common for some babies – Tatum never has had it, so aren’t I normal to be in freak out mode after 2 years of good health!?  Seriously.  I laid on her floor crying so heavily b/c I was so worried!  I thought who can I call this late?  Who can I text to validate my concern but also to let me know its ok?  So, instead of calling anyone – I just prayed.  After an hour, I checked her again – and it had gone down to 102, so I knew it was gradually reducing.  So, I curled myself up in the recliner and set my alarm to keep check her every so often.  By 3:00 am, it was down to 100.9, and I felt much better.

I’m at work today and SO thankful mom is here this week.  If she wasn’t, I don’t know that I’d feel comfortable leaving her.  This blog has no real rhyme or reason, but to let me vent & say that the ARC night nurses are stupid.  I’m honestly thinking about making a comment on their website.  Watch out for crazy psycho mom.