Bathtub Junkie

Archive for January, 2008

Well, I thought that Meredith was starting to feel better. But this morning when I came back from my doctor’s appointment, Jeff said that she spent the entire time curled up in his arms, napping off and on. And all day today, she hasn’t eaten much and has seemed pretty miserable. :( She still has that horrible cough and feels a bit warm, but it’s nothing like how she felt that first night. I know that it’ll just take some time for her to get back to 100 percent. I snuggled with Lucas this afternoon and watched “Ratatouille” while she napped, and I cuddled with Meredith on my chest this evening (ohhh, I’m just loving the snuggles!). I’ll probably sleep in her room tonight to keep a close eye on her.

So … my doctor’s appointment this morning revealed that I have tracheitis. In other words, my trachea (windpipe) is pretty inflamed and irritated. That’s why I’ve been feeling some chest discomfort (thank God it’s nothing serious). The doctor told me that the same virus that caused Meredith’s croup has caused this tracheitis, and there’s nothing to really do except wait it out (she projected seven to 10 days). My head really hurts, my entire body aches, my chest and neck ache, my throat is a bit sore, and I’m exhausted and congested. She also commented on my chapped, cracked hands and prescribed some medicated cream to use every night. I hope that helps. I told her that I’m a bit of a hypochondriac and that I tend to be a bit obsessive about washing my hands, and I really need to work on that. Good news, though ~ my blood pressure was terrific, and I weigh about seven pounds less than the last time that I weighed myself (which was a few months ago ~ our scale needs new batteries!).

You probably don’t want to hear about how I started crying right in front of her, but I will say that it felt so wonderful to let my feelings out. I love our doctor. She’s super sweet and offers sympathy but is also professional ~ she sure knows her stuff. She helps me feel less nervous when I’m there. And she’s a mom herself, so she “gets” mom stuff. She’s also not from this area originally and can relate to what it’s like not having any family members nearby. I feel like she understands me and truly listens. I’m really grateful for her.

Well, Jeff came home from work early today and napped until around 5:45 p.m. Why? Yep, you guessed it … he has come down with it, too. I’m just so relieved that we’re not experiencing anything worse, though. Shortly after posting this blog entry, I’m probably heading to bed! Thanks again for all of your good wishes!

I’m happy to tell you that our little Merry Bear is feeling much better now. She still has that horrible cough, but her fever is almost gone and she’s sleeping a lot better at night. Sunday was pretty rough. She’d sleep for about 20 or 30 minutes at a time, then wake up with a terrible coughing fit. And each time, it really scared her. She’d start crying and shaking a little bit, then I’d comfort her and lie down with her for a while, then put her back into her crib. Oh, to see her so miserable like that just broke my heart. :( At 2:30 a.m., she wanted to get out of her crib and walk around some ~ so I took her into the bonus room so that she could play with some toys. But she just kind of walked around aimlessly, like she didn’t necessarily want to lie down but didn’t have the energy to play, either. :( The redness and fire in her cheeks pretty much disappeared yesterday, though, and she took quite a lengthy nap. Slept well last night, too. She’s on the mend ~ and thank you so much for all of the good wishes sent her way. I am so glad that she’s OK … although now, Lucas has quite a cough, too! *sigh*

So here’s a question … can adults catch croup? I feel like I’m coming down with some sort of cold. My head feels spacy and headachy, and my throat has that “off” feeling that you get just before getting a sore throat. I’m still swallowing “gunk” from the cold that I had at the beginning of this month, and I’m exhausted (probably from taking care of Meredith). But here’s the thing … my chest feels kind of tight from time to time, and that really worries me. Sometimes my upper back hurts, too. I’ve spent a lot of time today freaking out about it (anxiety can sure talk my mind into a lot of stuff ~ and Googling my symptoms is an awful thing to do). I pray that the chest tightness is nothing serious. Good thing is that I have a doctor’s checkup tomorrow morning, so I’m definitely going to tell her all about what I’ve been feeling. (I get extremely anxious at doctor’s appointments, however.) Please hold good thoughts for me if you could … hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel more reassured. I’m grateful to my husband for going into work late tomorrow so that he can watch Lucas and Meredith while I have my appointment. Last time, Meredith ripped off all of the tissue paper from the exam table, and Lucas opened every single cabinet and drawer ~ not to mention attempted to examine his own ears. :)

I’m so sorry for complaining about all of my aches and pains. I’m sure that it’s boring for you guys to read, and I realize that I can be quite a hypochondriac on occasion. (Well, most of the time.) My anxiety does that to me. But this blog is my place to share how I’m feeling, and talking about things often helps me feel better.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night and just couldn’t fall back asleep. I have no idea why. My mind started running from thought to thought ~ just couldn’t seem to turn it off! I looked at the clock and it was 5 a.m. I wanted to snuggle with Lucas, so I climbed under the covers with him. It was so cute how he burrowed his tiny feet underneath mine ~ I do that all the time to Jeff. :) I thought about all sorts of stuff: “Hmm, I wonder whether Tricia has welcomed her little boy into the world yet?” “Oh, and maybe Laura will go into serious labor this weekend!” “Man, I really need to clean the recliner in our living room.” “I’m definitely going to fix a roasted chicken in our slow cooker for dinner tonight.”

Anyway, just when I was starting to drift back off to sleep, I heard a strange noise. I went into Meredith’s room to check on her, and she was *so* extremely congested. I stood there for a while next to her crib, and all of the sudden she started coughing. I knew exactly what it was: croup. :( Immediately, I picked her up and brought her into our bedroom, opened one of the windows, and let her breathe in some chilly air. That seemed to help quite a bit. I feel so badly for her! At least we’ve experienced it once before (with Lucas) and weren’t so freaked out by it this time. You can just see in her eyes and in her face that she’s not feeling good at all. Jeff took Lucas to church this morning, and I’m staying here at home with our little girl to give her lots of snuggles. :)

We’ve had a pretty good weekend. I just couldn’t get into that “Silver Surfer” movie, though! I tried to keep an open mind but ended up going upstairs to bed instead. :) Let’s see, this week … tomorrow I need to visit the post office to mail two packages for my grandpa, and I’m also picking up some yoga magazines through Freecycle. Tuesday, our dishwasher will hopefully (finally!) get fixed. Wednesday, I have a regular doctor’s checkup (blah!), and Friday is Meredith’s 15-month appointment at the pediatrician (although I’m thinking about taking her to the doctor tomorrow just to get checked out).

I cannot tell you how excited I am that January is just about over! :) Not my favorite month. Plus, it means that spring is getting just that much closer!

I’m in love with our master bathroom. There are a few things that we need to get done still, though ~ like hanging a curtain (maybe a Roman shade) on the window and hanging some more pieces of artwork. Are you remodeling your bathroom or searching for bathroom vanities as you build your new home? Make sure to check out Decor Planet. There are plenty of inspirational ideas there!

Did you hear about the big fire at the Monte Carlo hotel in Las Vegas recently? Just awful. My parents visited Las Vegas a few years ago and just loved it. If you’re planning a trip there soon, maybe check out the hotels in Vegas listed through I4Vegas.com. Couldn’t hurt to start researching some good deals!

We’ve been thinking about getting a dog someday, but over Christmas we discovered that Lucas is unfortunately *very* allergic to Jeff’s parents’ dog, Dharma. We don’t know whether he’s allergic to all dogs or just that one, but as a result our plans are on hold for a while. Plus, it’s pretty easy to leave our cat here at home when we travel to Indiana. Anyway, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have fun looking at dog supplies! Jeffers Pet seems to have a lot of neat items, but a message flashed across the screen saying that their PayPal interface is down. Not good! But … check ‘em out when you get a chance.

Not too long ago, I had some free business cards printed through VistaPrint. (I only had to pay for shipping charges ~ just a couple of bucks.) The cards were great ~ I ordered “Mommy business cards” with my contact information, hoping to give them out to friends at my moms’ group and to other fellow moms who I might want to arrange a playdate with. Anyway, just recently I came across the logo design at LogoYes. Wow, they have *tons* of logo images to choose from, and their website was *super* easy to navigate. I created the following “business card logo” for blogging ~ how fun! :)

I definitely recommend this website for creating unique and different business card styles. Check ‘em out!

Life insurance isn’t a fun or exciting thing to think about, but it’s necessary. Be sure to check out the life insurance rates at WholesaleInsurance.net if you’re shopping around for quotes. Couldn’t hurt to look. Good luck with your search.

How perfect would a new watch be for your special valentine? I’d never heard of the brand Breguet before, but check out Essential Watches to see those and a bunch of other beautiful watches for sale. I think that I might keep this website in mind for the future when I want to buy Jeff a new watch (I already have his Valentine’s Day gift all set!). V-Day is coming soon!

I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged in five days. What have I been busy doing? Here’s a rundown (in no particular order):

• We watched The Queen last weekend (through NetFlix). Good movie ~ and my husband thinks that Helen Mirren’s pretty cute! :) We had no idea that Princess Diana purposely did some things to tick off the royal family ~ or that there was such animosity between Princess Di and Queen Elizabeth. But maybe that’s not true ~ we’re not sure how much of it was just movie drama. Hard to know the real story. I wonder whether the royal family viewed this film (and what they thought about it?). Our next movie up: “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.” Looks kind of dumb to me, but I’ll try to keep an open mind. :)
• I finished editing the first half of two freelance books. That consumed most of my time, and now I have a bit of a break before beginning the rest of those two projects. They’re helping pay for our new camera! :) I’m also trying to finish a feature story about our town’s historic railroad station. That’s today’s goal.
• We all came down with colds on New Year’s Day, and I swear … I still have mine! :( I’ve been congested and filled with snot ever since. Still coughing up junk. My throat has felt kind of scratchy lately, too. Crazy!
• Our good friend Carol came over to visit yesterday with her adorable son, Noah. The kids had a great time playing together! I served them salad and cold baked ziti (ugh ~ should’ve put it in the oven earlier). And they came bearing a ton of awesome presents (from Meredith’s birthday and Christmas). Carol gave me an awesome new Gooseberry Patch 2008 calendar (with yummy recipes for each month!). I had so much fun filling out the pages last night after the kids went to bed. After Carol and Noah left, Lucas kept saying, “Me miss Noah.” Aww!
• You’d think that in such a small town as ours, finding a preschool for Lucas wouldn’t be such a big deal. Well, the best one in our area is completely filled up for this fall ~ and for the next few years, for that matter! Lucas is sixth on their waiting list for this fall, and Meredith (when she goes off to preschool) is tenth! *sigh* I should’ve called them the moment that I found out I was pregnant. LOL! :) I’m going to call around to some other places and interview them/do some research to see what else I can find. Such a process!
• I am loving our new camera. Finally figured out how to change the f-stop! LOL! :) I’m just amazed at the color quality and detail. It’s funny ~ Jeff is pretty reluctant to use it. And he calls it “the big camera.” So cute! :) He has taken a few pictures with it, though. I’m in love with the sound of the shutter. Is that weird? :)
• I slept horribly last night. Why the hell did I consume a bunch of chocolate right before bedtime? (Oh wait, I know ~ PMS.) I tossed and turned for hours and hours, then looked up at the clock: 2:30 a.m. Just terrific! Then, I started having some tummy cramps off and on. Very strange ~ I thought that I was coming down with something bad, but it must have just been the chocolate (thank goodness). Either that or “my time of the month” coming soon. I’m totally dragging today. So exhausted.

So that’s a quick update. I’m sure that I’m forgetting some stuff. But overall, we’re doing OK and just desperately waiting for winter to GO AWAY!!!