A Looooooooong Week

It's been a long week, this one.

We had Tess' playgroup here for the first time since Drew arrived.  It was actually really fun.  Drew pretty much slept the whole time and we did fun Valentine's activities.

The kids have all grown up so much and they get along so well together now.  Tess has gotten much better at managing her fits of impatience and jealousy.  I'm proud of the skills she's learned in dealing with others.

The other big change is that they're all potty-training now, so at least half of the time is spent on potty breaks with all the other kids cheering on their successes.  I think Tess' potty candy may have had something to do with all the prolific pee-ers in my house that day.

Tess was excited for her friends to play up in her new bedroom.  They had a pretty wild time.  The bunkbed was a hit.

Drewser's been a good boy lately.  He just keeps getting cuter and cuter.  I weighed him today and he's now 14 lbs.  He's well into the 3-6 month size now.  His night-sleeping is still in progress.  Usually he does about 4 hours at a time, but every so often he'll sleep a full 7 hours.  I'm ready for that to become more regular.  Come on, Drewey!  You can do it!

So, the first half of the week was going pretty well--until Wednesday night.  My back was a little sore when I woke up that morning, and when I went to the gym that afternoon, I knew I was in trouble.  By the evening, my lower back muscles had totally seized up.  This happened once when I was pregnant, so I knew what it meant:  limited, agonizing mobility.  I thought it was bad being pregnant, but with a newborn it's even worse with all the bending and lifting required.

By that night, I could also tell I was starting to get sick.  Thursday I woke up with a fever, a majorly swollen throat, and an incapacitated back.  Once the ibuprofen wore off, my fever would spike to 103 degrees. Ryan was able to come home an hour early, but it was a long day.

Friday my back was feeling better.  That was a relief--that back pain is the worst!  But the high fever continued and my throat was still on fire.  Another long day.

The fever finally broke Friday night, but I still went to the doctor today because my tonsils look like golf balls.  My strep test was negative, the doctor still gave me antibiotics because she didn't want my tonsils to become infected.  She asked me, "Have you looked at your throat?  Have you seen how bad it looks?"  No, I frequent the doctor on Saturday mornings for fun.

But with a bend-able back and a normal temperature, I'm feeling pretty darn good.  Even if I can't really swallow.

So, what did the homebound kiddies do with a less-than-energetic Mom for 2 days?  OK, mainly watch TV.   A lot of TV.  But Tess did have a few creative moments in spite of her tube-induced coma.

Did I forget to mention that during these miserable two days, it just happened to be in the mid-70's outside?  I let Tess play in the backyard while I lay on the couch.  She came running in with this get-up:

Can you guess what she is?  A pirate, of course!  

Why the tools in her underwear?  She was in the backyard "digging for treasure."

Pretty bad picture, I know.  But I wasn't about to get off the couch in search of better lighting.  And no, her hair isn't brushed.  And no, she has no pants on because she already wet through a pair of pants that morning.  Plus if she had pants, where would she stash her pirate tools?

More storage in the back!

Tess was aching to go outside and play.  She made do with standing at the door watching all the other kids play.

Tess also entertained herself by constructing "little resting places."

One final source of entertainment came from Tess' decision that her kitchen needed "some decoration for after-Christmas."  This involved her taking down all my decorations in the living room and finding a more suitable place for them on her kitchen.  With each item, she'd look at me and say, "That fine, Mom?  That fine with you?"  And she was genuinely shocked when each time I said, "Sure, that's fine with me."  Because it was easier than saying no.  And she'd nod her head in agreement with me, "Cuz it's for after-Christmas.  I need my after-Christmas decorations."

So, back is better, fever is gone.  Kids are still alive.  Now I just need my tonsils back to normal size. I'd also like those 2 days of 70-degree weather back, too!