Can I get a Christmas Re-do?

Ugh, I wish I had one of those "happy, everything was wonderful" Christmas posts.  Nothing tragic happened, it just wasn't the best Christmas.

The morning of Christmas Eve, DH came downstairs and said he wasn't feeling well.  He was awake for about an hour and then went back to bed.  By the afternoon, he was running a 102 fever.  We always celebrate with my husband's side of the family on Xmas Eve and we had plans to go to my BIL house that night at 5:00. 

I ended up taking the kids by myself and it was fine.  The twins love their 2 cousins and they played with them all night.  I had planned to come back home by 9:00 or 9:30 but my husband's other brother and his wife shot that plan out the window.  I'll refer to them as T & D.

Do you have anyone in your family that is so self-centered and selfish that you just can't comprehend their actions?   The type of people that think everything revolves around their schedule?

Yep, that's my husband's youngest brother and his wife.  They do this sort of thing ALL OF THE TIME.

We have celebrated with my husband's family on Christmas Eve for the last 10 years.  It's a set plan and everyone knows the routine.  A few years ago,  T & D started attending the 5:00 service at their church but they would always come over afterwards and would usually arrive by 7:00 or so. 

This year, they decided to attend church and then go to dinner afterwards.  They said they thought they would still arrive by 8:00 but that time came and went.  Keep in mind this is 3 hours after the rest of us arrived. 

My kids go to bed by 8:00, at the latest.  So, now I've got 2 increasingly sleepy and grumpy toddlers on my hands.  By myself.  And, then 8:30 came.  And, they still weren't there.  I was started to get a little mad.

We haven't seen T &D or their 3 kids since my twins birthday in October.  I was tempted to just leave without seeing them but I wanted to see my nieces and I wanted to see them open their presents and I would hope that they would like to see the twins open theirs.

Apparently their dinner plans were more important?

They finally arrived at 9:45 and you better believe I made a few comments:

To my BIL:  "If you had been 5 minutes later, you would've missed us".  And then my SIL had the nerve to say, "I can't believe you're still here". 

Are you friggin' serious?!

I quickly replied, "Well, we wanted to see you and I thought you'd want to see us too.  But, we need to leave in the next 10 minutes.  The kids are tired and so am I".

We quickly exchanged gifts and then I loaded the kids in the car.  They were completely exhausted and I was thinking about all of the stuff that I still needed to do back home (put some toys together, finish wrapping). 

I fell into bed at midnight and DH was still sick as a dog.

And, then Christopher woke up at 2:30 am.  And, wouldn't go back to bed.  I finally took him down to the living room, where he caught the first glimpse of his Xmas presents.  So much for capturing the kids' expressions as they entered the room on Christmas morning.  We both dozed on the couch until 7:30 am.

I went upstairs to wake up Kendall and Daddy and thought, "OK, here we go!  It's Christmas morning!" and I was super excited.

And, then the kids weren't interested in opening any presents.  At all.

I stayed up until midnight wrapping their gifts and I had to open all of them.  Why did I bother?

And, DH was still sick.

So, it was just the twins and I all day on Christmas. 

I know that none of what happened is a big deal if I'm looking at the big picture but I was so disappointed at how the day went.  I have such fond memories of Christmas as a child and it's my favorite holiday.  I envisioned getting pictures of the twins opening their presents and laughing and giggling. Instead I got temper tantrums and 2 toddlers who had their own agenda. I hated that DH was sick and stayed in bed all weekend.  I hated that his brother was so selfish and that we didn't get to spend more time with everyone.

I guess there's always next year.

A Letter to my RE

Dear Dr. Browne,
I drove past your office today and couldn't help but smile to myself.  I can't believe it's been over 2 years since you gave me the greatest gift I could ever ask for.

I've been meaning to write this letter for so long but somehow, I've just never been able to find the right words.  How do I express my gratitude?  How do I express how full my heart is?  We have 2 beautiful children and it wouldn't have been possible without you.  I am thankful beyond words.

You truly have the best job in the world.  You have the ability to provide miracles to families who thought it wasn't possible.  Families who thought they could never have children.  You get to see life as it happens, literally.  I'm so thankful for your abilities and your passion for what you do.

I remember our conversation after my first failed cycle.  I entered that meeting so discouraged and broken hearted. You looked at me and said, "There's absolutely no reason that we can't get you pregnant.  We still have alot of options and I'm confident we're going to get you there". 

And, you did. 

After my 2nd IVF cycle, I remember you called me with the beta results and sounded just as excited as me.  At my first ultrasound, you told me it was twins and when you looked up, you had tears in your eyes.  I'll never forget that.

I know you have helped so many more families over the last 2 years and I'm sure they feel the same sentiment as me.  You are a very special human being.  Thank you for giving me my miracles.

All the Best,
S & T

It Ain't Over 'Til The Toddler Has A Tantrum

We took the twins to see Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music on Saturday.   We bought the tickets back in October and, at the time, December seemed far away.  I honestly can't believe that Christmas is in 5 days.

I tried to keep my expectations in check.  We haven't really taken the kids to many public events - partially because of their age and mostly because we're on a pretty strict budget. 

If it ain't low cost, we ain't doin' it.

So, needless to say, we splurged on the tickets because I truly thought the kids would have a blast.  They adore anything Sesame Street.

When the show started, Bert and Ernie came out first and the look on Kendall's face was priceless.  Her eyes got wide and she pointed and yelled, "Errrrrnieeee"!

I seriously got teary eyed.  I'm not joking.

Christopher was much more stoic about the whole event.  He sat on hubby's lap and watched but really showed little emotion.

The one obstacle that I didn't anticipate was the seats.  It was stadium seating and the kids weren't quite heavy enough to keep the seat in the downright position.  It kept wanting to pop up.  So DH and I had to hold the seat down the entire time for fear that we'd look over and see just a head and feet sticking out.

They did fairly well up until the first intermission (about 45 minutes into the show).  Christopher seemed to have more fun running around in the hallways than he did watching the show. 

When it was time to go back in for the 2nd half, neither of them wanted to go back to our seats.  They were done.

(you can call this part foreshadowing)

Ohhhhh no.  We paid for these tickets and we're using them, darn it!

I coaxed them back in with the allure of Apple Jacks but they were both super antsy for the remainder of the show.

Kendall kept getting in and out of her seat and I swear she kicked the lady in front of us in the head at least 10 times.  God Bless Her for pretending she didn't feel it.

Toward the end of the show, DH and I had to resort to pulling out our iPhones and letting the kids play games to keep them occupied.  The entire show lasted about 90 minutes and my kids were ready to go. 

DH took his phone back from Christopher as we packed up and that started the meltdown.  Ohhhhhh ho yes.

Full on "throw myself on the ground kicking feet screaming" meltdown.  We had to fireman carry him out into the main hallway and tried to calm him down but he was not having it.

I tried to get his coat on and I would have had more success trying to dress a cat.

And then, in true twin fashion, Kendall started. We carried 2 screaming, crying kids from the stadium to the parking lot.

We got a few stares and a few people glancing back at us.  Thankfully, it was a kids' venue and most everyone was immune to it.  Had we been anywhere else, I would have been humiliated because of how they were carrying on.

All in all, I don't regret going.  I was a little surprised at the length of the show - I was thinking an hour max.  The show itself was cute although it did incorporate a human character, Jenny.  She was a little boring and honestly, the kids all just want to see the characters.  There was a story line with lots of singing and dancing and some of the repetition got a little... well, repetitive.

"C is for cookie... it's good enough for me"

R.S.V. without the P

We gots da RSV up in da house. 

Both kids have had runny noses for oh, the last 2 weeks so it's impossible to tell what's new and what's still hanging around.  They both started with some juicy sounding coughs on Saturday but energy and appetites were good.

We went to my BIL house that night and they played with their cousins.  One of whom was diagnosed with strep but had been on antibiotics for over 24 hrs.  The kids stayed up WAY past their bedtime and we were home by 10:00.

Christopher woke up Sunday morning at the usual 5:00 am time and DH got up with him.  Kendal slept until 7:00.  It was my morning to sleep in so I didn't come downstairs until 8:30.  I found Kendall sitting next to Daddy watching Sprout TV and Christopher was asleep on his chest.

I didn't think much of it since he went to bed late and got up early.  DH took him upstairs to his bed and went to take a nap himself. 

2 1/2 hours went by and not a peep from Christopher so I went to check on him.  He was burning up.  Took his temperature and it was 101.3.  It came right down after a dose of Motrin but we battled it all day.

Something still wasn't sitting right with me though.  The late onset fever after runny nose and cough surely indicated an infection of some sort and Christopher just didn't seem like himself.  After the 2 1/2 hour morning nap, he went back to sleep on the couch for another 2 hours.

They went to bed at their normal bedtime but he just seemed uncomfortable and his breathing seemed more rapid than usual.  He also started doing this grunting thing.  I was sure he was on his way to the pneumonia train.

So, at 7:30 I decided to take him to the ER.  We had to wait about 45 minutes before they even called his name.  I took his temp right before we left and it was 99.0 but as we sat there, I could tell it was climbing.   They finally called us back to the triage area and his temp was 103.  They took us to a room and the nurse said she'd be right back with some Tylenol.

45 minutes later, we're still sitting there.  And, my little boy is miserable.  And, I'm thinking, "I should have brought my own medicine.   This is ridiculous".

The nurse practicioner came in to take a preliminary look and took his temp again.  Now, it was 104.  Uh, can you get a move on with the Tylenol, please?!

She checked his lungs and said they still sounded clear.  Phew.  She said every child that has come in with runny nose and high temp has tested positive for RSV and she suspected Chris would too.  They did a strep culture just to be safe.

All said and done, we got home at 11:30.  With the same instructions that I would have done at home anyway.  Treat the symptoms - Motrin as needed.  Saline drops, suction with bulb syringe.

The cost of peace of mind?   $100 co-pay but at least I could sleep last night.

Kendall woke up with a fever this morning so I'm guessing she has it too.  They've been playing well today and appetites are OK; not great.   Just put them down for a nap and I'm not too far behind!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Amateur Photography

I've become interested in photography lately.   I get some OK shots here and there but I need more practice.  Here's a few that I've taken over the last few weeks.