Deja Vu

This morning my "I'm not so sick that I need to go to the doctor" of a husband FINALLY agreed to go to the doctor. He's been feeling badly for a week and some days have been so bad I set my alarm every hour during the night to check on him. I've been a couch dweller in attempts to not get whatever he has.

He tells me about his appointment 35 minutes before it's to happen and I was going with him whether he wanted me to or not. (in efforts to NOT let him minimize his symptoms!) SO... I threw on my new, gray maternity sweatshirt/tunic, black leggings and tennis shoes. My hair was pulled back in a pony tail (of course with a black bow) and I wore blush and mascara... my go to, I'm in a time pinch must wear make-up! I got Parker dressed (cutely obviously to draw people's attention away from me and to him!), threw some diapers, fruit snacks, bananas and milk in the diaper bag and we ran out the door.

Why I rushed is beyond me because we then all sat in the waiting room eating our breakfast and laughing at what messes we looked like while Parker rearranged the coffee table reading selections. He found AARP magazine to be particularly fascinating. Nonetheless, when they called Daniel's name, we walked back to "the room." It was the room that in June of 2007 I was in alone, with perfectly hot rolled hair, a black dress, pink cardigan and way work inappropriate funky summer colored heels on. It was the room where I was told I had cancer....

It was the same doctor. She asked Daniel the same questions. She felt his nodes, just like she had mine. Then she sent him to get blood drawn and a chest x-ray... just like she had done for me. It was MAJOR Deja Vu.... but this time, I had a toddler with me who was spinning her chair in circles, throwing his sippy cup in the trash and telling the doctor "no mine" when she asked if she could have her chair. I looked a mess.... much less put together than I was that day in 2007 and a nice size basketball has replaced my once flat abs. I guess the only other main difference between now and then is that I'm 93.8 times (to be exact) happier now in my maternity tunic and unwashed hair with my slightly misbehaved child and 100 times healthier! Regardless.... that room made me uncomfortable. Those same questions made me anxious and the X-ray waiting room... well it just wasn't going to happen. Daniel and I drove separately so I was thrilled when Daniel suggested that Parker and I head out... no need to wait with him.  Thank the Lord!

BUT now... we're home. And we wait. This office is NOTORIOUS for not calling back with results in a timely fashion. It's HIGHLY irritating. And if you miss the call, you might as well know you're not hearing back for a day or two. So we each have our phones attached to our hips in case we get the call. The call for what? We have NO IDEA. The doctor seemed pretty clueless as to what he has. Mono? Meningitis? A combination of an infection/flu? Lymphoma? There were a lot of questions asked about a family history of diabetes? So impatiently I wait... praying for the best, laughing about the worst. Really... lymphoma? If Daniel has that, I want to qualify for some special prize like a Mediterranean cruise for people who have ridiculous stories of bad luck combined with overflowing abundances of blessings. Too bad Oprah is done doing her favorite things... surely this would qualify us as candidates for that show! That situation would almost be laughable... after I finished sobbing for a few days.... and so we wait.... impatiently....

Brooklyn's 2nd Birthday Party

Yesterday was one of Parker's BEST friend's 2nd birthday party! It was Tinkerbell themed and her mom, Holly went ALL out!

The Birthday Girl!

The kids enjoyed jumping in a bounce house, playing in Captain Hook's ship (ball pit/pool), coloring, hiding in Tinkerbell's tree house and eating yummy cupcakes!

Of course no Tinkerbell themed party would be complete without costumes!

Since I had a feeling Parker would NOT wear the supplied pirate hat and eye patch (sorry Holly) I whipped him up a quick pirate ship shirt.

Logan wore his hat momentarily.. it was PRECIOUS!

I made tutus for the girls and Holly found these BEAUTIFUL wings to go with them. The girls were insanely adorable!

 

Being the party animal he is, Parker found the basketball hoop in the corner and had Daniel shoot hoops with him for a good hour and a half. What a sport daddy was!

I think this was "lift off" number 176... I'm loving Daniel's facial expression and sweats.

Once we hid the basketball, Parker found this volleyball and carried it around as his very own "Wilson"

Don't you take my Wilson!

A better picture of the shirt

Parker and that volleyball became oddly close

The kids had a great time and Brooklyn thoroughly enjoyed her birthday cupcakes!

One is simply not enough... I agree, Brooklyn... I ate 2!

Happy Birthday, Brooklyn!

As a side note: Daniel walked over to me at 5:30 during the party, handed Parker to me and said he was feeling like he was going to pass out and had to go home. I immediately followed him and by 5:45pm he was in bed.... it's now 9:23am the next day and he's still asleep. He hasn't felt well off and on (mostly just exhaustion) for a week but this is scaring me! He's had me rub his neck a lot and he physically can't stay awake for longer than and hour or two when he comes home from work. This is VERY unlike him. His night sweats have been so bad the last 2 nights, I've had to change the sheets and send him to the shower. I made the mistake of "WebMding" his symptoms last night and have (probably incorrectly) diagnosed him with either mono or meningitis. Either way... not good! Of course he WILL NOT agree to go to the doctor (despite my best efforts to get him to the ER last night) so I set my alarm every hour to check on he and Parker last night. Not that I needed the alarm since I couldn't fall asleep until 2 and Parker woke me up from 3-4:30 but it was handy during the 5 and 6 oclock check up. He's still feverish and sleeping hard. I'm going to try to get him to go to Urgent Care when he wakes up but I have a feeling we'll be at our general practitioner sometime on Monday because he's super stubborn and too heavy for me to psychically put in the car! Please say a quick prayer for him today... he's NEVER sick so when he is, it's major! Thanks, friends!

Discovery Place Kids

Today, my mom and I took Parker to Discovery Place Kids in Huntersville. We had so much fun! Let me tell you.. they have done it right! That place is preschool heaven. It was P-R-E-C-I-O-U-S! I thought it was so great, I actually purchased a year's family pass. It was $8 per person to go (including the kids over 1) so it was a bit pricey but a year's family pass was only $90 so I felt it was definitely worth it. Even at $8, I felt it was worth it because it was SO nice and there was a ton to do! Next time, I'll go earlier and bring a snack so we can stay longer. Here are some pictures of Parker playing around Discovery Place Kids:

Future Fireman?

Maybe a Dr?

Checking nana's blood pressure

This face makes anything worth everything

Instead of playing "vet"... Parker played "puppy"

Playing in the water table... sans apron. That didn't go over well.

He loves fireman hats!

Picking corn... future farmer?

Hopping in the convertible, the cool way!

Quick trip through the bank! Better be making a deposit, kiddo!

Popped into the grocery store! (this place was ADORABLE!)

Checking out

Future check out boy?

I think this was my favorite of the town stations!

FINALLY got a good shot of the infamous Parker "Where'd it go" with matching facial expression and hand motion.

Waiving hello to nana and the cow

The cutest little play kitchen. I would LOVE for this to be a room in my house!

Milking the cow.. he was a natural

Getting his fitness on

SOOO basically....... we loved it! I give Discovery Place Kids a 5 out of 5 for toddlers/preschoolers. We can't wait to go back!

Splish Splash, Parker's Takin' a Bath!

This little man woke up at 2:30 in the morning FOR THE DAY (after having already woken up at 12 and 1:30)! WHEW!

But check out that precious face? Mr. smiles! Somehow, despite being in pain all night from cutting all 4 molars at once, he has been a big ball of energy! He did EVERY activity at My Gym (which NEVER happens) and he even did all of the circle time "moves" by himself! Maybe the trick to an amazingly well behaved child is 1 1/2 hours of sleep? haha OR he's just intuitive and knew he had to be good because I would probably be on a short fuse today. Surprisingly, thanks to Sbux, a shower and a cute outfit I found in my closet that fit... I had a pretty good day!I would say the low point was when I poured the rice-a-roni seasoning pack in my coffee but overall, I was fairly functional. Whew.. I am NOT 18 anymore!

I do feel terrible for Parker, though. I called the pediatrician this morning at 8:01 to get an appointment. I figured MAYBE he had an ear infection.. wrong... we just got super lucky and have ALL 4 two year molars coming in at once... and excema in his ear canal (weird... I know!).  Either way, the doctor basically gave me his condolences but did make me feel good by telling me Parker has the best toddler teeth he's ever seen! :) Woo Hoo! What can I say, he loves to brush his teeth!

I have a rule.. when he goes to the dr... he gets a bath! Gotta wash off those germs! We were in the waiting room with twins who were sent to the hospital with RSV so he got quite a scrub down! Here are a few cute, weanie free bath pictures (because who doesn't love bath pictures?):

Fingers crossed for a restful night's sleep!

The kind of day I would have dreaded at 16.....

Today I had the kind of day that I would have DREADED if I were 16.

I got up with Parker even though I didn't feel good.

We took the dog to the vet for her yearly shots.

Next, a trip to Target for packing materials, conditioner, hangers and tape. (exciting!)

I did detour to Sbux!

Came home, fed Parker leftover pizza (mother of the year, I know!), chased him with the ball popper, cuddled him when he face planted into the corner of the side table and put him down for a nap.

Then came the super fun part! I called the insurance company to dispute a bill... (I lost), paid $300+ in medical bills (YIPPEE, not!), packaged all of my sold ebay items, called the bunk bed company to get a new rail, brushed the dog's teeth, called Toyota about my 90k check up and brake recall, made Parker's 2yr peds appointment, officially booked Parker's 2nd b'day party (tear... or yay?), put up the dishes, folded 3 loads of laundry and answered lots of emails. WHEW!

Parker woke up, I straightened the house, cooked dinner, shot b'ball hoops, read books, put Pman to bed, appliqued 2 shirts (well 3 but one was a disaster) and FINALLY watched Pretty Little Liars!  (which may have been the highlight of the day... or was it that friendly conversation with the insurance company?... I'll let you guess!)

Here's the weird part... I had a GREAT day! I felt so accomplished and proud of myself. Can you imagine yourself at 16 having "this" kind of day? I'm 99% sure I would have considered this the WORST DAY EVER! ... with a dramatic, whiny sigh. My, have things changed! A great day is now considered any day I am able to be super productive and Parker is well behaved whereas 10 years ago, a great day would have been any day I did the least amount of productive activities and had little to no responsibilities! :)

I wouldn't trade my "now" life for anything in the world....... minus that pesky insurance company! (kidding BCBS... don't drop me... I need you... I realize I'm probably one of your loss leaders and really shouldn't complain about how much I pay considering your 80% share is a lot more than my 20%... but man does that 20% add up!).... I digress.......

I love my life!

Project Swim Trunk Makeover

This little Mr. (who is teething his 2 year molars) likes to dress preppy in the spring/summer. He told me so.

 Remember these summer/spring favorites?

The preppy style in the fall and winter is still precious but involves SOOO many layers that it just isn't comfortable for an almost 2 year old. If we're home, he usually wears his fleece jammies all day. BECAUSE... seriously, how cute are feetie jammies and there is only so long they're acceptable to wear, especially on boys!

Back to the point of this blog post... I bought 2 pairs of swim trunks at the end of the summer last year... for $1 a piece. Major steal! They're Ragsland (expensive and well made brand), they're gingham seersucker fabric... my FAVORITE materials! The only problem... these ugly and too small appliques...

My $1 swim trunk consignment steal.

This turtle is downright ugly....that hat is just WRONG! PLUS, it was coming unstitched anyways.

These weren't terrible but they were too small and not sewn well. 

Out came the seam rippers and within minutes I had a blank slate!

Now to "Taylorize" them!

The light blue seersucker pair got an understated but classy monogram and I kept with the surf board theme of the navy blue gingham pair but went BIGGER!

I was fairly pleased with how it came out considering I'd never done this applique and it had a lot more stops (changes of threads, fabric changes, etc) than anything else I've done.

I LOVE this pair... minus the mystery stain I got on them. To the wash they go! They'll be perfect for our yearly trip to Hilton Head! Very Southern!

Is it spring yet? I'm SOOO ready to pull out the baby pools in the fenced in backyard and let Parker and all of his friends play outside for hours while my mom friends and I enjoy some "mom" time in the sun! ...possibly with an optional fruity frozen drink since Miss. Avery will be here by then! YIPPEE!!!!