The week after Christmas...

The weekend after Christmas, we just relaxed, ran a few errands on Saturday and went to church on Sunday. On Monday Rylan spiked a 101.4 fever and started complaining his mouth hurt. We figured out it was actually his throat causing the pain, and I was concerned about strep throat. I took him to the doctor on Wednesday and his strep test was negative, big surprise. At that point we thought he just had a cold virus. Then a few hours later, he woke up from his nap drooling, crying with an awful barking cough and struggling to catch his breath. I had heard of the distinctive "croup cough", but had never personally experienced it. Actually I think I would have preferred strep throat to the croup, because we could have at least treated it with antibiotics and known he would feel better soon. Instead poor Rylan has been sick all week with nothing but extra fluids, motrin, and the humidifier to help him out. Caroline started running a low fever yesterday. No cough yet, but croup is very contagious, so I'm not real hopeful for her chances of escaping it. (Oh, and we took Caroline to the doctor Monday and her ear infection is finally all cleared, after 20 days total of antibiotics. We are getting very comfortable at our new pediatrician's office. I think we've been four times in six weeks. I really, really like them, but I would be thrilled if we didn't have to see them quite so often. :-)
I have worked about two shifts a week over the holidays so I've also been busy between caring for sick babies at work and the hospital! I hate being so tired and having to be away from the kids, but am trying to be thankful the extra work is available right now especially when Charlton is on vacation.
We had a beautiful sunny morning today when the temps actually reached 43 degrees. It felt like a heat wave compared to the deep freeze we've experienced lately. We've all been suffering from cabin fever, so I bundled up the kids and took them to the park. The fresh air and sunshine were so therapeutic. Rylan moved a little slower than usual, but I think he really enjoyed being out even though he didn't feel quite 100%. Caroline is walking really well now, and it was fun to see her finally be able to enjoy climbing and waling on the play equipment. I am not sure how I will be able to keep up with both of them in the summer! Not even an hour after we came home, dark clouds blew in, we heard several claps of thunder and it started snowing again. I am glad we got outside when we could!
Sorry this post is so random, but I had to tell you about my New Years Eve. I had to work, and don't feel bad for me because I got Christmas and Thanksgiving off which is a major coup for a nurse. We have amazing views of the mountains and the city of Colorado Springs from our NICU windows. At midnight, a mountaineering club shot fireworks off Pikes Peak as part of their annual tradition. Seeing the bright colors reflecting off the snowy mountain peak and other smaller explosions all over the city was a very cool experience. We nurses stood by the windows and toasted with our plastic cups of sparkling apple juice. Corny, I know, but this will go down as one of my favorite New Year's. I probably wouldn't have even stayed up to watch if I wasn't working.


I finally was ready to put away the Christmas decorations yesterday and it felt wonderful to clean and de-clutter the house back to normal. We did leave the couch and chair arranged the "Christmas" way in the living room because we liked it so much. I had been planning to put everything away while the kids were sleeping so I could take my time and carefully sort and organize as I put things away. That didn't quite happen, but the kids had so much fun playing with these gold beads that they entertained themselves happily the entire time. Once I even looked over and Rylan was decorating Mr. Potato Head with lots of "bling." Wish I had gotten a picture of that!

I'll leave you with a picture of my girly-girl wearing her Hello Kitty necklace and purple sweater from cousin Katherine. Isn't she cute! We are still trying to convince her that girl toys are as fun as boy toys. The other day her new purse was lying next to Rylan's baseball bat on the floor. Which toy did she choose, do you think?