I'm SO Ready for Spring!!!!

It's not that I haven't enjoyed winter.  We have gotten to see snow a few times this year.  Overall it hasn't been too horribly cold.  Life seems to move a little slower after the holidays end, which is a bit refreshing.  

the girls didn't care to have a picture made but the snow was so pretty!

No worries.  Kaylee wasn't upset the whole time.  :)

she starts t-ball this month!!

But this has, by far, been the worst season for sickness!  I typically don't get sick - to the point where I lay in bed.  I may get a cold here and there but it's usually very mild and I function fine.  When I'm pregnant, I know I'm more susceptible to illness and I usually get something.  But it seems this season, it's just been one thing after another.

Right when I felt I was getting out of the first trimester icky-ness, I started having a cough.  It was annoying but I slept fine.  Then we were exposed to a cold virus.  My cough got worse, I couldn't sleep at night.  One night I woke up with ear pain.  

Thankfully a friend told me about garlic oil.  I made my own and it stopped the pain immediately.  I still went to the doctor and an ear infection was confirmed.  But instead of doing antibiotics, I did the garlic oil and it cleared up - yay!  I did ask the doctor about my cough but it didn't seem too concerning to her.  Not long after, I pulled a muscle coughing - so then coughing became a literal pain.  

Finally, about a week ago, my cough calmed down and I started to sleep better.  

Then, my girls got pink eye. But at least they didn't act like it itched or bothered them at all.  Both still slept and functioned fine.  We just had to clean the eye goobies.  :)  Of course this kept us away from playing with friends.  

 On top of all this, Ri was referred to a pediatric cardiologist for an echo cardiogram (ultrasound of the heart).  When she came with me to my appointment for my ear infection (because she had a cough too), the nurse practitioner heard a heart murmur. I don't recall being told she had one before (although Septtro said he thought we had) and so she referred us just to be sure.  She told me not to worry.  But I knew a heart murmur was very common so I wasn't sure why such an extensive test would be ordered for such a common problem.

Thankfully, the cardiologist didn't even do an echo.  He said she was perfectly fine and healthy and sometimes nurse practitioners aren't trained well enough to know what they're hearing is totally normal.  Praise the Lord!

I thought she looked quite cute in her little gown.

So then yesterday, my KK woke up dry heaving.  No fever.  But all she wanted was to be held.  After a few hours and a nap on me, she requested her sippy.  I tried and she couldn't keep it down.  But she kept requesting to eat and drink.  So after a couple hours I'd try again.  But she'd just throw it back up again.  It was quite disheartening.  By about dinner time, she'd gone several hours without getting sick and kept some of her sippy down. 

But then after lunch, Rilynn started saying she was sick.  I thought maybe she was jealous of the attention I was giving Kaylee.  She soon cried about her ear hurting - she's never had any ear infections or issues with ears before.  But I put in a couple drops of garlic oil anyway.  And she took a nap on me while Kaylee snoozed on Septtro.  

At one point, I had both of them on my lap while Septtro was trying to fix the chicken coup (we've lost several chickens to predators recently).  

I had no time to do anything but snuggle my girls yesterday.  Every time I would get up, I was beckoned back by one of them.  

I can't say I didn't enjoy all the snuggles.  But I hated the context of it.  

Kaylee slept all night last night and has been fine all morning - so thankful!!  

But Ri woke up this morning at 5am and had gotten sick in her bed.  It wasn't much because her stomach was empty but she got sick two more times after that.  At around 6am, Septtro took her out into the living room to snuggle.  They both fell asleep for a couple of hours and Ri hasn't gotten sick since.  

Let's hope it stays that way.

So...needless to say, I'm SO weary of one thing after another coming into my house.  

Be gone, winter!!!!  You have worn out your welcome!