A Slice of Life

My Maren doesn't get naps anymore. Those stopped the day I went to check on her after putting her down for a nap and finding her perched on her second-story window sill with nothing holding her in but the screen. Mom freaked. She really doesn't miss them on most days, but sometimes she gets EXTRA ornery and I know she's just a little sleep deprived. Such was this day: Ellie and Maren were screaming over some toy that they both wanted (it only happens around here, like, at least once an hour). Maren got ahold of it and ran. I went to check on her later and found this. She had gone in their bedroom, locked the door, hid under the bed (only partially) and then fell asleep. Funny.

I learned yesterday that if any of my children were to be seriously ill or injured, this mom would be a whole big heap of a mess. Maren woke up complaining that her neck hurt. She spent the day on the couch and would scream in pain whenever she was moved. I was just a little freaked out, but tried to stay calm as I scheduled a doctor's appointment for later that afternoon. As the day progressed, and she was laying there crying and screaming in pain, I was ready to gather her up and head on over to the ER. I was imagining terrible, awful things. Thankfully, my sweet husband came to the rescue. He took her to her doctor appointment (um, probably because I was a sobbing mess by this point). Turns out she had an ear infection gone bad and the nodes in her neck were inflamed. All she needed was a round of antibiotics and some ibuprofren for the inflammation. She's all happy again today, thank goodness. I think that is one of the hardest parts about being a mom - when your kids are hurting and you don't know how to best help them. I don't want to over-react, or under-react, and the frugal part of me certainly doesn't want to pay for a doctors visit if it is unnecessary (side note: I hate it when people say, "Well, don't you have insurance?" Yes we have insurance, but I will certainly see that doctors visit come out of our bank account.) End of that story.

I feel I can't write a post without including one of these:
A photo of our sweet Lainey, nearly a month old already! She is starting to open her eyes a little more (appreciated in the daylight, not so much in the middle of the night). She has brought so much more joy into our home. We are so happy to have her.

Oh, and thank you, Cynthia, for the white chocolate covered popcorn. I just finished off the entire bag. So much for my 'I miss my real pants' diet. It was mostly air, right? And delicious...