Thursday, November 17, 2011

Confused?


Apparently so was Addison.

This morning we spent a few minutes cleaning house and decided it was time to throw out her old socks that don't fit her anymore. Addison is ALWAYS very good at helping me with random chores so I put her to use yet again on this one. I kindly asked her to toss these socks in the trash can for Mommy. She happily trotted off to the kitchen and took a few trips to get the job done. I didn't think anything of it until I went to make lunch and found this. I immediately started busting up laughing. As helpful as she is, lately she's gotten a little confused between the sink and the trash can - basically the two spots we put anything anymore. Yes, I've also found wadded up/used kleenex's and wet wipes in the sink along with Jonas' bottles and her sippies in the trash. I can't bear to get on to her for getting confused since she is SUCH a great helper. Instead, I'll just enjoy the random sights to document and laugh at along the way.

Random Sidenote: I apologize for those who think I'm wasteful by tossing these socks in the trash. I'm one of those people who refuse to buy used socks/underwear at garage sales or second hand stores and therefore refuse to sell OR donate them to others as well. She's worn these for the last year so we easily got our money's worth out of them so off to the trash they go. However, if anyone is insistent on not letting them go to waste - let me know. If you pay the shipping, I'll happily mail them to you. Just let me know before trash day comes back around! ;-)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wonderment & Awe

I think I've finally found my groove. At least the "groove" that comes with raising two kiddos. I'm convinced I'm deficient in any/all other "grooves".

Lately, it seems I just spend my days fascinated with Jonas and Addison. Don't get me wrong, we still have our moments but more often than not, I'm just amazed that these two cute and squeezy little human beings came out of me. They make me smile a lot. They are extremely well behaved and sweet and insert every other good quality here. I'm not saying that they aren't "kids" by any means and that they don't have their moments (as do I) but those moments pale in comparison with the good moments they have.

Even though Addison is a well-known "rule follower" I wouldn't have it any other way. She has such a sweet personality and disposition. Plus, it's always nice to know if I ask her to stay close to me, that she won't go darting into traffic while I get brother out of the van. Plus, even at 2 1/2 months old I can tell Jonas is going to be a sweet guy too. How lucky am I that I got this twice in a row?

So, I'm devoting this post to all the amazing things I notice/watch with Jonas and Addison as we spend our days together. Just those things I hope I never forget as the minutes, days, and years slip by.

BIRTHMARKS:
Ever since birth, Jonas has had a cute little divot in his earlobe. I always try to convince people that we pierced it when he was born and surprisingly some believe me! But, no folks, I wouldn't go piercing a newborn's ears - especially a little boy's ear at that ;-).


It makes me remember when Addison was born and her cute lil belly button made the shape of a sideways "H". I was convinced it was simply because our last name was Hufford ;-). I'm not entirely sure when she outgrew it but somewhere along the way she did. :(

And both kiddos have my two-headed toe. Trust me, it's not as freaky as it sounds. I didn't even realize I had it until John so kindly brought it to my attention. Basically the 2nd and 3rd toes come out of the same "trunk" from the foot. Personally I think it's cute and I especially think it's cute that my kids share the feature. Proof that my genetic code is in there somewhere!

CUTE SAYINGS:
One would think this section is mostly about Addison since Jonas can't talk quite yet....oh contrar! I may not be able to decipher his ramblings yet but he is jabbering. And I'm loving it. He mostly just tries to duplicate our sounds with his mouth but it is cute to hear his deep manly voice more often.

Addison of course always seems to have a new/cute phrase daily, sometimes hourly. It's so funny to hear what she comes up with to say. She's using sentences a TON lately and I'm still amazed she knows how to do so already. It's getting to be quite the game when I have to try and guess what she's saying. She's very patient with me and will continually repeat it until I have it just right. I have no idea where she is learning this stuff but it makes me realize just how fast they grow up!

I'm guessing part of her new vocabulary comes from her inquisitive mind and her jabbering mouth. She always asks what EVERYTHING is. Literally....everything.that.comes.across.our.path. She'll say "Mommy, what izzzz dat?" It's definitely teaching me some new patience lately especially when grocery shopping. I can barely answer one question before she's on to another. And, the little stinker is usually asking about something she already knows the answer to. Now, I just happily turn the tide and ask HER what it is so I don't have to identify every single object known to man.

Lately she has started volunteering the phrase "Daddy, I uv (love) you!" It's adorable to hear and turns us both into putty. She started using it more with Daddy but after a little coaxing from John, she is now using it toward me as well. She has also graduated to using the sentence "Mommy, I ike (like) you!" Talk about melting my heart! I LOVE hearing those words.

Even her speech is advancing before our eyes. She has started trying to pronounce those words that typical toddlers eliminate. Mostly it's the "L" sound.....which is cute because she has to slow down her sentences and roll her tongue just so to get it out.

SMILES:
Both of my kids have gorgeous smiles. We've been enjoying Addison's for quite some time now but lately Jonas' has given us more as well. And I'll be the first to witness - this boy can turn me to butter with his smiles. Probably because he smiles just as big with his eyes as he does with his mouth. He started by giving most of the smiles to me but lately Daddy has been able to squeeze a few out of him as well. And Addison? Well all she has to do is be near him and he's grinning from ear to ear while he watches her. Frankly, I have no clue how I will ever attempt to discipline this boy as he gets older. I'm convinced I'll be running to get him ice cream cones instead of trying to put him in time out.

BUDDIES:
It's a well known fact that Addison and her Daddy are best buds. Don't get me wrong, I know for a fact that she loves/adores me as well but her relationship with John is truly unique and special. I'm not jealous by any means. I love that she adores her Dad and he adores her just as much. But now I'm getting to experience this first-hand with Jonas as well. I've been told that the boy is always Mom's little buddy and they have a special relationship with the Moms like the daughters have with their Dads. Well so far I can attest that this is true. He is only a little over two months but we have some fun bonding/chatting/hanging out times as well. Can't wait to see this grow more and more as he gets older.

SIBLINGS:
These two adore each other and I love it. Never once has Addison shown any inkling of jealousy or malice toward Jonas. And never once has Jonas' looked at Addison and NOT smiled from ear to ear. It doesn't get much better than watching your two kids develop/share that special relationship with each other. I'm excited to have a front row seat as they grow up together and develop that friendship even more. Don't get me wrong, I totally expect them to argue and wrestle with each other as they get older - but I'll know all along that their relationship runs much deeper than any argument/fight they get into.

Anytime Jonas puts his arm on/near Addison she'll laugh and say "Mommy! Brudder's tickowing me!" Just this morning he managed to grab a wad of her hair while they were watching cartoons. She was a bit confused but Daddy and I were there to assure her that it's the beginning of many hair pulls to come. After all, that's what brothers do!

READING:
Ever since I can remember, Addison has always loved to read. She has a few favorite books in her collection that she'll repeatedly ask us to read to her at bedtime. A few we've read soooo many times that she now has them memorized. I was quite shocked to hear her recite one of her favorites - "The Foot Book" almost word-for-word as she read it to me for the first time. I even had her do it a few more times with John nearby and she still got the majority of the words right! "Weft foot, weft foot, right foot, right. Feet in da moaning, feet at night...."


She also loves to read to brother. One night when Daddy was home with them by himself, he noticed her reading this book to Jonas.

Apparently, she would jabber with her own words through most of it but she always said the words "back and forf, back and forf," while rocking back and forth at the precise page in the book. I'm amazed at her memory and her love of books. Even when she was blessed by her Dad as a little baby, it was mentioned she would always love books. I just didn't realize we would notice it so soon!

Here Addison is reading to Jonas. He is always enthralled with anything she does. I love that she would read the words, then turn the book around and hold up the pages for brudder to see.


It seems like these two kids are at such fun ages. Sometimes I am just simply amazed that I can keep a two year old and two month old alive - simultaneously. But more often than not, I love that I get to sit back and watch both kids grow up and develop into such cute little human beings. It's moments like these that make me realize just how much I love my job. I'm a lucky lady who is living her dream!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Fall Back

Let it be recorded: I am NOT a fan of Daylight Savings Time. In my single days I was beyond thrilled for that extra hour of sleep when it was time to Fall Back, albeit not so much on Springing Forward.

Anyway, as anyone with kids know, changing up the clocks twice a year only causes problems for our routine....and our sleep. Plus, I'm convinced we endured a full moon all last week as well. These are the only contributing factors I can think of that totally sent our week wonky. I'm just glad I survived.

Child #1: Addison has always been a good little sleeper and a happy little girly. Most every other day of the year she wakes up around 7:00 am with a smile on her face and does really good throughout the day.

However, last week we experienced a change-up thanks to readjusting those stinkin' clocks. Not only was she waking up at 6:00 am (sometimes even 5:00 am!) she was also randomly wandering the house in the middle of the night. It's a bit creepy when you wake up to a wandering crying child at 2 am. Especially when we are all half asleep and trying to get our bearings through it all. With the early waking hours and overall lack of adequate sleep, it sent our days into whining fits as well. Both by me and her.

Child #2: Like usual, Jonas has been spending his first few months in our room in his bassinet. Overall, he's been a fairly good sleeper as well. Only waking once at night to be fed. However, last week he would wake multiple times either wanting food, wanting his binky, or just plain stirring and making noises in his sleep. Again, that makes for a pretty restless night for the Mommy & Daddy.

So, on top of those sleepless nights with the kids, it didn't help matters that I spent Wednesday night experiencing a mild earthquake at 10:00 pm while everyone else was asleep. Yes folks, that's a good handful (I lose count) of earthquakes experienced in Arkansas no less! I don't think I had ever been in an earthquake until this last year and now I'm guessing I've sat through at least five of them. Mild ones but still freaky nonetheless.

That whole night just felt "off" and weird. I spent the rest of the night convincing myself the end of the world was coming and worrying about my food supply. By the time it was time to actually fall asleep my mind was racing a mile a minute about all the last minute preparations I needed to do. It's so funny how things scare me more now that I have kids. I just wanted to wake them all up and hole up in a room huddling together. But the way this week was going, they were already doing that on their own.

Anyway, after experiencing all of that weirdness, we ended the week with some nice yuckies. Addison got a cold from someone/where and spent Thursday night miserable. The poor girl was tossing/turning all night barely able to breathe. Somehow brother got the memo (and possibly her yuckies) and was a little restless as well. We got little sleep. However, to cope, I kept convincing myself we'd all enjoy a nice nap together Friday afternoon. That wasn't so much a good idea. Addison and Jonas decided it was the ONE day that they would not coordinate their naps - or even sleep at all for that matter. After a mild meltdown on my part, I convinced myself I'd just catch up on sleep that night. After all, this is what happens with kids right? Sleepless nights. I'd been spoiled up until then with good sleepers and good kids so it was time to earn my stripes.

Welp, I spoke too soon. Friday night was even LONGER than Thursday night. John was needing to get some sleep since he would be driving teenagers all day on Saturday to/from the temple. So I was prepping myself for a long night of playing blocker for him. I had a sick/moaning Addison in bed with me and Jonas in his big boy crib so they wouldn't wake each other up. Apparently they were in-cahoots with each other again because I spent the first hour or two literally walking from one child/room to the next as they took turns crying. I was convinced the sleep gods were out to get me. I had no choice but to wake John up so he could tend to one of them while I got the other one. I think we all changed sleeping locations about five times that night trying to find the perfect situation. Thankfully John was able to get at least a good couple of hours but we still spent most of the night wondering what in the heck was going on.

And finally, this week...we survived!! Day #1 (today): had all of us sleeping until our regular times and sleeping well again...in our own beds no less! Lesson learned from last week? Feel sorry for those parents that struggle with that craziness each/every day with their kiddos. If mine only do it for a week/twice a year, I can handle it. I just need to mentally prepare myself before Spring hits again.

The good/exciting news in all of this is that Jonas is now sleeping happily in his big boy crib in his own room. And Mommy and Daddy are finally getting some good sleep since we aren't listening to him stir all night long. It's nights/weeks like this that make me realize how nice it is that our kids are usually such good little sleepers. Sleep deprivation doesn't bring out my greatest qualities. There is a reason it's used as torture on prisoners of war.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Practical Princess

Lately Addison has been enamored with anything "Pin-cess". After all, I figured it was only just a matter of time before my little girly transitioned from the land of Mickey to the land of princesses. Shhhh secretly, I'm still thankful she doesn't know their specific names (or matching accessories). I still don't think I'm ready to enter THAT far into princess land. For right now, we are both quite content just calling them "Pin-cesses".

So, today she requested that she become a "Pin-cess". Luckily, after a quick mental memory scan, I realized we had just the dress to fulfill her dreams. Phew! (After all, we haven't dwelt in this land long enough to acquire princess-y things. Luckily she was beyond thrilled with my selection - a church dress from last Spring. Once it was on, she twirled and twirled until she got dizzy. After she was done twirling, she decided to accessorize! And I figured while we were at it, we'd embrace this lifestyle even more and start getting some chores done! All while dressed in full garb (her...not me ;-) I must say, I'm LOVING this princess phase so far!

Here's the action shot: Twirl #5


And Twirl #287 ;-)


And yes, she is her Mother's daughter - note the tennis shoes. It's all about being practical ya know! I even tried to convince her to wear her princess heels but she was adamant she wear tennis shoes. Apparently, even at 2 years old, she's already fully aware that heels can wreak havoc on your poor ankles! ;-) Or maybe she's taking after her Grandma Bell - she's famous for her dresses and tennis shoe combos.

And really there is no time like the present to start acting out some princess movies. Cinderelly cinderelly....sweep the floor Cinderelly! No worries though - she begged me to sweep. Yes, again she is her mother's daughter.


Oh and lets not forget 'Little Boy Blue' - isn't he a cutie? Nothing cuter than a sleeping baby. And who says that dressing girls is more fun? I would have to disagree. I'm thorougly enjoying dressing this little guy up as a miniature little man. The best is on Sunday when we can turn him into a little stake president. Too bad most of it's buried by his blanket. :(

Friday, November 4, 2011

2 Months Old

Happy 2 month's Jonas McKay! Well technically it was this past Tuesday but Mommy was a little under the weather that day (see previous posts). But we celebrated it today and had a great day.

How did we celebrate? By having another of our personal photo shoots of course! This time Addison decided to be my co-photographer. Basically that means she used the toy phone as a camera (apparently it turns into one when you hold it sideways). She kneeled just like me, just next to me, and repeated every little coo'ing word I said to Jonas to get a smile. I couldn't have done it without her help! Maybe that's why I actually got some smiles out of the little man this time. He must have thought the two of us were pretty entertaining to watch.

We sure adore this little guy around these parts. I'm amazed at his ability to get cuter and cuter as each day passes. Is it a good thing that I have a crush on my little boy? Addison and I both agree....."He's Tute!" Daddy even coined a few nicknames for the little guy: Little J McKay and Le Beef (from the movie True Grit), Jonas da Bonus, and Turtle turtle.


This is his "cool dude two thumbs up" pose....but without the thumbs. Or maybe he's pumping himself up to jump in a boxing ring?

And alas, the famous smile! I'm lovin' the sweater vest look. I hope he doesn't hate me later. Sweater vests look great on little guys. Not so much on the grown ones. ;-)

Here he is staring at his favorite sister. He kinda likes her....uh lot!

See what I mean? I just want to eat him up! He's got a cute little personality. He always smiles, without fail, each time I lay him on the changing table in the morning. It could be because he's got a full belly....nah I think it's because of my charming personality. He's definitely a fun little guy to hang out with. And Addison and I are the lucky ones since we get to do it all day/everyday. :D So glad to have you in our family Jonas McKay!

And as usual, here are the milestones/accomplishments the little guy has managed in his two months of being on this earth...

  • Burps (he's getting MUCH better at this and we love it)
  • Poops (He usually does this every other day but I always get excited when he fills a diaper. I'd much rather have it outside of him than inside of him.)
  • Smiles (As I've mentioned before - I'm a big fan of his gorgeous smile)
  • Waves his hands around for no good reason
  • Kicks his feet
  • Loves to watch the ceiling fan
  • Loves to cuddle with his sister (or lets his sister cuddle on him...all she wants..which is a lot)
  • Is a really happy and easy baby - I'm a lucky mom. I got this one twice in a row!
  • Sleeps great. Only wakes up once (5:00ish am) to eat and goes right back down.
  • Growing! He's a long little boy! We've already graduated to the 3-6 month clothes just because the 0-3 turned into high-waters on him.
And alas, the measurements...

Head: 17.5 cm (97%)
Length: 25 1/2" (97%)
Weight: 12 lbs 3 1/2 oz
(50%)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Trick or Treat

We had a very fun Halloween this year. Addison is catching on to more of the concept so it's always fun to watch her enjoy herself. There were a few events leading up to the actual holiday so I'll blog in pictures to document our fun...

The fun started off with our ward's trunk-or-treat Saturday night. Here we are with Grandpa Fields and surrounded by kids and chaos everywhere.

Here is Daddy at the trunk-or-treat with his cute little pirate and monkey.

Next up...pumpkin carving time! Here are our final masterpieces. Mommy's is on the left, Addison's is the head to Daddy's pumpkin - which is the body. It was Daddy's cool idea and it turned out pretty good!

Here are Daddy and Addison showing off our creations. She wasn't interested in touching the "guts" of the pumpkin but she did do a few careful scoops with the spoon.

Here is Addison enjoying a little pre-Halloween dinner thanks to Sonic. One of the perks of living just down the street from them - you get to run down and get a free hot dog and soda! :D Our new tradition!


Here's the cute little smiley boy in his first Halloween outfit. I love his smile!

And here he is again, this time donning his actual Halloween costume. Such a cute little monkey.


Mommy with her pirate and her monkey. We promised Grandma Fields we'd swing by and trick-or-treat and show off the kids. We had to stop and take a photo shoot while we were there.

We went trick-or-treating with our good friends Garrett and Brady. It's always more fun to go with friends. Here are the Pirate (Addison) Buzz Lightyear (Garrett) and Anakin Skywalker (Brady).
A little fuzzy but still such a cute picture. Daddy and Addison walking down to the first house. She was a bit shy in saying "Trick-or-Treat" but luckily we were there to help her. She loved every minute of it. She ran from one house to the next once she caught on to the process. Surprisingly she was done after only visiting half of the neighborhood. What kid doesn't want more candy?

All in all, it was a great night of fun! It's true that holidays are more fun with kids. Especially when they get old enough to understand what is going on. Addison came home with lots of loot and surprisingly seems to forget it exists. She hasn't really asked to eat much of it since that night. No worries, Mommy will be happy to help her polish off all the loot. :D

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Date Night

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Fields, John and I actually got to go on a date last Friday. We were so grateful they could watch our little munchkins especially since it was over a 6+ hour stretch, with a two-month old, and a 2 year old. Yep, they were saints and we are thankful.

Anyway, this date was more exciting since it was a bit out of the norm....and out of town. We drove an hour to get to Eureka Springs. I had never been before and let me say it was definitely "interesting". I almost felt like I was in a foreign little city when we got there. We met up with some of our fun friends and family and had a nice Italian dinner. Granted we had to sit elbow to elbow in a tiny little dining area but it all added to the experience. We seem to laugh so much when we get around this group.
After dinner we walked down to get our tickets and enjoy a magical and intriguing show. It was something similar to the movie "Prestige" if you've seen that. There was a magician who did a lot of pretty cool tricks and of course a medium who spoke with the ghosts who apparently have "the answers" <- that part I was a little more skeptical of.

It was fun to go and also fun to try and figure out how they did all the tricks. I think we may have guessed a few but most left us stumped. Tommy (our friend in the group) even volunteered to participate at one point just so we could know that there weren't "plants" in the audience and it wasn't rigged. And the tricks still worked. I love to watch magic but it drives me bonkers when I can't figure out how they do it. Just ask John, I don't like secrets.

Sarah and Brad even participated and the tricks still stumped us. The magician was great but the most laughter came from his assistant (the medium). She donned a very over the top fake accent that none of us could tell which country it originated from. At one point we were all bursting into laughter so much that Tom had to get up and leave to compose himself. It was a great night and a fun and different way to spend time together. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for spoiling our kiddos rotten and thanks to our fun friends who made the night that much more entertaining. Here's to next time!


Our fun group - with the magician. It's probably a good thing "Clarissa" (his assistant) wasn't there to take pictures. I don't think we could have kept a straight face.

My Worst Fear


Technically it's not my ABSOLUTE worst fear but it definitely ranks up there. Anytime Addison takes a hard fall, I always check her head and teeth first. I do good at not alarming her with an "Ahhh you fell!" moment. I hide my anxiety as I calmly check for teeth, tongue, and head trauma. So far we've done pretty good up to this point.

Well fast forward to last Thursday night. Ironically, Daddy and Addison were going to brush her teeth but somehow she fell when stepping on her stool. It sounded like a hard hit and a painful cry - poor girl. Daddy consoled her while trying to check for injuries. None to be found, except for when we finally got her to open her mouth. The poor girl's front tooth was chipped. My heart sank. Luckily it was only a very small chip but still sharp nonetheless. She quickly recovered and went to bed. I spent the next morning trying to call dentists and realized none of them have hours on Friday (remind me to work for a dentist someday - they have some pretty lax hours) Anyway, after determining it wasn't really an "emergency" and she wasn't complaining about it, we decided to wait and get in to the dentist on Monday. I didn't want her first "dentist experience" to be a chipped tooth but oh well.

We got several recommendations from a good local dentist and amazingly they had a last minute opening on Monday afternoon. It was either take that or wait until January (I'm guessing he's pretty popular). Anyway, we jumped on it and Addison and I made our way down to visit him. I kept talking to her about how the dentist will fix her tooth and he's really nice and it's really fun to go there. Even when we got out of the car she repeated back to me "Dentist fix toof Mommy" - it was adorable. Anyway she had a ball while waiting in the waiting room and then got a little shy when we got called back. He was a great dentist, greeted her with a stuffed frog (which had teeth) and showed Addison what he would do to her teeth - while using the frog. She was a little perplexed by it all but reluctantly she laid down. I held her hand and she had no problems letting him count her teeth while she watched T.V. However, she got a bit freaked out when the drill came out to grind it down. (I wouldn't blame her - I'd be scared of that thing if I were two as well). Anyway, luckily it was a small chip of the enamel, he just filed it down, and sent us on our way. Apparently it's pretty common for kids to chip their teeth. The things you learn eh? And I doubt anyone can tell it's chipped unless they stare at her teeth. And she got lots of prizes and treats afterward so she was in heaven. And now we get to start seeing him in 6 months for her first cleaning. :D So a few good things came out of a bad situation.

Here she is having a blast in the waiting room. Seriously, you'd think she was at Disneyland.

Strike Three

Warning: This may not be an exciting read for some of my blog followers. It documents my struggles with nursing which I have mentioned in an earlier post. Just know you were warned!


So, since I can tend to be on the pessimistic side, I'm trying harder lately to focus on the positive. Both for my sake and those around me...namely my family. Of course, it can be challenging to do with everything that seems to be happening to me (Lol....just what a pessimistic person would say eh? ;-)

Anyway, I've made an honest attempt at nursing this go around. And now I'm gracefully bowing out. Why you ask? Well last Monday was the third (count them 1,2,3) time I got mastitis...in TWO months! That doesn't count the two times I got it with Addison. For those who don't know what Mastitis is, google it, it hurts like crazy. Honestly I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Flu like symptoms...shakes, chills, cold sweats, nausea, itching, migraines, throbbing pain, fever, heat - all at the same time and it comes on quick! The good news is that at least the first two times were caught and medicated before it hit full force. This last time was full force. It all hit at night right after we got done trick or treating. I resorted to calling the on-call doctor to try and get some relief. He couldn't call any medication in without seeing me but suggested to "ride it out" through the night. That or else go into the ER and get some meds. I actually considered going to the ER...that's huge folks! I've never been to the ER (for myself at least). The only thing that changed my mind is knowing I couldn't drive in this condition and John had to stay home with the kids. So, I rode it out until morning.

On the nursing side of things, luckily I have a nice stockpile of frozen milk for little boy to coast on for awhile. After that, it's formula all the way. And I'm choosing to push away any/all guilt that starts to set in, from me or others. I've given it an honest attempt. He got the good stuff for a few good months - better than not at all. And I won't have to fear getting infected again. Plus, my doctor even mentioned the "3 strikes your out" so that makes me feel better.

Anyway, where is all the "positive thinking" in all of this you may ask? I am never going to take "being healthy" for granted. Not after what I've endured these last three days. Do you know how hard it is to take care of a 2 year old and a 2 month old when you can't move? Thanks to a dear friend who watched Addison (all day!) the first day....lifesaver. So now that I'm finally on the mend, and able to stand up for more than five minutes, I'm loving life again. I'm not feeling as overwhelmed since I can actually get up and do stuff. And I can now fulfill my promise to the kids that I will be happy and more patient and fun now that I'm feeling better. Honestly, I'm not the nicest to my body but it has been pretty good to me. I've given it junk food and little exercise and soda more than I should. And surprisingly I hardly ever get sick....except for this time. And frankly, now that I'm on the mend, I'm never going to complain again. I have my health. I'm healthy!!! Thankfully mastitis was only a temporary ailment, some people deal with yucky stuff for a lifetime and/or it takes them to their grave. In the words of Monty Python..."I got bettah!" :D

So, moral of the post? Be thankful you are healthy and your kids and your family are healthy. That you can get up and move around and do things with little to no pain almost all of the time. Sure we have the random ailments here and there but I'll gladly take them over all the other more serious ailments.