"IDIOT" Stamped On My Forehead

Well, I am sure when all was said and done on Friday, I must have had "idiot" stamped on my forehead.

It all started Thursday evening. We went to Joel's sister's house for dinner with her family.  We were missing them desperately.  Last year we saw them almost every day. This year those days are few and far between.  Sarah and her kids spent the last week in Disney World.  So when she got back, I demanded that we have dinner together.  (It had been almost 2 weeks since we had seen them!)  Gus didn't really seem like himself over there.  Very clingy.  He is NOT a cuddler so I knew that he wasn't quite himself.  He felt a little warm but nothing to be too concerned about.  He wouldn't eat his food, but he would eat only applesauce.  He is still getting teeth in so I assumed that was the problem.  He didn't want to chew, he was a little warm and he was clingy.  Didn't think too much more about it, brought him home, gave him some baby medicine and sent him to bed.

Friday morning, around 9 AM, I got a call from Gus' sitter.  (Keep in mind I am a class advisor and it is Spirit Week so school is super crazy and as an advisor I am crazy busy during this week.)  Well, I was already frazzled before I got the call.  Stephanie was concerned because Gus' body seemed to be on fire and he seemed really lethargic.  Well, we all know that I am a hypochondriac...so I left immediately, barely grabbed my purse...no jacket.  Luckily, I was working in the counseling office at the time because I left so quickly.  I didn't even tell my boss until I was in the car driving over there.  I told him I may or may not be back so he may need to find a sub for the two classes that I teach.  I stopped at the drugstore on the way to buy a thermometer for Gus.  I wanted to know what I was dealing with.  Once I got to him, I noticed that his body was also really hot and he didn't want to move.  I took his temp...97??  That can't be right....stupid digital thermometers!!  I called the doctor anyway and they said to bring him in right away.  Well, of course this hypochondriac momma freaked out with the "right away". That must mean something serious.  So off we rushed to the doctor.

Turns out they said "right away" because they had an opening...not because of the severity of the symptoms.  Don't they know who they are talking to?!?  Really Gus' name should have flashing lights next to it.  "Warning....crazy momma!"

Gus clung to me like a koala bear (again, very unlike him).  I had to unpeel him when they tried to get his weight and temp.  I did feel a little better when his temp was still 97...but more concerned because his body was still hot.  The nurse left the room and the little koala and I hung out in the room and waited for the doctor.  I tried to grab some books from their shelf to entertain him.  He wanted nothing to do with them.  Then the door opened. ("Whew...so happy that she is finally here to figure out what is wrong with him.)

Dr: Hi Gus!  Are we not feeling well today?
Gus: HI! blah, blah, blah, blah.  (I'm sure it is very important, but we have no idea what this kid is trying to tell us.)

The doctor checks him out.  Only finds that he appears to have a sore throat.  She talks to me about how this could be the beginning of a number of things.  Talk about what to watch for, etc.  During this time, Gus has slid off my lap.  He is now pulling every book off their shelf and onto the floor.  With each one we hear, "Oh Oh" (Translation: "Uh oh")  Eventually these turn in to "hiya!" and he has begun hopping around the exam room.  He is full out jumping up and down and yelling with delight by the time we talk about what to watch for.  Lethargic?  I think not!!  So here I am turning bright red, embarrassed that my 1 1/2 year old has made a fool out of me.  It is at that moment that the doctor notices Gus' pajamas laying on the table.

Dr: Is this what he was wearing? Did he wear them all night?
Me: Yes.  We always take him to the sitter in his jammies and then she dresses him later.
Dr: Did you ever think that perhaps that is why his body was so warm and doesn't have a temperature?  Perhaps he is too hot.  And when we are too hot, we don't like to move.
Me: You have got to be kidding....Is this our official medical diagnosis?
Dr: Well, he is coming down with a cold or something, but I think that he probably was overheated this morning.
Me: Crap....

Back to the sitter Gus went and back to work I went.  Unbelievable!!

Saturday, however, I came home from my cheerleading meet to discover that Gus did in fact have a fever of 102.9.  Well, at least I know that I am not crazy....my kid is sick.  But now I have a sick kid.  :(  I left him home with his daddy while I went to chaperone the school dance. I was telling this story to a coworker who was also working the dance.  After laughing at me, she started talking about a student who had scarlet fever.....blah, blah, blah....

Crap...I hope that Gus doesn't have scarlet fever!  What are the symptoms for that?  I will have to check WebMD now and I may be calling the doctor in the morning....

EEEKKK....it's CHUCKY!!!

Well, tonight I experienced one of the scariest things I have ever encountered.  I thought I was going to die.  Hope this doesn't scare you.....consider yourself warned.  You may want to close your eyes....



Looks cute right?  Harmless?  Well this little frog about gave me a heart attack today. 

I was running some errands today while Joel was giving Gus and bath and getting him in bed.  As I was driving down a dark road, I heard a small little voice in the back of my car.  "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands..."  I almost wet my pants!!  Ugg....my heart was pounding outside of my chest.  The first thing that came to mind...CHUCKY!!  Do you remember those movies??  To this day, that d#%m doll in the scary movies still scares the heck out of me.  All I could think about in the car was that Chucky was in the back seat and I was about to die.  That was it...that was the end of me.  I'm not ready to die!  And certainly not by the hands of Chucky!!!  And then I got a grip.

It wasn't Chucky...it was just Gus' Leap Frog, Tad.  Lately Gus has been loving on this frog.  We have taken it in the car with us and he has a grand time in the backseat laughing with Tad.  Turns out we accidently left it in the car.  I must have driven over a bump just right in order to press his hand and allow him to start singing.  So all is safe and sound now, but you better believe I am on the look out for any doll that might come to life and kill me.  You think I'm kidding, but those of you who know me well....I have a very over active imagination and constantly freak myself out!!

Hope I can sleep tonight....

Xanax and Espresso

Warning....this is going to be long...

Now that I am home, I am ready to talk about it.  When Joel and I were planning our trip to Seattle for Joe and Jane's wedding there was no question in my mind that we were going to take Gus with us.  I made the flight and hotel arrangements with him as part of it.  I even searched out tourist spots around Seattle for little ones.  So when we decided that Gus would be staying home, it took me some time to come to terms with it.  It wasn't until today that I realized that it was a good idea to let him stay home with Gramma and Papa. 

Once we decided that he was staying home, I refused to actually say it out loud since it made it more real.  For a week prior to leaving, I was a mess.  Could barely sleep.  I would spontaneously burst into tears thinking about the trip.  I was convinced that my plane was going to crash and that my little boy would be left parentless.  I have not gone even 24 hours without seeing him up until this point.  Needless to say, I was a mess.  So bad, that I ended up calling my doctor and pleading for Xanax or some sort of drug that would calm me down enough to walk onto the plane.  I have never felt like a drug addict before, but as I begged my doctor, I suddenly found myself in a position I had never been in...it was quite strange to be pleading with someone for drugs. I am not a huge fan of medicating myself so that I am not in full control, but it seemed like it would be for the best.  Luckily, my doctor is an angel she gave me enough to give me that extra little comfort to relax on the plane.  (Keep in mind- this control freak already has a hard time flying because she is not in control...so add the typical flier anxiety to the momma anxiety and we have one major disaster.) 

I won't go into the mess that I was when my parents came to pick up Gus before we left.  I will just leave you with this picture in your head....hyperventilating, sobbing uncontrollably, snot everywhere.  I was a mess!

In addition to Dr. Smith, God sent another angel.  Joel Maly's brother-in-law, Matt, ran into us in the airport.  Turns out, he was on our flight.  (His wife and daughter flew out earlier in the day.)  And knowing full well that we would be with Matt all weekend, I knew I couldn't be an irrational wreck and make a fool of myself.  So I had to try to pull it together.  (Thanks, Matt, for understanding how crazy I am and still asking the man in our row of the airplane to trade seats with you so that you could sit with us!!)

We made it safely to Seattle.  (And I only cried twice after leaving for the airport!)  We waited for a long time for our luggage and for Enterprise to pick us up.  After waiting about 45 minutes for the Enterprise shuttle (a few drove right by us!)  Keep in mind I am already irrational...add annoyance and you will see what the poor girl at the Enterprise office saw when we got there.  On the upside...we got a vehicle upgrade and free gas!!

We toured around Seattle, saw the Space Needle, Pike's Place and lots more.  And by "lots more" I mean  A LOT of espresso shops.  Of course Starbucks is everywhere since Seattle is their hometown, but these Seattlites (is that even a word?) are VERY serious about their coffee.  There are these tiny little drive through coffee shops on almost every corner of the city.  Espresso everywhere...and yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We spent time at Joe and Jane's house with the other out of town guests before making the trip 2 1/2 hours outside of Seattle to the wedding site.

Did I mention how much I love this man and just being able to hold his hand through our life together?  He puts up with my crazy and loves me anyway. 

Plethora of Paranoia

Sometimes I even amaze myself.  I really think that I should have a blog about my many paranoid parental moments...I have many.  The first would have been 5 minutes after Gus was born.  I watched as the doctor handed this goopey mess over to the nurse who brought him out to me and put him in the warmer.  I watched cautiously.  Gus' birthmom could still change her mind.  What if she saw him un-goopey and decided that he was too beautiful to live with us and that she wanted to keep him.  I watched through tears as the nurse lovingly cleaned Gus up and took his stats.  She turned to ask me if we had a name picked out and she stopped mid-sentence to ask if I was okay.  I guess the look of sheer confusion was written across my forehead.  (It is pretty obvious to others when my wheels are turning...I show it all over my face.)  "I'm fine...but is he supposed to be that color??"  "Yup, don't worry, he is just getting his blood flowing.  He is fine."  And then I could answer the question, that I had been waiting to answer..."Augustus".

Two weeks later we were at the pediatricians office for Gus' check up.  The doctor asked if I had any questions.  She had no clue what was coming her way.

"Should I buy him a horse?  It looks like he is bow-legged.  I'm okay with that.  He would be a good cowboy.  But do his legs look funny to you?"

After she stopped laughing at me she responded, "umm...you try being curled up in a uterus for 9 months and then see how your legs look....he is fine."

At our last appointment, I had more silly questions for the doctor and she chuckled at me.  And she explained to me that as a parent, she is very similiar to me.  And then has to switch to doctor mode.  So she understands my kind of crazy.  I then asked if I could take her home with me.  She politely declined but said that she was only going to work parttime this fall, so maybe she could babysit Gus for us.  What?!?  How cool would that be?  But I know that she wasn't serious.  But seriously, could you get a better babysitter than a pediatrician?  I bet she charges a lot.  (Sorry...rambled there for a moment.)

Well, I would say that today takes the cake.  I called this morning to try to get an appointment for Gus today for...bug bites.  I know!  Crazy!  Really....bug bites?  The bug bites were extremely large.  One behind his ear looked about the size of a half dollar when I looked at it this morning.  We were lucky enough to get an appointment.  And my paranoia paid off...left with instructions for 3 medications for Gus.  Apparently he is really sensitive to bug bites. 

I told the doctor that I felt like a nerd coming if for bug bites.  She joked with me and told me that if I wasn't careful, I was going to be added to the "crazy parent" list.  I told her it would be appropriate! She said that I was a normal crazy parent who was crazy about her kid and I am doing exactly what I should be doing...and I am quite entertaining.  I told her that she could write a book based on myself and my friend, Amy.  (Her kids go to the same office and Amy ALWAYS has good questions.)

So I decided that I don't care if I am a crazy, paranoid parent.  I am CRAZY about this silly little "bug bite" of mine!  Bring on the crazy!!!