Sicko

My little boy has been under the weather. Last night was one of the those nights that you hope only comes in a blue moon. Man... I can't even put two thoughts together right now! Crazy. Here's the riveting story in a nutshell.

Kevin finished work at noon yesterday and we had plans to go see a much anticipated movie and grab a bite to eat. Our first date in a LONG time. Meanwhile, at home, I got out of the shower to find Noah sound asleep on the couch while watching Phineas and Ferb..... at NOON. Not a good sign. My little boy hasn't taken a regular nap since 2008. But I thought I would let him rest until I was ready and then he had a scheduled play date at a friend's house so we could have some time together. Kev came home and couldn't believe that Noah was asleep! Then we woke him to find that he was burning a fever of almost 104.

Play date cancelled. Date postponed. We had a little boy to hold. :)

The funny thing was that he had been acting perfectly "normal" up until that moment. He ate a great breakfast, chased Abbie for awhile, changed attire at least three times, and watched a few of his favorite shows. But right at noon... crazy fever. It happens. :)

My Noah isn't really a complainer. I mean, he'll tell you he's not feeling well, but he rarely gives specifics. But he started to tell me that his hips and neck hurt and he had stomach pain. The last piece of the puzzle is that Noah saw his doctor last week for a sinus infection and cough after 2 weeks of runny nose ickyness. And he hasn't finished that round of antibiotics. So I was concerned because he was on medicine and was suddenly spiking a high fever.

Urgent care... here we come!

Of course, the tylenol REALLY kicked in right after we got there. So he was all smiles, jokes, dances, and he had the doctor and assistants laughing pretty hard. He was wearing his Buzz jams, so that was the main topic of conversation. When the nurse came to the waiting room and called "Noah," my little boy just looked at her and said, "My name is Buzz Lightyear."


It continued. She was laughing pretty hard when she went to listen to his heart and he said "Don't push this red button!!! My wings will pop out and knock you across the room!" She promised she'd be careful. And when the good doctor examined him, he had Noah lie back to check his tummy. But "Buzz" told him that he had to put his helmet down first or it would break.

THEN... As the doctor was leaving the room, Noah (up on the exam table) put his hands on his knees and said, "Mom, he is just SUCH a nice doctor!" I saw the doctor laugh and shut the door behind him.

The diagnosis was that Noah has caught an additional virus while trying to get better from the first sickness. But no cause for alarm. The doctor said his fever would jump up and down over the next 24 hours, but he should be feeling better soon. When we got home, Noah fell asleep on the couch after more Tylenol. Then we figured that he should be in bed. Just as Kev and I had settled him into his favorite sheets and read him a story....

Vomit. Up came breakfast, lunch, and his most recent dose of medicine. Yikes.

I was afraid to give him anything else for a little while, so his fever spiked to 104 again and he was miserable. I was SO nervous to leave him, close the door, and go to my own bed. So I tried to sleep by him for a few hours. Then I tried more Tylenol and he settled down, but still burned hot. I don't think his fever came down below 101 all night. Yuck. Then I went to bed just after 12:30, setting my alarm for 2 so that I could stay on top of his meds. I THINK, but I'm not sure this morning because it's all blending together, that Noah pretty much called for me about every 45 minutes. By 3:30, I finally gave in and woke Kevin up and asked him to lay by Noes for a little while. I REALLY didn't want to do that. Kevin goes to work by 6 every morning and he's been fighting an oncoming cold as well. He needed his sleep. But I just needed one uninterrupted hour. My second alarm went off at 6 for another dose of meds. I found Kevin still sleeping next to our feverish little boy. So cute. We got him settled again and we both went to bed this time. 45 minutes later... "Mommy... Daddy... Mommy?"

So sweet. I laid by him for another while, and then he said he wanted to try to eat something. Awesome!

So here we are downstairs. It's just after 8:30 this morning. Noah's been on the couch for about an hour, munching dry Crispix and watching CARS. Still burning a fever... Kevin's asleep upstairs with Abbie, and I'm trying to remember what year it is.

Good times! I'm hoping that today will go better.

I need to go pull someone's favorite sheets out of the dryer....

Mister Awesome Nice Guy Dentist Man....

Noah went to the dentist for the first time in October! Well, actually he went to a different dentist for his very first time before that, but it was not a very pleasant experience. Let's just say that some people have no right to treat children and just because they have a game box in their waiting room does not mean that they are child-friendly. We left that office shaking, angry, and Noah was bleeding from the mouth after a very harsh cleaning. I was NOT happy and refused to bring him back there. At no point during that visit did the dentist or any of the assistants talk to Noah and teach him about his teeth, how to brush, and why he should care. I actually sat him down after we got home and told him that they did not treat him right there and I was sorry. If I had known, I would never have taken him to that place. I promised that I would find him a nice dentist next time.

And I did just that! Thanks to the recommendation from our friends Mike and Brenda (see their awesome blog HERE!), Noah now sees...

Dr. Johnson... The most AWESOME dentist ever to walk this earth.


Of course Noah had to don his PIRATE attire for this special occasion, and the office staff and Dr. Johnson played it up so well. The assistant, Jessica, was outstanding! She said, "I've never cleaned a pirate's teeth before..." And she explained everything to Noah before he even came near the chair. She said that the light above the chair was their "sunshine," the rinser was their "water hose," the aspirator was their "vacuum cleaner," and she let little boy play with everything. He shot water straight across the room and onto the far wall, and Jessica laughed right along with him. What a difference...


Then Dr. Johnson came in and counted Noah's teeth and gave him a glowing report on his brilliant teeth. Of course, the good doctor used phrases like "Shiver me timbers" and "Aaaargh" and "hoist the sails, matey!" Noah ate up every minute of it. For his last act of kindness, Dr. Johnson put "frosting" on Noah's teeth (fluoride, actually) and told little dude that he had his permission NOT to brush his teeth again until the next day. Awesome.



Thanks, Doctor. You're the best. My little boy is already looking forward to April when he will see you again. Yes, he's been flossing like a mad man.

And I can't wait to see what he'll wear to his next visit....

Love,
A Grateful Mommy
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The tradition continues...

Yes... it's true. The Luminaria has now come to Nebraska officially as of this Christmas Eve!!! We've wanted to do it so badly for many years now, but we always found ourselves home in Oregon or unable to make it happen for one reason or another. But this year we did it and I'm SOOOO thrilled to carry on this tradition. If you're not sure what the dilly I'm talking about, please see last year's Luminaria HERE.


Noah already knew what to do with the sand, the bags, and the candles. And when it was time to light them just before dark, he helped me like a pro! I hope he looks back and remembers this tradition with fondness, and maybe will carry it forward wherever life may take him! That's an exciting thought. I wonder if MY parents ever thought that there would be Luminaria around the country someday because of their efforts. Unfortunately, the Luminaria in Oregon was a no-go this year. They were under high wind warning and it would have been a frustrating fire hazard. How sad! Next year...

I was a little wary that our neighbors wouldn't want us to light up some candles in the Nebraska wind either. But as I began to place the bags and candles in the early afternoon, our neighbor came out and was so thrilled! He was actually leaving for Christmas Eve and wouldn't be back for a few days, but he wondered if we had enough to do his side of the driveway as well. Awesome. And of course we made enough to place on our other neighbor's driveway. Mr. Bud passed away in November. He was a dear friend, a one of a kind artist, and we wanted to remember him this Christmas.


Can't WAIT for next year!!!

Christmas Magic

Okay... So it's mid January and I'm now just posting about Christmas morning. But it's been an amazing first 15 days of 2011! This year is full of promise, possibilities, and hope. :)

We didn't travel for this holiday season and it made for a very relaxing (church callings aside!) Christmas for the Smith family. Although we missed being with our loved ones, it was so great to have our own family Christmas. Kevin and I reminisced about our very first Christmas together after we were married. We both worked for BYU/ the MTC doing early morning custodial. So we got up at 4am on Christmas morning, went to work together for 4 hours cleaning carpets and vacuuming miles of hallways and classrooms, polishing glass doors, and cleansing drinking fountains with Foamy Q&A. Good times... Then we came home, had breakfast and opened our gifts. We spent the rest of Christmas day putting together a new entertainment center and talking to our families. It was great. And we loved every minute of this Christmas with our little boy and his pretty little pup. :)

On Christmas Eve we decorated sugar cookies for Santa's plate.


Kevin added to the holiday spirit by creating a sugar cookie Homer Simpson! Of course Noah picked this cookie for Santa's choice few!


Leaving carrots and peanut butter for the reindeer... This was one of my favorite traditions when I was a little girl.


Christmas touches around the house:



Lighting the carousel on Christmas Eve... We actually cheated and burned the candles a few times before Christmas, just because Noah loved it.


Christmas morning!!!! We wondering just how late Noah would let us sleep, and around 7:45am he wanders into our room, saying he was ready for breakfast! I think he just forgot. :)



Proof that "the Big Guy" actually came! Oh yes, Noah checked.


Merry Christmas!


Don't forget about breakfast...


Kev knows me SO well...


Kevin tackling the Christmas morning puzzle/ game that my parents always give... This year was a miniature pinball game and he enjoyed every minute!!!


But the BIG deal this Christmas was setting up another entertainment center 11 years after our first Christmas day set-up. Only this one is exponentially SWEETER... Here's a peak:


And here's the big picture... So to speak!


Here's the grand entrance on Christmas morning and discovering all the magic downstairs!




Santa brought Daddy and Noah some really cool remote cars called cyclones. Noah's favorite color is red and Daddy's is blue. So the cars just happened to match!

Of course, Abbie likes the cars too. But she just wants to show them who's boss. She gets so worked up after a play session that she usually has to take a quick trip outside! Yeah...

Alas, the Christmas tree came down before New Year's Eve this year. We had to make room for the new set-up. But TRUST ME. It was SO worth it to watch Inception on such an amazing TV. We decided that was the first movie we would watch. Noah had to wait until the next morning to watch what he wanted. I think it was How to Train Your Dragon... Outstanding. :)

K, until next year!!! Be good.

Love,

Someone who now enjoys the BLISS of the Food Network in HD. You heard me...

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