recovering...

this past week was spent recovering from the lovely sickness that plagued our house, unpacking from vacay, and enjoying sunshine at the end of it.

the girls loved seeing the sun out and played outside a ton!

the puking stopped, but the the sickness stuck around the 'other end' and we've still been dealing with that a little bit. it has not been fun. but, being able to send them outside was such the boost we needed! we even played at the park a couple days.

while i was sick, james basically took the girls and just let me rest in our room. it was so nice! bless him. i spent a lot of time reading...

and it's already half way through, but if you wanted to you could catch up on the 40 day general conference challenge. i love doing this! just one talk a day, and it's such an awesome way to prepare for conference and i love getting to read through the talks from the most recent conference. it's a huge boost in my day!

(source)

i also spent a lot of time in the tub (drinking all the gatorade). my mother in law has totally converted me to epsom salt baths. add in some oils and some tubby todd and you've got yourself a luxurious bath. i seriously took two to three baths a day. it made it made me feel so much better!

the biggest event of our week was kindergarten registration for brooklyn. that girl is excited and ready for the next step in her little life. she wanted to start asap and was totally bummed when i let her know she wouldn't start until summer was over. and with a new baby and everything going on, i have a feeling that our summer will fly by.

i also had a doctor appointment this week. i was ready to plead my case to the nurse if i had gained five pounds due to the vacation eating, but i didn't have to because of being sick i guess. so it all evened out and i didn't gain five pounds in a month. thank goodness!

though i'm definitely feeling big!

we've had baby girl's name picked out since, well, james and my anniversary dinner at the mandarin. so since the end of the december. we love being able to call her by name and the girls both talk to her all the time using her name. she already has nicknames for crying out loud! the girls have loved being able to feel her move. brooklyn especially. we are all getting very anxious for her arrival!

10 weeks at most!

saving me

the sickness did not leave our home. kendall got a fever (we're talking 103.1 kind of fever) at 2AM sunday night and again monday night. these were horrible sleepless miserable nights. poor baby. after talking to my FIL (who is a pediatric nurse practitioner) i decided to take her into the doctor. they tested her for the flu but luckily it came back negative. it's a mystery, this virus. i hate it. and i want it to go away. 

after the doctor visit, i got myself some caffeine, and put on a brave face and called my mom. i gave her the update and how the appointment went. i was so down. and just plain exhausted. we are going on week three of sickness around here. no sleep people. serious. a couple hours later she called me back informing me that she and my dad were on their way down to help me. to save me really.

they ordered take out from the mandarin, and took care of everything. my laundry got folded, my dishes done, things straightened up, and of course, they held and loved my girls. they were good company too. james had school until 9:30 so it really meant more than they know to have them come. i was an inch away from having a meltdown/breakdown, but they swooped in and saved the day. brooklyn loved having them there to give her all sorts of attention, and kendall appreciated having someone else hold her besides her mommy. 

i could spend the rest of my life trying to repay my parents for everything they've done for me and i wouldn't even come close. they truly are the greatest and i am so lucky they're mine. 

thanks again mom and dad. i love you and am more grateful for you than you'll ever know.

fingers crossed that maybe we are on the downside of all this yucky sickness...

come on wednesday!

sick week.

happy monday! and hooray for a new week! we spent most of last week sick. kendall with croup, brooklyn with a cold (that came with a fever), and me with exhaustion and sore throat. not the best week we've had. 

and it's sad because last week started out really well. we went to dinner at brooklyn's favorite join, pizza pie cafe, and all was well.

then as soon as we got home, the croup cough came out of kendall's mouth and i wanted to crawl in a hole. croup terrifies me! so, we prepared for a long night. my MIL is still here, and thank goodness, she took the first shift and let james and i go to bed. that was definitely the worst night, though the next two weren't much better. tuesday brought a trip to the instacare so that we could at least get some steroid medication in her system. poor sweet baby. and really, we didn't really leave the house much after that.

kendall wanted to be held all day long, except for right after her first nap. she was pretty happy and willing to sit in the high chair for a little bit while i got a few things done. not many though. brooklyn also needed me every second of the day. there was whining and crying, wiping noses, refilling humidifiers, giving medicine, taking temperatures, and snuggling these sick girls of mine.

there were lots of little walks outside the house as well. kendall all bundled up, to breathe in the cool air, and i was grateful to breathe some fresh air too.

the morning i woke up feeling the worst, i was determined not to get any worse than i already felt. so i made a big pancake breakfast and seriously felt better. pancakes can fix a lot of things. so can a shower. every day after breakfast, the girls and i would hop in the shower to get nice and clean and also to let kendall breathe in the steamy air. even if we all just crawled back into jammies afterward. brooklyn loved it. showers with all three of us at the same time takes some planning, coordination, and might i add, skill. but we did it. we won't be doing it again soon, but good to know i can do it if it came to that again.

i was so happy thursday night when the girls really seemed to be at the tail end of their sick days because friday morning was my cousin kileigh's wedding. i didn't want to miss it. my MIL and SIL watched the girls while i went to the ceremony (so nice to be 15 from downtown slc!) and then i went back home to get them ready for the luncheon. james joined us and we had a great afternoon visiting with family. so much so that we decided to drive down to springville for the reception later that evening.

finally, the 6 of us all together!!!

it was beautiful! but i wouldn't expect anything less with my aunt kayelani being in charge. the newlyweds were happy and of course exhausted, and we loved celebrating with them!

the highlight of brooklyn's night! she is obsessed with weddings right now. getting to hold the bride's bouquet put her right in her happy place!

the food was delish: we're talking paninis & soup, fancy desserts, and steamers. not to mention this super fun photo booth. safe to say, the girls weren't quite sure what to do. i don't think their expression changes once. ha!

i loved spending time with cousins, aunts & uncles, my siblings, grandparents, and of course my little family. i also love when my girls get to play with my cousin's kids. i love love love it!

kileigh was a beautiful bride and i am so happy for her!

we're excited for this week to unfold, more organizing and unpacking to do here at the new house, but mostly excited that we're all healthy. i'm going to be pulling out the rest of our valentine's decor and hopefully getting all our laundry done tomorrow. there's a lot of it! i can't say enough how grateful i am that i was able to be home this week with my sick girls. that i didn't have to go into work or have other obligations. that my focus could be on them. i don't thank james enough, and even though he said all week that he was glad he was at work and not dealing with a hectic sick house full of girls, he would have been home too if the grown up world allowed. so thanks hun! thanks for taking care of us so that i can take care of our girls! it's my dream come true.

h a p p y  m o n d a y 

we've been a little sick over here...

our weekend started off great, great, and wonderful.

we loved hanging out with family at a cousin's wedding and luncheon. kayla and i (brookyln too of course) even got a little shopping in at city creek between events.

^^^the happiest girl on the planet because she got to hold a bouquet.^^^

friday night was super relaxing. we ordered dinner in and just hung out in the backyard until it was time to go to bed.

saturday, we got a few things done around the house, including turning our swamp cooler on for the summer (thank goodness!). we had jc&e over later that evening. we had chinese, made a target run, and ended the night with some girl talk up in my room.

then, i got sick.

way sick.

aches, chills, nausea... the whole nine yards. ugh. it was miserable. sunday morning came and i knew i wouldn't be able to teach my lesson. brooklyn was super stoked to go to primary, so i enjoyed a couple hours of alone time at home. not super great when you can't sleep though. i was so sad about that. i could have made up for lots of lost sleep, but it didn't happen.

when they got home from church, brooklyn immediately stripped down to her undies and james made me soup.

what a guy. i could only eat a few bites, but it was so sweet of him to do that for me. brooklyn was so good for the rest of the day. james relaxed, and i was in bed, and she was so good to entertain herself. at one point she said, "daddy come see my cool trick!" he hurried upstairs and found her doing this:

blowing bubbles on one foot. such a great trick! she was also being well behaved because she had a deal going with mommy and daddy that she had to be a good girl all weekend to earn a nightgown/dress from costco. she totally did her part and earned it for sure. she even has had a little bit of the sickness that i've had and she hasn't been whiny about it at all. for her, that's amazing.

monday morning, and i was still sick. she was good to just hang out with me or do her own thing. i loved all the snuggles i got and the occasional question from her with her hands on my face, "mommy how you feelin?" little sweetheart.

we also got our carpets cleaned that morning. that was one of the last things on the to do list before baby comes. it feels so good to have clean carpets!

she was patient until about eleven monday morning, and then asked when we were going to go meet daddy at costco to get her dress. i really didn't feel up to making that little trip. but she totally earned it and i couldn't let her down. so james agreed to meet us and go inside with her while i waited in the car. she was so excited she could hardly stand it!

and i wish i had a picture of them coming back out the car. it was the same scene as above, but brooklyn was holding her blue princess dress in one hand with the biggest smile on her face. i couldn't help but laugh. she was definitely excited, and was ready to put it on the second she got in the car.

that night for fhe, i decided i could handle a short little drive and that we should go check out the waffle wagon in kaysville. i couldn't really eat any of it, but it was totally worth it. i shared with brooklyn so you can guess what we got our waffle topped with. yep. cookie butter.

james got the nutella and bananas and said it was really good. 

and brooklyn devoured ours, so i think it's safe to say we'll be going back to the waffle wagon.

because i was feeling pretty ok, we extended the festivities and went and fed some ducks. brooklyn shocked us with how brave she was doing it. she got right in their faces and wanted them to basically eat the bread right out of her hand. she was also cracking us up because she was trying to make it fair for all the ducks and when one would steal a piece from another she was sure to scold them a little bit for it. 

^^^and yes, she spent a good 24 hours in her new nightgown/dress.^^^

tuesday rolled around and i was still not feeling 100%. i was bummed too. i thought for sure i'd be better. but dang it. i did venture outside with brooklyn for a little bit to watch her blow some bubbles. definitely her obsession right now. again, she was so good for me all day. she took a good nap and was fine to just be with me on the couch watching movies. 

as much as i've loved all the snuggles and attention she's given me because i haven't felt well, i am so ready to feel better. i have a dr appointment and i really want to feel better for that. i can't wait to see baby girl!

and for brooklyn's sake, she needs her mommy back!

h a p p y  w e d n e s d a y 

the weekend.end.end.

friday morning, i worked while brooklyn ate her breakfast, and then we both got bathed/showered and ready for the day (minus brooklyn's hair being done. she wasn't having it). i organized a couple of drawers and then we hung out in her room.

she played while i worked on christmas cards and then we had lunch together. james got off work early so we were stoked to have him home and ready to start the weekend. however, we were all feeling a little sluggish. lazy, if you will. we laid around and watched movies until jeremy, chels, and the babe came over to perk us up a little bit. brooklyn LOVES ellie. loves her. she wants to be right up in her space, but she's really sweet with her. i love it.

friday night ended with some chit chat and jambas. and saturday morning started with tithing settlement at the church and then a quick run to wal-mart. we ordered pizza to eat during the byu game, and the boys were nice enough to watch it in the man cave so chels and i could watch christmas movies out our ears. not really, we kind of watched. chels worked, and i worked on my talk for sacrament meeting the next day. it really is the greatest. we can hang out and not expect the other to entertain. we are good to just be in the same room, chatting occasionally, eating kettle popped salt & vinegar chips, and really, it's the life. 

sunday morning had me in a fit. if you recall, james and i just spoke in sacrament meeting in june. i get so darn nervous. also, i'm way too emotional to speak in front of people on matters of the heart. i blubbered through my whole talk and i hope people got the message i was trying to send out there. here's a shot of B and i on our way out the door. 

saturday morning she woke up with a runny nose and a little bit of a cough. it was still there sunday morning so i knew she wouldn't be going to nursery and that james and i would be tag teaming during the church block. they were both there to cheer me on while i spoke, and then i took the first round of sick watch. she was devastated to be leaving the church without having gone to nursery. she cried the whole way home. she was heart broken. this made me happy and sad. happy that she loves nursery and sad that she was sad. 

nothing a nice big water bottle and a movie can't fix.

james and i switched during the last hour so that i could be in young women's. when i got home, brooklyn was tired/sick/sick/tired. she wanted to play outside, so james bundled her up, we got out there, and she just wanted to sit on my lap. then she declared she needed a nap. she slept for 15 minutes and then woke up in a crying fit. she did this for an hour and a half while james and i did everything we could think of to make her happy. she's never done this before. we were both at our wits end. enter, hot chocolate and white fudge oreos. she settled down, sipped some hot chocolate, and dunked those oreos until her heart was content. 

phew. then we snuggled and watched a movie until she fell asleep. poor thing. worst thing ever when your child is sick and there's nothing you can do to help them. so helpless!

through all of the craziness of our sunday, i got our upstairs tree (that was an early birthday gift from my MIL!) decorated. for the most part. it's definitely still a little bare. but oh my goodness i love her. i've always wanted a white tree (as long as i have a green one as well). it makes my little christmas heart sing!

upcoming week: be good to us. please. please. please. we're counting down the days until thanksgiving! help us make it to that day without too much more sickness and sad toddlers.

h a p p y  m o n d a y 

from a cheeseball and her mama