karaspeak

Mimi and Paa came to town this weekend, which was GREAT fun since Nathan and I had not seen them since Christmas and the kids hadn't seen them since the weekend we were in Phoenix. We all were in need of a little family time. It lets everyone get some "fun" on and gives Nathan and I at least one solid night of great rest - both of which are wins for us! Some good date night fun was had as well!

Friday night Nathan and I went to grab Chinese and enjoyed a nice time catching up after our week. Saturday I went to Spin in the morning then we went all around town running errands for the fam, had lunch at McAlister's and then went to grab some things for Teagan's birthday party next month. That night, NT and I hit up Franklin Mercantile for their winter special before heading over to hang out with some of his colleagues. A nice casual, fun weekend. We all spent Sunday at our usual Panera and said sad goodbyes to Mimi and Paa as they went home to K-ville. Hoping we can one day be closer, for sure! We miss them so much when they are away.

Sunday it was actually beautiful outside so we spent a lot of the day playing outside with the kids and they had a blast...and took GREAT naps! :) Fun!! We deserve a bit of a break from this nasty weather, so the warm sun was nice for a change.  Aiden and I made cookies for his class for V-day. He did such a good job and was so great at helping decorate and stir. He's getting so big. This makes me very sad. But he is also so much fun and such a joy. I can't wait to see him grow into a three year old.

Monday was Valentine's Day and I got the kids shirts to wear with their names on them. Both big enough to wear for this year and next year (hopefully!). Aiden had a V-day party at school, so he was excited about that and Teagan had a day full of cookies and candy here at home. Nathan sent me flowers. Mom and Dad sent us cookies. Our house was FULL of treats. NT came home early from work and whipped up a phenomenal dinner for me and we enjoyed that and a movie for a spectacular date night in. I am so very blessed. And even though every day around here is filled with love, it's amazing to realize how much love there is and how very lucky we are to have so much of it given and to give. I am thrilled with my life, my family, my loves, my everything, and am so thankful God allows me to wake up every day and enjoy it.

This week was the week from down under at our house. After a great week with Aunt Kiki visiting, we were preparing for a weekend in Birmingham until little dude came down with a naaaasty ear infection out of the clear blue sky. Not sure where it came from, but he didn't have hardly any symptoms other than a "leaky" eye for a day. Go figure. I had a feeling my little petrie dishes of kids were in for a fun weekend and week ahead. And boy, was I right! But this time they let the whole family in on the fun!

After taking Aiden to the pediatrician on Thursday and getting the ear diagnosis, Teagan woke up the next day with a leaky eye and runny nose. Awesome! Fun! Yeah! Not.  Obviously we were not going anywhere but to sick town for the weekend. By Sunday, Aiden was feeling a little better, but Teagan was in full swing with whatever he'd had and just miserable. Sunday night, Nathan began feeling ill, but the kind of ill that meant he'd be spending all night praying to the porcelain throne in one way or the other. Sure enough, Super Bowl Sunday he spend hugging that seat all night. So far so good with Mom being healthy...until 5 am Monday morning when Teagan got up to eat. I went up to feed her and spent the whole time planning my strategy for how to handle her while I casually made my way to their toilet to take care of business. Luckily I was able to feed her, get her back down to bed, and make it back downstairs with no event. I told Nathan I was sick and he was obviously thrilled. :) Looked like a fun day.

So I was able to get back to sleep for a short time, but when Aiden woke up at 7, just an hour after I'd fallen asleep, I knew I had to make it fast to my own porcelain throne or else our white carpet was going to be in for it. If you've ever been "that" kind of sick, you know how purely awful it is. AWFUL. I had the lucky fortune of being struck with the feeling of having to pass out amidst my affair and did my very best to make it to the floor so I wouldn't get hurt...I tried banging on the wall to NT who was upstairs managing the kids but it was too late. I woke up on the floor in a sweat with a bloody head. Awesome way to start the week. Happy Monday. I spent the next 12 hours sick as a dog and not able to keep down even ice chips. This is the worst kind of sick. The worst.  But in 12 hours, almost on the dot, I was able to think about eating some saltines, and they stayed down. PRAISE!

The funny part about being "throw up sick" is that during those 12 - 24 hours, you wonder how and if you will ever eat again. You vow to never eat again. And while I will say that for at least the 24-48 hours following, I was very scared to eat again, it's amazing how quickly you begin to introduce yourself to food and food that actually stays put where it's supposed to. It is the oddest thing to deal with. But I will also say, that a huge kudos to my main man, hubby, and rock on daddy for taking care of me, my two sick kids, our house, and his job all in one day. Having just had the sickies himself, I know he didn't have energy or stamina to do it, so I am so incredibly blessed and thankful he made the strides and picked up my slack. He is amazing and I am so very grateful someone was able to take care of everyone enough for me to not worry.

We spent Tuesday bleaching everything, disinfecting everything, and downright resting and made it out of the woods with the sickies on their way out. By today, we are drying up the noses, and clean inside and out (house AND body!) and hoping for NO MORE sickness the rest of this season and maybe a while longer. We have stayed out of the woods of sickness for so long and I think this was payback in one short week of awful-ness. VERY glad it's over and gone. On to a new start....

(P.S. I will spare you any pictures of how awful we all looked this week. Just take my word for it and be grateful.)

It's February 1. Where did January go? Wherever it went, one thing I know....First Birthday preparations are in full swing.  Outfits to be ordered. Gifts to be bought. Cakes to make. Fun times to be had. And we are all very excited (and at the same time very sad) that our baby Teagan is turning ONE.

I just booked little miss with her one year session pictures, and that alone is enough to make me sad. But, there is so much fun to be discovered as she learns to speak, walk, run, and engage as she learns what's new with being one. Should be a fun year for us all with a blooming one year old and a soon to be three year old, who knows what fun we'll be having.

This week we got to have "Aunt" Kiki come stay with us for a few days and play. It was so fun to have her here and we had a blast ordering things for the birthday and just catching up. I wish we lived closer, but an so grateful for the ability to see her often since we do live relatively close. Aiden loves it when she comes because she always brings treats. This time it was cookies! And yummy cookies they were.

It was a great first week to the month of love...more fun and love to come...I hear the little one waking up as I speak.