sick

We have been sick. For the last two weeks. And it has been miserable. Here is a breakdown of what we have been dealing with:

14 days

5 persons

1 ER visit

2 urgent care visits

2 doctor visits

6 prescriptions

3 cases of conjunctivitis (pinkeye)

3 or 4 cases of respiratory virus (likely RSV)

Dozens of breathing treatments

$350+ in medical expenses

No sleep

Yeah. It feels like we are living in an incubator. petri dish. infectious bubble. Luckily, we are on the upside (and I haven't been sick - other than possibly a very small case of the respiratory virus)

9 mo

So this guy is nine months old. Which is crazy. I still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. Being in labor and not really knowing. Hope the same happens for baby girl (praying she will flip). It has been so fun to watch him grow. TO see how different he is from his brothers. Joel and Lucas are black and white different, but look like brothers. Daniel... He is in a world of his own. Looks so much different than the older two (it is the big nose, blue eyes, and brown hair). Developing completely different. Joel and Lucas had both hit certain milestones at nine months, like pulling themselves to standing, walking around furniture, and oh... several TEETH. Daniel... Nope (though a tooth just broke through the other day). Daniel likes to just sit back and take in the world with a HUGE smile on his face. LOVES to snuggle. The best sleeper out of my three. I love this guy to pieces.Daniel's Stats:height: 27.75 inchesWeight: 18lbs 14ozMy smallest baby by almost an inch and a pound... (3 inches shorter than Joel & 4 pounds lighter)See Joel's 9 mo stats HERE. See Lucas's 9 mo stats HERE.

100 days

No. I am not going on another trip. We do have one in the works, but that is closer to 1,500 days away (Brasil). No way I am even going to start counting down for that yet. That is just excruciating. Nope. 100 days until my due date. Hoping for 105 days (yes, HOPING). More like 90 if she doesn't flip. Which is something she has not done once in the last ten weeks. Either way, we are down to the double digits tomorrow. And I am seriously enjoy every minute of it. Makes me wish I had had a better attitude about the boys' pregnancies.Probably going to put the chalk board in her room. And draw her pictures regularly. Because I love chalk.
Ps. Isn't that teal color fantastic?! So in love.

health & well-being

Having grown up as the daughter of two nurses, I have limited patience for illness. I went to school unless I was vomiting profusely, bleeding profusely, or had a temperature over 102. Seriously. Because of this, I had perfect attendance nearly every year in school. Until high school. When I discovered the joys of ditching. My lack in patience may also stem from the fact that, until I was diagnosed with Celiac's Disease, I never got sick. Chicken pox AND strep once. Terrible case of the flu once. That's it. Seriously. So having a child that struggles to be healthy is some-what new and frustrating to me.
Joel has not always had issues. Well. Scratch that. Since he was three months old, he has had severe eczema. Blisters on his skin that look as if his skin had been burned. Which CAN be considered a medical condition, but for all intents and purposes is not what I am referring to in this post. Eczema aside, Joel was healthy until shortly after he turned two. It was Christmas time, a few months after Joel's second birthday. I (somehow) noticed that his tonsils were the size of golf balls. So large that they were pressing against one another and making it difficult for him to breathe. We went to a same-day clinic, where he was diagnosed with tonsillitis. From that day forward, he was basically sick for the next six months solid. We went through twelve (yes, twelve) rounds of flu and cold with Joel (Lucas only got sick once in that time frame). We did antibiotics, steroids, blood work, chest x-rays. Nothing. He was just permanently sick. Finally there was a light at the end of the tunnel when July came around. Three weeks of perfect health. Then BOOM. Out of nowhere we found ourselves in urgent care one afternoon because he was struggling to breathe. They gave the diagnosis of Reactive Airway Disease (RAD). RAD is not rad. It sucks. Since Joel is under five, doctors do not want to give the diagnosis of asthma because there can be so many causes to breathing problems. So they label it as RAD. Which is like a blanket term for asthma and any related pulmonary issue. We received a prescription for abuterol and bought a nebulizer. We did breathing treatments until he went a couple days without coughing. We have since used the nebulizer for his RAD as needed. Which seems to be isolated to times when Joel has had a virus or infection. A few days ago, Joel caught conjunctivitis (pinkeye is a form of conjunctivitis). Red, goopy eyes. And breathing problems? Since he didn't have a cold or the flu, I didn't even think about RAD presenting itself. But it did. And it got out of control very quickly. Last night, home breathing treatments were not enough to keep his RAD in check. We tried giving him a breathing treatment at 10pm, but Joel screamed and cried, thrashed and kicked. It took two of us to pin him down and hold the mask on. Even then, we figured the treatment was useless since he was so hysterical (a reaction he has NEVER had to his breathing treatments). Within less than an hour, his breathing got much worse. Robert took him to the ER. Where they gave Joel another breathing treatment and steroids to help inflammation in his lungs. Unfortunately, his breathing has not been much better today. It doesn't help that Joel only got about five hours of sleep last night, if that. His whining and tantrums have not been helping. At all. Nor have they helped our frayed nerves. It could be worse. I am VERY aware of this. But dealing with a three year old that most likely has asthma sucks. I hate seeing him go through this. Especially because he doesn't understand.
But I must run. Because Lucas either has a bloody nose or a tomato stuck in his nostril. Ah, the joys of parenting...

V-Day

Well, it's that time of year again when husbands start stressing about what to do for their wives. Or at least I do. For those of you who know me, I am not the most romantic guy out there. Don't get me wrong, I let my wife know that I love her. It's those special little things, though, that I am not good at. Despite that, Leigh is still with me, which must mean something, right?

I just wanted to let those who aren't able to see it how special of a girl that Leigh Whitney Root is:

Spunk:

I am sure everyone that know Leigh understands where I am coming from on this one. Leigh is a very...let's see...strong-willed person. When she has her mind fixed on something, it is fixed. No matter what you do or say, she will not be swayed. But that is something that makes her amazing. For example, we have now been living in our new house for just over two months. While it wasn't in shambles, Leigh saw things that needed to be improved. And in the time that we have been living here, she has done her best to make it more of a home: a place where our children can grow comfortably and enjoy their surroundings and neighbors. Stay tuned, though. She has a lot more planned for the house.

Laugh:

Leigh has a very unique laugh. When we were dating and first married, she was obviously more care-free, and she laughed more freely. Not many of you may know this, be she is a snorter when she laughs hard enough. It takes a bit to get her going now, but it's still there. And there is not many things that make me smile more than hearing her laugh so freely.

Sacrifice:

Now, Leigh's parents might laugh at this one since she was raised as an only child. But Leigh has sacrificed quite a bit for our small family. Leigh has always wanted to be a mother. And she is pretty darn good at it, if I say so myself. But it is a trying ordeal to raise three crazy boys (sorry, Mom for the burden of 9 children). She doesn't get much alone time. She worked hard for a college degree (which she finished after giving birth to our oldest), but put any idea of a career on hold to be able to raise our beautiful children.

Beauty:

This is one that I am sure everyone can see. I don't know how I got so lucky to marry someone so beautiful, but I definitely married out of my league. I am so happy that I am able to wake up to her face every morning. And, quite frankly, I am sure that she is the reason why our kids are so darn adorable.

I could keep going, but I do have work that I need to get to. The most important thing that I want the world to know is that I love Leigh Root so much, and I am so grateful that I can be by her side for eternity.

Happy Valentine's Day, Leigh Root!

(PS Happy Birthday Arizona! Visit here to read a quick blurb about my Grandpa)

happiness is

Happiness is:
- Eating spaghetti together as a family and not freaking out that sauce is getting all over the kiddos clothing.

- Watching your 8.5 mo old baby shove an entire handful of puffs into his mouth just because he has discovered the joys of feeding himself.

- Doing the dishes for your hubby while dancing to some tunes while he is out running an errand for you. And you want to lessen his load. And make him smile.

- Watching your three boys laugh together as the older two push the baby around in his high chair across the tile floor.

- Sitting in the hallway to fold a pile of baby laundry so you are out of the way, but still able to watch your children playing.

- Jack Johnson's Upside Down playing on your Pandora station and realizing the beauty of this moment.

- Learning that your baby loves to "float" in the bathtub by spreading and lifting his legs as wide and high as he can without toppling backwards while blowing raspberries.

- Realizing that the shade of paint you chose for your baby girl's closet is WAY more pink than you thought. But not caring because you finally get to decorate with pink.

- Eating Death by Chocolate ice cream after the kids are asleep and your daily to-do list is finished. Savorring the treat, knowing it is well earned.

- Beginning a new day and seeing the full potential of that day.

- Blogging while snuggling a sleeping baby who is buried in the crook if your arm.

Yup. Happiness.

this

This is what I get to do everyday; I get to spend my day with these three crazy little boys. This is what I live for (even on days when I don't feel like being a mom). This is where I want to be; I want to be here to see all the milestones and achievements. This is mine.

dedicated to the fab angie d.....

I haven't been blogging much. Sorry. Our new house is a blank canvas and I have overloaded myself with projects and tasks to give our home more color. Literally. The play room is now the most exquisite shade of teal. And baby girl's closet will soon be a fabulous peachy pink. I will eventually have a sunshine yellow laundry room, but that is [sadly] much further on my list. Besides painting, I have been sewing and crafting. Mostly for baby girl. I wanted her room to have a certain feel, which has resulted in me making everything from scratch. Custom bedding (halfway done), refurbished furniture (don't even want to think about tackling that), precious decor (pinterest has inspired me beyond imagine). I am thrilled with how everything is turning out. Even if I swear I will never craft again midway through a project. Here is what I have done so far:
Map airplane garland strung up in the toy room. The TEAL toy room. Much more mapiness to come in here.

Butterfly mobile for baby girl's room. Took FOREVER. Punched thousands of butterflies. Then sewed them together. But it is beautiful.

Flower ball for baby girl's room. Ran out of this paper, had to pull out the flowers, and start over with new paper. Lame. Will have [shimmery] pink, white, and light silver flower balls when finished.

baby girl's blankets. One on the left is soooooo soft. One in the right is for her crib (& the fabric used throughout her room).
Scalloped banner for baby girl's room. LOVE IT. And I love her walls, which are a lovely shade of grey.
I am in bliss. :)