Weekend in Review

I really don't have much to chat about this weekend. Our weekend was quiet and relaxing - which was much needed. Jason and I had a date night Saturday to see Corteo (Cirque du Soleil) while Bailey stayed with her Godfamily. Both of us really enjoyed our time. We also bought new living room furniture. We got a leather set (couch, chair, chaise). It will be here on Friday. I'm so very excited! It will be so much easier to take care of than our current living room furniture. Between the dog hair and the toddler crumbs, we really should vaccuum our couches more than we have time to do. With leather, I'll be able to run a damp cloth over it and I'm done. Yahoo! We haven't officially decided what to do with what we currently have though. I think we are leaning towards giving the couch to Purple Heart and putting the chair and ottoman upstairs in the game room. The latter has definitely had less wear and tear than the couch. Plus, it makes a single sleeper bed which is always nice to have.

Jason also planted me some rose bushes in the back yard. It seems to be the only flower we can't kill. I'm very excited about watching them grow and bloom. If only we can keep Toby from eating them. Hmmm....

That was our weekend in a nutshell. I hope yours was just as enjoyable.

Exciting News

I have some very exciting news to share with everyone. My best friend, Kathy Ritchie, is pregnant with her first child. She is due October 2nd. I have been so anxious for all of you to know. Words cannot express how happy I am for her. Becoming a mother is one of the hardest things I've ever done but it is also one of the most rewarding. Kathy and Phillip are in for so many treats with their new blessing. My heart is so full of joy for both of them and the new life that we will meet in less than 6 months.

Kathy, thank you for letting me take this journey with you. Most importantly, thank you for being my friend. You will be a fabulous mom. How lucky is that angel inside you.

Our first glimpse of Baby Ritchie.

Happy Easter (& Other Things)

I start this blog by saying that I hope each and everyone of you had a blessed Easter. Holidays are such a fun time to spend with family and friends. I hope, however, that you also found time to remember the reason that we celebrate Easter. I hope that you remembered that the holiday is about hope and resurrection. I hope that you invited Jesus to share the holiday with you as I did.

I fear that I am never going to post an official blog about Mommy and Bailey's road trip so I will briefly write about it here before getting to our Easter festivities and other topics.

My friend Renee invited Bailey and I to a picnic honoring organ recipients and donors the last weekend in March. She has been very involved with this organization since her husband (and one of my best friends) died unexpectedly almost four years ago. I was so touched to be invited and really excited to go. The one dread I had was the three and a half hour road trip. Yes, that's Bailey in a car seat while I drive for three and a half hours. I planned it perfectly praying that God would keep her content the entire ride. She was wonderful. The Friday we were to leave I sent her to school for a couple hours and then we went to a Gymboree class all in hopes she would sleep a good bit of the ride. She slept all the way to the Beaumont (still two hours away). She did fine watching DVDs and playing until about 45 minutes from Renee's. I then had to improvise by signing and playing "look at x (cows, planes, etc)". But we made it and she had a wonderful time with Taylor. He was so good with her.

The picnic was on Saturday at Alligator Bayou and was so wonderful. It was joyful and humbling all at the same time. Knowing so many people had to lose someone to bring life to others is a very moving experience. I told Renee how touched I was to have been invited and kept hinting I wanted to go back next year (I hope she got that hint - ha!). Sunday we went to an Easter egg hunt at Renee's church. Bailey loved it. Once she got the hang of it, she took off to get as many eggs as she could. Then came Sunday afternoon and the ride home. Would I be as lucky? Yes, I was. The amazing part of that ride is that Bailey did not sleep at all. She stayed awake the entire ride and just watched DVDs and played with books and toys. We again sang and played the "look at x" game but this time I knew we would be fine. Thanks again, Renee. It was a wonderful experience.

Our Easter was wonderful. Friday Bailey and I kicked it off by having her picture taken with the Easter Bunny (doesn't she look excited?). She wasn't really thrilled about it but still managed to feed herself a cookie during the photo shoot. Isn't that what they call comfort food? The Easter Bunny brought Bailey a new pool and pool toys as well as a Minnie Mouse bathing suit, coverall, and hat. She also got $20 and a Sit and Spin from her Grandma & Grandpa. Of course, she got a little candy as well. We invited Christian, Khrissy, Jason (Griffin), and Hunter over for Chicken Spaghetti and Banana Pudding. We were going to do an Easter Egg Hunt for Bailey and Hunter but it was cold here in Houston. It was about 50 degrees. I don't want any comments from our northern friends and family. 50 degrees in Houston in April is unheard of. I had to go unpack Bailey's winter clothes to have something appropriate for her to wear. Our last guest left at about 8:30. It was so fun having everyone there. Thanks to our Houston family for celebrating with us.

As for Bailey, she is doing well now. We went to the doctor for her 18 month check up this morning and she is 24.3 pounds and 32" long. The doctor is confident that she is over her virus (as are Khrissy and I) so she is back at school today and I'm back to work. I think that's good - although I'm not sure. Not that I want Bailey sick but I did enjoy the extended Mommy/Bailey time.


Have a blessed week and we'll talk very soon!

Bailey Update

Bailey is doing ok today. So far - only one bad diaper. That is much better than yesterday and even last night in which she had one in the middle of the night. I'm hoping that we are reaching the end of whatever is bugging her. I spoke with a nurse again today and she said to just keep plugging along. She wouldn't confirm it was Rotavirus but wouldn't deny it either. She instructed us to keep feeding her bland foods and trying to get her to drink lots of fluids. We have a 9 am doctor's appointment already scheduled for her 18 month check up. Regardless, we will get an opportunity to get the doctor's thoughts then. I am off tomorrow for Good Friday so we are going to be hanging out doing Mommy/Bailey things. I keep hoping that she is getting better. I will keep you posted.

Rotavirus Website

http://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/

Bad Blogger

I apologize for being a bad blogger this week. I know many of you are anxious to hear about Mommy and Bailey's first road trip to Louisiana - which was wonderful. However, Bailey has come down with a virus that has gotten worse as of this evening. Monday afternoon day care called about her diapers and asked me to pick her up and keep her out until her diapers became "normal". (Can you tell I'm trying not to get too graphic?) Two kids in her class have come down with Rotavirus which is highly contagious so they are being overly cautious. (You can look at the CDC website and search on Rotavirus for those who want to read about it.) After talking to the nurse on Monday, she did not think Bailey's symptoms were indicative of Rotavirus but didn't doubt that it could be a virus of some sort. Her only symptom to date is horrific diapers. The first few days it was only 2 diapers at most. However, today we have had 4 bad diapers within a 5 hour span which is more in line with how Rotavirus behaves. I am going to call the nurse again tomorrow morning and see what her thoughts are about bringing her in and what to do. Jason and I are having to play tag team on the work schedule as this is my year end and the worst time ever to take off and he has got multiple projects going as well. Luckily, Friday is a BMC holiday. I'm hopeful that we'll be all better and ready for school on Monday. In the interim, you'll have to wait for the blog on our road trip but I will try to write a brief update on the virus as I know more.