2.10.12

This little cutie

was supposed to be in Chicago today

instead, she was lucky enough to hang out with her Poppy

on my birthday

because...she and her sisters all have ear infections

Cutie Pie's being in BOTH ears

at a sadly pathetic 12-weeks of age

:'(

what a trooper!

5 out of 6

5 out of 6...?

5 out of 6 ears in this household are infected.

That's right.

Both Cuties have DOUBLE ear infections while i have just one (though i also have a ruptured eardrum so it feels crazy yucky--i'm just glad we caught the girls' infections before theirs ruptured)

Basically that means that nothing is getting done around here. We're pretty much useless, very aimless, completely listless BUT everyone is in G-R-E-A-T spirits.

Last night, my eardrum ruptured. It was nasty. It hurt worse than childbirth (i kid you not). Thankfully, with the rupture, a lot of pressure was relieved which meant i was able to get up and take the kids to the Minute Clinic at our local CVS. 

Cutie Face's energy was soooo different the last time we were there (when she tried to take a nap on their waiting bench). 

Even two nights ago she was so sick that she slept on J's chest--

soooo sweet:

Anyway--back to today--

She was doing dances, singing, entertaining patients and pharmacists, and being her normal Cutie Face self

We took a family photo to show the Facebook world what we were up to:

After a short wait, we met Dorcas the friendly physician's assistant. She was so great with the girls--Cutie Face warmed up to her right away and wasn't afraid of what Dorcas was doing to my ear/throat/nose. It was very good practice for what would come later that afternoon at her doctor's appointment.

With an official diagnosis of a Ruptured Eardrum + Ear Infection (other ear + nose + throat looked a-okay), we waited for my prescription. Cutie Face tried to wait it out in the massage chair but it was busted.

Finally we were home but Cutie Face wanted to play with Baby Emily and pretend to take her to the doctor:

come on Baby Emily, let's go...

Baby Emily never quite made it to the doctor but the Cuties and I made it to their doctor later that afternoon. They were all so happy that I thought we'd just get a quick checkup and be on our merry way.

Cutie Face was measured on the "Big Kid" height wall (or whatever it's called)--sadly, i didn't whip my phone out in time to take a picture but she really LOVED standing up straight and getting measured. It was cute. She also really loved getting to stand on the stickers and be weighed (phone finally out in time to take a pic):

She measured 37.5" (!) and weighed 29 lbs (!) She's a big kid!

They only took Cutie Cakes weight (15.1 lbs) but i think she's averaging a lot smaller than her older sister.

Just look at this happy kiddo:

Cutie Face passed the wait for the doctor by learning how to count with an abacus (yay for learning even while at the doctor's office!)

The doctor finally came in to check on them--given their sweet dispositions, I thought it would be impossible for either of them to have an ear infection.

Man was I wrong. DOUBLE ear infections for both of them. Geez Louise i get the "bad mother" award for that one. Poor Cuties! (here's their expression following their diagnoses:)

Back to the CVS pharamcy for the third time this week...Cutie Face typed away while insurance + prescriptions + pharmacy logistics got worked out. We didn't mind the wait, though--there was a HUGE thunderstorm raging outside!

Let it be known, folks, that Cutie Face is loving the doctor these days. Being exposed to them lately has made her more confident around them. 

For example:

• Cutie Face SAT on her doctor's lap while she was typing out her prescription. Seriously!
• Cutie Face affectionately "petted" her doctor's leg because she liked the skirt she was wearing (a little weird, i'll admit)
• Cutie Face ran up to "my" doctor at the Minute Clinic and did a little song and dance for her and then carried on a conversation about the "BIG STORM" that "wuz comin'" complete with "babaBOOM thunder" (it was hilarious to see her interact with PA Dorcas that way and I think Dorcas got a big kick out of it).

So, if anything, these days of sickness are helping make the doctor less scary (the stickers might help, too).

PS posted a day late as i chose bed over blogging...so please excuse this post if it rambles, doesn't make sense, or repeats itself!

Super Smoothie for a Super Sick-o

We're feeling better...but not great...

since us sickos haven't had much of an appetite as of late, 

we whipped up a super green antioxidant smoothie

consisting of:

hey poor little sicko

here's hoping that this concoction of goodness helps you feel better!

it sure went down easily!

here's to your health Cutie Face!

chill-out day

despite the soaring heat, we chilled all day trying to recuperate from our illness. 

Yuck. 

All 3 of us are officially in the throes of this bug but i'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Cutie Face is looking and acting soooo much better than yesterday it's just remarkable. 

After a popcorn (+raisins) picnic...

we decided to finally get out of the house...and go to the zoo. Thankfully, the zoo is very shady and there was a great breeze. It was also about to rain which meant there weren't too many people milling around. So despite the heat and threat of rain, it really, it couldn't have been better timed!

The highlight of our visit was experiencing the new exhibit--sun bears, tigers, African turtles, etc. I was too excited about seeing the {gorgeous} tiger and the cool sun bears to stop and take pictures...so all we have are a few shots from the iPhone:

This turtle was so excited to see a human that it literally looked like it was running over to greet us--i think it just wanted food!

Cutie Face enjoyed petting the sheep (and there were even some pigs in the petting zoo today--we'd never seen them there before!)

and Cutie Cakes enjoyed watching.

J came home LATE (10:40 PM) but we were so excited to have him come home that Cutie Face couldn't sleep (she hasn't figured out that sleeping is key to getting healthy). it made for an interesting and slightly delirious night but we survived and it's the weekend!

wha hap-end?

anyone who has spent even 5 minutes around Cutie Face knows her favorite phrase is "What Happened?". She throws it around everywhere and uses it for every situation. 

I mean seriously...all.the.time. 

At first i thought it was fun to think of creative answers to my clearly intelligent child's queries. Now i'm struggling to show her grace when she asks, for the 12th time in 3 minutes, "wha happ-end?"

Well now she's leaving me asking that question--

What Happened to my Cutie Face?

you know, the one who is go-go-go non-stop don't-make-me-sit-i-want-to-run-and-dance. because wherever she went, a sad, sick, quiet, lethargic little girl replaced her:

this morning, in lieu of breakfast, she crawled into Cutie Cake's carseat. And just sat there.

I called the pediatrician, alarmed by her declining spirits (pretty much a basket case all day), her boogery nose, and the low-grade fever plaguing her. 

She called in a prescription for eye drops (i was mortified--1) what would they do to help her aches and ills; 2) how was i going to administer eyedrops by myself???). 

Off we went to the pharmacy. When i got to the pharmacy counter, i turned around and saw that Cutie Face had plopped down--sitting on the floor, not  off exploring. Who? my daughter? oh yes, that's the one!

after getting her in the system, we went in search of a little treat to give her everytime she let me put eyedrops in (she choose disney princess stickers, fyi).  after trudging the aisles, we went back to see if any prescription progress had been made--success, our bag was ready! 

Crazily enough, Cutie Face was NOT (taking a snooze on the waiting bench).

Post pharmacy trip, we headed to the grocery store to get some feel-better foods (applesauce, yogurt, and all-fruit pops). Not even 30 seconds in the door i found this on the floor:

(think the kid is trying to tell me something?)

Cutie Cakes was as shocked as i was!

Sadly, i fear that it won't be long until the Cakester succumbs to the same fate as her sister.

Which is a bummer

Until then, we'll all wonder Wha Hap-End to our Cutie Face and hope she comes back soon!