A Crappy Start to the Year

There is really not too much "new" to report only that January has kind of been a bust this year...and for the first time ever I am actually anticipating February!! Its got to be better!

I have been sick in some shape or form since Dec. 31. It started as a cold...then a cough. Then I felt better, then the cough returned full force. Then the sore throat, post-nasal drip, more cough, and congestion. A trip to the doctor gave me steriods which did not help. A trip to Selinsgrove last Friday completely blocked my ears as we drove over the mountain. More coughing of chunky green stuff. My ears would pop but pretty much each time I drove anywhere they blocked. This is a pretty awful feeling...doesn't exactly hurt, but pressure. That combined with horribly painful sinuses prompted me to make an ENT appointment...except the wait for the ENT was over a week and their suggestion was to go to the ER. Um, okay. So, back to the regular doctor, who immediately said "You need to see the ENT. You probably need a CAT scan and maybe sinus surgery and tubes in your ears." (Really buddy? All that from a 2 second look??) Anyhow, his kick-ass nurse was able to get me into the ENT today and I was sent home with more steriods and an antibiotic. Throw in a night of insomnia and a body that feels like its been in a car wreck thanks to my new work-out class and let just say I feel pretty rought today!!

So that is my January in a nutshell. I am not one to get sick, and I am pretty certain I have never been sick for an entire month. I know I have not been to the doctor for being sick since I lived in Spring City...5 years ago. I usually deal with colds by self-medicating for a day or two and sucking it up til I feel better...which is usually a short period of time. This time, "self-medicating" was not very effective. Dayquil didn't help. Motrin helped a bit, not much. Benadryl did help...but it knocked me out. Good for nighttime, not good for daytime. Benadryl+vodka rocked!!! But again, not good for daytime. I discovered the magic of the Neti-Pot--I would say that gave me the most relief--irrigating my nose with warm saline. Hopefully the ENT can help my ears unpop and the need for a CAT scan is unneccesary...I mean, its not like I have sinus problems normally...I don't even suffer from allergies!

But, January was not a complete bust. The weather has been topsy-turvy...we've had snow, rain, a few beautiful sunny days, and even some warm weather, thank-you-very-much global warming!! Last Thursday and Saturday it was beautiful, high 40's. Monday it was monsoon like weather with winds that took out our flagpole and rains that flooded a lot of things. Today its snowing lightly and tomorrow there is a high of 20 degrees. Below is a picture I took on monday of the cherry tree...after warm rains all day the sun finally came out. Made it look deceptively like spring.

G3 has been doing well and he has been such a good boy lately...which is good, because for those of you who don't know...Moms don't get a sick day!!! But I have to admit that he is great at playing by himself while I lounge on the couch burning the tops of my legs off with the laptop. Over the course of his own sickness, he fell into a pattern of taking pretty long naps every single day. I feel best in the mornings...so I usually get up, bang out a bunch of "wifin' it" (clean, errands, laundry, grocery shopping, ebay, dinner...whatever is on the agenda.) At 2pm we go read stories and then G3 sleeps for a good 2-3 hours (usually.) This has been my time to rest, and I have to say its been nice. Although rest will only get you so far, and around the 3rd week of sickness I got back into working out (even squeezing a run in!) which I honestly think made me feel better than just lying about like a dying person.

Gabey, forced to entertain himself while Mommy lounges on the (new!) couch...

So, here is hoping February brings better things!! It is my least favorite month...but one of my mental New Years Resolutions was/is to find the bright side in things I have no control over...let insignificant things slide off my shoulders...not really sure how I am doing with this b/c the month of January had me waking up every Monday feeling "THIS is going to be a great week" and going to bed each Monday evening thinking, "WTF was that about?" Sickness will do that to you...I definitly have a new appreciation for the chronically ill...no wonder they get depressed and bitchy.

But anyhow...February should bring some good things. A road trip to visit my cousin Erin (I hope!). Superbowl Sunday. Gabey's first overnight at Grammy Sharon's. Valentine's day (cause we know that's such a big event in this house, HA). And, an adults only trip to Atlantic City with some friends in the end of the month. Then its March...then its April....SPRING...May will bring a vacation to the OBX and before I know it summer will be speeding by like a freight train, with long days, a dirty, tanned and blonde child, leaves on the trees, snakes in the garden, sunlight til evening and warmth....

But first...February!

One of the cuter January moments...Gabey's class at school on jammie day...