The Upside of Sick Babies

I definitely do not enjoy having anybody in my family sick, especially my babies. Unfortunately, for nearly the past five weeks, someone has been sick, and most of the time it's been Ella's ear infections.

Yesterday was yet another trip to our pediatrician to find out both Nolan and Ella have bronchiolitis, which requires breathing treatments for both of them every two to three hours. And Ella's ears are still not clear!

I snapped this picture of Nolan yesterday taking his "dinosaur medicine." I still don't have a picture of Ella because she screams bloody murder while taking her treatment, so she's been a bit more difficult.



It's so easy to focus on the negative things in life. As I've been getting more sleep than I know what to do with exhausted beyond belief, I stopped for a minute and realized that I was getting sucked into the negativity and allowing myself to wallow in a pity party. I decided to pick myself up and reverse my thinking.

If my babies have to be sick, these are the things I cherish about this time:

I feel and am told I'm needed more during sickness than during any other time.
"Mama, 'hole' you, 'hole' you." This is what Nolan begs of me during most of our waking hours when he's not feeling up to par.
As Nolan and Ella take their breathing treatments, it forces me to sit on the couch and relax with them.
I enjoy quietly cuddling and caressing Nolan's and Ella's hair.
While Nolan takes his treatment, I whisper, "I love you, Nolan." He then returns with, "Lush you, Mama."
Allowing my babies to fall asleep in my arms. What a special time!
The feeling of giving all of myself to my babies that I love so much.
Remembering that as much as I may feel sorry for myself, there are those that have much more difficult situations to deal with, and with time, this will pass.
I'm evermore grateful that I'm able to stay home to nurture and care for my babies.

As tired as Craig and I may get, we realize that the day will come soon enough that Nolan and Ella will be grown and need a different kind of loving care. I will make the best of it, thank God for my blessings, and cherish the sweet moments of my days.

Fall

I absolutely love the fall! I love the smell of cooler weather in the air, leaves changing, pumpkin carving, beginning to prep for the holidays, etc. I'm sure some of my love for this season could have to do with the fact that my birthday is in the fall and so is the State Fair of Texas, which is special to me and Craig. (He proposed to me on the ferris wheel back in '02.)

I almost let the season fly past me without taking pictures of the kids playing in the leaves. Since it was so nice yesterday, I raked a few big piles and let them enjoy the beauty of the fallen leaves.


My raked piles didn't last too long, but they had such a great time!

"Mom, I'm not so sure I'd like to have leaves for lunch today if that's all right with you."

Nolan and Ella are interacting more and more these days. They truly enjoy each other's company!

"Mom, no more pictures, please. Don't you think you've taken enough for today?"


Growing up in Illinois, I fondly remember raking leaves into huge piles, jumping in them, throwing them, and enjoying the outside playtime! I also remember the smell of burning leaves, which, to me, just makes the season complete.