For the love of silly bands!

Angelica will do just about anything I ask her to do in exchange for a silly band.

Tonight, for example, she did the following on the simple promise that she would get a silly band at the end of the day:
- Sat in the shopping cart at the grocery store without fighting.
- Stopped mid-swing when threatening to hit her daddy (we're in a hitting/kicking phase right now that NEEDS TO STOP)
- Climbed into her car seat and sat down and let me buckle her in without a fight.
- Sat in the booth at the restaurant tonight and ate her dinner.
- Listened when I told her to STOP RUNNING down the sidewalk.
- Held my hand when crossing the street.

In exchange she got to pick two silly bands from the package I keep in my purse.

These things are better than lollypops! And less sugar, too :)

Wordless Wednesday: At the car wash...

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too!, The Florida Hogans, and Shibley Smiles!

And the cycle continues...

So you might have noticed a missing Wordless Wednesday post this week. Here's the backstory! (I will be back for WW next week!)

So, Angelica was back to her normal self on Monday...fever gone and happy as could be. I had gotten up early, worked out, got her ready, got her and Scott out the door and wound up with an upset stomach. After awhile I started to feel better so I got my stuff together and went to work, thinking it was nothing more than the "normal" GI issues I usually have.

Tuesday I woke up feeling off...and by the afternoon I was just flat out in pain. Left work early, headed to the urgent care center, got my vitals checked (normal BP and no fever!), and was preemptively diagnosed with a gallbladder issue (the whole stabbing pain under my right ribcage that was keeping me from being able to fully breathe in because oh my god it hurt). They sent me over to the ER to get an ultrasound done. I called Scott, who informed me that he was also sick (with a fever of 101) but could leave work to get Angelica and find someone to watch her. (I told him to stay home but, no, devoted man he is, he had to come to me!)

By the time I got to the triage at ER, I had a fever. By the time I got put into a room, it was over 101.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the ER was swamped, I got there at 4:30 and left at 11 with prescriptions for Zofran (even though I didn't have nausea) and ibuprofen (which I already had at home), no explanation for what was going on other than "general abdominal pain" and orders to rest because it was probably a virus. I did get that ultrasound of my gallbladder/kidney and was told everything looked "perfect"...shocking for someone whose family history pretty much includes everyone having their gallbladder removed.

And the whole time the mom in me was (silently) screaming, "But my baby! She needs me!" I felt so guilty that I couldn't be there with her...even though my own health was in question at the time. Truth: The best part of my day is the smile on my baby little girl's face when I pick her up from daycare.

Ahh, parenthood. The never-ending cycle of guilt.

(FYI, I was 12 hours fever free and now I think I have what Angelica had over the weekend because it's BAAAACK. And so that cycle continues as well.)

On the mend...

I'm glad to report that Angelica is back to her normal self!

She slept in our bed on Saturday night since our room has a ceiling fan. She ultimately kicked her daddy out of bed (LOL) so it was just me and her. I woke up to her mumbling and asking for water around 8:30. She was still feverish, didn't eat much for breakfast, went down for a nap at 1 and finally woke up around 5:30 when Scott went in to check on her.

At that point, she was fever-free! She went outside, played on her swings, ate a good dinner, and then went back down to bed at 9:00...woke up today and ate a HUGE breakfast, polishing off all of her cereal and some of my yogurt!

Thank goodness for that! :)

As far as McFatty Monday goes...I keep forgetting to weigh in. I've been more focused on the physical feeling of getting fit rather than the number on the scale. I'm sure it's pretty stagnant though, I've been eating like crap lately and I actually did take a week and a half off of running thanks to my daughter causing me to tweak my back. Fortunately it's better today, and I was up and running before everyone else was awake today! I'll try to remember to weigh in next week :)

A Saturday of Ups and Downs

Well, today started off wonderfully. We got up, ate breakfast and then headed out to watch my nephew play soccer. Angelica was so excited about it...she loves soccer, and she loves her cousin Willy, so it was the best of both worlds!

After the game, we had lunch with my sister and brother in law, the kids, and her in-laws at Subway, then went back to their place to play with their soccer ball and goal. Angelica LOVED it! She also got to play with their neighbor's kids, their baby kitty, and their toys.

We came home, "rested" (she didn't nap), played outside on the swing set, and then Grandma and PopPop came by for a visit and gave Angelica a new Minnie Mouse "wubby". She had a GREAT time!

Then...about five minutes after they left, she started acting really tired and lethargic. Scott felt her forehead and she was warm. She started to cry and just laid down on the floor and started crying "Mommy....mommy" so I picked her up...she snuggled up to me and just whimpered...and in less than 2 minutes she just fell asleep in my arms. She NEVER asks to be held. Never. This kid will fall down, bust her lip, have blood pouring everywhere and tell me to leave her alone! So, this was a sure-fire indication that she was SICK.

At least the day started out well. Hope she's over whatever it is tomorrow (and that it's not the urinary reflux causing a UTI...it'd be the first once since she was diagnosed at 5 months old...sigh...)

Our crazy life!

So I mentioned in my Wordless Wednesday post that things have been busy. So here's a brief recap of the past couple of weeks...

- Went to Bryce's birthday party!
- Celebrated Scott's 28th birthday
- Did some "end of summer" cleaning to clear out our storage closet that was bursting at the seams.
- Been working a part time job (on my own schedule at home at night) for some extra income
- Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning
- Losing my focus on my running routine (but trying to get back into it!)
- Spending time with the cousins (Willy & Anna)
- Scott finished the swing set so now we spend a lot of time outdoors playing
- Trying to save my garden (all but three plants have died...::sad face::)
- Editing photos
- Did I mention cleaning? (LOL)
- Working on crafts with Angelica. Her most recent one was making a homemade card for Scott's birthday...complete with glitter, which I'm sure I don't have to tell you was SUPER messy!
- Completing traffic school (Anybody else ever get a ticket for going 35 MPH? In a 25?)
- Taking a personal growth/self improvement workshop
- Doing some other self-study
- Doing a LOT of budget planning. We've been working the Dave Ramsey system since the end of June and I'm really into it...probably more than I should be. Haha. I get kind of obsessed with my budget spreadsheet. But it's working so it's worth it!

I feel like the smoke has finally cleared though and I'm getting back into the swing of things! Whew!

And in the latest news, looks like we'll be celebrating Scott's promotion! Hooray for good news :)

Here are a couple of cute pictures from the past few weeks to show for all the fun we've had!

Wordless Wednesday: Sassyface

(Look for regular posts to resume soon! I know I've been slacking off on the updates but we have been super busy lately!)

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too!, The Florida Hogans, and Shibley Smiles!

Wordless Wednesday: Mommy Baby Photo Frenzy

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too!, The Florida Hogans, and Shibley Smiles!

No news is good news!

I know I've been slacking on posting blogs lately. Truth be told we have been pretty busy lately and it's been hard to find time to sit down and type up a post! As the saying goes, no news is good news :)

We did have a fantastic Labor Day weekend, though. Aside from Friday night, when I got to leave work early but then got stranded at a shopping center with a dead car battery, we kept busy!

Saturday we hung out around the house for most of the morning...did naptime, then headed over to my friends Anna and Mary's new kids consignment/resale shop, Little Bird. If you live in east Orlando/Oviedo, check it out -- it's a super cute store with some really neat items, run by some really awesome people. Cotton Candy the Clown was there doing face painting...we tried to get Angelica to get her face or hand painted, so I got a butterfly painted on my hand. She still wouldn't cooperate. Little stinker :) But she did love the butterfly on my hand...

After that, we went to visit with my parents. My mom had sewn this adorable little dress for her, which I've got to get pictures of, and gave her a pair of new Dora sneakers. Angelica was in heaven with both of those things. That girl cannot put on a dress and NOT twirl!

The rest of the weekend was a blur. We went to a party, went to Monkey Joe's with my niece and nephew, hung out with my sister and brother in law and met their new kitten. I feel like we were hardly home all weekend! It's almost like I need a weekend to recover from my weekend :)

Anyway, I'll have more interesting things to say, and some cute pictures for Wordless Wednesday coming up, so stay tuned!