Sunday, February 26, 2012

February...where is the love???

I am so good to the month of February.
I decorate.

I throw parties.

I  bake treats and take them to neighbors.
I let the tots join in on the fun.

I make heart pancakes.

I leave personalized love notes on the wall.

I dress myself and my kids in red & pink as much as possible.

For goodness sake the Valentine's Fairy even comes to visit.

I celebrate with big Valentines.

So why has the month of love shown no return?
It started like this:
Tyler was told on Wednesday, Feb 1st, that he needed to be in Ireland for work on Thursday, February 2nd.
For 2 and a half weeks.
Okay fine.
I figured he would miss my talk in Stake Conference and our Annual Valentine's Day Bash, but other than that we could survive.
No biggie, right?
Well that 2 and a half weeks turned out to be just a few days shy of the whole month.
My talk and our party seem like years ago.
I wish that was the only excitement he missed around here.

We have had 8, I repeat 8, Dr's office visits since he left.
& trust me, that's not because I'm a paranoid mom...every visit was justified.

Here's what we've had:
Ashby
(fortunately, & somehow miraculously, she was the healthiest of us all)
flu...fever, cough, vomits

Linc
(his is a long list)
cold
ear infection
hives
yeast infection
failed hearing test
pukey stomache flu

Avy
cold
pukey stomach flu

Me
mastitis
flu
and the diagnosis of skin cancer

I realize a few things on this list are cause for explanation, but first let me just point out that our kitchen sink & bathroom sink were clogged for days...the week we happened to all be puking.
I called the property mgmt company and told them.  Nothing.  I called again 2 days later and left a message detailing how gross the sinks were and that we all had the flu and they needed to get here stat (thank you, heather), and they immediately, finally sent someone out.

Here you go.
The explanations:

1- Linc
hives
One morning he woke up then took his jammers off.
As soon as he ran past me with his nakey self, I initially thought maybe Avy had scratched him or hit him bc I saw this flash of red nakedness run past my eyes.
 I was like,
"Gus! Get yo hot bod right back here...what is all over you?"
Once he held still I started to freak.
I realized these massive welts and bumps were indeedy not the work of a big sister.
I threw everyone and myself in the car and headed to urgent care.
The doc said it was just a case of bad hives due to something.
Awesome.
I love when I get no answers.
She did say it was a common reaction to a brewing virus,
and low and behold, he and I both started throwing up later that night.

yeast infection
Poor guy.
I've never seen him in so much pain.
He woke up screaming one morning at 5 telling me his bum hurt.
He then continued to scream and fall to the floor in pain over and over again.
(A day before he did develop some strange rash on his bunsies, but I didn't think anything of it.)
Again, I threw the gang in the car and headed to urgent care.
We're regulars there now.
I'm sure when they see my car pull up they say,
"Oh goody! Here comes the circus again!"
The Dr. prescribed him a yeast infection cream & it seems to be working.
Thank goodness!

failed hearing test
So we've been a bit concerned about his speech.
He's just so stinking smart (just ask me) and gets so frustrated when he can't communicate with us.
So the go-getter in me kicked in and I started to make all sorts of appointments and fill out speech applications to get things checked out...in the event there is an issue.
He had an audiologist appointment last week and it turned out one of his ears didn't pass the test.
The Dr did say that this could be because he was on antibiotics and was recovering from the ear infection.
So we're going back for another test in a few weeks.
HOWEVER, no concerned mom (with her husband across the world, mind you) wants to leave the dr's office being told there's the possibility that her child has a hearing problem.

2- Me
I know.
Strange.
But also not strange seeing as how I am "abnormally white".
(Tat's words the first time we ever met)
Really, it was just a matter of time.
I am the perfect candidate for it:
fair skin- check
blue eyes- check
blonde hair- check
red hair- check
family history- check
freckle easily- check
no possibility of a natural sun tan- CHECK

So yeah, I'm still a bit shocked, but it's actually a good thing to have found it while I'm still young.
It's a HUGE wake-up call for me to be more uber sensitive to the sun & to make sure I am always covering me & my fair-skinned kiddles in hats and sunscreen.

I get this bad boy removed from my scalp in March.
So if I walk around with a huge bald spot and wearing one of these while at Gilroy Gardens all summer long:

you'll know why.

So let this be a lesson to you all:
Go visit a dermatologist for a little looksy at anything you think seems a bit strange.
DO IT.
NOW.

So that was our month.
Thank you Thank you Thank you
to the dear friends who have texted and emailed on a daily basis to make sure I'm not holed up in a corner twitching.
And for friends being so inspired to help, often without even knowing about the chaos going on here.
Thank you for dropping off dinners or bread or coming early to the party or taking my kids all day many days or asking what I need at the store or inviting us over to dinner.
Seriously, the list goes on.
I am so, so blessed.

And I couldn't possibly not thank my siblings for helping to save us too.
Whit-Whit held down the fort while I was often gone for Stake Play practice with the youth.
And Austy, well he was Superman.
There were many days he told me to go lay down and he would take over.

One day he even took Avy & Linc from 2-8pm.
They went to Golfland, dinner, a movie, and even stopped by the store for me.
He watched the 2 youngers while I worked in Avy's class a few times.
He let me bust out for a dinner one night with some friends.
He washed the non-dishwasher dishes out back with the hose.
Seriously.  He did.
He often watched a kid or 2 while I hauled myself and the others to & from the dr's visits.
I was going to cancel the V-day party but he told me no.
He helped decorate, run errands, then took the kids all evening & night.
And he even slept here the whole month because he knows I hate to be home alone.
What a champ.
Thanks!

Yes, we missed our Irish Tyler.

He missed out on quite the month over here.
When he called me from New York while on layover,
I said, "Are you really on American soil???"
And then I cried.
I sobbed.
I missed him a lot.

So overall, I guess the month of Februray did show me some love.
Life happens.
Crap happens.
Coincidentally enough a lot of really bizarre, unfortunate, every single day someone was sick, stuff happened to happen while I didn't have a husband here, but we survived.
Sure it didn't turn out to be the month I had hoped for.
But now that I've typed this and rehashed the past 4 weeks, I realize I am so loved.

There were countless tender mercies from the Lord this month that I would be completely selfish and ungrateful if I said February showed me no love.

Here's to a great March!
Afterall, isn't it the month o' the Irish???


11 comments:

erin said...

You are uh-mazing and a Super Woman of a mom!! We love the Atwoods!

Matt and Jessie said...

Wow! That is a memorable month. Sorry it has been so rough! I am glad you got the hubby back to town. Your fam is amazing, and I am sure they were so glad to help out! You are equally amazing to keep on keepin on! Hopefully you get a break and that March is better to ya!

Molly said...

Oh my goodness. What a terrible month! I almost cried when I read about how much your brother helped you. So sweet! Sorry to hear about the skin cancer. That is a sobering wake-up call, isn't it?

LJ, DC and ML said...

Holy crapola Hayley! That is an incredible string of events. What a great brother. I remember years ago someone proclaiming February to be the armpit of the year. Indeed, it's attacked you! I'm so sorry sweets but glad to hear you were watched over and made it through. You are Super Mama!

teuscher travels said...

I had tears when you said you missed tat, so glad your man is back and may march be fabulous!! Both the pics of ashby kill me, her is the suitcase is so darn cute and love her snuggled up with dad. Austy really is amazing, we should clone him. Hope you get some time off and much deserved rest!

The Bock Family said...

You make me feel normal....seriously. so my life is not the only crazy one. There is someone out there who understands me! Good luck with the cancer. By the way....possibly coming up in may. I would love a visit!!

Jake said...

Now you know what it's like in our home!!:) everytime Jake leaves, we get sick, and he leaves a couple of times a year. This last time was the first to not have any "natural disasters" so maybe our luck has changed. Glad to hear he is back even though we didn't get to see him.

The Mostess said...

Weird. I clearly remember asking several times if you needed anything while Tat was gone, and getting "nope, I'm good!" answers back. Why am I reading about all of this on your blog??

HELLOOOOOOOOOO! Barfy kids, hivey kids, clogged toilets, and skin cancer?????? I would not say you were good. At all.

PS--in case you forgot, I live about 2 blocks away from you, and you can drop your kids off anytime you need. You can actually text me dinner requests out of the blue, and the food will magically show up on your porch. I'm the plumbing whisperer. If I had a clue that *any* of this was going on, I would have just come and camped out with the barfies while you napped!

And now I'm calling to kind of yell at you and find out more about this skin cancer bit.

Jen said...

I just want to hug Austy for you. What a SUPER brother! (And, Whitney too. :) )

SOO glad that Tat is home to keep the insanity at a minimum.

Eric had a spot of non-malignant skin cancer removed a few years ago. Hopefully, yours is similar and doesn't cause you any more trouble.

Ashley A. said...

I'm so sorry about the skin cancer, Hayley! I had no idea about even half of this. I wish I could have helped more, too. I can take your kids any time you need. What a month for you. I hope March is better!

The Gilberts said...

Dang!!!!