I think the germs are gone!

Germs have flown around our household this past week. It started with Rob. He was feeling nauseous, stuffy, sore throat, achy, feverish and had a horrible headache last Friday. It was so bad, he was down for the count all day (before Leah’s party) and stayed in bed the entire day. He felt a little better the next day but it lingered around for the next few days. Tuesday morning, Leah woke up coughing and crying at 4:00 am. She was super clingy and would not let me put her down (and she remained this way until almost 8:00 am). She kept saying her throat and mouth hurt. I decided I needed to stay home with her. As soon as her doctor’s office opened up, I called to make her an appointment. She was miserable all morning, but then around 8:00 am, it was like she flipped a switch. She started acting like her silly self again, dancing around playing. She was still coughing and congested though.

I was able to get her in at 10:00 am for an appointment. She was also due for her 2 year old check-up too, so we were able to make this a duel-purpose appointment. The doctor checked her throat and she did not have strep (which is what I was worried about). She said she had a really bad cold which was causing fluids to drain in her throat (which made it hurt). She also confirmed that Leah had an ear infection. Leah also got weighed, measured and received a shot for her two year old check-up. Leah weighed in at 27 pounds and is 36 inches tall! The doctor wrote her a prescription and we were on our way. We got her RX filled at Target and then came home so she could relax.

That afternoon, I started not to feel so hot. My throat started to hurt and my nose was runny/stuffy. It wasn’t bad so I carried on as usual. I could tell Leah was starting to feel better. She watched several episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, took a good nap and seemed to be getting back to normal. Leah is the only two year old that I know that loves to take her medicine. She is on amoxicillin for the ear infection and she needs to take it 2X’s a day. When I tell her it is time to take her medicine, she gets so excited and starts dancing and sings “Medicine, medicine, medicine, yeah, yeah, yeah!” She is a goof ball.

By Wednesday, my throat was killing me and I was feeling pretty lousy. I have so much going on at work so staying home again was not an option. I also had my 16 week doctor’s appointment for baby bean that morning. Everything is on track. The baby has a strong heartbeat (160) and he/she had the hiccups while listening to the heartbeat. We scheduled our 20 week ultrasound appointment for next month and we’ll (hopefully) finally learn if Leah is going to have a brother or sister. I was able to get through the day, but I was SO tired when I got home. I put on my PJ’s and was in bed by 7:30 pm. Rob was great and took care of Leah so I could go get some rest.

That night, my sore throat turned into a nasty, nasty cough that ended up keeping me up for at least 4 hours during the night. It was awful. I couldn’t sleep. The cough seems to be its worst at night and has continued since. I am hoping it will wind down soon. This baby is probably wondering what the heck is going on! It really stinks not being able to take anything to make me feel better. I had to sleep in the other room because this cough has been keeping me up for 2 hour chunks at a time. I didn’t want to keep Rob up too. Today I am feeling pretty good (besides the raspy manly voice I have going on), but I have a feeling this cough is going to rear its ugly head when I am trying to go to bed tonight. Rob is gone for the next few days for work, so I am riding solo taking care of my little girl. It is almost 4:30 pm in the afternoon and we are still in our PJ’s! It has been one of those kind of days!

My goofy girl in her jammies!

Yo Gabba Gabba - Leah's 2nd Birthday Party

After weeks of preparation, Leah's big party day had finally arrived! For the past several months, Leah has been obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba. She would watch it constantly and always yell "Gabba Mom, Gabba!" She knows all of the character's names and would sing and dance to all of the songs. She was crazy for it, so naturally we (when I say we, I mean "I") decided to plan her party around this theme. After a few weeks with her party plans in full swing, Leah proceeds to tell me she doesn't like Yo Gabba Gabba anymore. What?! No Leah - you HAVE to like Gabba for a bit longer! She has moved on to bigger things like Dora, Mickey Mouse Club House and Oso.  Oh well - she is 2, she changes her mind at least 30 times a day. Of course, she probably still does like Gabba (at least a little). Once she saw some of the decorations for her party and the cute "Foofah" dress I ordered, she seemed to get back on board. Phew.

It's funny how much work goes into party planning and then it is all over in a matter of hours. Thanks to Pinterest and Etsy, I was able to get plenty of birthday ideas! After all of the planning, errands, crafts, DIY projects, baking, cooking, and shopping I felt like I put a ton of effort into her big day (and I loved every minute of it). But then when it all came together for her party, I felt it didn't look like the grand vision that I had in my head. Do you think Leah cares about any of it? Probably not, but I had fun with whole planning process. As a busy full time working mom, I had to squeeze in time here and there to get stuff done for her party.

The invitation

Party Poms (that I could have used Jaime's assistance with - her's always come out awesome)!

"Muno" Chocolate Covered Pretzels (pinterest)

The finished product

Chocolate covered Oreos

Pretzel Buttons

Gabba Napkin Rings

Gabba Centerpieces with balloons attached

The day before her party I had the day off so I could finish making all of the food and run various last minute errands. We decided to do pizza for the party to make things easy. Rob was really sick on Friday and was down for the count the entire day, so it was up to me to take care of everything. The day of Leah's party was a bright, sunny day. Everything went pretty smooth and I think the birthday girl had a blast.

The Birthday Girl in her Foofah dress

Sweets Table

Birthday Cake (http://cscbakeshop.com/)

Leah's Muno Smash Cake (http://cscbakeshop.com/)

Gabba Cookies (http://www.sweetthoughtscookies.com/ - I would highly recommend)

Yummy Cupcakes

Treat Boxes for the kiddies

Plex Mix and Muno Pretzels

We had a special guest come and make an appearance at the party. Plex! I was a bit nervous because I wasn't 100% sure what I signed up for when I booked the appearance. Would it be lame? Weird? Creepy? I didn't know exactly what he would be doing at the party. In the end, I think he ended up being a hit with the kids. He did a few games and dances and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Leah took a few minutes to warm up, but she after a short time, she was right in the mix dancing and having fun.

Even though at times I complain how much work goes into planning a party, I think it is worth it in the end. Leah had a great time. Thank you to ALL of our friends and family for helping make Leah's big day so special!!



Happy Birthday Leah!

Today is a very special day indeed! Two years ago, our sweet little Leah graced us with her presence and our life has never been the same! Happy Birthday to my smart, wonderful princess! I cannot imagine life without her. Every day, Leah says something that amazes me or simply just makes me laugh. She is wise beyond her years. We can actually carry on conversations and I understand what she means (most of the time). She is ultra sensitive and has the biggest heart. She cries when she sees her "friends" get hurt or will always come give me a hug and kiss for no reason and say "Mommy, I wuv you." She is a total snuggle bug (and I love it). Leah has her fair share of drama queen moments. She hates being dirty and she washes her hands at least 10 times a day. She is creative and loves to color, paint and do crafts. Leah is such a special little girl. I can't wait for her to be a big sister!

This morning I tried to take a few pictures of the birthday girl before I dropped her off at school. Every time I tried to snap a shot, she'd yell, "No Pictures!!" She then said, "Momma, put your camera away!" Needless to say, we did not get any good pictures this morning!

When I dropped her off, she received a special birthday treat at daycare - a "moonie" (as she calls them). This sure put a smile on her face!

I got Leah a little early from school today and we picked Dad up from the train station so we could head to Woodfield Mall. We took Leah to Rain Forest Cafe for her birthday dinner. We thought she would like it there with so much to look at. She loved the fish and the animals. She did not like when it "stormed." She got scared. We probably could have just went to Chili's for dinner though...it probably would not have made a difference to her and we could have saved at least half on our bill.

When we got home, it was time for presents and cake! Leah got a new bike! She immediately ran to sit on it. She had fun playing with her balloons too! We also decided to get Leah a fish tank for room with her very own fish! She is in awe of the fish and has been watching them for awhile. She loved feeding them. 

Overall, I think she had a great birthday! We're excited for her birthday party this weekend!



Happy Heart Day!

This Valentine’s Day, Daddy is away on business. He left early this morning but will be back tomorrow (just a short two day trip). Rob has been traveling a lot lately. I told him he needed to be sure he was going to be home on his daughter’s birthday (2/16)! This morning, when we came down stairs, there were red roses waiting for Mommy! Leah had a special Valentine’s Day donut for breakfast and she opened up her little Valentine’s Day present. We found her the “cutest” Minnie Mouse shirt and matching skirt – I had to get it for her! She got a few other treats too!

This past Saturday we attempted to do “Valentine’s Day” pictures. Leah was so uncooperative and clung to my hip almost the entire time. She would not crack a smile and was being so stubborn. I hope pictures get easier as she gets older! Here are some pictures from her shoot – as you can see, she was not a happy girl......

Of course, as soon as we got home, she was ALL smiles – running around the house acting so goofy. She still had her cute outfit on so I decided to whip out my camera and try to capture some pictures on my own.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!