A big to do about very little

As I get older, I spend less and less time thinking about Christmas.

Truth is that as a new mom and still relatively newly wed person, I find that there are just a lot of other things to think about. Because we're coming up on the end of the year, I will re-cap.

January 30 - Put on bed rest and started working from home to finish a couple of big projects. It worked out so nicely I asked work if we could do "home" work permanently. They graciously agreed, but I think they were just desperate.

February 21 - Felix Stephen Webster arrived all sorts of unexpectedly. With lots of nervousness about breathing issues, he stayed in the hospital for 9 days and then went home on oxygen. We discovered quickly that he was much more uncomfortable with it off than on. Doc said it was okay to leave him off.
(Felix at the library in December)
March 25 - 1-year anniversary. Marriage still feels surreal and sometimes I have to remind myself that I really am married. I mean, I spent 32 years single, and now this! Brent continues to astound and impress me in many ways.

April something - my little sister finally married her long-time sweetheart. Both families gave huge sighs of relief.

Um, summer happened. I can't remember much. I know there were family things. Brent and I were entertained greatly by the growth and development of our offspring.
October - I got strep. Then Felix got it. Never mind that it's extremely unusual for infants to get it. He also got a super duper nasty yeast diaper rash that took forever to heal.

November - I got a kidney infection and cysts on my ovaries that disguised themselves as possible appendicitis. The day they removed my healthy appendix, Brent took Felix to the doctor because he had croup and could hardly breathe. That was a miserable couple of weeks. Thank goodness for steroids that open breathing passages or Brent and I might never have slept again!
(new play place for Felix this winter)

Also in November - fun times with family for Thanksgiving. I started working more from home. We started realizing the scope of the medical bills.

December - I think I started my important Christmas shopping the Thursday before Christmas. Oh, our internet went down for about 3 weeks and as a result I started going back to the office to work. I actually kind of like it but it does put a strain on Brent. We finally switched internet providers and got wireless internet (which, for some reason, doesn't function on my work computer so I still have to go to the office to work).

more December - Brent begins to get very suspicious of his health. He recognizes that he is always thirsty and always has to go to the bathroom. He has inexplicably lost 10 or 15 pounds recently. One Sunday he borrows my dad's blood sugar tester. 375 isn't a good number. We're worried and a little scared, and still trying to figure out how to get insurance. Brent is in the process of trying to apply for the company where my brother Jared recently started. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

December 24 - I finally do some wrapping. We try to go see a movie and see someone selling puppies in the parking lot. Movie was sold out, and after deliberating for too long, the puppy we liked best was sold out too. But they had a different puppy we could look at if we wanted. We did. We liked it. We purchased it. I wouldn't say that I actually regret it, but it really is just as annoying to train a puppy as I remembered. I'm finding my socks all over the house and everything that's even near the floor is fair game for chewing. Plus, he's not house trained. Gah! I hate picking up puppy poo!

December 25 - We go over to my sister's because I love being around lots of little kids on Christmas morning. Felix throws up on me before we leave, as we arrive, and then all day long. We figured it wasn't a big deal because he does occasionally throw up (very different from spit-up, as any parent could attest). But we left after just an hour or two because Felix was totally listless and cuddly. If you know Felix, you will know that he's not cuddly. He loves being held, but he wants to be active at the same time. Not that day. He slept for most of the day and kept down the pedialyte for a maximum of about half an hour (the couple of sips he would take) but most of the time for only about 10 minutes. Brent and I changed clothes a lot.

later on Dec 25 - I left the boys (Brent, Felix, and DustBunny aka Dusty) at home to rest and went back to Anne's for a family shindig. By then everyone had already been exposed and I still didn't think it was necessarily contagious.

December 26 - my granola sis-in-law says she can smell rota virus and that's probably what Felix has. Not a good thing because she and my bro are staying in the same house as us and have lots of contact, it's extremely contagious, and their youngest has serious health issues that could mean hospitalization with rota virus. Felix starts the day off with diarrhea and, well, he still has it. But then I get sick too. Mostly it's just sick to my stomach and the runs. Karin assures me that it's rare for adults to get rota. We still make it to the Hyatt extended family Christmas party. I really hope they don't all get sick too. The clubhouse where we had the party had a pool... (Abish, Andy, Zeke, Hannah, Rachel)

December 28 - impromptu get-together at my sister's again. It was really nice to see some long-distance family and talk to them. Two cousins had invaluable advice on the diabetes front because they are both young and have been diagnosed in the past couple of years. Brent and I decided to catch a movie, so we went to National Treasure. Kind of hokey but fun. We picked up some toasted subs from Arby's beforehand (in my opinion, they are the best fast food sandwiches around at the moment) and left Felix with Anne and Denny. Felix apparently terrorized them all night with his mad diarrhea and vomiting skills. When we left he was in a pretty good mood, but turns out that after a short nap (that should have been going to bed for good), he screamed for an hour, till my sister buckled him in his car seat and locked him in her bedroom, shortly after which he fell right asleep. Poor kid. Poor Anne.

Today - Felix is still going through many changes of clothes per day. He's still throwing up, and his diarrhea shows no sign of stopping. Karin said it's normal for it to last a week. We're giving Felix gatorade a couple of times a day. He doesn't really like it though, but we don't want him to get dehydrated.

Brent gave me a camera for Christmas (I gave him rootbeer), so I finally have some good pictures to put up.

Oh, two more things. My awesome friend CarrieAnne invited me to sew/craft with her sister and another friend and we've done it twice now. I'm in love with all of them. Soooooooooo cool to have good new friends that are so interesting and entertaining! And... I made myself some sock/slippers yesterday. They are knee high and are fitted to my feet and calves. My ankles are always cold, but no longer! I might have to try to market them somehow because they are awesomeness!