What a week

*My darling husband put this new background on for me. Isn't it cute? However......he lost all of my links. Thanks to 'facebook' and most of you being linked to one another, I was able to find an address for most of my former links. I still don't have some of the links I used to have though. :-( Kim....Adalie's mommy....you're one of them! I can't find you! Please leave me your link if I used to have a link to you and don't anymore and I'll add you back. Thanks! Jill, Julia, & Sara are 3 others I can think of that I can't find.*

little rundown of this week:

Wednesday-It was a hard night Tuesday night, so Chris nicely decided to come home a little after lunch to give me a chance to rest. He actually said it wasn't just for me, that he was tired & not feeling great himself, but it was nice nonetheless. He truly is one of those 'one in a million men' who is such a great husband & daddy! He's not one of those who sits back and expects me to do it all. He is amazing!

Thursday-I guess this night seemed a little bit better but maybe just because I'd gotten a nap the afternoon before.....because she was up quite a bit (like 12, 2:15, 4, 6:35, 8:30) Also, Chris was nice enough to show up in the nursery at 4:00 offering to hold her and feed her. I'd pretty much been just nursing her, but we had thought maybe a little formula would fill her up more. I happily agreed to let him take her at 4-no complaints from me as I crawled back into bed.

I thought I might get out a little bit that afternoon as I was feeling a little 'stir crazy.' I did feel a little 'off' but thought it was just from being tired. I went through the whole routine of getting Gracie & Katie dressed and hair done and getting myself showered & dressed, etc. Ellie was taking a nice long nap and was still napping when I got ready, so I lay down on the couch to 'rest' while she finished her nap. Gracie & Katie were playing in the den where I was laying down. The longer I lay there, the worse I felt. I quickly realized that I actually had chills and felt horrible-similar to the flu.

I texted Chris to let him know and he immediately called me and said he'd come home. I called the doctor because I had a pretty good idea what was going on and knew antibiotics would be needed. The nurse called me back pretty quickly and set me up with an appointment-although not with the actual doctor, but I felt bad enough that I didn't really care who I saw!

Chris got home pretty quick and we got Ellie fed and everyone ready to go. He ended up sitting in the car with all 3 girls rather than bring them inside the office-he was prepared with videos to help G&K be happy. I felt horrible waiting for my turn but it was okay. The nurse practitioner came in and said that yes, it looked like I had what I thought I did...I really think it was the beginning of it, that we caught it early. I had 101.5 fever which made me feel like I was justified in feeling badly!

She told me she'd give me a prescription, that I should go to the ER over the weekend if things got worse and to come back for a re-check Monday. So, an hour later I was able to leave. I guess an hour really isn't that long to be in & out when I just made the appointment that day. I met Chris & the girls in the parking lot and we headed out, stopping for some errands along the way-all of which I stayed in the car for because I still felt horrible.

I took some Motrin soon after we got home to help with my awful headache & the achy feeling and also took my first dose of my antibiotic. I started feeling a little bit better-thanks to the Motrin I'm sure. Chris was supposed to work Friday but said he would see how I felt. When I woke up at 1:00 am with chills again, I guess he decided to stay home for which I was grateful! I mostly fed Ellie during the night when she needed it, but he gave her a bottle at some point and let me sleep in the next morning. We stayed pretty close to home Friday with Chris & the girls going out to swim and to the grocery at some point.

She had a pretty good night Friday night. She actually slept in her room by herself while I slept in my own bed which was nice. We probably all slept better since she couldn't hear us and we couldn't hear her! Chris let me sleep in some this morning also. I think having some extra sleep has helped alot. The antibiotics have helped quite a bit I think and I'm feeling quite a bit better although I do currently have a headache.

Since I was feeling better, my 'stir craziness" was back today, so we headed out to do some things this afternoon. We ate a late lunch at 'Carrabba's'-yum! Chris, Gracie, & Katie just headed out to the pool, and Ellie is snoozing in her bouncey seat while I'm updating the 'ole blog.

We have been talking to a few realtors about starting our house search. Chris really likes the one he had been talking to, so I think we'll probably end up using her. We are tentatively set to go look at some next week. We've been looking online and sent her a list of ones we'd like to see in person. That will be fun!!!!!!!

Also on the agenda for next week is Gracie attending 'art camp' at church. She is sooooo excited, and I am so happy for her to get to do this. She & Katie have both been really good the last couple of weeks and have really played together well, BUT I know they must be a little stir crazy as well, so I'm really glad that she's going to get to do this. She LOVES art and attended an art camp last year in Aiken and loved it, so I know she'll love going to one again this year-and I love that it's at church. Such a neat thing to have offered. The week after, Katie will be going to 'Creation Station' day camp for preschoolers at church. She is soooo excited, too. I'm fully prepared for her to be a little clingy and whiny about being left there, but I'm sure she'll do fine once it all gets started. She keeps wanting to know when she gets to go to her special thing. I'm also fully prepared for her to be whiny when we leave Gracie at church and she doesn't get to stay with her (when Gracie goes to art camp). However, she'll just have to deal with it. We'll probably head to the mall for at least part of the time. There's one nearby that has an indoor playground that I think she'll enjoy while Ellie & I sit and watch.

Also happening next week is a 'mini birthday party' for Gracie!!!!!! Her birthday isn't until July 28th, but the friend she wanted to have help her celebrate wasn't going to be in town that day, so we're celebrating a little early. I asked her what she wanted to do with her friend, and she said she wanted to have a play date and order pizza for lunch. Wow-I got off pretty easy with that one! So, we'll pick up her friend Friday morning and bring her over for them to play, then we'll have a little 'birthday party' around lunchtime then at some point take her friend back home. The theme this year is 'dolphins.' Well......it may not be very 'theme-ish' since I didn't find much at Party City and don't plan to drive all over Houston looking for things, but I hope they'll still have fun! After the party, we'll hopefully head out to meet with the realtor and look at some houses!

We'll probably do a little something as a family on her actual birthday and may do something when my brother & niece come visit the first week of August (I hope they get to come!) then we're also going as a family to San Antonio in a couple of weeks to go to Sea World!!!!!! I'm sure we'll see some dolphins there! So, I think Gracie will still have her birthday celebrated plenty even though it may not be one "big" party. With all the changes we've been through the past few months, I truly hope she feels special...because she is!

Ellie & I are probably going to church tomorrow!!!!!! It'll be nice to get out and be back at church again. We'll see how tonight goes and how I feel in the morning, but I think we probably will be there.