Naturally Optimistic

What the heck. I've been sneezing ALL. DAY.  LONG. It doesn't feel like a cold. It feels like allergies. Isn't everything frozen yet? If this is another cold I am going to be seriously TICKED OFF.

Day ?? of this stupid cold. I'm crabby & tired. But we managed to spend the day up at Gooseberry Falls State Park. It was really nice & I have some great photos, but right now I'm going to bed. Good night.

I have a cold. Pfffffffft. That is all. Goodnight. I'm also looking for a good homemade chicken soup recipe for tomorrow's super. Any ideas?

So, the child who was whiny, feverish, lethargic, not eating well, etc...? Has Hand Foot & Mouth Disease. Awesome. Thanks Day Care! pfffffffffffffffffffffffffft.

Dahlia has been CRANKY today. Wow. Crabby. Tired, Whiny whiny whiny. It's been driving us nuts! We thought it was probably the aftereffects of the Triplets' Third Birthday Party (I know! Can you believe they're 3??). We had a busy day of traveling down to St. Paul & back yesterday...filled with trains, cake, presents, playing with grandparents & cousins, etc. Dahlia slept pretty good in the car & slept til 8:30 this morning, but still we thought it was just lingering tiredness from yesterday. But oh the whining continued. Even after a nap. And a snack. And she didn't want to stay with us outside once it cleared up & got gorgeous out. Oh no. She was determined (& more whiny) to go inside. We were determined to keep her OUTSIDE. Finally Steve gave in & they came in. I was holding her a while ago and realized, DANG she's hot. And yup, she's got a wee fever. Nothing too major but that plus her tiredness/crankiness....perhaps she has a bug. So...

Last night bedtime went great. Dahlia was in a great mood, had a fun bath, read 3 stories & off to bed. Steve & I were both in bed by 9:30 - a full night's sleep awaited us. Until I had to keep getting up to pee (3 times before 3am - ARGH). Then I started coughing. Awesome. And then at 3 Dahlia woke up & started yelling for me. I was determined to NOT bring her into bed with me. We tried some water, cajoling, cuddling, talking to, explaining, rocking, singing, milk & finally I gave in. I was so mad at myself for doing it but I also NEED to get some sleep so I can kick this stupid cold. So around 4:15-4:30 or so we snuggled & she slept great. I finally slept too. When I was getting her dressed this morning I tried to reiterate that TONIGHT she will sleep ALL NIGHT in her own crib. She repeated it back to me, but I'm doubtful whether or not she gets it.

I think I have the Croup. Seriously. I was up half the night barking like a seal. It was not fun. Thankfully Steve was sleeping in the other room (heaven forbid we share germs!) but I think I still woke him up. Ugh. Then Dahlia was up & ready to go at 5am. Luckily I persuaded her to snooze a bit longer. She has (thankfully!) slept through the past few nights. I think the high humidity level in her room is really helping. Maybe I can sleep in there tonight! We're going to Grand Marais tomorrow, no matter WHAT I feel like. So there! Happy Friday!

Today my plan was to get up, drop Dahlia off at daycare, hit Barnes & Noble for some bridal mags for a newly engaged friend of mine, buy some maternity blue jeans (sadly needed) then go to work where I would make final tweaks on our 'rough cut' of RILEY before screening it before a few cast/crew members tonight. Instead I'm at home with a wee toddler who's hacking up nastiness in her lungs. She sounds terrible. When I called daycare today they said that one little one came down with bronchitis last week. Awesome. So we're going to the doctor this afternoon. I'm hoping it's 'nothing....' but I'd rather find out for sure. Of course it's only a few days before Steve & I have our getaway up the shore planned. I'm feeling "okay" but I have coughed a few times today. I hope I'm not getting sick!!! **Update: I took Dahlia to the doctor - it's an ear infection. On a scale of 10 it's about a 3-4 so it was good that I ...

I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection. My left cheekbone, jaw - to ear, area hurt. They just HURT. filled with pressure & so much mucus. I had a miserable night sleep as my teeth hurt, my face hurt from pressure, my pelvis hurts (ah, that's not related to the sinus infection). I've never had a sinus infection before but I'm pretty sure that after a week of blowing my nose with this stupid cold, that's what it is. Thank god it's not on the right side (yet...?). I tried using my neti pot last night - but my sinuses were so blocked that I couldn't even get water to flow. It was SO PAINFUL. I had an instant water-up-my-nose-headache all the way to the back of my head. Burning, tingling, not good. I gave up. I tried again this morning and I can actually breathe through both nostrils! That hasn't happened in a week (love the neti pot). I still have a lot of facial/jaw pain & pressure. I tried to make a doctor's appt today but my doctor no longer...

Of getting up at 6am. I would say I'm not really a *morning* person, but also not a *night owl* either. I prefer mid-day. Dahlia's still sleeping. Always seems such a waste to get up while she still slumbers! Ah well, gotta be out the door early today. Oh and my throat is sore. Lovely. If only I could take my beloved Zicam. Does anyone know if straight up zinc has the same cold-shortening effect?

So I got home last night from Minneapolis and was exhausted. I went to bed almost immediately. I woke up at 2:30 with terrible stomach cramps...followed by...nastiness (I won't go into detail). Ugh. My back aches & my stomach has continued to cramp throughout the day. I'm pretty sure I picked up a bug...somewhere. Maybe it's Dalhia's that she had earlier this week. It sucks. I have been miserable all day. Mostly I've just laid around while trying to 'entertain' Dahlia. Thank god for PBS. Also - thank god she took a 2 1/2 hour nap. So did I. I hope this goes away quickly. My stomach feels *okay* for the most part but my back continues to ache and make me feel gross. My stomach is growling - I haven't eaten in over 24 hours so I am going to do that now. Oh - I got my Cricut yesterday...I feel so crappy I haven't even opened it! Sometimes the day you plan is not the day that turns out at all.

After many weeks of going back & forth with 'should-we'shouldn't-we' regarding the H1N1 vaccine, today Dahlia & I were both vaccinated. Reasons against were simply - well, the paranoia about vaccinations in general...both for her and for me (being pregnant). Mercury and/or other preservatives, random adverse side-effects, etc. Reasons for included well, not wanting to get sick with this nasty flu-bug...and since I'm in the highest risk category and Dahlia's dealing with high-exposure potential at her daycare, we just thought it was right. There hasn't been any H1N1 vaccines in Duluth (or very little as far as I know, but today they started doing a "clinic" at the convention center for the highest risk group - until supplies run out. I contacted both my OB office & the Peds office and they both said if we want to get the vaccine to head there. So we did. It took about an hour & twenty minutes, Dahlia was great - she mostly entertain...

So as I was leaving Dahlia's daycare this morning, there was a sign on the door that says "we have one confirmed case & one suspected case of H1N1." Awesome. I talked to one of the teachers and she said this just came up yesterday. I'm trying not to allow myself to get swept up in a panic, but it's easy to do when people are shrieking about it everywhere. We've been very vigilant about hand washing & all that, but with toddlers, it's hard to keep toys & things out of their mouths. Ugh. I didn't know whether or not I should take her back home with me and say screw work...or if I should leave her there. I still don't know. I'm sitting here wondering if what I did was the right thing. My doctor told me they don't even want me 'caring' for anyone who becomes sick with the flu. Great! So what would I do? Go live somewhere else? That is heartbreaking on too many levels. Time to inflate the bubble around our house, I think. I a...

My Grandma went in for a meeting with the specialist at Mayo on Friday and also had a PET scan. The scan showed NO OTHER TUMORS in her entire body, which is awesome! They also decided to NOT do surgery on the tumor she has because 1) the tumor is incredibly slow growing; 2) such a surgery would probably be harder for my Grandma to go through than waiting out the tumor growing. I talked with my Grandma yesterday (it was her & my Grandpa's 67th Wedding Anniversary!!) and she said she is "relieved" that she doesn't have to have the surgery and also that the tumor's there and she's "not going to think about it that much." I think that is a fabulous attitude.

Okay - probably not but something got me in the middle of the night on Saturday/Sunday....I was restless all night, couldn't sleep...felt like there was a bit pit in my stomach. Did I have to pee? Was I just awake because Dahlia was actually sleeping? Did I have food poisoning...? I finally got up to pee and then decided that throwing up would also be a good thing to do. Ugh. Nothing like visiting the porcelain god at 3am. I went back to bed but was plagued by stomach issues (and more bathroom visits) off and on. I felt terrible yesterday morning. Crampy stomach, achy back and legs, it was not fun. I had to go to Hinckley for a rehearsal and it was all I could do to hold it together. I felt bad as I am supposed to be the captain on this ship and I could hardly sit up straight. When I got home Steve had taken Dahlia to his Dad's so I was able to take a nap. I felt better & worse off & on through the evening. I slept better last night - but still was up a bit. At least I...

Someone has the sniffles in our household which has prompted much wiping of a little nose today. Hmph. I hope this doesn't turn into a full blown cold!

Well, we're on day 6 of pretty much no sleep here. It's awesome. Dahlia either has a cold or is teething or perhaps both. I don't know. I can't tell. She has had a runny nose since Thursday; Thursday & Friday she had a fever for a while; she's crabby as ALL HELL; she doesn't sleep for crap; and now she has a cough. Right now she's content watching Elmo which is about penguins (which is her birthday theme! Maybe she'll connect the two...hahaha). Anyway - I'm exhausted. I just want a solid uninterrupted chunk of sleep. Oh, I have a cold too which makes it all just awesome!

I think Dahlia's either teething or sick - she's got a bit of a fever and didn't sleep AT ALL last night. I was up from 11:15 til 12:30 - then from 1:30 til....4? Finally after some 3am tylenol she fell asleep on my chest and we stayed that way til about 6am...then we slept in fits & starts for 10 minutes at a time til 8. It was a long and short night. She was warmer this morning - temp of 101.9 - I gave her more tylenol, she seemed a little better, ate a good breakfast, had ALL SORTS of energy (where from?!?) and has been in a relatively *good* mood. Now her nose is runny, she's starting to feel warm again and she is alternately in a good mood & crabby. ...and she just banged her head on a chair - she hasn't quite gotten the crawling-sense-of-self thing yet. It could be a mighty long day.

I've been out of the blogging loop this week. I could say I was saving all my "good" ideas for next week when we start NaBloPoMo but that would be lying. I'm recovering from a long weekend of shooting overnight in the rain and cold, finishing up my cold, drinking too much wine on Sunday night and moving - yes, I'm still recovering from moving. Soon i will be back...but now I have to stop my daughter from eating leaves. Oh! and the whole reason I logged on - to let you all know that I just reupped for a subscription to Martha Stewart Living WITH a free year's subscription to Everyday Food. I'm so excited and so dorky that I had to share that with everyone.

I have that feeling in the back of my throat. That feeling that I'm getting a cold. ARGH. Steve had it last week, I fear Dahlia's got it too (or close) and now me. Yuck. Donna - you're so right, Zicam works and I'm going to get more after I eat my oatmeal.