Please don't think I'm cruel for the following post. It's meant as a light-hearted look at the situation. I'm not picking on my daughter, and I in fact, love her more than I could ever begin to describe. I'm choosing laughter (and maybe a little exaggeration) as my outlet to a busy week! :)
I think I might be a bad mom. Even though my daughter had surgery this week, I had a really hard time cuddling her. Or comforting her. Or even being in the same room as her! My stomach turned every time she got near. It's not that I don't love that little girl, because that certainly is not the case. Its the smell!
Have you ever been around road kill? In July? About a week after it was hit? That's the smell! It's coming from her nose, her mouth and her ears. When I first noticed it, I was certain that she had an infection. Or maybe a rodent crawled in the back of her throat and died?! I was about to strap her in the car and b-line for the hospital, when the surgical center called to check in on her. The nurse told me it was normal, nothing to worry about, and as long as she doesn't get a fever over 101, everything is fine.
The nurses reassurance was nice, but that didn't help my gag reflex! I think I may have injured my neck by craning my head so far away from her while I cuddled her during a movie yesterday! And at night the swelling has caused some major snoring that somehow gushes out more foul smelling air that literally fills the house. Last night I resisted the urge to turn on the light to check for green cartoon vapor lines coming from her mouth!
I'm sure it doesn't help that she has no interest in eating right now. Every once in a while, she will wander into the kitchen. I run in and follow her like an over-excited chihuahua puppy. "Do you want a popcicle? Ice cream? Jello? I'll make you some potatoes? Or soup! Even candy! You can have ANYTHING you want!" I think my eagerness creeps her out a bit, so she slowly backs away and tells me she doesn't want anything yet.
So, today, I was putting away some laundry and I heard McKenzie go into the kitchen. A chair scraped as it was dragged across the floor. I was sure she was going to climb up on the counter, but I resisted running in and checking on her or offering any help. I sat anxiously as I waited for some clue as to what she was doing. A few minutes later, she came in to my room carrying a brownie on a plate. "I got one for you, too, mom!" She had found a spatula in the drawer, climbed onto the counter, found a dish, and perfectly cut and plated a brownie. For me. I scooped her up in my arms and we had the biggest hug. And I didn't even cringe when I kissed the frosting off of her lip. I love that little girl!
The soda challenge between my husband and I is over. I'm claiming victory, however, Cris has a million excuses as to why he really did not lose.
(Don't remember the challenge? Click here!)
I officially went more than 2 months without a single sip of soda. He says he didn't indulge either, but I can't be totally sure. He HATES to lose... especially to me, and I'm afraid it may have given him motivation to fudge a little on the truth. First, I found several fast food drink cups stashed in the garbage can. He claimed they had been in his car for weeks and he was merely cleaning up. I had my suspicions, but I trusted him. Silly me.
A little while later I found a receipt from McDonalds left carelessly on the table. A receipt that listed the date. And his name. And a detail of the contraband he ordered. BUSTED!
Honey, next time you challenge me, don't underestimate my willpower. And more importantly, don't be so careless in disposing of incriminating evidence. Now, turn off the computer and book my spa appointment! :)
Yesterday we took McKenzie to St. Marks to remove her tonsils and adenoids. She was such a trooper - actually excited to go! Allison spent her first night away from mommy, and slept over at Grandpa Ken and Grandma Jodi's house since we had to leave home by 5:30am.
McKenzie asked me to take a picture of her tonsils before the doctor "threw them in the trash"
They told us that the nurses would take care of her as she wakes up and that they would get her dressed and ready to go. I was disappointed because I had promised her I'd be there as she woke up. However, once she did wake up, she screamed and screamed and screamed. The receptionist could hear her from the waiting area and asked us to go back with her, thankfully. She was confused and disoriented while she cried for 30 minutes, but came around quickly after that and ate a few popcicles.My husband is a smart man. He realized we were in for a "fun" few weeks while we dealt with McKenzie's surgery and the fun of her healing, and suggested we do something fun before we put her under the knife. Surprisingly, he chose to take us all to the zoo - something I would have never imagined him picking. Here's a few fun snapshots from our day out:
Alli riding in the wagon, enjoying her very first trip to the zoo.
Of course, we couldn't go to the zoo without the mandatory photo taken at the lion drinking fountain. I'm pretty sure these pictures are rights of passage for any child! Anyone who grew up in Utah not have one?
I was surprised at how much BOTH kids loved the carousel! It was our first visit since they opened it up.
And of course, the train. Is it just me, or does my daughter look scared to death? LOL!
My moms birthday was on the 22nd. As a surprise, my grandmother and I decided to kidnap my mom last week for a girls day out. Luckily, Malory was able to come up and tag along as well!
We picked up Grandma and all went to lunch at Pei Wei's, one of my favorite places! We gorged ourselves on the best Mongolian Beef and lettuce wraps! SO GOOD!
Then, we hit the mall for a little retail therapy, and ended the day with a trip to the spa. Mom and Grandma had never been before, and I've only adventured there once with my sister-in-law, Ashli - and that was an eye opening experience! Who knew that a facial included a mud bath and full body massage? We surely didn't, so we looked like spa geeks when we came out of the dressing room with our jeans on under our robes! LOL! Ashli and I weren't sure what to do - we didn't want to strip down and have them think we were spa-perverts!
Grandma, mom and I had booked massages a few weeks in advance, and they had told us that one of us were going to have a male masseuse. I should have never mentioned that detail to grandma! She stressed and worried, even though I assured her that she could have one of the ladies!
After we were dressed, we relaxed in the lounge area drinking fruit flavored waters and nibbled on treats. The room was so dark, and filled with running water fountains that made it very relaxing. They brought us warm neck wraps and soaked and scrubbed our feet. Then, it was off for the massage, and it was wonderful!
Grandma came out of the room beaming and said she almost felt like crying, being pampered so. She said she became so relaxed during the massage she must have dozed off, because she woke to the sound of her own snort! LOL!
It's always wonderful to spend the day with those amazing ladies. They are so strong and such excellent examples to me. I hope they enjoyed themselves, because they deserve it. Now, how many more months until the next birthday? I think we should start a tradition! LOL!
