Life in General

A little update on life here, I promise I will try not to sound too "complainy" or whiny.

Allergies have been a huge, painful, disruptive irritant lately. I wake up with headaches, I sneeze, I itch, I take medication almost every day. Last week I suffered a migraine. I don't mean just a severe headache, but a true migraine. I felt like my eyeball was going to explode. I had already taken the max amount of a variety of medications and I still felt crippled with pain. I could feel my heart race and I got spooked. I called around, tracked down my mom and thankfully, she came over with my sisters to help. My sisters watched Lorelai (my biggest concern) and my mom took my bp and pulse rate. I was okay, but I was useless for hours. Chris also responded to my cry for help (almost literally) and came home early. It was a bad day, but I survived, and my little sweets care was never compromised. Whew.

Speaking of my little sweets...
I have noticed an interesting little something with her a few days ago. Just like her father, Lorelai has "extra" frenum. Chris was "tongue-tied" as a kid; which means his frenum (the small muscle that connects his tongue to his bottom pallet) was too long, tacking his tongue down too much. Lorelai has a similar issue, but her frenum problem is with her upper lip to her front gums, connecting her lip too much to her gum; it even tacks down in between her two front teeth. It is not a health issue, she is still perfectly healthy, but she will most likely need it to be clipped (as did Chris) soon. We visit her pediatrician again at her 2year check-up, and hopefully get some things figured out. I actually am surprised we didn't notice it earlier. The only thing I can think of is the fact that her frenum seems flexible enough it didn't appear to affect the use of her lip at all...which is good.
Lorelai has also had a habit lately of climbing out her bed and waking us up before 6am. Needless to say, Chris and I are not fans of this schedule. I do hope it changes soon, or else our bedtime will grow earlier and earlier (as will LEL's).

The stomach flu has taken residence at my parents' house. 3 out of the 6 people who live there have fallen ill to it. Lorelai and I were briefly exposed a couple of days ago and I have been fearing the worst. Apparently this stomach bug is similar to the one we all went through around Christmas time. I won't dive into details, but let's just say 12 hours of constantly being near the restroom followed by another 12-24 hours of regaining strength and an appetite. So far none of my other family members have gotten the bug, and none of us here have experienced any symptoms. The incubation time seems to be up to around 48hrs though, so by this evening I think we will be "home free."

Vacation is creeping up, and we need it to be.
Chris has been working crazy hours, and has even been working from home in the evenings and weekends. I need a break from the "usualness" of our everyday routine, and I hope Lorelai will enjoy seeing things she has never seen before in her little life. Mountains, giant trees, waterfalls...oh so pretty and peaceful. We are driving to Estes Park starting next Sunday. The drive will be long, but I firmly believe it is worth it. I, despite my in-laws' disappointment, am not a plane person. I do not like flying. I much prefer a road trip if possible. I like filling my car up with whatever I want without worrying about carry-on bags vs checked bags, 3oz liquids, toting around chunky carseats and strollers, and disrupting all the other passengers on the plane. I also think there is something to be said for getting yourself somewhere on your own power. I mean, yes, the car does the driving, but you experienced the whole journey. You saw the lands from point A to point B. You watched the dry, flat land turn into lush, green, mountainous terrain. I love it. Can you tell? ;) Plus, you have hours and hours of family bonding. You stop for gas-up's and meals, you find these out-of-the-way places that you laugh at later, there are stories and memories in those moments. I want Lorelai to have those, like I did. I cherish those.
I still need to figure out what to pack, what to load in the car, what specific routes to take, what to do when, etc...once that all gets done I will feel more excited. Right now I just feel a tad stressed and overwhelmed.

The rain has stopped...and the hail. I have turned on "NickJr." for Lorelai, and now I will sneak off to take a shower. The week is almost over, which normally is a good thing, but the weekend seems to be as busy as the week so I will power through it.

10 more days until I see my mountains with my 2 favorite people. :)


M.LEWIS