When Nesting Backfires
This post is brought to you from my living room couch as a result of a forced sick day. It definitely wasn't on my calendar as I'm feeling the pressure to get everything done before the baby arrives, but if I'm being honest it's been nice to have a chill day and rest a little with my other babies. A break from packing lunches, checking folders and homework, getting a certain uncooperative kid ready for school and out the door on time, and an excuse not to clean my disaster of a house? YES, PLEASE! Especially after an insane and stressful week (more on that below).
Harrison came down with a cough over the weekend but was acting completely fine until last night when his fever spiked. Thankfully I already had a standing appointment for Harper to get her flu shot and follow up on her asthma since she had a bad episode at school on Thursday, so they were able to see Harrison at the same time. I really wasn't too concerned and figured it was just a cold, but since we were already going to be there I figured he should at least get checked out. Good call, because poor guy tested positive for strep. :( He also has a respiratory infection so we are doing breathing treatments every 4 hours.
It felt like the ultimate betrayal when the doctor whispered to me that a penicillin shot would be our best bet. I agreed with him since we need him to get better as soon as possible and reduce the window of him being contagious around me since I'm pregnant, but that poor kid had no clue what was coming. He had an appointment last week and got the flu mist, and let me just tell you how relieved he was that he didn't have to get the shot. He brought it up to me countless times over the weekend. I made him promise to keep it our secret so Harper wouldn't be upset when she had to get her flu shot (she can't get the flu mist because of her asthma). Rick and I went to get our flu and pertussis shots on Saturday and he grinned the entire time thinking he had dodged a bullet. And then today he empathized (with a sly smile trying to sneak its way out) with his sister when she got her flu shot. And then when the nurse asked him to get up and lay on the table you should have seen how big his eyes got. "But....wait...I'm not getting a shot too, am I??? Mommy??? I DON'T NEED A SHOT, DO I???!! PLEASE TELL ME I'M NOT GETTING A SHOT!!!! YOU TOLD ME I DIDN'T HAVE TO GET A SHOT!!!!" Poor kid. He screamed and cried and was so, so upset.
Then we had to wait 15 minutes after his shot for observation and this picture captures how the majority of those 15 minutes were spent:
When it was time to go he begged me to carry him because his "leg no longer works." Sorry, dude, but not happening when you are almost 6 years old and I am 9 months hugely pregnant. I had to take these next two pictures because I know exactly how he feels. When I was 6 or 7 I had to get a penicillin shot for strep as well, and I can still distinctly remember how much it hurt and how sore it made my leg. It was very traumatic. My mom still teases me about how I walked around with my toy baton as a cane and I'm a drama queen and blah blah blah. Well apparently the apple didn't fall far from the tree because as soon as we got home he started using a wooden bat as a cane. Haha.
He started feeling better and the kids built a Temple Run out of lincoln logs. But about 5 minutes after they asked me to take this picture, he was requesting for me to tuck him into bed. I took his temp and it was back up to 102 :(
So now we are watching cartoons and snuggling up on the couch. Hoping his sick germs stay to himself and that he is feeling better by tomorrow. Being sick is no fun.
The first thing the kids did when we were finally able to come back home on Saturday was put on socks and slip and slide everywhere.
I will have to take some after pictures soon. We took out the carpet in every room except the kids' rooms and also removed the tile in our entry and by our back door. I really do love they way they turned out and I'm so grateful to upgrade from our yucky carpets. It was just a really stressful week that I'm sure we'll look back and laugh at one day :)
Harrison came down with a cough over the weekend but was acting completely fine until last night when his fever spiked. Thankfully I already had a standing appointment for Harper to get her flu shot and follow up on her asthma since she had a bad episode at school on Thursday, so they were able to see Harrison at the same time. I really wasn't too concerned and figured it was just a cold, but since we were already going to be there I figured he should at least get checked out. Good call, because poor guy tested positive for strep. :( He also has a respiratory infection so we are doing breathing treatments every 4 hours.
It felt like the ultimate betrayal when the doctor whispered to me that a penicillin shot would be our best bet. I agreed with him since we need him to get better as soon as possible and reduce the window of him being contagious around me since I'm pregnant, but that poor kid had no clue what was coming. He had an appointment last week and got the flu mist, and let me just tell you how relieved he was that he didn't have to get the shot. He brought it up to me countless times over the weekend. I made him promise to keep it our secret so Harper wouldn't be upset when she had to get her flu shot (she can't get the flu mist because of her asthma). Rick and I went to get our flu and pertussis shots on Saturday and he grinned the entire time thinking he had dodged a bullet. And then today he empathized (with a sly smile trying to sneak its way out) with his sister when she got her flu shot. And then when the nurse asked him to get up and lay on the table you should have seen how big his eyes got. "But....wait...I'm not getting a shot too, am I??? Mommy??? I DON'T NEED A SHOT, DO I???!! PLEASE TELL ME I'M NOT GETTING A SHOT!!!! YOU TOLD ME I DIDN'T HAVE TO GET A SHOT!!!!" Poor kid. He screamed and cried and was so, so upset.
Then we had to wait 15 minutes after his shot for observation and this picture captures how the majority of those 15 minutes were spent:
When it was time to go he begged me to carry him because his "leg no longer works." Sorry, dude, but not happening when you are almost 6 years old and I am 9 months hugely pregnant. I had to take these next two pictures because I know exactly how he feels. When I was 6 or 7 I had to get a penicillin shot for strep as well, and I can still distinctly remember how much it hurt and how sore it made my leg. It was very traumatic. My mom still teases me about how I walked around with my toy baton as a cane and I'm a drama queen and blah blah blah. Well apparently the apple didn't fall far from the tree because as soon as we got home he started using a wooden bat as a cane. Haha.
 |
| Taking a break on the 10 foot walk to the car...how ironic is his shirt? lol! |
 |
| It took some major limping, but he did indeed make it to the car. |
He started feeling better and the kids built a Temple Run out of lincoln logs. But about 5 minutes after they asked me to take this picture, he was requesting for me to tuck him into bed. I took his temp and it was back up to 102 :(
So now we are watching cartoons and snuggling up on the couch. Hoping his sick germs stay to himself and that he is feeling better by tomorrow. Being sick is no fun.
****
So...now for the title of this post. I mentioned previously that my nesting instinct has kicked in to overdrive lately. Definitely more so in this pregnancy than my others, which is odd because you would think baby #1 would be the worst and then with each additional baby you gradually care less and less about the state of your house. Well, that most certainly hasn't been the case for me for some reason. I'm pretty irrational these days. I recognize that, and yet I still can't stop myself. And the last week it has totally backfired. You want a neurotically clean and organized home to bring baby home to? MUHAHAHA! Joke's on you, crazy woman!
We decided to have new flooring installed. It's something we've been
wanting to do for several years now, but we never pulled the trigger for
one reason or another. And then we (I) had this super smart idea to do
it at the point of pregnancy where this baby could come at literally any
moment now. "It'll be fun and exciting!" I said. "It will be quick and easy!" I said. "We NEED to get rid of our nasty carpets THIS MOMENT because they are filthy and disgusting!" I said.
Riggggggghhhht.
Let's just say that a home project that was supposed to be fun and exciting and quick and easy and would leave us with a much cleaner and safer environment (hello, asthma!) was the exact opposite of all of those things.
They were supposed to show up Tuesday and be done by Thursday. They showed up Tuesday, except "they" ended up only being 1 guy. That should have been the first red flag. Thankfully Rick had taken off most of the morning so he could help the guy move furniture, even though that was part of the installation package. Between taking and picking both kids up from school, a doctor appointment, a bible study, and Harrison's karate, I wasn't home at all to see what was taking place. That's probably a good thing, because when I did finally come home to see, it caused some tears. The tile hadn't come up easy at all and there was a thick layer of concrete dust covering EVERY single surface in our house, minus the kids' rooms. Rick texted me at 4pm saying there was no way the kids and I could stay there. Thankfully Mom & Tim have plenty of room at their house and didn't mind us crashing with them at the last minute for what ended up being FOUR NIGHTS.
 |
| I think he was secretly enjoying his bachelor experience drinking a couple of beers and watching the playoff game in a lawn chair in front of his "entertainment center" |
It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if we had been prepared. But nobody said a word about the possibility of being displaced. They were all concerned about Harper's asthma when they were trying to talk us into getting rid of the carpet in their bedrooms as well, but apparently her asthma wasn't considered during the Dust Bowl of 2015. A little dust was mentioned, but we were told that tarps would be put up to isolate it to the tiled area. Uh, wrong. That never happened. What did happen was concrete dust and glue settled onto every toy and stuffed animal in the play room, all our upholstered furniture which can't be easily wiped down, a bunch of Hadley's brand new things, onto every jacket and coat in our entry closet, and even into our pantry onto all our food. We were NOT.HAPPY. Rick stayed here at the house in Harrison's bedroom to help around here while I single parented crazy children who were in vacation mode and didn't understand why they needed to keep their same weekly routine. Not exactly fun or exciting or quick or easy!!!! There were many times where I felt like my blood pressure was going to cause me to go into labor, and then I realized I didn't have a home to bring my newborn home to so I told myself that wasn't allowed to happen.
They were also supposed to deliver our new baseboards on day 1 so we would have a couple of days to get them painted before installation. Instead, they didn't show up until Thursday night, so Rick and I spent that evening painting the first batch and then most of Friday finishing them up. Harrison had a school holiday that day so it was super fun finding things to entertain them in the garage while we were tied up painting. Opposite day! Let's just say tension was running a little high by this point ;)
 |
| painting party! |
 |
| I think I ended up painting about 60 of these when it was all said and done. Rick was my assistant since he will be the first to tell you he paints worse than a preschooler. |
They finally finished up Saturday night. I know in the end it was worth it. Or at least it will be...I'm still in the process of deep cleaning everything. I guess nesting is what I wanted, so nesting is what I got?? ha! The floors and new baseboards look great and I'm so glad to be rid of all the carpet. Once I get all of this dust out of here it will definitely be better for allergies/asthma. And it will also add to the market value when we are ready to sell our house.
How gross is this next picture??? This is what carpet looks like after 8 years of wear and tear. There was actually mold growing all over from where they had been steam cleaned so much and didn't dry correctly. GOOD RIDDANCE!
The first thing the kids did when we were finally able to come back home on Saturday was put on socks and slip and slide everywhere.
I will have to take some after pictures soon. We took out the carpet in every room except the kids' rooms and also removed the tile in our entry and by our back door. I really do love they way they turned out and I'm so grateful to upgrade from our yucky carpets. It was just a really stressful week that I'm sure we'll look back and laugh at one day :)
Comments