Week in Review: MNO, Fevers and Solo Parenting

It's been a bit crazy at our house this week. Evie has been sick and Carl was out of town for the entire week. We sure are glad that he is back. Carl makes our life so much easier with RX pick-up, bathing the kids, bedtime duty and taking care of lots of things around the house. There is a reason that God designed parenting with both a mom and a dad in mind. We have had lots of fun in between the crazy. I would not trade this precious time with my children for all the tea in China but I am so thrilled to have my co-pilot back on board!

Monday: Evie slept until 9. That was my first clue that she was not feeling well. By noon, she was feeling better and her fever was gone. So glad, that I did not cancel the babysitter, since I had a Mom's Night Out on my agenda. We went out to celebrate our birthdays at Sambucca in The Gulch and it was delicious. We had a blast! Five of us ordered scallops which cracked us all up.  I received the most thoughtful birthday gifts which was an added bonus to a fun night! Time away from being a mommy does wonders for my outlook on being a parent. Evie and Henry had a ball with their sitter. She's a brand-new teacher and was so excited to be babysitting. I scooped Evie up out of her bed when I came home so she could sleep with me. She barely even flinched and just kept snoozing.

Tuesday: Evie woke up with a fever again, 103. Sweet Girl needed to get checked out so I loaded everyone up for the pediatrician's office. Her tonsils were inflamed and throat was red. Strep test was negative. Dr. B checked for the flu next and it was negative too. I was a little disappointed to leave without a diagnosis but with a fever that high she needed to be seen. Evie rested on the couch all day without moving an inch. Henry even noticed that Evie was feeling under the weather. He kept taking her toys on the couch. Of course, we were getting our carpets cleaned in the middle of this which woke up Henry and then Evie fell asleep sitting in the chair. Carl came home from Chattanooga for about 20 minutes to pack for his cross-country tour. He was in Ohio and Michigan staying in four different hotels this week. That makes me exhausted just thinking about it but it sure racked up on his Hilton points.  Henry and Evie were both ready for bed super early so I camped out reading in my room. Evie joined me about 8 and slept with me again. Our garage started making this horrible beeping sound which made an early bedtime seem like a great idea for us all! Just for the record, our garage is still beeping three days later. Can't wait until Carl gets that fixed. Evie was not too convinced that I could take care of it since it involved a super tall ladder to unplug the garage opener.

Wednesday: Evie woke up with a fever again! She was fine by the time Henry was up from his nap. We had to get out of the house so Publix seemed like the perfect destination. Henry's RX only had enough medication for five days so we had to get more medicine for him. Strep throat was not fun and it would be just fine not to repeat that experience. It did us all good to get out of the house for a bit. Wednesday was our hardest day with Carl gone for two nights already and two more nights on the horizon. I decided that Evie had to sleep in her own bed because I was not getting enough rest with her. Not to mention, there was not enough space in our togetherness. Co-sleeping is not for me! I whipped up a Sweet Potato Crunch and curled up with a book, Gone Girl. It was a spectacular read but pretty crazy. I love books that are impossible to anticipate the ending. My children may have had to wait for me to finish a page or two before their requests were met. It was so intriguing that I was trying to sneak in a few pages every chance that I could.

Thursday: Everyone woke up fever-free and happy. That made me happy since it was a school day for both kids. I had to restrain myself from skipping through the parking lot after dropping off the kids. That makes me laugh since I was just headed to my yearly physical. After my appointment, me and my Sweet Potato Crunch went to a Thanksgiving Sides party for the MOMS Club. We have some fabulous cooks and everything was divine. My favorite was an apple stuffing and a corn casserole. Everyone loved my dish which made me feel so good. One friend called it "Sin in a Dish" which pretty much sums it up. Henry was asleep in his teacher's arms when we walked in to get him. Evie found that captivating! Thursday's can be tough after school so we decided to run a few errands. Evie has been pestering me for a little tree for her room for weeks. I decided to indulge her a few weeks early and she is just over the moon with joy. Our next stop was the mall for some playtime and Chick fil A. Santa was even there. Evie made small-talk with him while clinging to my leg but had zero interest in sitting on his lap. Maybe, she will have a change of heart within the next few weeks. Evie has been telling everyone that she does not like Santa.

Friday: Henry woke up at the lovely hour of 5:30 for the second day in a row. I caught up on some work around the house and prepared lunch for our friends. We had so much fun with The Porter's and are so glad that they live even closer to us now. Henry took an early nap so it was a long afternoon waiting for Carl to get home. We went out for a bit to pass the time and made a quick stop at the library for my next book. Everyone was so happy to see Carl walk in the door especially me. Solo parenting is not easy. I can easily take care of everything for two or three days but five days is pushing the limit. Thankfully, it is rare for him to be gone for an entire week. We had a pizza dinner and Carl brought home oreos for dessert. Evie loves oreos so much that it might just be her love language.

We are looking forward to a low-key weekend before heading out of town on Monday for Thanksgiving! By the way, the incessant beeping sound has been repaired. Happy Friday, y'all!