Wow we really are bonding!!!

I have to confess I've been a bit nervous about my bonding with Tienna, she's not (yet) a cuddly girl, she prefers to be standing up looking over my shoulder at stuff and when she gets hurt she will let me comfort her for about 5 seconds before she is trying to wiggle off my lap, so I was starting to worry a bit about our bond but tonight I had it confirmed.....we are doing ok! I had to go into a local small print shop to get a couple of documents printed for our consulate appointment on Friday and the couple who own the place are very sweet. The woman was asking how old she was, telling me she had an 11 month old and she put her arms out for Tienna to go to her. Up to a couple of weeks ago when anyone did that Tienna just leaned over and would be going to them willingly, but not tonight. Tonight she grabbed onto me with her little hands, one hand on each of my shoulders and put her little cheek against mine. I was beaming.....I'm sure the woman in the shop must have thought I was a nut case, but I was so very happy she did this! I am not just another set of arms anymore!!!!! It's such a satisfying feeling.

Can you spot the baby in this picture?!

I went to give Tienna her bottle tonight and I walked into her room to see this.......funny part is Tienna does not really like the soother (she just likes to play with it so far) , I think she just had it in her mouth as Ciera had one in hers. Truth be told I think Ciera really does like it and if I let her she'd have one!!!! Man she is so going to hate me when she is older :-)

I'm waving the white flag

and calling in the dudes in the Haz Mat suits, whatever...just get this darn virus out of my house!!!! This is the worst and strangest virus I've ever seen/had. It comes and goes, you think your fever is gone and then BAM it's right back again. We ended up at the Dr on Thursday, mine has morphed into bronchitis, while Ciera is still "viral". I pleaded "please can she go to school tomorrow?" and answer was "no keep her home again"....aggghhhh! She felt well enough to go to hockey last night , thanks to her friends mom who picked up up and took her, there was no way I could do it. She came home a different child "you're the best mom" "I love you" "mmmm mom that's the best soup", apparently she REALLY needed to get out of here for a couple of hours.

Tienna started coughing yesterday, and had nasty goop coming from her nose....oh boy, so once again we we all in bed by 9:30 last night. This morning I felt almost slightly lifelike again, I woke Tienna up at 10:00 (she has never slept that late) so I could take Ciera to dance, and I took off her sleeper and gasped. Her legs and arms were covered in what looked like red welts, and when you touched them they were raised up. Oh c'mon already, enough is enough. Dropped Ciera at dance and we hit the Dr again, she was not concerned "if it spreads give her some Benadryl"...um ok and the goop? Not bacterial, viral. Super

We are on day 8 of illness here and there has got to be an end in sight....doesn't there? Oddly enough my sister, who we have not seen in a couple of weeks, has the same thing, we wondered it we passed in on via text?! Can it be that potent??

Some random thoughts:

• thank goodness for our cat Reese, every time I am in bed with the chills he crawls under the covers with me and somehow his 13 pounds of warmth seeps right into me and I get warm.


• our poor dog has not been walked in over a week......he is now moping around


• yesterday I thought, OK maybe if I strip all the beds and wash everything the germs will go away....so far this has not worked


• Ciera said yesterday "I want to go to Cuba", yeah me too baby at least then we'd be warm!


• why with sleeping at least 15 hours a day do I still look like a "Thriller" reject, or as my friend Michele put it ever so nicely yesterday "you look tired"


• conversation with Ciera. Ciera: "I'm angry" me: "why are you angry?" Ciera: "I'm angry 'cause I have no one to play with, all you have done all week is lie on the couch or in bed, and Tienna has been in her playpen". Ah the injustices.....


• I am officially tired of drinking tea and orange juice (no not at the same time, that's be gross!)


• Even Ciera has been napping 2-3 hours an afternoon and been asleep again by 9:00PM, this afternoon she commented "I wish napping, and eating and drinking lots wasn't what made us better, I wish it was playing and eating and drinking".


• As I was waiting for Ciera at dance this afternoon, another mom walked in to get her daughter, I took one look at her and said "oh you too?" yep, she's got it too, sad when you recognize "the look" :-)

Ah well here is hoping tomorrow is a better day, Ciera has a hockey jamboree from 10:15-12:30 and then we have free tickets to the local hockey game afterwards. I'm thinking we won't be sticking around for that but we will go to the jamboree, and with any luck we will all feel better!!!

Here's hoping it stays away from your house!!!

I'm so getting my flu shot...as soon as I feel better

For the past I don't know how many years I have been getting my flu shot, and since Ciera entered my life I am a mean mom and make her get one too. We're typically not sick, we both get maybe one bug and that's it. This year we were in Kazakhstan in the fall when we typically get them and we have not yet made it to the Dr to get one......much to Ciera's dismay we will be both getting them as soon as we are well enough. Ciera is on her 2nd round of something in the past 5 weeks, this one has her hacking like a 4 pack a day smoker, she had 2 nights of high fever but seemingly fine during the day. Although for her to fall asleep twice on the couch watching tv is so not like her, she was also totally miserable at our well balanced (not) meal at McD's last night. She called out for me many times last night and therefore mom did not have a good sleep either. Tienna was awake just after 8:00 this morning (late for her, bless her little heart!) and Ciera woke up somewhere around 9:30. We PJ'd it all day today and as the day went on mommy realized "oh shoot, I'm getting it too". I wanted a nap too but as soon as Ciera fell asleep, Tienna woke up, sheesh someone is really out to get me!! I also had something last week, then I felt well enough on Saturday to do a 4k run and now I'm sick again? How is that even possible? What is going on here?!!! So here I sit also coughing like a 4 pack a day smoker with a tea and a blanket wrapped around me asking "c'mon why....". While our day in was good for family bonding, I have to think that that family who plays together likely gets sick together too!! Tienna has escaped everything both Ciera and I have had over the past 6 weeks......the difference? She had her flu shot in Kazakhstan.....makes you wonder eh?! Enough to make me say, as soon as I am well enough I am going....as is Ciera. The germs need to be banished from our house!!!




Here are a couple of recent pictures....yes I still have to catch up.....
I swear Ciera has more fun with Tienna's toys than she does her own somedays, and oddly Tienna has taken to playing with Ciera's!!!

Happy baby!!!! 4 new teeth have broken through on top, she was not overly miserable with them coming in, she had her miserable moments but certainly not what I would have expected with 4 teeth coming it, a whole new smile coming soon!!!

Mom heading to sleep now....Ciera is in my bed so I may just sleep in hers!!!!