We're Still Here!

Hello. We are still alive and flourishing over here in the Bradshaw home. We have been quite busy the past few weeks, and when I have time to sit down and blog, I am usually too tired and lacking motivation. (Gasp!) Also, my two children are so majorly destructive to my house that I typically use nap time to clean up and get chores done. Seriously, Liam leaves a wake of chaos everywhere he goes. Not only that, but he's decided he doesn't like taking long naps in the afternoon anymore. Neither does Nora. What is happening to my children? Don't they know that naps are my sanity!

So, anyway, the children. It all boils down to the children.

Instead of recounting the past few weeks day by day, I thought I'd just randomly share some of the things and events that we've been going through. My mind is so scattered, so I probably couldn't recall all that's been happening anyway, so I'll just start somewhere and let my thoughts flow. This could be dangerous.

1. Jonathan has been traveling a lot the past few weeks. I am so thankful that when he does travel, it's only for a few short days and that truthfully, his job doesn't require him to travel very much. Last week, Jonathan and his two bosses flew up to Seneca Falls, NY, to visit a dental lab that does all of their lab work for them. He was wined and dined and fussed over. I was quite jealous. While he was gone, the kids and I packed up our stuff and moved in with the grandparents for a few days. We hadn't really seen them for a while, and I thought it would be a nice way to break up the time that Jonathan was gone. We had some really nice weather, so the kids were able to play outside a bunch, and naturally, Granna and Geegaw were loving having them around. On Friday, I got to get out for a few hours to get my hair cut and colored. On the way home, I called to check in on the kids only to hear that Nora wasn't acting like herself and seemed to be really tired. We had stayed up late the night before, so I assumed she was just running low on energy. She went down for an early nap, but thirty minutes in, she woke up and was burning up. I checked her temperature and it was at 103.7. WHAT!???

****Let's think back to the last time Jonathan was out of town: Nora got sick. I am beginning to think that Nora has an allergic reaction to her Daddy being in another state.

I decided to treat the fever and just monitor Nora overnight to see how she was doing. She had no other symptoms apart from the remnants of a runny nose. My initial thought was that she had another ear infection, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. Saturday morning, her fever was still high, so I bit the bullet and called the dr. We got a mid-morning appointment, and thankfully I was able to leave Liam with Granna so that I could concentrate on my sick girly.

We arrived at the pediatrician along with every.other.patient.of.Dr.G's. Seriously, I have NEVER seen that many kids in the office at the same time. We had a pretty long wait, which is unusual for our pediatric office. We were finally ushered into a room, which is when the meltdown commenced. You see, Nora likes to pretend that she likes going to the doctor. She'll talk about our doctors when we're not at their office. She'll talk about them and seems to like them at home, in the car, in the waiting room, etc. But, the moment we set foot in the patient rooms, it is over. I think she must have flashbacks that begin reeling through her brain because she instantly becomes terrified. The nurse wanted Nora to be weighed since she hadn't been weighed since she turned two. Meltdown. (She's 27 lbs., by the way). We returned to the room where the nurse asked us all the questions about why we were there. Shortly after this, Dr. P. arrived in our room. (Dr. P is Dr. G's partner).

Nora's ears checked out fine, along with everything else. Since there didn't seem to be a cause for her fever, Dr. P. wanted to check her blood count. Major meltdown. Blood everywhere. On her clothes. Caused ANOTHER meltdown. Finally got her calmed down from that, and Dr. P. came in to say that her red blood count was low which could mean a virus, but could also be indicative of the flu. GREAT! So, we did the flu test. Traumatic. Meltdown. Poor Nora. It was so sad. Every time the door opened she cried. Thankfully, the flu test came back negative, so we just concluded it was a virus. We were told to treat the fever and get lots of rest and plenty of fluids. Thankfully, Nora's fever broke on Sunday evening, and she didn't have any other side effects of the little virus her body was fighting. She's all better, and I was so thankful to be with the grandparents those few days. They were such blessings and the biggest helpers! Praise the Lord for having family nearby.

While all of this illness stuff was going on, Jonathan's flights home from NY were cancelled which left him having to rearrange his entire flight schedule. Instead of arriving home in Knoxville at 4:30 pm on Saturday, he got home a little after 11:00 pm. My poor travel-weary husband. Needless to say, we were so happy to see him!

Did I mention that Jonathan is out of town again!? This week he is in Atlanta. So far, everyone is healthy, but this time we have decided to keep ourselves at home. Hopefully, this will be the last time for a while that he'll have to travel for work!

2. This past Sunday, we had the privilege of visiting with Matt and Paula Mason! Matt is a pastor and worship leader at our church in New Orleans, Lakeview Christian Center. I used to sing with him on the worship team, and he is also pastor over the Pivot ministry which is geared toward 18-30 year olds. We just love them, and when we found out they were coming in town to spend the weekend with a good friend of ours, Amy Stovall, we were pumped. Matt led worship at CCK on Sunday! It was awesome! Also, they came over for dinner on Sunday night so we were able to spend some one-on-one time with them before they headed back to NOLA. It was a great visit and such a treat!!! What a precious couple they are!

3. My training for the 5k starts on Saturday. I am getting nervous. I am beginning to rethink my sanity. I don't like pain, remember?

4. We have started the Adventures in Potty-Training. I've been meaning to post about this, but for so long things weren't progressing very well at all with potty-training Nora. She will easily "peep" in the potty. However, there wasn't much consistency, particularly on my end. With Liam---THE DESTROYER---I have to watch him like a hawk! So, I have had trouble committing myself to being like white on rice with Nora to really get the training down. I know it takes a lot on the part of the mom, but alas, I just hadn't been able to do that. On Sunday, I had a conversation with my sister-in-law where I told her that I had just decided that I was going to wait a few months and then try again. Nora was (and still is) terrified of going #2. She's done it once, but since then she seems freaked out by the whole idea, and I know that is just something you can't rush. It's a sensitive subject; I get that! So, Sunday, I was all about just waiting. It made sense. We are going to be doing a good bit of traveling in May, June & July, and I just didn't want to make the whole potty-training process any more difficult that it has to be.

Monday, however, Nora Kathryn had different plans. Out of the blue, she starts telling me that she has to pee. When she initiates, I am NOT ABOUT to tell her "No," so I quickly whisk her away to the restroom and help her do her thing. Naturally, she gets a reward, then goes about her day. This went on all day. No accidents. (She's wearing a pull-up, forgot to mention that). I put her in a diaper for bedtime, thinking that Monday was a fluke. Tuesday, she does the same thing. Every time, SHE tells ME! I assist her, and it happens all day. This is still how things are going. #2 isn't happening on the potty, but in the pull-up, but I am TOTALLY COOL with that. I know that will come over time.

I think it's really funny and kind of humorous of God to have things happen like this. I am a control freak. I don't like to fail. Part of my difficulty in committing to potty-training is that I think in reality, I am scared of failing at it as a mommy. And just when I God gives me the grace to let go of my fear of man and just wait a few more months, Nora decides she's ready! The Lord is daily showing me that He knows what is best and that I just need to trust Him, enjoy his timing, and go from there. He sets my fear aside. I know this process isn't over, and I know we'll have a whole new Adventure in Potty-Training when I ditch the pull-ups and go for the panties. But, honestly, I don't know what that will look like or when that will be. We're riding this train one day at a time.

5. Liam is the cutest, funniest little thing I've ever met. He is such a mess and such a joy! We all love him and his crazy self SO MUCH! He is just precious, and I wish everyone could just see how funny this little guy is. He is such a flirt. He likes to sing. Yes, he sings. We do ""Warm Ups" together. He loves to be tickled, and I think he might be the athlete of the family. The boy can really throw a ball. I absolutely LOVE having a boy.

6. Jonathan and I leave for NYC in 50 days! WHAT!? I am so excited. We will be celebrating our 6th anniversary this coming May, and since neither of us has been to New York City, we decided that's how we wanted to celebrate this year. We'll be leaving the kids for the duration of our trip, which makes me sad and nervous at the same time, but now that I am starting to accept that fact, I AM SO STINKING EXCITED. Almost a week of alone time with my best friend in one of the most exciting places in the country. Woo HOOOOO!!!!!

Ok, I am out of energy. That's a lot of blogging and I think my fingers are about to fall off. Sorry if you are asleep right now. I promise not to stay away so long next time so that you don't have to handle the long posts.