can you hear me now?

For months now, BG has been battling a double ear infection. I'm actually not sure how long she had it before I finally took her to the doctor because I was convinced her middle of the night screaming was just a way to have me institutionalized.

Finally, near the end of October, we got a diagnosis; a double ear infection.

We started meds and were told to finish out the course of antibiotics. After a couple of weeks, we went back and it was still there. So we did another round of antibiotics. I honestly thought it cleared up after that one because BG quit messing with it. Then at the beginning of December, BG's teacher called me not five minutes after I dropped her off worried that she might have pink eye. Fantastic. As I mentioned here, she didn't, but her ear infection had gotten so severe that it was showing in her eye now. Yea. Freaking gross.

Her doctor started a third round of antibiotics with the instructions that if it wasn't better in seven days, to come right back in. On day 8, we were back. By this point I was over this. I had started noticing a slow down in BG's speech and I was very concerned about her hearing. Her doctor was being super conservative because she had had zero problems before this, but even if he was beginning to notice that the phrases she should have been learning at this point were just not coming. We were sent to the ENT two days later.

The ENT took one look in her ears and said she needed tubes. And soon. Not only that, but because of Mr. P's and my health history (a set of tubes for him, three for me as well as a tonsilectomy and adenoidectomy for me) he wanted to go ahead and take her adenoid(s)? out too. Once that was a go, we headed back for her hearing test.

Y'all, it broke my heart to sit in the booth with her and hear those noises that she didn't even respond to. She just laughed and giggled at the lady running the thing but she heard less than a quarter of the sounds. I was so upset. After confirming that she was hearing at maybe about 30-40% and that what she could hear was muffled, I was ready to get her fixed that day.

But we had to wait a couple of weeks. And battle RSV. That was fun.

Finally, on the 4th of January it was surgery time.

We were at the clinic at seven am. Only one out of three of us was even awake.


It took no time for us to get back to the back. BG was dolled up in her little hospital gown and then got to watch a bit of Little Einsteins with Daddy while Mama got the paperwork taken care of.


Then it was time for her to go on back. I held it in as my precious little girl was wheeled on back in a little red wagon. She looked so big yet so tiny at the same time. I was just so proud of her though. She didn't make a single peep in protest. She was a pro.


Forty five minutes later they were coming to get us. My heart hurt a bit at my obviously upset toddler as they brought her out to me. We spent about thirty minutes with her and then decided to go ahead and take her home where she could relax.


Once home, she took a thirty minute nap and that was all she wrote. She woke up raring and ready to go. For the rest of the day. Still not sure where the rest I was promised went??

By that afternoon, we were already noticing an increase in speech. And since then? Holy wow. You cannot turn her off. Ever.

At her post op appointment her hearing was above 80% and getting better by the day. Do I hate that we waited so long? Absofreakinglutely. But I am thrilled that she is definitely doing better.

Also a huge thank you for those of you that were checking in and praying for our sweet girl. We are so, so appreciative!

Project 366: Week 4

Sunday, January 22nd:

BG and I made a quick stop at Tiffany and T's house on Sunday afternoon to pick some things up. I love that Tiff has quickly become the kind of friend whose house I can show up to looking a complete mess and it is completely okay. I also love that BG loves her some T as evidenced by this bear hug I happened to catch.

Monday, January 23rd:

Mr. P had some business he had to take care of down in Savannah on Tuesday so BG and I packed up and traveled down there with him. Unfortunately BG has become a terrible traveler 99% of the time. This is a quick 5 minute distraction of Netflix on Mr. P's phone. It lasted until she realized she could still control the touchscreen. Not okay.

Tuesday, January 24th:

Mr. P, BG and I spent the day hanging out with my Papa. He's doing a lot of healing right now. It was so good to see this smile.

Wednesday, January 25th:

BG is not allowed to have juice. It's just a personal preference in this house. However, she managed to score a few of these while visiting Kiki's family in Myrtle Beach and somehow she came home with them. Once she caught sight of this one in the fridge, it was on. Sometimes, you have to give a little. And she enjoyed every last drop.

Thursday, January 26th:

My sweet sleeping baby.

AKA: Mama forgot to take a picture and had to sneak this one. But can we talk about how big she looks with a pillow and a blanket?!?

Friday, January 27th:
Hey hey! A two picture day! *Rhymes are totally free*

BG loves to look "fierce" by clenching her fists and baring her teeth at you. Unfortunately for her, she nine times out of ten dissolves into a fit of giggles. Love it.


Doing her breathing treatment with her pal. Dad looks thrilled to have a lap full doesn't he?!

Saturday, January 28th:

Saturday I dressed BG up in one of my old dresses (which was a shirt on my tall girl). She looked absolutely adorable. And I know she's my kid and I might be slightly biased, but seriously, how gorgeous is this kid?!?

saturday slam-up

No idea. But "Saturday brain vomit" didn't have the same ring to it.

My child went down for a nap at 9:30 this morning completely shooting in the foot her Mom's desires to shop in town today. Well played little one. I feel like you and your Dad are working on the same team on that one.

Speaking of shopping, I have officially picked out the theme for BG's second birthday. But I'm not telling you yet. Not because I think you'll totally copy me (ha!), but because I need to make sure I can make it happen first. That way you don't show up expecting one thing and then get shocked when I hand you an Abby Cadabby favor bag that I put together at the last minute when my original theme flopped. Keep up with that? I almost didn't.

My instructions from Mr. P on this party are to "not spend too much money". So I'm bound and determined to do 99% of this on my own. Which I did a lot of it on my own last year and thought I did very well fiscally but apparently we have different ideas on that. Fantastic. Good thing I'm up to the challenge.

I've managed to make it almost two years with no poop disasters. I think to date, BG has pooped in the tub maybe once. Mr. P doesn't have the same luck. I swear he manages to get it on him every. single. time. he changes her. No joke. He'll tell you that. I don't know what he does. Then the other day, BG came to me begging to go "pee pee on potty" so we headed over there. I had already gotten her diaper halfway off when I realized it was full. And not of pee pee. Poop everywhere as she sat on the potty and then got up with it smeared all over her. TMI? Oh well. Somehow I didn't learn my lesson after handwashing a potty that day and I let it happen again last night. Only this time? It managed to somehow get all over her run too. In her room. We have ridiculous skills in this house of taking a small mess and making it epic. Freaking disgusting.

We aren't really on the potty training wagon. And that's okay. Because my kid is hard headed to the core and I know that if I push her, it will backfire. So for now, the potty is out and she can sit on it when she wants. I try to get her to sit on it when she gets up and before and after bath time just to get the feel of it. That's it for now. Any tips y'all have would be appreciated.

BG is currently obsessed with writing. She has a pen in hand most of the day. Give her a piece of paper and she's happy as a clam. I was the same way. It makes this Mama heart happy that she may just have inherited my love for writing. ::fingers crossed::

She's also obsessed with her little pals at school. I absolutely LOVE picking her up in the afternoon and hearing about all the fun she had with "Zoie! Emry!" over and over. It's not quite as cute when she is hollering for them at night when she should be sleeping however. She's growing up so fast. I'm sure it will be no time before she'll be having friends over for sleep overs and such. Sigh.... it's going so fast.

Be sure to check back early this week for a giveaway I think you just might love.

That's all I've got for now. Sunshine is up.

back to the s.a.v.

Mr. P had some business he had to take care of in Savannah the other day, so of course BG and I decided that we should tag along.

Pretty much I was promised lunch at The Crab Shack which means I am totally there.

Also, it's good to get down there and spend some time with my Papa anytime I can. Things are tough for him right now.. Sad.

So we took him to lunch. Only, I guess he took us. Whatever. We all ate lunch and it was good. BG loved The Crab Shack. Perhaps she is my child?


Sidenote: how is one little kid eating an ear of corn so dang cute?!



After lunch, we headed out to the cemetery to take a loot at where my Grandma is buried. While it sucks that we even have to be at that place, I have to say that where she's buried is so gorgeous and there couldn't be a better spot for her to be. It's so beautiful..

breaks my heart...


It is so hard to come home these days and leave him there alone. We'll be back soon though.

Our New Year's Eve

Yep. The one three weeks ago. I am never going to get caught up...

We had a pretty quiet weekend. I keep thinking in my head that I want New Year's plans that involve being dressed up and out in a crowd somewhere and well, that never happens. But at this stage in life, these quiet weekends at home are just about as good as gold so I'll take them for now. But... I'm holding Mr. P to big plans one year. Soon. Before I'm too old for this mess.

We did not do a thing on New Year's Eve. Or if we did, I can't remember (this is why you don't recap a month later M...). Mr. P wasn't feeling too well so BG and I kind of hung out and did our own thing. He did make us pancakes with his little helper. Sure hope she gets his skills in the kitchen and not mine.


On New Year's Day, Mr. P cooked a traditional dinner of black eyed peas, pork, cabbage, and corn bread for lunch. We invited a friend of mine from work to come over and we spent the rest of the afternoon eating, watching football, and playing outside with BG.

She got this Cozy Coupe for Christmas and she loves it. Big time. It's one of her favorite things at the minute.


A very quiet, but nice afternoon.

Before we dismantled the tree, I wanted to try and get a few pictures in front of it. This one was a complete accident, but I LOVE it.


And yes, I did got dig out BG's Christmas outfit just for these pictures. What are Christmas tree photos without Christmas tree clothes??

**new favorite picture**
I got the bright idea to attempt a "full" family shot. It went well(ish).

Somebody remind me to put on make up next time. Scary Spice alert.

So we began yet another year in true Imperfect fashion. But is there a better way to start off a year strong than by hanging out with your favorite people?

I think not.

are you my mother?

Okay not really, because I do know who my mother is, but do you guys know which book I'm talking about? This one.

That book kind of breaks my heart. That poor bird spends the whole book looking for his Mom that he can't find. Thank God he finds her in the end or I'd be a hot mess of insanity, but still, he spends the whole book looking.

At one point, I think near the cat, I'm all like "just let him stay with you for the love!". But the cat doesn't. And he keeps looking.

The poor bird just doesn't fit in anywhere.

Making friends as an adult kind of makes me feel like that poor bird. Like I'm walking from group to group, just looking for someone that will accept me. It sucks sometimes.

See in high school, it's very easy to find your "group". For me, I was an athlete. My good friends were all athletes of some sort. We all knew about long practices and competition and there was an automatic common bond. For some reason, even though we didn't have everything in common, the love of a sport brought us together and kept us together. Then I was also pretty smart (what had happened?!) and so I fit in immediately with the "smart crowd". We weren't sitting around quoting Dickinson or anything, but we all had advanced classes which lead to things in common and.. friendships.

You were in class for hours a day followed by practice and what not and there was plenty of time to form said friendships. I mean, what else could you do for forty five minutes in class but talk?

Ha.

It's different now. There aren't classes and lunch breaks. There's Little Gym and such but you spend most of that time wrangling your crazy child.

No? Just me? Awesome.

Sometimes I meet a group of awesome women and I just want to holler "please be my friend!", but I don't. Because that would be lame. And weird. But what's the next step?? I just want to give them my Facebook, phone number, first born, email or whatever I can to ensure another encounter.

It's sad.

I will say, that the friendships I have made in my adult life are way more meaningful than most I had in high school. And for that I am so thankful. Because the friends I do have? They are amazing and so special to me.

I'm also a huge fan of my blog and Twitter pals. Now if I could just get all of you to move onto my block that would be fantastic.

a Myrtle Beach Christmas

Since my brother was able to come home for a few weeks in January, we all decided to gather in Myrtle Beach to celebrate Christmas with him, his new fiance, and her family. BG and I debated going since Mr. P wasn't able to get the time off so soon after my Grandma's funeral, but we eventually decided to make the almost five hour trek across the state of SC.

I haven't spent much time with Uncle Marine's fiance so I'm still getting to know her and figuring out my relationship with her. I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty hard on his girlfriends, but seeing as how this one will be sticking around, I am putting in a full effort on getting to know her. For that reason, I'm glad BG and I went.

Her, lets call her Kiki, parents were beyond friendly and were quick to invite us to their house for gifts and to hang out when we got there. So after a delicious dinner with Nonny, Pops, UM, and Kiki, we headed to their house for a bit. True to form, BG got spoiled. Must be nice being the only child around all of these adults...


We all watched as BG pulled the wrapping paper off of each gift one... strip... at.. a.. time..

BG is beyond terrified of that rabbit...


After a while, BG and I headed back to the condo with Nonny and Pops for a bit where she stayed up way too late playing in her new Princess castle they got her for Christmas.


The next day we headed out to the beach to take a few engagement pictures of Kiki and UM and let the little one run out some energy before heading home. BG had a blast running around and chasing the birds and giving her Mom a mild heart attack. I so don't do birds. When will she get that?!


Eventually it was time to pack it up. Only not to head home. Somehow BG and I ended up having to take Pops down to Savannah. Craziness. I am so thankful that my child is so good in the car. So thankful.

We spent the night there where we got some bad news that another dear family friend (and the daughter of my grandparent's neighbors)had passed away. It was definitely a somber time in Savannah.

We had some family come in the next day before we left, so we went and ate lunch with everyone. While there, BG's traveling over the last four days caught up with her and *^it hit the fan. So that was fun.


Eventually we made it home. Where we hopefully be for quite some time before hitting the road again.. This girl is tired.