Momma Bear...

Every mother has the instinct to protect their child...I call that the momma bear syndrome. My momma bear has had to be put into high gear lately. The last few nights Arianna has been waking again and she just isn't herself. Last time at the doctor they said it was "normal" for her to still have fluid on her ears, but they would give me a referral to an ENT (I think our doctor was getting scared of seeing my full-on momma bear). I call the ENT, April 11...in my brain I'm thinking that's not too far off. Seriously?! Where is my brain?! Oh right, I'm totally sleep depraved, so I think that April 11 isn't too far away, or maybe I'm just clinging to that date because that means it's almost spring break; either way, April 11 is far off. As I rocked my crying baby to sleep last night, as she rubbed her ears with her big blue eyes staring at me my momma bearness took over. I cried with her pain. I wanted to take it away, I wanted the pain in my own ears, not hers. What has she, my beautiful baby girl, ever done to deserve such constant pain in her ears and have no one do one darn thing about it?! This morning I made my up my mind. I called the ENT, said April 11 is unacceptable, it's too far away. I wanted something sooner. April 2. Not a ton better, but we're getting there. I'm going to call back again tomorrow...and again and again until I can get her in. I don't care what they think, I'm momma bear, hear me roar. All other momma bears out there, you know what I'm talking about.

Just a quick update...

Lots of people have been asking about Arianna and her health (thank you!!!!) She's doing better. She's actually sleeping through the night again, praise the Lord! We have an appointment with the ENT on April 11. We're hoping for some answers at the point in time. Until then, we'll keep chugging along. Thank you for all your concerns, advice and prayers. They have been felt. Thanks again.

Just some news...

Well, we made it through last week. We both had parent/teacher conferences and Jason had basketball game AND I had musical rehearsal. Things went pretty well. Jason's basketball team won and now they move onto quarter-finals on Tuesday. Because of that, we moved Arianna's doctor appointment up to Friday. So, we went to the doctor this past Friday. Her left ear is 90% clear from infection and her right ear is 45% clear. This is a huge improvement because at her last visit both were 100% blocked and her right ear drum had burst. So...there is improvement. Our doctor did agree that a visit to an ENT would be a good move. I have to call on Monday to get her appointment. I feel like we are moving in the right direction. I've been told by many people that these ENT's are the best around, so I'm very pleased. The weather here is FINALLY starting to warm up (if you can call 30's warming up) but it's getting there. At least there has been sunshine lately! We're all getting spring fever big time. The other day Jason took Arianna outside in her sled, it was hard to tell if she liked it. She had the same stoic expression on her face the entire time. She looked darn cute in her snow outfit...

Her new favorite toy is our phone. She is always trying to get it and wants to "talk" on it. She holds it up to her ear and says "ello?!"

Finally, I just thought this picture was cute. Huge smile and snot running out of her nose. That's just her

Yum, Yum...cheese curls

This is Arianna's favorite snack, cheese curls...just watch the progression:

Just plain tired...

So, I'm not one to usually complain, but I am so stinkin' tired lately. Jason has been super busy lately and Arianna is sick (again). So, she's up all night...meaning I'm up all night. However, in light of this negativity (is that a word?!) I've been thinking of all the things I should be thankful for. So, I've made a list. If you have things you want to add, go for it.
1. My health and my families over all health. Yes, Arianna has an ear infection, but it could be so much worse. I'm thankful that it's curable, and not fatal.
2. My job -- I know that my job is a major cause of my stress (teaching 120 8th graders...how can that be stressful?!) but I"m still thankful. I work with wonderful people, and I"m blessed to have a job in this economy.
3. My family. All of which are wonderful. We are able to lean on one another when we need to and we are there for each other. It's just a huge source of comfort.
4. My friends. All of whom I can call up at any given moment, vent out my frustrations and have their response is "I'm praying for you" and I know that they mean it.

So, thanks for listening (or reading) all my thoughts. Don't worry, I'll get pictures posted soon. Hope you're all doing well.

Sick, again

Yes, Arianna is sick again. On Saturday she was kind of clingy, but I just thought that it was because it was the weekend and I'm with her all day. On Sunday morning, she woke up with a fever (101). So, Tylenol to the rescue. All day, as soon as the medication wore off, her fever would spike. The highest it ever got was 102. Today I took her in to the doctor and she has a double ear infection (yes, another one!) and her tonsils are infected. Which would explain her not eating. The doctor said her throat was probably really sore and gave me some more antibiotics. We go back March 11 for a re-check and hopefully we'll get a referral to an ENT. I'll keep you posted. I'm off to de-germ my house.

President's Day Fun

I had Monday off of school because of President's Day. So, Arianna and I had such fun. First, we went and visited daddy at work...actually we brought him lunch because he "forgot" his. Then, we went to visit Grandma just down the hall and Arianna LOVES Grandma's room because it has a piano. She especially likes it when Grandma plays for her. After our visit to daddy's work we went home and Arianna took a 3 hour nap (that's a record). When she woke up she was in such a good mood she allowed me to play with her hair. This is what happened. God knew what He was doing giving me a little girl. They are just so stinkin' cute! The second one, you really can't see the pig tails, but I thought it was so cute, it needed to be published.