"Consils", Chicken & Stars, and Sibling Love

The sickies have hit our house again! This time Jacks has strep throat. Yucky! Poor baby. For the past few days, he's been having little coughing fits at nap time and bed time. Dry coughs, nothing major and nothing long lasting. To be honest, I chalked it up to allergies or a minor cold. Reese has been coughing for so long that it just seemed normal (excuse me if that sounds ridiculous!) I really wasn't sure, but it didn't seem like anything major. 

Well, last night, my poor little man was coughing.his.head.off. After one little spell I heard him throw up, so I ran in there to see what the deal was. He had thrown up some blood. That kind of sort of really majorly freaked me out, although in the back of my mind I was pretty sure it was caused by irritation from all the coughing. I decided to check in his mouth and WOWZERS... His tonsils were SO SWOLLEN I kind of panicked on the inside. His uvula was sticking to one tonsil, and there were red streaks and a few white spots. My gut feeling was strep, but the blood really threw me off. I had never seen a throat that swollen, so I started worrying about him being able to breathe. I sent a picture of the inside of his mouth to Mom (what did people do before smart phones? I can live five hours away from Mom and she can still help me diagnose sicknesses!) Mom's gut feeling was strep and she felt sure he'd be okay through the night but thought I should call the doctor anyway. I talked to a nurse who said to listen for him sucking in air real heavily before the coughing, and that would be a sign that his airway was getting restricted. I didn't really hear any of that going on. I gave him some cough meds even though they don't recommend it. He was not going to sleep otherwise! He went right to sleep after he took it and drank some Sprite. I elevated his head and got the humidifier going. Bless his heart. 

Anyway, this morning he woke up doing the heavy sucking in along with the coughing. I was already planning to take him, so I called his doctor and got him in. Jacks told Dr. Knapick, "My Consils just hurt real bad." We had a good laugh about that one. After Dr. Knapick checked him out, he confirmed that it was strep.  Poor sweet guy. I'm at least glad it was something treatable and that babies don't usually get strep (for Reese's sake!) He never started feeling really bad or ran fever. The cough just bothered him. SO----All that to say, We are laying low today. He's watching a movie and I'm writing this Blog and doing my Bible reading for the day. I felt like I deserved some "down time" after being up a lot during the night. I did the usual "Mom trip" (as Kyle calls it) to Walgreens and then Kroger after we left the doctor. Kyle always laughs at how as soon as anyone is sick in the house, my immediate response is to run to Walgreens and buy $30 worth of stuff. Am I the only mom who does this? I just love spoiling a sick person, and anything to make them more comfortable makes me a happy camper. We rounded up some soft foods, "Gator juice", Big K Lemon-Lime (Poor Man's Sprite), Chicken n' Stars, and his antibiotics. Oh, and Baked Scoops and Salsa for me (my favorite local salsa, which I don't always buy because it's super expensive.) 

We got home, and I fixed Jacks' soup while he ate some jello and proclaimed "It's working, Mom! I feel better already." Lol. He got to eat his chicken soup out of the "sick mug." 

This pic was taken right after Jacks declared me a genius. "Mom! This soup is amazing! You're a GENIUS!" I love that kid! Even though on the way to the doctor he told me, "Mom, I'm not calling you a stick and I'm not calling you a dork. I'm just saying you're a little awkward sometimes." I laughed so hard. I have noooooo idea what action on my part prompted him to say that. He soon after said, "Well, never mind. You're just pretty." Hahaha. Good answer. He has been cracking us up lately. I really should write down more of his sayings! 

A few more random shots... I had no idea to expect these two to interact as much as they do already. It makes my heart so happy. Jacks is always wanting Reese to be near him, and she is content if he's around. I love the bond they already have! 

Jacks has been into picking every single flower or weed he finds lately just for me. He told me Saturday morning that he thinks we should plant some flowers in the back yard so that he will have more to pick for me. :) He didn't know that I saw him through the window running to the back door with the biggest smile on his face to hand me this flower. I hope I never forget these moments! 

This was Reesie girl after church yesterday. She had on a really pretty smocked dress I bought at the Just Between Friends sale. It was brand new with the tags still on it, and I paid $10 for it. She looked so sweet in it. She got so many compliments on her monogrammed bib from Aunt Rhonda and her pearl bracelet from Grammie. I love dressing up a little girl for church! Of course my little man is fun to dress, too. So handsome and sweet. He got in the car after church talking about how he learned in Sunday School that "all the words in the Bible are true." Love it! 

And this is Reese's new favorite hobby: starting at my shirts. She gets so distracted she can't finish her bottles. It is the funniest thing. I don't remember Jacks doing it. Maybe it's a girl thing. I hope she approves of my clothes! Ha!

Well, that's it. Our little rest time is almost over and Reesie girl is about ready to eat. I hope the rest of our house will be spared from any more sickness and that Jacks gets well soon. 

Love to all & thanks for taking the time to read about our little fam!