Being Sick Was Great

What a week! And the title of this entry is right. As twisted as that sounds, I'll explain.

Last Sunday, I began to feel very strange. I didn't feel like myself. By the end of the day, I began to feel awful. I felt like I was freezing cold and could not get warm.

By Monday morning, I was completely ill. I had a fever of 99.8 first thing in the morning. I didn't think that was too bad, but my throat hurt SO badly, and I had a very bad cough, and my stomach was not feeling great. I called the doctor, and they prescribed some medicine for me. I was pretty restricted as far as what I could do. I was clad in sweats, t-shirt, slippers, my big fluffy robe, and blankets. I still felt so cold!

By mid-afternoon on Monday, my fever had reached a scorching 102.0. I felt AWFUL. I was barely doing anything but staying under a blanket and drinking water.

Lucky for me, Jake stayed home from work to help me with Judah. He ran to the grocery store to get water and Jello. Jello was the only thing I could eat that provided some relief to my painful throat! I got Judah to sleep, and I took a really great nap. Jake got home and helped with Judah by playing with him and feeding him . . . and changing diapers.

Tuesday afternoon went pretty much the same way: high fever, fluffy robe, feeling cold, Jake helping out. He was so wonderful!

By Wednesday, I lost my voice completely. I would say something, and Jake would say, "What?" I finally gave up trying to communicate, because it just hurt so badly. I didn't speak much, and poor Judah! He just didn't have anyone to talk with! He talked to me, but I just couldn't respond or give him verbal encouragement.

By the end of the week, Jake said that he'd changed more diapers in 3 days than he had changed in 3 months. Jake was so helpful with Judah, and he tried to help with the house as much as he could.

Jake assured me that he will never ask me to go to work full-time so that he can stay home with Judah. He said that staying home drove him crazy! Plus, he said he didn't know how I did everything that I do: taking care of Judah, cleaning, laundry, cooking dinner nightly. Other than taking care of Judah, none of these other things happened while I was sick. I just did not have the energy to do anything but keep myself and Judah alive and kicking!

So, even though being sick was a completely awful experience (and one I do NOT want to repeat anytime soon), some good came of it. Jake now is very verbal about his appreciation for my daily job as a wife and mom, which is just great to hear. It was also nice to watch Jake step up and take care of Judah like he did. While things were done differently than I did them, they were still taken care of.

And all three of us survived!

Quite the talker

Well, I am so blessed. This little boy is such a joy to be around. He is a happy little baby for sure.

On February 1, 2008 I went back to work for a half-day to finish out my time there. It was my last day in an office job. I cannot say it was my last day of work, because I work everyday all day and have since Judah was born.

The half-day that I worked at the office was so very surreal and strange. It was odd being there and away from my little boy. It seemed strange to be talking to people and having random conversations about random topics. It was good to go for one last day and say my goodbyes and see-ya-laters. I was able to talk about my little baby and explain that he was the reason I was quitting -- to have the rare opportunity to stay home with him and raise him. Not one person was discouraging of my decision to stay home with Judah. Every person said, "You won't regret that. He'll only grow up once. Enjoy staying home with him!" It was great to feel like I had such support to stay home and raise my son. I will miss the people that I worked with; I made some good friends there. But I will not regret staying home with Judah -- and being a good wife and mom . . . at least the best I can be.

I cannot explain how grateful I am to Jake and the sacrifices he's making so that I can stay home and be a mom. I love him so much, and he is so supportive of me staying home with our boy. And I absolutely love being home with him all day. I wasn't completely sure that I would enjoy it as much as I do, but I am joyful for every moment that I have in the place where I am. Everyday is the same, yet everyday is so different. It's so simple but complex, too. How wonderfully weird is that? But, I do love what I am doing.

I have another video to share, and it is (again) Jake and Judah talking. Judah was in such a great mood last night and was enjoying his time with his daddy. It is so fun to watch them together!

Everyone who talks to Judah and interacts with him says one of two things: 1. "He's so pretty and cute!" or 2. "He just talks your ear off!" I am beginning to see that the more he talks, the louder he gets.

Just this morning, Judah was awake super-early (for him), and he was in the living room playing. He was just jabbering away and semi-screaming and laughing and squealing. He was getting so loud that I thought he would wake up Jake. (Surprise . . . he didn't! Jake can sleep through anything!) It is so fun to hear these changes in his voice as he learns that he is the one making the loud noises. He just loves to giggle and laugh. I am so proud to have such a happy boy!

My little man

I know that I already posted a blog today, but I had to share these pictures from Judah's nap this afternoon.

I went in to check on him, and found his pacifier stuck neatly behind his ear. He looked like a little homeboy. Instead of a cigarette behind his ear, it's his pacifier -- his addiction of my choice! Haha!

I have no idea how it got wedged so neatly behind his ear, but I captured a few pictures of it before I removed the pacifier.

Snow Day

We got a lot of snow last night and this morning. Originally, we were forcasted to only get a couple of inches. We ended up with more than 5 inches. Jake estimated that we got about 8 inches, and we did get 8.25 inches. But the cool part is the drifting. I got a couple of great pictures of the drifted snow on our deck and Roscoe out in a shallow part of the snow outside.

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Roscoe has really enjoyed running around in the snow outside! It's funny to watch him, because you can tell it is hard to run in the deep snow. He looks like he's running in a sand pit!

Roscoe just begs to go outside, so I open the door to let him go out. Then, he just kind of stands at the door and looks out reluctantly. First thing this morning, I actually had to shove him out the door. Now, he begs to go outside just so he can run through the snow.

Judah has been talking and laughing like crazy. He and Jake have little father-son conversations, which are so cute! Jake and Judah make bets on different sports games, but as Jake says, "Judah never puts any money on his bets." Apparently, Judah originally bet that the Giants would win the Super Bowl, but according to Jake, Judah changed sides at the last minute and cheered for the Patriots. I guess he should have stuck with his original team!

I did get a little video of Jake and Judah talking. I'm not sure why, but everytime I get the camera out, Judah just stops talking!! Even if he can't see the camera, he gets really quiet when I turn it on! So, I'm sorry that I haven't had any more video, but it hasn't been for lack of trying!

I hope everyone is staying warm and safe during all of this weather we've been having. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was hit by the recent tornadoes in the south. We also had a family here in our town lose everything due to a house fire. It is a terrible time to be without a home and belongings. I am so very thankful for what I do have.