I can pretty much sum up the last few months in one word: germs! We have been so sick this year! Normally, my immune system is awesome, and I rarely (if ever!) catch anything. Not this year. It started with strep throat. I had a 103 degree fever and ended up on antibiotics for 10 days. About 10 days after finishing those, I had another high ever out of no where. Just lots of congestion/drainage, etc...so I let that virus run its course. Thankfully, up to this point, the girls had been completely healthy with not even the slightest runny nose.
Ella's ordeal started on a Saturday morning. It was nothing major, runny nose and a little cough. She was playing, eating, sleeping well. By 4 o'clock that afternoon, she had a fever of 102. About an hour later, she climbed up into my lab and got really lethargic. She wouldn't say much, but just had a pitiful whine/moan, and she felt unbelievably HOT. I checked her temperature several times over the next 15 minutes and it consistently read between 105-105.5! So scary! Immediately, I feared febrile seizure so I called the pediatricians on-call service. They instructed me to go on to Children's.
Ella did so great in the ER. They drew her blood, did a flu test, a breathing treatment, and an x-ray. She listened to us and them and followed instructions so well. (even though it was past her bedtime by this point and she was feeling lousy). They ruled out flu and pneumonia. Based on all the tests, they told us it was just a nasty virus. They got her fever down to 101-102 and sent us home with breathing treatments (due to some wheezing) to do for a few days. She recovered by mid-week with just a little lingering cough. We were so scared there for a little while. I mean, that is one HIGH fever!
(Doing a breathing treatment at home)
Since then, Stephen and I have both had some "crud" we can't seem to get completely rid of. It's very likely a mix of a cold plus the allergies that have started kicking in, especially for Stephen.
Throughout all this, little Harper has only had the slightest bit of a cough and runny nose. I will take the credit for that since I'm still breastfeeding! On the other hand, that's probably the reason I have caught EVERYTHING this season. It's killing my immune system this time around. I guess I'd still choose a healthy baby over a healthy Mommy though:) On a side note, Harper has been teething like crazy so we'll see how this goes!
2. Dresses! I know you can wear dresses year-round, but I'm typically freezing and rarely even attempt it when it's cold. Plus, in the summer, you don't necessarily have to be super dressed up to wear a dress. Therefore, I'm pumped that Spring is here, and it's dress season again. 3. Sandals. I have been trapped in Mommy/maternity world for 3 years now. I'm ashamed to say that I really don't know if the gladiator style sandals are really IN still, but I love them. Here are my all time favorites. (Plus, I have them in a beautiful orange which gives me bonus points here in Tennessee!) 
4. Panera's frozen mochas. I'm not boycotting Starbucks or anything, I'm just sick of it. We still buy their whole bean coffee to make in the mornings, and I rarely ever want much else. My sister brought me one of these evil drinks recently, and I am obsessed. Strictly a dessert, mind you. Not gonna cut it if you're actually in the mood or real coffee. P.S. Unfortunately, Panera has recently decided to post the calorie content beside each item on their menu. I do believe this is the highest thing listed...que sera 
5. Adele. I've been listening to her first album a lot lately. I hate to disappoint the entire music universe, but (if I'm being honest) I'm not too crazy about her latest. Maybe it will grow on me. Her rendition of "Make you feel my love" was my favorite song when I was pregnant with Ella. I sort of dedicated it to her. I probably sang it to her a million times during those first few sleepless months. "Crazy" is Harper's song. Not all of it applies, of course, but if you've met Harper, you know how appropriate it is.
