It Should Be a Rule

...that Moms DO NOT GET SICK.  This is one of the things I thought about before I decided to get pregnant, among others: How will I take care of a child if I get sick?  Well, now I know the answer.  You just "man up" and pretend you're not sick, and take care of business as usual.  Which is what I've done for the past 2 weeks!  I have been sick now for 2 weeks with a pesky sinus infection that simply will not go away.  And I am so stubborn that I will not go into the doctor for antibiotics.  I am determined to kill this thing off on my own, so I can build up my immune system against this sickness that I seem to keep coming down with.  It is sllllooooowwwwllllly going away, thanks to guzzling down lots of vitamin C, multi-vitamins, acidophilus, green drinks, orange juice, lots of water, and the best part - cleaning out my sinuses with a Neti Pot (I am shocked at how many demonstrations there are of this on YouTube.....view at your own risk :)

And no offense, Peels, but I always get this after I visit you!  This goes to show just how much I love my husband's family.  I continue to drive hours and hours to visit them, even though James and I both get sick after EVERY visit.  And, it's never a mild sickness.  It's always a two-week, or more, long ordeal.  In fact, I love them so much, that I visit them more than Jordan does!  Yes, they are some of my favorite people in the world.  And, I don't blame them.  I blame my obviously weak immune system, and mine & James' sensitivity to traveling.  James throws up at least twice on every road trip, and I end up with nausea/headache which lasts a couple days due to motion sickness.  We inherited it from my Dad.  It's super fun.  In fact, on our last visit to Arizona to visit Jordan's brother Matt & his family, James threw up all over his car seat just one hour into our road trip, and we had to stop at a Walmart to buy him a new car seat - that's how covered the car seat was.  It was in every crevice of every buckle, every crack, every corner.  Completely un-cleanable.  The last time I tried cleaning his car seat when this happened.  It took me about a week of soaking, scrubbing, washing, etc. to simply get the smell out of it.  Not willing to do that again!  Now, the rule is that James will have a towel draped over him and tucked in tightly on every future road trip.  No ifs, ands or buts about it.

If I didn't have so many darn responsibilities, I might not be so upset about being sick.  In fact, my high-stress levels probably made me sick in the first place.  I obviously have James to take care of, and I am also watching my friend's baby for her while she is in the process of adopting him.  I've been watching Dawson for the past 3 1/2 months, Monday-Thursday, 8-5.  Long story, short, I am watching him until Amber can find a more permanent solution for him (like a stay-at-home nanny, which has been extremely difficult to find in Boulder City), and he is a chubby, adorable, happy 8 month old baby who has been such a blessing to watch, despite how chaotic it can get around here.

Not only that, but I am still teaching piano two or more hours a day (I now have 15 students), and playing the piano for a community choir, which has proven to be quite a big job.  I have never had to practice so much in my entire life.  The songs are way over my head - ability-wise - and with only 2 1/2 weeks to go before the second concert, I am having to find babysitters (thank you Mom and sisters!) and the TIME to practice 2-3 hours a day.  In addition, I have a pretty challenging church calling - primary chorister (a fair amount of prep time, and coming up with lots of new ideas and activities for those kiddies, plus getting them ready for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the Primary Program in October).

I thought just being a mom and wife was enough, but throw in all of these other things and top it all off with a never-ending sickness, and you can call me "One frustrated, tired, stressed-out girl!"

....yet, somehow happy all at the same time.