A couple posts back I mentioned that I though I was really getting the hang of parenting? Yes, I believe it was in this post, Thankful! Well….I believe I jinxed myself. This week, I thought I lost Annabelle and I spent a couple of hours in the ER with Madelyn. I found myself talking to myself, out loud, about the tremendous amount of duties, noise and commotion I felt elbow deep in.
Here is my reality of twins…Schedule, routine, consistency truly is a matter of survival. Baby gates, those too! That is also super important! That means I work REALLY hard everyday, all day to keep things in the house running smoothly. We have fun and play, but most of my day is spent feeding someone, cleaning something or someone, retrieving stolen toys, refereeing a battle or my favorite, doing dishes. All of this, including this post is done usually with one or more children, screaming “MOMMY!”
Thursday morning when I was putting my ViPRs in the van for work, Annabelle slipped out into the dark to look at the Christmas lights. I herded her back inside but she snuck out again. When I went to look for her…I could not find her anywhere. I ran around the house, thinking she was in the back yard. She has NO fear of complete darkness. She was not there. Then I thought she ran up the street to look at the Micky inflatable. She wasn’t there. Now, we are looking at 5 minutes of sheer panic, I am crying and screaming her name. After about 8 minutes total, Cameron found her hiding behind the bumper plates in the garage. THE STINKER!!
Now, here is the beauty in this situation. I brought my out of my morning rush and helped me truly see the beautiful gift I have in my daughter, Annabelle. She helped me see that. Isn’t that great! Next, time I hope for a different reminder…one moment like that is enough for a lifetime.
Thursday night, Maddy had a raspy voice and I just had a feeling I should sleep in her room. So, we set up a little camp on the floor and settled in. At about 11:00 pm, I heard her breathing sounding raspy. She had what they call, strider. Caused by the virus, croup. I took her into the bathroom and turned the water on super hot to make it a steam room. I made her some honey water and added some echinacea and mullein tincture to help with the congestion. She improved some but not enough for my comfort. So, at the recommendation of the pediatrician, I started off to the ER while my husband stayed home. We made it halfway there and she was chattering away about how dark it was. So, I turned around and brought her home. When we settled in for bed the strider started again. So, off we went again. Now, at 12:45. Again, she completely improved once we arrived at the hospital she was 90% better. The nurse told me it was the cool air. They gave her a little oral steroid and off we went.
Again, another beautiful gift for me. I was thinking on the way home from the hospital that there are children who are sick all the time. Or, children who cannot come home with their parents. I have four, healthy beautiful children who I should be continually grateful for.
I have never had a singleton baby so all I know is what it is like to have twins. Sometimes in the chaos of twin land, which happens A LOT!! I lose sight of them as individuals. Spending one on one time with each child is a rare gift. So, even though we were in the hospital, those three hours of one on one time with Madelyn were special. Each one of my kids has unique needs and personalities. My prayer is that I can sift through the everyday and look at each one of them. I don’t ever want to lose sight of what I have!!
