Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Till Tomorrow?

It's been a tough & emotional week! I went back to work on Monday, and Brady started going to Angie's full-time. The first few days were very hard (I had a meltdown on Wed.), but it ended up being a good week overall. I really enjoy the work I do, the people I work with, and the comraderie/teamwork in our office, so being back at work has been a good thing for me. I also like being in a regular routine...it's something I NEED in order to stay focused and be productive. I'm a procrastinator by nature and without a regular routine, I tend to sit around and put things off. I hate that about myself, but unfortunately, it's just the way I'm wired. So, the "forced routine" is a must-have in my life. Brady has done well with the regular routine as well. He's sleeping 8-10 hours a night (THANK YOU GOD!!!), and has developed a daily routine at Angie's. He's thriving there, even after just one week. They treat him like a part of their family and give him SO much love. He also gets a lot of attention & interaction, as you can see from the pictures below. Angie titled these pictures "King Brady and his two Princesses."

Ella, Brady, Katie

Another thing that made this week tough is that we've come to the heartbreaking conclusion that our dog Murphy (that we've had for 14 years) has reached "the end of his road." He can't see very well, can't hear at all, and has lately lost control of his bowels...so he is going to the bathroom ALL over the house. I got up 5 days in a row this past week to piles of diarrhea all over my carpets (and a horrible stench throughout the house)! He is also peeing on EVERYTHING! It's frustrating because I know he can't help it, but at the same time, our house is being destroyed. Murphy has been on a slow decline the past few years (he's 16 years old), but being the procrastinator and animal lover that I am, I have put off this decision as long as possible...hoping that things would improve and we wouldn't have to do the unthinkable. Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse, and the time has come to put our dear, sweet Murph to rest. We love you with all our hearts, and will miss you terribly Murphy!

Misc. News...

Valentine's Day was a quiet affair at our house...no candy, no flowers, no cards! Gerald and I decided NOT to exchange gifts this year. Instead, we opted for dinner out (Brady in tow, naturally) and giving each other massages afterwards! ;-) We didn't even get the kids gifts this year. They're all getting older (except Brady of course) and could care less about Valentine's Day. If you ask me, it's overrated anyway. I'm all for celebrating love and romance, but think it's something we should do EVERY day, not just on Valentine's Day. Just my opinion...

Gerald and Austin played in a flag football tournament this weekend. Gerald ended up getting "cleated", which peeled the skin off his shin like a banana! I'll refrain from posting any pictures of it, as it looks pretty gruesome. Instead, here's a picture of them heading out the door to the tournament (pre-injury for Gerald):

Austin had his football banquet tonight. It's a fairly elaborate event and is usually pretty lengthy (last year it was 3 hours) so I opted not to take Brady. Dylan also decided to stay home this year, so just Gerald and Austin went. Here are the handsome devils, ready to go:

Tomorrow I head back to work. I'm anxious to get back into the swing of things (and get on a regular routine again) but am NOT looking forward to leaving Brady. He'll be in wonderful hands, but it will be tough for me to be away from him. On that note, I'm off to snuggle my 'lil peanut!

What Goes Around...

Austin and Dylan have both been dealing with the same "crud" that Brady has. Austin has been sneezing up a storm, and Dylan has been congested and complaining of a sore throat. Gerald also woke up coughing this morning! Luckily, I have managed to stay "crud"-free thus far, which is a blessing because it allows me to take care of everyone else!

Despite being "under the weather", Dylan went to his school's Valentine Dance on Friday night. Here he is in his new "duds" (which he picked out himself):

He met his "girlfriend" Anna there, and brought her a chocolate rose! She, in turn, invited him over for dinner with her family on Sunday night. They had grilled salmon...a first for Dylan as he's a picky eater...but he ate it and, much to his surprise, actually enjoyed it!

Brady is still having to sleep in an upright position (in his swing or car seat) due to his congestion. He's spending a great deal of time between the two. In an attempt to give him some variety, I broke out the Bumbo seat yesterday. Even though he's only 5 1/2 weeks old, he's very strong and holds his head up fairly well, so I figured we'd give it a try. He loved sitting up and looking around like a big boy!

He even sat on the bathroom counter and watched Mommy get ready...

We're headed to get our taxes done tonight...we are praying that God blesses us with a nice, fat refund! We are hoping to have a family "reunion" at the beach this summer with the Sweatt side of the family, and a big refund sure would help with that!

Snot Happens...

What a night we had last night! Brady is sick so both of us were up almost all night. My poor baby has been sneezing quite a bit the past few days but he went from bad-to-worse last night. I was woken up around 1am by him gagging, wheezing, choking, and gasping for breath! He is severely congested...to the point where he can't breathe through his nose, and he's choking on the drainage that is going down the back of his throat. I tried saline drops and an aspirator, to no avail. He sounded so bad that my first instinct was to take him to the ER. Instead, I called the pediatrician's office, who has someone on-call 24/7. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can give a 5-wk. old infant for congestion. I was told to continue the saline drops and aspirator, get a cool mist humidifier, and have him sleep upright. Here he is sleeping in his swing:

My poor, sweet baby...you can tell how bad he feels by looking at his poor little eyes. :-(

On a brighter note, he's growing like a weed! He weighed 8lbs/5oz. at today's dr. visit. Here's a picture of him watching the Super Bowl with Dad last Sunday! :-)

It's The Little Things...

WHEW! What a busy week this has been. I finally took some "me time" yesterday and went to the salon for a cut, color, and highlights (I hadn't been since OCTOBER so I was really sporting the "skunk look"). It's amazing that something as simple as a trip to the salon can totally change your mood and outlook! I feel like a new woman!

Brady went to Angie's (the sitter) while I went to the salon. It was his first time away from Mom but we both survived. :-) He was showered with attention at Angie's and "ate up" every bit of it, I'm sure! Angie's daughter Katie LOVES Brady and acts like a little doting mother! Here's a picture of her feeding him...absolutely precious!!



It warms my heart to know that he is so loved & well taken care of, and it'll make my return to work SO much easier!!