ENT appointment

After Olivia's pediatrician got her hearing test results (low normal to mild hearing loss), he thought it would be a good idea for her to see an ENT. We had an appointment set for over a month ago but we had to reschedule it three times due to her being sick. They want to see her when she isn't sick because otherwise they wouldn't know if the fluid in her ear is from a cold or if it's always there. We got to her appointment early and there was a little boy running around the waiting room, he kept Olivia entertained for a while. As soon as we got into the exam room, she was not happy. The doctor was trying to talk to me and Olivia kept yelling, I was getting a little frustrated because he could barely hear me. The doctor was very nice though, he was more patient with her than I was. They didn't do much besides check her ear pressure and look inside. Her left ear was fine but they said the right ear had some fluid, it may be because of her recent ear infection though. The doctor also said that some kids have fluid in their ear for the entire winter and then it goes away in the summer. She is having a repeat hearing test at the end of the month and they will compare the results to her last one. I was a little upset that they couldn't tell us much more information, I was hoping to know that day if she would need tubes or not. I don't want to rush her getting tubes but I am really hoping it will help with her speech delay. I just feel like this has been a long process, I'm ready for some answers and solutions.

Citrus Lane review - May 2015

Olivia got her Citrus Lane box last week, I've been pretty busy so it took me a while to get around to this post. Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription box for babies/toddlers. You pay a certain price per month depending on how long you want to subscribe (it’s cheaper for the longer subscriptions). Every month you receive four to five items for your child and sometimes something for you as well. The boxes are age and gender appropriate (or you can pick neutral). This box is for a 27 month old girl.

Everything Olivia got in her May Citrus Lane box.

 

Hape sand toys: These are really cute and we don't have many sand toys so I'm glad we got this set. It comes with three ice cream cones, three bowls, a scoop and a bucket to carry it all in. I can't wait to go to the beach now, I'm sure these toys will keep Liv busy. We also have some kinetic sand at home, so this will be perfect for a rainy day too. Retails for: $4.99

 

 

Tea Collection dress: I think this dress is so adorable! I love the colors and the print but I was disappointed to see that they sent a size 3T. Olivia is tiny, she still wears 24 months and 2T (which is a little big on her). She wont be able to wear this dress until next year. I wish they had let me pick the size but this wasn't the item we got to customize, which doesn't make much sense to me. I ended up emailing Citrus Lane about it and they are sending me a new one, I wasn't expecting that so I'm really excited. I am very pleased with the customer service and I decided to add on another two months because of it. Retails for: $29.50 (Wow!)

 

 

Goodbyn portions to go: I was so glad we got this because I've been meaning to buy her some snack containers for daycare. This is the item we got to customize, the choices were purple or green. I love the color and they are really sturdy. The two smaller containers are perfect for Liv's snacks, I've been using them a lot. Retails for: $14.95

 

Plum Organics mighty sticks: These snacks will be great to throw in Olivia's lunch bag. They are organic and made with fruits and vegetables. Olivia has been super picky lately so I'm not sure if she will like them but it's always possible. Retails for: <$2

 

 

I really liked the box this month, the dress was my favorite! The total value of this box is about $51, a really great value. I used coupon codes and only paid about $15, so I'm very impressed this month. If you're interested in getting a Citrus Lane subscription for your child, you can use my referral link to get 50% off your first box - Melissa's CL referral. Please keep in mind that it's a subscription so make sure you cancel after your receive your boxes or you will be charged again.

Party animal

It was a pretty busy weekend and of course, I got sick again. I woke in the middle of the night on Friday with that horrible pain on the side of my face again, my teeth hurt so bad that they started to feel numb. I took some medicine and used the heating pad. I was up from 4am until almost 6 and then I finally started to feel a little better. I didn't get much sleep though because Liv woke up at 7. We had a birthday party on Saturday and Olivia had a blast. When we first got there, I had to wake her up and she didn't want me to put her down. I didn't want her to cling to me the whole time, I wanted her to have fun so I put her down and she cried for a few minutes but then she was fine. She was jumping with another little girl in the bounce house for a while, she loved it but then bunch of older kids ran in and they were being rowdy. They kept knocking Olivia over and two kids actually fell on top of her, she didn't seem to care but I was getting nervous. The bounce house ended up deflating, I was actually kind of glad because I think she would have gotten hurt if she stayed in there. They also had a little petting zoo and pony rides, of course Olivia went wild when she saw the animals. She was chasing them all around and trying to catch the chickens, she was even petting the sheep. At one point it got a little too close and she backed away very quickly, her face was priceless. She got to ride the pony twice and I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part, she kept saying more but there were a lot of other kids there. I didn't feel great all day but I stuck it out for Liv, it makes me happy to see her having such a good time. She was so exhausted when we got home that she went to bed at 6pm, so of course this morning she woke up at 6am. I was so beat, I had to take a nap when she did. After our nap, we all went out to lunch and then we took her to the park. It was so disgustingly hot outside that we couldn't stay for too long. She had fun on the swings though, she really loves playing in the sand too. We just relaxed for the rest of the night, I still don't feel great but definitely better than yesterday. I've been sick for so long that I feel like I'm never going to get better. This cough that I have is seriously brutal. At least Olivia is doing better, she doesn't seem like she's sick at all anymore. Back to our routine tomorrow, I have pretty long hours this week so I definitely need to get some rest tonight.

Ear infection, pink eye, fever..

On Monday night, Olivia was absolutely miserable. She was coughing, her nose was running, her eyes were red and her breathing was labored. I had to call out of work on Tuesday and bring her to the doctor, she has an ear infection and pink eye. She was really cranky when we got home from the doctor so I put her down for a nap, she woke up in an even worse mood. I took her temperature and it was 101.4, it's always alarming to me when she has a fever. I gave her Tylenol and it went down but a few hours later, it was up again. All she wanted to do was lay on me or sit on the couch and watch TV, I let her because she just looked so sad. She started an antibiotic on Tuesday afternoon but it took almost an entire day to help. She barely wanted to eat or drink anything and I could understand why but at the same time, the doctor said how important it was to push fluids and I was getting nervous. I didn't want her to end up back in the hospital because she was dehydrated. I had to give her some water in a syringe because she didn't want anything to do with it. I am happy to report that she is finally feeling better, she's still not 100% but her appetite is coming back and she was even playing with her toys today. Although, last night she woke up and had a coughing fit for almost an hour, I hope that doesn't happen again tonight. Ever since she started daycare, I feel like she is constantly sick and so am I. It's a bummer but we really don't have much of a choice. I had to miss two ten hour days of work, which means I will be losing a good chunk of my paycheck next week. It stresses me out a little but there is really nothing I can do, Olivia comes first and making sure she is healthy will always be my priority. During all the craziness, I was making dinner last night and dropped boiling sauce on my thumb. It hurt so bad, I wanted to cry. I ran it under cold water for twenty minutes but it was still throbbing. I put some Neosporin on it but that only helped for a few minutes. This morning when I woke up, there was a huge water blister on my thumb. It looks really gross but from what I've read online, I'm not supposed to pop it. I've been trying my best to keep in clean, tomorrow will be a challenge at work but I'm planning on putting a bandage on it. I definitely feel like things haven't been going well lately but I'm trying my best to remain calm and positive that it will all turn around soon.

She's still adorable even though she's sick and miserable.

Mother's Day

I know Mother's Day was four days ago but things have been pretty hectic around here, I'll talk all about that in the next post. I woke up on Sunday with horrible pain on the right side of my face, I knew immediately that I had a sinus infection. I really wanted to avoid going to the doctor so I started doing all the home remedies that I've heard about. I actually took the advice of a friend and ran out to buy a Neti Pot. It was a little different than what I was expecting, definitely not a pleasant experience or feeling but it did help a little bit. What helped the most was using a heating pad on my face, the pain was almost gone and then I took some Tylenol which took care of it completely. We went out to lunch with my family, the restaurant was packed so were there for a few hours. Olivia was really good for the most part, she started to get antsy towards the end. After lunch, we stopped at a bakery and got some cookies, Olivia picked all the M&M's off and let me have the cookie part. It was a great day but when we got home, I started to feel sick again. I used the Neti Pot and heating pad for the second time and was able to fall asleep, I felt much better on Monday morning. Anyway, on Mother's Day I always feel very grateful. I've always felt lucky to have such an amazing mother who would go above and beyond for me and now I feel lucky because I have a daughter of my own. It's hard to understand the love your mother has for you until you have your own child but now I totally get it. I think having a baby has made my relationship with my mom stronger. I always look to her for advice and she is quick to help, whether it's to babysit, give me parenting tips or just listen to me while I vent. We are very close and I know not everyone has that type of relationship with their mom so I don't ever take it for granted. I hope all of you had a great Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, you showed me unconditional love

and I wouldn't be the mother I am today without you. I love you.

This little woman changed my life in the best way possible.

I am so proud to be her mother. No matter how many challenges

we face, it will always be worth it. I have so much love for her.

Being silly at the restaurant with her cousin.

Some serious venting

I haven't blogged in a while so I have a little catching up to do. I'll start with the bad, Thursday was seriously one of the worst days I've had in a really long time. I had an appointment about twenty minutes away and I had to bring Olivia with me. I left my house at 2pm, I didn't have to be there until 3 so I figured I would have plenty of time. About halfway there, we got stuck in a traffic jam. It wasn't just slow traffic, we were at a dead stop for a good fifteen minutes. I called and said that I would be late and they said that was fine. Another hour went by and we had barely moved. I tried taking four different detours and every single way was backed up with traffic. They called me back and told me that I would have to reschedule my appointment, I was so annoyed because I really didn't want to do that. Thursdays are my only day off so I had to reschedule a bunch of other things to fit it in, I'm so busy every Thursday for the next few months. Anyway, I turned around and started driving home and of course we hit traffic again. At this point, I started crying hysterically. I just couldn't deal with it anymore, the stress finally got to me and I just let it out. I could hear Olivia in the backseat doing her nervous laugh so I composed myself and told her that it was okay. When we got home, I went to grab her out of her seat and noticed that she threw up everywhere. This is the third time that she threw up within the span of a month. I called the doctor because I was starting to become concerned and he said that she most likely got motion sickness from the traffic. We didn't even get home till 5pm. So I basically wasted my entire afternoon driving for absolutely no reason at all. Three hours just sitting in the car, it makes me cringe even thinking about it now. Once we got home, I had to give Liv another bath (I already gave her one that morning), do her laundry and clean her car seat (not as easy task). On a good note, her therapy visit went really well. Her speech therapist said that she noticed some improvement with Olivia since she started daycare. She said that her attention span is better and that she was gesturing along more while they were singing songs. She has been doing great at daycare, she plays with the kids and even eats at the table with them. She still cries when I drop her off but most of the kids do. The teacher told me some interesting things too, she said that Olivia says a few words (that I haven't heard her say at home) while she's there, like "eat" and "ball". I wonder why she talks more at school than she does at home. I also heard that she has a little boyfriend, she kept kissing one of the boys in her class on the head. I told Paul about it and he wasn't too happy, I think it's cute though. Yesterday they had a Mother's Day brunch so I went with her and it was really sweet. The presents that she made me just melted my heart. When I had to leave, she got really upset but I knew that was going to happen. I've been sick all week, I don't know if it's just allergies kicking my butt or if I actually have a cold. Today has been spent mostly at home, we went to the store to pick up a few things and got some ice cream for dinner. For the first time ever, I ordered Olivia her own ice cream cone. She made a huge mess but she thoroughly enjoyed it. Tomorrow should be fun, we are going out to lunch with my family for Mother's Day, I just hope I feel a little better.

Totally worth the mess.

NatureBox review - April 2015

NatureBox is a subscription box for healthy snacks, there are no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors in the snacks that they send. I got the trial box a while ago and I liked it so I decided to try the three month subscription. If you decide to pay monthly, it's $19.95 per month and slightly cheaper if you prepay for 3, 6 or 12 months. They also donate one meal for every box they deliver through Feeding America®, which is awesome. I was really excited because this time I got to pick my snacks. There were so many to choose from, I wanted to try it all! It was hard to narrow it down to just five.

Dark Cocoa Almonds - I ate the whole bag of these within a few days. They were really addicting, salty and sweet is my favorite combination so I knew these would be a hit. I would pick this snack again.

White Truffle Popcorn - This popcorn is so yummy! I had some of it already but I am going to save the rest of it for movie night. I would pick this again but there's a few other popcorn flavors that I want to try first.

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Pretzels - These were my favorite! Olivia and I ate these within a few hours, she loved them just as much as I did. I would definitely pick these again, I already added them to my box for next month.

Big Island Pineapple - I was overly excited to try this and I was slightly disappointed. For some reason I was expecting it to be crunchy but it was vey chewy, I don't think I would pick this again.

French Toast Granola - I liked this, I add it to my yogurt and it's pretty good. I don't think I would get it again just because I don't eat yogurt much and that's the only way I like granola.

Pineapple Coconut Bar - This was an add on snack, I added it to the box for $1. I didn't like it, I love pineapples and I love coconuts but this just tasted gross to me. I wouldn't pick this again.

All in all, I liked the box. Most of the snacks were really good and I'm excited to get my next box.