Hitting My Limit!!!

I must say that as a wife and mother of two, I have never had a more challenging week! I have always handled stress pretty well I think, but this week, Satan was at work on myself and my family. It's a long story with many big and little things that happened so I'll try to give you the "short" version:

It all started Friday morning when the painters showed up. "Hooray for paint!" was my initial reaction. After quickly packing some bags, getting the kids dressed and rushing through breakfast, we were out the door and as usual, in the car with me thinking, "Okay, where are we going to spend the day?" Luckily, my parents have been absolute saints thoughout all of this construction letting us visit when we need to, feeding us and letting us nap in their beds. So, we headed to Gram and Pa-pa's house for the day. We left at around 4:30 to come home to what I thought would be a pretty aired-out house. Well, the paint fumes were terrible! Lincoln had been to the doctor's the day before with a pretty nasty cold and my first reaction was, "We can't stay here tonight." I put the kids back in the baby's room and closed the door praying that they wouldn't breathe too much in. I quickly packed some bags for the four of us, called Rob to book us a hotel and we were off. I think I packed in 10 minutes!! The kids and I made a stop at Chick-Fil-A for some dinner which was a mess. Lincoln wanted to eat (which I'm not THAT comfortable doing in public) and Avonlea needed help as usual. I left feeling quite stressed. We then head over to Jo-Ann Fabrics to pick up some sort of craft for Avonlea to do as we sit in a hotel for the weekend (I had forgot to pack toys in my 10-minute rush) and as we were in the kids' craft section, yep, Avonlea decides to throw a fit. Perfect!! We left there to head up to the hotel where Satan was ready to go to work again. Already tired and wanting my own bed, we all go to sleep...WRONG. Lincoln is up all night (I'm talking on the hour, like a newborn again). Rob and I were beginning to hit our peak of patience. I finally fell asleep with Lincoln on one bed, Rob in the loft area and Avy on the pull-out couch. Around 4:00 a.m. I hear a very loud and strange sound..."Ba-la, ba-la, um-bum-ba!" The alarm clock has now gone off just as my sick baby has finally been asleep for longer than one hour. I jump out of bed trying to push any button that will shut the thing off (no luck) so I yank it out of the wall. At this point, I was so literally exhausted that I just sat on the bed and started laughing. Rob came down, stood in the doorway and just laughed along with me. We had hit our limit and all we could do was laugh. The whole time this lousy alarm was going off, in my mind I'm thinking, "Of coarse, of coarse!" This is the icing on the cake. So, it's back to dreamland for a little more shut-eye before our little angels wake up.

The next day was Saturday and we had a friend's wedding to attend. (I'm totally looking forward to just getting out of the house with a babysitter watching the kiddos!) But wait! We can't have a babysitter come to the hotel. That would be weird, so I called up Grandma K. and she agreed to take Avy and I would then take Lincoln with us to the wedding. Lincoln is now getting much worse by the way. His coughing, nose-running and wheezing (he has asthma like Avy) were getting terrible. Poor guy. So, we go to the wedding which was beautiful and Lincoln and Rob hung out in the church lobby while I watched the ceremony. After the reception, we were pooped and ready for bed. We picked up Avonlea and headed back to our hotel. Another night of restless sleep awaited us (urgh!). The following day, we headed back (the kids and I...Rob had to sing for church and I couldn't go b/c LC was still very sick) home and I prayed as we drove back that the paint fumes would be tolerable enough for us to stay. We opened every window, turned on the air and played outside for awhile until I felt it was safe for them to breathe inside. Needless to say, we were just happy to be in our own beds that night.

The next day was Monday and Lincoln had taken a turn for the worst. I had him in and out of the doctor's office Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Finally, Wednesday afternoon, his wheezing got so bad that I had to take him to the ER where we stayed for 5 hours and the ER doctor determined that Lincoln had RSV. I was shocked! I had always heard that this virus was so serious and could even be fatal in babies. I immediately freaked out. The nurse assured me that yes, it can be dangerous for small babies (multiples or premies), but for a baby Lincoln's weight, it's just a really bad cold. He's on a steriod called Oripred as well as Albuterol breathing treatments every 4 hours. Poor boy. I have always been careful about handwashing, not sharing drinks and yes, I'm one of those moms who wipe down the shopping carts with sanitizing wipes. I couldn't believe my kid had RSV.

So, now it's Thursday and we spent yet another day out of our home. I will say that it's very difficult living amongst the dust and debris here, but I know that the end is in sight. Having strangers walking around making noise all day when you just want to relax is definately not comfortable. The finished product isn't far away. Every day there are big and small steps to completing the house. I just pray that I'm still sane after it all. I know I will be with the Lord's help. I honestly had no idea the patience, tolerance and sacrifice it would take to make these rennovations happen, but it's definately been a learning experience and although there have been days where I'm ready to throw in the towel, I know it'll all be worth it in the end.

One, tired Mommy signing off...