Fortunate (And Not So Fortunate) Events.

I've sat down on the couch the past three nights and said to myself "I need to blog about this..." and then get sucked into the nothingness of Christmastime TV and realize I'm dosing off to sleep at 11pm without blogging.

The struggle is real, y'all.

In all honesty though, the past several days have been a string of unfortunate events that have led me to be grateful for fortunate events (or things). I thought I'd tell you about a few of these events/things.

Feverish toddlers (not so fortunate). Last Wednesday Tyler was acting crummy but still not having any physical symptoms of a cold other than what I refer to as the "winter time funk", which is a combination of a runny nose and a slight cough. The cough he's had for a while, and on Monday Ty's teachers had made a comment about it starting to sound different, but I shrugged it off because honestly, he basically has a cough all of winter. Anyways. Wednesday evening it became apparent that we were going down for the count when a fever sprung. The next morning the fever was gone, and then in the afternoon sprung again. The same thing happened Friday, but taking into account that the last two times I had gone to the doctor over a fever and a cough we were told "it's just a virus" I thought I'd give one more day of all of the symptoms. By Friday evening I was regretting my decision, when the congestion was clearly not just in his chest (his normal breathing produced a rattly sound, which I knew from previous experiences can be a sign of pneumonia). Saturday morning Ty was diagnosed with not just beginning stages of pneumonia, but also a double ear infection. It was a sad trombone moment for sure.

Urgent care and modern medicine (fortunate things). I left the clinic Saturday morning thankful for urgent care clinics, which are now readily available all over our area. I was also extremely grateful for antibiotics and modern medicine. We truly live in such a blessed time in history.

Changing of the foods (not so fortunate). Concurrent with all of the pneumonia drama, I had switched Toby's food. I am not a rookie pet owner, yet for some reason I can't get my act together when it comes to my dog's food, and sometimes have to convert his foods without a gradual transition. People who are dog owners will read this and know the problem that ensues; for those of you who don't, I will just save you the grotesqueness and say that the smell alone of the problems switching your dogs food brings is enough to make a grown man cry (or in this instance, a grown woman). Last Friday night Drew and I literally tag teamed between rocking a sick baby and hurrying to let a dog out of the house before he crapped on everything (and our couch did not escape the nasty, which was QUITE unfortunate). Mercy. I'm hoping that we're over all of that, and I am swearing to myself and my family that I will do a better job of remembering what kind of food my dog eats.

HOT Christmas toys (not so fortunate). I did most of my Christmas shopping around Black Friday, before things got crazy. And by crazy I mean, people who buy out stores of certain HOT toys and then sell them on ebay for exorbitant amounts of money because they know crazy parents will spend crazy money to buy things that their kids are begging for. Thankfully the only thing left is a semi-spontaneous purchase, but it has been making me crazy trying to chase it down. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have THE ONE THING that your kid wants be on this list and know that you're either picking a Christmas morning meltdown or your wallet being emptied. I feel you, procrastinators. I really do.

Growing kids (fortunate things). If you follow me on social media you'll know that I sort of begrudge my kids growing up. I just hate it (in most respects) and wish they'd stay little FOREVER. But yesterday Brayden about had me in stitches from some of the funny things he was doing and saying and it made me realize that perhaps my little person becoming a big person won't be quite so bad afterall. Especially if he shares my sense of humor (which he does).

(He came to me and said "Take my picture like this, because I look so handsome like this." And then gave me a list of people to text it to. I'm so glad he has so much confidence. :)

Timeout (fortunate things). Neither Brayden or Connor were especially traumatized by timeout, so we had to create other methods of discipline to mold our kids. With Tyler though, one time in timeout was enough to send him to his emotional grave. I was so shocked, as I had never had my own child so upset by the isolation of the corner. I find myself biting my lip to hold back my laughter when Tyler does something wrong and I just simple watch as he PUTS HIMSELF in timeout.

Christmas (fortunate). This Christmas has been so different for me this year. I think it's because I'm getting old (ha!), but I have been so sentimental about everything. The other day as I was driving to Braydens school I got teary eyed listening to Pentatonix's version of Mary Did You Know. I resonate with other boy moms.... I feel like boy moms just "get" each other. We know what it's like to have a bond with a son. And I kept thinking about how Mary must have felt KNOWING that Jesus would die. My heart just can't even handle it. I'm just so incredibly grateful for this season of the welcoming of a tiny infant, a Savior. My hope is that everyone would come to know and feel the great Love that God has for us. It is the most FORTUNATE thing I could ever fathom.