Aaaaand then there's today:
So you could say things kinda went downhill.
Let me back up and fill in some details for you. The January blues had me hankerin' for some adventure, but I decided that $180 for the Medieval Times night out that I'd been considering was just a little too steep (tell me, good sirs, do we get to take home a real horse as a souvenir?!) There wasn't much going on around our neck of the woods, so I did some research and decided we'd venture downtown and try the Atlanta Children's Museum. Somehow in our many years of attempting to entertain our kids we'd never been to that one before. They had a Magic Tree House exhibit based on the popular book series, which we thought would be really fun for Audrey.
Of course, with the Falcons playoff game, the boat show, and the Atlanta Wholesale Market in full swing, we knew going downtown would not be an original idea and tried to get there early. David had the great idea to park at the aquarium and cut through Centennial Park, so we only paid $12 as opposed to $30. Good thinking, Daddy!
The museum was virtually empty when we arrived and we let the kids pick their top choices to do first. The Magic Tree House area was really cool and it was exciting for Audrey to see certain books come alive through interactive displays. We finished that and then hit the rocket launch area, the layers of the earth climbing mats, the kinetic sand troughs, and the simple machine ball play area before going up the piano steps to the science floor. After we examined things through microscopes and moved a ball with our brain waves (yes, really!), we went back downstairs for the painting wall and the Fundamentally Food area that included farm, grocery store, and diner exhibits.
Near the end of our visit I put my hand on Audrey and immediately knew she had a fever. She'd run a slight temperature the night before, but it was only a little high and then completely normal that morning so I thought it must have just been a fluke. Guess not.
We left the museum debating about what to do next...eat lunch out as planned or just head home. Audrey pitifully asked, "we're eating out, aren't we?!" and that settled it. We decided to go through with our plan to eat at a flatbread place called Flats that we'd found online and talked up to the kids. People with Celiac don't get a lot of new and exciting restaurant choices. Dining out fare that doesn't include salad (which she doesn't eat), grilled chicken, or bunless hamburgers is a treat, so we didn't have the heart to say no. We walked a couple of blocks and found the spot, which thankfully wasn't crowded. They brought out our yummy order and we gobbled it down, emptying the napkin dispensers in the process. It was messy...tasty, but messy!
David left to go get the car so Audrey wouldn't have to walk so far while the kids and I began making our way back through Centennial Park. I showed them where I used to go running in the park when I lived at the Georgia State dorms (formerly the Olympic Village, now given back to Georgia Tech after having been leased to Georgia State for ten years.) We walked through the pretty rock waterfall sections and down to the playground where I let them do a little sliding until David called to tell us he was getting close. He pulled up and we jumped in, waving goodbye to the beautiful tall buildings and exciting crowds of the city. Man, I miss it.
Once we were back home we spent the remainder of the day resting and finding calm ways to enjoy the unseasonably warm temperatures. Audrey was feeling okay and the ibuprofen was holding off her fever. She wrote out valentines on the back deck while I did some work and David and Luke hit golf balls in the yard. The kids swayed in their eno hammocks and then we all cuddled up for Falcons football and Fixer Upper. David and I ordered Chinese take-out for the first time in years (confession: ever?!) and it was a great end to an adventurous day.
We decided to skip church the next morning and let Audrey sleep in, which was a good call because her coughing kept some of us up (read: me and AJ) quite a bit for the third night in a row. We had a family lunch planned and, since she wasn't running a fever that morning and we see that side of family so rarely, we decided to go. It was nice to catch up with everyone and swap updates and stories. That afternoon looked a lot like the one before it, with chill time and warm temperatures. Audrey spiked another fever later in the day, so we tried to make her take it easy. David grilled hamburgers (in January!) and we ate dinner on our back deck under the patio lights.
After another tough night of coughing fits (a humidifier, Vick's, and children's cough syrup weren't doing anything to help), I woke up this morning and resolved to get her to the doctor today. I knew that with her fever and the fact that this didn't start off with head congestion, there was a good chance she had either pneumonia or an upper respiratory infection. I was tired of worrying and waiting to find out which. I went to the gym early and came home to get the kids up and fed. We got an appointment with our pediatrician and I scrambled to get everyone ready and out the door. Thankfully traffic wasn't bad since school was out, so the normal forty minute drive took about thirty.
We arrived and waited and waited, but the kids did great being patient (they usually are when I'm not...maybe they sense Mama about to lose it.) The nurse called us back and the doctor came in just after we got settled in an exam room. I gave him a summary of what was going on and he listened to Audrey's lungs for all of three breaths before he heard and diagnosed pneumonia. He listened some more, finished the exam, and talked us through the medicines he was prescribing. I confirmed with him in front of Audrey that there would not be school tomorrow and maybe even the next day. ("Sorry, honey, but the doctor said so." Why be the bad guy all the time if you don't have to?! And yes, to her, missing school is bad news.) He told me not to be overly concerned about contagiousness but that she still needed to be completely fever-free for 24 hours before going back to school.
We headed back to our side of town and got the prescriptions filled. I took the kids home, made them lunch, and gave her her first dose of medicine, which brings us up to the present point...the point at which I am trying to keep one healthy kid from bouncing off the walls and one sick kid from climbing them of boredom. Sigh. But at least we got a few fun things in before being couch-bound! "We'll always have
Prayers appreciated!
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