It has been a week

My title is in the sense of rough week, not in the sense of it's been a week since I posted. Just to clarify.

So the week has had ups. The week had lows but in the end and about ready to start my next week, I am happy. My "Monday" at work starts on Tuesday so my week goes from Tuesday to Monday.

Here are some highlights:

Porter has been trying so hard to get this 'big boy' stuff down. He is in the throws of potty training and is doing very well. Me, on the other hand, didn't realize that at every place we stopped, he would want to check out the bathroom! It isn't a bad thing as he has had dry diapers during the day and dry undies during the day when he wears them. We are getting closer to the end goal and it is actually a little bittersweet. He really will be a 'big boy' then.

I cut Porter's hair tonight and now he suddenly looks like a preschooler. Good thing he is signed up for preschool in the fall. Oh, another sign he isn't a baby anymore.

Friday while at work, AJ texts me and asks me if I want a date night. Um, yes!! He took care of the details and by 6:00 we were driving away, kid free with no agenda! We didn't even know where we were going to eat! We ended up having an amazing time and had some quiet unwinding moments at dinner. It was bliss not having to make sure the kids were being fed and Porter had attention and Maggie wasn't throwing food. Bliss. We ended the night with a movie and felt like the adults we are. I love date night babysitting swaps!

AJ took Porter to the Ag Fest here is Salem. They had a great time doing the manly man thing. And I took Maggie clothes shopping for her. Just what girls are suppose to do!

Porter and I followed a hot air balloon that was in our neighborhood and ended up seeing it land. We had our janmies on and we hopped in the car with AJ's keys. I didn't have any ID on me or my cellphone, so no photos to document it, but it was amazing. We pulled up to watch it float only to then see it land. We jumped out of the car and watched them land it. I don't think they were planning on landing there but we saw them land and start to deflate the balloon. That is something that is on my bucket list- a hot air balloon ride.

Another cool highlight of our week is our quest for a Magnolia tree. AJ has been on the hunt and doing some research and decided the best to suit our criteria was a Magnolia Anne tree. Well, long and short, the employee at Al's Nursery had told AJ they were past their season so he would not be able to find one. Bummer. So we moved on and decided we could make do with a Magnolia Susan. We ran to Al's Nursery in Sunday and AJ was showing me the Susan's and they were huge! I then said, "What about that one?" pointing to one in the way back. AJ exclaimed, "It's a Magnolia Anne!" It was meant to be our tree. It is beautiful and we planted it in a huge pot so that if we ever move, we can still take it with us.

Our backyard with the blossoming dogwood, the blessing Magnolia, our chickens, green grass and raised bed makes me love our backyard. We acquired a new to us swing set and Maggie LOVES to swing! I am envisioning many fun afternoons spent out there as the weather gets more and more nice.

And one of the not so 'high'lights of our week was Maggie getting sick. Friday her nose started running again and she had a dry cough. I wasn't too worried but Saturday she sounded a little worse and we kept her home from church. She slept horribly on Saturday night. 12:30 and 2:30 she woke up. At 6:00 she was up for the day. It was too early. I was exhausted and she was taking short wheezy breaths. At 7:30am she went back down for a nap and slept till 10! She was exhausted. We had a bunch of errands to run and decided to watch how she was doing and decide if we should take her to our doctor's urgent care office. As the day progressed, she continued to wheeze and cry to what seemed an ear infection. We decided to take her in and I was glad we did.

Nothing too traumatic but she was wheezing so badly the doctor couldn't fully tell until they gave her a breathing treatment to help relax her airway. Once we did that, no more wheeze and she seemed so much better! The doctor sent us home with a prescription to continue the nebulizer with her at home (we did this same thing with Porter at about 10-11 months old). She also gave us a prescription for her ear if it continued to bother her which we haven't filled yet. All around, in just a day, huge improvement. She still has a rattle when she coughs and it's fully herself yet, but she was pounding the dinner tonight pretty hard, so she is close to her normal self.

It is so hard when your baby is sick but the end all was affirming of my motherly instincts. Maggie just couldn't let another cold season pass without something dramatic. Last year it was RSV with a bladder infection. Maggie knows how to go all out!

All the while that we having been dealing with Maggie, I have been fighting my own sore throat, and AJ has been fighting something as well. So yes, it has been a week, but here we go again and I can't wait to see all this week has to hold. :)