Quick Summary

So things have been kind of crazy lately...CJ and I had a great day on Friday, he finially seemed to be doing better then BAM!! 4 o'clock in the morning rolled around and CJ was sick. He then had a stomach bug off and on all weekend, but was in surprisingly good spirits. Phil and I woke up Monday with the same stomach bug and had to miss work on Monday and also got to fight over the upstairs bathroom. Luckily we both were pretty much over it by Monday night. Then yesterday CJ had his ear tube surgery. Everything went well with the surgery. He was a trooper. He was an angel all day yesterday and seemed to be feeling great. I am trying not to get my hopes up or to get too excited yet. I am trying to wait and take it one day at a time with him cuz whenever I get excited and think he is better than he gets sick again. So keep your fingers crossed for us that this ear tube surgery will be the solution and the help he needs. He is doing great so far. We will see how it continues. Phil, CJ and I will be going to St. Louis on Thursday the 28th to visit Phil's relatives. We will get to stay with his brother Pat and my FAVORITE sister-in-law Liz for a couple of days and then go see a whole bunch of relatives the rest of the weekend including them. :) I know Phil is really excited for all of his relatives to meet little CJ, especially his grandmother Alice. His grandfather (her husband) was Charles and now we have Charles so it is a big moment for everyone. I am excited too for everyone. I am just a little nervous. I hope CJ stays relatively happy and healthy throughout the weekend and has fun. It is weird. It used to be he was NEVER sick. I don't think we ever had to go to the doctor for sickness his first year of life. We just made plans and ran with them. Now it seems like we are always missing work and daycare and I am always nervous about making plans. Pretty much ever since I went back to work and he started daycare it has been a crazy, stressful life for the Vogts. Hopefully this ear tube surgery will help with that. CJ has been such a sweetie pie through this whole thing. He has been such a good sport and such a trooper. What a wonderful little treasure he is!! We are so lucky. He has really been in good spirits through a lot of this, besides being tired and lethargic and unhappy here and there with some of the really bad ear infections. But lately he has been in a great mood, a dream. Anyways, I really hope this works for him. Keep your fingers crossed!! So to make a long story short or a short story long I am excited about the trip, but apprehensive too. I really hope that CJ is feeling well and has fun and so do we. Anyways, that is a brief summary of my life right now. We will be in St. Louis until Monday and getting back into Baltimore late Monday morning. If you need me or Phil, you can reach us on our cell phones or we will try to check our e-mail occasionally while we are there. Think good thoughts for us!!! Bring on the spring!!! :)

I know it is a bit late for New Years pics, but this pic was so cute and I just felt the need to post it. :)

Back to Normal

Today, CJ FINALLY seems like his adorable little self again!!! He had no fever all day. He was happy and talking and playing. We had a great day together. He got a good report at daycare yesterday. They said that he had a much better day and was definitely feeling better and happier. And today I was home cuz of the weather and CJ and I had one of our perfect days together!!! He was my sweet, adorable, happy little monkey man again!!!! I can not even tell you how happy it makes me to see him so happy!!! It puts me in a great mood and it is such a huge relief. I guess the oral antibiotics and steroids are helping him feel better finally, for now anyways. I am still glad we are doing the ear tubes on Tuesday because I think in the long run this will make him the happiest and us the happiest too. I think that the medicines are just a good short term solution. But hopefully, my little man will stay happy and sweet and feeling well all the way until his appt. on Tuesday. And if he doesn't, Tuesday is not too far away!! I just wanted to share how great it was to have my little boy back to his old self again today. He is such a sweetheart and he deserves to be happy all the time!! :)

Ear Tubes

As you all know, we have been having a tough couple of months with CJ and his ear infections. He has been miserable off and on for the past few weeks now. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I talked to the ENT this morning to see if there is any way that we could move him up on the list to have the ear tubes done because the oral medications don't seem to be working. Well, the nurse called me back and I have great news!!! They were able to get him into the Owings Mills surgicenter on Tuesday the 26th at 6:30 am. He will continue on the steroids and oral antibiotics until then and then he will have the surgery on Tuesday. She said that he has to be there an hour before the procedure and then the actual procedure only takes about 15 minutes and then he will have to lie down for about another hour and then he can go home. I asked how long the recovery time was and she said oh he will be fine by that afternoon. I told her we had plans to travel that Thursday and she was like oh yeah he will be fine by then. He can go back to daycare on Wednesday. So I feel a lot better now. Apparently, at Carroll Hospital Center they are booking out until April so I was definitely not up for waiting until then after everything he has been through. There is always a small chance that the ear tubes will not help, but after talking to all the doctors and friends who have been through similar experiences it sounds like the ear tubes are the best option and that they should help pretty much immediately. They should hopefully take care of the problem. I of course will be a little nervous about the surgery, but I am so relieved too. I am so ready for the little man to feel better. As my wise friend Dealey said, CJ deserves to feel better!! Anyways, thank you all for all of your support and for caring so much about the sweet little guy!!! We will keep you posted on how everything goes and talk to you soon!! :)

Awesome Boss

I just wanted to say that I have the most awesome manager in the whole wide world!! She has been so incredibly understanding and flexible about everything going on with CJ. She totally understands when I have to miss work or leave early. She always says "Babies come first." She is the bestest!!! I am sooo lucky to have such an amazing boss!!! She is the tops!!! I just want to send a BIG thank you out to the best and most awesome manager and friend ever!!! Things have been so crazy and stressful and having her be so understanding and awesome about everything really really helps. And Phil's work has been wonderful about all of this as well. Having him be able to take turns being off with me has been a big help too. Thanks SO much to all those bosses who understand how important family is, especially mine. :)

A Good Team

So I was just thinking how lucky I am to have Phil for a husband. We make a really good team I think and balance each other out well. He is laid back, logical and relaxed about things. I am more nervous, and hyper, but I tend to plan more and take steps toward fixing things if they need to be fixed. For example, with everything that has been going on with poor little CJ and his ears, I have been the more stressed out, nervous, unhappy one. Phil has been good at calming me down and discussing everything rationally and logically. But I have been the one that is more aggressive about calling the doctors and I am the one who usually knows when something is wrong with CJ. Phil is more likely to wait and see what happens, whereas I am more likely to call the doctor right away and I have been pretty right lately. So it is good, we balance each other out. I get nervous and he calms me down. I call the doctor and he helps me take care of little CJ and make sure both CJ and I stay calm and as happy as possible. Phil says I have good instincts about CJ and when he is not feeling well. I suppose I do. But I think after spending 24/7 together for a year, you start developing some instincts about the other person. ;) Anyways, CJ is doing great this morning. No fever, happy, playing, took all his meds happily. He is back at daycare this morning. Keep your fingers crossed for us that he makes it through the day!!! :) I just wanted to comment on how cool it is that Phil and I are such a great pair and make for such a great partnership. I am the luckiest person in the world to have two such wonderful boys in my life who I love more than anything. It doesn't get any better than them. :)

ENT appt.

Well as luck would have it when I called the ENT, they had a cancellation this afternoon and I was able to get CJ in today. Well basically the ENT said that he has a lot of puss in both ears. We have two options, try steroids with the meds he is already on and see if that works and if it does not work, then consider putting tubes in his ears or just going straight ahead with the tube option. She wrote him a prescription for the steroids and he is going to take those for a week with his other antibiotic. Then we go back next Monday to see if his ears look clear and if he will be able to fly cuz we are supposed to go to St. Louis on the 28th. And they are supposed to call us to schedule the surgery for the tubes. The doctor who would be performing the surgery looked at his ears too and said that we can try the steroids, but that he really recommends the tubes. He said that it will make for a happier little man and a happier us too. It is apparently a very simple surgery with little to no complications. We get to stay with him until they put him to sleep and then we wait for him until he is done. And the tubes last from 2-12 months and he gets a check up every 3 months to see how they are doing and if he still needs them. I think we are probably going to go ahead with the surgery. We are doing the steroids and the antibiotics in the meantime to try to keep him happy and to clear him up as much as we can for our trip. Maybe they will work and we wont need the surgery, who knows? They are supposed to call us to schedule, but they said it prolly wont be scheduled for a few weeks so we shall see. But in the meantime, he is still doing great today. He has been playing and dancing and talking and he was awesome at the doctor and at Target when we went to get his prescription filled. Hopefully that will continue. We are probably going to take him to daycare tomorrow unless something changes before then. Keep your fingers crossed for us!! Poor little guy, what an ordeal this has been for him and for us too...but mostly for him

Poor little CJ :(

As you all know, things with CJ have been kind of crazy. Last week he was home most of the week, not feeling well at all. Phil and I took turns taking work off and taking care of him. He finally seemed to be better Thursday afternoon and then was yucky again Friday morning. Anyways, Phil took him to the doctor again on Friday and the poor little guy had yet another ear infection in his right ear, and the doctor said it looked really painful. So they gave him a shot of a really strong antibiotic and then I took him again on Saturday morning where he had another shot of the strong antibiotic and gave me another prescription for an oral antibiotic to follow up with. He has a follow up with the doctor on Thursday, but they assure me that this medication should take care of it and knock it all out. They also want me to call an ENT and get him an appt. within the next few weeks just to make sure that he does not need tubes or anything since he has had so many ear infections. He said that it is not an emergency thing or anything, he just wants him to be seen in the next few weeks just in case. But they assure me over and over again that this time it should work so we shall see. The poor little guy was so miserable last week and not sleeping well at all, so we were not either. He was just lying around for a couple of days there. Then Friday night he passed out at about 8 pm and slept until 6:30 am which was AWESOME!!! The shot helped him sleep better right away. Phil and I were so tired, we were in bed at about 8:45 that night. And then Saturday after having the second shot, he felt much better. It was evident right away. He was playing and talking and acting much more like himself again. And then last night we all went to bed early again and he slept until almost 7 today, good stuff!! And today was even better than yesterday. He was really acting like the sweet little happy guy we know and love!!! He was playing and talking and babbling and being his little crazy self. And besides a very low grade fever this morning, he has had no fever all day long. So I am trying not to get my hopes up, because it seems like every time we think he is better we get another call from daycare or he gets another fever. But I really really hope that this medication will do the trick. The doctors assured me that it will and he certainly seems to be feeling much much better already so keep your fingers crossed. Apparently, sickness has been really bad this year. When Phil went to pick up CJ from daycare on Friday, there were only 2 other little kids there out of 9 kids. All the other kids were home sick, with various things, including one kid who has pneumonia. His teacher Erin said that this year has been particularly bad with sickness and the kids not feeling well so it has been rough. She said that one little girl got sent home with a 102 fever and her mom tried to bring her in the next day and they had to send her home again. But she also said that they were going to bleach everything over the weekend. They can't do it while the kids are there of course, so they were planning to bleach everything over the weekend which is a good thing. As for tomorrow, I have the day off, but Phil has to work. And CJ's daycare is actually open. Originally I was going to have Phil take CJ to daycare and have a day to myself. But since he has been so sick and feeling so yucky, I am going to keep him home with me. Honestly, I think he could probably go tomorrow. He has no fever and seems to be feeling great. But I figured one more day of R & R and being with Mommy couldn't hurt. Since I have the day off already, I might as well keep him home with me one more day. And then if he keeps doing so well, he will go back on Tuesday. Again, keep your fingers crossed for us!!! The only plus of all this stress is that I have lost about 8 pounds, but I would much rather have my little man healthy than lose weight. It is hard on us too cuz you just feel so bad for the poor little guy and he doesn't understand. Poor little sweetheart. I hope he is really better now.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! Amazingly, both CJ and I seem to be feeling much better this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that this Valentines miracle continues. Hope you all have fun Valentines plans with your loved ones or with friends or on your own. Personally, I will be watching Lost with my hubby. Yep, we live the wild life!!! Happy Valentines Day!!!

Sick.....And Tired

Well for all those inquiring minds who want to know I still feel awful. I am congested, coughing, etc. And CJ is also still sick. I took him to the doctors yesterday and now his OTHER ear is infected. She basically said that she thinks that he can not get over his congestion so infections keep building up. So she gave him two new antibiotics, one for his ear and one for the congestion so hopefully this will work. He is also still taking Motrin and Tylenol for his fever. I just feel so bad for the little guy. He feels bad, but he does not understand why. I just wish he would get better already. I told the doctor that it was very frustrating because it seems like ever since he started daycare he has been sick. She told me to hang in there, that it will get better.She said it is really normal when kids start daycare for them to catch everything because they are being exposed to all new germs. She also said that this time of year is particularly tough because everyone is sick with colds and flus, etc. In the warm weather, she said that kids do not get sick nearly as often. So I am really hoping that this will do the trick. He is home with Phil today since I stayed home yesterday. We take turns, we are cool like that. Anyways, he was a little fussy and still running a low grade fever. Sigh. I feel so bad and I wish he would get better. It would also be easier if I felt healthy. But since I feel shitty, that makes it even harder. And Phil has a little bug too. AHHHH!!! It's big fun around the Vogt house. Plus I am exhausted because I was up with CJ at 4 am and I am not sleeping that well anwyays cuz I am worrying all the time. And tomorrow is supposed to be the Valentines party at CJ's daycare, but I am afraid he is probably going to miss it which I feel really sad about. Of course, CJ has no idea he has a V day party tomorrow so he will not miss it or anything. But he would have so much fun if he got to go. Blah. Just yuck all around. :(

Seaquest Captain Died

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20177335,00.html

Looks like Jonathan Brandis will have some company from his "Seaquest" captain. Too sad. :(

Grumpy

I am grumpy today. I feel icky. I have a cough and a congested nose and I do not want to be at work at all. It is definitely a Monday. And poor little CJ still does not seem to feel perfect. He is basically okay. But just a little grumpy and he has a runny nose and a little cough still. He is going to the doctors on Wednesday just to make sure that his ear is finally all better after trying this other med. Sometimes I wish it was still just me and him at home against the world. I know that daycare is good for him. He is charming the teachers and having fun playing with his little friends. And Thursday they have a Valentines day party!!! But sometimes I just miss when he was healthy and happy and it was just me and him all day long. Now my weekends go by in a flash because I spend the whole time worrying and taking care of CJ. Phil has all these friends nearby so he often gets to go out and get a break. I am not complaining. I love CJ and I would take care of him all the time if I could. I just wish he was feeling like his normal adorable, perfect self. Anyways, I am at work and he is at daycare and life goes on.....I just had to complain for a minute. :P

I Still Live With My Parents....

Seriously, is anything cuter than this?

Getting Back in Touch

So yesterday, I got a little bit of a surprise. An old friend that I have not talked to in forever found me on myspace!!! I am going to call her M for privacy's sake. Anyways, M was one of my very best friends my junior year of high school and sadly as often happens we fell out of touch. It's kind of a long story. I still remember the night we first became friends. We went to boarding school together and I had to hold the door open for her in our dorm so that she could sneak a cigarette. I am such a rebel. ;) I remember feeling so cool that she wanted to hang out with me and that I got to be the one to help her sneak around. Hehehe!!! Anyways, turns out not only was she really cool and pretty, but a great friend. So for most of the rest of that year, we were pretty much inseparable. She came home with me a few weekends and we even discussed me going down to visit her, which never happened. Anyways, things got kind of crazy at the end of the year, we lost our friendship for awhile, got it back just in time to say goodbye, stayed in touch for a little while and then unfortunately lost touch again. M was one of those friends I always wondered about and thought about over the years. I always wished we could have stayed friends and thought about her whenever I drove past the exits to her town. Anyways, to my great surprise yesterday I got a message and a friend request from her on myspace!! How awesome!!! And even better than that, she is doing GREAT!!! She has a wonderful life. Seems like she and I have in some ways headed down the same path. We both got married and have beautiful children. I have a boy and she has a girl and in fact CJ is only about 6 months older than her little girl. A future friendship for them perhaps? We were even both pregnant at the same time for a little while. Anyways, she still lives down south so it is not like we will be able to hang all the time. But it is just so nice to be back in touch again. I am hoping we will stay in touch this time, through e-mail, myspace, the phone, maybe even get to visit each other sometime and introduce our kids to each other. And with wanting to move to the south someday, we would have a friend not too far away perhaps? M, thanks for getting back in touch with me!!! It really made me so happy to hear from you and I am thrilled to hear how well your life is going. I hope to hear from you soon. It is just so cool when life throws you these little surprises. :)

Happy 14 Months!!!

Today CJ turns 14 months old!!! Happy 14 Months to the sweetest, cutest, bestest boy in the WHOLE world!!! We love you more than anything!!

Lost Night Once Again

LOST IS ON TONIGHT!!! YAY!!! WOOT!!! Also, CJ's teacher Erin told me that CJ is a great kid and that he is one of the best kids in the class. I knew that of course, but it is really nice to hear. ;) What a sweetheart he is!! Also, I have had the lyrics to "The Promise" in my head all day long and I keep singing it to myself. At work nonetheless.

When In Rome - The Promise

If you need a friend,don't look to a stranger,You know in the end,I'll always be there.And when you're in doubt,and when you're in danger,Take a look all around,and I'll be there.I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of the right words to say, (I promise)I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)But if you wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me,I promise, I promise you I will.When your day is through,and so is your temper,You know what to do,I'm gonna always be there.Sometimes if I shout,it's not what's intended.These words just come out,with no gripe to bear.I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)But if you wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me,I promise, I promise you...I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)And if I had to walk the world, I'd make you fall for me,I promise you, I promise you I will.I gotta tell ya, I need to tell ya, I gotta tell ya, I gotta tell yaaaa ...I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)But if you wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me,I promise you, I promise you...I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)And if I have to walk the world, I'd make you fall for me,I promise you, I promise you I will ...I will...I will...I will...

I am SOOOOO cool!!! I am sure the doctor thinks so too. You see I am in Eldersburg for the first time since I went back to work so this is the first time we met. She called me the "famous" Hilary this morning. I wonder what she has heard about me.

Germ Land or Daycare

So it seems like ever since CJ started daycare, he is never completely healthy. There is always something going on. He has had two ear infections, a cold and chest congestion. Now we are down to one ear infection and a cough and sniffle. We have been to the doctor twice and have another appt. and he is taking lots of meds. And I have already missed 2 days of work. :P The year that he was home with me we never went to the doctor except for scheduled appts. He had one sniffle and that was it. He was the healthiest baby EVER!! I know that this is just part of his adjustment to daycare. Everyone keeps telling me this is totally normal. The teachers, doctors, other parents, etc. And I know it is. They keep telling me it is perfectly normal for kids to get sick when they start daycare. That they are not used to the germs yet and that their immunities will build up. And all of this makes sense and I know it is all true. But I still feel bad for him. I hate it when CJ is sick!! He just doesn't understand what is going on and I want to make him feel better so much. Poor little guy. I am ready for this adjustment period of sickness to be over now. I want him to be well all the time. Maybe once the weather gets warmer. Bring on the spring!!!

However, even though CJ has been sick at different degrees since he started daycare, other than that he is adjusting very well. :) The teachers love him, esp. one in particular who runs in as soon as she sees him to greet him. He is always happy when I come to pick him up and it is fun to see what he is doing. Some of the other little kids pat him on the head and get excited when they see him. And one little boy was in the hall the other day and when he saw him, started yelling Che J!! Che J!! It was pretty cute. And yesterday when I came to pick him, he and another little boy were looking in a mirror together and they were both carrying toys. I am not quite sure what they were doing, but they were obviously playing some sort of game. It was very cute to watch. And he has been in good spirits for the most part and earning smiley faces every day. Still bring on the spring!!!

Speaking of spring, I have come to the conclusion that we Vogts should move somewhere warmer. Okay, CJ did not really bring me to this conclusion. I have always kind of felt this way. I love my life, I really do, but I would love to do something different. I have lived in the general DC/Baltimore area my whole life and I would love to live somewhere different at least once in my life. And down south is a definitely possibility for us in the future. Realistically, it probably wont be for a long time, until the kid or kids get older and we are looking to move somewhere new. But sometimes I just want to go now. Most of the time, I am happy and content and love where I live and the distance we are from our families is really nice esp. with CJ so they can be with him and spend time with him and baby-sit. I must live somewhere else sometime in my life. I just must. ;) This area is nice, but very high pressure and fast paced. Well not so much where I live, but just the DC/Baltimore area in general you know. I would love to live where the weather is warmer, the houses are less expensive and the people are nicer. Ever since I started visiting my family in SC when I was little I have thought it would be neat to live in one of the Carolinas or somewhere down south. This is something that probably wont happen for a long time. Phil says now is not the time and this is a long term goal we should work towards. Realistically and logically I know he is right. Sometimes I just get the moving bug and I have it right now. But I will get over it, I always do, at least for a little while. ;)

Seaquest Nerd

So lately I have been watching "Seaquest DSV" through Netflix on DVD. Why you ask? Well, that's a good question. I must confess that I used to be obsessed with that show in high school. I loved it and watched it religiously. Now this was in large part due to the fact that I was in love with Jonathan Brandis. I'm super cool I know. ;) Now years later re-watching the episodes, I have to admit they are pretty cheesy. Phil makes fun of me and the show every time I watch it. And he is right, it is very unrealistic and cheesy. But oddly, still addictive. I still enjoy watching it and can't wait till the next DVDs come. I think it is partly a nostalgia thing, watching them reminds me of being in high school and my huge crush on Mr. Brandis and how I used to fantasize about being on the boat with him. Yeah I know, I was lame, but I was young, okay? And partly I still genuinely enjoy the stories. Yeah, it is silly and far fetched, but fun and exciting and I guess I am still a bonafide Seaquest nerd. It also makes me kind of sad to watch them. Mainly because of the tragic death of Jonathan Brandis. As most of you probably know, he killed himself a few years ago. http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=5fcb8f5a-ae67-4cec-a835-d01acbd275fd

It is really sad and kind of eerie to watch him on Seaquest now. There are all these episodes where he is in danger or where they think he might die and he talks about how he does not want to die. And then there is even a few episodes where they talk about suicide and he is right there. It's a little eerie. And I can't help, but feel kind of sad about it. It is just such a tragic loss. He was so young and had so much talent. I am not saying he was the best actor in the world or anything. But he was a talented actor and he even wrote one of the episodes of Seaquest. Anyways, that is all. After all these years, it still gets to me a little. That's all.