There's a Fungus Among Us!!!

Y'all. I'm not happy. This past Friday we had to go to the emergency room. For those that follow along on Twitter know that much of the story at least. And that I'm pissed.

Allow me to take a moment and explain the full story. Around Thanksgiving we noticed a small spot on Ainsley's cheek near her temple. I didn't think much of it at the time. Almost a week later, it started to spread. I took a few pictures of it and sent them to Meagan asking her opinion and if her girls had ever had anything like it. After a few messages back and forth Meagan and I decided it had to be some sort of bug bite. I had been putting some essential oils on it since last week when I first noticed it starting to spread. We agreed that was best (I love that we share a love for EO's!) and we went to bed.

This was Wednesday 12/3

By Friday 12/5 it had turned into this! 

So of course, by the time I saw it like that it was after work on a Friday... 6:00 at night. Her pediatrician was closed. I was worried because it just looked horrible. If it was a bug bite, it was spreading and I was in full on panic mode. Luckily, we didn't have to wait very long at the emergency room. We live in a small town, and they take pediatric patients very seriously. Within 30 minutes the doctor was in the room. She was very sweet and listened patiently to this crazy mom rambling on about how I felt bad for not bringing her in to see her regular doc on Tuesday. *sigh*

Ainsley did well with the doctor, too. She let her search all over her body for more spots. (I had already done that every single day since the week of Thanksgiving). As predicted, no more spots. The doctor beamed that Ainsley was the best baby she'd seen all day (yay). After about 5 minutes of examining, she declared, "It's ringworm." My jaw hit the floor. Wait, what?! Ringworm?

Word vomit. "How did that happen?" "Where does it even come from?!" "We have a clean house!" The doctor must have expected this because she just sat there. Waiting for me to shut up. I saw her face and understood. I listened. "Ringworm is a fungus. It doesn't come from a worm. It has nothing to do with how clean or dirty your house is." She explained wrestlers mostly get it from the dirty/sweaty mats. THAT'S when it hit me. The daycare.

They had sent home a letter about two weeks BEFORE Thanksgiving explaining that one of the babies (not in Ainsley's class, but the one under her in age) had a case of ringworm. They explained they'd be getting new mats and things for the daycare at the beginning of the year. I ignored the letter completely. It was the baby room. Ainsley is in the toddler room. I had ZERO clue how contagious ringworm is. The letter made sense now.

Ainsley has ringworm. The rest of us might end up getting it too. If we don't already have it. It's very contagious and in the days since Thanksgiving, we've been touching, cuddling, and wrestling with Ainsley like normal. Obviously now all bedding has been changed and hand washing has doubled if not tripled around here. But there's still the worry that one of us will show signs of it soon too. I'm trying not to think about that, but it's staying in the back of my mind. Every time Zander wrestles with Ainsley now, I make him wash his hands immediately after. Where as normally, he wouldn't.

Even throughout all of this, I'm trying to stay grateful. I'm trying to stay positive. The good news is that I did take her to the E.R. I'm grateful to live in a world that we have access to doctors and nurses 24/7. I'm grateful that Ainsley was seen quickly. I'm REALLY grateful that it wasn't a poisonous spider. Even though if it was there is anti venom / treatments for those. I'm also grateful that ringworm is treatable. It's a fungus. So Ainsley has an anti-fungal cream for the area.

I'm trying to stay positive, so even though this is a rant post to get out my frustration with the situation, I'm linking up with Emily for Grateful Heart. Because even though this sucks, I'm grateful I still have my little girl. I'm grateful that she will get better and I'm grateful for doctors and nurses!

T'is the Season to Spread the Love

Y'all!! Who else cannot believe that we've made it through the first whole week of December? Yeah... that happened. I've barely started Christmas shopping. Thanks to Amazon I've been able to get a few things for the kids and my nieces and nephews in Jersey. I'm no where near being close to done though. I still have the secret Santa for my dad's side of the family to shop for. My dad, my mom, Josh's mom. The list is just too long.

our tree this year. Minus ornaments. because I'm lazy

Can we talk for a moment about the Secret Santa for my dad's side of the family though? Good cause we're going to anyways.

I have a big family. My dad is the 4th of six. My paternal grandparents had ALL BOYS. Six boys. That's madness. Each of my uncles has at LEAST 2 kids. So yeah... big family, y'all. So for Christmas to try and save everyone some money we do secret Santas. Great idea, right? Well.... it would be if you didn't have Grandma Linda running this three ring circus.

Normally... well, on my mom's side of the family... the name drawing process is only for the adults 18 or older who WANT to participate. Don't have the dough this year? No problem. You can sit on the sidelines and ooh & ahh over everyone else's gifts. All the kids get something though. That's just how it's done. My dad's side of the family though? Everyone draws a name. EVERYONE. My little cousin that's not even in prek yet? Yep, he has to pick a name. And the kids don't pick kids names. Zander this year has picked one of my aunt's names. AKA his great aunt. I'm sorry but it bugs me. It doesn't make sense. I don't understand how we're going to say "yeah, Zander really thought you'd love this bottle of lotion for Christmas!" This is the one tradition that I'm kind of a scrooge about. I feel like if the kids are going to be in there, at least make it to where they pick for the other kids. And make it to where they're old enough to understand what "choosing a toy for someone" really means. If Ainsley were to be let loose in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart to pick something for my baby cousin, she would go to the baby dolls and pick something for her. I think four is a good minimum age to start having kids be in the secret Santa / name draw. Once you hit middle school, you should be allowed into the adult name draw. Not because you're an adult but you can pick out something your aunt / uncle might like. #justSayin.

#SorryNotSorry. (Thanks for reminding me, Amanda < <honorary blog love shout out!>> that we don't have to apologize for every little thing we say / do!) That was on my mind and needed to be said. I feel like the title of this post should have been calling me out for being a scrooge. I'm done being a scrooge now, I promise. Tomorrow I'll be getting my first REAL haircut since May. Because apparently drunken Thanksgiving haircuts don't count? Anyway. Stay tuned on Instagram for new selfies tomorrow. #sorrynotsorry

Linking up with Meagan for Blogger Love Fridays!
(on time this week! whaaaat?!)

Here are just a few of my faves from this week.

+ Elizabeth // Simply Complex Mom. Y'all firstly, I'm SO happy to have Liz on my sidebar this month. Her blog is absolutely amazing. If you're not following along already, WHY not?! Do it! This week, "The Meanest Mommy" (in the WHOLE WORLD) really hit home with me. As moms we hate to hear this. However, hearing it makes us realize, "hey, we're doing something right here". Ahh-Mazing!

+ Lindsay // Bourbon, Lipstick, & Stilettos. How many of us out here online shop for Christmas? *Raising my hand*. How many of us either worry about someone stealing your info or have actually had info stolen? *Raising my hand some more* I'm terrified of this. Daily. Online shopping is so easy (and I don't always like braving the crowded malls). I give to y'all: How to protect yourself during Holiday Shopping! Ta-Da! Lindsay is so great.

+ Jenn // Hello Rigby. All around blog land you've probably been seeing TONS of posts for what to get the man or woman in your life. But what about your cute little furbabies? Jenn has you covered! Gift ideas for your pets! If my cat wasn't such a snob (and actually played with toys. lazy bum) I'd totally get her that little track thing. Your pets are covered, y'all!

+ Faith // Life w/ Mrs G & the Artist. I don't know about y'all, but I'm not crafty. I rarely have pinterest worthy posts. I'm not creative. So when I see stuff like THIS Christmas craft with minimal paint and supplies, I remember there's hope for people like me. We will definitely be trying these!

+ Kerri // Hey Kerri. Thinking of offering sponsorship's on your blog? Not sure where to start? Well, thankfully Kerri has you covered! A few things to be mindful of before you start announcing your sponsorship opportunities! A+ post with some great advice!

What were some of your favorite posts for the week? Be sure to link up with Meagan and share! Have a great weekend, y'all.
 

What He Wants for Christmas

Is it just me, or does it seem like the men in my life are the most difficult to shop for? Women I know have pinterest pages, and wish lists on amazon, and circled items in pages of the recent Tiffany magazine. Just me? Ok... moving on. I'm lucky that I know my husband really well and I know his interests. But what about the other men in my life? Like my dad. Sure, every year he says "Don't get me anything." My sister and I never listen though. Never. He always ends up with something from the both of us.

Linking up with Ash and Tay for #Blogmas14

Dad Gifts by camachom featuring gift packs

// Drumsticks. My dad is a drummer. I learned at a very young age that he goes through drumsticks like most people go through chapstick. (or is that just me again?) So every Christmas he gets a nice shiny pair of new drumsticks!

// A silly tie. Don't judge. He loves these things. Sure, some years he'll get a nice one from me, but my dad is a jokester and silly ties are his thing.

// A shirt with a statement. (not pictured) Did I mention my dad is a jokester? I got him a shirt very similar to this last year and he LOVED it. He even wore it after Christmas. (Get it? Noel?) Yeah, a few of the family members thought I was dumb for getting it for him.

// Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. For the man in your life that likes to know a bunch of random crap. And to learn said random crap while... well, you get it.

// Meats and Cheeses. Because show me a guy that doesn't love some good meats and cheeses.

// A new Calendar. My dad ALWAYS (always) gets my sister and I a new calendar for Christmas. He's done it for as long as I can remember, so I started returning the favor. Even though Grandma always (always) makes a family Christmas calendar. (more on that another time). He likes his silly stuff.

// Hotwheels. My dad has a collection. He never takes these out of the packaging, and they're displayed on a WALL in his office. Yes, a wall. It's really very cool to see.

What would you get a special guy in your life? Anything on here strike your fancy?