What a pain.

These last few months have had a lot of ups & downs.  A few weeks back I felt like I was finally getting back on my feet from my (what seemed like for.e.ver.) sinus infection.  I think it stemmed from my allergies, but nothing I was doing seemed to be kicking it.  It killed my energy level and my milk supply.  I eventually gave in and went to the doctor to get on some antibiotics.  I was getting my energy level back, my milk supply, and some sort of motivation.

I had a few plans to continue my "upper-room" project and a shopping trip with my friend Sarah to the Outlets.  Sarah's husband, Matt, was going to keep the older 3 of our 5 boys (total).  An hour drive of some good girl time, then shopping, then meet Matt and the boys for lunch.....OH how I was looking forward to that trip.  It's amazing how quickly things can change.

Wednesday night we went to church.  All was well.  Midnight comes and Colin wakes up crying.  There's been multiple times where he's waken up in the middle of the night crying.  He normally says his leg hurts, so I assume it's a leg cramp or growing pains.  Anywho.  Unfortunately it wasn't a leg cramp this time.  Round 1 was already in his bed.  And of course I made an impromptu decision to catch the second round with his favorite blanket.  That didn't go over too well with him either.  Poor guy.  I think he's gotten sick more than the rest of us put together.  In the past when he has gotten sick it's normally just a 24 hour thing and he's better by the next afternoon.  His last "episode" was a 4 AM and he had never had a fever, so I hoping it was just something he ate.  He jumped up out of bed at the regular time, started dancing, and ate a pretty normal breakfast.  I called Sarah and let her know we might have to cancel our Friday trip, but we both agreed to wait the day out, see how he was acting, and hope for the best.  We continued as normal; did a few chores, I showered, the boys went outside to play, and then I got Blaine up to feed him.  As I was feeding Blaine, Colin comes in kind of crying.  I thought he got hurt while playing.  He came and sat down next to me and next thing I know he's getting sick.  Blaine and I both got "hit", but not full blast (PRAISE GOD!)  Still nasty! 

Trip cancelled.  MAJOR bummer. 

Friday everyone seemed back to normal so we headed to Home Depot to pick up some stripper.  I figured I'd start on one of my projects that weekend.  Well Friday night around 5 PM I started feeling kind of sick.  By eight I was rushing the boys to bed, and by 11 PM I was completely ill.  No matter how old I am, these are the times I still wish my mommy would be there.  :)  The following day was filled with lots of movies, and outdoor play for the boys.  SO thankful we had nice weather that day.  On Sunday, Sarah drove out and picked up Ryan & Colin and took them to church and kept them till later that day.  I was still extremely weak, and it allowed me some extra time for a good nap and rest.  (God has blessed me with some amazing friends!) 

The following week I spent "recovering".  Just about everything was washed/sanitized.  The following week my mom came down for a visit.  It was Ryan's birthday and we planned a trip to San Antonio.  I was so excited to be on the upside of things.  We were planning to head to Oklahoma to visit with Tim's family in about another week and I had a few more things I wanted to accomplish before our trip.  I was feeling motivated and encouraged by finally getting some things crossed off my list.

Then, last Wednesday night we had another set-back.  We went to church as normal.  After our drive home I went to get out of the car and I had so much back pain I could barely walk.  The pain was even more intense when I tried carrying Blaine.  I have both a crib and a playpen set up.  Blaine has still been sleeping in the playpen down in my room at night, but I couldn't bend over to get him in it.  Of course the crib is upstairs, but I didn't have too many options.  Plus I figured if I did kind of drop him the crib mattress would be softer to land on then the playpen mat.  Anyway.  I have no idea what happened.  The joys of motherhood just caught up with me I guess.  :) 

I went to bed praying my pain would be gone by the morning, but I still woke up just about as bad as when I went to bed.  Long story short...I made it to a chiropractor and received some electrode therapy for all the muscle spasms I was having on Thursday.  It definitely provided some relief...temporarily.  My pain was kind of up/down over the weekend.  Sometimes it was a sharp/burning constant pain in my lower back.  Other times I had muscle spasms to the point that I couldn't stand up straight.  Sometimes it was both.  There was one central place in my lower back that I knew was the source of a majority of my pain.  My sister-in-law, Liz, came down on Saturday to help me out for a few days.  She has three little ones of her own, but just brought Baylee with her.  (Baylee is 10 tens older than Blaine.)  Her other two boys got to hang out with Grandma & Papa for a few days.  I might have been able to manage, but I was SO thankful for the extra hand.  Plus it was great being able to hang out with her!

Monday morning I went back to the chiropractor and we reviewed my x-rays and I got adjusted.  Praise God!  I know not everyone is a believer when it comes to chiropractors, but I would go once a week if I could!  Within a few hours of being adjusted the majority of my pain was gone.  At least the intense, sharp pain.  Since then, I've been struggling more with a strong pressure/tension throughout most of my back.  Probably muscle spasms. 

Liz and & I carpooled back up to Oklahoma on Tuesday.  On Saturday I wasn't sure we would be going, but I also knew the extra help for a few more days would be great if I could just make it there.  One of the reasons I decided to keep with our trip was because I found a chiropractor who agreed to see me for the time I'll be up here.  It seems to be getting better everyday.  I can't wait to get back to normal!

In the meantime...
I have a few more chiropractor appointments.
I will be doing some specific stretches to help strengthen my lower back.
I will be ditching the front pack and will not be carrying Blaine around in it.
I will be limiting the amount of time I am carrying Blaine around.
I will be trying to remember to bend at my knees when needing to pick up toys/children, etc.
And I will try my best to "take it slow" to allow my back time to heal.

I know some of you have been praying for me and I appreciate it!  Keep 'em coming!

I'm ready to be well.  The last few months I have just really struggled with keeping up and getting beyond the basics.  Every time I feel like I'm about to "go above and beyond" (ha!), something happens.  I'm sure this is common when you have three children, but I also feel like I've been missing my motivation.  We are also on the tail end of this deployment and I do believe that has somewhat of a part in it.  The first six months aren't too bad.  After that, time kind of stops.  My lack of motivation/accomplishment has just seemed to slow things down even more.

Thankful that tomorrow is a new day.  I'm looking forward to my time with family, hopefully crossing a few more things off my list, and going home feeling refreshed.