Sick with Kids....What's a mom to do?

So, as most of you know, I was sick for what seemed like forever.  After more than 3 weeks, I'm still not fully 100%.  It all started with a trip to the Emergency Room.  I have never been to the E.R. in my  entire life and there I was on a tuesday night, lying on a cot in pain!  As a mom of 2 kids under 2 years, I have to admit, I almost enjoying the 2+ hours of relaxation time in the E.R.! Can I get an Amen?

 After telling the doctor my symptoms they did an ultrasound of my gallbladder and couldn't find anything wrong with me.  They looked at me as if I were crazy!  Then diagnosed me with "Bialary Colic" and said to just keep taking Tylenol for the pain.  I was sent home with a low grade fever and chills and the question in the back of my mind, "how am I going to keep taking care of my children, when I can barely think straight!?"  

The next day, Davin worked from home, which was a blessing, but he couldn't keep doing that!  I HAD to get better!  I kept trying to go about my life, taking Extra Strength Tylenol every 4 hours (not realizing that I was overdosing)  After 10 day's of taking tylenol and a fever every night! I knew I needed answers.  I went to the doctor again.  They did more blood work and it came back perfect!  They were stumped (they said).  The next week, I went to the doctor again!  At this point I contacted a few of my nurse friends, who said I should get tested for Mono!  Really?!  MONO?    I thought Mono was a virus for teenagers??!  How could a 31 year old mother get MONO?!  But, I was in need of answers.  

After the doctor examined me, she looked at me and said, "so, what do YOU think you have?"  HAHA!   I thought to myself, "isn't that what I am paying YOU to figure out??"  HA!  But, I asked her to please test me for mono. A few days later, I received the phone call that in fact I did have Mono! It was official, momma had mono!  Now what?  

The doctor just said, "REST!  LOTS and LOTS of REST!"   and she hung up the phone.

How does a mother rest?!  I knew I had to get better.  But, how could I really rest?  My life is beautiful chaos!  Kids crying and laughing all day long!...there is never a dull moment at the Anderson's.  (as I type this, Avery is crawling all over me giving me no personal space. :)  ha!

I must give a shout out to my family and friends who surrounded me in prayer and who went the extra mile to came over and help me take care of the kids!   Slowly I have started to get the house back in order and I am feeling much better!  

Davin and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary while I was sick.  We never actually "celebrated" it, so tonight we will be going on a much needed date night.  Mimi and Grandpa will watch the girls!  YAY!  

 I posed the question earlier, "how does a sick momma with mono take care of 2 kids under 2?  Lots and lots of make believe.  Chairs turned into train cars, tables and laundry baskets turned into forts and boats!  Lots of books, movies, singing and crafts (whenever I had the energy).  Life doesn't stop when mom is sick.  Being sick gave me the opportunity to sit back and watch other people do my life.  As I lay on the couch watching my mother, my husband, my aunt juggle the kids and try and squeeze in the dishes or laundry on top of it all, I realized just how much I actually do on a daily basis!

It's not the pressure of having to accomplish all that I must during the day as much as it is the amount of pressure I put on myself to be an THE AWESOME MOM that I desire to be!   Sickness has brought me to my knees, in humility, I must confess, being an awesome mom, means that the most important thing for me, is to take care of myself, first!  If I take care of myself, then I can be supportive to my family, I can truly pour out my life for them, if I am filled first!

 I know I didn't get mono because I did anything wrong, but I know I could have avoided getting THAT sick, if I would have taken the time to take care of myself in the first place.

I will admit, I let the pressures of being a mom override the down time I NEEDED for myself.  I wasn't eating properly, I wasn't drinking enough water, coffee was literally being shot into my veins just so I could function.  I barely took the time to pee, let alone, shut the door and enjoy a few minutes of quiet time!  HA!  Anyways, all this to say...MOM'S, please don't feel bad if you must put your kids in front of the T.V. for longer than an hour a day...sometimes, you just need a break!  And, make sure to take the break.  When the kids are resting or when they are quietly playing, please REST!  Don't do the dishes, don't clean the floors, just enjoy YOU!  It's important!  And no one will judge you for that!  I'm speaking mostly to myself here!

I love all you beautiful mom's out there.  Those mom's who are spending themselves on behalf of their families! But most of all, I love the person you are!  Not just that you're an excellent mother, I love how funny you are, how candid you can be.  I love that you have real problems and real joys in life!  I desire to know YOU, but if you don't take the time to find yourself, then you'll quietly loose yourself in motherhood. Don't get me wrong, It's an awesome and incredible privilege to be called MOM!  But, you still have a name too....Hello, my name is Kristin!    :)