bah humbug

i feel like faith hill asking "where are you christmas?" see, i am enormously pregnant and feel like somehow in the hustle and bustle of trying to live life, christmas has gotten shuffled aside. i would like to say it is because we are prepared for the baby, but that would be a blatant lie. it is christmas eve and as i sit typing this, i have not a single gift wrapped. not one. that is one of my favorite things to do at christmas. but, i will say that after wrapping 23 books i learned that wrapping presents with a baby bump is not so easy and can cause quite a bit of pain. i am also unmotivated as i have still not received one of their gifts. that's right, you heard me, one of their gifts has not arrived at 4:15 pm on christmas eve. the store blames it on the shipping company (who, i don't know) and inclement weather-really?? so, see what happens when you try to be prepared and buy all your gifts online so you don't have to go shopping at the mall and have inappropriate comments made about your condition. ugh! 

then, we head to the mall yesterday for our annual trip to visit santa with daddy and, while the mall was hassle free and our experience was pleasant, carter starts complaining about her ear on the way to eat lunch. first, she said she couldn't hear and that it was "paused like the tv." she kept saying it didn't hurt until we finished ordering our food and she was literally wallowing on the booth in severe pain. she was pulling on it, pushing it, squeezing my arm against it, etc. i knew immediately. i picked up my phone and called the pediatrician. they said we could come in an hour. so, we finished up and headed over. carter was miserable. josh thought i was being proactive (or over reactive) due to the holiday, but i already knew what they would say. we get to the doctor and she sits in my lap complaining while we wait. they call us back and the nurse preceded with her questions:

how long has she had the symptoms? approximately 1.5-2 hours

has she had a fever? no

vomiting? no

nausea? no

trouble sleeping? no

okay, the doctor will see you soon. 

what she really meant was, you overreacted, she is fine or she would have some of these other symptoms. ironically, we have never seen our doctor during one of these times. last year, the exact same thing happened the day before thanksgiving. the only other two episodes were with our previous pediatrician. yet, no matter who we see, the response is always the same- "impressive." i don't even know what that means, but that is what each one has said. i will back up. the doctor comes in, reviews my questions, does all the basics-listens to her chest, looks in her mouth and nose, looks in the "good" ear, and then, barely glances at the bad ear before they proclaim the same thing, "impressive!" so, here we are on christmas eve, fighting a severe ear infection, fighting the crazy stores trying to find an emergency replacement gift, and fighting an attempt to steal our christmas spirit and forget the true meaning of the season. but, that will not happen, because we all know, it's the most wonderful time of the year!