Have I Mentioned Yet This Year...

...That I HATE the snow? Last week was a really hard week for me. I spent 9 days in sunny warm weather and was loving it. Then we came home! As we were driving from St. George heading north I kept watching the external temperature gauge in the car. It dropped further and further the more we drove. At one point it said it was 6 degrees outside. That just isn't right! We came home to a snow covered driveway...and frozen pipes! Fun stuff! I spent Monday doing the dishes in the bathroom, because the pipes in the kitchen were frozen. (Yeah, our house was not built by the smartest people. NO insulation around the pipes. C'mon guys!) I HATE being cold! And with an unfinished basement, our first floor is always cold. I also had to run errands that day. Making sure the kids were all bundled up, and getting in and out of the car. It is more annoying than it is worth.
So I finally got home, fed the kids, put the twins down for a nap, and tried to get going on unpacking suitcases and doing laundry. Cole didn't sleep very long, and he woke up screaming. I went to check on him, and started screaming a little myself. This poor kid was swollen from head to toe. Imagine that part in 'Hitch' were Will Smith's face is completely swollen. That was my baby. Only smaller...and white! :) Even his ears were swollen. He had hives all over. His entire body was red, and he was scratching so hard that he was starting to bleed. He was having an allergic reaction!
Working for a pediatrician for many years, I knew that you should wait to give a baby peanut butter. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine was feeding her baby peanut butter and I didn't say anything, but I thought it was a little young to be giving it to him. So I specifically asked a nurse that comes to check on the babies. She said it was okay and it was okay to feed it to them. In the back of my mind, I still questioned it. But today, I was in a hurry and thought a little sandwich would be quick and easy. Something new from the stuff the babies eat all the time. Boy was I way wrong! I should have listened to my gut, but I didn't. And now my baby boy is paying for it.
I called the doctor and they said if he is having trouble breathing to take him to the ER. He wasn't though, thank goodness. So I threw all the kids in the car and headed to the doctor's office where they said they would be waiting for us. Jake's office is only 5 minutes away from the doctor's so he was going to meet me there.
As I was driving, the snowfall became heavier and heavier. Snowplows can't keep up with this, and the freeway was a mess! Here I am trying to be safe, but also rushing to get my son to the doctor while he is screaming in the backseat. Everyone else driving decides that it is snowing too hard so they must go 20 mph of the freeway. I'm not kidding! I had some major road rage, but there was nothing I could do about it. Everyone was going slow, so I had to go slow too. The streets were even worse. It took me so long to get to the doctor's office. We finally made it, got hime checked and pumped with some drugs, and he was fine.
So, it looks as though Cole might be allergic to peanuts which is really going to suck for everyone involved. My family loves peanut butter! He is getting tested this week, so we will see exactly what is going on.

I don't know if Monday was just really a bad day, or if it just confirmed my feelings on snow. I hate it! It is beautiful in the mountains, and fun while you are at a cabin...but that's were it should stay. At least according to me! I am hoping this is our last winter in a place where it snows. If it becomes a hinderance in getting my son emergency care, I don't want it around! I know every place has it's pros and cons. But, I don't feel the summer's here are good enough to say the snow is worth it.

So, that's my vent for the season. I know I have one every winter here. But, this one has really gotten to me. It was scary to have a sick child and not be able to get him the care he needed right away. All because of that crazy white stuff that is all over, all the time.