Small Christmas at Home, Bad Colds, and Warm Weather

I'm extremely glad that we decided to get sick in Florida, so we could have time at home to recover before Theo has to go back to school at the beginning of January.

It still sucks though. My cough is so nasty. I've lost my voice and can barely speak above a whisper. If I talk too much then I have a coughing fit. It actually caused me to throw up twice the other night because I couldn't stop coughing. ANNNDDD get this, my c-section scar is hurting. I've been coughing so much and so hard that my abdomen feels like it's splitting open. It REALLY hurts! I woke up this morning in so much pain in my lower abdomen. Can coughing cause hernias?! I'm very much over this. Theo is still coughing, but he seems to be feeling fine. And Josh just had a runny nose and a cough for a few days, so he is fine too.

Since the guys are feeling okay and Theo's COVID test last week was negative, we decided it would be fine for Josh to take Theo to his two doctors appointments. On Tuesday, December 21st, we all headed to Peoria for Theo's ENT appointment. At his last appointment, Theo had build up in his left ear and they were not able to get a response during a hearing test. We did 14 days of drops to help it clear up, but that didn't seem to work. I stayed in the downstairs lobby while Josh took Theo to talk to the ENT. He examined Theo and decided that due to "chronic serous otitis media of the left ear" the best course of action would be to replace his ear tubes (again) and then remove his tonsils and adenoids. 

After that appointment we drove up to Ottawa to see Theo's Neurosurgeon. Since Theo doesn't have any more angiograms scheduled in the future, they would like to schedule yearly CT scans so they can check on his VP shunt. Done and done. See you next year!

[It will always be the Staples Center to me!]

Since we had no plans to leave the house (except to go to Walgreens and the grocery store) over the next two weeks, I was really hoping for a while Christmas. But alas, climate change would not allow this. Bummer. 

Theo wasn't wearing his glasses in our family photos. So I fixed it! Too cute, huh?!

Of course, there is no good time for your fridge to die, but on Christmas Eve right after you bought groceries does not seem like a great time.

Theo and I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol (a tradition) while Josh worked on the fridge.

Josh determined he wouldn't be able to fix it without new parts and since EVERYTHING is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we were kinda out of luck. We packed up what we could in a couple of coolers and put them outside, but it was only in the 40s and we didn't have much ice. Josh then drove all the way to his office and brought home the medium sized fridge that was there. 

That totally works, right?!

We weren't able to save all of our food, but hopefully Josh will be able to fix the fridge with the new parts we ordered. These oversized fridges are NOT cheap! And yes, the fridge and freezer are completely separated, so they have no affect on each other. Thank goodness! 

CHRISTMAS DAY:

We weren't able to find the correct rolls, so instead of our traditional pigs in a blanket we had pigs with eggs and a biscuit! 

Since we were all separated for Christmas, we had a family FaceTime and all the kids got to show us what they got from Santa.

[Too funny]

We spent all of our money at Disney World, so we didn't buy Theo, Brodee, or ourselves additional gifts. What else would you need after two weeks in Florida?!

Theo did get a few gifts from his bus drivers, therapists, and Josh's family. Thank you so much everyone for thinking of him! Your handwritten thank you notes are in the mail.

We hope you all had a safe and healthy Christmas with your loved ones!

EPIC Neilson Family Trip to Disney World - Part XIV: Heading Home

Today, December 18th, ended our EPIC Neilson Family Trip to Disney World. Of course, the trip couldn't end without a little drama. 

I thought that having Brodee fly out about 30 minutes before us would be the best course of action. We could get him to his gate area, pass him off to the flight attendants, and then go board our own flight. Turns out that's not how it works. Someone has to be at Brodee's gate and they can't leave until AFTER the plane takes off. UGH! 100% my fault for not reading all of the "Unaccompained Minor" instructions. I figured since we are paying them an additional $300 (each way) for Brodee to fly alone that they could at least make sure he gets on the plane. Again, my fault. They told us our only option was for Josh stay behind, get Brodee on his flight, and then take a later flight home. But then I remembered my parents were still at the house. We called my mom and they rushed to the airport. I took Theo through Security and to our gate while Josh waited with Brodee at the ticket counter for my mom to show up. She made it and was able to get Brodee through Security and to his gate on time. Since his gate was literally right next to ours, we were able to say goodbye before going to board our own flight (we had to board first because of Theo's mask exemption and his wheelchair). My mom stayed at Brodee's gate until they told her that his plane had lifted off. Thank you SOOOO SOOOO much for coming to our rescue! Lesson learned!

[Bye Brodee! Thanks for coming! I hope you had a great time!]

Our flight home was pretty much the same as the flight out: plenty of beard pulling and Peek a Boo Barn!

Theo did fall asleep for a little while, which was very nice.

[Using Josh's arm and Puppy as a pillow]

Luke, Andie, and their kids didn't fly out until the next day. So they went to breakfast at Ohana and then to Magic Kingdom one last time!

Tyson, Missy, and the boys didn't fly out until very late that night. So, they took advantage of the extra time and went to the beach for a few hours.

After mom and dad rescued us at the airport, they headed to Hilton Head where they will be staying until April. 

I just want to thank everyone for making this trip work! It was years in the making and I'm so glad we were able to get everyone together. 

And a special thank you to mom and dad for helping out so much with Theo. He can be a lot of work and I appreciate all of the support!

I'm already excited to see everyone in the summer in Ohio after baby boy Marlowe is born and we all go down to visit!

❤️❤️

EPIC Neilson Family Trip to Disney World - Part XIII: Universal, Spider-Man, & Animal Kingdom

Friday, December 17th, was our final day in Orlando.

We split into a bunch of groups today:

(1) Ryan, Kayleen, Missy, Tyson, Josh, Brady, Dane, and Brodee went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

(2) Andie, Porter, and Kenna went to Animal Kingdom

(3) Luke and I went to see Spider-Man: No Way Home

(4) And Papa and Grandma watched the smaller kids at home

The group that stayed at the house started their day by getting Maple Street Biscuit's. They were DELICIOUS!

I bought Cason this Baby Yoda. He was so excited!

Group #1 spent most of their time at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The three boys bought interactive wands and had a blast running around Diagon Alley performing magic!

[All aboard the Hogwarts Express!]

We told them they HAD to go on VelociCoaster and they did! They all loved it and had a great day visiting both parks!

On our way to see Spider-Man, Luke and I dropped off Andie and the kids at Animal Kingdom. I'm so glad they were able to go and have a fun time.

Luke and I went and saw Spider-Man: No Way Home. Without giving too much away, it is probably my favorite MCU movie so far! I cried, I laughed, and I cried again. It was amazing! And I'm glad I got to see it with a fellow MCU super fan! 

After the movie, Luke and I went to Disney Springs to get Gideon's. The line was 1 hour 40 minutes for the virtual queue and then another 30 minutes in the physical line. UGH! The cookies are delicious, but we didn't have that much time to wait. Bummer. We then left Disney Springs and headed to Animal Kingdom to pick up Andie and the kids.

Thanks mom and dad for watching Theo AGAIN! You guys are the best!