Hannah And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend: A Post In The Voice Of Hannah

*Side note from Lori: I gleaned my title for this blog post from one of my favorite children's books, Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (I never had a second grade class that didn't love this book!).

Well, I guess it all started on Saturday afternoon when Mommy and Daddy were still wheeling me around the garden section of Wal-mart two hours past my usual nap time. I couldn't really understand why it was so difficult for them to pick out mulch or choose a fertilizer for the yard; and, Mommy must have read the "care instructions" on every single plant. They finally checked out and loaded up the car around 3:15 p.m., but I was too tired and cranky to fall asleep, so I cried (screamed really) for almost 40 minutes after Mommy layed me down. I must have gotten bored with crying or I just wore myself out, because I finally fell asleep . . . but only for an hour and a half.

When I woke up I was still cranky. I hadn't gotten all my sleep out, and I was still a little bitter over my afternoon schedule being messed up. Mommy put some "it's ok to get dirty, play clothes" on me, and told me we were gardening. Then she covered me in sun screen and bug spray. I did have fun helping Mommy and Daddy with their project. They had taken all the old mulch out of the flower beds. Mommy was putting down new liner, and Daddy was installing a sprinkler system. I decided to help by replacing the mulch Mommy was taking out. She would say, "Oooh thank you Hannah," and then take the mulch I had moved and move it back to the big pile on the drive way. So, I decided to help by turning the big pile into lots of smaller piles.

After a while, the sun started to go down, but, Mommy and Daddy weren't finished. So, they kept working. Mommy was concerned about the mosquitoes, because I am allergic to mosquito bites. When I get bit by mosquitoes, my skin swells up really big and turns red; and, then I get a sore that leaves a bruise. So, Mommy sprayed me with more insect repellent and we all worked hard to finish our project before dark. All of the sudden, I started feeling little bites. So, I said "ouch" a lot and started fussing, but they just thought I was grouchy, because it was dinner time.

When we finally went inside, Mommy said, "Oh no!!!" and started crying. She took me to Daddy and said, "Look at Hannah's face! She is covered in mosquito bites!" Mommy hadn't thought to put the bug spray on my face. She was very upset. She gave me some yucky medicine right away and told me it would help keep the swelling down, and keep me from itching. I don't think it worked, because I was itching really bad . . . and they wouldn't let me scratch!!! This did not make me very happy!

When I woke up Sunday morning, Mommy started crying again. She was sad to see my face. It was all swollen. She said that Daddy was going to church without us. We were going to stay home, so I could get more medicine and Mommy could watch me. As the day went on, my bites got more itchy and my spots got more swollen. By bed time my eyes were almost swollen shut. Mommy was even more sad. She called Miss Krissy, because she's a pediatric nurse, and she told Mommy it was just a skin reaction and to give me more Benadryl medicine. She told Mommy if I wasn't better in the morning to call the doctor. Mommy and Daddy prayed that God would make me better, and then Mommy gave me more medicine. She said it would keep me from itching and help me sleep. But that medicine definitely didn't work, because I could NOT sleep! So I screamed for Mommy. Mommy came in and told me, "Shhh! It's bedtime go to sleep." But I wasn't tired. So, I screamed for Daddy. Daddy came in and said, "Hannah lay down. It's time to go to sleep." But I wasn't tired. So, I got really mad! I started screaming and crying as loud as I could. Mommy opened the door and said, "Hannah lay down." She didn't even come in. So, I got so mad that I screamed, cried, threw my toys, and tried to climb out of my crib. I was so caught up in my fit that I fell out of my crib with a THUD! Mommy came running in. She was very concerned. She picked me up and held me while I cried. Daddy said that I could not sleep in my crib until they lowered the mattress again. So, they put me in bed with them. But, I still wasn't tired. I tossed and turned and even tried to talk with them. But, they said it was 1:30 in the morning and somebody needed to get some sleep. So, Mommy and I went into the guest room. I finally fell asleep between 2:30 and 3:00 in the morning . . . but the sunshine woke me up at 7:00! I was really grouchy. Mommy said it was because four hours of sleep is not enough! I think she's right, because I was so tired I fell asleep in my highchair during breakfast.

The good news is that my face was much better on Monday. Mommy says I have to have bug spray on my face now, and I have to wear long sleeves and pants in the evenings no matter how hot it is. I have some sores and bruises where the mosquitoes bit me, but God has made me better. One thing is for sure . . . it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad weekend!!!!







Hannah looked much worse (in person) than these pictures indicate. It was not fun!