Delayed Update

I don't know how the time got away from me, but sure enough it did. I did end up taking Boo in for a culture which was negative. She ran a fever for a few more days and is no worse for the wear. Unfortunately Saturday we started our rounds with the stomach flu. I took everyone but the baby swimming that morning. We had a great time and stopped to get some lunch on the way home. We hadn't quite made it home with our lunch when Midge got sick in the car. Poor girl. I was just relieved she hadn't gotten sick in the pool.

She was sick the whole weekend. She ran a fever and couldn't keep anything down at all. Sunday I took the three healthy big kids to church and the King stayed home with Midge and Buster. Then Sunday night Chiggie fell victim and is home from school resting today. Thankfully she doesn't appear to be as bad off as Midge was and I'm hoping this ends soon. I am knee deep in planning two birthday parties (Midge and Buster) and I'm enjoying that. They should both be a blast.

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I plan to take the little kids back to the library to return their books and enjoy story time and a craft. They loved it last week. Then we'll go to the big girls school for lunch. It's snowing today so it's a good day to just stay home anyway.

Ups and Downs

Two smooth mornings in a row it almost seems too good to be true. After not getting much sleep last night, I was pleased with myself that I stayed motivated and stuck with the play. The older girls got off to school and the little kids and I got ready and went to the library. They loved the story and craft time and liked picking out their own books.

Afterwards we went to the school and had lunch with the girls. It was pizza day so everybody was happy. Once we got home the girls wanted to read their books so we read a few. Boo was on my lap and I thought she felt warm. A few minutes later she said her throat hurt. I looked with a flashlight and it doesn't look great. Now I'm debating taking her in for a culture this afternoon. Poor girl. I really hope she does not have strep. Oh well, we did have a good morning so I can't complain too much.

Slow Monday

This morning went very smoothly for a Monday. I was good last night and set the girls clothes out which made things go a lot quicker. We woke up to a skiff of snow on the ground and some very light flurries. It was cozy and warm inside and after breakfast and getting ready for the day we just lounged the morning away.

This afternoon doesn't look a whole lot more exciting. I think I forgot to mention, even though we're very excited, that Chiggie is doing another play. She is doing Peter Pan and she got the role of Pirate Narrator. Her accent is adorable and she has a lot of lines. She continues to amaze us with her ability to memorize her parts so quickly. Anyway, she doesn't have practice tonight so the older girls will be coming home right at 3:00. Their rooms really need cleaned so I suppose that will kill some extra time.

Tea is going to be starting soccer soon too. Well in like a month I guess. She's excited and I think it will be a nice excuse to get everybody out of the house a few times a week. I am taking the little kids to story/craft time at the library tomorrow. We have been reading tons of books lately and we need some new material. They are also suffering a bit from cabin fever and I know they will enjoy the outing.

Kids Gone Wild

This is what you get when your 3 & 4 year old hijack your camera!

What a Mess

This has been quite the experience. I really don't know what lessons I am to be learning, but we shall see.This is our main sewer line. Well our old main sewer line. You can see even from this distance how big the break was. It turns out the whole thing was split lengthwise all the way across the top.

There's nothing quite like raw sewage right outside your back door. Then again we've apparently been dealing it for some time, so what's a little bit longer.

To make it even worse this is where my deck was. Now the whole thing needs rebuilt. Thankfully it already did, but still. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stand looking at this.

10 Months

This past Sunday little Buster turned 10 months old. A lot has changed in the last month. He is growing so fast now. His appetite has picked up substantially. He loves, loves, loves oatmeal and bananas especially. He drinks about 4-5 bottles a day as well. Aside from dumping over the trash can and eating fire place soot, his favorite activity is probably taking a bath. He can stand unassisted for several seconds and will take a step, but then sits on his bottom. He is wearing mostly 9 month clothes with a few size 12m that are already fitting, especially hand me downs that have been washed several times. I'm just now starting to plan out his 1st birthday party, details to come soon!

Snow Day!!!

The snow did keep falling, and we did infact get our snow day. The girls were delighted of course!

Sunday

Sticking with my New Year's resolution to be more positive, here are a few good things from today:

• I got up early this morning and made a pot of chili and raised cinnamon rolls
• We had a great morning at church, it was a really good sermon
• After church Chiggie and I went to the gym before the snow got really bad
• The snow is falling and I can't help but like it
• If we're lucky today may be either a snow day or at least a delay!!!

Fun Day

After the week we had, I woke up this morning and groggily declared it to be a very fun day. Chiggie is my new gym buddy so we headed off first thing. Well if you consider 10am to be first thing, and on Saturday I sure do. Oh, to be 9 years old again and run for 20 minutes and beg your Mom to just let you run longer.

Eventually we had to leave, my poor legs can only take so much. We headed straight home to shower and get ready for the day. I then surprised the older girls by allowing them to call and invite a friend to the movies with us. All of the girls, two of their friends, and me went and saw Secretariat at the $2 movie. I LOVED it. It was very inspiring.

After the movie we headed to my Mom's house to see my sisters science fair project. She's going to do very well, it's a great project. Then we had a great dinner.

These two even helped me unload the dishwasher this evening. Too bad I was trying to load it!

Poor Midge

Out of absolutely no where last night Midge told me her neck hurt. At first I didn't think too much of it. The 3rd time she came down, I asked her to be more specific. She pointed to her throat. I took her temperature and sure enough it was 102. When she still had a fever in the morning I feared the worst. The dreaded Strep throat. I took her in for a culture and sure enough it was positive. Poor sweet girl. Immediately after the appointment I went to the store and bought her some of her favorite popsicles. That seemed to make everything better.

After dinner, even Bussy got in on the action. He loved his little popsicle.

I think it felt good on his poor little gums that have really worked overtime lately.

Sick kids are no fun. It's so hard to watch them not feel well. They're still cute though!

Up late

Buster has added a new nap to his schedule that must go and it must go soon. He now sleeps from around 7:30-9pm and then wakes up good to go until about 11:30. Wah! I do not like this one tiny bit. I have to be up at 6:45 to get the older girls ready for school, so this simply does not work. It started with him being sick, but has now formed into some type of a routine. My game plan for tomorrow is to wake him early. Let him have his morning nap, but try to delay the afternoon nap a bit. Then I will give it my all to keep him up until 8, when it will be bedtime for real. Then if he wakes up, I will comfort him, but no getting out of the crib free card will be issued. Wish me luck!

Blah, blah, blah

Today was my first day back to the gym since I got sick. I probably could have gone yesterday, but I didn't want to chance it. I do feel much better. The pain is pretty much gone and the lump in my jaw is more marble sized vs. golf ball sized. I have a follow-up appointment with my dentist, whom I spoke to on the phone and have since forgiven, on Monday and will likely have a root canal soon thereafter.

Poor Buster was not that much better today. A lot of fussing and more fevers. He is asleep tonight and I am praying he stays that way. If he is not significantly better tomorrow than I will have to call the ped and see what is going on. I can't wait to see him back to his usual sweet self.

The girls adjusted beautifully back to the school routine. I was actually quite surprised. They have some fun stuff going on right now and they're both so self motivated. I'm really glad that they are BOTH enjoying school right now.

The little girls are stir crazy. This is my fault. Well, not really my fault because I can't really help the circumstances, but they are tired of being stuck in the house. They both love to play outside and it has been literally freezing cold. I know I keep saying it, but just as soon as we get to feeling 100% I have to get them out more. That's about all for now. I think I will try to get some sleep while I can!

Ear Trouble

The last 3 nights have been awful. Aside from having an extremely sore jaw, poor Buster has been suffering with ear pain as well. Tylenol doesn't even seem to help at all. Today I took him back to the ped's office and he was put on a different antibiotic. Unfortunately tonight has not gone any better. I am exhausted and need sleep. Hopefully the meds will kick in tomorrow and an early bedtime will be in order for sure. While the girls had a few ear infections a piece I believe, non of them had them consecutively like this. I had tubes in my ears as a child so who knows what Buster's future holds. He has been extremely congested so maybe this will be the right antibiotic to clear all of this up and we can move on!

Hoping

Vacation has come to an end and I am hoping, hoping, hoping, I feel better tomorrow. I finally started some medicine today so it is possible. It's not just that I want to feel better, I really need to. I need to get a good night's sleep and start tomorrow off on a good foot. There is so much to do. I'm sure it's not just me, but time with so many little ones really is limited. I have many chores that have fallen behind with a combination of the holiday and sickness.

The girls are bummed to see the break end, but I think they are looking forward to seeing friends and getting back to old routines. Tea is for sure. I can't really believe this school year is half over already. The third quarter starts on the 14th. Slow down already! Next year I will have three in school, yikes. It's fun to imagine all that I will be able to get done then.....

Update Part II

I'm not so mad anymore. Lucky for me, and the rest of the town I suppose, the E.R. was dead. We also got there just after shift change, so things moved very quickly. I now have a prescription for an antibiotic which is all I ever really wanted anyway. The bad news is all of the pharmacies are closed so I won't get to start it until tomorrow. Now that is irony for you.

Update

Okay, now I'm just plain mad. I have no idea why, but I never got a return phone call. I know I left the message so who knows. Now I have no choice but to resort to going to the E.R. Yuck. I should have gone earlier, but I really thought somebody would call. The pain is unbearable and I don't want something worse to happen. Hopefully I will have a better update soon.

Great Start

Unfortunately I am being sarcastic. While we did have a lot of fun ringing in 2011, it seems to be picking up right where 2010 left off. I started having some pain in my tooth/jaw on Thursday and just prayed it would be short lived and go away. I didn't get so fortunate. It has persisted and is now a painful lump in my lower jaw. Most likely a tooth abscess, but I'm not sure since I cannot get my Dentist to call me back. I left a message on the emergency line and no one has contacted me. I can barely eat (I've had some toast and Ramen noodles in the last 3 days) I have some pain meds that take the edge off, but they don't last long and the pain returns with a vengeance.

I did muster up the strength to play some games on the Wii last night with the family.

I just hope I hear something soon so that I can begin the road to recovery!