Well I Didn't Expect That

So we trudged off to the Dr. this morning. Abby's rash looked horrible, the people in the waiting room kept looking at her asking if she was having an allergic reaction. All I could say was, "I have no idea." Adam could barely drag himself around, but after the nurse gave him a pedialyte popsicle he seemed to perk along a little better. He even ate a little soup for lunch.

Dx: Adam and Abby both have strep. The rash is caused by the strep (not the Roseola that I had originally thought is was). Benedryl is supposed to help her itching, but it sure is hard to force the medicine in her. Abby has an ear infection in both ears. They were both put on amox. Adam had his ears flushed out, I didn't know wax could look like that. At least there was no infection in his ears.

So that's what is happening around here. I hope you are all staying healthy. I probably won't be at church Sunday which makes me sad, but I have to get my babies well again. And pray some more.

This Week's Mystery Disease- Roseola!

As I said earlier, Adam and Abby are both sick. This pic is of Abby tonight (just ignore the wad of food in her mouth). Her fever was gone this morning, but then this rash started breaking out this afternoon. The poor thing keeps scratching at the back of her neck and inside her ears. The rash isn't supposed to last long. Rachel had it at this same age- I was in the hospital giving birth to Adam- remember, Laurie?
Poor Adam seemed better this morning, but he's not. He's hardly eaten anything all day, barely moved from the couch, and he's still hot and coughing. I should take him to the Dr. tomorrow if he's still this bad, we still have his kidneys to worry about, so lingering sickness is the last thing he needs.

What a surprise, we have another bug floating through the house. This is Abby yesterday morning. She has never slept a minute in our bed, but yesterday she slept for over 2 hours there. I'm thankful her fever is gone today but she is still a little cranky.


Rachel just discovered the bag of clothes that we inherited from Hannah this weekend. Rachel LOVES this shawl (or whatever you call it) and couldn't wait to wear it to school today. Thank you, Hannah, for sharing with us!


Here is Adam just moments ago. He is trying to hide from Tommy I think. Adam seems a little better today, but still just lounging around mostly. This is the corner that the kids always play in, so the wall looks terrible! I'm look forward to a fresh coat of paint in about 5 years.

Thomas

This will be the last potty training entry, I promise. I was just so proud of Tommy yesterday, and I'll tell you why. He got up dry. We went to MOPS, he stayed dry. He went #2 on the toilet- and it was his idea. :) He napped, woke up dry. Every time he used the toilet was because he TOLD me he had to go, not me asking 500 times through the day, "Do you have to go potty?" And this morning he was dry again. I am declaring him trained. Thank you Lord, amen.

A Surprise Package

When I got home from MOPS this morning there was a package sitting in front of the garage door. It was too big to fit into the mail slot, so I was a little excited to see what it was. Jenny and Josh sent me a package for my birthday! Adam and Thomas were very happy to see the contents: a little card for each of them, some candy, kool-aid (one of the southwestern flavors), and a book for me! It was really hard getting Adam to take my picture, but we finally did it.
Thanks Jenny and Josh! Yes, we can read our book together. :)

Fill Me In

I just saw on Yahoo News that Ralph Nader is in the race for president now. The dems. gave a "lukewarm response" to this. Mike Huckabee "welcomes him to the race". I know nothing about the guy. Any thoughts (Phil)?

Temporary Template

I thought this was kind of fun for St. Pattie's Day (even though I don't even wear green on that day)! The only bummer was I lost my friends' links. Sooooo, I'll fix that later.

Potty talk

Well, we are almost there! My ultimate goal was to have Tommy's potty training done before he was 3, which is in about 2 weeks. That means I had to get my rear in gear. So for most of the week he has been wearing underwear (except for bedtime and naptime) and I have been really watching him like a hawk and putting him on the potty frequently. He is very good at holding it, but it finally happened 2 days ago and now he has tinkled several times since then with just one or 2 accidents. He had a little poop accident yesterday, but since it was my birthday Casey took care of it. :) What a guy!!!
And the big milestone is that he woke up DRY this morning and went right to the toilet- without me dragging him kicking and screaming! I think he'll be wearing underwear to church tomorrow.

It's My Birthday!

I've received many happy birthday wishes already- thanks everyone! Even my friend Jenny called this morning. I had to ask, "Who is this?" because she never calls in the morning, I was totally thrown off. But in a good way. :)

My husband bought me (us) a new game for my birthday called Blokus. When Laurie and Jacob were over for Rachel's birthday we played this game several times, and everyone enjoyed it! So I have been talking about it ever since. Well, Casey found one at Barnes and Noble earlier this week and just couldn't wait to give it to me. So we have already gotten lots of use out of my birthday present. I can't wait until he comes home tonight and we can play again... even though he always wins. Sounds like every other game we own.

"Don't tell dad I've been chewing on my nails again!"

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a 4 year old to stop chewing on their nails/fingers? The end of his pointer finger literally has a bloody crack on it today. Casey has tried rubbing hot peppers on them. I told him he better not dare do that to Adam's cracked finger. That just seems cruel.

Napping

Abby still takes a morning nap if she gets up too early. She was squawking at 5:30am, so I took her out to the couch where we dozed together until almost 7:30. I woke up to Adam telling Casey, "Dad! Tommy has the vitamins!" Thank the Lord for baby proof caps, that's all I have to say.
Now I am working on my mountain of laundry. What would I do without a washer and dryer? I shudder to think about it.


Hmmmmm.... I don't think I like this template either. Opinions, anyone?

Impetigo?

Last night I noticed Rachel had a couple red dots near her mouth. When she woke up this morning there were a few more. Heather Munson looked at her at church this morning and said it looked like it could be impetigo. She had it when she was in high school. Impetigo can get quite gross looking, so we didn't go to church tonight for fear of spreading our plague. Adam also has a small blister by his lip.

Has anyone had impetigo? Did you take anything for it? Rachel's blisters already look better tonight, so I'm hoping it is just a very mild case and doesn't spread to the proportions that I've seen in some pictures on the internet!

Such a Good Dad

I LOVE this picture of Abby because she always looks so tight-lipped in most pics. But my goodness, can Casey get her to laugh!

Pics for Pam and Jenny and anyone else who misses us!

Pastor Mark and Lynn!


It's the Beery's! Or as some people like to call them- the Berries. Hee hee!


It's Stephanie! I tried not to cough on her all night, I turned Casey's way, he's used to my germs.


Steve and Tracey!

So there you have it, some familiar faces to tide you over for a while! Thank you Amanda for sharing your pictures so we can all enjoy them!

Lovebirds

Thanks Amanda for the picture, I'll get this to my profile- someday!
(This is me and Casey at the Olive Garden Tues night with the MOPS gang)

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is why today is a good day:

1. I went to the Secretary of State to renew my driver's license and was in and out of there in about 7 minutes. I would not lie about this. And that included getting my picture taken which didn't look half bad- even WITHOUT showering.



2. I came downstairs to check my email and there was a present waiting for me- a popcorn popper! I hoped I would get one on my birthday next week, but this was even better, because it was a surprise!

I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!

MOPS Valentine Dinner

Despite the terrible roads last night, we all braved the conditions just to get 2 hours of peace and quiet at the Olive Garden! There were about 25 of us- MOPS moms and husbands, too, if they were able to come. Amanda took a lot of great pics last night, I hope she posts some!

Pics From Rachel's Birthday

We had a fun and busy weekend celebrating Rachel's birthday. We had a houseful Saturday and Sunday- we had Hot and Ready pizza Saturday night, and turkey dinner on Sunday. It was a good weekend. We are so blessed to have family that loves us and wouldn't miss an important day like Rachel turning 6! It still sounds so old to me. I'll get over it...

Rachel is "6" today!

Happy Birthday to my big girl! Life has never been the same since she came into our lives. My Rachel is observant, quiet, artistic, gentle (most of the time) and loving. We cherish every day with our children, but there just seems to be something so so special about that first one... We love you Rachel!

SNOW!

This is what I saw out the kitchen window when I opened the blinds this morning!





We got about a foot of snow yesterday, and it was blowing like crazy! Casey got home from work about 11:00, I can't believe he made it down our street, it was really bad. He had to shovel so he could pull into the driveway. It was too deep to use Lou's snowblower today, so Casey did some more shoveling. The plows just went through a few minutes ago, so Casey is relieved that he can make it to work this afternoon. I am kind of sad about that. :(

Ultrasound

I had an ultrasound today, the doctor just wanted to confirm my due date. The baby measured perfectly for 13 weeks and 4 days, which is right where I'm at. Aug. 9 is still the due date. It is always so amazing to see that little person jumping up and down in there, yet I don't feel a thing yet. And the baby kept opening and shutting it's mouth... I think we have another Adam on the way. :) Just my prediction. We get to find out the beginning of April if it's a boy or girl, any guesses???

Rachel

Look what I came home with today! My friend Monica (that I work with on Mondays) brought me in 2 bags of clothes and some miscellaneous items... one of which is pictured here on Rachel. Monica used to dance in her younger days and thought Rach would like one of her old costumes. The kids went crazy when they saw the feathers, many of them are missing already so I had to put it up for now. I'm sure it will come out again tomorrow, and every day after that until all the little feathers have flown away. Thank you Monica, I knew she would love it. :)

Pam's Shower

We had a great time at Pam's shower today. I just can't wait for this baby to arrive, I know I'm not the only one that feels that way! Pam got lots of goodies for baby today: crib sheets, safety gates, cute little stuffed animals, a rockin' stroller and car seat combo, and the list goes on. Steph as usual did a beautiful job with decorations, Laurie was doing her own brainstorming and getting ideas for her shower coming soon! Cathy, who was supposed to be relaxing and watching, did lots of work in the food area, and good ol' Debbie G. was on hand with a few salad and cakes she whipped up, and of course had her hands in the dishwater. The only question I have now is- where are you going to put all that stuff, Pam? :)