The Saga continues still!

Did you see the last post with our pretty smiling faces? Well I guess that was the eye of the storm! The strep returned for a second round and somewhere in there I have had mono! No wonder I am too tired at night to post! I was falling asleep as soon as the kids went to bed! But the worst part has been the baby. He had RSV and we drug him to TN! He was a trooper and really did not act all that sick. We got home from a great weekend of shopping and fun on Wed. night around 10pm. We had company the following day for Thanksgiving with turkey, dressing and the trimmings. (I even used the china!) Then the following day he ran 105 fever. Yes 105.0! I panicked! You would think I know nothing about medicine with my own kids. The problem is I know all too well what it might possibly be (all the million really bad things!). Well his seems to just be an old virus and he is recovering. He is very cranky now and I suppose he is feeling well enough to complain now. So.. here is to hoping - AGAIN- that the illnesses are at their end! I have scrubbed this house from one end to the other! (Not that you can tell at the moment!) :-)

But seriously we are pretty good. We have missed a lot of socail engagements but it is nice to be home as well. I have been working hard on organizing. We have a free garage "sale" coming up this weekend so I am cleaning out closets and toys. It just seems to make such a bigger mess during the process! But our house is the potty break house so I have to keep it fairly neat!

One of those days!

You know what I am talking about. Every once in a while you get a storybook day! Well we had one of those days yesterday. My sister and her family invited us to join them and their church for a family day at a local farm. So we all wore bluejeans to church and headed out immediately after. We arrived a little late and most people had already eaten, so we gobbled a few hot dogs, chips and cookies while fighting the neighborhood bees that had gathered for the sweet occasion. Then we set off to enjoy nature and man-made country entertainment. We took a hayride, played in a haystack, visited the pumpkin patch, rode the "John Deere 2000Express" (little carts pulled by a John Deere lawn mower) took canoe rides, rode zip-cords in the woods, and swung on an old wooden pole type swing where you push the swing around the pole and then let it go! The kids had a blast. They found baby chicks (half grown), rabbits, puppies, and kittens in the petting zoo and horses in the corral. They ran and played with their cousins with the freedom a country farm and church friends permits. The weather was perfect and the leaves are beginning to show their beautiful fall colors.
When we came home, after stopping for ice cream, I cooked dinner including cooking a pumpkin pie from scratch. This meant baking a pie pumpkin and mixing all the wonderful smelling spices together! The kids played outside while Steve played on his new tractor. Then we had happy bath times and Steve helped me finish the laundry! I went to bed with a wonderful smile! I hope you have a storybook day soon!

Could it be my profession?

Well, I think someone has been ill in our house for at least 3 months. Steve first battled his diverticulitis, which he seems to have licked. He has avoided surgery - so far. They say he has an 80-85% chance of it returning and if it does then they believe he will have to have the surgery.
Then I got sick. Now not to give you TMI but it was tummy issues and not of the throwing up kind. The kids got it as well and it lasted for 2-3 weeks. Then the real stomach bug ran through the house with the whole works. I think we all got several hours with that nice little bug!
Then poor baby got it. He had diarrhea for 3 weeks with some interspersed vomiting. One night he had to have a diaper change every hour. His little bottom was so red! We tried every diaper cream you can imagine. Finally his pediatrician suggested A&D ointment, Nystatin, and hydrocortisone cream. This alone smelled so bad he stunk whether he was dirty or not! Then he stopped drinking all together. He got so dehydrated he couldn't take 2 steps before he fell. So we went to the hospital and got IV fluids and lab work done. Over the next couple of days he improved. Finally today he returned to Mother's Day Out. But still would not eat much for them. So as mommy I felt sorry for the poor hungry guy and thought I would tempt him with a powdered doughnut. Well it wasn't that he was to sick to eat, but that they did not feed him doughnuts! You should have seen him laughing and cramming them in his mouth! So for diner he got spaghetti, green beans and squash! And he ate all that as well. So I think he is one the mend.
But we don't end the saga there. Sunday Sarah woke up complaining of a headache. We went on to church and then worked in the yard (that's another blog!!!) for a little while. When we started getting ready for church Sunday night she began looking sick and became clingy. She had a fever so I kept the kids home noticing that my head hurt a little and had a scratchy throat. In the middle of the night Sarah woke me up and said her throat felt all knotted up, just like mine. But the next morning she seemed much better and get this, begged to go to school. So like a good mom/nurse I let her and went to work myself. Well today when I couldn't eat, I go ingeniously thought I should have a strep test. So I wait until after the morning was over and had the nurse swab my throat (I hate that!). Yup - it's strep. So now Sarah and I are on antibiotics and hopefully will feel better soon. I really hope this is the end of the illness, but I am not holding my breath. They should really tell you about all this as you apply to nursing school!

Why I don't use the library or watch debates!

This week I spent $10.00 on 5 little quirky DVD's I helped my kids check out from the library. For $10.00 I could have rented 3 new releases from the local video store, I could have paid 2/3's of our monthly netflix bill for as many movies as we could watch and mail! TEN DOLLARS and the movies were just recorded cartoons!!!! Aughhhh! I have always had terrible luck with the library. I am trying to teach my children a love for reading. I am trying to set a good example and open up their minds while mine remains slammed shut! I once paid $20 or $30 dollars for an outdated house plan paperback book that my puppy simply put teeth marks in. I was honest and expected to pay a small damage fine. Well was I ever wrong. I was required to purchase the library a new house plan book and then pay them to do it! The crazy book was around $10.00! I was so mad it was years before I darkened their doors again. I have countless stories like this! So what did I do about my late fees? I paid them when the kids were in school! They get to enjoy the movies another week now! Hopefully they won't learn my deep rooted resentment at a great American establishment.

Which leads me to the next subject. Debates. I really do not like them. I try to listen but find myself blogging or daydreaming or sleeping! I feel like they sound like little kids tattling on each other. Ask any kid that knows me very well and they are likely to tell you I do not like tattling! Go outside and duke it out, but don't tattle to me! Use your skills to work things out, don't tattle to me!!!! I get so tired of the "he said, he did, but I was so much more wonderful routine"! I can listen to talk radio but struggle with debates. Oh well, I know who I am voting for anyway! I think she could run across the stage necked and I would cheer her on!!!! I love her!!!! I wish I could be more like her!!!! Who cares what the boys are arguing about! HEHEHE!

Can you believe it is October?!

Time in this house just flies by. It seems I wake up and whole weeks have gone by. I remember in the August heat thinking and October day would feel so good. Well those days do feel great but where did September go?
I am keeping the windows open a lot right now and suffering with allergies because of it but we just can't help it! I have an attic fan in this house and LOVE it. I know there are a million and one reasons not to run one, but I can't help that either. I throw caution to the wind (literally). I open the windows and turn the fan on and just stand there and feel the cool breeze. It is absolutely glorious. It energizes me so much that my house is fairly clean! Amazing I know. I have 4 big trouble areas right now and am working on a plan to tackle those since the holidays are fast approaching.
Ouch, did I just mention holidays? I did and I have started my shopping and don't have a clue when or where anyone will celebrate, but have decided on which china set to use! Now that's the important part right? For Thanksgiving I am going to use my grandma's aka Minnie. It has a sweet pine branch and pine cones on it. The color is white with kinda brown pine branch and cone with some light blue. I used to think it was out of date and ugly and now I love it. It will be nice to use with the pretty blue stemware my mom and sisters got me for my birthday a few years ago. For Christmas I think it will be mom's china since it has the most and it just seems right. I think I feel like she is some how present when I use it. I guess she is represented. Her china I white on white which makes for a very pretty Christmas table. I miss them both terribly and treasure their things.
Now before the holidays and after the cool weather begins something monumental happens at this house. That's right remember the leaves. I do! I am trying to get the yard in order to receive the bountiful colorful leaves that will soon grace it's surface. The grass is being mowed and sticks from the hurricane are being piled high. I am hoping to make raking/blowing easier this year. I also think I will do a little along the way instead of waiting until it is done to start. Poor Steve has helped where he can but just has not had a good couple of months. I hope he is better before the onslaught!

Blankets, Blankets, and more Blankets!

I just came back from Bartlesville, OK again! I returned to volunteer at VOM with two other friends. Once again we had an amazing time. The freenzy of the Pray for China bracelets was over and things were much more calm. We actually went to eat and had some free time. We meet more interesting people that come to volunteer.

But one of the best things this time was helping one friend take all her blankets. 86 to be exact. This amazing lady collected 86 blankets in 6 weeks. Washed, folded, sorted and packed enough blankets to completely fill the back half of my van. VOM sends these blankets to the Sudan to refugees. Sometimes the blanket is their only possession. If they are fortunate enough to have other possessions then they often use the blanket to hold and carry everything in. The people that distribute the blankets say it is truly a blessing to these people. If you would like to help my friend with blankets let me know. They request $2 per blanket to help with shipping cost.

Doing Better

Well, Steve came home and for the first time in about 6 weeks reported no pain! I have not ever seen him down for this long. For a couple of weeks he would go to work for about 3-4 hours and come home and go to bed. He has lost 12 or so pounds and is just now eating better. I know he is tired of potato soup! I have peeled lots of them lately! Anyway, he is now trying to decide whether or not to follow through with the surgery. He had two docs say they won't have it until it came back again. But the surgeon says it is recommended that he have the surgery before he has a bad bout and needs emergency surgery. Risk factors go way up if you are sick enough for emergency surgery. So since he was one step away from surgery this time and sick for so long, I think he is leaning toward the surgery. We shall see though because he gets dizzy and sweaty just talking about the surgery! MEN!!!

I am headed back to VOM this weekend. Two other ladies from the last trip and I are going together. We are looking forward to the time together and of course volunteering. One of the girls has collected over 70 blankets to donate. They send the blankets to the Sudan for refugees. I just hope we can get them all in the van! Once they are there though they will have a smooth ride. I had to replace front and back brakes, front roters, get 4 new tires and a front end alignment this week! OUCH! Fortunately the van is paid off, so that makes repairs a little easier! It drives great again though!

Sarah is loving 2nd grade and Hogan is adjusting to K. He likes it just not EVERY day! They have both made friends and are doing well on the school work.

Josiah is walking! Can you believe it? He is good enough now to bend over and pick something up off the floor, stand back up and not fall! It happens so fast! He says mama, dada, bye, uh-oh, thank you and ohhhh. Too cute!

Quick update

I am sitting here barely able to keep my eyes open so this will be brief.
Steve just got home from the hospital tonight. He was admitted Wednesday afternoon for severe abdominal pain. He had been undergoing treatment for diverticulitis for the past 4 weeks. He would get better then worse and never well. Monday he had his 3rd CT and then on Tuesday he had a Barium Swallow Upper GI with small bowel follow through. Tuesday night he had enough pain that we almost went to the ER. So Wed they decided to admit him. The colonoscopy looked like things were healing. He is still having pain, but not as severe. They changed his medicine and sent us home. We are glad to be home and grateful that he did not have to have emergency surgery. They are recommending surgery when he gets well. We are just hoping the getting well comes quickly. Please pray that his pain resolves and he heals completely.