Evil Virus Part Deux

Rhett woke up today with fever and a sore throat.
No ulcers. No blisters.
We went to see Dr K exactly 24 hours to the minute that we saw her the day before.
Rhett felt awful. Fever. Chills. Felt like he was going to puke.
They took us right back, laid Rhett down with a blanket and swabbed his throat.
No strep.
No ear infection.
No sinus infection.
No bladder infection.
Dadgumit!
It's another virus!
So in the last two days I've paid $50 dollars to hear, "There is nothing we can do. Treat the symptoms. We'll call you on the 5% chance that the rapid strep test was wrong and the culture grows out. "
Virus really is a bad word in our house.
What's the over/under on me letting Rhett go on his field trip to the zoo tomorrow anyway? And his Soccer Party Thursday night?
I may be becoming one of those Moms.
Getting less than three hours in a row of sleep three nights in a row will do that to you.
And make you cranky.
Not that I would know...

P.S. If you have 5 minutes and 22 seconds to kill, check out this video! It's mind boggling!

Ouch

Poor Ella Kate is sick.

It started late Saturday afternoon with fever but few other symptoms. By Saturday night her temperature was 102.9 under her arm. She was miserable and pathetic and cried and cried if I put her down. I gave her Tylenol, but her fever never broke all night. I know this because either Rob or I were holding her and going "rock, rock" all night long. I held her from 9 until 1:30am then finally managed to slip her into her bed without waking her. Exhausted, I collapsed in our bed. At 2am she woke up screaming again. Rob let me sleep and he rocked her until 4:30am. Then I got up and took over until 7:15am. Again I eased her into her bed and she slept in her bed until almost 9:30am.

The whole night was awful and heartbreaking. EK was burning up with fever and would just lay in my lap whimpering until she slowly fell asleep. A few minutes later she would wake up crying like she was in pain and say "ouch ouch ouch" and put her fingers in her mouth and cry herself to sleep again. That was the pattern all night long. I thought maybe she was having some teeth problems so I switched to Motrin on Sunday. That seemed to help some but she didn't eat much and she just acted like she felt awful. I debated going to the ER with her but I was afraid we would just sit there all night since her symptoms weren't dire. After an OK Sunday afternoon we decided to tough it out one more night and get EK in to see the Dr. first thing Monday AM.

Sunday night Rob slept in another room and I sat up in our bed with EK giving her Motrin and keeping an ice pack cold for her to lay on. We all slept much better. At 7:30am this morning I called and got an appointment with our pediatrician. When we arrived at the doctor's office I noticed a little white ulcer right in the middle of EK's bottom front lip, but she would not open up and let me look further. Dr K coaxed EK's mouth open and let me come see. It looked/s awful! There are ulcers everywhere! On her tongue, her lips, the sides of her mouth, down her throat and even all over her tonsils! Poor baby really has been in pain!

Dr K said EK has some 6 syllable virus that starts with "herp" and ends with "itus." (Don't you love how medically technical I am?) The bad news is there is nothing much we can do but treat her fever, try to keep her hydrated, and try to treat the ulcers topically with several different things. "Virus" has become a very bad word in this house. I usually walk into the Doctor's office praying in my head that whatever the illness de'jour is, it is not an untreatable, "have to let it play itself out," stinking VIRUS! (Of course I am always glad it is only a virus and not something fatal or life altering, but I prefer illnesses that can be treated with medicine and go away in 48 hours!) Dr K said this virus usually lasts 5-7 days. This is day 3.

I started crying as we drove to the store to get some of the things Dr K said we could try. I can only imagine how bad these ulcers are hurting Ella Kate. No wonder she has been so miserable! She is hungry, but everything she tries to eat hurts her mouth. She is thirsty, but everything she tries to drink hurts. I even tried to get her to eat her favorite strawberries and bananas last night! No wonder she screamed and threw them down!

When we got to the store to buy the topical over the counter things Dr K suggested, I bought EK a white cherry ICEE that she really seemed to like. That made me feel better and gave me some hope that it wasn't as bad as I thought. That hope was quickly dashed when we got home. I have tried all three "home" remedies Dr K suggested but none seem to help. EK just cries and cries and now some of the ulcers are bleeding. I hate this for her! The only thing she has eaten today besides the ICEE is a few bites vanilla ice cream softened up with a little milk. Even taking Motrin seems to hurt her!

On top of everything this isn't the best week for this to happen... The floor guys are in my kitchen re-doing our tile today and tomorrow. My house is a torn-up, dusty, loud chaotic place. Also this week Kolby has the TAKS test Tuesday and Wednesday. Rob and I are both supposed to go to the zoo with Rhett's class Wednesday. Not an ideal time for the virus from ___ to invade Ella Kate's little mouth. But more than anything, I hate seeing my baby hurt! I hope we can keep Ella Kate knocked out with Benadryl and Motrin until this awful virus is over! If you have any ulcer soothing secrets please share because I'm all for anything to make EK feel better!

If I'm not around much this week, you know it's because I have my hands full with a hurting baby girl! Hope the rest of you are having a much happier and healthier Monday! :)

Waiting on the cable guy

Updated with pictures and color links
This is one of my precious MDO Thursday mornings and I am sitting here waiting for the cable guy. He was supposed to be here yesterday between 5pm-7pm and came @ 2pm??? when I was out. So I don't want to miss him again! Since I have nothing to do (but vacuum, clean the bathrooms and of course, laundry:) I thought I would catch up on the old blog.

My house is a crazy jumbled mess right now. It's like we are moving...but we aren't. There are some issues with the floors. Still. Hopefully we will resolve most of those or at least get a plan of action, today. But until then, Rhett's room is still half full of all the things I boxed up before the floors were laid. Things like my china from the buffet, books from the book shelves, all my decorative "this and that's", a few floral arrangements... Poor Rhett! Hasn't had a room since this all started on March 24th! Yes. That is how long we have lived in disarray. I'm ready to have things back in place....

But wait! I forgot to mention that with the furniture mostly empty I have had the opportunity to move everything around, and I have! Nothing is going to go back to it's exact same place! We have had our whole house/rooms set up basically the same since we moved in 6 years ago. I decided to mix things up a bit. I'm not sure if it is really an improvement, but it's different. After 6 years I want things to be a little "different."
Before
I Moved
Everything















And
then
After

































Anyway, that is why I am stuck here waiting for the cable guy. I moved the entertainment center, or what was left of it after I decided to take it apart, (see last picture) across the room. I moved it ALL ALL by myself. Even our huge (feels like) 400 pound TV! I hooked it all back up only to discover that the cable outlet on the other side of the room (that we have not used for 6 years) does not work. So we have been without cable on the big TV since Tuesday and the fam is all whiny about it. I don't think they appreciate me rearranging everything in the midst of the disarray we were already dealing with. But it I feel it is better to get it all messed up at once. That way when everything is all finally back together and in it's place it can stay that way... maybe even for another 6 years!

During this changing things around phase I have decided I also want to paint (or should I say re-paint) my living room, dining room, entry, kitchen area, laundry room and halls. And yes, that does just happen to be all the places we just got new floors. I guess the new floor color made me rethink a few other things... The kitchen was happening anyway. For the kitchen I'm thinking about a green color, like moss #4 from Laura Ashley or maybe a deep red like Summer Pudding also from Laura Ashley. I am also considering painting all that was pale sand #2 to be taupe #3 or taupe #4. And then I may paint the dining room which is currently navy #5 to be a darker navy #6 or going in a completely different direction and painting it olive #4 or #5 or maybe dark green #4 or #5. (All Laura Ashley colors which I have mixed in Valspar American Tradition satin paint because LA paint fades. I just like the way Laura Ashley does shades of color by #. To see all these colors go to this site.) P.S. I forgot to add that I plan to paint the et center white and change the molding on top to make it look a bit more up to date. Not that you really needed to know that, but still...

Of course all these color choices are dependent on the new drapes I plan to hang in the living, dining rooms and kitchen. No. I haven't found those drapes yet because I want to make sure they will go with the new couches I plan to get in the next year... and no I have not found those either. And of course we need to put some rugs down on the new hardwoods... but as you may have guessed by now I haven't quite decided what rugs to get since I want to make sure they will blend with the undetermined wall, furniture and drapery colors!

And why am I not out about town while I am kid-less looking at swatches and pricing things so I can make some of these decisions?
BECAUSE I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE CABLE GUY!
(insert frustrated sigh)

Really. With the changes along with all the boxes and paint chips sitting around here, you would think we are moving! But our address is staying the same... Unless the city will let me change the numbers in our address, just to do something different... :)

Happy Thursday Bloggies!

15? Really?

Yesterday I read something that just shocked me. I was reading this story about a Mom in Fort Worth who is in trouble for leaving her two young children in the car after she ran out of gas. She came back within an hour. She left them to go get help. I don't think leaving babies in a car on the side of the road is the smartest thing to do, but what shocked me were the last two paragraphs in the article.

State law prohibits a parent or guardian from leaving any child under 15 years old alone in a car or a home, particularly when there could be imminent danger and the child cannot fend for him or herself.

An offense is usually treated as a misdemeanor if the parent is in the vicinity. If not, the adult involved can be charged with a felony.

15 years old! I was babysitting in Texas at age 11 or 12! I have never heard of this law. In fact I once read that there is no set age in Texas and that it is at the decretion of peace officers and CPS to determine what is appropriate in each case. Does anyone know what law this reporter is referring to? What about all the Elementary/ Jr High age kids who walk home from school and stay alone until their parents get home? I think there is even a babysitting class at our local hospital for 12 and 13 year olds. The "in the car" part shocked me too. 15 years old seems really extreme to me. What do you think?

Snips and Snaps

There is either too much or not enough here for a real blog post so I am just going to type whatever comes to mind...

You have to click on the link to Tami's blog and watch the video showing her sweet little Maddie hearing for the first time! I got chills just typing that sentence! Warning though, this is one of those special moments that will melt your heart and possibly your mascara. Maddie is the absolute cutest thing! I spent the better part of January following the story of her adoption from Ukraine on this blog and love keeping up with her family now on this one.

So you may be wondering what or who has me hooked on all these sweet, but at times gut wrenching, blogs about adoption I keep talking about? That would be my friend Julie! Despite all the crazy delays at American Airlines right now, Julie should be coming home tonight with her daughter Halle Grace! YEAH! I'm so excited that they are finally going to be HOME! What a privilege it has been to share their journey to find this sweet little girl. Julie is a friend from ACU, Southlake Blvd Church, and most recently Farm Fest. Julie is just so spirit filled. Her heart and life clearly reflect the love and grace of our heavenly Father. This adoption has been an amazing journey. Join me in thanking God for bringing this precious little girl home to her forever family TONIGHT!

Nothing can really top those last two, so I won't try. But here are some of the crazy tid-bits of brain lint that I thought I'd toss out there anyway...

Eldorado, Texas
If you missed the story about what is going outside of Eldorado (pronounced the way the locals do, it rhymes with tornado) this week, here is a link that will explain it. For several years Rob and I have heard people from my hometown of San Angelo and West Texas in general talk about the Jeff's/FLDS compound. There were aerial shots of this city that sprung up out of nowhere in the local news and widely circulated in e-mails. Everyone thought something bad was going on behind those tall guarded fences, but no one could prove it. It's one of those deals where you know it will be a big national news story someday, so when it is, it's not too big of a shock.

BUT if you watch the stories on TV about this, you will see shots of an old fort where they are now housing the children removed from the ranch in Eldorado. That's my beloved Old Fort Concho, in my hometown of San Angelo! I grew up going to pancake breakfasts in the summer at that Fort. It's where my 4th grade class spent a day going to school like pioneer children did. I spent many a Christmas shopping Christmas at Old Fort Concho with my Mom. Fort Concho is where I got my first "make your knees weak" kiss during a summer Fiesta Del Concho/Fort Street dance. You will also see the convention center where they have been holding news conferences and housing even more of the 400 children. That convention center and I go way back too! It's where I went to three proms, two Tri-Hi-Y formals, and helped put together a great Project Graduation. It is where I was introduced as a Fiesta del Concho Ambassador while in college. Rob and I had our engagement pictures taken across the street from that convention center and spent our first night as husband and wife in the hotel next door. I don't know what this story has done to the rest of the nation, but it has made me extremely homesick for my hometown. More on this to come.

Speaking of things you know will someday be in the national news, on Oprah or made into a Lifetime movie... I distinctly remember two years ago this last week sitting in my garage on the phone with a PTA friend. I was outside because I did not want Kolby to hear what we were saying. We were talking about the death of a teacher from Kolby's school that had occurred the day before. It had been ruled a suicide but there were LOUD grumbles and well founded suspicions that that was not the case. Things just did not seem to add up. We were talking about all the reasons why we just could not believe this woman had killed herself. "If it ever comes out that she did not do this to herself it could be some big national story like you see on Dateline... and you and I will remember this talk," we said. Well, it did. And, we do. (see former posts here, here, here, and here) Sadly the wheels of justice turn very slowly in our little part of the world. I pray for this woman's family every night and can't imagine how hard this is for them! Another friend of mine does a GREAT job of keeping us all up to date on what is going on with this case. You can find her blog here.

I think we are the last family in America not to be caught up in American Idol, The Office, and/or Lost. I feel down right Un-American. Seriously. When do you people find the time to watch all these shows?

I. do. not. like. blogger. word. verification. It makes me feel like I have special needs. Am I the only one who can not read those stretched out crazy letters? Several times I have tried to comment on different blogs but after one or two failed attempts to decipher "the code" and type it back in correctly, I have given up! I may quit commenting on blogs with active word verification altogether because it is such a pain! (Not that anyone really needs my comments... I'm just saying!) And... Is word verification really necessary on private (as in "invited readers only") blogs? No offense meant to those who have wv, just something to ponder...

And to Rachel Ray...who I happen to be sorta watching right now... Why in the world do you spell out the acronym E-V-O-O (extra virgin olive oil) every time you say it!? It bugs me to the point that I stop listening to you. Just say evoo. (sounds like a cross between emu and voo-do) We all know what it stands for and those who don't can google it. Isn't the point of coming up with an acronym in the first place so you don't have to say it every time? What if instead of saying the word "laser" everyone spelled out L-A-S-E-R and frequently followed with the explanation that it means Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation? The point of having the "laser" acronym would be lost and Physics classes would last a lot longer. Evoo. One word, two syllables, and you're "good to go!"
(OK. Maybe I need a cup of coffee? Thanks for letting me get that out! : )

And lastly... (Almost scared of where this one may go, aren't you?)
Maybe it's time for someone I know to read more than blogs, Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living and the gazillion school notes that flood her house every month. If you had a friend that has not read anything on the New York Times best sellers list since "Tuesdays with Maury," who is not into Oprah's Book Club, and whose stomach churns at the sight of a Joel Osteen book, what would you suggest she read? Just your top two "makes me want to be a better person" or "could not put it down and still think about it long after I finished it" page turners please. I don't want to overwhelm her!

Happy Friday!

"Strepped" of his award!

Recipe added below for Laura & anyone else:)
(No. I did not misspell stripped, not this time anyway. he he!)
For the last 146 school days, Rhett has been up, excited and ready to go to school. He loves school and never wants to miss. AND he has been pretty healthy this year, not even having many asthma issues. Around Christmas, Rhett started talking about getting a perfect attendance award this year. Now this is something that I don't think has happened to anyone in our family... ever. We are just not cut out to be perfect attenders. It's not in the genes. So the fact that Rhett might actually have "Perfect Attendance" this year, his first year of school, was exciting for all of us. But I promise there was absolutely no parental pressure on him. We only wanted perfect attendance for Rhett because he wanted it. And... he almost made it.

This morning around 9:30 the school nurse called to ask if Rhett "has ever had Strep throat without running fever?" Oh, only about a dozen times. She explained that Rhett had come in her office saying his throat really hurt and it was really red. She didn't see any sign of drainage though. She also told me that her son, who is Rhett's best bud, had strep last week and that several other kids in their class/grade have had strep recently. Rhett's temp was 99.4, which for anyone else is not fever but for Rhett, who is normally in the 96.9 to 97.6 range, it is fever. I hung up with her and immediately called to get Rhett in with our pediatrician. With a 10:30 appointment secured, I hurried to dress Ella Kate, ran a brush through my hair, grabbed a diaper bag and we were off.

Rhett's first question when he saw me was if leaving meant he would be counted absent for the day. No. We were informed that he had been there long enough to be counted present for the day. He was really relieved until I told him we were going straight to the doctor for a strep test. As much as he hates throat swabs, he was more worried about missing school tomorrow. I told him that I thought he had to wait at least 24 hours to go to school after taking medicine if he did indeed have strep throat. "What if I get a shot?" I was not sure about that so I said we'd have to ask Dr K.

Well, the strep test was positive right away. Dr.K told Rhett that even if she gave him a shot today he could not go back to school until Friday at the earliest. She wrote the school note for Monday. Rhett was crushed. He tried to be brave, but his lip started quivering when he heard he would have to miss school. He buried his head on my shoulder and quietly cried "But I just had 34 more days to go Mom!" It broke my heart.

Dr. K felt so bad for him that she volunteered me to get him whatever he wanted for lunch and supper. She listed snow cones, ice cream, milk shakes, chocolate pudding, mashed potatoes ANYTHING! (thanks Dr. K!) She also said he could play soccer Saturday if he feels like it. She was really sweet. I'm not sure it helped Rhett's feelings much though as he seemed to be feeling sicker and sicker by the minute. As we drove away from the doctors office Rhett started throwing up (in my Bush's Chicken free refills cup no less!) By the time we got home Rhett had a temp of 102.4. He has slept most of the day and feels pretty miserable when he is awake. He has also thrown-up quite a bit. The pharmacist said to wait until he could keep Sprite down for 30 minutes to give him his medicine. He is not there yet. We maybe going in for that shot after all.

I hate this for him! I always hate it when my kids are sick, especially if they are hurting or feeling really bad, but this is even worse. He was so excited about that Perfect Attendance Award! I am so sad for him. We're going to have to make the next two days at home as fun as possible. (Which is really messing up my plan to do nothing for the next two days but clean-up and clean-out! But what can I do? :)

When his stomach troubles pass, I'm going to make him some chocolate pudding from scratch just the way my Nana used to make it for me when I was sick. (or for any occasion really) After making the pudding Nana put it in cute little crinkle dessert cups in the fridge letting a top "skin" layer form as it cooled. When the pudding was really cold she served it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. There was/is no better pudding in this world! It was worth being sick just to get some of Nana's pudding! I hope it will cheer Rhett up.

AND... Maybe we'll rent some PlayStation games and move a TV in his room? I also think I'm going to make him a certificate or give him a "Near Perfect Attendance" award. It won't be the same as getting one at school in front of all of Kindergarten graduation, but mine will come with pudding, and maybe a few crisp dollar bills! (Maybe one for every six or 9 weeks he did have perfect attendance? ) What could possibly compete with Nana's pudding, free hours of PlayStation play, crisp George Washingtons and a doting Mama? Take that you ol' perfect attendance award!

Nana's Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients:
2 c milk
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/4 c cocoa
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
3TBSP butter
(She always doubled or tripled this recipe.)
Directions:
Combine dry ingredients (minus salt) by sifting. Stir well.
Add milk to a good size sauce pan on a cold burner. Stir in dry mixture and heat to medium stirring constantly. When mixture is well blended and thick remove from heat. In a small separate bowl beat eggs with fork and add about a quarter cup or more of the hot cocoa mixture. Beat well until eggs are blended in. Return egg mixture to cocoa mixture in sauce pan. Stir well and return to heat. Heat to a low boil stirring constantly. When thick, remove from heat and stir in butter, salt and vanilla until well blended. Pour pudding in a serving bowl or individual dessert cups and refrigerate until cold. Yummy plain, served with ice cream or a shot of whipped cream. If you do not want a top "skin" layer to form, cover tightly with plastic wrap before chilling. (I actually like "the skin" part.)

P.S. I forgot to ask if this is a family secret so SHHH! Don't tell anyone! :)

Orphans and Squirrels

Lately I have had a few orphans on my heart and mind. My friend Julie found her daughter in Ukraine this last month and it has been quite a journey. Through her I have found a new friend Kelly who adopted two boys in February but had to leave a third in Ukraine. Her fight to bring him "home" is chronicled on this blog and also here. Warning... These blogs have produced spontaneous bouts of high blood pressure, tears, and hours of prayer in my life so... read at your own risk! :)

(Channeling my best Beth Moore) As God would have it, another little orphan wandered into my life this weekend. It all started Friday when Rob ran in from the backyard to get the camera because there were two baby squirrels in a tree and they were coming down to say "Hi!" to the kids. (See Rob! You started it!)

They were cute. They were playful. We told the kids not to get too close or to touch them. One ran up Rob's leg and took an acorn from him. They played around and scampered under the trampoline and we took pictures. Then one of them climbed out of the tree and just started yelping. It was the loudest and saddest cry! (Pictured crying for his mama!)


At that point I told the kids to stay away from the squirrels because they obviously wanted their Mommy and she might be too afraid of us to come get them. Then I left the backyard to do other things. Big mistake.

Kolby was just fascinated with these little guys. When one crawled in an old bird house that was on the ground, Kolby picked up the birdhouse and put it on the patio table so she could see the squirrel better. Terrified the little guy jumped out of the birdhouse and nosedived off the table. Limping it then scampered under some bushes. Hours later I came back to check on the baby squirrels, hoping their Mom had come for them. There was no sign of either of them.

I asked Kolby if she had seen them and she confessed what had happened. While we hope one squirrel did indeed find it's Mom, the one that dived off the table was still huddling under the bushes. Kolby and I both felt bad for it. But I was not taking it in. The Mom might still come back...right? Since it was really pretty chilly here Friday night, (45 degree low) I felt bad for the little guy and we put leaves all around the bush and over it to give the squirrels some warmth. And we named the squirrel Khaki. ( I know. Never name them!) I told the kids if Khaki survived the night and was still there in the morning, we would try to help it until it 's Mom came.

I did a little research Friday night and found this helpful site. Saturday morning I was very reluctant to go see if Khaki had survived. But I kept thinking of how loud and sad that little cry had been the day before. And since Kolby scared the baby squirrel into hiding and may have ruined it's chance reunion with it's Mom, I felt I had to check. Armed with dirty yard gloves and a soup ladle (to scoop it up if it hadn't"made" it through the night) I peered under the bush. Khaki stared back at me and didn't even try to run away. He had survived the night but was shaking. My "mama rescue mode" set in. We filled a box with old clothe diapers and a little flannel blanket I was planning on giving to Goodwill. We poked air holes in the lid and then I warmed up one of those casserole warmer packs, (that came in my Pyrex To Go set) wrapped it up and placed it under the blankets.
When we put Khaki in the box he immediately snuggled in next to the warm pack. (I am just assuming he is a he. I didn't really look. ) I closed the lid, put the box in our bathroom and we were off to get Sari from the airport, go to lunch and then to Rhett's soccer game. I was really hoping that I would not find a dead squirrel in my house when we returned. I didn't.

We gave Khaki some warmed up watered down Gatorade (I didn't have any pedilight like the web site suggested) and then I put some pecans and sunflower kernels in the blender to make my rendition of baby squirrel food. Khaki seemed to take to both. Since he was warm and had some food in his tummy... I thought he should try to find his Mama again. I put him back in his tree while we did yard work. Off and on from 5 to 7 the poor thing cried for his mama but... to no avail. Around 8pm, I gave him some more Gatorade and put him back in his box. Afraid of cats in the area, I put the box on a heating pad in the garage for the night. Again I did not know if he would survive the night.

Again he did. I gave him my version of squirrel food and drink and put him back in the tree. The little guy did his part. Off and on all day long I heard he called his Mama. ( I was not home most of the day) When I returned around 7, we could not find him in the tree. I was so excited hoping he had found his mama! But when I picked up his box that I had left at the base of the tree, there he was! I guess Khaki liked snuggling in his warm box better than dangling from a tree.

So despite my attempt at releasing him, Khaki stayed in his box on the heating pad again last night . This morning I gave him breakfast and called a local wild life re-habber whose number I found from this site. I am taking Khaki to her this afternoon.

My kids really want to keep Khaki but I refuse for many reasons. First, it s illegal to keep a wild animal in the state of Texas. Second, I do not know what to do for a baby squirrel. Third, the squirrel rehab site says you need to care for them for at least 4 months! FOUR MONTHS! And fourth... I am not really that fond of squirrels. As Rob has said time and again in the last 48 hours, I have too much to do as it is. There is no time for baby squirrel mothering. Besides, can you imagine all the squirrel jokes I'd hear? And yes, I have already heard quite a few.

So... Khaki is off to meet his new tempo-mama in a few hours. I will never look at squirrels like they are "bushy tailed rats" as I once did. My kids have learned some things about nature, wildlife and about what can happen when you interfere when you shouldn't. We have talked about showing love to all those less fortunate. We have talked about thinking of animals as God's creatures. Rhett especially has asked lots of orphan questions. And there is a baby squirrel who lost his Mama who still has a chance at life. Not a bad weekend all in all.





So. What did you do this weekend?

Promised pictures

It may be days/weeks before everything is back in place. A few boards may have to be re-done. There are also some unfinished things that the guys will come back for next week so, we are not rushing to get it all put back.. But here are the current before and afters...
Before

After (Just after they finished the last board actually. See all that dust on the floor?!)

After (I can't find a kitchen before and the tile had not been grouted or cleaned up in this picture.)

Before (Actually this was day 1 of installation. Our frig is not usually in front of the phone by the kitchen table!:)

After

Before

After

Notice the fireplace tile.
No more fake green marble!
I was so happy to see that go. And yes, I did take a few swings at it during the demo phase! The entertainment center is a not back in place as I am trying to figure out new furniture placement. I forgot to take before and afters of the hall. I will have to post some more "afters" later when we get it all put back together.

Next up I think I need to get a few rugs...
Does it ever end?

Parents needed

Anyone who would be remotely interested in adopting an 8 year old boy...Please read this post!
And you can keep reading Kelly's blog and join me in frequent and fervent prayer for a boy named Viktor!

Going Private

Video added at the bottom!
No.
I'm not.
Not yet.
But it seems everyone else is.
They are getting creepy comments. Or perhaps they have a healthy fear of strangers looking at their children. Some can see from their site meters that UFB's (unidentified freaky bloggers) are coming to their blogs at weird hours and clicking on pictures of their children multiple times. They fear they may have blog stalkers.

I have wondered about all that from time to time. But according to my site meter I don't have that much traffic. No UFBs in the night. ('cept me when Rob is doing papers and I can't sleep) I don't get creepy comments. No one is negative or mean to me here. So I currently don't see the need for me to do the private blog thing. I feel like my little blog world is being divided into gated communities. I see the need, but it makes me a bit sad.
And honestly...
I'm feeling a bit left out.
What is wrong with me that I don't need to go private? Why am I not worried? Why don't I get more anon. comments? Why don't people visit my blog in the middle of the night? How come other people's kids get clicked on? Could I actually have blog-stalker envy?
Now that is sad!
Not sad in that my blog/life is not interesting enough to rate a stalker. (Which, come to think of it, is kind of sad.)
But SAD in that I could feel left behind by something as silly/creepy as that! I think the "loco" in "mi vida" has gone to my blog head!

Speaking of my crazy life....
Today was the first day in two weeks that there were not installers or repairmen in my house! YEAH!!!! I had the freedom to run around the house in my PJs all day... and I did!
Kolby was at home sick today so we three girls just stayed home... and dusted!
Wow. There is a thick coat of white dust on everything. And I mean EVERYTHING! How could just changing out the floors make everything so dirty? But as soon as we get rid of the dust and get all the furniture put back in place, I'll post some pictures! Overall, I love my new floors and am so happy to have this major big home improvement project behind us! Yeah!

And lastly...We have not had our TV plugged in/hooked up for over a week. I haven't missed it. EK has watched Elmo on the computer every morning and the kids have watched movies on Kolby's little TV when need be. I think I could live with out the big TV for good. (Though I have missed HGTV a little bit.) No one else in my family feels as I do. They are so excited that Rob is hooking it all back up tonight. But I'm a little sad. Without a TV we have had many moments together like the ones in this little video.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I think I am going to have to declare some TV free days in the future. Of course my family might counter with some computer free days for me! And that's not even funny. :)

And yes, life has been crazy. I won't go into how crazy, but suffice it to say this week was on par with the week before it. (The one I blogged about last Tuesday.) However, as crazy as these days have been, it hasn't been all bad. As I was rocking EK to sleep tonight I was able to reflect on these last two weeks. I remember a lot of the funny things, lots of laughter, and things that happened to that show me that God has a great sense of humor so I should too. Yes, my kids were/are a handful at times, but they are also the most precious little people! I am still in awe that God has blessed us with these three great kids. Rob and I did nothing to deserve them, but we love them so very, very much! And they are all three growing up so fast! (Is there a way to slow this ride down?) Maybe I have become a little "crazy" myself because I would not trade these days, not even the last two crazy weeks, for anything. Thank you God for my crazy life!

PS I'm having way too much fun with my Playlist over there! I love that site!!!!