three of six are sick....so far

This really sucks. 3 of my kids are sick and puking. It's hitting our family hard. Yesterday it started at school with Devin. She came home and puked quite a few times and has been running a fever since. Then Shawndra came home sick from school today and started puking tonight and running a fever. And now Joseph puked.

Of course the girls used the carpet cleaner last (a month ago) and didn't put it away right away so the plunger got lost which means our carpet cleaner is out of commission. We ordered a new part, but that won't be here for another week roughly, so now we have to clean the carpet without the wonderful carpet cleaner.

And I do not clean up puke. That is left for my husband. And he's in town right now, so here I sit.

Plus, he and I are supposed to be going to the cities this weekend for a football game and a weekend away. Have I mentioned we haven't gone away without the kids overnight in over 5 years! Unless you count the one night I slipped away from the hospital when Jayden was in there for a month 3 years ago.

So go figure this crap would start going around now when we have a big weekend coming up. What if him or I get this? What if more kids get sick or are sick come the weekend? How can we possibly leave them with grandparents? Ugh. I hate this.

lots of picture taking practice

I went to the lake today to my dad and Mary's house because they requested my presence as a photographer for them. Can you believe I was nervous? I love taking pictures, but have never done anything more than my own kids and those are mainly candid shots. But today was different, I had to actually work with them a bit and mess with the lighting and alter different things with my camera. I really didn't do much with posing because it's kind of hard for them to get into certain positions since they wanted to stay in front of the fireplace or Christmas tree. I will maybe post a picture of them after they have sent out their Christmas cards.

After I was done with their pictures, I went outside with Tyson and took a few pictures of him using my 50mm lens again. I couldn't use my 50mm lens inside because I didn't have enough room to back up in the house. This one was one of my favorites.

Happy Thanksgiving

May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy have never a lump,
May your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving Dinner stay off your thighs!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I challenge you to take some serious time to think about the things you are thankful for.

I am so thankful for my family, my children who continue to amaze me with how well they do in school with little effort, my job to pay my bills, my husband who makes me laugh and smile, getting closer to GOD and having a stronger faith in Him, and to have the ability to make my own decisions and choices.

Drive safe, stay warm, and enjoy your family. Happy Thanksgiving!

furry friends

Our furry friends (3 cats and 1 dog) were very mischievous today. One cat got on the counter and ate the top of the muffins I hadn't put away. My computer chair is soaking wet, looks like puke, yet has no smell. There was a bag of bread, let me add, an empty bag of bread on our bed with the bottom chewed out of it. My dog peed on my bathrobe and pooped in our room. Someone tell me why I still love these furry friends?

honest

I am an avid blog lover. I follow blogs of all types, from families who have sick children, families who have witnessed miracles, ladies who are into cooking, or saving money, and people I know in person. Many of the blogs I read, I have never met the writer in person, yet I feel so close to their family...because they are so honest. That is something I want to strive more towards with my blog. I'm always honest in what I write, but I tend to focus only on things that are going well, and never talk about the things that I struggle with. So in an effort to relieve my own crazy thoughts, I am going to try being more honest in all aspects of my family.

On a heavier note, we have been struggling with Dalton and stealing lately. A year or so ago we also had troubles with this. He has taken 4 small Lego kits from the school, which we returned with Dalton. Whenever he has to return something, his head hangs low and he seems to show remorse, or else his reaction is typical for getting into trouble. The other day, while he was with his biological mother, he was trying to steal silly putty from the grocery store. She talked to him. When he came home that night, Joseph brought up a handful of matchbox cars that Dalton had stolen from the house they were at. Mike called his mom and told her and that's when we found out what he had done at the grocery store. When asked why he was stealing this stuff, he replied that he has no fun toys to play with.

Other than returning the things he steals, talking to him, and giving some type of consequence, I really don't know what to do with this type of situation. It seems he takes things under impulse before fully thinking about what a smart decision is. In our house, with help from previous counselors and the school, we try to focus on "smart choices" as a common phrase when talking to our children. It causes them to focus and think a bit about what they've done or something they might consider doing. They ask themselves if it is a smart choice. Usually this works, but not always.

For now, until we figure out the answer to this problem, if there is an answer, we're just living moment to moment and doing the best we can. However, I wish there was a simple solution to this problem.

getting icy

We knew there was a chance of freezing drizzle tonight, but when my husband got the call from the HP unit, he was a bit surprised. (Why I'm not sure, considering he's the weatherman himself, or so I say.) Anyhow, it sounds like things slicked up really quick. I've been listening to the scanner tonight since he left and it's definitely slippery out. Cars and truck in the ditch. Cars not able to stop to get on the interstate. And then the construction that's happening on the interstate anyhow that's leaving traffic at a head to head situation.

I sure hope people use their brains considering this is the first real slippery situation this year. It always seems people never know how to drive on ice, or snow for that matter.

The city is out and so is my husband and his crew. Working to make the roads safer for everyone to travel on.

down and out

I've been down and out again this weekend. Another cold stumbled upon me on Friday. Lately it seems I'm sick with something every other weekend and it never fails it's whatever my families at work have been sick with. Even though I'm conscious about not touching any part of my face until I can get to my van and use hand sanitizer. I use it 2-3 times before getting back to my office where I can actually wash them with soap and water. Yet, I still get sick. I wish my body would build up some immunity, or this is going to be a very long winter.

the big tree, part 2

Here are some more pictures of the Christmas tree Mike hauled out to Pierre.

He said when they got there they said that was a big tree, but they only needed the tree to be 28 foot, so they had to cut it down.

And this was the leftovers they didn't need.

This is the final tree after it was all cut up. Mike said it was going to lay there until Friday and then they would take it inside and set it up.

the big tree

I'm home alone with my children tonight because my husband is in Pierre after taking quite the over sized load out there. Yes, that is a tree on the semi!

He said while driving it there he could only go 45 mph and the tree took up the driving lane, the shoulder, and several feet into the oncoming lane.
He had to maneuver through traffic lights, power lines, and other obstacles along the way. But now, the tree is safely parked in Pierre, awaiting it's new home at the State Capital.

Yes, this is the State Capital's Christmas tree this year. It was cut down from campus at SDSU!

Joseph's 10th

Joseph is no longer in the single digits. He is now 10 years old! We had a small celebration tonight with his favorite supper of spaghetti followed by our typical birthday cake. I love this picture of the boys.

Joseph was so calm while opening his cards and gifts. He got several Star Wars action figures. I wasn't sure if he liked them because his reaction was puzzling, so we offered to let him exchange them for different gifts he wanted to pick something different. Grandma Rhonda had gotten him some Star Wars figurines as well. After studying them over, he decided he wanted to keep all of them.
He also got a big lego set. I'm not a huge fan of legos because it seems they end up all over the house or I end up walking on them, and if you've never stepped on a lego, trust me, you don't want to. But he was happy with it so that's all that mattered.

These are also the first pictures of Joseph in his glasses. He says everyone says they make him look smart. One kid at school said he looks like Harry Potter now! I do like him in glasses though.

quirks

Joseph is doing much better. He has mild headaches. We have an appointment with a pediatric neurologist on Monday morning, but are able to cancel the appointment right away on Monday if we feel he is better. So hopefully he continues to get well over the weekend and we can be done with this ordeal.

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Jayden has some of the most interesting quirks I have noticed. He injured his finger on Wednesday at preschool. Nothing major, just a scrape on the top of his thumb. He would not show me his finger, but rather kept it hidden in his coat. When his coat was off he kept his finger hidden in the sleeve of his shirt. He would not allow a band-aid to be put on his finger. This continued into Thursday morning...and day. He wouldn't use that hand, wouldn't pull his pants down, and even took it as far as having an accident in his pants from not using it. Finally, he let his daycare provider put a band-aid on and he was ok.

Well he started in again this morning with the owie. It's like he can't see it, or refuses to acknowledge it's there. I was curious what he would do with a short sleeve shirt. He did the same thing! He pulled his arm into his shirt to keep his thumb hidden. Tonight standing here, he let me put a band-aid on it. A bit later the band-aid must of fallen off because as he was standing here he looked down, seen his owie, and immediately pulled his arm into his shirt. Thankfully he let us put another band-aid on it.

Isn't that the quirkiest thing ever?! Having to hide his arm in a sleeve to hide an owie!

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As for me, I'm so thankful it's the weekend. I had another trying week at work and with all the problems Joseph was having, the two problems pretty much pushed me over the edge. I welcome the weekend to relax and do nothing!

back to school

Joseph is heading back to school today, sporting his new glasses, which I have to say, look really good on him. He says his vision is a little better, but is still seeing some double. We started the antibiotics last night. We're hoping and praying between the glasses and the medicine the vision will correct itself.

Joseph 3:30pm

Ok, well the test was negative which is good and bad. I was worried they were going to find the worst. The thought of seeing double and having to do a CT Scan scares the crap out of me. But it was negative. Thank God. They decided not to do the CT with contrast. Instead, since he has some type of infection, the doctor wants him to try antibiotics. His sinus infection could be bothering or pushing on the optic nerve causing the double vision.

We just picked out glasses for him as well. They will be ready today, so Mike will pick them up in about an hour. He will need to wear the glasses all the time.

If the vision doesn't correct itself in the next couple of days, he will need to go back for further testing. Here's to praying it's something as simple as an infection and nothing more troubling.

Test was negative. Not doing a 2nd CT scan. Will update later.

Joseph 12pm

He had an eye appointment. With drops, she got his vision down to 20/25, but still double vision. She is very concerned about this. Plus, his one eye increased by 2 powers and his other eye increased by 3 powers. He's going in for a CT scan without contrast at 1:00pm. If that comes back negative he will have another scan with contrast.

Joseph 9am

Joseph was still seeing double this morning and had a slight headache. He seen our doctor this morning and didn't find anything major, except he does have an infection going on, possibly strep? He was put on an antibiotic. He sees the eye doctor next. If she doesn't find anything, then our doctor wants to do a CT scan.

Joseph's vision

Mike picked the kids up from school today and was greeted by the principal, who told him about Joseph's vision. He was in science today right at the end of the day and all of a sudden his vision got blurry and he got a headache, so she gave him some Tylenol. He went to the after school program as usual, but laid down in the homework room with the lights off. (Nobody called us about him not feeling well...)

The principal said she moved her fingers in front of his eyes and he was able to follow them. When I got home, I used a flashlight to shine in his eyes and his pupils constricted the same. Both eyes moved the same. He said his headache was gone, but his vision was blurry still. So I called our eye doctor at home and talked to her. She said a severe migraine could bring on these symptoms as well, but to watch him closely and if he seemed to be acting weird to take him to the ER. Well he's been acting fine, except his eyes are blurry. She wants us to call her in the morning either way and let her know what's going on and she said she would see him tomorrow if there were still issues.

Since Joseph is acting fine and feeling fine, we decided to have him sleep on it. He's been up here a couple of times for unrelated reasons and his eyes look much better, so we're hoping after a good night's sleep he'll wake up fine. Otherwise he'll be headed to the clinic for a bunch of tests I'm sure and also an eye exam.

I will update tomorrow when I know more.