Does this guy look sick?

Yeah, I don't think so either....

but if you'd been around here lately....

 you'd think otherwise. 

He caught the stomach bug from his Sissy.... she had it Sat-Tues... then G took his turn yesterday.  I got "that call" from school... the dreaded one... where they informed me he'd had 4 loose diapers (3 is the max, but I guess 3 and 4 were so close they couldn't even get me called!) and had gone thru all his backup clothes.  Ewww... poor bubba!

So I spent the day at home with him, and it was the best I've ever spent with a sick kiddo.  As a working mom, it's strange.... missing work with a sick kiddo is beyond stressful.  But getting some weekday time (when everything seems slower!) with your kid is so rare and precious.  Today, G-man was so cuddly and lovey and playful.... (AND he shopped at Hobby Lobby with me for an hour and was perfect, lol!  Don't worry, I'll share my finds soon!) 

xoxo,

For those of you keeping score....

Crazy illnesses: 3
Semi-Homemades: 1

Uh, yeah.... I won't bore you with ALL the details, but just know that the weekend was very.very.ugly. In a nutshell, the weekend transpired like this:

Fri:
G-man DID end up with RSV.... began wheezing Fri night by 7pm.... began breathing treatments.

Sat:
By mid-morning, I knew. I had a stomach bug. Not good...
Sat afternoon... 45 min before another preschool mom was due to pick Big Sis up for a bday party.... she vomits all over the living room. I'm so afraid G-man is going to catch it on top of his breathing issues, that I send him and Mr. Fix-It to quarantine!

Sun:
I can't believe I'm not better - the stomach bug proves to be more than a 24 hr thing.
G-man's breathing doesn't get better.

Mon:
Big Sis is 100% and at school.
Mr. Fix-It is queasy, but hanging in there.
I haven't eaten in 2 days... and my head wants to explode off my head.
G-man still hasn't improved, as we expected. He's not sleeping well and irritable.

Last night:
OMG, the 'Roid rage! The steroid in one of G's breathing treatments finally affects him so badly at 3:30am. He's hysterical.... throwing his head back and throwing his body around... screaming wildly.... it takes us an hour to calm him down and the calm doesn't last... We have to discontinue that med and hope he can get better without it....

What.... a weekend. It was like the perfect storm. I'm sure I'm like alot of you... when I get sick, I go down hard. I run and run as long as I can.... and then I crash and get super sick. But when the kids are sick, too.... well...
I know on Friday I told y'all I was pissy. And that I'd find the bright side the next day. I'm just saying.... It's Tuesday and I'm not sure I've found it yet! ;)

Houston, we have a problem....

....and that problem is that Mom is sick! Yep, I went in to work yesterday (late), thinking I'd feel better when I got there. But I felt horrible. Been feeling worse since.... This does NOT help me get my long to do list done! Back to bed..... before my head explodes...

I'm on a mission....

UPDATED: Did I mention my mom-in-law (or mom-in-love as my friend says!) is Paula Deen? Yes... she:
a) brought a homemade (not semi-homemade, but TOTALLY homemade) sweet potato pie with her
b) just let me know that she and Big Sis made cookies this morning
c) taught Big Sis how to 'dead head' our rose bushes yesterday
d) is currently making a yummy dinner, complete with carmel apples for dessert

I'm thinking about asking her to permanently move in....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm on a mission.... To figure out something super sweet to do for my mom-in-law. I was honestly blessed with the best one in the world (she doesn't even read this, so I'm not kissing up!) ;) She drove 5-6 hours last night to get here around 10pm and stay home with Big Sis and her strep throat today.

Yes, I've been to the dr. 3 times in 15 days with these crazy kiddos.... and it's not even COLD here yet! Mr. Fix-It and I both needed to be at work this week (especially after missing so much lately!), so mom-in-law to the rescue!

She's here to love on Big Sis for the next couple of days... and while she's at it, she'll have a fab dinner on the table tonight AND my house will look like a picture from a magazine, by the time she gets everything in its place.

Any ideas on a great way to say thanks? Anyone?

My view all weekend...

Poor G-man.... we're not sure exactly what was wrong with him this weekend, but he sure wasn't his usual self. Which was exactly the news his school gave me when they called me Fri afternoon around 4... He had a low grade fever and was acting fussy, and I figured he was teething.

BUT.... Sat passed and I did nothing but hold him (that's my attempt to show you what I've been looking at all weekend!) And I don't mean that I just held him... he INSISTED that he be held where his face was snuggled into my body and my arms were wrapped around him... he was totally cocooned. When I was pregnant with G and we were told he was a boy, all my mommy friends with sons warned me that I knew nothing about a boy's love for his momma. And they were right. Add to it that this boy is also a complete momma's boy.... something Mr. Fix-It has been insistent upon but I've been reserving judgement on. Until now. Okay, okay, Mr. Fix-It.... you're right!

.

He seems to be on the mend today.... it definitely wasn't teething - throughout the weekend, he readily allowed us to stick our fingers in his mouth on a regular basis and check out his chompers. Maybe just a quick bug...

.

On the bright side, I had forgotten how much I can get done with only 1 kiddo! It's 11am... I have called to resolve a medical bill claim, scheduled my upcoming mammogram, picked up the house, played with G-man (I told ya he was feeling better!), JOGGED 3 MILES!, uploaded pics... plus all the usual breakfast, getting ready stuff! Ahhhh, feels good! If G is up to it when he gets up, we're heading out for a couple errands! (Nothing makes a working mommy happier than getting to run errands DURING THE WEEK!)

.

I might just get the chance to finish these awesome Semi-Homemade End-of-School gifts for the kids' teachers - be watching for them!!

Where You Live Friday (the Sunday edition)....

....and where I actually lived all day Sat. More on that below.

Just saw this on Kimmie's blog and thought it was right up my alley! Y'all know how much homes are Mr. Fix-It and I's fav hobby! So.... Don't have time to take new pics of my kitchen (I'm supposed to be working right now!), so I just grabbed what I could find...

This is a view of our kitchen from the dining room. I always think I love my kitchen so much that I won't be able to love the next kitchen more. Then I do. Mr. Fix-It has this way of making magic happen when it comes to picking the cabinets, the granite, the appliances, the tile, the everything!



This is from moving day, as you can tell.... no standing mixer, handprint plate made by Big Sis, coffee maker, etc...

View from the nook - where we eat EVERY meal unless we have company and move it either outside or to the dining room. I love the stone at the eat-in bar...

And our nook! Sorry, not much time for commentary...

And ETA a few more 'lived in' shots!

And here's where I have been since Fri evening.

I had the worst stomach bug. I am finally - Sunday afternoon - in an upright position. Oh.my.goodness. It was bad! Poor Mr. Fix-It had to do EVERYTHING and the kiddos were so confused about why I wouldn't touch them or hug on them. AND it rained all day, so the kids were cooped up inside. I had a fever, couldn't keep anything down, body aches....

.

And to top it all off, some horrible weather came thru here yesterday afternoon, and at 4pm, I found myself with both the kiddos (and a play kitchen) in our closet under the stairs when the tornado sirens went off. (Where was Mr. Fix-It? Where every husband is... standing on the back porch, "trying to see it!")

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So, today I've got to squeeze in as many hours of work I can do. We spent the morning cleaning the house as much as we could, while taking breaks so I didn't do too much! Agh, the joys of having little kids. I seem to have these stomach bugs at a fairly regular rate. It's definitely how I lost most my baby weight after having Big Sis.

.

Okay, back to work! And more soon - I've got lots to share about a fun Etsy event coming up in Dallas, our Puerto Rico Staycation, and more!

School Bulletin - Swine Flu

Well, the swine flu is in TX. That just sounds disgusting. It's all over the news and I can't even get away from it here at work. Sounds like the consensus in the office is that it's inevitable that all school districts around here will be closing soon to protect the kiddos. Fort Worth already closed the entire district for 8 school days! We've called Mr. Fix-It's mom to see if she would be available to come down if the school closings are as contagious as the actual flu. Because with the delicate balance that both of us have at work right now... there's no way we could afford to miss 8 days while the kiddos are at home! Keep your fingers crossed we can get some family down to help if we need to! I want my kids as safe as can be.... but almost seems like they're being over-cautious right now... guess time will tell!

If you haven't been bombarded with all the info (lucky you!), this is what I received from the kiddos' school yesterday:

ATTENTION SCHOOL de KIDDOS STAFF AND PARENTS

The Department of Health and Human Services has alerted all schools regarding the Swine Flu Outbreak. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the symptoms and make note of the rules School de Kiddos has implemented to aid in the prevention of spreading this potentially hazardous virus. We appreciate your strict compliance during this time and request that you be forthcoming and communicate with our management staff should your child have fever during this period of time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a list of symptoms for Swine Flu in humans: “The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.”

School de Kiddos requires that all children with a fever of 100.4* or above be picked up from school. Any child or staff member with fever must have a doctor’s note to return to school. Any positive test for swine flu must be reported to our management team so that we may keep the Semi-Homemade County Department of Health and Human Services informed.

We appreciate your compliance and hope that we can work together to prevent the spread of this hazardous virus. Thank you.

Look what we had to do tonight...

Okay, so G-man has been on breathing treatments since the day after Christmas (with a two week exception in January). For the last couple months, we've just been doing the preventative meds... but tonight we had to bring in the real stuff. Poor g.... he got a cough sometime over the weekend and we've been watching it closely - we know how it can go from okay to dangerous in the blink of an eye. Tonight he was wheezing when I picked him up at school.

I'm hoping that since we know the drill, we can prevent my 3rd trip to the pediatrician in less than a week....

It's no wonder that one of the baby's favorite toys is empty! medicine bottles. They're everywhere the eye can see!

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all....

Y'all. I'm grumpy. And I seriously never wake up grumpy. (Now, before you classify me in that group of really annoying women who is perky all the time, please know this... at some point in my day, as early as my commute or even occasionally in the parking lot of daycare, someone makes me grumpy. I just don't wake up that way.)

Anyway, I'm not going to say much because if I did, it would just sound whiney. About how tired I am that I'm so incredibly busy that on some days I literally don't have time to pee. That - even though I know there are tons of other busy moms out there just like me - it seems like there's no way anyone could be as busy as I am. That no one starts their day by 5:30 and doesn't finish til 11 and is at a dead run the whole time. Oops, guess I did say that. Just slipped out.

And that picture? That's from the LAST time Big Sis had strep throat. Which she has again. At least that's my diagnosis.... we're leaving in 5 minutes to have it confirmed by a professional. Mr. Fix-It is attending a big time meeting this morning, then coming home at lunch so I can get some work in and attend an important meeting, too. From 3-5. Sigh.

At least my sickie is being super sweet and has been my reason to smile this morning. She just said.... Momma, I love you SOOO much. You're the best mommy to me. Awww.....

Big Weekend!

First of all, much thanks to all of you who commiserated with us about forgetting show & tell. every.week. And Mary Beth, I had the same conversation with Big Sis when I missed her Easter Bonnet Parade last Fri, too (for the record, I was at the helmet dr with G-man!) Everyone's parents were there. Except hers. Broke my heart. But... I'm proud to announce.... that we remembered today (okay, Mr. Fix-It remembered)! The subject is textures... and we thought of it - literally - as we were walking out the door. So... Mr. Fix-It is such a good daddy.... he reaches in his truck, finds sandpaper, and throws it in a baggie and labels it Sandpaper. She's all set! YEA!!

Y'all, tomorrow is the 5k. I'm neither ready nor looking forward to it. I've had some sort of mysterious allergy thing since Tues (scratchy throat, headache, sneezing like a maniac!) It'll be okay, right? I promise a recap.

And tomorrow is also Mr. Fix-It's birthday! Big Sis wants to get him a heart sucker and a guitar, so I've got a little errand running this afternoon to figure that out. ;) I'll try to take a few pics when we're out to dinner with the Everythings tomorrow night.

Work is insane today - I'll be able to explain more next week - but let me leave you with this invite.... from a dear friend of ours, let's call him JS. Anyone living in NE Oklahoma probably knows him... He went to school with Mr. Fix-It and college with both of us!

Howdy. 'Dilla Hunt'n Saturday the 11th. Course your all welcome to come up on the 10th and pitch camp. Think'n on cold beer and warm hog both days. 'Happiness is a warm hog'.....Sorry,..that was better to the beatles music in my head.... Speakin o' music...bring yer fiddles. Ill put a couple o lights out in the barnyard and we'll see if we can't get silly. I live directly between Highways xx and yy on highway zzz (bout 12 miles east of xx and 12 miles west of yy). Just go to Kansas and turn right or left, respectively. Half mile east of H Lake dam on zz is the S Ranch cattleguard. Go through it. Go bout another mile - You're not lost. Its way off off broadway. Oh and stay to the right at the bottom of the hill. You'll see. BYOB. BYOLC. BYOF. BYA. Hunt starts at 10 am sharpish on Saturday. Come . Bring a friend. Anyone I left out? Send this on.

Isn't that a hoot? Funny thing is.... it'll be a good time. TGIF!

I'm just soooo mad....

So mad that I just cried. At work. On the phone with my sister. Who, ironically, had called to vent about insurance issues. I am just. so. mad. SO mad. Why?

Insurance sucks. I'm about to email our HR dept and ask them where my premiums are going, since it seems that nothing has been covered this year. This email is NOT gonna be pretty. So far, insurance has denied:

~ G-man's helmet - deemed medically necessary to correct plagiocephaly and various other possible issues - not covered. I think I've told you that this is $3600 and we'll be paying on it until he turns TWO!
~ G-man's prevacid. My company decided this year not to cover PPIs because of the plentitude of OTC remedies. That's fine if you're a grown man, who weighs in at 200 lbs. Not fine if you're a tiny (okay, G isn't tiny, but he's still a) baby! NOTHING is approved for babes - and that's according to our ped and the American Academy of Pediatrics. HR actually told me today that I could file an appeal but that it would be denied. And that they'd review it for 2010 but couldn't make any promises. I'm so mad I could slap an HR person.

On top of that? We're in a recession.... and there's possible more bad news coming next wk on that front when it comes to jobs, etc. It's hard not to worry.

Today sucks. But there IS a bright spot.

And her name is Mrs. Everything. Not only is she going to proofread said hate mail to HR.... she's going to take G-man to his helmet appt tomorrow (thus, saving both my job and hopefully Mr. Fix-It's). God bless Mrs. Everything - she's an answer to prayer.

Puke, passing out, and the 'mumps'

OMG, y'all. It's gotten so ridiculous that I almost didn't say anything. Almost... I had just gotten done with my jog this afternoon (I ran for 30 straight minutes - 2 1/2 miles!!) and Mr. Fix-It was off to the gym. Big Sister had been in bed for about 20 min when she started crying. I marched upstairs, alreading yelling to her to pipe down and take a nap. But what I saw made me feel bad for yelling....

Big Sister. Sitting up in her bed. Skip the rest of this paragraph if you have a weak stomach, and especially if you don't have kids or pets........ are you gone yet? ;)...... A pile of puke (if any of you have ever seen a pile of dog vomit, you get the picture). More down her arm. Big Sister is bawling, super afraid because this has never happened to her.... poor thing.

As I load her bedding in the washer and get her into the tub, I'm trying to get ahold of my youngest sis who had called me crying at 8:30am. My mom was down visiting and had gotten a serious stomach bug in the night (this time I'll spare you the details.) When she got up for her 14th trip to the bathroom and didn't come back, my sister got worried. Long story short, she was passed out in the bathroom, laying on the floor against the door.... eyes wide open but nobody home and totally unresponsive. When my sister asked my mom if she should call 911 and my mom STILL didn't respond.... she called 911. By the time my sister grabbed her next door neighbor and they came back over, my mom had come to and insisted she was fine and just got too hot. My sister was still on the phone with 911 and told them all was well. Then my mom preceded to get on a 5pm flight (totally against my wishes) from Harlingen to Dallas to Tulsa. Then has over an hour drive home. She's still sick to her stomach and I'm still worried she hit her head when she fainted this morning.

~~~~~~~~~~My mom just called! She's made it on the first 2 legs and actually does sound much better, I have to admit. I'm still not happy that she didn't stay another day.... ~~~~~~

Just another chaotic day in the Semi-homemade family. Big Sister and I were actually going to do some semi-homemade Easter cookies today, but it didn't happen after the pukefest. The more I thought about it.... her (croup) cough got worse over the weekend and she'd been coughing.... I think she coughed so hard she gagged. But I knew she was fine when she ate an entire fajita for dinner. And then asked for a mumps (Thin Mint!) :)

Starbucks, are you hiring?

Because I have experience. And because, after calling in with a sick child again today, I might need a new job soon. Yes, this time it's Big Sister.... who yesterday was diagnosed with an ear infection (it appears her tubes are now NOT working), the croup, and possibly the flu. Awesome. She's medicated, so as soon as she loses the fever, she's good to go. But at our 3am party in her room, it was apparent that has not yet happened.

Seriously, we just can't catch a break this winter. Mr. Fix-It and I have both missed more work than we can believe. We're totally stressed. At least I have my old barista days to lean on. Mr. Fix-It..... we'll have to work on what his next career will be.

Is it my fault?

Seriously. Project: Make Sleep a Priority is NOT going so well.... Let me explain (I originally forgot to include this! Damn sleep deprivation, I'm not even making sense!) Last wk, I prayed/begged/pleaded to have just ONE WEEK with no illnesses, no one feeling bad, no parents missing work. And I got that. Last week. So this week? All bets are off....

11pm - The evening is not going quite as planned.... I had a hair cut and had brought home a huge pile of work to do before all my meetings today. Got to bed later than planned.

2am - Get a lovely wake up call at 2am from Big Sister. Big Sister never wakes up at night unless something is wrong. And it was. She was hot and running a fever. Wonderful. So, at 2am, Mr. Fix-It and I have a conversation about today and how I absolutely CANNOT miss my big mtgs, etc.... He has an important training thing, etc. Mr. Fix-It nods back off. I lay there and stress.

4am - Big Texas storms blow through and wake up both kids. But not at the same time. They spend the next hour and a half taking turns being awake until I finally get up.

7am - I leave to take G-man to daycare while Big Sister stays home with Mr. Fix-It. The nurses are going to wonder if he has a crush on one of them, since he was just there for G-man's 6 month shots yesterday and will likely return with Big Sister today.

8am - I arrive at work and a coworker tells me I look rested. While that's probably supposed to be a compliment, I want to smack him.

I'm so jealous of Big Sister and Mr. Fix-It, at home in their PJs on this rainy day.... while I'm in meetings 9-11:30 and then 2-5.... love that. ;) That picture at the top? It's Big Sister - her first Easter - and it makes me laugh.... which I could use today! Have a good one, y'all!

This is all I got...

So, g-man hasn't been himself lately.... today is day 10 of his antibiotic and I just have this suspicion that he didn't recover from his ear infection, as intended. He doesn't have a fever, a cold, anything.... he's just not himself.... and has been having some dramatic (theatrical, I'd say) outbursts lately. And it's mommy intuition, I guess. So, Mr. Fix-It is taking him to the ped today to get checked out..... if he DOES, in fact, have an ear infection, we will be delaying his 6 month shots for the 3rd time. I'm on to him..... everytime it's time for shots, he's sick. ;)

Lately, I'm feeling like we can't win for losing. We haven't gone more than a day without someone on an antibiotic or home sick. Having sick kids is stressful. Being a working mommy, it's even more stressful. Where am I going with this?

Well..... Mr. Fix-It calls me after he drops off the kids this morning, to tell me that Big Sister had goo oozing out of her ear. Oh, and it was bloody. The good news is that this must be in the ear that still has a functioning tube (because the tube in the other ear is falling out). What worries me is that - after 2 sets of tubes and now that she's 3 yrs old - she's not "supposed to be" having ear issues. I love that we always seem to be the exception.

And if you're not convinced that it's an epidemic just yet..... Miss P Everything got tubes this morning and my niece in OK is getting her 2nd set tomorrow. Geez. We all should have been ENTs.

I'll be back tomorrow. With my take on a semi-homemade organization system. Or pics of silly week. Whatever I can pull together.

Picture day..... not so much

So, this is G on picture day....

Yep, at home with me. With a fever of 102.2. And an ear infection. Poor g..... So, thanks to all of you who called, emailed, commented, smoke-signaled your opinion. (For the record, most of you thought he should be photographed in his stylish head gear. He has it off right now because it's making his fever worse!)

I had all these visions of posting some great blog-read today.... but the kiddo hasn't slept at all (minus a small nap, in which I was able to get in my c25k workout - wk 6, day 2!!)

Oh, and in other ear news today..... My niece A has an ear infection and walking pneumonia and is on her way to a 2nd set of tubes in her ears. And the Everything's daughter P has TWO ear infections and has been advised not to get on a plane (they're supposed to be traveling on Thurs). Seriously, it's an epidemic!

Okay, he has reached super pissed off status now. I'll be back tonight (I hope!)

And antibiotics save the day!

So, why didn't we think of it earlier? After debating with Mrs. Everything thru the afternoon... about whether or not they should bring their daughter P (Miss Priss) over for our v-day dinner... it occurs to her. P is actually on a stronger antibiotic than Big Sister. So, she's safe! Thank goodness....

So, let me back up.... the day started out with Mr. Fix-It coming home to the mini-muffins that Big Sister and I baked for him. Aww.... ;)

The kiddos got clothes for Valentine's from us (don't judge - we're in a recession, okay?) and toys from their grandmothers (so, see? It all works out!)

The Everythings came over and thank God the Everythings are who they are. Meaning 3 of us had just stepped out of baths/showers and the house looked just slightly better than chaotic. And for some reason, for them - and only them - it doesn't matter to me. As much. ;) And just look what Mrs. Everything brought me.

Awwww, just made my evening! I love, love tulips and I've been telling Mrs. E forever that maybe, just maybe, if I had one of those Aqua Globes from tv, I could keep a plant alive. Because I have the blackest of thumbs. I'll have to let y'all know how it goes...

Anyway, the Everythings brought yummy steaks and we threw in some baked potatoes and Big Sister and I's heart shaped cookie became a heart shaped brownie, due to a lack of oats for the oatmeal choc chip (dairy free) recipe we had in mind. (And fyi... I'll do a post sooner or later about living dairy free... but Ghiradelli makes the best dairy free brownie mix. You can't even tell!)

Happy Valentine's day to the Everythings and all of you!

See how much fun the daddies had? I just had to share! ;)

Strep throat - again. Or still. Whatever...

Yep! When I said Big Sister was confused last night and kept getting up... I didn't mention that she was also really hoarse (she's a hoarse little kiddo anyway). Well, by mid-morning, she was complaining that her mouth hurt, so when we looked at her throat... damn, it was bright red. So, off to the ped, who told us that, in fact, Big Sister does have strep throat again. Or still. She's 3 days off her antibiotics from the last strep outbreak.

So, on the negative side, it's not looking good for our sweet little Valentine's dinner with the Everythings. No one is more bummed than Big Sister, who cried herself to sleep over it at naptime.

But because I'm trying to be positive... I'm just thankful this happened on a Saturday. And that the doc cleared her for daycare on Monday. That's a pretty big deal....

So, Mrs. Everything, if you read this.... I'm bummed! Let's figure out when we CAN get together... and when we're going to go to that girly movie.

Migraine madness!

I had big, big plans for tonight, while Mr. Fix-It was gone and the kids were in bed. I was going to:
- Post pics of the semi-homemade valentines that Big Sister and G-man took t school today (along with the small teacher gifts)
- Whip up a banner/header for my blog so I can be more comfy 'coming out'
- Plan the menu for tomorrow night's Valentine dinner with the Everythings
- Download new music in hope of inspiring me to start getting that 3rd jog in every week

But this little headache is turning into a massive migraine.... and Big Sister has just come down the stairs AGAIN. (Seems she's confused that Mr. Fix-It is gone tonight and she's having a hard time sleeping.) So I'm off to put her to bed. Then put myself to bed. And I'll try to regroup in the morning!

RSV Outbreak!!

Man, I just got off the phone with Mrs. Everything and their daughter P has RSV! Poor baby (and poor momma!!) I just hate that for them.... and they can't even borrow our nebulizer because G-man will be using it for the next 5wks to 6 months! I pray that they just need it for a few days!

Here's a pic of little G-man at Christmas, during his first run with nasty RSV....

Hope this is the last of it and all our kiddos can stay healthy!