I know I shouldn't say it but.........

I think I actually am starting to feel BETTER........I started taking antibiotics on Tuesday evening since my fever came back and I was feeling considerably worse at that point. Pretty sure I ended up with either bronchitis or pneumonia. I can still feel lots of stuff in my lungs when I take a deep breath!! And I'm still coughing alot. I have 2 more days of antibiotics so hopefully I'll feel much better by the weekend.

We went to Allison's open house last night and it was so nice! Allison was so excited to show us her classroom, introduce us to her teacher and help us find everything on the scavenger hunt list. We really had a fun time!! She starts her private dance lessons again in 2 weeks and will be going to NYC for a dance workshop with her teacher and some other dance team members in November. Should be exciting for her (and me too!!) We'll get some mom and Allison time which we really need!! Jacqueline is busy with cheerleading and has also joined 3rd/4th grade chorus this year - they meet at 7:30 AM on Thursdays - that's a real treat!! She loves it and is excited about being in their production of the Nutcracker this winter. I think that's the main reason she joined!! Harrison is still loving pre-school and still cries on occasion when I come to pick him up to go home!! So different than his sisters! He brings home paintings every time and he is quite proud of them - today he painted a rollercoaster.

My parents are moving to Horseheads, NY (about 45 minutes from us) within the next 6 weeks. They are excited as are we. It will be very nice to have them close again and be able to help them out. I really miss them as do the kids. Harrison cried when we dropped them off at the airport - "I want grandma and grandpa come to our house!!!!" It was quite heart-wrenching. Glad to have them moving closer again!!

That's all for today. Time to run Jacqueline to practice....again. It really amazes me how much better she is behaved when she stays very busy and active!!

Have a good day!!
Sam

The Never Ending Sickness and Other Tidbits from New York

Sorry it's been a while since I posted. I am STILL SICK and went back to the doctor yesterday pretty much begging him for help. The nice man couldn't find anything "dangerous" as he put it, but did give me some Tylenol with Codeine so I can sleep at night without coughing my brains out!! It helped until around 2:30 this morning when I woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't get back to sleep. I contemplated taking another one, but didn't want to be a zombie at Harrison's usual wake-up time of 6 a.m. - this morning was actually 5:53 I believe!! At least I got about 5 hours cough free, passed out cold sleep. It's a start!! Now Jack has caught the "illness" which I pray is not as long and drawn out as mine. The only thing worse than sick kids is a sick workaholic husband who refuses to stay home when he's sick until he's so sick that he's ordered to stay out of work and rest or be put in the hospital by the doctor, not that that's ever happened in this house. (Snicker, snicker)

Some good news to report - my parents have been here the last week as well and have found a really nice Senior Living Complex in Horseheads to move to. For those of you not familiar with Central New York, yes, the town REALLY IS called Horseheads. They will be moving here in November. More on that to come!

I finally got to meet Jacqueline's teacher at Open House on Wednesday and I really like her!! I get to go to Allison's Open House this Wednesday. Cheerleading and dance started this week and the girls are so excited!! They'll be busy!! (As will mom) Nothing else exciting to report here for now. Have a great weekend!

I am not old enough to have an eight year old.....am I?

My "baby" turned eight yesterday, September 12th. I really can't believe she's eight - seems like just yesterday she was in my arms 24/7 and crying constantly (well, that part hasn't changed too much!!) We celebrated her birthday with presents, of course, and a dinner chosen by the birthday girl. Her request was "shake and bake chicken, pasta alfredo, and garlic bread" - her exact words so that is exactly what mom made for her. She also wanted strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting and strawberry and caramel ice creams for dessert. Your wish is my command (at least on your birthday in this house) so that's what we had. She had also requested a red table cloth, candles on the table, fancy plates with leaves on them (we went for paper ones with leaves rather than a new set of china!!) and balloons. This girls knows exactly what she wants!!!! She had a great day and loved her presents which were all Hannah Montana themed - bedding, towels, wall decals, etc., etc. Her best present was that her grandparents came from Massachusetts. They arrived on her birthday and will be hanging with us for 10 days. I love seeing my children happy. Happy Birthday Jacqueline!!!

It's a 911 kind of morning, or, Where do I even start this one?????

For those of you with boys, you're gonna love this one. For those of you with just girls, you're gonna be very glad you don't have any boys. This morning actually was going pretty well. I was feeling somewhat better, had managed to get the girls off to school without too much trouble (read yelling), had eaten my breakfast without severe throat discomfort, taken a shower, got dressed (even put on makeup today!), and was talking to my mom on the phone while switching the laundry. For those of you unfamiliar with my house, the laundry room is right smack in the center of the second floor of our house across from Harrison's bedroom. There is an electrical outlet on the wall across from the door of the laundry room where we have an LED night light that I just leave plugged in all the time, as it shuts off in the daytime hours. So Harrison was "helping" me switch the laundry and then he walked out of the laundry room and literally a second later, he yells "look mommy, fire" and starts flipping out!! I start looking for fire and don't see anything. Then the smoke alarm starts beeping and I get panicked and pretty much hang up on my poor mom who was already worrying about my dad. Harrison is pointing at the night light which I then notice is tilted off the wall. So, I flick it out of the outlet and the whole outlet and back of the night light is BLACK. So I panic even more and call Jack who doesn't answer his cell phone (big shock there) so I quickly debate calling 911 and I do. The dispatcher was awesome and sent the fire trucks out to check out my wall. (I have visions of fire in the walls by now) Harrison is crying and holding his ears and when he sees the fire trucks, the first thing he says is "why isn't the fire truck red?" (Lansing has those nasty yellowy-green shade of fire trucks.) They come in the house and Cooper starts barking wildly and bouncing around adding to the chaos. (I should add here that one of the firemen is a Harrison's teacher's husband/Jacqueline's friend's dad - yes, we live in a very small town) I show the fireman the outlet and he wants to see the breaker box. I take him to the dungeon - ah, basement - and show him the box. He finds the breaker and lucky me (or Harrison should I say) it is a GFCI breaker so it tripped extra-fast thus not letting my house burn down from the inside out. (I highly recommend using a good electrician when wiring a new house - it obviously saved mine.) After inspecting everything including inside the wall behind the outlet, it's decided that there is no fire in the wall and the only damage done is to the outlet, night light, and breaker (and my nerves). While this is going on, Harrison tells my friend, who has arrived in the middle of all the "fun" with her 3 year old son to go apple picking, "I put a penny in there." So she tells me and we tell the firemen (there are now 3 and 2 trucks - Lansing spares no expense!) They take a good look at the night light and the pattern of blackness on it and figure the kid is telling the truth and that it would make sense. We can't however find the "penny" which he has told us he put on the dryer. Reminder - I was in this tiny laundry room thru all of this. When all is said and done I am told everything is ok but I need a new outlet, new breaker, and a new night light (and perhaps a stiff drink at this point - it's noon somewhere, right?) After they leave, I am still puzzled about the penny thing and think maybe Harrison means under the dryer - sometime he gets confused -he is 3 you know. So I leave him downstairs under close watch of my friend, and fish under the dryer and sure enough, there I find what use to be a nickel. It is scorched black and half melted where it hit the prongs of the night light!!!!!!! He was telling the truth!!!! I am just very happy that he did not get hurt and that my house did not really catch fire. We had a little 3 year old chat about coins and outlets and I am going to be replugging all my outlets with those safety plugs again - obviously my judgement about removing them was not really good. I think I have finally stopped shaking and having visions of raging fire in my walls. I'll be saving the nickel, the nightlight and the outlet in Harrison's baby book!!!

Survival of the (un)fittest.......

Well, by the grace of my husband, who may at times THINK he's a God, I survived the sleepover without passing out, falling over, or bursting in to tears. I really do have the greatest, most awesome, patient, brave husband in the whole entire world. How many other husbands would play musical chairs to Hannah Montana music with a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds? He ran the show. Not (of course I had to put it in this disclaimer) how I would have run it, but I was in NO position to criticize in my state of health! I did manage to paint the girls nails while sitting at the kitchen table and to help out setting up and cleaning up here and there. Jack tucked them all in and then got up and made them all breakfast this morning. (Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?) Now, don't think for a minute that I got to sleep in, I was up too, he just did everything. The thing I had to laugh about was last night while we were waiting for the kids to pass out, he was sitting at the computer whining about how tired he was and about how much his feet hurt - welcome to my world honey!! Jacqueline had an amazing time and was very happy. All the girls actually slept and I think they all had a good time, too. They danced, sang, ran around and watched the Hannah Montana concert on DVD. Part of the favors was a head-set microphone that they all put on and sang along to every song Hannah sang!! Harrison even got in on the fun (he passed out about 2 hours before the others did on the couch in the middle of all the action. I have NO idea how he actually fell asleep amidst all the girly noise!) This afternoon I resumed my position on the couch as I am pretty worn out - again. The girls are really tired, but of course would NOT nap - trust me we tried!! Now I need to try to get some of that "rest" the doctor prescribed before my parents arrive on Friday!!

Sick. As. A. Dog........

I finally made it to the computer - been working off my blackberry while dying on the couch......I had to have a change of scenery, although I know it won't be long until I need to return to the "flat out" position on the couch. Took myself to convenient care last night around 8pm. I couldn't take it any longer - my throat hurt so badly, my ears even hurt. I had a banana and it burned all the way down. So, off I went. Luckily there was almost no wait and I was in and out of there in under an hour. Thank God for that. I don't think I could have sat up much longer, let alone drive myself home afterwards. I had a throat culture and it was negative. I just have some miserable virus that could last up to 10 DAYS!!!! Then the doctor told me I really needed alot of rest and should stay in bed for 2-3 days!!!! You've got to be kidding.....I have 3 little kids!! So I am trying to rest as much as I can today. Jack went to Wegman's and got everything I needed for the big birthday party tonight, came home and cleaned the house up, got the house semi-ready for the party, and made lunch for the kids. He just took them to a fishing derby that his company is having today, so I am going to try to get some rest and then take a shower, which, I am predicting, will completely wipe me out!! Now back to the couch for a while........

And the thermometer says.......

Now, I swear I did this to myself. About 3 weeks ago I jinxed myself by saying to Jack "boy, I haven't been sick in a really long time" What an idiotic thing to say - out loud no less. Well the Gods of Sickness heard me and sent out the troops. The kids got it first - fever and cold symptoms - and now mom has it. I haven't felt this horrible in a really long time. I woke up yesterday not feeling well and got progressively more weak, achy, and feverish as the day went on. By the afternoon, I could barely move, and Jack had to bring home dinner for the kids and more motrin for me (I polished off the last of it by noon). Last night sleeping was virtually impossible because every part of my body ached - the worst was my fingers!!!! It still hurts to breathe!! I seem to have escaped the fever now (please God) and just feel a little bit like cooked spaghetti. Jacqueline's birthday party (a sleepover no less) is tomorrow, so I have to get off the couch every once in a while to try to do a few things, like make a cake, etc. Hopefully I'll feel better by tomorrow!! That's all for now......the couch is calling!!

Harrison's Big Day!!

Today was Harrison's first day of preschool!! He loved it. When we got there he said "hi" to his teacher and immediately spied the easels with paint and HUGE paint brushes. Off he went and never looked back :( No crying, no clingys, nada....... I stayed a while thinking that this would be short lived, but no, when I finally decided to say "bye" for the morning, he didn't even look at me - just said "ok, bye mommy" and that was that!!!!!! My girls had to be peeled off me their first day of preschool!!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I really don't like the "peel my child off me and run for the hills" drop off, but a little bit of sadness might have made me feel just a tad better!!! When I picked him up he was on the swings, saw me and said "one more minute mommy"!!!!! Didn't run over to me or anything. He actually CRIED WHEN WE LEFT THE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! He didn't want to come home!! Tell me that didn't make me feel sad. But he's home and after having a nice lunch together, he came over and gave me a huge hug and said "I missed you mommy". That made it all worth it!!!

The First Day of School

Well, the first day of school is here. The kids were so excited (so is mommy!!) They actually slept last night and got up all cheerful this morning, had a nice breakfast, got dressed and off they went. Fairly uneventful. The bus came earlier than usual and the route is changed a bit as well - good thing we were outside taking pictures!! We were all happy that the girls have the same awesome bus driver again, too! Mom is happy and sad. They really needed to go back to school and be challenged again but I have to say I really enjoyed spending time with my kids this summer and having a laid back pace to life. I really have amazing kids and I love them dearly. So, I was a bit sad too this morning seeing my little ladies get on that bus again. The house is incredibly quiet, even with Harrison still home. He is great at entertaining himself and is relatively quiet when he's the only one home!! Now it's back to the chaos of the school year and all the activities associated with it. Dance and cheer don't start up again until the 15th, so I have a little more time to actually have the whole family eating dinner together. Once that starts, Wednesday nights will be our only "free" night. Going to go buy myself some new running sneakers.....I'm going to need them soon!! Hope everyone else has a great first day. I'll let you know how the girls did and Harrison starts pre-school tomorrow - that should definitely provoke some tears from mom!! Have a great (quiet) day!
Sam