Just Another Manic Monday.....

I wish it were Sunday, that's my fun day, my I don't have to run day... Ok enough bad 80's lyrics aside I have had a DAY!

I hit my snooze 3 times this morning only to hear Mike roll over (on top of Ethan) and exclaim "Happy St Patricks Day! "
Oh !$%$***, yes that is not my usual reaction to this holiday, but Liv has a special school outing that requires her to be fully dressed in green. I had meant to run by target this weekend and pick up her outfit, but alas it is 7:45 and she has nothing green to wear. Moldy laundry is not considered festive! Well I jumped up and went to Target, hair unbrushed, teeth unbrushed and a stain on my shirt, but I got a pretty green dress.

To which she said, I'm cold.........
Well after she was of to school I turned my attention back to Ethan and why he was coughing his head off all night long. He has been suffering with all the oak pollen and his nose has been running for weeks now. So I call and get him an appointment for 10:45, Maddy and Ethan get in the shower, I contemplate showering, when I hear, OH NO...MOM...CALL 911. Now this is never a good thing, so I run into the bathroom and Maddy, naked is holding the TILEX soap scum remover spray bottle and Ethan is foaming at the mouth saying "it yucky.." Poison control, where is poison controls #, front page of the phone book for anyone who might not know... She said to just let him drink some water and he would be fine. Well if she wasn't freaked out, then why should I be, right? I mean the back of the bottle has phrases like, "if ingested do not induce vomiting, seek medical help, ..coma...convulsions...death" Whatever, I still have not had my coffee yet, and Ethan looked fine, heck he didn't even turn red around the mouth, ONE THING HE ISN"T ALLERGIC TO.....

Ok, off to the doctors office, while I sit there and contemplate asking Maddy not to touch anything or breathe for the whole visit. I wonder if the allergies we were going in for would be worth what we caught in the waiting room? Whenwe went back Ethan had a fever, the nurse asked how long he has had it??? He is my third kid, I didn't even know he had a fever. In my defense it was 99.1, My mommy hand themometer registers 102 only..

3 prescriptions later we run home to get the insurance card I forgot, and Boots, our catdog jumped in the car. Well since I was going to pick up Liv I thought I would surprise her and bring her cat. Was my day not complicated enough!!



I got Liv, ran through Chick fil A, and almost made it home when I heard , Mom "boots threw up on your diaper bag." grrrr................
I skidded into the driveway kicked the cat out, threw the diaper bag out and remembered I have to place the Angel Food orders at the church and the deadline is today! This involves calculating 3 churches orders and making sure all the $$ reconciles. If you have garaged saled with me you know this is not my strong point...

After about an hour the orders reconciled enough that I was happy, I placed the order, gathered up children from the nursery (unsupervised), opted to not change Ethan's poo, since we would be just going home...and remembered once in the car, prescriptions.... I had to go pick up prescriptions...smelling stinky poo the whole way there and home.

Well once I got home my hubby was grumping on gas prices...we need a small economical car. Good on gas for his in town running around. His diesel bill for his truck is around 125.00 at the pump. At this moment I DID not want to talk about gas, or whatever...well he says what about this


I could just drive it around,...ya know like an old beater car....Okay, Leisa count to 10, remember Pride goeth before a fall, But I DO NOT WANT this old beater in my driveway!!!

Then he asked what's for dinner?? I don't know what did you fix, hon?

He had the guts to say, I've had a busy day!!! Yep, now he is going to be buried in the back yard in that old beater....

And nothing new with Maddy, she had a good day

Why "Tales of A Wicked Stepmother" ?

This was a post previously posted back in January, but now this is her favorite game to play. She has no clue what a stepmother is, but she know most princesses have one!

I spent today with all the kids home. Olivia was having a rough morning so I kept her home from school. I enlisted the girls in some house cleaning. Well Olivia has a great imagination, and decided to pretend that I was the wicked stepmother and she was Cinderella having to do chores. ~~~~Oh, where is my fairy godmother???~~~~

Toliets are Next!

Picture Highlights

Sharing is Caring

Olivia has this saying she learned from preschool, "Sharing is Caring"

Olivia uses it whenever Maddy has refused her whatever she has decided she wants. Maddy just told her she could not have her coloring book, and Liv in a sing song voice said, Sharing is Caring..."

When I burst out laughing, she said (in a serious tone) That's true mom, that's true...

I can't believe I am posting and my house looks LIKE THIS!

Just kidding I am NOT showing you all my house, so no surprise visits. I scanned some blogs and can completely relate to Tiff. I cannot get my house together...I don't want to do it, but I want it clean. I have gotten it about 75% there and I find if I don't finish all my effort is in vain. It will be trashed in a matter of hours. Also if I focus on one area then the rest falls apart. I literally want to tape my kids to the couch turn the TV on and get it clean without little ones undoing my effort. Please no child training comments... I am about over child training at the moment too, I just want to be a lazy slug and watch gobs of TV and read juicy love stories curled up on the couch.... Okay I am back to reality, and I hear the dryer beeping...

Friday Night

Friday night we had a church dinner to kick off Missions Weekend at our church. I knew going in that the "international" food theme was risky, so I planned ahead to not serve Ethan from the buffet. Well all went well during dinner. I kept a close eye on him, and then sent him to nursery afterwards. In nursery the 2 workers were eating plates of food from the buffet. I let them know that they needed to put it up and about Ethan's allergy.

Well about 10- 15 minutes later I could hear Ethan crying. He usually never cries in nursery, so I went and got him. He settled down and was letting me hold him (which is odd when so much commotion is going on). A little bit later I put him back in nursery, and the same scenario with him crying happened. When I picked him up he said his belly hurt. I assumed he was getting sick, so I packed us up and went home.

At home he started coughing, and I put him in my bed. Mike was lying with him when the coughing kept getting worse. I came in and grabbed him just before he threw up. I still at this point thought he was coming down with something. I put him in the shower and when I took off his shirt he had hives all over his belly, arms and legs. Hence his belly hurting...

Well of course I was panicked. A peanut allergy can turn bad very quickly and he was very rattley in his chest and wheezy. I gave him 50 mg of benadryl, talked to Dr Carlson, and gave him a steriod breathing treatment. We were at this time about an hour and a half into the reaction which made me feel a little better that it was probably not going to get worse. My Dr wanted me to take him to the ER, but the benadryl was kicking in and his breathing was improving. So I stayed up with him and gave him an extra 25mg benadryl. The hives have let up but now his skin feels like sandpaper.

Ultimately this episode has really hit home about how we manage Ethan. Dr Carlson continually has warned me about the fatalities of peanut allergies. Ethan did not even ingest any peanuts ths episode he mearly came into contact with the allergen. I cannot let him be around kids who have eaten peanut butter, so preschool is not going to happen for him. Going over to friends homes will be difficult at least until he is old enough to manage the allergy. Just wiping peanut butter off a table still leaves traces of the allergen for contact. Kids sticky fingers could touch him...someone at a restaurant could cut his sandwich with a contaminated knife...etc.. So we have been having a little reality check about Ethan's care and safety.

Anyway that has been our weekend ...

Sorry

Ethan had a peanut reaction last night so we are recovering

Posting Tomorrow

Don't Miss It!!

Prayer Request

My friend Ruth Janna, John Osmolski's older sister, is down from Virginia for the memorial service this weekend. She flew in yesterday, 9 months pregnant and you guessed it she is in labor. Her water broke this morning at 5 am, so we will have a baby by tonight hopefully. Anyway she is 3 1/2 weeks early so please pray for them both. Luckily the midwives were able to take over her care at Waterman.

We Are Back From Arlington

Ok, a total of 32 hours on a bus in 3 days is way too much for me. I am so glad to be HOME!! John's funeral was beautiful and his troop was able to attend since they were all back in the states. Veteran bikers came and guarded the church and escorted the procession to make sure protesters would not interrupt. And the local army moms catered all the food and receptions. So anyway there was alot of support for the family. About 36 of us went up on a donated Mears bus so it was a comfortable ride.

That is until the stomach bug hit the bus!! Yes we were driving with puking and diarrhea for 16 hours.... Mike was completely unscathed (please refer to the post about his super immune system) and I fought nausea the ride home. So I guess we did better than most.

Well I just wanted to say we were home.

Oh MY Miss Betsy, It's ETSY

Have you all met ETSY?? A complete online handmade shopping experience rivaling ebay in size. It is a handmade shopping community. http://www.etsy.com/
Patterns, quilts, clothes, blankets, paintings, pottery, jewelery...and on and on
Also you can sell on etsy for pennies!! compared to ebay




Here is a little sampling (the designers names are beside the pic)






justkiddin
sewlouloudesigns
Quiltville
pattern shop

$$$ Money, Money, Money $$$$

Ok, so I have been trying to get into the fiscally responsible, a recession is coming, groove. I decided to take a pantry challenge and not grocery shop until I absolutely, the children stomachs' are bloated, the cat is catching it's own dinner, had to shop. Is that a completely made up sentence structure, or what?? Anyway, that day ended up being yesterday, for two reasons actually. 1. We are leaving town, friends and family are watching the kids, and we were out of, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, wetwipes(eww), milk, cheese, bread, cereal, and FOOD in general... And secondly, Maddy asked in the car yesterday, "Are we dirt poor?" Would our children even know what dirt poor is? I think NOT, as she is playing with her Nintendo DS.....

Just because I cut Chick-fil-A out of our monthly budget (yes it had it's own category), Maddy thinks we will be living under a bridge soon.



Anyway last night I decided yes, we MUST grocery shop, and once again I became task oriented and must shop NOW! Unfortunately I had not had the TV or radio on, and did not realize until after I had all 3 kids in the car that the weather was a little inclement. As in tornado watch, inclement. Ok, well it didn't seem too bad, just a little wind, and publix isn't too far away.. So we persevered and I dragged 3 wet bedraggled children down each aisle.

After saying NO to every prepackaged junk item, Valentines day balloon, Dora Valentines book, Hairbands, Lunchables, and Shining Stars Pets I turned around and said, "Do you want that toy, or do you want to EAT???" A startled hush fell on the whole aisle as people turned around to see who was yelling at such sweet cherubs. Cherubs who should be home eating dinner watching the storm reports on TV, and getting ready for bed.

After checking out, and still not where I wanted to be in my budget ~~ugh~~ I pulled through Chick-fil-A for dinner!!

Part of my new budget awareness came in the form of last months power bill. Let me just say the first number on my bill was a 4 (ouch). Once I revived my husband, I vowed I would try my best to be more electrically responsible. So, out I drag the Amish laundry line we purchased this summer. It was so quaint, and in Lancaster, PA who can resist the thought of, hanging laundry, baking bread and sewing clothes??? Mike dug the holes and set the post, and then proceeded to attach the pulleys to each post. I am pretty sure that the Amish men DO NOT swear while installing their laundry lines... Anyway about 2 hours later I have a genuine pulley clothesline. It is a huge novelty right now. The kids are looking for things to wash so they can hang out the clothes. I wonder if they will be that eager in the dead of summer...hmm..

We placed it right beside the pool cage so it is not visible to either neighbors except the neighbors who built their 2 story home behind us. But since they bought the home knowing it looked into our yard, our pool, and our living room, I figure that seeing my flapping underwear in the breeze is their just desserts!

Well I have blogged too much, and need to go pack. Mike and I are going to Arlington, VA tomorrow for John's funeral. We should be back late Saturday night.

Blogger Pep Talk

Ok Bloggers I need some updates... And a little more comments, that is what makes checking them fun...I know Steph is working a deadline but just throw us some scraps....So get busy!!

Ebay Queen

I am doing my annual ebay selling. So take a peak. Homeschool discount 10% and free shipping ;0)


http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmaddy*n*olivia*smom

2 new blogs

I created 2 new blogs that I am just toying around with to see if I want to combine topics and try new layouts...

http://berrypatchgirl.blogspot.com/

http://customjunkie.blogspot.com/

Newspaper Article from Fayetteville

82nd Paratrooper killed in Iraq
Sgt. John C. Osmolski, 23, of Eustis, Fla., was one of two soldiers killed when an IED detonated during combat operations in the vicinity of Al Muqdadiyah, Iraq Tuesday, the Army has announced.
From the press release:
Osmolski was a combat engineer with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Abn. Div. He had one previous combat deployment with the 1st Bn., 325thAirborne Infantry Regiment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom fromJuly 2005 to November 2005.
“He was an adopted brother to the platoon,” said 1st Lt. Andres Donoso.“Everyone loved him.”
Osmolski’s awards and decorations include: the Bronze Star Medal withone oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart, the Army Good Conduct Medal, theNational Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the IraqCampaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the ArmyService Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge,and the Parachutist’s Badge.
Osmolski is survived by his mother, Ruth E. Osmolski, of Powhatan, Va.

Testing the Pic Size

WAH I want my old blog back

I can't find a color scheme or template that I LOVE!!!
And I can't remember what my first blog choice was, can you say early onset ahlzheimers???


In my dream world I want a blog that looks like one of these
http://thevintagepearl.blogspot.com/ HOW DOES SHE GET HER PHOTOS THAT BIG?

http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/

http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/portabellopixie_boutique_patterns/index.html

A New day

Today while cleaning up the schoolroom I ran across one of Madeleine's 3x5 memory verse cards. It read
"I will thank the Lord in all times. My lips will always praise him."
Psalms 34:1

It is so what I needed today. I woke well rested, Ethan slept well and woke feeling much better. He is back asleep and probably just needs to catch up on his sleep. The shock of John's death is wearing off and just a weary sadness is setting in. John's mother is an amazing woman and I thought I might share her story.

Eileen was married with two preschool children and 8 months pregnant with twins when her husband was killed in a motor vehicle accident. (This was 28 years ago her eldest child is a year or two younger than me) Friends and church members helped support Eileen so that she could stay home primarily and raise and homeschool her four children. She also used her talents to create a home business as a caterer (she is a TDF cook) She is a strong and biblical woman and an amazing example of God being the husband to the widow. Her children are grown. John joined the army and was finishing up his second tour in Iraq. We had been specifically praying for protection of his heart, because of all the trauma he had witnessed in the field. He had been struggling with the realities of war. Please be in prayer for his brother, twin sister and older sister as they grieve the loss of their brother. And pray for Eileen that God would once again comfort her and protect her. John was a devoted christian and is now in the presence of God, our grief is for the ones left behind.

My friends little girl reminded me and offered alot of comfort yesterday when she asked her mommy, "John gets to his daddy now, right?" The wisdom of a child.... John's dad died before he was born and yes, John got to see his earthly dad, and his heavenly father on Tuesday...........Praying for comfort for the ones left behind...

What A Day

On top of all the sadness with John Osmolski, Ethan has become even clingier and is not sleeping. I was pretty much sure he had an ear infection and he was pitifully crying tonight at 9pm. I called my friend Caryn, who's husband is a PA in our local ER and she graciously said to come over. I cannot even explain how much this meant to me, it has been a rough week and a really tough day and I just felt unsure and a little helpless with Ethan. My other option was to drive to the peds nite lite clinic in Sanford and that was about the last thing I wanted to do. Well David after working all day was great with Ethan and diagnosed a left ear infection. So, it is 10:35 and Ethan I are getting ready for bed and he has had his first dose of antibiotic. It is really good to live so close to such great friends. Thank You, sniff..here I go crying again.....I am going to bed and praying for a better day tomorrow....