Checklist for a great Memorial Day Weekend

Just so you know how crazy my life is right now... I actually started this blog on Monday and have had to keep saving it and coming back to it... I have to post it TODAY!

We had to have a "modified" version of Memorial Weekend, due to the fact that I choose NOT to go camping as a 8 1/2 month pregnant lady, so here is how we got all of the "fun" modified for me!!!

#1 Swimming: I thought all of the pools opened this weekend and they don't until NEXT weekend, soooo, to appease a little boy whom I promised we would go swimming... Thank you Morony Natatorium for having Open Swim!!!


#2 Stopping at DQ for Ice Cream after swimming!


#3 Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles
#4 Roasting hotdogs and "smallows" over a campfire.
#5 Consuming insane amounts of sugary, carbonated beverages! (which are typically off limits)
#6 Playing in a tent (not actually sleeping in one)

#7 Hanging out and kicking back
#8 Chilling with your brother, playing video games
Bonus: I really have been meaning to snap a picture of me and baby when I am dressed nicely, but this is me... relaxed... in comfy clothes. And yes, I still have a month to go!

5 Sick days and a fat lip

So last week I realized that if I were to home school or live in an isolated country house or Alaska (where I couldn't get the kids out most of the year), I don't think that all of the children would survive. Tuesday and Wednesday were great, when they were all cuddly, relaxed and sick feeling. But by Thursday and Friday when they were medicated and feeling good. We all got a case of cabin fever and, seriously, it was nuts! I have found that I am NOT a homebody. I may go through seasons of reclusiveness, but mostly I like to get Out!!! Any way, by the time the weekend rolled in, I was so happy that we could get out of the house and not feel like I was contaminating anyone!

My two sickies

Puzzle time

Sunday Colton and Christopher were playing on the slide in the backyard and Colton slid right into Christopher. Colton's head hit Christopher right on the top of his mouth and the result is a big, fat lip. It swelled up instantly and it wasn't until we brought out the popsicle and bubbles, did the tears disappear.

Showing his fat lip (this was actually this morning,
so it has gone down significantly)

Side profile of the fat lip

"really, mom, do you think you have enough pictures?"
(his nose crusties are gone!!! Hallelujah! :) )

Still healing

After 2 days of oral antibiotics and Neosporin for the outside, Christopher is healing really well! There are still some red sores, but all of the yellow crusties are gone! He still squeals and runs when I come near him with a tissue, but he is back to his "old self" :) Here he is kicking back in the toy room watching Cars... a new favorite.

In other news my mom is also doing well as she adjusts to life back at home. They spend a lot of time getting the juices and food prepared, but they seem to be figuring out a pretty good routine. We believe that the tumors have been affected by this and we believe that she has had a healing response. This is a journey and we will continue to pray for her.

We are also *finally* getting to work on our basement! (pictures to come) After 2 years of working towards paying off debts, we are focusing our money back into our house and we should have a completely finished basement by the time Mr. #3 arrives!!!

***Update from earlier today***
Yesterday Colton woke up with a sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Didn't think much of it until I was on WebMD checking out Impetigo and found that it could be a strain of Strep. Joy! So took Colton into dr, strep test came up negative (sigh of relief), but still kept him home from school. This morning forced Colton to see if he "could make it til lunch time". Got a call at 9:30 that he was in the nurses office, so went and picked him up. Thought that he was "crying wolf" a little, but let him come home. Got a call at 3:30 this afternoon, his 24 strep test came up positive. Ugh. Oh well, now I won't have to worry about him getting Impetigo since both of them will be on antibiotics. Well off I go to wash linens and pillows in hot water and disinfect more toys!!!

Quarantined-Warning Graphic Nose Crusties

Impetigo. I had heard of it. Knew it was something to be avoided. Didn't realize it would be so gross!
Christopher had a runny nose, slobbery, crabby and little red spots around his mouth. Teething, right? Wrong. The dr thinks that while his nose was runny, he probably was rubbing it and got a scratch, that's how this yuck started. The picture really doesn't show how truly gross this is!

From WebMD:

Impetigo is a bacterial skin infection that is caused by strep or staph bacteria. The infection often begins when bacteria that normally can be present on the skin enter a small cut or scratch.

Symptoms of impetigo include honey-colored, crusty, oozing blisters or sores, most often between the upper lip and nose. The blisters commonly occur after a cold. The sores can appear anywhere on the body. Scratching the blisters may spread impetigo to other parts of the body. Impetigo is more common in children than adults.

Impetigo is treated with antibiotics.

This is Christopher's first taste of antibiotics, so I paid the extra $2 to get it grape flavored. After 24 hours, his spirits are a little better and I finally got him to eat a little something (not sure if his throat is sore too).

PS Please pray protection from this for Emily, Noah, and Hannah, Benjamin and Levi (who we played with most of the day Saturday! (yup, I was the mom who had to sheepishly call the other parents to let them know I probably infected their kids!)

Also, John, Christi and Isaac, he's only contagious for 48 hours after antibiotics, so you don't have to be afraid to visit us this next weekend!!!

Hippotherapy doesn't involve Hippos.

Hippotherapy is using horses in physical therapy. Colton has the opportunity to ride horses once a week to help him with his Sensory Integration/Processing issues. We hope that they will directly help him with his confidence/self esteem, de-sensitize his overactive proprioceptive sense (his body in space/balance), and strengthen his "low tone" core muscles. Besides it is really cool and none of the other kids in his class got to skip lunch and go to "horse lessons"!!!

Learning to care for the horses. This is Sunny

Taking Dancer for a walk

Getting to ride on Dancer

He was very concerned that they were going to step in the horse poop.