Random March 2011 Photos

Before printing out the blog book, I decided to go back and make sure I didn't miss anything since the blog was a hit or miss event during this time in our lives.... it is now January 31, 2014 and I am just getting to making the 2011 book.... bad, bad blogger! 

Here are some random ones from March 2011

Sick sick sick

Bumping Along on Daddy's Legs

Odds and Ends

There are some random things that I've taken pictures of recently but keep forgetting to write about them.  So, here's some of my odds and ends.....

Craft Time
Both my mom and dad have birthdays in the early part of the year (February and March) and since they were coming to visit in March, I decided to make them a little something as a late birthday gift. 

These are tile coasters that have pictures of all the grandkids "glued" onto them and felt on the bottom so they don't scratch the table surface.  It was my first time making the, so we'll have to see how they hold up, but it was a fun and easy craft to make.

My Helper
One morning I was trying to get Ethan out the door and to school.  After calling for him 3 times and not receiving an answer I went to find him.  This is where I found him....

He explained to me that he wanted one of his chores to be cleaning the mirrors in the house.  He excitedly told me that he had 4 more to go and then he would be ready for school.  Great!!!  However, you'll have to clean those later because it's time for school.  He was very adamant that this was HIS job and I shouldn't do it while he was at school.  Of course.... I didn't!  He cleaned 3 of the 4 when he got home and was so proud of himself.  Thanks for the help, Ethan!

Keeping Track of Time
When we have something that we're looking forward to (visitors, vacation, Daddy coming home from a trip, etc), we tend to make a calendar or something similar to keep track of time.  As we are getting ready for vacation, it was a paper chain that we decided to make on a rainy weekend day.  The boys had fun decorating each link and then taping them together so that we could easily take them apart as the vacation day drew closer.

 Each morning a link comes off and they get more and more excited as it gets shorter and shorter!

Perfect Age

Yesterday, we did something that we've never done before.  And something that I never thought we would.  Typically, the thought of princesses and barbies dancing around didn't make Rick or I excited so we never even considered attending an event like this.  However, when we saw that Disney on Ice was doing Toy Story 3 as their theme we gave it a second thought.  And a third, and a fourth.  And then I bought tickets.  The boys loved the Toy Story movie when they saw it (even though we hadn't seen #3 yet) so I figured now was as good as time as any. And actually a better time than any because Ethan and Trevor are still at the age where they are enamored by cartoon characters AND the baby is not here yet to mess up a schedule.  So, off to Disney on Ice we were going.

Since we hadn't seen the movie yet, we figured we'd make it a Toy Story 3 weekend.  On Saturday night we rented the movie and everyone watched the entire thing (which never happens in this house!).  Rick and I were SO GLAD we did.  It was nice to understand what the heck was happening or how something came to be.  And the boys are old enough to remember movie parts so it worked out great for them to see it, too!!  They were extremely excited to go and after seeing the awe in their eyes during the entire show, I'm so glad that we decided to give them this special day.  

Now, I will say that we escaped fairly unscathed.  The propaganda that they sucker each and every kid in with at these events at each and every corner (and between the corners) is outrageous.  Of course, the first glimpse of things made the boys say, "I want this" and "Mom/Dad, can I PLEEEEAAASSSEEE get one of those?"  However, after explaining that the things they bought would probably end up in a bin upstairs in one week, never to be played with again, they were both ok walking away.  Now, that's not to say they didn't look at each little kiosk and probably wish inside they could have something, but they never asked again.  Earlier, when we were waiting to get in, I actually took Ethan over to one of the stands to look at prices.  He saw a  Buzz Lightyear "arm band" that makes laser-like noises and could see the cost was $20.   He really wanted it, but when I told him that he could buy 4 of his Lego cars for the same price, he was more than content to leave it there without a second thought!!

As we were able to go in and find our seats, we went passed the concession stands and all the other kiosks that had the memorabilia.  They both saw some really cool character cups that you could put snow cones in.  The cups were like big coffee mugs with a flip top lid that didn't latch.  Great if you're sitting at the table with them, but NOT great to take in the car on trips.  So, really kind of worthless (a whole $12 worthless) in our minds.  But they did have some Super Duper Rad water bottles that were also filled with snow cones.  Snow cones, new LARGE water bottles (which we needed anyway), and they were cheaper than the really cool character cups.  SOLD!  And once the boys realized that they could have a snow cone in it, they were perfectly fine with them, too.  Come to find out, they didn't really care about the cups as much as they did a snow cone.  They really wanted a snow cone.  While they ate snow cones, Rick and I had hot chocolate in a plain ol' Styrofoam cup.   The least they could do for the "boring" parent drinks is to have a cup printed with "I Survived a day at Disney on Ice with my Kids".  Geez.  We don't get anything cool!

Anyway - this is what we ended up seeing after getting snow cones.  Ethan did a good job not getting it all over, but Trevor on the other hand.... well, see for yourself (and this was after wiping it off once during intermission).   This stuff did not come off easily.  We went to a restaurant for dinner after the show and the people must have thought we never washed our kids' faces because they were a mess! 

Most of the show was quite cute and enjoyable for all of us; however when a whole slew of Barbies came out for a scene in their long, blond hair wigs, leotards and leg warmers, Rick drew the line and took out the Blackberry to see how things were going at work.  Make no mistake, he was not taking pictures of them (as some have eluded to on his facebook post).  All in all, it was just a fun day and the boys LOVED the entire show.  As we were driving home, Ethan wanted to go back and watch the 5pm show so I guess he had a good time!

Visitor Run-down

It's been awhile since we've had visitors at our house, but last weekend my parents came down for an extended weekend to see us.  It was wonderful to have them here, but of course, went by too quickly for my liking!  We didn't have any big plans while they were here, but we did attend the Pot O' Gold - a fundraiser that our church/school have each year.  There was a chance to win $10,000; however, you would have heard by now if any of us were the lucky winners of that pot.  No such luck.  But it was good food, good company and a good time all around. 

When they got here they were excited about the change in weather compared to Wisconsin.  On Friday when they got here it was 70 and sunny and then Saturday was also a nice day.  However, all that changed on Sunday - 40's and windy and Monday brought about some heavy, wet, wintry white stuff!  They were not too thrilled with that since they had plenty of it in Wisconsin yet.  I was not all that thrilled either since it limits (or should I say cuts out) all that we could have done outside.  And being that we're not living in a metropolis of a city, the "inside activities" available around here are quite limited.  Therefore, it ended up being a quiet couple of days with lots of game playing, puzzle making, chatting, a little bit of shopping on our downtown square, and a small musical concert being put on at one of the local churches.  The music (pipe organ player and a violinist) was unbelievable, but not what I had planned on doing while my parents were here.   Since my mom and dad both had birthdays in February and March the kids wanted to make them a cake so we did that on Sunday and they were able to blow out the candles together -- awe, so sweet.

All in all it was wonderful to see them and I wish they could have stayed longer (especially since the weather was in the 50's and 60's the day they left and the remainder of the week).  Thanks again for coming to visit us, Mom and Dad.  We miss you!!

Let the Soccer Balls Roll

We started our spring soccer season today.  It was a day of firsts for both the boys - actually, for ALL the boys, including Rick.  To start, Rick is helping coach this season.  Neither he or I know a lick about soccer, but what better way to learn than to be assisting a coach that knows a lot about the sport!  So, it was Rick's debut as a soccer coach for both Ethan and Trevor's teams. 

Trevor had his very FIRST soccer game today!  He has been sitting in the stands with us for the last 3 seasons while Ethan gets to play; however, this season, he is finally old enough to join in the fun.  He did a fantastic job and even scored his very 1st goal!  He was so proud.   And Rick and I are just proud and OH SO VERY THANKFUL that he is out there running around and keeping up with the other kids.  When he was born we didn't know if this day would be in his future, but it definitely is and he is going to run, run, run, and have fun with the rest of the kids!

Ethan has been playing soccer for a couple of years now, but today he made the big step out of the Pee-Wee league and into the Minors.  This is ages 6-8, is on a much larger field, they have goalies and play the various positions rather than all running around in a "bumble bee swarm" chasing the ball.  He moved from the "lets just have fun" league to the "it's time to WIN and SCORE while still having fun" league.  Not that competition is anything new to Ethan - he loves to play to win, but he was a bit nervous about playing with the bigger kids.  We could see him being a bit hesitant, but he did a fantastic job! He got his foot on the ball several times and will be just fine once he has a couple games  (and even just a couple more practices) under his belt. 

The pictures of Ethan's game are not very good nor are there very many.  That's because of a couple reasons
1) it was colder and windier on his field so I was just trying to keep warm, and
2) (and this is more of the reason) I got side tracked chatting with some friends of ours and I quickly learned that in the older leagues, if you're not paying attention you miss the good picture opportunities!

But I'll get you next week Ethan - no worries!  It was a fun morning to watch them play... a bit chilly yet, but it was still fun!  Great job boys!!

Changes are Happening - Baby #3 Update

Recently, the changes around the house have been subtle, but they're happening.  There's not burp rags or noonies laying around yet, but some other things are starting to take shape.  The other week (don't even remember how long ago), I decided that it was time to start getting bits and pieces of the nursery put together.  Not that I'm anxious to get it set up; however, I am not going to be getting any smaller and so I figured it better to crawl up and down on a step stool and bar stool now rather than when I'm 8 months pregnant and my balance might not be quite as good.  So, up went the letters....

This past weekend when my parents were here, it was a good time to continue putting the bits and pieces of the nursery together.  We had the spare bed in this room, but the baby will take over the spare room and push our guests to the room upstairs.  So, since my parents are the last visitors that are planning on being here before the baby's born (that is, except Rick's parents who will be here in June -- but I can't wait that long to get the stuff moved out of there) it was a great time to have my dad help Rick get the bed moved upstairs and the rockers moved to where they needed to be.  Much easier than me having to help.  In addition, we are going to use my dresser (that I'm not using in this house) for the baby.  I promised Rick that there wouldn't be much to buy for the 3rd baby so I'm making use of the things we have. So far it's working; however, sooner or later I have a feeling I'm going to have to go buy something new for Heck #3.  The dresser was also moved from the basement to it's new home in the baby's room. 

It's kind of fun to see things come together slowly.  The crib is also in the room, but it's in a pile of pieces on the floor.  It was being stored under the spare bed, but now it's revealed since the bed is no longer there.  Just a gentle reminder of what we have coming in a few short months.

Not that we really need any other gentle reminders.  Each time Rick looks at me, each time the kids need me to get up quickly, each time I try on 3 outfits (ummm...maybe more like 6 outfits) before deciding on one that I feel decent in, we are reminded.  My ever growing midsection is a constant reminder without having any of the material things make their way into the nursery.  I had debated on whether or not to share some of my belly pictures on the blog; however, this week, as I am going through and downloading / backing up old pictures on the computer, I realized that the pictures that don't make it on here end up getting lost in the Sea of Many Pictures.  Never to be looked at again unless we are looking for something specific and happen to run across them.  So, I am going to succumb myself to laughter from all of you, the snide remarks regarding the growing belly and any other reactions that these update pictures may induce.  But at least I'll have them in my blog book, printed out, and there for me to remember whenever I want.   So, here are the first two sets -- one taken February 17th and the next taken just yesterday, March 17th.  I didn't mean for them to be exactly 1 month apart, but now that they are I may just have to continue taking them on the 17th of each month for consistency. 

Family Update

My blog posts lately have been a bit less than desirable in terms of how I like to communicate things and the types of things I like to communicate.  So, I am going to give a quick - well, not really all that quick - update on everyone since the glimpses into our life and personalities have been lacking lately.  I am hoping (still) to change this, but for now we'll just see what happens.

Ethan -

He's only 2 months away from being done with Kindergarten, and he is still loving it.  He enjoys reading and we are so proud of him and how well he is doing.  He can read higher level books and loves the challenge of them.  In terms of academics, the one thing he loves more than reading is Math.  He LOVES math.  (oh and how happy that makes the his two "engineer" parents!) 

He is also becoming "too big for his britches" on some days.  You know, that sweet innocent kid that all of a sudden has his body and mouth taken over by some aliens that are looming in the air.  The snotty-ness and sassiness comes out and you wonder where in the world they get it from.  There have been a number of those days lately and they have resulted in early bed times, taking away of the Wii privilege, etc.  Hopefully this is just a phase and the sweet boy that we know and love will be present on a regular basis once again.

He is still into each and every sport possible.  We are at the beginning of spring soccer here and he is a bit nervous about the season.  Prior to this season, he was in the Pee-wee division (4 and 5 year olds).  this year, he is moved up to the Minors division which includes students that are 6, 7, and 8, I believe. He's not used to being the "little guy" on the team so it's a whole new ball game for him.  Being the youngest.  They now have goalies. Bigger field. Tougher competition.  It will be fun to see him rise up to the challenge after he gets those first few little butterflies out of his system. 

Here is a quick run down of adjectives that describe Ethan at this point in time (and by no means is this list all inclusive): inquisitive, sweet, kind, knows how to get away with things (so he thinks), loving, funny, smart, up for a challenge, athletic, helpful, always-on-the-go, gentle (with everyone but his brother), sensitive, competitive

Trevor -

Trev is doing well in his Preschool and looks forward to going each Tuesday and Thursday.  He is also very excited to be signed up and already in a Pre-K class for next year at the same school as his big brother.  He has been ready to attend there (in his mind anyway) since last year so hopefully next year will be a lot of fun for him.  It will definitely be a switch for him being in school ALL day EVERY day (oh and it'll be just a little switch for me), but hopefully we'll get through that first tough month of adjustment and all will go smoothly after that.  He has taken a liking to coloring "nicely" rather than scribbling, he enjoys doing activities with his letters/numbers and can recite all the letters, their sounds, and has finally caught onto how things rhyme. 

Some things we are still working on (and this is more because of his stubbornness than anything) are getting dressed by himself, putting his shoes on by himself, and covering himself up at night when he wakes up.  For Ethan, these things seemed to "just happen", however, with Trevor it's been a bit more of a struggle.  But we're getting there....slowly, but surely.  Did I mention we're getting there SLOWLY??

This spring season, Trev is finally old enough to play soccer here.  He is SO EXCITED!!!  It's been a long time that he had to just sit and watch Ethan, but this season will be different.  He is on his own Pee-Wee team and will have to learn the rules of the game.  It will be interesting to see how he does.  Being the "little brother" some days he is very in-your-face competitive and other days we hear a lot of "awwweee... he took the ball from me" or "he won't give the ball back to me...." type of comments.  It'll be interesting to see how things play out when he is on the field and doesn't always get the ball.   Either way, it'll just be fun to see him out there running and having fun (I hope) with the other kids his age.

And the list of descriptions to hit a bit on Trevor's personality at this point: cuddly, humorous, instigating, faithful, caring, determined, competitive, sweet, loving, whiny, picky eater (at dinner time only), interested in what bigger kid are doing, imaginative, smart (even though he likes to "pretend" he doesn't know the answers), compassionate

Rick

Well, I can't really say that Rick is changing all that much.... you know they tell us women not to expect to change them after we marry them.  And for the most part, that is correct.  No changing going on around here - he still likes to know where the money is going, still hates to do the dishes, and even more so hates to dust - nothings changed there! ;o)  But some other things are still the same and I am thankful for that.  Rick is still very much enjoying his job. He takes pride in doing a good job and strives to continue doing that.  (and I thank him from the bottom of my heart since he is giving us the life we have right now - allowing me to stay home with the boys, a wonderful home that is filled with love from all of us.) 

He is enjoying time with the boys and their faces just light up when they get to spend the time with him.  As an extra special treat this spring, Rick is helping coach both Trevor and Ethan's soccer teams.  He is excited to do something "non-work related" and the boys are ecstatic that Daddy will be at every practice with them!  Since neither Rick nor I ever played soccer except when we were forced to in PE class, it is a learning experience from him.  But the head coach of the teams is fantastic at the sport and with the kids so it will be a great person to learn from this season. 

Amidst being a hard worker, a wonderful father and amazing husband Rick is trying to fit in time for exercise as well.  The challenge of making it a routine, just finding the time to do it, and making it happen has been a struggle.  However, hopefully with the warmer weather on it's way it'll somehow work itself out and he'll be on his way to a routine again. 

And this just in so that you can see what Rick really does while he's at work...

(it was perfect timing for him to send me these pictures as I was writing this post)

  (ok ok ok.... I have to admit, I think it's a pretty cool thing that they do.  Each year for Dr. Seuss's birthday, individuals from the leadership team of their company take time out to read stories to local school children of all ages. Some in grade school, some just in preschool or younger.   This year Rick had a group of youngsters that were not even in school yet - 2 maybe 3 at the most.  He enjoyed it and loved seeing their reaction and how they tried to repeat certain words and animal/object sounds.  Can't say he was overly thrilled with being sneezed and "snotted" on, but hey, that comes with the territory.  It's a great activity that their company allows and encourages them to do in the community!)

Angie

Me, well, that's a bit harder to write about.  You know, it's always easier to write about others than it is yourself.  But I'll give you the point blank run down of what's going on with me.  No added adjectives to make myself feel better or worse about myself ;o)  So me - I'm growing.  Unfortunately, not height-wise.  I gave up on that fantasy many years ago.  But my belly is growing, growing, growing. (Be on the look out for belly pictures - I have decided that if I don't put them on here, they will just be lost in "picture space" never to be seen again).  I am officially 24 weeks and some odd days pregnant.  I am loving it, like I did with the other two, however, I am not absolutely loving the "getting bigger" part this time around.  But I am feeling good so I am not going to complain.  (enough about the pregnancy - that I'll leave for a different post). 

The boys deliver me my frustrated days; however, I am doing a better job of taking a step back, taking a deep breath (or maybe 10) and then reacting to whatever is going on.  I am enjoying the little things with them - playing board games, coloring, doing workbooks/homework, just sitting and watching a cartoon or part of a movie, acting silly, and just being there to spend time with them. 

 (At this exact moment I just had a conversation with Trevor about how Ethan can make farting noises with his hands.  Trevor thinks this is the coolest thing and was telling me all about it.  You see, it's those type of moments that instead of saying, "oh Trevor, that's not nice to do", I'm sitting here laughing with him and telling him how silly it is when Ethan does that.)

This winter, I loved the snow!  We got a bunch of it and it was so fun to be outside with the kids in it.  However, I'll admit, I am SO READY for the warm, summer weather!  My body might not be ready for a swimsuit, but I don't care.  (that might change when I actually go to put on that swimsuit, but at this precise moment I am saying, "bring on the swimsuits".)  I am ready for warmth, shorts, tank tops, and yes, even time at the pool.  I know that time will be cut short with the baby due in July, but I want to enjoy it while I can and plan to do just that!  So that we can visit the pool frequently this summer, I am trying to get better at my cleaning routine.  It doesn't always work, but I'm getting there.  Floors are getting vacuumed on a regular basis.  Things are getting dusted on a regular basis.  I'm more on top of my laundry piles than I have been in the past.  My menus are getting completed ahead of time.  

All in all, our family is doing very well.  We are still trying to find our "niche" here in our town so that we have things to keep us busy, but overall we are liking it here and have met some great people along the way.  The smaller towns are a blessing in some ways and a bit more difficult to get used to in others.  With the warmer weather will come more opportunities to do different things and that we are looking forward to once again!

Brotherly Love

I have to post this picture so I can one day go back to the boys and say, "See you did like being by each other!!"

One night as I was getting ready for bed, I went in to cover the boys up and this is what I found.... they went to bed very well that night and never made a peep.  They do love each other (most days) and when I asked why they were in the same bed they both answered, "We just wanted to be next to each other." 

Expecting Visitors

We are excited!!  We have visitors coming in 3 days. 

 That's 72 hours. 

 4,320 minutes. 

And just a mere 259,200 seconds, give or take a few.  

My parents are venturing down for an extended weekend.  It's been awhile since we've had visitors due to our holiday trips home and then the unexpected funerals so we are really looking forward to it! 

Baby #3 Update - 23 Weeks

Well, another month has passed.  I had my doctor appointment yesterday so I figured I would send out a quick update on how Baby Heck #3 is doing and what's going on with me. 

So, I'm 23 weeks.... only 17 more to go.  Not that I'm counting down or anything because I feel really good, but it's weird to think that we are on the downhill slide now. 

Yesterday at the doctor, everything went great.  It was a quick appointment with a measurement, a listen to the heartbeat and the delivery of the wonderful "sugary" drink for my glucose test next month.  Things have changed since I had Trevor.  In just 4 short years they have added two new flavors to the sugary drink option.  It used to be just orange drink, but this time they had Lemon-Lime or Fruit Punch.  Oh the fun choices they give us pregnant ladies.  I chose to stick with the Orange drink since I had no problem drinking it down with Ethan or Trevor.  Stick with what works, right!?!

Other than that, all was well.  The heart beat was still strong at a 151 beats per minute and the baby even decided to kick the Dopler when she was trying to listen to the heart beat. :)  In addition, we discussed the ultrasound report from last month and everything looked good. Baby looked healthy and all is well.  However, the perinatologist that did the ultrasound noted that my placenta is lying a little bit low so he recommended a repeat ultrasound 6-8 weeks after that first one.  YAY.... more pictures... maybe I'll get some good ones this time.  So, next month I will have another ultrasound just to make sure that the placenta has moved up a bit.  It is common for it to be a little bit lower in the beginning and then as baby and the uterus grows, the placenta will move up with it.  Hopefully that is the case with me, but they want to make sure so that they know when we get to delivery time with this baby.

Now as for the real update -- I am growing.  And I feel like I'm growing a lot!  My growing is all baby right now, all out in front and this baby is making sure I notice that I'm pregnant.  It seems like the last couple weeks have been a big "growth spurt" for me and my belly.  But I'm still feeling great so I really can not complain about it.

I am feeling a lot more movement now.  The baby seems to be much more active in the afternoon/early evening.  I am loving the added movement.  Many of the kicks and moves are still directed inward so I can feel them, but the boys can't feel them all the time.  Every now and then (and it's getting more frequent) the baby will be kicking outward and they can definitely be felt.  Ethan actually got to feel it this past weekend and he was indifferent on if he thought it was cool or not.  Trevor was NOT happy that Ethan got to feel it and he didn't, but hopefully Trevor will get his turn soon.  Rick has informed the boys about his "favorite" part of me being pregnant..... that alien like belly that you can see move around later in pregnancy.  His recreation of it under his shirt with his hand was quite the show and the boys thought it was hilarious!  (Rick really does not like seeing the baby move once it gets bigger and you can see it turn/move on the outside. He will feel for the kicks earlier on, but once it becomes the full turn and tumble that you're seeing/feeling, he is a bit freaked out by the whole thing!) 

I am still exercising (not always on a normal basis, but I am still staying active).  Exercise feels so good this time around...and I wish I could carve out a good chunk of time every day to make it happen.  It feels good physically, of course, but even more so mentally.  With some of the crazy schedule days that we have, I think it is more of a destressor (sp) for me than anything!  Hopefully, I will continue to feel as good as I am and can continue exercising for the next 17 weeks!

So, that's that - at week 23. 

Ready for the Sun

Normally, I really don't mind winter, the snow, the cloud covered days.  But this year I do.  This year, I am READY for the SUN!   I am going nuts with the rain and cloudy/cold days we have been having this spring.  It's not that I don't have plenty to do in the house -- really, I think I could be in the house for a full year and maybe then be caught up on everything that I would like or should be doing. 

I want the warmth to come and stay. 

Not come around for one day and then be replaced with 30 degree temperatures. 

I am ready and in need of some sun that I can be out in. 

I am ready for some warm weather that we can play outside in. 

I am ready for bike riding weather.

I am ready for being able to take walks outside, comfortably and without having to put on 5 layers.

I am ready to send the boys outside to play.

I am ready to open the windows.

I am ready for the sun

I am ready for some warmth.

No More Bed!

Around these parts, we figure that if we don't use something, why keep it!  Right?!?  (Actually, Rick is wishing that was my philosophy - we'd have a lot less junk sitting in our basement right now!!)  Anyway, since Ethan didn't sleep in his bed for more than a couple hours between Thursday and Sunday of last week, we figured we should just get rid of it. ;o)  Ok, maybe we didn't act that quickly, but like I said, we'd have a lot less junk if I did.

The poor kid, started with a fever on Tuesday as I picked him up early from school.  He slept Tuesday afternoon and all was good Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.  So off to school I sent him on Wednesday.  That afternoon I got another call that his fever had spiked back up. So, home again we came.  But there was nothing other than the fever.  Just a high (102-104 degree) fever that wouldn't stay down.  I kept him home Thursday just to be safe and that day he started with a stuffy nose and a little cough.  The congestion got worse and so did the cough that decided to accompany all the drainage he had going on.   He would lay down and would be alright for about an hour or so and then his cough would start.  And it wouldn't stop!  It. Just. Would. Not. Stop.   Rick or I ended up bringing him out to the couch in the living room to see if we could get him relaxed enough to stop that cough.   Thankfully, after some time it worked and he was able to fall asleep.  And this is how he spent the rest of his evenings.

Unfortunately, the first night or two he didn't want us to leave him on the couch so I stayed out there with him longer than I probably needed too, but by night 3, he was a-ok with us getting him calmed down, covered up and then retiring to our bed for the rest of the evening. 

Thankfully, on Sunday night he was able to stay in his bed the whole night with just a little bit of coughing.  I hope we don't have any more nights like that for quite some time.  It's terrible to try every method of "helping" your child (humidifier, cough medicine, inhaler, taking a drink of water, etc) and not be able to do anything.  Anything, that is, except sit with them, rub their back and try to get them to relax enough that they can catch a good breathing breath and calm their coughing fit.

Sick Day Conversations

3:50pm Update - well as the day went on, Ethan wasn't quite as talkative.  The fever started kicking back in which made him just want to lay on the couch and watch cartoons.  As the fever crept up again (I didn't give him meds because I wanted to see what would happen when there weren't any in his system), I decided I would take him to the walk-in clinic. I was kind of being selfish and hoping that they'd find something wrong at that time.  I have an appointment scheduled with his regular doctor tomorrow morning at 8:30am (that's the soonest they could get me in), but that doesn't work well with my OB appointment that is at 10:25am and is an hour away.  So, had they found something today, he would have the medicine in him, I would send him to school and then venture to my appointment.  No such luck!  They didn't find anything - ears looked good, lungs sounded good, and took a strep test that came back negative.  So, I think he just has the good ol' fashioned flu.  Ugh.  The one time I want to put him on antibiotics, he doesn't even need them.   (However, he does NEED the Motrin/Tylenol yet.  When I got to the doctor's office his fever was at 101.3.  When we got home, it was up to 103 again.  He's now napping and was out before his head even hit the pillow.)

So, I'll probably keep his appointment for tomorrow (since we only saw a NP today) and my appointment is moved til Monday.  I was looking forward to letting Trevor come with me to hear the baby's heartbeat tomorrow, but now that will have to wait.  I could bring him on Monday afternoon with me, but he may have his very first soccer practice that night which means he would miss it if he came with me. And we can't do that to the poor kid... he's been waiting for 2 years to play soccer like Ethan.   Makes me sad.


Today is a day for Ethan and I being that he is home sick from school and Trevor has school this morning.  Since there's no little brother to occupy his thoughts or time, Ethan has been talking (not screaming) a ton this morning.  Even though he's sick it's rather enjoyable! 

Here is just a snipit of the conversations we've been having this morning

Ethan - upon realizing that Trevor had school today and he didn't.   "Mom, we get to spend the morning together.... just you and I.  That doesn't happen very often!"

When we dropped Trevor off at school, Ethan stood at the door (because that's where I told him he had to stay so he didn't cough on and infect all Trevor's innocent classmates) and waved good bye to Trevor with a big smile and huge arm wave.  When we were walking out of the building, he turned to me and said, "You know, Mom, I'm really proud of Trevor for coming to school.  It's important that he comes to school and he does such a good job.  He does everything the teacher asks and he is learning a lot!"

Ethan and Trevor's schools are right across the street from each other.  As we were leaving Trevor's school, Ethan sadly said, "I want to go back to school, Mom. I really miss being there."  Some day I will have to try to figure out if he's faking a sickness or not because he'll want to NOT go to school, but for now, he's still loving it and being home for 1 day is pure torture on him. 

But that last feeling quickly ended when we realized that he would get to play the Wii a little bit all by himself while Trevor is at school.  There are days when Trevor and I will take a 1/2 hour on the Wii while Ethan is at school and of course, Trevor always has to tell Ethan about it the moment we pick him up from school.  Today, Ethan is excited to play by himself for a little while.... the simple things that make them happy ;)

We were talking about drinking fluids to stay hydrated when you're sick and Ethan exclaimed, "yeah, mom, water is the Fighting Ninja when you're sick!  So I'm going to drink A TON of it today!"

As we were talking about the doctor (and how I was waiting to hear back if they could squeeze us in) Ethan decided it was his time to worry about shots.  He must have asked 20 times if he was going to have to get a shot.  I reassured him that he probably would not have to.  Then he sat for a minute and said, "Mom, Dr. X (no need to insert his name for privacy purposes) is really very kind to me.  He never gives me shots."  (and he is right - he was caught up on all his shots when we moved here, so he has yet to have a "poke" from the nice doctors here ;)

And that only brings us up to 9:00am.  We've got a whole day for conversations like this.  I'll update with anymore that happen to occur.