Round ?...

I forget what number we are on.

So, yep we got sick AGAIN. This is really getting old and winter has just started... sigh!

So, it started last Tuesday when Alex's nose started to run. Here we go with another cold. Not a big deal, we just go through a lot of tissue. Thursday, he wakes up from his nap and i notice that his breathing is a little labored (rapid breathing, retraction, and wheezing.) Having gone through this before (once with Aaron, Once with Aimee, and already once with Alex) I know it's time to call the doctor. So, off we go... completely expecting to have a breathing treatment in the office and be sent home with prescriptions to continue the treatments at home (as we have done before.)

That's what the doctor was going to do... but then she listened again after the treatment. He sounded much clearer, but his breathing was still fast. The doctor decided that she would feel better if we headed over to the hospital. So, we did and were checked in. They did a chest x-ray which showed that he had a little bit of Pneumonia, which put him on yet another prescription. He was put on a little bit of oxygen overnight and given breathing treatments. They also gave him an IV with the antibiotic and a steroid.

Even though he was sick... he didn't act sick. Which was a trial for me. Try keeping a 19 month old calm and sitting still for 2 days so that he doesn't pull out his IV and constantly make the pulse/ox alarm go off every couple of minutes. By Friday night they had put in a second IV (after the first became clogged) and the he got the second one clogged. Thankfully the Dr. took pitty and decided that he didn't need it anymore, he could take some different meds by mouth instead. And yes, the alarm on the pulse/ox machine was going off all night due to him moving around. Also by this time he was doing the Respiratory Therapist's job for him. Alex would hold the mask and at the same time hold the stethescope to his chest and point so that the RT knew he was supposed to listen. It was quite funny, and had both me and the RT laughing during the treatment. The comment was made that "I think he's well enough to go home."

So, Saturday morning we came home... with 4 different prescriptions (which filled a plastic grocery sack.) Alex is fine. This hasn't slowed him down at all, other than when he has to sit and do his breathing treatments, which thankfully he does really well.

Unfortunately, about the time that Alex and I were sitting around the hospital, Mike and Aimee decided to come down with colds of their own. Each with a lot of coughing. So, Sunday, Mike, Aimee and Alex stayed home from church... again. Like I said, this is getting really old!!!

My dad suggested that we spray the whole house down with Lysol... and we may have to do that. Hopefully all will be well soon and stay that way.

Baby, it's cold outside!

Remember how I said it was unseasonably warm... not any more! It was COLD today! A strong cold front came through today and by the time the kids came home from school it was in the 40's with wind chill in the 20's. That's really cold for SA. Right now it is 28, but with the wind chill feels like 16. It rained just enough earlier to get things wet and now there is ice on everything. Over passes are being closed and road are being salted and gravelled. Some schools are delaying start times, but so far Aaron and Aimee will go to school on time.

Mike is trying to get grading and other work done in the office, but it is cold in that room. It is right over the garage, so the room temperature likes to fluctuate more with the weather.

Tomorrow is supposed to stay cold and windy (35 at noon.) I think I need to find some more warm clothes for the kids. They don't have very many any more... I think we will be working with layers... lots of layers.

Is it really December?

Here in South Central Texas that is the question that seems to be going around. It has been really warm... hot for this time of year. We have had highs in the 80's-90's with near record and record heat. We have had a couple of cool downs, that last a couple of days before the temperature starts rising again. This week we are supposed to have a couple of cold fronts come through and really cool things down for a while. Now, if only we could get some desperately needed rain.

Thanksgiving 2005

I quite like the holiday that is Thanksgiving.

Betsy and Nate and co. came down Wednesday afternoon and on the way picked up our Thanksgiving Dinner on the way (more on that later). The kids ran off and played while we sat around, talked, cooked some spaghetti and just relaxed. We let the kids stay up for quite awhile and then tucked them in and spent the rest of the evening making cookies and talking and played a round of Cinq-O.

Thursday rolled around and we rolled out of bed (the kids were making a little too much noise). I made a big old breakfast consisting of breakfast tacos (sausage, egg and cheese) with a side of refried beans (for those who wanted them). We had a big breakfast so that we could have dinner a little later in the afternoon.

It was Nate's idea this year to get a turkey from Rudy's (dubbed "The Worst BBQ in Texas"). I've asked Mindy if we could one for the alst three years and she's always said no... but whne Betsy called and asked us if it would be okay, she jumped on it.

Nate ordered a 12 lb bird that was rubbed with their spices, smoked and precooked. He ordered some stuffing, corn in cream and gravy. Betsy brought a banana creme pie and made a pumkin pie (and I think I saw a key lime pie in there too).

Min made some mashed potatoes, some banana/apple salad and baked some rolls.

We invited Denny to come over for dinner (she teaches with me at the university) and she kept Alex occupied while we finished the meal preparations.

Dinner was good. Everyone was stuffed. Desert would have to wait for awhile.

We sat around while the kids played and we started to download funny videos on the laptops and watched them for a bit (christmas lights, white boy cadet, a twist on BSB).

Later that night Nate, Betsy, Toby and Aspen and I went to the IMAX to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was a pretty good movie, but it would be hard to take a 700+ page book and make a 2.5 hour movie out of it. If you've seen the others and have read the books, you'll like it, but I thought the book was better.

Yesterday we woke up, picked at leftovers, watched some TV and a movie (Sahara), and chatted some more.

Normally I get up and partake in the American tradition of 'Black Friday' and shop til I can't shop no more... but not this year. Around 8:30 AM, Betsy and I went to Wal*Mart to grab some of the $6 pants for Aaron and the 6-CD Garth Brooks Collection ($25) for Mindy. It looks like we're taking the pants back. We got 7 Regular and it looks like Aaron needs 7 Slim. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

Besty and her clan headed home around 5 PM (after I whipped up a pot of my chili) and we spent the evening with the kids playing Mario Party 7 (It's been awhile since we've done that) and then it was time for bed and I got the Christmas totes out for Min and she started putting up the decorations and wrapping the lights on the tree.

Now it feels like the holidays are in full swing and in two weeks (when the semester is over) I can relax a bit and prep for Spring... and believe me when I say that its going to be a busy year next year.

4 down... 1 to go

Well... how can I delicately put this: Aaron barfed this morning.

So that's 4 of us in a little over a weeks time. Min's the only 'survivor' so far. At first I thought it was just a bad cough that brought up some phlem, but that thought was corrected about a half hour later.

Another one bites the dust...

What is it with 11:30 pm? Two days after Mike gets sick at this time of night, Aimee is sick. She was the one in the family that I was REALLY hoping didn't get this lovely bug that is roaming through our family. She is awful at making it into the bathroom or even a bucket, and hers stinks like nothing else. I couldn't even go in the room to clean it up because I was going to lose it. Thankfully Mike was able and willing to clean her floor up. I'm not sure if or when her room will lose the funk though.

We are just hoping that everyone will be through with this before Thanksgiving, since we have plans with Betsy's family. Bets, this is your warning! Aaron and I are the only ones left... here's praying.

We're sick... AGAIN

We have finally all gotten over the nasty colds that hit our family. We were all able to go to church on Sunday (which hasn't happened in a couple of weeks) and Alex got to go to the nursery for the first time.

Then, on Tuesday.... Alex is throwing up. Fun for us. He wanted to eat and drink so badly, but anything he ate came right back up. I felt like an awful mom telling him that hw couldn't eat anything and then watching the tears stream down his face.

Wednesday, Alex is doing better, but we are still taking it easy with the food, just to make sure. Mike comes home from teaching about 9:30 and goes straight to bed (he got about 2 hours of sleep the night before due to planning his lecture.) Two hours later he wakes up and he is sick. He was supposed to be on campus all day advising students so they can register for next semester, but ended up in bed all day instead.

We have a busy weekend... work, ward and birthday parties. I'm just wondering... who is going to be next, and will we all be better before Thanksgiving?

Alex's new word

Just lately Alex has started saying more and more. It's about time. He tries to say A LOT, but usually it is unintelligible.

Tonight he took us by surprise... Mike had given him a bowl of ice cream after dinner. After Alex took a bite he said "nummy." Mike and I just looked at each other and said "that's a new one." Of course after every bite after that he had to say it. Very cute!

His vocabulary is slowly starting to expand... mommy, daddy. diaper, milk, more, thank you (sometimes even along with the sign), sit down, get down, hot, no, and others that pop out after hearing us say them but are not a regular part of the vocabulary.

He's getting so big. It's really fun, he does such fun things... of course he is also getting more independent and getting into more things! There always has to be some challenge.

"You're so vain..."

"... I bet you think this post is about you."

And he's right.



Alex like's looking in the iSight and seeing himself. So I snapped a screenshot and thought we'd share.

He's 9 days from turning 18 months old and that means he'll be in the nursery soon! Yeehaw! What a milestone.

"We Be Illin'"

This past week can be summed up in that line from a Run-DMC song from back in the 80s.

I cancelled classes on Monday due to a massive head cold that had me down and out all weekend. I missed church last week and stayed home with Alex (who had a fever). I was getting better on Tuesday and made it to school on Wednesday, back to a some-what normal state of body/mind.

Then on Wednesday, Min got a call from the school that Aaron had a fever and he came home but was fine enough to go the next day.

On Friday, Aimee came home from school and disappeared. We found her asleep in her room with a fever.

Then this weekend, Mindy gets a head cold and is all congested and Aaron's fever return and Alex's nose continues to run... and then Aimee starts coughing.

But, I'm fine.

Looks like the cycle is almost complete and here in a few days we should all be back to normal.

... and then two days ago, my jaw on the right side has started to ache. Can't win for losing.

Oh well.