Who Needs Weight Watchers??

I've decided to create my own Infomercial on how to lose 9 pounds in 9 days!  Results guaranteed!  Just lick some raw chicken and the rest will take care of itself...

The Sunday evening before Halloween, I started to feel icky.  My stomach was unsettled and I felt blah. By Monday morning, I was in bed and miserable. Fever, chills, stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting...it was bad.  I figured I had a nasty GI bug and I'd be better in (hopefully) 24 hours.  And then I was hoping I'd be better in 48 hours.  And then by Wednesday, I was so bad that Justin took  me to the ER for IV fluids and medicine.  I could not keep anything at all in my body.  Water and Gatorade went right through me and any form of food at all got thrown up.  It was all I could do to lay in bed and make it to the bathroom when I needed to (which was about every 15 minutes). On Friday night (day 5 of being sick), the ER called me at 9:30pm to tell me the labs had come back and it was salmonella.  I was shocked but that REALLY explained why I felt so terribly horrible for so long.  I went in the next morning and they gave me antibiotics.  The entire next week I was still having symptoms and pain so I got to go in for a CT scan to make sure my appendix and other innards weren't infected.  Luckily, all looked good.  After 2 full weeks and 9 or 10 days with no solid food...I was beginning to feel better.
When I was really sick the first week, Ella made this sign to go on the bedroom door:

One of the best decisions made was to go ahead and go on my Hocking Hills trip with book group towards the end of week 2.  Donna offered to drive me there and back, and I could lay around there just as easily as at home.  It was GREAT to get out of the house and away from the sick bed.  The change of scenery did me good, as did all the food that everyone brought.  It really jump started my appetite again and I was able to eat again and get some calories in me.
I sat on the wonderful porch at our cabin/house and soaked in the sun and read magazines.  I took a couple small walks and dozed off when I felt nappy. I got to stare off at the cows...

and watch the pretty grasses blow in the wind....

and breath a little deeper on my walks around the property...

 

It was exactly what I needed for a healing weekend.

and I'm sure that Justin was ready to get me out of the house too...

While I was sick, Justin took total care of the house and kids, while trying to work too.  It really kicked his ass.  Together, we really do a great job of dividing and conquering.  That one of us was totally down for the count made both of us realize how lucky we are to work so well together.  It really made to think about my health and being more proactive in keeping BOTH of us healthy.  

Unfortunately, while I was sick, Ella was also not feeling so hot.  She must have had some kind of stomach bug (she did not have salmonella symptoms).  She got sick an hour before Trick or Treat and did not get to go :(

Silas was sad that we didn't go with our neighbor friends like we usually do.  Mason took him around the neighborhood but it was a bummer of a Halloween for all.

Silas did look good in his costume though - which luckily Aunt Amanda was able to help him figure out how to get it on!

Ella's very cute costume will have to wait until next year now...

In the week leading up to my Salmonellaism (which I still have no idea where I got it), we finished up soccer for both Ella and Silas.

We have a couple months off before they both start indoor soccer in January.

I ran my 3rd Half Marathon the Sunday before the sick Sunday.  It was not my best time of the 3 (2nd best time) but it was mentally the easiest of the 3 and the most fun.  I ran with a few friends and it really seemed to make the miles fly by. 

   

Heather and I crossed the finish together.  So fun 

running with her!

We also managed to squeeze in our annual pumpkin patching - and Mason's girlfriend, Yamine, came with us.  

 And for Halloween, Justin and I dressed up as Flo and Mayhem (the insurance commercial characters).

(sorry about the blurry pics)

So that is the last month...I hope to never repeat that salmonella (or anything resembling it) ever again!!

Justin's Birthday

Justin celebrated his birthday yesterday - though there wasn't too much celebrating going on because he had the dreaded stomach virus and spent the majority of the day in bed.  He got up long enough to make some breakfast and then went back to bed until dinner time...the poor guy - that's no way to spend a birthday!

He requested a pot roast for dinner and a carrot cake. I made him both. This was his birthday card:

I made it a bundt cake and when Justin commented on it I said, "Yeah, I really like bundt cakes."   Ella looked at me all strange and when I ask her what was wrong, she wanted to know why I would like "butt cakes".  So I guess from now on, carrot cake will be known as "booger butt cake" around here.

We did get to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy.

Hopefully Valentine's Day will be a better day for him!

A Week in the Life

It seems like things have been very chaotic lately...or maybe it's just me that's chaotic.  Last week we had a big ice storm that closed down the schools for 2 days. It was just crazy slippery out - it was hard to even walk out to get the mail and I watched several neighbors struggle to just pull up into their driveways...and then slide back down once they managed to make it up. I was very happy to send the kids back to school on Thursday!

On Friday, Silas had crazy hair day at school.  We had just gotten his hair cut earlier in the week, so making it stick up funny wasn't really happening.  I went to Drug Mart and got him some spray color :)  He LOVED it!  He was jumping around like a maniac once we sprayed a blue stripe down the middle of his head.

We had another really productive weekend of basement cleaning.  We are definitely kicking butt in that area, though a stranger would still be shocked at the amount of stuff that we still have left down there!

On Monday, I got a call from the school in the afternoon that Ella was sick.  I had just gotten to the grocery store and had to turn around and go pick her up. She was sick as a dog.  She couldn't keep anything down on Monday and early Tuesday.  By Tuesday evening she was feeling somewhat better and I sent her back to school today. Now I'm hoping and praying that the rest of us don't get it too, but I think that might be unrealistic...

The Icky Sickies and Soccer

We've had an icky sicky weekend and start to the week.  Justin and I went to a concert on Friday night (Matt & Kim - and it was great!) and when we got home, Silas had a fever of 102+.  Tonight is night 4 and it was back up to 103.5 after the Motrin wore off.  I hate when the kids are sick. Besides them being miserable, I end up getting up all throughout the night to check on them, then I'm tired and cranky too.

We spent a lot of time hanging around the house over the weekend.  It's nice that we recently started getting the Netflix via the Wii!  They have a lot of kid movies and it kept him entertained while lying around.
My Facebook status today was:  
the routine has been: temp of 103+ --- whining/fussing ---- give Motrin --- temp drops to 99 or 100 --- jumping on and off the bed begins --- running like a maniac around the house --- temp of 103+
And that is pretty  much how it went all day...

Last weekend we started soccer.  Both Ella and Silas are playing this year and Saint Justin is coaching both teams (not because he really wanted to but because there were not enough parent volunteers for the boys' teams).  It makes for a rather crazy Sunday because the games are back to back and there is less than 10-15 minutes between the games, AND they are at opposite ends of the soccer complex.

Not sure why the one glove on Ella...

They both really hustle out on the field and do a good job of going after the ball. Ella's not afraid to use her elbows when the other girls start pushing her around.

Silas doing his pre-game warm up

Love his face in the picture 

Ella looks quite intense in this picture!

I'm hoping that Silas is back to no fevers tomorrow and we can get on with our week...until the next one gets it.

On Saturday, since I was housebound with Si, I tried to start the Blurb book again for 2008.  I had downloaded the software a year ago.  I got the blog "slurped" into the software and started arranging the posts but then ran into a glitch with the software and it closes everytime I try to open it now.  So...now I guess I'll have to find time to take a look at that before I can proceed.  No wonder I never get anything done...stupid technology!

Chicago (aka The Pukey City)

This past weekend Ella and I went for a visit to Chicago with Beth, Sarah, Jill, Abbi and Alli.  We had a GREAT time up until 6pm on our last night there. Lucy was a little unsure of us at first.  She didn't know who all the people were that had invaded her home. She warmed up pretty quickly though and we got to see lots of smiles from her.

Andrea and Lucy

Miss Lucy escaping from her tent

 

On Saturday we went to a Wonder Works - a place for the kids to play.  It was supposed to be some kind of kids' museum but as they pointed out later - "it wasn't much of a museum" - but they did have fun running around, dressing up for the stage and making pictures in the art room (and possibly picking up the stomach virus that hit on Sunday night...) 

 

On Sunday we took the train into downtown for a little shopping.  Ella was all excited.  I thought she was excited about going shopping but when I asked her, she said, "No, I'm excited to ride the train!"  She wouldn't sit down on the ride in.

 

We hit the Hersey Store first - it was yummy!

Next was the American Girl Store. I know that this is a very exciting store for little girls.  I didn't want to deny my one and only daughter the chance to enjoy the store.  But $14.00 for baby doll socks?  $14 for a baby doll bibs? I told her I'd buy her an outfit for her Bitty Baby (Emma) but if she wanted the socks she'd have to use her tooth fairy money. She decided that Bitty Baby could have cold feet.

I did really like the historical displays 

that they had set up though. That was pretty neat.

Abbi, Alli and Ella

We grabbed a bite to eat at the mall, shopped a little more and then headed back to Andrea's.  
Unfortunately, a couple hours later is when the puke hit the fan...Abbi came down at dinner time saying her belly hurt.  Jill and I really just thought it was from being tired - the girls had stayed up pretty late Friday and Saturday nights and had been getting up very early to play with Lucy.  Right as dinner hit the table though, Abbi was upstairs and got sick.  About an hour later, Ella came down to tell me that HER stomach hurt.  I really didn't get concerned. I just thought that she was trying to get some attention or "play sick" too.  About 2 hours later, she threw up as well.  Still trying to be an optimist, I thought that maybe it was just the grilled cheese sandwich that Ella and Abbi ate.  

So, our last evening in Chicago was a bust as Beth went to bed early in case she had to drive home, Jill and I took care of sick kids and Andrea, Tom and Lucy did their best to stay the hell out of our germ radius.  We were up and out by 9am - the ride home was NO fun.  Andrea packed us crackers, sprite, plastics bags, towels - and unfortunately we had to use them all. And Ella missed the bag the 2nd time around. And Jill's van probably still doesn't smell too good...

Overall, it was still a great visit and we hope that we aren't banned from visiting again.  I bet next time the "decontamination station" will be more than a joke!

Sickos!

Flu bug, Flu bug - go away, Ella and Si want to got out to play...

(or not...)

Silas missed 2 days of school this week - woke up at 2:30am with a 102.5 temp, cough, runny nose and congestion. Even 4 days later he is sacked out at 7:30pm. He was watching the Scooby Doo marathon all day and this is how we found him at the end of our bed...

oh, I love sleeping "babies"...

Ella was fine on Friday (she and Silas went to see Where the Wild Things are with my parents) but then Saturday morning woke up with a fever and started quickly feeling like death warmed over. She stayed on the couch all day Saturday (missing a classmate's birthday party) and most of today.

(Saturday on the couch)

She woke us up this morning starving (asking Daddy to make her a yummy breakfast).
Tonight she got a warm bath and felt much better, though still has a headache.
All my kids are pretty good troopers when they are sick but Ella is a really
good sick person.

(tonight in the tub)

Hopefully my sugies are on the mend and the rest of us can avoid it altogether!!

Oh, What a Night

I should know better than to try to get a "good-night's-sleep" - I know this by now. I headed to bed earlier than I have been lately (considering the holidays, having company in the house the last 10 days AND the Buckeye's game - which we will NOT talk about).
Silas had been coughing (Thanks to Typhoid Mary and her sick kids - and that is Emily's self-label, not mine! :)

We got Silas to bed, lathered in Vick's vapo rub (yes, I do put it on his feet as well as his chest), got Ella to bed and all was well. Like I mentioned, I went to bed "early-ish". Woke up a few times around midnight to Silas coughing, woke up a few times because I didn't hear Silas coughing (and of course that made me nervous so I had to get up and check on him).

Woke up around 1:30 because Ella's elbow delivered a blow to my eyeball that could have knocked-0ut Mohammad Ali - I really thought she had deflated my eyeball (though I'm pretty sure they don't just pop like a balloon.)

2:00am - Ella wakes up and asks for a cup of water - got it - go back to sleep
2:45am - Ella wakes up and asks for a cup of water - got it - go back to sleep
3:45am - Ella wakes up and asks for a cup of water - got it - go back to sleep
4:00am - Ella says - Mommy, I have to pee - makes sense - then I see her in a full blown run to the potty - and then hear some terrible retching noises - she made it to the bathroom but couldn't get the toilet lid up in time - say bye-bye to one new roll of toilet paper and a box of Always maxipads :-(


The poor thing retched a few times. She is the best puker that I know - she takes it all in stride, it doesn't freak her out, she holds back her hair, wipes her mouth and then nods her head to herself like she is saying "okay, I think I'm done".

She then came back to bed (she was sleeping with us because Aunt Em and the cousins had her room). I tucked her back in, kissed her forehead and then stroked the side of her face a few times before putting my head down. As I laid my head on the pillow, she reaches up and strokes my face a few times and then reaches for my hand.
My first thought is: she is going to take care of me when I'm old.
My second thought is: we should NOT be holding hands with all these germs...

But of course, I don't let go.

Blah

I haven't felt up to posting lately because I've been feeling really icky the last few weeks. I've been in bed by 9 or 9:30 much of the past week, making it hard to find much time to post.
Most likely my blah-ness is gallbladder related but we're still in the midst of testing.

So, some quick updates and a few pictures.
JOB - Justin's job hunting is going well. In addition to the "regular" search, he's taken steps to start his own business, and as long as I don't think about the scary stuff like health insurance and the fact that we'd both be self-employed, I'm very excited about it. He had his first job on Monday doing some work for a past customer and has some other bids out for jobs as well. Keep your fingers crossed!

Kids- They are all doing great. Tuesday night was Ella's curriculum night at the school. We love her teacher. Ella comes off of the bus everyday spelling the words they are learning and telling us all she did that day.
The same evening was Mason's Washington DC planning trip. He goes in October. I remember having a great time when I went in the 8th grade. He's been warned that if he misbehaves and gets sent home from the trip, he has to repay the trip $$ back to us!
Silas is still working on his potty training. He seems to do a much better job at Kelly's than here.

Ella had a great soccer game on Saturday. It's so much fun watching the girls play.



Soccer was followed up with a great birthday party for our friends Gavin and Evelyn

Silas was in heaven getting to eat pizza and then CAKE! He is the biggest junk-food-junkie ever!

I am looking forward to the weekend. I want to get my fall/Halloween decorating started. I can't believe it's already that time of year again! Time to start my Christmas shopping too!