Laid Back

We are thrilled to have a laid back weekend ahead. It drives me nuts when I have to spend the whole weekend running from one place to another, cleaning, doing laundry, and catching up on the work I can't get done during the week. The worst part of going back to work in the fall is giving up our relaxed family time on the weekends.

I have some me time planned tomorrow, and I am going to have my hair done. There is nothing more relaxing to me than having someone do your hair. Evan and I are going to church just the two of us on Saturday, and just me and the boys are going out to breakfast on Sunday morning. I am promising myself to spend as much time as I can on Sunday hanging out with my kids. I am going to soak up their sweetness.

My Mom always had a plaque hanging in whichever room was the nursery at the time that had a saying on it that went like this:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For children grow up, we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs
And dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby
And babies don't keep

I always pish poshed it in my mind as a child, back when time stretched on forever, and moved at a snail's pace. Now I feel time burning at my heels, and I want to bottle up my kids, keep them forever at a size where they will fit in my lap and in my arms. I wish I could make them stay an age where they will always let me plaster them with kisses.

I don't have forever, but I do have this weekend. And I am going to use it.

Harry Connick Jr...Cutie Patutie And Singer Extraodinaire

Thanks to the wonderful ladies at the One2One Network I had the opportunity to listen to Harry Connick Jr.'s new CD, Your Songs. I will admit to you, because I know you won't laugh at me, that when the CD came in the mail, I had to look at the cover photos for a good 5 minutes before I could even put it in the CD player. Isn't Harry the most adorable? That face combined with that voice is just awesome.

We played Your Songs for the first time during dinner on Wednesday. I've been inspired by NieNie lately, and the way she exposes her children to so many wonderful types of music, so I have been making an effort to do the same. It's perfect music for dinner and relaxing. Evan remarked that he felt like we were at a fancy restaurant with Harry's lovely melodies playing in the background, and I had to admit, so did I. Remember my obsession with the TV show Dallas? I love how the family always had to dress for dinner, and how they always had cocktails first. I like to imagine my family doing the same, someday when the children are not inclined to come to the table with bugs clutched in their muddy fingers, or with kool-aid stains plastered around their mouths. I am going to add this CD as a soundtrack to my imaginings. Perfect cocktail before dinner music!

The songs on the CD are covers of several artist's hits. Harry includes everything from the Beatles "And I Love Her", The Carpenters "They Long to Be Close to You", Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love With You", and Frank Sinatra's "All the Way". This is my kind of music. The Carpenters and the Beatles are on my top 5 list for my favorite artists. I love Big Band, so the Sinatra and Nat King Cole selections had me swooning. I will admit though that these same songs also had my husband puking. He is a classic rock man at heart, and I could tell he was suffering through to make me happy. He is also a purist, and as a man who loves the Beatles and Elton John as themselves, I could tell it made him want to crawl under the carpet to hear someone else doing their songs.

The boys and I loved it though, and it made for some great dancing music, as I took my three most handsome boys for spins around the living room. Your Songs has already taken up residence in my iPod, and we have been listening to it daily ever since.

I love you Harry (just don't tell my husband)!!! Thanks for the great music.

Feeling Better

Thanks everyone for you kind thoughts and comments!!! Bloggers are the best, no?

Evan is feeling much better today, and his cough is almost gone. Charlie and Sammy are still okay. The only one I am still worried about is Jeff, who woke up yesterday sounding like a bull frog. He has a productive cough and stuffy nose, but no fever or anything, so maybe it is just a common cold. It's a scary world when you have to be so suspicious of every cough and sneeze.

I spent yesterday disinfecting the house, and lamenting the horrible end to the Nebraska vs. Virginia Tech game. Lost in the last 90 seconds what I was sure they were going to win. Jeff screamed so loud at the end there, that Evan came running from downstairs, sure that he was having a heart attack. We were that shocked. Sad day here in Husker country, that's for sure.

I did get to sneak away in the evening for a bit. Have I ever told you that I love to sing? I was in choir in high school and I sing periodically at church services at school. I was super excited when our church announced a few weeks ago that they would be forming a choir. (We are a new parish, and are slowing getting groups like this off the ground). When I was a single gal, I sang at the church where Jeff and I belonged before we were married. I think he saw my wistful look when they announced the choir forming at church. He galantly offered to be on kid duty while I went to practices and services. Saturday was our premier, and it was so much fun. I am so grateful my husband knows what I need to feed my heart, and is giving enough to help me experience it. He rocks.

We are all praying for a week of health around here. I will be stuffing my family with chicken soup and orange juice for dinner tonight.

Oink Oink!

I knew it was only a matter of time...

My kids are the biggest germ magnets. EVER. As you might remember, we have been to the pediatrician 4 times just this week.

You also might remember we went in on Thursday because everyone had bad coughs, especially Evan, who also had a bad headache, wheezing, body aches, runny nose, and sore throat. At the time, the doctor we saw (not our regular pediatrician, but someone else in the practice) thought it was probably croup.

This morning I found out that one of Evan's best friends at school was diagnosed with H1N1, or Swine Flu. I immediately felt some puzzle pieces falling into place. With the exception of a fever, Evan had all of the symptoms. This afternoon while at the doctor to remove Charlie's stitches, Dr. B confirmed that it is very likely Evan also has H1N1. The good news is that it is a very mild case. So far, Charlie and Sammy are free and clear. I am praying they stay that way.

I am thankful that if we have to deal with it, it isn't a very bad case. Maybe this is even best so Evan can get some immunity, but not any dangerously bad symptoms. The worst part so far has been the cough and lung congestion, which has aggravated his asthma, but which has been controlled through steroids.

Hopefully we will have a relaxing and healing weekend. We're going to try and lay low and drink lots of orange juice.

Ouch!

Last Friday we went to see Dr. B, our pediatrician, to get Evan all fixed up when he had strep.

On Monday we went back to see Dr. B when Charlie needed stitches.

Today I took all three boys to see Dr. B after they all woke up this morning with croupy coughs, wheezing and asthma symptoms, headaches, and runny noses. (All three are now on antibiotics and steroids.)

Tomorrow we will go back to Dr. B's office so that Charlie can have his stitches removed.

That's FOUR-count 'em-FOUR trips to the pediatrician in one week. Sheesh.

I'm thinking of applying to be the poster family for healthcare reform for President Obama. It's going to be raining medical bills around here any minute!

Ouch!

Monday was not a fun day around these parts.

At about 10:00 that morning, while I was teaching Reading, Charlie's preschool teacher walked into my room with my little guy. Charlie had a big gash on his forehead, which was bleeding profusely. His class had been playing on the playground, where Charlie somehow either walked into or fell into the bottom side of a metal stair tread. (No one actually saw it happen, and all Charlie will say is that he hit his head on the stairs).

I could tell right away he needed stitches (round 2 of stitches for Charlie-he is SUCH a boy!) so we zipped off to the pediatrician's office. While we were sitting in the waiting room, Charlie started to get very drowsy, and his pupils became dilated. As we were walking into the exam room, the nurse noticed that he was very wobbly, and walking like a drunk man. Dr. B looked him over, declared he needed three stitches, and that Charlie also had a mild concussion.

It was a tough session in the pediatrician's office for both Charlie and I, which included more than a few tears from both of us.

By dinner time that night, he was feeling a little more himself, and was loving showing off his cool flag band aid to Daddy.

Not to be outdone by his big brother, Sammy decided to get his own head injury tonight while we were playing outside. He had climbed up onto a lawn chair we had sitting on our front porch, and somehow made the chair tip backwards. It was one of those awful moments that move in slow motion. I saw it happen from across the lawn, but as fast as I ran, it happened before I got to him. Sam fell backwards from the front porch all the way onto the driveway, hitting the back of his head on the concrete. He has a huge purple goose egg on the back of his poor little noggin. After our brush with concussions on Monday, he is now under a lot of Mommy surveillance. I am now wanting to add a railing to the porch, and am ready to require my children to wear bubble wrap, safety goggles, and helmets at all times.

Thanking God for His Protection

Tonight my brother Creighton was in a very bad car accident on his way home from work. He was traveling west bound on the interstate, when he saw a large accident coming up in front of him, and he noticed that traffic was really slowing down. Creighton began to slow down as well, but was then hit from behind by a drunk driver in a van going around 70 miles an hour. The force of the impact spun his car in circles across all three lanes on the east bound side. The car stopped in the middle of a lane of traffic, facing the oncoming cars. Unable to get the car to move or to open the door, he did a "Dukes of Hazard" and climbed out the open window so he could get to the shoulder of the road.

Because of the overtime put in by his guardian angel and a God that is SO good, Creighton walked away with no major injuries. The other driver also had insurance, so we are hopeful they will replace his now ruined vehicle. Thank God he wasn't on his motorcycle, or I would be writing a very different post.

I am so thankful. SO thankful. I love that guy a lot, and I am not ready to stop pestering my little brother.