"In" Keepers

This was really not the weekend we thought we would have had. We had so much planned (even more than usual) and canceled it all--parties, soccer, sunday school--due to illness. Kevin went to his doctor on Friday after still not feeling up to par and his diagnosis: swine flu! We did not know if the rest of us would get it or maybe it was what we have all been struggling with (despite my negative results last weekend?) Anyway.

So to be on the safe side, we took it as a way to have a LOW KEY family weekend at home. The kids are not acting really sick (read: wild as ever!) and do not have fevers but their eyes tell a different story. I am sure if we were out and about at our parties and what not, people would have wondered why we did not keep them home. They just had that droopy eye look. Madelyn is complaining of ear ache so we may have to make a trip to the pediatrician tomorrow. Oh the horror of that! But we will see.

Our weekend consisted of the usual things a family does when they are at home: sleeping, watching TV & movies, crafts, cooking and baking, painting, cleaning the house (lots of Lysol, baby!) and then making a mess of the house (clutter-wise), etc.

In the first two hours when we were done with all that (just kidding!) we were then kind of bored. I needed to make a run to store. I made the trip to the Supercenter so along with the groceries I also picked us up a Wii . Boredom solved, right? It seems like an extravagant thing as an impulse. It was not much of impulse. I was considering getting Kevin one for his b-day in a few weeks anyway. It did make a big difference in our weekend. We all had so much fun. I would say I am a much better bowler on-screen than in real life. I have never won a game before. It's not much to beat a 4-year-old and 3-year-old but it was definitely something to beat Kevin. He is a good bowler. Madelyn is actually quite good at Wii in general--bowling, tennis and the Toy Story game. I guess these video games are plenty interactive--I do hate to introduce a new vice.

Here we are on Sunday and none of us are any worse for the wear in fact, we are all pretty much better. We had quite a fun weekend staying in so maybe we should all get more sick more often. No thank you actually! But we have had almost enough of the fun of staying in so I do hope we will all be getting out this week.

New face of doctor visits

At the pediatrician's office today we all wore masks because we were in to be seen for cough-related illness. I am totally for this---I do not want to give our germs to anyone and I do not want to get anything new---but wearing a surgical mask really does make you feel like a leper. It was so awkward--and hard to breathe when you are already compromised. Abigail totally was not going for it so Madelyn and I tried them on too---and even put one on Mustard (Abby's favorite little stuffed dog). But it still was not going over well. We were in good company though--it seemed like every other patient on the sick side of the office was having the same struggle with their little patients.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Speaking of pumpkins.....we recently made a few batches of this pumpkin pie playdough. It was fun and smells so yummy.

5 1\2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Salt,
8 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
3\4 Cup Oil
1 Container (1 1\2 ounces) Pumpkin Pie Spice
Orange Food Coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)
4 Cups Water

Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until all lumps disappear. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth.

What we did with our warm weather day

What is it about MD that our pumpkin farm days are always SO hot? It is so funny. Every year the same thing and today was no exception. It was unusually warm today--not exactly hayride weather. Well unfortunately I do not have any pumpkin farm photos because I did not go. But Madelyn did and she had a blast. (Some of our friends/neighbors did attend and I hope they will pass along some photos of all the fun.) She was so excited and seemed to have a great time. I certainly gave her the talk about being a good representative of our family, staying near her chaperone, etc. It is scary letting them out in to the world like that but you have to do it.

I was bummed not to be able to be a chaperone but Abigail and I were going to go with our MOPS group who had a trip planned for the same day, same time (what are the chances?) But Abby and I still are not feeling well and I knew riding on hay in the warm weather was the last thing we needed today. We did both see our docs---my cold is morphing into bronchitis and she has just the cold that will hopefully not turn into anything more. Madelyn is the only one in our family who is totally healthy (weird because she seems to be the one most exposed to germs.) We are just holding our breathe she is not next.

In an effort to feel a little better I took Oprah's (and other's) advice and bought a netti pot. Ok, that is one crazy thing but it sure does make the congestion feel better. If only I had something that I could do that with my lungs. I guess the antibiotics will take care of that. Just a note for anyone concerned about cold and flu---apparently using the netti pot daily can really combat contracting cold and flu. Good to know. It might just be our new thing. It is very weird though.

So it has been quite an unusual day. I hope we are on the real road to recovery now so we can all be well for the upcoming Halloween festivities.

Prima-oted Ballerina

M is skipping a dance grade. Ha! It sounds kind of funny but it is kind of true. It appears she will be in the kindergarten class even though she is not in kindergarten. It is funny because we had opted to keep her in the same class (preschool) as she was in last year so she would be with the girls her own grade level from here on out. But she was not doing well in that class despite the fact she has friends in that class also. Apparently she was bossy---telling the younger girls what to do. The teacher reported she was distracted and distracting at times. Most important she did not want to go. We saw it as an opportunity to maybe try something else (this is actually her 3rd year of dancing; that sounds crazy). The teacher said even though she was not doing all the 4-year-old class moves to perfection we should try the kindergarten class that many of the girls from last year are in. M was thrilled to death. After two classes the teacher reports she has done more in the two classes than all summer and thus far in the other class. Well I guess we have our answer. Though it does still sound funny to have skipped a grade in ballet and tap. But hey, whatever makes her happy. It is nice to have a day of break to have A's ballet class (which she absolutely loves!) on Wednesday and M's ballet and tap on Friday.

We will be settled in to our schedule one of these days......

Notes from the couch

We survived our week without Daddy and had some fun with family and friends. M & A spent the night at my parents' one night which gave me a break and allowed me to attend a MOPS MNO to learn how to make sushi! I am not a big sushi fan personally (Kevin is) but it was so much cool. If my iphone and computer were getting along I could post a photo of my very first California roll I made. Very fancy looking. My friend who taught us was amazing! Later that night I also stopped in to the neighborhood women's group. It was nice to connect with the neighborhood ladies. It has been a long time since I had two events on one night, much less a "school night." Next year will not be so easy but that is an advantage of afternoon preschool.

Another highlight of the week was dinner at CFA with friends. Always a fun treat when we are on our own. Playtime and dinnertime in one. They were so exhausted on the way home it made for an easy bedtime. What can be better? M was so tired she actually requested to go straight to bed without reading any books. That is very unusual.

Yesterday afternoon there was no school for M. It was picture day for A so she went to school. At first I was worried she would not want to go since M was home but not the case--she could not wait to get in there! Too cute. She was all excited to wear her "picture day" dress also. In fact when she put it on in the am they both swooned. I meant to take a photo of them myself (M was dressed up as well) but forgot. We got a little sidetracked by making cutout cookies in the a.m.--there was flour everywhere and yet that get-out-the-door-for-school rush came quickly as it does every day. So hopefully the school photos will turn out. Apparently the pose was them sitting at a desk. So funny since they never sit at desks in preschool. But it should make for a great shot.

After we dropped her off, M and I met my mom to check out a tea room for Madelyn's birthday. She has been talking about a tea party almost since her last b-day. Her b-day is still a bit off but when I called for info. they were already booking up the holiday season. We had planned to try it out (would she like real tea and scones?...could be party disaster if not.) They were booked so we could not partake but we peeked and it it pretty. Probably too pretty for a room of 5-year-olds. But we will still go there maybe just when the grownups outnumber the kids. Anyway we opted for lunch for us and a brownie for her at another coffee shop and then a visit to the toy store. It was a good afternoon.

Then the rush was on. Pick up A, get M ready for dance class, drop off a meal to a new mom and get to dance class. It was rushed, esp. with the horrible weather and traffic but we ran ourselves around well.

We brought M's buddy home with us for dinner so that was a real treat for them. I was surprised how much they enjoyed the butternut squash ravioli. Score!

With all the excitement of the day it did not end so well (people were tired) but it ended and that left me time to clean up the house which looked like a tornado had passed through. It is so tough to find a balance between letting the kids clean up and doing it right yourself after they are asleep.

They are so sweet when they are asleep. I totally could watch them for hours. I should take a photo and then remind myself during the day when they are not so sweet.

K arrived home around 11, just in time for me to feel a little twinge of getting sick. I thought it could be the cleaning products stuck in my lungs. Not so it seems. Hopefully it is short lived and mild. I have been getting caught up in the H1N1 hype. Scared of its potential. To be honest I did pray a little bit just to get a minor case (we do know people who have/had it) so we would not have to worry about getting the vaccine or not getting the vaccine. Sometimes you have to watch what you pray for. I hope we will all be okay. It is a very good day to sit on the couch under a blanket.

Here we are

The problem with writing the blog at night is I can hardly remember what the heck was so funny that happened during the day! I really need to petition the iphone people to link to Blogger as Facebook does. It would be so much easier...and dare I say more interesting. Because my days are funny...sometimes.

We are coming off a long weekend with Daddy: off Friday and Monday and total Daddy time over the weekend when Mommy was at conference getting a spiritual boost. He is off to Miami tonight on a work trip and his girls are sad. But we will be okay. We have a lot planned.

So what's going on around here?

Well Madelyn is still loving school and seems to be pretty good at it. I had the chance to volunteer in her classroom yesterday so I got a little sneak peek at what goes on there. She appears a little different in the classroom than I see her at home but it is good; she appears to be a pleaser. Their routine and her classmates are all pretty cute. My "work" basically amounted to lots of cutting in preparing for upcoming projects: squirrel poem, scarecrow making, etc. My hand was literally numb. But it was good and I was happy to help---I brought some home so Kevin could get in on the action!

Abigail is a character as usual and enjoying school also. She was most recently quite proud of a bus she made and the wheels on it that go 'round and 'round. I swear she is Jekyll and Hyde...she can be as happy (and totally hysterical!) one second and totally frustrated and a bundle of tears the next. Welcome to Age 3. I need more patience for this--wish I could pick some of that up at Target.

I should get more sleep.