Buh-Bye Flu

Ken, Henry, and I all got it.  Benjamin and Frances did not.  Not really sure how that happened, but I am thankful that Benjamin did not get sick.  He did end up sleeping a lot during the quarantine week, and that was quite a blessing, but I felt horrible later when I realized that it was because of all the decongestants I had been taking! (I spoke with his doctor today and he said I didn't do any damage, thankfully.)
I also have apparently had a sinus infection before, during, and after the flu.  My head has been feeling like it is going to explode and I have been very cranky.  I went to the doctor this morning and got myself a Z-pack, so relief is in the near future! I am trying not to complain about the stomach ache that the first dose is giving me.  :)
Benjamin had his 9-month checkup today as well.  He is growing well, except he dropped down a little on the weight curve.  His doctor said he is not concerned, as he seem to be eating well and a variety of foods.  I guess I am just destined to have skinny kids!
Currently the bigs are playing Polly Pockets on the table in the living room.  Frances was looking for something in her room after school today and she found some Polly Pockets under her bed.  She came out to tell me that it is summer under her bed and her Polly Pockets would like to go swimming.  Ummm...OK?
So the Polly Pockets are swimming in two plastic containers of water in the living room.  Actually at this point, the table and carpet are taking a bath as well!
And do you like all that clean, folded laundry on the bench behind them??  I should probably get to that sometime today.

sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Yes...I left off the "p." That's how tired I am. Henry was up in the middle of the night again and he was totally inconsolable. He wanted to sit. He wanted to lie down. He wanted to be on me. He wanted Daddy. He just couldn't make up his poor little mind. He also had a pretty snotty nose, so I am pretty sure that the ear that was a little red on Thursday last week is now infected. His teachers at school said he was flapping his ears also, so I went ahead and filled the prescription my wonderful doctor gave us last week "just in case."
I had a conference in Fincastle today. It was a really nice break and I truly enjoyed it, but I was so tired that I couldn't see straight to read the bible verses we talked about. On the way home I called as many people as I could (with my ear bud, of course) to keep me awake on the way home. Julie was one of them. She said something incredibly funny...or was it witty...or possibly profound? I honestly don't remember. She told me I should write it down. I do remember telling her that I was going to blog it. She laughed and said she would check on it. Well, Julie, when you do check, please post your funny/witty/profound statement in the comments section so everyone else can see it and remember it-because I certainly don't!!

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am home from work because Henry threw up this morning twice at school. I took him to the doctor who said that it sounds like a stomach virus and to just keep him hydrated. He is acting fine now and hasn't thrown up since this morning.

• I am thankful for modern medicine. I love Henry's doctor. She was a good friend before she was his doctor and she was willing to see him (and the rest of the family) while we were in between insurance policies. I can call her at home to ask a question and she doesn't get annoyed (I've only done it once or twice). I can call the office and describe symptoms over the phone and she can call in a prescription if I need one. It is nice to have a doctor friend so that I can keep on top of what is going around.


• I am thankful for my mailman and his family. This should actually count for a few entries, but I will put it all together. Firstly my mailman is the son of a woman that used to work at the church with me. He is also the son-in-law of a woman I used to teach with. He and his family go to my church and I was in a group with his younger brother in college. I just love this whole family! They are awesome! He holds the mail when we are out of town. He asks about us if we don't pick it up for a few days. I have had more than one piece of mail delivered to my house despite being marked "postage due." I can put my outgoing mail outside with two quarters taped to it and it will get mailed. All of those things are neat, but let me tell you why else I love this family...Last summer I was out st some garage sales. I stopped at one and found a lot of really nice girls' clothes for good prices. As I was loading up my arms, the owner of the house approached me and it turns out to be the mailman's wife! She loaded me up with more clothes and toys and then gave me an awesome deal. Twice since then I have caught her delivering boxes of her daughter's old clothes to my house. It is an absolute Godsend to have these clothes. It means less shopping for me and good clothes get a few more uses out of them. What an awesome family!!


• Thirdly, I am thankful for my daughter's friends. This one comes with a funny story. Earlier in the week a mom came to pick up her three girls, one of whom is in my class. Her daughter looked at her mom and said "uh-uh, I want to go home with Ms. Rabia." She planted her feet and practically refused to leave. I promised her that we would make arrangements to let her come over sometime soon. Well it turns out that today was the day. You might think I am crazy for inviting over a guest when Henry is not feeling well, but let me tell you-it works! The two girls are having a ball playing downstairs and I am able to give Henry the cuddles he wants. Both my kids are happy and I don't feel split in two!! It's also pretty sweet to listen to the girls playing pretend and the conversations they are having. Mine's the one on the left, and please excuse the mess in the background. :)

A Day Off...

Wednesday is usually my day to work at the church, but Henry had a doctor's appointment right in the middle of productivity time, so I took the whole day off. I kept Frances home from school and Ken had the day off as well. It was nice having an unplanned day.

Henry had his one-year check-up today. He is 20.2 pounds and 31 inches tall. According to the chart from the doctor's office, his height seems to be in the 90th percentile (YEAH!) and his weight is about 15th-20th. Not sure how he is so skinny since all he does is eat, but that's what the scale says. He got two shots today and was a real trooper about it. I held him as the nurse did it. He smelled the alcohol and gave me a look that said he knew something was going to happen. He cried briefly, but then he found his thumb and was quiet by the time I left.

We got home and he took a nap. Ken and Frances had gone out to the store, but got home shortly after we did. Frances was supposed to eat lunch and then nap, but of course, she never went to sleep. What am I going to do with her? I would be fine with her skipping her nap if she wasn't such a pill by 6pm. I took a short nap and then had to go out to a meeting at church.



This afternoon I went out and filled up the kiddie pool. The kids put on their suits and jumped in. I put up our umbrella to keep the sun off of them, but it made the water cold and poor little Henry was shivering while we was crawling around the pool.
He also discovered how to get in and out of the pool by himself. We ended up putting the Little Tykes slide into the pool and both kids got a kick out of sliding down into the water. Henry did it head first most times!

Check out his "I don't really like the feel of grass, but I have somewhere to go" crawl. It's precious!!