One FLU over the cuckoo's nest...

Yep, that's what's flying around here--the flu.

Russell came home from school on Wednesday and I told him that we were going to go to the park. His face looked so sad and he said he just didn't think he felt good enough. Bad sign.

He developed a fever and cough early in the evening and woke up early in the morning burning hot from head to foot.

We went to the doctor (who happened to be the mom of a friend of mine from high school--how fun!) and she confirmed my suspicions--the flu.

So, we've been laying low around here and just hanging out. Russ hardly got off the couch (except when he threw up all over it and I had to clean it up--the Tamiflu upset his stomach) and even with Motrin, his fever still remained. He started to feel better around dinner time, but still had the cough and sore throat.

Today, he's still coughing and has the sore throat and fever, but he feels much better. Even good enough to argue with his brother over all things, large and small.

I did enjoy my day with him yesterday while Randall was at school. It's not often that we get to hang out together by ourselves. I read The Boxcar Children to him and we finished up a book and picked out another to start. We watched a few movies and he wanted me to try out our new Wii Fit so he could watch. He was too weak and shaky to do it himself, although he did try, but he enjoyed watching. I could tell he felt better in the afternoon (when I was trying to read a book while he rested) because he got very talkative. *smile*

He's on the mend and I'm hoping that no one else comes down with it. He's been a very pleasant and positive patient, as well as un-demanding. That makes me want to baby him even more. *smile*

I've been very lack on my blogging this last week or two, but get ready for more posts! I have to go back to Christmas! *evil grin*

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Yesterday was a great day! I went walking and then decided to clean the bathrooms while I was already hot, sweaty and smelly. I also got laundry going. Then I showered. Aaah, there's nothing like a nice hot shower when you really need it! *grin* Then I picked up the house, dusted it and vacumed it.

So, what did the kids do while I was super productive? Well, when they first woke up (I was still working on the bathrooms), Russ was in an argumentative mood. He got a time out or two before breakfast even started. Then during breakfast, I talked with him about his attitude and about being disrespectful to me and he improved dramatically. (Oh, yeah, I threatened to take away some Wii minutes if he didn't. That might have had something to do with it. But, whatever it takes!)

During one of Russ' time outs (before the Wii warning), he was kicking his leg and hit his teeth with his knee. He had a loose tooth that really needed to come out because the permanent tooth was already coming in behind it and it was the one he bumped. It was hurting him and by the time he finished breakfast, he said he wanted it out.

I had bribed him earlier in the week and said I'd up the normal $1 tooth prize to $2 if he'd let me pull it. It needed to come out quickly and I didn't want to pay the dentist to pull it. He had hemmed and hawed all week and had said he'd let me pull it tomorrow. I told him that tomorrow the prize would be down to $1.75 and it would decrease by a quarter each day. With Randall, that wouldn't have worked, but Russ was quick to realize that he would be getting less money and agreed to let me pull it.

So, we went into the bathroom and it only took one hard pull and it was out. I use a dry small washcloth (the baby washcloths from when they were little--I still use them for their baths or to wipe faces after meals or whatever--they're great!) He said, "OW!" loudly, but then was fine afterwards.




After we got the bleeding to stop, I told him to carry his tooth into the kitchen (where Randall was still eating breakfast) and pretend to fall and say that he had knocked his tooth out. He laughed and did it and we tricked Randall. *grin*

After breakfast, Russ and Randall got along great and played while I did a lot of cleaning. Then we read a few chapters in a Boxcar Children book. I knew Russ would enjoy them, but I wasn't sure if Randall would sit still for them. But, he does and he seems to follow the story line and enjoy them. We're on our third one.

After lunch, I prepped for supper, which I never do, but I should do it more often! We had Mommy and Daddy Lion over for dinner, some MOPS work (Mommy Lion and me) and then some Wii fun. Since the boys have swim lessons in the evenings still this week, I knew I wouldn't get dinner ready until 8:00 if I didn't do some before hand.

Oh, my goodness, the Wii is way more fun with 4 than just 2! They brought their remotes (or rather, wiimotes) and after the kids played while Mommy Lion and I did MOPS stuff, the adults and the big kid, Cousin Cheetah (you'll have to check out their blog to figure out who all these animals are!), enjoyed playing. Today my arm is sore from serving in tennis. And, truth be told, I didn't even serve all that great. But, my arm feels like I played like a pro. *grin*

They stayed until around 9:45 and the kids did great! Little Pumpkin went to bed, but the boys stayed up and played and had a blast. We rarely let the kids stay up that late, but they were behaving great and having fun, so we let them. Hopefully they'll sleep in this morning!

All in all, it was a productive and fun day! It helped that we weren't going and doing all day! I need to be better at staying home. Today, we have to return some books to the library so Russ can redeem his reading points, but that's it again. I'll finish laundry and clean the kitchen and that's it.

We went to a fruit/veggie stand in Big Sandy on Saturday when we went to visit Slade's mom and I got a watermelon (well, two, because the guy selling them gave one to Russ--he was very kind), some peaches and some tomatoes. I really, really wanted a canteloupe, but the person before me bought the very last one. Oh, well, everything is delicious! Makes me really, really want to do a garden next year. We'll see if that comes to fruition (pun intended). *grin*

Wii Fun

Thanks for the Wii game suggestions! We are considering Mario Cart and I want to look into the cheap Mario ones you can get on the Wii. Thanks, Stephanie! We'd also heard from more than one person about the Ramon's Raving Rabbits, so we'll have to look into that one. Maybe we'll let Mark and Alison (our church friends, Mark and Alison, not the Mark and Alison that found us the Wii) get that first and we'll see if we like it after playing it with them. (I don't know if they're really getting it or not, but Alison was the one that said she'd heard it was fun and I figure if I wait long enough, if they're like us, they'll get it. *grin*) I hadn't heard of a few other suggestions, so we'll have to look those up. Thanks for the help! And, Slade will know who to blame for enabling me...

These are from before we left for vacation.




They rarely sit when they play. That was at the beginning when everyone was still learning how to do it. *grin*

Randall didn't like the Wii when we first got it and didn't want to play anything. But, somehow, he got bit by the bug and he now loves the Cars game. He's still not excited about the sports games, but he's having a blast with Russ racing and buying new characters and paint jobs and such.

A good day...

Today was a much better, much less stressful day. Thanks for all the encouragement!

We went swimming this morning with my mom, my nieces and nephew and Rebecca and Audrey. It was fun and a good workout!

Then we invited my neighbor, Allison and her son, Cooper, over for lunch. Her daughter, Danielle, was at Aimee's house to play with Abi.

After lunch, the boys and I made chocolate chip cookies--a double batch! I wanted to make enough to take some with us to Colorado. Um, a double batch of this recipe makes a whole lot of cookie dough! Wow! And, yum! :-)

Then we played some games, including my favorite Hide-N-Seek. I love it when the boys can't find me. I'll make a noise and they'll try to follow the noise. They crack me up!

Then tonight, Slade had a Trustee meeting that he just walked in the door from! I didn't get a whole lot accomplished while he was gone, but it was nice and relaxing.

We're still enjoying the Wii. The boys do a great job of not asking all day if they can play and then when they do, we just set the timer like we do for computer games and they both willingly turn it off at the end of their 15 or 20 minutes. We have the Disney Cars game (big surprise, right!) and it's so fun to watch them play! I need to catch it on video! Slade will sometimes play in the evenings before bed, usually while he's waiting for me to finish up on the computer or with whatever scrapbook project I'm working on. I did do a little tennis today, too, and it was fun. I'd like to look into different games because the sports just aren't really my thing. We'll see.

So, far, no visitors have dropped by to visit us and the Wii. Anyone?! Anyone have suggestions on games?

Wii

Well, my friend, Alison and I got in touch Thursday night for the delivery and we are now the proud parents of a bouncing baby Wii. Pictures to follow. As with any new little family member, it takes up a lot of our time and effort and cuts into sleep time. :-)

Slade says that our 19" TV isn't adequate for playing video games. He said we need a new TV. I said if he got a new TV, I wanted a new house. Don't you think that's only fair?

We are open to drop in visitors coming to say hi and meet our newest addition.