Cowgirl Olivia

Laughter is the best Medicine

I think my household has finally started to feel better... Olivia was happier today...
and looking as adorable as ever... even with the drippy nose, pale face and dark circles under her eyes!
We stayed home from church this morning (except Doug of course) because I just didn't think it wise to take a household of sickies to a public place. Aiden and Owen were back to playing together (and fighting of course) for at least SOME of the day...
but poor Owen fell asleep on the couch while Aiden played with my friend Becky's daughter for an hour or two this afternoon. And BOTH of them were in bed asleep by 6:30pm tonight. They are just so wiped out.
And I was most thoroughly blessed by my sweet friend Becky's visit. We sat together, we chatted and we laughed. I felt significantly better after her visit. And I am sure she felt significantly thirstier since I AGAIN failed to offer her anything to drink. I am the best hostess EVER!

I want to wake up completely well tomorrow morning. I really do. Because wow do I ever have a TON of housework to catch up on.

the post in which I try to be positive

Well... it is 6:07am and I thought I would mention of a few of the GOOD things happening in my life since no one likes a whine-fest. Even if I have plenty to whine about since I am so sick.

1. My husband made us an amazingly tasty turkey dinner yesterday. It was so good. And the turkey was one we got for free with a coupon!

2. no one threw up all night long. Yay!

3. I went to bed at 8 pm last night. I was asleep before 9 pm. Even with all the times Olivia woke up I still got a relatively decent sleep.

4. We participated in Earth hour last night and I think that's cool.

5. We were sent an amazing gift in the mail this week from some very special people whom we love.

6. I think Owen is actually starting to feel better. He is the reason I am up right now. He is wide awake. Aiden is still sleeping... which is very odd.

7. My throat can't hurt forever.

8. Winter can't last forever. Even though it is snowing right now. Spring has to come. It's a rule.

9. Aiden and Owen go back to school on Tuesday. YAHOO!!

10. I have lots of new books to read. It makes me feel happy just knowing I have a stack of shiny, unread books. Even if I only get to read a page at a time.

Fascinating I'm sure.

well... I'm sure you are all waiting with baited breath for an update from the land of sick people... so here it goes.

1. I'm still sick. Really sick.

2. Olivia is still sick. And screaming. And sleeping horribly.

3. Owen is still sick. But at least he isn't still throwing up like he did several times in the night.

4. Aiden is getting better but is still coughing an awful lot.

5. Doug has the sniffles. He says he doesn't but he does.

6. My mom is sick.

7. I cleaned a lot of the house (I really did!) but it is messy again.

8. I am thinking all of us... other than my pastor husband... will be staying home from church tomorrow.

Fabulous isn't it?

What I saw today...

Olivia cried REALLY a lot. Like for HOURS. And REALLY sobbed. Not even putting on Aiden's favourtie transformer shirt could make her happy.As a result I didn't exactly get around to cleaning the disaster that is my house...
It took my 3 hours just to get one load of dishes in the dishwasher... but I am so very thankful for that dishwasher. Oh how I love thee.
Olivia was really mad at me for trying to do ANYTHING other than hold her...
My poor Owen- in the green- spent the entire day in that chair. He didn't eat. He barely drank. He got up to pee once or twice. He fell asleep a lot. And he went to bed at 7 pm. I guess his prescription isn't working.
Aiden was so bored. It was all I could do to keep him from jumping ON Owen to get him up. Aiden was so miffed that Owen didn't want to play. Not even our beloved TV could keep him entertained. Once daddy got home and played with him all was well.

I don't feel well. My ears are ringing from the constant screaming. My chest hurts from the horrible asthma coughing I've been doing all day. My body aches from carrying Olivia around all day while I tried to clean the house. My ears ache inside from my head cold. My nose hurts from all the blowing. And I am just plain tired.

On the up side I called our beloved family doctor and she phoned in a prescription for Olivia and for me... again I am so grateful that she didn't make me drag my sick kids to her office. Three cheers for small town doctors.

I really want to get better now.

the mess is breeding

I must tell you all that it is AMAZING how incredibly messy my home can get in just a couple of days. If I don't clean anything the mess just GROWS! It is EVERYWHERE! I mean, really, all over the place. It is terrible. Truly terrible.

And I am still sick. Really sick. Sick like I should be in bed but can't be because I have to parent.

Olivia is even sicker. She just cries and cries and cries.

Owen still has a fever. He fell asleep on the couch.

Aiden seems to be improving.... which means he has a LOT more energy. He is literally bouncing all over the living room.

Doug is at work.

My mom is at work.

I really need a maid.

And some tylenol cold daytime.

blah

Well... what can I say...

I'm still sick.

My whole body hurts.

My head feels like it is going to explode.

My lungs hurt.

I'm absolutely exhausted even though my husband worked from home today so that I could nap when Olivia did.

I haven't even opened the truffles I got in the mail yesterday... which is very unlike me.

I really want to feel better.

I think the boys are improving now that they are taking meds. That is a relief.

Olivia is still really sick though. Poor baby.

I'm going back to bed.

bye.

Tagged by Caroline

And because I am just so darn popular (HA!) I got tagged by Caroline to tell you all another fascinating seven things about me.

So here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I LOVE blogging and I LOVE that I have won stuff from other fabulous blogs!

2. I love stuffed animals. When I was a child I truly believed that my stuffed animals came alive at night while I slept and played together. My mom told me this and I believed her completely.

3. Because I believed my stuffed animals were alive I was absolutely traumatized when we moved and my mom wanted to pack them in boxes. I thought they would die. I made such a fuss that my mom let me take them in the back seat of our car with me.

4. My grandmother was a pastor's wife. My aunt is a pastor's wife. I am a pastor's wife. This drives my mother crazy.

5. I harbour a not-so-secret desire that Olivia will be a girlie type girl and love dresses and pretty things. My husband laughs at me about this.

6. I was a total and complete nerd in college. I loved getting A's.

7. I almost failed high school math and science. I did NOT love that.

I will tag
1. Robyn
2. Jenn
3. Stacy
4. Deb
5. Alida
6. Michelle
7. Christine

Tagged by Jenny

I was tagged by Jenny at Up the Hill Gang to list 7 things about me, so here it goes!

1. I have asthma and I hate it.

2. I LOVE ice cream. And whipped cream. And cream sauces. Anything creamy really. Which does not help me lose weight.

3. I once had an orange kitten that I named "Friend". I was 4 I think. He abandoned me to live at a neighbours house. She had no children, fed him table food and let him sleep on her pillow. I guess that seemed better to him than the mauling 4 year old who would brush his hair and try to dress him up. Some friend he turned out to be!

4. My very best friend in the whole wide world growing up was Tinuviel. We used to laugh for HOURS with each other. She now lives in Arizona and of course I live VERY far away from her. We haven't seen each other since my wedding almost nine years ago, although we have kept in touch.
Tinuviel is the tiny one. I'm the one all in white.

5. When I was in kindergarten I went part time to a daycare / play school and my teacher's name was Mrs. Hope. I adored her. Her name was perfect for her.

6. When I was in grade two I had a really nasty teacher. Our class was in an outdoor portable (a classroom in a trailer not attached to the school). One day I asked to go to the bathroom and she wouldn't let me. I peed my pants. I wearing my pretty yellow dress. I was horribly embarrassed. Other kids peed their pants that day too. She was really mean. My mom complained LOUDLY to the principal. It never happened again.

7. I prefer long flowy skirts. Fitted ones make me feel self conscious. I'm a flower child at heart.


Ok... I will now tag 7 of my fellow pastor's wives to do this little meme...

1. Shash,
2. Super Mom,
3. Joann,
4. Crickl.
5. Moose
6. Tara Sloan
7. Melissa

I love Vader's Mom

A couple weeks ago I won some truffles (yum!) from Stacy at Vader's Mom and being that Stacy is the sweetest lady around she sent me several lovely books along with the truffles!
Thanks for the wonderful surprise Stacy! You rock.

And just in case you were all wondering... yes... we are still all sick.
Owen has spent most of the day somewhere between asleep and awake. He has the most beautiful big eyes normally but right now they are all horribly blood shot! It makes me so sad!
Even my Aiden, who USUALLY has an ABUNDANCE of energy has been rather listless.
The most energy the boys had today was when they switched couches for awhile.

Olivia is trying valiantly to be her sweet self. She got another tooth but it doesn't seem to have helped any.
She threw her lunch all over the floor- crackers, cheese and frozen peas. Frozen peas are one of her favourite things... I think they help sooth her sore gums.
She was rather unimpressed with me that I tried to feed her real food at all.

Do you like the mess behind Olivia? You should see the rest of my house. Sheesh.

Olivia had a brief nap and I am really hoping we all can get a decent sleep tonight. We need it.

oh Spring where art thou?

It is snowing again.

I am SERIOUSLY done with winter.

MJennings Designs

God knew I needed some cheering up today so I got some wonderful gifts in the mail! A few weeks ago I won a beautiful handmade bracelet from Melissa Jennings Designs.I LOVE my new bracelet! Melissa did a wonderful job creating it for me. It is personalized with the word "mom" and my three kiddo's birthstones.
Olivia really likes it too.
Which proves that the bracelet is not only beautiful, it is sturdy as well!
I have been wearing it all day and I just love how feminine and pretty it is!

I would like to remind the few men who read my blog that mother's day is coming up (May 11... which is only 6 weeks away) and a personalized mom bracelet would be a wonderful mother's day gift for the mother of your child/ren! They are VERY reasonably priced as well.

Melissa was wonderful to work with and she created me an exquisite bracelet that I know I will love wearing! Thanks Melissa!

Sickies

We are all still sick.

Except my dear hubby...He is still well. Thanks God! I would be in a whole lot of trouble without him. He has a new blog template up and some cute pictures he took. Go see.

This is what my boys did almost all day yesterday....

Today they are still in their jammies and still in almost the same positions. Poor kids. We got them started on a prescriptions this morning so hopefully that will help.

And can I just take this moment to say how grateful I am for our family doctor? She is wonderful. I called her this morning and she asked me a whole bunch of questions and just called in a couple prescriptions for me. She didn't even make me haul all the kids in to see her. She thinks Olivia 's sickness won't be helped by a prescription but because Aiden was complaining about his ears hurting and Owen was complaining of headaches she thought drugs would help them.

I'm really glad I am still breastfeeding Olivia because I think that is helping her stay relatively happy. And she doesn't get nearly as sick as the boys do. Even when she is sick she is still fairly easy to please.

The boys took a short break from their marathon of tv watching to "help" me do this post...


Olivia tried to help me drink my tea too... fortunately I had already finished it so she only got a few cold drops!
And my head still feels like it is going to explode.
I really do think that there should be some sort of rule that mommy can't be sick while she has three sick babies. Of course the good part is that my boys' fevers are keeping them relatively mellow.

So thank-you modern technology for the gift of kid's television. I am ever so grateful for you this week.

sick

sick sick sick sick sick

we are ALL sick

except Doug... he's ok.

We all have fevers. We are all coughing out our lungs. Even poor Olivia.

I hate being sick.

I hate having 3 sick kids.

sick sick sick sick sick

whine complain moan groan lament

blah

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to you all. We had a pancake breakfast at church this morning and that was fun. Aiden is still recovering from his cold/earache/ asthma...And my poor Owen was hit with IT today. He is coughing, he has a fever, his asthma is brutal... poor kid.
This picture was taken BEFORE he got sick...
Aiden wanted to show Uncle Dave the cool Lego ships he made.
Aiden and Owen would very much like Uncle Dave to move in with us. I don't think his wife would like that very much!
My husband tried valiantly to get a good picture of sweet Olivia in her easter dress.
But she didn't cooperate at ALL!
She got really mad at me when I tried to take her picture instead of reading her book to her.
This was the boys LAST year at easter time...
We had Uncle Phil and Aunt Erica with us last year and here they are holding Olivia on her first easter...
Olivia and I one year ago today...
Wasn't she a cutie pie?

Good Friday

My Aiden is sick again. He has an ear infection and his asthma is really bad... which usually means he is getting another chest cold. Today he had a pretty high fever.

My son reacts to medications. They make him WIDE awake. I have often heard other mothers talk about how tylenol put their kid right to sleep... NOT MINE! I have tried them all, tylenol, advil, motrin... everything wakes him up.

But I can't very well leave him fevering away and in pain.

So I gave him some Jr. Advil tonight.

On the UP side his fever is way down, he managed to eat a little bit of food and drink lots of water, his ear is hurting him less, and he is relatively happy.

On the DOWN side it is 10:15 pm... 3 hours PAST his bedtime.... and he is still WIDE awake.

I, on the other hand, am NOT wide awake.

I would very much like to be asleep. Because I too am coming down with a cold. Aiden and I tend to get the same stuff because we both have pretty bad asthma.

I am really praying that Owen and Olivia and Doug escape this bug.

In other news today is Good Friday. Several years ago I was watching the Passion of the Christ movie and the reality of Good Friday hit me. Not because of what was happening to Jesus per se... although that was horrendous.

There is a scene in the movie when Jesus is carrying his cross down the road and his mother is trying to keep up to him on the outskirts of the crowd. Jesus falls down and Mary has this flashback to Jesus as a little boy falling down and scraping his knee. She went to him and held him and said "mommy's here" to her little boy Jesus. Then it goes back to the grown man Jesus fallen under the weight of his cross and Mary runs toward him and says "Mommy's here". That just broke my heart. I can't imagine watching the horrendous things people did to Jesus through his mother's eyes.



It's enough to break your heart. I hate to see my son suffering with an earache... imagine the pain in Mary's heart watching her baby boy die a horribly painful death. Seeing it from Mary's perspective reminds me not to take Jesus' sacrifice lightly.

My crazy eye infection cure

The ladies over at Mommies United want me to post my favourite tip on here today... well... my absolute most favourite tip is a tad unorthodox.

It is a home remedy of sorts.

I learned it from my mother who learned it from her eye specialist. My mom has Graves disease which makes you extremely prone to eye infections. She gets at least a couple per month.

When Aiden was a baby he got pink eye and it was brutal. We had prescription drops that we were supposed to put in his eyes and he SCREAMED and flailed and it was nearly impossible to get them in. He hated getting them and we hated giving them. And after all that fuss they didn't even work. We were so frustrated.

I told my mom and she told me the trick she had learned.

Vodka. Not to drink.

You put a little bit of vodka on a clean cotton ball and swipe it over your eyelids... or the eyelids of your child. It does sting a bit briefly but it doesn't last long. Do this a few times a day and the infection will go away in a day or two.

And you know that horrible grainy feeling in your eyes when you have an infection? This gets rid of that feeling completely.

It can be done several times in the first day and often that will be enough.

The beauty of this is that your child can be ASLEEP when you do it so they don't even have to KNOW they are being treated.

Aiden's eye infection was gone within 24 hours. It was such a huge relief!

We told our pediatrician about it and she said "Oh ya, that works really well but it stings".

We have used this remedy on ALL of us and it works like a charm. One of those teeny tiny little bottles of vodka lasts us months and months.

Several years ago Doug and I were at his cousin's wedding and I got hit with a brutal eye infection. We were nowhere near home and no doctor's were open by the time the wedding was over. So we got a little vodka, I wiped it over my eyes a couple times and by morning I was cured.

Really, it works.

Even if it sounds crazy.

Good mail

I won this book from Stone Soup and it came in the mail today! It is even signed especially for me by the author!
Mail is so much more fun to get when it is something other than bills! So thank-you so much Katrina and Joshilyn!

I had parent teacher interviews today with both the boys' teachers. All is well and there were no surprises... which is always a good thing.

Olivia was pretty clingy to daddy today. She was most annoyed when he went to work.
She also spent quite awhile crushing her snack into the carpet for fun.
She has even learned how to climb up on our desk chair. She was very proud of herself. I am less thrilled with her excellent ability to climb things. She's just like Aiden was.
Doug tried to take a few pictures of the boys and I this afternoon.
I am thinking it is time to cut their hair again!