The Creeping Crud

Two nights ago, I detected Abby had a fever. It was only 99.6, but we gave her Tylenol and sent her to bed a little bit early. That night she woke up in the middle of the night and joined Stefan and me in bed seemingly not feeling well. In the morning the fever was still there, but I had a midterm so I had to go to school. When I returned home, she was down for a nap. An hour or so later, she woke up with a 103.6 fever. I called the doc and they were able to get her in immediately.

Well, it turns out that she has a case of the flu. The doctor (who was not her normal doctor) then gave me a lecture because she had not had her flu shot. I explained that every time she has gotten a flu shot there, the nurses tell me that it's a two-shot series. She gets the first shot, but when I try to get the second they are out. The doctor continued to make me feel like this year's recipient of The Worst Mom of the Year award and then goes on to say that this year it probably would've done no good because he's seen a lot of cases of the flu even if the kids had shots! What was the point of the lecture, then?

So, apparently we need to just wait it out and make sure that she's well-hydrated.
She's such a cute little patient. She's so helpless, yet so sweet. She wants to mostly cuddle and feel taken care of. Last night, she coughed herself awake at 9 and came down stairs. She asked for juice but fell asleep in Daddy's arms before she ever took a sip.





Later, she insisted that she slept in our bed again. Every time she'd cough, she'd tell us her mouth hurt...all night long. It was not a very restful night of sleep for me, but Stefan slept through it all.

In the meantime, I've come done with what I hope is only a cold. Runny nose, dry cough, and aches...oh MY!!!

Valentines Day

Every year for Valentines Day, the girls and I bake Daddy a special treat. This year was no exception but for the fact that it happened a couple of days early. Why? Well, the girls were going to stay the night with Stefan's parents on the 13th which meant that if we were to bake the concoction prior to the big day, we'd have to bump up the bake fest to the 12th.

This years creation was a yellow cake with chocolate frosting topped with a red sugar heart and yellow star sprinkles. Don't ask about the sprinkles, it was upon Lexi's insistence that they be on the cake.

This is such a special thing that we do for the girls to show their appreciation for all that Daddy does and something Lexi looks forward to each year. This year Abby got into it big time. I caught her scooping frosting off of the cake a couple of times, but what kid doesn't do that? It's like there is a voice in every child's head that says, "Must...have...frosting...NOW!"













Friday, after school, Stefan's parents picked up the girls for a sleepover and we were able to celebrate V Day 1 day early. We went for dinner using a gift card they gave us (thank you so much), hung out at the house for a little bit, then went bowling with a couple of friends. We had a blast!

The best part about when the girls have sleepovers is the fact that we get to sleep in. I slept until 11:30 and Stefan hibernated until 2 in the afternoon. It was much needed sleep that we were glad to catch up on. We picked the girls up in the late afternoon and went to the local mall to get Lexi's glasses adjusted. As a special treat, we went to Build-A-Bear and the girls each got a special treat. It was so much fun! Lexi got a pick bear with hearts that sings a Hannah Montana song whom she named Hannah (of course!). She also picked out a Hannah Montana outfit and shoes (which she paid for with her own money). Abby got a pink monkey that chatters. Stefan affectionately named it Abu (the monkey from Aladdin).

So that wraps up our Valentines Day 2009!!!

Cold Winter Days

This winter we were hit with some of the coldest days we've seen in a long time. There were days with wind chill factors in the single digits which meant we were pretty much home bound. One such day I was at school and Stefan was watching Abby at home. She asked for a snack and he gave her some miniature marshmallows in a cup. Then she asked for a straw. Once armed with all of her heart's desires, she sat in front of our direct vent fireplace (which is fully enclosed in glass), took a marshmallow, stuck it on a straw, extended the speared treat toward the fireplace as though she was roasting it, and then popped it in her mouth. I have no idea where she got this idea from, but the whole process was recreated for me when I got home and it was so cute. The look of triumph on her face was priceless!

No one was immune to the effects of the bone-chilling cold. Even Lou tried to find ways to stay warm. When he realized the heat being put off by the fireplace, he decided that the warmed marble hearth was the place to be.





Thankfully, we are now experiencing a rise in temperatures which I hope is a sign that Spring is near. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Christmas 2008 pictures

Christmas Eve pictures







Christmas Day

I Need to Get Back in the Swing of Things

Okay, okay. I haven't blogged in forever and, looking back at my most "recent" posts, they're definitely lacking the same flavor as before. In my defense, school has blown up in my face. It's not so bad this semester, but last semester really took its toll on me...and the blog.

Don't get me wrong, there has been plenty to blog about. The girls have been up to their normal crazy antics and give me good material. I just am having a hard time figuring out what I need to catch up on. I think I've come to the conclusion that this past month and a half will have to be a mystery and to just start from today forward. But then I think that Christmas has passed and I don't like that plan much. Maybe I'll just post the pictures and let that be that...when I can locate the card with Christmas on it. Darn digital cameras!!!

Something worth mentioning is that we are one family member less. Brandi, my yorkie, started behaving badly and attacking Cassi. We tried to keep them separated, but that was driving us all crazy. Apparently, she decided to fight for dominance after 8 years of being inferior to Cassi. I don't know what brought this on but it was bad. We found a local family that wanted a dog to love and she is now their princess. We still get email updates about her which is a blessing and I curse. I still miss her. In fact, her Christmas stocking remained on the mantel throughout Christmas because I couldn't bring myself to take it down. It still seems so surreal.

Stefan is still running his business as our main support since being laid off in May. Since we didn't see this coming, we didn't plan for the winter like we should have. But our families have stepped up and helped us. They've really helped in every sense and we are so grateful for them.

Anyway, I hope this is the beginning of more regular posts. I will definitely try to get back in the habit.