Sweetest Notes

Rylee woke up around midnight two weeks ago complaining of ear pain. After putting some homeopathic drops in her ear and giving her some ibuprofen, she went back to sleep. The next morning she was okay but her ear still hurt some. I gave her more drops and we finished getting ready for church. I did notice the q-tip I used to clean just the edge of her ear was tinged pink, but I thought it was the drops.

She complained off and on as we went to breakfast, at times getting very upset. We gave her more ibuprofen and she seemed to feel better. Near the end of church I looked at her ear again and saw blood in the ear canal. I was very concerned and knew almost immediately that she must have ruptured her ear drum.

Once we were back home I took Rylee to an urgent care for kids. They confirmed that her ear drum had perforated. They gave her strong meds and told us to take her back to our pediatrician in 3 weeks to make sure it healed.
The next day, Asa drew this picture. He says it says "I will cheer Rylee up because [she has an] ear infection." (He just wrote it a little backwards and phonetically spelled it and forgot a few words.) BUT...it came from his heart without prompting from his parents. That's my favorite part!

Six Amazing Years

Six amazing years that have flown by. Six years of giggles and laughter. Six years of crazy bustling life. Six years of standing in awe of the One who gives all good gifts. Why me? Why do I receive such beautiful blessings? But, I greatly accept them. And celebrate!
We did a Princess/Knight themed party. When the kids arrived, the girls made princess wands and got a crown. The boys decorated shields and got a sword. (Really, the boys stuck one thing on the shield and headed out back where the fighting had already commenced!)After a little time to just play, we gathered the kids and I explained that the fierce dragon was jealous of the princess and locked her away in a castle. There was a rumor that the dragon's magic eggs contained the secret to freeing the princess. The boys went outside to hunt for the magic eggs while the girls stayed inside the castle and had to hunt for a way to escape.The girls found pieces of a puzzle, put it together, and read the message written on the back. To be free, you must slay the dragon.The boys got clues from the eggs and put together a puzzle, as well. The message on their puzzle said "To free the princess, you must slay the dragon."

We took a break to get our strength by eating lunch. (Sorry, no pics. I was a little busy!) Then, we headed outside to slay the dragon.The 5th girl to take a whack was quite strong. I didn't think the pinata was going to hold up for the long line of boys too. But, amazingly, the kids all took two whacks and then the dragon finally went down on Sarah's third hit!We had quite the crowd!We went inside to celebrate the release of the princess (aka: cake and gifts).Jenna and Asa had a wonderful birthday celebration! ...and were spoiled rotten beyond belief by their sweet friends.

Let The Prep Work Begin

Actually, the prep work has been in full swing for about 6 days now. Banners, swords, shields, crowns, wands, pinata, streamers, balloons, ...

The twins will be turning 6 years old on Sunday.

Princess and Knight theme here at our house on Saturday.

I was practicing my cake making skills last week.

We'll see how it goes!

a little splattering

More raindrops. (read my post about "raindrops")

I felt like raindrops were falling on my head last week because the girls had been sick with strep their second week of school, then Jett got a fever for 24 hours that weekend, then Asa got a fever that seemed to last 24 hours on Labor Day. He missed school on Tuesday, but then went back on Wednesday.

Thursday afternoon he came home with a 105 degree temp. That was also the day we bought our new-to-us van [that post is coming soon] and it was Curriculum Night at the kids' school.

It felt like that annoying raindrop thing...where the sky can't decide if it's really going to let rain fall or just sprinkle you enough to make everything have spots.

I took Asa to the doctor on Friday because he was still running a fever and it had now been four days. I thought for sure he had strep like the girls. Nope. No strep. No flu either. Ears were clear. Doc said it was a virus and that it should wrap up over the weekend. If not, I should bring him back.

The fever lingered Saturday with bouts of highs and lows. Asa played some, rested some, and then went to bed with a fever. I gave him medicine and over the next few hours it seemed to "break" (lots of sweat). He woke up Sunday and insisted on getting his homework done. He played and acted totally normal. He pulled out his uniform for Monday, just like the girls. Then at 4am Monday morning he woke Joel up saying he was sick. Sure enough, he had a fever.

He stayed home, and I called the doctor's office. His fever never went back up. Then, it increased at bedtime. By this point I was frustrated and concerned. I called the doctor Tuesday morning and got an early afternoon appointment. Throughout the morning Asa complained about his back aching, then his chest hurting when he took deep breaths. His temp stayed around 100 degrees...until we were getting ready to leave for the doctor's office. Our thermometer read 107!

They did more tests...another flu, another strep, checking ears. They did a mono test, urine sample, chest x-rays, and finally took blood. Everything came back fine/clear. One ear was slightly red, so the doc prescribed meds. We left still wondering what was up.

He's back at school today. No fever yesterday and he's been on the meds since Tuesday night. The bloodwork all came back normal. I have no idea what he had or has. I have no idea if he'll get a fever again or if something was bugging him and is now gone/on its way out.

But, I know that my hair is starting to frizz!

Cutest Boys Around

[cheeks -- his new name;
to fully appreciate the shot, click on it]

Well, that fever just couldn't leave well enough alone. It had to go and land on Asa!
He started running a low fever last night after dinner. It never went up very high, but it was high enough to keep him home with Mama and Jett today.
The first thing he said was, "I'm going to watch tv all day like the girls did!"

That didn't really happen.
Instead, the guys on top of our house were being so loud replacing our roof, he couldn't hear the tv.

So, he did some math with magnets, drew pictures, ran an errand with me, watched the guys working outside, expressed great concern that the men wouldn't clean up the mess they were making, played with Jett, and put together a U.S. map of magnets.
He thought it was hilarious that the men working on our roof took a break and sat at our kids' picnic table.For some reason, I thought it was a little funny to see them all sitting in our backyard too.And, what did this other little guy do with all the incredible banging?
He settled himself right down to take two naps, like every other day, thank you very much!
My goodness he is just as cute as can be! We all love him to pieces.

Who Does Jett Look Like?

Aside from the infamous "how's he sleeping for you?" question, we are asked most often "who does he look like?"
Well...he looks like a Fletcher baby!
I think he looks like all three of my older kids, depending on what he's doing.
You tell me...who does he look like?

What Happened To His Forehead?

my mom asked the question.

ahh..his forehead. you mean his cute little forehead that now has two big marks on it?
yes, that forehead.

well, last week at preschool the letter of the week was T. so, for show-and-tell, he got a (Carolina) Tarheel Tattoo --on his forehead!

it was cute. not where I would have put it, but cute.

when he came home, it was gone and in its place was a big red mark.

after several hours, I asked "what happened?" (for the 50th time). He finally said, "[girls name] didn't like my tattoo."

THE BOY SCRAPED IT OFF WITH HIS FINGERNAILS BECAUSE A GIRL IN HIS CLASS DIDN'T LIKE IT!

I'm in trouble, y'all! ...or that girl will be.

A Continuation

Rylee's fever appears to have broken, but Jenna started one last night. She's pretty miserable today. So far, Asa has evaded that particular bug, but he was up throughout the night with tummy pains and trips to the bathroom. Aaaaahhhh...

However, we are doing fine.

We are watching movies, eating applesauce and bananas, and staying in our jammies all day.

And, some are even building castles and reenacting major dramatic scenes.After this photo, Asa asked "what are you getting?" I replied, "the cutest thing I see." He said, "That's me." (in a sorta shy, embarrassed way that had him swooning his head; hence the blurYes, my sweet boy. It's YOU!

Happy Birthday to My Twins

The twins turned 5 years old yesterday! It's hard to believe that much time has passed since they entered this world. They added so much to our family the day they were born. Chaos and constant activity were the first things to come, but that eventually died down some.
Jenna is a people person. She loves to make people laugh and be silly. She also loves to cuddle (definitely more than the other two). She loves preschool and likes to help the teacher (got some of her mama's bossiness in her!). She watches out for others, especially little ones nearby. She is a nurturer. One of her favorite games to play is mama and baby.
Asa is creative. He can draw really well and likes to build with his legos and trio blocks. He loves it most when his daddy can build something with him. Asa also likes to climb and jump. For a long time he was our softy, but he certainly pulled out all the typical boy traits once he hit about 3 1/2 years old. He has the sweetest smile and a tender heart. He thrives when he gets one-on-one time and loves to play the Wii.
We began the twins' birthday with pancakes (cooked by Daddy). Then, we let them each open a birthday present. Jenna got a Strawberry Shortcake Cafe (to go along with her party) and Asa got Firefighter Rescue Heroes (to go along with his party). They got busy playing with their new toys while we finished setting up our house for their friends to arrive.
With the impending birth of our fourth kiddo, we wanted to keep the party small (to make it easier on Mama and just in case we had to postpone it). Each kiddo invited a few close friends. We decided to do a girl party, then a combo party, then a boy party. It flowed together nicely.Jenna had a Strawberry Shortcake theme. The girls arrived and colored a SS drawing. Then, we headed into the living room and they watched a SS video while they each got their nails painted (pink or red). By the time we were done, it was time to eat lunch.Boys arrived to join in the festivities and we all enjoyed pizza, chips, and punch followed by cake and ice cream. The twins opened some birthday presents (their friends were very generous!).
The girls grabbed their treat bags and headed out.Meanwhile, the boys headed out to tour the nearby Fire Station. The firefighters were very generous with their time and gave us a tour inside the fire station. Then, we headed into the bay for a look at the big fire engine and the ambulance. They let the kids climb inside both vehicles and even allowed them to sit on the gurney and pretend to be transported. Each kiddo got a fire hat and sticker as we left.Once we were back home, the boys all got fire engine tattoos and then it was time for them to grab a treat bag and head out.
The twins had lots of fun with their friends and then spent the afternoon checking out all their new toys.
They enjoyed phone calls from grandparents, a video from an aunt, and even got gift cards in the mail!
We spent the evening relaxing (I started sneezing and getting stuffy) and they rounded out their day of fun playing games on the Wii.
It's hard to believe they are 5 years old. They are so grown up. I imagine that by Thursday when we have a new baby in the family they will look even bigger. They are an incredible blessing and bring such joy to our lives.

Happy Birthday Jenna & Asa!