Sick baby

We have been busy with a sick baby lately. Syd and H had a cold two weeks ago, with the cough and such. I called the dr. and they said to give 1/2 tsp of Robitussin DM. Syd's cold went away, and poor H's turned into a terrible cough and a double ear infection. He has been on antibiotics for a few days and seemed to feel better yesterday, and even better than that today.

What I am reading

The book Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline is so amazing! It was recommended on this blog: http://preschoolathome.typepad.com/preschool_at_home/ I have always been a fan of self-help books, and that is a big part of the book. It focuses more on self-discipline of the parent than the discipline tools it recommends. If you are interested in non-punitive measures or positive discipline check it out!

I am on a big reading streak right now. I have checked out about 5 novels from the library, all waiting to be read. I have begun keeping a list of all of the books I have read in the last year or so. I am not including the popcorn books I have read, though I definitely enjoyed The Undomestic Goddess. Here is the link to my library thing: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=erinwtx

The best part about Library Thing is that it will show you other lists that have the same books as yours. That way you can browse their lists and ratings and choose a book that you will probably enjoy. There are many reviews and other lists as well. If you start a list send me the link!

There has never been anything false about hope....

I am not saying by posting the above video that I am going to vote for this person. The way things have panned out in the primaries I don't know which way I will go. But, I will say that the fact that there is a black man and a woman running for president of the United States of America is quite a thrill to me.

Considering that the Voting Rights Act wasn't until 1965 and women weren't nationally given the right to vote until about 90 years ago, these are such historical strides! By the time my kids are old enough to vote, this will be old news and certainly not a big deal. Knowing that thrills me even more.

Writers' Strike

So if the writers' strike is over, why haven't any of my shows started back up? This whole thing has worn me out.

SCHOOLWORK!

This is Syd's new favorite thing to do! Once she turned 3 we decided to do preschool stuff and boy howdy, she LOVES it! She will go for 2 hours if I will! We are now working on recognizing lowecase letters and the sounds that letters make. We also working on some concrete math stuff, which has been harder. We try to do crafty stuff everyday, too. Here is a picture of the playdoh and toothpick sculpture we made. Following that is the process of making new crayons from old ones, which I got off of a homeschooling blog.



Syd is so proud of Bobby B. She colored him herself.


Sorting the broken crayons with Gigi. We got them from church and will give all but a few back to the Acorn Club so they can be used during Sunday School.


Put the crayons into the FOIL cupcake holders, unless you want crayon all over your tin.


Put in the oven for 11 mins at 250 degrees. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin. Leave in the cupcake foils for at least 6 hours, if not overnight. Syd was very impressed by how pretty the finished product was.

Happy Valentines Day!

Syd's class had a party! Hay's class didn't throw one, nor did he go to school that day because of his constant drainage. He actually threw up it was so bad. Poor baby. The kids enjoyed a royal feast at 9:30 in the morning and took home WAY too much candy, of course. The little guy to the right of Syd is her best friend forever. They try to spend every minute possible together. The kids got the rare treat of playing in tents afterward, though I only managed to get the back of Syd crawling into the next one.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

We had a 70 degree day last Sunday! We fixed up the sand and water table (converted by the kids to sand and mud so it is now just a sand table) and they had a ball, spending hours outside! H was FILTHY. I don't understand it. We are sooo ready for spring around here. The kids just thrive outside. We got into the hot tub twice this week, also. The Lowes are ready for summer!

My little stinker

H-Dubya is not getting into things like he used to. He has learned the rules and rarely gives me trouble, other than occasionally running into the store room of a local shoe store or something. He did get into a little mischief this last week. He pulled off the ENTIRE roll of toilet paper, leaving just the cardboard. Sydney caught and reported him ASAP, of course. The last two pics are from after dinner. He is full able to feed himself applesauce with a spoon now so we take his shirt off. Oh, and btw, that fabulous kleenex holder on the back of the toilet tank that I have had for years, before Ron and I were even married was rudely and hap-hazardly thrown to the ground and split into a million that same night.

H-Dubya's 18 month well check

H went to the doctor on Monday and YIKES. He is a LARGE child. He is 34.75 inches tall and weighs 34 POUNDS!! I think Syd weighs 35 but we haven't weighed her in awhile. Can you imagine? No wonder Brokeback's back is out and I have a permanent knot under my left shoulder blade.

He is looking good, otherwise. We WERE advised to cut back on the milk intake. He eats healthy stuff, (fruit, yogurt, applesauce, green beans, mostly organic and no high fructose corn syrup)but ounce upon ounce of warm milk is definitely his weakness.

He got two shots and was a trooper. Cried for about 15 seconds. Such a big boy!

WOOHOO!

Brokeback will say it is too early to celebrate, and he doesn't know I am posting this, BUT he feels MUCH better after the shot today. Like 80%. I am so happy. God is so good. Now we just have to make sure he doesn't go overboard because he feels like he can do things that he shouldn't. He can't lift the baby for another 3 or 4 weeks, if ever, and he can never push/move furniture or boxes again. Not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination, but something that could easily be forgotten!

Back Update

After spending the entire day with doctors or waiting on doctors, we have info on The Back.

The MRI shows no additional extrusions or ruptures, thank you LORD. It does show that the nerve is inflammed and may also be irritated. He will get a steroid shot tomorrow since the oral steroids didn't seem to make a dent. His pain has improved by about 50%. We are praying the shot takes care of the bulk of the rest.

Another Back Update

BAD NEWS.

Brokeback took a step down into our living room on Tuesday and jarred his left leg. It has been painful again, and so has his back ever since. The doctor said he may have RE RUPTURED his disc. He is on steroids. If things aren't looking up they will need to do another MRI. Please PRAY that he didn't damage his back again already. Neither one of us want to go through surgery again. I could just cry. Of course I already have but I could again just typing this.