Saturday, October 17, 2009

sick kids and a 3 day weekend

Well, the school sends a note home saying that if your child gets sick with the flu, it's most certainly H1N1. And to keep them quarantined (ya right), and don't send them back for a week. I've got Colin quite sick with all the symptoms, and Rona just got over the fever part. It is a little scary when you read about kids dying from it, and you see your child having rapid breathing and hallucinations. I don't want to over-react, but I also want them to be OK, of course. Rona is doing quite a bit better after only having the fever for 2 days, and this is Colin's 1st day with the fever. I'm hoping he'll be well enough to go to school on Monday, so he won't miss any. He didn't miss any days last week, cuz he just had a cough then.

Usually I love 3 day weekends, being home and relaxed with all the kids, but it's no fun when there are sickies around. And, Kenny's off in NY w/ Sy this weekend, working on the trailer, so I don't get to see him much. Just when they get home tomorrow night, hopefully not too late. Kenny's been sick for about a week and a half, too, but of course didn't take any time off and didn't get to bed any earlier. I think he was starting to feel better on Friday, tho.

Right now, we're trying to help Sylas get his grades up. He thinks most of his subjects are stupid as well as the assignments and has quite a bit of missing papers. They don't let the kids turn in late papers in 7th grade, so his grades are pretty bad right now. His Science teacher is giving him the opportunity to make up some missing journals, so he'll be able to get the "F" up before the end of this next week. That's the end of the 1st nine weeks. I can't believe they've already been in school this long. Time just flies. . .usually I'm just trying to get thru 1 day at a time, and somehow it still flies.

Today the sun was out and it was cold and crisp. A perfect fall day, but I spent it indoors playing nurse maid. Aiden was so sweet this morning, and Jacklin too. I had been up in the night with Colin a few times and was really tired this morning. So, Aiden brought me breakfast in bed and Jacklin made the coffee. She's really good at it!! It tasted just like mine. And, Aiden's breakfast was wonderful. . .perfectly toasted bagel w/ butter, and yogurt w/ granola, "just the way you like it, Mom". Such sweeties. I let them ride their bikes to Carmazzi's (the candy store on the town square) and get $2 worth of candy, each. They were so thoughtful and brought some back for colin & Rona. Colin is sleeping w/ his bag of candy under his pillow, waiting to get better to eat it.

We have adopted some grandparents from our church, to be our "grandparents" away from grandparents, and one of the grandma's, Ruth, came over today to get a haircut. She was so sweet and brought popscicles for Colin and Chicken & stars soup and then flowers for me and Chocolate! It made my day. Then, my sister, Amy, called me and that was the cherry on top. She's so thoughtful and wants to make sure I'm taking care of myself. She always has good ideas about things to do and try. She suggested getting together with other moms from church and making meals together, so we have meals for the week and spend time together. I thought that was awesome, cuz sometimes I'm so un-inspired for supper. So, I'll be emailing and seeing if any of them are interested. I think Bethany will be, as she works and goes to school.

Well, I gotta head to bed and check on Colin again. Anyone who reads this, please pray for him.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

finally back to it. . .blogging

What a summer! i was just reading thru my last blog post (june 17th, my bday) and just want everyone to know my life didn't stop. It just got too busy for blogging. I vowed to start up again as soon as the kids were back in school, so 8 weeks later, here i am!

It was a beautiful summer, not too humid. We spent the entire month of August driving, nearly coast to coast. We went east to Syracuse, NY the first weekend and stayed a week up there, then home for a few days to do laundry and re-pack. We then drove West, and after 3 days, met my mom and some siblings in West Yellowstone. Stayed there for 2 days and continued west to Oregon. What a whirl-wind visit there. My family is so big, we didn't manage to see everyone in the 5 days we were there, before heading back to Ohio. But, all in all, a great experience for the kids and great sanity-saver for me. I like to be going and doing, and am always happiest when headed west!

I love fall! It's become my favorite season since we moved here. The colors are brilliant, the weather is crisp and fresh, but not too cold. The smells of wood smoke, burning leaves, spiced candles and pumpkin something baking are irresistible.

We went to Peifer Orchards this last wknd and got pumpkins, apples, apple cider, and honey. They also have these giant cookies that are made with pure maple syrup and they are divine. We love doing that with the family every year and creating a memory and a tradition for the kids. We've learned to wait to carve the pumpkins until a few days before Halloween, otherwise they rot, badly. My parents also visited over the weekend and that was wonderful! It was also Jacklin's 9th birthday, so we celebrated on Saturday evening and tried to spoil her rotten; I think she felt loved, i hope so.

So, I've been a bit down since summer and took St. John's wort in pill form all summer. I quit taking it when the kids went back to school, but noticed I was not feeling better, just more and more sad. So, thanks to the love and kindness of my friend, Leah, I am back taking the herb, but in liquid form. It tastes terrible, but it really seems to help me and steady me. I know i probably shouldn't self-diagnose and self-medicate, but I really can't afford to go to a doctor. I read that this area of the country typically has high rates of depression and suicide. Maybe it's all the manufacturing???? The air we breathe isn't very clean, and i really wonder about the water. Also, there's all the fertilizer for the fields, so even in the country, you can't win. I just notice that I have no interest in life, no care one way or the other, and feel often sad and homesick. I think I felt better today, cuz I actually thought about doing something fun with Rona.

Well, I need to go to bed and get some beauty sleep. I stayed up late reading last night, trying to catch up on the Phillipa Gregory books from this year and last. They are good reading and I recommend them. The Other Queen and The White Queen, if anyone is interested. I won't make promises about how often I'll post, but will try my best to keep it up.