Advent #1

Several weeks ago we received an awesome early Christmas gift from the Moldenhauers. They sent us an Advent devotion series . Allison did this last year with her girls and I nagged her frequently about it. Soooooo... She sent one to us. Everyday throughout Advent, we do a devotion and then an activity, all in preparation to celebrate Jesus' birth. On Sundays we do a "big" family activity. It's great.

Today for the family activity, we had a family dinner at Nate's parent's house. Yummy!

Then when we got home, we did our devotion. Steven decorated his "advent wreath" (a.k.a a paper plate) and we learned about the prophecy of Jesus' coming in Isaiah. I must admit that Steven was much more interested in blowing the candle out than listening. We'll get there! :)

New Toofies!

I finally got a picture of them!

Don't you love the look on her face... C'mon mom, what're you doing to me?

Diagnose This (BUMP)

Bumping, since the results are in. Read the last paragraph for the results.

The newest game for the readers of this blog...

Today's disease is brought to you (hopefully not literally) by Claudia and Steven.

(You know the first four from the last post, but here's the short version of it.)

• Steven and Claudia started out with coughs. It could be chalked up to the same virus going through the family, but it may be related.
• Claudia developed a high fever for three days
• Then both developed rashes. Steven's started out on his cheeks. His cheeks initially looked wind burned and chapped. Claudia looked sunburned.
• They still have the rash, but it is improving. Claudia's is itchy. Steven doesn't appear to be bothered at all by his. Claudia's fever returned with the rash
• On Wednesday morning, Claudia developed joint pain and the fever was gone. By Thursday, the the pain still persisted. The doctor asked which joint hurt, to which the answer was, "Yes." In other words, all of Claudia's joints hurt. The wrists and hands are the worst, followed closely by the knees and ankles. Steven does not appear to have the joint pain.

Okay folks. There it is. The list of what is wrong with Steven and Claudia. I will get a call with the results of my blood test later today. At that time, I will be able to definitively tell you what it is. Right now, it's up in the air between two possible things. (One of which, in my opinion, is just a way of saying "We're not really sure what it is, but virus's suck.") If your brave, leave your ideas in the comment section. I'm really curious what you might say, Doctor Sarah. :)

THE RESULTS ARE IN:

It took a few more days than I had thought it would to get the results of the blood work back, but I got the call this morning. My blood tested positive for the "recent or active" version of parvovirus B19.

So, the first thing everyone asks is, "Isn't that the disease that dogs get?" Yes and no. Yes, dogs can get parvovirus, but the human strain and the canine strain are not the same. One cannot get this from the other. Therefore, I do not have the dog parvovirus.

What, then, is parvovirus? From the reading I've done, parvovirus, also known as fifth disease, is typically a childhood illness. It is characterized by cold-like symptoms, followed by a "slap-cheeked" rash. The rash then goes on to the rest of the body. But, just like many other childhood diseases, children get it pretty mildly. In fact, I think many parents just miss it. They think their child has a cold and then they get a minor rash. We would have missed Steven's form of it, because his rash was so minor and the "cold" part of it just wasn't that bad. Adults, however, can get it worse.

For me, the symptoms manifested themselves as a fever, an itchy rash, and arthritis pain. The pain is still there. According to the doctor, the pain can come and go for the next month. And so far that's true. The joint pain was really bad a for a few days. Yesterday was better. Today is worse. And so it goes.

Well, there it is.

7 Months Old!!

Seriously, where has the time gone?

Not to be Out Done

Allison, I saw your cleaning post and it made me laugh. You see, I picked up my camera the moment I saw your post because this was what I was watching:

Then while I was getting pictures for Natalie's 7 month post, Steven wanted in on the action as usual. I love these pictures.

A Message

Mommy, you are never allowed to get sick again!

(Two more posts following)

Happiness Is...

...the sound of my children's laughter.

Evidently Natalie thinks that knocking over blocks is just the funniest thing ever! Steven always loved that, too.

And now she's showing off her mobility... Pulling up!!! WOW! She's getting so big, so fast.

SERIOUSLY?!?!?

Okay, so I know the economy is down, but how much does a break cost? My family can't seem to buy a break right now...

Several weeks ago, Nate got a cough. This coughing-cold lingered for 3 weeks. So, this is three weeks of little sleep for him. Now he's on the mend, but that's not the end of the story.

A week and a half ago, on Wednesday, November 5, Steven woke us up in the middle of the night... again... Can you guess what he had? You got it! It was his fourth round of croup in 6 months. Thankfully, this one was only the seal bark cough and not the strider (sp?) breathing. Therefore, a single steamy bathroom/cold air treatment and he seemed to be well enough.

That's it, right?

NOT WITH THIS FAMILY!!!!

I woke up Sunday night into Monday morning (a week ago) knowing that I wouldn't have a voice. You know that awful tightness in your chest and larynx. And sure enough, not only did I not have a voice, but I had really lost it. It was hard to make any type of sound to come out of my voice box. I did manage to yell at Steven once when he was trying to move Natalie... by her throat!!!!

Okay, so you would think we'd be on the mend, right?

Nope!

On Friday morning (think 2:00 AM), I woke up almost delusional. I, according to Nate, kept telling him that he needed to turn his heating blanket on because his shivering was annoying me. I remember telling him he needed to turn his blanket on if he was cold, but not that he was annoying me. I did turn my blanket on, though. The next morning I woke up thinking, "Wow, I feel really crappy. I wonder if I have a fever." I did; For the next three days, my fever ranged from 100.8 to 101.8. I went from being incredibly hot to incredibly cold. I was miserable. I spent three days on the sofa, thankful that it was the weekend and Nate was able to manage the kids for me. On Monday (yesterday), I went to the doctor just to be told that I have a cold... Great. Thanks!! I should have figured.

We're done now, right?

HARDLY!!!!

Steven, Natalie, and I went to Chic Fil'A for dinner last night. As we were eating, I noticed Steven's arm was red and rashy. I lifted up his shirt and his back was also rashy. We threw him in the tub just in case it was a topical irritation. That's when we were able to see his legs, too. He was pretty rashy. According to the call center at Children's Hospital, they thought the rash sounded viral. It will probably be here for a couple days.

Okay, now that's it...

DON'T LEAVE TOO SOON!!!

I woke up this morning head to toe rash. Literally. I look like I've laid in a tanning bed for too long. My fever seems to be back (101 degrees) and I feel so awful. I'm itchy, I'm hot and cold again, and my skin is just uncomfortable. I'm reluctant to take anything, because I'm still breastfeeding and there have been no studies indicating the safeness of breastfeeding and drugs like Benadryl or Zyrtec. But I need relief. (Note, the white part in the picture is where the flash washed my skin out. My actual skin color is the same as my knee. That sunburned red.)

I'm going to leave you with a happy pic, though. I think this is probably one of my favorite pictures ever!

Momentous Day

Regardless of who you voted for, this election will go down as one of the most important, and certainly one of the most historical elections ever.

Nate and I plopped ourselves in front of the TV and watched as the states reported in.

Natalie was content to sit with daddy or try to crawl between me and daddy during the coverage.

Steven watched for a little while, but his trains were much more enticing.

After Ohio went blue (the electoral votes for Obama) Steven and I made celebratory cupcakes.

The finished cupcakes:

Get Out

Now it's your turn to get out and do your civic duty

Aunt Katie Visits

Aunt Katie had the whole week off before thanks giving. So, on Monday, she came to visit us.

Natalie says, "I look cool."

Still, the funnest thing to play with is the box

Talk about green eyes!