Once again from the Land of the Sickies

Well, some of you might have noticed my lack of contact with the outside world. The answer is simple, my family is diseased! We were hit with another flu bug last Wednesday and still haven't recovered! It started with Abby and Katie having a very bad case of diarrhea. They seemed to be better late by Thursday but then early Saturday morning I heard poor Abby May throwing up in her bed. Abby has never thrown up for real, so I now consider her to be officially out of the baby stage!

I was secretly feeling poorly myself but I pulled myself up by my mommy bootstraps and put on my nursing hat! Four changes of bedclothes later she finally was able to keep some very watered down apple juice in her tummy. So then it was Katie's turn. She never actually threw up but we had many many trips to the bathroom! The laundry really piled up and wouldn't you know the dryer decided to be on the fritz! It now takes three+ hours to dry anything. So I strung up a clothesline in the kitchen and did the laundry the old fashioned way!

Joel was feeling terrible Sunday morning so we all stayed home from church and I ran around washing laundry and trying to make everyone comfortable. Monday Joel stayed home but Katie seemed to be fine and Abby May also seemed to be on the mend.

Tuesday morning Joel went off to class and I went back to bed being very, very tired. I told Katie she and Abby could play quietly in their room while mommy rested. (Don't worry, I had the gate up so they couldn't escape!) I never quite fell asleep, something didn't feel right. Abby wasn't making any noise. Now of the two girls Abby is the noise maker, especially in the morning! If Katie hadn't been making any noise I wouldn't have even blinked! So I got back up to check on them and became very worried to see Abby just laying on her bed staring off into space. She was breathing normally and was responsive but Katie told me she hadn't gotten out of bed yet which made me worry even more. Abby is not one to stay in her bed when she could be out of it! I checked her temperature to see if she had a fever but it was only 96! So I bundled her up and gave her some apple juice and cheerios to see if that would perk her up. She ate and drank well enough but just didn't want to play. So her and I had a cuddly morning and gradually her temp rose to a more normal level.

Joel stopped by the store after work to pick up some pedialite and a few other things we needed and came home with a headache. All this while I had been trying to ignore my increasingly upset tummy. We had a simple dinner of bread (Joel had picked up a fancy loaf form the bakery) and I also ate the peanut butter candy bar he had gotten for me. That turned out to be the breaking point for me! Joel put got the girls ready for bed while I lost it in the bathroom sink! (For those of you with weak constitutions I apologize ahead of time for the nasty descriptions that are coming!) Let me tell you peanut butter candy is not fun to throw up!!!

The girls did not like my absence from their bedtime routine so I made a quick appearance and then had to visit the sink again! Joel was a very nice husband and after he had finished his homework he read to me from the book I had given him for Valentines Day to take my mind off my icky tummy and terrible bone aches. He even fixed me some peppermint tea in a real tea cup! Of course I threw it up ten minutes later but at least it tasted better coming up then peanut butter, chocolate, and maple and brown sugar oatmeal! I tossed my cookies again around two in the morning but actually got some good sleep after that.

I did not make my poor husband stay with me while I got sick. Apparently it disturbs him to hear me "Shouting vile things into the toilet" (his words, not mine!). I never knew that I threw up loudly or that was any other way to throw up until I married him. When he tosses his cookies he coughs politely a few times, gags a bit, then is done. I let loose with all I've got and wake up the neighbours! I really scared him the first time he witnessed me ralphing! :)

This morning we both felt wretched but Joel managed to stumble downstairs and get the girls breakfast. I let them eat in their room because I couldn't stand up for two minutes in a row and I really didn't want to deal with the smells and sounds of breakfast! So while they had a blast eating in their room we stayed in bed. A few minutes later the power went off. So poor Joel got out of bed again and went to talk to our landlord (they live in the front part of the house). Apparently the whole area was without power but ours came back on pretty quick because most of the workers at the electric company live here in Taylor. It's a nice little town! So we spent most of the morning in bed while the girls played in their room and then Joel played a little on the computer while I slumbered away. Them I decided we should probably feed the children again and we all went downstairs.

The girls had dry cereal for lunch (I wasn't taking any chances on any food with more flavor) and Joel and I had Gatorade. We watched some 'MacGuyver' while we "ate" and then I put Abby to bed and Katie in the tub. Katie is an amazing little girl who will be perfectly happy in the tub for hours on end , so I sat on the couch and listened for any drowning noises while we watched another 'MacGuyver' episode and she played. I started to feel better after Katie was done with her bath and Abby woke up. Now the girls appear to be completely better and Joel and I are getting there! Hopefully we'll all be back to our healthy selves by tomorrow! :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Today is my second most favortie holiday! I love Valentines Day!!! I have since I was a very little girl! I loved making valentines to take to school, I loved making the special little bags that we taped to our desks to hold all our valentines! I loved the parties, and the candy, and the happy-happy-joy-joy feelings!

Valentines Day is even more awesome when you have a Sweetie to share it with! Joel has good present sense, by that I mean he can really zero in on what gift will make me squeal the loudest! This morning he didn't have to be at work until 10:45 so we had a little Valentine breakfast. I baked cinnamon rolls and made coffee and we exchanged some presents. Katie was very excited about everything and kept telling everyone "Happy Valentines!" even the guinea pig! We got the girls each a Beanie Baby (Katie's was a bright pink frog that she named "Pinky" and Abby's was a ballerina duck that Katie named "Princess") and with some money that Grandma Perry sent for the day (thanks grandma!) the "Curious George" movie.

I got Joel a book "The Black Arrow" which is one of his all time favorites. He has a copy of it but it is very old and well used and he has been lamenting that it was falling apart for a couple years now. So I found a copy of it on e-bay. I love E-bay! I like the book too, it has a little romance in it so I thought that would make a nice present. Joel really liked it and its going to be the next book he reads aloud to me. Right now he's reading me a series based on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I love that my boy reads to me! :)

This year Joel totally outdid me! The naughty boy got me three presents! It was like Christmas! He got me "Emma" on DVD, "Persuasion" also DVD, and the book "Becoming Jane". I squealed nice and loud! As soon as Abby goes nappy-night-night I'm popping in "Persuasion" and having Jane-Day! I have been looking for that copy of "Persuasion" to rent for awhile but could never find it! I thought it looked really good and Joel said the reviews said it was very close to the book! Yay! I think I can persaude :) Joel to watch "Emma" with me tonight after we got out to dinner. He does not particularly enjoy Austin movies (nobody's perfect I guess!) but he will watch "Emma" because it is humourous and he loves "Miss Bates" character! Happy Day!

Now with all this love in the air I have to mention my Katie's first little romance. There is a boy at church named "Matthew", he is five years old and he is the pastor's son. Ever since we first moved out here the two have been inseparable! The picture is of them hanging out having a milk break not too long after we first moved out to PA.

A little while ago when Matthew had to leave Katie while we were visitng at their house (I think he had to change into his pj's or something) he got down on one knee, took her hand in his and said earnestly "Katie, I have to leave you know but its okay because we love each other and someday we'll always be together! Okay?" Ah young love! :)

When ever we go to church we are greeted with "KATIE!!! KATIE!!!KATIE IS HERE!" followed by Katie squealing and giggling and shouting "Matsew, Matsew!" (she can't quite pronounce Matthew yet!). Katie gets very sad when we have to leave Matthew and usually sheds a few tears in the car and tells how much she misses him! When we went to their house recently for a super bowl party Matthew remarked to his mommy while helping Katie take her coat off, "Isn't she pretty mommy?" :)

Recently Matthew has said he is going to marry Katie. He's told his mommy, he's told me, and on Sunday he told Katie. He told her casually while we made name bracelets during Sunday School (I teach their Sunday School class and they are my only students) and she seemed okay with the idea. After church when they said goodbye he picked her up in a big hug and twirled her around and around. Katie's hair was flying in a golden cloud all around her as she giggled and Matthew grinned at her! It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen!

So I decided it was time to have a chat with my daughter about Matsew. Now I know she is only 3 but I was curious to see what was going on in her little head. So Monday afternoon we had a conversation about her friends and who she loves. She told me she loved Matthew very much, that he was her best friend. I then asked her who she was going to marry when she grew up and she said "I don't know Mommy." Then she paused and seemed to search the depths of her heart. After her moment of reflection she looked up at me and said "I think I'll marry Matthew mommy." I told her she could if she wanted too when she grew up but she didn't have too if she ever changed her mind, it was a long time before she would be grown up enough to get married. She looked slightly insulted at this and assured me she was going to marry him. I then asked her what she thought getting married meant. She said it meant she got to live at his house and play with him all the time and have babies. :)

This morning I told Joel about our conversation and when I came to the part about me telling her she didn't have to marry Matthew she interrupted me and said "But mommy I want too! I am going to marry Matthew!"! Joel and I tried very hard not to laugh as I reassured her she could when she grew up if she still wanted too.

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Like my brother said in his blog although Katie is very young I want to give her a good Godly foundation of how to treat boys and how boys should treat her. I also want these kinds of talks to be normal so when the time comes when she is old enough to have a boyfriend she won't feel like she can't come to me to talk about it. I plan on being a very nosey mother when it comes to boys but I hope my girls will be comfortable talking to me about it because those talks have been a normal part of our relationship. Now I remember being a teenage girl, and I know there are things that they will not want to talk about but by God's grace I hope to establish a basis of trust and ease so that when we do talk it won't be too weird! :)

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So my Katie has had her first marriage proposal at the age of 3! Pretty good! My first wasn't until I was 6! At least thats the first one I remember! I had lots of proposal's and confessions of love through my childhood and teenage years (including a confession written in a book I had loaned a boy that read 'Dear Karen, I love you. Guess who?') and I'm sure Katie and Abby will too! Of course the great love of my life is the man I'm married too! He's smart and fun and treated me like a lady while we were dating (opened doors for me, carried my book bag, etc...)and makes me feel like a princess! Plus he's got a killer grin and nice blue eyes! :)

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So Happy Valentines Day everyone! Go hug your Sweetie or if you don't have a Sweetie a nice big, skishy stuffed animal will do!

OUCH!!!

This morning at a few minutes past nine I realized the garabage had to be taken to the curb. Our front neighbours (and landlords) are usually kind enough to do this for us but not in bad weather. As it had snowed all day yesterday and rained all night long I figured I would have to drag the cans to the curb myself. The garabage men usually come around nine so I hastily threw on my coat, scarf, and shoes and ran out the door with some broken junk that I wanted to go out, in my hand. As I ran to the first step I thought, "wow, the ground is all covered in slush!" and as I flew through the air I thought, " nope, its covered in ice!" By the time my brain caught up to what was going on with my body it was too late to catch myself, especially since our stairs have no rail. I remember thinking "stink!" and then there was lots and lots of pain!

At first I just layed trying not to scream, then I realized the only people that could come rescue me were the garabage men . Garbage men aren't my ideal choice for a rescuer. If I had to choose from all the the people who came to our house to perform a public service, I think I'd rather have the crotchety old Irish mailman! At least he hasn't been handling garbage all day! Plus I was in my bright pink penguin flannel pj's and I have a fear of being caught outdoors in my pajama's! So undignified! So I crawled whimpering and gasping up the stairs and through the door thinking how Joel was going to have to take a day off work because I had just broken my entire body and that would make him very cranky!

The pain was pretty bad, I thought I had at least broken my leg and perhaps my arm because I couldn't move either of them. I laid in the hallway, buried my head in a pile of clean laundry and screamed for a bit until the pain receded then I giggled. For some inane reason I laugh when I'm in extreme pain. Anyway, I heard Katie come pattering into the kitchen so I put on my brave face and assured her mommy was okay. I then decided to try and move and ascertain the damage. I wiggled my fingers and though the tips hurt I knew nothing was broken and was relived, I moved my right foot and though it hurt terribly, was very happy I could. Slowly, I stood up, put weight on my leg, and then whimpered. My bum hurt REALLY bad! I checked out the tender area and was alarmed at the puffiness. Now as my husband loves to tease me about I don't have much of a bum. I've had complaints from people whose laps I have sat on that it is very boney. So while most people wouldn't be worried by a puffy behind it made me anxious!

I limped over to the mirror to take a gander. I had a nice red bruise across the right half of my lower back and nice big round one on the top half of the right side of my backside. I realized then this was how older people broke their hip and was thankful I was not old and my bones were relitively strong. I have fallen down a lot in my years and have not broken one yet! I thanked God that He had spared me and thought about the injury my poor gaurdian angel must have sustained! I probably squished him really good! :)

Katie was very worried about my owie and suggested a Hello Kitty Band-Aid to make it better. I thanked her for wanting to share her special band-aids but told her my owie was too big for one. All this while Abby had been gated into her room because she had thrown a little tantrum during breakfast and had been put their until she could improve her behavior. I was going to go get her when I realized that the garabage still had to be taken out. So I changed into jeans (ouch!) put my shoes, scarf, and coat back on and went back outside. This time I carefully descended the stairs, almost fell anyway, and then skated down the driveway to the curb to see if the garabage man had come yet. No one else had their garabage out and the only person attempting to clear away the ice was our across the street neighbour. Now this man is amazing, he's almost eighty and is more robust then most twenty year olds! He'll shovel anything in any weather!

I decided that it simply wasn't worth the struggle removing the two grabage cans from the ice and then pair skating with them to the end of the drive so I skated back to the house and crawled back up the stairs. I did manage pick up the trash that I had flung in the air when I fell.

I went upstairs and got Abby down then went to check out my poor bottom that still hurt terribly. While I was grimacing at it Katie came up and said "I'll make it feel better mommy!" and gave me a nice big kiss! Not to be outdone Abby came up and gave it a good smack with her little hand. Fortunately for Katie her kiss landed on my lower back but Abby May hit my bruise square on and I had to smile instead of cry and say "Thank you girls, that made mommy feel so much better!"

I then limped to the phone and called my hubby because I wanted to whine at someone and get some sympathy. After assuring him I didn't need to go to the emergency room he commiserated with me and then we had a good laugh!

So now I can hardly sit, or walk but I am otherwise okay. Honestly, I think my body's warning system that something is wrong might be too good. From all the pain of the fall I thought I had broken the entire right side of my body! All that for just a sore bum! Yikes!

O The Wonder of Tea!

I woke up this morning feeling nasty. My head ached, my legs hurt, my chest hurt, my nose was stuffy, and I had that strange buzzy feeling in my head. I laid there hoping the girls would sleep in and Joel's lunch would magically make itself but to no avail! At the usual time Abby's little voice came floating from across the hall "Kaydeee?" and then Katie's voice "Abby!". There was a short pause and I prayed desperatley with all my soul that they would simply flall back asleep but then came the giggles and the sisterly chit chat. I tried to ignore them while Joel got up to shower but then Katie's slightly paniced " I have to potty!" came through my groggy thoughts. Sigh! So I forced myself from the warm blankets and tottered to the girls room to begin our day. I think Joel's lunch made sense, I can't exactly remember what I put in it. Brownies and instant oatmeal I think. Poor guy!

After I kissed Joel goodbye I took some Tyleonol cold and settled the girls down in front of "Curious George" with their breakfast. Then I went to the kitchen to do my morning routine because if even a mommy feels like dirt she's still the mommy and has to keep the house in some sort of order! So I washed dishes, made coffee, put in a load of laundry (Monday is laundry day), cleaned the counters and floor. I drank the coffee but even though it was tastey it just didn't hit the spot! I wanted something different to drink; hot, comforting, and yummy...what did I crave that coffee just could not satisfy? Tea! I dug around in my substantial tea collection and found what I was looking for: some nice green tea with echincea and lemon, yum! I brewed myself up a cup and sipped it nice and slow! Perfect!

Of course once you have a perfect cup of tea you want another so after a little while I brewed myself a cup of my all time favorite tea- Lemon Blossom by Stash. Heaven! I think that particular tea is absolutely perfect, just what tea should be! It doesn't need sugar or honey, its tart and refreshing while soothing and relaxing! Yum! In my opinion a good cup of tea can make everything better!

I don't just love tea itself I love everything that goes along with it! I love tea pot and tea cups, crumpets, scones, and little doilies. Someday I want to get a tea cart! I have a small collection of tea pots and tea cups which decorate the tops of my cupboards! I always drink my tea in a real tea cup, I just love the rattley noise the cup makes against the saucer! If Joel makes me tea I insist that he does so in a tea cup, once he was actually going to make it in a coffee mug! I made him stop and get my tea cup! It probably was a little bratty of me but I was sick at that time and didn't really care too much! My poor husband!

Right now I'm sipping another cup of green tea and though my head still aches and my nose is a little stuffy the tea has made me relaxed and happy. I suppose the Tylenol cold I took might also have something to do with that but I like to think it was simply the good hot tea and the nice happy clinky noise my cup makes on my saucer! Tea might just be the world's perfect beverage! I'll end with this picture of tea and a lovely explanation about how tea makes everything better written by some fellow in the UK.

"It's funny but in the U.K there is one thing that can solve a million different problems. Your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband etc etc has just left you, never mind, have a nice cup of tea. You've just crashed the car, just been mugged, been stuck 9 days in traffic, didn't get that job, lost your favourite watch, deleted work on the computer, buried the dog, fell over, broke a bone, have a huge spot on your nose, missed your favourite TV programme, didn't get that phone call, have an ingrown toe nail, have strange hair sticking out of your ears ... then don't worry, I'll go and put the kettle on and make us a lovely cup of tea. Then you will feel lots better. :o) "

My New Machine

So yesterday I broke down and bought a new sewing machine! My husband made me! I've been coaxing my old machine along for months now to get it just to sew a simple seam and I knew the end was near but didn't want to spend that much money on a new one! However, I have been trying to sew a baby quilt for a new little baby in our church and it had been doing tolerably well though I had to baby it with much lifting of the presser foot and other little time consuming things but then it up and quit on me. If I attempted to sew anything the bobbin and top thread would snarl all up in a big ball and then suck the poor fabric down into the bobbin casing where it would then eat it. I let it rest, tried fabric that wasn't as thick but it just didn't want to be a sewing machine anymore, it would rather be a very big paperweight!
Now I have tried my best to save my poor machine, its seen a lot of sewing projects in it history with me! I bought it the summer after my freshmen year and have sewn four full size quilts on it, eight baby quilts, a few minature quilts, a couple lap quilts, countless potholders, and many other little projects and of course my bridesmaid dresses. Most of the quilts were also topstitched on it which is very hard on a machine! It wasn't a high quality machine when I bought it so I knew it wouldn't last forever. It was a Walmart $150 Brothers on sale for $125 with no bells or whistles but I had a very personal and tender attatchment to it! I had dusted it, oiled it, let it rest, read it stories etc... but to no avail, it was time to let it go!

So Joel took us girls out (he had a half day at work) and made me get a new machine. I got a nice, shiny Singer (which is a step up from a Brothers although Brothers is a good brand) for $180 at WalMart because it was about $50 cheaper than if I had bought the same model at JoAnn Fabrics. It's a very basic model but I'm not into machine embroidery which is what you pay for if you go the next step up. I would not mind getting a $500 machine or more like a Bernina but that simply isn't in our budget! Just typing the word Bernina gives me shivers! It's an awesome machine! Like the cadilac of sewing machines!

Anyway, after I put the girls to bed Joel helped me get it out of the box (how do they get it packed in so tight?!) and I got to play with it. It was easy to get all set up though I didn't bother with the automatic needle threader (if something takes five steps to do to replace something that only took one step why would anyone bother?) and got some scrap fabric to try it out on. It sewed beautifully without sounding like it was about to explode and take the whole neighbourhood with it! I even played with the embroidery stitches (I prefer hand embroidery, in my opinion it looks better, and I just like to handsew!)because they looked so nifty and I really wanted to push all the buttons!

The foot pedal takes some getting used to. It's pretty finicky, you have to press it down very slowly and if you go to fast it just doesn't do anything. I can get used to that as long as it doesn't eat what I'm sewing! So today I made real progress on the baby quilt and felt weird not having to use all my tricks to make the machine go! So thanks dearest husband who made me go and get a new one! And here's to my old machine that I loved like a small child!