Halloween Fun

I can't really remember exactly when we went... but we went to Cornbelly's. Oh, it was the weekend of fall break, once everyone was finally healthy and not flu like. The girls had a great time as did Robert and I. I was so tired of being stuck in the house with sick kids, and not going anywhere. I realized I hadn't been in my car for a whole week. I was especially glad to get out and go somewhere.

This was in the maze. We did both mazes, the second one we did was a bit harder and after somehow ending back up somewhere we had already been, we tried it again, and made it out. It was difficult since we had to carry Samantha most the time since she wasn't walking when and where she was suppose to, and Amber was really tired so she wanted to be carried and almost fell asleep.


This was after we finished the first maze.

I took the little girls on the Grain Train. Samantha was a bit upset that I was leaving here, even though it was just for a picture.

We all went on the hay ride, which was really fun. It had a few spooky things like a big tall snake that shot up ....

but it was okay for the kids. I am sure it got scarier at night when they were doing their more spooky and haunted things.

We had a fun time. It was great to get out with the family for a little fun. Although Lauren was still having a cough anytime she was physically strained. She went on the slides and then couldn't stop coughing, she went on their bouncy pillows and coughed forever after that. I told her she needed to stop doing things like that for a few more days.

Over the flu

I think we are all over the flu now.  The big girls got it and Robert had it first.  I somehow managed to stay healthy through it all, even with me being the primary care giver to the sick. : )  Samantha and Amber had small cold like symptoms, coughs and runny noses, but even that wasn't too bad.  No fevers for them and the coughs were in the morning and a little at night.

The girls were suppose to go to school Monday through Wednesday but they missed all those days.  Lindsey missed school on Friday as well of the week before.  There was no school the rest of the week due to fall break.  Lauren had a birthday party she wanted to go to on Friday, she was really hoping to go to it.  She seemed better, but they still would have small tempatures so I didn't want to send her like that even though she claimed she was okay.  On Wednesday she had a really small fever 99 or 100 and then nothing on Thursday, so she was able to go.

Robert was able to return to work on Monday although he still felt pretty tired and worn out but his fever was gone and he would actrually out of bed.  The week before he literally stayed in bed all day for most of those days.

I would take the girls tempature in the morning and then in the afternoon and then again before bedtime even when they didn't have a fever earlier.  I found that Lindsey for 2 days would be fine in the morning and the afternoon but at night she would get her fever back, sometimes as much as 101 degrees.  Weird.

I was seriously going stir crazy!  I couldn't go anywhere since the girls where sick.  Later in the week the girls where feeling better but not healthy enough to go in public (so I felt) which made us stay home the whole week until Friday.  The girls were feeling better so they were fighting with one another and running and jumping in the house and were teasing each other in ways that would annoy the other one.  I knew we had to get out of the house, and was glad when Friday came and they were well enough to go out again.

Lauren still has a hard time when she runs or is very physically active.  She will start coughing and just will cough and cough and cough.  We went "Boo-ing" last night and after the first house I made Lauren stay in the car since she starting having a coughing fit after her mad dash away from the first door.  Poor girl.  I advised her to not to be very active today during recess. 

I am glad that we are all healthy.  I have a trip planned to go to WA this weekend for my nephews wedding and was afraid that the ill would keep me from going, or worse that I would become ill.  So far so good, and I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Influenza A

I have been sleeping good in my own bed up until about 3:15 am Thursday morning when Robert woke me up feeling awful!  Robert had been sick, with what he thought was just a "cold" but was determined to run in the Ragnar Vegas race which was the coming weekend, and the team was to leave on Thursday at 10 am which was less than 7 hrs away. 

Due to some problems Robert was having we arrived at the ER at about 5 am.  (Thank goodness for his parents that came and stayed with the kids so we did't have to take them too.)  After chest X-rays and a nose swab, the Dr. said he has Influenza A.  Great!  He pleaded with the Dr. to let him still race.  The answer of course was a big fat NO!  I had plans for the weekend too which got canceled last minute.  We both ended up staying home.  Sleep didn't come for me again until about 11:30 that night.  I was exhausted!  Then Friday school was on for 2 of the girls, Lindsey was complaining of a sore throat and had started in with a dry hoarse cough so she stayed home.  Emily had a birthday party which made another late night for me.  Saturday Lauren woke up with a sore throat and a bit of a cough.   

Wendnesday was the last night I slept in my bed.  Dr. gave Robert a few masks and told him to quatentine himselft, which ended up being our bedroom which is why I haven't wanted to be in there.  I hate to go in to change clothes and brush my teeth.  I immediately sanitize my hands upon leaving my room.  The couch is getting pretty uncomfortable and I don't sleep as good either.  Last night Amber and I slept on the floor. 

As of this morning...  the count is now 4 being sick, which I am guessing it is all the same thing.  On Friday I called the kids doctor due to Lindsey being sick and coughing (ER dr. suggested to get them into their doctor right away if they start symptoms).  Advice nurse said, "there's nothing we do for the flu, just treat the symptoms, cough syrup, motrin, sudafed as needed."  I asked about the RX that Robert got and the nurse said they don't even have the liquid form (for kids) here in the state.  Now that is comforting.  Not that I am really concerned about it deing a problem with my kids having the flu, but I sure get frustrated when you talk to one Dr, and they say to do this and then you do that and then that other dr. is like, yeah, no your worrying too much... your child doesn't need to be seen.

Meanwhile I am doing all I can to stay healthy myself.  So far the big girls are the ones that are sick and the younger ones have stayed healthy along with me.  We have been washing hands and using hand sanitizer like CRAZY!  My hands are dry and cracking from all the washing and alcohol based sanitizers.  We stayed home from church today, and I am guessing we won't be seeing much school this week either.  My luck, everyone will be healthy again and have all that energy and then I will get sick and have to keep up with the healthy ones while I am feeling under the weather.  I am crossing my fingers and praying and washing my hands with HOT water and soap and hand sanitizing in hopes NOT to be infected with influenza A. 

Reading and Writing

Amber really loves to read books.  She loves to have me read her books and now she no longer needs 5 songs before she will go to bed, now she wants about 8 books read before bed.  My bigger girls love to read too.  Emily and Lauren especially will just be reading for fun when I turn the TV off and tell them it is off for the night or the day.  Lindsey likes to read too, but often she finds something else to do.  Lindsey however loves to read to Amber. 

Amber also loves to copy the girls in doing homework or reading..  she will "write" and call out letters and numbers and other unknown names of things. 

Here are two books she was reading last night... although the story of one went more like Hansel and Gretel, and the other was about the three pigs.

I found it funny looking at her reading, these books.  And I thought we would have to help the kids learn these things.  I guess Amber is learning about it herself.  (Which by the way "We Lived In Heaven" was a pretty good book, and maybe it was just a tool for me at the time to be hopeful of having more children or being okay with whatever the outcome would be.)

Along with reading... like I said Amber likes to do homework.  She happened to do homework on Samantha yesterday.  I went to a few stores today with a pink patch of hair on Samantha and some of the pink stripes still on her face.  Although they did fade quite a bit after her bath. 

Both of these pictures where taken before she had a bath. 

While we were driving around for some supplies for a  project of Emily's, I asked Amber (who was sucking her thumb) if she wanted to play a game.  I asked her if she wanted to play the "I love you more than..." game.  She said no, then I asked about I-spy.  She was okay with that.  I first spied something blue.  She kept asking things and then she said, is it a blue monkey?  I laughed and gave her another hint of what it was that I spied that was blue. 

Background on the "I love you more than..." game :  Long ago I would try to keep Amber quite and occupied at the store so I would say, I love you more than I love speghetti.  I love you more than I love milk.  I love you more than gummy worms....  and I would just keep going on and on with various things.  Now it is a "game" Amber wants to play but now she chimes in and tells me what she loves me more than... unusual it is something really silly like a dead skunk on the road or dirty socks.  Perhaps her love for me will evolve a bit.

Samantha is walking all over the place... she takes things and carries them around with her.  We have lost the remote many times due to her packing things off she likes.  She came from somewhere with a blanket from her bed.  She will take pillows off the couch in the living room and carry them into the family room and lay on them.  The pillows are kind of heavy and awkward for her, but she keeps doing it. 

Samantha is also really big into imitating us... or role play maybe.  There is a book of food we read and now she will pretend to take the food (like I have done) and eat it.  She will also get the dust pan when I am sweeping and try to pick up the garbage with it like I do.  She is funny to watch.  She doesn't talk much, but I know there is a lot going on in there!