Back to Normal

He is on the move again....full force today at the Wasserbahn.....

Slip, slidin' away.....

One extreme to the other....

This is what the kids did a lot of over spring break.....Colby was mostly bored and Creighton was sick.

And this is what we are doing today......making up for lost time.

A Turnaround

for the good this time! Creighton is walking about 99% normally as of this afternoon!!! Still some wobbliness and he sometimes forgets that he can walk normally and reverts to his compensative ways. But for the most part he has come full circle. Tomorrow he will head back to school. And he is READY! Us too.

Creighton Tyler

One week, one child, many illnesses =
Sunday - Not feeling well, fever starts
Monday - dr. appt. tonsilitis, strep, and sinus infection
Tuesday - sick
Wednesday - sicker
Thursday - sickest, trip to dr. in Ia. City - Influenza, Type A
Friday - fever ends, slightly 'better', some leg pain
Saturday - extreme leg pain, lost use of legs completely, another trip to dr. in Ia. City. diagnosis is post-viral myopathy. yeah, look that one up. not good. tonight more leg pain, and now a neck rash.

We just can't get him healthy. So much for spring break. this child has spent almost the entire break either on the couch or en route to the dr. office and feeling very, very poorly. We were hoping that this weekend he would be well enough to enjoy some time having fun. But, the leg thing really threw a hitch in the getalong. Praying for complete healing tonight.....

Scentsy--the perfect and safe alternative to candles!

I do not go to home parties of any sort. I have been to a couple on special occassions, typically only for the socialization part of it. I have never hosted a home party of any sort in my life. I am just not into inviting my friends over and making them feel obligated to buy something that they may or may not need and is typically too expensive.

All that being said. I have fallen in LOVE with Scentsy. I have always been a candle burner. I LOVE having my entire home filled with yummy fragrance. I have also had a couple of 'oops' moments with candles that could have turned tragic, but didn't. In addition to candles I have multiple of the plug in type oil things from Bath and Body Works. That way there is always fragrance whether I have time or am home long enough to light a candle or not. My realtor always calls me after a showing and usually ends the conversation by saying, oh, btw, I blew out all the candles before I left. Totally unsafe, I know, but I love the homey scents and the ambience of a cozy candle.

I admit, I wasn't too sure about Scentsy until I got mine home and got it going. I thought, this will NEVER replace my love of candles :) First thing, the warmer is BEAUTIFUL. I love the one I chose and there are so many others that I would love to have too. I plugged it in (only uses a small little light bulb for heat) and put in the wax cube. The cube was only about a one inch cube and when melted is only about a teaspoon of liquid. Within about 2 minutes I could smell 'Cranberry Spice' all the way upstairs!

I love it. It is easy to use. It is carefree and safe. The choices on warmers and scents are endless and it's much cheaper than burning Yankee or buying Bath and Body oil scents. There is no soot, no lead wicks, and no evaporating wax coating the things in your house or making black streaks on the walls.

These little cubes can be very highly scented because it never gets 'hot'. It only gets about body temperature so there is no fear of it burning or catching on fire. You can stick your finger in the melted wax and not really even feel it. The wax doesn't evaporate--once the scent is out of it you just soak up the wax with paper towel and put in a new cube.

I have been using mine for about a month. I have used very few cubes and my house always smells spectacular. Not to mention the light that it gives off is a perfect night light or evening 'low light'. I have a big warmer in my kitchen and can't wait to get the little plug in warmer for my bathroom! Those two are more than enough to fill my house with yumminess!

So, for the first time ever, I am hosting a 'book party' through my sister-in-law who began selling Scentsy after receiving it for a gift and falling madly in love:). I will have the Scentsy catalog, scent samples, and warmer display until next Friday. If you are interested in checking it out, let me know. I would be glad to stop by your house or meet up with you however works for you. (to my co-workers-I will have it at work next week--follow your nose :)

And as for my candles, they haven't been burned since Scentsy showed up at my house and took over :)............

Ladybug Season in the County

The ladybugs (I know, Japenese Beatles, but they are still ladybugs to me) are out in full force around here. I have decided that I am tired of chasing my tail trying to keep them swept up. So if you show up at my house you will find lots of ladybugs in every windowsill and multitudes of them in the bathroom upstairs. I admit defeat. They will get cleaned up when they are done coming in. June???

Poor guy....

This young man is SICK! I knew it was strep at the first sign of symptoms so I took him to the doctor right away so we could get on antibiotics and get it kicked before it got severe. Well, 2.5 days later he is getting worse by the hour. I called the doctor back because this isn't typical with his other bouts of strep. Usually within 24 hours you wouldn't know he had anything. We had to cancel our little getaway which thoroughly disappointed Colby. Creighton really didn't care because he doesn't even have to energy to sit up. So much for a couple of days off and getting away for a little family fun. We'll have to try again another time. For now, we are praying this boy gets better SOON!

A Little Playground Time!

We walked to the park from Gma and Gpa's house today. It was nice to get out and about today in the BEAUTIFUL weather. Now if it would only stay like this until summer :)

Finally....a few pics.

Mr. Blaze got a new 'do' this weekend and a lot of attention. He was SO happy! He has a little spring fever--lots of running around and playing with his green ball. The kids were happy to go out and do 'chores' with NO coats! Yeah!

Grout - check

I kept forgetting that the tumbled marble backsplash that Jay put in the bathroom needed grout. So tonight after Creighton's baseball practice we made a stop at Menards and I got some premixed grout and a sponge. I had never actually done this before, but I was pretty sure I could do it.

Typically, my little projects take so long. Much longer than I anticipate and with more complications than expected. But, tonight, thankfully, I got it all grouted and cleaned up in about 1 1/2 hours.

And, it even looks pretty good too. Humph....and Colby said I wasn't any good at construction projects. I beg to differ.....:)

Still pretty wordless

Still not a lot to report on our end. I guess that's a good thing(?).

The kids had their conferences last night. Both were what I expected. Didn't have to scold anyone afterwards so that's always good :) Creighton's report was phenomenal in both academics and social skills. And for Colby, we got the same report as usual. Great in academics and social skills, but is a little 'free-spirited' in the classroom. She does her own thing....if she wants to read a book during math time, then by golly she gets out her book and reads. If she wants to get up and visit a friend across the room during social studies, then she will do that. Thankfully, we have always had teachers that 'get' her and understand what it takes for Colby to be happy and encouraged. They keep her busy and on-task, but at times will just let her do her thing. She is easily bored so we are thankful for the teachers that work so hard to keep her love of learning thriving. I am continually amazed at how easy academics are for both of the kids and how far they soar above their grade levels in every subject. For that, we are very thankful.

On another note, I am STILL working in my bathroom. Everyday I have added 'just a little' something to the project. Remember this was supposed to be just rip down some wallpaper and paint? Well it has turned into almost a complete renovation :) Last weekend I went to look for flooring (haven't decided on that yet) Tonight the electrician comes to install some new recessed lighting that I decided two days ago would be a good idea. And then the contractor can be scheduled to put in the new ceiling. I have gotten new window treatments to be put in. Cabinets have been refaced and new handles and pulls put on. The ugly shelving has come down and new half-wall built. Lots more stuff than I anticipated, but I decided to just go for it. It may make it more attractive to buyers or if we stay I will love it :) Win.Win.

Greg has still been working lots of overtime-7 days a week so haven't seen much of him at all.

Next week is spring break and the kids and I are planning a quick getaway for a couple days. Didn't want them to have to spend the entire break at daycare so I took a couple days off mid-week to do something fun.

That's all there is....pretty boring stuff, I know. I REALLY need to pull the camera out and avoid these long, zero-substance posts ;)

It's Raining, It's Pouring

It's after 3am. Both of my kids are away at sleepovers. Both of my kids are scared of storms and well, it's storming. I can't help but wonder if they are both awake and scared and wanting to come home. Hopefully, they went to bed so exhausted that nothing wakes them. I am waiting for the rain to let up a bit so I can run out and put my car in the garage. My luck it will hail before I get it put away. Maybe I'll just brave the rain....

Alone Time--A Good Thing???

I dream about having a few hours to myself. Now I got the whole night to myself and it's not too great. Not sure this alone time thing is all it's cracked up to be. Now, if I was on a beach soaking up the sun and some beverages, that would be a different story. But, sitting here at home, alone, not so much. I have watched what I want on tv, cooked a pizza with mushrooms that would make everyone else GAG, talked on the phone with NO interruptions, cleaned the kitchen with no one walking on the damp floor, enjoyed my computer time in silence, and now I am ready for everyone to come back home :)

Creighton is staying all night with a friend, Colby is at a birthday party and then going home with a friend afterwards, Greg is working overtime. Tomorrow all will be back to normal and through the loudness and chaos and bickering I will remember how much I miss them when they're not here....

Recap

I haven't been doing a very good job keeping up to date on the blog. I have put many hours into the bathroom project, as did Dave and Jay. It's almost done so that will be a big weight lifted.

Last Friday was read with a loved one at the kids' school. I read with Creighton and Colby invited my dad to read with her.

The kids will be headed different directions tomorrow night with birthday parties and sleepovers.

Other than that, not much happening. See, boring, huh?! I really need to pull out the camera again. At least when I don't have words, I'll have pictures.