Summer Fun

Yep three blog entries in one day. Yesterday the kids had a blast!

Mason just said, "I'm bored what can we do?"

I knew fully what we were going to do but I told him to let me think on it.

Meanwhile, Ashley and her friend went outside and filled up 2 pie plates with whipped cream.

Look at her maniacal face.

Now it's time to invite Mason outside.

Ready. Aim.

He was not an easy target. I had to hold him down.

Ashley's friend wanted in on the action. So Ashley was happy to oblige.

Then Ashley started running for her life saying, "I don't like whipped cream!"

Too Bad So Sad!

And even though there was only a little bit left she had to get me.

I handed the camera to Mason and took it like a charm.

Mason wanted to clean off so he got a cup of water. Ashley got one too, but instead of putting it on herself she threw it at Mason.

Oh man it's cold!

And then Aussie joined the fun. Smart kid put his bathing suit on.

They were soaking wet!

But they had the best time!

Outfits I made

I've been creating again. I found this adorable sheet at Goodwill the other day and I decided to make my boys shorts and Ashley a shirt.

Now that I see them on them, I think I would like light blue shirts better with their shorts and jeans for Ashley. I'm a little bummed my daughter doesn't like things without sleeves. So I guess I need to learn to make sleeves. I'm making her a 4th of July dress for Sunday so I need to figure out pretty quickly how to do it. She is wearing a shirt underneath this shirt here.

And I'm so excited I get to meet my nephew for the first time next week. So I made him a matching outfit too. He will be 17 months old or close to it.

Flip Flop Fun!

Everywhere I look I see people wearing the cutest flip flops. I thought I might like to have some metallic ones. Then one night I was surfing the web and found this ingenious craft for interchangeable flip flop fun.

I just had to try it.

Off to JoAnn's I went. Bought me some $1.50 flip flops, velcro and some ribbons/trim that were on sale.

And away I went with my crafting.

After 2 days of wearing my creations, I thought how in the world do people wear these? They are so uncomfortable. So with a little more velcro I found a way to make them comfortable. I velcroed my sole inserts that I wear in other shoes to the bottom.

Oh the possibilities are endless! Now I can have shoes to match any outfit.

Yesterday we got to go on a field trip to the weather center.

I was probably more excited to go than the kids.

We learned all kinds of things and saw different instruments to read and forecast the weather. And I can't remember what anything was called. But here he is showing us a rain gauge.

I learned that every weather station in the world sends up 2 balloons at the same time everyday. They send it up "Greenwich time".

So here in Nashville they send it up 6AM and 6 PM. The balloon measures about 6 feet across when fully blown up. And do you know what it is filled with? All of us guessed helium, which is wrong. Helium is expensive so they use hydrogen. EEEKS! That's explosive! And I learned that as the balloon goes up it gets bigger. All of us except one little boy thought the balloon would get smaller as it got colder. Anyway these balloons have a little GPS signal attached to it and they are able to gather all kinds of information from it. And since everyone sends it up at the same time they are able to compare their findings with everyone else's findings. He told us that only 20 to 30% of the packages or bags are returned to the weather station. I'm surprised I didn't know about this before or maybe I've seen one and didn't know what it was when I saw it.

This tower with the big "soccer ball" on it is a radar. It has a disk inside that spins around 3x per minute. When we first got there one of the girls said, "Whoa that is one big soccer trophy!"

I found it fascinating to see all the different maps.

It was a small building but we got to see where they went when the storms hit too close to them. They have an interior lunchroom that had reinforced steel walls with a big steel door that they could shut and bolt in case of an emergency. Our guide, Tim gave us a poster that has all the different cloud formations on it. I found it most interesting! It shows the types of clouds they need to watch to see if they develop into tornadoes. You bet I'm going to use that information during a storm.

I was really glad to see our friend, Chance. This was the first time we got to see him in person since the airport when he came home to live with his family. He is such a happy boy. We gave him some clothes and books and he is tickled! Aussie got to speak a little bit of Chinese to him and Chance answered him back.

After learning more about the maps inside it was time to let the balloon go. So we headed out to watch it. Up up it went. I didn't have my sunglasses so I couldn't look up for too long.

The guide commented on how good our group was. Everyone asked questions and answered those that he had. **insert bragging on Aussie who knew many of the answers** We had 2 two year olds in the group and they were perfect too. Really proud of all of them!

And I already have gotten to use my new found knowledge. I was awakened by a huge thunder that roared and roared after it struck this morning. I rolled over and told Greg, "Now that was a positive charged lightning strike." Greg still asleep didn't really acknowledge me. FYI most lightning strikes are negative charged. The one that you hear that hit and roar for a long time are positive.

Severe tonsillitis

"Good Job Doctor"

That is what I heard my doctor say to me when I went to see him today.

Even though I have been feeling much better after looking at my throat last night I decided I better go see my doctor. My throat was the worst that I have ever seen. Even worse then any I saw when I Googled it. Yes it is nasty!

In the doctor's office I became the "show and tell" patient.

The nurse was super fascinated when I told her and she said, "Ooooooh let me see."

OK sure I said as I opened wide and let her look.

"Wow- I've never seen anything like that. You have strep! "

Yes I'm afraid I do.

One minute later she brings in nurse 2 to take a look at my throat because it is so impressive.

"You've got strep. You need a stronger medicine", nurse 2 said.

2 minutes later nurse 2 brings in nurse 3.

You guessed it- to see my impressive throat. She is new and they are supposed to show her anything unusual.

I wish I would have said, "Hey keep them coming this makes a great story." But I stopped becoming the circus freak at that point.

The doctor came in and he didn't say strep. He said it's a severe case of tonsillitis. He said if I hadn't taken the antibiotic when I did it probably would have affected my breathing. I asked him if he had seen a throat this bad before and he said yes. It looked just like his when he was a kid. After doing a little research, I'm guessing I have the bacterial tonsillitis. I may even have the rare form, fungus tonsillitis. The doctor said he didn't suspect that my family would get it. And those two types are not passed on. I still couldn't figure out how I would have gotten it though if it is not passed on through the air by people. I would have had to drink after someone or come in close close contact with someone's mouth who had it. I have no idea.

Anyway, the doctor said I was doing absolutely everything I needed to be doing. He did say one thing surprising. He said that I need to rest another FIVE days. That's a long time since this is day four. I specifically asked about walking (for exercise) and he told me not to and to really take it easy. That I could fall back pretty easy if I didn't watch it.

So I have orders to take it easy.

Anyone want to borrow my kids for an afternoon?

What a day!

It's unbelievable how much we take for granite when we live a relatively healthy life. And when we are sick or have a broken bone, that is when we get a taste of how much we use whatever it is that is wounded. Today I needed something upstairs, so I thought since I'm going up I'll take this basket of laundry with me. Something I would do on any normal day with ease when I am not sick. I had to stop and rest on the steps 2 times. TWO times! My body is too weak to even take a load of laundry up the steps. I was really shocked.

Aussie is driving me crazy today! Since I've been up a bit today he seems to think I am fully better. He yells from the other room, "Mom?" And I suppose he expects me to yell "what?" back to him. But I can barely talk. I'm sure he has done this at least 20 times today.

The kids are antsy. They need to get out. Greg took them to Chick Fil A last night, but they need more. Last week, prior to getting sick I said we were going bowling. And if they each got 100% on their list for a full week I would take them to Chuck E Cheese. And we would go swimming and and and...

Ashley has been super helpful! She gets the laundry out of the washer and puts it in the dryer. She empties the dishwasher. She has been really good about checking on me.

Mason has been whiney. No one will play with him or she's been on the computer too long or he hasn't had very much time on it. This child has GOT to get out.

Today I managed to get 3 loads of laundry done, my coupons updated, dishwasher loaded and run or is that ran?

I'd say I've had a pretty successful day.

As for the 10 things a day list. I've learned my lesson that the prize for getting 100% everyday we would go somewhere is not a good plan. 2 did not get it done. Now who will watch those two when I take Ashley? And will Ashley still have fun if her siblings are not there? I've decided to let the boys have 2 make up days. And I have to stay on top of them to get it done. We will continue to do the list, but I will change the prize to getting 2-3 things at the dollar store. The others will have to wait as the one shops and they will get nothing if they don't do their lists. period.

better

It's nearly 4AM and no I'm not just going to bed.

Actually I just woke up.

I feel significantly better.

My throat still hurts,

but I feel rested and my head doesn't hurt.

I feel like I can do something other than sit on the couch all day.

I'm Sick

I'm sick.

Sore throat.

Yesterday I couldn't get warm.

Then at night I couldn't get cold.

And throughout the night I went back and forth.

I slept all day yesterday so I didn't sleep very much last night.

Today I'm a little better. I'm starting an antibiotic.

Father's Day

1,280

That's how many emails I have unread!

Aye Aye Aye!

How in the world will I ever get caught up. I'm sure over the next few days I will do some mass deleting! I hope I don't delete anything important.

I got a picture of Ashley's feet.

They look adorable.

Hers are cute, so why are mine not? :(

It was pretty difficult trying to paint with much detail on my toes.

Today I walked 2 miles again. This time my family walked with me. I didn't want to do it, but I knew I needed to do it. The last 3 days have been party party party with food. I hope I can walk enough to make up for how much I ate.

Greg wanted Mexican today. We went to his favorite restaurant Baja Burito, but it was closed. I secretly was glad, because I don't think there is anything there that I like. So we went to Las Palmas.

Then we went to see a play at the Nashville Children's Theater. We got 5 comp tickets! Wow it's awesome to have connections! I can't remember the exact name, something like Jack's play or life or whatever. It was a musical and I really enjoyed it. I'm finding that as I learn who the actors are I am enjoying these plays even more. Jeff Boyet was in this play and we ate dinner with him the other night. He was also in the play Greg put on, Arcadia. It was really neat to get to know this Christian man and his father. He is the one who invited us to see this play today. He is a really good actor.

The rest of the day was filled with laundry, and folding it and getting today's coupons in order. And I'm loving playing this new game Tetris Battle on Facebook. Yes, I'm addicted. However, I am trying to get enough points to buy something on the game, so every chance I get I'm playing this silly game.

Tomorrow, I hope to go bowling. Last time I tried to bowl, not only did my finger hurt but I think I messed up my hip bad. So I'm hoping I can actually bowl. My finger always hurts when I bowl. Many years ago I broke it bowling. How in the world can you break your finger bowling? Well I was using one of the balls from the ally that had jagged ridges in it. And it was too small. My finger stuck in it and when I threw it my finger popped. That was my best game ever before it broke- 198. I think that was in the 8th frame. Imagine if I could have continued what my score might have been. Just a couple years ago I passed that. Not by much but I indeed broke 200. I can no longer play more than 2 games as my finger begins to hurt to badly. Most of the time I can only play 1. But I still have fun none the less.

And now at 1:43 AM I wish I was tired! I'll do the dishes and hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep.

And one last thing...

Happy Father's Day!

I talked to my Dad a good long time yesterday, so I didn't call him today. Maybe I should have. But I think he knows I love him!

Tacky Nails!

Oh my goodness! I need to hurry and get in bed. Tonight I painted Ashley's toe nails like you see my hands painted in the next picture. It is cute on her toes. But when I did my fingernails. It was so gaudy that I just couldn't handle looking at it. Greg said I had to keep it that way. But I just couldn't! It was way too much of a distraction.

So I kept one fingernail painted that way and did the rest blue. Well that was just as bad. So I "tried' to take that off and I painted them red. It is much better, but you can still see around the edges where it was blue. Oh well. It was just an experiment.

Last night I thought I saw a skunk go into our bushes, w

ith it's big fluffy tail. Tonight, it was confirmed. Greg saw the skunk in our front yard when he came home tonight and it ran under the fence into our neighbor's yard.

I got my haircut today. Unfortunately, I think it looked better before I got it cut. But I think it may be a good cut and that I just need to style it. I suppose I'll find out tomorrow!

And DOH! Guess what I forgot to put in the mail?

Drats!

Happy Father's Day!!!