Ear Infection and other Illness

Well, it seems we cant get well despite how hard we try. I had to go to the doctor yesterday because I woke up at 4am with my hear hurting so bad I thought I was going to die!!! Yep, I have a massive ear infection now. The doctor gave me antibiotics 3 times a day for 10 days (don't you love having to remember those things?LOL), numbing ear drops (they work wonders), and hydrocodone (YES, it was THAT infected!). I am feeling some better. Just so you can get an idea of what our life has been like here is a break down of our illnesses:

1/28 Sunday night = Stomach Virus-Me
2/4 Thursday = Dr. Visit- Cold and Ear Infection- Brady(recheck in 2 weeks)
2/8 Monday = Dr. Visit-Cold/Cough/Fever- Abby (she missed 3 days of school)
2/12 Friday = Chad got sick with this cold thing
2/15 Monday = I got sick with the cold
2/18 Thursday = Brady recheck- said he was all clear and ear infection was gone.
2/20 Saturday = Brady is sick AGAIN- Dr. Visit- his ear infection is BACK.
2/23 Tuesday = Dr. Visit- Me- Severe Ear Infection

Now you see why I am sooooo tired of all the sickness!! LOL

Abby's Dentist Appointment

Abby had to go to the dentist yesterday. She LOVES going to see Dr. Crumpton and getting her "teeth brushed" as she calls the cleanings. She was so proud to show him that since her visit in July she had lost 4 teeth!!

The Dental Report:
Great report!
One slightly loose bottom side tooth.
She is getting her 6 year molars, one has barely broken through!!
She got a Cavity Free Ribbon!!!
They gave her a 2 minute timer to help to know how long to brush!

Girl Scouts! Feb meeting.

We had our girl scout meeting this past Saturday. They girls earned their Magenta petal for Respecting Authority. The played Authority Simon Says, made an Authority Paper Doll, and a Friendship Knot. Abby loves girl scouts. We have 4 girls in our troop but that makes for a cozy sweet little group!

Valentines Game Night

Kelly playing Vanna White!! LOL


Rook Players!!! They are serious about this game!! LOL


Scattergories anyone?? :)




Sorry this is being posted late. As you know I am behind on my blog due to yucky sickness!! So February Game Night was a Valentines Theme. We all wore red, pink, or white. Met at the Olive Garden to eat dinner, then back to our house for dessert and games. We also did a candy exchange where we drew numbers and each got a box of yummy Valentines candy!! I have posted several pictures of the game night. We usually play Left Right Center at the start of the night, then we split off into groups. We have a Rook Group, and a Scattergories Group. Rook group usually NEVER resurfaces to play anything else....they are SERIOUS about Rook!! LOL However, Scattergories group usually ends up playing lots of games. Tonight we played Scrabble SLAM and Scattergories, then all crashed and watched some of the Olympics on TV!! Rook was Cissy, Jason, and Neil. Then since the XBOX was broken Chad and Anson joined Kelly, Usha, and I in the Scattergories group. It is always SOOOOOO much fun to have everyone over for a night of fun and laughter!

I decorated my kitchen table with all kinds of Valentines theme ideas. I put M&M's in wine glasses, conversation hearts in a glass heart shaped bowl, make Valentines Day cupcakes, and some pink lemonade. Kelly made some yummy brownies. It was a great night!!

Feeling Bad...........

Sorry I havent been on lately. Apparently we caught some bug that has made it round the entire family. Brady was sick first with cold like symptoms and an ear infection, then Abby got a really bad cold with a fever, then Chad became sick with what seemed to me to be the flu, now I am sick! It started with a headache for a couple days, then congestion and sinus pressure, then all heck broke loose and I felt like I had been hit by a truck, low fever, runny nose, stopped up nose, cough, ears ringing, oh my gosh it is awful. I stripped all the bedding, sprayed lysol, used bleach to clean and was hoping we would get better. Well, it didnt work, Abby and Chad are feeling better, I am still about the same and today Brady is running a fever. I am so tired of this sickness! About a week before Brady first got sick I had a stomach bug that lasted about 4 days, so needless to say we are OVER being sick. I am sooooo ready for Spring!!! The weather has been cold and wet for a couple months here! Temps in the teens, rain, snow, clouds, ice, its awful. Finally saw some sun today and it was wonderful. Hope to feel better soon so I can update this blog!

Lent

Today is the first day of Lent.

Lent means the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. During Lent many people do some soul searching and repentance. To me it is a time to reflect and prepare for Easter. Fasting is something as a Catholic we do during Lent on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during Lent. Fasting is a symbol of sacrifice. We usually fast by giving up meat on those days.

This year I have decided instead of giving up a luxury or food item I am going to read the book Living with Passion. It is divided up for each day of Lent so I am going to read it each day and reflect and pray on what I have read. I will be posting the reminders and requests on my page each day. I am not usually someone who talks about religious issues, holidays, or topics. It is a very private matter to me and I would never push my religious views on anyone. So these next 40 days some postings will just be part of my daily Lenten time.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. We usually go to church and get our ash cross on our forehead but this year Chad had to work and I am so sick I could not imagine sitting through a service! We are a proud Catholic family and I will be the first to tell you it has been a rough year for us as far as Church goes. Between the birth of Brady, H1N1, the holidays, and this winter sickness we all have we have not been faithful in attending Church regularly. Hopefully that will change soon and we can get back on a regular church schedule. Abby attends Catholic school so she goes to church twice a week during school.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It occurs 46 days before Easter (40 days not counting Sundays). This year it fell on Feb 17th. I looked at wikipedia and thought it was interesting that here are the future dates of Ash Wednesday:

2011- March 9
2012- Feb 22
2013- Feb 13
2014- March 5
2015- Feb 18

Coupons Coupons Coupons

So I am great a clipping coupons and finding coupon codes online. My problem is I forget to use them!!!! Anyone else do this?? I just wanted to tell everyone that I received a packet from Procter and Gamble in the mail the other day with some coupons in it and a form to fill out if I buy $50 worth of P&G products they will send me a coupon book worth $100. You can go to P&G website and sign up to get yours!!! I guess if I had a resolution this year it would be to utilize my coupons and sales that I miss out on. Here are a couple of websites to check out if you are looking to save some money.

Procter and Gamble- ThankYouMom.com

Pampers.com- they have a program called Gifts to Grow and if you buy diapers and wipes and enter the codes you build up points toward some pretty cool gifts. Check it out also!

Walgreens.com has prints for .12 cents each through Feb. 20th. Coupon Code PRINT12. I love Walgreen's because you can upload photos, order them, and go to the store and pick up and pay at the store!! Its awesome!

Parenting Early Years Magazine. I had never heard of this magazine until I was waiting in the pediatricians office and saw it. I know of Parenting but not Parenting Early Years. This magazine is one of my favorites. So much so I got a subscription to it. What I like about this magazine is that it has great tips and advice as well as coupons inside it. The Feb 2010 issue has a coupon for $10 off your first purchase of $49 on Diapers.com, a $1 off Desitin Clear coupon, $1.50 Children's Chestal medicine coupon, and a few more. Great magazine for mommies!

Check it all out!!!

Product Reviews

So I have decided to post on here when I use something and really love it or hate it. I just want to share my opinion and my thoughts on certain items I use. I AM NOT getting paid for this I just hate to purchase something and it ends up being not so great or missing out on a great product because I didn't know about it!!!This is just for my use and just me sharing what I think! I will use a 1-10 scale 1 being will NEVER use again and 10 being I cant live without it!!!

My first item is the Bounce Dryer Bar:
I thought how convenient to just place this bar in the dryer and not worry about dryer sheets anymore. Because we all know we find those used dryer sheets lying around all over the place!!! LOL Apparently the dryer bar is advertised to attach in the dryer and freshen every load for up to 4 months. So I HAD to try it out. It was easy to install. I purchased the 2 month one. After the first load I knew it was a mistake. My clothes DID not smell fresh and after about a week the entire bar was covered in lint. I was really disappointed. It was a great idea but it just doesn't make the clothes smell as fresh. So I give the Bounce Dryer Bar a score of 4. Its easy to use but not as great as it could be!

My second item is Arm and Hammer Baking Soda. We had a diaper pail that smelled AWFUL!! I cleaned it with bleach products, germ and oder killing products and nothing worked. I remembered my mom used to put a box of baking soda in the Refrigerator to help with oder. So I bought a box of baking soda and put it in the diaper pail and have not smelled it since!! So for my friends with babies or anything that stinks (LOL) I suggest using a box of baking soda to get rid of those stinky things!!!! I give a box a baking soda a score of 10!!!!!!

Like I said this is just part of my blog because as a mom I use stuff all the time! I thought my opinions might come in handy for the moms that read this!

Valentines Day

Valentines Day is my favorite day of the year! I love to walk around the stores and see all the pink and red decorations and hearts everywhere!! To me its just a very refreshing time! This year Chad was just wonderful. He bought me a Blue Topaz ring I had been wanting and we ate dinner at the Olive Garden!! Thank you my wonderful husband for this wonderful life you have given me and I still am wondering what I did to deserve you!! I love you Chad!!! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!

St. Mary's Talent Show

Last week was Catholic Schools Week. There are tons of activities that happen at Abby's school during this exciting week. One of the most exciting events is the Talent Show. I was SHOCKED when Abby came to me and said she wanted to be in the talent show! Then the problem came: What in the world would she do???? After many ideas she decided to write her own poem and recite it at the show.

Below is her poem:
Splat and Pat
by Abby Riggs

I am a cat named Splat
I have a friend who is a bat
his name is Pat
We sat on the couch, and then went to sleep
without a peep!!

The Pantry Project

Ok first of all I am so embarrassed with the first photos, my pantry should have NEVER gotten to that point! Sometimes I think its just too easy to throw things in there and move on to the next task. I decided one evening that I couldnt handle it anymore! I took everything out, threw away a TON of expired food (why it was even in there is beyond me), rearranged it all, cleaned the shelves and floor, and finally it was finished!! I still have several ideas for organizing and making my pantry more user friendly. Right now I am just proud you can walk in and actually find what your looking for!!!!!