Melt My Heart!

Me: "Pookie-bookie, you love Mommy?"

Nate: "Yes, more than anything in the whole wide world."

What a sweet little guy!

Because of Isaac

Ray's brother, John and his wife, Wendi have started an organization to help couples with the cost of adoption through Bethany Christian Services. The organization is called Because of Isaac, named after my nephew, Isaac, and John and Wendi's journey through infertility and adoption. They just launched the website today! Please help spread the word!!! Post a link to: Because of Isaac on your blog. Post it on Facebook. And send an email to those in your contact list. Most of all, pray for this organization and the first featured couple: Grant and Elizabeth!

Thanks!

Florida Fall Foliage?

During our trip to Orlando last week, I was amazed at how much the leaves have changed up there. Now granted, it's obviously NOTHING like up north, but for Orlando, and for December this was pretty impressive. Even a few of the trees in South Florida have changed as well:Pretty oranges and reds. We don't have a lot of the types of trees that change colors here in South Florida, but we do have a few.

The reason for these changing leaves? Several very strong cold fronts during the month of December. After tonight and tomorrow night, we will have had 6 nights in the 30's. Usually, we get one or two nights in the 30's all winter, and that's not until late January or February sometime. I love it! It's so beautiful.

And speaking of weather, we had the greatest weather that we've ever had at Disney. One day it was gray and drizzly and chilly, and it was just me and Grace, but it was SOOOOOO much better than sweating. Soooo much better. I was freezing most of time, and tons of people had gloves, scarves, hats, you name it. All I had was a scarf and a sweater......but it beats the heat in my book anytime. We were truly fortunate because the other times we've been at Disney we have had temps in the 70's-80's. We had a really great time.

On a side note, one night, we were driving home from Ray's brother, Rob's house and it was foggy out. Well, as we kept driving, the fog got thicker and thicker. It was crazy! I haven't ever driven through fog like that before because back home, if its foggy, it's only foggy for like a block and then it's clear. But this just kept going and going and going.

Tonight and tomorrow night we will have lows in the mid to lower 30's (yay). Right now, the cold front is blowing through, and it is SUPER windy with winds around 25 mph and gusting higher! I love the sound of the wind!

Here are some pics of the leaves, which do not do them justice. I don't have a very good camera, and I didn't get to capture all the leaves that we actually saw, but I tried.

Impetigo Again!!!

I swear, Nate must be a walking billboard for Impetigo. He has an Impetigo infection in his nose not even a month and a half after his knee Impetigo issue. Normally, this would be a non-issue really because I would take him to his pediatrician and then she would order an prescription and then I would pick it up and that would be it.

But I am currently in Orlando. Ok, so not really that big of a deal. I find a walk in clinic and go there. The insurance company says they take his insurance. They say they don't. I call the insurance company back and they say they do, but maybe some locations might not. So I go to the other location and they take his insurance. Great. A few minutes later, the guy tells me that Nate's insurance says he is no longer covered. Sigh. We just had to fill out the annual paperwork for the kids, which I am always on top of. However, the insurance people said I "didn't" sign the application (which I did). When I called them about something else a couple of weeks ago, the girl I was speaking to mentioned this but then said she didn't understand why because I had signed the application electronically since I did an electronic renewal. Ok. wonderful.

Not so much.

The guy I'm on the phone with today proceeds to tell me that I didn't sign my application until November 30th and that's why my children have to go without insurance until January 1st. So I quickly explain how one of the women I spoke to there at the insurance company said she didn't know why I had to sign anything when it was already done electronically . The man then asks me if I did it online and then I say yes and he puts me on hold. He then comes back and confirms that I did in fact sign it electronically.

Well great.

So then he asks which kid is sick today. After I tell him, he tells me that he has to submit this immediately to his supervisor and then once they approve it, it needs to go to the corporate office, then they have to approve it for the insurance be reinstated and to be "backdated" for the month of December. This could take "up to 72 hrs."

Great. Nate is sick TODAY with an infection that could spread and lead to other things. And I am supposed to wait 3 days.

Wonderful.

Needless to say, I am not waiting 3 days. I proceeded to find another walk in clinic since the one I was at when all the insurance issues arose wanted to charge $90 for the visit. I knew from experience of going to several of these clinics myself over the past few years that there would be some place somewhere that was a little cheaper.

And so my drama continues.

I go to one clinic, and the nurse practitioner takes a look at Nate's nose and agrees with me that its Impetigo. She then asks me a question about insurance and I explain to her the situation and that I would be paying today but I wanted to submit a claim later once the insurance issue was straightened out and she asks me which insurance. So once I tell her, she knows right away it is a plan that is offered through Florida Medicaid. She tells me that there is a federal law stating they cannot take medicaid patients for whatever reason. Apparently it has something to do with the fact that its because medicaid is under certain income guidelines and if you can afford to be seen there, you shouldn't be on medicaid, or something like this.

I mean, I get it, a little bit, but its pretty ridiculous.

Especially if the stupid Medicaid system didn't screw up my paperwork in the first place I would have had insurance to be seen with at the other clinic, which by the way, I don't know why the other clinic was allowed to see Nate for $20 more than this clinic was.

Whatever.

So, Nate and I left empty handed. I decided I would take him to another clinic and NOT mention the Medicaid thing at all. And he was once again confirmed to have Impetigo and we were given a prescription for it. The most unfortunate thing about that is I don't have insurance coverage on Nate right now which means he doesn't not have prescription coverage either. The med is $36 for a small tube of medicine that I have AT HOME because Nate just had Impetigo a month ago, but I am not home and will not be home for another 4 days, and Nate cannot wait 4 days. So thanks to the government screwing up my paperwork, I had to pay $100 today for services/products that should have been free and it stings even more that I have this medicine at home.

Sigh.

But poor Nate, my little Impetigo-prone child.

Brrrr

It was cold here last night. 32 degrees-ish. I know that when I finally got into my car it was 34, but the sun had been out a little. Now I love the cold so I am in weather heaven right now. I have to say, that even in late January and February when we get that one cold day that might dip into the 30's, I cannot remember the last time they actually said it might get down to 32. 36 is the highest I can remember. Between last week and this week, we've had 4 days in the 30's. We've already had the heat on for a few mins in the house just to take the chill out, and that usually doesn't happen until late January or February, if at all.

Wow.

It's not even January yet. I love it!

And they said it was going to a warmer winter than last year........

Happy Birthday, Nate

Today, my baby turns 5.

It's bittersweet, for sure. He's my baby. But he's 5, so he's not a baby. Sigh. They grow up too fast, way too fast.

Happy Birthday, Buddy. You are such a funny little guy. You bring a smile to my face everyday. I can't imagine my life without you. I love you, from here to the moon and back 1,000,000 times.

Amazing

how I wore capri pants yesterday and tonight it will be nearly FREEZING. Yes, temps will be in the 30's for 2 nights in a row. It's going to be nearly 40 degrees colder than it was during the warmest part of yesterday. We've had great weather all week thanks to a mini-cold front that passed through. Then just as it started to warm up, we got a stronger, colder blast that is giving us nearly a week's worth of nice weather and a couple of really colder-than-normal days for this time of year. Usually we don't hit temps into the 30's until late Jan-Feb, but I love it!

The weather always brightens up my mood. I really just LOVE this time of year!!!

Have I told you that I love this weather??

Kids Say the Darndest Things

The other day I was trying to explain to Nate that back when Ray and I were kids, we didn't have video games, or computers with internet to play internet games. I was trying to make the point that we had to find other things to do because we didn't have these technological things that the kids have today. Well, Nate seemed pretty surprised.

"You mean, back in the old days?" Nate asked me.

Sigh. Kids.

November 27: I am thankful for coffee. It is one of my joys in life.

November 28: I am thankful for having found the bestest (yes, it is now a word, thank you very much) husband in the world. I am truly very blessed to have found such a wonderful man.

November 29: I am thankful for being done with Ortho in 2 weeks. Thank goodness!

November 30: I am thankful for cool weather. I may have already said this but it deserves a few more "thanks" than just one. Cool weather coming to Florida, finally! Woo hoo.

November 23: I am thankful for not having to wake up early to take the kids to school this week :)

November 24: I am thankful for an easy clinical day spent in the ICU and getting out an hour and a half early for Thanksgiving.

November 25: I am thankful for family time together on holidays, and for pumpkin cheesecake. Yum.

November 26: I am thankful for having older children so that I could sleep in today since I went to bed at 6am due to Black Friday shopping. I guess I might not have done this if they were like 2 or something. Phew.

November 19: I am thankful for Pollo Tropical's Cheesy Yuca Balls. Yum. Ok, so maybe that's a bad thing, but they are good comfort study food.

November 20: I am thankful for 24 hour Dunkin Donuts in which I can study in until very early hours of the morning with my study buddy/friend. I'm also thankful for the 3-4 cups of coffee that enabled me to study so long.

November 21: I am thankful for Rainex. I had Ray's car and it started raining, so I'm driving and all of a sudden, the windshield wipers break halfway in the cycle. Thankfully, my friend's hubby had some rainex and put some on the windshield for me.

November 22: I am thankful for passing my second Ortho/Neuro exam. Phew.

November 15: I am thankful for "fall back" time changes.

November 16: I am thankful for having 4 weeks left of school until winter break.

November 17: I am thankful for having good patients at the hospital.

November 18: I am thankful for sister-in-laws who come over to sit with the kids, at 9pm while they are sleeping, so I can go out and study and so my hubby can go to a football game with his brother and brother-in-law.

November 14: I am thankful for almost being done with some massive amounts of paperwork for my clinical that I have literally spent HOURS on. Like at least 10 hrs. Now if only I can be almost finished reading 80 pages for my lecture.

Nate Likes

smells apparently.

The other morning, or was it afternoon (can't remember, head filled with school stuff). Anyway, somehow Nate smelled my hair and then says, "Mmmmm."

I squint my eyes and look at him through the sides and asked, "What?"

"I like the smell. It smells so good, " he says.

"Of my hair?" I ask.

"Yes," he replied.

A day or two later, as he was waking up to get ready for school, I took my hair and put it against his nose. He sniffed and said, "Mmmmmm. Thank you." I laughed.

Last night at dinner, there was a plate with lemons. He started sniffing that and said, "Mmmmm. It smells so good." I asked him if he likes lemons. He said, "I don't like them. I like to smell them."

Silly me.

Guess he likes certain smells. Like my hair. And lemons. We'll see what's next.

November 13: I am thankful for Autumn. I just love this time of year. The changing colors of the trees (that of which I only see in pictures and TV), the cool, breezy air, the flavors and spices of Fall, the times when family does nothing but just be together. I even love the rich, earthy colors that represent fall- oranges, browns, yellows.

November 12: I am thankful for sleep and sleeping in. I can't wait to go to sleep and sleep in tomorrow. After 3.5 hours of sleep last night, I am TIRED!

Shhhhhhh. You hear that?

That's my pillow, calling my name.

Night night!

November 11: I am thankful for our veterans! Happy Veteran's Day!

November 10: I'm thankful for a nice clinical instructor who believes no one should have to learn scared. I like that theory.

November 9: Thankful for a lunch date, alone, with my hubby. Love him

November 8: I am thankful passing my first Ortho/Neuro exam!

November 7: Thankful for being able to finally go to nursing school. I've waited a very long time to be here, and I can't believe it's almost over. Six more months to go!

November 5: I am thankful for cool, fall weather. It always finds a way to lift my spirits and bring a smile to my face

November 6: I am thankful for my study group. Without them, I don't know where I'd be.

Things To Be Thankful For.....

Following along with my sis-in-law, Wendi and her blog, and some other people on Facebook, I will post one thing to be thankful for each day in November. Since it's the 4th day today, I will post 4 things today and then try to keep up each day.

First, I want to share with you some pics of Nate's knee. Last week sometime, Grace fell and scraped her knee pretty good at school. Like the day after that happened, Nate had a little scrape on his knee and told me he fell at school. A day or two later, his "cut" looked really weird. It was a circle, about the size of a nickel, and the skin in the middle of the circle was puffed out, kind of like a blister but I didn't see any fluid behind the skin as you would see in a blister. The circle was outlined by a faint red line. At first I thought he might have had ringworm but after looking online, it seemed too soon for ringworm to have developed. I asked Ray to take a look, but he thought it was just the cut on his knee and so I decided to just put a little antibiotic cream on it and a band-aid. A couple of days later, which was Monday, Nate wakes up in the morning and tells me his boo-boo hurts and he needs a band-aid. I see that he has another scratch mark above his first cut, but thought it was itchy and maybe he scratched too hard and broke the skin. I put a band-aid on it and left it alone. Then I noticed on Tuesday there was another lesion. I think something isn't quite right, but I thought maybe it was my imagination. Wednesday it looks really off. He has like 4 lesions, all perfect little circles, all doing the same puffy skin in the middle thing, and now they break and start oozing honey colored fluid. Ick. My very first thought is Impetigo. But I like to see pictures and the ones I could find online didn't look like what Nate has, so I second guessed my thought. None-the-less I decide Nate needs to go get this checked out, because what ever it is, it is spreading and who knows what's going to happen if I don't take him. I really dislike going to the doctor's office. Mainly because I feel like usually whatever the reason I "think" I might need to go to the doctor's office will usually turn out to be nothing. So, I feel like I not going because of that. But then I create a new dilemma. What if it is actually something? Usually, more so for myself than the kids, I wait until the last possible moment to go (like when I had the flu/pneumonia thing last year.....was sick for probably 4 days before I finally drug myself in). So Nate and I went to the dr. Lo and behold, Impetigo! Poor Nate. Now he is on an oral antibiotic, Keflex, 3 times a day and an antibiotic ointment.

Here's the pic (I had already put 2 band-aids on the little lesions I wasn't sure if they were part of this or not, and I had already applied the ointment to the lesions, but you can still see how nasty these look, which they look a lot nastier now then they did at first!)



Ok and now for things to be thankful for:

Nov 1: My family. They have been so wonderful and supportive, especially this last year since I started nursing school. I love them all.

Nov 2: Snuggle time with my kids. Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of life, I take these moments for granted. I miss the times when they were littler and we snuggled often.

Nov 3: Financial Aid. Without it, I'm not sure how I'd be going to school right now. Well, I'd probably get some loans, but still. You know what I mean.

Nov 4: Cool weather. I just love cool weather. It really lifts my spirits, just something about it. Thankfully, we're getting a cool front tomorrow. How awesome is that?

Bits and Pieces

It's nothing new that I am bad at keeping up on my blog. I usually just wait until I have something of substance to say, other than blah blah blahs. I find myself envying just a little bit, those who can blog quite regularly and have something to say each day that's interesting.

I am not one of those people. And that's ok.

Today, I have a few things to say. Not much, just some bits and pieces.

• Nate, even though he is nearing 5 years old, still says new, cute things that make both my face and heart smile. The other day he told me he loved me. I asked him if he loved his sister, too. He said, "Yes." Then after a slight pause he says, "But I love you one more lover than her." Kids. I just love 'em.
• Ray and I have decided to start Grace back up in ballet. It's an extra cost and takes up extra time that I could totally use but we have decided that she needs more interaction with girls her age. We feel because there are only 2 other girls in her class, and the fact that she's been having issues with those girls on and off, that this interaction is important. Since she missed a year, she has some catching up to do. The girls that were in her class are currently in a class thats challenging even for them, and Grace just couldn't keep up in it (we did a trial yesterday). Friday, we are trying another class and we will see how this goes. I wish she can be with her friends, but Grace is pretty content just doing ballet altogether, or so she seems so far. Also, she is still getting that girl interaction either way, so we're happy.
• Speaking of Grace, sometimes her generosity and sweetness amazes me. I have to preface this by saying that sometimes I don't realize how sweet she is, like during times when she complains about what we are having for dinner, for instance. I wonder why she can't just be grateful she has food (you know, the old "there's starving kids in Africa" saying that for all eternity parents will tell their kids). So I'm sure I don't give her as much credit as she deserves. Well anyway, as I started out to say, Grace was given a gift card to Build-a-bear Workshop for her birthday from my mom. It was a pretty good amount, and I also had two coupons for $5 off any purchase, so we had another $10 to spend in addition to the gift card. Grace, all on her own accord, suggested that she would share her gift card with Nate so he can get something, too. He was SOOOOOO excited. we went this past weekend, and even before we stepped foot in the store, he knew he wanted a puppy stuffed animal. to make things even better, there were 3 different puppies, all three different prices and Nate liked the cheapest one the best. He didn't get to pick out any clothes because we were allowing Grace to use most of that gift card for herself, but he was completely content with his little puppy, which barks by the way. I love my kids.
• I recently found out something really cool. Apparently, my mom was told by her cousin, which I did some searching on the internet and it seems pretty accurate, that she can become a citizen of Italy because her grandfather was born in Italy. This means that I, too, can also become a citizen of Italy from one of three ways: 1) Once my mom becomes a citizen, I believe I would be able to do so as well, 2) My grandfather (my dad's dad) was born in Italy and immigrated to the US, so I can become a citizen through him, or 3) Most of my great-grandparents were born in Italy, so I can become a citizen through them as well. I think this is a very cool thing and I am certainly going to look more into this. Maybe I feel like this is so cool because I am 100% Italian decent, and just about my entire family is as well, so I think it's WAY cool, like I already said- ha!

Well this concludes today's post. I've already run out of things to say. Tune in next time for some more bits and pieces of my life!

So Proud

I have to take this moment to mention how proud I am of my kids.

Nate:
Last year we tried him in school and it didn't work very well. He acted like a robot at school, and while for the teacher this was a good thing because he listened very well, it was out of his character. He seemed different. He would cry the night before about not wanting to go to school the next day, and that was very hard to hear. He would even cry when Aunt Elizabeth would drop him off, which was another red flag. Needless to say, I don't even think he lasted a full month before we pulled him out of school. It was a hard decision since I was starting school full time, but it was the right one. This year, he is a whole different person. He is excited to go to school, although at times he does make comments about wishing it was the weekend or asking me to pick him up early. Overall though, he enjoys it and doesn't cry about going. While there, he listens very well to the teacher, but he does engage in play with the other kids and enjoys the things he does there. He loves his teachers (the teacher and her assistant) and they are very good with the kids. I am so proud that he is such a big boy and is doing so well.

Grace:
She is doing sooooooo well in school. Her grades are all very high, with the exception of her penmanship (which to me isn't a big deal at all). She is given a reading goal each quarter based on her reading level and each book she reads has a set amount of points that she can earn towards her goal. The books she can choose to read are 3.0-4.0 level (I'm not sure if this level corresponds to a grade level, but it is the level for the particular reading program they use called Accelerated Reader). That is the highest reading level assigned to anyone in the class. Also, she has already reached and exceeded her goal. She currently at over 120% while I believe the next highest percentage is around 80 or 90%. Yesterday, she had her very first book report due, which was entirely oral with NO notes. She choose Nancy Drew- The Hidden Staircase, which was a 5.5 level book and earned her nearly 6 of her 13 point goal!! They had to choose a book that was at least 25 pages, which all the kids pretty much did. This book was 182 pages!! Grace got 100% on her book report- the only one in her class! We are so very proud of her for working so hard.

Weird

So yesterday, on my way to go have some coffee with friends at Barnes and Noble, I realize out of seemingly nowhere, the right side of my upper lip starts to swell. I didn't feel a bug bite, it is not itchy. In fact, today, it just feels a little like a fat lip you get from hitting it on something, but a very mild fat lip. And the swelling went down throughout the evening last night, too. Weird. It doesn't have any sore looking spot and doesn't look like a cold sore either. I didn't eat anything before that happened. I can't imagine what would have done it, except the only possible things are:

1) I got a bug bite and did not feel it
2) Ray, Grace and Nate all ate pistachios, which I am allergic to, and I kissed them all goodbye.

That's all I got. Weird.

Happy Birthday!!!

2003- 1 year old

2004- 2 years old
2005- 3 years old


2006- 4 years old

2007- 5 years old

2008- 6 years old

2009- 7 years old

2010- 8 years old

Happy Birthday, Gracie-lu. Today you are 8. Eight years ago I had no idea what you'd be like, how you would look, how smart you would be. You are more beautiful than I ever dreamed, you are funnier than I ever imagined, and you are smarter than I ever thought possible. I love you with all of my heart. You are growing to be such a sweet, amazing little girl. How blessed I am to have you as my daughter.

I love you always.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea.

Struggling

Today, I've been struggling. I'm not sure what exactly has come over me. Possibly the impending 8th birthday of my firstborn. Possibly the reality that my baby is in school full time. Possibly getting ready to see births and babies and the beginnings of life. Maybe a little bit of hormones mixed in, too.

In Target today, I saw moms with their toddlers and I just yearned to be one of them. It made me incredibly sad. So sad, in fact, I had to keep myself from busting out in tears in the middle of the store. I got in my car and drove home, holding it all in until I arrived. I am no longer that mom shopping in the early mornings with her curious little toddler, so full of life. Those years for me are gone. A memory. I can't help but to cry as I even type those words.

It makes my heart hurt that the years are flying fast. Too fast.

How did I get here so soon? It seemed like just yesterday I held Grace for the first time. It seemed like just yesterday Nate was the best Christmas present ever.

I'm sure it's just the hormones making feel all crazy sad today. But I can't help but wish there was a pause button in life sometimes.

Cute Animal Video

Ray shared this cute animal video with me last night, so I thought I would share it here.

This Is Great!!

Someone posted this on Facebook and I thought it was so well done. If you've seen Toy Story 3 and Inception, this will be especially funny. But even still, if you've only seen one or the other, or neither, you will agree that this is great. The video is all Toy Story 3 and the audio is all Inception.

Back to School Time!

Can't believe it's back to school time already.

It's The Thought That Counts

Right?

You see, my lovely daughter had a great idea this morning while I was still asleep. "Let's put the dishes in the dishwasher away and then make mommy breakfast." Nate was game, so he helped.

So sweet.

Only, the dishwasher had dirty dishes in it. Yeah. Now not such a great idea anymore. Good thing is they only started putting just a couple away before they decided to make me breakfast.

But they put my cereal in a bowl from the dishwasher. Also no longer a good idea.

I suppose its good that I nearly clean my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher for fear of having clean dishes come out with food still stuck on them.

Still, it was pretty sweet of my kids to try to help out and make me breakfast.

Toy Story 3

Ray and I took the kids to see Toy Story 3 yesterday. We've been meaning to take them for a while, but opening weekend happened to be the weekend before my psych final and I would be meeting with my study group to, well.....study. Then, after my test, we were preparing for our vacation and left a couple of days after my final. We have been postponing the movie for a month now and we've finally had an opportunity to go see it.

I have to say, this movie is probably one of the BEST movies I have seen in a very long time. It was so well written, so hilarious and nudged your emotions a little, too. I can't wait to see this movie again (on video of course. not going to pay a fortune to see it in the movies again!). During a part where I was getting a little teary-eyed, I turned to look at Grace who was swiping tears from her eyes. That was the first time I have ever seen her cry for a show/movie before. It was so cute.

In other news, the other evening, Nate woke up in the middle of the night crying that his head hurt. I wasn't sure what that was about since he has never had a headache before, let alone neither him nor Grace has ever awoken from sleep because of a headache. While he was awake, he said something felt funny in his mouth, so I took a look and lo' and behold, his bottom two teeth (the middle ones) are loose!! Grace didn't loose those 2 teeth until she was after she was 5 years old. He is 8 months younger than she was when she lost them. Weird thing is when I helped him brush his teeth in the morning, I never noticed they were loose. My only guess is that maybe the carrots he ate at dinner helped loosen them some? On top of that, I also noticed a couple of days ago that he is getting in his top 6 year old molars! I must have counted his teeth like 20 times to make sure I counted right. He currently had 20 teeth, and he is getting in the 6th tooth on each side on top, which technically aren't supposed to come in until 6 or 7 years old. Grace was between 6 and 7 when hers came in. I remember we had to wait to see the orthodontist until those came in and I had tried to see the orthodontist over a year ago with her old dentist. Anyway, I guess it's ok for them to come in a little early, but its just strange to have 4 teeth coming in early at once. Anyway, I'm thinking it's all these teeth that are coming in that's causing Nate's headaches. He's only complained about them once more, so I'm thinking it's not anything else that's really causing them.

Poor Nate......4 teeth at one time must be rough.

Fevers

I don't get fevers hardly at all. Although I have had a few more recently than in the past, I think I can count on one hand how many times I have had a fever since Grace was born (but if you include the fever I had WHILE I was in labor- no, that is NOT good-, then I might need to go to the second hand, but actually, I think I can still stay on that first hand). Ok. Tangent. Sorry. Anyway, that's always been my thing, well, one of two things I can use to gauge how sick I am. I don't get fevers and I don't, well, throw up. If one of those two things occurs, then I am pretty sick.

Anyway, people are different. Some people get fevers easily. Some for no reason (ah, I think I finally see where I was going with this.....funny that even I didn't know). Nate, who got sick when I got sick our first day in NC, seems to have a fever for no reason. We both still have our colds, so perhaps his body is just fighting hard against something else. I can usually tell when my kids have a fever just by looking at them, and I say usually because there was a rare time where Grace had strep throat and never once complained about her throat (surprisingly) nor did she look or act sick. The only way I knew she had a fever was when I was dressing her for her swimming lesson and touched her, I swear I have never felt a person that hot before. Her temp was over 104 and I just jumped in the car and drove straight to the pediatrician's office (after giving her Tylenol, of course). Grace still never complained about her throat, even though the doctor said her throat looked "like a mess." That's about the only time my kids didn't look sick and have a fever.

Sorry, yet another tangent. So this morning.....I look at Nate and I can just tell, something is off. I do my usual back-of-the-hand-then-my-chin-to-his-forehead-fever-test (works every time, but I still can't get an actual number yet). I knew my poor boy had a fever and my thermometer confirmed it- it was a little over 102. I immediately made him rest, gave him some water and some Ibuprofen (Advil). I had to battle his fever with Tylenol, as well.

Still, he has no complaints. Nothing seems to be wrong. But it's still so sad to see your kid sick. They always look so sad.


You know, come to think of it, I never did check his throat..............

Trip Pics, Part One

First we went to visit my friend in Georgia. While we were there, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. We took a lot of pics of the fish and sharks, etc, but I just can't post them all. I honestly can't just choose which ones to post because they are all similar. Instead, I just decided on a few pics of us.

Some pics from the Georgia Aquarium:

Then we headed north to North Carolina to our cabin in the mountains. We stopped along the way in western North Carolina to see some waterfalls before headed to our cabin in more central North Carolina.

Heading north!

Still in Georgia (near state line). Tallulah Gorge, GA

Bridal Veil Falls, NC

Dry Falls, NC

Dry Falls, NC

Ray and I actually took a pic in this
exact spot on our honeymoon.

We thought it would be great to take a pic

with the kids in the same spot

Dry Falls, NC

Dry Falls, NC

Dry Falls, NC

Walking under Dry Falls

Under Dry Falls

The river the Dry Falls flows into

Finally, our cabin in Newland/Linville, NC

Porch View

Mountain view from porch

More views from porch

More views from porchView of the back of the cabin

Another view of the back of the cabin

Side of the cabin

Living Room

Dining Area

Dining Area/Kitchen

Kitchen

Laundry

Desk Area in Living Room (near stairway)

Master Bedroom w/ king bed

Second Bedroom w/ 2 twin beds

Nate playing in yard

Nate on the hammock in the yard

Grace in the yard

Grace on the hammock

Grace and Nate playing around on the hammock
(I never saw the kids playing on the hammock,
or in the yard, the first day because I was in
bed sick with a fever)

Grace on the porch

Grace and Nate on the porch swing

On the last morning we decided to take
some family pics on the porch and in the yard.
It was around 62 degrees- Nice, eh?

In order to get the kids to cooperate with picture

taking, we usually tell them to take a serious
picture first and then we can take a silly pic.
Here are our silly family pics :)