Alive, but not well

It's been a while since I posted - the title should explain why I've been missing! The past 2 weeks have been crazy. First, let's talk about me. (Ok, that sounds vain. Not how I meant it!) Anyone around here knows how bad allergies are right now, but for some reason I've been hit with my worst set of allergies ever. For two weeks I haven't slept well because when I lay down, I can't breathe! I sneeze about 10 times in a row, and I swear my eyelids are bruised from rubbing them so much to kill the itching. Now on to Mia. About 2-3 weeks ago she started having a bad cough every morning, and then she started to throw up her bottle each morning after she ate. We took her in last week and she has allergy symptoms, but also had her first ear infection. She's good to go now though. Then this past Thursday, Luke threw up at school, and from what I hear, he did a good job of it! This may not seem too unusual for a 4 year old, but I think he's done it once as a baby and once last year, and never even really spit up, so it was odd. Luke said it was the corn from lunch that made him throw up, and even though we watched him carefully, he was fine after that. So we are blaming the corn. Then last night, Marc woke me up around midnight looking for medicine because his stomach hurt, and around 4 this morning he was up again, following in Luke's footsteps. So it's been an interesting health week or two in our house!

We have had a few good moments though. Luke is continuing to amaze us with how much he's learning at his new school. Every week he goes on a field trip to the public library, and next week he gets to go to the Firehouse. The best part is that he gets really excited about going back to school each day, and I can't say he was that way last year. He spent the night with Carsyn last night, and then she came over this morning for a while. It's always fun to just observe them playing and talking. They've come a long way since we used to sit them side by side and take a photo each month of them as babies! Marc, Luke, and Nonno (of whom Luke said today "I love him! He's my daddy's dad!!) are at a U of H football game tonight in Houston, so Mia and I took off to Austin shopping, and that little girl got so many compliments on how cute and happy she is! Well, except for when I was trying to make her fit in a 6-12 month skin tight witch costume at Gymboree... not so happy then!

Now that you know every detail of our health and what we did today, I'm off to rest. Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks to those who checked up on me since I've been missing. :)

Almost 6 months!

This week, Mia will turn 6 months old. It's hard to grasp that she's been around for half a year already, but I'm glad she has been! I wanted to share a few photos of the kids from the past week. I love the one of Mia in her crib. She is such a crazy sleeper already, like her brother and her mom! She moves all over the crib, and has to have her "stuff" to fall asleep - paci, dolls/toys, blanket, and mobile or some other type of music. Marc went in the other night and found her hiding under her blanket! The past few days I've found her laying on her belly, with her head up, playing with the butterflies on the bumper pad (they are tulle, so they stick out. Very fun to play with for a 6 month old!)

Thinking of You...

I received an email from my college roommate, Darcy, today. We lived together for 3 years, and have managed to see each other a few times since then, including just this summer while we were in Ohio. I found out that her husband, Eddie, died this past weekend in an accident. Darcy has a little girl, Lauren, and from the email I gathered that she's pregnant now too. Marc and I had the pleasure of having dinner at their house years ago and I just remember how enjoyable our time was, with Darcy and I getting to know one another's guys. My heart goes out to her and her family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Happy Labor Day!

Is anyone out there actually laboring today, or do you all get the day off? I am going to try to enjoy my already much-needed day off. We have done nothing all weekend and that's just fine with us! My first week with kids went pretty well. Right now I only have 16 kids, but with Ft. Hood, we have move-ins constantly after Labor Day so I'm sure that number will change very soon. My kids are very talkative so that's been the biggest issue to work on this week. It's been very different being back, with most of my grade level being new, but everyone has adjusted well. Luke and Mia are doing well. We are really trying to work with Luke to open up to other people and not just shut down, and that has caused a few frustrations, but he's enjoying his new school and really learning a lot there. The other day he woke up and said "Only one more day left in August" and that's not something we taught him, so I know he's listening and learning. Mia is fine - I think the change in schedule has been hardest on her. She got sick the first week back - just a little virus - but her sleeping and eating has been way off the past 2 weeks, trying to adjust to a noisier room and not quite as much attention all day.


Friday Luke, Mia, and I went to visit Carsyn. When we got there, she came out jumping and yelling, not acting in the least sick or tired. By the time we left about an hour and a half later, she looked wiped out and was just hanging on Brenda. I guess we did our job - wore her out so she'd actually sleep! Saturday was jazzercise and hilights, and then I just read. Yesterday afternoon was jazzercise and reading again. It was great to sit down and just relax! Today I plan to go to jazzercise, the mall, and then probably stop by school to prepare for tomorrow, and then of course catch the Hills tonight! It's been raining her for 2 days, so we'll be hanging out indoors today.
Well everyone, I haven't been on here for a while so I know I've rambled a bit. Have a great day off, and happy belated birthday to dad!


Some photos from the past 2 weeks:

Mia is now using her exercauser, and of course loves it. So it's yet another large, colorful, plastic thing to have sitting out in our living room, but if it keeps her happy it's fine with us! And notice the pillow supporting her back... just one more way Luke chose to "help" his sister.

Here's my class, minus one student who didn't come the first day. We have a sports theme, so they made pennant name tags the first day. And yes, I have permission from them all to post their photos! :)


This is Carsyn at the beginning of our visit... notice the smile? She was totally wiped out when we left. We took some balloons from all the cousins to cheer her up, and I couldn't resist the large High School Musical balloon that sings when you tap it!


And then here's Mia -just another cute Bumbo shot we took.