after a hard day's work

rollercoaster on Vimeo

Although it scares me a little, we've kept up with the tradition we started last year: when we've done a day of yardwork, the reward for the kids is a ride in the trailer. Would this make you nervous? (I just plain worry about things too much. There's got to be SOME thrill to life, and at least we're making memories here!)

a day of Baby Ruth and London

Caroline and her friend, Ruth. She came over for a little while this morning...I can't wait to see the two interact in a few more months!

And then, this afternoon, Seth's new friend, London, rode home with him on the bus. He was SO excited to have a playdate. They built Star Wars Legos for 2 hours, ate dinner...then went back up to play in Seth's room. We hardly saw the two of them today!

reasons to live in a "town"

This post was inspired by a conversation I had with my mom this morning. I've decided I really enjoy living in a small town. Here's why:

1. There's not a lot of traffic. I can go to the grocery store, the bank, the DMV, the library, the quilt shop, the cool toy store, the doctor's office, (heck--even the hospital!) in about 10 minutes.

2. I run into people I know where ever I go! Even after living here only a few months we found this out. (This can also be bad at times, but it usually is nice to run into people. ;)

3. I LOVE the quaint section of "old towne" Warrenton. It's so much homier than how a sprawling suburb feels.

4. There are still "ma and pa" restaurants and shops. (For some reason, there's an Irish flavor to a few of these in Warrenton...including a kilt shop!)

5. People WAVE to each other...all the time, no matter if you know them or not. I've heard this is the "Southern" influence, but whatever it is, I like it. You feel like you're a part of the community.

6. Crime is low. I feel extremely safe...at times I worry about wild animals or dogs attacking the kids though. lol...

That's all for now...

making the rounds

Well...no picture for this one.

We've had a very SICK household this week. It started on Monday with Seth. He woke up with a little fever saying that his ears hurt and his teeth hurt when he bit down. Figuring it was a sinus infection, I made an appointment with the doctor. Be the afternoon, I could hear the wheezing. So, we experienced our FIRST nebulizer treatment in the doctor's office. Seth had atypical pneumonia, possible ear infection and a sinus infection. Four prescriptions later, we were on our way home!

So what's new in our house this week? There's been a lot of "pinching the nose" to not taste NASTY medicine, Seth's shirt pulled up, my ear to his back countless times a day, a calendar with x's for antibiotic and steroid doses given. I've learned how to use an inhaler (thanks, Janyse), and I've learned that even our 6 year-old needs an aero-chamber to administer the albuterol correctly (it just wasn't doing anything when I was doing it wrong, go figure ;).

On Wednesday we got the go ahead that Seth could return to school. I now have a mid-day date with Seth and the inhaler each day to give him the meds at school. I didn't even know that a parent could give their child medicine at school...

Meanwhile, Rachel's been congested and I've been watching her like a hawk to see if she's improving or if it's getting into her chest. Ditto for Caroline.

Eliza's had a head cold, but's been a trooper.

So last night at 2am when Carrie woke up, I made the rounds. Fed her (yes...we've digressed with her sleeping through the night). Checked Rachel's temp. Listened to Seth's lungs. Checked Eliza's temp, and then went back to bed.

Caroline's 5 months old today!

a day for Seth

Seth had a great birthday on Friday! I can't believe he's already 6 years old...time flies! Some birthday highlights:

• Going to IHOP for breakfast with Dad. Seth was most excited for the cantaloupe (and he liked the waffle too...)
• Bringing cupcakes into his kindergarten classroom (26 kids plus 2 teachers meant more than one batch of batter...we let Caroline try it and she cried and cried when I put the beater in the sink. I'm getting relaxed with this one!)
  
• Eating lunch with Mom at school.
• Having Mom read a story to the class--they really loved "A Fish Out of Water" by Helen Palmer. (After the story was over I asked the kids what they thought Mr. Carp did to shrink poor Otto back to his normal size. After quite a few responses Seth raised his hand and said, "I think he got a different fish." Way to think outside the box, Seth!)
  
• Being picked up from school and getting to go to the school book fair.
• Having his favorite dinner: roast and mashed potatoes and gravy.
  
• A family party with his "tire" cake. (Yes...I was experimenting with my springform pan, and the middle DID NOT COOK. We tried to salvage it and he came up with the idea of having it be a tire. Anyone know why this would happen?)
• Spending the entire evening building Star Wars LEGOS and K'Nex and playing a new game.
  

This was HIS day!

as promised...

Here are a few pictures of Eliza playing basketball. This week we have her last game, and then we'll meet for pizza with the team. Good times...






Eliza's defense and rebound on Vimeo