Who has not been affected by the sickness?

It seems like when one gets sick, we all get sick. Nolen has had a runny nose for almost a month now. Took him to the Dr. several weeks ago and he had bronchitis. He took medicine for 5 days and still wasn't able to kick the cough. At a follow up appointment, the Dr. noticed some fluid in his ears so he had to do 10 days of antibiotics. When I was dropping him off at day care on Thursday, he vomited everywhere. So I packed him up and took him to Grandma's. That evening I really didn't feel like cooking, so Alexis & I ate at McDonald's. We picked up Nolen and went home. As soon as we walked in the door, Alexis vomited everywhere. Great! Now I've got two sick kids. No sleep tonight! By this point, I'm thinking I might be 40 before I get some good sleep, little did I know that my chance was coming. Pete stayed home with both kids on Friday and they both seemed to be doing a lot better and even went outside for some fresh air. Saturday morning the kids helped me hand wash my car. We'll Alexis helped me and Nolen kept licking the car for some reason. I guess he was thirsty. Had the In-laws over for supper that evening and Paul wasn't feeling so well right before they left. Later that night....Pete's turn to get sick & did he ever. I don't know how many trips to the bathroom he made, but I know he seemed to wake me up every time. Then my stomach suddenly didn't feel well. Before I knew it...my turn to visit the restroom. As we lay there in bed, we were wondering who was going to take care of the kids on Sunday. Pete seemed to get most of it out of his system by Sunday morning, but I still felt miserable and couldn't go to church. Even though it was my Sunday to play the piano, had to call a fill in. So I lay in bed most of Sunday (this was my chance to get caught up on some sleep, but I didn't want to be sick doing it). Then the storm hit. That got me out of bed. When a brick house shakes, look out! The wind had been blowing for a few days, but it was really gusty when the storm hit. I ran to the back bathroom closet and Pete already had the kids there. He watched out the window while the swing set was once again knocked over by wind. This time it tore up some of it that will have to be replaced. Nolen had just learned how to go up the ladder and down the slide all by himself. Now he will have to wait for a new slide. We found it in the field north of our house all cracked. We all went to work and school today. I'm hoping the sick bugs stay away for a long time. I think I need to restock my medicine cabinet. I'm at least happy that Nolen will take his medicine. A boy that puts anything and everything in his mouth should like medicine as well. I'm just tired of wiping his nose and I know it hurts. He loves being outdoors and he sleeps so much better after playing out there for a while. I know we will spend many many hours outside when the weather stays nice. Ok this is a long posting, guess I'd better get back to washing the nasty germs out of the sheets. WATCH OUT FOR THE SICK GERMS, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!

Happy 97th Birthday Grandpa!

Today my Grandpa Rule turned 97. He is my last remaining grandparent and it's amazing that he still knows us all by name. We had a party for him this evening.

Here is Arthur Rule with his chocolate pie (his favorite & mom makes him one every year) and all of his great-grand kids. L to R - Brandon holding Brody, Riley, Grandpa, Alexis & Nolen.

Eve visits Alexis!

Alexis is addicted to the Wall E movie. She is absolutely crazy about the little robot named Eve. Pete thought it would be funny to use the diaper pail and put a face like Eve on it.

Alexis opened up her door to her room and seen this:

She screamed and ran out of the room. I now like to tease her with the Eve mask. She says the eyes scare her.

Funerals are never easy

Thursday morning we buried my Grandpa. What a hard day that was! Out of his 18 grandchildren, 17 were there. The other one arrived a few days after the funeral because he couldn't get off work. It was nice to see some of my cousins that I hadn't seen for a while and get caught up on what everyone was doing. I just wish it wasn't under this circumstance.

My other Grandpa will be turning 97 this Thursday. He is my only grandparent left and I hope he makes it to 100.

Pete & I took a quick trip to Nashville, TN this weekend. The NWTF (has to do with hunting and turkeys) had their conference at the Opryland Hotel. So while Pete went to that, I went shopping at Opry Mills. What a HUGE mall! I have been there a couple times before. Alexis only wanted a Wall E shirt and I finally found one right before I left. A BIG THANK YOU to my in-laws for watching the kids on Friday night and Saturday. It was nice to have some stress free time!

So I thought it would be back to work for me today, but Nolen has had a really bad cough that we can't seem to get rid of. His nose won't stop running and last night he had a fever. So I'm home with him today and will take him to the Dr. this afternoon. His nose was plugged last night and he wanted his pacifier, but then he couldn't breath with it. So it wasn't a good night for any of us. I'm ready for warm weather!

In Memory of Grandpa Lynn

This post is in memory of my Grandpa. He went to Heaven on Monday and will greatly be missed. I'll never forget all the airplane rides in his little blue plane. All the grand kids will remember playing on the grease rack (you just had to be one of the family to understand that one) and all the fun we had climbing in the trees. Who can forget all the wrapping paper at Christmas time? I think we often got lost in that fun mess. Love you and miss you!

Happy 5th Birthday Alexis!

My precious girl turned 5 years old today! We actually celebrated her birthday on Sunday with the family. Here she is with her My Little Pony cake.

Nolen just loves cake and he dove right into a piece.

I just had to grab the camera when Nolen had these play doctor glasses on. I'm thinking...Is this what Harry Potter looked like when he was a baby? Just had to share this shot.

Here is Alexis all ready to go to school on her birthday. Yes she did wear the tiara, it was hat day today and she wanted to wear this. Her class also took a field trip to the post office. I sent snacks for all her Pre School classmates and then I sent snacks for all her day care friends. We went out to eat at Monical's because Alexis requested pizza for supper.

Came home tonight to find the playset knocked over by all the strong wind we had today. Not too much is broken and with a few new boards, it will be as good as new.

Sorry for the long delay!

Many are probably wondering what I have been up to because it has been a while since my last post. School finally started back and I got busy. Pete pulled Alexis on the sled behind the 4-wheeler Sunday afternoon. She had a blast, but I think over did it. Monday night she left a trail of vomit from the bathroom, through the kitchen, and into the living room. She went right past the toilet while vomiting. She was looking for me to let me know she was sick. Obviously!! I had to borrow a carpet shampooer to clean the carpets. She seems to always get sick around her birthday. I remember her first two birthdays, she was sick on both of them. Her birthday is on the 11th and she is turning 5. Since she was sick this week, hopefully she won't be again next week. We are celebrating on Sunday since her birthday is in the middle of the week. Tomorrow night is mother/daughter night out. I plan on taking her out to eat and to her first movie at a theater. Should be fun!

Out of the mouths of babes: Alexis noticed a male Cardinal bird the other day. I was explaining to her that the all red Cardinals are the boy birds and the girl Cardinals don't have much red on them. She said, "I know what the Grandma and Grandpa Cardinals look like, they are the old ones". I laughed so hard. Thought it was just so cute and had to share.

Megan tagged me and I'm supposed to open my 4th picture file and post the 4th picture and explain it.

This was my Christmas card/baby announcement photo that I sent out December 07. Nolen was just a couple of days old in this photo. Proud sister was very happy that her baby brother had arrived. I'll tag Audrey, Sara, Becky, and Heidi.

1. Open your 4th picture file.

2. Go to the 4th picture and post it.

3. Give a description about the photo.

4. Tag 4 other people to do the same.