Upcoming conference

OK, boring title, I know, but I am pressed for time. See, I put in to go to a conference over a month ago. The conference is this coming Friday and Saturday. When did they finally tell me I could go? TODAY! Not like I needed any time to make hotel reservations, make arrangements for the kids, etc.

So, that left me scrambling to get DH to change his work schedule (thanks Rebecca!), find someone to take the kids ot school on Friday (thanks to Sandy at the Before Care Program), someone to watch the boys Saturday afternoon AND take them to a birthday party (thanks Christy!) and a place to stay Thursday and Friday nights (thanks Suzanne and Scott). Believe it or not, I was able to get it all arranged pretty fast. Once again, God was on my side :)

So, on Thursday, I will leave work to go to class, then will head to Suzanne's house. They live only about 15 miles from the conference center, so that is saving me from paying for the hotel. I get back Saturday in time to give the kids dinner. Bye!

Finally, a birthday party for Josh

OK, so if you remember, we had planned to have Josh's birthday party on Feb. 4th. Jake got sick, so we had to postpone it a week. Then, Josh and DH got sick, so we put it off two weeks. Finally, today was the day. Josh had not been himself for several days....lethargic, complaining of being cold and tired, not eating. DH and I were pretty concerned, since he was not what you would consider typically sick. We are concerned that it was something more serious. So, when he tried ot eat this morning but threw up immediately, we decided that we should take him to the doctor. DH took him to Convenient Care while I took Jake with me to church (I had to interpret, so I couldn't go with them). The doctor there said that they could not do blood work and that possibly he just had a virus (why do doctors always say that?) So, if we wanted blood work done, we'd have to wait till Monday and take him to his pediatrician. Since neither of us believed he was sick in a traditional (contagious) sense, we decided to go ahead with the party.

Josh really perked up during the party. For the first time since Thursday, he had color in his cheeks and actually ate a little bit of cake. He continued to feel fine all evening, so we are cautiously optimistic that he is on the mend. He ate dinner, his first meal since lunch on Friday. What a relief! He is already a really thin kiddo, so he can't afford to lose any more weight.

On another topic, Jake got a Webkinz for Valentine's Day. Josh was enjoying playing with Jake's on line monkey that I suggested to one of the moms who asked what he wanted for his birthday that Josh would like one as a gift. He got a dog (who he named Bob) and has already logged on to set up his room. Thanks to the ladies on SBA (specifically focadima (Lisa)) who first told me about Webkinz!

Check out their site:
http://www.webkinz.com/

My birthday present...

One month after my birthday, I was finally able to enjoy my gift from DH and the boys. My gift was two tickets to Mark Schultz' "Broken and Beautiful" concert. David Klinkenberg, a fiddler, started off the evening, followed by the opening act, Big Daddy Weave. Then, after a short intermission, Mark took the stage. He was incredible!!! I enjoyed the evening even more than I had anticipated. He was suffering from a cold, which made it hard for him to sing, but his voice was still awesome, in spite of it. Tears poured from my eyes during several of his ballads. I just can't seem to find the words to describe it all.

here is a link to his site....

http://www.markschultzmusic.com/

Enjoy!

Ten foods I hate...

Got this prompt from another blog....

10 foods I hate:

1. Tomatoes- I like tomato products, like catsup and spaghetti sauce,but don't ask me to eat an actual piece of tomato.....reminds me of an autopsy!
2. Mushroom- they're fungus, nuff said
3. oyseters- too slimy
4. mayonaise
5.potato/macaroni salad- when it is made with mayonaise
6. tuna- can't stand the smell
7. liver
8. beets
9, pickled pigs feet- used to make me nauseous to watch my mom eat those
10. okra

Don't eat yellow snow!

For once, the weather reporters weren't kidding. Everytime I hear that there will be a snow storm, I laugh because it never results in more than a dusting. This time, we got over a foot of snow. Naturally, it happens when DH is down with a strained back and can't help with the shovelling. The results were two snow days for the boys, three for me, and lots of fun for Gracie. She loves snow, and watching her helps define the word "frolic". She definately frolics in the snow!!

I think the flu is finally gone!

Wow! after Jake recovered from the flu, DH got it. He missed almost a week of work. Well, not all of that was from the flu itself. A side effect of all of the coughing was a strained muscle in his back, which resulted in a strained back muscle, an ER visit, and some muscle relaxers. He's finally feeling better, what a relief!

Oh, and poor Josh still hasn't had his birthday party :( He started running a fever on Saturday, and we decided to postpone again. We are trying for this Sunday (3 weeks from the original date).

Oh, and, as Jack (Josh's best friend) said when I told his mom that Josh was sick, too, "and Deborah is the last one standing!" I did not get the flu!

Mother-Son dance

Josh and I had a wonderful time at our 7th annual Mother-Son Dance put on by the Urbana Park District. What about Jake, you ask? Well, he was home sick with daddy. This is the second dance he has missed :( He threw up Friday morning (good thing there was no school--DH was already staying home with the boys). Then, by the time I got home Friday, he was running a moderate fever. He felt a bit better Saturday, due to ibuprofen. But, he was still running a 102 degree temperature this morning. So, not only did he miss the dance, we had to postpone Josh's birthday party and cancel our get-together for the Superbowl. Josh was pretty disappointed, but understood that locking his sick brother in his room so that his friends could come over really wasn't appropriate.

So, for the Superbowl, we watched the Bears lose :( as we munched and snuggled on the couch. Hopefully, Jake's fever will break soon and he'll be back to his ornery old self.