Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

Another busy week has come and gone. Sunday I got a surprise visit from a nursing school buddy. I found on Facebook that she was on her way to Orlando last Saturday. After a couple of contacts on Facebook and a few texts messages, we had arranged for her and her family to com over on Sunday! Amazing..........two months ago I did not even know where she was, and we located each other on Facebook! They came over and spent Sunday afternoon and evening with us. She has two girls the same age as Allison and Leah, so the girls played and went swimming. After dinner, we all walked out to the backyard and watched the space shuttle launch. It was a beautiful evening, and it was about sunset. It turned out to be one of the coolest launches I have seen!

Monday, I tried to get some more cleaning done around the house and wash clothes. I was busy around the house all day and was marginally successful. And that is about all I have to say about that.

Tuesday, I packed up Rachel and headed over to see an oral motor therapist in Orlando. Her name is Debra Beckman. She is supposed to be really good. She has done a lot of work in the field of oral motor therapy and has developed her own therapy program. She says that she is very excited about Rachel's potential and says that she will have Rachel speaking clearly "soon". She told me to lots of changes in the next several weeks. She has given us three exercises to do over the next two weeks, and we are to go back for another visit on the 31st. She thinks that insurance might cover the sessions. I really hope so!! I just feel that it is time to try something else, because it is clear that Rachel understands what we say and that she really wants to communicate, but she does not have a lot of words she can communicate to us clearly and she cannot speak in sentences. After getting the big girls done with homework, it was time to go to Allison's soccer practice.

Wednesday, I was at the girls' school volunteering. I had to work with this poor little girl for about two hours, trying to help her write a "book" for a writers competition. The teacher was really pushing her to get it done, and the little girl worked really hard, but after two hours, she and I both had to call it quits. From the school, I ran to Walmart to return somethings, and then picked up Rachel. When Leah got home from school, she was complaining of a sore throat and headache. Her eyes were red and she was running a fever. No soccer practice for her that evening-which I was thankful for. I called the pediatrician, and she called in some antibiotics for Leah, thinking that the strep from two weeks ago was not completely cured from the first round of antibiotics.

Thursday, Leah was home from school. She did not run a fever and seemed to be doing well, so the antibiotics were working quickly, thank goodness. I was supposed to be at the girls' school again, but with Leah home, I was not able to. That gave me a good chance to do more cleaning around the house. I was glad to get more of that done. I cannot remember the last time I had dusted!! We were going to be buried in dust, if I didn't get around to it soon. The girls had been writing in the dust on the dining room table-always a sign that it is time to dust-or maybe even past time!

Friday, was another day spent volunteering at school. Allison teacher believes that I am her personal assistant, and she put me to work editing papers for a writing competition, typing papers, calling moms and asking them to retype papers (they were loving me!), and taking the completed papers to the post office to be mailed-they had to be post marked no later than yesterday to qualify for the contest. I was able to work at school from 8:30am until 12:00pm, but at that point I had to run get Rachel. After picking up Rachel, we raced back to the big girls' school to see Leah's music presentation at 12:45pm. After the presentation, I went back to Allison's teacher and collected all the papers, came home and finished typing them, and at 4:30pm I ran them to the post office. So much for getting anything done around the house on Friday!

Today I have been so lazy. Rachel did not have horse back riding today, so we actually had a morning with nowhere to go!! It is 4:00pm and I am still in my jammies. I am not just being lazy, though, I swear. If I don't get a shower in the mornings before everyone else gets going, it is difficult to get one later. I have to have the stars all line up right to have Mike or the big girls around (and as for the big girls, they need to be in a relatively decent mood with each other). I cannot take a shower with Rachel on the lose around the house alone. This morning, the big girls wanted to go outside before I got to the shower, and after lunch, they went to the zoo with the neighbor. Mike has been at work all day. So, I am trying to say that I sort of have an excuse for still being in my jammies.....sort of. That, and I am just lazy today! I have been alone with no one to keep an eye on the squirt Mike told me to lock Rachel in the bathroom and go ahead and take a shower. I started to, but now the big girls could be home anytime from the zoo, and they would be locked out if they came home while I was in the shower. I should have sent them with a key.......no, they probably would have lost it and still been locked out.

Below are some pictures from the past week.

Last Saturday, Mike and the neighbor attempted to get a wiffle ball off or our roof. Fortunately, they decided it was too risky to climb up on the roof. I could not watch.....I had to go back in the house. Allison took these pictures.

My nursing school buddyand I during her visit to Melbourne on Sunday.

Rachel hanging out in the kitchen. She does not have pink in her like it looks in the picture, but the marks on her face are green paint from school.

Lizard Update

Just a quick update on our renegade lizard.......I was walking through the house yesterday, when I noticed Conan all excited about something. I knew instantly that he had found the lizard. I chased him down, got him to drop the lizard, and then held him off while I chased the lizard. I actually caught the lizard-surprising myself. I usually need Allison to help me. She is our master lizard catcher. Of course the stinking tail came off in my hand. Eeeewwww! That is really nasty. I had to carry both the lizard and its tail outside so the cat would not get them. The lizard seemed unharmed with the exception of losing his tail, and he shot off into the grass as soon as I released my grasp on him. I bet he is really glad to be back outside. I am betting he was getting pretty hungry too. Not to say my house is bug free, but I am sure the pickings are more plentiful outside. Not to mention, the cat had been interested in a corner of the family room for a few days, so I am betting the little guy was having to spend most of his time in hiding. I am figuring the little guy will think twice before napping in a rolled up newspaper again.

Still No Lizard

We are just hanging around the house today. Mike is at work for most of the weekend, so we have no plans for anything-that and it is raining off and on. The lizard still remains on the lamb in the house. I hope he is finding and eating all the bugs in my house. Today we loaded up and took Rachel to her horse backing riding, but as soon as she got on the horse, it started raining. They rode for about 15 minutes, thinking it would stop soon, but it just kept raining, so they called it a day. Rachel seemed glad to get of the horse and get out of the rain. She kept looking at me while she was on the horse like she was asking, "Does anybody else notice I am getting wet!?!"

After horse back riding, we came home and ate lunch. Since the sun was out again, the big girls decided to go fishing. It was not too long before they had a fish on the line. Poor little guy swallowed the whole hook, and I had to release him with it still in his mouth. I don't mind the girls fishing, but I hate when they catch something. I always have to get the poor thing off the hook. They have even caught soft shell turtles before and those things are a "booger" to get off the hook. Below are some random pictures of the weekend so far.

Allison and her overnight guest cook themselves breakfast. It is so cool to watch them become more independent. The fixed scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast.

Leah and the neighbor spend a relaxing afternoon fishing in the backyard.
This is Rahel's idea of fun in the playroom. She loves to bury the couch in toys.
Look at this fuzzy cat. He is in desperate need of a haircut! This is on my list of things to do, somewhere after cleaning the house, vacuuming my car, weeding my flower bed, etc, etc..........

Lizard On The Loose

When the girls came home from school today, they brought in the mail and a newspaper that had been laying out in the driveway. I took the mail and paper, put them on the counter, looked through the mail, and then opened the newspaper. Much to my surprise, a lizard was hiding in the newspaper (and not a little lizard, mind you)!! It took a second for me to figure out what I was seeing. Just before I could figure it out, the lizard took off running.........I screamed..........the girls starting wondering what was going on.........and the lizard disappeared over the counter! He is somewhere in the family room, I believe. I hope we find him before the cat does!! You gotta love Florida!!

Missing My Mom

Twenty two years ago this weekend, my mom passed away from breast cancer. She was 45 years old. I still miss her. I would give anything to have her here for a day to see all five of her granddaughters. She would adore them (most of the time, anyway)!!! Mom, just wanted to let you know that we still think of you and miss you every day.

Norma Hannah Moore

October 13, 1941-March 7, 1987

Zoo Pictures

Well, everyone is well for the moment and the weather was gorgeous so we headed out to the zoo. A neighborhood friend went with us. The girls all seemed to have a pretty good time. Leah said everything was boring and complained repeatedly that she was hungry, but despite it all she seemed to enjoy it. She has more stamina than I expected after laying around all week. Below are some pictures from the trip.

Rachel and Mollie pilot the fishing boat.

Leah feeds a lorikeet. She complained that it never got on her hat like a bird did to Allison, so I had to try to convince her that it was neater to have it on your hand where you can see it!

The lorikeet ate and ate and ate......and Allison thought that was cool. Then the lorikeet went poop on her hat, and she was none too happy about that.

They actually have armadillos in the petting area of the zoo. That was pretty cool They would come up to you and lick your ankles!!

Just Checking In

Just a short little note to report on the kiddos. Allison remains well, which is a surprise; Rachel has seemed fine since her short lived spell of throwing up; and Leah is finally up and going again. Today she got out of bed, and for the first time in a week, has stayed up! She is outside playing right now. It is so nice to have her back to her old self. We are going to try to go to the zoo in a little bit. They have opened up a new area for the kids to play in and the girls are dying to see it. Hopefully, Leah will not wear herself out before we go. We won't be staying too long anyway, so she should be fine. Maybe I will be back later today with some pictures from the zoo.

Wow! Two Posts In One Day

I got Leah in to see the doctor this morning and she diagnosed her with strep. Now I feel guilty for not taking her in sooner!! The doc put Leah and Rachel on antibiotics. She did not test Rachel, but gave her meds just to be sure. Now I have to get back to Walgreens to pick up the scripts. Hopefully, once we get the antibiotics in Leah she will start feeling better soon. I am hoping we can all get well!! Bring on spring!!!

And Then There Was One..........

After I thought Leah was getting better yesterday and might actually go to school today, she started running a fever again (102.8) and complaining of feeling dizzy. Oh yeah, she was complaining of her stomach hurting again too. I guess I will be calling the doctor when they open and see if I can get her in. I am pretty sure that it is a viral thing, but she has now missed four days of school and we will need the doctor's excuse. Silly isn't it? The school requires a doctor's note to excuse an absence. Mike says I should write the note and sign it with my RN credentials and see what they do......it is a thought.

At about 9:00pm last night Rachel started throwing up. She had complained of her stomach hurting as best she could, so I was suspecting she had a tummy ache, but was not totally sure. She was sick about 5 times between 9:00pm and 12:00am. After that she she slept, thank goodness. I slept on some cushions in the floor in her room to be close if she needed me. At 4:00am I woke up and tried to go back to sleep, but started coughing-yes, I seem to have the same thing Leah has. At five I just gave up and got up. Sleeping in the floor is not that comfortable anyway. You cannot sleep with Rachel though, because she tosses and turns all over the bed! Sunday night I was up changing Rachel's wet bed at 2:00am, Monday night I was up with Leah trying to stop her bed from spinning, and last night I was up until after midnight and awake again at 4:00am. I am so thankful for Tuesday night's uninterrupted sleep!!!!

This morning Allison headed off to school alone!! So far so good for her. That is unusual, because she is usually my first kid to get sick! Rachel is up and seems to be feeling fine. She is asking for a pop tart, of all things. I cannot get her to eat crackers. I hope I am not making a mistake letting her eat! Leah is still sleeping. Should be another fun day!!!

Still Sick

Poor Leah........she has been sick since Sunday. On Sunday she started running a fever and complaining of feeling tired. She laid on the couch all day. Around 3:00am Monday morning, her temperature was 103.6!! Monday she was home from school and was on the couch again all day. She napped around 4:00pm and woke up complaining of a tummy ache off and on for the rest of the evening. Monday night and Tuesday morning (2:30am) she was crying and complaining of being dizzy. She said she was so dizzy her head hurt. ?????? Anyway, she seemed pretty uncomfortable and kept us both awake most of the night. Tuesday she seemed better. She actually did some of her homework, and she and I played a board game. The highest her temp was for the day was around 100. I figured I would keep her home today because she is still eating very little and has not really been up for more than a few minutes at a time. I was figuring she would be back to her self today and would be up and about, but she slept until 10:00am. She did get up and get dressed eventually, which is an improvement. She actually rode with me to pick up Rachel from school. I was thinking she must be recovered, but I took her temperature around lunch and it was 100.3. She has been sleeping on the couch for about an hour now. She may not go to school tomorrow either!

I just wanted to sing some praises for Rachel. She has been in big girl underwear for several weeks now and has not had an accident during the day for quite some time. It has now been a week and a half since I started putting her in big girl underwear overnight. She has now had 12 nights in underwear and only 4 accidents. Sometimes the accidents are when she gets up in the mornings, so at least we all get a good night's sleep, but some are in the middle of the night and we are up around 3:00am changing sheets. I have to say I am tired of changing the bed, and my first reaction is to put her back in pull ups, but I know she can do this-since she does it most of the time, and I figure that if she knows it will feel yucky when she goes in her bed, she will eventually be successful. It has been so exciting to not have to buy any pull ups or diapers for the last three to four weeks!! It is funny to see the little bitty underwear in the clothes when I fold them too. Strange what gets you makes you happy when you are a mommy.

I cannot go without mentioning Allison. At first I was thinking what could I say about her this week. Then, I thought I can say what a big girl she is turning out to be. She now has her much anticipated hamster, and Sunday was the second time to have to change his cage. She went upstairs and did it all by herself. She was so proud that she can take care of her hamster by herself. So far she has been very responsible with the hamster.

It still surprises me how much they are growing up. I have had little ones around for so long, I am not sure how to react when they start showing me that they are growing up! At the same time I am loving the independence that they are starting to display. It is a mixture of joy and sadness mixed together! My girls are growing up! They are not there yet, though, thank goodness.

Rachel

Here is a video of Rachel taken this afternoon. At first she is talking about Grandpa, because every time Mike make a video of her, he tells her to say "hello" to Grandpa. Then she is asking to see the picture we have taken of her. She loves to see pictures and videos of herself.