Toddler Trials

Megan has come down with a nasty cough that shows no interest in leaving her alone. The coughing started last week, near the end of the morning on Friday. Of course, it was a mild cough, and I didn't think anything of it at that point. By last night, I knew it was getting worse, and then this morning she woke up hacking and I immediately called the pediatrician's office to get her an appointment today. At least it didn't get really bad until Monday, so the doctor's office was open again. :)

We didn't see our regular doc, as I requested to see the first one available (out of the three in the practice...we like all three just fine). He listened to her chest for a few minutes with his stethescope, prompting lots of giggles from the princess girl, and told me that he could hear a light wheeze when she breathes. Jeremy had respiratory issues when he was about four months old, and so we're quite familiar with wheezing. We don't like it, but it's not such a "scary" term when you've dealt with it several times before!

Luckily we already have a nebulizer from Jeremy's earlier battles, so all it took was a script for Albuterol. The nebulizer looks like a penguin, and now the kids are old enough to really appreciate this fact. :) We did our first treatment before the kids took a nap today, and she handled it like a pro. If she's not showing improvement by Wednesday afternoon, the doctor said we'd have to figure out what Plan B is.

I was hoping to visit a few friends this week, but those plans will have to be rescheduled. Megan and Jeremy are my first priority, and we certainly don't want to cause anyone else to be sick (even if she's not contagious...we're not taking chances!). Please pray that I can find lots of things to occupy the kids this week. And lots of strength to keep healthy myself, too!

Night Shift

Steve is back on night shift. He switched back about two weeks ago, and will stay on nights another six weeks. I still wish the Sheriff's Office would consider a quarterly schedule, because by the time we are fully adjusted to one shift, it's time to make the switch again! Oh well. After five years, I've gotten used to it. I know he loves night shift because there are more interesting things to do while on duty, but it also means we don't see him half as much. The kids are usually down for nap when he wakes up in the afternoon, and when they wake up he's already gone for work, so he goes for two or three days at a time sometimes without seeing the kids. He stopped by during his shift last weekend, just for a few minutes so that they could visit with him, so at least he can do that once in a while!

I'm a night owl anyway, so nights don't bother me. I catch up on my recorded shows on the DVR, I get work done on the computer, I read a book...there are always things to do. Maybe one of these days I'll get some sort of motivation to use more of that evening time to work on de-cluttering the home office, which has taken on its own life at this point. :) Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Things To Do...

I have a things-to-do list a mile long at the moment, and I have to really find ways to motivate myself to get it done. The house was so clean just last week. It's not filthy now, but the clutter is back in the living room and kitchen. I need to get groceries soon. The kids have a pile of laundry that needs to be folded and put away. And we still have Halloween decorations out! Those definitely need to be put away!!!

So I have to get some catching up done. That includes this blog! We took a quick trip down to Orlando and stayed at Disney's Pop Century Resort...they had a GREAT rate for Florida residents, so we took advantage of it (and also used the third day of our four-day Disney passes...only one more day to use before the end of the year). We went to Animal Kingdom, and I have to say that I really liked the park. It was much more laid back than your average Disney park. I'd definitely recommend it to others. We got to see the Lion King Show and the Finding Nemo Musical Show. Very well done, both of them. And the highlight, of course, was getting to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald at the end of the day. That was one of my missions, since the kids didn't get to really meet many characters in July. Here's a fun shot of all four of us with "The Mouse" himself...Of course we returned back to reality when we got back home. And then reality was suspended again on Halloween...we dressed the kids up in their costumes (again...they got a lot of use this year!) and took them Trick-of-Treating around the block in our neighborhood. This is my favorite shot of that evening:
Don't they look like they're enjoying each other? I'll keep this photo to remind them of how much they really do like each other so that when they're older and arguing like wildcats I'll have proof. :) They wore their costumes four different times this year...to the library, to Sea World for the Halloween Spooktacular on our first day in Orlando, to the nursing home with the Moms Club and then on Halloween night. Megan has convinced herself that she really is a princess. And if you hear Jeremy quoting Buzz Lightyear, you can't help but chuckle.

So Halloween is long over. I still have to get the Halloween cookie jar off the kitchen counter, but at least my blog is caught up again. :) With luck I'll be better about writing and you won't just hear from me at Thanksgiving and Christmas...there's life between holidays, as well!

Have a great rest-of-the weekend!!!

Tag, You're It!

A survey about me...thanks, Meagan!

10 years ago: I was halfway through college, in the midst of my junior year at Florida. I had met and started dating Steve just three months earlier. And I was coping with the loss of my grandmother, who was my 2nd mom.

5 things on today's to do list:
1) get the kids up and feed them breakfast
2) laundry
3) digital ads for jax4kids.com
4) possible grocery shopping
5) try to get some organizing done in the garage (should only take about 10 more years)

Snacks I enjoy: I have a terrible sweet tooth, so basically anything that is NOT "good for me." Chocolate is always my friend.

5 things I'd do if I were a millionaire:
1) Invest half in a high-yield savings account so I could make it grow with interest!
2) Donate a nice portion to a charitable foundation or organization.
3) Pay off ALL of our bills (car, house, student loans, etc.).
4) Tuck enough away to cover the kids' college expenses.
5) Help out our parents and family members with their bills, too.

Places I have lived:From birth: South Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire, Florida, Virginia, Nova Scotia (Canada), Florida, South Carolina, and Florida (Dad was in the Navy...we moved a LOT).

Jobs I've had:
1) Babysitter
2) Tutor
3) Ice Cream Scooper at Dippin' Dots
4) Public Relations Specialist for a hospital
5) Mommy

Meagan tagged me to share this, so now I pass the challenge on to anyone and everyone who reads my blog. I know there aren't that many, so it should be interesting to see how many actually do it. :)

Fall is in the air...

OK, so we live in Florida. Fall isn't in the air here until closer to Thanksgiving...or sometimes even Christmas! :) Steve likes to tell people that in Florida we have two seasons: Summer, and Summer-Lite.

At any rate, it's getting closer to the end of October, and that means HALLOWEEN! The kids are really excited this year, probably because they understand more about dressing up and playing pretend than they possibly could have last year. When I chose their costumes, I brought them home from the store and they tried them on. They were SO excited. Ariel (from the Little Mermaid) is one of Megan's favorites, and Buzz Lightyear is Jeremy's hero. He constantly runs around the house saying, "To infinity, and beyond!"

Their first chance to wear their costumes outside the house was this past Thursday at one of the local county libraries. The library held its annual "Unscary Halloween Party," and we went with my mom and my niece, who is only 6 weeks younger than Meg and Jeremy. We all had a lot of fun, and it was a nice way to make a test run of their costumes before it's Trick-or-Treat time. Plus, Aunt LaLa is one of the youth librarians at that library branch, so we got to see her, too!

Walking For A Cure (Part 2!)

I was asked to follow up on my walk for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer with the American Cancer Society. The walk took place last Saturday, October 11th. There were more than 2,500 walkers on the beach that morning, and it was so awesome to see so many people all there for the same reason.

My team was "Katie's Pampered Pals," associated with the kitchen product company I'm an independent consultant with. :) My parents walked with me and the kids (in the photo above they are pulling the kids in their wagon...truly the worst idea my dad and I could have come up with, since it was SO heavy to pull that across the sand in certain spots). My friend Alyssa (aka Aunt LaLa to Megan and Jeremy!) also walked with us. The storms were trying to roll in but it didn't rain on us!

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive about this effort. I'm still collecting money through the end of this month (October), so let me know if you're interested in making a small donation.

Walking for a Cure

The kids and I are participating in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk this Saturday. I'm excited, but a little disappointed in myself because I haven't really put the effort into the pre-walk activity that I should have/planned to. I haven't raised much money. I haven't done iron-ons for t-shirts so that the people I'm walking with have matching shirts of some sort. I know I can always do better next year, but since this is my first year doing this particular walk I was hoping to be more prepared than I am.

On a positive note, my mom and dad are going to be walking with me and the kids. I have a couple of other friends who are (hopefully still) planning to walk with us. It takes place at the beach in Jacksonville, and we have to be there at 8-something in the morning because the walk kicks off at 9. It's less than 3 miles, definitely not a marathon, and I can walk the whole way...no running for me.

I am fortunate that I have not had anyone in my family go through the horrors of breast cancer, but the future is never certain. Some very good friends of ours are dealing with this in their family at the moment, and the lady who was diagnosed recently had a double-mastectomy performed. Their whole family has really been an awesome testament to the power of hope, and it's given me so much purpose in what this walk will represent.

We also are already planning to be involved with the St. Augustine Relay For Life again in May of 2009. Steve and I are hoping to spend the entire 18 hours at the track again, something we haven't done since the Relay right after the kids were born and my parents kept them at their house for us. For more information about the American Cancer Society and all of the services and programs they offer, visit www.cancer.org!