Same story, different characters

First, let me apologize if this post looks suspiciously like the last one but our week was more of the same. There was a lot of drama at our house this week. Seriously, I have important stuff at the bottom of this post...so don't skip the end!

Our leading man....

Roles played:
The boy who missed school ALL week!
The Fever.
The Flu.
The Cougher.

Our leading lady...

Roles played:
Pyschotic toddler (so not kidding--see below)
Girl with lingering, antibiotic-resistant ear infection
Girl who loved soup (Soup courtesy of most wonderful friend, Tessa)


The handsome hero...

Roles played:
Only healthy one in the family for 2 weeks!
Excellent Destination ImagiNation team competitor!

Way to go Willie--we are so proud of all of your hard work! You were a natural leader yesterday!



(Destination ImagiNation is a program where kids work all year on teams for creative probem solving and critical thinking. Then they compete in instant challenges and other problem solving tasks where they are judged for creativity and teamwork and problem solving. It is a great progam and something more kids probably ought to be doing. I think it builds excellent leadership skills. Will's competition was yesterday and he did GREAT!)

The Mom...

Roles played:
Stir Crazy caretaker
Sick Mommy

(Yes, this IS how I look after a week of a stomach virus followed by a week of a sinus infection and two weeks taking care of sick kids. I am skinny and wrinkly and I have DARK circles under my eyes. But at least I have some bling!)

The houseboy....

Roles played:
Rescuer at 5:30 p.m.
Night time bather and bedtime routine man
Sick Daddy

Isn't Dave cute when he is sick?

And now a word from our sponsors....

In all seriousness, we are an organic, natural remedy, homeopathic kind of family. But this week with soaring, endless fevers and other symptoms I will spare you from hearing about, we pulled out the big guns. One day I looked at this cast of characters on my kitchen counter and laughed out loud. I had to take a picture. For those who are interested in some of our favorite and very effective homeopathic and natural remedies, I will do a whole post on them after Easter.


Okay--here is the very serious part---

Sweet Miss Katie Ru had a severe neuropsychotic reaction to Tamiflu this week and last. I will not go into all of the details but she tried to hurt herself and me. She lost her words completely for 5-6 days. She would not hug or kiss us. She was not our child. She was angry, violent, and confused. She would walk up to the coffee table and bang her head against it on purpose. Dave thought she had permanent brain damage. She is slowly but surely coming back to us and we are so grateful. The day Kate was prescribed Tamiflu was the day I was at the ER getting IV fluids. So, we just gave it to her like the doctor told us to. I was so sick that I did not think about reading inserts and had not heard anything negative about this drug. No one warned us about these possible side effects. My friend, Diana mentioned hearing something on the news and days later when I Googled it, I found out that kids in Japan were very affected by this drug. So, after consulting with a few doctors and a chemist who develops drugs, I have learned that is is very possible that Asian kids metabolize this drug differently than other kids. Seeing what I saw this week, I would NEVER give Tamiflu to anyone. I am not a doctor but I would never want a parent to go through what we have been through this week.

Please keep Kate in your prayers as she has also had 2 seizure type episodes (she did not have a fever for either). One was just prior to the medication and the flu so we are not sure what is causing them. We will likely do an EEG in a few weeks. We are just waiting for everyone to get a bit healthier.

Then just when I thought this week could not get ANY worse, I find THIS.....

What is THIS, you ask? Well, THIS my friends, is my First. Gray. Hair. Ever. It was a brazen lil guy. I looked in the mirror (that was my first mistake) before going out of the house yesterday afternooon. I saw this thing sticking straight up at my part. It was as though it was taunting me. I screamed, ran downstairs and asked the houseboy for confimation. At first, he did not see it (nice houseboy). But then after searching...he did indeeed confirm it. I guess I should not be surprised. Most of my peers have had these for years but I felt like it was some small accomplishment that I had not had one yet. What does one do? I get highlights but now will I need to color my hair too? I know what caused this evil critter...the past few weeks!

Here is a funny little story for all you ladybug lovers. We live in an area where they did some ladybug experiment several years ago and so every year we get completely invaded by these lovely creatures. They cover houses and get inside by the dozens. I never kill them and just let them roam around. Last night as I am brushing my teeth, I feel a little bump on my toothbrush. I figured it is a bit of hardened toothpaste and keep brushing diligently (Dr. B would be so proud). Then as I spit....I notice a foamy little ladybug in my sink with her legs moving like crazy!!! Apparently, she was hanging out on my toothbrush (didn't notice-too tired) and I brushed her all around! YUCK!

Another little piece of ladybug info... I used to see them inside our house motionless for days and think they were dead. One day when I was about to vacuum them up, Harry said, "Mom, they are not dead. They are just sleeping." I thought that was very sweet but I wanted the dead ladybugs out of my house. Then Harry said, "watch Mom, if I yell at them, they wake up." So, to demonstrate his point, he got down on all fours and shouted at the ladybugs. Sure enough....they "woke up" and waddled a few inches. Since then I have let the ladybugs hang around. When the weather gets warm enough, they disappear.

Now for some shopping tips.... I have been cooped up in the house for 2 weeks straight and so I am starting to think (fantasize) about summer. I want to share my good finds...

I got these terry cloth cover-ups (not the dots one) for $9.99 at Target and then took them to the Monogram shop to have them monogrammed. I am so excited. They look so cute and I know Kate will live in them this summer at the pool and the beach. The dots cover-up is from Boden. And while it is not necessarily a cheap find, it is awfully cute and could be worn as a tunic top as well! I also got an adorable pink seersucker dress at Target for $9.99 and am having it monogrammed in lime green. Can you say bargain shopper? Thanks to this great shopper for the heads up on the seersucker dress below.

Now, go check out the GREAT quilt squares I got this week on Kate's quilt blog. They are truly awesome. I have recieved about 25 so I just need 75 more!!!! Come on, send us a square. Everybody's doing it.

Finally, thank you Elissa for the Starbucks deliveries this week. Thank you Colleen for the cough medicine and the postal service. Tessa, thank you for the miracle soup. Staci and Debbie and Denise and Nikki ( and any anyone else that would listen) thank you for letting me whine to you this week.

I am very behind on answering e-mails and reading blogs. There just has not been time. I apologize. I'll get there someday.

Denise sent these beautiful flowers on one particularly tough day.

Thank you!

Oh, I just realized that next week is EASTER!

I'll be back to my regular blogging:)