Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Lots of "Good-byes"

We're saying "Good-bye" to the flu!

We seem to finally be on the upswing! Lily seems to still be struggling with a minor temp; and we're still wiping noses and coughing like crazy - but overall, definitely doing better. Praise the Lord! Lily woke up in the night last night with a temp, complaining of her ear hurting; and I was concerned that I'd be running her into the dr for an ear infection, but after only one dose of homeopathic earache drops - she said it was all better. Again, we are praising the Lord that the worst seems to be behind us. I disinfected like crazy today, so hopefully we'll get and stay healthy now. We appreciate those who were praying for us.
Two bright spots through this..... Since Joelle was so stuffed up initially, she couldn't sleep with her Nukey, so even once she was better, and asked for it, we reminded her of how well she had slept without it and encouraged her for being such a big girl, and put it away. She only had one night that she asked for it. I told her no and when I passed her room later, she was sitting up on the headboard of her bed with her hands folded. I said, "What are you doing?"
"Nuffing."

"Joelle, why aren't you laying down, what are you doing up?"
"Nuffing."
"Joelle, what do you have in your hands?"

"Nuffing."
"Joelle, show me your hands." As she opened her hands, she also pinched her knees together, and I saw her pacifier tucked between her legs
"Joelle - give it to me."
She had climbed up and gotten her spare Nuk off the top of the dresser, and I'm not even sure if she had it in her mouth or was just holding it and mourning, but she handed it over sadly. She fussed and I laid with her for about 5 minutes and then she told me I could go to bed. That was the last time - and it has now been a whole week! Hallelujah - I was not looking forward to that, but God gave me a special blessing hidden in the mess of this last week. And so we're also saying "Good bye to the nukey!"

The other bit of news that I'm (mostly) happy to share: Eva's been released from the monitor!!!! This afternoon, after the NICU dr had called and gave me the go-ahead to take her off, I took her belt and said, "Watch, girls!" and took it over to the trash. Anna said, "Really?!" and then they all cheered! Of course, I'm thrilled and relieved to know that they've decided that she's healthy and it's safe to take her off it. But I will admit that there's a small part that struggles with it, because especially while she's been sick this last week, it was nice knowing that if she was having trouble breathing, the monitor would let me know. I'm continually having to give her over to the Lord, several times a night and praying for peace; but I know that He made her, He knows her and He loves her even more than I can; and I am learning to trust Him with her. And so we're also saying "Good-bye to the monitor!"

I'm really not too sad to see any of these things leave my house!!!!! *Even tho, with the loss of the monitor and the nukey, I'm again reminded of how big my babies are getting!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Sickness update

Thanks for the prayers... As of this morning, Anna's fever is way down, Eva's is almost gone,and we are left with Elley fighting a high temp, and runny/stuffy noses, coughing and very sore throats with all 3. Joey and I are popping vitamins like crazy, cause we both feel a little something settling in our chests and throats this morning. So, praise the Lord that the little ones seem to be past the worst of it. But we ask for continued prayers, cause today, since they're on the upside, are no longer content to quietly sleep or lay all day and are already bugging my with their whining... Lord, grant me grace!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Sick...again....or still...ugh


Well, 2 weeks ago, a lovely stomach bug went through our household - all of us but Joey had it to some extent. I had it the worst - I lost somewhere in the neighborhood of about 10 pounds. So, it took a while to recover from that. Then last week, I was dibilitated for several days with a pinched nerve in my neck. Once I thought we were good to go... I get a stomach thing again. Then Elley... Now, I have 3 little ones with fevers, 2 of them are throwing up, combined with the coughing, sore throats and stuffy noses. I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry cause I've done load after load of puked on sheets, and germy blankets and other stuff that the sick ones have come in contact with, so I'm way behind on the general clothing... It's been quite a while since I've been this low. I really didn't intend for this to be a pity party, but I did just need some place to dump; cause I'm stuck here alone with all the sickness, and the mess; and Joey's good for all of "Bummer - gotta get back to work".... Prayers appreciated!

Friday, February 15, 2008

My Valentine Date

Today Joey took me to Joseph's to get my hair cut. I haven't made any extreme changes to my hair in about 5 yrs, so Joey gave me the go-ahead to go a little drastic. It was scary to hear the thud when she took the first cut of about 5-6 inches and the wet chunk hit the floor! But Joey loves the new 'do and I love how it feels and how much easier it's going to be to wash! After lunch we went to the Oley Heritage Tea Room, where we had a whole room to ourselves and ate a delicious lunch. It was a special time spent with my best friend. Here's before and after pics of my hair!

Our Valentine Party

Our Valentine party went great yesterday! The kids loved the V-day bingo, and the crafts were a huge hit. They made 3-D heart mobiles....

and baked clay heart keychains, and bookmarks with pictures from the bingo cards! All were made with minimal mess, fussing and injury.... and the kids did great too!
We had a very festive lunch - pink pancakes, served with strawberries and raspberries, pink iced cupcakes, pink lemonade and several types of Valentine candies!


I consider it to have been a great success; and I love those times when our kids declare us, "The best moms ever!".

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Valentines...

Well, we just finished writing out the girls' valentine cards, and I'm busily trying to pull together our stuff for our special party tomorrow with Jess's kids and Angie's kids. It should be fun, that's a lot of very little children! But we're all excited about it. We're planning a couple of crafts, some Valentine bingo, a Hershey Kiss scavenger hunt and a very pink lunch! I'm very pleased with the personalized bingo cards I made today - I'm such a goober. And I'm doing laundry so we all have something pink or red to wear! I love holidays!
Oh, and as for the "romantic" aspect of the holiday... Joey is taking me to get my hair cut and then to Oley Tea Room on Friday! What a sweetheart! I'll have to post pics of my 'do! And as for what I've got planned for him....well, I wrote him a romantic (wink wink) short story and plan on wearing something "festive" for him to find after our lunch....

Chicken Piccata

So, I fell behind a bit. With everyone being sick and whatnot, we had resorted to soups, sandwiches and other easy meals for a while. I did make an easy Taco Biscuit Pie, which I don't have a recipe for, and Ultimate Chicken Strips, the recipe's on the back of the Bisquick box - and my family enjoyed both of those. But last night, I made Chicken Piccata and my gang loved it! (Well, except for Joelle, who because of not getting a nap, was too tired to finish her supper and when I left the kitchen for a while, came back to find that she had put herself to bed!) Here's the recipe - I served it with Stove Top stuffing and steamed broccoli.

1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 c. butter, cubed
1/4 c. white wine or chicken broth
1 tbsp. lemon juice

In large resealable plastic bag (I had to use a lidded container), combine the flour, salt and pepper. Flatten chicken to 1/2 in. thickness, place in bag, one piece at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in butter. Stir in wine or broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Drizzle with lemon juice.

Jess - I think even Bryce would like this one - very flavorful, but no sauce!