Swine Flu? Probably~

Well, I took Anabelle to the doctor yesterday because she was running a high fever on Sunday and although he couldn't test her (because their wasn't enough mucous in her nose...yuck), he said it looks like the flu. It all started with a headache & throat pain on Saturday night and turned into a croupy cough by Monday morning.
After Elise got home from school, I was on high alert & looking for symptoms. Her eyes were a little watery, so I took her temperature, but she was normal. She acted like a normal healthy kid riding her skateboard & jumping around the house all afternoon & evening. It wasn't until bedtime that she just didn't seem right. Sure enough, she had a low fever. Yikes!
Fortunately, Anabelle has a normal temperature today and will probably make her way back to school tomorrow. Elise, on the other hand, spiked a fever of 103.5 this morning. I've been giving them Oscillococcinum which is a natural flu medicine. It's supposed to help improve their symptoms and shorten the duration. I think that in combination with letting them run a low fever has helped. The doctor prescribed Tamiflu, but I'm not thrilled w/ the possible side effects. I have the prescription, but hopefully, Elise will be better tomorrow & I won't have to use it.
So far, Sadie is doing okay. I was keeping her away from her sisters as much as possible, but what a pain!!!! I got tired of saying, "Don't breathe on your sister!"

Please pray that Sadie, Danny, & I will stay healthy!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

On Monday, the kids got out of school early and Danny was home, so we took a trip up to Ashland Berry Farm. This year we decided to try a different pumpkin patch because the one closest to us raised their prices to $12 a person just to get in!

It was a cold afternoon, but the kids didn't notice. They had a great time running through the pumpkin patch and exploring the hay maze. I loved how this farm had the pumpkins on the vine!! I've always found it a little weird taking a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and then seeing them all lined up in neat little rows. After the girls picked out their perfect pumpkin, I stood in line for the homeade donuts while Danny took the kids to play in the hay maze. They LOVED going for a ride on the zip line! Sadie had a little help from her daddy, but had a smile on her face the whole time! After watching them play for a while, we all sat down near the open fire and ate our donuts. We scarfed a dozen in what seemed like 5 minutes!

On our way out, we discovered the "Boo House". It was a little dark maze with scary music and lots of Halloween decorations. It was just scary enough for little ones and worth $1. We actually went through twice and Danny snuck in the back way without us knowing so he could jump & scare the girls. He actually scared another little boy, too! Whoops!

Happy 12 Years~!~!~!

Can you believe it?? We've been married for 12 years!! I actually tried my wedding dress on yesterday to show the girls and amazingly, I can still zip it up (barely). I think my ribs expanded after three pregnancies or at least, that's what I would like to think happened :0).

This February, Danny & I will celebrate 20 years together! Now that's amazing!!!! I've been with him for over half of my life!

Right now, twelve years ago, we were at our reception and the weather was just a beautiful as today. Right now, we're surrounded by children, dirty dishes, laundry, and home projects, which may not sound glamorous, but if I had been able to get a glimpse of this 12 years ago, I would've been so happy. This is exactly what I wanted for my life & I'm so grateful for it all (yes, even the dirty laundry).

I feel so blessed to have married such a loving, intelligent, respectful, thoughtful, funny, and dedicated husband. I could go on & on, but didn't want to overdo it :0).

Happy Anniversary~!~!

Camping at Twin Lakes

On a whim, we decided to go camping with the girls this weekend. What a beautiful weekend to camp!!! The girls had a ball exploring the woods and even made a teepee out of sticks. As soon as we got there, Danny sent the girls off to collect the wood and later showed them how to build a fire. They sorted the sticks by size and made a very good sized pile! At dusk, we cooked dinner and made yummy ooey gooey smores! It was a pretty cold night, so none of us slept well, but it was nice to be curled up together in the tent.

We decided to bring Buxton along and I think he had as much fun as the girls! We went on a four mile hike today and he held up well. Poor Sadie stepped on a bee's nest and got stung twice just after a mile into the hike. She was a trooper though. After a few minutes, she was back to tromping through the forest.