Sickness in the house

We woke up Tuesday morning and Skylar and Andrew had temperatures of 102 degrees.  Everyone was sent back to bed and told to stay in their rooms for the rest of the day.  They were so sick that no one complained.  Cairn didn't have a fever but she didn't feel well.  I made the kids appointments and then got several little projects completed around the house since the kids were in their rooms.

Our regular doctor was out on vacation so we had to see a PA.  At the doctor's, Andrew was diagnosed with an ear infection and pneumonia and given an antibiotic.  Skylar was diagnosed with a virus but they did do a strep test that was negative.  She didn't get any medicine just treat the symptoms.

We went back home and continued to rest.  The kids watched a movie in the afternoon to get them out of their rooms for a bit but they had to stay on the couches.  Still no one complained.

Slow day planned...not so much

I scheduled nothing to do on Thursday and as little as possible for Friday to help Cairn prepare for Saturday's graduation but everything changed.

Friday morning we stayed home, took showers and worked on schoolwork.  At noon, we got Andrew's haircut and got Oreo weighed at the vet.

We had to get Oreo weighed because when they vet saw him in September he weighed 7 pounds.  I knew he weighed a lot more than that now and I was worried about his fat belly.  So the vet said to bring him in for a weight check.  He weighs 13 and 1/2 pounds.  She said only 1/2 pound overweight.  He just has a large fat deposit on his belly.  Good to know.

I thought Cairn had something special to wear for her graduation but she grew and she didn't have anything so after the vet we headed to the mall.  We hit 3 shops before we found something.  The best part everything was on sale and I got everyone's Easter outfits too.  Cairn got a dress, shoes and a headband.  She was super excited.

Andrew has had a cough for about 3 weeks now.  It had been a pretty normal cough - not too bad and he never had a fever, runny nose or any congestion so I didn't worry about it much.  Then yesterday (Thursday) he started barking when he coughed once or twice.  After going to the mall today, his cough got even worse and every cough ended in barking so as soon as we got home I decided to call the doctor.  I figured she wouldn't want to see us since there was nothing really but a cough but she had us come over right away.  10 minutes later we were in the doctor's office when Andrew coughed and the doctor said right away he had croup.  Since croup is a virus, there is nothing to do except a steroid which opens up the pathways.  She said it would take 12 hours to take effect.

We ran from the doctor's office to get Cairn to her last piano practice class before her recital.  Her teacher wanted us there early but we were late since we hit the doctor.  Dropped Cairn off, then the three of us ran home to pack the car for all the things we needed for World Thinking Day.  We picked up C and headed down to the fairgrounds.  Dad would pick up Cairn after her piano practice and take her to the fairgrounds.

World Thinking Day was fabulous.  The troop looked great in their costumes.  I didn't take any pictures but the other leaders did - as soon as they send me some pictures I will post them.

2 days and it is working

I went to the foot doctor this morning and my foot is healed and ready for shoes again.  I took several pairs of shoes that I already own and asked if they were good enough.  None were except on occasion but not for an entire day. Since none of my shoes worked I had to leave the office in my boot.  She said not to go straight from the boot to regular shoes without some rest time.  That would be a lot for my foot to handle.

I stopped by the grocery store since I was by myself and did some shopping.  When I got home I let N and C's sister know the kids could come down.  While we waited for them, we worked on school - piano and games.

When the kids arrived I got Cairn and N playing Pay Day without cash - they had to use a check register to keep track of their money.  N didn't like that too much but he played for a bit.  I wanted them to do 3 months but N quit after 1.

While they played a game, I had the other 3 working on a science experiment - still on air.  We put a straw on a string and tied the string between 2 chairs.  Then I would blow up the balloon, attach it to the straw and it would zoom from one chair to the other.  I had the kids working on why the balloon moves and does the direction of the balloon have anything to do with what happens.  At first they thought it was the size of the balloon - how much air I put in it decided the direction.  Eventually, they got it.  The air coming out of the balloon is what is forcing the balloon to move in the opposite direction.

In the afternoon, I took the girls out to help me get my new shoes and then take them to the American Girl store for their celebration of their new doll, Saige.  I left the boys home with Dad.

First, we had to get pictures with Saige.

 Then we worked on some crafts.

 A hot air balloon.

 Then the girls did a mosiac horse.  Cairn isn't feeling well so we headed home afterwards because she was all out of energy.

When we got home, the boys came running up to me - "we did a science experiment."

What did you do?

We filled this glass with tons of ice and then we put it under the fireplace and it melted really really fast.

What did you think it was going to do?

Well, we knew it was going to melt but we thought it would take a while and feel the water - it is still cold.

Both boys were very excited about their experiment and I was really proud they used their senses to investigate more in depth.  We had talked about that during the week.  I need to add in some scientific words like hypothesis, data collection, and conclusion to build the intrigue of science even more.

When we got home everyone went off to play while Cairn read and rested by the fire with me and my foot.  Suddenly, Skylar and C come running down.  "We did a science experiment."

What did you do?

We mixed 2 colors and made gray.


So what worked today?  Science is coming out of our ears now - the kids are super excited about science they are conducting experiments and looking for science around them.  Just a little change in our school has brought this on.

When I talked to Nana and Cappy about what had happened they said, "that's good we need more kids in science."  True - so true.

I added a couple pictures to January 2nd.

First day of school!!! - not so much

Well, today was the official first day of school for the girls for their online school - really what that means for us is that we start counting their attendance - which really is just another thing I have to remember to do everyday.  But we actually did ZERO school work.  We did learn stuff but not anything assigned for today but I will still log attendance.

First, we started off at Girl Scouts for our regular weekly troop meeting - today was our first official meeting and it was fantastic.  What a group of 23 girls.  I am really looking forward to this new troop and year now!

After Girl Scouts, we came home to eat lunch and relax for a few before I dropped off the kids at a friends house so I could go to the doctor alone.  Yep, I had to go see the doc.  Not good news but not the worse news either.  I have a rather large cyst on my booby so I am started antibiotics and I have to do an ultrasound as soon as I can withstand any pain or touch.  I feel pretty awful but hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and I will have some relief.

After the appointment I had to race back to get the kids before I could even pick up my prescription or get my blood drawn.  I had a couple women coming over to pick up some Girl Scout stuff.  We waited for the women to drop by and then we headed back to the doctor office for my script and blood draw.

Then we headed home for dinner.  Dad came home a little early and took the kids outside after dinner to play while I tried to get work done before bed.  I don't have much energy even though we have a lot to do this week.

Tomorrow, Andrew starts his piano class.  He is so super excited!!  That is just one item on our list.