Oh, Hey There!

I've missed you! No, really, I have! Oh so much has been going on, and on top of everything, I have been experiencing the most sickly year I have ever had! My kinders have been sickly...like for real sick...over Christmas, 8 of my 18 had the flu. They've passed around horrible stomach bugs all year, strep, colds that never end, terrible ear infections, Fifth's disease, pink eye...oh the horrors of kindergarten! It has never been this bad though. We have a new cleaning crew, and I have to wonder if it isn't coincidence that germs aren't going away anymore. Fortunately, so far, I haven't had the bad stuff...just a general feeling of ick. Yes, I meant to say ick, not sick. It has not been fun. And along with the sickly kinders, who by the way have allergies out the wazoo, SPRING FEVER HAS HIT. Me, my intern, and the kids. In full force.

I am dying to get in my garden and work. According to The Farmer's Almanac for this year, my area has had its final hard freezing spell of winter this week. Now, I did not use that trusty resource last year, and guess what? My garden produced a total of 2 dinners worth of potatoes, about 10 meals of fried okra, an occasional tomato, 2 quarts of green beans, two carrots, and about a half dozen sweet potatoes. That's it. And last year, it snowed in May. May 7 to be exact. The day after I put out my tomatoes. I cried. I so hope the almanac is on the money this year. I want need to be out there, nursing my plants and filling basket upon basket of beautiful produce that I can practice my canning skills on. It isn't supposed to rain again until Sunday, so I am planning to be out there tomorrow evening, planting cucumber and green bean seedlings. I also have some turnip and pepper seedlings, but I don't think that they are quite ready to transplant. I did plant my potatoes and onions about 10 days ago, and the onions have started to sprout, which is definitely exciting!

What else has been going on? Well, Lefty had her last ever cheer try-out two weeks ago and made it. She was named captain of her squad!!! I was asked by the other senior mom to be the President of the booster club and Treasurer for the squad. The other senior mom is Vice-President and Secretary. It's gonna be a busy year. Boo decided not to try out for cheer this year, but did try out for dance team. She was a nervous wreck, but I had no doubt that my tiny dancer would do just fine. That will be a new thing for us; we've always been a cheer family, so competitive dance team will be a new adventure. The Boy tried out for his basketball team and didn't make it, BUT he had better luck trying out for track. He is in his first year of being able to do school athletics, so it's a pretty big learning curve. Also, baseball season starts next week for The Boy. Things are gonna be oh so busy for the next two months. Lou tried out for her middle school band and chose to play trumpet like Lefty. I hope she enjoys it.

As for me and my man, we've just been following the kiddos from this to that. We haven't done any more craft shows or anything, although I scouted one out last weekend that is a definite possibility for November. I have gotten a little discouraged. Things have been very slow. Like non-existent. I sold two wreaths last month, and that has been pretty much it for 2014 so far. Kinda sad. However, one of those was for a church a few towns away, and it turned out fantabulous!

Speaking of churches, we have been visiting a new church. We went alone the first week, then last week, we took all four kids. They seemed to enjoy it. Boo asked to go with us this coming Sunday (when she is going to be at her dad's). I am glad she wants to go.

There is so much more for me to go on and on about, but I guess I can save some for other posts! Weather for example. My new addiction. A diet (or the lack thereof) update. New cooking adventures. The four new florals I made. School. Theatrical performances. A band performance with the Beatles. Spanish Honor Society. Faith.  I truly could go on and on. But I will wait.

Uninspired with Inspiration

Normally, I am fairly easy to inspire or motivate to do something. Not so lately. I am in a funk. There are so many things that I need to do; would love to do...but I can't seem to get the energy to do them. Some of the problem is the weather, I am sure. I require sunlight, and lots of it. My body and psyche need the precious  serotonin to help fight off the tendrils of depression that tickle at the edges of all aspects of my life. Yes, I have medication for that...but it only treats the surface symptoms, so every little bit of help I can get, I'll take. It has been very dreary around here lately. Rain, sleet, or snow 4 days out of every week for the past six weeks or so. The rest of the problem...who knows.

So what is it that I want to do? What should be inspiring me to create and grow and sparkle? Well let's see...

Crafting with these awesome, bright colors
that are patiently waiting for me in my craft room.

Breaking through the plateau that I have hit with
my weight loss. Twenty pounds, and no more will
come off...gonna hafta hit the gym! :-(

My garden...currently referred to as 'The Swamp'
Potatoes and onions are beginning to sprout, and
it is so wet down there that I can't even go look!

A clean house! Spring break was for spring cleaning, and now
we have room for more stuff!

Lefty getting to go to prom with her boy bestie.
He's a senior, she's a sophmore...he better be good!
Oh, and prom means...school's almost out!!!

On the upside, sort of, I stayed home from school today due to pink eye. Don't judge, it's a hazard of the job. Kinder teachers come into contact with more goo and bodily fluids than I care to think about. Apparently I came into contact with conjunctivitis. Gross. ANYWHO, while home, I actually felt like doing things. Not fun things, mind you. I worked. The master bathroom is sparkling clean, all laundry is done and put away, 'pit stop' surfaces are cleared off and dusted, the carpets are clean, and all of the household garbage is empty. I even had time to work on my coupon collecting. So maybe, just maybe, this weekend, I might feel like digging into that abyss of a craft room that is bursting at the seams with beautiful blingy things begging for me to use them. I'll be sure and show you what I manage to come up with.

Poop, Puke, and the DMV

At bedtime last night, I started running a mild temp. I was also still having tummy troubles from the nasty stomach bug Boo and I picked up, so I decided to go ahead and stay home another day with her. Better safe than sorry. I slept hard all night (no worrisome wakeups, hooray!), until the phone rang at 8 AM! The dentist office confirming an appointment for next week. Why must they call at such inopportune times? And incessantly, I might add. They call repeatedly, then resort to my work phone, just to confirm an appointment. Every month. (Braces, you know). If I owed them $$$, I might understand. I don't. Just trust that my OCD 15 year old will not let me forget those monthly tightenings on her brackets. I assure you that she will not.

Around noon, I started to feel a bit more close to normal than I have all week. It occurred to me that I forgot to get the tags on my car renewed. They expired yesterday. Ouch. So, off I go. And when I got there...

Great. Just what I felt like doing. 

It was an hour before I was back home in my jammies. I tried really hard not to breathe the majority of the time I was there. It was cram-packed full of people...people even standing against the back wall were shoulder-to-shoulder. There were three empty seats when I got there, so I took the one on the end. Shortly after I got settled in to wait, an elderly gentleman with a walker maneuvered into the third seat. His companion sat between us. She forgot to put on her deodorant today. I threw up a little in my mouth every time she shifted. Sigh.

It never ceases to amaze me how people actually go places wearing this, that, and the other. I might as well have been at Wal-Mart. Then, to top it all off, some guy walks in wearing his shit-kickers. No, literally. Wouldn't you think a change of shoes would be in order BEFORE you get in your vehicle, much less go into a public place!?!?! Blech. I really wanted to puke again...for the second time in an hour, totally unrelated to my stomach virus! Have a little consideration people!

So when I ended up alone on a Friday night, this is how I decided to spend it...no bad smells...just...

Lysol...Stat!!!

Yes, Lysol. The disinfectant spray, wipe, any form it comes in...I need it! Sickness has hit la hacienda de The Knight Life. Since Thanksgiving, someone is our house has been puny. Chris had a horrid sinus infection and cough that lasted from the day after Thanksgiving until mid-December. For about two weeks everyone was great.  However, Loo came down with tonsillitis a few weeks ago. The meds she got weren't strong enough, so she still has it and is on round two of antibiotics, even though it is suspected to be a viral infection. Last week, Lefty developed a nasty cough that settled into her chest. It's just now getting better a full week after her Z-pak is gone.

Now, my job brings me in contact with all sorts of sickness. Kinderbabies don't discriminate on sharing one thing...germs. Our school has been plagued by a slew of illnesses: flu, stomach bug, strep throat, random viral infections,etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I am talking sickness to the point that we have run out of subs. Last Friday, both of our nurses were out, and the sub nurse had to be sent home...two with confirmed cases of the flu, the other with suspected flu and horrible bronchial inflammation. One third grade class had to send 11 kids home in one day...eight were from the flu. So it really wasn't any surprise when three weeks ago, I started having a scratchy throat and sinus headaches. I still have the headache. And the drainage. And yesterday, my Ms. Nurse found white blisters in my throat. Last night, just before I went to bed, you'll never guess what hit me. Yep. Stomach bug. Boo has it too. So we are home today. I hope it all ends with a mild stomach bug. Mine is probably tonsillitis plus stomach though. As long as it isn't anything more, I will be content.

Unfortunately, today was the day for the housekeeper to come and clean. I texted her this morning and said, "STAY AWAY!" So guess what I will be doing this weekend? You guessed it again. Mercy, y'all are smarties! I will be disinfecting. Bleach will be my buddy. Until then...

This is me

This is me on stomach bug.

Days Go By

Guess who just turned 14 years old? This girl...my baby Boo...

She has the innate ability to make people around her laugh and smile with random comments and jokes. While she has always been my little sweet sunshine baby, her life has not been an easy one from the get-go. My baby girl was due on Valentine's day. However, on January 25, 1999 when I went for a regular pre-natal check-up, there was some question about the integrity of my previous c-section site. It felt like it was ripping open from the inside. We had to have an ultrasound (which wasn't typically done more than once way back then), and it was determined that she was developed and big enough that we needed to go ahead and deliver...just in case. Doc told us to come to the hospital at 5:30 that evening prepared to have a baby. We were so not prepared. We were supposed to still have three more weeks! We had no plans for anyone to watch Lefty. The nest had not been prepped yet. It was early. But, I was so ready to meet my girl.

Diva was born, absolutely perfect and precious. I, on the other hand, did not fare so well. A spinal headache set in. I couldn't move for days. Not even to hold her. I couldn't breastfeed her because of the headache, and my milk dried up within 4 days of leaving the hospital. I cried. A lot. The hospital sent me home with the headache and refused to give me a patch after the headache was still there a week later. They said to sleep it off. I missed the first two weeks of Boo's life. It was tragic. 

When my head cleared and I could function, I couldn't get enough of that baby girl. As the weeks passed, it became obvious that she was having issues with being touched. It was a rarity for her to even allow us to hold her during feeding times. Our solution was Bubbie. Think bad of us as parents all that you like, but yes, we used an old, travel-sized feather pillow to prop her bottle up on. The weight of the pillow against her and the lack of skin to skin contact seemed to help her rest a little better. It was a life-saver.

Then we started to notice that her skin was constantly broken out in a rash. All ointments, salves, lotions made it worse. Some things, especially Neosporin and hydrocortisone cream, caused blisters to erupt within the rash. We saw doctor after doctor. One finally told us to change her formula. That helped minimally, but other than that small feat, no one could help our baby.

When she started eating real food, a lot of things made her projectile vomit as soon as they hit her stomach. Eggs, milk, peanut butter, and honey were the worst. We must have been just plain stupid, because we didn't figure out the reason for all of her issues until the day that peanut butter made her swell up like a puffer fish AND vomit til she had nothing left. She was having some serious allergy issues. Duh. Unfortunately, at that time, no doctor (not even at the Children's Hospital) would perform allergy testing until a child was 3 years old. Sigh. We got her in on her third birthday.

That was a terrible, scary day. The patch testing that was done caused such bad reactions that on the hour drive home from the hospital, her back began bleeding so heavily that it soaked through her shirt. She screamed the entire time and all the way home. I called the hospital and told them what was happening...they said rinse it off, coat in Benadryl cream, and let it air dry. She couldn't have Neosporin...she is allergic.

Once we made it through the first year of learning how to function with a child having severe allergies, things seemed to improve. We could finally hold her whenever we wanted...it wasn't as painful to her since her allergies were getting more under control. Our dermatologist special ordered some medical surgical wrap to cover her open sores (from the allergies) so that the medication she required would stay in contact with the wounds. She finally started getting better.

Through it all, she still said and did the funniest things. I loved seeing her personality grow. And man, was it getting big! Today, this girl wears so many hats. She is amazingly talented. Things seem to come so easy for her at times...things that I always wished I could do. Boo is very artistic. She can draw, paint, blend colors. She is a petite, auburn haired beauty with a little spattering of freckles on her cheeks and nose. She is a cheerleader. A performer. She loves doing musicals in the theater...and she is good at it. Really good. My beauty is also a dancer. She is the tiny dancer. It is magical to watch her on stage. She puts it all out there on the stage floor. Watching her perform is so powerful to me that I cry. There are other reasons that her performing is so special, reasons better left to a different post, but that include the fact that this past summer she was diagnosed with a severe social phobia and anxiety. For her to put herself out there for everyone to see is a pretty big deal. It takes a lot of bravery. I admire that about my baby. She will amaze me to my dying day.

School production of 'Fame'

I am

 so blessed

to be

her Momma.

Happy Birthday, Baby Boo. I love you to infinity and beyond. You are something special.

~ Alas ~

No snow day today. I was rather glad we went, since it would have taken a day off away from us (or added one at the end of the year). However, it was a very early morning, since we fully expected the roads to be nearly impassable. Chris drove me the normal 30ish minute drive to work, and it just took 45 minutes as opposed to the hour it took to drive home yesterday in the 'blizzard' (haha). The day was so long. It seems like this week is just dragging by. I had one of those days when you think it is actually the next day, all day long. A bit frustrating, to say the least. Anywho, this was the view on the way in this morning...

Click here to see other posts of snow days since I began blogging. :-)

The flu is making its way through my school district and community. I had one kinderbaby out Monday and Tuesday, and our Title I Aide was out with it both of those days as well. Her kids had it last week. I saw on Facebook that another family got their positive flu test today. And guess what? Today, my throat began to hurt. My ears, my chest, my head, my sinuses...sigh. No fever as of now, but I definitely felt feverish all day. Hopefully it is just sinus funk, which I do have to deal with a lot. I had the flu plus bronchitis or walking pneumonia year before last and I do NOT want either of them again! Fingers crossed that I wake up perky and with a smile!

Let Me Hear You Call Those HOGS!!!

Hello Lovelies!

The hubby decided to take me away for the weekend to a whirlwind affair of Arkansas Razorback Athletic events, shopping, and best of all...exclusive time with him! It was much needed, that's for sure!

We left town as soon as I got home from school and drove the 2 hours to NWA (northwest Arkansas). We hustled to Bud Walton Arena to catch the season opener of the Hogs basketball team with the new head coach, Mike Anderson. While we used to have season tickets, we hadn't been to a basketball game since before we got married. It felt great to be back! It was even more great that the season opener ended with a WIN! Go HOGS go!

Saturday blew in with what felt like gale force winds...there were leaves and trash and hair flying everywhere! That did not stop us from heading out to do some retail therapy! I was very much looking forward to a crafting trip to Joann (fabric and craft store), since we don't have a decent craft store anywhere close to home. I took extra spending money just for that! I also bought enough there that it will be a blog post all its own! Since it was going to be a cold booger at the football game later in the evening, we headed to the mall to buy me a cutesy-tootsey-type coat. Since I ended up leaving with two of them, I'd say it was a success! Next stop, Red Robin for a Bleu Ribbon Burger...YUMMMMM! After that, we headed to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Old Navy before making our way to Razorback Stadium. From then on, it was...

Notice the truck, hauling in Tusk and the cheer/pom/mascot teams!

Parking Tusk's truck...

Pre-game huddle!

The band marching in, LOVE those flags!

A cold, windy night...perfect for snuggling hubs in the stadium! (note the mega-cute red and black jacket!)

The band

More band...I love to watch them...super impressive every time!

Lining up for just another spectacular play! The Hogs moved up to #6 in the SEC, and had the top 2 plays of the night on ESPN Sportscenter Saturday night...and we saw it all live!!! 

I get goose-bumps every time the cheerleaders do this...it's my fave!

We were in.....

Wooooooo Pig Sooieee! Razorbacks!

The only negative to the entire weekend was when I woke up at 5:30 this morning with a migraine. It had me in tears it was so bad. I went ahead and got ready for a day of shopping, but when we got in the car and started moving...my stomach revolted. We made it to the mall just in time to pull into the parking lot, open the door, and retch. Nothing came up. I got back in the car and we headed to Target for Excedrin migraine. Thank God Target was only three minutes away...but lemme just say, puking in the parking lot at Target on Sunday morning while the cart boy looks on...no fun at all, and if I hadn't been in so much pain, it might have even been embarrassing! I was crying and telling Chris I couldn't even handle shopping (if you can fathom such a thing), we had to get home. I hated to end our mini-getaway like that. It just plain sucked. I was probably crying more over ending the trip early than I was over feeling bad!

My husband is such a great man! I love him so much, and was so glad to have spent the last two days with him, and him alone! It would be nice if we could manage more times like that, but I'll take what I can get!

This Bear Needs a Cave!

Or just a hole to crawl into. I know it's the Weekend Wander, and there will be blog traffic...so my post should be peppy and upbeat. but. i. don't. feel. like. it. I feel like burrowing head first into a hole and not coming out. It has been a shitty couple of weeks, and sometimes, shit really does stink.

Two weeks ago today, I felt the beginnings of a sinus headache. Immediately, I trotted right down to the pharmacy and grabbed some Sudafed...the good kind that requires a license to purchase. It worked for a day. So a week goes by and I get more and more miserable. Work sucks...wild kids and the like...things just not going right...On Friday, I went to the doctor. She said, severely impacted sinus infection. Great. Like I didn't know that already. Then, meds didn't work. And the doc didn't bother to return my TWO calls when I was throwing up from the drainage and so dizzy I couldn't sit upright three days AFTER meds were finished. Thank God I have a good pharmacist. She recommended ZyrtecD...the good kind. Antihistamine + decongestant. Dried that snot right up! 

So yesterday I felt human again. And then I fell. Someone's lovely child (a multitude of them actually) squirted a puddle of GermX on the stained concrete floors at school. GermX is clear. Invisible on stained concrete. Down I went. Bashed both kneecaps and wrenched my back (the back that had previously been broken, and is iffy on a good day). Perfect. Battered and bruised, just the way I prefer to be. Today, I am in pain. Not to mention emotionally worn down and just flat exhausted. 

I might be back tomorrow. 

Or I might have found a damn cave.