He Really Does Have Strep Throat

Tuesday, when I picked Luke up from school, I could see 50 yards away from him that something was not right. And when I got a good look at the kid, he appeared to have been hit by a Mack Truck. We drove directly to the pediatrician and my diagnosis was confirmed: strep.

I brought him home and deposited him on the couch where he literally did not budge for about 22 hours. Finally, Wednesday afternoon he started acting a smidge like himself, but still had a fever and ate next to nothing. Thursday... the gusto returned, but the strep breath (have you ever smelled it?) and low grade fever were still present.

So what I have on my hands today (Friday) is Luke in all his Lukeness with the added element of NO SCHOOL! I know it is even more exciting since his sisters had to go to school! AND HE IS HOME FREE!!!

One discovery we have made during this time is RedBox - those red vending machines of movies. I have noticed them for sometime, but never really paid attention. This time, I tried it and in the last 3 days, we have made several trips to Redbox, getting oh, probably 7 movies... for a grand total of 7 dollars. Now that's a deal! (just can't forget to return them within 24 hours or you have to pay another dollar per movie).

Below is our latest trip to Redbox. I had to laugh as I took my poor, "sick" son to pick out a movie. Apparently, it took a hybrid of Batman and Bible man, with a cowboy gun and some kind of PVC Pipe weapon thrown in to wrestle the evil Red Box free of Luke's coveted videos.

Luke, in case you're wondering, is BACK! Full Force.

Just in time for Spring Break!

Priorities

This morning, Luke had no more stood up and wiped the sleep from his eyes when he reported urgently, "I have to throw up." Ugh, I thought. The truth was, it felt like I needed to throw up too. A vague feeling of nausea had turned into feeling like a brick was in my stomach and my day of errands was to be no more.

Instead, I spent the morning helping Luke with throw up target practice. He's still at that stage where he may or not make it to the toilet... and when there is (fairly) new carpet at stake, that doesn't go over well with Mama. I tried to talk to him about recognizing the feeling before it came, and how to make a beeline to the bathroom as NOT to throw up on the carpet. Even the wood floors were better than the carpet! I did have the emergency trash can available just in case. However, Luke didn't seem too impressed with my dissertation on why I didn't want to have to clean up chunks out of the frieze.

What did seem to grab his attention was when I opened up a Lego set that I had saved for a rainy day (or sick day !) I pulled all the shiny, new pieces out and he lovingly sorted them by color one by one. He then reported with determination, "mama... I will DEFINITELY NOT, I mean NO WAY will I even throw up on these legos. I will recognize that feeling and run to the bathroom, but I WILL not throw up on these Legos."

Priorities: for me, it's the carpet.... and him... well, the legos. Maybe I'll just sprinkle some legos on the carpet next time! For the record, no carpet or legos were harmed today.

One more funny (and a bit upsetting) thing... as he was throwing up this morning (the first time), he managed to ask between heaves: "Do I get to miss school today?" And tonight he said he would rather be sick than go to kindergarten. Yeah.... especially when you get to play with Legos.

Whoppers

No, not the malted milk ball or the famous Burger King meal. Luke's tonsils and adenoids. That's what the doctor called them when he met with us right after Luke's surgery. He said that he think Luke will be a much healthier little boy with those gone. Luke is recovering well. He had a good day today, and was showered with gifts from friends and family. He actually spent the day playing with his new metal detector, creating pictures with his new paints and stickers, reading his new books and watching his new videos. He did start running a fever tonight, but it is a normal and I know he will be feeling better each and every day. He'll soon be back doing his bike and scooter tricks, I'm sure!!!

Technical Problems and Tonsils

Well, our family went to Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri for a few days after Christmas, and I was all prepared to download some of the pictures I took. However, I guess my computer was a little irritated about our vacation, because when I came back and turned it on.... it had CRASHED! So, I have been in the process of trying to get it fixed. In the meantime, I am having withdrawals. I can't check emails or post to the blog. I didn't realize how connected I am to that computer!!! The only reason I am posting right now is because Tom and I are at the hospital with Luke (he is having his tonsils and adenoids out today - actually, right this very minute.) Luckily, they have internet access here, and it is keeping my mind off my little boy, who I know will be fine! But having them wheel him away from me was kind of hard. Happy New Year to everyone and may God bless you and keep you in 2007.

She Didn't Grow Feathers

When Uncle Jon found out that Ellie had the chicken pox, he asked her if she was doing the chicken dance and if she was growing feathers. He then suggested that a bowl of chicken noodle soup would cure her sickness. (Ha Ha - Uncle Jon - The kids love your silly jokes and songs and can't wait to see you in 3 weeks!) Despite a bit of concern that she might grow feathers, Ellie is now quite pleased that she has been given the OK by her doctor to go back to school. Here is a shot I took of her this week, sitting in her window seat playing with her guinea pig. We spent A LOT of time together this week. Now that she's in kindergarten, she's such a busy girl. So, it was actually nice to slow down and hang out together. A couple of friends dropped off special gifts to keep her busy (Thanks Carrie and Jill and Nana of course!!!) and I thought that was really thoughtful. And nice. And it made me feel as good as it did Ellie. Noone likes to see their little girl covered with spots and feeling bad. But now we are back in business!!!

What's Wrong With One of These Pictures?

Here we have Luke and his friend Carson, posing as Diego and Spiderman. Very cool. And then there's Kami, our darling 50's girl. But what is Ellie? She is not dressed up as a sick kid. She IS sick with the chicken pox and is missing out on all the fun. Bad timing, huh? Kami (who had the chicken pox last week) has pledged to bring back some goods for Elle (who was planning on being a black cat.) The same thing happened to Kim and I growing up. I had the chicken pox and I passed them on to her just in time for Halloween! I guess that's just growing up!