It is Friday!

New kid doesn't often get to sit in a bean bag. But on this day her siblings were off at their respective schools and she took full advantage of their absence. I believe she liked it.

She is not this joyous looking currently though as she has a fever and a grumpy disposition. She picked it up from Pickle but should be able to kick it quickly.

Pickle's First Fever

The title of this post is not a joke . . . I am pretty sure she has had her first fever of her whole life this week. She's had plenty of snotty colds and was always good for a surprise ear infection when she was an infant,(Seriously she never gave any sign of her ears bothering her; the doctor would look in and say, that one looks bad. Nuts!) but really this is the first time I can remember taking her temperature and actually having a fever.

I knew it was bad if JP reported that she had a fever on Monday but I am always too curious to accept the basic assessment so I insisted on using the thermometer and it was 101.4 - not too bad but definitely a fever. We sent her to school on Tuesday and she seemed fine (cranky but fine) yesterday afternoon. Last night she woke up about 11:30 calling for me . . . I go into her room and she says, "I want to sleep with you guys." This was an odd request because our children have always been great sleepers and the idea of sleeping in our room has never really come up. (And we'd like to keep it that way.) So I of course ask "why." And she says, "Because I love you." How sweet is that? Not a bad thing to be awakened by your 3 year old to be told she loves you . . . .

This was when I leaned in to give her a hug and thought her hot little hand was going to sear a handprint on my forearm. She was burning up. I REALLY wanted to take her temperature just to know the number but I decided to trust the "Mommy Thermometer" and just give her some Motrin (our Tylenol had expired - that's a problem with healthy kids) and get her back to sleep. Worked like a charm; she slept until about 7:30 this morning. Needless to say she stayed home from school today. Amazingly she is actually really pleasant when she is sick . . . .

Happy Valentine's Day

We made cookies yesterday and let the kids help ice them . . . they need practice. I came through and touched them up a bit. They were doing more licking than icing! Pickle sat down and announced that all the heart cookies were for her . . . really?

The kids had made picture frames and cards for us when Cee- Cee sat with them last month. Pickle has been keeping her cards not so hidden in her closet but Bubba surprised us by putting his cards under our pillow on Saturday night. Now that is how you surprise someone; give them something early! They will each have their respective card exchanges at school today which means they will come home with a bag or box full of "crunk" that will need to be tossed or recycled.

JP and I have never been big on Valentine's Day. In our early years we exchanged gifts and there was that wonderful gift that I wrote about here; but after spending so many years together every day Valentine's just loses its luster (if it ever had luster). We had an enjoyable weekend together including a wonderful "at home" date on Friday night that involved steak, wine, bruschetta, and House Hunters International!

We hope you have a wonderful day and don't get wrapped up in the silliness of Valentine's . . . it's just another day of the week.

9 Months?

Seriously? I know it sounds cliched but time is absolutely flying by. When the boy was a wee tot it seemed that time could not go fast enough. This little lady is 9 months old today. In the last month she has learned to clap and still really enjoys mimicking the noises she hears from her siblings.