What We are Up To...

As I mentioned last week, Andrew and Jackson participated in youth deer hunting last weeked.  They didn't have any success on Saturday, but Jackson got one on Sunday.  If they couldn't find a big one, they at least wanted to get the doe for some meat for them to enjoy.  My kids are picky, but surprisingly Jackson and Ellie do enjoy deer meat.  They definitely get that from their dad.  I think Jackson was pretty excited about his successful shot and to share the story with me.

Before they headed out hunting we went to church and then I took Jackson and Ellie to Wal-Mart to pick out some things for our shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  We did one for a boy and girl their ages.  We finally had a chance to put them all together today before we headed to church because it was the last day to drop them off.  It was sometimes a challenge for them to just get stuff for the child receiving the box and not think about wanting some of the stuff themselves, but it is always a great lesson.  They have a neat video on their website, www.samaritanspurse.org, about the whole mission.

Lincoln was feeling better over the weekend and he didn't have a fever again.  And his mono test came back negative.  He is back to his old self now, which is great.  He was very excited on Monday because a new Mickey Mouse episode was one that he has been wanting to see for awhile, Mickey and Donald Have a Farm.  He was just giddy and jumping up and down when it came on.  Monday ended up being a pretty busy day for us.  I was able to finish up a few decorations for Ellie's party which is a couple of weeks away.  She was excited to see them and I like that I have accumulated some decorations now and can just come up with some stuff from what I have and not have to spend too much money.  For Ellie's decorations, all I bought were a few sheets of paper, a couple rolls of ribbon, and five foam pumpkins from the Dollar Tree.  And Lissy let me borrow her wrought iron Cinderella carriage to use as part of the centerpiece since Ellie's party has a Cinderella theme.  I was wanting to get her's done so that I can start working on Miles and Bennett's party.  So that starts soon.

But onto our Monday, Andrew came home a little early for lunch so I could go vote.  He was going to have a busy Tuesday, so I knew it would be hard for me to get away to vote.  I just went up to the courthouse and voted absentee.  Then he had to go out of town for work and didn't get home until later that night.  Monday afternoon, we picked up the kids from school and then dropped Jackson off at swim practice.  Then we ran home real quick to give the babies their bottles, get Ellie ready for dance, finish up laundry.  We then headed back to get Jackson, ran by the office to pick up the Cinderella carriage, then dropped Ellie off at dance.  We were back home just long enough to start getting dinner ready before we had to pick Ellie up.  After that I finished up dinner, fed the babies, fed the kids and I, and was starting to clean up when I heard splashing-yep the boys were in the toilet again.  So I put the cleaning on hold and started a bath for them.  Thankfully, that is about the time Andrew got home.  So he finished the baths while I finished the cleaning.  Along with the craziness, Bennett started feeling bad on Monday.  He woke up with a fever on Tuesday and  I think we were a little worried he had caught whatever Lincoln had but my dad checked him out and he didn't have the swollen lymph nodes or the red ear/throat, so my dad was thinking it was viral.  He also had some congestion and a runny nose.  He was a very sad little boy.

Kaitlin and her kids came into town on Tuesday, so we were supposed to go over to my parents and have dinner but we didn't want Bennett around her two.  Andrew ended up staying home with Bennett and I took the others over to my parents.  I got to hold Lola for a bit and enjoy her cuteness.  Which was good because Tuesday ended up being a bad day with the election results.  Jackson and Ellie were so disappointed when I told them Wednesday morning.  Ellie about cried. 

Bennett wasn't any better Wednesday and Thursday.  One side of his face got pretty swollen and it was sore.  My dad thought it was maybe just from the congestion because he still didn't have any swollen lymph nodes.  But he called in some amoxicillin just in case.  So we had just finished up Lincoln's 10 day dose on Wednesday and started Bennett on Thursday.  This is very unusual for us because our kids are rarely sick and I know that just because a kid is sick doesn't mean they need antibiotics and we are just building up antibiotic resistance the more we give them when they are not needed.  Bennett wasn't very good at taking the medicine and would just spit it back out.  I called my dad to see if he had any suggestions to get him to take it and he said they we could give him a shot of Rocephin.  He was still thinking it may be viral though, so I let him make the decision over whether or not to go ahead and do it.  We went ahead with our day which included a couple hair cuts.  Lincoln had his in the morning and I ended up trying to get Miles and Bennett in but Kim was already booked.  So they are getting their mullets cut off this Tuesday.  They look really sweet when it curls up, but I know it will go straight during the dry winter.  During the babies morning nap, I was able to get the Christmas lights up on the house.  There was a concrete crew working on the LaBeth's driveway across the street, so I felt a little intimidated and self-concious while moving the ladder around and climbing up on the railings on our front porch to get the lights up.  It went pretty smoothly though and I had Lincoln as my helper.  We used to put up icicle lights, but the kids have been wanting colored lights and Kaitlin and Zane had a bunch they weren't using anymore.  So we were lucky to get theirs and we even have extra.  I still have to put up all the stuff on our porch, but thought I would do that a little closer to Thanksgiving. 

Then when Lincoln and the twins were down for naps in the afternoon, I was able to get some of our patio furniture put away in the basement.  Jackson had his hair appointment after school, so we dropped him off and ran to my dad's office, had Bennett get his shot, and then went back to pick up Jackson.  That night we hung out at my parents' house along with Kaitlin and Zane and their kids.  And my Grandpa Mike and Karen ended up being in town and came by to visit for a bit.   

Andrew and Jackson went out hunting again all day Saturday.  It was a beautiful day out, but maybe a little too warm and windy for hunting.  Ellie and Lincoln spent several hours during the day playing outside with the Vincents while I worked on stuff in the house and took care of the twins.  Bennett was starting to feel better and even today the swelling was starting to go down.  We had people over for dinner that night, so I was trying to get stuff ready for that since Andrew wasn't going to be home until right before.  I also finished putting away our patio furniture before the cold and rain set in.  He showed up in time to help feed the babies while I finished up dinner.  My initial plan was to have our pastors and their families over for dinner.  I have been trying to do this since this summer but there was never a date that would work.  We thought we had a date figured out, but then one couple wasn't able to make it.  But Leah and Joe and their family along with another couple, Tony and Carrie, and their two kids were able to come.  Tony and Carrie have a son whose full name is Miles Bennett :-).  Then their daughter, Clara, is about a week younger than the twins.  It was a hectic night with all the kids running around, but it was great to have all of them over and hang out for a bit.  I had the little table set up for the three-year-old boys and didn't even think about Miles and Bennett being able to grab the food off the table, so we had to block them into the family room with the ottomans. 

Today has been a cold, rainy, yucky day.  The rain did clear off for a bit, so Andrew took Jackson and Ellie out for a quick hunt.

A few other things going on, I am trying to transition the babies to more table food and milk.  After initially not wanting their bottles for a while, they are back to wanting them again.  I tried milk in them this morning and they did not like it at all.  They each just took about an ounce.  So we are going to have to work on that.  I also thought I would try more table food and self-feeding and start cutting back on the baby food.  They have had a few meals with some bland table food of just plain cooked chicken, mixed vegetables, and mixed fruit.  Bennett did better with it than Miles, as Miles seemed a bit more picky.  I think they do like the food we eat a little better.  So it looks like we are going to feed some of our food and supplement still with baby food for a little longer.

I enjoy watching Ellie and Lincoln play together.  They come up with all sorts of stuff to do.  Ellie loves being the leader/teacher.  They build stuff, play dress-up, color, and play games together for example.  Ellie likes playing games because she gets to make up the rules and Lincoln has no idea.  Here they are playing memory match :-)



And a funny/nice thing.  One of our neighbors across the street is the new president of ATSU.  They divide their residency between here and their home in Arizona, so they will be gone for weeks at a time.  So now, whenever they are getting ready to leave, she will bring over some of their perishable food items to see if we want them.  This last time around we got some gogurt, jello cups, uncrustables, and eggs among other things.  I guess they feel sorry for the family with all the kids.