Strep throat and another tooth

Sweet Coby has been home from school with STREP... yukk... it has been kinda nice spending some quality time with one of my "middle" kiddos... they so rarely get time with mom by themselves!! He also lost his first top tooth, and he has the cutest little grin! I love it... now if only that tooth fairy would get her (or his) act together and remember to come visit him. He is on my bed right now watching a movie and composing a letter to the tooth fairy to remind her (or him) to come get this tooth that has been sitting under his pillow for 2 nights now.... oops!

He looks chubbier in this pic than he really is.... I was at a funny angle to get the "hole" in the smile! Love my Cobe!!

2nd day of school!!

Coby barfed in the bathroom as soon as they got there. So he is back home with me.

So much for perfect attendence! :o)

I think he just got a little carsick after eating lots of pancakes with too much sugar. My fingers are crossed that we do NOT all take turns with a stomach bug the first week of school... yukk!!

The Best infirmary... and other news

We have 2 down around here... and hopefully NOT 2 more to go... I have a feeling these boys got strep throat from their momma who was excited to see them when they returned last week and gave them a little too much lovin! Sorry boys!! At least they have a buddy to keep them company while they get to hang out on mommy's bed and watch an insane amount of movies! :o)

We have been busy little bees since we got our little wild ones back! My boys have come back to the realization that mommy is just not as fun as GiGi, but she will have to do for now. We are back to having lots of fun (sickness aside) again. Bryson is saying lots of funny stuff right now like the other day at rest time I said, "nite nite, baby" (I have always called him my baby) and he responded with "I not baby, I big." So I said, "ok" Then he told me (in a bossy tone), "Mommy, now you say, 'nite-nite, big.'" I obliged and called him "big" and that is what he wants everyone to call him now. Funny stuff. Our potty training is all back on track and he is doing really well. Sometimes he spontaniously wants to tell (or show) perfect strangers about his new spiderman underwear. He is proud... and shameless....

We had our last baseball games of the season (can I get a halleluiah?!). It was bittersweet, but I am really looking forward to this saturday sleeping in and NOT spending 3+ hours in the 105 degree texas heat... with a 2 year old who loves baseball and baseball games, but even he knows that is crossing a line. Seriously, it has been a great, fun season, and it is always so neat to watch the boys meet new friends, learn new things and grow and improve so much, but Lord have mercy, it has been H-O-T!

Here is a fun "action" shot of Micah... he had an incredible hit way out in left field. I wish I had a pic of his proud snaggle-toothed grin as he crossed home plate at the end of his grand slam!

Here is Cason's new ingenious way of "carrying" his glove to the car. I have a rule that they have to carry their own glove (simply because I have the ice chest loaded with drinks and snacks and 6 folding chairs, plus the above mentioned 2-year old who is not always elated to abide by my rules after 3 hours in the 105 degree heat) and this way, he can carry his glove and his drink and snack from the snack mom (or in this case, his newly earned medal).... cute boy!

Sweet brothers showing off their medals.... Micah had not played yet, so he hadnt gotten his yet. That is why he isnt in the picture...

Earlier today, I was going to refill the gatorade for the "sick and infirmed" who were quarantined in my bedroom and I made some little friends in my fridge. I have a feeling there is a cute little red-headed boy somewhere looking for these 2 friends... or maybe he is laughing at his momma getting such a kick out of his antics! :o)

disclaimer: please dont inspect the cleanliness of my fridge...

Hope you are all having a great "last week of summer" I had big plans to take the kids to lots of fun places, but strep throat has made me slow down and I have done lots of cleaning instead. Keep them all in our prayers that the strep stops here!!!

GiGi detox and strep throat

We are in GiGi-detox mode around the best household... our house is filled with lots of noise and activity again and the boys were all so glad to be home. I cant count the number of times they have said, "but that's not how GiGi does it...." or "GiGi lets us..." I think it is kinda a dose of reality for both them and me. I have had this quiet restful week and they have had a week where the world revolved around them! They had such a great time and have some wonderful memories from the week. But the other day, Cason was getting a spanking and he said, "GiGi doesnt know how to give spankings. GDad has not taught her that yet." We both had a pretty good chuckle, but it did not get him out of his spanking!!
*Micah's favorite part of the week was shooting his first gun with Gdad and diving off the diving board (not at the same time...)
*Coby's favorite part was going swimming at the pool with a big slide.
*Cason's favorite part was riding the tractor and seeing a rattle snake.... yikes!
*Bryson just responded with "I go swimming, I ride tractor with Gdad. Gran Gran silly"

Well, it seems my date with chloraseptic last week was not long enough... I woke up at 3AM choking on my own tonsils because it was so swollen back there. I went to the minute clinic at CVS (I highly reccommend it) and got a rapid strep test which usually takes 5 minutes to process. Within 20 seconds, mine had gone to positive. yikes. Being so sick makes me so sad for my babies when they have this awful thing... strep is miserably painful!! Here's hoping no one else gets it!!
Sorry there are no pictures on this post...

Thankful....

Well, folks, Clint has taken a turn for the worse and he has spent the entire Saturday in bed. Literally hurting all over... I have never seen him this sick! Poor guy... so you may be reading right now and wondering why I have entitled this post, "Thankful..." Of corse I am not thankful that he is sick and I hope and pray that he is well soon... but in everything there is a bright side, so I guess it all hit me today. I had just finished a long saturday by myself. Prepared and fed all 3 meals for all the boys singlehandedly (ok, with a little help from Little Caesar tonite, but cut me some slack!), I had played more games of Cosmic Catch and Hi-Ho-Cherry-O that I could even count, worked 5 puzzles, read more than 20 books, jumped on the trampoline, pitched baseball, fetched a baseball, been pegged in the head with a baseball, played at the park, bathed all 4 little boys in a bubble bath, read 4 chapters in the magic tree house, listened to 4 of the sweetest prayers, and kissed 4 precious cheecks as I tucked them in bed tonite. It was a really fun Saturday and I did it all by myself. It wasnt the first time that I had done it all by myself by any means, but it was the first time in a long time that we had not been together as a family at all during the day. I have always known that I am "spoiled" with Clint as a husband and daddy to my boys. He wanted to be an involved dad from the start, so he has bathed the boys and got them ready for bed from the time that micah was a month old. He has always been super helpful with everything.... but sometimes I get in that habit, or the RUT if you will, and I forget to appreciate how blessed I really am... Since I was sick first, then Coby, then Clint, we have not gone anywhere as a family (not even the drive thru) in an entire week... and for the Best Family, who is always on the go, that is a really strange feeling. Clint and I have not really had much of a conversation since last weekend. I realized tonite as I was going thru deciding what movie I wanted to watch how lonely I feel. I miss the chaos.... the crazy, exciting, fun, busy lifestyle that we live... maybe because we do it all together... but I miss our family time! And so I shed a few tears as I type beside Clint as he snores away because I am ashamed that it took a week of all of us being sick as dogs for me to slow down enough to be THANKFUL for all that I have... for the choas that these 4 precious boys bring to me every day... and for the incredible man that God has given me to be my companion, my "chaos-partner," and my best friend....
Random thoughts, I know, but I never have been good at this "deep-thoughts blogging" :o)

Another one bites the dust....

I am standing today... and I was actually standing yesterday, too, but just barely... but unfortunately this awful thing has gotten a hold of Sweet Coby and poor Clint. He has a deadline at work tomorrow morning at 9:00, so he is trying to stumble thru some paperwork to meet it, but he feels pretty bad. He was such a trooper trying to take care of the boys and get them everywhere they needed to be when ever I was sick, and I think he has run himslef ragged. Coby has been home today with a pretty good fever and he told me this morning that his heart hurts. Poor baby. I totally understand the feeling. This awful cough makes your chest hurt so bad!! Say a little prayer that Coby bounces back quickly and that he is the last victim of the awful bug!! Now I am off to have a(nother) hay-day with my Clorox wipes!!

Mamma said there'd be days like this...

Poor little Bry is a sick little boy.... firstt he had croup, and he seemed to be getting better, and then last night his fever spiked to 104.4... YIKES!!!! It turned out to be strep, sinus infection, and an ear infection all in one!! He is on some super-strong antibiotics, so hopefully he will be good as new in no time! We have spent our fair share of time in the Dr office lately! Here is what I found when I left my poor little guy watching Curious George...
And here, Cason was trying to make him feel better by bringing him some pillows and his favorite Thomas blanket... sweet boy!

We had already gone thru Paci-Detox, and he was doing pretty well without one... but then he got sick and I went into survival mode, so now we are going thru Paci-Retox!! :o) Say a little prayer for Bryson today!!

Barfapalooza & a Fun Farm

I know I stole that title from someone, but I cant think who... But I do know that BARFAPALOOZA is the best term for October 2007 in the Best household. 5 out of 6 of our household members have been down and out with a nasty stomach bug... that is everyone except daddy... I swear that he is made of steal or something. He never gets sick!! And I am thankful because he has been such a trooper helping take care of us all. Today was our first barf-free day since last saturday... whoo hoo! Hopefully we are on the mend! And in the mean time, I have spent my spare time disinfecting every single towel, sheet, pillow case, blankie, stuffed animal, rug, doorknob, toilet, and child in our house... in hopes that we will be spared from "round 2" of the awful bug! I think I have used an entire economy sized tub of Clorox wipes!

On a much lighter note, we had the Fun Farm come to our preschool last week. Cason was sick that day, so he missed out, but sweet Bryson loved the animals. He would squat down and talk in his high-pitched voice that he uses when he talks to a baby, he was so sweet and gentle and he would give those bunnies hugs and kisses. He was pretty disturbed by the horse and the cow. They both looked him right in the eye and the horse kinda sneezed on him (nice, I know!) and weirded him out.... but here are some sweet pics of him with the bunnies:

Here was his first "conversation" with the bunnies. He took a minute to talk to them before he got close enough to touch them....

"Yes, Bryson, that is the bunny's eye...."

Feeding the goats...

My co-teacher and I decided to "dress the part" and we both wore pigtails and overalls for farm day. Everyone was calling me "EllieMae" and they dared me to kiss this pig. I didnt go that far, but I did hold it as it was squirming and squeeling (an awful high squeel) and had a picture taken with the poor thing...

Update on Bry and a funny story!

He is soooo much better. The dr gave a one-time high power dose steriod that worked wonders! He is not totally back to normal, but he is definately much better! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!

Now the funny story... my boys have a new hobby this summer... fighting!!! I am so sick of the constant arguing, bickering, etc which usually leads to someone hitting, pinching, chasing, and occasionally biting. SO.... a friend of mine from church (who has 2 older kids who are so well behaved now) gave me some advice on it... she told me to try what she had done when her kids were little, so I did... I told them when they fought that they had to go out in the back yard. I locked the door (but I peaked thru the window without them seeing me) and they could fight all they wanted out there. This takes the fun out of it by telling them they can do it. I was a little worried how my BOYS would respond to this, butI tried it... I said, "You can kick, hit, bite, pinch, chase, what ever you want to do, but you are not going to do it in my house!" So I locked Coby and Micah out there and they just looked stunned...
I heard Coby say, "did mommy say we could bite and hit?"
Then Micah, "Yes, but please dont hit me or bite!"
C: "OK, Micah, I have a great idea... how bout you dont hurt me and I wont hurt you, k?" (what a novel idea!)
M: "yeah... great idea... you wanna go play dumptrucks in the sand box?"
C (big smile): "yeah!"
And off they went......
Between the 3 of them, we did this 4 times yesterday and by the end of the day they were pretty much working things out themselves without being banished to the back yard! :o)

I am a wimp

My poor little Bryson had an ear infection for about the whole first year of life until we got his tubes put in in December. He was a whole new baby. I always felt bad for him, until now... and now, I feel absolutely HORRIBLE for him. I had an ear infection this past week and I thought I was gonna die. The whole side of my face hurt. I was dizzy and off balance. It hurt to turn my eyes, to smile, my head was killing me... it was miserable! I just feel so bad that my sweet baby was just in so much pain! I am glad that is over.
Yesterday was really my first day to feel not great, but just ok. So Coby woke up puking... nice. He was sick all day, and rarely made it to the potty... nice! So it was a day of PJs and lots of laundry and Clorox wipes... he is a little better today, but we took him in for a strep test today bc he said his throat hurt. We are supposed to be leaving tomorrow for our church family retreat, and I have already packed up half of our house to go there, so I am praying that he is better! They went ahead and put him on antibiotics today in case the test comes back positive. I love my new pediatrician!! Say a prayer for sweet Coby today! Sorry this was such a bleak update... but an update nonetheless!

Just so I dont bore you all to tears with my sickness stories, I will close with a picture of my sweet little Bry in a funny sleeping position.

Where have I been???

Okay, so I know I have kept all 3 of my readers in suspense wondering why it has been so long since I had posted.... I have been completely overwhelmed in so many areas of my life that I am not really sure where to begin... so I will give a quick update and the some pictures....

1. Blessing in disguise: I recently applied for a position as the director of the preschool/mothers day out where I work... It was a position that I had thought about for some time now, but I really wanted it to come available in about 3 years when I only had one little one at home and more time during the day... but our director's hubby has taken an incredible opportunity at the Richland Hills c of c, so she is leaving us with HUGE shoes to fill. When the spot came open, Clint and I just prayed about it... do I go for it now, with the 2 boys at home next year and Bry being so young? It seemed like an answer to the prayers we had been praying for financial freedom for our family... but the timing seemed off. But I decided to interview and let God take it from there... I got up into the top of the closet and dusted off my portfolio which had not been updated since 2001... a lot has happened since then! :o) I have spent so much time revamping my resume, writing a new philosophy of education, working on my application, references, etc. It was actually really neat to think about how much things have changed for me since 2001! I interviewed with 2 of the most Godly, incredible women I know... they were the principals of BCS when I went here years ago... and I balled several times during my interview... I was so emotional about working full-time, leaving my kids with someone else.... but we are so desperate for the money.... I love working with these children and I really felt called there..... They called me into the office today to tell me that they have hired someone else whose children are both already in school and who is equally qualified... it makes since, and I am actually relieved. I kept picturing little Bry and thinking about him growing up... knowing he is my last baby... and it made me so sad to think that I was growing him up so quickly! So here I am... back where I started.... just an ol' preschool teacher, but most importantly a mommy to 4 precious boys!!! And I feel so incredible blessed to be here!



2. The curse of Peter Pan: Little Bry has had an awful stomach thing going on for almost 2 weeks now... Basically I was doing a load of laundry with each diaper change... it was awful! We thought it might be from all the Peter Pan peanut butter he eats bc all 7 of the jars in my pantry had the 2111 number on them... (and he eats a TON daily), but we finally did some blood work that told us that he had an awful virus... he is now on the mend, and I am glad to have my well baby back!


3. I am just not June Cleaver: I had bunko at my house this week, and so I was doing all those "extra" things to clean.... baseboards, window sills, etc.... I never clean those things until I am having some big event at my house... and I know I should... but Hi HO Cherry-O and UNO are so much more fun! I have been using most of my spare moments during this last week getting my house ready to host 12 of my best friends in the world for bunko... and I got to thinking.... why do we put on this "june cleaver" impression for others? Do they really think that my house looks like this everyday? Do I admit that my children have been either watching movies or banned to the back yard for the entire day so I could get ready for all this? I did take them to the park for a picnic to make it more fun. I really had already swept, mopped, vacumed, etc, so I did not want their eating mess all over the place! And my wonderful hubby got off work a little early and took them out for the evening... I love bunko..... but I love it more when it is not at my house! :o)

4. A PINK nursery: But NOT for me! My sweet friend, Kaylee is expecting a girl any day now, and she decided last minute to paint her nursery.... actually I convinced her last minute to paint, so I have been painting while she hung out with me.... it is pink and chocolate colors... and her bedding uis pink, chocolate, and green... it is so pretty!!! So I have spent some late nights over there with her... it has been a fun time for the 2 of us to spend before her new little bundle arrives!

5. T is for "Texas:" Lastly, we had our "Texas Rodeo" at school today. The kids come dressed up in cowboy attire and we have all this fun stuff for them to do... it is a lot of work, but they love it. That is where the pictures tie in! How cute are these cowboys???

THE PICTURE BELOW IS FROM LAST YEAR! I know it is confusing bc the outfits are the same, but the kids are different... I just thought it was cute to see how much Coby has grown up!

And now back to this year....

The boys with mommy (or 'Ms Summer' as Coby calls me at school.. hilarious!)

Here Cason is panning for gold... the tongue cracked me up!!









And just so I dont leave them out... here are a few pics of the rest of the family:

Sweet boys!

One back up, another down....

So I said last night at about 9:00 pm that Cason was welland that we were good to go to school the next day... well, I spoke too soon. Coby began his first round of barfing around 2:00am. And then at 3, and at 4... you get the picture. He is now doing great, begging to go jump on the trampoline and asked if we could go to ChuckECheese for dinner... I think not! It is amazing how quickly they bounce back... now I wonder now who is next... hmmmm
So much for that blog about a totally normal day where we are all well, huh, Amy?!

Where do you hang your clothes?

The boys were riding bikes in the front yard, enjoying the beautiful weather, Bryson was down for a nap, and so I was kinda in and out watching them. Coby comes running around the corner with enormous eyeballs. "Micah bumped his head, and he is crying!!" Coby tends to be a bit dramatic, but I was headed to go check it out. As we were walking, I asked what he bumped his head on. Coby's response, "You know that thing that you always used to hang your clothes on? He bumped it on that." I am thinking, "a hanger? what is he talking about?" We round the corner, and there sits Micah, rubbing his head, sitting next to our treadmill that we recently moved out of our room into our garage. You guessed it.... he referred to the treadmill not as 'the thing you run on,' but as the 'thing you hang your clothes on.' Gulity. I must admit it. I have got to exercise more!!

Thanks so much for everyone's thoughts and prayers for sweet Cason. He is doing much better. He is playing away, but he still gets pretty tired easily. He goes to bed around 7:45, and he is usually asleep by 7:47. He is spoiling me with his sleeping in! And he is taking a 2 or 3 hour nap, too.... but he seems to feel good. He walks around telling perfect strangers, "I am not very sick anymore. I am just a little bit sick now." I was going to post pictures, but I am too tired... maybe I will have a chance to do it tomorrow. Hope you all have a great weekend!

ps - fyi, Micah was fine... a quick kiss and a rub and he was good to go!