taking deep breaths.. & a prayer

well, the kiddos have rsv.  tuesday, at the doctor ben had double ear infections & a cough that would not quit.  thursday, i called them again since he was showing no signs of improvement with that darn cough.  they called in some cough meds that did zilcho.  so, we went back in friday & he tested positive for rsv.  poor fella.  miss gracie has been following him with his illnesses (pink eye & now rsv).  i am thankful that they are not infants dealing with this & their bodies are better able to fight this. 

now the breathing treatments...for ben, we put on some mario kart & he doesn't mind them one bit.  gracie on the other hand, takes some coaxing.  one time she will scream & cry to no end, the next she's high fiving about it all. 

last night, i couldn't sleep thanks to a steriod & the kiddos taking turns coughing & crying.  i was up till 5.   i spent that time googling natural remedies for rsv, infections & colds.  so much information out there!

i had a handful to try today...

daddio was impressed with the gse gargle, he said it took care of that sore throat.  here's a link that tells some of the wonders of this stuff! 

they all swallowed the homemade lemon & honey cough medicine.  both ingredients fight infection. honey also coats and hydrates your throat to sooth irritation. the lemon is a natural antihistamine and will reduce congestion.

now, for the bigg daddy of my natural remedies to try... goot!  daddio was not so thrilled about the goot i made.  it's a concoction of minced garlic, olive oil & coconut oil rubbed all over the chest & feet that you use similar to vicks vapor rub.  the kiddos were no problem.  but daddio was a no go.  that is until he was asleep & i rubbed it in! no vampires gettin us anytime soon!

in my little world, yesterday evening at the time was a bit stressful for me.  after ben's doctor visit, gracie was overtired, cranky & not feeling too well  so she screamed and cried the whole way home. ben was coughing so much he kept throwing up.  i called the afterhours service & the nurse said this was normal.  ok.

well, once we got home, i stuck them in the bathroom with a hot shower running for some steam to open up the lungs.  then, i added a few drops of olba's oil thinking that would help soothe my poor kiddos. oh, i felt the smell was just clearing up our congestion! i turned on the cold water, felt the water & let the kiddos get in the bathtub. at first all was well, but then gracie started screaming "my aum huts!" then ben joined in that his feet & elbow pit were burning.

oh crap. not good.

i was in panic mode. i swooped them out & ran to the small shower in our bedroom where we stayed till there was no hot water left. poor gracie was shaking, teeth chattering, crying & couldn't catch her breath through the whole ordeal. she was so freaked out & i was terrified. questions running through my head -was it in her eyes too, why won't she talk, what do i do?? ben was coughing full force but being brave for me.


thank goodness phineas & ferb was on tv to help distract them after the torture. i covered them up in our bed, dressed them in some extra warm pjs (& a hat for gracie that couldn't stop chattering), held them tight & kissed them bunches to help mellow everyone out.


after we were all better, i felt like an idiot.  i'm thankful they are ok & may just be a bit scared to take a bath for a while. i googled the stuff & it says clearly "not for children under 7", along with a few other cautions. i'm sorry my kiddos. i learned something for sure.

i also look at my post & back at our last 2 days of illness & am almost ashamed that is all we have had to deal with.  i feel so for the parents & children out there that have so much more to endure.  my "problems" are so minute.  right now, my heart is broken for a family friend and their loss of their precious baby zoe yesterday.  the little girl was loved so much in her momma's belly &  in her 25 hours here with her family.  i pray that god provides them comfort & peace & strength they need right now. 

some failed fun foods

i love all the cute food ideas in the family fun & parents magazines.  cute sandwiches in the shapes of butterflies, creative ways to eat the veggies.  how fun to eat i think!

so, i thought i'd try some out for my sweet kiddos..

first fun food attempt was the squid dogs from the famliy fun magazine.  oh what fun this will be for them to eat!" i thought as i broke countless numbers of spaghetti noodles trying to stick them into the dogs. 

look at how much fun those kids were having!

mine, not so much.

  "that's gross," said ben.  at least gracie gave it a try.

my next attempt at something special was valentine's morning. 

i added a lovely heart to their oatmeal & blueberries.  "i don't wike it," gracie informed me. 

"take it off!" ben begged.  check out that look on his face.

i think i'll just stick to cutting fun shapes out of their quesadillas for now.  that's always a hit.

get your face on party!

blogsurfing around last night i found miss beth who bravely showed her before & after pictures of getting her face on along with some  tips.  (& yes she is beautiful au natural).  she challenged other bloggers to do the same.  even though my normal routine is brushing my teeth, straight ironing my hair & puting on some homemade deoderant (mine doesn't have the vitamin e but has coconut oil), i thought today would be fun to get all "made up". 

so, here ya go.

this morning, miss gracie & i headed to the bathroom (ben was playing his morning dose of mariokart wii).  hello bedheads!

first thing, brushed our teeth.  i've been adding a few drops of the wild oregano oil p73 to my toothpaste. this stuff is supposed to be a natural wonderdrug (i had no clue how expensive it was!  i purchased it a year ago when a health food store went out of business).    i've also been trying to place a couple of drops under my tounge to try & fight off the cold that has infected our home.  still got it though.  ben's toothpaste is on the wall behind gracie in his very own touch-n-brush.  one of his favorite christmas presents!  kooky kid.

we washed our faces & went to work.  miss grace put some revolution skin care lotion on her sweet face (normally, she doesn't do this, but wanted to put on "makeup" too) & i put on my momma stuff.  i loove philosophy products.  i use on a clear day with retinol lotion & hope in a tube around my eyes. 

on to the makeup..

my makeup bag is full of stuff, but i only use a handful of the things. no tricks of the trade here. 

 i do love my philosophy supernatural mineral makeup & the fact that it has a sponge applicator. 

i've also been loving my eye bright pencil from benefit.  helps hide my lack of sleep a bit i think. 

some straightening iron help &

a bit of texturizing cream for my mop & the hair is done.   i hate my haircut.  normally, i love the job my hairdresser does.  but, last time no way.  it's pretty messed up.  (i think he was punishing me for bringing my well behaved kiddos with me to the regis salon).  over the weekend i colored it to a darker shade. i used clariol perfect 10 (only 10 minutes, can't beat that!) in lightest cool brown.  damaw (my very blond & beautiful momma) suggested sunday i add some highlights or sumthin. i think maybe i'll return to a blondie in the spring.

now for my little one's rats nest, i love oyin handmade's juices & berries. unlike other detanglers we've tried, this one will keep her cute little curls. 

& here are the finished results:

a bit blurry, but oh so lovely.

  gorgeous, right? um, yeah. but we had fun!

stuck

we're stuck in the house today.  lots o snow!

their daddio's nose..

we had some super nurses when our kiddos were born.  one, when beano was born was extra cool with  a very dry sense of humor. she answered all of our questions, no matter how ridiculous they probably were.

ben's head was so misshapen from his position while i was carrying him & the delivery.  she assured us this would return to normal soon.  justin asked if his nose was swollen from the delivery too & if that would change to a normal size.  she looked at ben then looked at justin's face, kinda smiled & said something like  "no, that's it."  

 

oh my. 

i about peed my pants.  we decided beano had daddio's nose.

 

. 

honestly, both of their noses are just perfect & beautiful. 

but the poor kids do have their momma's ears.

pink is not ben's color

poor mr. ben has pink eye. 

the past 2 days, he kept asking for the lights off in the house because it was hurting his eyes.    this morning, his left eye was pink & watery.  so, a call to the doctor.

this evening, his cheeks & under his nose & eyes are all splotchy too (i don't know if that has anything to do with pink eye or not??). tonight, they are both gooey.

the eye drops.  3 times a day for 10 days.  it's gonna be a loong 10 days.  his first excuse for not wanting eye drops was that he was afraid his friends would laugh at him & call him a papaw (we've been putting eye drops in my papaw's eyes for 2 months now after his cataract surgery.).  oh the things he worries about!   i assured him they would not & that people of all ages use eye drops. 

getting those drops in is such a pain.  i looked up some tips on the internet, but they didn't help us much.  the first time it took daddio to hold his hands & me opening his eye & placing a drop in.   before bed, justin tried to reason with him about the drops.  did not work.    we had to hold him down again.  i wish there was a better way!

spoke too soon

we're back in diapers.  she said underwear hurts (every pair she puts on).   it won't be too much longer though, it can't be.

here's the little mess over a year ago. oh, how she's grown!

miss independent

my little gal has decided it's time for big girl strawberry shortcake britches.  she's taken it upon herself to potty train.  i'd been trying off & on for months, getting a bit frustrated.  she discovered the little potty chair downstairs (which i hid down there because i can't stand cleaning it, the toilet ring is much easier for me ) & carried it up to the bathroom herself.  she immediately went potty & insists on only pottying in the little potty.  she wants to do it all herself.  from changing her clothes to cleaning the little potty (eek - the germs!)  to washing the hands & wants NO help.  she will just slip off & go. she's still getting the hang of it, but my what a great job she's doing!  i am just amazed at this gal's independence (to some things... of course she can't be away from her momma for longer than an hour)  & strong will at such a young age.   i can only imagine what she will be like as she grows older.  it's gonna be a great journey i'm sure!

my cowgirl off on an adventure in her new panties!

doggone crazy

yesterday & today, we had the fun of not only having our zakky dog stay with us, but damaw's doggies, reggie & sophie.  & oh what fun it was! 

gracie & i went to pick them up yesterday & zak and reggie got into a fight.  pretty typical.  reggie's now old, grouchy & wants to be left alone.  zak enjoys picking on him i think at opportune times.  bad dog!

we managed the hour drive with zak on his leash in the front seat with me & sophie with her "babies" and reggie in the back, with sophie crying the entire ride. 

ok, sophie.  she's a mess. poor girl.  hormones.   i feel so sorry for her because she is the sweetest dog in the world.  but, every couple of months she goes through a phase where she thinks she had puppies & must tend to them at all times.  the other dogs aren't allowed near her, or she will really try to bite their heads off. (don't worry though, all these doggies are great with our kids, thank god!)

well, right now her "babies" are:

the squeaky cheesburger toy,

a teddy bear blanket

& the pair of gracie's soft fluffy pretty pink socks that were taken off at damaw's . 

when we got everyone & thing to our home, all was ok as long as the doggies left poor sophie alone (who was hiding under gracie's bed with her "babies."  the 2 male dogs were following me around mainly, hoping i had food.

bedtime was quite an event.  reggie  has been known to attack men if they get up at night.  so, we planned to have the kiddos sleep with me & the 2 male dogs in 1 room with the door closed to avoid in morning drama between justin & reggie. 

the plan didn't go quite as expected.  once i got the kiddos to sleep, i had to tend to poor sophie.  she was shaking & crying, a total mess.  i understood her though.  so, i covered her & the "babies" up & pet & held her until she calmed down.  then zak would come in the room & so she'd try to attack him.  it was like this for hours last night.  i gave her some homeopathic stuff to calm her down.  it seemed to help a bit.  enough so that she could be on 1 side of the bed, zak on the bed & reggie on the other side of the bed on the floor the rest of the night.  when morning came & one of the dogs went to leave the room, sophie was on guard.  situation was diffused & all was ok.  we decided to take the 2 dogs back to damaw's where they are happiest.

this morning, i'd thought i'd take some pictures of our lovely mutts.

sophie, the biggest yorkie-poo i've ever seen.  the breeders lied!

when i pointed the camera at reggie, he turned around & gave me this.  what a terd

& our beloved zak with gracie.

at damaw's sophie was much happier to be in her nest.   

reggie would even pose for me. 

sooo glad damaw's home!!! ben did ask if sophie could stay all night again for a slumber party as long as she wasn't mean to the other doggies.

of course, i have to have a picture of mr. ben in my post.  he had a haircut this week. 

here it is in all it's morning bed head beautifulness!

checkin out churches update

well, this weekend we worshipped at the movies!  we attended discovery church on the west side.  i must say, we all loved it.  we both loved hearing pastor trey speak god's word.  they didn't serve any popcorn (my kiddos were hoping for some), but a popcorn bucket was the offering plate.  the kiddos loved playing in the nursery / sunday school room where they also had a lesson. 

as we are on our search for a church home in town, it has been such fun to attend different churches & be a part of their worship service.  each one has been beautifully different (all very different from the lutheran church i grew up in).  it has been an awesome experience for me to discover the other ways people praise god! 

this discovery church pretty much rocked.  the music was jamming!  it's a newer church & i really loved their enthusiam for god & sharing his love and word.