What a week...

It feels good to be back even if I have slacked some on the posting. We really have been busy, and get to take a breath this weekend as Amy has to work, before we make another trek to my part of VA the following weekend for my mom’s birthday. What seems like constant traveling every other weekend seems hard, but it is worth it. We are looking forward to seeing everyone the last week of February.
We also had a really great time at Candice’s baby shower last weekend in Herndon, VA. The trip up and back were not too bad. Doug drove up, and I drove back. It was colder there than here in NC. You could tell where they have been salting the roads a lot up there. We stayed at the Hampton Inn I believe, which was really nice. We had a huge suite on the first floor with a pack and play for Emma, and a fold out couch for Steven. The bed slept great, and we had a 32” at least, flat screen TV in our room, so we could watch Sponge Bob and Scooby in larger than life color. (that was for the kids by the way, even though I do like S.B.) The bathroom was also extra large, with no tub. There was just a huge stand up shower, with a drain in the middle of the floor, and a seat on the wall. The pool and workout rooms were right across from our room which was nice, and the kids loved the pool. Sunday morning the had a continental breakfast, which was probably the worst thing about our stay, but was still not bad. There were some biscuits and gravy, plastic looking eggs, coffee, juices, cereal, milk, yogurt, and pastries and fresh fruit. So, all in all, not bad. It doesn’t hurt when you stop for dinner at Cracker Barrel. While at the shower, the guys were kicked out, so I took Steven to Goodwill nearby, and got him a new toy, and Emma some new clothes and her very own little baby Nike golf putter. I also got to hit the 7-11 for slurpees before we hit the road. The cake Trish made for the shower was awesome as usual, and once it was over and we got back there, the kids really had a good time too. It was nice to see family that we don’t get to see much. (enough) Hopefully it will not be too long before we get to see everyone again.
The kids have been good for a while now. All sicknesses seem to be all better. We were all playing around the house the other night, and Emma was dressed up as the “coat monster.” When she had the hood pulled up, she looked a little like Kenny from South Park. It is just adorable. Her and her “bubby” get along very well for the most part. She loves to run and be chased. We all take turns being “base” and she runs up to whoever is the “safe” one at the time just screaming and giggling. She was laying on Amy, snuggling after we were done playing, and I crawled up to her and said, “love you Emma.” She said back, “I love you too Daddy.” That never ever gets old. Even Amy thought that was so sweet. We really do have fantastic kids. All kids can give you the “pull your hair out” moments, but the vast majority of the time, ours are just too good to be true. Emma has really gotten into Scooby Doo lately. She will grab the remote (mote’ mote) and sit on the sofa, hand me the remote and say, “Scooby Dooby Doo daddy.” Just wait until she starts watching all her princess shows and what not. Steven will love having to share TV time with that. He does do a really good job sharing though.
Other than that, I think I am done for this post. Amy went with Steven not long ago to the circus and took some pictures of that field trip, but I will let her tell that tale. Hope everyone is doing well and healthy. Tomorrow is Friday!! :>) Have a great weekend.

Happy Weekend

Hey everybody! This is just a mid weekend post to let everyone know that we are all doing better on the wellness front, and we may all be ok now. I am still crossing my fingers on Emma's ears, but she has not complained in a few days, so I am optimistic. Amy worked last night and tonight, so I am just here watching over the kiddo's and getting ready to crash myself. We are trying to eat better and be healthier this year, and so when we can, we go for a walk in the evening as a family, and take Ginger for some exersize too. Tonight on our walk, I got a few pictures on my phone I am going to post.

This was a picture of Amy and Emma on our walk in front of the neighborhood

This was Steven, Daddy and Ginger

Thats about it. We just wanted to say we miss you to all we haven't seen in a while, and we can't wait to see those of you in VA who we will see in the next few weeks. Amy is off tomorrow night so that she can go to the Circus with Steven on Monday on his field trip. So it will be nice to all be home tomorrow night. Anyways, everyone have a great weekend!!

This is Chris, and I am going to try to blog in some form of red from now on so you will know when it is me and when it is Amy. (Like it would be hard to tell otherwise)
I am posting my first ever post super bowl blog. Also, just a mid week type blog. All football is over until fall, and it is a little depressing. You wait for a certain amount of months, to get to the big event, and then once it is over... blah. It sucked enough that the Giants won, since I am a Dallas fan. I wanted the cowboys and the chargers in the big game. I guess I was not too upset though since I really did not have a dog in the fight. I will have to make do with college basketball for the next few months, along with the start up of the PGA tour, (yea golf weather), and NASCAR. I am definitely not as in to that as I used to be, but I am anxious to see how JR will do with his new team. Nuff said...
In matters of family, we are still on the mend, but are doing better. Em is still phlemmy, but is noticeably better, and we are crossing our fingers on her next checkup on the ear infection. She was tired last night, as she got to go over to her buddies’ house with Steven and they all got to play yesterday afternoon. We have not seen them in a few months, and they had a really good time. Steven still has not been sick, (that is me knocking on wood), so that is good. We had a good weekend last weekend of lounging around, and resting some. This weekend I may take the kids to hit some garage sales, or thrift stores, to see if I can find them some good stuff, and maybe a few gifts for Valentines Day, which is rapidly approaching. I have some good ideas for that, but I am keeping them to myself. I am better, which is a relative term. The antibiotic seems to have killed my phlegmmies, and they are almost cleared up, but I am still tired. I am hoping that will be better by this weekend, as this is Amy's good week, and I get to see her a lot this week, as well as by increasing my exercise this week too. We are trying to get healthier this year, but my loss in January was only 4 lbs, which was not what I was shooting for. I am hoping for double that this month. Amy looks good though as usual. Anyways, that is all for now. I will chime back in later this week, hopefully with some new pictures of the kiddos. Take care everybody.

On the Mend.....We hope.

This is my (Amy's) official first blog entry. We have officially spent a car payments worth of money on ER and Dr. Office visits copays in the last two weeks, between Emma, Steven, and Chris. Hopefully everyone is on the mend now. Today, Emma will get her fourth Rocephin injection. The pediatrician sent me home yesterday with the last dose. It's nice to have inside connections. But now I'm left giving it to her myself....or not. Luckly, one of our neighbors is a nurse, and has agreed to do the dirty deed. I've learned that "nasty" is a medical term that can be use to describe my daughters right ear drum, as two different pediatricians have diagnosed it as such. Chris seem's to be doing better today. The Z-pack is helping. Since last years episide number two of pneumonia, we border on paranoia everytime Chris gets sick.

I gave the kids haircuts last night. I must toot my own horn, and say that I did a good job. Emma now has a little curly bob. She did surprisingly well, and sat fairly still.... Okay, she was all over the place. So again, I did a good job. Steven rolled around on the floor to help her look down for me. Chris stood at her side to keep her from wiggling off the stool. We would have taken pictures, but that would have required the assistance of another adult. Steven is as handsome as ever. I shaved his neck for the first time, at his request. He was terrified that I would cut him, and asked, "Have you done this before?" I wanted to reply, "I only shave a third of my body on a regular basis." But that would have led to more questions, so I just said, "Yeah, a few times."

I'll leave you with my favorite picture from our recent trip to Myrtle Beach. This is Emma and her cousin, Thomas.

Hope everyone has a Great Super Bowl Comercials, and game too. We'll post some pictures from our little family "Super Bowl Comercial, and game too" party at a later time.

Do we live on Johnston or Sick-ton county...

Well, it is a new month, and we are still fighting the sickies...

Emma will be back to her doctor today to get her ear infection status checked. If it is getting better, we are good there. If not, I think he is going to give Amy 3 doses of Rocephyn to bring home to giver her as shots to kick this thing out of her. She continues to get better on the RSV front, but is still congested and rattles in her chest some. She does well with the inhaler though and has not complained as much as I would. :>)

I am sickly as well. Have been all week, starting last Sunday night. I just went to the doc yesterday, and she was not sure exactly what it was. Could be a sinus infection moving to my lungs, so I got a Z pack for my antibiotic of choice. Hopefully I will feel better by the end of the weekend. I already feel better knowing that it is Amy's weekend off and we can just rest and relax.

Steven is the lucky one in this mixing bowl of illness. He has managed not to get sick yet..., knock on wood. He does have some sniffles, but I think that is due to so much changes in the weather. He just got another report card from school and he did super. He got all S's and is on grade level for everything. I think he is supposed to get tested next year for the accelerated class, so he is really doing well.

I guess that is all I have for now. We are going to enjoy our weekend at home this weekend, as the next 2 or 3 weekends that Amy is off, I think we will be traveling. We are going to Northern VA for a baby shower the next weekend she os off, and will try to get to VA from my neck of the woods the last weekend in Feb. I have been slack on the family photos lately, so I will try too get camera busy and post some pictures soon of the kids. They just grow up so fast!! Everyone have a good weekend!!

Some good news...

I have been hoping for some good news as we all seem to be getting a sickness of some sort lately. Today we got a little...
Steven went to the doctor for his checkup of his EKG he had done last week to check on any signs of long QT syndrome, which is a heart problem which can be fixed by beta blockers and sometimes a pacemaker. There was a history of that on a "distant" side of the family. Symtpoms can be fainting and sometimes cardiac arrest. Amy knows much more about this than I, but the one thing I do know that is GREAT, is that Steven's doctor said that is EKG was perfectly normal. So, all we have is one "possible" fainting episode for Steven at school and a history on one side of family. The doctor suggested that everything was ok, and we will just continue to monitor every year. If no change, then he is a Ok. If there was some change, we could take him to see a pediatric cardiologist. I know all of this sounds scary, because it was, but the important thing to remember is that the doctor just said everything looks fine. So, we will keep a close watch on him.
Emma had a checkup as well. Her ear still looks kinda nasty, but she feels alot better, so she stays on the antibiotic she is on, and goes back in another week or so. Her RSV is clearing up nicely according to the doctor, so we should keep treating as we have been and that should also be fine. Both kids are real troopers when it comes to being sick.
Amy and I on the other hand are begining to feel like crap. I think whatever Emma has had that we managed to steer clear of for a week or so, has decided to hit us after all. I feel like a small garbage truck has started to run me over, but hasn't yet pulled all the way off of me yet. I know Amy is also starting to feel bad, and this is her tough week at work. I feel even more for her. We had thoughts of going out of town to visit relatives this coming weekend, but we will have to do some quick mending if that is to be the case. Our family seems to be like a walking medacine ad lately. (lol) Anyways, that's the latest update. Just wanted to let everyone know what was going on. Take care and I'll be back soon.

Here we have gone again...

As the title says..., here we go again. As I wrote in the last blog, Emma had gone to the ER in SC. for her breathing troubles. They thought RSV. When taking her back to the ER in Wilson Sun night, that was confirmed, and she got plenty of meds to treat her and make her all better. Or so I thought...
Wednesday evening when picking Emma up from Debbie's, she could not help but notice Emma's blood curdling screams of pain for some unknown reason. She just kept saying "owie" over and over. Motrin did the trick for the pain and she was able to calm down, but did wake up 4 times that night which is very unusual for her. Back to her normal doctor on Thursday, where we found out that her eardrum was bulging outward, as she had an inner ear infection as a side effect of the RSV. So, off the Ammoxacillin and on to a really strong antibiotic. (than you insurance) Anyways, the crankiness has mostly subsided, and she only woke up once last night around midnight thirty, so things are getting better. (I hope!!) My wonderful wife let me sleep, but even though I was glad to get that sleep, I miss taking care of the kids when they feel bad when I don't get to be there. Hopefully after this weekend, everyone will be feeling better, and we can exhale for a bit. Steven is going to the doctor today for a precautionary test, but I will let you know more on that when that is done. Amy knows more about that than I right now. Work is good all the way around, and we have lots of little trips coming up, but we hope you are all doing well, and I will chime in again soon I hope with more pictures and a better understanding as to how to place them. B-Y-E.