The Other Shoe

After Cameron had MRSA, I always felt like there were going to be other things that came up with him. It was almost like I waited for them. Then he was diagnosed with the torticollis and low-tone. We made it through that but I still felt like something else would eventually pop up. I could never put my finger on it but I once told his doctor that I felt like I was just always waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. Don't get me wrong, I have made sure to enjoy him in my time of wait, but in the back of my mind I always wondered. Today, I no longer wonder.

About a month ago I took him for his 15-month well-check. I had some developmental concerns that I had noticed and I brought them up to the doctor. She was concerned as well and referred us to Early Intervention. EI is a federal program that is available to all children from Birth to 3 years. It has different names in every county but does, essentially, the same thing, which is to offer services to children with special needs at little or no cost to the family. Ours is called Early ACCESS. I was put in touch with a lovely woman there and we set up a time for her come to our house and evaluate him. ("They're going to valuate my baby brother?!?!" Owen asked me.) That's right, not only are their services free but they do everything in the most comfortable environment for the child, which is usually the home.

Jill came to our house today and, I'm happy to report, things went really well. Yes, there are still things to be concerned with, but overall I am very pleased with how it all went. She scored Cameron in different areas and said that she would have to calculate his score at her office and get back to me, but that she was pretty sure he would qualify for services. (You have to have a 25% delay in any area to qualify. Although, she said that being premature automatically qualifies him.) I asked her if we were just looking at a delay or if it could be something more serious, i.e. autism. She said he does have one red flag that could suggest autism (He used to say "uh-oh" but no longer says it. Loss of a skill or language is a red flag.) but that he is so young and has so many other promising things that she thinks it is more of a delay than anything else. She kind of feels like I do in that Cameron is just one of those kids that does things on his own time. His doctor and I have both said that about him. I mean, he came into this world on his own time (Lord knows I was not prepared for a baby on December 21st!) and that's the way he has been ever since. He just likes to do things when he is ready and he hates when you tell him otherwise! So, Jill said she would get back to me as far as where to go from here but it looks like we will be setting up some in-home therapies for him where they will also teach me different things that I can do with him.

I have been so worried/stressed out/concerned about this for the last month and today I can finally say that I am at peace with it all. The bottom line is that regardless of what is going on with him, it is a proven fact that early intervention can only help him. Not intervening when a problem exists, can definitely hurt him. So I am completely confident with the path that we have chosen for our sweet little guy. And no matter what happens, I will pick up that other shoe, put it on, and walk this journey with him proudly and happily, just as he has taught me to do over and over again for the last 16 months.

He Don't Need No Stinking Wife!

Throughout our nearly 8 years of marriage I have on many an occassion asked Cody how he ever managed to live without a wife to take care of him. Of course, he says that he does not need me to take care of him and could get along perfectly fine without me (though he would never want to, of course). Maybe we'll let the masses (or at least the 12 people who still read this blog) decide....

Upon returning home from a nearly 2-week visit in Murphysboro, Cody and I had this conversation:

"Cody, where are all your underwear?"

"You know, I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Me? You were going to ask me where your underwear are? I don't wear your underwear, as I have my own, so why would I know where they are?"

"Well, you do the laundry."

"Yes, dear, but I have been gone for almost 2 weeks and have not done any in that time."

He walks off, underwear still somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, as I contemplate a call to a PI to locate said underwear.

A few hours later, "Seriously!!!! WHERE ARE MY UNDERWEAR?!?!"

Apparently, he felt that the only logical reason behind the missing underwear would be that I was hiding them from him. Nevermind the fact that he WEARS THEM EVERYDAY and might know where they are. No, it's way more believeable that I went around collecting them all just to torture him.

So, maybe he doesn't need a wife, but his underwear does stay out of the Bermuda Triangle when he has one around.

**In case you're wondering, the drawers were located. By the wife, of course.

Historic Day for Newton, Slight Disappointment for the Muhs Crew

For those of you not in the know, Barack Obama visited Newton yesterday. I really thought this was a huge event for our little town and felt that it was important for my boys and I to be a part of it. I mean, after all, how often is it that the President of the United States visits your town, just a couple of miles away from your house?! Alas, his visit wasn't open to the public. Since it was a nice day out, I decided we would head to the park instead. As we were getting ready we heard a helicopter flying over our house. Owen and I ran out to the deck to see it. He said, "Welcome to Newton, Iowa, Barack Obama!!!" He was so excited. We got loaded up and I figured since I knew where he was landing I might as well just drive in that general direction and see what was going on. I turned onto the road where the plant is that he was going to and this is what I saw:

Naturally, you could not drive up and down this road. However, it just so happened that there was a park right there near the plant! As we were getting out of the car FIVE more helicopters flew right over our heads. I felt compelled to instill in my young son just how momentous this was in his life. Even if we didn't see him, the fact that we saw his helicopter and knew that he was yards away from us was still a big deal to me. I was moved.

"Owen! It's the President! This is such a special day for our town. Not everyone has the President come to their town. This is a historic day for Newton and for us."

"Yeah, cool! I'm going to go on the slide now!!!"

Apparently, though moved, he wasn't nearly as moved as I. Cameron was even more oblivious to the whole ordeal but stayed happy as long as he was shaded and well-stocked with Cheerios:

There was a decent amount of people up the road hanging out on the opposite side of the street hoping to catch a glimpse. I didn't think they'd see much and opted out of the short walk up there. Instead Owen played on the slides and took time out to be cute and entertain his brother:

We did that for a bit until we saw the caravan of cars transporting the POTUS from his helicopter to the entrance to the plant. As people walked back to the park parking lot, I talked to a few of them. I asked one woman if she got to see anything and she told me they could see him waving in the car and she got a great picture of him! Of course, I was bummed that I didn't walk up there so I lured Owen away from the park by telling him that we could go look at these:

We walked around the area for a bit and people were still hanging out waiting for him to come out. Hoping to get a blurry picture of him waving at us through his tinted window, I decided to stick around as well. We walked up and down the road checking stuff out. Like all the news crews in the parking lot:

A nice man was even handing out little flags and gave Owen one. I let him accept it, even though I feared it may be used as a weapon against his brother at some point in the afternoon.

We stood across the street from the plant waiting...and waiting....and waiting. We stared at the entrance checking for any signs of him but mostly saw policemen, drivers, and possibly some Secret Service.

An hour and a half and 3 lbs. of Cheerios, crackers, fruit snacks, and Goldfish crackers later, we were told to stand behind a certain squad car because he would be coming out soon. The obligatory first helicopter took off, which someone in the crowd joked was carrying the First Dog. About 20 minutes later the caravan started making it's way out of the entrance. This was it. This was what I had put off my childrens' lunch and nap for. They were hot, hungry, and tired but, dammit, they were going to see the President of the United States!!! My small moment of history was finally going to happen. I was going to have a cute picture of him to post here and show everyone....

And that was my historical moment. I'm certain he was in one of these two cars, though which one exactly I cannot be sure. Hell, he could have been driving one of them and I wouldn't have been able to see. They zoomed by us so fast and my two children looked up at me like, "That's it? That's what you made us stand here for? Some cars driving by? WHERE IS THE FREAKING PRESIDENT YOU PROMISED US?!?!" Ok, maybe those weren't the exact thoughts on their faces, but I assure you it's close.

We were then told we couldn't move until the helicopters took off.

Not exactly the outcome I had hoped for but we still had a good time. And it was actually pretty interesting to see how everything played out. Oh yeah, and we got to get Burger King on the way home.

In Case You Were Wondering...

This is what life is like on a typical morning with three boys...

*This was taken during a rare get-together at Auntie Beth's house as part of our infmaous stay at the Glodo Infirmary. I apologize for the lack of subtitles to translate the toddler-speak. I can almost always tell you what Cade is saying but have a little trouble amidst all this chaos! I can tell you that yes, he did refer to me as Debbie at one point. He often mistakes my mom and me for each other and I'm really not sure why as I look nor act nothing like my mother. *wink, wink* But really, this kid could say absolutely nothing and still be so darn cute!

Welcome to the Island of Sodor!

The Island of Sodor (home of Thomas, for those of you not in the know) has been seeing a lot more action in the Muhs household. This would be due to the fact that we finally moved it out of Owen's room, where it was loved, to the still partially-unfinished finished basement, where it is loved even more. (And yes, we are working on the partially unfinished parts. Really, who would we be if we got any project on our house done is less than a year?) Uncle Jay made this table for Owen and he thinks it's the greatest thing he's ever seen. He looks at it with wonder and says, "It's my Island of Sodor table!!!" There is even a budding, young conductor who often gets in on the action as well. Though this action usually consists of taking trains from the more experienced conductor while he is right in the middle of acting out a very important job on the Island. Owen is actually really good about sharing it with Cameron and Cameron loves putting the trains on the bridge and saying, "Wheee!" when they go down the hill. He has even, on a few rare occasions, let out a "Choo choo!" as his train chugs along the track. We're still working on that though.

Joe Gu

As I mentioned earlier, we made the trek (an otherwise short, 4-hour drive can only be called a trek when you take 2 whiny children and a dog that has to be tranquilized, and even then is still whinier than the children, along with you) to Bolingbrook last weekend. Our main reason for going, other than the usual frantic trips around the suburbs to visit various family members in the short amount of time allotted, was to attend a benefit for our good friend Joey who was badly injured in a car accident last October. Before his accident Joey played bass in a band called Bon Voyage, an AC/DC tribute band. The other members of the band, along with help from the Dickhead Choppers Organization, organized the entire event which ran from 2pm to 12am.

Cody and I were completely amazed by the entire thing. The amount of time and work they all put into the day was unbelieveable and it truly paid off. They had countless raffles and an auction, all with goods that were donated. On top of being an awesome bassist, Joey is also a very talented artist. So they had a silent auction of many of his pieces he had done in the past. I am sorry to say that we did not score one of those but I'm hoping that since we have an "in" we will someday own a JoeGu orginal! They had various bands playing throughout the day, along with all you could eat and drink. Cody and I just couldn't stop talking about how great everything was and how it far exceeded any expectations we had of it.

Joe's band was, of course, the last band to go on. Right before they took the stage they directed our attention to a TV they had perched on top of a speaker. Seconds later we were watching a video of Joey himself introducing his band. He wanted to be there so badly but he is concentrating on his rehab right now and wasn't able to make it. So this video was certainly the next best thing! I can safely say that you would be hard-pressed to find a dry eye in the house as we watched him. It was wonderful to be able to see him and hear him and he looked really great.

Bon Voyage rocked the house and the crowd went crazy with numerous chants of, "Joe Gu, Joe Gu!" which is Joey's nickname (a combo of his first and last name) among friends. My husband is still hoarse 3 days later from all the chanting! The night was full of inspiration and hope and we feel so blessed to have even been a small part of such a great thing. I only wish I had taken my camera with me and captured some of it on film.

My hope is that the next time I see Bon Voyage, Joey will playing right along with them. You can bet that I will definitely capture that moment on film. We love you, Joe! Keep on rockin'!

It Really is 20/20

This morning I went to get Cameron up for the day and found him sitting in his crib in his own vomit. This would explain the moaning and crying he was doing in his sleep last night, which I attributed to other things in my sleepy stupor and thus, did not go to him. Of course, I felt horrible but I set down my "Worst Mother of the Year" award*, plucked him out, and got him in the tub. He seemed to be in a good mood so I thought that maybe this was all due to the fact that we were traveling home from Gramma's last night and we pumped him full of snacks because he was crabby during the ride. Hindsight, of course, tells me that he was crabby for a reason, but I digress.


After I gave him a bath, I went to get a towel, which was literally 1 step and 1 second away from the bathtub. I turned around to see Cameron bending over the tub, sliding out head first. I caught his slippery legs so that he didn't do a complete face plant into the floor but his head still hit. Luckily it hit the rug instead of directly on the ceramic tile. Finding it difficult to hold a wet, slippery, screaming child all while holding my prestigious award, I once again set it down and did my best to calm him down and dry him off.


Still thinking the puking was due to the whole give-him-whatever-he-wants-to-make-him-happy car ride, I fed him some breakfast. He didn't eat much of it, which I thought might mean he had the flu but he was still in a decent mood. He continued to play and whine throughout the morning. But was he whining because he was sick, because he slept horribly because he was covered in his own vomit, or because his loving mother dropped him on his head? Again, in hindsight I really should have figured out the answer to this question much earlier than I did.

It was only after I fed him some crackers and pears for lunch, all of which he projectile-vomited nearly instantly after he ate it, that I came to the conclusion that he was, indeed, sick. So off to the tub we went again, where I spent the next 10 minutes trying to peel the icky clothes off him while I repeatedly yelled at Owen to stay away because I didn't want to have to deal with TWO sick kids.

He was a happy little camper in the tub and seemed to forget the tragedy which occured in there just 4 hours earlier--clearly one of my favorite things about kids. He took a nearly 4 hour nap (another fave of mine) and was even happy and smiling when he woke up! I am hoping that we have seen the worst of it and things will only go up from here.

*This is an imaginary award that my 2 best friends and I jokingly pass around to each other every time we do something that makes us feel like a bad mom. Not that I wish bad mothering on any woman, or any child for that matter, but I can safely say that after today I am ready to pass the award back to one of them for awhile.

Cash in a Dress and Other Murphysboro Gems

I really don't think I need to remind you all at this point of my "better late than never" mantra so let's just get on with the post. While we were in the 'boro in February we had Cash's Baptism, where Cody and I were asked to serve as his Godparents. We felt so honored to be part of his special day and look forward to guiding him spiritually as he grows.

If I remember correctly, he didn't even wince when the water hit his head.

Proud Parents and Godparents with Cash and Fr. Gary

The Godparents with our adorable Godchild. I hadn't realized until just now how incredibly tired Cody looks in these pictures! He woke up at 4am on Saturday in order to drive to the 'boro. We had a late date night, it being Valentine's Day and all, so I guess by the time Sunday hit we were lucky that we didn't need to dunk his head in the Baptismal Font.

We were able to get a picture with G'ma and G'pa with the older grandkids right before the Glodos went back home. Alas, Cameron could not muster up the patience to sit with them and had to be whisked off to naptime. Cameron lacking, I still think it's a pretty good picture!

And for those of you wondering, yes, my brother was in town for the event, as evidenced by this cheery picture. I'm pretty sure Owen or Maddy must have taken this because I don't recall doing it. Not bad!

Wow, Wow, Everyone!

There is a show on Nick called "Wow, Wow, Wubbzy!" It is Owen's favorite as of late so we decided together that a Wubbzy cake was in order for his birthday this year. I looked on line and found some easy directions to make one. I was putting the finishing touches on it right as they were getting home from the arcade and just scratched an "Owen" and a "4" on it. Had I thought about it for more than 2 seconds I would have taken the time to write something a little more clever. Or at least something that included the words Happy Birthday. Oh well. He liked it and I guess that's all that matters. So here it is:

He then informed us that we needed candles and there should be four. Then he said, "Now you should sing to me."

After Cameron woke up from his shorter-than-normal nap (naturally) we went out to eat at Owen's favorite restaurant, Okoboji Grill. He had a ball when they sang to him:

For some reason, Owen has had an obsession with this Disabled Parking sign in their parking lot. When he was around 2 he used to just stop and inspect it every time we went there. Then one time I took his picture standing by it on my cell phone. Now every time we go there he wants me to take his picture in front of him. It was his birthday so I obliged.

I believe that concludes our whirlwind tour of Owen's 4th birthday. Stops that weren't captured on film but still noteable include: the bike that Mommy and Daddy got him which he got on in the house but when asked if he wanted to take it outside and ride it he replied, "No, I'll just stay in the house."; Owen asking us repeatedly throughout the day if his birthday was over. We finally told him it was over when he went to bed that night. When he got in bed he said, "Now, my birthday is over."; and finally, his repeated attempts to inform us that although he is now 4, he will be 5 next March. And who says he doesn't live in the moment?

Birthday Fun

We took Owen to a place in Des Moines called All Play, which is basically like a Dave and Buster's.

They have a mini-bowling game that Owen loved. He still had a hard time getting the ball down the lane but with the help of bumper bars and a little time, he really started to get the hang of it.

This is his "strike" pose. He would yell, "I got a strike!" like this nearly every time he bowled. I don't think he ever actually got one, but he didn't care.

Cam sat in his stroller snacking and quietly observing while Owen bowled. He was so good! I'm pretty sure he's storing nuts for the winter in those cheeks! ;)

The merry-go-round that went round and round forever! We really got our money's worth on that one!

Cameron wasn't sure what to make of it. He got on, wanted off, got back on, tolerated it a bit, then quickly wanted off again.

Owen the Strong Man!

One of his faves, "Deal or No Deal"

Daddy and I took turns walking around with Cameron. This is one of his favorite things to do these days, although I think he's pretty far off from walking on his own.

We ate lunch while we were there and then Cameron and Mommy headed home for naptime while the big boys stayed and played some more. They ended up with 700 tickets which amounted to massive amounts of crap toys that we don't need but are sure to be noticed if they are put in the trash. Nevertheless, we had a great time and the boys were on their best behavior, for the most part. And you really can't ask for more than that! I finished up Owen's cake once I got Cameron down for his nap so stay tuned for cake pics and dinner out at Owen's favorite restaurant. That's right, folks, the fun's not over yet!

Big Bubba Turns 4!!

We had an action-packed weekend at the Muhs household, which is why I'm just getting around to posting for Owen's birthday. Saturday was his big day and we started the morning off opening gifts that family members sent him. He was so excited when he woke up and saw all the packages waiting for him downstairs! I wanted to post pictures of him opening them all since the gift-givers didn't get to see first-hand.

Opening Auntie Gaye & Uncle Jay's gift.

They got him the above Thomas DVD, Thomas underwear, and a Thomas book. Apparently, they are well aware of his love of Thomas. ;) And love it, he did!

Opening a gift from G'ma & G'pa Glodo. They sent him some cool t-shirts, a Cars towel that he adored, and money!

I had to take a picture of this. He stacked his gifts like this all by himself after he opened them. Just like his daddy. ;)

Spencer the train from the Brooks Bunch--a big hit!

Puzzles and books from Gramma Lynn. These are 2 of Owen's favorite things right now. He is starting to read on his own and is able to read some of the first reader books she got him. And the puzzle is a 100 piece 4-foot floor puzzle. We all had a good time with that!

We had to wait until later in the day to open Grampa Gary and Gramma Linda's gift. Cody had taken it out of the box and assembled it the night before and we hid it in the garage under a blanket.

And this is what it is! It's called a KettCar. It's pretty cool and he loves it! The seat slides so he will be able to ride it until he's about 8 or 9. His favorite part is that handle on the right side, which are the breaks. I think it's so cool that I have now made it my goal to lose enough weight to meet the weight limit on it so I can try it out. I'll keep you posted.

He also opened some lovely cards from friends and family that morning. Then we headed out for a day of family fun! I will do pictures of that in another post. Stay tuned for lots more birthday madness!

Right Wing Man

My conversation with Owen this morning:

"Owen, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Do you have any cinnamon rolls?"

"No, I don't. I have some leftover pancakes. Would you like those?"

"No. I want right over pancakes."

A few hours later we had this encounter:

"Owen, let me show you a trick with your hands. Hold up your left hand....what letter does your thumb and finger make?"

"It's an 'L'!"

"That's right. So if you always look at your hands like that you will know that the one that makes the 'L' is your left hand."

"Can you show me how to make an 'R' with my right hand?"

The Wait is Over!

Ok, so I finally made my way down to the basement to put up a post with pictures. However, I forgot to bring the camera down with me to upload the current ones I have. Then I remembered that I never posted pictures of our trip to visit the fam in Bolingbrook, which is nice for me because now I don't have to go back up to find the camera!

Gramma Lynn reading to Owen and Luca, one of their favorite things to do together. I'm not sure where Cameron will sit when he is ready to join in on the fun but I'm certain Gramma will find room! I can't get over how old Luca looks in this pic!

Look closely at Owen's left ear. Only at Grampa Gary's. (don't worry, it's not real.)

Cam checking out his crazy Grampa. He never knows what to think of him, but he is never scared of him. He just kind of stares at him in wonder. Which, really, is not that much different than how most people look at him. ;)

Grampa and Gramma Linda with the kiddos. Yes, Owen did take off his coat while we were there! We just took these right before we were heading out the door.

Cody doing his best Elton John impersonation. "C-C-C Cody and the jets!"

I am excited to report that we are headed back east in just a few weeks. They are having a benefit for Joey, our good friend who was injured in a car accident in October. I am also excited to report that Joey is doing well and just moved to an awesome rehab center. He has a long road ahead of him but he seems like he is motivated and up for the challenge. Way to go, Joey! Until next time, folks...

Flight Plan

"Mommy, cups can fly."

"How do cups fly?"

"They can fly with pixie dust!!"

"Oh, yeah, well I guess just about anything can fly with pixie dust, can't it? Can we fly with pixie dust?"

"Sure we can."

"And how do we do that? Where can we get pixie dust?"

"From Tinker Bell!!!"

"But how do we find Tinker Bell?"

"She's in the Peter Pan movie. We'll have to go in the TV and get her."

"Go in the TV? Can we do that?"


*long pause, followed by a disappointed response*


"No, we can't. No one can help us."



In non-related flying/pixie dust news, today is Grandma Lynn's birthday! Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you and hope you have a wonderful day today!

*(Author's note: I am completely aware that many a post has passed without pictures. My husband reminds me of this fact nearly every night. I suppose I will trek ALL the way down to the basement and upload some pictures onto the desktop computer, which I now believe is archaic when compared to our shiny, new, right-at-your-fingertips-at-any-given-moment laptop. I promise to do it soon!)

Love Thy Neighbor

*The following conversation took place last night at the dinner table between Owen and myself. He just started talking about my parents' long-time neighbors out of nowhere.

"Mommy, Ann and Frank are good."
*a slight pause*
"They're good Anns and Franks."

"Yes, they are, Owen. Do you like Ann and Frank?"

"Yes...I love them. They're good Anns and Franks."

Unfortunate Geographics

I'm not really sure exactly what it is that this GI Virus seems to have against the Muhs Clan, but clearly, it is out to destroy us. I thought once we got home from the 'boro we were in the clear and then last night, Cody was struck down. The worst part about this (for me, anyway) is that he spent most of the day yesterday taking care of the boys. He fed them, changed Cam's diapers, played with them, etc. Our recent history with this dreaded virus shows us that just by looking at somone afflicted, you are soon afflicted yourself. So I fear that it is only a matter of time before the boys are sick, and possibly even myself as well. The geographics, you ask? It is times like these that I am painfully aware of just how far away we live from our families, namely the Grandmas. Not only do I like to have my mama around when I'm sick, it is also nice to have a little help when the entire house is sick. Of course, after the last round of sickness in the 'boro I would venture to guess that my mom is secretly singing the praises of the 8 hour drive between us! ;)

So I'm basically sitting here playing the waiting game. I ask Owen every 15 minutes if his tummy hurts or if he feels sick, which is very quickly starting to get on his nerves. I keep thinking I feel nauseated myself, though I kinda think it might just be from anxiety. Because nothing causes me more anxiety than wondering if I'm going to be hit with a puking kid at any given moment or that we might all end up with this at the same time. I think at this point I would settle for someone else's grandma, anyone who is going to be a grandma, was a grandma at one time, or even just looks like a grandma. Alas, I will just suck it up and hope like hell that Cody is the only one who gets it. Because I'm pretty sure my neighbor, though a grandma, is not going to offer to clean up my vomit or bring me some crackers.

A Valentine Reunion

It seems as though cupid is working in our favor because Cody is on his way here as we speak. Thank God for small miracles. Ok, maybe miracle is a bit of a stretch but who cares, we get to see our daddy tonight!!! Owen is running around here saying, "My daddy is coming! My daddy is coming!" I'm just happy because Cody and I may actually get to go on a date on Valentine's Day. I think it's been almost 4 years since that happened! I'm not even sure we'll know what to talk about. It's a good thing I have all day to come up with something. I really don't think vomitting children and snotty noses qualify as romantic conversation. Well, maybe if I whisper it in his ear it will work. Happy Valentine's Day!

Insult to Injury

It seems we still have patients needing admittance at Glodo Hospital. This time my poor little Owie is the patient and I'm afraid Cameron and I might be filling out our own paperwork for admittance any day now. A couple of days ago Owen started sneezing horribly. Then came the cough. Then yesterday, the dreaded fever. If you know Owen well you know that not only does he not nap during the day, he will rarely sit on a couch and just "veg," nor will he ever fall asleep in any place other than his bed when bedtime hits. Yesterday he slept until noon (after going to bed at 8:30pm the night before), spent most of the day watching movies on the couch, and then fell asleep on Grandma at 8pm. These are all signs (as if we needed anymore than the obvious ones) that this kiddo is S-I-C-K. He is still in bed as I type, after a night of some yucky dreams/nightmares. I think the meds I gave him didn't agree with him and he seemed to take a little trip that really no 4 year old should ever take. Looks like this doc will prescribe less meds tonight.

In other news, Cody is supposed to be making the trip here tonight as we are baptizing Cash on Sunday and we have been chosen as Godparents, an honor we are very excited about. However, Mother Nature is at it again in Iowa and threatening to drop a bunch of snow over half the state. We're praying that he will get out early enough before it affects his drive but at this point we're not really sure at all if he will make it. Although, if it were me I think I might stay as far away from here as possible. Who knows what disease he might be stricken with upon entering these doors. I'm pretty sure at this rate that a measles outbreak is imminent.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Well, my prediction was spot-on and Dad ended up being very sick last night. The only thing worse than having a one year old with it is my dad having it. ;) What I hadn't predicted was going into Cameron's room at 1am to find him lying in his crib next to, you guessed it, a pool of vomit. Really? I mean, really? It's not bad enough that he had it once? I was amazed that he had fallen back to sleep and really didn't want to wake him but, obviously, I had no choice. I sat up on the couch with him where he vomitted again, all over me. We stayed there until 3am, hoping he would fall asleep on me but he never would so I had to put him back in his bed. After, of course, my dear mother cleaned it up for us. Thankfully he went to sleep and slept until 9am. I am still pretty puzzled as to why he got it again but am thankful that he has seemed ok all day today, save for a little crabbiness. But who wouldn't be crabby after that night?

I decided that I needed to take matters into my own hands and have spent the entire day washing anything that might have even come near a sick person in this house. I started thinking about those flea bombs that people have to set off in their houses after they've had an infestation of fleas. Do you think they make a flu bomb?

The Firing Squad

The boys and I made our way down to Murphysboro last Monday. The trip went well. Or as well as an 8 hour trip with a near-4-year-old and a 1-year-old can go. However, it seems once we got here, things have only gone downhill. Wednesday morning we were hanging out over at Beth's house and Cameron was very crabby. I took him to her room to see if he would nap in the Pack 'N Play. He went to sleep and woke up about 20 minutes later, crying. I went to check on him and he was covered in vomit. :( Needless to say, after cleaning him up we packed up our stuff and got out of there faster than Beth could say, "I don't need a vomiting newborn!" He continued to vomit once we got home and spent most of the afternoon napping on Auntie Gaye, who was kind enough to stay and help me. Why did I need help, you ask? Only a few hours later, Owen decided he'd like to get in on the action. And then just to round out the family fun, I thought I might as well join them. Thank God for Grandma who took care of all of us that night, as well as taking the day off from work the next day. The boys felt better by Thursday but it was late Thursday night, early Friday morning before I felt like I could even stand up.

We thought we were on the upside of things until Grandma awoke with it last night and is still in bed today. Grandpa is sitting on the couch as we speak trying to fight it, but I'm almost certain he's losing that battle. Apparently this has been going around both Newton/Pella as well as M'boro as there are a host of other people we know who have had it. It's as if we are all standing in a line as Sgt. Stomach Flu goes by, taking us out, one by one. So Sgt., if you're reading this, I'm waving the white flag. Please cease fire immediately.