Fireman Caleb!

Caleb's 1 yr old Official Pics & Ethan's 3K Pic

I finally got Caleb's one year old official picture done and ordered and back and scanned in, and now posted! I must say, he is such a cutie! Here are the pics of the little man!




And here is Ethan's official 3K picture he had done at school. I am always nervous sending him for a picture without me there, but I think it turned out pretty good too! The second picture is of his 3K class with his teacher, Mrs. Blackwood, who he loves!


p.s. There are also some new pictures just from hanging out around the house on the "More Pictures of My Family" link to the right if anyone feels like checking them out! I love pictures, if you can't already tell!

Children's Museum

I enjoyed getting to take Ethan to meet up with my old college roommate and friend, Ginger, and her two daughters, Michaela and Ali. (I left Caleb at home because I wasn't sure I could handle him and Ethan in public today alone.) We went to McDonald's and ate lunch first, let the kids play on the playground there for a few minutes, then went to a Children's Museum. It was my first time going there and was so much fun! They had all different rooms for the kids to explore and play in . . . a little grocery store room, the Alphabet Trail, a Mexican Restaurant, the Shadow Room, a Craft Room, a Fire Truck, and even more that we didn't go in! We'll have to go back again sometime. It was great getting to see Ginger too. Even though we only live about 50 minutes from each other, we don't get together near enough! Just the business of everyday lives and families keep us both busy in our separate towns. But I hope we can get together again soon when time and schedules allow! Enjoy some pictures from our day below:

Laundry Basket Fun!

Well, I think the sickness bug has left our house, at least for a little while! Ethan ended up running a fever all Saturday night into Sunday, and started saying his stomach hurt. Then on Sunday around 11 am, he threw up, and after that, seemed to be all better! So, I don't know if he just had a virus or what . . . I'm just happy things are semi-normal around here, although it still takes a while to recover from everyone being sick. Caleb's bumps are still there, although lightened, and not any redder. So, I'm hoping that means that the antibiotic for his strep is also helping the bumpy rash go away.

Here are a few pics of the guys tonight playing with the good ol' laundry basket!

Blue Eyed Boys!

Caleb posing for the camera!

Ethan with black hair dye after getting his hair cut, before washing it out!

Strep and Sickness

Well, this past week has brought about the first sickness this fall in our household. Caleb has strep throat, and Ethan is now running a fever and congested. I hope he isn't getting strep also.

It all started with what we thought were bug bites on Caleb last Friday night. Then some more showed up on Monday, then more Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They didn't seem to be bothering him and he acted fine, ate fine, drank fine, so I didn't jump to take him into the doctor right away. But then on Thursday morning, one of the "bumps" on his legs was very swollen and purplish/bluish color around it, like it was infected, so I called and got a doctor appointment. At 2 pm, Caleb started running a slight fever, so I guess it was good I was taking him to the doctor at 3 pm. While at the doctor's they did a throat swab, and found he tested positive for strep. But the bumps/bites/rash aren't characteristic of strep the doctor said. They really didn't know for sure what the bumps were, but said hopefully the antibiotic they were putting him on for the strep would cover any other infection also. I still felt uneasy with this assessment, since the bumps were what came first, then the strep. I feel like there was something else going on, and the strep was something secondary.

On Friday morning, Ethan had a slight fever also along with runny nose and cough, so I just went ahead and called to take him in also to get swabbed, and to have Caleb's rash looked at again by another doctor. Ethan tested negative for strep yesterday, but they said his blood work looked like it was shifted some, as if something might be about to happen. The second doctor that looked at Caleb's bumps also does not know what they are - he guessed perhaps chicken pox, but they don't look exactly like chicken pox (Caleb hasn't had his varicella vaccine yet). He just suggested to keep watching him and see if any new ones appear or if they go away after completing the course of antibiotics.

So, here we are tonight on Saturday, with Ethan having a 102.2 fever around 4 pm, gave motrin and it came down, then around 10 pm just now, it is back at 101.6. So, I just called the on-call doctor to see if they want us to just keep treating him with motrin and tylenol or call in any antibiotic for him. I am waiting for the return call now . . .

Please say a prayer for our boys! It is hard not knowing exactly what is going on with Caleb's bumps, and now with Ethan running this fever. We spent about 3 hours Thursday night cleaning and sanitizing everything in our house, because of course every toy and anything in our house has basically been in Caleb's mouth!

I hope I have no sickness news to report next time!

Best Mineral Makeup

I have recently found the best mineral makeup I've ever tried! It is called Silk Naturals, and can be found at www.silknaturals.com

For those of you that know me, you know I am always searching for the best makeup, best skincare products, etc. I have tried just about everything there is out there to try to accommodate my sensitive, acne prone, combination skin. At almost 30 years old, I think I've found my match (for makeup at least!)

The makeup products I've tried and would definitely recommend from this site are:

Perfect Harmony Foundation - you mix it together yourself for the perfect shade

Perfecting Powder - can be used under makeup as a primer, on fine lines and blemishes as a concealer, as a finishing powder to set makeup and make it last longer, and great for use as a touch up powder throughout the day if you get shiny (like me!)

Baby Kabuki Brush - this is the best brush I've ever tried! I want to buy all the brushes from this line after trying this one. I used to think Bobbi Brown ones were the best, but these are a lot softer and I love them!

The products I've recently ordered and can't wait to try are:
Lip Gloss
Mascara

The products I want to order, and probably will on my next order are:
Long Handled Baby Kabuki Brush
Concealers - undereye and redness reducer

I hope some of you other makeup shoppers will enjoy checking out Silk Naturals and trying the products as much as I have! One of the best parts is that it's not overly expensive either. Not anymore than you would spend at a drugstore, and sometimes less!

Apple Farm Field Trip

Ethan and I had a great time on his class field trip to Nivens Apple Farm this morning. He rode the big church school bus with his class. This was his first big school bus ride, and he really enjoyed it. After arriving at the farm, we loaded onto a big trailer full of hay, and went on a hayride around the farm. It was quite a big tractor that pulled us! Then we had an hour to explore the farm - pick out apples, pick out a mini pumpkin, see some farm animals (cow, pig, goats), go through a corn maze, and . . . jump on big tires while holding onto poles. I think the tire jumping was one of Ethan's favorite parts! He ate two whole apples from the farm, so they must've been good! (I have yet to taste mine). All in all a fun first field trip with Ethan's 3 year old class! I look forward to many more to come! 

Farmer Day at Preschool

Friday was Ethan's farmer day at preschool. We were supposed to dress them as farmers with clothes that we already had at home. His class has been learning about farms all year so far - animals, fruits, vegetables, etc. On Monday, I am going on a field trip to a local apple farm with Ethan and his class. We are excited!

Wet stuff!

I can't believe I actually see wet stuff, otherwise known as rain falling from the sky! It is great that we are finally getting some much needed rain. Although it always inconveniences me a little and my daily schedule of getting here and there, but I am still thankful for it! I think of a song that I sang with Ethan's 3 year old children's choir last evening at church. "The rain came down and the floods came up . . ." and then the last verse, "The blessings come down as the prayers go up . . . " I feel like God is definitely pouring blessings out on me daily. I am so thankful for the many ways he blesses me and takes care of me each and every day. I really don't know what I would do without Him in my life. The rain makes me stop and think about the blessings that I am sometimes too busy to see.

I love the things 3 year olds say!

I love the things that my 3 year old comes up with. It's amazing how they don't hear you one moment, and then another moment, they can repeat exactly what you said before. There are many occasions when we tell Ethan that he has "plenty" of something - plenty of toys, plenty of DVDs, etc. - usually at an attempt to ward off getting another one while we are at a store shopping. Well, this morning, MaMa Bailey was trying to get Ethan excited about going to story time at the library. Ethan proceeded to tell us that he didn't want to go. MaMa used the selling point that he could trade in some DVDs he had checked out to get some new DVDs to watch. Ordinarily, the thought of a new show would be enough to spark Ethan to do anything you wanted him to do! But today he said, "But Mommy, I have PLENTY of DVDs already!" That's a 3 year old, or should I say, a 3 year old BOY for you! It's amazing how early "selective" hearing starts in males!