Ahhh Fall

Yesterday, I got a couple of hours to myself, so I picked up some Starbucks and cruised around the area. Some trees are already in full Fall bloom around Winston-Salem. I ended up at Salem Lake and wanted to share it with the family, so after Ian woke up for his nap, we went for a little walk around the lake.

This little outing inspired us to take a trip up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We traveled up to Sparta, a little town off the Parkway. We had lunch at a local cafe and then drove north on the Parkway to meet Samuel and Sarah at an apple orchard close to Mt. Airy. The drive was beautiful in spots. I wouldn't say the area is peaking yet, but there is a lot of beautiful color out there.

This year we went to Levering Orchard. We tried to go to the place we went last year, but it was already closed. This made us very sad, but Jill went on a hunt and found this place (thanks for the leg work, Jill). At Levering, you could pay for pre-picked apples or take a little one lane road down to the orchard to pick your own. We wanted the full experience, so we went off-roading. Payton asked, 'Why is there grass in the middle of the road?' I was thankful for two things while on this road: 1. I'm glad we didn't run into another car going the other direction. 2. We didn't ever hit high center. Once we got to the orchard, we could pick Granny Smith apples or walk 1/4 mile to Mutsu (Crispin) apples. Of course, we walked to get both kinds. It was a little a wild under the trees and you needed a ladder to get some of the best apples. The ladder was actually the kids' favorite part - it was either that or the tractor.

Last day of visit :(

Well, Kaylee woke up with a low grade fever and her cough didn't seem to be getting much better, so she went to see the pediatrician, Thursday. The rest of us went out to Hathaway park. It was a beautiful morning. Kaylee checked out fine - must just be a virus The kids played at the park for a while then we ate lunch at Chic-Fil-A (always a favorite).

Scott was on-call Wednesday night and was taking a nap in the afternoon, but after dinner he got to play with the kids. The 'kick the ball over the house' - game was a hit with everyone - even Kevin Jr. Top the evening off with brownies and ice cream and everyone settled down pretty well for the night - except Kaylee. Poor Kaylee had coughing fits all night, but by morning she seemed to be getting better.

Watch out for those bees!

On Wednesday, we went down to East Spencer to visit Dan Nicholas park with the crew. We weren't there 5 minutes, when Kiera got stung by some type of bee. The bees were all over the playground there which made the start to the trip a little anxious. But, there was much more for the kids to see and do. We virtually had the whole park to ourselves.

Ian wasn't as scared as he has been on the train. And He actually could sit by himself on the carousel this time. Payton wanted to be on the giraffe on the carousel. The mini-zoo was nice and the weather was great.

Unfortunately, Kevin and I spent lunch with a sandwich in one hand and something in the other to swat away the bees while we ate. This time Kaylee was the one stung, but she shrugged it off pretty quickly. We finished walking around the wildlife area and headed home.

I got to sit in the very back of the car between Kiera and Kaylee. We were all asleep when I vaguely started to hear coughing coming from Kaylee. As I was waking up, I hear her vomit right between us. I groggily grabbed a towel and a plastic bag. She only threw up one more time. For what ever reason, it didn't phase me much. I think it helped that my sinuses were a little stuffed up.

Anyway, when we got back to the house, it was playtime as usual. The girls really enjoyed playing freeze-tag with Uncle Kevin.

Kevin and Dawna visit

Everyone is better. Scott went back to work today. Ian's nose is almost dry :)

Kevin, Dawna, and crew arrived last night at 9:30pm after the LONG trek across the country. They were very tired, and ready to be out of their car. Payton and Ian (OK, and me) were super excited to see their cousins. The kids stayed up for the occasion and it took everyone a while to settle down, of course. But, we're very glad they are here.

Today, the weather wasn't all that great. It was misty, rainy, yucky. So we went to the Greensboro Natural Science Center. Everyone was very well behaved which made the visit nice. The GNSC is really an easy place to take the kids to because it's not jammed packed with kids, it's easy to keep track of everyone, and there are lots of animal exhibits that capture the kids' attentions. So, it was a nice morning. We had pizza for lunch and all the kids, except Payton, fell asleep on the way home.

We laid low and played around the house this afternoon. The mist finally stopped and the kids played out on the driveway where it was mostly dry.

The saga continues

Yesterday afternoon at about 4:30, I noticed Ian breathing funny. It was like he was winded after running, but he wasn't acting like he was winded. I could just see him breathing a little harder and faster. It didn't sound like there was much going on in the lungs, but it was still worrisome, so I called the triage nurse at our pediatrician's office. After going through the run of questions, the Doctor wanted us to come in so he could listen to Ian. Dinner was done on the stove. I quickly covered it all and then shooed the kids out the door. We got to the Dr's at 5:20. The doctor listened and checked Ian over. Ian was great. He sat there and let the Dr. listen. It was amazing considering how Ian used to be. Well, the Dr. thought he could have heard something in Ian's lower right lobe. It was there, then it wasn't. He wasn't sure, so he sent us for an X-ray. The kids were starving, but it was almost 6 and the place closed at 7. So away we went. We didn't have to wait too long. We had about a 10-15 minute wait to get checked in. During this time, my kids decided to run around the lobby like a couple of banshees. Ian didn't act sick, except after exerting himself by running and jumping, he had to catch his breath. Of course, this would freak me out. Ian did get a great job getting his X-ray taken, too. He sat still and didn't get upset. We waited at the imaging place for the Dr. to give us a call with the results. Ian's lungs were clear, but considering Scott having H1N1, the Dr. decided to write Ian a prescription for Tami flu. It was interesting, the Dr. even said that what Ian has could NOT be the flu, but he wanted to ere on the side of caution especially when it comes to breathing issues.

We stopped at Chick-fil-A because everyone was hungry and then headed to the pharmacy. Only a few pharmacies carry the liquid form of Tami flu. The pharmacist has to grind up the pill and put it into a suspension. Well, the pharmacy closed at 6 pm, so Ian got his first dose this morning.

Ian ran a low grade temperature last night, but hasn't had one today. His breathing is still a little labored. Scott had a feverish night, but thinks he's slowly getting better :)

Payton seems a little sleepy today, but she was up at 6 am! Mommy is tired too, but OK.

The kids have been very sweet to Daddy. They've been making him lots of cards and brought him lots of 'presents'.

Swine Flu!

Scott had an interview in Dallas, Tx last Friday and then stayed with Aunt Lucy and Becky Fri. and Sat. night. Lucy was sniffly this weekend, but Mon. started a fever. Tuesday she went to the Dr. and was diagnosed with H1N1. Scott came back from Dallas with a runny nose (a little more than usual). Yesterday he broke out in a fever. He started Tami flu yesterday and we quarantined him in our bedroom. The kids wave at him from the door :)

As soon as we heard that Lucy was diagnosed with H1N1, I decided to keep the kids isolated, just in case. I could just see Payton's entire Pre-K class coming down with swine flu - not a good scenario. So far, Ian has shown some symptoms. He started having a runny nose on Tues. that seems to be getting progressively worse. He has a stuffy nose and a cough. He might have a mild temperature today - he's just a little grumpy. He's still drinking fluids, but all he wants to eat is 'chippys' and pretzel sticks. Payton might be a little stuffy, but she was like that before Daddy came back from Dallas.

Kevin, Dawna and the kids are suppose to come for visit on Monday. I hope that still happens, but we'll have to see how everyone and everything progresses. I've told Scott not to touch anything outside the bedroom and I'm constantly washing my hands. Ian's been coughing into his sleeve (most of the time) and I've told Payton to try not to touch Ian.

Totally!

We were driving home from Payton's school today when I stopped in front of our neighbor's house to show the kids their fall decorations. I asked if they were cool, and Payton replies, 'To-tally!'

Payton got her hair cut today. She's been wanting to cut it 'like Sarah's' - which is pretty short. So I let her cut it off to her shoulder. It's cute, but I think Daddy is going to miss the longer hair.

After the haircut, we headed over to the dollar store. I've been doling out coins for chores lately in an effort to motivate the kids to help out. Plus I figure that it's a good way for them to understand why Mommy and Daddy don't always have money to buy whatever they want. I explained to them that everything at the dollar store is only a dollar and that we could take money out of their piggy banks to buy something. They were super excited about it. But when we got to the toy isle they seemed a little depressed. Nothing quite lived up to their standards. This was their hard earned money after all. The balloons were very tempting, but then the mega giant blow pops were spotted. They came in a 4 pack - it was all over. Each child had to have them.

Garden note: This evening the kids helped me plant some mums and pansies in a planter on the deck. We had a couple left over that I planted where the sunflowers used to be in the backyard. (Scott had to work tonight.) We had to move a couple of boards around to fix and add soil to the area where the sunflowers were and all of a sudden their were slugs slugging out of thin air. They were everywhere. It was totally disgusting. I had been wondering where they all were because last year at this time I was in serious combat with them.