Catie and her cough

When you have a cough and a red dye allergy you  have a problem.   Catie has had a cold for about two weeks and we have had to resort to old remedies.   She has had hot baths and honey.   She has tried heating  pads and more hot showers.   The poor child has just had a hard time of it.   She has been pretty cranky and not very easy to live with.  We have been working very hard to keep her calm and try and manage the angry little girl.   Yesterday I had enough.   I took her to the minute clinic and found out she had a virus.
 "Yeah a Virus...we can't treat the cough I tell the nurse...she's not getting any rest.  She's not getting any better."  She looks at me funny....I then explain that all cough syrup has red dye and comes in pretty pink, ruby red, or florescent orange.   The nurse agreed that Catie needs to rest so she calls over to the pharmacy to find out if there was red dye in script she was going to send over.  "Oh good! Finally!  Catie is going to get some relief from this cough!"
"Good news no red dye"  she says..Catie is good to go and we head out.
The cough is better today but her stomach is hurting and she threw up this morning...so my little girl is home with me today...yeah...I don't like sick days, but at least she isn't coughing as much.

UPDATE:
We had to go to the hospital last night because Catie spike a high fever...and had a severe fever.   She woke up with a upset stomach and I called the ask a nurse line and they sent us in to the hospital.   She made it to the hospital before she got sick.   They let us in right away.  The doctor ordered x-rays and anti-nausea medication.   She also got a big dose of motrin.   She started to feel better right away...still just a virus, but it's run amuck in her system and making her life hell.  So she needs an antibiotic...guess what those are all red too!   Oh crap!  We sat there for 25 minutes going back and forth over what she has and has not had...it took for ever...mostly because she is never sick and we never have to use them so we didn't know what she had taken last it had been so long.  She is feeling so better today!

My Alex today...my challenge today!

I love my little green eyed monster to the end of my being...he is my everything....but he is my biggest challenge in the mornings. It's his personality to do everything but what he suppose to be doing that gets him into trouble.   He's a dreamer...always off in his own little world.  I know he hears me because he talks to me and he interacts with me.  It's just sometimes he's not.  He goes and plays and does his own thing and pretty soon he's not dressed for school...that lead to missing breakfast and being late for the bus...thank goodness he can grab breakfast at school.
 When he's being quiet I forget he not doing what he's suppose to be doing like eating breakfast and all of the sudden, I ask "where's Alex"...Catie is never quiet sure either her answer is usually "in bed?"  
I suppose his ability to play alone is a good thing...but I just wish it would be at good times...like after school when his sister is trying to do her homework or when there is something Nathan and I need to do like make a grocery list.   Those are the times he is running around and screaming for attention...with a capital A!  The boy can make some noise!  He is so loud I remember asking Nathan one time are all little boys this loud...Nathan remarked some are louder...I think Alex heard that and felt like he had work to do.   He's so sweet sometimes...but then other times he's such a little stinker...he's such a boy!  I certainly can't take all the credit for him...Nathan has played a big part in how he behaves, but for the most part he's a good little guy.   A little slow to get started in the mornings and really doesn't follow directions from mom very well...wait...he may not be such a good kid after all....but I still love him!  And he's mine!  And I'm not trading him for anything in the world!

Catie and her centerpiece

Catie and I went to set up her centerpiece Tuesday evening...she was so excited and nervous.  I am very excited and nervous to see how it does.  It's her first project.   She bought half of the materials herself.  I guess I should go back to the beginning.
I really wanted to do something for The Baby Fold Festival of Trees and wasn't getting any response from the groups I normally work with.   So I went to my daughter and asked her if she would be interested in doing a project with me for the Festival.   We could call it a scout project and I would let her take the lead...I just wanted to get something into the Festival again as I had been involved for several years and then was not.  So we went on-line and registered as Girl-scout Catherine and Mom.  We were in...now what?

so much sugar!

Next we had to come up with a design...we looked all over Pinterest. Catie loves Pinterest as much as I do so that was no trouble at all we spent hours combing the site and finally decided on a design that we kind of liked but we were going to change it a lot to make it her's.  It was going to be lovely.  It needed a name.  I thought about it...but before I could say anything Catie spit out a title..."All Tied Up for Christmas"   Perfect!  It was her project so she should title it.
We got a letter a few days later in the mail wanting us to submit a detailed description of her design.  Ok...we can do this...so we sat down and wrote it all out and mailed it back.  It's all official now.   So we waited...we knew that it was going to be a few weeks before some of the supplies would be available in the stores.   It was getting a little scary though.  The week before Halloween I told her that I was concerned that I wasn't able to find Candy Canes...we needed 8 boxes of Candy Canes for her design.   They don't go on sale till after Halloween and the Festival is just one week after Halloween...that gives us just 3-4 for days to make this centerpiece.    Catie was a little panicked too...every day I went and looked for Candy Canes....I did start to find them... unfortunately it was all wrong...it was in the dollar stores and they were old and cheap and faded and not pretty at all.
We wanted bright white and red ones...pretty sparkly ones...not ones that looked like they had been left over from last Christmas...I was so sad...I couldn't believe that I was going to let my girl down.
So we decided to wait...On November 1 I drove over to Walmart and looked all over the store...still no Candy Canes...asked a manage standing in an isle..."if the're not out we don't have them yet"
So we went back to the car...Catie was almost in tears..."now what mom?"  of course it's all my fault...we called Meijer...I talked to two managers...YEAH They have them!
We drove over to Meijer and to check them out...they were beautiful!  We had to look though carefully!   Make sure that we didn't buy any smashed candies.
We went home and began the process of assembling the Candy Cane Centerpiece.  It was fun...Catie has a red dye allergy though so I was a little concerned with her handling that much red candy...no problems.  She just made sure she washed up very well after she handled all of the candies.   It was an adventure we well repeat next year...we may well try to avoid the Candy Canes though.



UPDATE: While we were at the Festival this evening Catie was standing behind her centerpiece and someone walked up and asked her if it was her centerpiece.  She said yes.  She asked Catie a few questions.  Catie was very polite and answered them.  Catie was a little distressed...when we got to the centerpiece it looked a little worse for ware.  It seems children had been pulling candy canes out of it all evening.  I'm really disappointed in that.  The Baby Fold organizers had refilled it over and over again.  They were going to buy more to refill it again tomorrow.  As we stood there the lady that asked how she could place a bid.  So we told her how to place a bid...she stood there for a minute...then she asked how she could just buy it.  Catie nearly did a cartwheel.  I offered the lady my phone number...to help with repairs if the candy canes are too badly damaged by the people pulling them out and other putting them back.   Catie and I can repair the centerpiece for her.   So on the second night of bidding Catie's centerpiece sold for the Angel price!

Sold!   For the Angel Price!

Whirlwind life changing week

I can't even begin to explain how different my life is from one week ago.  I was on the phone exactly one week ago with my licencing agent talking about how it was going to be another two and half more weeks before our licence was here.  Nathan and I were in the middle of a huge fundraiser and really working hard to raise more money for a cause that we really believe in.  I was coming really close to my goal and feeling pretty good.   I was going to shave my head for this cause and give all my hair to some child that didn't have any.  I felt scared and excited all at the same time.
The next 24 hours rocked my world...my daughter got the flu...yuck...I hate when that happens.  I didn't feel well.  I needed to go pick up my prescriptions.  I had to have that prescription right now...not later.  We drove across town and got my headache medicine...
"Catie did you get the mail after school?"  I asked as we drove back...She shook her head..."Oh yeah you were sick...OK everyone to bed...I'll get the mail"
As we all piled out of the car I got the mail and began the dig though the bills and junk...I stopped half way up the drive..."Nathan do you know what this is"
"Uh no...your holding it..." He replied sarcastically...I skipped up the driveway to show him our brand new State of Illinois issued Foster Care license.
We both stood in the garage for several minutes in disbelieve...could it really be???  She just told us it was going to be several more weeks and that had always translated into months before.   Here it was in our hands a solid piece of paper!   It's real!    So we had to have some time and some real conversations.  So we still haven't made a public announcement...it's weird...we have worked so hard on this and now it feels kind of like I want to keep it to myself for a while...so we did...we didn't even call the agency till Monday.
Then comes the really FUN part...we walked in the house...the answering machine light is blinking...yes we still have one of those...I hate voice mail...and refuse to switch over.
Nathan hit play as we sent the kids to bed for the second time...they are all wound up by this point...they know that we could get a child any day now.
The message is from a TV station they got one of the press releases that I sent out a month ago and want to put me on the news because I am shaving my head....Are you kidding me????
I am blown away...I have worked so hard to raise this money and just want to make sure that it gets as much attention as it can for the right reason.   I don't want to do this broadcast to promote myself in anyway.   I am only shaving my head to draw attention to the women to who loose their hair and live with the hair loss.   I want to stand proud with them.  I am their sister.   I call the reporter...we talk and I agree to do the broadcast and it went really well.   I raised a lot of money for a foundation that needed it and I got to give my hair to a child that needed it.   I pray that I will have the courage to do this again...honestly it has been kind of fun!   I wish they would do this during summer though...this is kind of cold....but really it's not so bad!  My kids love my bald head...they come up and rub my head and say it's soft like a puppy....my son rubs his cheeks on it.   I love my kids they are so kind...they tell me everyday how beautiful I am and it makes me happy and I know I am loved...My husband does too...but the kids say it with unconditional love.

Life is really good right now and I am Blessed beyond measure! 



Update:   It's a little over a week later and my hair is starting to grow back in...it's funny how quick it grows.  It's weird people I don't know very well but have a faint knowledge of keep coming up to me and talking to me.   I also have gotten the stares from children and adults alike.  No one has asked me about my hair yet.  That kind of bums me out...I want to tell my story.