It's all good, as long as we have our trains.

It seems we can't catch a break from being sick. Preschool has introduced us to a new batch of germs. Approximately every two weeks or so one, if not both, of the cubs is sick. Here is Zach sucking up the sympathy, with his pillow, blankie, and his favorite engines. Yep, I think he's pretty cute even when he's sick.

So much to share in too little time.

It's naptime for the cubs, so I'm going to take this short opportunity to do a little blog catch-up. The last few weeks have been very busy at Cub Central. After I made the trip back home with the cubs (and without Dad), my parents made the trip out here. All in the name of cubsitting. We had fun plans to go to a hockey game with one of Steve's friends and Grandma and Grandpa Bear "volunteered" to cubsit. I pretty much volunteered them, but they didn't tell me no...so hockey plans were on. It was a Thursday night game against the Philadelpia Flyers. Brian's family cheered for the Stars, but Brian (the birthday boy) is a die-hard Flyers fan. UGH. How nice was it for our team to wish Brian a happy birthday by allowing his team to win?? Happy birthday, Brian! ...and thanks to my Mom and Dad for coming out here so Steve and I could partake in some adult interaction.

The next week I took the cubs on a tour of one of the local firestations. Not sure we were quite ready for that. Zach couldn't stand still and was extrememly fussy. Emily did a better job, but only because I let her hold my camera the entire time. She took some very fine photos of the firehouse floor. Not sure if this is her calling, but she hasn't put the camera down since.

The weekend (Mar. 20/21) weather was rainy and cold. Steve had the weekend off, for once, and the weather kept us cooped up inside. CRUMMY. The next weekend (Mar. 27/28), the cubs and I got the stomach bug. All three of us were tossing our cookies. It was AWFUL!!! And of course, Steve was off for that too. Steve was off two weekends in a row?? Completely unheard of....and we spent it cooped up inside...SICK!. With the exception of a brief outing we took on Saturday. Emily came down with the bug early (4:30 am early) on Friday morning. By Saturday morning she seemed to be feeling better, so we all went to the town Easter Egg Hunt. The cubs really did well and the weather was great. It was later that afternoon that Zach and I came down with the yuckies. So we did manage to do one fun thing the two weekends Steve was off.

This past weekend (Apr. 3/4) was gorgeous. The weather was spectacular and we spent lots of time outside. Steve even took the very first dive into the pool on April 3 (which is also the one year anniversary of our closing on this house). The air temp was 82, but the water temp was only 67...WAY too cold for me. I will wait for summer, thank you very much.

The cubs and I have now come down with a virus. I swear it is always something. I wonder if Steve is off this weekend. Probably so, since everyone else is sick. Bah humbug!

It never fails...

I finally get Zach feeling better and in true Cub Central fashion...now Emily is sick. Naturally. In my previous post, I mentioned that she came down with a fever on Sunday evening. I took her to the Doctor on Monday because she had a CONSTANT dry cough, and everything was ok, the Doctor suspected that she just had a cold and told me to keep alternating the Motrin and Tylenol to manage fever. Poor thing ended up getting worse and by Thursday she had stopped eating, drinking, had a productive cough, and was totally refusing her Tylenol and Motrin. I knew something was wrong because she normally gobbles up her medicine like it's candy. Steve took her to the Doctor where she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. Poor baby is now getting breathing treatments and an antibiotic. She is doing better now, thank goodness! Her fever finally broke on Friday after getting up to 104 (with the antibiotic!) and freaking us all out again, but she loved the lukewarm bath and I think that helped a lot. She is still pretty fussy, and her eating/drinking is still below par, but at least the fever is gone. I can't wait until the cubs are healthy again, this has been a rough winter season at Cub Central.

Bah humbug

I manage to get one cub feeling better just in time for the other to get sick. Emily has been running a fever since Sunday night. I took her to the Doctor on Monday morning only for them to tell me they can't see any infection in her ears, nose or throat. I guess I should be thankful, but no antibiotics and a persistent fever makes for an unhappy little girl and a very tired Mommy. Exhausting.

The weather isn't helping. It's been mostly rainy and damp. The sun finally came out today but the wind was bitterly cold. We're expecting snow tomorrow night. What an unusual winter we are having. Three snow days in December and a stretch of below freezing temperatures for a straight 53 hours is very rare for Texas. FOR A REASON!!! WE DON'T LIKE COLD WEATHER HERE!!! We like our warmth and sunshine and we want it back!!!

Starting February off with a bang....

...of antibiotics! Yippee! Poor Z-man has come down with an ear infection. WHAT a bummer!! So I kept both cubs home from preschool on Monday and speech on Tuesday. Tomorrow Emily can go to school and I will have to keep Zach home until his fever goes down, so hopefully the antibiotics will kick in quickly. I'm just praying that Emily doesn't get it too.

Z still loves the alphabet, except that he won't say "H", instead he just repeats the "G". He spells his name Z-A-C-G. Oops. Oh well, hopefully he'll figure it out soon.

Emily is doing great. Every day is something new. She's very big into giving hugs, even to her brother. So sweet, even though Zach doesn't like it much. Bath time is still going really well. They LOVE LOVE LOVE baths. They are practicing putting their heads in the water which will be great when it warms up enough to go to the pool. Splish splash!!

We haven't taken many pictures lately, I guess we're in a down swing. With everyone being sick lately I don't think we've felt in the picture-taking mood. I'm sure that will change soon...waiting for Spring to get here! Outdoor pictures are way more fun!!

Where have we been?

Hmmm, good question. Every day seems to be a repeat of the last. Naps are becoming fewer and farther between....EEEKKK! NAPS are very important to our well-being. Theirs and mine. I wonder if bribery would work....these are desperate times!

The cubs are doing well. We had a pretty bad case of the germies here at Cub Central. It seems that I was harder hit than the rest of the crew. We're going on two weeks of the dreaded cough...it has to end sometime, right? We have had our fair share of runny noses, coughing, and sleepless nights. Even Dad was a little under the weather.

Speech therapy at TWU starts again tomorrow. I am looking forward to it! The cubs really seemed to benefit from the sessions last semester. I can't believe the progress Zach has made with his numbers and ABCs. I will write them down and he will say the number or letter. I even mix them up and he still gets them. He still has a little trouble with M, N and W, but it becomes clearer each day....and he LOVES to do it. Emily is using two-word phrases and is repeating almost everything. Please sounds like 'fleas' which makes me laugh every time because it's so cute.

We have stalled in the eating department. Emily is on a strike. She hasn't really wanted anything. I place a plate in front of her and she turns her head, sticks her nose in the air, and adamantly says "no". GRRR! Things she used to love she refuses and when I offer new things she refuses that too. Whatever this phase is, I hope it passes quickly. Zach is now eating chicken nuggets, fish sticks and Ritz crackers. While this is huge (HUGE) progress, it makes me laugh that we have gone from one extreme to the other. Before he would just nibble microscopic bites and now he shoves the whole thing in his mouth, which makes mom very nervous. I would much appreciate a happy medium.

We now have a busy Spring ahead. With speech and preschool we now have something to do every weekday, so I'm hoping the days pass with less drama and as they get busier I hope their napping frequency increases back up. FINGERS crossed.

Post Christmas party

Of course, any activity that involves numerous children, chilly weather, and a bounce house will promptly be followed by runny noses and sick cubs. I think everyone caught some type of bug this time around, but Mom was the only one who came down with a fever. Thank goodness we are all on the road to recovery. We still have a few lingering side effects, but I think we will be good to go for Santa's big arrival.

They are even cute when they're sick. Both cubs on the couch with their pillows, blankies, and beloved stuffed animals.:

A look back....WAY back

Yikes, my last post was 10/22, the day before Grandma and Grandpa Bear were supposed to visit. Unfortunately Grandma Bear came down with a virus and they couldn't come, so now we won't get to see them until Thanksgiving.

We have been crazy busy here at Cub Central. On October 21st, after several days of unusually steady rain, we discovered a water leak in Emily's room. Actually, it pretty much announced itself. I walked into her room after dinner and found a "water balloon" making it's way down her wall. I had to take this picture because Steve wasn't home and I wanted him to see it before I "popped" it and drained the water into a bowl.



This lovely intrusion resulted in a week's worth of contractors coming in and removing the drywall, testing/treating for mold (mold test was negative but they treated anyway as a preventative measure), pulling up the carpet tack and base boards, repairing the roof leak, replacing everything, and repainting. I will say that our builder was very quick to get this repaired. We even had contractors here on Saturday. Thank goodness it was all covered by our warranty.

On Monday (10/26), the cubs received their seasonal flu shot and on Wednesday the cubs came down with a vicious case of the sniffles/coughs. UGH!!! Unbelievable. Fortunately they felt better by Halloween to go trick-or-treating for a little while.

I attended a baby shower on Sunday (11/01) for our good friends, Matt and Beth Ann. They are expecting a baby girl in December, and I was glad I got to see them again. It always seems that every time we try to get together someone (aka A CUB) gets sick. I just can't seem to get these cubs healthy. I'm sure it's because they are in preschool for the first time, but it just drags on and on.

We received approval for the pool from the HOA and had our preconstruction meeting on Friday, so we should be breaking ground as soon as permits are received from the City. VERY exciting.

Zach is still eating really well. Last night we took the cubs to CiCis pizza (original plan was to go to Chuck-E-Cheese, but it was packed) and there he ate the cheese topping from four slices of pizza. Emily, however, adamantly refused everything except black olives. It seems like they have swapped roles. Zach is doing well and Emily has become my picky eater. She turns her head and says "NO" very clearly. Can't believe this is the same girl that used to eat EVERYTHING except watermelon. Where did she go?

I will be sharing pictures of other recent happenings here at Cub Central...it's easier (and faster) to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Another week with a sick cub. Quarantine needed.

We had more drama on Grandpa Bear's birthday. We spent the evening with the pool designer because our original pool design did not fit in our backyard. BOO to the regulations that require our fence to be pushed in 10 feet from our property line. Who does that?? Anyway, that's another soapbox issue.

We ended up putting Emily to bed a little early because she was fussy and tired. I figured it was because she skipped her nap earlier that day. Other than that she seemed perfectly fine. Two hours later she was whimpering like a puppy so Steve went to check on her and she was burning up with a fever of 106! We did all the right things: started meds, stripped her down, lukewarm bath, cold compress and we could only get her temp down to 103. Then her temp started going back up and she was very lethargic, so we called the oncall Doctor. Before he returned our call, she started throwing up (which is VERY rare for Em). The Doctor starts yapping about brain damage with fevers over 105 and I thought I was going to lose it. He told us to take her to Cooks, where (two hours later) they diagnosed her w/ a (yet another) viral infection. Negative for flu. Unfortunately there is nothing we can give her to treat this other than alternating Tylenol and Motrin to keep her comfortable and give her plenty of fluids. We should be old pros at this. One Doctor's office visit, two urgent care visits, and one ER visit in the last month and every time we come home with the same diagnosis. Will we ever get over this mess???

Anyway, knock on wood, both cubs seem to be doing fine now. There was no preschool on Monday since it was Columbus Day, and I was anxious to get back to our routine. Speech therapy on Tuesday went great. Zach does the chicken dance now which Steve and I find hilarious. He is so cute!! Donuts with Dad day at Preschool was yesterday but unfortunately Dad couldn't go, so I was Dad proxy. Unfortunately the cubs left their good behavior at home....I guess it's their job to embarrass me in front of all the other parents. Zach dumped over a cup of water and neither of the cubs were interested in sitting during story time. I wish I could have superglued their little bottoms to the floor. I guess that's the behavior I can expect from two two-year-olds. Maybe I should start looking into etiquette school too. Good thing they are cute!!

The following week (Sept 13-19)

The following Monday after Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John left, Emily came down with a horrible ear infection/pharyngitis/upper respiratory infection. Her high fever came on so suddenly that it was too late in the day to get a Doctor's appointment so we were referred to Cook's Hospital Urgent Care. Poor little thing was downright miserable.

Then on Tuesday I noticed Zach coming down with similar symptoms. I made him an appointment that morning but everything checked out ok. Ears good, throat good, lungs good. By that afternoon he was choking on drainage that had pooled in his chest while he was napping. Horrible. I was alternating the Motrin and Tylenol to control his fever, but at 10pm his fever had shot up to 104.8. I literally threw him in a lukewarm bath and tried to give him some more Motrin, but he was so upset and angry at me that he could only manage to throw it all up while he was screaming in the bathtub. So Steve loaded him up and took him to the Emergency Room. WHAT a horrible night. I had to hold Emily most of the night because every time I would put her in bed she would start choking. Plus I had to wait by the phone for any word from Steve. I was a nervous wreck. Four hours later (and three xrays later) little man was back home with the same diagnosis Emily had. The night didn't improve much. Emily and Zach only slept about 20 minutes at a time and Steve and I spent the night sleeping on the floors in their rooms or rocking them in the recliner. Wednesday was more of the same. Thank goodness that Steve was able to stay home with me to help comfort the cubs. They both wanted to be held constantly, but neither wanted to share my lap. On a good day I can hold them both, on a bad day you can forget about it. Also, it was so difficult getting them to drink anything since their throats hurt...for a while I was having to force Pedialyte down with a medicine dropper. Not to mention trying to keep track of medicine schedules on the little to no sleep I had the night before. What a horrible couple of days (and nights). We were pretty much in zombie mode. We finally started to see an improvement by Friday (THANK GOODNESS!!). The cubs were able to sleep and the fever was gone. The antibiotics did their magic.

So now you know why I am so behind on my blog posting. It wasn't because I was having fun doing other fun things. I was at home being mommy and nurse to our sick little cubbies. This was by far the worst illness they have ever had. I think even Daddy would have to agree. Neither of us wish to repeat this experience ever again. We pray for healthy days ahead!

The long awaited catch-up blog.

I'm looking over my calendar and thinking to myself "Boy, is the reading public going to be disappointed with this one". So fair warning to all...while I have been off-line "forever", not much happened while I was gone.

Moving day:
April 9th was moving day. I struggled to get as much packed as possible before the movers showed up. Steve met them first at our storage building and then brought them to the apartment. As soon as it was confirmed that they were on their way(around 10am) I packed up the cubs and headed out. There was no way I was going to witness this move, especially with the cubs under foot. We drove by the old house, grabbed lunch at Chick-fil-A (we ate in the car), I treated myself to a vanilla latte and a chocolate donut from Starbucks, and then we headed to the mall. Thankfully I took Husky (Em's dog) and L.E. (Zach's elephant) with us so the cubs actually behaved better than I expected. Sadly, though, there was no nap. By 3pm I was begging to come home. I couldn't wait to see if things were put where I wanted them....such a control freak. I must admit that everyone did a good job. Later that night I was smack dab in the middle of suffering from the worst sore throat I think I have ever had. I was MISERABLE. I had taken Emily to the Doctor the day before and she was pretty miserable too. Poor Zach and Daddy didn't escape it either. We all spent the next few days under house arrest. I even missed my parenting class. No one felt like doing anything and the boxes remained stacked up all around us. By Sunday (Easter Sunday) Zach had a fever and by Monday he was suffering from the pink-eye minus the pink too. Steve called the Doctor early that morning and we were able to get in within a matter of hours. Little Emily Bear was diagnosed with her very first ear infection. Both cubs were prescribed antibiotics for sinusitis (I wish I could have had some too) and we took our sick selves back home. What an enjoyable way to spend our first days in our brand new home.

Easter:
We missed Easter morning services because Zach had a fever. I was so disappointed because I had bought Zach the cutest little Easter outfit to match a dress that one of Grandma Shirley's friends had sent us for Emily and I couldn't wait to take pictures. We missed out on every Easter activity this year....we didn't make it to a single egg-hunt and I was disappointed about that too. I really think the cubs would have had a lot of fun. The cubs did open their Easter gifts from Great Grandma Betty and Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John. Emily thinks that all gifts are hers. She loves opening gifts and she's good at it, even if they don't belong to her. We had fun playing with the puzzles, reading the books and watching the DVDs they received. Not to mention how cute they will look in their new pajamas. Pictures to come later.

Services:
We have had our fair share of people coming by...the refrigerator was delivered, the security system set up, the painters were here numerous time, the tile cleaners and installers, the TV guy to install the TV/Internet, blah blah blah. We've had a revolving door of service people through here lately.

March for Babies:
April 18th was our local chapter March for Babies. Our friends Kristi and Donna drove all the way from Abilene to join us. Wow! They were also our very first house guests. We were a little worried about the weather, but despite all of the talk about severe storms, we made it through the walk without more than a few drops of rain. It was actually very pleasant. Last year was hot, so I much preferred the cooler morning. Debbie and her daughter Sydney also met us there. I was sad that Steve had to work and was unable to make it. We want to thank everyone for their support! We are very lucky to have such wonderful family and friends.

LCMOM meeting/garage sale:
Tuesday the 21st was my LCMOM meeting. A speaker presented information to us about college planning. I don't even want to think about it. Two words: Golf SCHOLARSHIP. I also chose to participate in the garage sale, so I've spent my spare minutes gathering and tagging items. I had to work the sale on Friday for several hours and was glad to get that out of the way. I have yet to get the final sales total but was happy to free up some space here at the house. I sold the swing that Zach spent most of his first year in due to his reflux issues. That was a sad moment. He's grown up so fast.

Grandma and Grandpa Bear's visit:
My parents arrived on Friday. We were very happy to see them and I was excited for them to see the cubs again. They have changed so much. I was sad that I had to work at the garage sale while they were here, but the alternative was to postpone their visit for two more weeks and I don't think anyone wanted to do that. The cubs opened their birthday presents...we have a band in the making....Emily got a keyboard and Zach got an electronic drum set. I'm going to sit in a quiet corner and read some of the books they received. We cooked out on Saturday, the first time here at the new house. I am really enjoying the patio and watching the cubs play in the yard. I must admit that they are sleeping much better since the move, probably because they are so exhausted after all of the running they are doing. I think they are adjusting rather well. I know we will be happy once all of these boxes are unpacked.

Pictures:
We will be posting pictures as soon as we find the missing cable. UGH. It's either buried in a box or still at the apartment. Moving is such an inconvenience sometimes.

I guess that sums up most of what has happened in the last 18 days. We spent most of the time in voluntary quarantine battling this horrible illness that just drags on and on and on. The rest of our time has been spent scheduling service people and unpacking boxes. Steve took a few days off but unfortunately we didn't get as much done as we had hoped since he was under the shroud of illness as well. We didn't allow the cubs to attend any play dates until this past Thursday. We didn't want to risk infecting any of our friends. I did take them to Paradise Pond since our tile was being cleaned and sealed and we needed to be out of the house. They were still on their antibiotics so hopefully we won't have a relapse. It will be such a relief for things to get back to "normal".

We are homeless and we're happy about it....temporarily.

What a week. We are officially homeless....or between homes...or apartment dwellers, not sure which term I feel like picking today. We closed on the old house on Wednesday. What a relief to have that over with. We definitely know how lucky we are that we found a buyer and at the perfect time. They could have easily bought a newer house for less money in our neighborhood, so we are counting our blessings. That night I treated myself to a celebratory margarita at Mi Pueblo with some friends. We jokingly call it our "scrapbooking meeting". Ironically because none of us scrapbook, but it was brought up in conversation and just stuck. So now I tell Steve I have a scrapbook meeting to attend and he just rolls his eyes at me.

It finally started raining on Wednesday afternoon, several days after my knees began to let me know that it would be raining soon. Stupid knees. They are great indicators of a weather change, much to my dismay. I'm too stubborn to see a Doctor for it even at Grandma Bear's constant urging (I love you Mom!). I'll try to squeeze it in between later and never.

Zach had a therapy appointment on Thursday. Although it went much better this week I am still a bit aggravated by the whole thing. I had to take Emily with me but this time I was smart enough to put them in their stroller. I was determined to keep them contained. I even fed Zach in the stroller which is the main reason I think this session went better. He didn't have to sit in that little wooden chair which automatically induces a thirty minute screaming session. I was most irritated with the fact that while I was feeding Zach, the therapist was busy playing with Emily. HELLO!!!!! I'm here to get help with Zach!!! Emily was perfectly fine playing with her toys on her side of the stroller, she didn't need to be entertained. UGH. This morning I called the ECI program in Denton County. The therapist comes to your home so that the child is in his own surroundings and I have a feeling that will work much better for us. Plus it's a flat monthly cost share based on our income so it will actually be cheaper than paying our $40 copay for each visit.

Our Thursday play date was cancelled due to the weather. It was supposed to be at a park that I have not been to yet, but word has it that it is gated so it would be a little safer for the cubs to run around and easier for me to keep an eye on them. I'm looking forward to trying it out as soon as the weather improves.

Steve brought home a rhinovirus this week. Isn't it nice of him to share with the rest of the family? It's either that or allergies, but I have been mopping up noses for the last day and a half. I'm feeling pretty lousy myself. I declared today a PJ day and the cubs and I remained in our jammies most of the day. We were stuck inside due to the crummy weather (what happened to our 70 degree temps from last week??) and the runny noses anyway.

Emily now calls for Zach by yelling "ACK". When I tell her to go get her brother, she turns and yells "ACK". NICE! She also repeats me when I say "uh oh" except she's a little lazy with it and it comes out "uh uh". Close enough I guess. For now anyway. Good thing she's cute.

Steve is supposed to work both days this weekend (of course) so we have nothing planned. We are supposed to do our final walk-through for the new house on Monday so I'm looking forward to that. It just puts us that much closer to moving day!

Saturday Monday night fever

Last Monday evening Zach came down with "the fever". "The fever" was 103.4 when we called the on-call Doctor. Our instructions were to continue medicating him and call in the morning for an appointment if the fever persisted. Zach was extremely fussy. He wanted to be held, but when I held him he would squirm and was never able to get comfortable. So I'd put him down and he'd cry to be held again. Tuesday morning "the fever" was still here, so I called and was told that our Pedi was out for the day. Not a big deal except none of the other Doctors in the office accept our insurance (BOO...HISS!!). Our options were to take him to the urgent care clinic (No thanks) or wait until Wednesday morning. After our last urgent care experience I decided that we would wait for a Wednesday morning appointment with Zach's favorite pediatrician. Tuesday afternoon I thought "the fever" had finally broken. His temp was down and he was playing like it was any normal day. We decided that if "the fever" stayed away, we would just cancel our appointment, but on Wednesday morning "the fever" was back up to 102.2. Just great. I loaded the cubs up and headed for the Doctor's office. The fussiness was back. He screamed when we tried to get his weight and when the Nurse tried to take his temperature. Our Doctor came in and checked his ears, nose, throat, and listened to his chest and said that she couldn't find any reason for his fever. I thought maybe it was due to his teething, but she said it would be very unusual for his fever to get that high from just teething...there had to be something else going on. She decided to do some lab work. This was my first experience with Zach getting his blood drawn. Steve always handles this, but I guess I forgot to mention that I was by myself with both Emily and Zachary, and this was not going to be fun. The following five minutes seemed like five hours but she finally got what she needed from Zach's poor finger. The results came in that afternoon....everything was perfectly normal. However, we still had "the fever". We had "the fever" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By Saturday morning "the fever" had finally broken. FINALLY. No more waking up in the middle of the night to give him medications. And then, when I thought all was good, on Saturday Emily screamed and cried all night with "THE FEVER". UGH!!!!!

Summing up the week with one word.

One word can sum up last week here at Cub Central: SICK. What a week. Zach came down with an upper respiratory infection, which he so kindly shared with me, and we were both miserable. I'm not sure how I managed. Steve came home early on Wednesday to take little man to the Doctor for me. Unfortunately there are no antibiotics for this mess, so we just have to let it run it's course. I know little man probably felt as poorly as I did. It was such a roller coaster, I felt horrible in the morning but by the evening I would feel better. The next morning I would feel worse with yet another issue. I think it pretty much attacked everything from my shoulders up. Sore throat one day, earache the next day, then a dizzying headache the day after that. Finally, it ended up with a sneezing fit that seems to have lasted for days. It was DREADFUL. New day, new pain. Thank heavens we are feeling better now. Poor little Emily almost escaped the dreaded germ-monster, but I'm afraid she wasn't so lucky either. She started coughing yesterday afternoon, and then I think she handed it off again to Zach. So the cycle repeats. Because of the dreaded germ-monster, all events last week were cancelled. I was supposed to have a GNO (girls' night out) on Wednesday and Zach was supposed to have his first feeding therapy session on Thursday....I had to cancel it all. Hopefully this week will be much better.

What a week! The good, the bad, and the ugly.

***SIGH*** Where to start??

We'll start with the good. Last Tuesday night was my LCMOM's meeting (Mothers of Multiplies). Basically I love any excuse to get out of the house. Unfortunately it was scrapbook night. I'm not a big scrapbooker. I have tried and just don't have the time to do it. I made a scrapbook for my Mom of the Cubs' first six months. She will probably see the Cub's second six month scrapbook when they are twelve. I have the greatest of intentions, but never the time to fit everything in. Anyway, it was still good to get out and visit with the other moms. On a side note, I was asked to be the Social Chairmom. Planning parties and such. Obviously they are unaware that Steve plans everything for us. He has planned every one of our vacations (except our Honeymoon). I have never planned a single party in my life...not one. This is totally beyond my limitations and I respectfully declined. On Wednesday night, Mom got to enjoy another night out with the girls from THC. We went to a Mexican restaurant and I stuffed myself with enchiladas. Yum! The Cubs and I went to Kelli's for a playdate on Thursday. I always enjoy our playdates and I think the cubs had a great time too. It was such a beautiful day that we took a nice walk around her neighborhood. Zach had his eyes closed most of the time. He is a little vampire and doesn't care much for the sunlight. I keep trying to get him to wear sunglasses but he won't stand for it. They are more fun to play with than to wear. Emily found that the stroll was the perfect opportunity to squeeze in her nap. So we extended our walk for a few more blocks so Emily could snooze. I learned that I am out of shape. By the time we were finished I needed a nap.

Now for the bad and the ugly. Zach is sick, sick, sick. We're not talking the usual sniffles. Friday night he had a slight fever so I gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed. On Saturday he still had a fever, so Steve took him to Care Now, an urgent care clinic, that afternoon. The Doctor said his tonsils were a little swollen but his strep test came back negative, so we were instructed to keep giving him Tylenol. Saturday was horrible. I couldn't get him to eat or drink anything. I freak out when he doesn't eat, but I know how important fluids are when you are sick with a fever, so I really freaked out when I couldn't get him to drink. I tried water, juice, Pediasure, Pedialyte in sippy cups, straw cups, bottles (UGH), and even in Mommy's cup....nothing. Tylenol didn't seem to help and his fever wasn't coming down. He threw up everything I tried to feed him. Sunday didn't start out as bad, at least I got him to eat a little yogurt, but that was all, and he still had his fever. I called the care clinic as soon as they opened on Sunday morning and asked them why an antibiotic wasn't prescribed. After two phone calls with the nurse explaining that we have now passed our 36th hour of fever, we got our antibiotic on Sunday night. However, Sunday night was even worse. He wanted to be held but squirmed when you held him. If I put him down, he screamed. He cried and cried. Still no eating and even less drinking. Poor Daddy was up with him most of the night. I was in the other room crying out of frustration because little man still wouldn't drink or eat. He even threw up his medicine. I was so relieved when he finally fell asleep around 2 am. Monday morning I finally got little man to drink some water and eat some yogurt, but his little lips were so chapped that they started bleeding. I know he's lost weight because the skin over his stomach is loose like little old man skin. We called our new pediatrician and got him right in. Steve took him while I stayed home with Emily. The Doctor said that his tonsils were still very swollen but the antibiotics should start helping him. (I'm still peeved that we weren't prescribed this on Saturday. One shouldn't have to fight so hard to get treatment for their child.) Steve said Zach liked her and that he gave her one of his flirty smiles. Great. Never too sick to flirt. He is doing a little better now. He ate some fruit at lunch and his favorite Gerbers chicken at dinner. He still isn't drinking his Pediasure, which is his main source of nutrition, but at least he'll take a few sips of juice and water. It took forever to get him to go to sleep, but once he did he slept most of the night. Steve and I even got a few hours of sleep. It was a really rough weekend, we were all sleep deprived and exhausted...except for Emily. That little girl can sleep through anything. She wasn't phased by this at all. I'm jealous.

It is now Tuesday morning at 4:30 am and I am praying that things go better today. The crazy weather here isn't helping one bit and I know that we are going to be cooped up inside all day. It was 80 degrees on Friday (absolutely beautiful) and last night and today we are under an "Ice Storm Warning". I didn't even know it was coming. I received an email from work yesterday morning with an inclement weather number to call and didn't know why I got it. Now I know. That's what happens when you don't watch the news. We can only get Handy Manny, Curious George, and Sesame Street on our TV, and it's always a beautiful day on Sesame Street, "sunny day, sweeping the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet". Lesson of the day: don't get your weather report from Sesame Street. Unless it's from the Grouch News Network....Oscar would say the weather is "Crummy. I love it. Now SCRAM!"

The blog is in demand....

Yikes! My reading public is starting to get a little restless, so I am FINALLY posting an update so my loyal readers will get their weekly dose of Cub Central happenings. Sorry it's been a while, things are always crazy here.

Last Wednesday, the cubs and I went to Kelli's for a play date. Thankfully the cubs behaved reasonably well and even took a short nap in their stroller so Kelli and I could enjoy a nice lunch. They had a lot of fun playing with Kelli's girls and hanging out in the back yard. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Our little Zach is quite the flirt. He even gave little Miss Isabelle a kiss. AAAWWWW....the sweetest thing ever, and not a camera in sight.

On Friday evening the dreaded runny nose made yet another appearance at Cub Central. UGH!! By Saturday morning it had already moved into Zach's chest and the coughing ensued. Poor baby. I was hoping it was just allergies, but Emily disproved that by coming down with it on Sunday. Since allergies aren't contagious, we're pretty sure Cub Central is being attacked by the rhino-virus. Just great. We are a hot bed of germs here. So no cute cub pics for this post, unless you want to see the dreaded dripping noses that mommy spends hours chasing around. Bless their little hearts, they don't sleep well because they can't breathe, they don't eat well, and the coughing and hacking is just dreadful, but hopefully this mess will clear up soon. We have a busy month ahead and need to be in top form.

Aliens have abducted our cubs...

Aliens have abducted our cubs and replaced them with MONSTERS! While they look identical to my cubs, I know these are not mine. This has been a less than stellar week. "Temper-tantrum Tuesday" is now replaced with "Totally Terrible Tuesday", and was SO bad that it blended into "How could it get any Worse? Wednesday".

It started Monday with Zach waking up from his nap with a fever slightly over 101. So I started the doses of Tylenol. He had been spitting up more than normal (which has officially blown our 47 day no-puke streak), so I figured he just had a bug. On "Totally Terrible Tuesday", he still had his temperature and was just miserable. He wouldn't eat, drink or sleep. It is very distressing to Mom when Zach won't eat OR drink. I can just visualize the pounds float away on my anemic/bulimic little man. **SIGH** So young and already having eating issues. He wanted to be held every second (VERY unusual for him), which is very difficult when his sister is also screaming for attention. I finally got him down for a nap, but when he woke up, he was just burning up, and he still had several hours before I could give him any more Tylenol. When he was crying so much he made himself throw up, I packed him and Emily up and off we went to meet Steve at the Doctor's office. So after sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, we get our five minute consult with the Dr., who seems to think he has a stomach bug. He says it should last between 3-5 days. GREAT! Keep giving him fluids. Um, right. How does one give fluids to a 15-month-old who doesn't want them, and can force himself to throw up if you tick him off??? Good luck with that! Can't we fast forward to next Friday already???

On "How could it get any worse? Wednesday", sure enough, it got worse. No eating, No drinking, No sleeping. Mom and Dad are both exhausted, frustrated and even more fussy than the cubs. Emily also had a little fever, because it's "highly contagious" per Dr. Genius. UGH! God, please let me survive this, at least until next Friday!!! If you see any aliens flying around, will you please ask them to return my cubs and take these monsters back?!?!

So Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday, with just a little less fuss. I think the cubs are feeling a little better. Zach still isn't eating or drinking much, but at least the crying is starting to lighten up. Steve and I are also thinking that maybe with this fever causing bug, we are also suffering from some teething issues on top of it.

Now it's Friday. One more week until my "Girl's Get-away". The light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully Emily is feeling better and acting more like herself. Zach is still pretty fussy, but it is getting better. At least he will sit by himself without screaming his head off. So far today, no spit ups. Of course, I guess if you don't eat much, you have less to spit up. **SIGH**

In the midst of this, we still have some items worthy of noting. I've spent a lot of time this week rocking Zach in the recliner. Little Emily has become quite fond of bringing things over and giving them to me while I'm sitting. For instance, today she brought me every throw pillow we have on our love seat and couch. Zach and I were covered with ruby-colored pillows. It is so adorable to watch her and she is so proud of herself. I always tell her "thank you" and I always get her adorable smile, then off she goes for another one.

She still gives the greatest bear hugs. She "runs", throws her arms around you, and laughs. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It is one of the highlights of my day. I ask her for hugs ALL THE TIME! Zach, on the other hand, has become quite stingy with his hugs. I normally hold my arms out, ask for said hug, and he comes to me and gives me one. Lately, I hold my arms out, ask for a hug, and he comes all the way to my fingertips and turns around and walks off. He may think this is funny, but Mommy's feelings are slightly hurt. Where is that alien abductor? I want my huggy Zach back!

Emily also likes to walk around with a teething ring on each arm. Such a little priss sporting her "bracelets". She'll stand there with her "bracelets" on and just clap her friends. Soooo cute. I have already told Emily that diamonds are a girl's best friend. Daddy is in BIG trouble. How convenient that the diamond is also her birth stone. Daddy's credit card is in BIG trouble.

Last night for dinner I made spaghetti, which Emily gobbled right up. I gave Zach a few strands, just to keep him entertained, and he actually put one in his mouth. He even swallowed some. Wow. Of course, in true Zach fashion, he threw it up. The fact that he put it in his mouth to begin with is a pretty big deal around here. It gives me hope that Zach may eat something other than pureed food before he enters Kindergarten.

I hope that alien brings back my cubs ASAP! Things need to get back to normal around here.