Arbor Day

This entire week was TOUGH! Poor Brooke was fighting some strange cold virus. I picked her up early from school on Monday because she was not feeling well. I figured she was just coming down with the same cold Brody had just finished fighting. I kept her home Tuesday to allow her time to rest, she pretty much seemed to feel better and was back to her normal self. Tuesday night she had a low grade fever so I kept her home that Wednesday since she woke up congested. By Wednesday afternoon she complained about her stomach and that she had to throw up, she spent close to 30 minutes in the bathroom crying and there was nothing I could do or say to calm her down. That night the fever returned...I was so bummed out because I just could not figure this bug out and I started to feel sick myself. By Thursday morning Brooke said her ear was hurting so I called her doctor and got in that morning, I thought to myself this has got to be the end of this bug. The doctor saw us and sure enough she had an ear infection...a "really bad one" per the doctor. He prescribed meds and a follow up appointment. The doctor said she should have some relief by tomorrow. Friday morning.....the minute she woke up the poor thing was in terrible pain, so much that she could not eat. I began to feel nervous, after 3 doses of her meds I thought by now she should be feeling slightly better. I gave her children's advil and had her take a nap, after her nap she was even worse. My "mom" insticts kept telling me to call the doctor but I felt silly doing so because we were just there the day before. I did anyway and he had us come in. After checking her ear he was very happy I had brought her back because her eardrum had ruptured now causing her to have a middle ear infection and he said in her case hers was pretty bad. So on top of her antibiotics she now has eardrops with antibiotics and steroids to help heal her infection. The poor thing has been miserable. Advil buys us a few hours and on Saturday we ventured out for 30 minutes or so to our community Arbor Day Celebration. It was so much fun. There was face painting, ballons, a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, free trees, bake sale and raffle, plus free hot dogs, chips and water! Everything but the bake sale and raffle was free...I LOVE our neighborhood and community so much and the fun FREE events they provide. It was so nice to get out and see my little girl smile and be pain free even if it was just for a little while. Bryan was in awe of the petting zoo, he took the kids and took pictures with his phone. He said the animals were extremely well trained and the owners were awesome. I love the pictures he took. Brody won't stay still for more than 4 seconds but I'm glad he at least got one of him. I'm SO thankful we have the most incredible pediatrician for the kids. The kids and I adore him. Even though he had already seen us the previous day ( literally less than 24 hours ago) for an ear infection he didn't even hesitate the next day when I called and explained that something just was not right and he fit us in right away to see HIM, he didn't bum us off to one of the other 3 doctors there. That is how great he is. He reminds me so much of Bryan's late Grandpa Albee and he even looks and speaks just like him too. Amazing doctors like him are such a blessing!

Ruby Update

Ruby turns 13 weeks today..( I think its 13 it may be 14 ) but she is doing great! I believe we go to the vet towards the end of the week for her second go around of shots. I talked to her vet at her last appointment and asked if it was ok to take her on a few walks around our neighborhood to get her outside more and to burn some of her energy, he gave me the green light so we have been enjoying some short walks around our neighborhood. Those walks have turned into the highlight of my day and Brody's day too. The other day we saw turtles at our lake and lots of fish swimming around in the lake. The mornings have been absolutely gorgeous out by the lake. Ruby thinks EVERYONE is her best friend...even the ducks that waddle around the lake. I don't let her near them but you can tell that she annoys them every time we walk by. Ruby is almost there with potty training! Yay! The other day she had an accident but in all fairness it was my fault. She alerted me at the back door and I was distracted so a few minutes later she pee peed in front of the back door. Totally my fault, but I'm so proud of her progress thus far. I can't believe how lucky we are, she is so sweet and smart. We sure love our Ru!
Above is a picture of Ruby's first time fishing at the lake by our house. Brooke had a few bites but the darn fish were sneaky and took her bait. Bryan caught one and let Brody hold the pole while he reeled it in. Brody was so excited but refused to stand next to his catch longer than 4 seconds to let me snap up a good picture, hopefully next time we can convince him!

Enjoy my marathon of posts below....

My Fabulous Neighbor's Attempt at Easter Pictures...

My neighbor Leslie saw me struggling to take pictures of my kids Easter morning before church. Being the AMAZING person she is she ran inside and brought out her professional camera and starting taking pictures of the kids and even took a quick family picture of us. Leslie is a professional photographer and SO incredibly talented. I love her so much and I'm beyond blessed to have her as my neighbor!!!
Thank you Leslie!!

My Attempt at Easter Pictures...

Yeah....it was hot and the sun was so bright, we were running late. They were not the best. Boo!
But.......

My Easter Cupcakes...

After our Ward Easter Egg Hunt we came home and the kids' dug into their candy and I started cooking up all sorts of yummy foods. Sadly I only took pictures of my pretty Easter cupcakes. My other creations, while very delicious, were kinda boring to take pictures of. I made deviled eggs & potato salad both were a first for me. To be quite honest I totally nailed my homemade version of potato salad (it was heaven) but my deviled eggs need work...like lots of work. Oh well, at least I tried. They will be better next time around.

Ward Easter Egg Hunt

I'm finally blogging about Easter, yay! The day before Easter Sunday we had our ward Easter Egg Hunt. It was so much fun, and both Brooke and Brody really enjoyed hunting for candy filled eggs. It was a pretty fantastic morning!