Seeds

We started some plants from seeds this year while the kids were sick. They were as super-excited as their sick little hearts could be! Though we started late, I hope it will turn out OK. If not, there were plenty of seeds left over to pland right into the ground later.  A few of them sprouted WAY faster than the rest of them, and "bolted". Decided that we waited WAY too long to start tomatoes, so we're just going to buy plants. Grandpa Hill always started his tomato plants on Valentine's Day. That's 6 - 7 weeks from the last frost date.  We will do that next year, too.

Christmas All Year

I can't go downstairs now.

Tom is listening to Christmas music at a very high volume, from his computer.

It's March. I don't want to hear about figgy pudding, or a happy new year.

Syrena has been singing Jingle Bells for a solid week now. Why? Not sure, but I think Tom must have had something to do with it.

He used to wait until about August. Each year he would has less and less resolve and start listening sooner and sooner. Now, he's just unabashedly listening to Christmas music all year long and it drives me batty. But it makes him happy. I think it losses some of it's special magic, but that's just my own humble opinion.

Ugh.

De-Railed!

The illness at Ketcham Hill has hit an all-time high. All three kids plus Daddy.

Sara is turning ONE in just a few days. Her birthday party is in six days, as of this evening.

I was planning on sending out *these* as her invitation:

because they perfectly match the cake idea that I fell in love with six months ago:

Sort of. Well, it's the *idea* that I fell in love with, the cake needs tweaking. It will probably morph into a mix of that one and this one:

Anyway, problem is, I've been derailed by The Sickies!

I've started those invitations, but not sent any. I ordered a die cut to make the butterflies. I went to pick it up from the friend I ordered it from, and borrow her die cutter. He kids are also very sick. She left the cutter on the porch for me. I got all the way back home, and we both realized that the die wasn't with the cutter. Had to go all the way back to her house today to get it. Mommies with sick children should not try to make a transaction. I then forgot to pay her. Now, it's going to be Sunday, no mail, and snow. Great. Fortunately, all invitees are either family or "family", and already know about the party, and have RSVP'd.  The invitations are just a "fun" addition to the day.

I have no idea what we're serving our guests.
I have not cut out a single fondant butterfly.
Got a lot of "cleaning up" to do.
etc.

This child was the first to get sick. She has had 2 illnesses, back-to-back, culminating in both a sinus infection and pneumonia after a brief rally. She wins the prize for highest fever, topping out at 104*, a high fever for her is very unusual. Pneumonia diagnosis came after the first antibiotic, prescribed for the sinus infection (which Dr. Mom knew was more than a sinus infection because at that point she had been fever free for a couple of days and had a return of low fever, and a wet cough - but actual doc said "nope, not in her lungs"), and her fever had gone away. Suddenly it returned to nearly 103*.



Early stages of illness



With Pneumonia and sinus infection

This child pictured below, has Pneumonia and continued general snottiness, which followed his back-to-back illnesses and has been sick for eternity.

This one here,

had a clearing up of the goop of the nose, didn't have anything get to her lungs, but has decided to vomit on me once per day. Methinks sinus infection, and so this one too, is on an antibiotic. She was snotty for 2 weeks, and I think that she's having drainage-causing upset tummy.

Driving you babies back and forth to the doctor's office is really getting tiresome!



Sickies

My baby is sick, my big girl is getting over being sick and my boy is certain to become sick shortly. Thing is Sara seems to have something different than what Syrena had. Fantastic. Sooooo.... What will Tae get? Hopefully not one after the other!!! Lord help ME!!!!! Plus, what will Tom get? What will I get? Sara sounds "croupy" (please, not croup or RSV!) and is super-snotty, but low or no fever. Syrena had a 103+ fever, no snot whatsoever. Eeney meeney miney mo!!!!

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhkkkkkk!!!!!!

Bring on the Propolis, up the Vitamin C, and add in the Zinc!!

Broken Computer

Broken computer makes blogging much harder. But I'm going to try to stick with my post via super-handy iPhone, also on it's last legs.

11 Months

Sara is 11 months old. I can honestly say I can NOT believe it. She's still my baby. She's showing no interest in walking, and other than waving bye-bye, clapping and maybe an imagined "all done" she's not interested in signing either. She's amused by my efforts, though!! She hasn't really said any words yet, though we are pretty sure she might have said "Da-Da" once, and "Tae" once. She has no need for any of these things. Tae and Syrena play with her crawling around on the floor, and she LOVES it like crazy!! They chase each other all around the floor, she laughs and screeches and squeals with delight! Words, or signs? Who needs those things when you have subservient minions who know your every desire at your beck and call 24 hours a day?!?!?! Ahhhhh the life!!!!