"Swine Flu"

Well, my family have finally gotten over the dreaded H1N1 "swine" flu.  I am just going to tell you all, that yes, I am that mom that let my kids get it.  If you can actually "let" someone get it.  And honestly, it was probably one of the easiest flues that we have ever had run rampant in our house.  Seriously!

Last Wednesday, CX got off of the bus from school and didn't want a snack and was tired.  Who the heck is this kid, is what I thought, but didn't push it much further.  A little while later he snuggled up to me while we were playing Legos and he felt hot.  Really hot.  Took his temperature and yep, 102 degrees.  Not a biggie....no school tomorrow and gave him some Tylenol. 

The next day, he got up into the 104's and was NOT acting like he was sick.  Seriously, running around like a mad man, wrestling with sis, playing, he was acting like it was a great day to play hooky from school.  I had to MAKE him take a nap so that he could get to feeling better.  "But mom, I feel fine.  My head just hurts a little."  Alright...but you still can't got to school tomorrow either.  You still have an outrageously high fever.  Called my momma, who is a nurse, told her the weird symptoms and she told me to all the kids doc.  Which I did and they didn't want to see him unless he showed other symptoms or had a fever for longer than 3 days.  Okay, not a big deal.

So, Friday rolls in, still running a fever, high in the morning but by afternoon, down to 100.  Cool, not going to be taking him to the doc.  Just stayed inside and had another day off.
 
Saturday daddio was home and slept the majority of the day.  Great, whatever CX had daddio has now.  He said that he felt bad for sleeping so much, why is all I said.  Obviously you are fighting something.  Sunday comes, and here comes CX's fever again.  No church for you kiddo and now no school on Monday.  Great we are going to the doc, now!

Monday, we roll into the doc's office and it is crazy in there!  Seriously, the doc was the one who called us back to the exam room and did all the charting.  Weird was all I thought.
Found out CX has all the signs of H1N1 and don't be surprised if the rest of the fam comes down with it.  Great, what do I need to expect to happen?  Fevers, headaches, coughs and possible GI problems.  (That means pooing, alot.)

So later that day, I come down with a fever and my head is killing me.  It feels like it needs to explode!  So, I have it, Jeff had it last week we just didn't know it and little sis never came down with it.  Not that she didn't get exposed to it, because she definitely did!  We are all healthy now and ready for our lives to get back to normal.
 
One thing that I did find out that didn't sit well with me.  The first two days that you have H1N1, you don't show any symptoms, but you are "shedding" it.  Which means you are sharing with everyone, everywhere that you go.  Nice.

If you do happen to come down with it, I hope that you have it as lightly as my family did.  I would much rather have it than the regular flu.  I would have gone on with my normal routine had I not known the symptoms to watch out for.

Stay healthy and remember to wash those hands!!!!

Sweet Porcelain

This may be the strangest thing anyone has ever posted on, but if you know me at all, you will so understand.

This is my new favorite thing in my house.  Seriously!

My family of 4 that has had two bathrooms for as long as we have been in this house, which is since we became a family.  Well, we took the toilet out of the master bathroom for another project and have been without it since May.  Yeah, no joke....we have been with only one toilet for almost 6 months.  Which, if you only have one toilet you won't understand, but it has been some adjustment.  Thank goodness we removed it in the summertime, because I have been sending CX outside if sis and I are using it or if dad is camped out with heavy reading. 

I don't know why we waited so long to get another one, but I am so glad that we have it now.  I am a big, big fan of indoor plumbing!

Two dollar wreath

I wanted to make a "spooky" wreath for my front door, but didn't want to spend a fortune on it.  I am a rather tight person when it comes to spending money.  So, I thought I would check out the dollar store to see what they had in store for me.  This is what I found, a bag of fall leaves (the bag said there was 90, but I only counted 81.  And I counted twice!)  and a floral wreath.  So far I have only invested two smackaroos!  I already had a can of black spray paint at home.

Then I sprayed the floral wreath and all the leaves with matte black spray paint.  Once it dried, which didn't take any time, I hot glued the leaves to the wreath along the sides and the front.  (I am thinking of buying another bag of leaves to finish off the back.)  Then I tied a piece of black ribbon to it.  I like it this way, but I feel that it needs a little "umph".
This is what it looks like before.  Don't you agree?!?!?  Needs something.

Then I won this cute little sign at Bunco the other night and I think it is the cutest thing!

So now I have this cute little sign and I thought, why not?  I'll add it to my 2 dollar wreath.  Now it has a little something extra and I still didn't invest anymore into it. 

I can't decide if I like it like this or if I need to put it on there differently.  Either way, not bad for $2!  I am thinking the dollar store is my new craft store.

Hand towel dresses

I know that this may not be the most new idea, but I had to try it.  I found this adorable idea here and had to try it, of course!  I found these dish towels at the dollar store and in the dollar bin at Target.  Gotta luv me some target!!  So, anyway, I took two dish towels turned them right sides together and sewed up the sides to about 7 1/2 inches from the top.  I then turned the top side over 1 inch to make a sleeve on each open end.  Sorry, I'm not much on sewing lingo, but I do know how to use my machine, a little!

So, now you have two sleeves at the top of each towel.  Turn your dress right side out and insert about a 30 inch piece of ribbon into each sleeve.  Tie at the shoulders, and, viola!  You have an adorable little dress for under 5 bucks and in under 30 minutes. 

Here is a picture of lil sis with it on.  She really liked it, but couldn't really walk around in it too well.  It was a little long for her.  I took about 4 inches off of the bottom of it and kind of tweaked it a little.  She absolutely adores the changes and wore it to preschool on Friday.

I just added a ruffle made from 2 of the 4 inches that I removed and I also added a little flower. It is hard to see in the picture, here is one close up.

Not too shabby for $2?!?!?

I still have to tweak the purple one.  I need to shorten it, and I need to figure out what to do about the back.  It has a black cat on the bum and I think that really screams dish towel.  Any ideas?!?!

Home Made Gummies!!!

I found this really cute idea and easy recipe to make homemade gummies.  Yes, you read that correct, it is easy!  I found it here and it turned out so great.  The kiddos had a blast helping me out and we found some really cool ice cube molds at the dollar store to make the gummies even cooler for the holiday season.  What you see in the picture is skulls, pumpkins and eye balls!  Yum-O!  Want to make some?  Here is how I did it.....

 

Here is what you need...

• 
  
  one 3 oz. box of Jell-O (any flavor will do....it is whatever you desire)
  
  
  
• 
  
  3 packets of Knox Gelatin (Find it on the top shelf of the Jell-O isle)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Candy molds or ice cube trays (again, whatever you desire)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Glass measuring cup (This will come into play later)
  
  
  
• 
  
  1/3 to 2/3 Cup of water (depending on how gummie or chewey you want them)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Double-boiler or big pot of water
  
  
  

First, I mixed 2/3 cup of water in the glass measuring cup with the packet of jello, then each packet of gelatin.  After adding one packet I would make sure to mix well before adding another packet.  After you have mixed all the Jell-O and gelatin together cover the measuring cup and wait for 10 minutes.  While you are waiting....start your water to boil.  (I don't have a double boiler, so I just got my big pot going!)

  

After 10 minutes, it should look something like this.  Seriously, this works....stay with me on this!

Then you want to take the glass measuring cup and set it inside the simmering pot of water and SLOWLY melt the mixture.  You want to get a nice smooth consistancy.  You will have a soft layer of foam on the top once it has completely melted, but that is all good....It is just a lighter color of the gummie mixture. 

Next, you want to take your candy molds or ice cube trays and pour away.  See....the glass measuring cup was handy with the boiling water and now even more handy with the little spout on it!  See, there is a little method to the madness! 

These are the ice cube trays that I bought at the dollar store. 

Stick the trays into the freezer or fridge for 10 minutes or so and...Viola!  Home made gummies!  They shouldn't stick to the molds because they are gelatin, so no need to spray the molds.  Also, I made my first batch with orange jell-o and only a little over 1/3 cup of water and they turned out really chewey!!!  So the berry blue batch I tried with 2/3 cup of water and they turned out a much better texture.  More like gummies you buy at the store! 

Don't forget, store them in an airtight container so that they won't dry out and get crusty!

Have fun and let me know if you make any!  I would love to know how they turned out!

I'm weak! Dangitt!

Okay, so here is the story....I have been trying my darndest to not shop at this place.  My husband thinks that it is the root of all that is evil and wrong with this world.  You would need to sit down and talk to him about why this is, but when he explains it, it makes perfect sense.  Soooo....I haven't spent money or even stepped foot in one of these places for almost 2 months.  Yes, it is possible to get your shopping done without having to venture to this place.  AND.....I have been saving money as well!  Go figure! 

I was out running a few errands today and my lil one was totally cranky and wanting a nap.  Well, I still had a few things that I really needed to get today, so instead of going to three different stores, which I normally would have done....I broke down and stopped in on the one stop shopping mart. 

Yes, granted it did save me time in the long run and I only spent $15, but it's the whole principal of the thing.  And, it didn't help the lil one out, she never went down for a nap.  Gosh dangitt! 

I broke down for no good reason, I  am so ashamed of myself!  Please forgive me, Jeff!?!?!?