Hand, Foot & Mouth...Say What????

My sweet baby girl has Hand, Foot & Mouth disease.  We had a really rough night last night.  She refused to take her bottle and wouldn't settle down to sleep.  She kept screaming and carrying on and I had no idea what was bothering her.  Finally at two o'clock in the morning, I gave her a bath to soothe her.  That is when I noticed the bright red bumps on her bum.   I slathered on the Desitin, but she still wouldn't completely settle down.  Finally, feeling defeated, I strapped her into her carseat and took a little drive.  30 minutes later she was fast asleep.   I came home put her in her crib and snuggled into my own bed...60 minutes later she was screaming again.  This time, I was able to sing her back to sleep and climb into bed again about 4:15.   5:45 a.m. she was up again.  This time for good.  Poor thing, had less than six hours of sleep!  Normally she will sleep 12 hours straight, so I knew something was wrong. 

This morning, I had to cancel my plans to drive to Chicago with my best friend to visit old college roommates.  Instead, I spent the day trying to keep her comfortable before getting in to see the doctor.  I had suspected that she had Chicken Pox, but as it turns out she has another nasty disease call Hand, Foot & Mouth.  This consists of sores all over her body, but especially noticeable on her feet and in her mouth. This is a very contagious disease that spreads during the warmer months.  I would encourage you to read more about it. My sweet baby girl is thankfully sleeping comfortably right now.  Hoping for a better night tonight now that I am more prepared!

My Breakfast Buddy

One thing that I absolutely LOVE about staying home is the morning.  When I was still teaching when Big Brother was a baby, I felt so completely rushed every morning to get his bag packed for the sitter and get out the door and to work on time.  I never really felt like I got a lot of quality time with my baby boy during the work week.  Now that I stay home, I can enjoy a lazy morning.  This morning was wonderful.  My sweet baby girl woke about 7:30 and we were able to enjoy our breakfast together before the boys woke up at 8:15.  (Which is another great thing about staying home...sleeping in!).  She was so sweet this morning.  I was sitting right next to her talking to her and she was babbling back to me as if she knew exactly what I was saying.  It was priceless!  We have had to make a lot of sacrifices in order for me to stay home, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the whole world.  Happy Monday!
 

My Breakfast Buddy

I'm in the mood for a Challenge or TWO!

I have been somewhat in a funk lately.  Not feeling motivated.  Not feeling like the best mommy.  Not feeling like the best housewife.  I decide it's time to make some changes!  I think God was speaking to me also.   As I was checking my email this morning,  I happened to open email feeds from a couple of my favorite blogs that I have not been taking the time to read. 

Remember when I lost my two gift cards to Lowe's a couple of weeks ago.  Yeah,  I still haven't found them.  Therefore, my house is in need for a major overhaul.  I am joining in with Sarah Mae as she challenges us to "reboot"  and get our house in shape.   I'll link up my daily/weekly progress! 

The second one that I read was from the blog I Can Teach My Child.  She is doing a challenge for mothers to take 30 minutes out of their busy day to stop EVERYTHING and play with their child(ren).  This is something that my kids and I both need! So I am taking the challenge!  I'll report back each day to keep me accountable!  I'd love to have you join me! 

Whatcha Eatin'? Monday, June 4th

Wow...it has been a while since I planned our weekly menu on here!  Things have been a bit crazy around here as normal.   I have been planning our menu, but not finding the time to post it.  It is a quiet Monday morning and the kids are still sleeping, so I thought I'd pop on here and share.

Last night,  we decided it would be fun to roast hot dogs around our little fire pit in our backyard.  However, it started to rain, so the fun of sitting around a fire with the kids was changed a bit.  We were able to roast marshmallows and make s'mores in between the rain showers.  It was a nice Sunday evening with our little family.  Hope we have a few more cool evenings like this!

Here is what we are eatin' this week: 

Monday:  Goulash, Corn, Salad

Tuesday:  Creamy Italian Chicken in Crock Pot, Brown Rice, Green Beans

Wednesday:  Cheeseburger Soup, French Bread

Thursday:  Stir Fry, Rice, Cottage Cheese

Friday:  Grillin' or Turkey Fest (our local festival) 

Saturday:  Steaks, Corn on the Cob, Baby Red Potatoes

What are you having this week?  Link up and share with me at Organizing Junkie's Blog!

Pepsi Next Product Review

Soda. Pop. Whatever you call it...I am addicted to it!  In fact, I am not sure I could go a day without it.  This is a problem, especially when I am trying to lose the baby weight...still.   You can imagine how excited I was to receive the Pepsi Next Bzz Kit in the mail for me to review!

My Bzz Kit consisted of a 12 ounce can of Pepsi Next, a coupon for a Free 2-Liter, and several coupons to share with others. Pepsi Next is the latest version of Pepsi, but with 60% less sugar.  I was excited to try it out! 

It didn't take me long to down the can of Pepsi Next.  I admit,  I was expecting a more "diet-y" taste, but as promised it tasted like regular Pepsi! And without the yucky aftertaste from other Diet sodas.   I enjoyed the taste, but couldn't help but wonder... How do they do this?  A quick glance at the ingredients and you will see that it still contains sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup and aspartame.  I am not a huge fan of artificial sweeteners, but I figure this is still a better alternative to the hundreds of calories that I am wasting each day on my soda.

What to know more about Pepsi Next?  Visit its facebook page.  Also, if you are super nice to me, I may have a coupon or two to share.

Note:  As a Bzz Agent, I was given the products for free to review.  My review is my honest opinion, and I was not paid for it. 

It may be the hardest job, but it's the best job.

Monday afternoon I made a quick trip to CVS to take advantage of the great Huggies deal.   I usually try to make trips to the stores by myself after my children are in bed, but lately I just haven't had the energy.  Every time I go to the store, it's a struggling with Little Bro.  He is always wanting to push the cart, walk on his own, open the doors, etc.  This is always a problem because he runs the carts into things, or gets mad when the doors open automatically before he gets there.  If things don't go his way, then we start melting down.  My little trip to CVS was no exception.  As I got to the counter to check out, he was trying to leave the store with my unpaid diapers.  I fought with him to put the diapers on the counter.   The girl behind the counter just smiled and said, "You just look exhausted!"  I smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I am."  She proceeded to tell me that she was pregnant with her first child and her boyfriend was so excited for it, but she wasn't sure.  I tried to sound convincing and said, "It is very hard, but you'll love being a mommy."  I am not sure that convinced her.

Tuesday morning, I woke up exhausted (not even sure how that happens).  Baby Sis woke up early and I tried to cuddle up on the couch with her and watch the Today Show before the boys woke.  That didn't last long.  She is at the stage where she is getting into everything.  The boys woke, were fed, dressed and we were trying to get out the door to go to my mom's and I was distracted by the commercial that was on the TV.  It was the latest P&G commercial for the Olympics.  I am not sure if it was my exhaustion, the music or what, but I burst into tears.  Big Brother asked, "what's wrong mommy?".  I replied, "Nothing honey, sometimes mommies cry because they love their children so much."  That was a good enough answer for him.

This morning, I woke with a little more energy.  I also woke with a new attitude.  I know that today I may not get all the laundry done, cut & sort the huge stack of coupons on my kitchen table, or scrub the pee-stained toilets.  I may not work on the three projects that I promised other friends that I would do.  I may not do a single thing for my Thirty One Business. But, One thing I know for sure that I will do today is be a good mom.  I will snuggle with them on the couch and read books.  I will make a farm with the boys in the sandbox.  I will let baby sis crawl all over me, pull my hair and laugh & dance with her.   And I will not feel one bit guilty about getting absolutely nothing done.

Whatcha Eatin'?: Week of April 30th

I meant to have this posted yesterday.  However, our Monday morning started a bit more chaotic than I would have liked.   Instead of the alarm blaring at 5:30 a.m. like normal, we heard a sweet little girl babbling in her crib at 6:21 a.m.  My hubby shot out of bed, rushed around like a madman trying to get ready for work.  He normally leaves for work at 6:30.  So instead of having a little downtime to sit and enjoy the quiet morning and blog a bit, I was rushing around trying to help him and take care of Baby Sis.  This morning was a lot better, so I thought I'd share our menu for the week.


Sunday night we enjoyed a bowl of Broccoli Cheese Soup with Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches.  It was perfect for the cool evening!  My husband loved the soup so much that he devoured the rest of it after he came home from work Monday evening. 

While he enjoyed the soup, the boys and I tried the Pizza Casserole that I have been hearing about on the blogs and pinterest.  The boys loved it.  It was simple to make and yummy, but I would have made mine a bit cheesier. 

Here is what I have planned for the rest of the week:

Tuesday:  Creamy Italian Chicken in Crock Pot, Noodles, Green Beans, Salad

Wednesday:  Taco Filled Pasta Shells, Mixed Fruit

Thursday:  One Dish Stuffing Dish, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Rolls 

Friday:  Hamburgers on the Grill, Baked Beans, Cottage Cheese, Cheesy Potatoes

Saturday:  Stir Fry, Rice 

I am linking this up with other bloggers at Organizing Junkie's Blog...Join Me!