I feel the earth move...

We had an earthquake this morning! It happened at 7:15. We were all in the bathroom, getting ready for the day when things started to shake. It shut all our doors and we could hear things vibrating around. I opened the door to the bathroom and saw that the chains on the ceiling fan in the kitchen were really swinging. It only lasted 5-7 seconds but the kids were sure excited! The epicenter was near the Utah/Nevada border and measured a 6.3. It was felt as far away as Twin Falls and down to Southern California. Kevin missed it, he was on his way home from Boise. I remember a similiar one on a schoolday morning when I was in the third grade. Pretty exciting!

Influenza A and another emergency

I hauled the other half of the family into the doctor on Friday, hoping desperately that he would write out 6 prescriptions on the spot and we would be better in no time. He looked at me and shook his head and said, "you've got to know that its a virus, its everywhere." After examining us, he sent us to the hospital to be tested for pneumonia and influenza. This test is performed by threading a catheter up your nose into your nasal cavity and flushing it with saline. Guess who got to do the honors? Yep, me. I tried to pass it off on to Emily but no luck. The nurse said that she had a guy tell her that it was the worst thing he had ever experienced. Clearly this was a guy who said this, having never experienced childbirth. It wasn't pleasant but I lived.

The test came back positive for influenza A. What does this mean? It means get your flu shot even if your doctor says you probably don't need one! Influenza A is the most easily spread and the most severe of the flu viruses. Illness lasts 20 days with full recovery taking about 6 weeks. There is no treatment except tylenol to control the fever and aching. So after a very long weekend that has all blurred into one big temperature-taking, tylenol-administering, coughing, fever, aching, wish-I-could-sleep nightmare, it is Monday morning and we are all still alive and hopefully on the mend. But ask me how many days until we are to fly to California? 18! We are keeping our fingers crossed.

We also made another trip to the emergency room last night. Noah got mad at Emily and clawed at her face. He got her cheek but also her eye. Two big gashes across the white of her eye. She had to go get some steriods to keep it from swelling and some very powerful antibiotics to keep the infection away. We have to put some medicine in her eye every night right before she goes to sleep for the next 14 days. After it is in she can't open her eye or we have to start over. This is to make sure that the tissue doesn't attach to any other part of her eye while it is healing.

I am going to put each of my kids in a padded cell and leave them there. Jessica says that if we had come in to her ER we would have our files flagged, not neccessarily because they suspect abuse but because they think that we need some coaching in child safety and accident prevention. So I am glad I don't live in Oregon!

TAG!

I got tagged a bit ago and have never gotten around to responding, so here it is:

10 years ago: I was in my first year of teaching high school English. We were living in a cute little house that we rented from the county (it is always good to have connections, thanks dad!) in the best ward ever. I was serving as first counselor in the young womens. Kevin was commuting to ISU and working as a night janitor at Minico so I was kind of a widow. I was expecting my first baby and just loving living my dream of marriage and teaching and starting a family.

5 Thing on my to-do list: just 5?! do school, pay the bills, laundry, hopefully finish painting the trim in the bathroom and clean up from a Sunday of cancelled church (how can you stay home all Sunday in a snow storm and yet not clean?)

Snacks I enjoy: fruit, popcorn and anything chocolate!

If I was a billionaire: I would rebuild/add on to make this my dream home, put a fence around it, pave a biking/walking/scootering trail around the entire perimeter of our property. I have been wanting to do that for so long. I think it would be a blast! I am sure I would spend a bundle on decorating and upgrading my home and wardrobe and...life. Travel and contribute to Oprah's schools for underpriviledged girls.

3 bad habits I have: I yell too much, I can't function until I have been in the shower, and I can't just relax, I always have to be cleaning something.

5 places I have lived: well, Burley and Heyburn and Logan and Burley and Heyburn, exciting huh. But did you know that 69% of people live within 50 miles of where they grew up? I think I am within 50 yards!

5 jobs: I taught English for 7 years, before that I worked at an awesome preschool in Logan, All About Kids, I also worked at a preschool for the children of the professors at USU, I proofread court reports and my favorite, at Hansen Mortuary. And I currently sell Modbe (hint, hint)!

What People Don't Know About Me: this is hard, you all know me too well. My childhood goal was to be published by the time I was 30 (still working on that), I hate dirt, I have a double major in English and History, I have been to Australia and New Zealand, and I shower naked!

That is me!

Making cookies

I spent two days this week repainting my bathroom while the kids were out of school for snow days. They were so good and I felt bad for ignoring them so Thursday we had a "kid day". They chose to make sugar cookies and decorate for Valentine's Day. Halfway through, Aleise got fussy and wanted to be held, which was out of the question as I was up to my elbows in cookie dough. I sat her down on the counter and she busied herself in the flour. She began by just filling up a little measuring spoon and then dumping it back in the canister. Then she started picking it up and letting it run through her fingers. Pretty soon she was dumping it onto the counter (or her lap) and playing in it with both hands and feet! But it kept her happy while we got our cookies made and it cleaned up without much trouble. I love spending time with my kids. I need to do more of it.

Stitches

As if a broken leg and bronchitis were not enough in our family for the month of January, we now get to add stitches to the list. The story is pretty unbelievable too. Last Saturday, after scouts, Porter was leaving the church when a giant mutant icicle attacked him! Okay, so he was pulling on said icicle while standing underneath it, but it WAS big -- about 3 feet long and 3 inches thick. He accomplished his task of getting it down, right on his face! It cut a gash in his eyebrow, scraped down his face and bloodied his lip. Did I mention this was on a Saturday? So we had to take him to the ER for stitches. At first he really did not want to have them but he quickly warmed to the idea and loved to retell the story. All I can say is, I am looking for any medical procedures that I have been putting off because I am certain we have met our family deductible for the year. Two office visits, a chiropractor, an orthopedic surgeon, x-rays, a cast and now stitches in the ER. Lasik, anyone?

So Sick!

These are some pictures from last weekend. My kids were all so sick! Porter had missed three days of school and was finally on the mend, just in time for the others to get it. My kids have never been this sick before. They were seriously in and out of consciousness all day. Noah probably slept 20 of the 24 hours of last Saturday. They just laid around in the living room with movie after movie playing. My mom and dad came over. (I don't know if they felt more sorry for the kids or for me trying to take care of the kids) but they spent most of the day just snuggling with them on the couch. Mom would rub their feet and Dad would hold them while they slept. I think it was one of his favorite days in a long time, to tell the truth -- he misses them. Even though everyone was terribly sick, it was nice to just hang out together for the day. I took Noah and Aleise to the doctor after the weekend and they were both put on antibiotics for bronchitis. They are doing much better now.

Say Cheese!

Aleise got into her dad's sysco dessert wheel and headed straight for the cheesecake! A girl after my own heart! And she loves my new camera. As soon as I get it out she says, "cheese!" and then wants to see the picture. This is her cute little "camera face".