Happy Birthday, Mom

So today is my mom's birthday. Mom, you are and always have been an awesome example for me. I hope you have a great day! I love you.

Lets not leave out the grandkids... as is becoming our tradition, here are video greetings:

Not an actual BUG...

So Sarah and I spent last evening in the ER of Children's Hospital. Not where I'd like to spend my Sunday evening, but, we all know that there are some unappealing clauses in the parenting contract.

Sarah is fine - she was just dehydrated after a day of vomiting, and needed some IV fluids. It never ceases to amaze me the change one little bag of saline can make. She went from walking dead to the life of the ER. Makes a good case for staying current on your water intake.

Anyway, after blood work and x-rays, the diagnosis was stomach flu. This was the conclusion that I had reached earlier in the day, resulting in the following conversation:

"I think you're going to be fine, honey. You just have a stomach bug."
"A stomach bug?"
"Yes, honey. You'll be sick today, but you will start to feel better soon."
"A stomach BUG? A BUG?"

A sinking feeling settles in... we've been down a similar path before. "No, honey, not a real bug. That's just an expression. It just means a germ that makes you get sick."
"I do not have a bug in my stomach?"
"No, no bug."
"It is a germ?"
"Yes, a germ that makes your tummy feel sick and you throw up."
"A bug is a germ?"

The conversation got really messy after that, and it took me a few more minutes to assure her that there were not insects in her abdomen. Sigh. Will I ever learn??

Anyway, not a great day... especially from my car's perspective. My poor Saab was on the receiving end of vomit in the morning, and pee in the evening on the way home from the hospital. Well, we were sent there because she wasn't urinating, so I guess the hospital can consider the visit a success. Me, I'm just glad I have leather seats, and lots of anti-bacterial wipes.

Just overheard: "Mom, I POOPED! I POOPED! Pooping makes me feel BETTER! The stomach bug is GONE!"

I sure hope so.

Boxing Champ

So Madilyn has found another fave on the Wii... boxing. She has rocketed to the top of the charts with her boxing skill, and her style has earned its own name in our house. "The Madilyn" is complete offense, a super high-speed battering ram approach that's almost unstoppable. When Gary and I box, we have to agree not to use "The Madilyn", since there's really nothing you can do to thwart the attack except wait for your opponent's arms to tire out. Turns out that a 7 year old's arms have a lot more energy than that of a 40-something... hence the Champion status.

For my seester

Today is my sister's birthday, and the kids send these greetings, which are too big to e-mail. (Darn that new camera! I'm going to have to read the manual on how to take lower res movies!)

Hope you enjoy your day, seester! I went and saw Twilight again today in your honor. Still lovin' it! Love you -Happy Birthday!

Running

I have recently learned that Madilyn is crazy for running. A lot. She LOVES to run... on the Wii. She will challenge anyone, and she's getting quite good. She gets great satisfaction in outrunning her dad, since the Wii levels the playing field.

Even with all the Christmas goodies around, Madilyn has lost 2 pounds from all the running and other activities. If the Wii Fit can help me do the same, I think I'm in LOVE!

Wii snark

This year, Santa brought our family a Wii for Christmas, as well as Wii Fit. Everyone seems to love it. Sarah mostly watches, but is becoming known for snarky comments...

I was trying out a yoga pose that involves standing on one leg, and, after several attempts, I commented "not going to happen." I then moved on to other exercises. When the balance test came up and I was required to stand on one leg, I heard a quiet voice behind me say...

"SO not going to happen!"

Unfortunately, she was right. But, we love our Wii!

Merry Christmas!

A christmas greeting from our girls to you!

sorry about the lighting... still working on those photo skills...