So Chase is back at school today, I hope he's feeling well enough to behave himself. Tomorrow our little guy turns six (SIX! How is he six years old?) and I just emailed his teacher to find out a good time to bring the much-requested cookie cake up for his class.

Cass seems to be a bit snotty but is otherwise in good spirits. I need to start thinking about goody bags for Chase's bday party this weekend. Five of the 11 kids we invited from his class neglected to RSVP. Nice, eh?

I'm off to figure out goody bags...we're going to pick out/order the cake this afternoon when we go get the cookie cake. I asked what he wanted to do for his bday dinner tomorrow night and he said he wanted mac & cheese.

Cass awakes...

The words you never want to hear at 2am...

"My tummy hurts..."

So yesterday I stayed in bed feverish and hopped up on Nyquil. I quite literally didn't leave my bed yesterday. Jamie was on kid duty and I slept. I started to feel a bit better late yesterday evening. Chase went to AWANA w/his BFF Dylan and had a blast. He came home, we got the kids in the bed and I went back to bed for the night. Around 2am, Chase came into our room, and came over to me complaining of a tummy ache. I was a bit hazy from the Nyquil and asked Jamie to give him two jr. motrin for pain. Barney purple, grape flavored jr. motrin. Chase went back to bed after the motrin. A few minutes later, he came back and spewed all over our bedroom and bathroom. Barney purple puke. Fortunately, this thing I've got has rendered me smell-less. So Jamie busted out the steam cleaner and we set to work. Chase was back asleep (in his own bed) by the time we finished.

Cassie is not 100% yet, she was up multiple times last night. Chase is feeling better today--I really think it may have been something he ate b/c he's enjoying his day on the couch in front of Noggin and Nick Jr a bit too much. As for me, the fever is gone and I think I'm on the mend. Jamie, on the other hand--Jamie looks a bit like Michael Keaton during the flannel shirt scene in Mr. Mom. I think it is safe to say that he does not envy me my SAHM status, particularly on days like this. "Yesterday, I yelled Kenny for coloring outside of the lines, Caroline. I'm starting to lose it here..."

Well, Cassie went to the dr today instead of hanging at her cousin Brady's bday party. The dr said she's definitely coming down w/something, but her breathing sounds good and her ears look good--so they could rule out pneumonia and an ear infection. That still leaves influenza (Chase and I were vaxed, Cass wasn't), RSV, UTI and a whole slew of other stuff. Basically, it is too early to tell. So I'm to keep an eye on her and bring her back Monday if she's still feverish so they can do urinalysis and a chest x-ray. IOW--I totally wasted a co-pay and my morning AND I missed my nephew's first bday. Grrrrr.

The car idiot emailed me an apology. It made me laugh. There is a nice family here now test driving the van. I hope they buy it. They have two young boys. Chase was outside--he wanted to tell them all the cool features it has so they'll buy it. God love him--I plunked him in front of The Backyardigans On Demand. He means well...

I'm off, I haven't done anything productive today.

Cassie's First Fever, I think

So Cass spiked a 103.1 fever this afternoon. Given the nasty cold her parents and brother have, I'm not surprised. What does surprise me is that she isn't snotting, sniffling, or hacking like the rest of us--she's just feverish. And crabby. And boycotting sleep b/c God forbid she go horizontal. Hmmm--Dr. Mom is thinking ear infection.

I could talk about the experience w/the ped's nurse that inspired a complaint letter to the ped, but I think I'm going to do a shot of Nyquil and head to bed. That's another post for another day.

This isn't exactly restoring my faith in the human race...

So we're trying to sell the van. I'm upgrading to a new Sienna in a few weeks and we thought we'd do the fiscally responsible thing and sell the T&C outright vs. doing a trade in. I've sold a few cars in the paper over the years and never had any problems, so I wasn't expecting what I've got. We've had the car priced well below blue book for some time (the car market in general is dead right now) and keep getting ridiculous low-ball offers. Some moron just emailed me, "Yeah, I looked it up on Kelly Blue Book, too. Those go for $5100 on eBay 12-24 hrs from my house, but since I wouldn't have to drive so far, I'll give you 6k." Seriously. I replied that I would donate the van to charity and get a tax deduction before I gave it away like that. A$$hole. FTR--6k is a good 2500 under blue book. I could get more than THAT on a trade in...Grrrrrrrrr.

Jamie isn't worried--so I shouldn't be, but I can't help it. I'm a worrier. I think we're going to see about parking it on Jim's parking lot for a few weeks w/a For Sale sign. We can leave the keys in Jim's office and they can see him if they want to test drive it. Thank God we can afford to sit on it for a while, but thus far, this whole experience has done nothing to restore my faith in humanity. Everyone wants something (that would be my van) for nothing. And that makes me sad.

PS--Still not feeling well. Chase has the cough, but (knock wood) Cass seems well enough. Mr. K has taken a turn for the worse, he's in ICU on a feeding tube and drs say this weekend is critical. Please send out some prayers for him and Judy.

Bucket of Butt

That's how I feel right now. I told Chase I felt like a bucket of butt last night and he said, "That's probably not something I should say at school, huh?" Yeah, not so much. Jamie's been sick for a week. Jamie is tough. The only sick day he has taken in our decade of marriage was when he herniated a disk last spring. Seriously. I dropped Chase off at preschool, walked in the house to find Jamie flat on his back on the living room floor and knew it was bad b/c he wasn't at work. He wasn't at work b/c he couldn't sit, stand, or walk. He missed 1 1/2 days of work for a herniated disk. Seriously. Don't tell him this, but I'm pretty sure he's tougher than Chuck Norris...or just crazy. But my point is, the man doesn't let being sick get him down. He's worked through 104 fevers, the stomach flu--you name it, he's worked through it.

Then there is me. I am a wuss. A total, complete, absolute wuss about illness. I've given birth twice and didn't think labor was that big of a deal. But give me a fever and I'm a whiny mess. Last night I had a 100.3 fever. That's not even a high fever! Chase's fever hit 105 w/his pneumonia last month. But I was in bed, wearing sweats, covered w/a pile of blankets and apparently looking so pathetic that my five year old felt compelled to soothe me. Jamie brought home a strawberry shake. He's going to be late the rest of the week, btw. So I'm going into survival mode and doing the bare minimum to get by and that's it. And praying the kids stay well...

On the bright side, CIO took less than a week to work. I don't think there has ever been a baby more easygoing than Cass. Truly. This morning I popped her into her crib and she flipped onto her tummy and snuggled in. She didn't make a peep of protest. I am so blessed to have such an easy, sweet little girl.

Off to shower. And then I'll put on a clean pair of jammies...and curl up w/Woody. Jamie may not need sick days, but I'm taking one today.

Once upon a time, "everyone knew" the Earth was flat. Clearly, just b/c everyone knew it didn't make it true.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Does anyone know how to format this blogspot stuff? My inability to indent paragraphs and/or have hard breaks between them drives this English major crazy.

Cassie recently decided that napping is for the birds. Like most young women, she'd much prefer socializing. So mean mommy has resorted to letting her cry it out. She doesn't really cry so much as fuss/protest loudly. Yesterday she did it for 45 minutes and I thought I might die. Last night, it was 10 minutes before bed. This morning, it was about 10 or 15 minutes--which I can handle. 10-15 minutes of fussing is worth a happy, well rested baby.

I'm off to get some laundry done while little one sleeps. Chase was thrilled by the snow this morning (the whole dusting of it) and has his first Young Rembrandts session tonight after school. He and his BFF Dylan are doing YR together. I'll be anxious to hear how he likes it. Dylan was over all day yesterday and they boys had a blast playing together. They watched High School Musical on the way home, now I know what to get Chase for his bday...how is it possible that he is going to be six years old in eight days?

I want to order these onesies for Cass for summer. Really, how perfect are they? http://www.theretrobaby.com/store/index.php?cPath=1&sort=4a&page=2

If God answers my prayers for my sister's pregnancy and grants our family twin Hodge boys, I'll buy the Thing 1 and Thing 2 onesies for them.

I'm off to see about eBaying the van.

So the dishwasher repairman was ridiculously early, which meant that I could be here for that and still visit the ped (I swear they should give us our own room, this was my third trip this week). Cassie is fine. It was an allergic reaction, but it was mild. We're going to split the rest of her vaccines (so she'll get them one at a time as opposed to four or five at a time) and she'll get Benadryl before each vax and for 24-48hrs after each vax. Clearly that whole high maintenence thing IS genetic. ;)
Chase is having a difficult day, I think he's going to bed early tonight. Very, very early.
The Cuba guy tried to completely lowball Jamie--Jamie stuck to his guns and he called me later and said he "might" want to come see it tomorrow. I'm ready to be done w/it, but I'm not going to give it away. Another lady called, and mid-way through the convo she realized she had already spoken to me through Craigslist and that I live too far away. Um, she lives in IL and thinks I live far away. What. Ever. Idiot.
I'm off. I think I'm going to take a nap. Or maybe just go to bed for the night. It's almost 8:30 on the East Coast...

Allergies, allergies

So apparently Cassie lost in the crapshoot that is DNA. Mikki has asthma and we both have allergy issues. Hers were always far worse than mine and tend to manifest themselves in her lungs, mine were/are far more mild and tend to manifest themselves in rash form. Cassie has eczema, which is closely related to asthma and allergies (although the researchers are still figuring out how). And now she's had an allergic reaction to one of her vaccines. Either Prevnar or Hib, if you're down on infant vaccines and care.
I doubt there has ever been a mother more pro-vaccine than me (I did spend three years teaching in the cesspool that is preschool), so the irony of my daughter having a reaction to her vaccine is not lost on me. Her eczema flared on her face this morning, she has a red spot at the site of the vax--it is a classic allergic reaction. Cortisone treated the flare this morning (although it is coming back this evening) and she just had her first dose of Benadryl. I suspect she and dye-free Children's Benadryl are going to become friends in the coming years...despite the fact that Jamie is now wearing more of it than she actually swallowed.
What also cracked me up was the fact that the nurse at the ped's office was somewhat incredulous that she's still 100% formula fed. I pointed out that I was TRYING to avoid allergies (specifically, food allergies) and that the ped supported that decision 100%. SIGH. Irony #3? The fact that Captain Control Freak can't control this. If the Benadryl "fixes" the rash, things are good. If it doesn't, we'll be at the ped tomorrow and dear, sweet Nina will be waiting for the dishwasher repairman in my place.
Never a dull moment, right?

Dishwasher Drama

So my dishwasher repair was rescheduled for Monday. Without my knowledge. Grrrrrrr. After several phone calls and much animated discussion (ahem) w/several Sears employees, my dishwasher will be repaired tomorrow at no charge to me. After all my years in retail and marketing, I have no patience for craptastic customer service. Period.

In other news, my nephew doesn't have strep, he has mono. Which means Mikki probably has mono. I felt sorry for her yesterday and I feel even more sorry for her today. Her MIL is there helping out now, which is a very good thing. I know this isn't how she expected to spend her weekend (or anniversary), but hopefully they'll all be on the mend soon.

In other medical news, Mr. K came through his procedure today w/flying colors (Judy said she smiled for the first time in days) and a clot in the pelvis was opened w/a stint. He has another clot in his leg, but the pelvic clot was pressing. He'll be 88 on Sunday, so it is very much a process full of baby steps. Today was a step forward, please continue praying for him--God is listening.

Finally, keep your fingers crossed, I think we may have sold the van. To someone who has known Jamie since he was "knee high to a grasshopper" no less. IDK what are the chances of someone in his hometown (80 mi from here) finding our ad in the paper and calling on it, but I'm praying it all works out and that we'll get it sold this weekend.

I'm off to go sing and play w/Miss Happy. TGIF!

Hot Potato, Hot Potato...

Is it sad that I still remember most of the Wiggles Greatest Hits, despite the fact that it has been YEARS since Chase dug the Wiggles? Cassie particularly likes when I sing "Hot Potato" to her. She laughs and laughs. I don't know if it is the asinine lyrics or funny faces or hand gestures or what, but it looks like I've got another little Wiggles fan here. It's been a few years, I wonder if Anthony Wiggle (the blue shirt) is still kind of hot... And if you just threw up a little in your mouth, clearly you haven't spent the last five years watching children's programming. Anthony Wiggle may be no McDreamy, but he's no Mr. Rogers, either.

My niece Hayden loves Barney. I find poetic justice in this as my sister encouraged Chase's little Barney affection a few years ago. Now Hayden carries around the Barney that was once her cousin's and my sister has to hear that ridiculous voice singing how much he loves her. Ha! Ha! Ha!

That said, I feel sorry for my sister right now. In the throes of first trimester morning sickness hell, she's got strep. And Brady is sick, too. So things really suck for her right now. I hope she & Brady feel better soon.

Cassie had her six month check (a little late) yesterday. She's still perfect. 18lbs 1oz and 25.5in long. Dr. T even commented on what a sweet, content, happy little girl she is. We are SO blessed. And Chase got a great report card--if he can get our phone number down (stupid 10 digit phone numbers) and tie his shoes by the end of the year, he'll have the kindy equivalent of straight As. Seeing as he "always does his best" on his work (as opposed to "never working up to his full potential" AHEM) it appears he inherited not only Daddy's appearance, but also his work ethic and brains. Thank God for that.

Speaking of the brains of the family, I'm off to the store. Woody needs food so I'm using that as an excuse to get sushi for dinner. Again. I love my life.

One more thing!

Please keep Mr. K in your prayers. They diagnosed MRSA last night. He's a fighter, but he's been through so much already. Please pray for strength and healing for him and his family. The next few days are critical. THANKS!

Just in case you ever wondered...

I really did get all the brains in the family.
http://www.hodgefamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/

Of course, I never thought birth control was rocket science, either...

In other news, the rental house has a crack in the basement wall and flooded a bit last night. I may not have said it lately, but I LOVE my new renters. They cleaned up all the water w/a wet vac (most renters would expect us to do that) and gave us a head's up. I guess Jamie will be over there fixing that ASAP. Dad had the same thing happen and was able to fix it pretty easily, so I'm guessing Jamie should be able to as well.

Oh and onto SCAMS 101. $341 worth of dishwasher parts in my dining room later, the damn handle that allegedly couldn't be separated from the console of my dishwasher is on its way. The console, BTW, is in my dining room. Sans handle. Which is the actual part that needs replacing. Grrrrrrr. Can't wait to hear the repairman's rationale for that one.

On the bright side, after running the ad for my '02 Chrysler T&C under Lincolns last weekend, the paper is running the ad this week, Thurs-Tues (I paid for 4 days) and online (didn't pay for that at all). So I get two free days and an online ad since they screwed up. I'll take it. Not surprisingly, I didn't get a single call on the car this weekend. I don't think people looking for Lincolns are going to be interested in a minivan... But Jamie will be home this weekend, so that's a blessing. I wasn't too geeked about trying to sell it w/Jamie in South Dakota shooting stuff, anyway.

I'm not even going to talk about the dead pheasants and rabbits in my fridge right now. I need to go workout while Miss Cassie naps. We had a lovely lunch w/Chase at his school, and now I need to workout and do laundry.

But just so you know, I'm so the smart one.

Amy and I hit one of my favorite places tonight for her bday dinner. I had bowtie pasta w/smoked Missouri trout and she had some sort of steak. And I had a lovely orange cosmo that made me a little loopy, so we had to hit *$ afterwards for some coffee. I had a decaf skinny mocha and got unloopy. Which was good b/c Cassie was a little fussy for Grandma Mary Ann when we returned. As in, my little angel had cried for half an hour. I guess she wanted mommy, b/c she stopped crying and started smiling when she saw me and fell asleep shortly thereafter.

We visited Mr. K today at the hospital. I hope the visit did him well, he seemed to really enjoy Cass. She was her typical charming, smiley self and babbled and blew raspberries at him. I think he's doing remarkably well, given the fact that a 24 year twit ran down his 88-years- old-next-week self in the middle of Hanley Road, but I know prayers would be appreciated. He has a looooooong recovery ahead of him.

I'm off to bed. Grandma Mary Ann, the kids and I are hitting the mall tomorrow morning. I don't think I'll do much shopping, but I do need to pick up something for Cass's six month pics this month. I'm behaving this month though--lots of big purchases. I've got my eye on a new stroller for Cassie...

PS--Seen this yet? www.hodgefamilyhappenings.blogspot.com
And do the math...

Happy New Year!

Chase and Cassie both almost made it to midnight last night, we went to Chase's BFF Dylan's house. Everyone had a great time, but we did pack it in around 11pm, much to Chase's dismay. He and Cassie were asleep by midnight, but Jamie and I weren't as the infamous neighborhood fireworks kept us up quite a bit past midnight.

We spent today undecorating the house while Cassie took the world's longest nap and Chase got in some quality time on the couch w/Winnie the Pooh and Miss Spider. Dad came over to watch the first half of the game in HD and give Jamie his bday present. Jamie missed the first half of the game b/c he was cleaning my van in preparation for the flood of buyers interested in it. I expect it will be sold by the end of the week. Thank you, Craigslist.

Jamie didn't miss much anyway, except for the Razorbacks' Booties getting handed to them on a platter by the Tigers! WOO HOO! M-I-Z Z-O-U! My wish for the New Year is that Chase Daniel comes back for another season and gives all Missourians a reason to love Tiger Football again. What a year!

Our Chase heads back to school on Thursday, and life will be getting back to normal...I hope.