Isaac's strep, Allie's glasses, Our date

Hi family and friends! Just a quick update today -- it's long overdue, I've been meaning to do it, but I'm feeling weird and it's almost time to put supper in the oven. A couple of hours ago, my head started pounding loudly in my ears. This usually happens when I get a fever, but I don't have one, although I feel like I am fighting something. Hopefully, it's not what Isaac has.

Isaac is home with strep throat today. I'm so glad I took him in to the doctor! I had no idea -- I thought it was just a virus because his fever was only 100. I was surprised when the nurse called me back with the results of his strep test that were positive. He didn't act a bit sick at the doctor's office. He was happy and energetic. This morning, before I gave him pain medicine, he was almost in tears because his throat hurt so bad. It's amazing the difference a little Ibuprofen makes in a sick child. It's always good to see your child back to being themselves.

Allison is getting glasses. Our school district recommends vision screenings for incoming Kindergarteners, which is a good thing for this family! Isaac got his glasses at 5 1/2, the same as Allison. Both kids are farsighted. Last week she picked out the frames and we're now waiting for them to come in. She picked out pink frames -- they're a subtle metallic rosy pink which looks lovely with her blue eyes and blonde hair. I can hardly wait to take her picture and post it on here so you all can see what see looks like.

Shane and I went out for dinner last Friday. Allie's preschool, which is in a church, offered babysitting in the preschool room to raise money for a trip for the Junior High youth group. The kids had a great time. Shane and I went to Tony Roma's, which is known for their ribs. We didn't order any. I had steak, baked potato, and steamed broccoli; Shane had a shrimp pasta dish. One of the kitchen staff brought out our meal and assumed that I had ordered the pasta and Shane had ordered the steak. We got a chuckle out of that. Shane said, "Actually, I ordered the shrimp and pasta, and no, I'm not gay!" I just rolled my eyes at his joke. After we picked up the kids, we came home and watched our favorite TV show, "Psych" and played The Settlers of the Catan with our friends Wesley and Kimberly. I really enjoy our Friday nights in general, and it was really special to go out to dinner as a couple.

We have very little snow on the ground at the moment, but that's supposed to change come Tuesday night. Rain will turn to snow overnight and on Wednesday the total accumulation is expected to be 6 to 8 inches. No doubt the kids will be excited to have snow to play in again!

Sickness and Snowstorms

Poor Allie is sick today. This afternoon her fever climbed to 103.6. It's very rare that my kids would ever have a fever that high. I had the day off from babysitting, which is good, because I don't think I'd be able to hold Allie all day and give Brock the proper amount of attention he deserves. She's been lethargic and not eating or drinking very much until this afternoon, when she had her next dose of medicine. When it wears off, you can really tell! I'm taking her to the doctor tomorrow morning (in between snowstorms!).

Tonight we're supposed to get 3 to 6 inches of snow. Thursday, we're supposed to get 6 to 12 inches of snow. Therefore, I felt a sense of urgency to have Allie looked at by the doctor before we're snowed in! To make things worse, our temps have been in the single digits with the wind chills below zero. This December feels more like February! Last December was bad, too, and that set us on course for a record snowfall. I hope we're not in for another record snowfall this season!

The kids are picking out a movie for tonight and we're going to stay home, stay warm, and help Allie get some rest. I've been fighting a cold myself, and my head has been pounding all day. :(

Tornadoes Near Us

The five of us are sitting in the basement while tornadoes are touching down all over the county. We're eating peanut butter and jelly and doritos. Us three adults are sitting in lawn chairs with our laptops out while the kids are running around rolling a ball. The tv is on to the local news. The weatherman is getting hoarse from talking nonstop. It's like watching a movie. We can hardly believe what's happening around us. There are 6 tornadoes that have touched down, one of which passed within a couple miles of us, and one that's headed in our general direction, but will probably pass us to the south. We're having a good old time down in the unfinished basement. I'm so glad that Shane and Sarah made it home from work ok, and we're all together. Don't worry about us. I will update later.

Severe Weather

It's been an interesting day weatherwise here in Southern Wisconsin. This morning it was sunny, hot, and extremely windy. After lunch, the kids went outside to run through the sprinkler with their friends. We went in when the skies turned dark and soon it began to rain. A HUGE bunch of thunderstorm cells went through to the north of us and spawned a bunch of tornadoes, but all we got was the rain. As I watched the weather man on tv, I counted four different tornadoes in our area. There was one near the Wisconsin Dells, which is about an hour north of us, one northwest of us, one east of us, and one southeast of us. Two of them were in our county. Apparently, there were lots of different cells that produced these rotating thunderstorms and they were scattered. But like I said, we didn't see much action here. All we got was rain. So far, anyway. More storms are forecasted for tonight and tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that, and so on. Isaac and I like tracking thunderstorms. We've been reading library books about weather and it's been really interesting!

This afternoon during the rain, the kids and I watched Monsters, Inc. Laughing with them, I realized how much I enjoy them. It was just one of those random moments in everyday life when I looked at my kids and felt so happy. Being their mommy brings me so much joy.