A tale of 2 bee stings. . .

Johnny got his first bee sting at the beginning of March. March 4th to be exact. I can't tell you the exact date of anyone else's first bee sting, but I'm betting I'll remember this date for a while. You see, the effects of this sting are still influencing us, even now.

He was stung on a Thursday, and had quite a fit about it. I wasn't exactly sure I got the stinger out, with all the hollering and squirming. He did quiet down after a while, and the area looked okay. I heard no more about it, until after the t-ball game that Saturday. On the way home, he complained that his foot hurt and was itchy. Looking at his foot, the area where he was stung was swollen and purple/red. Uh-oh. We called the doctor who told us to put cortisone cream on it, and if it wasn't better in 20 minutes, bring him in, it is infected. If it did get better, then it is an allergy and keep putting the cream on for a few days. It was better in 20 minutes :) We put the cream on for a few days, and no more complaints.

Several weeks later, Johnny woke up with small bites all over him. Looked like a flea or mosquito got in his pj's and got mad at him. He itched and squirmed all day, and I bought calamine. He could hardly sleep that night for the itching, but did fall asleep. At 11, I heard him crying, and he was complaining he was so itchy he couldn't sleep. Out with the calamine again. Didn't help. In a state of sleepy desparation, I got out the toothpasted, and asked which bite was the worst, and started applying it that way. After 2 or 3 bites, he told me "the one on my foot is the worst". Uh-oh. Then the light went on (in my brain, and the bathroom!).

Foot is swollen and red AGAIN! ugh. After a midnight trip to the drug store for some Benadryl, Johnny finally fell asleep. We decided urgent care in the morning would be in order. (why does this stuff always happen on the weekends?).

The good man at urgent care told us Johnny's foot was infected, and gave him some antibiotics. THREE times a day, is not exciting with antibiotics. After several doses we finally got down a system and the medicine got down. I felt like a troll giving it to him on his birthday and Easter. . . . . .

Of course we had the obligatory "follow up" visit with the doctor after urgent care. The doctor we got was not our own, and was a doozie. She picked on me for letting him wear flip flops (foot is swollen hello?) and told me she couldn't really see the infection because his foot was dirty but she was sure it was fine. ummm-hmmmm. At that point I had slipped into "smile and nod" mode.

When the antibiotics were gone, we all heaved a sigh of relief. It was short lived. The morning after the antibiotics, Johnny's cheeks got red and swollen, and he developed a rash all over. ARGH! After ANOTHER visit to the doc, (this time, our own doc) it was determined that Johnny is allergic to the antibiotic he was taking. More meds for another week---sigh.

Last week we were med free and singing a happy tune. Playing outside, carefree, and then, a bee landed on Johnny's hand. Yep, it stung him. This morning, the area is swollen and red but thankfully we are not on our way to the doctor. I'm mighty glad for the Benadryl in my cabinet and we are praying the swelling doesn't go any farther.

Johnny's comment: why do bees hate me?

T Ball

Well it has begun. My induction into "organized sports". We signed Johnny up for T ball and I had no idea. Thankfully, now that his first game has been played, I think it will be okay.

Practice is twice a week, and of course, right when I SHOULD be making dinner. Praise God for the crock pot and a responsible teen. So far we have done okay with that, even the days we have violin lessons and practice back to back. Sadly the wet weather this year has managed to cancel a number of practices as well as the big "opening day". At least we had our first game!

The game was fun--at least for me. We still have no idea who won, but no one seemed to care, and I think that's great. The kids all got to hit the ball, then changed sides--sounds good for 5 yr olds doesn't it? What's better is that the kids all got FIVE pitches, then if they still couldn't hit it, they got to use the T and hit from there. I overheard one mom talking to another one "my kid got out, but I think it went well--he didn't notice he was out." How funny.

Another thing I really liked were all the little ones at the game. Since it is a team of 5-6 yr olds, most have younger siblings. I wasn't the only one keeping a preschooler or toddler from running onto the field! Very nice family friendly organization. Let's hope all the games are like that!

Favorite things

Most people that know me well, know that one of my favorite words is "free". Another favorite is "food". Put those two together and you can pretty much expect me to be around! When Denny's ran it's free Grand Slam Breakfast promotion (advertised during the superbowl I might add), we were there : ) Six (count them) yummy breakfasts were enjoyed! I was thrilled that the staff were friendly, and there was no wait.

This last week a friend brought to my attention, that our local Chick-fil-a restaurant was having it's 6th anniversary. God Bless them. Free lunch items every day. We did miss out on Monday, but that was the spicy chicken sandwich and I'm not sure the kids would have enjoyed it. Tuesday we were there for chicken strips, Wednesday we enjoyed chicken sandwiches and Thursday we dined on 8 piece chicken nuggets. Today, we were privy to some special "code words" that got us 12 pc chicken nuggets! Johnny and his friend really enjoyed the fact that they knew the code words, and could order for us : )

We may have overdone it though. This morning as we were getting ready for our Friday classes, I asked Jesse if he knew where we were going.

"chick fil yay" was the answer : )

I hear I-HOP is running a promotion next week. . . . . .

Dining room project--part one!

What kind of people put carpet in the dining room? People who don't have small children I believe! Have you ever tried getting rice out of carpet? yuck. After 16 years of griping about carpet in the dining room, we are doing something about it. Here is our progress so far. . .

This is the "before" picture. . . .

Having pulled up the carpet, we found a sandbox near the back door--yuck! I couldn't believe how much dirt/sand was just sitting there!



Rolling back the carpet, the padding just fell apart.

Emily was a huge help getting it pulled up and vacuumed out.

Another "helper" on the scene, ready for work.

Carpet all pulled up and ready to be removed!

Victory over the carpet! Not bad for us non-professionals!

Learning new things

It's hard to learn something new, when you have no familiarity with the concept. Like my 5 yr old trying to learn to recite the books of the Bible for AWANA club tonight. He's heard plenty of the Bible, learned lots of verses, and can tell you a thing or two about God, faith and eternal life. He even surprizes me from time to time with his little insights. All of that yes, books of the Bible in order, not so much.


Today we were learning from Galatians through Titus. We hopped back and forth, trying to make a rhyme, we broke it down into sections, found cute little things to help trigger memory, all the "tricks" we could think of. I thought he was well prepared.

On the way through the parking lot, we were practicing one more time. . . . .

". . . . . first and second Timothy. . " I prompted him. . .

"TYPHUS!" he exclaims happily

um, Typhus? "Yeah Mom, you know, like that sickness" How in the world did this boy hear about Typhus, and WHY would he relate it to the books of the Bible?!?


I noticed that section of his book was signed off when he arrived at home tonight. Wonder what all was said in his classroom tonight!

A Dream come True

One of Hannah's loves is horses. She has always loved playing with horse toys and has more than one stable, and a whole collection of horses from plastic to stuffed. Up to now, she has dreamed of horseback riding lessons, owning her own horse etc. Christmas brought those wishes to fulfillment.





A sweet friend of ours contacted me a few days before Christmas and told me she wanted to bless Hannah with a trail ride at the ranch where she works. We wrapped a plastic pony for Hannah and gave her the news when she unwrapped it.

She was a little excited.

Of course, on the big day, she was ready about 2 hours before time to go. She ended up spending 8 hours at the ranch, caring for the horses, meeting the baby bunnies, and of course, riding a horse. She had the time of her life. I realized when she returned home that she has never actually ridden a horse, outside the pony rides at the fair! What an exciting day for her.

Even more exciting, is the fact that our friend wants her back : ) She tells me Hannah has lots of "horse sense" and common sense, and is a very hard worker. Hannah has been to the ranch a total of 3 times now, and is looking forward to making this a regular thing. She has new jeans, her own boots and we are in search of small sized gloves too.

Up next on Hannah's agenda, is bringing home a bunny to have here, as a pet. Maybe. Thank goodness there is now a place she can go visit the horses, cause we know there isn't room for one here!

Christmas Cards

I like to make a photo card for our family every Christmas. It's great to see the way our family is growing and changing, and when I put all the cards side by side it gives such a great picture of us. The tough part every year, is getting a picture. Some years I can just run back through photos that are already taken, and find a good one, and we are set. Other years (like this one) I can't find a good one, and we have to go through the painful process of getting all the kids dressed in presentable clothes, hair brushed, and smiling like they are halfway happy to be there. If you have kids, you know what a challenge that is. Even more when there are more of them.

So yesterday, I decided it was time. I told everyone to get dressed nice from the waist up, and to look happy or there would be trouble. Great motivation huh? Here are some of the results:

What an afternoon. At least the Christmas cards are done and ordered! Next year I promise I'll get more group shots before November, so we can all avoid this pain!