I so don't have time to be doing this

I should be working but if I don't get this out I may just scream! If I've got this all straight in my little pea brain it all started about here, and we've had some kind of crud ever since. Most recently (before the current trip to the trenches) it was my battle with an 8mm kidney stone - which ended up in a surgical removal where they had to use a laser to break it up to get it out. In said procedure they "think" they "may have" nicked my kidney - which all you need to know made me just as sick if not worse for a whole week AFTER the stupid stone was out. On the tail end of that Abbie goes & gets strep throat. GRRRR it never ends. We kick that - finally think that just maybe we are all "healthy", but Abbie has this cough that won't go away. Then Sunday WHAM-O it hits me after church - totally fine at church - within an hour of being home I wanted to crawl into bed for the night. After a couple days of fever, coughing I threw in the proverbial towel & went to the doctor. At which point my fever was 103.3 and as the doctor so lovingly (HA) put it as he listened to my lungs "you sound terrible" - really doc? I feel like CRAP! Official diagnosis - Bronchitis. Meds obtained & hopefully on my way to well - EXCEPT I got derailed again - almost the same as me (no warning what-so-ever) - Nate & Abbie got hammered today, but I wasn't waiting several days to let this get worse for them - took them to the doc - same thing - gee imagine that. They've been stuck in the house with a sick mom all week - & they got sick. I shouldn't be surprised, I'm not really - just grumpy, really grumpy about it all. We actually had plans this weekend, but they've now officially been hosed. We should be good to go by Sunday which thank goodness for the long weekend will allow (hopefully, fingers crossed, as long as the other 3 don't get what we've got) for something fun. If not you may find me in a straight jacket somewhere.

This is how I feel right now (I learned about this at the Time Out For Women I went to back in April)



Now just to figure out how to "change my ways" to get myself & my little family back on the road to happy & HEALTHY again. This is summer vacation after all. Not much of one yet - but we do have plans to change that. Fingers crossed sunshine & health are around the bend!

I am GRATEFUL for good health insurance, for otherwise I'd have to go to work full time or look for another job to supplement this one, we've not had to worry about bills in all of this & in this day & time that brings an immense amount of gratitude - tremendous blessings for certain.

AWW

So when I was thinking about what I wanted to put up today these two pictures popped into my mind.

Abbie, My rain boot ballerina princes

Kassie, My monkey loving monkey with the same dress a few years later. (I didn't realize how many "miles" this outfit had seen until I put these pictures side by side - WOWZA!)

As I was looking through my picture folders trying to find these two I found lots of other "dress-up" pictures that brought back so many fun memories that I decided to include them here - if only just for the fun of it all. (This is only a small sampling of the pictures & since dress up is an almost daily occurrence around here, we have 3 girls after all, there are more dress-up experiences than there will ever be pictures of said events)

Some outfits we go all out for:

 For some reason this one reminds me of the movie ET - when thy dressed ET up as a girl - sorry Kassie no insult intended, it just pops into my head every time.

 Harry Potter at his movie premier - complete with Hedwig

Some are spur of the moment (like the dress up section in a the naval museum):

And sometimes it's just a single accessory/addition that changes everything:

 And sometimes Dad even gets roped into the funny business.

 These funny teeth brought to you (as lollipops) from the Easter Bunny

 PS - she just discovered how much she likes strawberries :)

 Before just a pair of underwear - now Spiderman!

 A fuzzy purple hat takes her from a cute little girl in purple to a Lavender Diva!

 "Gags" from a family reunion in Idaho - good thing there's a dentist in the family!

Then there's the always unfortunate, wardrobe malfunction:

I am grateful for the playful spirits and grand imaginations my children have been blessed with.

Then there was fishing

We received an email, thanks to cub scouts, about an opportunity to participate in a fishing derby. It was for kids 5-12 (not sure on the 12, but I think that was it). You had to sign up ahead of time & it cost $6 per child, but they got a free t-shirt & a fishing rod/reel of their own to bring home. It was put on by local fishing clubs and a ton of sponsors.

Nate sporting his free t-shirt.

The extensive list of sponsors....

They were going to be stocking a netted off area of a local lake with fishery rainbow trout. I asked the kids if they wanted to do it & they were so excited they about jumped out of their skin. Let me say before this the only fishing my kids had done is 2 times of catch & release with my parents when we go to visit them. This tidbit of information will come in handy in a bit.

We signed up late & got the last time slot of the day, but we were going & they were excited. I tried to set the expectation that they might not catch any fish since it was the last time of the day to go fishing & only the fish smart enough to not get caught by the other kids would be left. They would have to be extra good to catch these smart fish.

 Fishing with Dad.

By the time all was said & done they both had caught their "limit" of 2 fish each. They "cleaned" (cut off the head & cleaned out the guts) the fish onsite, and sent them home in a plastic bag.

We had the most wonderful man helping us - he had to be in his 80s I'm guessing - he had been on his feet helping kids fish since 9am and we were there at 2 & he was as patient as ever. I wish I knew how to contact them to say a special thanks to this gentleman. He made our good day even better!

Abbie was ON FIRE - she was great about waiting patiently, and snagging the fish at the first "vibration" and getting them landed - it was so fun to watch her - she was so excited. She would have fished all day if they would have let her. She was so proud of her fish she called my parents on the way to the car to share her news and ask Papa if he would take her fishing again when she came to visit.

Yea I'm fishing - so what?!

 This is diva fishing with attitude - check out her "stance"! LOVE IT

 Can you hear "I GOT ONE I GOT ONE!"

Fishy #1 - Proud Girl

 Landing #2

Happy girl with 2 fish in a bag. Success!

Nate was a different story - he wanted to put his fish back (which was not an option). When he found out what was going on at the cleaning station he had a total meltdown - that big marshmallow heart of his kicked in. I'm pretty sure I had the only kid who cried about killing his fish. We promised him that he could go fishing with Papa and Papa could teach him how to fish so it was ok to let the fish go at the end. This appeased him for the day.

 "Moooom just let me fish by myself"

 Super caster

 "I think I've got one"

 Reeling it in

 Cheesy Fishy Grin

 Here comes #2

This one was a little feisty - check out the bend in the rod.

The little girls hung out on the beach & in the stroller. They did great considering there wasn't really anything there for them. Nate & Abbie both had a great time & want to do again next year.

I may have said it before, but I am soooo glad we live in an area where there are so many great opportunities for our children to participate in as they grow. Experiences that will help mold who they are and help them discover who they want to become. We are truly blessed!