Babies, you're better off raisin' tomatoes!

It's a little early to be thinking about adding another little one to our family, but I just thought I'd ask:

Who wants to buy us a mini-van?  Anyone?  A bigger car is pretty much the only thing coming between me and a baby. 

Oh and convincing Tyler to have another one.  Kind of important.  ;)

#randomthoughts

I'm sure tomorrow when I've finished changing like the 5th poopy diaper of the day, I'll be singing a different tune.

Proportions

Some people are fortunate enough to have very thin looking faces in comparison to the rest of their body and weight.  Like, I've seen pictures of people before I even met them, thinking they were totally skinny by the look of their face and then realize in person they are actually quite chubby. 

I am not one of those people.  I've decided I'm the opposite.  Slender frame and flubby face.

Darn you neck chub.  I'd have to be completely underweight to ever be rid of you. 

#necktoningexercizes

Check off the funny box, cuz this is funny.

Birthdays!

My babies aren't babies anymore!

This last Thursday, Erica turned one.  ONE!  Wow.  And tomorrow, Logan will be four. 

Let's take a moment to get to know the birthday boy and birthday girl:

Logan
1)  My favorite thing to eat is pasta and meatballs.
2)  My favorite outdoor activity is kicking the soccer ball.
3)  My favorite shows to watch are Kipper and Curious George.
4)  My favorite subject at school is the alphabet.  I love to sing an alphabet song that I learned from school.  "A-a-achoo!  B-b-boo!  C-c-Crack!..."
5)  My favorite indoor activity is playing with my train tracks, but play-dough, bubbles, and the iPad are a close second place tie.
6)  I am really good at cleaning up after myself.  I wash my hands, and wipe my face, and I'll even pick up my toys if properly motivated.  (Treats).
7)  If I could go anywhere in the world, I'd go to Nana and Grandpa's house every day.  Or over to cousin Chandler's house to play.
8) I don't think Mommy and Daddy know what my favorite color is; I've kept it a very good secret.  But I think I like dark colors the most.
9)  When I grow up, I'm going to do lots of things.  Maybe I'll be an architect because I like to build things.
10)  My current favorite song is the alphabet song I learned from school.
11)  The book I love most right now is The Jester Has Lost His Jingle.
12)  Three words that describe me are:  Observant, Teachable, and Enthusiastic.
13)  My favorite thing about having my birthday in the winter is the snow - if only there was some.
14)  The snack I like the most is Larabars.
15)  One food I refuse to even try is blueberries, among many, many other things.

Erica
1)  My favorite thing to eat is applesauce.
2)  My favorite thing to do outside is touch everything I can see and put leaves in my mouth.
3)  My favorite thing to watch is the ending song of the Baby First TV videos.  Other than that, the TV just isn't all that interesting.
4)  My favorite thing to do indoors is climb the stairs and play in Logan's room.  He's hilarious.
5)  I am really good at being demanding.  I command and attract attention where ever I go.
6)  My favorite stuffed animal is Logan's Curious George.  But I just got a dolly for my birthday that I really like too.
7)  When I grow up, I am going to be a professional cutie pie.
8)  My favorite song is any song that Mommy sings.
9)  The book I love most right now is 10 Tiny Puppies.
10)  Three words that describe me are:  Adorable, Persuasive, and Loud.
11)  My favorite word is "hi."
12)  The snack I love most is whatever anyone else is eating.  I want it too.
13)  I don't like peas.
14)  My favorite toy that I shouldn't be playing with is Mommy's iPhone.  It stops tears instantly.
15)  I love to tease my brother. 

I spent the morning getting some dinner stuff prepared, and baking their cake.  Tyler blew up a bunch of balloons and had fun entertaining the kids.  For anyone who needs a cheap and fun kid activity idea, I highly recommend balloons.  Blow 'em up and let them just run around kicking them.  Blow up a balloon and let it fly.  They'll love it.

He was all over the place.  There's no way I could have caught a still shot.  iPhone cameras are pretty good, but not amazing.

They got spoiled.

Logan reading the notes in his new piano books from Omi and Opa!

Erica playing with a piece from Logan's train set.

Cake time!  It took him two attempts to get the candles blown out.  And he didn't spit on the cake!

Whole Wheat (soaked flour/only sugar in this is honey) Chocolate Cake with home made Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (the frosting tasted just like a cinnamon roll, I kid you not.  If you want either recipe, let me know).  When you don't give yourself enough time to eat breakfast before church Sunday morning, this is a fantastic cake to come home to...just so you know.  It's also a good cake to eat on a full stomach.  Either way.

Erica's first taste of cake!  She did great, haha.

Watch the video.  I love how she takes such grown up bites out of the cake and then just sorta throws the rest on the tray, haha.  Can you spot her ONE tooth??  Probably not.  The video is so small.  If anyone knows how to enlarge that, please let me know.

Logan "setting up" Settlers of Catan for us.  I have never seen him so attached to anything the way he is to those little game pieces.  He loves playing with them.  Putting the game away is pretty much the end of the world.

It was a nice combined birthday.  They had a great time, and so did we.  I've never been very keen on the idea of doing big huge birthday parties, at least while the kids are so young.  But now, I almost can't wait until next year.  Logan will be 5 and I think it would be so fun to do a theme and invite tons of his little friends.  Not to mention, watching kids try to beat up a pinata is pretty much one of life's special little gifts to adults amidst the chaos.  Haha, I can see it now.

Happy birthday Logan and Erica!!  We love you!!

Another Pinterest Idea - Fail to Fix

Hello!

Yesterday I saw a very simple breakfast idea on Pinterest and decided to give it a try this morning.  It was a chocolate banana smoothie type of thing.  The picture of the smoothie looked pretty good. 

Mmm, right?

Well, the very simple directions that were on the picture (I guess I should have followed the pin back to the original site, but oh well, I already fixed this...I'll get to that in a minute) said this:

1 frozen banana
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
Blend until smooth
110 Calories! Woo!

So I tried it and EWWW.  It did NOT look like that.

Too much cocoa powder, and I just can't handle frozen bananas. Literally, my hands cannot seem to work with frozen bananas.  It just turns into a clumsy mess. 

So I thought, "Hmm, I have a bag of mixed frozen fruit in my freezer.  Maybe I can fix this."

I grabbed the bag of frozen fruit (mine is peaches, strawberries, mangoes and pineapple -plain with no sugar added).  70 cals per cup.  I threw a cup and a half of that into the blender (now messy banana crap free), added ONE tablespoon of cocoa powder, and since I knew from the aforementioned mess that this would need at least some liquid, I grabbed some of Logan's Vanilla Almond Milk (he is sensitive to casein - the protein in cow's milk, so he drinks almond milk.  And for those of you wondering why we don't give him Soy Milk, soy lowers testosterone levels - not good for boys).

So, new recipe:

1 and a 1/2 cup of frozen mixed fruit
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 Cup milk (this vanilla almond milk is 90 cals per cup)

Blend until smooth.

YUMMMMMM.  It was awesome.  And at a grand total of 200 Cals, it's now going to be a favorite go to breakfast of mine I'm sure.  It tastes like light chocolate with a lot of the fruit flavors mixed in (I mean, AWWWWESOOOOOME), has all the benefits of real fruit, and yeah...it's just good.  And depending on the milk you use, other added goodness might be yours.  Logan's almond milk has a lot of added nutrients so I guess that's a plus right there.   I'm so glad I tried it.  And maybe you've already heard of something like this, but I hadn't so I'm pretty excited about it, haha.

My kids even loved it.  Logan has already decided that it is chocolate ice cream. 

Yes, sweetie, it's chocolate ice cream.  Yes it is.  For breakfast.

And no sugar.  Oh yes.

Anyhow, I didn't get a picture.  We three ate it all up before I could do that.  But go try it!

The "No Heat" Curl (and my alterations)

 So, being a busy busy stay at home Momma, I CANNOT take forever in the bathroom curling, straightening, let alone even blow dry my hair.  Not unless I want to get up really early before the kids wake up.  And let's get real...like that's gonna happen.  Not like I leave the house everyday anyway. 

So when I came across this "no heat", "curls in minutes (overnight)" easy tutorial, I jumped on it.  I end up pulling my hair back out of my face into a messy bun and it stays like that pretty much all day.  I wanted something EASY and fast (or no effort). 

Plus, Tyler's always hinting that he really loves it when I wear my hair down. I had to do something.  "Wear your hair, just for him....Do the things, that he likes to do...(Best Friend's Wedding...anyone?)" 

Here's the gal's tutorial.  It's actually super easy and even easier than I thought it looked in the video.  Took me like 5 minutes to get all of my hair up.



Since I showered super late last night, I ended up just putting my hair into the headband when it was still pretty wet (not dripping), and it really didn't dry very well overnight.  (DUH, Brigitte...that happens when your hair is all bunched up).  When I pulled the band out this morning, it looked like this.

Ah! Brigitte "No-Makeup Zombie!"

Flat, dull waves.  I was not impressed.  But I suppose it was my own fault.  (Refer to wet hair realization). 

Then I thought a little bit about it, and decided that since I have SO MUCH stinkin' hair and it's very thick , I'd try splitting my hair into two parts (top/bottom) and use the same technique with two headbands.  Immediately, I put my hair back up.

I kinda think it's cute all pulled up haha.  I'd totally run to the store like that.  Not like I'm wearing curlers or hair rags.  

Then, as my sister in law suggested to me, I pulled out my hair dryer (sorry, this curl DOES have some heat), and dried my hair completely in the headbands.  I let it sit that way while I baked some cookies and played with the kids and all that.  So my hair was up like this for a few hours.  Then Erica finally decided to take a nap.  I went back to the bathroom, put some more blow dryer heat on the curls one last time and then let it down.  (Hair might get kind of caught in the bands - so there on the left side of the picture, it got a little foofy). 

Bottom half down

All down

Then, I just used a little bit of mousse, and some curly hair lotion, and tamed the flyaways - I didn't really run my fingers through the curls; I liked how they already were.

And voila!
"This IS my happy face."

Teehee, oh...inside jokes.

My assessment?  It's a decent enough looking wave. 

Here's the rundown of how I would do this from start to finish, especially if you have thick hair, or shorter hair (since short hair might no reach all the way down to the neckline, breaking it up into two parts might be a good idea)...

1. Dry your hair until it's pretty much mostly dry.
2. Separate hair into two sections, top and bottom.  Pull the top section into a bun on the top of your head so it's out of the way.  Put bottom section into hairband (watch tutorial).
3.  Do top section.
4.  Sleep on it (if you want to, obviously I was able to put my hair back up this morning and redo this whole process).  I did find it a little difficult to sleep with my hair like this, but that's most likely because I'm just used to sleeping with my hair completely down.
5.  In the morning, use the hair drying to set the curls a little better and dry out any leftover moisture.
6. Take out the bands and apply any hair product you want.  

This takes so little time overall that I think this technique is at least worth a try, especially if you're a very busy person!  I will be doing this again for sure.

Hope this helped someone :)

Another Logan Update

I have to share this.  It is a HUGE deal. 

What seems like just out of no where, Logan has started to answer 'yes or no' questions.  He won't always answer, but I'd say 4 out of 5 times, you'll get a reply, and an accurate one at that; he's not just blabbering out yes or no.  

For example:

Q: "Logan, do you need to go on the potty?"
A: "Yes, poopy." 

And then he'll totally go poop on the potty.  Yipeee!!!

Q: "Logan, I'm headed upstairs with Erica to change the laundry.  Want to come with us?"
A: "No, downstairs."

Q: "Logan, want some carrots and cucumbers?"
A: (Immediately) "No"

Q: "Want a treat?" (after successfully going on the potty)
A: "Yes, treat!"

And other random questions that could be answered yes or no.  I even asked him about family members, both near and far, and if he remembered who they were.  He knows who Nana and Grandpa are very well (Tyler's parents).  When I asked him if he knew Omi and Opa, he said yes and pointed to the computer.  (He like's seeing you guys one Skype!...and hopefully we'll see you all again in person sometime this year :)

He's just surprising me all the time, but I've particularly seen quite a big jump in just the last few weeks.  I can't think of everything off the top of my head, but there have been a few instances that surprised me.  Earlier today as we were cleaning out and reorganizing the kids closets, we found a(nother) package of crayons.  Logan grabbed them, fanned them out in his hands and then turned to Erica and said, "Pick a color." 

Haha, it was just a funny, surprising moment. 

A few days ago, Tyler let me sleep in until he left for work (since Erica had been up crying until TWO.)  He sent Logan upstairs to wake me up.  Logan opened the door, hopped on the bed and said, "Let's go downstairs, Mommy."   

I just loved that.  I can't wait to hear what he has to say next :)

Erica is also talking a little bit.  She has been saying "hi" for months, but has now added waving.  And this isn't just the little baby open and close your fist kind of wave.  I mean full arm waving.  It's pretty darn cute.  She says Daddy (Daa-eee).  She says "Apple" - her first real food was apples; she'd munch on those whenever she could.  But now, "apple" is the word she uses whenever she wants anything at all.  If she sees you eating something, she crawls over to you really fast with "apple" on infinite repeat.  Then she'll sit at your feet and "apple" will quickly escalate to a sort of desperate "AAAApple!!"  She's also repeating a lot of sounds.  And sooooommetimes she'll repeat a sign.  We tried to teach her the sign for "more" and she's done it once or twice, but it's not really sticking at this point.

So yeah, it's been a good week!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

RUNONSENTENCEEEEE

INEEDTOSTOPLOOKINGATPINTERESTUNTILIACTUALLYGETSOMEOFTHECRAFTSDONETHATI'VEPINNED.

Alright.  So.  I actually have been working on a few things.

1) New designs for my headbands.  It's seriously fun to do, but when I take a step back and try to see what I'm doing from a different perspective, the headband business is TOUGH.  And maybe it would discourage most people.  But, I've made a lot of designs, they're posted and now I just wait for people to find me and buy them.  I'm in no hurry to make a bajillion munnies.  And I'm also in no hurry to do much marketing and advertising.  Only just yesterday did I actually add meta tags to my site, haha.  Yeah...

This was just a preview picture.  I have finished this pink headband, as well as the silver one below and plan to take a few more official pictures of them soon.  Then they'll be up and ready for purchase on the website.

2) I am crocheting a lovely wine purple and cream colored quilt.  That is to say, I am crocheting square blocks of purple and cream yarn, and then I'm going to stitch them all together.  I don't know exactly which color I will use for the stitching, but I am leaning towards charcoal gray.  Or just more cream.

3) Instead of giving me a birthday gift, Tyler gave me birthday money.  I've already spent most of it...on MORE crafting supplies.  I've overwhelmed myself already with projects to do.  I'm anxiously awaiting for them to arrive on my doorstep.  I ordered a cute grapevine wreath that I plan to attach interchangeable flowers (refer to my headband flowers) depending on the season.  Also, there are some foam wreath forms for other seasonal wreaths to be made, a bunch of little canvas squares for painting cute letters or words onto and hanging in the kids rooms or around the house, and some cute little wooden eggs that I will paint intricately with happy little Easter....things.

4) I recently decided to purchase like 4 yards of muslin for a WIDE variety of possible crafts.  I plan to wrap it around varying sizes of foam board (or heck, cardboard would work and be cheaper), like a canvas, and then paint letters and words on it, or stitch cute applique things, or embroider cute sayings....(see previous point).

5) I have about 5-6 unfinished quilts stashed away in my house, and I just got a 76"x76" quilt pattern and all the fabric to go with it as a gift for my birthday.  

Anyhow, the point of all this is, I need to stop looking at Pinterest, because I have SO MUCH STUFF I could be working on, but I'm addicted.  As these things come along and are finished, I'll keep you updated with pictures :)

Feeling very grateful....

Logan, as many of you know now, is (what I'm going to personally diagnose as his mother), high functioning autistic.  Anyone who is involved enough in our lives on a daily, weekly, or frequent basis can see just how far Logan has come in the last two years. We've decided it isn't necessary for him to receive an official physician's diagnosis because I honestly believe that over time, he may have little to no lingering attributes of his condition. 

Logan will be turning 4 years old in just a couple of weeks.  It's so strange to think that in the last 22 months, he has gone from saying absolutely no intelligible words, to more than we can count.  First off, he's definitely able to repeat nearly anything he hears, and most of the time very articulately.  We rarely (rarely meaning maybe 2-3 times a week instead of 2-3 times a day) have to deal with the frustration of a communication block anymore; he is so much better at communicating what he wants or doesn't want.  We're still working on emotions with him - but just as with any child, if he's crying, we know he's sad, and if he's laughing or smiling, we know he's happy, even if he's not yet saying "I'm happy" or 'I'm sad" yet. 

He talks so much to us, telling us what he's doing or what he sees.  He often points to the sky and says, "Look Mommy, the sky is blue."  I cannot begin to describe to you how much emotion I felt when I first heard him say that. 

He tells us what he likes: I like pasta,  I like meatballs,  I like apples and bananas.

He tells what he sees:  Cows!  Horses!  Dog! Cat!  etc, etc...

He tells us what he hears:  (Erica cries from her room) Erica is awake!  Mommy, Erica is awake!  The bus is here!  Daddy is home!

He tells us that he loves us:  (In the morning) Hi Mommy! (he waves).  I love you Mommy!  (As Tyler leaves for work)  Bye Daddy! (waves again).  I love you Daddy!  (As I take Erica upstairs to bed in the evening)  Goodnight Erica!  I love you Erica!

His favorite game lately is Hide and Seek.  Luckily for me, Erica actually keeps quiet when it's our turn to hide.  And Logan does follow through with counting to 20 before he comes looking for us, even though he counts what should be 20 seconds in the span of merely 7 or 8.  Gives the game a little bit of excitement - how fast can Mommy haul Erica up the stairs and get in a good hiding spot?!

He READS books.  He's mesmerized most of the ones we have, but he actually does recognize a lot of words when he sees them outside the pages.  He knows pretty much all basic shapes.  He knows how to count and write numbers up to 100.  He knows every letter of the alphabet, both upper case and lower case, and writes them legibly. He knows how to spell and write his name as well as a few other small words. He's finally started drawing things.  This morning he drew a fish.  "Shish" he calls it.

He amazes me so much.  What a sweet little boy we've been blessed with.  He's taught us so much about appreciating the little things.  He's taught us how to be patient and observant.  We still have the occasional "bad" day, but often it's because I've allowed myself to be selfish and let the situation get the better of me.  He still gets overwhelmed in unfamiliar places and might throw a mini tantrum to deal with it, but it's loads better than it used to be.

I just feel so blessed to have Logan as my son and wanted to share some highlights of his wonderful progress with you all!

PS.  I have been working on a bunch of crafts lately.  I'm excited to finish a few things and take some pictures. :)

Hmmmm

Haven't really been in a blogging mood, and as far as I can tell, neither has anyone in my family (come on guys...I want to read about your LIVESZZZZZZ).  So here's a quick run down of the last month:

Early December was filled with a lot of holiday shopping stress.  Ordering everything for the kids, gifts for other people, and making gifts for other people.  About a week before Christmas, I actually found myself sitting on the couch after we put the kids to bed, wondering what I had left to get done.  AND NOTHING HAD TO GET DONE.  Then the spirit and love of the season finally arrived for me. 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were splendid.  :)  I love watching my kids open gifts.  Logan got a 61-key keyboard and knows how to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."  He also got Buzz Lightyear, the good one with all the real buttons and gadgets.  He was pretty excited to open that one. 

Erica got a massive multi-activity play box.....thingy.  It has a bead maze on top and lots of other fun stuff on every side.  Solid wood.  The thing is a beast.  You've probably seen it at Costco. 

And of course we (as well as their grandparents) spoiled the kids with lots of other things.

Tyler bought me a new (non-expensive, which is what I wanted) wedding ring.  Ever since my original ring got lost in the snow about 3 years ago, I've been wearing a cheapo plastic looking thing.  Strangely enough though, I did receive many compliments on it.  Get up close and you can totally see it's a fake.  So, he got me a nice one that was actually made of metal :)  I love it.

I got Tyler a cool sweatshirt jacket thingy from Buckle, that I think he looks downright hot in, as well as the big gift he wanted: Skyrim.  A video game.  He is loving it.  In fact, I'm playing it a little here and there too.  I'm level 8.  I've killed a dragon.  Go me.

On the last day of 2011 I turned 26.  It was a great day.  Tyler took me out on a date for a few hours while my inlaws babysat the kids.  This was Erica's first time being babysat (while awake) and she did very surprisingly well.

26 feels old.  I remember being 20, and thinking people who were 26 were old.  But, I actually haven't felt better in my entire life.  Life is good, and even after having two kids, I feel better about myself than I think I ever have.  So, here's to being 26!

I genuinely hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I won't be making any resolutions; just going to work on improving where I see the need, and when I see the need. 

Happy 2012! 

It's just one of them days....

Seeing as how everyone is getting over this flu bug we've had circling our little family, I can understand why the kids might be a bit put out every now and then.  But today, I have no real words to explain what might be distressing my 3 year old.

The kid has been a bottomless pit for the last few days.  He wants crackers and cheese for breakfast.  Then pulls out last nights pasta and meatballs.  When he doesn't get that, it's on to the raisins.  Next, it's apples.  Then a turkey sandwich.  

All before 9am.

Since this strange uplift in his appetite doesn't appear to be subsiding anytime in the foreseeable future, we decided to go back to just feeding him what we think he needs instead of letting him pig out.  But it's come with some unexpected (totally expected) consequences.  

The kid is CRAAAAANKAY.  

This morning actually wasn't too bad.  He had a normal size breakfast.  Woo! Maybe he's stopped the binge.  

But then now it's not even noon and he keeps wanting to eat.  AND EAT.  AND EAT.  I gave him some options.  He chose some cheese and crackers.  I cut up an apple since Erica was asking for one (oh yeah, she's 10 months and asking for apples - whole new thing for me).  Logan wanted some too.  Awesome.  I am totally down with that.  So we get his plate and he goes and sits at the table to await his waitress mother to bring his food to him.

Erica is meanwhile sitting in her jumper, as happy as a lump on a log with her apple slice, just sucking away at it, and even biting off chunks, though I'm not entirely sure how, seeing as she still has no teeth.  Not even one breaking through.

Logan eats the cheese.  Doesn't touch the crackers, or the apples he specifically asked for.  (Probably because Erica was getting some).  Then, out of nowhere, he sits there and stares at me and begins to cry.  Then begins to yell.  His face says, "I want you to have pity on me and do exactly what I want or I will scream like this for the rest of the day."

I know that's what he's saying because we've been there before.  And of course, if Erica makes even a PEEP, he cries even harder.

But I mean, he got everything he wanted and he still wasn't happy.  Is my three year old a brat?  Don't answer that; it was a sarcastic question.  He's a teddy bear...most of the time.

But, finding that I wasn't going to give in, he decided to climb out of his chair and shove his face into the backside of the couch over there by the table, the space in between the couch and the wall to be exact, and continue to cry.  Can't say I'd find any comfort there myself, but to each his own.

Welcome to Thursday morning, December 1st, 2011 at the Brown residence.

:)

12:05 - 

Cried himself to sleep on the floor.

Family Photo Shoot

I posted a few pictures from our family photo shoot in my last post, but these truly need a post all of their own.  I am so in love with them, I've been spending an enormous amount of time looking at them, thinking about them, and of course imagining and planning the soon to be gallery through my home.  We couldn't be happier with how they turned out!  Thanks Erica!  

This just CRACKS. ME. UP!

"Love, it seems like only yesterday...."

Real hair color.  Envy me.

Can't wait to go frame shopping!

It's almost 5 a.m. ...

Wanna know what's new with us?  Want to hear some happy news?  

If you answered yes to the first question and no to the second, you're in the right place.

We're sick over here.  Monday morning last week, Logan went off to school, seemingly fine and dandy.  But, when the bus dropped him off that afternoon, the thing I'd allowed myself to falsely hope we'd avoid was staring at me, literally.  Logan's little pink gunky eyes were staring at me through an obvious battle of fatigue, and the fatigue was winning.  I had to carry him off the bus, he was so tired.

(After emailing the teacher to find out why they never called me to just come have him picked up, I guess I can believe that Logan wasn't showing any indication of illness until he came home.  But whatever.  I can't imagine any district anywhere would let a sick kid slide by for a day and put the rest of the kids at risk - mine got sick after all.  *Sigh*.   Brigitte, welcome to the reality of having a child in the public education system).

The week before as Logan was being dropped off from school, the bus driver informed me that a few students in Logan's class had pink eye.  Wonderful.  By the time Monday morning rolled around and no symptoms showed, I assumed Logan hadn't caught anything.  

Wrong.  I've never dealt with pinkeye before, so I don't know what kind of incubation period it has.  And boy is it gross.  He definitely had it.  I'll spare you the details.  So, we called the doctor and got an appointment to have Logan seen the very next day.  Doctor prescribed some antibiotic eye drops and assured us Logan would actually be all better, right in time to attend Thanksgiving dinner with the family without any problems.  

Well, he was right...sort of.  

Logan actually did improve very quickly.  Only, then I got sick.  And it wasn't (isn't) pinkeye.  In hindsight, I believe Logan may actually have had a little more serious illness that he just rubbed into his eye (which I now know is a very definite possible cause of pinkeye and the more likely reason as to why I'm not having any eye issues). 

Thanksgiving came around, Celia was with us, and I was super bummed about the now obvious scenario we found ourselves in: Everybody else was well enough to go celebrate the holiday with the rest of the family, but it looked like I would need to sit out.  So, Tyler offered to give me a blessing.  His dad drove up to help.  And after warning family and asking what they thought, I was able to attend Thanksgiving.  What a great family I married into!  I'm so glad they were all understanding and willing to risk their health to have me there with them.  Now a couple days later, no one has reported any signs of illness - so far so good.  I truly hope it stay that way.  

Because...

I feel like death.  Pretty sure this is the flu and a super horrible flu at that.  It must be laughing at me, because it has good reason to think it's winning this battle.  I've never felt so dreadful.  And I know some of these symptoms are ones where you hear things like "If [this] lasts longer than so many days, contact your doctor immediately."  But of course, it's now the weekend, and I don't think I'm going to die, so I'll wait it out til Monday before calling anyone I guess.  I can totally handle it, even though I don't feel like I can.

The good thing in this is how surprising well everyone else has been.  If Logan brought this home from school (which is the only explanation I can come up with), he's done remarkably well.  Other than the pinkeye, he's had nothing more than a slight cough at night.  Cross your fingers it doesn't develop into anything more severe.  Like what I have.  

Worst full body aches and chills of my LIFE.  Headaches.  My throat is on fire and it's been that way for DAAAAYYYUUUZZZ.  Every cough sends a pulse of dry shock down my throat.  I can't sleep because lying down makes my cough worse and more productive (isn't that an indication of possible pneumonia? I'm getting paranoid now).  So tired.  Voice is completely gone (thanks to that hour and a half phone call to Sprint YET AGAIN about their inability to be consistent - totally a whole 'notha story).

Tyler is starting to show some small signs of the flu, but Erica seems to be getting by completely fine.  Yay. 

Anyhow, I'm sure I'll live. I'll let you know.

On a happier note, we got our family pictures in the mail yesterday from our photo shoot with Erica Kirby Photography!   We love the pictures so much!  Here are a few of my favorites:

Aren't they just wonderful photos?  We are so blessed to know people with amazing talents.   Well good morning to you all....off to the kitchen.  Logan wants pasta for breakfast.