Baby, It's cold inside! Emergency preparedness test 1....failed!

For all who have wondered, NO our internet is not out of commission....no we're not sick with some horrible disease that has left us out of commission and barely hobbling along...and honestly, we've been busy, but not crazy busy. I just haven't blogged....I've just found other things to do. But I'm back! My goal is at least three posts this week...so please keep checking by!

And now without further adieu, here's the latest from our world....

We are currently cold...very cold! In fact, the weather outside is colder than it has been in a number of weeks, down below freezing for the last couple of nights. I know, I know, to those of you in other parts of these lovely United States, it's not a big deal, but it's been in the 70s many days the last couple of weeks. So, to have lows near and below freezing and highs in the 40s is pretty chilly, but especially in light of a little situation we discovered yesterday.

Yesterday was a busy day. We started off with Jeffrey's final ballgame of the season at 9:00. He didn't win. It was a close one, but they didn't come up on the winning end. It was, however, a blessing in disguise because if they had won, they would have had to play next weekend. The problem w/ that is that we're due to be in Houston for a tournament for J&J next weekend as are several of the players on Jeffrey's team who have older brothers who play Bball at FEAST....so truth be told, Michael was hoping for a loss. Shhh, keep that one a secret!
Anyway, we got home about 10:30 and needed to leave about 11:30 to go serve food at a friend's house whose mom had passed away. In that one hour, I needed to make a mashed potato casserole and some chocolate chip banana muffins to take with us, and feed the boys. At this point, Michael is quite sure we will not leave on time....imagine him doubting!! Oh, he of little faith! While the boys were making their own pizzas on Naan bread (very yummy BTW) I put the potatoes (that I had scored a great deal on at the store) in the pressure cooker to cook quickly while I made the muffins. After I got the pizzas and muffins in the oven, I was wondering WHY the pressure cooker was still not "jiggling". Michael noticed the gas on the burner being very low. Can anyone see where this is going??!! He casually asked, "Um, any chance we could be low on propane?" Well, I didn't know. I mean it seems like we just had the tank filled up w/ 100 lbs of propane. But guess what....he went out and our level was almost to zero. Zero propane=no gas for the stove, no gas for the hot water heater, no gas for the house heater! Well, we quickly called the propane people to see if they could come and fill 'er up, but the lady said that the driver had already been out our way that day and probably wouldn't be able to make it out until Monday.

Know what?? He DIDN'T make it out yesterday. And it's chilly (58 I think!) in our house! Thankfully, we've got a wood burning fireplace (and a husband/daddy who thought ahead last week to get us to get some wood out of the forest and put it in the garage). So, we're all donning sweatshirts and we've pulled the kitchen table into the living room by the fire place. I challenged the boys to a game of Monopoly and WON! I've lost badly the last two games, so the victory was sweet, but it was actually a great excuse to sit right in front of the fire for two hours straight! And dinner won't be on the stove tonight! Thankfully, our oven is electric, and we do have a microwave. And I'm thinking I may just go and workout to feel warm for a little while! Poor Michael has already told me that he's getting up early in the morning to go into work and take a shower! :-) He doesn't want to risk as ice cold one and we don't know how much hot water is in the water tank. But, what do I do??!! BRRRRRR! And I HAVE to go out tomorrow b/c it's CC day. Pony tail, here I come!

And now we know....check the propane tank. Check it more often! And tomorrow night....I'm turning up the heat and taking a really nice hot shower!!

Pox, Day 5...Fired up and red-ie

So here's some pics of pox from this morning....yesterday was (I really hope!) the worst day of the entire process. It seems we're coming up out of the depths, but boy howdy were those poxies firey red yesterday. And according to Jeffrey, they HURT! The special natural lotion stuff I ordered should come today, and then we're SMEARING that stuff ALL OVER! But I am very encouraged today that after a very good night's sleep (thankfully! 'cuz Tuesday night was anything but a good night's sleep!) they both feel better. Still missing a bathtub something awful! Jeffrey took like 8 showers yesterday. Obviously the warm water is soothing and makes them feel better. Of course, who doesn't feel better with a warm, soothing shower with the water pitter pattering gently, maybe a heater going, quiet music....man I better stop, I'm feeling so relaxed I can't even type! :-)

Here's Josiah....

And the cream of the crop (literally...the pox crop!) Jeffrey...

Can you say OUCH!! Michael told Jeffrey last night that until yesterday, he (Michael) was convinced that when he had chicken pox as a boy, he had the worst case that he'd ever seen. Jeffrey's case yesterday changed his mind. I should say so! I think this is the worst I've ever seen. But he's feeling better today, so we're trusting that we're on our way up the hill to recovery...leaving the valley of pox!

Pox, Day 4....The itching commences aka "Ahhhhh, Aveeno"

Well, yesterday afternoon, the itching began....and it came on with gusto! Oh, I feel so sorry for those guys...we had more than one episode of crying along with "I just want it to be over!!" Breaks a momma's heart for sure! But I KNOW (and I told them) that God will give them everything they need to get through the chicken pox...and do it gracefully! Now's the time to learn those kinds of lessons and develop even more character, right. I mean if they can learn to be content and gracious when they feel horrible and feel like their skin is crawling all the time...wow that'd be great!! In the meantime, Aveeno cream, Benadryl and Motrin seem to be doing their bit as well. And realistically, school is slowing down (not stopping, sorry guys!) to a crawl. I'm not THAT driven. When you look into the eyes of an 8 or 11 year old that look glassy and wet with tears, whatcha gonna do, break out the math??!! I think not! But we did break out another couple of books today...one was Jeremy's photo album from when he was younger and had the chicken pox....
Wow, doesn't Michael look young!! But we saw these pictures (and some others that I couldn't get to scan well) and know what Jeffrey's and Josiah's comment was? "Wait a minute, they don't have many spots at ALL!" Josiah actually said "TWO?? TWO SPOTS??!!" He was pretty disgusted until I pointed out to him all the other smaller spots on Jeremy and Jonathan. That made him feel a little better, but they both feel like J&J definitely got the better deal from the chicken pox fairy!

Then we broke out another book...a book from the era of J&J's chicken pox...

Don't know if you can see it, but it's called Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox. It's a cute easy reader book about a boy who gets the chicken pox. Obviously, Jeffrey and Josiah can TOTALLY relate. We sure have been missing having a bathtub during this ordeal as well. I mean who doesn't love a long soak when you feel puny? And I don't think Aveeno oatmeal baths work as well in a shower! :-) Jeffrey yesterday even asked if we could just drive over to Pop and Granna's house (3 hours away) just so he could take a bath. Believe me, I've thought about it! Except Granna won't even be there...she off to provide aid to Julie's kids who are also in mid-pox! Well, Pop shouldn't mind if we come...I mean, without Pop, there would be no pox. We'll see what happens!

Pox, Day 3...It's ON!

Now, THIS.....is chicken pox! We still aren't sure what it was Jeffrey had two weeks ago, but now we know FOR SURE that Jeffrey has the chicken pox! He woke up this morning (after going to bed at 6:30 last night) and had a plethera of poxies!

For just $30 a month, you can sponsor this child.

Ok, maybe that was a bad joke, but I mean isn't that a perfectly pitiful picture??!! Look at that baby's ribs! Really, it's just 'cuz his arms are raised. I PROMISE I feed him!! And those sad eyes! It sooooo sad. He doesn't really feel THAT bad, he was just looking the part for the picture.

And his back.....

But guess what...school is IN session! One of the joys of homeschooling! :-) I remember when I had the pox I at least got a couple of weeks off of school. Not at Dagerath Academy, no sir. Thankfully, Jeffrey and Josiah are both in very good spirits. Showing real character and patience through the whole ordeal. We're very proud of them! Stay tuned for more in The Pox Journal....being at home more = blogging more! :-)

Pox, Day 2

Well, it appears that Josiah is getting the pox "right and proper" (as the Amish people say in all of Beverly Lewis's books). His spots are really coming out. I think today I'm going to start giving him the homeopathic remedy to help shorten the life of the virus. I just wanted to make sure he got a good enough case to spur that sweet immunity system on. I think we're there! Here's some photos. You can't see the pox very well, but they're there.... Here's his front...

his back....

He's got them on his neck, behind his ears, on his scalp....

even a couple in his mouth...poor baby!

Thankfully, they don't itch yet. And for the most part, he feels well.


And in the "Ummmm....what!!!???!!!"category...I have pox-like blisters on my arm...

and even one on my back. I mean good grief, I've had chicken pox...TWICE! Thankfully, all my "pox" are located in one little spot on my arm and even though they itch, it's not terrible. Nothing Aveeno can't knock out....
but then...last night after a day of feeling fever-ish and "blah" Jeffrey had NEW SPOTS!! "Ummm....what??!!" indeed! We thought we were done and had closed the book on Jeffrey's chicken pox era, but in all the same places (wierd, huh!) where he had a rash last week, he's got new spots, this time a lot more of them are blistery looking. Which begs the question...what did he have for the last two weeks??? Pre-pox? Beats me...

Here's his new spots. Two weeks ago this area was red and "whelp"-ish, but now it's covered in blisters. Sigh! Even spots that looked "pox"y two weeks ago, are back and red. It's a mystery for sure. We've just decided to treat the earlier "whatever" as a practice run and a heads up for the Big Dance. So, now, we're buckling down for the long haul. After all, if you gotta have a disease, might as well have a brother with them as well! :-)

Varicella Victim #2...aka "Another one bites the dust"

It's now official, Josiah is the second (and hopefully last!!) Dagerath to get the chicken pox. We are actually really glad the he went ahead and got it. I've wondered if I should feel guilty for the rejoicing that ensued when we saw the spots coming up on his tummy and back over the last 24 hours. After all, it IS a communicable disease! We've done so many things to make sure that we DON'T get those kinds of diseases (think H1N1, bird flu, stomach flus of all sorts, etc.) that it seems a little counterintuitive to be smiling and whooping at the thought of him getting this one. But, nevertheless, we are! We're just glad he'll get it and get it overwith. Julie's kiddos also look like they're taking the long and lovely journey to "the land of the pox"....and are going with equal rejoicing! :-) I mean, we couldn't have caught it from a nicer guy....thanks, Pop! :-)

And since all activities are back in swing this week, including orientation for spring sports at FEAST, basketball games and anorthodontic appt., I'm also very thankful for big boys who can babysit Josiah (in other words, play on the Wii with Josiah while mom and some other brothers go do things they are obligated to do!!) because Michael's out of town part of the week. All in all, I'm enjoying having some reasons to stay home and not do as much. I'm in the market for some good books to read if anyone has any suggestions! I seem to have a lot more down time lately....and will for the next couple of weeks looks like.

Wii-ing in the New Year

Since Jeffrey had chicken pox (and since we'd just gotten home and were tired!) on New Year's Eve, we stayed home and celebrated together as a family. After our traditional fare of tacos and fondue....(and how is it that it seems like EVERY year, I'm on a no-sugar plan on New Year's Eve??!! Poor planning on my part for sure!!)
we brought out the Wii that we got the boys for Christmas. Owning a Wii was certainly one of those things that I said I would NEVER do! Having friends who own Wiis is a good thing. Kinda like having friends with a swimming pool. All the fun, none of the responsibility. Now granted up-keep of the Wii is nothing like upkeep of a swimming pool, but it certainly requires more discipline and self-control to not get angry or consumed with the games. In fact, I'm on the brink of a Madden ban (it's a football game)...because Madden 10 has certainly made the boys "Mad in '10" waaaaayyyyy too many times. But over all, the Wii has been lots of fun. Yes, Michael, I know you told me so. I admit it. Part of my Wii-cave was negotiating a Wii Fit and EASports Active game with the Wii. And it is FUN, FUN, FUN!! Overall, I've been very surprised at the relative lack of "video funk" that has oozed from the Wii. It's been very fun and something we actually enjoy as a family. Shocker! So, anyway back to New Year's Eve....we spent time doing fun games together for what ended up being a couple of hours.

Don't let this couch shot fool you, Michael's a "play-a" for sure!

After a couple of hours, Jonathan and Jeremy went back to read.

We watched the ball drop in New York and had a time of talking about what our goals would be for 2010. Then Michael, Jeffrey, Josiah and I went to bed, but J&J stayed up to "read in" the New Year.

Jackson didn't make it to midnight! :-) BTW, yesterday was the anniversary of our adoption of Jackson. 5 years ago we made a REALLY GREAT choice at the Bartlett Animal Shelter!!!!