Sick of sickness

Since Cam's three night hospitalization, we've all been dealt with the stomach bug on two separate weekends, so we've been dealing with sickness for nearly a month now!  Last weekend we were driving home from our friend's house when Reese complained that her teeth hurt.  Turns out, she didn't know how to describe nausea & seconds later it was a scene from the Exorcist in my back seat.  Good times, good times.  Days later Cam woke us up at midnight saying he "puked."  I was up from midnight till 4am cleaning & taking care of the sickling & then worked the following day.  On top of it, the poor bugger has missed two more days of school because of the stomach bug = 6 days out of a few weeks of school = not good.  Thankfully this is just kindergarten! 

Amidst the sickness, Mike has been like a five year-old on Christmas morning, getting all jacked up for the start of the NFL season!

 

We kicked off the Bears game (which sadly ended up being a loser) with Jeff Mauro's Chicago Italian beef.  

 I've made this many, many times & it is always a complete hit.  It's positively delish, there's nothing more to say about it.  Click here for the recipe & I can guarantee that unless you're a vegetarian or vegan, you will not be sorry!

After 14+ weeks, I finally got my trailer park looking highlights done, so that's another plus!  Gone are the highlights since I don't have the time or money to maintain them as I should, so I decided on peek-a-boo highlights.  You can't really see the blond streaks in the picture of me above, but they're there.

This picture above was my inspiration since I love contrast but not the grow-out that comes with it.

Ever since Cam's hospitalization, he adores playing board games.  We recently bought Trouble to add to our collection.

Thankfully Cam's bus is finally on a good schedule with drop-off!  We were told the first couple of weeks had a lot of delays & they weren't lying!  Reese & I would have a good half hour to kill each day so we'd just walk up & down the street in the 95 degree heat, waiting for the bus to show.

Speaking of Reese, she's finally out of her crib & into her big girl bed!  Cam was converted a lot earlier as a baby since he was jumping overboard, but she never tried climbing out (except for the time we were in the hospital & my mom was watching her).  But now that she's potty trained, she needs to be able to use the bathroom at night. 

Last but not least, we're scheduled to leave on a four-night cruise next Monday!  Last year we sat in on sale's pitch spiel & ended up getting a deeply discounted cruise for only $450 for the two of us, food included.  Well, the trip has completely snuck up on us & with the kids being sick recently, I have to say that the idea of getting on a ship headed towards Cozumel & Grand Cayman terrifies instead of excites me.  We're rarely without our kids & don't often have date nights, so I know it will be good to get away, but I know I'll miss the kids so very much & worry about them.  My mom is coming up to stay at our house so I know they'll be in good hands, I just hope I don't have a panic attack before the boat departs.. I could cry just thinking about leaving them.  I never thought I'd be like this as a mom, but here I am having major separation anxiety from my chillins!