Rough Week for the Littlest

This past week was really tough for Carissa. She picked up a "cold" from preschool, which started with a fever saturday night, which didn't end until Monday evening. I took her to the dr on Monday morning. They did a strep and flu test, both of which came back negative. So we went home to "wait it out" since it was probably just a virus. We knew we would just have to be patient, but we were glad that her appetite hadn't been affected. Then during the night she started HACKING! Not just an annoying cough, but a "shake the body until you are groaning in pain cough". And that lasted all night.....for TWO nights. Not to mention ALL day as well! And now, we had a new problem. She didn't want to eat ANYTHING. Not one single cheerio. Not one bit of toast. Not one single cracker. NOTHING.....for 2 days. Obviously her throat was killing, but she refused to let me look at it. Then on Thursday, when I was about ready to haul her back to the dr, not really caring how crazy I look for wanting to be seen for a "virus", they call me and tell me that the 2 day culture grew "something", but they still weren't sure if it was strep. So they called in an antibiotic (the pink stuff, which Carissa HATES) and now she seems to be doing much better. The cough is persistent, but her appetite has returned!

So this is what our week looked like with pictures.
We started off being silly while I tryed to get a decent picture. (I thought about posting the sticking-out-tongue ones, but I figure that might be all I get in the near future, so I better stick with a good one!) This was friday morning.

We even got outside for a nice walk!

Then this was Monday morning, running a fever and just being miserable. When she wasn't laying across my lap sleeping, she was on the couch watching TV.

When she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, she would sleep for about 20 minutes at a time, until she woke up coughing and moaning. Look at those poor little lips that were so chapped, because she was getting dehydrated.




And here we are now. Back to her normal messes, and dressing up and throwing the attitute around!



So good to have her back. I don't know what's more exhausting......taking care of her while she's sick....OR.....when she is running full throttle with more energy than I could ever muster! I have yet to figure that out.

Now the main reason I write this is because I want to stress to some people that it is still cold/flu/RSV season. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.......I BEG you to not bring your sick children to SCHOOL.....CHURCH.......PLAYLANDS........wherever! PLEASE! No I can't protect her from everything, but the little girl that got her sick was coughing quite severely and never should have come to school. Please use common sense and remember that some kids just manage to pick everything up and they just don't have the immune system to fight it off, without first declining almost to the point of being hospitalized. (The dr had told me that if she didn't start eating by the third day, then they would have to send her to Primary's). My little girl who only weighs 26 pounds.....LOST TWO pounds in TWO days! Some kids just don't have that kind of weight to lose. And it will take her a good 2 months to put it back on.



And then to add fuel to the fire.......I've got it too! And now I know why she was so miserable for 5 days!

So this is what I've learned over the past week. Because one mother wanted TWO hours of freedom from a sick child, it cost me an entire week of getting NOTHING done, 2 doctors visits (because I've now been in for a strep test as well) staying home from church twice, missing preschool 3 times (and I still have to pay for those days!) Andrew coming home early 3 days in a row (when he really couldn't afford to), and my daughter losing TWO POUNDS....over a "little cold"! Gee kinda doesn't look like a fair trade!

Awesome Tutorial

When I saw this tutorial over on TaylorMade's blog, I knew I wanted to try it "someday", but didn't have a picture that I thought would work. Well the carousel picture from last week works perfectly, so I got started. The action that creates this awesome look is from PanosFX. What is amazing is that they've also created an action that works in Photoshop Elements. However it is faster and easier if you have a full version of Photoshop (CS2-4). So if you have a version of Photoshop, give it a try. It was a really fun action to watch work! (boy does that sound "geeky")







Supplies are from Weeds & Wildflowers (paper, date strip, and hearts), OScraps (text overlays:TaylorMade)

Rascal Flatts Concert

Andrew surprised me with Rascal Flatts concert tickets for Valentine's Day. (he is getting better, isn't he?) We went to dinner over at the Gateway, to a place we'd never gone before called Taiphoon. The food was absolutely AMAZING! We ordered more than we normally would have but we brought most of it home. We just couldn't believe that everything could be so delicious, but it was. But if you go, remember to hit it either early or late. We got there around 5:45 and it was already packed! And it just got worse from there! They have a really great lunch special until 4:00, so that would be an option to avoid the crowd!

The concert started out with a bang! The guys made their entrance from above the stage, with this awesome "matrix" lighting! The stage was so very cool, and the lighting was extraordinary!

So here's my favorite shot of the whole concert (OK....ONE of them)

Check out the drummer in the background! LOVE it!

So here are the 3 guys.


They had these fabulous side screens that they did lots of pictures/videos with wicked lighting! Here is what the screen looked like while they were singing my very favorite song, "The broken Road".


Then the DEAFENING crowd for the curtain call!(good thing I'm an old fogie and wore ear plugs!) Then the guys came back out and rocked it out for another 20 minutes! Check out this duel going on!

And here it is after the confetti is shot out and these HUGE balloon things are dropped from the ceiling.

Man these guys know how to rock a concert!

And no, my seats weren't that close, just got lucky with my 300mm lens!

NOTE: I don't know why Blogger is cutting off half my pictures, but trust me, the other half are amazing too! Be patient, I'll figure it out somehow...anyone have any tips on HTML code?

Random Fun-Ness

Well we haven't been doing too much lately. My mom is here visiting for a week, and Carissa has been entertaining her. We've had plenty of tea parties, dressing up, and playing board games. She loves to dress up in her twirly-fluffy skirt and race across the kitchen floor riding her scooter!


This is one I snapped of her little tea party set up!


It made me smile, cause as she's gotten older and the imagination is starting to make a stronger presence in her play, to see her place her binky on the table gives me a small bit of hope that she is still just a little girl and not all grown up....yet!

We went to the zoo yesterday, taking full advantage of a warm-ish, almost spring day. There was still snow on the ground in places, but the animals were excited to be able to come outside and bask in the sunshine. But the highlight (as always) was the carousel.

This shot was my favorite. I realize that you can't see the animal she's riding, and I don't really care. She was floating along with the music, in her own little world! The magic of childhood!

Words of Wisdom.....from a 4 year old!

Tonight as Andrew was *attempting* to get Carissa ready for bed, they were playing a fun little game she likes to play called "Tigress". (That is the GIRL charachter from Kung-Fu Panda) Things were getting a little wild, and Andrew thought it would be best to reign it in for the night.

Andrew pulled her close and said to her, "Carissa, there comes a time in your life when you have to prepare yourself to relax and rest". Her response to that was, "DaAa-ddy, (kind of drawn out and a bit philosophical) there also comes a time when you NEED to finish what you started"!!

Gee.......um thanks honey! Needless to say, the game continued! Right after we laughed! This little one is way too smart, and wise beyond her years!

Temple Open House

On Saturday, we made the "trek" over to the other mountain to go through the Draper Temple. We were a bit nervous about going during dinner time, but Carissa ate lots of snacks on the "long drive" over! Once we got to the chapel we were waiting to be bussed up to the temple, the wait was a bit more difficult. Then when it was time to get on the bus, they soon discovered that someone had parked their car right in front of the bus route, to get in and out of the chapel parking lot. By the time they realized this, there were at least 4 busses stacked up, and no one was able to get on the bus. So after waiting about 10 minutes, Andrew decides that they need some "management"! The drivers were saying that they couldn't just back up, and they obviously couldn't go forward, so they were basically gonna sit there until the driver of the illegally parked car returned! Well Andrew made the suggestion that we stop the busses on the street, prior to pulling into the parking lot, and have the groups walk out that way. Yes, it was COLD, and icy, but after 3 busses were loaded within minutes, it was much better than standing around. Hooray for Andrew! Who says a government worker can't get things done! (well maybe when it affects them!)



So when we finally got on the bus, Carissa wasn't sure she wanted to do this new activity. She finally settled down and when we got our first glimpse of the temple, she started singing "I Love to see the Temple" while the nice host was trying to give his little schpeel. At least she wasn't screaming it, but he was having a hard time focusing on what he was reading. It was pretty comical.

Carissa wasn't so sure about the tunnels leading up to the temple, but she must have known how special it is to go to the temple. As we approached the door, she just looked up in awe. And was so reverent through the entire tour. We were so proud of her! We just didn't know how she would behave. Then once we got out in the tunnel to go to the stake center, she went right back to her normal volume level!

If you haven't had a chance to get over there, try and make it happen, it is truly beautiful!

Went private

I decided this morning after seeing activity from Japan that I needed to go private....immediately. If you haven't already put a traffic feed on your blog, please do it. You can grab it from the bottom of my right side bar. I watched the traffic for about couple of weeks and didn't notice anything unusual. Then this morning, something very unusual showed up. And I'm still shaking just thinking about it. Truly feel violated. VIOLATED!

If I missed anyone, please let me know that you would like to read my blog. Or if you hear that someone wants to read mine, please contact me. I really don't want to leave anyone out, but I just don't want the CRAZIES in! I love blogging, and love that I can keep up with other families as well, but I don't want to let strangers in with less than good intentions.