My Daughter's Drug of Choice

is Motrin.


Poor kiddo is sick all the stinkin' time. I withdrew Princess Averlin from school hoping less exposure to germs would help her, but no such luck. This is her third bout with strep in the last 2 months. Not to mention the second ear infection in as much time AND she had ear tube surgery one month ago. PLUS her knees hurt her so bad that she wakes up crying in the middle of the night sometimes. It's so sad and frustrating. Today she ran a 104.2 temperature, which just about made me croak when I looked at the thermometer. She and Jeff are at the ER as I type.

We are taking her in January for some blood tests to see what's goin' on. She's such a scrawny little thing and always has been, but one good thing is that she finally broke 30 pounds! Prayers, please, would be lovely.

Now, I'm off to bed to catch up on some sleep..... honk shoooo

Bad: Averlin is always sick
Good: Averlin is getting a small amount of meat on her bones
Great: Sleep is coming soon.
Better: Blood tests in January
Best: Prayers from you

Princess Boot Camp

Salem is 6 today. It seems as though I was just blogging about her 5th birthday. How has one year passed so quickly, and yet been so full all at the same time? Salem is smart and deep. Nothing gets past that girl, and yet she still enjoys letting her hair down and being a girly girl at times. She decided she wanted a tea party for her birthday, so we kicked it into "Princess Boot Camp" mode and had a lovely time, darling. (I tried to convince her we should talk the whole time in a snooty British accent, but she wouldn't have it. She said that she just wanted "normal conversation..." Sheesh, where's the fun in that?)

We started with lunch and tea followed by.... makeup of course!



After the girls were all gussied up (what a horrible word 'gussied' is), we moved on to ornament painting. Very easy, very clean, and very fancy; wouldn't you agree?



Next came the cake which was as delicious as it was beautiful. I totally didn't make it- I'm not quite that special yet.




And, finally, what better way to end a lovely tea party than with a rousing game of "Let's Run Around In Our Princess Dresses Like Mad Animals Beating The Birthday Girl With the Decorations!" Never heard of it, you say? Lucky you.

Really, it was a fun time. Salem had a good time and nothing got broken, neither of which is always so easy to pull off, so overall I count it as a success.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. I love you dearly and have enjoyed learning so much from you over the past 6 years.

Me At This Moment In Time

1. I can't find my camera and it's making me extremely sad. :(

2. My goal was to blog at least once a week in November... so close.

3. We had a great trip to California for Thanksgiving. We were going to go backpacking but changed our minds, hopped in the car and drove 22 straight hours. It was a fun time. Lots of shopping and my sister cut my hair.

4. Some people drive me crazy.

5. Sometimes I like to provoke those people. (Don't hate- you know you do it too.)

6. My sweet darling started his new part time job today and I feel verrrry nervous for him. Yay for substitute teaching!!

7. I signed up for a full course load for spring semester!!!! Woohoo! So excited.

8. I am waaaay less grinchy than I was this time last year. Though, with certain people driving me crazy I sometimes have to remind myself of this.

9. I am currently loving my job.

10. I miss Denae. Denae- I miss you!

11. Homeschooling Averlin rocks!

12. I completely LOVE my husband and children.

13. I have too much to do to be on the computer.

A Queen's Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

I would really like for my husband to be done with school. And also, if he could use his degree to get a job, that would be nice too. School sucks worse than real jobs. So a real job would be nice. Oh- and a good paycheck. Yes, that would certainly be a wonderful thing to have so we didn't ever again have to rely on the VA to dose us out our fair share of GI Bill and end up waiting 9 long months of poorness to get it. So, if we could just get that paycheck.

Oh! I forgot to mention the children. I would like a dozen children with their daddy's olive skin and my green (sometimes blue) eyes who I can kiss and snuggle and teach and love. Yes, the children.

While I'm at it- I also need a big farmhouse with a lovely wrap around porch and a large field where my children can run and ride horses- that's right, horses. Did I forget to ask for those? Add it to the list please- and maybe a few chickens.

I don't know how this happened, but I forgot ask for a closet full of high heels so I can retain my Queen status. I wouldn't be me without them. So, that's pretty much a must.

Oh one more thing:

If you're feeling extra generous... could I fit into the above jeans again? But don't overwork youself- you're only one man.

I'm Thankful For Adventure

Hi.

Last Day-After-Thanksgiving I was standing on a giant letter Y on the side of a mountain looking out over this gorgeous sight. It was breathtaking.

What should we do for Thanksgiving this year? I am feeling adventurous and spontaneous... For real- what should we do? We have a whole week.

Any and all ideas would be greatly appreciated.

It Brings Tears To My Eyes...And It Burns

Last night we cooked a very potent onion:

Kooky and Spooky (Heavy on the Kooky)

Happy Halloween Everyone!