Someone is 7!

I have officially been a mommy now for 7 years! And what a ride it has been. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter than my Drew, except maybe for Darcy or Bree, but they aren't old enough to read this and since this is about Drew's birthday, I will just say that I couldn't have asked for a better daughter than Drew! What a sweetheart this girl is. She is a great helper with her younger siblings and is quick to come to Bree or Darcy's aid when they need help. Mason . . . not so much. They love to play together though so I am not complaining too loud. This birthday was a bit different for me. We actually threw our first non-family birthday party with school friends. Her teacher's class policy is to invite all girls, which in this case was 13! Drew assured me that all 13 girls would be there, even though I only received 5 RSVP's, so to be on the safe side I made 48 cupcakes that the girls would decorate themselves. Well, only 3 girls showed up. We had tons of cupcakes and candy left over so Drew and Mason set up a table in the driveway advertising free cupcakes to whomever would come take them off our hands. We had a few takers, thank goodness! Drew wasn't too disappointed at the small turnout and I can't say I was either. Fewer kids = less hassle for me! The friend party was Saturday but her real birthday was yesterday. We had tacos for dinner and angel food cake with strawberries for dessert. She picked up a few gifts, but my favorite is the Michael Jackson Dance Experience for the Kinect. I am not quite as good a dancer as I once thought I was, I have discovered! Another reason this birthday was different is that Drew is growing up. She actually wanted nail polish! Heaven help me, I am raising a girl! I'm not sure how that happened but I will try my best to steer her in that direction if that is where she is headed. I wasn't sure if toys were appropriate or exactly what to get her this year. Its fun to watch her grow up but its also kind of tough to watch her grow up. I am great with diapering baby buns, I don't really know what to do for a 7 year old. I guess Drew will be our guinea pig, as she has been for all other stages. Poor kid. Let's see, she is in bed so I will have to guess at her favorites.

Singer: Michael Jackson

Food: tacos, chicken stir-fry, rice

Toys: Legos

Color: Red

Movies: Harry Potter series, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series

Animal: Hippos

Drew's 2 bottom teeth in the front are loose but they aren't coming out anytime soon. She hasn't lost any teeth yet but doesn't seem to mind too much. I just hope when the time comes to pull them out she will do it so I don't have to. Yuck! Her reading abilities have exploded over the last year and she loves to read. She is trying to teach Mason how to also. Now that is fun to watch.

Happy birthday Drew! We all love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our family!

5 down, 1 to go.

The past 2 weeks have been rough on the immune systems around our house. Drew came down with a cold and sore throat but she was able to shake the sore throat after a day or two so we didn't take her to see a doctor. A couple days later Mason woke up and pretty much remained flat on his back for the next 3 days till mom finally decided to take him to Urgent Care after complaints of a sore throat, headache, horrible cough, nose bleeds, and a fine red rash. The tests came back positive for strep throat and scarlet fever. He also had an x-ray taken of his chest, which he totally loved because he could see his heart and bones, and they also threw a diagnosis of pneumonia in there for good measure. I was pretty sure Darcy had strep too, so the next day she went to see her doctor and as I pulled her sweatshirt off, the doctor and I noticed a fine red rash on her torso. Yep, scarlet fever and strep. The very next day Bree woke up with a temp of 101.8 so I took her to urgent care, and I was feeling funny in my throat so I checked us both in to be tested for strep. Neither of our tests came back positive. I was told Bree probably has a cold virus, which of course there is no medicine for for babies, so she has been suffering with her dry, barking seal coughs for days now. A couple days later, Paul started to feel under the weather. He finally got in to urgent care yesterday where he was diagnosed with pneumonia! He has been out of work for 3 days now and feeling pretty awful. As I type this I can feel a tightening in my throat. I hope it is just sympathy pains, but I wouldn't be surprised to wake up tomorrow and find myself in the same boat as the rest of the family. I am so very grateful that we live in an age where illnesses like scarlet fever and pneumonia no longer have to mean permanent damage or even death. What a blessing it is to have competent doctors and readily available medicines accessible at a moment's notice. It hasn't been an easy 2 weeks on me, or the rest who have actually suffered the sicknesses, but we are thankful for all the thoughts, prayers, and kind acts from everyone who helped us get through this mess just a little bit easier.