Day 5: Dosage Chart on Child's Medication Bottle

The chart is sloppy, but you get the idea!  Useful, indeed!

This is one of those things that I think, why haven't I thought of that?!? My little Owen is sick with an ear and throat/tonsil infection. We picked up medication for him yesterday and so I decided to apply a tip I learned from Pinterest. Instead of trying to remember or guess how many doses your child has taken, you can draw a chart right on the bottle. In my case, I drew a horizontal chart, ten across for the ten days Owen is supposed to take the medication, and three down for the number of doses he takes a day. Handy, isn't it? I'm 100% sure this will help me in the task of keeping track of doses. I'm so glad I came across this pin!

He takes medicine like a little bird.  :)

24 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 11

Photo Credit: http://lynnkerewchiropractic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/flu.jpg

I am thankful that my family and I have stayed well (so far) this Fall.  By this time last year, we had passed a variety of illnesses around already.  From the early fall of 2010 to late spring of 2011, our family experienced the flu/stomach virus, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infections, and the common cold----all of those at least twice.  Health will never be something I take for granted again!  Thank you, Lord, for the health you have granted my family so far this season!  I pray we stay well through the holidays!

The Quotable Jackson

Jackson got sick the second night I was home from the hospital with Owen.  Poor kid.  He just kept throwing up.  He got so upset each time he threw up saying, "I don't like this!"  "This is not fun!"  Then, finally, he summed up the experience by declaring, "Even bad guys don't like to throw up!"  Well said, Jackson.  Well said!

MIA

I'm sure those who read my blog have noticed that I have been MIA for quite some time...something like 6 weeks! I don't know if I have ever gone that long without posting! My life has been extremely busy, and somewhat hectic lately. Troy's life has been the same. I keep telling him that it is only a season. I need to remind myself of that fact often!

So, here is a "quick" update of what has been going on the last 6 weeks:

~Troy, Jackson and I all got sick with a stomach virus at the same time. It was miserable. I got a shot to keep me from vomiting and to help with the nausea. It really worked. I lost 4 lbs in the process of being sick, and Jackson lost 2. We have gained the weight back since then.
~Our friends, Matt and Tiffany just got married a couple weeks ago. They are a wonderful couple that we have seen grow from "just friends" to husband and wife. Tiffany was so thoughtful to ask me to be in the wedding. I will have pictures posted soon, but for now, you can go to our photographer friend, Marlin Munoz's blog, to see photos of the bride and groom. Marlin take beautiful photos! He was assisted by Jeret Slack, who also posted photos on his blog.
~We went camping in Joshua Tree last over this past weekend. It was great weather while we were there, although David and Robyn said it was extremely windy the night we left. Jackson loved camping and being able to sleep in a tent. He also loved spending time with his cousins, Luke and Ellie, and playing in the dirt. It was more of a challenge, however, for me, being tired and pregnant, and having to keep Jackson in one place! Good thing Troy watched him a whole lot! I will post pictures of that trip soon as well!
~Our computer went ker-plunk. I was doing so much work on it (most of the reason for my busy-ness), and Troy did a bunch of work on it as well, we think the hard drive may be somewhat fried. Hence, the reason for me not posting any new pictures up yet. I can't put anymore on our computer until we wipe out the hard drive!
~Concerning the pregnancy, I am no longer feeling sick. It has been such a wonderful improvement! I am still tired ALL THE TIME, but that is better than being tired and sick all the time. My hip also spasms all the time as well. This is from an injury that I had in my first pregnancy that never went away. So, its back with vengeance. I really do thank the Lord for Icy Hot. It is a life saver! I have an appointment for a pre-natal check up next Wednesday, which is when I will be scheduled for THE ULTRA SOUND....yup, that is right! The one when we (hopefully) get to find out the sex of the baby. I will be absolutely shocked if it is a girl, seeing as they are a rare occurrence in our family. We shall see!
~Michael (my twin brother) and Genevieve (my friend from high school) are getting married in a few weeks. I have been busy planning her shower and bachelorette parties. I am anxious to see how they turn out! I will update you!
~Here are some pictures that I haven't posted yet from the end of February and the beginning of March:

This is the smile I get when I ask Jackson to "say cheese!"

Jackson's favorite food is fries. He asks for them all the time, although I don't give in all the time. I did find a healthier way to make them. I bought organic fries and cooked them in olive oil. That way he gets a healthy fat!This is Jackson when he was sick. His first Curious George stuffed animal was a casualty to his first throwing up experience. So, this George that Di gave him has come in handy! They even got to wear their pj's all day together!Jackson also loves ketchup...can you tell?

One of Jackson's favorite things to do when he is happy is dance. Here is a picture of him breaking out some moves!

Sick Boy...

My poor boy has been sick for the last two weeks. First, he came down with a cold, (runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever), and then croup, and then another fever and a rash from his MMR shot. Boy, he's been through a lot these last two weeks! Good thing he had some good reading to keep himself occupied! :)

Birthday Boy!

On Friday, Jackson turned the ripe old age of 1. The time has gone by so extremely fast! He has become such a little boy is so little time! He is walking everywhere...no crawling for him! He says a lot of words, but his favorites lately seem to be "oh, wow" and "uh-oh." He is a smart boy. I will ask him at any time if he wants to sing a song and he will start to sing "row, row, row..." It is quite possibly the cutest thing!

Jackson had his 12 month check-up yesterday. He weighed in at 23 lbs and measured at 30 " tall. He is just above the 50th percentile in both areas. That is quite an improvement from 6 months ago! I am so glad he grew! Jackson also got five shots yesterday. I think that is one of the hardest things for a parent to watch. He did have a reaction to the Chicken Pox shot he got. It was just a rash around the area that the shot was given. It was almost gone about thirty minutes after the shot was given. The doctor had never seen a reaction like that before, so he asked us to stick around, and after 30 minutes, Jackson was given a clean bill of health! Speaking of health, Jackson got his first cold. He is a bit on the miserable side right now. We suspect it was from being around so many kids----and perhaps some sick ones----at his party. The doctor agreed that was where he most likely got it from. Green, snotty noses and little coughs are no fun---for either of us!
Well, enough about that...Jackson has been such a tremendous blessing this past year to both Troy and I. Troy posted a good blog on that subject. He mentioned four things he has learned this first year of Jackson's life. I have a list of my own:

1. God is so merciful, generous, and gracious in so many ways.
2. My husband is an amazing daddy.
3. Having Jackson to care for can make me forget about my needs. My spiritual, emotional, and physical needs matter, and I need to take time to tend to those needs in order to better tend to my family's needs.
4. There is no such thing as sleeping in once you have a little one (8 hours of sleep is a privilege!)
5. There is nothing that can melt my heart more than a little child showing that he loves me (giving me a big hug and smile, while affectionately patting me on the shoulder).

So there you have it. Now, to get to the fun part of the blog...the photos! Here are some photos of Jackson's birthday weekend!

Jackson with his one of his birthday presents from his mommy and daddy...a shopping cart!"Hello?" Jackson talking on his new cell phone.Jackson's favorite present......was so kindly given to him by our neighbor, Genny, who happens to have the same birthday.Jackson had a blast with the wrapping paper in bows!Jackson's was a bit worried about the whole birthday cake situation...

...but he soon got over it!

"All done!"

Uncle David and Jackson playing Jackson's first educational video game.
On his birthday, Grandma, Grandpa, Nonna, Uncle David, Aunt Robyn, Uncle Mike, Aunt Gen, Uncle Tim, and Genny all came over to celebrate with us. He got a lot of great gifts, and even some that we can benefit from as parents...such as an amazing umbrella stroller (Thanks, Robyn!!!). Who knew who convenient those things can be??? Jackson slept hard that night and woke up the next day to another "birthday"...

Did you know...?

Did you know that bananas can cause lack of bowel movement? Did you know that for young infants 2 oz of 100% apple juice (no sugar added) can clear that blockage right up? Now you know. (Now I know.)

Disclaimer: I'm sorry if that was TMI...but I'm a mother now and those details are just life.

A Few of My Favorite Things

On Tuesday of this week, I started getting sick. I'm still sick and starting to get a bit tired of it. It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't pregnant, or as pregnant as I am now (5 days shy of my due date). However, the common virus or cold has hit me hard because of the present circumstances. I hope to be well when I go into labor. I've just been laying around all day and night, which is extremely hard for me to do! Troy's been great and he has done dishes and laundry for me. I'm really thankful for him! He's hung out with me every night that I've been sick except for tonight. He's playing softball with a friend. So, here I am...blogging! I thought I would list a few of my favorite things to comfort me when I am sick...
1. A kiss on the cheek from my husband
2. Progresso's Low Sodium Chicken with Wild Rice Soup
3. Boiling mint water and breathing in the steam
4. Soft Kleenex
5. A good movie rental
6. My kitty snuggling with me
7. A hot Epsom Salt and lavender bath (Lavender scented Epsom Salt is available at Walgreen's)
8. Hall's Spearmint flavored cough drops (they are very hard to find!)
9. Good Earth Tea or Peppermint Tea
10. A solid night's sleep