Sunday...Hopefully Our Last Day of Quarantine

I would say it is a good thing when me and Jason argue over who is going to get to go to church when one of the girls' is sick (instead of arguing over who is going to be the one that gets to stay at home). Usually, I am the one who stays in with the sick one...and that is o.k. with me...I think it just sort of natural for the Mommy take care of sick ones. So, Jason and Macy went to church this morning and tonight. Today should be the last day that Lucy has to stay in. Since she is so much better (just a little tired), we are planning on getting out and doing a few things tomorrow.As I was getting Macy ready for church and making sure she had money for her offering, she says to me..."So, how does Jesus get all of this money? Is is airlifted to Him or something?" I got a happy giggle out of that one. I thought it was so sweet that getting money to Jesus was a concern to her =)
And have you tried the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls? Oh.my.word. I made these last summer, twice, and haven't made them since. Our Sunday School class had a breakfast fellowship this morning, so I made these and sent them with Jason. These cinnamon rolls are divine with a capital D. I did eat one of them...which probably used up all of WW flex points for the next year and a half...oh, but it was so worth it!

Melanie's Cupcakes, Miss America, and Weird Food

My dear, sweet friend Melanie posted about these 2 WW point cupcakes here. Ya'll know me and my WW obsession (too bad you can't look at me and see more results of my obsession...I have lost 7 pounds, but I would like it to be more!!), so I had to try them. Macy was playing with a friend on Saturday after our Upward game, which sort of made Lucy sad. So we got in the kitchen and made these scrumptious little cupcakes. We used "cherry chip" cake mix...sort of Valentinesy looking. And all you add is 12 oz of diet Sprite (we used Sprite Zero). Here is Lucy with her "huh?" face when I told her we made them with Sprite.
Lucy filled the muffin tin with Valentine's muffin cups that I just happened to have in the pantry.

We filled the muffin cups 2/3 full, baked about 15 to 20 minutes (or until a knife came out clean...I am out of toothpicks)...and there you have them...the most scrumptious little 2 points you ever have put in your mouth!!
And who wasn't glued to the t.v. Saturday night watching the "Miss America" pageant? Maybe you weren't, but we sure were!!

We got a little crafty before the pageant and made some crowns and purses.

The crowns and the idea for the purses were in a precious little kit that Lucy's little friend, Meghan Kernea had given her for her birthday (by the way, Wendy...I miss you!!). The girls decorated their crowns with sequins and rhinestones that were all in the kit. The purses were lots of fun...

I cut a paper lunch sack pretty short, then traced tons of little circles onto colored cardstock. I cut the circles out, punched a hole in the top, looped a piece of thread through the hole, and taped the thread part onto the bag (each circle taped on individually). You only want to tape the thread...the idea is a sequin bag where the sequins shake. We topped it off with some cute coordinating ribbon and a bow. These were super fun to make...a little time-consuming...but so worth it. Macy and Lucy loved them!!

And since I knew Jason would be a little bummed because hunting season was over, I made his favorite meal and had it waiting on him when he got home. Now this is going to sound ever-so weird...but this is his favorite meal...

That would be boxed macaroni shells and cheese (the kind with the squeeze cheese) and blueberry muffins (the kind with the crumbly topping). How odd is that? I have never had this combination before, but I will say that I will definitely be doing this again...it was quick, cheap, and super yummy!!

***As for the Miss America pageant...we were a little bummed that Miss Mississippi didn't make it to the top, but we quickly decided that we were for Miss Texas. She ended up getting eliminated at some point, and Macy was trying to figure it all out...she made me laugh so hard when she said "Well, what happened to Miss Texas? Did they DELETE her?" I tried to explain the word "eliminate" to her, but "delete" sounded just as good...a little tech-y, don't you think? Fits this generation, I'd say!***

Happy Friday!

We are all glad it is Friday at our house! Fridays are such an easy day to get Macy out of the bed. I told her to look really excited that today is Friday. This is what I got...
I mentioned in my last post that Lucy and I have a bit of cabin fever. We have been NOWHERE except the doctor's office in almost an entire week. And we didn't go anywhere today but to pick up Macy, but I decided we both needed to get dressed, like in real clothes.

We've been to pick Macy up in pajamas / lounge clothes all week this week.

We even set the camera to automatic and took a few pictures, it felt that good to get dressed =) And doesn't Lucy look like she's feeling much better?

Whew...it's definitely been a week! Happy Friday!!

It is also the last weekend of hunting season...I get my husband back on the weekends...whoo hoo. Although I am sure by next weekend, I'll be asking when the next hunting season starts. Hee hee =)

Cabin Fever, Bribery, and My Well Child

We are definitely homebodies. Especially Lucy and Me. As a whole, we all just enjoy being at home. As long as we have a stocked pantry and I have plenty of washing detergent and spray starch, we are good to go. But I'll be honest. Lucy and I are ready for some fresh air. Lucy has been running some kind of fever for 8 days now (with a break of a couple of days last Friday and Saturday), and we have doctor's orders not to get her out and about until at least next Monday. Now we have very much enjoyed ourselves...reading books, putting together a 300 piece puzzle (the child is a genius at puzzles), playing games, playing Macy's DS, baking, changing clothes at least 14 times a day, etc. But we have been living for 2:30 when we get to go get Macy from school. Just to ride in the car for a few minutes feels so good. And it usually means a trip to Sonic =) Today, while I was gathering up my stuff before getting in the car to go pick up Macy, Lucy rode her bike in the garage for a few minutes. The door was closed, my car was in it, and there are boxes and rubbermaid tubs everywhere, but she made the most of it...complete with her Spiderman bike helmet and Crayola sidewalk chalk 3-D glasses. She was going to be very safe in all of the 3 inch area she had to ride in.
I won't lie...we bribe our kids. Not all of the time, but you know how it goes. Bribery is not such a terrible thing...you know...when used in moderation. Macy has started bribing Lucy to go everywhere in the house that she goes. Let me tell you, Macy is a chicken sometimes. A really big chicken. We use our master bath for their showers and baths...it is just easier to have everything in one bathroom. (By the way... we have 2 bedrooms and a full bath up for rent...any takers? Just kidding. We do laugh about the fact that we have a whole side of the house that never gets used and that we ought to rent it out.) And given the fact that our house is by no means big, no matter what room you are in, you are never far from another one of us.

But Macy cannot stand to be anywhere in the house by herself. She begs Lucy to go to the bathroom with her. She will not go into her own room to get her pajamas at night. We keep our house lit up like a runway, but she still gets scared to walk across the house by herself (even in the day time). We laughed tonight...Macy had apparently bribed Lucy to come sit in the bathroom with her while she took a shower...she bribed her with her DS (little does she know, Lucy plays it while Macy is in school...that will be our little secret). Obviously, Lucy was a taker. If you'll notice Lucy's hand..she decided to give herself tattooes in the school line while waiting to pick Macy up today. And yes, those are Christmas balls in the glass canisters on my bathroom counter. I have a sick child...I have no time to worry about Christmas balls in my bathroom.

Yesterday, the school called and said we needed to come get Macy. She was complaining that her head and her belly hurt. I immediately figured she was coming down with the flu as well. We quickly decided this was not the case when she got home and seemed just fine. I think she was a little tired, and quite frankly, I don't blame her for wanting to come home and lay around. We did have a little chat about playing hookey, but I really think she wasn't feeling up to par. And actually, it was quite nice to have her at home on a day she should have been in school.

Does she look sick to you?

She doesn't to me either.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday, and she can get some rest and relaxation as well. It doesn't get much funnier than this girl. She constantly keeps us in stitches. She is full of life and energy and all sorts of funny sayings and expressions. Much like her Daddy was at this age, from what I understand...

Oh, the Yucky Taste of Tamiflu

Last night was rough. Really rough. Lucy's fever was scary high (the highest yet), and she couldn't keep her medicine down. As soon as we got the last of her Tamiflu in her, it ALL came up...Tylenol, her antibiotic, her cough medicine, and the flu medicine. Have you ever tasted liquid Tamiflu? Oh my word. It is a no wonder she threw up. That stuff is NASTY!!Her fever was very high again this morning, but it got much better throughout the day. Of course I am keeping her stuffed with anti-fever medicine, but tonight it did come back up before bedtime (which was super late, as her cough medicine wires her). Lucy even had new jammies to spend the day in today...my parents came to visit yesterday evening after we had been to the doctor and brought Lucy these super cute Valentine's pajamas that my Mom had made. Macy has a pair too, I just didn't get a picture of her in them.
We are feeling lots of love with all the calls, e-mails, text messages, and blog comments that we have received from our family, our church family, and our friends. Jason told me that a sweet prayer was said for our family tonight at church. Thank you ALL for thinking of us!

Shoo To the Flu

Poor Lucy is one sick little girl. We spent part of yesterday at the doctor as well as all afternoon today. Yesterday, it seemed she just had a bad cold. We went to a clinic here in town (my very small town has the nicest little clinic, and we love the doctor there). She even got this sweet little green bear at the clinic (made by the same group of ladies that made the ones the girls got at the Amory hospital back when Lucy broke her toe). This morning, though, she woke up with over 104 degrees fever, so we headed out of town to our pediatrician. It was a whole different story today.My girl has the flu. Boo. She was such a big girl through all the swabbing, poking, prodding, and pricking. Bless her heart, she is such a sweet patient. She was so weak today that when she cried it sounded like a baby lamb...it was so pitiful. But for the most part, she has been smiling her little Lucy smile (the no teeth showing one).
This girl, on the other hand, is not fazed whatsover. I am praying that she won't get it. Macy is pretty tough...I am hoping her immune system is tough right now for sure. Here she is doing her "Elvis" thing...
Uh-huh...you know, in that Elvis-sort-of-twang.

I Made My Own Cosmic Brownies!

Macy loves brownies...she especially loves the brownies that Little Debbie makes called "Cosmic Brownies." The kind with the colorful sprinkles on top. I was looking around in my pantry the other day and ran across some sprinkles that I had bought a while back at Hobby Lobby...they looked just like the sprinkles on top of the "Cosmic Brownes" so I decided to try some for myself. Macy loves them...she says they are better than the ones we buy in the store...that's my girl =) Here's the recipe...
1 box brownie mix
chocolate ganache (recipe to follow)
12 oz semisweet chocolate morsels (I may try milk chocolate next time)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter
In small saucepan, heat cream and butter until just before boiling. Pour over chocolate morsels. Let stand 20 seconds and stir until smoth.
Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch sprinkles

Make brownies according to package. I underbaked mine about 2 minutes. Pour chocolate ganache over warm brownies, then immediately pour sprinkles on top. Let set overnight.

Taking Care of Babies

Macy is such a sweet big sister and can be so motherly. She woke me up this morning saying that Lucy felt hot to her. Sure enough, Lucy had fever...pooh. Last night, Lucy did a little happy dance on the potty right before bedtime when she asked me if tomorrow was "church day" and I told her yes. She loves her some church, that's for sure. She was literally heartbroken this morning when I told her that I was staying home with her while Daddy took Macy to church. She cried. Big tears. Bless her sweet little heart. So Macy and Jason went to church this morning without us =(
And speaking of Macy...she got in the car on Friday after school and asked for a blog. She thought it would be a fun thing to do. I thought about it for a little bit, and thought, why not? I decided it would be a fun thing for her to do, so we got her a little blog all set up. Click here to see Macy's blog. Her little wit and sense of humor is so cute...I love reading what she writes. She tells me what pictures to upload, then she does all the writing. I look over it before she posts and help her with spacing, etc. I love reading the things she writes...the honest of a child is so precious.

So while Lucy and I were home by ourselves this morning, she played with her Baby Alive doll. She fed her and fed her and fed her, but there were no surprises in the diaper. We realized Baby Alive was a little stopped up and had to do a little procedure on her to fix her. Lucy said it was like being at the doctor.

And speaking of doctors...looks like we may be taking Lucy tomorrow. She has run this little temperature on and off for about 5 days now. She's coughing a good bit today. I mentioned going to the doctor, to which she got all panicky. Lucy cannot stand (HATES) to have a stick put down her throat checking for strep and her nose swabbed checking for flu. And I am sure if we go to the doctor, they are going to do those 2 things. If you hear a scream tomorrow and don't know where it is coming from, don't worry, it's just Lucy at the doctor's office.

Today was one of those unexpected pajama days. Went to bed last night thinking I would be going to church today and doing our normal Sunday thing. Between snuggling on the couch with Lucy, playing Super Mario Brothers on Macy's DS (they think I am the coolest Mom because I can save Princess Peach) and administering Tylenol, I managed to get a good bit of housework done today. Lots of sippy cups washed...keeping the liquids coming.

And ironing. It is amazing how I can spend hours ironing and get it all done, only to have a full laundry room just a few days later. But oh, the feeling of accomplishment when it is all done. And it is ALL done!!! I guess until tomorrow!!!

We had some major violin practicing to be done since Macy has a lesson tomorrow. Our last lesson was way back before Christmas, so we had lots to catch up on. Macy truly amazes me with her violin playing...and she doesn't complain about practicing, which is SO nice. It is something she loves to do and wants to do her very best.

And tonight...our traditional pancake supper. I love Sunday nights. Jason makes pancakes, and they are wonderful. He cooks, I clean. Works for me.

Lucy put herself to bed at 6 o'clock tonight. This is not like her at all, so I KNOW she doesn't feel good. Poor baby. I definitely think we'll be going to the doctor tomorrow. I am ready for my baby to feel better!

Have a happy week!

My Little Cheerleaders

We are all really enjoying Upward cheerleading. It is such a fun experience. Upward is Christ-centered, and I always leave feeling so uplifted and refreshed. Macy and Lucy are having a great time...I am so glad that we decided to do it this year!
Our games are early in the morning and just right down the road, so we get to enjoy a long afternoon and evening at our favorite place...home!!

Have a great Saturday!!

Pogo Stick Queen

Today is my nephew, Avery's birthday. He is 9...so hard to believe. We were talking about the day he was born today. I never will forget that day. Avery was my first niece or nephew...Jason and I went to see him every day for weeks after he was born. He made us want our own baby so bad...he and Macy are 16 months apart =) He is the sweetest child with the biggest heart...so incredibly sweet with all of his girl cousins.

Happy Birthday, Avery! We love you!

Last night I was talking about my little Energizer Bunny. Right after I finished that blog post, I noticed all was very quiet. I knew she was either asleep or had found a Sharpie marker and was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing with it. Lucky for me (and for her), she was asleep. Bless this baby's heart...fell asleep with a pencil in her hand and a notebook in her lap.

She was drawing me...how sweet is that.

Lucy was so worried about going to pick up Macy at school all day today. She kept asking me if I had forgotten to go get her and saying how much she missed Macy. So sweet. She was SO excited when I finally told her it was time to go pick Macy up this afternoon.

After a trip to Sonic (I think it is more a treat for me than it is for the girls!), we headed home to settle in for a fun Friday night, nothing fancy. It was colder out today than yesterday, but Macy begged me to let her jump on her pogo stick. She wanted me to count how many jumps she could do without stopping.

My parents gave Macy this pogo stick for Christmas. My brother was like a pogo champ. His record was like almost 1300 jumps.

Macy is about to give Uncle Brent a run for his money.

She jumped and jumped and jumped...

803 times. Eight hundred and three times. Holy smokes. I couldn't believe it!! The child is crazy. She did it all over the driveway, one handed, hand on a hip, and even holding herself because she was about to wet her pants (sorry, that was too much information, but it was hysterical). I was laughing hysterically all the while counting for her.

We've been getting Little Caesar's pizza for the last several Friday nights (yum, yum). Tonight, the girls decided they wanted McDonald's. Seriously, McDonald's? Over pizza? Luckily, I hadn't eaten much today and had a bajillion WW points left over...you need it when you eat McDonald's for sure. I had enough points to even have fries. And while I couldn't believe they wanted McD's (well, yes I really could believe it), it really was good. We redboxed it again and rented "Imagine That" with Eddie Murphy. It was a good movie, but way over Macy and Lucy's heads. They thought the little girl in it was cute, but they did not understand the story at all. And they HAD to throw a dirty word in it...I was totally not expecting it.

Pogo Stick Queen is sound asleep. The Energizer Bunny is not. We're in for a long late night. At least tomorrow is Saturday!!

75 Degrees in January??

Normally, Thursdays are library day. But Lucy has been running a low grade fever since last night, so I kept her in today.

The following picture depicts a normal occurrance (sp?) in our house...a doll stroller (that needs some repair) stuffed with all the toys of the day. Lucy loves to put her daily favorites in, under, and on top of this pink stroller and cart them around with her all day. Today, the favorites were her animal hospital, her LUCY puzzle, a lamb, and Macy's black bear named "Cuddles." Poor Macy...she has no idea what her toys go through when she is in school. I did not consult the Weather Channel or call my personal weatherman (that would be Jason, the expert on weather) before leaving the house to pick up Macy from school. I threw on a black velour jogging suit and fur-lined Yellow Boxes. You know, it IS January. Little did I know it was 75 degrees outside. The wind has been blowing like crazy today...I hadn't been outside, but I just assumed it would be cool. I had to make a mad dash in Belk and was literally sweating when we got back in the car.
I decided Lucy had been cooped up long enough, so we played outside until nearly dark. The girls got into some sidewalk chalk and made some masterpieces on our driveway.

Macy takes after her Daddy for sure. I could only do this with some icing, a piping bag, and some Wilton tips.
I kid often about Lucy being like the Energizer Bunny...she keeps going and going and going. I am not even going to tell you what time it is in the next picture that I took tonight. Macy has been fast asleep for a while, put it that way. Something about my kids...they get ultra chatty and rambunctious (sp?) with low grade fevers. Tonight, Lucy is like the Energizer Bunny on crack or something.

She's not going to be a happy camper when I have to drag her out of bed in the morning.

Happy Friday tomorrow!!