Perdido Key

Monday (6/13), Rudy and I got up and the crack of dawn, kissed the kids goodbye and left them with LaLa and Pops for the week.  Destination:  Perdido Key, FL! 
While we drove, we listened to a John Grisham audiobook.  I paused it as we went through Southeast Arkansas to show Rudy (for the millionth time) the landmarks of my childhood that you can see from Hwy 65.

We made it to Perdido around 4:30, checked in at our condo and unloaded the car.  We smiled as we opened the blinds of our balcony to find this view waiting for us:

We were hungry and ready for some seafood, so we freshened up and went to dinner.  We ate shrimp (me) and oysters (Rudy) from the Oyster Bar at the Flora-Bama on Monday night.  Nothing fancy, but perfect gulf seafood for road-weary travelers.  Would you look at the size of that shrimp?  The view from our barstools wasn’t so bad either.

It was open mic night at the Bama, so we stuck around and listened to some good and not-so-good entertainment.  You just never know what’s going to happen in that place and there was some fabulous people-watching!
When we got back to the condo, I was long overdue to put my toes in the sand.  Sometime during that late night walk on the beach, I was able to exhale.  I realized how much stress I had been carrying and how tense I was.  The sound of those ocean waves and feel of that warm, white sand underfoot was overwhelmingly cathartic.  I sat on a chair on the beach and wondered at the magnitude and perfection of it.
Tuesday morning, we got up and made a quick trip into town for some groceries and breakfast.  As we were pulling into the parking lot, we saw the Blue Angels fly overhead as they were practicing.  After we got back to the condo, Rudy went out and set up our canopy on the beach while I packed our beach bags and put on my swimsuit.  I spent the afternoon alternating every 15-20 minutes between these two views:

     

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, right?
We had dinner at a place called The Original Point, where Rudy had soft-shelled crab and I had yet another plate of shrimp.  Afterwards, we went back to the Bama for some more entertainment and another great night of people-watching.  We LOVED the guy singing that night. 
Wednesday was our day to get out and see more of the area.  We drove all the way into Gulf Shores and back.  We had lunch at Brian’s PoBoys – a roadside food truck - and it was wonderful!  After lunch, we went back out on the beach for a while.  Because it was our first trip without kids since we became parents, we splurged and went on a parasail ride.  We had to ride on a banana float pulled behind a jet ski out to the parasail boat.  Once we were on the boat, we got all strapped into our harnesses and off we went.  We were up about 600 feet, which is an amazing view and it is so peaceful.  Before they reeled us back in, the boat driver dipped us into the water a couple of times, which was pretty awesome.  We don’t have any pictures of it.  They wouldn’t let us take our camera out there and it would’ve cost us $30 to have them take pictures.  You’ll just have to trust me on it.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, which is something I’d like to be able to say more often…

Wednesday night, we had an amazing dinner at Louisiana Lagniappe, where I ate some ridiculously good stuffed shrimp.  Rudy and I both agreed that it was as good (maybe better?) than anything we’ve ever eaten in New Orleans.  For real.  After dinner, we were miserably stuffed.  We drove out to LuLu’s in Gulf Shores just to see what it was all about.  It was a fun place, but waaaay touristy.  It was definitely our early night on the vacation.
Thursday was our last day.  We planned to lay on the beach literally all day.  When we woke up to clouds and thunder, I was not a happy camper.  The thunder and rain passed mid-morning, but it stayed cloudy almost all day.  By golly, we were on the beach, though!  It was almost cold for a good part of the day.  I stayed under the canopy with my cover-up on and a towel over my legs.  Once the clouds began to break up a little, it warmed up and we enjoyed our day.  I certainly didn’t need to get in the water to cool off very often. 
We went to dinner that night at Fisherman’s Corner.  The food was delicious and we’ll definitely go back there sometime.  We decided to spend our 3rd night out of 4 enjoying the crowd at the Bama, and what a crowd it was!  The place was packed and it was so much fun!  We laughed and sang and danced and had a great time until Rudy pretty much had to make me leave.  I know he was dreading making a 9 hour drive after a late night.  We couldn’t resist one more walk on the beach that night.  It’s a hard thing to savor for 3 days and then leave it.

Friday morning came pretty early and we were on the road.  We were ready to see the kids, though.  We managed to bring Caleb a t-shirt and a starfish and brought Nola a little purse that says Orange Beach on it with a crab. 
Our trip was wonderful.  It was much-needed time away together.  It was much needed relaxation and saltwater and sand and sunshine and seafood.  We celebrated our 12th anniversary in style.  Hopefully, we won’t have to wait quite so long to do it again. 

And, for the record, we are now big fans of Perdido Key.  We highly recommend it to anyone looking for a place to go with or without kids.  It’s a great location – close enough to the touristy places, but they aren’t in your face.  They cater to visitors, but not in a bumper boats and putt-putt golf kind of way.  We’ll be going back there as soon as we can.

May 22, 2011

It started out as a beautiful Sunday.  Rudy and I were celebrating our 12th anniversary.  We went to church and then we were treated to lunch by our sweet friends, the Sharpless family.  After lunch, we went to Fayetteville so Caleb could spend his Toys R Us gift certificate and the portion of his birthday money that he were allowing him to spend instead of save.  (Seriously, the child does not need any more toys!)  He picked out Just Dance 2 for the Wii and a wet/dry outdoor habitat to keep frogs and lizards and all sorts of creepy crawlies in…outside.  We came home and took a little nap. 
After my nap, I got up and freshened up for my surprise dinner date with Rudy.  He had reserved a babysitter and had plans to take me to our favorite no kids restaurant, Crabby’s.  We enjoyed a nice meal and uninterrupted conversation. 
After dinner, we stopped to get some ice cream and then thought we’d go for a drive. We started out toward War Eagle Mill to see how high the flood waters were still standing and just look around. We hadn’t been on the road too long when I got a text saying that we were under a tornado warning. WARNING – not watch. I told Rudy to turn around and head for home, then texted the babysitter and told her that we were headed home and if she heard the sirens she should take the kids into the laundry room. We high-tailed it home.
On our way home, I read the first of many Facebook messages that would be posted about an F5 tornado that devastated a large portion of Joplin, Missouri.  One of my friends was posting about her son and grandchildren who rode out the storm in his truck in the parking lot of a convenience store and escaped with minor injuries.  Her daughter’s college apartment suffered major damage.  A former co-worker who lives in Joplin on the weekends with her new husband lost her home and was displaced to a hotel with no running water or electricity.   A hospital was demolished.  A WalMart, an Academy Sports and a Home Depot were flattened.  Thousands of people lost their homes, their cars, their businesses and churches.  Most importantly, 142 people died.  Within one minute, a sleepy Midwestern Sunday evening turned into a devastated town with walking wounded, little-to-no resources and more anguish than anyone should ever have to bear.
An hour away, we were under a tornado warning.
When we got home, we sent the babysitter out the door immediately so she could get home before the storm hit. As she was getting into her car, we saw a neighborhood cat go by with a baby rabbit that it had caught. (This is the same cat that has killed a robin in our yard and then knocked the eggs out of the nest.) We thought the rabbit was dead, but when the cat put it on the ground, it took off. Rudy went over to help rescue the rabbit. When he was finally able to get the cat away from it, he got the rabbit and brought it back over to our side of the street, where he was going to take it to an empty lot and let it go. But - the rabbit had a broken back leg and when it caught its breath from being chased, it freaked out and tried to bite Rudy. He jumped and dropped the rabbit…on the sidewalk. It wiggled for about a minute and then died right there in front of us. Unfortunately, Caleb watched the whole thing. I spent the next 15-20 minutes consoling him. He was so distraught that the bunny had died. He even told me that he didn’t like that cat – the same cat that he told me he loved the day before and has called “my buddy” for a year and a half.
About the time he calmed down, the storm hit. We had put Nola to bed already, but we were keeping a close eye on the weather (remember that tornado warning?). I got busy cleaning everything out of the laundry room that I could move. Then I put all of the things that I’d really rather not lose (my laptop, external hard drive, camera case) in the dryer.  Caleb also put his ZhuZhu pets in there.  (Everyone has their own sense of what’s valuable, right?)

Everyone seems to want to know why I put our stuff in the dryer.  Here’s my logic…if we should happen to get hit by a tornado, the dryer is the closest thing we have in our house to a safe.  Granted, the door could come open and everything would go flying.  Granted, the dryer could get crushed like a tin can.  But…on the off chance that we just got tumbled around a little or maybe just had a little structural damage, the contents of the dryer would probably be less harmed than if they were just sitting out in the house somewhere.  They aren’t likely to get wet or crushed or broken.  If we had enough damage for the dryer to be destroyed, I’d just be happy that my family survived.  But…if something as simple as putting those things in the dryer could give me access to all of our family photos and my camera, I’d be silly not to do it. 
I put blankets on the floor and got Nola’s diaper bag and my purse. I made sure everyone had on full clothes and shoes. When the sirens went off, I got Nola out of her bed and took her and Caleb into the laundry room.  We put our bike helmets on to protect our heads in case of flying debris.We stayed in there for a while and Rudy stayed in the living room, watching the weather reports on TV.  Finally, the sirens went off and we got the “all clear.”  We put the kids to bed and started getting ready for bed.  Just as we put our heads on the pillows, the phone rang with our weather warning.  We were in the line of fire again.  Shoes, bra and pants on. (Wouldn’t want to be one of those people on the news that wishes they had put their bra and pants on before the storm hit, right?)  This time, we managed to transport both kids to the laundry room without ever waking them up.  I laid Caleb on the blankets on the floor and he slept soundly.  I held Nola in my lap and she never even stopped sucking her thumb.  The kids and I sat in the dark for what seemed like forever while Rudy watched the weather guys on TV.  I was uneasy the whole time, but when he came in the laundry room and put on his helmet with a somber look on his face, I got extremely nervous.  Actually, I got downright scared.  Rudy got down on his knees on a blanket and covered Caleb’s body with his.  I became a shell around Nola and we held each other’s hands.  I prayed that God would protect us.  I didn’t give one thought to our things or to our home.  I just prayed that he would protect our little family, hunkered in that laundry room – the only place in our house without windows or exterior walls that would hold the four of us.  We could hear the hail pounding our roof and the wind howling.  The peacefulness of our sleeping children did little to calm our nerves.  Finally and suddenly, the hail stopped.  The winds died down.  Rudy took a deep breath and went to the living room to see what the radar was showing.  He came back in and told me that we were in the clear.  I quietly thanked God and put my babies back to bed.  They never knew they were in harm’s way.  That’s the way I wanted it to be.
It was an eventful anniversary – not exactly what we had planned.  But we were grateful to have survived it and to still be next to each other as we drifted off to sleep, knowing that our lives could have taken a major turn in that laundry room.  I praised God for giving us the opportunity to weather another storm together. 

Stuff We Did in March

Holy Moly – It’s worse than I thought.  I haven’t updated what we’ve been doing since the first of March.  Here goes nothing (thanks to backtracking through my Facebook posts)…

March 13th ~ Caleb went to LaLa & Pops’ house for the week because we had so much on our evening calendars that it seemed like a good time for him to go for a visit. 

March 15th ~ Nola started running a fever at daycare and I had to go get her.  She ended up having a respiratory infection and an ear infection.  I took her to the ENT to get her ears suctioned…again.

March 16th ~ Caleb’s fish, Ronnie died.  We went through the classic 80’s sitcom dilemma of whether or not to replace him with a look-alike and decided against it.  When I told him, he was fine.  After a day or two, though, it because a major issue.  He wouldn’t sleep in his bed because he missed Ronnie.  He sobbed one night because he didn’t get to say goodbye to Ronnie.  He told me that he had prayed that Ronnie would come back to life and he didn’t understand why it didn’t happen.  Ronnie was soon replaced with a goldfish named Swimmy.  All is well in the tank again.

March 17th ~ Caleb and my parents went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Hot Springs.  These showed up on my phone via text: 

 

March 19th ~ I met my parents to bring Caleb home.  We sang Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” about 25 times between Waldron and Rogers. 

March 19th ~ Rudy and I cringed when we found out that Caleb was playing on the Cubs t-ball team.  I nearly killed our Cardinals fan hearts.

March 20-27 ~ SPRING BREAK!!!

March 20 ~ I spent hours sorting through the kids’ outgrown stuff to sell/consign/give away.  We have a lot of outgrown stuff!  We spent some time in the afternoon walking the trail at Compton Gardens.

March 21 ~ I spent the day in Branson with my friend Stacy.  We shopped ‘til we dropped and then some. 

March 22 ~ One of Caleb’s friends came over for the day.  I decided for absolutely sure that 2 kids is plenty for me.

March 23 ~ We all packed up and went to Hot Springs for the rest of the week.  Yay!!!

March 24 ~ Rudy and I had a date day while the kids stayed with my mom.  We went to Oaklawn & out for a fabulous dinner.

March 25 ~ Rudy went to deer camp to help out with some work & stayed for the rest of the weekend.

March 26 ~ Aunt Harolyn had us all over for a family dinner.  It was fun to see the Caleb and Maddox playing together & we enjoyed catching up with our whole family!

March 27 ~ Came home to get ready to go back to school.  The end of spring break is always sad. 

March 29 ~ Caleb:  “Thunder is good.  It scares away the lightning.”  I love the logic of a 4 year old.

March 31 ~ Caleb at bedtime:  “My heart beats happy.”  I admit that I got a little choked up at that one.

Anxiety and Gratitude

“In the midst of my anxieties, Your comforts delight my soul.”  ~ Psalm 94:19

This has been my favorite Bible verse for as long as I can remember.  I claimed it in high school, when my anxieties were much different than they are today, but real all the same.  Now my teenage anxieties of boys, friends and social gaffes have been replaced by raising children, maintaining a marriage and household, world events and a career.  And, yet, the same God who comforted me then comforts me now.  The same sense of peace envelops me when I hear the familiar hymns of my childhood.  The same tears spill over when I sense the amazing grace of forgiveness.  The same joy bubbles up when I realize that I am safe in the hands of the omnipotent Father.  The same amazement fills my senses when I feel the presence of God in my daily life. 

I am not perfect – far from it – but I am forgiven.  I am repeatedly forgiven by a patient and loving God through nothing but pure grace.  I have moments of anger that sometimes turn into days and weeks of resentment.  I speak words and think thoughts of impurity, jealousy, judgment, greed and unkindness.  I am short on temper and patience.  I speak my mind and say too much when no words are needed.  I am not good at hiding my feelings and I’ve never been good at pretending when it comes to emotions.  I don’t pray enough and I rarely spend time in my Bible.  I am not the example of Christianity that I should be for others.  But I am forgiven.  I know my God and I know my Savior and I know that my conscience is the Spirit.  I begin each day renewed and try again to do better.  Every day I fail and every morning I begin again.  He asks nothing more than that. 

When my anxieties are high, I find great comfort in listening to music that directs my thoughts to God.  (When I was in labor with Caleb, I repeatedly listened to ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus.)  A few weeks ago, I was driving to work with the anxiety of the previous day and the coming day heavy on my mind.  I wanted to hear those comforting messages through song, so I turned to the local Christian radio station.  The kids were in the backseat, jabbering away, but my ears could not believe the words I heard.  The morning host was reading from a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  The passage that she read was this,

"For years, I have pulled the covers up over my head, dreading to begin another day I’d be bound to just wreck…  Yesterday morning, the morning before, all these mornings, I wake to the discontent of life in my skin… To the wrestle to get it all done, the relentless anxiety that I am failing.  Always, the failing.  I yell at children, fester with bitterness, forget doctor appointments, lose library books, live selfishly, skip prayer, complain, go to bed too late, neglect cleaning the toilets.  I live tired.  Afraid.  Anxious. Weary.  Years, I feel it in the veins, the pulsing of ruptured hopes.  Would I ever be enough, find enough, do enough? 

I found myself wiping away tears as I listened to these words.  I could have written those words (though not as eloquently).  How many mornings have I wanted to pull the covers over my head because the daunting task of just making it through the day was too much to think about?   “The wrestle to get it all done” – Amen.  “I live tired. Afraid. Anxious. Weary.” – Amen and Amen.  I couldn’t scramble fast enough when I got to work to try to find out just where this passage came from.  I read about the book, read about the author and read the reviews.  I knew I had to read the rest.  I was called to read the rest.  I downloaded it when I got home from work and began reading it that night.  The heart-wrenching story of the author’s childhood brought a flood of all-too-personal emotions. 

At the end of the first chapter, she is talking to her brother-in-law, who has just lost the second of his two sons to a vicious childhood disease.  She says that she would like to “write this story differently.”  And, there, in the depth of his grief, this father tells her that, “…maybe you don’t want to change the story, because you don’t know what a different ending holds.”  Wow.  Just wow.  How many times have I asked why God would let something happen the way it happens?  How many times have I wondered what His purpose could possibly be?  Now I understand a little better.  He knows how the story ends.  He knows how the storyline needs to play out for the ending to be what it should be.  Just wow.

The following night, I read the second chapter.  It was the story of how she came to terms with her anxiety, anger and feeling of being consumed with the daily tasks of life.  What I learned in that chapter has changed my life.  She talked about the concept of eucharisteo – being grateful, giving thanks.  The fact that giving thanks is “the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives.”  The author begins the task of finding 1000 things to be grateful for and in that challenge finds unbelievable joy.  As I read her words it became obvious to me that my challenge would be to find something to be thankful for in every situation.  Some might call it a silver lining.  It is not an easy task, but even in my weak attempts, I have been able to find joy in things that I would never have been able to see as joyful had I not looked at it through these words. 

Despite this new way of trying to look at things, I don’t jump out of bed in the mornings, excited about the challenges ahead.  I’m not there yet.  I may never be, but I don’t dread the days.  I am not grateful for the piles of laundry, but I’m grateful for the people who make them and for the amenities to take care of them.  I’m not grateful for the bills, but for the fact that I don’t have to work 2 jobs to pay them.  I’m not grateful for stresses at work, but for the fact that work is one of my stressors when so many people are unemployed.  It is a simple way of looking at things, but a difficult one as well.  Our human nature is to see the rain and not the rainbow. 

This is a video trailer for the book. The author’s dramatic voice is a little cheesy, but the words and images are so powerful.

(I’m continuing to read the book now.  I also enjoy the videos for each chapter that can be found at the InCourage book club site.)

Anxieties absolutely still exist.  Just this week, a tremendous earthquake shook Japan, causing horrible damage.  As I write this, the news is covering the possibility of meltdown at the nuclear reactors in that area.  There is unrest throughout the world, specifically in the Middle East.  Our own country’s military is still in Afghanistan and Iraq in a war that I cannot support.  (Though I do support the men and women who are willing to serve in our country’s military.)  Our economy is horrendous and gas prices are the highest I can remember at $3.45 per gallon.  Our government is at odds with itself, as partisan politics are hindering progress and rational thinking.  Our education system is practically in ruins, with more emphasis on test results than on educating children.  In our state, we are experiencing earthquakes, tornadoes, unheard of blizzards and unexplainable mass deaths of birds and fish.  There are gangs, drugs, unwanted children, women forced into prostitution, violence, poverty and unspeakable crimes.  Yes, there is plenty to be anxious about. 

Recent events have made me (and lots of other people) wonder about God’s timing.  I know we’re not supposed to try to guess.  There’s no point in that after all.  With each new event, I can’t help but wonder, though.  Matthew 24:4-8 says, “⁴ Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, ⁵ for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. ⁷ Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. ⁸ But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”  Sounds familiar, right?  Famines?  Earthquakes?  Wars?  Oh, boy…more to come. 

The scripture goes on to say, “⁹ “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. ¹⁰ And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. ¹¹ And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. ¹² Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”  Well, goodness, that whole part about being arrested, persecuted and killed sounds fun.  The part about hated all over the world sounds fun too...and a little familiar these days.  Sin rampant everywhere?  Yeah, I think we have that covered.  I’d say if the earth isn’t feeling birth pains now, she’s sure getting warmed up (global warming pun only partially intended).  And yet, I remember that “³⁶ “No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

For now, we watch and wait with lingering anxiety.  We try to protect our children both from the potential danger and from the fear of it.  We hold them an extra moment longer when we have to leave them and we always kiss them goodnight because we don’t know what the next moment will hold.  We watch and wait with lingering anxiety and we try, try, try to be grateful in all things so that we might experience the true joy and comforts of the salvation that we do not deserve.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

This year I decided to celebrate Not-So-Fat Tuesday. I passed up the King Cake in the teacher's lounge, worked my tail off at Zumba and then came home to make a reduced calorie version of Shrimp & Crawfish Creole. I'm not much of a cook, and I even have trouble following a recipe, but it turned out pretty good. I've never posted a recipe before, but I've been asked to share it, so here goes...

Ingredients:
- 1 lb raw shrimp (peeled & deveined, w/o tails) {I bought a 14 oz bag with tails, b/c I wasn't about to pay the price for fresh seafood at this time of year.}
- 1 lb crawfish tail meat {It kills me to use the bagged frozen crawfish from Vietnam, but that's all I can get around here when they aren't in season and I'm sure not going to peel enough of them to get a whole pound of tail meat.}
- 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 stalk of celery (all chopped) {the Holy Trinity of Cajun recipes}
- 1/2 c parsley (chopped)
- 1/2 c green onions (chopped)
- 6 oz can of tomato paste
- 2 (14 oz) cans of tomato sauce
- 1/2 c butter substitute (we use smart balance & you could probably get by with using a little less)
- 2 garlic cloves
- brown rice

Directions:
1. Sauté onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic & butter substitute until golden
2. Add meat. Cover & cook on medium heat until the shrimp are pink
3. Add tomato sauce & paste. Cook about 30-40 minutes on low-med heat.
5. Add parsley & green onions. Cook 5 minutes.
6. Serve over brown rice.

It made 8 cups - not counting the rice. In case you're wondering, each 1 cup serving was 6 WW PointsPlus points. The rice was 6 points per cup. Not too shabby for a 12 point dinner!

Laissez bon temps rouler!

The Week from…

The 2 weeks (give or take a few days) in February of being snowed in and not being able to be in the germ pool of school were glorious for us.  Everyone got well – even Nola.  We were all healthy and doing great until the night of the 16th.  The only way I know to even explain this is on a day-by-day basis.  It’s unbelievable even to me – and I lived it.

Wednesday, 2/16 – Rudy went to class and came home around 9:00 as usual.  He usually sleeps on the couch when he gets home late because he likes to relax and watch TV before he can go to sleep.  He woke up during the night with chills and fever.  He finally got back to sleep and felt a little better when he woke up, so he went to work. 

Thursday, 2/17 – Rudy still wasn’t feeling great, so he went to the walk-in clinic.  The doctor there diagnosed him with a sinus infection, wrote him a prescription for an antibiotic and sent him on his way.  He came home feeling awful, but knew it was a sinus infection, so he stayed in the mix with the family that night.

Friday, 2/18 – I woke up around 4 AM because my throat hurt so bad I couldn’t breathe well.  I took my temperature, but didn’t have a fever.  I looked in my throat and didn’t see white pockets, so I ate a cough drop and went back to bed.  I woke up still feeling the sore throat, but went to work because I didn’t have fever.  (I have NO sick days left this year.)  I pushed through my day at work and felt a little worse as the day went on.  By 2:00, I was miserable.  That’s when the chills set in.  I went to the school nurse and didn’t have a fever, but I knew something was wrong, so I left work about 20 minutes early and went to the walk-in clinic.  After I told the nurse all of my symptoms, the doctor came in and asked me, “Do you have strep or the flu?”  I told him I hoped I didn’t have either one and I really didn’t want to be tested for either one because those swabs freak me out.  He looked in my throat and told me that he didn’t even need to swab me.  I had strep throat.  He wrote my prescriptions and sent me on my way.  I picked up my meds and came home to crawl under the covers.  I hurt from head to toe and back again and thought I was going to freeze to death.  I texted Rudy to tell him what was going on and he said he would take the kids to the boat show so that the house would be quiet.  I fell asleep and barely remember anything until Saturday.  I remember them coming in and I remember hearing Rudy and Nola coughing, but I was too sick to do anything about it.  Plus – I sure didn’t want to give anyone else strep.  So, I stayed in bed.

Saturday, 2/19 – I only got out of bed to go to the bathroom.  Rudy was supposed to have gone to do a volunteer music program at the library in Fayetteville, but he called and cancelled because he didn’t feel well.  Kathy was going to come over and watch the kids, but he cancelled that too.  I listened to him coughing and noticed that it was getting worse, but there was nothing I could do to help him.

Sunday, 2/20 – I woke up feeling like a new person.  I was still tired and weak, but I was able to walk and talk, which was a huge improvement.  Rudy and Caleb went to church because Rudy was scheduled to play his trumpet.  When they got home from church, Rudy was feeling awful.  He mentioned going to the doctor on Monday, but I encouraged him to go ahead and go on Sunday.  He did and texted me from the clinic to tell me that he had the flu.  I got the bed ready for him and as soon as he walked in the door, he was quarantined to the bedroom.

This is what our kitchen counter looked like on Sunday afternoon…

Monday, 2/21 – I went to work and took the kids to daycare.  They called me around noon to tell me that Nola had a fever.  It was less than 100*, so I didn’t go get her.  I left school as soon as I could and picked them up.  I took both of them to the pediatric clinic.  We saw Dr. Schaefer and he wrote prescriptions for both kids to prevent them from getting the flu.  When we left there, we went to eat and then to WalMart to get the medicines and some groceries.  By the time we got home, it was bedtime for the kids.  Rudy was still in the bed with the flu.

Tuesday, 2/22 – The kids and I went to school as usual.  Nola was still coughing her head off, but didn’t have fever over 100*, so I took her.  We made it through the day and I picked the kids up as soon as possible.  Caleb was a real trooper and entertained himself very well while I tended to Nola, made sure Rudy had what he needed and did the usual household things that need to be done.  I called my mom to tell her that we were going to need some help because Nola was getting worse and Rudy wasn’t getting any better.  She offered to come on Wednesday.  I called Jan to see if she could come to watch Nola until my mom got here and she agreed to, but couldn’t come until Wednesday morning.  Shortly after that, my mom called back and said that she was already an hour outside of Hot Springs and headed our way.  I called Jan back to tell her that she didn’t need to come.  Mom got to our house at 11:15 Tuesday night.  I swear she was wearing invisible angel wings.

Wednesday, 2/23 – Mom stayed home with Nola.  Rudy stayed quarantined in the bedroom.  Caleb and I went to school.  I came home to a hot meal, a clean house and the peace of mind that Nola had been taken care of all day without worry.  It was glorious.

Thursday, 2/24 – Rudy tried to go to work, but only made it 1/2 the day before he couldn’t go any further.  Mom kept Nola.  Caleb and I did our usual thing.  Again, I came home to a hot meal, a clean house and peace of mind.  Still glorious.

Friday, 2/25 was a repeat of Thursday, except I had told Mom that I would pick up dinner.  It ended up that I picked her and Nola up and they rode with me to Sam’s.  After that, we went in a consignment shop and then to get Caleb from school.  We stopped at PF Chang’s to get some take-out and Steak & Shake to get food for the kids.  We came home and ate, then spent the rest of the night visiting and catching up.

Saturday, 2/26 – I stayed up into the early hours of the morning planning Caleb’s birthday party and decompressing my mind from the week.  Mom had told me that I could sleep in on Saturday, so I was planning to do that.  She woke me up at 4 AM to tell me that she had gotten sick during the night and had to go home.  We scrambled to get her things in the car and I prayed that she would make it safely before going back to sleep.  She called when she got home to tell me that she was okay.  We spent the rest of the day being lazy and trying to recuperate from our manic week.

Sunday, 2/27 – Rudy was feeling a little better, but still not great, so we stayed home from church.  Nola was still coughing and I was just exhausted.  Caleb was still being a trooper.  I took him with me to WalMart to get some groceries.  We came home and I made dinner before getting ready for the week.

Monday, 2/28 – Amazingly, everybody went where they were supposed to go and stayed there all day.  I had a meeting until 4:00 and then went to Weight Watchers, where I found out that I’ve lost 12 lbs since January 10th!!  Rudy picked up the kids and I met them at home, then we all went out to dinner. 

Tuesday, 3/1 – I picked the kids up from daycare and took them to the park.  Rudy went back to the walk-in clinic to get some cough medicine so he can sleep.  He found out that he has an irregular heartbeat and has to see a doctor about it.  The doctor at the clinic told him it’s nothing to worry about, but that he should have it checked out sometime.  We’re taking both parts of that advice.

Now it’s Friday night.  The rest of the week has been pretty normal.  Nola is still coughing.  Rudy is still coughing, but has good cough medicine so he can sleep.  I’m doing fine and staying very busy at work.  I have an intern this semester, so I’m not having to bring home as much paperwork, which is nice.  Rudy took Caleb to meet Jan last night and he is spending the weekend in Tulsa with her and Bill.  Nola and I are hanging out tomorrow at home while Rudy has to work.  Fayetteville is having a make up snow day tomorrow.  School on a Saturday!  I’m looking forward to getting Caleb home, then we’ll turn around and it’ll be spring break.  I can’t wait…