On The Mend...

{Processed with Sheye Rosemeyer's new Eye Candy actions!! LOVE them! So my style!! I love the hazy look I added to this one!}

So this guy is finally on the mend. I wouldn't say he is feeling wonderful by any stretch of the imagination, but I know he is feeling better and getting better! What a difference a day makes!

So my last post had us home from Urgent Care and Huntler sleeping. Well, that certainly didn't last long! At 11:00 PM he was awake and once again burning up. I have taken that child's temperature so many times in the last three days I couldn't tell you what it was if I wanted to, but it was consistently between 104 and 105. So, we threw him in his third freezing cold bath in 24 hours. As you can imagine, he was hysterical and it was NOT a fun situation. But it did cool him down a bit. After that we had cold cloths and ice on him still trying to get his fever down. We all fell asleep as the cold stuff surrounded him! Anyway, I woke back up at 1:30 and he was once again on fire. This time the thermometer read 105.3. I panicked. I mean, we had been giving him dose after dose after dose of Tylenol and Motrin as well as cold baths and cool rags on his head and NOTHING was working. So I got myself somewhat ready and hauled him to the ER.

We have only been to the ER one other time and that was nearly four years ago. We lead a relatively calm life around here and trips to the doctor and ER are very few and far between! So anyway, by the time I got him there and they took his vitals, his temp was down to 101.5. Go figure. I KNOW they thought I was overreacting, but Chris and I were both very worried about the fact that we could NOT get his fever under control. We would so much rather error on the side of caution. And this whole time all I could think about was my friend Lisa and how she had JUST told me last week about two little boys who had died from Influenza A. Things can turn dangerous in a heartbeat.

Anyway, they gave him a dose of Tylenol and when after 40 minutes that had done nothing to lower his temp, they gave him a dose of Ibuprofen. I am really not sure how safe that is, but they did it. And his temperature finally started to come down. They made us wait until it was under 101 to let him go.

So there is that little bit of drama for ya!! He slept in until 10:00 yesterday morning and woke up much cooler!! I was so excited when all day his temp was only reading between 100 and 101!! By the late afternoon he wasn't feverish at all. Thank goodness!

Both kids continue to have nasty coughs and are just worn down. Heck, I am worn down too and could really use a LONG nap!! I am just so glad that we seem to be through the worst of this and am hoping by the end of the weekend they are both completely back to normal!!

In other news, late last night {or early, early this morning!!} I finished up my first blog design customer!! YAY!! Well, I should say "we" finished it up!! I did all the design but Chris is the computer whiz and did the html aspect! Anyway, it really came together and turned out so cute!!

Here is Amanda's new header! Click on over to see the rest of her design!!

On that note, if anyone else is up for a makeover, let me know!! Or, if you don't have a blog yet but want one and don't know where to start, I can get you up and running! I LOVE the design aspect!! As I was working last night I kept second guessing my decision to move everything to one blog through Hissyfits because I am truly going to miss switching up my design every so often!! Decisions, decisions!!!

And I am off! I probably won't be back until Monday. Since this past week was so crazy I didn't have much of a chance to get some things done that I need to get done and need to spend my free time working and getting things accomplished!

Happy Weekend!

From Kisses to Coughs...

From kisses to coughs, these two share everything. Well, either that or they are fighting like cats and dogs! But for the sake of this post, we are talking about sharing! Anyway, this time it isn't so great.

We got home from Urgent Care about an hour ago. We have two sick kids...one VERY sick little boy. Huntler has pneumonia {really bad} and Gentry is borderline. I guess that explains the 103 - 105 degree temperature we could NOT get down. I mean, I obviously know he is very sick, but I never in my wildest dreams would have thought he had pneumonia.

So, one doctors visit, four ice cream cones and $80 worth of medicine later, that is the story! Huntler is already asleep again tonight and Gentry will probably be heading there soon! I have made a super cozy little pallet on our bedroom floor all nice and comfy for our two little sickies! Huntler has been sleeping with us the last few nights, but I need them both close tonight.

And there you have it...I have never been so glad that Gentry demanded to go anywhere as I was tonight! I thought I was just taking Huntler but then she "insisted" on going and Chris felt like he needed to be with us, so we all went. Had she not gone, we wouldn't have been able to have her checked out, and therefore no medicine.

After yet another long day around here, I am heading to bed!! Thanks for keeping Huntler in your thoughts!!

Urgent Care

We are on our way...Chris is getting Huntler out of the tub now. His second cold bath in the last two hours...we can NOT get his temperature down. He has had both Tylenol AND Ibuprofen. I don't mind taking him...I am just so worried they will have to draw his blood since we can't seem to get him well.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

get REAL::where do you blog

So my friend Laura is starting this new "weekly blog challenge" and I for one I am SUPER excited!! Like Laura, I have met a ton of really great people through my blog and I truly enjoy getting to know more about each them through their posts and their comments on mine!! I never would have thought I would feel so connected to friends back home as well as make such great friends through the world wide web, but I am so happy that I have!

The concept is perfect! She is calling it:

{get REAL}
sharing snapshots of you own simple.everyday.life.moments

The question at hand this week is "Where do you blog?" She has posted pictures of where she blogs and is challenging us all to post pictures of where we blog!!

So, this is it. This is where I spend way too many hours sitting on my bum browsing Etsy, editing pictures, returning emails, and of course blogging!!



This is the sitting room off of our bedroom. We aren't exactly the kind of people who require a fancy schmancy chair with a shelf full of books we have never and never will read! So, we use the space to suit our needs! My needs more like it!! And so you have it...my craft area!

I love this little part of the house!! There are two huge windows and it gets TONS of light, which I love! Although, one of those windows faces west and not only heats it up in here, but totally prevents me from even seeing the computer screen for a good half hour or so each afternoon!

Anyway, each email I send and update I post to my blog is created sitting right here in this chair!

So, go grab Laura's super cute button, whip up a post on where YOU blog, and let her know so she can check you out!!

On a much different note, today would have been sweet little Cora's first birthday. Her family has been on my mind all day. Remember to keep them in your thoughts as I am sure this is such a hard day for them.

And I am off to cuddle with my sick boy!! I honestly thought his fever broke last night but he woke up from his nap all hot and flushed. The poor little guy is having a rough go of it! Gentry isn't feeling all that whippy herself still...she is snoozing away as I type!

Isn't She Lovely?

Enough said! I still have two sickly kiddos and it was another long day!! Hope you are all well out in blog land!

Like a Kid in a Candy Store...

That is how I am feeling right about now! Like I could squeal with delight at the fabulous amount of fun I found on Etsy this afternoon! I can hardly contain myself and feel this overwhelming need to call someone! But instead, I am blogging! I am not sure my whiny kids would allow me to have a phone conversation the way this day has gone! In fact, it will probably take me hours just to complete this post!!

So as you know, the kids are both sick - I have no new pictures of either of them. I have spent the last week and a half working diligently away on Hissyfits stuff {which by the way is coming along wonderfully!}. So while I have been keeping up with blogs the best I can, my time on the computer has been spent researching photo stuff and "working." Not as much goofing off as usual! However, today I am goofing! It is cloudy and my mind is on candy!!

The past week my mind has been reeling with all things candy. I have in fact decided to have just one blog but am going to do that through Hissyfits. I don't quite know how all that will happen just yet, but I'll keep ya posted on where to find me!! Anyway, considering my love affair with my new logo, the blog is going to be AWESOME! Bright, funky, cheery, and totally candy-ish! So all of this candy chatter along with the fact that I have been planning this Candyland birthday bash of Gentry's for over a year now has me in full swing!

Today I was browsing on Etsy and just typed in "Candy Party." I have always typed in Candyland and although that is the direction I am going with the party, it is no secret that I like fun and original, not so much "matchy matchy." So...fix yourself some lemonade, get comfy and take a gander at what I found!!

First of all...I came upon this amazing shop!! We have never had a pinata at any of the kids' parties. I hadn't really thought ahead about whether we would have one for Gentry this year or not. Probably not since there is going to be a large abundance of candy there anyway! But HOW CUTE are these pinatas?! Seriously, my mouth was gaping at how cool these are!! So unique and creative!

This one would be the one I would choose for her if we had one! Only in more colors!

I have also been thinking about what she will wear. Yes, I am weird and I plan REALLY far ahead, I know. Just bear with me!!

I am thinking a tutu...a bright, rainbow colored tutu! {I have another idea for that same tutu for advertising, but that is another story for another day!} Anyway, I came across this fun candy-wear while I was browsing too!

I LOVE this outfit. LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about it!! I found it here. It looks like the skirt isn't available anymore though which makes my decision to go with the tutu much easier!

And this fun shirt! I am thinking I could make something like it...and if not, I am sure my mom could help me!! Pair a cute little lolly tank top or tee with a sassy tutu and you have the perfect party attire!!

So then come all the other candy finds!! There are some REALLY cool things out there and I am so inspired as I sit here now!!

These next three all came from the same shop!! It is FULL of sweet finds!!

What a fun party favor idea this is!!

Isn't this the funnest stuff?!!

Random Picture Challenge #7

So check out this happy little button for 4 Little Men and Girly Twins Random Picture Challenge! Cute, hunh?! It just so happens that my great friend Laura designed it!! She does all sorts of custom stationary design so if you are needing something, go check her out!! You won't be disappointed!

Alright, so the challenge this week is to post your 11th picture from your September 2007 folder. I am quite embarrassed to post these seeing as when I look at them today they are HORRIBLE, but hey, we all start somewhere!! They are what they are and no matter what, they are sweet memories!!

So here is picture number 11:



And I am posting the one directly after it so you can kinda get a sense of what exactly Huntler was doing:



That orange "thing" is the controller for the rocket and Huntler was adjusting it!!

Okay...so, you know I can't post without mentioning The Bachelor. WHAT in the world happened last night?! I must admit I have NO patience whatsoever and pumped my "all knowing" friends for the scoop so I knew what the rumors were going in, but oh my goodness! I think it is safe to say that was seriously "THE most dramatic rose ceremony ever!" Those of you who watch regularly know that they use that line in every.single.episode!! Last night it was finally the real deal! Chris wouldn't let me tell him what I knew so he was shocked! I guess I am shocked too and I have had a few days to think about it!!

I will be wasting yet another hour of my life tonight {after wasting three hours last night!!} glued to the second taping of After the Final Rose! I can't decide where I stand on all this. There are so many ways to look at it! I mean, if once the taping of the show was over and "it" just wasn't there with Melissa, then that is just the way it is. You can't force yourself to love someone. I get that. I am so sad for Melissa because I REALLY like her and picked her back on the first night, but if he just can't imagine his life with her, then I guess I can't pick fault with him! BUT...the way in which he handled it was SO not cool! At all. It was crazy for sure!!

So, I guess I should get! I just wanted to post really quickly because I am not sure when I'll get a chance again. I have two sick kiddos today...yesterday Gentry was sick and then Huntler woke up in the night with a horrible cough and fever. They are both coughing and carrying on this morning. I have this sneaking suspicion that today is going to be even more challenging than yesterday!!

Reflective...

I love this image. I really and truly do. It represents where I came from...and where I long to be. The golden summer wheat, the wind whipping through Gentry's hair as she so intensely studies something new, the dark sky as a good ole fashioned thunderstorm moves across the Kansas prairie. I can almost smell the rain and feel the wind on my skin as I type...almost.

As I see my sweet girl examining wheat for the first time, a countless array of memories from my own childhood play like an old movie reel in my mind. I harbor so many memories from this very ground where she is standing. Wonderful memories that will travel with me throughout my life. Those hot, sticky, windy summer afternoons spent picking ladybugs off of the wheat during harvest. The cool, brisk fall mornings picking pine cones from underneath the old pine tree next to the shed. The Easter Egg hunts. The fireworks shows. The four wheeler rides with my grandpa to abandoned little creeks on dirt roads. The pairs of jeans lined up on the clothes line out front drying in the sun. I can see it so vividly as I sit here now. The old fashioned {and I am sure highly dangerous} popcorn popper that popped kernal after kernal of popcorn. The tiny little baby food jar filled with cinnamon and sugar which we sprinkled on our toast all those mornings we woke up after spending the night...

This is the home of my grandparents. When I think back to years gone by, I can honestly say that other than my own home, my most fond memories were created on this farm of theirs. I am a lucky one...at almost 29, I still have three of my four grandparents. While I was close to all of them, I have always been especially close to my mom's parents, and more specifically my grandpa.

I look back at pictures and he was so young when I was born! I was the first grandchild on my mom's side and was admittedly slightly spoiled! My grandpa is the only one who can get away with calling me "B-Beth" or "Bethy!" He is the only one I don't mind yelling for so he can hear me!! {All those years of riding noisy farm equipment really did a number on his hearing! I talked to him this week though and he finally got fitted for hearing aids!!} I don't really know why, but for some reason we have always been especially close. And although I have never considered myself a country girl, it is amazing how much I crave the simplicity of that lifestyle at times!

I took this back in June while we were home for my class reunion. When I posted it back then I received TONS of comments on it! I have spent some time today sifting back through images in an attempt to find some for my Hissyfits website and came across this one. The editing was atrocious, so I started all over and created something I love!

So, just for a little comparison, here is my first editing job from June or July...followed by the one I just did an hour or so ago!!





On that note, sweet Gentry girl is waking up from her nap so I need to get! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend out there in blog land!