Norovirus

Last sunday we have an mini outbreak of sickness in the house. Everyone was fine & wonderful on saturday. After work Jim went out with some guy friends and returned home sometime very early sunday morning. A few hours later he started puking. When I heard this happening, my first thought was food poisioning. I got up that morning & tried to wake him. He didn't move a bit so I packed up the kids & went to church. I figured he would have slept it out & be feeling better by time I got back. Wrong.

He stayed in bed probably 23 of the 24 hours on sunday. The puking subdued, but he had massive body aches & severe tiredness. Monday rolled around & he still looked like a truck ran over him. He got up & went to work anyway (no big surprise, mr. I've only taken sick leave once in ten years). Other than work the rest of his time was spent in bed. Each day got better after that.

Mandy also had a touch of something. She was fine on sunday morning. After church she said she didn't feel good, but had no symptoms. She didn't eat lunch, but happily played outside for several hours. Later in the afternoon, she got a case of the pukies as well. She tried some chicken noodle soup for supper & couldn't keep that down either. I kept her home from school on monday, mostly for good measure. Sure enough, she was fine by then, but enjoyed a day home with me.

We concluded that Jim had the norovirus. There has been a huge outbreak in Monmouth, the next town over where we attend church. There have been over 80 reported cases to the health dept. It's especially rampid at Monmouth College where it is believed to have originated. Luckily Jim only had the short version of the virus. He's much better now, less than a week later. I'm not sure if Mandy's sickness was related or not. Hopefully no one else in the Peterson zoo will get this as well.

It's my turn

My (great) Aunt Margie Mae (as we affectionately called her) passed away yesterday. This is my mom's aunt, my grandma's sister. We haven't had a death on this side of the family in over 20 years. WOW!

I grew up living just a block away from her. Right down the alley. I remember walking up to her house all the time, going inside & visiting with her & Uncle John. Once I grew up & moved away I didn't really see her except for each year at the family reunion. But the memories of when I was a child will linger the most. She was a wonderful woman!

Hearts at Home "I'm Glad I'm a Mom" Contest

Hearts at Home’s most recent book I’m Glad I’m a Mom, shares over 50 stories retrieved from the trenches of motherhood. Written by moms, this heart-warming collection shares the everyday experiences, trials and joys of motherhood from women who can truly say “I’m Glad I’m a Mom.”

Now, we want to hear from you! Mother’s Day is fast approaching. In honor of this special day, we want to know why you’re glad to be a mom. To enter our Mother’s Day contest, just complete the following sentence in 50 words or less.

I’m Glad I’m a Mom because…

Your entry can be humorous or heartwarming...we’re just looking for honest reflections on the topic. The top five entries will be featured on the Hearts at Home Blog the week before Mother’s Day. Our grand prizewinner will receive either a one-day scholarship to the Hearts at Home conference of her choice (hotel and travel expenses not included) or a $50 gift card to the Hearts at Home Shoppe. The four runners-up will receive a Hearts at Home book of their choice.
All entries must be received by midnight (CST) on Wednesday, April 30th.

Submission guidelines:

1. Please include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address on the top left corner of your entry.
2. Your entry should be 50 words or less.
3. Only one entry is allowed per person.
4. All entries are due by midnight Central Time April 30, 2008, and should be sent to
hahcontest@hearts-at-home.org
5. No entries will be accepted by mail.
6. We will contact you by Sunday, May 4, 2008, if your entry is selected as a prizewinner.
If you have any additional questions, e-mail the Hearts at Home Publishing Director at
publishing@hearts-at-home.org

We can’t wait to hear why YOU are Glad You’re a Mom!
Keeping Hearts at Home,
Megan Kaeb
Director of Publishing
Wife to Kory and mommy to 4

Crazy Hair Day

It's spirit week again at the elementry school. They had one in the fall as well. I let John have his mohawk. He wants to keep it, but it's about to get shaved off now that school is over for today. Sorry, this mom is only cool to a certain point.

Family Bike Ride

Aside from our various activites & sports we participate in we are an active family. Taking a family bike ride is one of the kid's favorite things to do. As you can see from the picture we start them young too. This was not (baby) Carmen's first bike ride either. She was a trooper.

We tend to draw stares & even get some finger pointing when we are out riding about town. Mostly in a good way. The sight of so "many" kids, their bikes all following dad, with mom pulling up the rear. Either good or bad we don't mind we keep doing what we enjoy as a family!

Camera issues & I'm tired

Last week was a particularly busy week. Lots happening & going on. I got up at 5 a.m. this morning to not only see Jim out the door to work, but to specifically blog all our happenings. It's suppose to be beautiful & WARM outside today. I want to devote time to my yard & catch some sun (I think I could pass for Dracula I'm so pale). So more time outside means less time inside & on the computer. Even if I did stay in there is always much to do in this house. Even just the basic cleaning keeps me on the go.

Our camera has pretty much died. It's taking these awful pictures that are not worth keeping at all. I know it's not the sd card cause I used it in someone elses camera & it was fine. I can still use the camera for short video clips & those turn out great. Still pictures area awful. Well.....it's not like I take "a lot" of pictures. Ok, that is a total lie. I'm a freak about pictures. The thing is practically attached to my hand. I looked at the folders on our computer. I took over 300 pictures in December 2007 alone. Good reason though, Carmen was born that month, not to mention several Christmas gatherings. So far this year I've taken over 400 pictures.

We've had this camera for over 2 years and I guess it's lived it's life. I can use the camcorder to take pictures, but those are not nearly as good. At the Modest is Hottest fashion show they asked to use my camcorder to actually videotape the show as their cameras had malfunctioned. That's why I have no pictures of that.

We don't exactly have a few hundred dollars sitting around waiting to be spent. And being true to our debt free way of living....if we don't have the cash to pay for something we can't buy it. Sorry Mastercard & Visa, you are not our friends. Payday is coming up though. Maybe we could get a cheap low end one to use for now. I've always wanted 2 cameras & have one to keep in my purse for those spur of the moment photo ops. It is driving me crazy though, not being able to snap pictures left & right.

I hear Carmen fussin & I need to get the kids up for school. I've spent 2 hours bloggin' for y'all. I'll be stiffling the yawns back later this afternoon & will be falling into bed early tonight. Have a good day my blessed family & friends.

Back at it

I ran my first road race on saturday. It was the CSC 2 or 4 mile race. CSC is a local community college. I chose the 2 mile race. Not really a fan of 4 miles. I can do 2 miles, 5k (3.1 miles), or even 5 miles, just not 4. And contrary to popular belief I've never raced any farther than 5 miles. "Everyone" seems to think that I've done marathons. Nope, never.....at least, not yet. It is in my future plans, but not during these years of raising little ones. It takes much more time & dedication that I can give right now.

Anyway, it was cold & icky outside. A cool 38 degrees. Kind of a rainy sometimes spitting snow morning. Not ideal racing conditions at all. I was so pumped just be out racing that I didn't care. I was nervous & excited all at the same time. Being my first race back after my last baby I was very unsure how I would do. As I took off at the gun I tired to hold back a bit. In previous years I had the habit of going out too fast too soon resulting in burnout later on. On the other had I didn't want to go too slow either. So I just ran. I'm very used to doing a lot of my running and training on a treadmill with my mp3 players jammin. This time it was just me, my legs & the voices in my head (a deadly combination I'm sure).

As I approached my first mile & turn around point I heard my split of 7:24. WOW! I'm very pleased with that. I've been known to run faster (downward of 6:30), but this was good for my first time in such icky conditions. Not to mention the hill I had to run up toward the end of that mile. (Sidenote: I detest hills, just not a fan of them, and thus poorly integrate them into my training). Going back I wanted to maintain at least that pace again wagering back & forth between not going too fast or too slow. My finish time was 14:54. Again I was very pleased. Not my fastest time, but not my slowest either. And if I can use this as my building point then it can only get faster from here.

WooHoo, Carmen is back in da house of running! I already have my calader marked for my next race. I'm excitingly rubbing my hands together in eager anticipation. The beast is getting ready to be unleashed (bwahahahahaha).

I have no pics. Again camera issues. Which there wasn't much to take a picture of. My time did give me the top overall female spot. Due to a mix up with the trophies there was no trophy to give me. The race directors will surely get me one (not that I need another one to sit in my basement), it was just not there & available to give me at the award ceremony.

Modest is Hottest

Angel & Mandy were selected to be models in an event called Modest is Hottest. It was put on by a local church that encourages dressing modestly in a fun & fashionable way. For more information on this type of event you can check out this website: http://www.modestishottestfashionshow.com/

JCPenny provided their full outfits which the girls loved. Mandy especially was constantly twirling & twisting in her outfit. That girl giggled & gushed over herself as she posed in the mirror non stop. They each had a dressy & a casual outfit. They did not get to keep their clothes. We were offered to buy them at discount ("come on mom, plllllllllleassssssssssse!"), but even at that it would have been quite costly. I personally am very cheap, so unless it's on clearance & for 90% off I'm not gonna buy it. Yeah, I got a lot of rolling of the eyes when I told the girls it would be "too much money". I love the look in their eyes that seemed to yell "SO?". Mandy exclaimed, "but Mom, I HAVE to look my best!" I dragged them over to the clearance section, got excited myself & showed them how to really shop. Even found me a very cute pair of capris, originally $29.....got them for $4. Ca-ching!

The night of the event was a blast. The girls had their hair & make up done by a group of stylist. I attended as well & took one of Mandy's friends along with. We all had our pictures taken by a professional. Got a skin & color tone analysis & lots of other fashion tips. The speaker Shari Braendel (http://www.sharibraendel.com/home.html) was a riot & very well spoken on the whole idea of beauty & fashion from a godly perspective.

During one part of the event I was picked out of the audience & asked to come up on stage. After doing this to several people the informed us that she picking out two types of people....fashion DO's & fashion DON'Ts. Uh-oh. I was wearing this very pastel yellow t-shirt, a definate no-no for my color anaylsis of 'deep'.

Toward the end of the event was the fashion show. I will include some video at the end of each girl walking the runway. I don't have any pictures of the actual fashion show or of them in their outfits(that will be explained in another post), but am hoping to find someone else who did take pics during that time. The girls looked wonderful and took so naturally to the stage. The photographer who was there taking individual shots has a website with the pictures listed. If you want to see those, email me, I can send you the link.

An interesting side story, the girls arrived early to get ready & have their pictures taken by the photographer. I arrived later & had my pic taken too. When I walked in to have my photo "session" I met this photograhper whom I had never met before. Neither one of us knew each other or had ever seen each other before. I didn't have Angel with me nor did I know that he had already taken pictures of Angel. He took one look at me, stopped dead in his tracks & said "you MUST be Angel's mother!" I slowly nod a yes and he then carried on to say how much she looks EXACTLY like me. (poor child ; ) ) I have been hearing that more & more as Angel gets older.

Angel's video clip, she the girl with the long braids:

Mandy's video clip, she's wearing the pink stripped shirt:

School musical

Brianna had her first school musical last week. It was title The Elephants Child. Brianna herself was a bird. Since she is in 2nd grade she was only allowed to sing in the choir. Next year as a thrid grader she is eligible for specific & solo parts. She did very well & enjoyed herself.

Bumbo

We have one of those Bumbo seats. I set Carmen in it the first time last week. I was surprised how well she could sit in it. She seems too little to be in it. She really likes it though, she definately is one to be up & viewing the action. It only takes 5 minutes or so then she's tired of being in it. I'm sure we'll see more & more use of it as she gets older.

SURPRISE!

Last saturday I had a surprise party for Jim. Once again I managed to pull it off with him having any clue. I don't do this every year, but every few. First I tried to throw him off my scent by inviting friends over on Friday night to play games. We had a great time & the house didn't clear out until well after midnight.

Saturday seemed to be very normal. I didn't have to be extreamly sneaky. I made up huge portions of potato & watergate salad in the kitchen while Jim sat in the dining room paying bills. I carried on right there for anyone to see what I was doing. He did ask once why I was making that food up. I shrugged my shoulders & said "it's for supper", which totally was THE TRUTH.

It worked out perfect that he had softball practice late in the afternoon. I didn't have to get him away from the house with any phoney excuses. By time he got back home there was 30 some people here. He walked in and said "why are all these people here?" Surprise!

Happy Birthday Jim!

Young Authors Award

Angel was choosen (again) as a winner in the Illinois Young Authors contest. Last year she placed 3rd & got a medal. This year she got more of an honorable mention which yielded a ribbon. But she's now in Jr. High and competing in a much bigger pond of fish, so to speak. Either way we are proud of her & her efforts. Good job Angel!

KUK SOOL WON award night

Jim, Brianna & John have been doing karate since last summer. They are each doing very well in their classes and plan to continue for quite some time. Last week there was an award banquet they attended. Each of them received awards for Student of the Year nominee.

Jim was also nominated & choosen as the Most Improved award. He had no idea he was getting this award. Master Ed called me in the afternoon to tell me he was receiving this special award. I had no plans to attend at all. Knowing Jim was to get this award I had to try & get there & keep it all a secret from him. I skipped the dinner portion of the banquet & showed up just in time to get video of Jim getting his award. The other students in the studio are the ones who picked Jim for this award. It's no surprise that Jim would be seen as a person who is always striving to do better & go above & beyond what is considered normal.

Good job Brianna, John & Jim! I'm so proud.