Could have been a disaster!

We almost had a horrible disaster! Grace went to turn on the night light in the hallway when electrical sparks shot out of the outlet!

Dave yelled for me to come and see what happened. We couldn't see very clearly because all of the lights were blown out but what we could see did not look good. There was black covering the outlet and the nightlight. Thank goodness Grace only received a minor burn but her fingers were also black!

As we pondered what might have occurred, checked Grace for injuries and inspected the outlet, lo and behold, Dave found a burnt penny! Oh, even in the dark, with the fuses tripped, the lightbulb went on--Analiese!

Yes, Analiese admitted that she put a penny on the nightlight. It must have fallen and had been leaning on the prongs that were in the outlet and when Grace turned on the switched POW!

Of course we had lots of tears and sorry's from our youngest---hopefully this was a VERY big lesson for her. We are grateful it wasn't any worse then a little soot and a few tripped switches. We can only imagine how serious this could have been!

Leave it to Analiese to ensure we get to experience EVERY childhood situation that can occur. God do I love her!

Back to work!

Tomorrow I go back to work. I'm just plain old disgusted. I was so looking forward to having a break to get some things done, relax, spend time with the kids and recharge. I didn't get ANY of those things. Now, I have to go back to work just as I'm starting to feel normal again.

It's not fair, it's just not fair!

CRUD!

Grace and I both have been suffering from the CRUD! OK, so that's not the medical name but it sure sums up how we've been feeling.

It started with Grace last Friday. She had no appetite, a headache and a fever. When I took her temp it was 101. So into bed she went. All through the weekend we fought very high temps (105) and lethargy. By Monday it wasn't any better but there really weren't any more symptoms either. But, to rule out anything major, off to pediatrician we went.

Well, after a strep swab, a flu swab, a urinalysis, and a complete exam, the doctor said there was nothing to treat! Grace had a virus that would just have to run its course. While in the doctor's office the kids got a quick lesson in hand washing!

Since Grace was feeling so poorly and we are always afraid she'll have an asthma attack, I slept with her. Oh boy! On Tuesday I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a truck. My throat was so sore and swollen I could hardly swallow and the low grade fever made everything ache.

Oh, and did I mention that this week is our winter break so ALL FOUR kids are home this week???? So, I've had to take care of Grace, myself and the children! Thank goodness Sarah is so responsible because she has been a huge help!

Grace's fever and sore throat gave way to coughing, which in turn turned into horrible asthma. She has been on albuterol, pulmicort and prednisone! She's missed all four days of gymnastics, not to mention almost her entire break has been spent in bed! But, the good news is that today she feels "almost" normal!

Dave spoke to my doctor today and he said that this "virus", the rhino virus, is going around and can take up to THREE weeks to fully recover! Well, I've been down and out for 3 days and last night started the hacking and coughing. I sure hope I don't get pneumonia!

So, all of the plans I had for the kids this week; movies, the aquarium and play dates have all gone out of the window! Right now I just pray that no one else comes down with this! Especially Dave--he'll be worse than all four kids toghether ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Raising money, teaching a lesson

Sarah has two competitions this coming March. She will be in five dances at each event. Last year, when she was in the junior company, it was two dances. This year, because she has moved up to the intermediate level, she will dance many more. Which of course, costs much, much more.

The dance companies, in order to help defray the cost of the competitions; costumes, hotels, and entry fees, hold a dance-a-thon. On February 14th, the girls will dance for 4 hours. Prior to that they will try to get friends and family to "sponsor" them. (think of the walk-a-thon!).

Sarah and I talked about how we could raise money and we decided that she would ask our friends at school and I would post to the blog asking for sponsors.

So, will you please consider sponsoring Sarah? You can make a one time donation (even a dollar would make her day!) or you can sponsor her per hour.

I added a chip-in to the right. All of the money donated that way will go into my Paypal account. Or you can donate directly to my paypal account. Go to paypal.com and type in my email address: mom2mags@bellsouth.net and you can donate directly to the account.

I know that times are tough so we do appreciate any and all of you who can give to help Sarah earn her way to competition.

Dave and I are trying very hard to give Sarah some responsibility. We also want to teach her that there are many, many ways of raising money. Hopefully, some day, she'll put the creativity to work. Who knows what is in her future!!??

Again, thanks for helping any way you can!