Well, to celebrate my first full day out of bed in 5 days I thought I would chronicle the last week in the life of Team Larsen. We have had some sort of nightmarish plague that has swept through our family with a fury and has threatened to claim the sanity of all adults in the household, especially Chris (currently the last man standing). Being the only healthy adult for 4 days in charge of one hyper/well child and two sick children plus a sick spouse is enough to drive anyone to long for the days of having to work late hours in the hospital. : )
WARNING: The information that you are about to read is in excruciating detail. This is to aid my need to verbally process. Also, for all of my English loving friends, please excuse my grammar. I am using both present and past tense and it just depends on my feelings, not grammatical rules. : )
Wed 3:30 a.m.- Luke wakes up with a bad dream. Chris feels like Luke might have a fever which is confirmed around 6:00 a.m. with a temp of 102. At this point, I wasn't too upset. Wednesdays (especially this one) are typically hectic and I wasn't at all upset about missing a couple of meetings to have a more relaxing day.
Wed afternoon-Luke's temps start to stay more around 103. This is a little more out of my comfort zone.
Wed night-Rough night...never good to have a sick kid at night and for anyone who knows our family you know that our kids have a conspiracy against allowing us to get sleep on normal nights, much less when they're sick.
Thurs- Luke is still VERY sick. He has a painful cough and high temp that is making everyone miserable. His medicine is having a hard time keeping his temp down and so after a little talk with the phone nurse we decided to take him in. Diagnosis: Strep. Hmm...maybe so but we're thinking there's a secondary infection in there somewhere. We will soon find out...
Friday- Luke is still running a fever and enjoying endless amounts of tv. After an enjoyable conversation with Melissa, I noticed that I was beginning to feel rather flu-ish. I called Chris and received a word of encouragement. : ) Then called back an hour later to explain to him that it was very important that he come home so that there was at least one alert, afebrile adult to care for the lives of his children. Two hours later he was home and I was off to what ended up being a two hour wait at the CVS Minute Clinic (interesting name). The nurse said that I didn't appear to have strep, which we were concerned about with the new bambino, and I was somewhat relieved but still felt terrible. That was my last extended time out of bed and what I consider the point where "the plague" began to conquer us.
Friday p.m.- Caleb spikes a high temp and is up every hour and a half screaming, in the midst of Luke and I coughing our lungs up. Chris is sleep deprived, dilerious, and germaphobic by the a.m.
Sat- Kate, our energetic child, feels GREAT!!!! She's ready to go! Luke, Caleb, and I feel like death warmed over and Chris is being a trooper. He is not one to stay in the house for extended periods of time and he was virtually trapped. I am proud to say that at no point did he run out of the house screaming and leave us all to fend for ourselves.
Sun-Recovering from another bad night of sick babies and coughing fits, we all try to remember why we love each other. Kate is still well and energetic and beginning to need an outlet. Luckily, Luke begins to feel a little better so while Caleb and I rest Chris takes the kids out to the Nature Preserve for an adventure hike. It was greatly needed by all three. That afternoon, Chris forced me to change out of the clothes I had been wearing since Friday and go for a drive. It was actually very enjoyable. We stopped at Zestos for chocolate shakes and went to the top of Grady Memorial Hospital (a rare doctor priviledge, lol) and looked at all of the buildings in downtown. After that, Caleb and I were exhausted and headed back to bed.
Mon- Luke is 2 days fever free. Chris' lysol baths are working and I was up to 50%. Chris agreed to stay home from work to help with the kids, which was a blessing! Kate has her first fever and is so excited to finally be a part of the group. LITERALLY! At one point, her medicine was starting to bring her temp down and I told her that it was going to make her feel better. Her response was..."No! I want to be sick like Mommy". Kate is one of our worst sick kids because he has her dad's groaning and her mom's whining plus her own little dramatic Kate flare! We were up all night with her fever induced nightmares (she's a halucinator, like her mother) And we're hoping she makes a quicker recovery than others.
Tues-Here we are! Caleb and Kate still have a fever. Chris is celebrating his return to work yet continuing to be paranoid about when the plague is going to finally bring him down. I am feeling fatigued but less flu like. WOW! Who would have thought! Luke was able to go play with his friend Jack Henry for their standing weekly playdate. Whohoo! Things are looking up at the Larsen household!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
A Snowy Day
We had a second snow day in Atlanta and the kids had so much fun! Luckily, it came on a Saturday so Chris was able to be home with the kids, which they LOVED! It only snowed a couple of inches but that didn't keep them from playing in it like it was a foot of snow.
They went sledding with some friends and Kate took her American Girl doll out to have it's first snow experience.
Chris also took the kids on an adventure hike along the creek behind our house. They had a wonderful time exploring and would have stayed out forever if Luke's feet hadn't frozen over like ice cubes. Chris brought him back to the house crying and unfortunately that was the end of the exploration.
The kids were determined to make a snowman. So they scraped together every last bit of snow they could find and built this one in our front yard. They were so excited! It lasted until all of the other snow had melted and they actually went out just a couple of days ago and collected the rest of the snowman to save in the freezer until next year. So...now we have three bowls of dirty snow in the freezer and I don't have the heart to throw it out. I'm sure it will probably make the move with us! : )
They went sledding with some friends and Kate took her American Girl doll out to have it's first snow experience.
Chris also took the kids on an adventure hike along the creek behind our house. They had a wonderful time exploring and would have stayed out forever if Luke's feet hadn't frozen over like ice cubes. Chris brought him back to the house crying and unfortunately that was the end of the exploration.
The kids were determined to make a snowman. So they scraped together every last bit of snow they could find and built this one in our front yard. They were so excited! It lasted until all of the other snow had melted and they actually went out just a couple of days ago and collected the rest of the snowman to save in the freezer until next year. So...now we have three bowls of dirty snow in the freezer and I don't have the heart to throw it out. I'm sure it will probably make the move with us! : )
Thursday, January 17, 2008
SNOW!!!
We are in our 3rd year here in Atlanta and have never seen snow. Our friends and family in Arkansas have had numerous snow days since we've been gone and we've had NOTHING! BUT...yesterday that all changed!
We had our first snow here and it was so fun! It started about 4:00 yesterday afternoon and it was huge swirling flakes. The kids were so excited! They just ran around and around in the yard for an hour in pure joy. I even picked my own sick, lazy self up and took Caleb out. It wasn't his fault that I felt so terrible and so why should he have to miss out of his first snow ever and I must say that I was glad that I went out. It was snowing hard, even though it wasn't cold enough to really accumulate and so it was fun to just be out in it.
Chris took the kids out again after dinner and they played around again. Unfortunately, it has all melted now and there was no snow day from school today. But I won't complain! We are so thankful to have had our few hours of wintery bliss!
We had our first snow here and it was so fun! It started about 4:00 yesterday afternoon and it was huge swirling flakes. The kids were so excited! They just ran around and around in the yard for an hour in pure joy. I even picked my own sick, lazy self up and took Caleb out. It wasn't his fault that I felt so terrible and so why should he have to miss out of his first snow ever and I must say that I was glad that I went out. It was snowing hard, even though it wasn't cold enough to really accumulate and so it was fun to just be out in it.
Chris took the kids out again after dinner and they played around again. Unfortunately, it has all melted now and there was no snow day from school today. But I won't complain! We are so thankful to have had our few hours of wintery bliss!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Tagged to be weird...
Okay, so my friend Tricia tagged me to post 5 weird things about myself, which I thought I could surely come up with without any problems. Now, 5 days later, I still have virtually nothing. Am I that plain and common? Who would have ever thought that I would have wanted to have 5 weird things to share? But, the pressure had gotten to me this week. I have thought about this more than I've thought about anything in a long time (sad commentary on my life, I know). I have laid in my bed wishing that I could both throw up (morning sickness) and think of five weird things about myself. I have polled my family, my friends. Still nothing. So, feeling terribly average yet not wanting to let my dear friend Tricia down, I will post two. I know, I know... Is it even worth the post? Well, maybe not but at least I will get to tag someone else. :) And be free of the burden of unweirdness! So here goes...two lame weird things about myself.
1. I am what you would call hyperfrugal. Cheapness pulses through every vein in my body. I find joy in saving pennies on an item. I get adrenaline rushes from even average deals. I think about it in all situations. Analyze buys continually. Even things that I have analyzed in the past I will randomly reanalyze both to confirm my frugal choice or to discover that an even cheaper option has been found. It's not your normal " I LOVE a good deal" type situation. It's something much deeper. And probably deserves some professional help. : )
2. I am also a non-showerer. (Please don't stop being my friend over this) I just don't really do it. No real reason...well maybe laziness. But, in an average week I probably shower twice. Now, one of the things that allows me to do this is that my hair for some reason doesn't really need to be washed very often. And when it does get to that point, I just pull out all of the tricks that Anna and I discovered in college and that will extend my non showering another couple of days. If I were willing to wear a baseball cap again, I'm pretty sure that I would never have to shower again. Many times what will spur on a shower is that I can't sleep because of my desperate need to shave. I definitely don't do that every time I shower so you can imagine that it would eventually disrupt my sleep. Don't you wonder how Chris puts up with it??
Well, there you have it. Two semi-weird things about myself. But I'm thankful to all of you who have chosen to be my friend in spite of my boring, plainness. It's means so much! lol
Now, I tag Anna Wanamaker and Emily Moore to post 5 weird things about themselves. And you can't take my "I don't have 5 weird things" route. :)
1. I am what you would call hyperfrugal. Cheapness pulses through every vein in my body. I find joy in saving pennies on an item. I get adrenaline rushes from even average deals. I think about it in all situations. Analyze buys continually. Even things that I have analyzed in the past I will randomly reanalyze both to confirm my frugal choice or to discover that an even cheaper option has been found. It's not your normal " I LOVE a good deal" type situation. It's something much deeper. And probably deserves some professional help. : )
2. I am also a non-showerer. (Please don't stop being my friend over this) I just don't really do it. No real reason...well maybe laziness. But, in an average week I probably shower twice. Now, one of the things that allows me to do this is that my hair for some reason doesn't really need to be washed very often. And when it does get to that point, I just pull out all of the tricks that Anna and I discovered in college and that will extend my non showering another couple of days. If I were willing to wear a baseball cap again, I'm pretty sure that I would never have to shower again. Many times what will spur on a shower is that I can't sleep because of my desperate need to shave. I definitely don't do that every time I shower so you can imagine that it would eventually disrupt my sleep. Don't you wonder how Chris puts up with it??
Well, there you have it. Two semi-weird things about myself. But I'm thankful to all of you who have chosen to be my friend in spite of my boring, plainness. It's means so much! lol
Now, I tag Anna Wanamaker and Emily Moore to post 5 weird things about themselves. And you can't take my "I don't have 5 weird things" route. :)
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Welcome 2008
We have loved celebrating New Year's with our friends in Conway! I think that we have spent almost all of our New Year's as a married couple with the Johnstons (minus our first year in Atlanta) and the last two years they have had a big party at their house which is super fun!
2008 holds a lot of changes for us. Chris will finish residency in June and we will be moving back to Little Rock this summer. It will be bittersweet for sure. We love Atlanta and will miss all of our friends here but at the same time it will be nice to be close to family and friends again. Chris will take his boards this summer which means a lot of hard work and discipline on his part and a lot of teamwork on ours. The biggest news for 2008 is that we will be welcoming numero cuatro into our family. Yes...I know. Some of you are shocked and some horrified. Both are appropriate responses. I must say that Chris and I were surprised ourselves! We knew that we would like to eventually add another child to our family but seeing as I HATE to be pregnant, I always thought that we would just adopt rather than having another of our own. It seems that God had another plan though. So now along with the other transitions in our life, I feel like crap and am totally worthless as a wife and mother. Fun!! : )
Seriously though, we are praying that God will be gracious to our family during this time and that I will be feeling better soon. And we are excited about this new adventure and about meeting the newest member of team Larsen!
2008 holds a lot of changes for us. Chris will finish residency in June and we will be moving back to Little Rock this summer. It will be bittersweet for sure. We love Atlanta and will miss all of our friends here but at the same time it will be nice to be close to family and friends again. Chris will take his boards this summer which means a lot of hard work and discipline on his part and a lot of teamwork on ours. The biggest news for 2008 is that we will be welcoming numero cuatro into our family. Yes...I know. Some of you are shocked and some horrified. Both are appropriate responses. I must say that Chris and I were surprised ourselves! We knew that we would like to eventually add another child to our family but seeing as I HATE to be pregnant, I always thought that we would just adopt rather than having another of our own. It seems that God had another plan though. So now along with the other transitions in our life, I feel like crap and am totally worthless as a wife and mother. Fun!! : )
Seriously though, we are praying that God will be gracious to our family during this time and that I will be feeling better soon. And we are excited about this new adventure and about meeting the newest member of team Larsen!
Christmas in Siloam
We really enjoyed our time with my family in Siloam Springs. The cousins are at a fun age and they all get along pretty well. Here are just a few pictures from our time there...
Wilson (my nephew) and Luke
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Christmas came early to Atlanta
This year is our first year to be able to actually be home in Arkansas with our families on Christmas. Which meant, of course, Santa had to come early to the Larsen household. We celebrated our family Christmas this weekend and had a really fun time. The kids are at such a fun age for Christmas! Here are just a few pictures of our Christmas celebrations...
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE LARSENS!
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