Trying to keep our heads above water

Just thought I would pop in for a minute and say Hi!  Yes we are still here, just swamped from every which end.  Week days are filled with school, Tim working long hours (still, grrrrrr), me working 3 days a week and in between all of this we still have to cook, clean, play, soccer, find time to food shop, and manage to have a little fun and family time.  Weekends aren't much better with soccer games, birthday parties, catching up on what got neglected during the week.  It's nuts! 

The Pumpkin Patch

On the 17th we finally had a somewhat dry day to head up to Hayden where they have a pumpkin patch.   From talking to some of my new found friends, this is fall "must do."  The temperature hovered around 50 degrees making it a perfect, cold day to do some pumpkin picking.

Jacob had his first pony ride and absolutely loved it!  Now he tells us he is a cowboy.  Just one of the many hats he wears when he is not part of Lightening McQueen's Pit crew or fighting crime as Spiderman.

After our chilly afternoon at the patch, we headed north so I could see the town that Tim works in and then we ended the day with a nice dinner out at a local Asian restaruant called Stix.  By the time we got home the temps had dipped into the 40s.  Much to my dismay, we had to turn the heat on to take the chill off the house.  Now to find some fire wood so we can make some nice toasty fires in our new fireplace.

October Happenings

Life has been hectic, as shown by the fact that I haven't update in over 2 weeks.  I was in the middle of updating yesterday when hubby kicked me off the computer.  Men!  Anyway, I thought I would just give a run down of life at the moment. 

Jacob got over the H1N1 flu after missing 1 week of school.  It took another 4 days or so to really recouperate after that.  He got his first report card and did great!  You are probably wondering how a 3 year old can get a report card but they do.  Basically it's do they recognize the letters they have learned, know the letter sounds, know their name, behavior, stuff like that.  He also won an award for "Most Improved" since the school year started.  Unfortunately he missed the assembly when the award was presented because he was sick.  The soccer season has been very wet.  At this point we have had more practice and game cancellations then playing time due to the rain and field conditions.  We've also had a birthday to attend in all of this.

This week I started my new job as a Care Manager at UAB hospital  working along side a research team/project. UAB is a huge university in downtown Birmingham with a huge medical complex.  They are listed as one of the top hospitals in the country!   I'm super excited and grateful for this opportunity!  This is a big change for me.  Going from pediatrics to geriatrics (but now I get to use my minor a bit), direct patient care to indirect patient care.  It will be an adjustment.  I had orientation Monday and Tuesday and next week things will really get going, hopefully.  Otherwise, I've been doing some computer work from home that goes along with it and attending weekly team meetings.  So nice to finally be productive out of the house again!  I feel like a new person!  Someone told me once "the more you have to do, the more organized you are and the more you get done."  True, true!  So, now that I have found one of my missing links, I'm good to go.

Hopefully if the weather holds out we will venture up to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend for pumpkin picking and hayrides.  The leaves are slowly turning from green to red and orange.  Still looks like it has a long way to go though.  We had a fence put up last week, 6ft on the sides and 4ft in the back so we don't lose our view.  Now Jacob and Star can run around and I don't have to worry about either one tumbling down the hill.

Swine Flu hits the Clayton Household

Things happen for a reason.  Yesterday, I was notified that my business trip to Denver to take place at the end of next week was canceled.  I couldn't help thinking there was an ultimate reason for all of this.  Could it be recent news events or something else completely different?  I got my answer early this am.

Jacob came into our room at 11pm.  He was roasting.  I removed the sheets and Tim found the thermometer.  102.  Nice.  Gave some Tylenol and would reassess in the morning.  My mind was spinning.  I had checked on him an hour earlier before I went to bed and he didn't seem as hot as he did now.

6am, Jacob is burning up.  Temp 103.7.  Oh, boy!  Mind you these are tympanic temps (ear), so, probably a degree higher.  Tylenol again.

Report cards went out yesterday and today was to be the Honor's Chapel assembly at school.  Jacob was suppossed to receive an award for "Most Improved."  I felt so bad he was going to miss it :(  I called the school to let them know he would be abscent and his teacher called me  back to let me know there were several kids sick with the "Swine Flu"  I called the doctor back, explained the situation and was able to get him seen 2 hours later. 

At the peditrician they did the fun throat culture and nasal swab to run in the lab.  Jacob was not happy with them after they stuck the 6 in long q-tips in those orifaces.  I cannot blame him.  They were never my favorite procedures to do on the little ones when I was working.  About 15 min later his doctor (who is the sweetest thing) came in with papers and confirmed my suspicions.  "Influenza Type A Positive"  AKA, H1N1/Swine Flu.  This flu is actually much milder than the regular flu.  Yes, if you have an underlying condition it can be very severe.  If you are generally healthy you should be fine in a few days.  I chose not to go the Tamiflu route as the side effects seemed worse than what we were trying to fight and there is always the chance of this strain becomeing resistant to it.  I've seen MRSA and the over use of antibiotics it's not pretty so why chance it.

As we left the pediatricians office, Jacob said, "Mommy, I have that Swine flu that is on the news"  Yes, Jacob, Yes you do.

Monday update:  Jacob is doing much better!  I'm glad I chose the course of action I did because by Saturday evening he was fever free.  A low grade temp yesterday evening but not enough to medicate.  He was even getting into mischief so I know he's feeling better.

As soon as the flu shots are available in my area, we will all be getting them!    I'd also like to thank those of you who called over the weekend to check-up on Jacob.  We really appricated it!

Jacob's New Room

Before. . .

AND

After!

What a difference a coat of paint makes!  2 weeks ago we painted Jacob's room.  We wanted it all ready to go for when my parents visited this past weekend.  We took everything out, painted and put it all back in.  When my parents came on Friday, they brought my dad's old bedroom set, which is like new.  My sister used it before she moved out and now it is being passed to the next generation.

For the walls, we used Behr paint from Home Depot in Mickey Sailor, one of the Disney colors.  I love it!

The bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids.  I purchased it on sale about 2 years ago. We didn't use it at the time since we had  toddler bed for Jacob.

The closet photo to the left was my dad's project on Monday.   When we bought the house, it just came with a small shelf on the right hand side.  Jacob has a ton of clothes so this was not going to work.  So my dad added 2 extra shelves. 

Here is a close up of the curtains.  Also from Pottery Barn Kids.  They are a heavy navy blue and fully lined in the back so they will keep out the heat and cold.  Well worth it!  I picked these about a few weeks ago and was so happy with the way they coordinated with the quilt, which also has similar stiching. 

So that's Jacob's room.  I still have to hang some pictures.  I am going to try the Decor Elements from Stampin Up! (vinyl wall clings) in either the train or the little paper airplane that says "so many toys so little time. . . "

Thanks for stopping by!

Parents, Rain, and a Birthday, Oh My!

The title pretty much sums up our weekend.  Friday, my parents drove the 7 hours from their house in North Carolina with a truck full of goodies for us.  I've really been looking forward to their trip because 1. I wanted them to see our new house.  2. They were bringing my dad's old bedroom set for Jacob and 3.  They were bringing back our dog Star and 4.  We needed my dad's help in a few projects that Tim just hasn't had the time for with his insane schedule.

They pulled in around 6pm and Jacob was just ectactic to have gran'ma and gran'pa for the weekend!  As we unloaded the truck Jacob looked around and declared "I'm a new Jacob"  I asked "why?" his reply, "Well, I have all these people here, my grandparents, Star and you and daddy."  It was like he was a little old man.  Priceless!

Saturday was a full day!  It was Tim's birthday, we had pictures at church for the upcoming directory, and went out in the evening Home Depot and dinner.  It was then back home for Cheesecake in celebration of Tim's big day.

Sunday mom, Jacob and I went shopping while the men, sans Jacob, stayed home and worked on installing ceiling fans in the upstairs rooms.  On our shopping expedition, I found the Whole Foods food store that I've passed a few times but never went in.  We stopped in and all I can say is "WOW!"  If you've never been they are a huge organic food store.  Not cheap by any means but if you need something special this is the place to get it.  I'm by no means a tree hugger, nor do I buy into the whole organic thing but the produce was phenominal and they had amazing hot bars, salads, sushi and cheeses.  I was thrilled because I can now go down there knowing we can get some special meats and cheeses that we grew accustomed to while in Sicily that regular grocery stores do not carry.  I just wish the store was a little closer and not 30 min away, but we drove a bit in Sicily to get some special foods too so it's all relative I suppose.

Monday, was a regular day for the most part.  Jacob went to school and loved having gran'ma and gran'pa home to share his day with them and my dad finished Jacob's closet for us.

Now, if you watch the news and weather (I admit, I'm a news junkie!), then you have heard about the insane amount of rain the southeast has gotten since Thursday.  When I heard Friday morning that the day before produced some bad conditions of people being stuck in their cars and homes I knew it was serious but Friday was dry until 7pm, it then proceeded to rain all night, then all day Saturday , Sunday AND Monday.  Enough is enough!  It reminded of this past January and February in Sicily with the flood warnings we had.  Today I am happy to report the sun is out, for now.  I'm just planning on rain at some point.  The lawn is like a muddy sponge when walked on it's all squishy.  Mushrooms are sprouting on lawns the humidity is high.   At least the leaves are starting to change and fall so I know fall is around the corner for us soon.  It seems to hit around the end of October which is in line with when we lived in Florida.

Star is adjusting nicely.  She sits by the door waiting for my parents but in a day or 2 she'll be fine.  It's nice to have her back and she has really calmed in the past 3 years.  She is 7 now and that's middle age for a pug so her crazy puppy days are long gone.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Working Girl Again!

If you read my birthday vent er. . .post then you will recall that I decided it was time to get back into the workforce.  I finally decided on something I looked into many years ago, case management.  It's something I always found interesting, but the positions were alway filled.  Must be good if those in the job never left, right?  Anyway, I had pretty much given up on the thought because they are hard positions to find and I needed more experience.  Well, in my job search, I gave up on the Children's hospital for the time being and found a Care Management job at the adult teaching hospital.  Yay!  Part-Time, Yay!  My interviews went well and I have one more tomorrow.  I met with HR yesterday to go over the usual: background check, copying my professional license, setting up a physical, etc.  I start the end of the month.  My position also requires me to travel to Colorado for a few days of training.  That was a little tricky since Tim and I know no one that we can leave Jacob with while I am gone.  However, I think between daycare at school and Tim needing to be a little flexible for those few days we have it figured out.  Jacob is all excited about eating lunch at school and hanging out with his friends later in the day.  I'm still a little nervous about it but it will be fine in the end.  It's a leap for me too since I am going from peds to adults, bedside to office.  However, the exciting thing is that I will be using my minor, gerontology, in most of my work.  My new position is part of a new research project, so it's new and a lot of details are still not available so we will all be learning as we go.  If everything works out, this should be a great opportunity and addition to my resume!