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!

Jacob's First Soccer Game

Jacob had his first game this past Saturday.  Here he is cheesing for the camera before the big game.

These are  just a few of the pics I snapped during the first game.  As you can see, their jersey's are "Lemon Yellow"  In person, they look flourescent.  At this age, there is no keeping score.  It's all about having fun, learning to kick the ball toward the proper goal and not touching the ball with one's hands.  The latter two are a challenge.  The kids did an awesome job!

Could we be any busier?

It's been a while since I blogged, I know.  It's not for lack of anything to report.  There has been lots going on meaning less time at the computer, which is a good thing :) 

Our claims have been settled with the moving companies and we have a new kitchen set arriving this week.  I'm still working on what to do in the office about a desk. I  also have to replace some stamp items that where no where to be found during the unpacking process. That was tragic.  I went to make some card challenges and discovered my Stack n Store caddy with buttons, brads, beads, eyelets were all missing.  You don't realize how much you need and use these items until they go missing.

If you keep in contact with me via Face Book, then you know I went on an interview last week.  The job wound up being a little different from the posting.  I had a panel interview and then found out I had to do a phone interview in the afternoon.  I'll report more on that next week.

Now that fall is here, well not techically yet, but it's September so in my book it's fall, we started our paint projects.  Last weekend we painted the half-bath and Jacob's bathroom.  Today we stared Jacob's bedroom.  What a difference some color makes!  I couldn't take tan walls in every room any longer.  I'll post pics this week.

This morning we also had Jacob's first soccer game.  His team did great, my little guy even made a goal during the game!  At this age there is no keeping score.  It's just about having fun and figuring out which goal to kick the ball in.

As for my other weekly activities?  Well, I've made a habit now of getting my exercise done first thing in the morning.  After I drop Jacob off at school I head over to the gym and walk for 1 hour (3-1/2miles) around the outside walking trail.  I'm finally seeing some results so that in itself is a good motivator.  Wednesday night is Bible study and Sunday church.  My neighbor even made a comment the other morning about me being busy.  I'm trying.

The end of the week my parents are coming all the way from NC with a truck load of stuff for us.  The best part is that they are bringing little Star so she can move back in with us.  We've missed our little curly tailed 4 legged friend.  It will be nice have her around again.  I say this now, I'm sure after a few days of her getting into mischief  and dog hair everywhere again I'll change my mind.

I'll try to post some pics of the above happenings this week.