Summer Vacation Recap--Week 11

Sunday, August 5--Today was a good day for getting things done around the house.  Everyone's sheets got washed and bed's remade so when we get back from Lake Mills we'll have nice clean beds to climb into.  I also sewed a button on one of Brandon's shirts, packed for Mylie and I to go to Lake Mills on Monday, hung a picture down stairs, pulled some weeds.....you know, it was one of those days.  I also 'found' Kate (via interview) who will be the perfect girl to stay with Myah and Maysen on those Wednesday afternoons when they get out of school early.  It's so great to just know when you've found the right person--I'm hoping she accepts the position!  Brandon left shortly after lunch to go to Rembrandt to work with his dad on a car so it was just Mylie and I for the afternoon and evening.  We scrounged through the leftovers for lunch to be sure we didn't leave food to rot and go bad while we're gone (I HATE wasting food!).  We went to Target and Walmart to get the odds-and-ends we needed around the house (new filter for the vacuum, printer paper, diapers....you know, exciting stuff!).  After supper, I pushed Mylie on a 3 mile walk in the stroller.  She just loves the fresh air, the cars, the dogs, the people.....she's a great walking companion....if only she could hold a conversation, but that, too, will happen.  After she went to bed, I looked at my calendar for the week since we'll be gone until Wednesday.  I had a mini breakdown about my little girls being big enough to start Kindergarten.....maybe I'm not as ready for this as I thought.  They're ready, they'll be great, I need to get my act together!!  The next two weeks are going to be chock full of getting-ready-for-the-first-day-of-school type activities.  I'm pretty sure they're more for the parents than the kids.....those sneaky teachers/principals!

Monday, August 6--Mylie got me up around 7 and it was just her and I that morning.....very quiet!!  Did a few things around the house and had a chiropractor appointment before heading up to Lake Mills to see my other girls.  I picked up Kentucky Fried Chicken in Clear Lake for us to have for lunch and then took all three girls to the pool (where I used to work) to wear them out for a nap.  Mylie and I took a nap in one room and Myah and Maysen in another room.  For supper, we met my high school friend, Jen, her mom, Julie, and Jen's daughters, Cora and Tatum at the park.  We got a few pizzas and played for a few hours.  Baths were needed and then all three girls were exhausted.
  

Tuesday, August 7-- We had a lazy morning around Mom and Dad's house.  My dad and brother had gotten up early to go on Honor Flight so it was just mom, me and the girls.  I made a casserole and programmed the oven so it would be ready for lunch.  Then we went out to my Nana and Grandpa's house.....my girls call them Bessa and Grandpa.  We were there for a few hours and the girls got tired running around their house.  We went back to my parents' for lunch and a nap.  From 5-8, it was the National Night Out event at the park near mom and dad's house.  There were hotdogs and sweet corn offered by the local FFA chapter as a fundraiser for their trip to Australia next summer.  There was a bouncy house, fire truck rides, obstacle course, and so much more.  Here are the girls spraying each other in the kids water fight, trying the free Zumba, and getting fingerprinted. 

 Needless to say they were exhausted again.

Wednesday, August 8--Mylie bear turns 17 months today--boy does time fly!  I gave everyone showers in the morning and then we headed back to Ames.  Upon arriving at home, I did some laundry, bought some groceries and then got everyone down for naps since they'd had late bed times the last few nights.  Brandon got home mid afternoon so the girls were excited to see him.  He brought home a bag of craft supplies from his Aunt Darlys.  The girls have had a great time playing and creating! 

 After feeding the kids supper, I went with my friend, Dellisa for a girl's night out to get pedicures, supper at Noodles and Company, and dessert at Aspen Leaf.

When I got home at 9:15, Brandon headed out to the late movie of Snow White and the Huntsmen with his friend, Mike.  One of these days, we like to have a date night with each other, but since Mylie's seizure, we've had a really hard time leaving her.

Thursday, August 9--I've really been missing the pool this week and we didn't make it today either!  I got up and folded laundry and ran 3 miles.  Brandon and I FINALLY met with a lawyer today to start setting up a Will.  It's not really something we like to think or talk about, but since our kids are our life, we really needed and wanted to get a legal document together 'just in case.'  The girls and I went to the chiropractor and then played outside on the deck in the water table and with sidewalk chalk before going to the library for the Hotdog Dinner Theater.  Our backyard neighbor boy, William, went with us to see the magician.  It was a very average performer, but the kids enjoyed it.

  A gal I work with was having a Back to School Vault Denim Party (you buy jeans at an in-home party) so the girls and I made a quick stop there before heading home for baths and bedtime.  It was another busy day!

Friday, August 10--My morning started with a trip to the dermatologist.  At the end of last summer, I noticed two darkish spots on my upper lip.  I finally decided to get them checked out.  He told me they are a result of Melasma.  Basically a hyperpigmentation in the skin caused by the sun combined with a hormone releasing birth control.  It is especially noticeable (and more prominent) in people with dark/olive skin, dark hair color, and dark eye color.  Well, that explains me.  Of course, the best medication they've found is not available on the market right now so I have to wait until it comes back out.  At least I can be thankful it's nothing more serious than that, I guess.  The girls and I ran some errands in the morning and then met Brandon at Fazoli's for lunch.  It's one of those places that is underrated, we feel and we don't get there as much as we'd like.  Of course, we had some coupons that were going to expire today so we made a point to use them.....can't pass up 99 cent kids meals and you can get up to three (how perfect is that!?) with each adult entree.  After an attempt at getting all three kids to nap, one of them actually did (the littlest and most important one), I went up to the school to start planning with some of my coworkers for a few hours while Brandon played with the girls.  His parents stopped by on their way to Des Moines so they played outside and in the basement for a while.  Remember I said I had been missing the pool?  Well, I decided we better make a quick trip there since I knew we wouldn't make it there tomorrow either.  It was cool outside (78 degrees) and the water was cold but we went for about an hour.  There weren't many people there, but the girls still had fun and the sun was out.  We went home and made some Puppy Chow for our night snack and read some new books the girls got from my friend Sindy.  Her sister is a children's book writer and she gave the girls 3 of her (Lisa Moser) stories.  It's great fun to get books with such a personal story behind them.  Brandon and I wound down our day by watching the movie 'One Day' it's quite slow moving and not all that great.....I don't recommend it :)

Saturday, August 11--Half Marathon training called for 4 miles this morning and they were wonderful!  The weather was great and it felt like an 'easy' run, which NEVER happens!  The rest of the morning was spent packing and getting things ready to be gone over night for my cousin Lars's wedding.  We traveled north to Mason City for the wedding and to Clear Lake's Surf Ballroom for the reception.  It was a beautiful wedding and the girls had a blast dancing the night away.

Summer Vacation Recap--Week 10

Sunday, July 29--Brandon got up (not quite as early) for his last day of basketball camps.....finally!  Remember my parents had stayed over night the night before......we went for an early lunch at Noodles and Company and then went to the Big Bucket to show off our swimming skills to Nana and Papa.  This made for some tired girls and some good afternoon naps!  We spent a lot of the early evening watching the Olympics and doing the weekly grocery shopping.  Brandon took the girls for a ride around the block before baths.  We had a great weekend!

Monday, July 30--My morning began with folding laundry and emptying the dishwasher.....you know, the fun stuff!  Then a 3 mile run to clear my mind for the day before I went to the chiropractor.  I have a lot of tension in my neck and mid back (three kids, teaching and on my feet most of the day, running, etc have contributed to this.).  It's not painful that often, just tight, but I do have some twisting in my vertebrae that play a factor.  William and Ella came over to help make some cookies for dessert after dinner (their family joined us for our monthly meal together at our house).  The three girls and I went to the Big Bucket to beat the heat (96+ degrees!) and then a trip to the book mobile for new books and movies for the next week.  The girls had finished path #4 on the summer reading program so they got to choose a new book, which is always fun.

Tuesday, July 31--It's the last day of July, folks!!  I emptied the dishwasher first thing, again, and then headed out for a 3 mile walk.  This time, I had all three girls with me.  My plan was to push Mylie in the stroller and the other two wanted to join me.  They each walked a total of 2 miles--they each got to ride for half a mile in the second and third miles.  After they were rehydrated, Brandon took them outside to practice dribbling on the patio.   I also took a box of baby clothes (after Kelsey took what she wanted) to a local consignment shop to see what I can sell.  A garage sale is too much work, but this is worth a try.  I can't believe how good of shape some of our stuff is in!  The Olympics seem to be on our TV most of the day, but often no one is really watching anything.  We like to have it on so we can check in and make sure we see the events we want to see.  I went back to the chiropractor to hear the results of my examination the day before and then the heat was back so the Big Bucket was in order.  All 5 of us needed a good cool down. We went to Pancheros for supper after swimming-----we had two full punch cards for free quesadillas.  It's hard to resist Cold Stone next door so we headed over there.  Myah had a free kid's dish coupon from the summer reading program and we also had a 2 for $5 coupon so we did pretty well price wise.  We've been fully enjoying our summer vacation with frequent trips out for ice cream!

Wednesday, August 1--Our wonderful cleaning gal came this morning.  I'm so fortunate to have someone clean my house.  It's something I don't have to spend time doing and because it allows me time with my kids when I'm home, it is worth every single penny!  While she was at our house, the five of us made a delivery to Goodwill, a trip to Target to get birthday presents for this weekend, and a stop at Hobby Lobby for some materials for a DIY project I hope to complete very soon.....stay tuned!  Once we got home, I made a nice balanced lunch for us, wrapped the birthday gifts, and made some appointments for the girls and I before school starts up in just 2.5 weeks!  Then it was off to the pool.  Home for supper and just chilled all evening.  It was nice to have kind of a productive day with no absolute places we had to be.

Thursday, August 2--Mylie went to Sue's since we had a few things scheduled for today and I want to keep her visiting there a few times this summer so I don't have to experience a week of tears when I go back to work.  I took advantage of the calm and quiet morning to be lazy (aka, not run) and finish #3 of the Hunger Games Series Mockingjay.  I had signed M&M up for Tot Time at Kil'n Time, the local paint-your-own pottery store.  They read a few books, had a snack and made a glass mosaic in honor of the meteor showers that are to take place later this month. 

They had a great time, but of course want to go back soon so they actually get to do the painting projects.  We met daddy for lunch at Noodles and Company (where they had this totally futuristic pop machine---I had just been there on Sunday and it wasn't there then)

 and dessert at Aspen leaf (don't tell Mylie!).  Ok, now I think we've made a few too many trips for ice cream/fro-yo this summer and the scale is starting to show it.  However, isn't that what summer is for?  Ugh.....I need to convince myself that it's ok and I will start eating better once school starts back up and training for the half-marathon begins next week!  After our chiropractor appointments, M&M and I went to the pool for a few hours before picking up Mylie.  Brandon went to the new Batman movie with his friend, Kevin, and the girls and I hung out at home for a quiet evening of baths and books.

Friday, August 3--I did get up and run 3 miles this morning, showered and made a quick trip to HyVee to get us through the weekend.  After lunch, Brandon took the big girls to the park to practice shooting baskets and I took Mylie up to the middle school so I could sort through some things since next week they will be waxing the floors and I won't be able to get into the building.  Around 3, we headed to Des Moines.  Stop number 1 was at Midwest Tile and Granite so we could pick out some granite for a new countertop for the kitchen as well as a new sink!  I'm sure excited.  We're also going to be putting in a tile backsplash.....it's going to look like an entirely new kitchen.  Pictures to come!  Stop number 2 (and our main reason for going) was to have supper with Kelsey, Eric and Rooney.  Eric grilled up some wonderful chicken breasts and corn on the cob.  We supplied the melon and Key Lime Cheesecake for dessert.

Saturday, August 4--I joined the Vardos for a 6.45 mile run this morning, which was harder than it should have been because I also ran on Friday.  I usually use Friday as a 'rest' day before longer runs on Saturday.  I interviewed a college gal to potentially be our 'sitter' for Myah and Maysen on Wednesday afternoon when they get out of school early.  I'm interviewing another on Sunday.  After doing a few jobs around the house, it was time for the busyness to begin!  Myah and Maysen had two birthday parties to attend.  They went to Macy's gymnastics party from 1:30-2:30 and had a wonderful time.  We wished we could have stayed longer because we hadn't seen them in so very long!  From 2:30-4:00, they went to Kyan's gymnastics party!  They were in different locations, but you better believe that with all that tumbling, swinging, jumping, and running, they were tired!

 Shortly after the second party, we all five loaded up and headed north to the Dows exit to meet my parents to.  Myah and Maysen are going to spend two nights with them without any parents.  They are thrilled.  This will only be the second and third nights that they will stay somewhere with out either Brandon of myself.  The only other one being about 6 weeks before Mylie was born and they stayed about 2 miles from our hotel with Kelsey and Eric.  As much as I don't like being away from them, it was a nice break for all of us and they got to be spoiled by Nana and Papa!!

Summer Vacation Recap--Week 9

Sunday, July 22--It's going to be a crazy-busy week!  Today, we had a playdate with the Streeter boys and their mom, Sarah.  Sarah and I met as next-door neighbors at UNI.  She lives in Des Moines with her family so we are lucky to get together a couple of times a year.  They traveled to Ames for an early playdate at Reiman Gardens.  The theme is year is "Nature Connects" and they have several nature inspired sculptures built entirely out of LEGOS.  It was really neat!

  Though we went early, it still warmed up and wore everyone out so after lunch, my girls and I headed home for a nap followed by 2 hours at the Big Bucket.  After supper, we went to Aspen Leaf for a fro-yo treat.  We had a full rewards card as well as $1 off of our purchase....can't pass when you get a great deal from coupons!

Monday, July 23--The girls and I headed to HyVee for the weekly grocery trip at 7:30 am as Brandon was heading out the door to the Jasper County Fair to work concessions to benefit/fundraise for the Colfax/Mingo basketball program.  At 10:00, we headed to the library for the last K-Club program of the summer.  The theme was camping. Here's Maysen making her camping snack mix.

 

While the older two were there, I took Mylie to the Toddler Time program and then to play with the toys in the children's section.

Shakin' her booty....too cute!!

 We went for lunch at Subway to use M&M's coupons for free apple slices and cookies that they earned from the summer reading program.  From 1-5 M-F this week, M&M are attending a Summer Olympics camp through the Park and Rec department.  It was only $49 for the entire week (20 hours!).  Due to the heat today (105 degrees) they decided to hold the camp indoors at the Ice Arena instead of outside at Inis Grove Park as originally planned.  The girls got to ice skate, make a craft Olympic torch, and have a snack.  They had a great time!

Tuesday, July 24--It was already 86 degrees at 9:00 so I took Mylie for a 3 mile walk in the stroller instead of doing any running.  I also power washed the trash can in the garage with bleach......diapers + this heat=rotten smells!!  We pretty much bummed around the house the rest of the morning before heading to M&M's day camp.  Today it was held indoors at the High School Gym and Pool since it was so hot outside again.  After supper, we made a quick trip to Target and to the DQ for blizzards.

Wednesday, July 25--The girls and I made Pink Lemonade cookies (Pillsbury) this morning....can't wait to try them!!

  I took the girls to the chiropractor for the first time today.  Afterwards, I dropped them back off at home with Brandon.  Since this is the only day that he didn't have anything going on, I took a little time for myself.  The heat was still strong so I went to the big bucket (by myself!) and did some water walking in the lazy river.  From 11-1, it's open so that you can walk against (or along with) the current.  It's a fabulous leg workout and it's refreshing at the same time.  I got home around 2 and Mylie was fighting her nap so I got her to lie down in my bed with me and we slept for an hour and a half.  Time to myself AND a nap....does it get much better??  I picked up the girls from camp (Brandon had dropped them off) and we had taco salads for supper followed by baths, and a movie with popcorn!

Thursday, July 26--Brandon had to leave the house early for the Drake Basketball Camp.  Don't tell him, but the girls slept in until 7:45.  I'm pretty sure that's the latest they've slept all summer and he wasn't here to enjoy it.  Us four girls went up to my classroom for about an hour so I could start getting some of my things out and deciding where they should go.  I moved to a different classroom (down and across the hall a few doors) since it has three whiteboards in it and I needed a change of scenery.  The girls begged for HyVee Chinese for lunch, and who was I to say no since it's my favorite and we hadn't had it in forever!  The early part of the week was so hot, but today is had come down to a 'cool' 93....haha!  However, there was a nice breeze and camp was held outdoors today at Inis Grove Park, where it was supposed to be all week.  The girls came home hot and sweaty to it was bath time after supper of a (FREE!) Casey's Cheese Pizza and a  ($2 off) Garlic Chicken DeLite pizza from Papa Murphys!  Once Mylie was in bed and the sun had gone down, I went for a 3 mile run.  It was a beautiful night to be out!

Friday, July 27--Up and at 'em again today!  The girls had a re-check at 8:30 at the chiropractor to see how they were holding their adjustment.  Then we went back to the middle school for about 45 minutes for me to organize a few things followed by a quick trip to HyVee to get some fruit for lunch.  At 11:45, we joined the Geisler's at the Story County Conservation Center for a Naturalist Lunchbox lunch.  We pack sack lunches for the kids, and we go eat at the park by the conservation center for a lesson on animals.  Today's featured animal was the frog.  We also got to see tadpoles, salamanders, and crawfish.  There were games and crafts as well centered around the theme of the day.  There have been 4 or 5 of these throughout the summer--today being the last one--but this is the first one we've made it to.  It was fun and interesting so we hope to make more of them next summer. 

 At 1:00, I dropped the girls off for their last day of camp.  They got to meet at the Big Bucket....for four hours....they were exhausted!!!  Mylie and I headed there for about an hour and a half after nap time so we all got a little sun and water today.  We rounded out the evening with the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Saturday, July 28--Most of the day was spent indoors and watching the olympics due to the fact that it sprinkled and rained.  Brandon had basketball camp so it was just me and the girls.  We made cookies, had a nap, and anticipated Nana and Papa's arrival in the afternoon.

We tried Papa's Pizzeria in Polk City for supper.....it was a great meeting point for us and Kelsey's family.  More Olympics watching before bed.

Summer Vacation Recap--Week 8

Sunday, July 15--As much as we enjoyed our vacation, it was wonderful to wake up in our own beds this morning!  The only thing missing was my husband, but he returned later in the day.  The girls and I grocery shopped (it was worse than Old Mother Hubbard around here!) and took a walk around the block pretty early in the morning to beat the heat.  Mylie got a little morning nap and then we drove through Jimmy John's for lunch and headed to the Big Bucket for a few hours.  It was so hot out.....too hot for anything besides the pool.  Brandon was home by the time we returned so I gave him an hour or so with the girls while I went to the hospital to visit Dellisa and baby Carsten.  He was so sweet.....his chubby cheeks are so kissable!  We just chilled at home the rest of the evening.
Monday, July 16--The morning was spent vacuuming out the van, emptying the dishwasher and going around the block.  Brandon headed over to Nevada to finalize things with our "new" van while the girls and I headed over to Bandshell Park for Dan Wardell's Reading Road Trip (he's the PBS kids guy on IPTV).  The girls really enjoyed his presentation, as did I.  This year, he was handing out frisbees (which are to double as spaceship steering wheels).

 Backpacks are on sale at Target this week so we went and got some for the girls.....Kindergarten will be starting up really soon.

 After lunch, Myah, Maysen and I headed to Huxley to my friend, Anne's, pool.  Sadly, she's moving at the end of the week so it was our last hurrah at this pool.  Luckily, their new house (in Cedar Rapids) has a pool so we can't wait to go and visit them soon!!  After supper, we went over to the Geisler's house and Myah and Maysen got to hold baby Carsten.  They think he's pretty fun!

Tuesday, July 17--We had a playdate at our house with the Zoskes!  Stacey is my good friend with whom I ran the Dam-to-Dam, her oldest son, Nate, was born the same day as Myah and Maysen, and Logan is about 6 weeks older than Mylie.  Needless to say, we have a good time when we are together.  After playing for about an hour, we headed to Panchero's (AKA the Quesadilla Place) for lunch followed by a quick trip to Target.  I took the girls home for a nap and we had planned to go to the Big Bucket once everyone was awake.  Those plans changed when Mylie woke up with a 103.5/104 temp (taken in her ear).  I called for a Dr. appointment for her and she saw our pediatrician at 4:15.  He ordered some blood work but concluded that she has a virus and it will probably 3-5 days until she's over it.  Unfortunately, she had a febrile seizure around 6:30 and spent the next 3 hours in the ER.  Luckily we got to take her home that night, but it was the scariest thing I've ever experienced.

Wednesday, July 18--With all of the 'excitement' of Tuesday night, we spent the entire day at home.  I think this was the first day all summer that I didn't leave the house to even go to HyVee.  Mylie is back to normal running around and laughing, which is such a relief to see.  If I hadn't witnessed the seizure, I'd hardly believe it actually happened.  We napped, played games, read books and did a whole lot of snuggling.  Brandon had basketball camp all afternoon so it was just me and the girls.


Thursday, July 19--All three girls had dentist appointments in the morning.  Sparkling reviews for all of them.  No cavities.  Myah and Maysen's x-rays showed that they will have another set of molars moving in really soon.  It's apparent that Mylie just got her 1-year molars and she's cutting her bottom incisors....hence the fever on Tuesday :(  Mylie had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Smith after seeing the dentist.  He thought she looked good and didn't feel the need for further tests after her seizure.  The RSV and Influenza tests had come back negative and he was pleased that she no longer was running a temp.  We went for lunch at Noodles and Co.  and then had a quick trip to Target before heading home and all of us having a much needed 2 hour nap.


Friday, July 20--It was nice having Brandon home for the entire day.  I took Myah and Maysen to the Big Bucket for 3 hours while Brandon and Mylie helped out Brandon's friend Mike and went out for lunch.  We had supper with the Geisler family and played outside on the waterslide until bedtime.  It was really nice to have a normal summer day again....no basketball camp, no appointments, no sick kids.


Saturday, July 21--I got up and ran 3.5 miles with the Vardo group.  I wanted to do the 6.5 mile route but no one else in my pace group was doing the long route so I went home and took Mylie for a walk in the stroller for my last 3 miles.  The girls are going to be doing a Park and Rec Day Camp next week with a Summer Olympics theme so they needed some new tennis shoes.  We scored some purple and silver Champion ones at Payless!

 I took Brandon and Mylie home--so she could nap-- while the other two and I got some groceries.  After lunch, we hung out in the family room and then called for an all-family nap around 2:30.  It was a great day to go to the park because even though it was 93 degrees, there was a nice breeze (that we haven't been seeing lately) and it was partly cloudy so the sun wasn't beating down on us.  We grilled chicken breasts for supper and then made a spur-of-the moment trip to Target.  We are working on paying off all of our debt but we wanted to be sure to cash in our rewards points on our credit card.  We had enough for two $100 gift cards from Target.  Awesome, right!!  We bought all of the girls' school supplies and a few other necessary household things and have $75 left for next time.

It's been a long, hot week and it looks like another one's moving in.  What have you been up to?

My Daughter had Febrile Seizure

Tuesday started out like any normal day in our home.  Kids in jammies walking around with granola bars and waffles for breakfast.  I went for a 3 mile run while they watched their morning shows and continued waking up.  When I got back from my run, I encouraged the girls to get dressed and take care of some items on their chore chart.  As I was dressing Mylie, I thought she felt a little warm so I took her temperature rectally and it read 99.5.  She has recently cut two top molars and I can see the eye teeth on the bottom starting to come through so that type of a temp made perfect sense and I gave her a dose of IBUprofen.

The rest of the morning continued on as planned.  At 10 am we had a play date at our house with our good friends, the Zoske's.  Stacey is my good friend with whom I ran the Dam-to-Dam.  Her oldest son, Nate, was born within minutes on the same day as Myah and Maysen and Logan is 6 weeks older than Mylie.  After about an hour of playing, we headed to Panchero's (AKA the Quesadilla Place) for lunch and then a very quick trip to Target and back home for a nap.

Our plan had been to go to the Furman Aquatic Center (AKA the Big Bucket) once everyone was up from their nap.  This plan changed when Mylie awoke from her nap.  She had napped for about 2 hours, but I could hear her about every half hour or so make some crying noises so I imagined she was a little uncomfortable but still tired.  When I picked her up after her nap, she was burning up.  I took her temperature by way of ear and one side said 103.5 while the other said 104.  I immediately gave her more IBUprofen and got on the phone with pediatrics.  Of course, with a fever, they have to have a nurse call you back and they hee-and-haw about having you come in to actually see a doctor.  I finally convinced the nurse to let us come in since she's so young and her temp was so high.  The earliest appointment was 4:15.

We saw Dr. Smith at 4:15.  Her temp was still 101.something even after 2 hours of having IBUprofen...this seemed a little high to me.  She was still really hot, whimpering and just sitting on my lap.  The girl always smiles and runs around with her older sisters so I just knew she wasn't feeling like herself.  He ordered some blood work, which came back normal, and ruled that she has a virus that will take probably 3-5 days to pass.  Not what you really want to hear when your child doesn't feel good, but at least it's something.

Upon returning to our house, Mylie sat on my lap and laid on my chest for the next 45 minutes  dozing in and out of sleep.  She didn't appear to have any appetite, but looked as if she could go to bed at any minute for the rest of the night so I got her jammies on.  Brandon got home around 6:05 from basketball camp and Mylie actually perked up when she saw him.  She smiled (the first time since 2:30) and even got off my lap and acted playful towards him.  Seeing this, I asked her if she was hungry and she nodded 'yes.'  I put her in her booster seat and gave her a few crackers and went to warm up a hotdog for her.

This is when my worst nightmare happened.  I heard Brandon say something like 'Mylie, why are you dropping your crackers on the floor?'  I turned and looked at her and said 'she looks like she's having a SEIZURE!'  I ordered Brandon to call 911 as I unbuckled her (thank goodness she was buckled or she would have fallen to the floor from the booster seat) and sat on the floor with her in my lap (lying on her side) while she convulged.  Her eyes were open for a while and then they rolled back into her head and she turned a blue/purple.  Especially her lips.  A little blood ran out of her mouth....she must have bit her tongue or something.  The dispatcher directed me (via Brandon) to lie her on the floor and give her some rescue breathing breaths...thank goodness for 9 years of lifeguard and CPR training. I gave her two breaths and then the first responders arrived at our house. It seemed like forever but Brandon was probably on the phone with the dispatcher for about 5 minutes and the seizure lasted for about 2-3 minutes I figure.

I rode with Mylie in the ambulance to the hospital and I sang to her the whole way.  She cried. And she never really looked at me.  I'm sure she knew I was there and she eventually grabbed onto my finger but she never turned her head to look at me or reach out to me.  This scared me, but apparently it's pretty normal as she's confused, still fairly tense, and hooked up to monitors and in an unfamiliar place.  At the hospital her temp was read twice right away one said 102.2 and the other said 103.something, she had two blood draws, a Tylenol suppository, two chest x-rays, a urine sample conducted via catheter, and two nasal swabs.  The poor girl was exhausted from all of the crying and she just wanted to sleep.  I just held her on the gurney and she slept on and off for the 3 hours we spent there.  All of her tests came back normal, which is good news.  Her body responded to the sudden spike in fever by way of seizure.  I guess this happens a lot to little kids, but no one prepares you for it that's for sure.  It just wrenches your heart out seeing your child go through something like this.

I slept in Mylie's room last night and I probably will for a few days.  I finally went to bed around 12:20 but was yelling out for Brandon by 12:45.  I had dreamed (nightmared) it was all happening again.  When I came-to, I told him to 'nevermind' but I had woken Mylie.  She was feeling a little warm again so I gave her some Tylenol and she went back to bed.  She slept until 5:39 and then fell asleep on me in the rocking chair until shortly after 7 am.  Every time I look at her booster seat, I envision it all again.  I see the spot on the floor where she laid.  I get tears in my eyes.  And I look around the house until I see her bright smile, and big, brown eyes looking back at me.  I feel prepared if this should ever happen again because I will be set aware of the possibility if she has a fever, but I pray that I never have to go through that again.

Thank you to all of my friends and family who were praying over us through this scary time.  We are so fortunate to have so many people who love us.  A special thank you to Mal, our favorite babysitter, who responded immediately when I called her.

Summer Vacation Recap--Week 7

Sunday, July 8--Mylie turned 16 months today and we just can't believe everything she's doing these days.  I got up and ran 3 miles in the morning and Kelsey, Eric and Rooney arrived at the "Okoboji House."  We spent a beautiful afternoon on the boat.  Even Brandon got in the water, which was a shock (and an awe!) for just about everyone.  We'll get him to be a "lake man" yet!

Monday, July 9--Most mornings when we are up at the lake consist of sitting on the deck.  Some people drink coffee, some people check their email, some kids sweep the deck or play in the kiddie pool, but all in all it's people doing their own thing in the midst of company.  I "slacked" a little and only ran 2 miles :)  We had decided to take the girls to Arnold's Park Amusement Park today because we figured it would be quieter than on the weekend.  They had a fun time as usual, though they are a little too big for the kiddie rides, but about an inch short for some one the bigger rides.  Thankfully they appeased their baby sister and went on the kiddie rides with her.

 Afternoon naps were in order so it was pretty quiet around the house.  We went to the Fisherman's Wharf for supper and then Brandon and Uncle C (my brother, Cole) took Myah and Maysen back to Arnold's Park for a few more rides since we had paid for the day pass/wristband.

Tuesday, July 10--Myah and Maysen have never been miniature golfing so we decided today was the day.  We ventured to Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf in Arnold's Park.  They weren't great at it (obviously, since they had never done it before) and it was nearly impossible to actually play because of "The Bear" (Mylie) attacking the balls.  It was still fun.

 The five of us and my dad walked into Arnold's Park for lunch (corn dogs and pork tenderloins) and then headed back to the cabin.  Mylie was more than ready for a nap so Brandon stayed back with her while the rest of us went on the boat.  She was not a happy camper when she awoke because she was well aware of where the rest of us were, and she felt as if she was getting "jipped!"  We ordered supper from Tweeters and brought it back to the cabin to eat while we watched "America's Got Talent."  Brandon's parents came up around 8:00 to bring our "new" van.  We decided to trade in our blue van for one that Brandon's dad had on his lot.  It has more miles than our other van, but it has power doors, rear air, and stow-n-go, which are some options that we are really needing/wanting right now for the stage(s) our family is in.  We hope to get something newer in the next 2-3 years, but this is perfect for right now!

Wednesday, July 11--We spent the morning on the deck and had Eric try to get a picture of the 5 of us in our Okoboji shirts.  I bought the girls new, matching shirts since they didn't have any Okoboji gear that fits them right now.  We bought a size bigger than usual so that they will fit them next summer, too, if not longer.  We got on the boat early and headed to East Lake to the Ritz for lunch.

   Mylie fell asleep on the way there so I stayed on the boat with her and had them bring my lunch down to the boat.....talk about the life of leisure!  We stayed on the lake until about 3:15 so it was a lot of sun and fun.  The girls will be plenty tired!  Brandon headed back to Ames to tend to some open gyms, but the girls and I are hanging around for a few more days.  One of the things  I have always wanted to do is to go ParaSailing (a bucket list sort of item).......Kelsey, Eric, and I went tonight at 7:00.

 Uncle C watched the girls (who were worn out anyway).  It was so much fun......seriously something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember!

Thursday, July 12--This was technically a "race week" for me since I'm running a 5K on Saturday so I took Mylie out for a 3 mile walk in the stroller instead of running.  She enjoyed encountering the other morning walkers/bikers/joggers and they thought she was pretty cute.  She slept the second half of the walk, which was nice since we wanted to make the most of our last full day in 'boji.  We went to Minerva's (at ArrowWood Hotel) for lunch and then made a stop to Goodies to get a stash of chocolates to take home and savor for the next week (I hope it lasts that long!).  Unfortunately, it was kind of an overcast day and not really good for the boat.  We hung around the cabin getting things tidied up since we needed to leave the next day.  We watched the movie "We Bought a Zoo" before going to bed.


Friday, July 13--I spent the morning washing towels and sheets and gathering up all of our belongings.  We left Okoboji around noon, but not without a final drive through Hey, Good Cookies to grab some lunch.  Upon arriving in Lake Mills (the next stop of the tour), I got my packet for the 5K Saturday morning and I also went up to my dad's store to pick out some tile for a backsplash in my kitchen.  My mom's side relatives from Norway were in the United States (more specifically, Iowa) for a few days so we joined them for supper at the Grand Cafe in Lake Mills.  It had been 4 years since they've been to visit and my girls had a great time playing Caroline and Maya Helena.

 After the girls went to bed, I went over to my friend, Jill's, house for a bonfire.  It had been way too long since I'd had a good chat with her.

Saturday, July 14--Kelsey, Eric, and I got up and did the July Jubilee 5K.  My time wasn't too bad (31 min 20 sec) and it sure felt good to burn some good calories after eating all of that food while in 'boji!  Of course, we went to the parade and the girls collected to gallon sized ziploc bags of candy.....yikes! 

After a quick lunch, the girls and I loaded up and headed back to Ames.  They were really missing their daddy since they hadn't seen him since Wednesday, but he wasn't going to be in Ames either, unfortunately.  He went to Minneapolis with his friends Kevin and Andrew to a Twins game and had a guys weekend.  He doesn't do that very often so it was good for him to do something like that.