Frog Pool

Have you ever shipped site to store? Most stores these days have the option and it makes shipping a non issue. My parents wanted to send some gifts for our birthday-a-thon a few weeks ago, but shipping was more than the gifts themselves. Here is where site to store is fantastic. We picked up our package at a near by store and spent the whole afternoon using the gift. We started out as seen above using it as a dunk pool. When Tiago's body (with its lack of fat) began shaking uncontrollably, and when the grass under the slide seemed to cry out for relief and when the slide and pool disconnected, we thought of a new plan.

Splashing wasn't enough for the kids daring enough to slip down a slide into the pool. So we decided to play baseball. Home plate was the pool and plastic ducks were the bases. I was really impressed on how well the kids played and actually hit the pitches that were sent their way. Tiago hit a home run over the neighbor's fence which brought a nice conclusion to the adventure. Great gift!

Aside from Birthday's. . . .

Making up games to pass the time when Dad is on call

Enjoying our new grill
Eating Chocolate in large quantities

Ravioli making
Zoo with Friends
Fiesta Fun
Pudding Pops

Happy BIRTHDAY MIA

Happy 7th Birthday! Really, 7? Wasn't it just yesterday that you were this little girl?

Thanks for all the flare and personality you bring to our family. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas you come up with and for being such a good example of obedience, kindness, and curiosity.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TALIA

Happy Birthday to our TWO year old even though I am pretty sure she thinks she is turning 7 just like her older sister. Thanks for keeping me on my toes!

Big 3 oh!

Happy Birthday to the newest 30 year old in our family (I am still in my 20's but not for long)!

Let It Begin. . .

Our family has kind of put all our eggs in one basket. The eggs are birthdays and the basket is the second week of April. April 14, 16, 17, 18, and 22 to be exact. The last two are brother-in-law birthdays which are easily remembered with cards. As for Fernando and the girls, each year has been a trick on making everyone feel special and not ending up with a boat load of cake (not that I mind having cake, but it kind of nullifies all my gym attendance).

Yesterday happened to be the most beautiful day weather wise and so after the gym we decided to head up to Canyon Lake for a little boating experience. It should be said that we have never been to this lake or driven a boat though I am a certified boat driver in the state of Florida. It sounded fun so why not.

In a little over an hour we were cruising across a huge lake.
Everyone, including Talia, got a chance to drive.

Tiago loved driving the most and Talia was digging the rush of wind and spray of water.
Mia was doing all sorts of imagining in between her turns driving.


The hour excursion was just the right amount of time since driving the boat was the only thing the kids could do. (Next time we'll bring some water toys) After paying the $39 for our outing, we headed to the beach to play. I had grabbed all sorts of just in case gear like change of clothes and towels, but no swim suits. I remember when I was younger, the time my family stayed at a hotel with a pool when we had no swim suits. With that feeling in mind, I wasn't too strict about getting wet.



Mia kept bring what she termed as "plop" for Fernando and I to eat.

Tiago was the exception to that rule since he still is trying to heal from endo off a razer over a week ago. The scabs are huge and keep getting ripped off or soaked to obliteration. Being the man child he is, he enjoyed finding all sorts of rocks and using them as instruments in creating all sorts of things.



By 5 we were on the road again and with the hour to go home, Fernando suggested eating out. So when we came across a Red Robin's, I couldn't resist. We stopped by an obliging officemax to print out some Birthday Free Dinner Coupons for Fernando and Mia and then enjoyed some endless fries. Talia was diggin' the ranch dressing that came with my salad (I should say side salad that some how fit next to my hankin' huge Bleu Ribbon Burger).





Our waitress was phenomenal and the food was delicious. They sang birthday songs Red Robin style and gave us 3 ice cream sundae's to share. I hope that the next week can live up to the pre-birthday fun we had Saturday.

Positive Results

One can never be 100% positive about anything. Lucky for us, science has figured out away to get tests results sooner.

See those two glowing lines? That solidified my inklings that I woke up with this morning. Sure enough, I have strep! After a ridiculous attempt to get seen in my actual clinic, I was referred to a civilian urgent care facility. I was slightly annoyed since this is #2 time I have tried to get an appointment (oddly enough the first time was for strep a year ago) and have never gotten in. I wish people realized that crammed health facilities and poor care is what awaits us. But I digress, I had my fears about going to a civilian urgent care with visions of long waits and sub-prime conditions in the office. A sweet friend offered to watch the kiddos and I bravely found the DMV looking building. Luckily, both the long wait and the condition inside proved false.

After the necessary paperwork and weight/measurements to do, the nurse lead me to my room and swabbed my throat right then and there. Literally 20 seconds later, I had my positive test results and a few minutes later I was talking to a doctor about treatment options. I went for the quick and easy one shot option with an added shot to reduce swelling and make my throat more comfortable. Doctor leaves and a few minutes later a male nurse came in with needles. Poor guy. The shots were in the "upper thigh" which really meant "upper butt". Sorry for the visual, now you know how that poor nurse felt. I am glad to have got it sooner than later. Last go around I felt like I would never live through the ordeal. Now I just have to wait my 24 hours and then revisit the outside world.


UPDATE:
Since last typing this, I have had the chance to see the outside world, but not in best way. Tiago woke up with this on his pinkie finger:

After freaking out and googling spider bites, the ER seemed to be the best place to handle his brown recluse bite. From 11:45 pm until 5:45 am, we giggled and read books and prayed for other crying babies that came and went before a doctor decided to cut off the top of the blister and squeeze the puss out. He got some x-rays and hydrogen peroxide and no sleep. With crazy potent antibiotics,we rushed home in time to get Fernando off to work and crashed the 45 minutes before we had to be back at the hospital for Mia's appointment.

Turns out that strep is contagious ;) and Mia decided to join in on the fun. No one knows why they think kids will like medicine that smells and must taste like rancid fruit, but we have what seems to be gallons of the stuff to take. Tiago and Mia act as if the medicine will destroy them each dosing. It's going to be a long 10 days.