My Sister, the Celebrity

My sister and I are so very different. She is EXTREMELY dramatic and I am, well, NOT. At all!

When we were younger -- probably during teenage years -- I remember telling people that she was going to end up heading out to California and making it big in the movie business. And, she could have. The girl can tell a story.

After she and Jeremy were married, they did move out to California. Jeremy joined the Army and was in language school in Monterrey. I was convinced that the "right person" was going to spot her, and she'd have her big break.

Well, it didn't happen. But, she's found a way to become a celebrity.

Jeremy emailed a week or so ago to tell us that Alyson had been chosen as "the face" for Barnes hospital (she is one of their nurses). We logged onto the site of a St. Louis television station to see her beautiful face on an advertisement for the hospital.

Tonight, Jeremy emailed again to let us know that Alyson and her face have "gone national".



If you ask me, they couldn't have chosen a better face.

I Do Encourage Sharing

There is not much to update from the Rogers' house. Caleb stopped running fever on Thursday but, of course, stayed home on Friday.

Everyone was well on Saturday.

Sunday morning, Collin woke up with fever and began feeling pretty poorly that afternoon. FLU!

Claire woke up this morning with fever. She hasn't begun to really feel yucky yet, but I am willing to bet... FLU!

My children share so well. I couldn't be more proud!

The bad news is that I am probably a sure bet to get it, because I just can't stop holding and cuddling my sick children. They NEVER let me do it otherwise.

The good news is -- MeMe Janet comes tomorrow. Fabulous! Scotty is going out of town, so she had already planned to spend some time with us. It couldn't have come at a better time.

Let's just pray the adult version of those !@*beep!@* flu shots work.

A Perfect Day

Yesterday, I never would have believed that it could happen. But, today was FABULOUS.

You heard me correctly. The same person that spent an entire, lengthy post whining just yesterday is bragging about our perfect day today.

Caleb did wake up at 5:00 this morning with major fever. His head was pounding and his entire body was burning up. Motrin worked beautifully and quickly. But, the best news is that Collin and Claire are still flu-free.

Collin pitched a mild fit around 8:00 when he realized Caleb was missing school and I intended to take him to school. So, I responded completely uncharacteristically and I said, "O.K., we'll all stay home."

There was absolutely no reason for Collin to go to school for only 3 hours, but I was still a little nervous that I had made a very bad decision. However, Caleb and Collin thoroughly enjoyed each other today. They played some Wii (shocker), watched a movie, set up the train track and played trains and dressed up for hours. They were so much fun to watch.

On top of that, Claire slept from 10:15 until 2:30.

When Scotty came home for supper, I warned him that, "they might be running out of good", but the goodness continued on through the evening.

Now, tomorrow might be the worst day in the history of bad days, but I'm ready for it. We were blessed with such happy children today, so this memory will keep me going for a while.

WARNING! This Blog Contains Much Complaining...

I'm not even sure where to start. Just as I was beginning to offer up much thanks that we have missed out on some of the various illnesses moving through our community, the Rogers household has received our share of sickness.

As many of you know, Scotty drives a school bus in the morning so that we can be covered by the State Insurance Plan. In the four years that he has done this, the coverage has been well worth the extra work that he does. Even with the high deductible, we have saved A LOT of money because we have this policy.

It looks like we might meet our 2009 deductible during the month of February which is a record even for us.

Let me just give you the short list...

- Last Monday, Collin and Claire visited their doctor for a croopy cough and yucky snot (sorry to be so gross, but I'm tired and can't come up with a more creative word for snot). So, that's two office visits and 4 prescriptions. $$

- On Wednesday, I went to see my doctor. My pap smear (sorry, guys!) back in July showed abnormal cells, so they needed to do it again. I was happy to do this, because I had so many questions about my headaches, tiredness, etc. Yes, we'd have to pay more money, but maybe I'd get some answers. Well, make that another office visit, two prescriptions and no real answers. $$$

- Friday morning, Scotty's back began to hurt him so badly that he agreed to go visit my chiropractor. He has posted some information on what is going on with him. But, for the purposes of my blog, that is another office visit. AND, Dr. Taylor will need to see him twice a week for the next four weeks and once a week after that. $$$$

STAY WITH ME, THERE'S EVEN MORE!

- Last night, Caleb ran a high fever. He has been coughing but had not complained of feeling poorly. This morning, he woke up with fever again, and his chest hurt. It's...the FLU. Why not?! You guessed it, another office visit and 5 prescriptions. Dr. Purvis went ahead and wrote prescriptions for Collin and Claire in case they come down with flu like symptoms. Did you notice that I said "if" they come down with flu like symptoms? Who am I kidding..."WHEN" they come down with the symptoms. $$$$$

- And, finally, Claire will see a neurologist on Friday morning. We have known about this visit for a while. Due to the fact that she had two febrile seizures within 6 months, they just want us to go ahead and see a neurologist to rule out anything more serious. Our deductible is a wopping $2300, but I'll bet a neurologist fee and a few scans will get us there no problem. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

You won't even believe it, but just now, as I'm typing this whiny post, my doctor's office called to tell me that my second pap smear came back with the same abnormal cells. OF COURSE IT DID!!! So, they will need to do a biopsy.

Wow. Or, as Collin says, "Golleash!" If the bank account ever recovers, I'm not sure that I will. Now, to some degree, you know that I am kidding. There are many people who would love to trade their woes for mine. But, if it's all the same to you, right now I'm just going to whine.

Because I can't think of any great words of wisdom to end with, and I hate that I have complained through one whole post, please go read some good news at this site. I pray that this is the first of LOTS of good news for this precious family. "He GIVES and takes away."

BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!!!

Reality Crashes In

It's gorgeous outside (well, cold, but still pretty). On days like today, I usually feel like being productive. When it's beautiful outside, I typically want to make it beautiful inside and begin to clean. I have Bunko at my house on Thursday night, so I NEED to clean today, but my body says, "no".

On Saturday, I came home from teaching my class at the healthplex and got a MAJOR migraine. I was in the bed most of the day. While the migraine is gone, a mild headache is lingering.

Yesterday, I took Collin and Claire to the doctor. Two hours and four prescriptions later, I found out that they each have a major case of the "crud". Claire has a bit of an infection with hers. Lovely!

This morning, I felt very ill while teaching my cycle class. Whether it was emotional illness or physical illness, I'm still unsure. But, I wanted to climb off the bike and jump back in bed nonetheless.

So, I'm wondering, when "Mama said there'd be days like this..." is this what she meant?

Then, I noticed that the terminology being used to describe the way I am feeling and the possible causes of my discomfort was undesirable to say the least. People are throwing around words like, "hormone changes" and using phrases like, "altering your exercise as you get older". Older? Me? Really?

So, even though I need to be cleaning my house today, I'm going to take some time to rest first. Why? Because I'm old...apparently. And, for that reality to set in, I'm going to need to prepare myself.