Pinewood Derby

The boys worked so hard on their cars. I have to admit it isn't my favorite time of year but it is totally worth it to watch them compete.

Here Mr. Pyle is checking the boys cars to make sure they meet weight and size specifications.



The Track:



Pack 401:



There were about 30 boys competing. The 4 Tiger Cubs compete separately from the rest of the pack.





Just for fun they got to race all 4 cars at once.





There were 13 trophies to give to 4 boys. They really racked them up!





On to the rest of the pack.






With over 30 boys competing it was taking forever! We were there so long we had to feed the kids. So the pack splurged on pizza.

2am and Sleeplessness

I hear every stinking noise in this house. The teeniest tiniest noise even. The bunny downstairs when she nibbles her hay wakes me. The Happy Man and His Dumptruck going up and down the road at 2am wakes me. The heat clicking on and off...wakes me.

Ugh. Must. Get. Sleep.

Bobcat Badge

This badge is required of all Cub Scouts. Jeremiah's Tiger Den worked on theirs together and earned it all at the same time.



The ceremony is a big deal for the scouts. They get their faces painted and stand proud in front of their friends.

It's 3am She Must Be Lonely

Once again I am having another sleepless night. I am so exhausted. I've been reading my friends blogs and Michele had this great list of lifetime events that she got from Chautona.

Make your own list. Simply bold the things you have done and leave the rest normal.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you weren’t ill.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the paper
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

1lb bag small raw shrimp
2 T. oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 C. dry cooking sherry
3 C. shrimp stock
2 cans diced tomatoes + liquid
2 t. salt
2 t. sugar
1 t. thyme
2-3 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

So I forgot the cooking sherry and had to make an emergency dash to the store.



We're good now.

Peel the shrimp. This was my first time ever handling shrimp. It really isn't as hard as it seems.

I loosened the shell from the body.



And gently pulled off the tail.



Set the shrimp aside and boil the shells in 3 cups of water for 10 - 15 min. Skim out shells and set the shrimp stock aside.

In a pan cook the green pepper, onion, and celery in 2T of oil until soft.



Now add the sherry, shrimp stock, tomatoes + liquid, salt, sugar, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 40 min.



At this point I cook the rice. It is really good served with Zataran's Yellow Rice. The rice takes 25 min to cook.

Mix :
1/2 C. cold water + 3 T. flour
Then add to stew and bring to a boil



Add shrimp and cayenne pepper. 1/8 t. was fine for us. You can add to taste.



Boil for 5 minutes. Serve with rice.










Recipe courtesy of Linda Harford. Thanks Linda!

Snow!

The kids couldn't sleep last night. Apparently expecting snow is even more exciting than Christmas Eve!



I told them they weren't allowed to go outside until their room was clean. I don't believe I've ever seen them clean it so fast in their entire existence.



I wonder what work I could have gotten out of them if it had snowed a whole two inches....





Callie was less than enthusiastic...she's holding her breath until spring.













Really the snow wasn't good for much more than dust wars. But they played for a LONG time.



Even our Princess made an appearance. :D

Bear Scouts

The Bear Scouts visit the Creedmoor/Butner News office.



Going in:


Coming out:


There really wasn't much to see ;). But Joshua learned so much and wants to be a journalist now.





They met back at the church (headquarters) for a pizza party. The rest of the scouts were off for MLK Jr Day *slackers*

Tonight

We had a nice day and a relaxing evening.

The kids worked together so peacefully to cook dinner. Ishmael made the corn bread. Joshua made the spaghetti. Kelsea made the chocolate chip cookies.

The best night ever! I am so blessed!

Joshua's Hospital Visit

Joshua was admitted to the hospital with pneumopericardium Sunday night.

The short explanation is that he was having a severe asthma attack (triggered from a cold or flu). His coughing and harsh breathing caused air to collect between his heart and his pericardium (sac around the heart).

Sunday afternoon, Joshua was wheezing and coughing out of control. I gave him the inhaler every 4 hours. By around 4:15 I gave him another dose and by 4:35 he was just a mess. So I gave him yet another dose on our way out the door. I debated going to the ER or just to Urgent Care. Urgent Care was closer by 20 min at least so we went there.

In Urgent Care the doctor gave him an injection of Solu-Medrol (steroid) at around 5:00. She sent up home with a script for Prednisone (steroid) and Xithromycin (antibiotic) "because sometimes steroids can open us up to infection."

The steroid should have relieved his breathing within 2 hours. He was breathing a little better at first. By around 11:00 he was just gasping for air. It was bad. We went to the ER.

I really like Duke for a couple of reasons. I like that they have a pediatric ER. We were taken back immediately and a pediatric respiratory therapist met us before we even got to an exam room. He gave Joshua 3 back to back nebs of albuterol. This sent his heart rate up pretty high (around 170-180). So they needed to monitor him to be sure his heart rate went down.

The doctor decided to send him for x-rays to rule out pneumonia. What they revealed was Pneumopericardium- air between his heart and the pericardium. It wasn't alot of air, but enough to need to be admitted for observation.

In the night Joshua bounced all over the respiratory globe. His oxygen saturation got as low as 88 (normal people breathe at 99-100) and they talked about putting him on oxygen. Then they gave him another neb of albuterol and his heart rate skyrocketed to 178.

We decided to put him on Xopenex (albuterol replacement that does not effect the heart). This worked fine until the next repiratory therapist came on shift and decided it had been long enough since his triple dose he innitially had and Albuterol should be fine. His heart rate jumped up again and the genious realized, yeah the other docs were right lets keep him on Xopenex.

So anyway, he had more x-rays on Monday evening. These revealed that the Pneumopericardium had not changed. This is good because it is not getting bigger and it will probably resolve itself over time.

They gave us a choice about going home or staying the rest of the night. We decided to go home. Joshua was really missing his brothers and sister. The doctors were very confident with sending him home.

I really like Duke for it's pediatric ER and it's children's hospital. They really go a long way to make kids more comfortable. Joshua had all the apple juice he wanted plus a Playstation in his room. I brought a few comforts from home and he was all set!







It didn't take long for him to decide he didn't like hospital food.


I had the help of some wonderful friends. Thankyou Rosie for watching the other kids for me. Thankyou Donna for filling in for Rosie so she could go to her dentist appt. Thankyou Daniel for sitting with Joshua so I could run home and make sure everyone had what they needed. Thankyou Mr. Dale for visiting with Joshua for so long. Thankyou all for praying for him. It was pretty scary for a while.

Joshua is home now. He is much improved and enjoying being pampered by everyone.