The boys are much better today. Both of them have been pretty happy so far. We took lunch down to Will today. They like going and seeing him.

Will spent the weekend cleaning some things out of his closet in the bedroom and working on our computer. Hopefully we can get it back to normal. Today I started pricing some garage sale stuff. I am antsy to get that going and get it all out of our basement. I really would like to go through the entire house and just get rid of stuff. We will see how far I get with that. It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate.

Figured it Out

Well, I figured out what the mystery fever was in the 2 little boys. They have hand, foot and mouth disease. Not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease of cattle! The doctor actually mentioned that to me the other day when we were at the doctor. Here is what it is...

What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common illness of infants and children. It is characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, and a rash with blisters. HFMD begins with a mild fever, poor appetite, malaise ("feeling sick"), and frequently a sore throat. One or 2 days after the fever begins, painful sores develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. They are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks. The skin rash develops over 1 to 2 days with flat or raised red spots, some with blisters. The rash does not itch, and it is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It may also appear on the buttocks. A person with HFMD may have only the rash or the mouth ulcers.

Poor Brodie and Drew both have mouth ulcers and blisters on their hands. I noticed it last night. I have never actually seen this before so it is pretty interesting. So far, they have done ok. They are acting a little fussier but not too bad considering the way their mouths look. Once again they are the ones infected. Pretty soon they should be immune to just about everything!

Well Drew woke up with a fever again this morning. He seems to be doing a little better this afternoon. Brodie too is a little better. His temp was only 100 this morning! Hopefully we will have a good weekend. Tony is suppose to have practice today and tomorrow but with the weather, we shall see if it is still on. My goal this weekend is to get my state taxes done! I usually have to owe so I wait till the last minute. I also would like to get some yard work done but might wait till next week when it is warmer.

Next Friday we leave for Bloomington! We are taking Jake and Tony on a mini vacation!! I am really excited. Will's parents and sister are keeping the 2 little boys. We are going to leave Friday morning and go to St. Paul and see the Science Center. We are going to spend all day Saturday and part of Sunday at the Mall of America. Hoping to play some mini golf there and see a movie. It will be nice to do some older kids activities. We won't have to worry about strollers and naps! Although it is going to break my heart not to see the little boys for 3 days. I am sure I will survive! Everyone is totally pumped and excited to get out of town for a while!

Just when you think everyone is healthy, it only last for a few days. Brodie spiked a fever yesterday. It got to 104.1 at its highest. He was miserable. I took him in last night and they couldn't find anything wrong. They did do a throat culture so we will see if that shows anything. I was advised just to give Tylenol and Motrin as needed. Now this afternoon Drew woke with a fever of 103. Needless to say it never ends. Poor guys. Hopefully it is just a fast virus and will soon pass. I always worry with Drew's ears and all if I should take him in now or just wait. I will keep you all updated.

Well, unfortunately our computer is acting up a little and at the present time I am unable to post pictures : ( I am pretty sad about that because I got some great ones at Easter, but I will just have to post later. The kids and I made it through Spring Break. We kept busy going to the Y every day and they played video games with Will and spent alot of time outside. We went to the Science Center and I even got them both (well all 4 boys) to get their hair cut! We did some tie dying and got some chores done around the house. Spring Break always gives me a little taste of what Summer will be like. The boys help out a lot so I am not too worried. The noise factor triples though and sometimes I have to step away to hear myself think.

We had a nice Easter. We spent Saturday baking Easter cookies and then frosting them. My friend Stefany was here to help and that was really fun. We also colored eggs that afternoon and then had Will's parents and sister over to play cards. Sunday we woke up and the Easter bunny had dropped eggs and candy all over the house. We were able to visit both sides of my family that day and it was nice to spend time with everyone.

Tony started baseball practice last night and is pretty pumped about that. Opening season starts April 12. Hard to believe it is Spring. I am ready for the warmth!

He Finally Did It...and so did I!

OK here is the before and after of Will's hair/beard cut. I almost started crying when I saw him. He looked so different! We topped off at 4 3/4 inches long for the beard. I too decided to go for a new do. Considering I have had the same hair since I was 12 I thought it was time for a change.

It's Done!!

I got all my painting done this past weekend. Thank you Anita for all your help!! We started at 9am on Saturday and Anita left at 7:30pm and I stayed up till about 2:45am. It looks great and I am so pleased with how it all turned out. It looks completely different in there now. We got the living room, dining room, hallway and closet done. I also got the vents and the door done! And to top it all off, I got new curtains.

Making Cookies

I forgot to share this. Last week Brodie helped me make oatmeal cookies. On our way downstairs to get the oatmeal, we ran face to face with a BIRD!! There was a bird in Jake's room. Not just any bird, a black bird. It was pretty scary and you have to just listen to Brodie tell the story of "the bird". It is hilarious. Anyway, the bird must have flew in when I left out the garage earlier that morning. We had to wait for Will to get home to get it out.

Spring Break

Today marks the first day of Spring Break. 10 days with Jake and Tony home with me. Will has taken next Thurs. and Fri. off and we plan to go to the Science Center one of those days. It has been a while since we have been there. Other than that, I have a few activities planned. Jake unfortunately got grounded from having anyone over or going to any friends houses so he is a little bummed about that. It sucks being 12 sometimes!

My plan for the weekend is to paint. I am going today to buy it. It has taken me all week to finally make a decision of what I am going to have. I have chosen different shades of brown for the living/dining room. I am pretty excited to see how it looks when it is done. Will is leaving in the morning to go to his moms with the kids. I am sure once he steps foot out that door I probably won't stop till I am done!

Big Boy

Drew went to the doctor yesterday. He weighed in at 27 lbs 2oz. He was also 33inches long putting him in the 90% for height and 75% for weight. He is doing really well although he has stopped eating fruits and veggies altogether. The doctor said it was because he was stubborn and that is a genetic thing and wondered who of us was stubborn in the family : ). He wants me start him on a multi-vitamin and give him 8 ounces of formula a day. Go figure since I just got rid of all my formula and formula checks. Oh well. His ears looked good but had a lot of fluid in them. He is putting him on antibiotic once a day for the next month to try and prevent another infection since this last one was so difficult to treat. Then if he still gets an infection on this medicine he is getting tubes. Hopefully that doesn't happen. He got 3 shots and did great. He slept all night so today should be a good day.

It's Fun to stay at the YMCA...

Will and I got a family membership to the Y at the end of January. I love it. It has a 2 hour childcare time limit every day so I can take the kids. I have been going in the mornings and Will has been going after work. So far, I have lost 7 pounds and Will has lost almost 20! It feels so nice to be able to go and get a little break and feel healthy again. We have also started cutting down our proportions tremendously and eating much much better. The older boys enjoy it too, although they wish the pool was open more. This Spring Break they should get lots of swimming time in! Speaking of swimming, I enrolled Brodie and Drew into swim lessons starting April 14th. I will be taking them 1 day a week for 6 weeks. That should be pretty interesting!

Well I got my back entry way and Tony's room painted this weekend. It feels so good to actually have real paint on that back entry way. It has been an eye sore since I moved in. Unfortunately I am very unhappy with the colors that I picked. I was wanting tan and off white. I got yellow and a mauvy looking color. I had also wanted the tan for the living room but after putting a big splotch on the living room wall yesterday I decided I can't live looking at the color every day so I am rethinking my colors. This Saturday Will is taking all the boys to his moms so hopefully I can get the rest of the house done. That will be a huge project.

My other project right now...pricing garage sale stuff. I have about 25 boxes of junk in the basement. Poor Jake has no room to move. I am either going to have an inside sale here soon. Or possibly wait till it gets warmer and do one outside. Depends on how fast I get it priced and how warm it is.

On a side note. The family is pretty healthy right now. Drew finished his antibiotic this weekend and will go in this week for a check of his ears. He is teething right now which has put him a little on edge the last couple days but overall is doing great.

Things are looking up for us here at the Figgins household. Will and I worked with my Dad and Anita this weekend getting our house clean and sanitized. Will and I only got about 8 hours of sleep for the weekend but it was worth it. Our house is sooo much nicer. We washed every wall, floor, cabinet inside and out and even shampooed all the carpets. The boys stayed up at Grandma Marys. It was such a relief to have them gone so we could get so much accomplished. It makes me feel so much better to have a fresh clean home. Now, if only the weather would get warmer.

The kids are much better. Drew still has about 4 days left of his medicine but he is back to his regular self. Sleeping through nights and just being his happy little self. I am so grateful that we are all well (crossing fingers).

My next big project...PAINT! I have decided that since all my walls have just been washed we are going to paint the entire house inside. plus, we have to cover up all the soot and yucky stuff on all the ceilings. We are having a Mid-American energy audit next week to see what we qualify for to get new windows and insulation. Should be interesting to see what they say. New paint and new windows, could it get any better? I have been wanting both ever since we moved in!