Mom to Couch Potatoes

I am so bored.

The little one is still poxy. The big one is STILL coughing. There is a lot of tv watching going on in our house.
I am trying to finish up online traffic school.
Boring.

That is all.

Still Blogging

I ran a half marathon from Napa to Sonoma over the weekend. It was the most beautiful run of my life. Just gorgeous.

It got to be pretty hot out there but there was a nice breeze blowing in from the ocean so it was all good.

The only odd thing about the race was the picture they used on the t-shirts and the medals.


I mean that is just weird right? What the heck is that sheep doing?

And that picture is on the medal. Very weird.

Oh well. it's a nice, thick heavy medal. Who cares if it's weird?

My legs hurt yesterday but they are better now.

My house is a mess. I have one 99% recovered boy and one boy who is extremely poxy. And he does not like calamine lotion or oatmeal baths.

I should be cleaning but I'm blogging instead.

I love summer.

I made a list of stuff to do today and I will get through it. I think I might just meander a bit though too.

What else have I got to do?

And Now To Make Things Even More Interesting...

We have pox!

The little one came down with the chicken pox yesterday.

But really it's ok. He was deliberately exposed to them. Three times over the course of six weeks. He kept NOT getting it.
I guess the third time was a charm.
I know it is very controversial. I know that some people will think I am a bad or negligent parent but I do not trust that vaccine.
I do not trust the efficacy of it. It has not been proven to last. In fact there has been a lot of speculation that boosters will be needed down the road. As much as twenty years down the road. And my question is, do I trust a couple of twenty something men to go get their chicken pox booster?
No.
No I do not.

And chicken pox is much worse when you are older.

SO I exposed him and now he has it and so far everything is ok. He has about 50 pox right now but I am expecting more.
I am giving him lots of vitamin c as well as doses of Echinacea and Goldenseal. He is also having some homeopathic treatments to help with the itching as well as Tylenol and Benadryl to help keep him comfy. Oh...and lots and lots of calamine lotion. Remember that stuff?

Here is some nifty homeopathic info for pox.

So now we are dealing with one child recovering from pneumonia and one just starting with pox. I highly doubt that the eldest will get pox as our doctor freaked me out when he was five and pressured me into getting him the vaccine. But I guess this is a good personal test for vaccine efficacy. We shall see.

Honestly, I researched this pox thing quite a bit. I am watching the little one and actually just got back from the doctor with him to make sure he is ok. The doctor says it looks like a mild case so far. His first pock has actually scabbed already.

Off to Wine Country

I'm running a Half Marathon tomorrow as "training".
It's going to be hot.
It's going to be beautiful too though.
Wish me luck.

Uh Oh

I'm in trouble. After resisting and resisting her many charms. Erika Jurney or as I still like to think of her, Plain Jane Mom has finally gotten me hooked on Etsy.

I bought these cute little charm dolls and now I am looking at bags.

Somebody is going to have to take away my credit cards.

Getting Better

Slowly. Slowly. He is getting better. It's hard to keep him resting though. All of us are bored.

I am supposed to be doing some work. I have to do some stuff to clear my credential. See I used to have a full time credential but when I left teaching to stay home with Tiger and have another kid (Termite), I switched to a part-time credential because I only saw myself doing a little summer school work.
Imagine my surprise when I was offered another job and took it a couple years ago. it's only a couple of days a week but I might like to increase once the Termite is in school full time in a year or two. So now I have to go back and finish my full credential stuff.

Anyway, I am procrastinating. What else is new?

But sheesh, just filling out the application form for my project is a huge amount of work! I know. I know. I'm doing it. Pbbbbbbbt!

I'm reading a book called Poison Study that was recommended to me by a friend. It's not my usual fare but it's a good summer read. Light. Light. Light. I need light in my life.

And did I mention that we're all bored? Out of our minds.

Well...

I took him to the doctor. He has pneumonia.

Poor kid.

Wouldn't You Know It

The Tiger has been sick all week. I thought kids weren't supposed to be sick in the summer. He's had a nasty cough. Because of it, he missed three days of his very expensive science camp. It was his third week so he knew the drill but still!
And it's his birthday. Today. He's eight.

We had plans to go to the nearby amusement park but he was pretty sick last night. We might just be heading to the doctor's office instead. I'm worried he has pneumonia. Though I really hope not.

We are having a very small party on Monday evening with just a few of his friends. It's the smallest party he's ever had. Four friends. I'm thrilled. But it's going to be a sleepover. That will be interesting, especially if he is still sick.

Why can't anything be easy?

His present from us is a skate board and skateboard lessons. Unfortunately, the lessons are currently full for summer so he will start that in the fall. We're letting him pick out his own skateboard so he will be opening elbow pads, knee pads and wrist guards in the morning along with a cool Yoda card I found that plays the Star Wars theme.

We haven't purchased any kind of goodie bag or decorations yet. I need to get on that. Might just be digging stuff up in the garage. A few balloons, a little crepe paper. What more does an eight-year-old need?
Low key. That's the ticket.

And now, I'm just waiting for the sun to come up so I can do a little pre-b-day run.
Let this be the mellowest, most uneventful birthday ever.

Cross your fingers.

Royal Victoria Marathon Here I Come!

I started out raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Team in Training during their winter season after having an exhilarating Summer season concluding with my run at the Nike Women's Marathon last October. I was planning to run Napa and I was doing this in honor of my friend Natalie and my aunt Fran who have both been dealing with a Lymphoma diagnosis. Unfortunately, I had to forgo my fundraising for the winter due to some family issues that arose. Fortunately the good folks at TNT agreed to hold the money I had raised to be used for another season.

I have to admit, my dear husband lit a fire under me to join the summer season. "These people donated to your cause and you need to run." he told me.

And I am running. I have decided that this year I will run the Royal VIctoria Marathon in Victoria, British Columbia or Canada. I'm going to Canada!

I am still running in honor of my friend and my aunt but I am also running in honor of every person whose life has been touched by cancer. My dad, my grandmother, my beloved cousin Kyle, my sister in law's dad, my son's preschool teacher, my friend who lives around the corner from me, my friend Kim's mother, my friend Kris's best friend. The list is endless. And sadly, the list seems to be growing.

And the thing is that it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be growing. It is the year 2009 and too many people are getting cancer. It shouldn't be happening anymore.

And the great thing about LLS is that they focus their research on blood cancers and most scientists agree that blood cancers are the forefront to unlocking cures for all cancers. All cancers. Think about that.

So once again I am running and I am raising money to fight this nasty disease that has affected so many people I care about. Please consider donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and helping me reach my goal.

Please use the link to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/RoyalVic09/bethgo

Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support.