The non-squeaky wheel . . .

Casey is the one out of our three kids who never complains about physical ailments, aches or pains. He can be down and out, sick as a dog, burning with fever and will still insist "I Okay Mommy." He is a sensitive guy, who gets his feelings hurt easily and loves to be snuggled, rubbed, and just generally baby-ed. But he rarely ever talks about anything hurting or making him feel sick. Yes, I am laying some groundwork here . . .so as not to come out looking like Worst Mom of the Year at the end of the story. So, last Sunday when we got back from "Mass-a-knuckles" Casey was a little out of it and tired, but we all were, so we didn't think too much of it. Until 2:30am on Monday, which is the time he crawled into our bed and gave us the sensation of sleeping next to a very, very hot water bottle. Poor guy had a big fever, which lasted off and on until Tuesday. He had two terrible nights of sleep (which of course means that Dave and I endured the same), and then after the fever broke he had a runny nose and cough. Mind you, all along he kept telling me that he is just fine. He HATES taking medicine, so even giving him Tylenol for the fever or some children's Nyquil for the cough involved serious bribes and deal-making. Other than his nose running like a faucet and having a night-time cough, he really seemed okay until Sunday morning, when he woke up with no voice at all.

Here's a video of Casey's voice, and this wasn't even at the worst point. Background soundtrack provided by: Dave & Keller watching the UNC basketball game and Marley wearing her squeaky shoes.


It was so cute at first, but when he still had no voice on Monday morning, and added a little case of pink eye and a rash on his bum to the list of symptoms, I finally decided it was time for a trip to the doctor. As I went over his symptoms with the pediatrician, I could see the wheels turning in his head and I was certain that when he left to go run the strep test, he would also make a quick call to Child Protective Services to see exactly what they consider to be 'neglect.' Turns out Casey has: a sinus infection, strep infections in his throat and on his bottom, pink eye, and laryngitis. Wow. Way to go, Holly. Great job earning votes for "Mom of the Year." He is on Augmentin now, which tastes like ground up chalk with a tiny hint of gross fruit punch flavoring added in. He cannot stand to take it. When I got to work tonight, I looked down at the front of my clothes and saw little splotches of medicine on my shirt and pants from the Battle Royale showdown that took place during his evening dose of medicine. I just cannot believe that he was not laying on the floor, moaning and groaning about how awful he must have felt through all of these ailments. I have long believed that men in general tend to be a little bit whimpy when it comes to being sick, but Casey may just be the guy who blows my theory out of the water!

Marley got a little 'bling' last week. After saying "HER name is Marley" and "SHE has been home two months" and "SHE is a girl" for the past two months, we decided Marley could use some sparkle. She wears pink, dresses, pink dresses--it doesn't matter--people still automatically assume she is a boy because she has no hair and she's not a super-girly looking girl. Well, actually her hair is growing in pretty nicely (although a bit crazily with a pattern that I haven't quite figured out yet). So, Casey and I took her to the mall last Thursday afternoon and got her ears pierced. Casey helped me pick out some cute pink flowers (which, by the way, I couldn't believe the variety of piercers now--when I got mine pierced many moons ago, you could only get silver, gold, or birthstones). She cried for less than 2 minutes, and hasn't minded them at all. Now if someone calls her a boy again, I will probably go ahead and punch them in the face.

Marley's 'sparkle'

Keller started Track on Sunday and it was so much fun. It's a huge program with over 300 kids from ages 4-15, but very well-organized and he seemed to like it a lot. He did long jump, sprints, and relays Sunday, and will cycle through other track events throughout the course of the season. His first meet will be sometime in April. He is also playing baseball this spring. He and Casey are both doing a baseball camp every Monday afternoon right now in preparation for the season, but Casey won't be playing yet this year. He has swim lessons starting next week. He is very confident in the pool, and Keller swims like a fish in any depth of water, but I am a little unsure about how I'll manage all 3 kiddos at the pool this summer. I figured Casey could benefit from lessons, and my nerves may benefit from knowing that he can swim in 5 feet of water, rather than him just thinking he can ;)

Keller's warm-up lap at track:


The boys at baseball camp last week:


Here are a few other random photos from the beautiful weekend we had here.