Happy Birthday baby duck!

Tomorrow is Lexie's 11th birthday. I can't believe how fast the years have flown by. We're heading to Olive Garden (her most favorite place to eat) for dinner with the family. We ordered a yummy monkey cake to take with us. Her party is going to be at The Tea House with her friends in July after her daddy gets home.

Ben comes home on Wed! I can't wait. It seems like he's been gone for so long. I'm going to the spa tomorrow for a much needed break. Fun! John William starts skateboarding camp on Tues. I'm sure we have many broken bones to look forward to. He's been practicing non stop. He's even been sleeping with his new board. Sophie has been having fun bothering John William. We have landscaper friends helping me redo the front beds to suprise Ben when he comes home. It looks really good. It's a lot of work!

Our Weekend

Fri- dropped the kids off at camp. Sophie and I were sad. Went shopping with Mendi at the mall. :) Sophie fell asleep in the car at 6 and never woke up. It was very quiet here.

Sat- We slept in. I went and got my nails done and had a pedicure. Then I went and got my hair cut. Sophie went to my parents and spent the night. Mendi and I went to dinner. My 2 neighbors across the street each had daughters who graduated from high school this week. The threw a joint party for them Sat night. When I got home from dinner I went and joined the adult party after all the kids had gone home.

Sun- Went to church. Then to my parents for dinner for Father's Day. After dinner Sophie and Jack went swimming. Then I got a call from the camp that John William had been bitten by something and was having a reaction. They thought it was a snake or a bug. I know, crazy! Later that night I heard from the nurse and he was doing fine, all swelling had gone down.

Mon- Sophie and I were taking it easy. I talked to the nurse and they still were'nt sure what bit John William, but he was fine. Sophie and I did laundry and watched Sleeping Beauty a million times. Then around dinner time she was coloring a picture and I looked over and she was cutting off her hair with scissors. Great!~ I then took her to get her hair fixed. All her long hair is gone. She now has a very cute bob. Ben is going to flip when he comes home. He loves her long hair. Anyway, we went to my parents to show them the damage. I get a phone call on the way from camp telling me that John William is sick throwing up and I need to come get him. I got this call at 7:15 and camp is 2 1/2 hours away. So we put a movie in, grab my ipod, Winston (that's what we've named my GPS with an English accent) a trashcan and pj's for Sophie and head out. I finally get there around 10:30. That's when the nurse tells me that John William is fine. He threw up twice after eating a Twix, a KitKat bar and 2 cans of Mountain Dew. He was spending the last of his $ at the snack shack. So I put him in the car, kiss Lexie and her friend and drive home. We got back around 1:30. Lexie came home later today. They all had a wonderful time. John William's leg looks great. Dad doesn't think it was a snake bite, so that makes me feel better. I'm waiting for Ben to call and then heading off to bed!

Random thoughts

Tired, ready for Ben to come home. Lexie has swimmers ear, so we went to the dr again today. I think we pay the drs mortgage. John William and Sophie are either trying to kill each other or drive me crazy. Or both. We've beens staying close to home this week. It's too hot to be outside. Even the pool is hot. Still haven't gone and bought new dishwasher so the old one is still on the deck. Neighbors are probably irritated but they know Ben is gone so they don't say anything. Kids leave tomorrow. It's going to be so quiet without them here. Mendi and I are getting a sitter Sat night and celebrating with drinks :). Father's Day is this weekend. Going to my parents Sun night. Ben flew to Qutar yesterday to start a project there. He thinks he'll be there until he comes home. Ready for the weekend and some down time with out all the kids. Excited to start looking for a new house when Ben comes home. We hope to find something this summer and get moved before the kids start school. We've been in our house 6 years in August. It's the longest we've ever stayed in one house. I'd love to find something with a barn, but Ben is afraid of what I'll put in it :) I'd never do anything like that......... Actually, I think my dad still owes me the horse he promised me when I was little.

Shopping for Camp

Lexie and John William leave for camp with our church on Friday. They'll be gone 4 nights. It's their first time at sleep away camp. Lexie's best friend Atalie will be going with her. Attie's mom is one of my best friends Mendi. So tonight we had "girls night". We took just the two girls out to dinner and shopping to get what they needed for camp. We had a blast and spent way too much money. The girls kept us laughing the whole time. Even though they are at an age where their hormones are flipping around, they are really still just little girls. They tried on clothes and danced around and ate a yummy dessert at dinner. They bought matching fishy pjs and flip flops. While Lexie is at summer school next week I'll be spending some mother/son time alone with John William doing his shopping. The house is going to seem so empty with Ben and the older two kids gone. Although, it's been in the high 90's this weekend, so I have 5 dogs of assorted sizes, who think it's too hot to step out the door, to keep me company.

Hospital Stay

Lexie has been feeling sick to her stomach since Thursday. She's had sharp pains and trouble sleeping. After a long night I took her to the Children's Hospital in Charlotte on Sunday morning. They looked at her stomach, took a urine sample and sent us home. Monday she started summer school. I made her a doctors apt with our pediatrician for that afternoon. The school called and she was doubled over sick, so I went and picked her up and took her straight to the dr. After checking her out our ped admitted her to the hospital to rule out a problem with her appendix. Any trip to the hospital means hours of waiting. They put us in a room and ran blood tests and did a CT scan of her stomach. It was late by the time the results came in. They let her eat something bland around 9. A little bit later she complained that her lips itched. We turned on the light and her lips were swollen. She was having an allergic reaction to something. So after fighting with the nurse who was taking her sweet time giving us Benadryl (I had some in my purse and was going to give it to her if they didn't hurry it up), they finally gave her some. Then they kept waking her up every hour to check and see how she was. Her xray was clear so it ruled out her appendix. The doctor thinks that she has acid reflux. She's been worried about summer school and her dad being gone, she hasn't eaten well and all of that is making her sick. She's on meds for the next 2 months to heal the damage that's been done. It's already helping her feel better. She was so glad to get her IV out and come home and take a shower (me too). Mom and Dad kept the younger two kids overnight for me. My wonderful neighbors took care of all our animals on really short notice. Denise just loves all our pets and came over and played with them and brought my mail in and did some dishes. She's so great! My other neighbor Melanie took the dogs out while Denise was at work. I had so many phone calls and offers for help, I really appreciate all our friends looking out for us while Ben's gone.