Eli had the cootie.

Wow, I'm so behind on blogging I totally forgot about these pictures!

So right around Thanksgiving Eli had some weird episode of the hives, that of which we called the cooties. We still are unclear whether or not he had an allergic reaction to something, or if he had a viral infection that apparently had been going around at the time. Regardless, it was a very interesting/scary adventure to go through.

It all began like this. He woke one night with a 102 fever, pale and covered in hives.

We rested on the couch all day, and he eventually began to look more like Eli Waibel and less like Edward Cullen.

Then the hives slowly began to fade, but the puffy face stuck around. So we headed to see our amazing pediatrician to see what was going on.

Because he had a fever, we were sent home to rest off a viral infection. That night as I cooked dinner Eli complained of his lip itching. I looked and saw nothing out of the normal, and told him to put a cold rag on them because I thought it was probably just a hive surfacing there since he was covering his mouth while watching TV and it was warm. He got a rag, came back to me and said it itched more....and this is what I saw. Botox to the rescue.

I did as our pediatrician said, and called because there were new symptoms. We were told to immediately go to the emergency room and that they would call ahead for us. Swelling in the face, they worry about airways swelling as well. Yeah, that sent me into a panic. We got to the hospital and they quickly checked us in and gave him a look over. They predicted an allergic reaction, gave him some meds and steroids and sent us home when the swelling started to go down. The next morning our pediatrician followed up with us by phone to see how he was doing. The swelling had gone down, the hives and fever were gone...and we now had a 7 year old hyped up on steroids. The following week he was cleared to go to school, since he was all freed up of the cootie...but the fact that this child was not his normal self, I kept him home all week long. Seriously, he became strong enough to push the couch completely across the room and when asked "why did you do that" he responded with "YOOOUUU'RE CRAAAAAAZY!" ...probably not nice to throw that on his sweet teacher. We still do not know if he had an allergic reaction or if it was a viral infection. Our bets are on the infection, as we just cant think of a single thing that would have triggered an allergic reaction. It had never happened to him before, and hasn't again since, and he's never had any allergies before. Maybe he was just faking so he could miss a week of school? We are just happy it all ended well, and our little man is back to his healthy self...and not pushing our furniture around anymore.

Fast foward to one week later...

I get the kids home from school and set them up with a snack. All the sudden, screams erupt from Eli's room. Zach comes running out in pain. He'd done exactly what I'd told them would happen if they continued to walk around the headboard of Eli's bed for the 3 days prior..he fell and straddled the bed. There are no pictures to post, and I'll spare you the private details. Lets just say Im thankful that glue is an option over stitches, and that I'll still get those Grandchildren someday. Im also thankful that both boys healed before our trip to Disney. Oh, and Im thankful for health insurance. But Im not so thankful that the ER employees know our names without looking us up in the computer. Maybe this will be the year we dont visit the ER one time? Fingers and toes are crossed!

Neglected Blog

Oh boy! How did I get this behind in blogging? Yikes, we must have been busy latley. Did I really not even post Halloween yet? Ok, so here it is. In all its glory, the last few months at the Waibel household.

Jakes Birthday breakfast. (Yes, you can have candy corn on a muffin for breakfast when its your birthday.) And check out Eli by the door playing Happy Birthday to You! on his recorder. He was so proud, he played it TWICE!

Most years for Halloween/Jakes birthday, he chooses to stay home and hand out candy (and play computer games) while I take the boys around the neighborhood trick or treating. But this year, he thought it would be fun to go out with them instead. When they got back home, they informed me of a new rule Daddy gave them. For every time they forgot to say Thank You, or didnt listen well to Daddy...he got to take a candy from their bag. Unfortunatley, Daddy did have quite a pocket full of their treats. I think they will remember their manners better next Halloween!

2010 christmas cards

Chic Diamond Squares Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly to the rescue!

So just the other day I was online ordering our family photo Christmas cards online when I got a little frustrated. Im always so picky when it comes to deciding what family picture I like the best and what card setup I love the best. What you would think would be an easy process of picking out a family card to send, usually ends up frustrating me for some reason. And the older the boys get the harder it is on me, one of the boys is always making some sort of silly face...and if they are smiling Im usually making a weird face because I got them to smile by yelling out funny words. One of these years Im throwing in the towel, and all of you may end up with a Christmas card of a crazy family making funny faces from us. Stay tuned...lol! So after deciding on what family picture I thought was perfect the other day, I took a break to read up on some fellow bloggers pages before I chose what card to put that perfect family picture on and order them in time for the holidays. It was perfect timing because a friend from High School whom blogs as well, had a posting on her blog about an amazing deal through Shutterfly that I just couldnt pass up! (Thanks Becca!) You know me and my deals, every penny saved keeps me home raising our boys. So here I am, taking on the shutterfly challenge in order to save a pretty penny! And yes, I already have the card I want to chose from them picked out! Check it out, if you havent gotten your cards ordered yet for the year like myself, its a great deal! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards I have never used Shutterfly for our cards, yet I have many friends that have an they love the quality of their work. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery And if you've already ordered your cards for the year they have other options available through their website as well. I know another one we'll be using this year is their calendar option, as we make one every year online with all our pictures of the year. http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars so what are you waiting for...Christmas is almost here, blog about it too and get a great deal on your cards! http://bit.ly/sfly2010

And here's proof of why it takes me so long to chose a good picture....silly face Eli.

Halloween is just around the corner.

Our original costume plans for this year failed. Turns out my great idea of buying a toy for the mask and then making the outfit became too overwhelming for me right now. How do you turn a sweat suit into a Bumblebee and a Clone Wars guy with minimal work? Exactly my point. Not to mention the interactive toy masks I bought to use as their costumes are a little heavy and not so easy to see through in the dark, not so ideal for walking the neighborhood in the dark asking for treats. So we pulled out all the past year costumes to see if there was anything the boys would want to pick from the tote to wear instead. The toy masks I bought, they'll just be toys like they are meant to be.

Zach quickly got out Eli's old Tigger costume and was bouncing around happy as can be, informing us he found his costume. Eli on the other hand got very creative. He put on a little bit of every costume in the tote and came up with this very funny costume.

Witch tights, armor, a size 2T skunk top, a mummy mask, google eye glasses, clown wig and 2 clown bow ties. He then ran around the house like this for quite some time making us laugh alot. I'm not sure if this is what he will actually trick or treat in, but if he does I assure you he will put some shorts on to cover where his undies show through the witch tights. ha ha This picture is so coming out in his teen years!

Summer Reading winner

This is the second year in a row that Zach has won something from the drawings at the end of the Summer Reading at the town Library. Eli reads his little heart out and turns down the weekly prizes every time to turn his name into the drawings, but never wins at the end of summer. He's bummed he never wins the drawings, but luckily when Zach wins something he gets included in the fun day as well.

This year Zach won a couple games of bowling, so off we all went to roll some balls.

It was a fun afternoon. Turns out Bowling prices have rocketed since last time I remember going. And I finally admitted to being the worst bowler ever. I finally gave up and let the boys take my turn for me. It was only when they took over that I began to get some score on the board. Even with them helping me out, look how badly they all bashed my score. Maybe next time I'll save us some money and just watch. ha ha

Dolphin Dash

The boys had their Dolphin Dash fundraiser at school a couple weeks ago. Its so fun to watch how much energy these kids all have. Some of them take it very seriously, quickly grabbing a cup of water from the drinking station as they run by taking a sip and dumping the rest on their heads as they toss the empty cup in the garbage can as they turn the corner to begin another lap. Its a very serious event, its the one fundraiser every year that the kids are solely responsible for raising the money. They get very competitive. And we know how much competition runs in Waibel blood.

Eli's grade ran first thing in the morning. He ran his little heart out, but I could tell he wasn't as into it as last year. He had a tired morning getting ready for school, and it showed in his face as he ran.

Getting his lap punch.

I'm always proud of the boys no matter what the outcome is in whatever they are attempting, as long as they try. So even though he was a little upset that he ran 1 less lap this year than last, I was still proud of his 7 laps around that big concrete path. He ultimately decided that 7 laps was OK, because he's 7 years old. Such a sweet boy.

Zach's class ran about an hour after Eli's. I hate to say this out loud, but I wasn't expecting much from his turn. Anyone who knows Zach knows that he's not our athletic one. He tends to get tired walking to the restroom. And we all remember what happened the year we put him in soccer...remember the noodle body that would melt into the field? He'd rather sing, read and do some arts and crafts than to run some crazy long laps around the park. But I have to say, he sooooooooooo proved me wrong and made me proud! When that beginning signal went off he ran, and he ran, and he ran. He didn't stop running until the horn to stop went off! He hardly even stopped when he came running by me yelling "I'm hot take my sweatshirt off me!"

Look at that adorable red face and sweaty hair! He was so excited to come home that day to tell Eli he ran 6 laps! Yes SIX laps!!!...Almost as many as big brother. So where did this competitive athletic child come from? It was that competitive Waibel blood shining through. All it took was a little brotherly competition and off his little feet took him. And yes, he did have very bad leg cramps that night. And he woke up the next morning and said "ow, my legs hurt!"

Good job my little competitors!