I have sinusitis; Caleb has strep throat. He started complaining Tuesday that he wasn't feeling well. At first I thought it was because he ate too much candy on an empty stomach at our homeschool co-op end-of-the-year party. He kept saying he wasn't hungry and that he felt like he needed to throw up. He didn't eat much lunch and spent most of his time hanging around the bathroom. I finally coaxed him to the van so we could go home.

He wasn't running any fever at first, but by mid-afternoon, his temp was 103. He took a short nap on the couch while his ibuprofen kicked in. He didn't want to eat anything for supper, so he went to bed with some Tylenol on an empty stomach.

The next morning, his temp was 102, so I called the doctor's office as soon as it opened and managed to get an early appointment. After a quick check of Caleb's vitals, the doctor recommended a strep test, which came back positive. This makes the second time this year - and the second time ever.

Caleb hasn't been real susceptible to viruses and bacterial infections in the past, but ever since he got his first loose tooth, he can't keep his hands out of his mouth. Now that that tooth's out, he keeps checking the one next to it. I explained to him that he's putting all kinds of germs in his mouth everytime he puts his fingers in there, that he touches things that other people have touched and have spread their germs to. It made an impression on him at the time, but I still keep catching him with his fingers in his mouth and have to remind him again.

Today, after two doses of amoxicillin yesterday, he seems more like his old self, although he's still not wanting to eat much. At least he'll be well enough to attend the AWANA awards ceremony Sunday afternoon. He missed out last year because he was running a fever that day. I'm just hoping Jacob and i don't get it. If we do, I hope I know by tomorrow morning so we can get to the doctor before the weekend...

Good-bye Golden Girl

I was really disappointed last night that Melinda finished third on American Idol. She was my favorite from the time she auditioned. She's got such a powerful voice and a great stage presence that I know she's going to be coming out with her first CD very soon.

I voted for Melinda Tuesday night and actually got through about 20 times in a 20-minute period. That didn't seem like a good sign to me, so I wasn't surprised when she got the boot. Still, I hoped...

Next week, I'll definitely vote for Jordin. Blake's beatboxing gets on my nerves and it's too gimmicky. I really don't want to see him win.

Adrenaline Rush

Last night's season finale of CSI: New York was excellent! I couldn't have asked for a more exciting, satisfying episode. My heart was racing through most of the show, and at the end, when everything was resolved, I was exhausted. I'm glad they didn't leave a big cliffhanger about whether or not a certain major character was alive. I'm looking forward to next season, but in the meantime I can watch more of my season 1 DVDs. And I can always catch reruns on Spike every day!

I'm sure tonight's season finale of CSI will be just as thrilling!

(No smart remarks, please.)

I've been taking my generic once-a-day allergy pill faithfully for several weeks now, and it's been doing a great job. I can breathe just fine. However, while it's been keeping the drainage from going down my nose and throat, it's done nothing to keep it out of my sinus cavities. They're packed with - well, let's just say they're packed. The sides of my nose are swollen and it hurts to even wear my glasses. (Since I can't see without them and don't have contacts, I'm pretty much stuck with the pain.) Sunday evening I started feeling like I had been hit in the nose, but I couldn't think of how or when that would have happened. Yesterday was worse and it took me until the afternoon to realize that my sinuses were swollen. Of course I had already taken my allergy medicine for the day, so I had to wait until this morning to take the decongestant form of it. Now I'm dragging and in a fog, which always happens, and I'll probably continue to feel that way for another 2 days or so until I get used to the medicine and get some good sleep again. (I've been sleeping okay, but after I get started on a decongestant, I usually have about 2 or 3 nights of sleeplessness before I'm so tired I just crash.)

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was really good! Billy and the boys gave me a new digital camera with a zoom feature. I'm really excited to start using it. It has several preset functions that I'd like to learn how to use, too. And it's the perfect size to carry around in my purse! (My old digital camera, which I've had for several years and kept handy in my purse, just wasn't working well anymore. At first I thought it was my batteries, but my new rechargeables worked as poorly as my old ones. I went through 3 sets of batteries in one day and took fewer than 40 pictures! It didn't zoom, either, so anytime I wanted a closer shot, I had to get as close as I could, then lean a little more. Zoo pictures didn't turn out so great.)

After church, we came home for sandwiches. We figured restaurants would be pretty crowded for lunch, so we opted to go out for supper like we did last year. The afternoon was a lazy one. We watched Happy Gilmore, then flipped over to the NASCAR race, which Caleb has really gotten into watching each week.

We got to Outback Steakhouse right at 5:00 and the line was already out the door! I was hungry and the boys had skipped their afternoon snack since we were going to be eating earlier than usual, so I didn't want to wait in line. We went across the highway to a less crowded part of town and ate at Spaghetti Warehouse. I ventured away from getting my usual angel hair pasta with garlic butter and mushrooms and chose the lasagna instead. It was really good, and I saved half to bring home for supper Monday night. Rather than get expensive desserts there, we stopped by Wal-Mart and bought Peanut Butter Panic ice cream, Oreo ice cream, and some sugar cones. We've enjoyed that the last two nights and still have plenty left!

We made sure we were back home before the season finale of Survivor came on at 7:00.

Bad Dreamz

Speaking of Survivor, I was extremely disappointed in Dreamz. He had made a deal with Yauman (and even swore to God!) that he would hold up his end of the bargain. He went on and on about how he wanted his son to be proud of him for being a man of his word. Then he went back on the deal at the last minute so that he would have a shot at winning the million dollars. That cost Yauman his shot at the million, which he would have won.

I don't know what ever gave Dreamz the idea he even had a chance. He stabbed so many people in the back throughout the game, not many would have voted for him, if any. Did he really think anyone would consider voting for him after he so openly and boldly double-crossed Yauman?

In the end, Earl won by an unprecedented unanimous vote. He was my second choice after Yauman, so I was glad to see him win.

Next season's Survivor will take place in China. That's going to be a change from the tropical settings they've usually used. I hope I have an easier time getting into it next season than I did this time around.

Season Finales

This is the big week for season finales of the shows I like to watch. Last night, Billy and I watched CSI: Miami. I just can't get into that show for several reasons. One, the scenes are very yellow. Two, the video effects are strange. Three, David Caruso is too even-tempered and monotone. He's a redhead, for goodness sake! Where's the fiery personality and bad temper? His character is just too cool, too smooth. Four, the lead female character is also monotone and her Southern drawl is too exaggerated.

The other CSI shows have me hooked! CSI: New York is tomorrow night and it looks promising. It's never let me down. CSI is Thursday night and it's one I definitely can't miss. I told Billy that I know something that will happen (I love to read spoilers.), but he told me not to tell him. I've been wanting to tease him everytime we see the previews for the finale, but I've been nice and kept things to myself.

ER's season ends Thursday night, too. So many people have talked about how this show has lost its edge because it's been on so long. Thirteen years now, I think. But I think it's still got holding power. I know more major characters are leaving, but there's always someone else who comes along and takes the reins. I'm pretty sure it'll be back in the fall, but I think it will be the last season.

Season Premieres

Monk and Psych will start their new seasons in July! Billy and I have watched all of season 1 of Monk, as well as several episodes from other seasons. We only started watching it late last summer. We started watching Psych because it came on after Monk and we didn't change the channel. It's really funny, too. Sometimes even funnier than Monk!

Well, I can't let my hurting face keep me from doing a few household chores. I promise not to overdo things, but I do need to get a little bit done. Duty calls.