The Stove

I took on a serious house project this past week: cleaning the kitchen stove.  As you can see from the photo below, this project was LONG overdue.  If you have recently been to my house and were grossed out by this scene - I sincerely apologize.
In order to tackle such a project I pulled out every cleaning supply in my house I thought could work.  Here we have white vinegar, windex, clorox wipes, soft scrub, dawn dish soap, baking soda and the magic erasure.  I even thought some rubbing alcohol would work....not so much.
After some scrubbing with the clorox wipes, magic erasure and some soft scrub here is scene...getting better.
A close up pictures reveals the mess that still lingered on my stove top...yuck.
Next I moved on to more soft scrub and the tooth brush.  I think a scrubbed for a good 2 hours.   Don't worry, I used an OLD toothbrush.  
Here we have a much better picture but now what my perfectionistic standards would like to see.
Oh yes, the front of the stove was also a mess.  I used the magic erasure to clean this gunk off and it took about 30 seconds.
After some serious scrubbing we still had a mess on our hands...so I mixed the baking soda and vinegar and let it sit ALL NIGHT LONG!
The next day Steven finished the job and viola - a clean stove top.  I will never let the stove get that dirty again...EVER!

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it's the little things:: Peyton is better

I have decided to link up with miss Lindsay from Hello Hue to document every Friday the little things I am thankful for.

This week I am thankful that our little Peyton is feeling better.  She even sat on the shelf to post for my phone camera - a rare gift.  I am so thankful her fever is gone and her cough is improving.  I am so thankful she loves to wear pink tights and headbands.  I am so thankful for this beautiful gift in a little girl.  Peyton, mommy loves you very much.


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We are doing better

Friends, the Dalbey family is feeling much better.  Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement and acts of kindness.  Peyton's fever finally went away on Monday afternoon and has stayed away.  We were even feeling good enough on Tuesday morning for a quick visit to daddy at St. Louis smoothie.   Plus, those smoothie's are so good and so healthy!  This pictures shows a happy daddy and Peyton. 
Now, the girl still has a cough but at least her eyes are not puffy.  Here she is cuddling with mommy yesterday afternoon. 
Oh yes, snow is also something that makes any kid smile.  Here we have Preston outside yesterday afternoon. 
I even took Petyon out for a few minutes to enjoy the snow. 
The view from my front porch.  Can we get some more of the white stuff?
While Peyton took a nap yesterday afternoon I took Preston outside to play.  He loved making snow angels and even tried to make a snowman...but was unsuccessful. 
Oh yes, my mother in law sent over a care package of random goodies.  Thank you so much. This was a such a surprise and I love the random assortment of items.  I think we need to open that bag of popcorn tonight! 
Finally, my dad took me out for lunch today at Crown Candy and it was yummy.  Thank you, Dad, for picking me up a little after a long weekend. 

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Sickness

We have had some sickness floating around the Dalbey house the past week.

First, it started with Preston.  He started coughing on Monday evening and had a low grade fever.  He seemed OK but we kept an eye on him and gave him a day off of school.  His fever went away and then he just continued with a runny nose and cough.  Thankfully, his energy continued and he seemed much better by Wednesday evening.  We even worked on that cool snowman project from my last blog post.

Then there is Peyton.  She started feeling sick on Thursday evening and also had a low grade fever.  She started to cough and had a runny nose.  Unfortunately, Peyton's body may not have the same drive for health as her brothers.  Peyton's fever continued Friday and Saturday.  Finally, she was still sick on Sunday afternoon and her breathing sounded yucky.  Here is a photo of her on Sunday mid day - not too good.  Her eyes were puffy from the water leaking out and her fever was returning yet again.

Against all desires and a lack of monetary resources I took our pediatrician's exchange line's recommendations and took Peyton to the ER. This was after 3 intense breathing treatments at home and other medication's.  Now, I am usually the kind of person who 'sucks it up' and hangs in there unless I think I am or someone else is dying.  So, to take my girl to the ER was not easy.

And the result:  She has RSV or a Virus.  There isn't much you can do but suck out the gunk in her nose, give her Tylenol and Ibuprofen and let time heal.  Thank you, ER, for telling me what I already suspected and taking money I do not have.  Can you hear my frustration?   Oh yes, you didn't give us the medicine samples like you said and you didn't give my daughter any breathing treatments or medication for her congestion so we had to go out and buy some.  You make me NEVER want to go back to the ER...even if I am dying... OK, ONLY if I am dying and I pray that doesn't happen for a while.

Result: I just want the sickness in our family to go away. I want relief from our monetary stress and I wish my husband and I didn't have to work a crazy schedule just so we can survive.  I would really like to start living a little.  Thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Snowman

Its cold outside in St. Louis but we still don't have any snow.  The kids really want snow - who can blame them?  While I was at the store yesterday morning I saw some mini marshmallows and decided that it was time for a fun activity.  The kids loved making these snowman.  We even added some chocolate chips for the accessories.  I think we all enjoyed our craft...and having a little snack.  

Here we have Peyton working on he snowman. Um, do you notice that she is a LEFTY!  

Preston is working hard to make his snowman look just right.  

Here is Peyton reaching for some more marshmallows.  

Here is Preston's finished work. Great job, buddy.  

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Weekend Update

Here is a random sampling of pictures from the past week.  Nothing too special to report, just daily life in the Dalbey house. First, my kids LOVE Frosty the Snowman.  They want to watch it everyday.  I'm not kidding.  

Here are the kids all snuggled and watching the movie - so sweet.  

My favorite show, Downton Abbey, returned to TV on Sunday. Thank goodness.  

Steven and I have been hitting the gym the past week.  We alternate workout days and don't see anything stopping us.  While Steven does have some weight he would like to loose I am trying to tone up my body post babies.  I'll keep you posted.  

Christmas was packed in bins and returned to our basement yesterday afternoon.  We are most sad to see it go but look forward to its return later in the year.  Preston kept asking if we could keep the tree....perhaps I should buy some sort of cool indoor plant and let the kids decorate it...or maybe not.  We need to work on replacing our dead bushes in the front yard this spring.  

Here was what Peyton looked like after her nap yesterday.  She was only wearing her diaper and her blanket and dolls were on the floor.  I don't think she did a lot of sleeping....at least she slept 12.5 hours last night.  

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The Hospital

Most of you know by now that Steven and I spent the New Years Holiday in the hospital.  It was not exciting.  Here is a basic overview of what happened.  Steven started feeling bad on Saturday evening. He started having upper chest/neck pain and some difficulty breathing.  He called his GP who advised him to go to the ER.  Once arriving at the ER they checked his vitals and ran a EKG.  After waiting a while they took him back for observation and further tests.  Here, the ER doctor said they would need to admit him because they saw some irregularity in his EKG.  They wanted to perform further blood work, observe him overnight and run a heart stress test.  I think this was the longest night of my life. I tried to sleep but it wasn't easy.  I was really confused and didn't like seeing my husband hooked up to monitors and in a bit of pain.  Thankfully, all his tests came back with a positive result.  While they continued to see some irregularity in his EKG it was nothing abnormal.  We found this to be very good news since he has some family history of heart disease.  After further examination by the doctors we were released New Years Day in the afternoon.  The doctors seems to believe that Steven's pain may be a combination of muscular strain, needed lifestyle changes and the stressful schedule he has had to keep the past year.  I mean, the man has been working 3 jobs the past year.  He hasn't had a lot of time to take care of himself.  He spends so much time taking care of others. This year, however, he is going to spend a lot more time thinking about himself.   This means more exercise, better diet choices and focusing more on his 2 main part time jobs that keep our family going.   I am so thankful for my husband. I am thankful for all his hard work the past year despite such difficulty with his job transition and the pain and grief in brought.  I am so thankful that his heart is ok and that he is ready to take better care of himself.  I am so thankful for our family who came to our aid with the kids and our friends who called, left messages and were praying for us.  I have a hard time asking for help.  So many were willing to help before I had to ask.  So many have also been supportive of us this past year knowing how difficult it has been.  I am thankful to say that I know more about the meaning of friendship and compassion.  Please continue to pray for Steven's health and for our family.  Unfortunately, our schedule is still very busy and we struggle financially month to month.  Please pray for health, financial provisions as well as time to rest as a family.  We long to get away as a family or have a weekend free of work obligations.  We hope this New Year, despite its rocky beginning, brings new blessings in ways we could never imagine.  As always, I will keep you posted on the big and small events of our family.  Thank you.  

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Dalbey family.  

It has already been quite a year ... I'll write more about that tomorrow.