Eva Tummy and Weekend Update

Jen just called and reminded me that I hadn't reported Eva's test results. I am pleased to advise that her test results were clear. She has no infections and no parasites. You may also wonder how the gathering of the samples went. I explained the whole thing to Eva in advance and she was totally on board. She let me know when she had to go and made certain that the collection cup was in position before doing her thing. At one point during a false alarm, she commented brightly, "Mommy, this is GREAT, isn't it?" She thought a change from the norm was quite a lot of fun.

The doctor called to talk to me about the test results and said that it indicates that it was probably a viral infection that will clear up on its own. He said that if Eva was still reporting even intermittent pain on Monday to come back in. The last time she complained was Thursday so hopefully she's all good. Now she just has to get over her sniffles.

Micah has caught those sniffles too, and this morning he was a miserable clingy roaring bear. Our neighbor's daughter has Fifth Disease and I see or imagine the start of a rash on Micah. He hasn't had contact with her recently but we did see her mom this week and we share a housekeeper so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that he could have it. We'll keep an eye on him.

There are a lot of things I like about living here and I don't want to complain about the heat but honestly I'm feeling kind of frustrated. I would like to "do" things with the kids and be active outside but we are or feel so limited. We jump on the trampoline whenever it's in the shade (the trampoline is the gift that keeps on giving- we love it as much now as we did the day we got it and still use it every single day). We can't walk outside after about 9am, if that. Can't walk before at least 7pm. I'm thirsting for green parks and cool grass to run in barefoot. I want to go hiking and swimming. I've got to get creative and figure out a way to fill those needs. I need some more exercise.

This weekend we felt a little cooped up because we're just not eager to venture out into the heat. I did join the Circle of Friends ladies for a farewell brunch which was fun. They said they barely recognized me because I came without kids! This morning we hosted church at our house. We were glad to do it but there were some very grumpy moments leading up to it, mainly involving the Miserable Bear preventing or undoing our cleanup progress. I thought our little service went pretty well- the adults watched a sermon we downloaded and the kids seemed to enjoy the Sunday School lesson. In fact, Eva didn't want to say goodbye because she was so busy working on decorating her crown.

In the afternoon we went out and did a few errands which actually did shake things for the better. And we went out for a little walk before bed which was great. A good end to the weekend.