Illness, football, & granola bars

We have had so many good days that a bad one was bound to happen. That's okay though. I expect them here and there and can handle that. Believe me, they are getting way fewer and farther between already so 1 in the past 2 weeks I can deal with. It was to be expected too since Eric is kind of under the weather. I think he has a cold. No fever but congested, sneezing, and coughing. With a very unscheduled weekend, a very over stimulating one (think football game & being in a child care situation with about 15-25 very loud kids Saturday night that lasted well past 9pm), and a very out of routine one (couldn't go to church on Sunday) I had a feeling we would pay for it on Monday since we didn't really see any problems on Sunday. And we did. He had a meltdown at school about a rule being changed by a teacher. By the time I got him in the car at pick up time I knew it was going to be one of those afternoon/nights. The child could not stop moving to save his life or focus on what I was trying to talk to him about. By the time 6:00 rolled around he had earned 30 minutes to bed early. Even he knew at 7:00 that it was just one of those days and we would just restart the next day. On a positive note that is exactly what he did today. He made a fresh start and had a good day at school. The teacher said he had a couple of times that he almost got upset but listened to direction and talked it out nicely with his friends instead. Huge win! For that we went to the library and got him his very own library card. You would have thought I gave the child a million dollars! He was elated! Tonight he read a chapter in the Magic Tree House book he checked out. After that I read both the boys a chapter out of the How To Train Your Dragon book. Love that my kids are enjoying reading lately.

Tyler on the other hand spent the weekend sick with a fever. No fun! He acted out of sorts on Saturday morning at Eric's game but wasn't running a fever. I had volunteered to help out with child care for an event held at Palm Coast Community Church that evening and took the kids with me. I was working in childcare so I was with them. Towards the end (around 9pm) Tyler comes up and puts his head on my leg. I was wearing jeans and could tell he was warm through them. A few other people also said he felt warm. Got him home and he had a very minor fever. By the next morning he woke up with a 100.0 fever but it went away in 1/2 an hour. I debated going to church and then decided against it. I wasn't serving that week so it wasn't a big deal. I'm so glad we stayed home because half way through what would have been 2nd service his fever came back. By the middle of the night it was 102.0. At 4:30am (Monday) I gave him meds and he stayed fever free the rest of the day. He got to stay home from school and play on the computer and watch tv all day. I think he enjoyed himself immensely. Today he got to go back to school since he was fever free without meds for 24 hours. He was happy about that because today was his 100 day of school celebration. :) I am taking him to the doctor tomorrow though just to check into these tummy aches he is always saying he has. No lie the child complains on a daily basis about a tummy ache. It is random parts of the day as well. I'm wondering if he doesn't have reflux. Between that, the fever, cough, and swollen lymph nodes this is one momma that would just rather be safe than sorry and go ahead to see the pediatrician.

Speaking of football, yes I know it was a while ago in the post but whatever, Eric had his first game this Saturday! He had a blast! The child played his heart out! To top it off his team won which made the game even more special to him. I think the funniest thing of the entire game was Eric pointing to where he was going to run. I think his coach about had a heart attack! That and I heard the coach tell Eric once to stand still and pay attention to the other players. Oh my word...thankfully Eric's coach is patient and kind with him. LOL! After seeing the coaches for the other team I'm so thankful for Eric's coach. You could tell that Eric's coach understood that these kids are 8 and under. They need to have fun, not be pressured to win. Some of the parents (on our team) amazed me as well. After the game Brian went up to the coach to thank him for his great attitude about the game, for keeping it light hearted for the kids. Just after that one of the parents came up and told the coach he saw that he ran only a couple of plays and suggested he work on some more with the kids. He also said that they had been working with their son on running this week but would work on catching this week so they would like to see him in as quarterback next week. Really?! Come on! These are kids! And the hardest part for me was overhearing one of the kids on the other team comment on how making the play on Eric was easy. Talking about how Eric was the easy one to get. Mind you the previous play Eric made a pretty darn good run. This will always be a battle for me I though I think. The kid didn't mean any harm. He's a kid. He has no filter. What they think comes out their mouth. What bothered me was the coach on the other team didn't correct his player. He just nodded and smiled. I had to fight my anger back hard (not the proper hormonal time for me to have to deal with that kind of stuff to say the least) and realize that Eric didn't hear it and even if he didn't he wouldn't have known they were talking about him. Eric is the smallest in stature but his heart was bigger than any other childs' out there. Even the kid on Eric's team that was diving to get the flag was doing so not out of heart but out of the pressure his parents placed on him. That just breaks my heart for that kid. Will Eric be the best on his team? Nope...not even close....for now. That isn't to say in the future he won't be a killer player but for now he will just seem younger than the other kids out there. One day he will catch up but it won't be this season. And guess what. That is okay. That is the way God made him. Maybe God can use him to show others to take joy in the game...not the win! He can show them that you leave your heart on the field and do your best and forget the rest.

Moving on past the sappiness I will post a link to these incredible gluten free granola bars I made tonight. The kids loved them and I'm addicted to them! Eric has been missing out on granola bars due to cross contamination. I found this recipe and jumped on it. I bought oats that were grown in fields specifically used only for oats and not next to a wheat field so there is no cross contamination. Let me say these were easy peasy lemon squeezy and totally divine! They are more on the chewy side once you take them out of the fridge for a bit. Straight out of the fridge they are a bit harder. Give them a try and let me know what you think. I used chocolate chips and craisins as my mix ins since we have a bunch of both in the house. http://thehotplate.com/default.php/?p=6300

Until we meet again...