Roseola Day 2

So this morning Hannah woke up with even MORE spots! Other than that (and the fact that it's 9:00 and she's still screaming in bed) she's been her jabbery little self today. I'm hoping, for my sanity, that these things go away soon! I really need to get out of the house and don't want to deal with all of the looks when I bring my speckled baby with me.

Roseola visits our house

So this morning Hannah was covered in spots. I called the Dr. and they couldn't get her in until 4:50 so I asked for the Dr. to call me instead. Meanwhile I was going over in my mind what she could have possibly eaten that she was allergic to or if the antibiotic she's been on for 10 days for an ear infection could have suddenly caused her to break out in a rash. I couldn't come up with a single thing that she'd eaten the day before that could have caused her problems as it was all things she eats on a regular basis. So, I decided to check my email. Like many other moms I know, I get emails from babycenter.com about various things relating to my child. There just happened to be one in my inbox and it had a link to the symptom guide (very handy) so I clicked on the one for rash and low and behold there was one that described Hannah's possible condition, Roseola. After talking to the Dr. she agreed that it most likely was roseola and that there wasn't any point in bringing her in unless the rash got worse because it is viral and there is nothing they can do about it.

According to Baby Center: "Roseola is a fairly mild and common viral illness that usually strikes children between 6 months and 3 years of age. It's possible to have the virus without having noticeable symptoms. But roseola usually starts out with a sudden, relatively high fever, often above 103 degrees Fahrenheit.The fever typically lasts three to five days and may end abruptly, followed by the telltale rash. The rash may last for days or only hours.The rash is pink and may have small flat spots or raised bumps. These spots may have a lighter "halo" around them and may turn white if you press on them.The rash isn't itchy or uncomfortable, and contact with the rash itself doesn't spread the illness. It's usually seen on the trunk and neck, but it can extend to the arms, legs, and face.If your toddler has roseola, he may also be irritable and tired and have mild diarrhea, a decreased appetite, and swollen eyelids. The lymph nodes in his neck and at the base of his skull may also be a bit enlarged. In general, children with roseola don't appear especially ill, considering how high their fevers get."

I'm sorry if any of your children come down with this spotty virus...but it could be worse! It could be chicken pox or something. I don't know where Hannah got it and again I'm so sorry if we pass it on to you.

So, I have a spotty baby and we're stuck in the house AGAIN! Someday I might make it to the grocery store like I have been planning since Thursday! But at least Damon got home safely last night and I don't have to deal with Ms. Teething Spotty by myself.

My little Dalmatian!

A fun tag (plus something to blog about)

HI All! I haven't had anything to blog about since the last post (thanks for all of the good book ideas!) and saw this on a couple of friends' pages so I thought I would do it. If I didn't my blog would be me whining about how lonely it is without Damon and how he's only called me once (that stinker!) since he's been in the D.R. and how I can't wait for him to come home Sunday night. But, since nobody wants to read a blog like that here is something more interesting about us.

How long have you been together? We will have been married for 5 years in April and together 5 1/2 years-ish.
How old is he? 28, 29 in March.
Who eats more? Probably Damon but I have my days.
Who said "I love you" first? I did.
Who is taller? Damon
Who sings better? Me, hands down (no offense Damon!) But, he can carry a pitch just fine-he just doesn't think he can. He's had no training or practice but he could be pretty good with it I think.
Who is smarter? In math and science and visual stuff, Damon. In English and reading and music,me. But I would probably say that he's smarter than I am.
Who does the laundry? I do but sometimes he helps me fold it.
Who does the dishes? Damon usually does because I have eczema on my hands :(
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are looking from the bottom of the bed, Damon sleep on the right. But this changes from time to time depending on Damon's bad hip.
Who pays the bills? I do.
Who mows the lawn? Our landlord or someone he hires.
Who cooks dinner? I mostly do, but Damon helps sometimes and usually entertains Hannah so I have my hands free.
Who is more stubborn? This is debatable and right now Damon and I are at an impasse in our debate of who is more stubborn.
Who kissed who first? Depends on who you ask. Damon claims I kissed him first....but that is only the case if butterfly kisses count! I don't think so, so he kissed me first.
Who asked who out? Damon asked me out with a little (okay a lot) of help from his roommate, Danny. Danny and I were the same major and had a lot of classes together. The first class of the semester Danny got my phone number and told me Damon would call me that night (that is the short version of the story) and he did. We ended up going out the first weekend of the semester and the rest, as they say, is history!
Who proposed? Damon proposed to me (but I had to remind him to after he had given me the ring).
Who is more sensitive? Definitely me.
Who has more friends? I've never counted-we are both richly blessed.
Who has more siblings? Me. I have 5, Damon 3.
Who wears the pants in the relationship? I am more bossy and outgoing, but we make decisions together.

If you want to do this then you're tagged!

I'm on the lookout

Hey everyone!
So tomorrow Damon is leaving me for 10 days while he goes to the Dominican Republic to supposedly do some "Dental work" aka have a blast! Since I won't have much to do after Hannah goes to bed and will definitely be needing a break by then I am going to spend my evenings reading and catching up on chick-flicks. So, here is where I need your help! If any of you know of a good book or have seen any good chick-flicks lately send 'em my way! I don't have any books to read and don't have any chick-flicks I've been dying to see (That's probably because I've been to 4 movies in the last 2 1/2 years!). So send all of your good ideas my way. Oh, I've already read all of the Twilight trilogy by Stephenie Meyer so those are out. Does anyone know when the 4th one is supposed to be out this year? Can't wait!

Adventures Continued

Okay, American Idol just makes me laugh. How can these people think they can sing? Honestly!

Alright, back to Oregon. We finally got the tree home and the next day Damon and his dad put the lights on. They had Christmas music playing as they did it and Hannah was dancing away. It was so funny! I got it on video and it just cracks me up. (I'm working on finding a cable to connect my video camera to my computer so I can upload videos.) She probably danced for over 1/2 straight and laughed the whole time. She has gotten so funny lately and loves to imitate and interact with people. She really keeps us entertained.

Damon and I got to go on a date while we where there (thanks for watching Hannah, Popes!). We drove by Damon's old high school and by chance there was a basketball game going on that night. Some of you might not know this, but Damon was an avid basketball player in high school. He hadn't been back to a game since he graduated so we decided to go. It was actually really fun and Damon got to see some of his old teammates that are now coaches there as well as his old Varsity coach who is now the principle at the school. It was fun to spend some time in Damon's old stomping grounds a bit.

We got to have a little Christmas with Damon's family (minus Anthony and Janet-we missed you!) and that was fun. Damon's Grandma, Uncle Troy, and cousin Trista got to come and spend some time with us as well. We got some nice gifts and luckily fit everything into our suitcase.

4 Generation Picture: Great Grandma Pope, Damon, Hannah & Grandpa

The Pope family (Minus Anthony, Janet, & Miriam)

The next day we all went to Portland where Damon, his Mom, Dad, brother Tyler, and Grandma got to do some temple work and sealings for some of their family names. Damon's Grandma actually got sealed to her parents so it was a really neat experience for them. Hannah, Austin, and I hung out for a few hours until they were finished.

We flew to Boise the next day (Dec. 23) where my parents picked us up and then we drove to Rexburg. Well, that is what was supposed to happen and I guess eventually did happen, eventually being the key word. Our flight was supposed to leave at 4:30 pm. The plane was coming in from Kansas City where they were having really bad weather so....we didn't end up leaving until almost 8 pm. Needless to say the Popes (especially Hannah and I) were not happy campers! We finally made it to Boise where my poor parents had been waiting around for us and drove to Rexburg on the snowy, icy roads. By the time we got home and got into bed it was about 4:30 am...we didn't make it to church by 9 but my poor parents had early morning meetings.


We had a great time hanging out with my family. My brother and his wife, Kim, and their new baby (Born Dec. 12) Rya were there so my whole family was together for Christmas. Rya is beautiful and we are excited that Hannah finally has a cousin!

Hannah liked her new cousin Rya but didn't know why she couldn't touch her. This picture is just after she poked her in the eye. Sorry Rya!

Oh Boy! They let me near the baby!

Me, Hannah, my brother Paul, and baby Rya

Christmas morning was chaos as usual at the Andersen house. My family got a Wii and big TV for Christmas and we all had a good time playing that. My arm was actually sore the next day from playing tennis (I know, I am so pathetic!) Damon and I had opened our presents to each other the day we left Ohio so we wouldn't have to bring them with us. I got a new computer and some slippers. Damon's weren't as exciting. He got a computer game that he's been playing the demo of for about a year, a bocce ball set, and a resturant gift card. His real present is happening this Friday when he gets to go to the Dominican Republic to do dental work. Many of you may not know that Damon served his mission there and hasn't been back since. Of course he is SO excited to go....and I am so NOT excited to be left alone with Hannah for 10 days.

The crazy Andersen girls on Christmas Eve. My family has a tradition where we get new pajamas on Christmas eve and we always have to model them for everyone.

The whole Andersen clan so far. Me, Damon, Hannah, Paul, Kim, Barrett, Andrea, Greg, Dad, Mom, Rya, LaraJane, and Rachel.

Anyway, back to Idaho. We got to see a few friends that we haven't seen in a while like Damon's former roommate, Steve, and my friend Alisa. It always amazes me how much Rexburg has changed since we moved. A huge highlight was going to the Rexburg Temple Open House. What a beautiful temple and what a huge blessing for that area. It is georgeous and boasts the largest sealing room in the church. My parents were chosen to be tour guides during the open house and have really enjoyed it.

Our New Years was pretty uneventful. I was sick so I stayed in bed and read (I read all three Twilight books in 4 days-I totally LOVE THEM!) until about 10 pm or so. My siblings all had plans except for LaraJane (10) so Damon and my parents and Lara just watched a movie and hung out. We were really exciting. My grandparents came the next day and it was good to see them again.

Hannah getting into Grammy's dish towels. What fun!

Hannah with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Andersen

4 Generation Picture: Great Grandpa Andersen, Me, Hannah, and Grandpa Andersen

I'm sure I am leaving out tons of stuff but this post is already WAY TOO LONG! Over all it was just really relaxing and enjoyable. My siblings, especially LaraJane, entertained Hannah a lot so I had lots of time to rest and really have a vacation! Sorry this was so long. Now you know why I was putting it off for so long. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Adventures from the Great Unknown (aka Oregon & Idaho)

I have been putting off this post for a while now. I haven't wanted to do it because I knew that it would take forever to post all of the details and pictures of our trip. I finally decided to stop being lazy and bite the bullet. Another excuse was that Damon, great husband that he is, bought be a new computer for Christmas (I LOVE IT!) and I have to put all of my pictures on this computer which tends to take a while.

Now, where to begin? I have to make this fairly short and sweet because American Idol is starting tonight and I don't know about you guys, but I am TV deprived since this whole writers strike.

So, on December 15 we headed to Oregon to visit Damon's family for a week. Besides Damon's mom, his family hadn't seen Hannah since last Christmas. Needless to say she'd changed a bit. :) We were supposed to get in at 7:30 or something but didn't end up getting off the plane and all of our luggage and to the car rental place until almost 9 (which was like 12 am our time.) Then we had to drive to his parent's house which is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away. We were pretty exhausted by the time we finally got there. We had to wake Hannah up to get her out of the car and she was so excited to be able to run around that it took her a while to calm down and go to bed. But, I'll skip the rest of the details about Hannah's sleeping schedule while we were gone (and now that we're home).

The days all seemed to blur together while I was on vacation and I never knew what day of the week it was so I'll just narrate some of the things we did while we were there and in Idaho. We spent a lot of time hanging out with everyone at home which was great...It is always nice to relax and get to know your family again after a long time. Austin (Damon's youngest brother age 9) had a good time playing with Hannah and she had a good time running around in all of the extra space. One of the days we were there we went up into the mountains to cut a Christmas tree. Damon's family had been up to the spot and had chosen a tree a month or so before and knew just where to find it...or so they thought! It had started snowing that morning and there were several inches of snow on the ground (6 at least I think) when we finally made it up there. We didn't all fit in Damon's dad's truck and the other car we were in could only make it so far so we had to stop. The truck continued up for a while before it noticed we weren't following. Once they noticed they turned around and came back down. Hannah, Austin, Tyler (Another brother, 22) and I stayed with the car and "played" in the snow while Damon and his Mom & Dad went to get the tree. Hannah and I weren't really prepared for playing in the snow. Hannah had her coat, hat, mittens, and warm up pants on. Her shoes were for sure not snow appropriate. I had to borrow a hat and mittens and my shoes might have been worse than Hannah's. Still, she had a good time walking in the tire tracks and just jumped back up whenever she fell - which was quite often.

Damon and Hannah getting the tree. Hannah is a little pink marshmallow!

Well, after a little while Hannah and I got cold and went to sit in the car. There was just one problem with that...the keys were in Tyler's shorts, yes shorts, which happened to be in the truck which was getting the tree! So we sat and froze in the car (luckily I had a small blanket for Hannah) and waited for Damon and his parents to come back for us. Well, we waited and waited and it started to get dark. I was really worried because they had been gone for almost 2 hours and it was getting dark really quickly. I was envisioning us as those people you hear about on the news who got lost in the mountains and froze to death. I was just about to send Tyler to go and look for them when they FINALLY drove up. Needless to say I was relieved to see them but a little (Okay maybe a little more than a little) annoyed to see that they didn't have the TREE! They had gotten stuck and it had taken them over an hour to dig themselves out. They had quite the story to tell themselves. But that is for another day. All of us but the truck decided to head back down the mountain and get some food and try and warm up. The truck decided to try again for the tree. I didn't think that was such a great idea....but they found it almost immediately and ended up only being 20 min. behind us. Whew! What an adventure. You never know what is going to happen when you're with the Popes! Gotta love them!

Damon in front of the tree...it turned out to be quite pretty! Pretty good for in the dark.

Okay, I have to take a break for American Idol and my hands are getting tired...okay it wasn't THAT long of a post so far. Maybe it is better for the readers if I break this up anyway. :) I'll be back soon. :)

Not lost....just lazy!

Hi Everyone!
We're back from our travels. I have been lazy while on vacation and haven't posted a single thing (I'm sure you noticed!). So, tonight I thought I'd change the page a little bit. Boy, did I change it! I changed it so much that I lost all of my links to all of my blogs and I read on a regular basis...I've spent the last 1/2 hour trying to track them down. If you don't see yours on there I'm so sorry. Post a comment with your blog address and I'll get it fixed right away. I had so many I can't remember everyone that I had on there so sorry if I don't have yours. I think I got most of them.

I'm planning on posting about our trip (I was going to do that tonight before I lost everyone!) but it will have to be another night. Hannah hasn't adjusted to Eastern time yet and for the past 2 nights she's woken up at 10:00 and won't go back to sleep until after midnight! Grrr!

On a side note it was like 65 degrees here today! Talk about a heat wave! It was so cold in Rexburg while we were there and now 65!!! Hannah and I even went for a walk around the Shaker Lake it was so warm. She loved getting outside and really enjoyed our walk. After we got home she kept trying to go outside. Oh, Damon also BBQ hamburgers for dinner because it was so warm....too bad it will be cold again at the end of the week. I hate how this Cleveland weather teases me so!