What a weekend!

Brad worked extra for nine days so that he could be off last Friday for a family day. We got to sleep in a little late, and then he went for a haircut. I somehow managed to injure my neck while towel-drying my hair, so I was glad Brad was off for the day! I never appreciate the value of free range of motion until it's impaired. We did family pictures at the mall at 11, but unfortunately Samuel was extremely skittish and therefore uncooperative. We only were able to get him in a picture of all four of us, and I had really wanted to get some pictures of he and Audrey by themselves, and pictures of both of us with the kids separately. Oh, well. Life goes on.

Our main goal for the day was actually to go to the Great Pumpkin Patch, since it's less busy during the week and most things are cheaper. Unfortunately, it rained all day. We called the pumpkin patch to see if they were even open due to the weather, and they were closing for the day right when we called. So glad we did that, because we would've been quite disappointed if we would've driven all the way there! We ended up just spending some good time together at home and then had supper with family at my parents' house. Yummy chicken and rice!

We've recently been on the hunt for a new digital camera, mainly now because ours is starting to make funny noises and I'm afraid it will die all of a sudden and I'll be crippled without a camera! Brad's been researching them for sometime now, with the idea of investing in a back-up camera, so I started looking at the ones he liked. I have since spent many hours reading and comparing, and it's actually becoming more difficult to decide the more I research. I'm very tempted to go the DSLR route, since I do mainly take pictures of my children, one who moves very fast and one who will soon enough! The main thing that is keeping me from investing in one is that I like to have my camera with me everywhere I go, in case of a good photo op or just to document day to day life. I can't afford to buy both a DSLR and a new point & shoot, so it's quite a dilemma. The main feature I want is good light capturing ability, which I know is the main point of any type of camera, but they don't all do it as well as I'd like. The camera we currently have, a Fuji F20, does a good job in my opinion, and I'm so afraid I'll end up being worse off when we purchase a new one. We've gone and tried out several cameras at different stores, although we'll likely be buying whatever we choose off of Amazon, but I'm getting less sure of what I want the more we try them out. Any input would be appreciated in this matter.

We made it out to the Great Pumpkin Patch on Saturday, after hitting some garage sales. The weather was beautiful, but it was very busy. Samuel again was quite uncooperative, so it was not as enjoyable as last year. He did enjoy the petting zoo and the pumpkin patch itself, but it was hard to "corrall" him. I don't remember there being so many stinging insects last year, but we avoided injury. I did sit in a huge puddle of water just a few minutes after we arrived, on a swing that Samuel was attempting to get into. I'm sure it looked lovely. I'm glad we went again, but I wish we could've helped Samuel to have a better time somehow. Maybe next year!

Saturday night we had a fun supper with our good friends the Kennedys. Samuel loves their 5 year old daughter, Jada, and it was so cute to see them run to each other and embrace when we met. She is so good at keeping him entertained. We had originally talked about going to the pumpkin patch with them, but we couldn't get our schedules coordinated. Samuel might've had a better time.

I made a yummy cinnamon spice cake for breakfast yesterday - I originally saw it on Paula Deen, which I never watch! We had a disatrous time getting to church. Brad went to church early to practice for the Praise Team. While I was in the shower, Samuel managed to pull all the books off of one of the shelves in his room. I of course got behind on my target time to leave, and things always go wrong when you try to rush out the door. Audrey's cute pacifier clip broke while I was dressing her. Samuel temporarily lost one of his shoes and it took me several minutes to find it. Then he fell down the steps while heading for the garage. I got Audrey out of her bouncy seat and she was covered in poop. I was glad on the one hand, because she hadn't gone in three days and I was starting to get concerned, but then it ruined the outfit I had her in and I had already put Samuel in his car seat, so he waited for us down there. When we got to the car, he had pulled off his socks and shoes again! Audrey spit up all over herself as soon as I put her in her car seat, which she does all the time. I realized about halfway to church that I had forgotten Samuel's cup and he doesn't know how to use sippy cups, just straws. Best of all, we were almost side-swiped by a woman who cut us off at the new double turn lane onto South Shades Crest Road from Hwy 150 and I had to slam on my brakes in the middle of the intersection! I was glad no one was behind me. Since she already had herself covered, Audrey spit up all over me as soon as I got settled in church. It was a "fun" morning.

We made in to the evening service, although pretty late. Audrey was quite fussy on our way home, and we discovered when we got home that she was once again covered in poop! I gave her a quick bath and you could tell she felt so much better. We were all doing well until Audrey woke up at 3:45 to eat. She's had a cold for the past few days and her little nose was so stuffed up, poor thing! I noticed that I was quite sore and full on my left side, but didn't think much of it. After I laid Audrey back down, I tried to go back to sleep as always, but I suddenly I had shaking chills and just couldn't warm up. I even got up and put on sweatpants, and sweatshirt and very thick socks and my teeth were chattering! I couldn't go back to sleep, so after I fed Audrey again around 5:30, I checked my temperature and got online for a minute. I didn't have a true fever, but 100.7 felt pretty awful! I'm pretty sure I had/have mastitis, and I'm thankful I had my 6 week check-up this afternoon. I was worried about being put on antibiotics, but what I read said the best treatment is feeding your baby. I can definitely do that! Back to the rest of the "night." I woke up with Audrey again at 7:40 (I'm not sure why she woke up so much - she usually doesn't), and I was drenched in sweat! I took off all of the warm clothing I had and put my nightgown back on, and I was still so hot! Brad went to work an hour late just to make sure I was going to be okay. It was a weird night.

Better tend to the kiddos.