Pay It Forward

So, the topic of this post happened a while back but I have still been wanting to write about it.  Here goes.

Remember last week, before Thanksgiving, when Amy and I took Stella and headed for the conference in Austin?  i thought you did.  Well, after dropping the dogs and the boys off at their sitters we drove to Starbucks for a little treat to kick start our mini road trip.  Now, you know I love me some coffee, and I love me some Starbucks.  Plus, it's the holiday season which means all of their wonderful holiday flavors are finally available (pumpkin spice latte anyone?)!  For my birthday a few weeks ago I got some gift cards.  I loaded them all onto my main card and have been using Passbook on my iPhone to pay.  Side note - love this!  No more carrying cards around and it's simple!  Awesome.  Back to the post.  So we order our drinks, a salted caramel mocha for Amy and the aforementioned pumpkin spice latte for me.  We also threw in a few edible treats because why not?  We get to the window and I'm all psyched up to show Amy how to use Passbook and finally redeem my free birthday drink.  The barista tells us that the car in front of us had already paid for our order, we were the 8th car in a pay it forward line!  What up!

Now, I have always wanted to do that but have never done so.  Why?  Well, I'm not sure.  I could say I've never had the funds to just blindly pay for something but I'm sure I have.  I could say that I've forgotten, and I'm sure that's true too.  It's probably a combination of the two really.  Anywho.  Amy and I were pleasantly surprised and immediately told him to pay for the order of the person next in line.  I was stoked to keep the chain going and it was fun!

Now, I will admit that Amy and I felt slightly guilty because our order was about 3 times the cost of the one behind us.  What if they only had the money for their order and not a larger order?  Well, I guess they could just always accept the free drink and call it a blessing.  But it did make me wonder how long the chain went on.  Just the car behind us?  A few more?  It's totally not about the amount you didn't have to pay or the amount you ended up paying.  The fact of the matter is that you are in some way part of a larger, positive action.  Something to show that people still do care and show love to strangers for just no reason other than, as we've been told in church and Sunday School, because we love because He first loved us.

So, since that day I've vowed to start my own chain the next time I visit Starbucks.  I haven't been yet but I really do want to do it.  Even if that person accepts it without passing it on, maybe they needed a free coffee.  Maybe they will pass that blessing along to someone else throughout their day in a non-caffeinated way.

So, I just thought I'd share that fun little story with you dear readers.  Maybe it'll make you smile.  Make you think about something nice someone did for you.  Maybe inspire you to do something nice for someone else.  Who knows.  Regardless, I think it was a good story!

All is well, paying it forward, in Drosche Land.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!

I know, it was yesterday.  But I was too busy relaxing and stuffing my face to wish you dear readers a Happy Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for and I often forget that.  I hope you enjoyed or are enjoying your break and focusing on your blessings!  I'll try to touch on the Thanksgiving Break thus far before Stella wakes from her nap.  Hopefully that's a while longer.  Little Miss needs her some nap!  :)

The week began with Amy and I heading to a teacher's conference in Austin.  We left the boys with Amy's Mom, the dogs with my Mom, and took Stella with us.  The original plan was to leave all 3 kids but after Stella's ridiculously long sickness, it was easier to keep her with us so we could stay on top of it.  As it turned out, Amy was able to get a room to herself and I joined her.  Overall the conference was great.  Until I sprained my ankle!  See, I don't get injured often.  I don't know what happened and I wish it were a great story.  However, truth be told, I was getting up and stepped funny.  I nearly fell into a coworker and a chair.  Classy.  Even better was the fact that I nearly passed out and, according to Amy and coworkers, probably went into shock.  Judging by the color of my face, I'd have to agree.  My ankle swelled up nice and big.  Since I couldn't walk, I spent the rest of the day in a wheelchair.  Nice, just my luck.  However, by that night and the next day I was able to hobble around quite nicely.  It's better now, still pretty swollen and very tender.  But I can walk normally for the most part, stairs are still slow-going!  Want to see a picture?  Because you know I took one!

OUCH!

I must say though how grateful I am to Amy.  We were going to split Stella duty at the conference, but my little stumbling block (literally) changed that.  She really stepped up to take care of both of us and I owe her majorly!

Once we were back home we began to clean and launder from the trip while prepping for Thanksgiving.  Amy made the most amazing homemade cornbread & chorizo dressing!  I mean, seriously!  Ridiculously delicious!  We started the day off at the Thanksgiving Day parade here, a tradition Amy, Amanda, and her Mom started last year while Adam and I were in Vegas.  The kids had a blast!  Their favorite part: the horses.  More precisely the horses, ahem, using the restroom in front of us!  This was the highlight of last year's parade and this year the horses didn't fail them!  Ahhhh, the joys of kids.  Stella did great and enjoyed herself as the other kids did as well.  Still too young to try food, she napped (thankfully) during the meal and drank her first Thanksgiving dinner!  

I then went out with Amy's Mom for some early Black Friday deals while Amy took the kids home to sleep.  I love this, so much fun.  Next year we'll have to figure out a plan for the kids so Amy can join us!  I love a good deal, plus all the excitement!  Today we shopped some more and she is out right now with the kids, the cousins, Amanda, and her Mom at the movies.  I stayed with Stella this time and am currently speed-blogging my way through her nap time.

Tomorrow we head out to East Texas for Thanksgiving with my family.  Another, longer, car trip with the kids and we will test out the effectiveness of loading movies onto the iPad!  Thanks Apple , iTunes, and iCloud for making life so much easier!  Sunday we come home and begin to prep for heading back to school.  Not much "resting" this break, but it has still been a lot of fun.  Hopefully next week brings us back to normal and our usual routine now that everyone finally is healthy again.  I think we've had enough illness and excitement for a while!

So, that was our Thanksgiving break thus far in a nutshell.  I could go on for longer about the food, but just thinking about it makes me hungry.  Maybe I'll grab some leftovers before Stella wakes?  How was yours?  Full of family, fun, great food, good deals?  I hope it was a blessed time for you, regardless of your plans.  Below are some more Thanksgiving pictures!  Enjoy the rest of your break!

Amy, her Mom, the kids, and their cousins at the parade!

Stella at her first Thanksgiving Day parade!

Amy and I at the parade.  Love this picture!  Love me some Instagram!

All is well, thankful and blessed, in Drosche Land.  

Well

Finally. We all seem to be returning to good health. As you know I stayed home Monday with the kids while Stella and Jack (mostly Stella) recovered from their bought of bronchiolitis. By the end of the day Jack was fine and Stella had actually been fever-free for a few hours. I order to be sure of things I stayed home with them all again on Tuesday. Plus, we had to follow the 24 hour fever-free rule with Stella for school.

Tuesday went well as she slept again most of the day and ate slightly better than she had been. The boys were wired, too much time at home. T make things more interesting, out Internet went down so we were without Netflix or Hulu. Regular TV? Crazy thought I know, but true. But we survived.

I was quite productive those two days though, plowing my way through countless loads of laundry and dishes. Of course I stripped all of the sheets and tried to disinfect as much as I could in an effort to be sure the sickness was gone.

Wednesday we all returned to our usual routine, a week after the sickness began. It was nice to have things back to normal. Stella is still working on returning to sleeping through the night. She's gotten so used to waking up coughing or with fever that she hasn't been sleeping well. Luckily though it seems to be coming back to her and I hope that we will once again be getting full nights of sleep here soon. Her demeanor is also coming back as she gets to feeling better. The smiles, the laughs, the eating. I've missed her smiles.

So, after a crazy week of sickness we are becoming human again. It really threw us all for a loop too. What a rough week. Thankfully though we have tomorrow and then a week-long vacation with which to recuperate. Ahhhh, I'm already having pleasant thoughts about turkey and pie. Yum!

All is well, healthy again, in Drosche Land.


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Plague

I know what you're thinking.  "Dusty, where have you been?"  "Dusty, why haven't you been posting a Sunday Snapshot recently?" and "Dusty, why are you blogging in mid-morning, shouldn't you be at work?"  I was right, wasn't I?  Do I know my readers or what?  :)

Well, dear readers, rest assured that those burning questions will be answered by this post.  First, we'll need to travel back to last Saturday, I guess 2 Saturdays ago to be exact.  Its started out as any other Saturday does, with soccer games.  It was gearing up to be a busy weekend as it was almost my birthday.  Jack and Stella had slight coughs, but we thought nothing of it as the weather here has been funky, up and down, so that's to be expected.  Little did we know.

Flash forward to Tuesday, the day of my last post.  I was starting to lose my voice, Jack and Stella's coughs had worsened a bit, and Braeden had now picked up a cough as well.  Amy decided to keep Jack and Stella home and make a trip to the doctor to head off any problems before they began.  We're just slightly gun-shy after our adventures in August with Stella so we're not taking any chances.  Braeden and I head to school, sans my voice, and we try to go about a usual day.  Turns out Stella, and likely Jack, have bronchiolitis.  Albuterol is prescribed for all Drosche children and Amy decides to keep Stella and Jack home Thursday as a precaution.

Thursday goes without much incident, although the aforementioned coughs don't seem to be getting better.  Luckily though (foreshadowing) they don't have any fevers.  My voice is slightly better so we decided to get back into our routine on Friday and everyone returns to their respective schools.  Friday goes without incident until lunch.  Bum bum buuuuummm.  Yes, you guessed it, Stella has fever.  So I make plans to take a half-day, get the boys, and head to the doctor.  Amy calls to make the appointment and they inform her to head to the ER instead.  Say what?!  We figure they're being proactive after seeing her chart (everything harks back to August).  So I hurriedly grab the kids and meet Amy at the ER.

Long story (and wait) short we learn nothing.  Yes, nothing.  After 4 hours we finally convince them to see us, as Stella has now missed a breathing treatment and Tylenol dosage.  They tell us she has bronchiolitis.  We knew that.  They tell us to give her Tylenol as needed for the fever.  We knew that.  They tell us that all is well as long as her diapers are wet and the fever doesn't spike.  We knew that.  Catch the trend?  So we head home, frustrated and disgruntled.  Upon returning home we find that Jackson now has a fever.  No, I'm not kidding, you can't make this stuff up.  Medicine begins for a 2nd Drosche child and we enter a restless night.

Saturday we bow out of the soccer games and stay home, shut in, with the hopes of shaking whatever sickness has a grasp upon our family.  No dice.  Fevers and coughing continue.  Luckily Braeden doesn't develop a fever.  For a change at least one Drosche child seems immune to everything floating around.  My voice returns but a sore throat lingers.

Sunday comes the decision for me to keep the kids home.  I have to head to church/school for a meeting so I prep everything for Monday (today).  Somehow in all of this Amy seems to have been secured inside a protective health bubble.  Or so we thought, last night she begins to feel poorly.  Ugh!

So, that brings us to this morning.  Amy headed to work, both of us praying for her health, and I stay home with the kids.  I'm finally fully well and Jackson is flirting with the idea of being healthy and, fingers crossed, may be on the mend.  Stella, though, can't seem to get rid of her fever or cough.  So far though, all is well.  Tomorrow is up in the air though, depending fully upon today and what happens.  I've made plans to stay home again tomorrow so all is set there.  We will just wait and see.

See, I told you the answers to your questions lay within this post.  Oh, Sunday Snapshot.  Obviously has not happened as no one has been in the picture-taking or having their picture taken mood.  Bummer too because last weekend was to be Stella's 5 Month shoot!  That may happen this weekend if everyone gets and remains cured.  Again, it's a waiting  game.  Until then Tylenol, Albuterol, and prayers abound here.  And that, dear readers, bring us current!  :)

All is well, sort of, in Drosche Land.

Rock the Vote

Now I'm far from a politically active person. I'd love to be, and every year I aspire to become a fully informed voter. Someone active in politics who follows the goings-on in our government. But then I get bored and it all begins to sound the same. So I do the best I can. I watch the news and read a little. I try to stay somewhat in the know about the major issues. And I vote. Of course I vote. Even though I'm not a political person, voting has always excited me. When I turned 18, it was the thing I was looking forward to the most. I've been a registered voter ever since.
This year was no different. I braved the early voting lines last week in an effort to avoid the craziness of Election Day voting. 45 minutes, not too bad. Especially considering some estimates for tonight's lines were like 3 hours! Yikes!
I taught my kids in class all about voting and the election process today also, I always do. It's always so fun to see their thoughts and reactions, especially in a presidential election year. You'd be surprised by the politically heated things a 6-year old can say!
So tonight I've gotten all caught up in the excitement of election coverage and we've been watching since we got home. I'm getting tired but can't think about turning it off. What if I miss something? What if my viewership changes the outcome? Is my vote that important? I like to think so. It makes me feel better, especially since I didn't get an "I Voted" sticker! I know, right?! I mean I turn out, do my civic duty, exercising the rights my forefathers fought for and I can't even get a sticker for my vote! Oh well, what can I say, I teach 1st Grade, stickers are a hot commodity when it comes to rewards!
But I'm still happy I voted, sticker or not. It's exciting to be an American. It's fun to watch the country come together for a single cause, even if we have major differences. Freedom is good! So, I hope you voted too. If not, it's too late now but maybe you'll spend the next 4 years planning your political involvement. Hey, maybe I'll finally become politically active?! Stranger things have happened! :)
All is well, rockin' the vote, in Drosche Land
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Oh Happy Day

So today is my birthday. Another year gone by. I must say though that this past one was quite eventful. I can't believe I'm a year older. I also can't believe my age. 32?! When did that happen? Well, today obviously, but you know what I mean. It seems like just yesterday I was dreading 30. And before that I was living it up in my 20's. So I sit here tonight shocked that I have somehow entered my 30's. I mean, I don't feel 32. Or do I? Maybe this is what 32 feels like. If so, it feels a lot like 20-something. These are the things I think about on my birthdays, deep and insightful I know. Must be the wisdom that comes with age. How about you? Do you find yourself surprised on your birthday?

Well, anywho. Today was a great day. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. The celebrations actually began Saturday when we had my birthday dinner with Amy's family. Then Sunday was with my parents. So, by today I was in full-on birthday mode! Amy and the kids had been sneaky and hard at work in presents and a card. I think the boys were more excited than I was this morning! Just another fun part about having kids.

School was great too. My kids knew it was my birthday and again, they were so excited. All day I received hugs and well wishes from them. Of course I brought cupcakes to share. Amy made them last night and the kids couldn't have been more excited. One of my students also brought brownies in so we had those too. It's my birthday so why not sugar it up a bit huh?

For dinner tonight I decided to go easy and low-key. Simple and fun. I requested breakfast for dinner. I mean, who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? One my my favorites! We had bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. Yum! For dessert we had an old favorite of ours from when Amy and I were first married. A simple chocolate pie. Not only was it delicious, but it brought back so many fun memories. The rest of the night was spent relaxing with the family. Like I said, nothing spectacular, but a wonderful birthday nonetheless.

So, I sit here blogging for watching ALF on Hulu. ALF! Come on, classic 80's sitcom! Anywho. My birthday today served as a reminder that I truly am blessed. With a wonderful wife who will do anything to ensure I have a happy birthday. With 3 awesome kids who make everyday, birthday or otherwise, an adventure. With family and friends to offer love and support. Yeah, it was a great birthday. Even if it means I'm officially 32! :)

All is well, one year older, in Drosche Land.



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