New Stuff, Sickness & Valentine's Day

In the last month, we've had to replace a bunch of small appliances/electronics.  It started with my T3 hairdryer that I replaced under warranty in August, but, the replacement died after a couple of months.  Thankfully, the company sent me a brand new one.  Next up, the vacuum.  I had suspected something was wrong with it for a while, but the power nozzle started flickering on/off when in use, so I decided to have it looked it.  It turns out that you really should use true Aerus brand bags if you have an Aerus and if you don't, the motor can become severely overheated, which is what happened (although, the issue with the motor is not what caused the power nozzle flickering.)  Instead of replacing the motor and a few other small parts on an 11 year old vacuum, we opted to upgrade.  We got the new Aerus Electrolux Legacy and I love it (well, as much as you can love a vacuum.)  I know how to properly maintain it now and expect it to last well beyond its 10 year warranty period.  Brennan was more excited than you would expect for the new vacuum and couldn't wait to test it out.  He likes that you can shorten the power wand to his height and went around vacuuming the entire main level of the house!  After we sorted out the vacuum situation, my flat iron kicked the bucket and at last, both cell phones were begging to be replaced.  So, we've got all sort of new gadgets in our house and slightly less in our bank account!  What a month!

Last week, Tyler was suffering from terrible teething pain.  All four canine teeth are breaking through.  On top of the teething, he started running a high fever for a couple of days (at one point, it hit 103.8.)  The doctor thought it was a virus and mentioned it could be roseola, which would result in a rash breaking out on his body after the fever broke.  I believe that is what he had, since he got the rash.  He's on the mend, but is still working through teething discomfort.

For Valentines Day, I made the boys cupcakes and got the M&M dispensers that Brennan had asked for.  These things were no more than a little treat, and yet, Brennan was exclaiming that, "this is the best day ever!"  Not sure that sending him to school on a breakfast of cupcakes and M&Ms was the best move ever, but it's just one day!

Brennan was all set for school with chocolate roses for his teachers.  He also signed his name on all of the valentine's day cards for his classmates.  I wasn't sure if he would have the patience to sit and write his name 19 times (17 classmates and 2 teachers), but he did!  He was very excited for school today.