Busy doing nothing

Well, I'm home with a sick boy this morning so I figured I might as well get a jump on my blog this week. We ran to the doctor this morning and thankfully it's not Strep...just a nasty sore throat.

In preparation for someone's SECOND birthday party next weekend we had quite a few items on our "TO DO" list this Memorial Day weekend along with our regular tasks.

Saturday mornings have become my laundry folding mornings. I try to start laundry Thursday night so that by Friday night I have five or six loads done. Then on Saturday morning I only have two or three more loads to do and I can fold laundry and switch loads all while enjoying my obsession of Law & Order on TNT. By the time the marathon of Law & Order is over my laundry is finished for the weekend!!

But speaking of laundry...I must profess my love of OxyClean. That stuff is a gift from God when you have one child who spits up all the time, one child who is potty training and one child who could care less if he uses his clothes for an art project.

I even used it to clean the patio furniture this weekend. Pretty soon I'll just be carrying a bottle of the solution around with me and spraying it on everything like the father did with Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I digress.

The rest of Saturday we loafed it while Dustin worked on the driveway. And by loaf I mean Josh played the Wii, the dog slept and I ran after Lauren cleaning up one mess after another while feeding Ella.




Sunday morning I drug everyone out of bed for church. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE...Ella included. She has to be having a growth spurt because she slept 10 hours on Friday night and would have slept more than that on Saturday night if I hadn't woken her up to eat before church!!

No one was overly excited about getting dressed up and going to church (including my husband) but I stuck to my guns and threatened them as any good, Christian mother would. ;-)

Like any normal children...they made me pay for it. They were AWFUL in church! And by awful I mean each child was taken out at least once and one child was taken out five times. FIVE! I bet you'll never guess who that was!

I was mortified. No horrified. No...I was furious! By the time we left church I drug them out of church just as I had drug them out of bed barely an hour before. We got in the van and they were all bouncing up and down trying to decide where we were going to eat breakfast.

I told them that after the way they behaved in church we were going straight home. No breakfast. Then everyone was mad (Dustin included). Needless to say...it was not a good morning.

Once we got home, Dustin quickly got to work on re-sealing the driveway and I took the kids on a very, very long walk. God knows I need the exercise and He also knows my kids have enough energy to spare.

Sunday night we all played outside and Dustin got to make his first fire pit fire of the season.

Go big or go home, right?



It only took my kids about two minutes to realize we were missing something...



I'm not quite sure why Lauren gets so excited for these things. She only likes her Smores sans graham cracker and marshmallow.




While Ella isn't quite ready for Smores yet...she did find something else she likes: her thumb.



I'm pretty sure this is why she's sleeping so well at night now. She actually spits out her pacifier so I think it won't be long and we'll be a completely pacifier free house!!! I dreamed of this day!

She still has more than enough smiles to go around and she's talking and laughing more and more each day.



We hope everyone has a great week!! Meanwhile...I am going to enjoy the last few days of my twenties. ;-)

I'm Baaaaccckkkk!!!

I am officially back at work and have once again found a new level of exhaustion I didn't know existed.

I think with each child it gets easier to go back to work after maternity leave. I can't tell if that's because I've had to go through it before so I knew what to expect...or because the quiet time is that much more appealing. There were a few moments on Monday where I just sat and looked out the window with a blank stare. Well, it looked like a blank stare but in all honesty it was merely my brain working overtime to make sense of the quiet surroundings.

No whining. No screaming. No crying. No random stenches. No puking. No tantrums. And no "Mommy!".

But with that came...

No hugs. No kisses. No smiles. No cuddles. No cooing. No playing. And no "Mommy!".

By last night I was ready to see them again and was quickly reminded of what I had missed. Ella had her 2 month checkup yesterday (more on that later) and was a bit cranky from the shots so she was screaming. Josh and Lauren went outside while I tried to whip together dinner and they were screaming. I was screaming at them to stop screaming. And then Josh was screaming because Lauren had diarrhea running down her leg.

Ahhh....good times.

I finally collapsed last night with the kids all cuddled in my bed. It was a long day for them too as they had to get back to their schedules as well. We made some popcorn and watched old cartoons and it was just perfect.

Our first morning back (Lauren's thrilled)



Ella's checkup went great. She is the smallest of any of my children because she is only in the 90th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Yeah...we make big kids...what can I say? She took her shots like a champ and Lauren was very glad to not be on the receiving end for once.

She kept saying, "Mommy...owie baby?".

Lauren was up to her usual escapades this weekend. Friday she decided to go ahead and subtly suggest I sort through her clothes.



While it was certainly a goal of mine to go through her drawers and make room for new summer clothes...I had not planned on doing it on Friday. However, I reminded myself...at least it wasn't Vaseline.

In other "Lauren news"...she is officially done with her paci. I couldn't take it anymore and decided enough was enough. That was four days ago and not one temper tantrum yet! Woohoo!!

I had decided that my payback for Mother's Day would be a "Honey Do List" weekend for Dustin on Saturday and Sunday. He fought like "you know what" to avoid any work on Saturday and moped around the house just like the kids do when I tell them to clean their rooms.

But by Sunday even he couldn't argue against working outside with the gorgeous weather. Josh had his first experience walking behind the mower with Dustin and he thought he was so cool. The kids and I worked on cleaning up the patio as Dustin decided to trim one of our trees.

You must understand that when our neighbors hear Dustin start a chainsaw we get one of two reactions: either they run for cover or they chain themselves to their own trees in fear of him becoming overzealous.

Anytime a power tool is involved I have to keep a close eye on him. So in my duty to raise a woman fit for management, I had Lauren come out and join me in my supervision. He did very well in controlling himself and I was pleased to see a part of our yard previously hidden by branches and leaves.



Lauren still wanted to play outside for a bit so while Dustin ran an errand...we swang.



We are looking forward to a nice three day weekend and, dare I say, a laid back weekend. Unforunately, we have to get through a few pesky work days in between. Have a great, safe Memorial Day everyone!!

And she struck again...

with Vaseline that is. This time her "baby" took the brunt.




I have absolutely no idea why, where or when she got this fascination with Vaseline. Honestly, I've only used it once!!

Ironically, as Thomas pointed out, I should have had some Vaseline with me at Target today.

I took the girls to Target after we dropped Josh off at school. I was shopping and Lauren was singing in the cart...everything was fine. Then she started saying "Owie" quietly. I didn't really think anything of it as I looked at her and she didn't seem to be in pain. So I asked her if she was okay and she didn't say anything. She stopped for awhile and then started up again. By the time we got to the back of the store she was wimpering so I went to take her out of the cart to see what was hurting her. When I went to lift her out she started screaming and I immediately noticed her two fingers were stuck in one of the grates of the cart. And given how swollen her fingers were they must have been stuck for some time because I could NOT get them out. I ran over to an associate and they went to get dish soap.

Minutes later we got her swollen fingers out and I immediately headed to the alcohol aisle. Well...maybe not immediately.

Tonight her fingers look fine she just has red marks on the sides of her fingers.



What am I going to do with that girl?

Ella just thinks the whole thing is hysterical!

Patience: Out of Stock

Today was one of those days that from the moment you wake up you know it's going to be a doozey.

Lauren was up at 5:45 this morning. Right then I should have known the day was going to be an uphill battle. I put her back in bed and told her to go to sleep. About thirty minutes later she was back at the side of my bed saying, "Mommy!". Since I'm blind without my glasses I couldn't see what she was handing me but as soon as I grabbed it I knew...it was a Vaseline covered pacifier.

I immediately panicked and ran into her bedroom while frantically trying to put on my glasses without getting Vaseline all over them.

Knowing that the container of Vaseline had only been used once I asked her where it was. She brought me a half empty container. Besides being smeared all over her shirt, her face and her hair, I found the first glob on her play kitchen. I found the second glob on her bedside table. And since Vaseline is difficult to see on white furniture it took me a few minutes to find the rest it all over her room.

From this experience I learned a few tips I'd like to share:

1) Clorox bleach wipes work create in getting the oil slick off of everything.
2) In order to get Vaseline out of a little girl's hair you need to wash the hair twice.
3) A large jar of Vaseline can cover about two square feet of furniture.
4) Large jars of Vaseline should be placed in a locked medicine cabinet.

After that debacle, I got the kids dressed and we took Josh to school. Upon returning home I decided to continue my cleaning frenzy and do some deep cleaning upstairs. I had Lauren help me by giving her small items to be placed in the trash can.

After she had a few trips to the trash can under her belt, I handed her a magnet from Mercy Hospital and told her to trow it away. About 30 seconds later I heard the toilet flush. I ran into the bathroom just in time to see it swirl around the bottom of the bowl and go down the pipe.

Frustrated, I told her it was time for her morning nap. I put her in her bed, turned on Dora and went back to my cleaning. I heard some activity for about five minutes and then silence.

I went in to check on her and found that she had emptied an entire box of Kleenex on her bed....and her watching Dora.

Then this afternoon, after we picked Josh up from school, she threw a fit. All because I wouldn't put her up on my bed because Dustin was sleeping. Since she has that whole "vomiting tantrum" perfected I usually let her throw a fit to that point RIGHT before she make herself puke. Well, after the day I had...I let her go all the way.

Yes, she vomited all over my sheets, my pillow and my side of the bed. I drug her into the bathroom and immediately started stripping her down for another bath (our second of the day) so that I could get the puke out of her hair, only to have her puke all over the bath mats.

Thankfully it was bath night anyways, but as soon as I went to give Josh his bath tonight...she wanted another (her third). I think she may finally be Vaseline free.

This was one of those "non-glamorous" days of motherhood. It was one of those days that I'll remind her of when she has children of her own. It was also one of those days when you can't wait for your children to fall asleep for the night.

On to tomorrow!!

Better luck next year

I took Josh to school the other day and when we got home we turned into the driveway and I was struck by the blooming tree in our front yard. The sun was hitting it just right and I couldn't believe that such a beautiful sign of summer's impending arrival was in my own front yard. Trust me...if you'd see my utter lack of a green thumb you'd understand. Anyways, Lauren kept yelling, "Mommy!! [p]Urple!!".




Lauren, Ella and I are enjoying our time together (although some times have been better than others). Lauren is tip-toeing into the world of "terrible 2's" and I have seen it rear it's ugly head more than once in the last eight weeks. And then there are other times she couldn't be sweeter little girl.



Dustin and I have compared here mood swings to a pendulum and if you've heard us say we're on the "upswing" you'll know what we are referring to now. I would by lying if I didn't admit that I'm already worried for her teen years.

However, she is always good with Ella and I could watch them interact with each other all day long.





Ella is growing like crazy and there are actually days when I can tell she's changed from just the day before. It's exciting and depressing all at the same time.




Against my better judgment, I agreed to go camping this weekend. I must be a glutton for punishment as we spent Mother's Day camping LAST year, too.

Friday night Dustin was at work and I knew it wasn't going to be a good camping weekend when I sent the kids outside to play only to have them come running back in because of rain.



Go figure. The weatherman had been reporting a beautiful weekend ALL week long... we set up the camper, Dustin leaves for the night and the stupid rain clouds come rolling in. Deja vu or what?

Thankfully, I had taken the kids to rent some movies earlier and they were still in my van. In the time it took me to set up the movie they had the camper ripped to shreds and me pulling at my hair.



It really didn't get any better from there. By the time Dustin got there it was almost 11:30 and I was exhausted. Lauren fell out of bed at 1:00, which Dustin slept through. Ella woke up to be fed at 2:30, which Dustin slept through. Lauren woke up for juice at 4:30, which Dustin slept through. And then Ella woke up to eat at 5:45 and about 15 minutes after that the kids were up and ready to eat too.

I was pretty much tired and irritated from the get go, which even I can admit, is not a good combo.

The wind was very cold so I spent most of the weekend cooped up with Ella and the dog. Dustin took the kids out as often as possible but three kids, one dog and two adults make even a large camper feel like a small tin can.

Saturday night was just more of the previous night except this time I woke Dustin up each time so that he could suffer with me. Unfortunately, it takes a freight train to wake the man up so each time I hollered at him the entire camper woke up. By Sunday morning...we were ALL in a great mood.



Hehehehe. (That was actually a shot from when Dad was here...but it still fits.)

Between that and Dustin's lack of Mother's Day plans...well, let's just say we left by mid-morning and by afternoon we were speaking again. Needless to say...I don't think we'll be camping on Mother's Day next year.

Smile!

Just thought I'd share a few of the many smiles Ella shares with us now!





**giggle** I just want to squeeze those cheeks all day long!

Get ready. Get set. GO!

This weekend we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and did a lot of outside chores. Josh and Dustin got up bright and early on Saturday and went to the tool rental center and picked up a thatcher...or de-thatcher. Honestly, I have no idea what it's called.

I made a great breakfast spread and after everyone was fed and Ella was down for a nap (don't worry...our baby monitor is cordless) we went out and raked up all the mess. I must admit the yard looks a lot better and I'd rather rake up dead grass than leaves ANY DAY!

After we were done working outside we went to Hy-vee to see all a bunch emergency vehicles. They were having a Kid's Safety Day and squad cars, an ambulance, the Cedar Rapids mobile command center, the St. Luke's helicopter and a fire truck. We thought Josh and Lauren would have fun and boy were we right!





To be honest, it was pretty neat for Dustin and me too! I think the last time I saw the inside of any emergency personnel vehicle I was on a Girl Scout's tour. And...that's been a few years. ;-)

Dustin and I had never seen the helicopter up close and that was amazing, too. We couldn't believe how compact it was and Josh couldn't get over the clear floor (up by the pilot).

It was just a nice reminder for us and the kids of how thankful we are to have all those people there if we ever need them.

The rest of Saturday was filled with a nap, dinner and playing outside. Not too shabby!

Sunday Dustin took the kids to get donuts. We played hooky from church so that we could head out to pick up the camper. Fortunately picking up the camper was much less eventful than dropping it off...unfortunately I forgot my camera.

We had a nice time at the timber, as usual. I drove the kids around on the Ranger and even Ella got to go along for one ride down the long drive. The kids got to see a snake, a lizard and some deer carcasses. Sounds appealing, right?

Lauren would run up to the snake, spin around and squeal with delight as she ran back me. She thought it was hysterical and Josh was content in keeping a safe distance from our slithering friend.

When we got home the camper got a nice bath. Josh and Dustin did all the dirty work outside and I worked on the dirty work inside (a/k/a changed diapers and laundry).

I have a feeling Dustin is preparing me for our first camping trip to be this next weekend. Boy...camping on Mother's Day again. Only THIS time I'll have three children. I must really love that man.

Me and the girls

I've been keeping Lauren home with me the last few weeks of my maternity leave so my days are filled with crying, screaming, tantrums...and a little fun sprinkled in between. Anyone with a toddler understands.

We have been having some fun, though. We play kitchen, we read books, we go on walks and we get to have lunch with Daddy EVERY day!! One day last week I was feeding Ella and she went and grabbed her baby, too! Luckily...the camera was close by.




It was too cute because she gave her baby a kiss on the head. I do this with Ella...a lot! I always kiss her before I set her down in her bouncy, or her swing or her car seat so I was touched that Lauren noticed that as well.



The other thing that I LOVE about Lauren is she always says Hi to Ella. She gets right up in her face and says, "Hi, Baby." It makes me laugh every time because it's just too darn cute.





I just love that little video clip! You can just see how much Lauren loves her little sister. Lauren will just sit and look at Ella and anxiously wait for me to say it's okay to touch her. I can't wait to watch these two grow up together!

On a side note....do you notice the dog stealing Lauren's mid-morning snack off the side table at the end of the video? Well...Lauren noticed it about two seconds after the video ended. You can imagine her response.

I know I've mentioned before that Ella has a fussy time every night. It usually starts around 7:00 and goes, some nights, till about 8:30. Well, I found one position that makes the screaming stop:



She LOVES it! It helps with all the gas and obviously it must be comfortable for her. Now that I've found the trick I lay down next to her on the bed and I get to enjoy some quiet time myself! If there was one piece of baby equipment I could not have lived without over these past almost six years...it would be that Boppy. All of my kids have loved that thing and I only wish I had thought of it before someone else did!!

Red hair

It has been a standing joke that I've been sleeping with the UPS guy and that's why Ella has red hair. So the other night at the dinner table Dustin said, "I wish I knew the name of that UPS guy you've been sleeping with."

Josh said, "His name is Bill."

And we all laughed hysterically.

Now tonight...

Dustin: So, Josh...how often does Bill come over?
Josh: Oh..I don't know.
Dustin: Does he come over twice a week?
Josh: Yup.
Dustin: Is he cute?
Josh: Nope.
Dustin: Is he nice?
Josh: He's a psycho.

Can't make this stuff up guys...well,...maybe Josh could.

On my own again

Dad is officially back home and I am on my own again. Right now I in the middle of Ella's "cranky time" (every night between 7 - 8:30 she's fussy and inconsolable which her pediatrician is totally normal) and twenty minutes ago Lauren walked into the family room with a poopy diaper in her hand. It was her own and she was showing it to me all proud because she had taken it off herself. HOWEVER, she had gotten poo all over her shirt, her leg, her pants, her sock and her hands. It is moments like these I miss that extra set of hands even more. Or at the very least...someone to laugh with after the disaster passes.

Thursday night Dad and I took the kids out to a park since it was such a beautiful night. They had a blast and Josh was quick to make friends with other kids but poor Lauren was devastated her big brother had found other friends to play with. I felt so bad for her because she kept running behind him yelling, "Josh! Josh!". Once mommy jumped in to play with her all was well with the world again.



We got some super cute pictures of Ella, too!




Then Sunday was Ella's baptism. What a day! It was so nice to get the families together, as always. Once we got past the cake disaster and fiasco at church we got to focus on the reason to celebrate: our little Ella!





We are extremely thankful that so many people traveled to be with us for her baptism. But I cannot thank one person enough; my Dad. He helped me get ready for the party all week and pretty much cleaned my house from top to bottom for me. He has always been so supportive and helpful and I cannot even begin to find a way to thank him enough.

Thanks again, Dad!!

Josh is doing well and unless I told you he had surgery you would never know otherwise. I swear we were home a matter of three hours and he was up jumping around like nothing had happened on Thursday. We are so thankful that everything went to smoothly and are grateful for the excellent care he received at Mercy Hospital.

I went to pick him up from school yesterday and needed to tell his daycare bus driver that he would not be going with her. As we waited a group of girls came up and waited by us.

Me: Josh, do these guys go to your daycare, too?
Josh: Mom, those aren't guys. Their women.
Me: Well...my mistake.

He kills me!

Then on Saturday we walked in the house and dad has just mopped the kitchen and foyer floors and the smell of Pine Sol filled the air.

Me: Boy, it smells good in here, huh?
Josh: Mom...that's the smell of cleanliness.

Seriously. I was both offended and impressed by his vocabulary at the same time.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead of them!!

First surgery

Well we are home from the hospital and Josh and Dustin are all cuddled up in his room watching Space Chimps. He did AWESOME!!!! I mean...AWESOME! The nurses were just ooing and awing over him and as we were getting ready to leave the main nurse came up to him and told him that he is the best little patient she's had in a very, very long time.

When we got there they brought us back to a room and ironically it was the exact same room I was in when I had my gall bladder out. Josh thought that was pretty cool. So we got him changed and opened up the goody bag Mercy gives all children patients and he immediately put his new hat on.



The nurse had to give him a nasal spray treatment before surgery and warned is that it was going to be pretty unpleasant. He took it like a trooper and acted like it was no big deal. They gave him some Versed and pretty soon we gave our kisses and he was off! No tears...from him or me!

Twenty minutes later we were talking with the doctor about how the surgery went and another twenty minutes later they brought us back to him. He was pretty sad and uncomfortable but the nice nurse set him up with a little more morphine and a healthy stash of popsicles and apple juice. That was honestly the worst part from a parent's perspective...just watching him cry and be in discomfort. Oh man...that was tough.




After 45 minutes he was more like his ol' self so out came the IV and a quick wagon ride out to the truck and we were heading home!

In preparation of the surgery Josh got to rent a ton of movies and pick where we went for dinner last night. He picked Chuck E. Cheese and reluctantly I agreed. I figured we can suffer for a few hours since he was going to suffer today. The kids had a ball...and Dad and I popped some Ibuprofen as soon as we got home.







Other than that not much else is going on. Ella is growing like a weed and becoming more and more interactive each day (which makes nap time that much more sweet). And she love, love, LOVES her mobile on her swing. It's too funny to watch her become mesmerized by those things!





Dad is here this week and helping me with the kids and preparing for the Baptism. It's been pretty hectic and I honestly feel like I may be losing my mind. I'm guessing that my recent memory problems are more due to the fact that I just have a lot on my mind this week.

Well, off to play mother/nurse/maid/chef!! Thanks again for all the prayers!!

Big Sister Lauren!!!

This was her FIRST time holding Ella!!! She did great!!! Although...when Ella started screaming she covered her ears and said, "Owie, Mommy!"

Too cute!