Appointments for all the eyes!

The last two weeks have been busy.  How is that different that any other previous two weeks?

Last thursday little m got a clean bill of eye health at her first ever eye appt.  She did well with the dilation also.

We went to POC on friday after school. I surprised the kiddos with the trip to celebrate little md's fifth birthday and little d completing her starr testing.  It was a good trip.  Mostly.  Little m started feeling sick on the way down--maybe carsickness?? and then again Sat morning but then was fine.  It was weird.

Tues little d had eye appt.  Also all good.

Today little md goes in.  Hoping he does well with the drops and all.  He seems to be in a good mood about it.  fingers crossed.

In other news.  On monday night little d landed with her knee on little m's hand/finger.  Yes it broke the index on her right hand.  Good news is she just has to tape them together.  We go back in two weeks for another xray.

D has been working a shut down of nights for freakin ever.  I think it will end tues nite.  will be nice to have him back home!!  Three weeks is a looooong time of him working nights.

I've also been picking dewberries.  First time in years.  Well five years to be exact.

Did I mention my baby is five years old?  FIVE

23 more days of school.....

Picnic weather

We have had a week of on again off again thunderstorms.  But good news we never lost power and we don't have any storm damage.

Today the littles are actually getting to play on the back porch.  m and md having a picnic out there right now.

Off to piano lesson in a bit for little d.  And I still need to shower.  errr.

I am finding it a stuggle to think of things to cook for dinner.  Little m has a very limited palate,  Well truth be told they are all picky.  I believe little m would eat tacos every night.

I think tonight will be pork chops.  The skinny, boneless kind.  They all seem to eat those.  Weeeelllll now that I've said that.....

Ok seriously off to take a shower!

33 Days of School left

I've found an easy way to title my posts.  :P

Today on the way home from speech little md squealed with delight when I showed him some baby cows.  Love the sheer joy that you can see through a child's eyes.

I've made eye appt for all three and an orthodontist appt for little d.  Still waiting to see when she'll need braces.

It's raining and pouring outside....just minutes from pickup time.  As usual.  Never before or after.

Kind of been on a book buying binge of late.  For the kiddos.  I can think of worse things than that.

Had the most fun talk with the receptionist at speech today.  I think we are each other's therapists.  haha.  She says nothing goes beyond these walls.  ;)

Went to the school district's volunteers appreciation lunch.  Or whatever it's called.  Fun to visit with Knee.  But at the same time, missed sitting with my home campus peeps.

In case you can't tell.  This blog has basically turned into my cataloging my days.  I'm just trying to get back into it.  And just keep documenting.

Feeling much better from the sniffles.  In fact actually was better the past two days.

Almost Friday!!!!

37 days of school left

As excited as I am about summer getting here I am a little nervous.  I know summer will fly by and then I'll be sending all THREE of them back.  :(

And I like both of the girls' teachers this year.  A lot.

Today we had a good morning.  Which translated means everyone got up fairly easily, ate well, and finished getting ready early enough for us to make it to school in plenty of time.

Today is normally dance day for little m, but with my head cold and her just getting over it (well mostly) I'm not sure we are going.  She'll be upset because she already missed last week when little d was sick.

Almost tax day.  We already paid ours.  But still, makes me madder than mad.

Gosh I'm tired.  I didn't sleep well last night.  I guess from the snots.  At least the kiddos slept well.

Have I mentioned how noisy these parakeets are??

Day in day out

I woke up with a sore throat.  Not trip-to-the-clinic-sore.  But enough to not just be dry-in-the-morning-goes-away-after-breakfast.

Still working through the laundry.  Moms don't get days off.  Duh.

About to start a full five day week.  Hoping against hope this is just allergies.  Sniff, sniff.

I think I saw the sun this morning.

Easter weekend (just prior to little d getting sick) we cleaned off the back porch and took down the above ground pool.  Now it's more peaceful to look out the back windows.  I was hoping that we could do a little planting in the planters.  haha.

can you tell me how to get...how to get to sesame street....

Lazy day

Guess I'm in a better mood today versus last time I posted.

Little m is fighting off a head cold.  Probably was the cause of her stomach upset Thursday.

Little d finally pooped.   BIG news in our house.

I love srirachi pringles.

Need to lose 30 pounds at least.

We have a chronic egg-laying parakeet.  Third set of eggs.  Not sure if these will hatch--none of the others have.

I hate the birds.

D has started a shut down at work.  Indefinite numbers of days to work in a row.

38ish days of school left.

Piano lessons today for little d.  She has done SO well!  Love that!!

Sqwak!  Stupid birds,

I need to do about 700 loads of laundry.  Best get at it.

Sick of sick

Little m home from school today.  Threw up in the kitchen sink.  Maybe bug that little d had.  Maybe drainage.  Three more times since then.  Maybe I don't give a f(lip) anymore.

Told my mom that I'm tired of praying.  I pray everyday for my kids to stay well.  Seems the more I pray the sicker they get.

I probably don't really believe that.  I also probably don't. give. a. f(lip).

I probably shouldn't use that language.  Guess I'll edit out.  Felt better to type the other word.

D took little d to school and little md to speech.  While at speech D texted to say little md not wanting to say his words.  Sigh.  Not even sure how he is going to handle school next year.

Still waiting on peds office to call back.  1, need refill script for zofran.  2, need shot record for little md.  3, little d hasn't pooped since last wednesday and she's had mirilax for three days.

See?  I give the f(lip) up.

Minecraft and other such games

My kids are WAY into video games.  Minecraft, Skylanders, Plants vs. Zombies and some Wii games.  I guess we indulge them, but they are really good kids.  Both girls are straight "A" G/T students reading way about their grade level.  So I'm ok with the video games.  ;)

{I can see that my writing skills are lacking.  I used to whip out a post in no time.  Now I can't seem to finish a complete thought.  It's not that I don't have any down time.  It's that my down time is not uninterrupted.  Or that my thought process aren't.}

I really really am not into video games myself.  The occasional Wii dance jam notwithstanding.  But I love that it is a bond between them and D.  And I love that I can say "I have not idea, ask dad".  I don't get to delegate that often, so when I do I love it.

I also enjoy hearing them playing with each other nicely.  Doesn't always happen with the video games, but when it does I sigh and smile.

Little md will be yelling "dig that hole!" to little m.  "You're a beast!"  "Boom shaka laka!"

Crazy funny coming out of a four year old's mouth.  ;)

41 days until the last day of school!

Kid Questionnaire Part Two and Three

I've been reading through my blog again start to finish.  I wish I had kept up with it.  SO many little stories about kiddos that have gone unrecorded.  Seems like I went from thinking "this will make a great blog post" to "how can I word this for FB".  :(  I want to get back to blogging tho.

I had THIS post.  I asked the same questions to Little m and Little md.

Here's little md's answers: age 4 (almost 5)

1. What is something mom always says to you?  go pee
2. What makes mom happy? to go pee
3. What makes mom sad? not going pee
4. How does your mom make you laugh? you can't (while laughing)
5. What was your mom like as a child? like me
6. How old is your mom? i can't remember
7. How tall is your mom? big
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? dance moms
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? we don't know yet, i guess make things without me
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? *shrugs*
11. What is your mom really good at? taking showers...i mean giving showers
12. What is your mom not very good at? going swinging-you will break the swing
13. What does your mom do for her job? paint nails
14. What is your mom's favorite food? beans?
15. What makes you proud of your mom? letting me eat hamburgers
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? sky on paw patrol
17. What do you and your mom do together? bake cookies when the girls are gone
18. How are you and your mom the same? because we love to do things together
19. How are you and your mom different? sometimes we don't love to do things together
20. How do you know your mom loves you? because you love me
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? because he hugs you and kisses you
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? to a restaurant

And Little m's answers: age 7 (and a half)

1. What is something mom always says to you? i love you
2. What makes mom happy? hugs and kisses
3. What makes mom sad? when we're sick
4. How does your mom make you laugh? her dances
5. What was your mom like as a child? i guess me, you looked like me
6. How old is your mom? 40
7. How tall is your mom? pretty tall
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Top Chef
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? paint her nails probably
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? her kids
11. What is your mom really good at? cooking
12. What is your mom not very good at? nothing really
13. What does your mom do for her job? be a mom
14. What is your mom's favorite food? she has A LOT!
15. What makes you proud of your mom? cause you love me
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Elsa!
17. What do you and your mom do together? paint our nails
18. How are you and your mom the same? our eyes, color
19. How are you and your mom different? she's older than me
20. How do you know your mom loves you? cause she tells me that A LOT
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? that he's funny
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Port O'Connor

I have to say some of these are spot on.  But I don't  paint my nails all day.  There happens to be a practical nail salon set up on my kitchen table where I was asking the questions.  lol

I can't believe we are in April.  I mean this school year seems to drag but then I realize we are only months away from my baby!! starting Kindergarten.  It shocks me really.  

Whole other posts can be devoted to THAT topic.  And shall.  

A new Easter curse?

I can't even believe how many times my kids come down with illnesses.  Since Little d started school it seems like every other week.  And when you have three kiddos the illnesses last in your house a while.  And it feels like we get one week reprieve and then the next round will start.  And since when do stomach bugs go around ALL YEAR LONG??

I remember in school that stomach viruses came around once a year (I distinctly remember this because I was terrified of throwing up!)  And if you happened to catch it, well it lasted about a day.  At the most.  I usually woke up feeling bad and by evening I was nibbling on mashed potatoes and by the next day--back to normal.

But now.  Kids end up in the ER dehydrated all the time!  My kids have been in the hospital several times because of it.  Sometimes not from an actual stomach bug, but from another illness that upsets their stomach to the point of dehydration.

And every month you hear of some stomach virus going around.  In October we dealt with it here. First Little d had a short bout and the Little m a horrible bout.  But every month we would hear of others having it.  Around every holiday.  And on Valentine's Day Little md came down with one.  Last night Little d started with one.  WTF?  Seriously.

I used to dread February as a kid.  It seemed like that was the month it came to our house.  But now I dread September (when Little m was in kinder and nearly the whole house had it--took two weeks to run through).  October (always seems like there is something going on to coincide with trick or treat.  Thanksgiving (my bro's family has had it for the past two years at that time).  December (usually right before break you hear about it at school.  January is sometimes quiet.  February (well again this year.) March--last spring break I took the girls to the doc for sore throats and he informed me they were seeing 50 cases a day of stomach virus.  And my brother's family all had it this March.  So now we have Easter in April. And when we used to go to the egg hunt at my grandma's house you always had someone there with it.

I even hear about it sometimes in the summer.  Why has it gotten so bad?  And why does it strike so hard.  There have been times where my kids have thrown up more than ten times.  And had diarrhea for a week.

What a way to start back to the blogging.  I am just having a moment.  I am tired of watching my kids suffer.

I was reading through my blog yesterday and realized how important it was to me.  And what a great documentation it was.  I really have to do this more often.  So today I type what is bothering me.  Hoping for stress relief.  And hoping to get back into the practice.

Parakeet Eggs

So those parakeets I mentioned in the last post....last year.  They have this weed laid 3 eggs.  Pretty sure they aren't done either.

Thinking about getting into writing again.  Again will prob last all of two minutes.  ;)

Is it summer yet?

I feel like I can almost smell the salt air of POC.  Well not quite.

Little md ended up testing positive for flu and he had an ear infection.  But all are now done with meds and on the mend.  This week is a three day week.

And I am ever so thankful.

D is having to work lots of overtime.  I am doing me bestest to maintain a semi clean house.  Parts of it are. haha

Did I mention we got parakeets?  No, must have just been on FB.  Speaking of FB.  I just found a website that will print out your FB.  I did it in two hardback books.  One is three years and the other is two.  I am SO very excited to get it.  I also had all of my photo albums added to it.  Hope it comes in soon.

Back to the birds.  After Poppy died a white parakeet landed in our yard.  Unfortunately it only lived a day.  But it was enough time for us to buy a cage and set up AND for the kids to get attached to the idea of a bird.  So what did I suggest?  Hey, let's all go to Petsmart and let each kiddo pick out a bird.

They are pretty.  But loud.  So loud.  All the time.  Unendingly.  Without ceasing.  Gah.  And the feathers.  And birdseeds.  AND poop!

Currently in the market for a little more upscale cage.  One with glass.  Maybe just maybe it will hold in some of the noise.  And feathers.  And birdseed.  AND poop.  haha

****

I need to get in shape.  And lose about 20 pounds.  But it's really hard to get motivated when I'm so darn tired all the stinking time.  I just thought I was tired until my first child went to school.  Ha.  I had no idea.  And now with two in school.  sigh.  I'm never going to be well rested again.  Just like my life with never be stress free.  What was I talking about again?  Oh yeah.  Need to start working out.  I'm gonna get right on that....

More of the same

Saturday little m came down with a cold.  Thought she was doing better, but today she her fever is up again to 100.7.  I'm taking her in this afternoon.

Little md has the sniffles too but doesn't seem to have any fever.  So that's good.

Little d still trucking away at school.

Friday I said out loud that the kids were doing so well on their probiotics.  It's like I wanted something to happen.

Counting down the days until summer.  Thankful for a four day weekend coming up.  :)

Everyday

Every single day I feel inadequate.  But this week I've been giving myself high fives.

We started back to school after the break and Little m had a time.  For the first time in my motherhood I had a sobbing begging child pulled from my leg by a teacher (and her aide).  Sigh.  I was sobbing as soon as I left the room as well.  I know it was the right decision of course.  But I wanted to pack her up and take her right back home.  No school?   I am o. k. with that.  No, okay.  I know that's not the smart responsible thing to do, but honestly how do you allow your child to be ripped from you?

Well for starters, the same thing happened to my brother when I was in second grade and he was in kinder.  Judging by how he turned out it did not scar him for life.  I mean he's able to live in his own house with his lovely wife and kids and not once do I see him hanging onto Mom and Dad's legs when they leave. ;)

Second.  I tell myself over and over that I cannot (unless the circumstances are dire) home school the kids.  I am so on the verge of never letting them out of the bubble, that if I did that, they would grow up to be weirdo recluses.  Seriously.  If I let myself keep them home all day with me for the rest of my life I would be perfectly fine, but they would grow up socially malnourished to say the least.  And you know....there will come a time when I want grandkids, right?  So--no home school.

I came home and paced and cried and then the aide called (as she said she would) by 8:30 and let me know that she was fine.

But I knew that the next day would be a repeat.  And it was.  But this time I didn't cry until I got home.  And then I sent an email to the teacher apologizing for the drama and telling her I was open to suggestions.  She very sweetly replied back that Little m was doing fine--it was no problem at all--and that she just loved her momma very much.

So momma put on her thinking cap.  Something for her to think about at school and distract her and surprise her when she got home....

Before Christmas we got this cow elf (as in elf on the shelf).  I won't go into the story here of it's origin, but the kids loved it even tho we did 'fake' scenes and took pictures of the elf for a business facebook page.  As I was packing up the tree and decorations I put the cow elf in the box of ornaments.  Little m was upset.  She wanted to continue to play with it.

What if the cow elf got back out of the box of ornaments (which was OF COURSE still sitting in the living room) and wrote a letter to Little m about how she overheard her distress and wanted to cheer her up and would surprise her on the days she went to school?

Brilliant right?  High five.  And it was pretty successful.

This morning we walked to the classroom.  Ms. G was standing at the open door to greet us.  "Well you're looking better this morning!"  Little m had a death grip on my hand--not leg.  I leaned over.  "Remember what you get to think about today?"  She whimpered a bit and there were tears in her eyes.  The death grip still on my hand.

And then she took a very deep breath, let go of my hand, and walked in the door.  I exchanged a thumbs up with Ms. G.

I was so incredibly proud of her.  I know how very hard that was.  How very brave she was.  And today I could not wipe the grin off of my face on the way back to the car.

Incidentally the cow elf has been named Lela.  And her treasure hunt through the house this afternoon was a smashing success.

High five.

Summer of '13

So many changes since the last post.  Little d went through a terrible month of illness.  As her pediatrician says "she's had enough vomiting for TWO lifetimes!"  But we took her to a specialist in Houston and she finally got some meds that helped.  She spent May in and out of the hospital.  GI tests and scans.  May is fast becoming my least favorite month of the year.

But once she was on the mend we decided to take a few steps.  There was some mold growing on the AC unit in the attic so we bought a mobile home, set it up on my parents' property in POC and moved in.  Meanwhile we got the AC problem taken care of here.  Now we have a beach hut!

We came back home this week for appointments.  Me to the ENT for an ear problem that will hopefully resolve.  Me with allergy testing: I'm allergic to moldx4, black walnut tree pollen and still CATS.  Will be starting shots in two weeks.  :)  Also we have hair cuts on Friday!

And I've started a new project....I'm taking a photography class.  It is SO interesting.  I am learning about how to do the settings on my camera and what they mean!!  Loving it.

Next week we have Little d's follow up in Houston and also an appt with an ENT for her.  I feel like they are going to suggest allergy testing and we are already on board with that.

I REALLY need to force myself to write every day.  Maybe I should challenge myself to do it.  Yeah that oughta work about as well as me not eating junk food all day long.  ha

Need to do a whole post on POC.  Or how Little md is no longer using his "bah" AKA pacifier.