Puke and Pictures

My 4 beautiful girls

My 20th month old picked up the stomach bug from somewhere.  In the middle of the night i hear *cough cough* followed by screaming and crying.  Which was odd cause she NEVER does that.  I head to her room to see whats the matter and comfort her, reach to pick her up and realize she is soaked.  At that instant, i knew she had puked.  "OH GREAT, OH CRAP!!" and maybe some other not so appropriate words came out of my mouth.  On goes the light, "sorry Madie" i say to my other daughter who shares a room with Ella.  The puke was EVERYWHERE!  The kid had barely eaten anything all day, obviously now i realize it was because she didnt feel well.  I have no idea how she could throw up this much liquid when she hadnt even consumed that in over 12 hours.  Anyways, back to it, it was everywhere, and i mean everywhere!  All over her face, hair and pj's, down the side of her dresser and onto the floor, all over her mattress, blankets, pillow and carpet.  Needless to say, i had to give her a quick "bath", which was really just a quick wash down and shampoo of the hair.  Handed her off to the hubby who held her while changed her sheets and got her some clean blankets to sleep with.  All of this taking no more than 20 min. prob.  And wouldnt ya know...6:30a and she's wide awake!! Which didnt matter much because for some reason my 3 month old, Aubrey, has decided that 4:45 or if im lucky, 5:15 is her new wake up time.  She wakes up so freaking happy and adorable and cooing, but still...shes awake!! And im tired....
11 am rolls around and i start making the girls lunch.  I can see Ella is tired and wants to go take a nap, but i like her to go after 11:30 at least.  She has refused food and has only drank water the whole day.  Remember, she didnt eat the day before and puked up a gallon in the middle of the night and has once again not eaten and has only had water and ONE bite of banana at about 10.  She didnt want in her high chair for lunch, so only Madisen is eating.  I sat down to nurse the baby.  Here comes Ella all tired and kinda whinny and lays her head next Aubrey on the nursing pillow.   No signs of anything about to erupt out of her again, but by golly it sure does.  This time, covering ME, aubrey, my nursing pillow, chair, and the living room carpet.  So i yell for Julia to come quickly so she can sit and take the baby for a min. Meanwhile i grab Ella, who managed to only get a little bit on herself.   How nice, thank you Ella :)  So i strip her down and clean up her face, then go get aubrey who, thankfully, didnt have but a little on her hair, most of it was on my nursing pillow and me.  Joy.  Cleaned up Aubrey and put her in the swing.  Im surprised at how calm Ella is being while i shuffle around as fast as i can so i can eventually get to cleaning ME off.  I can tell she is feeling better, well of course she is!  She just projectile vomited all over the place, i bet her tummy feels better! lol  Off she goes for a nap, im so nervous the rest of the day and all through the night that she would throw up again.  She didnt!  She even had some of her appetite back in the am, which made me nervous it would come flying up again too, but it hasnt.  She has kept it all down since monday afternoon.  

Today is election day!  But i am more excited that its my Nana and Papa's 63rd anniversary!!  They are such amazing people.  My nana has to be the nicest person ever, i dont think she has a mean bone or thought in her body.  She truly is a saint.  And i miss her everyday that im in AZ and cant see her.  I called her today and wished them a happy anniversary.  It just makes my heart smile when i talk to her, hug her or see her.  I Love you Nana!! 

So our whole house is organized and things are all put away from moving.  This doesnt count the normal mess in the kitchen from mail and/or school stuff.  And it most certainly does not count my bedroom.  Why is it so hard for me to get in there and clean that room!  Its like i look the other way everytime i go in there or i will freak out about how messy it is.  Aubrey is going to share our room.  She has her own little corner area and a whole wall that has her crib, dresser, etc. over there.  And we have baby clothes all over my dresser, boxes of stuff that have yet to find a place to be emptied too, and a closet full of boxes that have hangers, clothes, bathroom towels or whatever in them.  I just cant seem to get the energy or the want to go through all those and put them away.  I actually started to today when Aubrey was taking a little cat nap.  But then after lunch when Ella and Aubrey go down for a good nap, i tried to tackle it again but just couldnt finish it.  It is the only time of day i can get a shower in, unless its a day my husband isnt working.  Then i can get one in at any time really.  But the days its just me and the kids, nap time is the only time.  Then i did laundry and other house things before starting this.  I think i'll tackle it later this week.  Im thinking once i get the closet all organized, i can move in the boxes that are in my room that really have no place to be emptied and i can store them in the closet and out of my view.   Anyways...thats boring for everyone, sorry! lol

Maybe a few pictures will catch your attention again :)  I love taking pictures of my girls.  I wish i had a better camera.  There are much more updated ones now, and mine always makes a gray spot appear in all the pictures and i have to go through them one by one to take it out.  Its annoying. The other morning i took a few pictures of all of my girls together and then a few random ones.  Aubrey thinks she is like 6 months old or something!  She just turned 3 months old about a week ago! lol

Aubrey's 1st time in her exersaucer!

She likes it!

Silly Ella :)

My girls of course are still making me tons of cards and drawings.  I love them!  They are soooo cute!  Julia is old enough now that hers are turning more into stories but she still whips out a card or two, or twenty over the weekend.  Here is one from Julia and Madisen yesterday.

"i love you so so so much Mommy, and myself" by Julia

By Madie

Until next time...

Not Safe!

I totally forgot, the biggest difference i've seen here yet.  Kids, no matter the age here, are just wondering around on their own.  It freaks me out!  With the exception of a few parents that actually walk their kids to school and the few that stay to hang out until their kid is in their class room.  But otherwise like 95% of kids here do things all by themselves.  They ride their bikes in the street to school, with no helmets.  And im not talking about living across the street.  We live a half mile from the school and their are tons of kids that go by themselves from our street.  Even a couple kindergarteners!  There are bike lanes, but c'mon, kids that have no adult supervision arent going to use them properly, and they DONT.  My heart has skipped a beat in a panic more than once watching some kid almost get it by a car.  The no helmet thing just kills me.  These are kindergarteners and elementary school kids just riding bikes and scooters to school with no helmets!  I dont care if there is a no helmet law here, it should only apply to 18 and over then, because a little child who isnt being cautious in the STREET is going to need that helmet!  Law or no law, my child(ren) has a helmet and will wear it every time she is on her bike!  But then again, i also walk my kid to school and wait until i see her teacher before i leave.  They line up outside here, when the bell rings, the teachers then comes outside to get her set of students that are all lined up.  This is a great way to meet other parents who parent somewhat the same.  Because those parents are also waiting, until the teacher comes out, to leave.  The playground is not completely fenced, and while i trust Julia to not run off from the school, i do NOT trust that some psycho isnt going to come and take my child.  Better to be safe, than sorry! 

Friday is going to be pie baking day in Julia's classroom!  I'll be there to help, and we already have our items we are donating to help bake those pies!  They also have a cookie dough fundraiser coming up and a Fall ball.  Not sure i want to participate in the fundraiser, just because this is a new city and we dont know many people.  I may have Jeremy take it to his work and ask around, and possibly my friend that lives here as well, IF she wants :)  No details on the Fall ball or whatever its called, it just said to "save the date", so i guess details to come. 

Today Madisen has her 2nd ballet/tap class.  Last week they were closed for fall break.  She is soooo excited!  And i have to admit, i am too.  I just love watching her through the 2 way glass into her room.  She is so cute, and always has a smile on her face when she is there.  If it werent for her complete interest in dancing, i wouldnt have signed her up again, but it really is a passion of hers.  Lets see if it remains that after she gets to the older classrooms that have more instruction built into them...haha.

Well...until next time...

Kinda random lol

My view every morning...

Of course its my view every morning!  Because at least one of my kids has woken me BEFORE the sun comes up lol. But i think i've complained about that enough lately.  We all know im up earlier than i want to be! I just try to tell myself that someday when they are all older..i may in fact miss it.  Maybe....

My youngest, now 10 weeks old, is sleeping 8 hours a night!  Her night starts earlier than mine, so its not a full 8 hours for me, but still, i'll take it!  She is such a good baby and i couldnt say that enough, she really is!  Which i am sooooo grateful for!  Those that dont know, she was conceived with an IUD in place, so shes my little miracle baby :)  I did not want another one yet, or so close to my 19 month old.   I knew i did not want them that close because from experience of being a nanny and having their kids and mine all with 10-13 months from the next one.  4 kids under 4 ... CRAZY!!  So when i learned i was pregnant again so soon, it was hard to come to terms with it.  I also felt awful because here i was trying to PREVENT it, and i had 2 friends who were trying to get pregnant.  I went back and forth on when the right time was to tell them.  I wasnt sure how they would take it but when i did tell them, they seemed fine :)  My last 2 are close in age, but i think they will be best friends too!  All my girls are wonderful sisters.  They fight sometimes, but they genuinely care for each other.  Even Ella, my 19th month old, is a great big sister!  Always wants to give the baby a kiss and her face just lights up when we let her "hold" her little sister Aubrey.  Makes it all worth it! :)  Hey, how did i get so distracted on my kids again?? LOL 

Madisen, Aubrey and Ella

Madisen

Aubrey- 10 weeks old

Julia

 Still hoping to make it to the pumpkin patch this weekend.  We were supposed to go last thursday BUUUUUT the kids lost the chance to go that day because they continued to be naughty.  We did end up getting a few pumpkins from the store so i could decorate the front porch with them.  I still want to go to the pumpkin patch though for the experience.  Although there are very few patches here that still keep the pumpkins on the vines.  And those patches are further than i want to drive.  So we will be going to one that already has them picked from the field.  Oh well.  Another thing that kinda sucks about the pumpkin patches here, is that you have to pay to get in, then everything is included, except pumpkins.  With 4 kids all different aged, i dont want to pay for all the activities, i may not WANT to do all of them.  Let me pick which ones we want to pay for by how much time we have to do them.  So its like $8-10 a person!  Some have parents only paying $3, but then kids over 12 months pay.  Some have it $8 a person and 2 and under are free.  Either way..its going to cost us $32-36 for the pumpkin patch.  I miss being able to just go and wonder around and pick a few pumpkins, go on a hay ride, play on the hay stacks that are FREE, and go home.  Well, at least i know, no matter what, we wont have to bring our rain gear to go pick pumpkins! lol  It was actually pretty nice this morning when i went out back to take that picture of the sun coming up.  A coolness to the air instead of being punched in the face with heat no matter what time of night it was.  According to AccuWeather.com the nights are supposed to drop in the 50's and even 40's pretty soon.  So we may in fact need a little zip up jacket when walking Julia to school.  A nice change especially since by the afternoon it will be into the 80's :) 

A car, a car, a car!  I wish i had a car!! lol  I dont think my days would be so long if i could load the kids up and go somewhere in the car sometimes.  We try to make it to the park, that is easily with in walking distance, but sometimes with all that is going on here, we dont even end up doing that.  When Ella takes a nap today, i think we will go front and the big girls can draw with chalk, ride bikes or scooters and enjoy the weather.  WITH OUT me having to chase busy bee around.  We are going to have to get my husband some type of motorcycle or something to get him to work by next summer, probably by spring here.  There is NO way im walking Julia and Madie back and forth to school when it gets to be 120* outside.  And by that time, Madisen will be starting kindergarten, which i think is half day here.  So while the exercise of walking to and from the school multiple times a day would be nice..the weather will kill us.  Problem is, coming up with the $$ to get one.  Gonna have to find a way to budget that in, and save whatever bonus's he gets between then and now.  

Ok, well half my kids are dressed and its almost time to start making lunch.  It would be so nice to have someone deliver fresh made healthy food for me and the kids, but who also stuck around to do the dishes afterwards hahaha...

Thanks for stopping by....until next time... :)

In the past...

Ah, another crazy morning.  This time Ella thinks its ok to wake up at 5:30 in the morning.  Really??  Her room is dark, black out curtains and all, plus the sun isnt even up!  What possesses her to wake up that early?  She didnt even fall asleep until almost 8 last night.  Im still holding out hope that is because of the move, her room, and/or the new baby as to why she gets up so early.  Right before we moved she was sleeping in until 7, sometimes 7:30.  Ugh, here's hoping for a later morning tomorrow...

Sunday's are Mondays in this house.  My husband leaves for work at 5:15am and takes the only car we have.  When we lived in Oregon, i got to keep the car because he could take public transit to work.  He also didnt leave until almost 7.  But he started later and in turn, got off later.  The kids didnt see their dad 4 days a week.  He left before they got up and he got home after they were in bed.  It was worse when i worked as a nanny and lived an hour from my job.  Plus he worked nights.  I'll never forget those years.  We struggled financially, still do, and we struggled in our marriage.  I woke the kids up, had to get them fed and dressed and out the door by 7 for our hour drive to work.  Hoping and praying there was no accident on the freeway i took.  My bosses were both doctors, and i prided myself in always being there as on time as i could and not calling in sick.  Which i guess is how i've always been.  Had perfect attendance in school until freshman year.  Never even called in sick when i worked for Kindercare for over 3 years.  I like to be reliable :).   ANYWAYS...woke, fed and drove the kids an hour to work, where i added 2 kids to my then 2 kids.  Worked 10 hours, took my 2 kids and drove the hour home.  My husband would say hi and bye, leaving 10 min. after we got home around 7p.   Then dinner, bath and bed, to start again the next day.  This was our routine for almost 4 years.   Now that i think about it, he was still home while i was at work and should have totally had dinner ready for me and the kids when i got home!  hahahaha yeah right! As much work as it was, it was well worth it though.  I got to bring my kids to work with me, so in a way, i was a stay at home mom, i just didnt stay home.  I also went crazy lol  But i also fell in love with the kids i nannied and they will be a part of my family always.  Before becoming their nanny, i was nanny for 3 girls, who were 1, 6 and 8 when i started and i was there for over 3 years.  Even though they are now 11, 17 and 19, i still keep in touch and still love them very much! They even became the only babysitters we used, which was rare, but still! :)

Well, already vacuumed the house, swept the kitchen, put laundry in and skyped with my sister.  Not to mention feeding the kids breakfast and snack.  With as much as im on my feet..i should be skinny!  The baby is finally taking a nap and to get a min. to write this, i put Dora on for Ella.  I rarely turn the tv on during the day but sometimes i just need a minute in my own head for a second with my own thoughts :) 

On a completely different note, im wondering if i should let Julia wear her Halloween costume to school, if they let them.  I spent a lot of time and effort on it and dont want it ruined before she can even trick or treat in it.  But then again, i did spend so much time on it, i'd hate for her to wear it once for only a couple hours.  She has a halloween shirt she can wear if they arent allowing costumes or i decide to not let her wear hers.  Hmmm, any suggestions??

Have a great SUNDAY~