Papa Came to Town

And this was the thanks he got...

Mr. A needed a little cheering up after his surgery and Papa happened to just be a few hours "down the road."  He popped up for the weekend and we're so glad he did (although looking at the pictures we're not sure he'll come back)!  He helped us find a new, even better patio set, sell our old, very much broken one, make his yummy pancakes, and even trimmed a few trees.  Thanks, Papa! 

The Circus

Mr. A is a trooper.  Dr. Joe pulled the ear fluid out (that he told us was the consistency of Elmer's Glue..nice), removed the tonsils (although we began to really wonder when Mr. A was asking us to eat things like pretzels and cereal on Day 2 - that's changed, though), and tossed the adenoids.  Mr. A wanted to swing on the swings on Day 1 (not allowed), run around like a crazy person on Day 2 (Loritab makes you sleepy?  Says who?), and crashed big time on Days 3, 4, and 5.  I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and it did.  The popsicles, ice cream, and water ice novelty only lasted so long.  This morning he asked for a banana muffin and string cheese at 6:15 am.  His eating's been erratic (with sores like his in his mouth, I guess mine would be too), and his nighttime sleeping even more so.  I wasn't quite prepared for him to spend many a night in our bed (while we were lucky to have so much as a cheek still on the bed - in case you're wondering, we usually have a very strict 'no children allowed' policy in our bed...it's brutal) and waking up so often, but that throat hurts.  Poor guy! 

I will say, however, that the decibel level in our home has decreased significantly and I couldn't be more pleased.  He hears beautifully and even gets annoyed and covers his ears when Miss M launches into one of her high pitched squeals, screaming, "Miss M!!  That hurts my ears!!!" 

But, that was just part 1 of our circus last week.  My poor (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) sister and her husband got "stuck" on their vacation in Europe because of the Icelandic volcano.  Their child coverage had to leave 5 days before they were going to be able to make it home.  So, we popped over and picked up Baby David to do a trial run on having 3 children at our house.  It was nutso!  Mr. A needed his juice, soft foods, restraints, etc.  Miss M needed her mouse, mouse, her Nemo, her sippy, or her snack at any given moment, and poor Baby David needed to be held and loved and fed (and wasn't so keen on the sleeping part).  Even Miss M couldn't entertain Baby D all the time, even though she tried and was actually pretty good with him (giving me a little hope). 

We had 3 adults in the house and were shocked to find that we couldn't always keep up.  Sleep was scarce, needs were constant, and survival was our mode. 

However, I learned a very valuable lesson: if I ever tell anyone reading this that I think I'd like to have 2 children 14 months apart - please send me straight to a hotel by myself and far away from my husband and tell me that that is a very bad idea.  I cannot even imagine what asylum I might have to be committed to! :)  Ok, so maybe it wouldn't be THAT bad (I know there are many who have done it and lived to tell the survival stories), but if at all possible to avoid...I'd like to do that.

On Friday, Baby D left our house and we miss his contagious smile and ginormous baby blue eyes!  But, his mommy missed him even more!  DH's dad came to town for a much welcome visit complete with homemade pancakes (his specialty).  We worked to restore order to the Big Tent again (is that possible?), and now we just need to get Mr. A sleeping through the night (scabs on throat, be gone with you!).  All in due time. 

Say a Little Prayer

Mr. A is getting his little body fixed already.  He needs tubes in his ears to clear the junk that causes him to say "what?" and "huh?" more than most normal 4-year-olds (and caused him to completely bomb his hearing test at his 4 yr check-up), he needs his adenoids removed to help all that fluid drain, and he needs his very large tonsils removed so that the Darth Vader breathing can abate. 

Monday morning at 8:20.  Would you mind throwing up a little something to the heavens on his behalf (well, maybe mine and DH's too - we're a mess)?  Would sure appreciate it. 

On a good note, our dear friend is performing the surgery.  Thanks, Dr. Joe, for taking my house calls and random questions at 9 pm on a Monday evening.  We'll be praying for you, too! :)

Happy Easter 2010

I wish I could say that I had something better.  This is it, folks.  Best of the best.  No music was involved in this picture-taking exercise, but you wouldn't know it from these poses.  So, I went with it.  Happy Easter all the same! (And, Mr. A, I'm sorry I forgot your belt.  I wish I'd known you would strike a pose that would remind me of it every single time.  My bad, but you're still one handsome 4 yr old!)

Mom...why...??

4-year-olds are so inquisitive.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes it can drive a sane person crazy (not saying I'm sane or anything).  Today I had to laugh.  Carrie Underwood was the artist of choice in our car ride.  And during one particular song, Mr. A asked:

"Mom, why did Jesus take the wheel?"

Well....

Termites

This picture came up when I did a Bing Images search for termites.  It's much more appetizing than everything else that was on there.  In any event, we have them.  Ugh.  All around our front door and now they have made their way inside to the molding around the front door as well.  They are nasty, ugly, and downright awful.  Why do I have to spend my money on things like getting rid of them and re-building my front door frame?  I had better plans for those dollars.  Thanks, varmits!!

Good Reads

I finished two really good books on vacation.  Both were great for different reasons (one was fiction and a new world to get lost in, while the other was my self-help, how to build up my family read that my sis-in-law shared with me), but in case you're looking for a good one, I'd recommend them both:

1 - The Help, Kathryn Stockett

2 - The Book of Nurturing: Nine Natural Laws for Enriching Your Family Life, Linda and Richard Eyre

I do love good books!

The Good Stuff

Have lots to catch up on and have some posts saved for publishing once I go private, but I just have to say a few things that have been on my mind:
1 - It's hot.  It was 90* today.  87* yesterday. 
2 - My kids need sunscreen to play outside.  Really?  It's April!
3 - Mr. A's allergies are in high gear - Children's Zyrtec, I thank you.  :)
4 - Miss M is a jibber jabber finally and it's so much fun.  A few of her latest:

• "meees" = please
• Me-mo = Nemo
• Nana, Papa, Dada bye bye
• "Mou, mou" = Mouse, Mouse (her favorite book from Valentine's Day)
• Mah, Mah = More
• Sigh = Outside
• Ba = Batj
• Mech-Mow = Marshmallow
• It Dow = Sit Down (while patting the ground right next to where she's sitting)
• "Mon" = C'mon

Her brother talked for her for so long that it's been delightful to hear her say things other than "touchdown" and Ma Ma, Dada.

5 - Baby Seamons has no name.  That's normal for our children (remember, we like them to be game time decisions), however we usually have a narrowed list by now.  For this one, however, the list is long and probably not so distinguished.  We should do something about that.

6 - I really like this phase where both of my children enjoy being together.  They play made-up games with one another, they swing side by side on the swingset, they draw pictures on the sidewalk with their fresh chalk, each telling me what they're drawing (usually a spaceship by Mr. A and a "bee-bee" by Miss M).

7 - I think I like Easter better than Christmas.  The hype isn't as grand, but the traditions are so much fun.  We watched skydiving Easter bunnies, dyed Easter Eggs, played Easter Bunny with mean jelly bean/marshmallow trails directing our kids to their Easter baskets (done lovingly by their sweet father), and Easter egg hunts in the front yard (Mr. A found 19 of the 20 eggs.  Miss M found her first one, shook it, heard some things rattling in it, took it down to the sidewalk, sat down, and promptly ate the 10 Starburst jelly beans inside - she could not be bothered to find more unless it meant stealing them out of her brother's basket after he had found them all). 
And, the meaning of Easter is so sweet and simple - it's not the newness of life that we celebrate at Christmas, but it's the hope of forever that comes with celebrating the Resurrection.  He lives.

8 - I miss hanging with my DH 24/7 like we got to do on vacation.  He's kind of fun to be with and discuss life plans with.

9 - I miss the sand between my toes, the lazy beach reading where time does not matter, and the life where my biggest decision was what flavors were going to be on my shave ice.

10 - I'm happy to be home with my kids, though, sleeping in my bed (although I miss the crashing waves that lulled me to sleep), and worrying about other things.

That's all for now.  10's a good number for lists.  I should stop there.   

Privacy, Please!

We are going private. Would love to make sure anyone who wants to keep up on our crazy lives gets to, though, so leave your email in the comments and I'll make sure to send you an invite! Thanks!