Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are just now about to hit the road to go to Elijah's moms, I spent all of yesterday throwing up so we didn't leave like we had planned. Keep us in your prayers as we travel (for safety as well as no more puking!!) and also remember my niece who is spending her holiday in the hospital.

Crime and Punishment

We aren't having a good afternoon. I have been trying to really clean the house because we are heading to Elijah's mom's for the holiday and I like things to be nice and clean when I come back home from a trip. SO this morning I headed into the hall bathroom that is really only used for potty trips and teeth brushing. All the bathing is done in my bathroom so I'm really not in this hall bath that much. Elijah brushes their teeth and Avery prefers my toilet during the day for some reason. All that being said, I haven't cleaned that hall bath in about 2 weeks. My mistake. I go in there this morning to help one of them brush and I see toilet paper all over the floor, because why in the world would you put in in the can 2 inches away?? Silly me. Anyway, I clean it up and then go get a fresh trash bag and begin to change the can. I won't get into the nasty details of how I noticed the can wasn't clean, but let's just say it was more yellow than white on the outside. I about gagged and yelled at Benjamin to come and explain it to me. We've had this fight a lot, he just doesn't pay attention to what he's doing in there. So I go and clean the trash can again and I moved on about my day. I just went in there a little while ago to clean the rest of the bathroom and decided that even though that tub isn't used for anything but storage, I should go ahead and scrub it, too. I bend down and started wiping it out when I noticed more yellow. Lots more. He has apparently been using the tub as a back up for when he's not in the mood to lift a lid. I am so mad right now. I sent him to his room until Elijah gets home. I know 'boys will be boys' and at some point haven't we all wondered things like this?? Like what would it be like to pee in a HUGE toilet? Curiosity gets the best of all of us from time to time, but hopefully a few hours in his room will make him think about it before he makes that decision again.
Now to Avery. She has been a pistol the last couple of days. It's like she's regressed to a toddler again. She dumped all the crayons, finger paints in her applesauce, strips all her clothes and runs around naked...just wild child. I let it slip that we were going to their Granny's last week, and ever since they have been going crazy!! I usually don't tell them anything we are going to do that is exciting until the day of, and this is why. Avery has been crying for her Granny for days now, and Benjamin is all ancy, too. I know this is part of the reason for the acting out, but good grief!! So I was making my bed and I hear Miss Thing jumping on hers. She knows she isn't supposed to. We talk about it all the time because she asks to all the time. I go in and pop her on the bottom for it and as expected she falls apart. She cries for a few minutes and then a minute ago she came out of her room with a baby doll and the doll was 'telling' her that she got a spanking from her teacher for jumping on her bed. Avery asked if she was okay, and the 'doll' said "yeah, she's just trying to keep me safe". That made me feel really good that they know I am really just trying to do that and I'm not spanking them out of anger or anything. It was sweet. But it's only 5:00, we have 3 more hours of wild craziness to go.

Santa Picture

Benjamin's school sent yet another flyer home a couple weeks ago saying you could bring your kids into school early and get their pictures taken with Santa if you wanted. They also allowed younger or older siblings to come along so you could use for your holiday pictures or what not. The main problem was you had to be at the school with kids picture-ready by 7:25 in the morning and that just wasn't going to happen. There is no way I was willing to get them up, showered and ready that early. I didn't send the form in, yet last week I get a proof. Had I known that they were going to take the kid's pictures regardless, I would have dressed him more appropriately. However this is what I get:

My son, looking pretty cute I say, but wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Oh well. I can't afford them anyway, but I thought I would scan the proof and show it off. Benjamin was telling me that Santa fell off his sleigh and broke his foot or ankle one so he had stay off his right leg. That would stink to be a professional Santa and not be able to sit kids on your lap!!

So just when you think life is getting back to normal...BAM!! Your kid throws up on some I-don't-know-how-expensive-rug. I feel bad for Susan, but she was really nice about it. My kids have impeccable timing. I had just sat down to try to be social since this whole outbreak began. I am a very social person, I need to get out and talk to people or I go mad. Now I don't know if we will even get to go to storytime tomorrow, which stinks. But Avery has thrown up 3 times since 11:00 and she didn't keep down the very diluted Kool-Aid I gave her. I didn't want to take her out to get Pedialyte in case she got sick again. Elijah is going to try to get home early and we can decide what to do. I also feel bad because I was supposed to go out to dinner with an old high school friend tonight, but that isn't going to happen, which is okay, she says she is in Atlanta all the time on business. The best part is, my stomach isn't feeling so great either. But that may have to do with the really unhealthy (but delicious) breakfast I ate too quickly and cleaning up someone else's puke all day. I haven't been able to eat since breakfast because Avery keeps asking to eat something and I know she won't keep it down so I'm not giving her anything. I hope we get over this soon. She woke up throwing up about 2 minutes after this was taken.

I went out with my friend Brandy to the movies last night and when we came back, Elijah was telling us how Benjamin had tried to take a running leap into the computer chair but missed and went flying underneath the chair and hit his ear and head on the side of the computer desk. He said he wouldn't be surprised if the poor guy wasn't black and blue across his face today. When he got up a while ago, this was all of the damage so far. His ear is a bit swollen and bruised, but his jaw line isn't too bad. It could have been a lot worse.

Avery finally slept through the night last night!!! I was up once, but she did great. I told Elijah that the only thing that changed was that he put her to bed so maybe he should do that every night from now on!!
We are going to try to have a nice family day with some Putt-Putt and such. Hopefully the weather holds up and we can enjoy this rare time.

I'm over it!

I was really looking forward to today. Avery is really feeling better, she only has an occasional cough and no fever. She didn't sleep great last night, she was up probably three times, but I think that it's a habit now and we are going to have a great time breaking her of it. Anyway, we were about to walk out the door to storytime...literally putting on Avery's shoes to leave and the phone rang. Benjamin's school. . Of course it was the nurse, and of course he had thrown up all over the classroom. Well, all over himself and in a trash can and some on the floor. Anyway, I had to go get him. We just got home, and he seems fine. I think it was he coughed and gagged and threw up his breakfast. He's already asking for something to eat, but I'm not giving him anything yet. I feel kind of bad for his teacher, but I'm glad I didn't have to clean it up for once. I would put money down that I'll be cleaning it up later, but at least I know it's coming. I'm disappointed that we don't get to leave the house. I have been shut in since Sunday. I put on make up and everything!! The kids keep passing the germs back and forth. I may have to dig some money up and go get some Lysol. My ear is starting to hurt, too. Hopefully I won't get this, we have poker this weekend!! I need the kids healthy!!

Oh, the sickness

Last weekend Benjamin started to get a runny nose and cough. Now with him and his allergies, if you miss even a day of his medicines he ends up with a sinus infection and if I'm not diligent, a respiratory infection that has lead to pneumonia several times. Well, being the best mom ever, I missed two days of his Zyrtec, knowing what it would do to him, but I guess hoping that it wouldn't this time. Well, he ended up with an ear infection and a sinus infection, but nothing respiratory. Now to Avery. I have already talked about how she had several croup attacks, well now she has gotten a double ear infection and some nasty kind of cold that has taken a strong grip on her little body. She is still having a really hard time breathing and sleeping. Last night was a bit better, she woke up about 3 times, but was able to get herself back to sleep twice. The one time I had to go in there was to take her to the bathroom, give her a sip of water and blow her nose. I did have to scrap the dried green goo from her eyes (enjoy that??) that had developed, but she was able to go to sleep after only 20 minutes or so. That is a huge improvement from where we were this past weekend. She is ridiculously clingy as this picture shows:

She's awake, but her eyes are just that swollen with sinus pressure. She looks a bit better today, and she is at least on the floor reading. She won't let me leave the room without her, and everything makes her cry, but hopefully we are on the upswing. I'm afraid we are going to have to miss playgroup this week. This is the highlight of the week for both of us. She gets to play and I get to talk to adults for 2 hours. Benjamin has his school Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow as well, but I think I am just going to check him out because I read the menu to him and he turned his nose up to it. We may have to try to do something fun, although I don't know what we can do. My plan today is to let Avery lay around and veg on the couch and try to get as better as we can so maybe we can do something tomorrow, but Benjamin seems to have gotten worse since yesterday than better, so this may not be good. He started to get mad at Avery this morning, saying "YOU gave this to me!" I told him she got it from him first, and he said "I don't want it back!!! YOU keep it!!"

What the???

So when did my sweet little baby turn into such a boy?? From sweet little round bald baby to lanky boy in a matter of, well, 5 years. This is the picture he drew for Elijah yesterday. .

And yes, that is him sitting on the commode with poop in it. It is disturbing, but he finds it to be the funniest thing ever.

Avery had another croup attack last night. All night. I was looking it up online and they described my night really well:

Symptoms of croup are caused by narrowed airways. They include a barking cough; a raspy, hoarse voice; and a harsh, crowing noise when breathing in. The cough is very distinctive, so you'll know it when you hear it. It is often compared to the sound of a barking seal.

We had a really, really long night to say the least. She was up about every 45 minutes with this. I got up with her all but twice when Elijah tried, but she would just scream and scream for me which makes it much worse. Last time it happened we ended up in the ER for almost 5 hours without seeing anyone. But last time it stopped around 3:00 a.m. This one held on till 6:00 or later this morning. Elijah was sweet enough to get up with her at 6:30 and let me get some rest, and now he's passed out on the couch with Avery on top of him playing baby dolls. I did find that website with good tips on what to do next time it happens. We did just about all it suggested, and considered the other options as well. That makes me feel good that we did just about everything we could have for her, and didn't have to go to the ER. She's feeling better now, her voice is still raspy and she's cranky from not sleeping, but we will probably take her to get ice cream or a milkshake soon to help her throat.

Benjamin just cracked me up. He's watching the Muppet Movie, and he was asking if the wedding at the end was real, or just part of their show. I told him that I thought it was real, or as real as it can be for a movie. He said it has to be real, because they hug and kiss and only people that are married can hug and kiss. I know he won't keep that ideology forever, but for now it's great!!!

Avery as Oscar

Avery has one of the most vivid imaginations. She is constantly pretending and saying completely off the wall stuff. She still talks about Sarah, but now it's a bit different because she had a babysitter named Sarah that she really liked and so now 'Sarah' is a real person, most of the time. The other day I was trying to sort her room out and give everything a place. I emptied out a large Rubbermaid container that had been filled with her stuffed animals and baby dolls and had just left it in her room because she asked if she could play in it. She started yelling for me to "come see, come SEE!!" and when I got back there, I couldn't see her. Then the lid pops up and she yells "I'm OSCAR!! I'm a grouch!!" She was pretending to be Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street. It was pretty funny. I passed by her room later on and she was still doing it. She came out of the 'trash can' and said (not knowing I was listening, mind you) I'm SO nasty and dirty. I'm just yucky because I'm Oscar and I live in a yucky trash can. It was pretty cute. Here she is playing this game:

Benjamin got up on Saturday oozing green out of his eyes (yummy, huh?) and snotting all over the place. I finally got him into a doctor and he does have a sinus infection and an ear infection, but thank goodness we got him on antibiotics before it got into his chest and he ended up with pneumonia again. He does have a nasty cough, but it's not a respitory infection yet. I'm glad he's off of school today to give him a day to rest. All of his sinus cavities are swollen so he looks pretty bad. I may try to get a picture of it later, but it's cold out and I have a bad headache, so I'm not going to do it now!

This is how bored I am...

I'm not crafty. I don't normally do creative things that kids really get into, but the kids were asking for breakfast for dinner, and the last few days I have been so bored that I was willing to do about anything to pass the time. Well, except cleaning and doing things around the house that would be too productive anyway. So I remembered seeing in a kids magazine something about making a caterpillar banana thing with peanut butter and pretzels. I had all the ingredients, so I thought I would give it a try. I made up some oatmeal and toast and created these little creatures:

The kids loved them. It was worth the mess I made trying to get the pieces to stick together. Avery ate hers up, but Benjamin devoured the oatmeal and was too full to finish his. He did ask if I would make them again sometime, though. I am bored again, so who knows what I will try to come up with for dinner tonight. Here are the kids enjoying their dinner. I think they liked the fact they could actually play with their food!

Elijah has been doing inventory at work and has been working from about 2 a.m. till 9 or 10 p.m. He came in last night after 9:00 and sat down for a second, said he stank and went to take a bath. I found him collapsed on the bed when I went to bed myself later that night. He's tired. :o) I hope that he can take some time to recover, but I don't know how. Everyone there is working this hard I imagine. It should all end tonight at midnight.

Halloween is over!!

Thank goodness. I'm afraid that as the kids get older, it's only going to get worse. It really wasn't too bad, we never got around to carving pumpkins or toasting seeds or any traditional stuff. We did have a busy week, though. On Wednesday I hosted our weekly playgroup and the other ladies brought craft stuff for the kids to do. They each got to decorate a pumpkin and also make a little spider. The kids had lost interest by the time we got to the spiders, so all the moms just made them for the kids. I made one for Avery and also went ahead and used some the extra supplies and made one for Benjamin, too. Here is Avery with her pumpkin and also eyeballing the spider I made for her:
For actual Halloween day we started out going to downtown Newnan and doing a trick-or-treat event down there. Avery's friends Anna and Maddie were there, along with Maddie's little sister Juliette (and their mothers). It was fun, but really crowded. I got some good pictures of the girls:Halloween night we went to my friend Susan's neighborhood since she had planned on us all riding on their trailer filled with hay and going house to house on a 'hayride'. They live in a really nice upscale neighborhood where all the houses are pretty far apart. It was a lot of fun. The kids all had a blast and didn't tire out too easily. We did get a chuckle out of Susan because I had assumed they had a work truck to hitch this metal trailer to, but it turns out that they didn't...her husband just hitched it to their Lexus SUV. Too funny. For the first part of the week Avery was a princess, but wearing that dress so much (and refusing to take it off once we got home) caused it to start to fall apart. It wasn't the highest quality costume to start, so I wasn't too suprised. We got a lot of use out of it. So last night I threw together a quick cheerleader outfit of things she already had. I put her in her Buffalo Bills outfit she's had and just put her hair up in pigtails. It all worked out. And if you can't tell, Benjamin was Peter from the Narnia series.