Winter=sickness

In our house, the signs of winter also begin to point to signs of illness. All of the kids in this house get sick every single winter. This year was no different. Beginning at Christmas time the kids and Al all got a stomach bug. From there everyone had a really bad cough. The three kids, and Al, were all on Robitussin with Codine. Next up it was asthma time. Connor was put on an oral steriod of Prednisone. Once he improved he got worse again within a few weeks and was placed on an inhaled steroid Flovent. Next up it was Siobhan's turn. She spent a few days with a cold, and then all of a sudden it became awful with an extremely high fever and cough. We waited it out for a little while, making her comfortable with motrin, but when her fever hit 102.4 even with motrin and tylenol, off to the ER we went. Of course, a trip to the ER can only be done in the midst of a record setting snow storm; I think there's an unwritten rule about that.

In the hospital we did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. They gave her some albuteral and made us wait there until her fever (Which had reached 102.7 at that point) went down. Once it did we were able to leave with the "yes she has a really bad cold, keep an eye on things" diagnosis. The trip home, which generally takes about 20 minutes, took over 90 minutes as I drove through at least 18 inches of unplowed snow in white out conditions. (Sunday night we had over 2 feet of snow in a record setting snow storm) I should probably have stayed at a hotel, but I really wanted to be home. Over the next few days we piecemealed it so she could stay home from school. By Wednesday we thought she was good to go back. However, at 2:30 I got the call that she had a fever of 100.5. So, she stayed home on thursday with my dad. On Friday I brought her to the doctor. They noticed an ear infection. they also re-examined her chest x-ray and said that she probably had RSV when we were at the ER, but that she sounded like she was on the mend (not wheezing and rattling and clearing her lungs when coughing; which is good). They did give her an antibiotic since it's taking so long to clear up. We're on day four of that. (Which of course means her stomach is awful).

Let's hope she continues to be on the mend. She still has a rotten cough which we are trying to keep under control with the inhaler. Connor is using his inhaler as well, although not as often. Thankfully Aisling has been okay thus far.

Someone asked me the other day what winter sports Al and I participate in. Our answer? Survival. I cannot wait for a year when we make it through the winter with no trips to the ER or hospital. It's draining.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring!

Singing

Aisling constantly does cartwheels around the house, and Siobhan sings. I was able to get the singing on camera. The cartwheels, not so much. Enjoy! (Oh, you should go all the way to the bottom of the blog and pause the music on the play-list down there so you can actually hear her sing)

Gum did you say?

Church today was a tad crazy. I take that back. Church today was a tad normal. We had all our four kids with us, and Aisling's best friend. The kids were totally wound up for a million reasons. Anyway, it was a challenge to make it through without attempting to sell any of them.

During communion, there is a phrase which is said: "And the peace of God which passes all understanding". This is a quiet moment. At that time, Siobhan popped her head up and shouted "Piece of gum?".

I think she was hoping for a free sample.

It's a diner!

We drove to the Montshire museum today. It's about a 2 hour drive. When we got off the interstate there was a building there. Connor asked if that was the Montshire. "No!" said Siobhan "It's a diner. A diner Connor".

Stylin!

I am home with Siobhan today (and have been for a few days). She has a weird tummy thing going on. She seems to be feeling okay, but is not allowed at day care until it clears up.

Today I took her out to run some errands. She chose to dress herself for the occasion. As you can see, she has a real head for style:Winter hat, sparkly belt, and sister's rainboots: the perfect attire for a morning of errands!

When you've got it, you've got it!

Boston, Booger.... whatever

Here's Siobhan adding a little comedy to a typical "Here we go to Boston" routine. (The sound got totally messed up for some reason, but enjoy anyway....)



If you couldn't hear it, when she has her finger in her nose, she says "Boogie". Yeah, super. I am so proud.

Potty training 101

Siobhan is in the midst of potty training. Not necessarily by my choice, mind you. Mostly this is due to peer pressure from her older sister (who I will be hiring out as a babysitter in mere days) and a certain desire to appear as mature as the other two kids. This is the baby who has sleeping in a toddler bed since just after her first birthday.

We, of course, bought her a potty. Given that she is (God-willing) our last to potty train, we went with the Cadillac version. It's a pink princess potty that plays music when you, erm, fill it. The first time I showed it to her, I put water in the pot to let her hear the sounds. Then she ran around crying "water? juice? water?" and wanting to put that in the potty. Great.

The first time she actually used it she jumped up in shock when it played music. (As would I. Random music coming from my derriere might freak me out too).

She has since had a bowel movement on the potty a few times. This is always quite the occasion in our house, involving dancing, singing, and a small gift. (Why can't I have that when I use the toilet?) However, she doesn't seem to get the concept of actually urinating on the toilet. We've been letting her walk around naked (I know, it's a risk). She uses the opportunity to pee in random places throughout the house. Luckily, she brings us to where she went to show us what she did and encourage us to clean it up. How helpful. Tonight, she successfully pooped in the potty. Moments later, she ran into the pantry, peed in the pantry, and then called Al over to clean it up.

Does she think the potty is only for poop?
Do we need to create a "peed in the potty" song and dance?
Does she feel the need to christen each corner of the house?
Is she marking her territory?
Is she merely an almost two year old baby with a mind of her own?

Yeah, I guess we'll go with that one.

Techno baby...

Siobhan loves Al's Blackberry. She knows what it is and knows how to use it. Here's a video of her:


Incidentally, while she was watching this video, she was waving to herself!

who needs dinner?

free stuff....

This carrier looks awesome, a friend of mine has one. I want one! I entered to win one, and if I put this link here I get an extra entry.....


Win a Free Organic Embroidered Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System from Along for the Ride

less than perfect

Raising four children is turning out to be much more difficult than it appears.

I now have received an overdue fine from both the town library as well as the school library; I completely forgot about a hair cut I had scheduled, and didn't even show up. I am now living with ridiculous hair in need desperate of a hair cut because I am too embarrassed to call back. I did the same thing to my dentist not one, but two times, and got a little nasty gram from them asking me to either step up or go elsewhere; (I am therefore living with a chipped tooth in need of a crown, because I don't want to call them back either. I also don't want to admit that I actually need a crown for crying out loud). I've shown up late to work basically every day since I've been back, and I've developed a lovely little addiction to caffeine. We haven't done groceries in about two months, and the evening dinner routine consists of cell phone conversations of "Honey I'm the frozen food section. What do you want for dinner, and do we need anything else?" That makes for extremely unhealthy eating. Hence, I haven't attended weight watchers in a while, and shudder to think what the scale may say. Then there are the other days when I actually forget to eat, those are fun too. I basically pay my bills only when they send out those friendly reminders that say "Do you want your electricity? PAY UP". I have not, at this point, lost any children, but I am sure it's only a matter of time. I also have never left the house in slippers or anything like that, but stay tuned.

We went for our annual apple picking trip last weekend, and, as usual, had a blast. When I get pictures back I will share them.
Although here's one good one of Aisling:We did take the annual apple picking trip picture with all the kids.Here's one (not so great) picture:

Here's what it took to get that picture:


Also, what do you do when the baby cries? Share your Pokemon cards of course.We've started giving Siobhan cereal with dinner. I really, really wanted to wait until she was six months old. (She's four months and three weeks). However, this baby is truly a Frugoli baby! She's been eying us eating our food for about three weeks now, and last week started fussing and crying when we wouldn't share with her. apparently, she's been doing the same thing at day care, and tomorrow will start getting cereal at lunch as well. For what it's worth, Connor also started food at four months, only his first food was black beans while at the Hard Rock Cafe in Miami. It's the only thing that would console him!

how darn cute

Isn't he so cute?
He started cub scouts tonight. He had his first den meeting. He was so incredibly excited. Cub Scouts comes with its own set of dues and dates, of course, along with fund raising and other parental expectations. Every Monday night he and Al go to a meeting. It's getting tricky to schedule this kid's activities. Can't wait until there are more of them involved in extra-curricular activities! Connor alone has cub scouts, soccer, piano, and dance. He's either going to be incredibly well rounded, or an exhausted juvenile delinquent.

Today Aisling came home from school with a paper bag full of milkweed. Apparently they had taken a little nature walk at school today. She was very excited, and held onto the bag for a lot of the evening. At one point she was talking about pouring it into a glass. Ah ha..... she thought we were actually going to get some sort of milk. Well, it turned out to be equally exciting to tickle the boys behind the ear with the not-so-milky seeds.

We took some pictures of the kids this weekend. We went to see Wyatt's older brother's football game, and the spirit moved us to photograph the kids. Aisling wanted to wear her fourth of July sundress. I told her it was too cold. After a total meltdown we finally agreed upon the sundress with a t-shirt and jeans underneath. Siobhan, of course, had to match exactly. (So said Aisling)

Seriously, so freakin cute.

What he did last summer

Connor came home from school on Friday with a really great piece of work that he had done. It was a piece of paper folded into four sections. Each section described something he had done this summer. It was great, and I could tell he worked really hard on it. Here it is:
Unfortunately, it scanned really lightly. But, what is says is this: "I played baseball"; with a picture of him playing baseball. "I played with Cain"; with a picture of him and our neighbor. The next one is an image of him swimming. The last one (in yellow) says "I had a baby", and it shows a picture of me (or Al, the story changes) laying on the bed holding Siobhan over our head. How totally cute! It's a great image, as we do that a lot to the baby. I love how he says "I had a baby"! It just cracks me up! This one's a keeper for all time!

Siobhan

Just a ridiculously cute picture of the baby:

Version 3.5

Okay, I'll admit it, I was cocky. I assumed, since we already had three kids, so to speak, adding one more would be a piece of cake. *snort* However, I neglected to remember, that when Wyatt moved in he was 8. He was not a nursing baby!!! He was able to be left alone.

This is very different. I forgot how much time it takes to nurse a baby. I will say that when Wyatt moved in we went to 2.5 kids, and now we're at 3.5. (Not that Wyatt's only half a child, but you know what I mean!)

I've heard the quote that going from two kids to three kids is like going from one on one defense to zone defense. That's an analogy to which I can relate! I'm never alone! I've managed to do so many things now while nursing. Need a good night story? no worries, I can nurse and read. Butt wiped? Sure, I'm only nursing. Wyatt needs to be fed? Sure, I can nurse and do that. Change a light bulb? Why not! I'm sure, at this point, I could fix NASA's clogged toilet while nursing. It's like a super power, really.

Here are some new pics:

REALLY outnumbered

So, I am hoping you all know this by now, but we are going to be even more outnumbered in the near future.



We are due in May, and will be able to tell you the exact date at some point, since it will be a repeat c-section.

Also, in other news..... (Read the words on the puzzles if you can)


It's a girl....
Some of us are more excited than others!