The Weekend

We are spending a lot of time at home this weekend trying to get well.  We all have some semblance of a cold.  Addie has had a 5 day dose of steroids and still sounds gross.  SO we cancelled our weekend commitments and we are attempting to rest.

The boys HAD to get outside for a bit because we have been cooped up on and off for about the past 3 weeks with these colds/coughs (and because steroids make Eli CRAZY!).  This is how they entertained themselves while Jared cleaned up the leaves.

Addie has been standing up a bit but ONLY on our bed for whatever reason.  Today was the first time she stood unassisted on the floor.  Apparently, contacting early on and setting up a plan was all that she needed for motivation because she has stood and is cruising furniture despite the fact that I haven't done a single exercise with her yet.  Now onto walking!
She is ALWAYS watching us to make sure we are watching her.  She is so proud when she hears the "Yay, Addie!"

The Laundry MUST go on!

Had to find humor in this moment.

Addie wanted a sippy of milk but still doesn't quite grasp the concept of tipping it up. I usually hold her for her milk, which I love, because I know it is only a matter of time before she demands her milk and which glass she'd like it in and then runs off to play. No more snuggles.

 Anyways, today I have a child who is a little under the weather and has those flu like symptoms that require a lot of underwear/pants changes therefor requiring a lot of laundry. This same child wants to be snuggled while he watches cartoons. This leaves me little time apart from him for laundry or time with Addie. Therefore the above was my solution while I threw in and folded laundry.



It is definitely a 3rd child moment. I had to laugh.

Lucky girl

Addie's first birthday present was a full round of 1 year shots at the doctor's office. I know, how mean am I? BUT the boys needed shots too and Jared was able to come with AND they were all sick anyways so it just added to the misery.

Hopefully the cake I put in front of her on Friday and all that sugar will go to her brain and she will forget the way I tortured her. Except for the fact that I am blogging about it.

I am currently doing breathing treatments every 4 hours for 3 children. Oh yeah and all 3 are on steroids which isn't that big of a deal except for the fact that Jared has to hold Alex down while I squeeze his cheeks and insert the medicine into his mouth while he gags and sputters 2x/day. It's horrible. Oh and did I mention that I have a cold? Anyways, we are currently the enemy. Even the shake and the chocolate milk we offered him before and after did NOTHING.

Eli on the other hand takes his little medicine cup and swallows it all in one gulp. Done.

Yeah, they are a little different.

Not sure why I am blogging about it other than the fact that I am a HUGE procrastinator and should be cleaning my house because I am having friends over tonight and am therefore avoiding cleaning my bathrooms. Ok. Off I go. Well, after some pictures of all the fun we've been having.

Getting 4 year old boys to rest is always fun. If I let them watch videos they will rest a ton but it's been 10 day since this all started. Only so many videos can be watched. So I am trying to get them to nap and do other quiet activities.

It works sometimes.

Sometimes it does NOT.

P.S. My sons never want to wear clothes anymore. They want to be "nakey belly".

A typical morning

No specific reason to post this morning, not that there is ever anything too earth shattering, I just felt the need and the boys are watching Laurie Berkner Band (their new fav) while Addie naps.

* I told the boys this morning that I didn't feel very well and that my head hurt. SO.....

this sweet little face

who eats muffins like this

said he could kiss my head to feel all better.

LOVE THESE BOYS!

*I was taking pics at the table this morning because, despite me reporting that we were not moving, we are.

*I'm thrilled and am going to have a DREAM kitchen. I am however going to miss this little kitchen that drives me crazy.

*The boys and I have done lots of baking in this kitchen and they ate their first little bites here and took clumsy little steps on this floor and were given first baths in here and I cooked many a gourmet meal in this kitchen.

*OK not so much that last part about the gourmet meals but lots of spaghetti and grilled cheese and other not-so-gourmet meals like chicken pot pie and casseroles. :)

*Nani and Papa have come over for the last couple of weeks to keep an eye on the boys while I attempt to get things done. They take the boys outside and the boys refuse to let them leave until they have played play-doh with them. Nani makes really good coiled snakes. :)

*They also tickle littley piggy toes

and admire litte Addie girl (Does she have these guys wrapped or what?)

*I love that Papa and Eli are in the same exact position.

lack of posting

I have been so focussed on all that I love about Fall that I forgot what else it brought with it.....

such as colds and breathing issues. We made our first middle of the night trip to the ER. Well Jared did with Eli, actually, and then we spent a week or so out of commission. I was sick along with both of the boys. It wasn't fun but it is o.v.e.r. At least for now. We started with the boy's daily breathing treatments which will keep us out of the emergency room and hopefully help the boys stay healthy throughout the Fall and Winter. So far, so good.

We also separated the boys rooms. This has made nap and bed times SO much easier and they are much better rested. This however has made blogging difficult because my computer that I upload and edit photos on is where Eli sleeps so it is just requiring a bit more planning. I used to blog during their naps, or before they got up, or after they went to bed and now all of those options are gone unless I use our old lap top which has turtle like speed. :)

I have lots of things to blog about and plan to knock out a few posts now on my friend the turtle.

Too Tired to REALLY Post Tuesday

How's that for a title?!

Eli woke up yesterday and Jared went in to find "throw-up", he thought. Turns out it wasn't and although I won't get specific it has been a long couple of days. Jared stayed home with us yesterday which was SO helpful. I thought I'd post some "just because" pics so that an entire week didn't go by without me posting. :)

just because Alex learned to swing on his belly in the "big boy" swing.

just because Nani brought the boys fries this week and they got to have THEIR OWN box.

just because I think Alex looks cute in this one.

just because I wanted to thanks Amos and Mariah for the basketball hoop. It is a HUGE hit!

just because it is NEVER to warm to wear daddy's winter hat circa the 1970's and this boy looks adorable, if I do say so

Is it possible to hack up a lung?

I think Alex is giving it a go. Poor guy he is struggling. He was the little boy in the waiting room today that you didn't want NEAR your children because it sounded as if he had whooping cough (I'm not even sure what that is.) or something equally wonderful. I was good (with my sister's help) at keeping him away from the healthy part of the waiting room but I figured everyone else was fair game. I truly didn't sit once. I think this new stage in their development can only help in the weight loss department along with the stomach flu that I just got over. :) (I'm telling you our house should be quarantined.) Luckily, the boys just have viruses and ear infections which was the reason that we all slept for approximately 2 hours last night. They are miserable but it is nothing that some antibiotics and breathing treatments can't conquer and for that I am so thankful. Truly, thankful.



I hate to just post about my sick boys but that is life right now and I thought I'd "keep it real". I have to say that I am so thankful for family and friends that can help out when needed. I've had times of feeling overwhelmed, thinking that I need MORE help, due to various circumstances in my life, but the bottom line is if I am in need someone will pull through. My sister in law came over this morning and just sat and loved on the boys (this was an act of love because as cute as they are they had some scary snotty faces) and kept me sane by talking to me. My sister chased my children all over the waiting room and held them still for the exams. I had planned to go it alone because I am capable but Jared talked me into accepting help if it is offered and I am so glad that I did. It was so much easier with extra support. So there...those are my random thoughts of the day. Bottom line: God provided for me today in the form of sisters! Thanks!

On a side note: These are Eli's new glasses. He thinks he is so cool. In fact, he strutted around the waiting room today and told the other toddlers "I cool". He hates the sun in his eyes so these are his new toy. He calls them his "hat".

In contrast: this is Alex when he is sick. He is a pitiful sight to behold while Eli is still his usual crazy toddler self.

Blog Awards

I recently received a couple of blogging awards. Thanks Liz (Double Duty Mom) and Monica (The Jonas Family) for awarding me. I actually had to ask Liz what to do with it (so embarrassing) and I still didn't know how to link it onto my post. Copy/Paste didn't work. I therefore am not passing it on which I am pretty sure you are supposed to do but I took decongestants and can't figure any of this out currently. I love more blogs than I can keep up within the limited amount of time that I am online but if you'd like to see my faves click on my profile. I am always finding new ones and my favorites right now are decorating on a budget type blogs in addition to my friends and other twin mommies. I am telling you there are some interesting blogs out there. Going to bed now, may take NyQuil even though it is 12 noon. Hey remember that crazy lady who wished she was the sick one. IDIOT!

The Up Side of Things!

I am not going to pretend that it's been glamorous. I won't sugar coat, but there have been some sweeter moments. On the not-so-sweet side of things: My hands are cracked because I have washed them a bazillion times. My swiffer mop and washing machine currently HATE me due to their overuse and the disgusting things I have been having them clean. Seeing your babies miserable is not a fun part of parenting.

I have enjoyed, however, the extra snuggle time that it has allowed. My boys are a.c.t.i.v.e. When other people are around us they always comment on how busy the boys are. "They NEVER stop" is something I hear on a regular basis so to have them slow down and want to snuggle and watch their shows feels like a stolen moment. This morning I had Alex on my chest and Eli leaning against me holding my hand. It was so nice to be snuggled up under a blanket on a cold morning with two of my 3 favorite guys.

Because I have a little time to kill I find myself taking pics and videos of the boys. Here is one from this morning.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's Ba-ACK!

The stomach flu was feeling generous toward our family this year and has decided to pay an extra visit. I am not even going to complain because this is Michigan and if you aren't currently sick you were last week or you will be tomorrow. This time of year is a bit rough in our neck of the woods. The boys have been sleeping for 3 and a half hours and I am playing the game of: Do I go in? Do I let them sleep? Are they O.K.? Hmm I'll choose let them sleep. The affected laundry is washed and the house is disinfected. I should be sleeping because who knows what tonight will bring but unfortunately I am not a good napper. I have to say so far (day 1) this time around hasn't been as bad as November. I am sure a huge part of that is that I am not as sick as I was then but I also think it helps that I have some type of reference point. I was a rookie to this mess in November and as I said then I now have the "I survived" badge. :)

Alex has been doing really well the past couple of months and has just been using his binky for naps and night time but today he "fell off the wagon". Notice he has one in each hand also. I am pretty sure the poor kid hasn't even uttered a word the entire day and he only got off the couch twice the entire morning.

Eli is just really enjoying the fact that he has been able to watch PBS all morning. I think he believes he is in some type of TV heaven and keeps waiting for Mommy to say "Bye-bye Barney" or "Bye-bye Elmo". Little does he know he will have a free pass today.

So that is the state of my Mommy World currently. Here's to hoping Spring hurries along :)

I'm the "healthy" one!

Yep, unfortunately I am the one. The healthy one. I know this sounds crazy but sometimes it seems a bit glamorous to be the only sick one in the house and not the aforementioned. I rarely get sick. I do unfortunately get nasty headaches as do the rest of the ladies in my family but for the most part (minus the plague of 2008) I am a healthy girl. In my fantasy though I am just lying around reading or flipping mindlessly through channels all day without a responsibility or care in the world. I leave out the fact that when you are actually sick you feel, SICK.

This week Jared is sick, Alex is sick and Eli is sick. This means Mommy is exhausted. I am feeling the weight of it that is for sure. When praying with the boys at dinner last night I thanked God that most of the time Daddy is healthy and we didn't usually feel this crappy. I don't think I used that word exactly but it put things into perspective. Life has difficult moments but let's face it having colds is not really one to spend to much time complaining about. I caught myself twice this week complaining to my sister about how tired I was. Unfortunately I chose the sister with a 2 week old to complain to. First of all WHAT WAS I THINKING and secondly I didn't get much sympathy. :) I am getting a break tomorrow and going to work out while Nana and Papa come over and stay with the boys and then Thursday night I am doing another work out led by my Pastor while Jared stays with the boys. Yep, I did say my Pastor. How cool is that? I may not be saying it was cool Thursday evening but for now it "seems" cool.


Other than this I had a funny moment with Eli last night. The boys ate rice and quesadillas for dinner and I let them feed it to themselves. Needless to say the floor was a mess and then when one of them "accidentally" knocked their plate off the table it became worse. As I was getting Eli out of his booster seat he kept saying "oh sosh, OH Sosh, Oh sosh!" I was laughing and couldn't figure out what he was saying until moments later I looked at the floor and said "Oh my Gosh". Apparently Mommy had been unconsciously saying this while looking at the mess I had to tackle after they went to bed! He's a funny one. I am just thankful he doesn't repeat EVERY word he hears, although recently he said one of those too.

Picures of the reason that I was saying "oh my gosh". The top one cracks me up. My weird son is trying to get rice stuck to his face. The night before it was his hair that he was purposely putting food in. Eli calls out for peace!

They are very excited to be able to climb up into the kitchen chairs. It's the little things in life, they say!

4 am

Well it is now 6am and I have:

• Given Eli a breathing treatment while watching Barney (Barney is not appropriate for a tired Mommy at 4 a.m. There should be a warning that all of the songs will stick in your head. I am currently singing "cause you are special, special, everyone is special")
• Baked muffins
• Ate a muffin
• Laundry
• Read blogs
• Drank tea
• Blogged this amazingly poignant post :) O.k. but I did blog.

I am just slightly annoyed at my inability to fall back to sleep and thought I would "share the love". I would be excited if I thought I could catch up on sleep during the boys nap but I will be at the after care clinic with my sickies. Here are a couple of recent pics of the boys that reminds me how much I love this Mom stuff even at 4a.m.

This is how I usually find them after "nap" acting silly and one of them is usually half dressed. Ahh, toddlers!

HELLO 1970's!

Jared's mom brought over this scarf/hat set recently. They were Jared's circa 1979 (ish) and the boys love to play with them.

After the long week Eli has had he needed a strong coffee. He had a blast playing with my empty.

The boys seem to be feeling better today. I think we are all just kind of drained. I am enjoying how extraordinary normal can be!!!

Oh No Not I....

I will survive!!! I have to laugh at my last post because those were the "easy" times. That evening Alex and I joined "the club" and Daddy followed the next day. We are just waking up from this fog. The boys are still not keeping everything "in" although they are no longer vomiting. Oh and did I mention that Grandma and Grandpa have since gotten this bug because they were at our plague ridden house? Oh yeah, baby it has been insane. They were able to come over on the worst day because I just wasn't quite sure how to spend my entire day in the bathroom while taking care of two very sick boys with no help. I think the worst of it is over. We actually had to take the boys to Children's Hospital yesterday so that they could get some fluid via IV and they seem to have improved some. Do I even need to mention that the boys did not enjoy the IV's or the arm boards that held their arms still? Lets just say the male nurse was very impressed with their strength. My weak, sick, little boys turned into Hercules when it came time for them to be held still. It was interesting and thankfully Jared was able to help despite his stomach bug and lack of mobility in one leg. We were a pitiful sight to behold, let me tell you. We joked that we should each see if we could get an IV bag while we were there. We hadn't eaten the two days before because we were sick so by 5pm the third day without eating we were starting to feel pretty miserable. But as I mentioned, we survived. I have NEVER stain treated or washed so much laundry in. my. life. but I now feel as if I bear a badge of some sort. I have rarely been so stretched as a mom or as a person. I truly had to rely on God to pull me through this craziness and I saw things that I didn't necessarily like about myself. I am not always very gracious under pressure and I now know that I want to work on that. I would have to say that, that was my biggest lesson from all this. Well, that and you can never have too many Clorox wipes in the house, always have rubber gloves on hand because you will have to touch things that once would have made you gag and may still, and when in doubt THROW IT OUT. I have to admit that some things were just not "cleanable" and I am OVER it! So those are my profoundly wise words of advice. By the way, I do plan to have pics on my blog again someday but that would require taking the time to upload them and we have been a bit busy :)

I *heart* Moms!

***edited to add: My phone is safe. It actually fell out of my pocket in their bedroom.

As usual as things heat up on the mom front I gain a whole new level of respect for Mommies everywhere. Eli was throwing up most of the night last night and just fell asleep. Alex was up most of the time too because he is sick with a cold but also because it is hard to clean a child's sheets, clothes, and your own clothes, and allow anyone else in the entire household to rest. Jared is off to work and despite my lack of sleep I would have paid money to go with him. Poor Eli is so pitiful. :( I seriously don't know how people do this. I am impressed that other Moms live to tell about it. I am actually MORE impressed that they don't tell the ENTIRE universe that they conquered a case of the pukies AND survived without having a nervous breakdown of some sort. I am on my 5th outfit since 4am as is Eli and he is on his 3rd set of sheets AND my couch cushion covers are being laundered as we speak. Wow, this is hard stuff. On top of all this I am not sure where my cell phone is. I grabbed it as I ran down to launder clothes so that I could hear it if the Dr. called but I cannot find it now. I have this strange fear that it is being "laundered". I really hope not but it would be a funny thing to add to my day. I guess I should go and see if my phone is dried and pressed yet. I guess I should also grab some sleep while both the boys are sleeping! If NONE of this post makes sense I blame the fact that I have been up since 2am.

Thankful!

Thanksgiving is approaching and I am constantly being reminded how much I have to be thankful for. I have talked on this blog about the boys tendencies towards breathing issues (due to prematurity) and when they are sick it tends to become serious quickly. This fact landed us in the ER several times in the past several months BUT, and this is the beautiful part, they have been healthy for 4 and a 1/2 weeks, not a cold, not an ear infection, not a wheeze, nothing!! This is a blessing that I do not take for granted. I am thankful for the Dr.'s who decided that daily management for these past illnesses was the best way to go and that these breathing treatments seem to be doing the job. So, today, among a million other things I am thankful for the health of my family (even though one member is a bit gimpy at the moment ;) )

Ephesians 5:20 "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything"

All in a Day's Work

They are laughing so hard here because they are playing the game where they kick Mommy while swinging and she over-reacts in pain. Sweet, Right??

They had their first experience with crunchy leaves and at first they didn't want me to put them down but once I showed them how they could crunch them up in their hand they were thrilled and didn't want to go back inside.

I just finished talking to Jared about how this "job" called motherhood is the greatest privilege and blessing and at the same time it is THE most challenging job I have had in my life. The boys have ear infections, something respiratory(ish) and just in case that was too mundane they are also teething. Yahoo for us! It made for a long day but it made for such a fun day too. I had to laugh as I looked at my pics from the day and the adventures that made it what it was. Only in this gig could I have such a wide array of challenges, heartaches and triumphs and for each one I am thankful! :)

These pictures had to be added. We tried on our costumes for Grandma today and Eli crawled off to play in his room. I went in to find this. He played in his costume for at least a half an hour. So funny, this one.

When does this end???

This picture beautifully portrays how we are all feeling lately. I think in our household we've confused summer with flu season so I was hoping that as we closed in on actual flu season we would start to feel better but that is not the case. Despite being sick on and off since July the boys have decided to carry it over into fall. Jared was sick all of last week as were the boys and then I finally got it on Saturday. We are doing breathing treatments around the clock and giving medicines while half asleep due to Alex's crazy outbursts at night. These are not the "usual" outbursts. They've been lasting hours. I am pretty sure he would just like Mommy to rock him to sleep every night and never put him down. I draw the line here though so we have had to let him CIO (cry it out) in between snuggles which has been torture. Last night was our first time sleeping through the night in about a week which of course felt like a month. We weren't even up with them this much at night when they were infants. We tend to thank the NICU, who kindly put our boys on a schedule, for this blessing. They have always been good sleepers so this has been quite an adjustment. As always, I cannot complain about these minor illnesses when I am well aware of the blessing that each of my children's health and development are. I am so thankful for these crazy boys.

Despite how they feel the boys are doing new things constantly and I am hoping to catch up on some posting so that I can have it all documented. We will see whether or not I can pull it off :) Wish me luck!

Haven't you heard???

Summer is the "new" winter! Well it has been in our house :) Yes, the boys are sick again. We got a restful few weeks and now it is all back! We did manage to squeeze in a good weekend though. The boys got to go where few men have gone before them...."the Girls luncheon". In Jared's family "the girls" (Great Grandma, Grandma, Aunt Kim, Mommy, Aunt Linda and Amanda) typically go out to lunch for our birthdays and this time it was Linda's. Happy Birthday Linda! Due to Jared's playoff games the boys joined me in what would be a lovely day. We also stopped to check out Daddy's games and they enjoyed the scorching, yet beautiful, sunny weather. Sunday we attended church which is always SO good for the soul (literally) and they loved playing in the nursery. Sunday afternoon after nap we headed to the petting farm and I know this will shock some but I actually forgot my camera...gasp! I forgot it for Linda's Birthday celebration too. I am definitely slipping :) Eli was eager to hop into the pen with the animals but couldn't because Mommy had him wear his crocs and apparently this is not appropriate pig pen attire. Who knew that there was a farm version of "black tie"? He did thoroughly enjoy petting them though. Alex would act as if he wanted to touch them but when he got close enough he recoiled quickly. :) He would have been fine had we stayed there are bit longer and he could have witnessed the animal's response to other patrons. He is very careful and has to study these things and I love that about him. Sunday evening brought the all night crankies and it has rolled through until today. Poor babies but they will be feeling better soon I am sure. So there's our weekend recap on Wednesday. I am SO on top of things!

Here are my sick babies kicking back and watching "Sesame Street".

They look so grown up, don't they? :(

We are on the mend

The boys are feeling better after another long week of ailments. We actually spent all day Tuesday at the hospital due to breathing difficulties. Yesterday, however, they both really turned a corner and seem to be feeling much better. Nothing like a scare to remind you that these little guys are fragile. We are now in isolation. This is familiar to any parents of preemies but I'd forgotten how challenging it is to be cooped up. The pediatrician doesn't want them around anyone until they are better because she fears that if they get sick on top of what they have we may end up back in the hospital. I truly think that they will be fine but am happy to follow her precautions mainly because she is the one with the medical degree.

The upside of all this is that Jared was home with us most of this week. It was really nice to have his help with all of the extra responsibilities that sick babies bring (ie breathing treatments, medications, crabbiness) and the boys just love having him home as do I. Alex and Eli are starting to do so many new things. Alex gets up on his new bouncing zebra toy all by himself and Eli gets off of it by himself. Alex can also climb onto the couch and yesterday I caught him climbing on the entertainment center. I seriously think we are going to be forced to wall mount our TV. He is such a monkey. They are also saying new words all the time and shocking Jared and I . It is funny because we both look at one another in awe as if saying "did you hear it too?" I can now hand them bananas and they scarf them down. No more mushing those up which is nice. They have definitely come a long way with their eating and are moving towards all table food. We are thrilled about this as it seems our lives are spent running to the store to restock the pantry with those darn little jars of food.

I leave you with pics of the boys and there adventures. Oddly enough regardless of how sick they are they don't seem to slow down too much.

The famous pillow game. I picked this up from a blog I read and the boys love it. We toss all the couch pillow on the floor and they just climb all over them. Good times!