The things we do for love

We've been sick. Really sick. It all started on Thursday night. I woke up in the middle of the night and told S I wasn't feeling so good. The next day I felt even worse and it kept progressing until Sunday when I thought I saw a little light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately by then the whole family was sick. It didn't help that S was trying to finish up a big project at school so he wasn't really around much to help. But I thought I could manage. What at first appeared to be a cold made a turn for the worse when Sunday night #1 got out of bed and told me he wasn't feeling good and wanted to watch a movie. We put one on and then a little while later he proceeded to cover his blanket with what he ate for dinner. There wasn't really a cause for alarm as this seems to be #1's reaction everytime he gets sick. His stomach is the first to react. By Tuesday it seemed we were all turning a corner and starting to get better. Since we hadn't left the house since Saturday I suggested to S that he take #1 grocery shopping. Bad idea.

#1 started to complain to S that he wasn't feeling good. By the time they got home, #1's eye was swollen and goopy. Pink eye. I should say that we were kind of expecting this. We helped some friends move over the weekend and one of their kids had pink eye, croup, and a double ear infection. I was hoping that our good deed would somehow absolve us from getting ill, but apparently not. By then it was 6:45pm and the convenient care clinic closed at 8pm (how is that convenient?!). S still had to go to get a temple recommend interview and have some friends take his experiment for that big project he has been working on. So S took baby N with him to his appointments and I rushed to get ready to take #1 to the doctor. We didn't even have time to put groceries away. On the way to the doctor, #1 kept whimpering, but I didn't think much of it. He never has had a high level of pain tolerance. By the time we got to the clinic and I had stopped the car, he was hollering and wouldn't even step out. I picked him up and proceeded to carry him to the clinic. Big mistake. Never carry a sick child- don't do it. Make them crawl if you have to. #1 proceeded to throw up all over me the moment I picked him up. I was literally soaked in vomit. A kind woman who was passing by offered me two napkins from her car. I guess she didn't see the quantity of mess we were dealing with, but it was a nice gesture all the same. I was able to scrape off the major chunks at least.

So there I stood outside of the clinic with my child who was still vomiting. The clinic closed in 30 minutes. I didn't feel like I had a choice, so we went in, smelly and soaked. The receptionist who apparently didn't witness the typhoon we experienced outside seemed perplexed when I asked her for a garbage can. When she pointed to one that was twice the size of #1, I mentioned that this was so he could throw up into it. Her eyes widened and she ran back to the doctors' offices emerging with something the size of a petri dish. I guess she thought he had emptied out most of his stomach judging by my clothing. #1 was beyond consoling at this point and the entire waiting room was staring at us. One little boy in particular could not take his eyes off of #1. He kept whispering "sick, sick, SICK!" while #1 just watched him with the saddest look on his face. I really had to restrain myself from giving that kid additional reasons to see the doctor. We eventually got in and I was able to clean myself and #1 a little bit more in the examining room. The diagnosis- Pink eye and a double ear infection. #1 has never had an ear infection before so I was a little surprised, but he had been complaining that his throat hurt earlier.

We left the office and proceeded to Walgreens to pick up his prescription ($50?!?). As we waited, #1 tested the limits of his petri dish and then promptly fell asleep on the way home. I carried him in (guess I didn't learn my lesson after all), gave him a bath and put him in bed. Then I changed out of my clothes and put groceries away while I waited for S to come home. What a night! I would take a picture of my house to go along with this post, but I'm too embarrassed. I really feel like I live in a war zone right now. The worse part is I'm just waiting for baby N to get it too. Mom, I need you!!

You Spin Me Right Round...

I don't understand toddler logic.

#1 whining: "I don't know what candy I want so you get me a candy that I want!!"

My suggestion that perhaps he should have no candy didn't fly either. Go figure.

Baby N isn't much better. She's recently learned to roll over from her back to her tummy, but can't figure out how to roll back. She no longer is content to watch the world pass her by, but gets extremely frustrated at her inability to take action. I guess it's for the best because she hardly fits into her chair anymore (fitting into 9-12 month clothing now). #1 did the same when he was her age. Apparently I need to teach my kids to just be happy. I'll let you know how that goes...

Milestones

We finally got baby N laughing. She's does it a lot, and has been doing it for a while now, but stops once the camera comes out.



Here's some pictures that we will call "our Easter Best" since we didn't take pictures on Easter.


Okay, I know this is gross, but seriously this happens on a regular basis when I try to take pictures. Spew Monster.



#1 has mastered the bike (or trike). He's getting too big for this one, so I'll be on the lookout for an upgrade this summer.

Easter

This Easter was a little more relaxed than in years past. Luckily the Primary put on an Easter egg hunt, so i didn't have to go through the time and effort of putting on our own. I had good intentions of going to the dollar store in the morning prior to going to the Primary activity, but baby N was a bit of a beast during the night, so we slept in. As a result #1 hunted for eggs with his Halloween bucket- poor thing. He didn't care and honestly I didn't either, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit like white trash showing up with a green ghost bucket.


I kept wishing he would turn his bucket for the pictures to hide the "trick or treat", but it always was there, front and center, to remind me that I'm a negligent mother.

He got a load full!!

Baby N opted to enjoy the festivities from the stroller- it was COLD!


We also dyed eggs with our good friends for the first time. Egg painting hasn't been much of a priority in the past since the smell of hard-boiled eggs makes me want to throw up, but luckily this year I was able to withstand the nausea for the sake of holiday traditions. #1's friends happily enjoyed eating their eggs after dying them, but #1 passed on eating his creations. I guess I'm passing on my food aversions to him.

Hard-boiled eggs are gross

Gross, gross, gross

Yep, they're definitely gross





It's like becoming blood brothers- egg dye brothers!

Stained hands are a nice bonus.


Just chilling with her toys. Such a good baby!

One Size Does NOT Fit All

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Moving is a strange thing. To find new places to put all your things has proved to be a difficult decision-making process. Even though we just transferred to new unit in the same complex, there seems to be infinite differences. New cabinets have different measurements, causing some things to fit, some things to not. Different materials and layouts create different experiences which are either upgrades or downgrades. In the tub alone, there are a lot of these thoughts, mostly downgrades.

Curtain rod that doesn't screech when you pull the shower curtain- upgrade
Tile that gets soap scum with just one use- downgrade
Button to switch from bath to shower is difficult to pull- downgrade
Towel bar that was installed inside the shower enclosure- definite downgrade (what were they thinking?!)
Soap dish- still on the fence on this one. It's convenient to have one but I have yet to find a soap that doesn't fall out of it constantly

It's weird the things you notice and miss from your old place. Overall this place is an upgrade, there's more space and newer materials, but I have to admit that today I started to have second thoughts. Why you ask?

15 tubs of kids' clothes that used to fit in our old attic that now seemingly will not even get through our attic access door- downgrade accompanied with wailing and gnashing of teeth. Guess I better start selling some clothes...

What we've been up to...

Baby N has been pretty sick so we've been finding ways to entertain ourselves indoors.

#1 and I have been taking turns videotaping ourselves dancing. I'll spare you my footage. :)


Baby N has taken to rolling over, as evidenced by falling off the couch and bed multiple times. So she has been banished from elevated surfaces, leaving her victim to #1's affections. He's always pretty great with her though.




#1 has started to ask for his "privacy" in the bathroom and also has started to use the word "appropriate" which is pretty darn cute. He also has been taking pictures around the house. This was one of the few that wasn't just a body part or part of a piece of furniture. N looks pretty shell-shocked.


A friend took #1 to a pirate story time at the library. The pirating adventures continue.



#1 had some friends over the other day and a toddler WWF tournament ensued. Once the two tagged teamed #1, it was all over for him.


And lastly, here's the best I have of baby N talking. She does much more than this, but since she's gotten all stuffed up along with a cough, she hasn't felt like talking much. Excuse the potty talk towards the end- I have yet to learn how to edit videos.


Love this girl. Did I mention she's fitting into 9 Month clothes now? She gives me a workout!

A Different Kind of March Madness

Well March roared in like a lion and left the same way. This month has been absolutely insane!!! I can't believe we got through so many things in one month. Here's the list:

Threw #1's birthday party
Had Grandma and Grandpa come (although this was more of a break to us)
#1 and Baby N were sick multiple times
S finished his qualifying exams
Potty-trained #1
Doctor's appointments
We packed up house and moved to a bigger place
Cleaned and prepped the old place
Painted 3 different rooms and made new curtains for the new place
I finished a final exam for a class I hadn't really looked at in 6 months so that I could graduate from BYU this April

If it weren't for our amazing friends I don't think we would have gotten through it all. They helped us moved, watched our kids, helped us finish painting, etc etc. It was so touching that when we moved we had three different people insist on giving or bringing dinner for the next few days while we got settled. #1 practically lived at his friend Preston's house for a lot of this month. I'm so grateful for the amazing people we know here. It's no wonder I'm not too keen on the recent changes in ward boundaries that we've experienced, but hopefully we'll still be able to keep in touch with those who are no longer in the same ward as us.

Once we get a little more settled and unpacked, I'll post some pictures. Right now I'm lucky if I can find underwear and diapers, let alone the camera. Baby N is big into talking lately so I'll definitely post some video of that. Love you all!