Happy Birthday Dad and Grandpa!

Happy 59th Birthday Grandpa and Dad. Wish we could have celebrated more with you but atleast we did get to see you a little. Hope you enjoy your gift.
I hope you know how VERY SPECIAL you are to all of us and how much we love you.

Thanks Stacy for taking care of the gift and the Yummy birthday cake and sharing it with us. No, the pretty pink bike was not his gift. :)

We are definately better today. Emma even went to her "gym" class and boy was she excited to get back there to play with her friends. I also enjoyed going back to work even working overtime on my first day back. Dave did awesome as usual with the girls and even managed to take them to a doctor's appointment. Lauren is definately better...now if we can just get rid of the funny looking hives that come and go. :)

That's it for tonight. I should be "studying" for a trial in the morning but I am procrastinating as usual.

Oh and congratulations to our cousins Mike and Melissa in Colorado who welcomed a new baby girl yesterday morning. Wish we were closer to see her. Maybe Mike's mom can talk them into starting a blog. :)

Here is a picture from happier, healthier times although Lauren doesn't look so thrilled.

Well, our day wasn't much better than it was yesterday. Lauren's poor bottom is horrible with all of the bad diapers. I heard that mixing Aquaphor lotion and maalox is a good soothing combo, so I quickly took off again to Walgreens. Good thing we don't live out in the boonies without a Walgreens. We are going to wake her about every 3 hours to check/change her diaper.

Emma's face totally broke out in hives tonight and she wouldn't stop itching them. She has never had them before so WHO KNOWS what that's all about. Then toward the end of dinner she complained that her tummy was hurting again. Dave and I had this look to eachother that cannot be put into words. So, we plugged in a video AGAIN to take her mind off of it and sat her on a sheet with her "puke bucket." She cradled it in her lap as if it were a long lost friend. LUCKILY, no puking tonight! I seriously think her tummy can't handle the amount of food it used to and she just ate too much too quickly.

Dave and I are physically doing well but just a little exhausted and crabby from the drama. I think we will both be going back to work tomorrow barring anymore crazy illnesses/outbreaks.

Luckily grandma Sutton stopped the chain of spreading "it" . She deserves not to get it since we needed her so badly at the hospital to be with Emma. Good job grandma! (you lucked out)

I better get to bed, the diaper changes will begin soon and then the alarm will go off around 5. Yuck.

On the mend ?!?

We have had quite the week and are completely wiped out. But are thankful to have Emma home from the hospital and we THINK we are finally on the mend.

Poor Lauren was so worn out this morning, she just layed around. She took three naps today but after we gave her some formula and cereal she has perked up.

We took Emma in Friday night to Children's Hosp. She just couldn't even keep water down and was becoming quite dehydrated. She was admitted about 11 that night and just got released this morning about 8.
She did great and was so brave through all the pokes and the IV. She of course is now proud of showing all her poke marks and talking about her "water pack" that her "arm drank."

Dave called on Saturday afternoon while I was up at the hospital to report that he had "gotten it" and was throwing up but still able to care for Lauren. As soon as mom came up to the hospital that night I quick ran for some more pedialyte and gatorade for Dave then home to shower before going back to the hospital.

Anyway, back to the hospital where Emma was arguing with grandma and telling me that grandma wasn't doing what she was telling her to do. Yep, Emma was feeling better and getting back to her old self.

So that night she insisted on sleeping with the lights on. I kept telling her to close her eyes and that I wasn't going anywhere. Well she fell asleep shortly after and I turned off all the lights. Anyway, not to bore everyone with all the details, I ended up "getting it" about 30min after she fell asleep and had to leave the hospital and leave her alone there. :( I decided to not wake her to tell her since she needed her sleep so badly. So I snuck away (crying of course) and clutching HER "puke bucket." What a low point.
The nurses up there are awesome and when they came in at midnight for her vitals, they sat with her and she called me sniffling and asking why I left her. So I told her that mommy started to throw up and that I couldn't stay there. So she said, "well, what color was it?" I knew then that she would be fine up there if she was more concerned with "the color of it." Mom went up that morning early and brought her to us when she got released.

Dave is still a bit miserable but I am fairing the best of all of us I think. Emma is already in bed and the house looks as if a tornado has hit it. I need that company that cleans cruise ships after everyone pukes to come to my house.

I have already called in for tomorrow and Dave will no doubt also do the same for tomorrow.

A HUGE HUGE thank you to both Stacy and mom for braving the trip to the infected hospital room and bringing both presents and necessities.
Unfortunately Stacy has "gotten it" and is home in bed. :( We all thought that we were so careful washing hands and stuff. It must just be unbelievably contagious. Anyway, prayers that she is better soon and that her family doesn't get it too. Also that mom doesn't get it from helping us out with Emma.

Anyway, we still have the big hole in our ceiling and it almost makes me laugh when I see it cause that was the "huge thing" a few days ago.

That's it for now, I best go check on poor Dave.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Happy Thanksgiving ! We hope everyone had a great day.
There are so many things that I am thankful for! One of those things is "mostly" healthy children. I say mostly cause we have been hammered with illness since October 6th when both girls got the "rota virus". We have been through nasty colds and horrible coughs and now have moved on to the next level. : (
Before I go into those details I must also say that I am SO thankful for Dave! He went hunting last Saturday in South Dakota with a bunch of guys and didn't get back till yesterday. Boy did we miss him, but were happy that he had the chance to go on this "dream trip."
So, Wednesday morning at about 2:00 Emma starting throwing up non stop....then the dry heaves. Yuck, poor thing. She is such a tough little thing that she didn't even cry, she just kept saying "mom, this is dumb." I am thankful for grandpa who delivered to our doorstep Pedialyte pops and other major necessities until Dave got home to help. Thanks grandpa for the extra treats. I had told Emma that grandpa was bringing over some things and she said, "is grandpa a nurse?" I giggled and told her no, then she said, "well, what is grandpa?" I said, "he's a grandpa," and she said, "no mom what is grandpa when he is an adult?" So I told her that grandpa does alarms and stuff and she was less than amused. Sorry grandpa, maybe next time you can be a nurse.
I spent the morning running upstairs to her, doing about 10 loads of laundry and washing EVERY toy in hopes that Lauren doesn't get it.
So, Emma and I spent our Thanksgiving here at home watching anything and everything that was on Nickelodeon. I can't handle another animated show. Dave and Andrew and Lauren went to his moms and brought me a wonderful plate of food for lunch. Poor Em stared at me while she ate her jello cup and saltine crackers.
The weather here is awesome so I spent a few hours raking our leaves while she slept. Oh yea...I almost forgot, I went grocery shopping at Walmart this morning. How pathetic is that on Thanksgiving?
So tonight, Lauren has fallen to this horrible bug. Poor thing is exhausted from vomiting and Dave has already ran to Walgreens for pedialyte. It will probably be a long night with the two of them....if Emma keeps her 2:00 bathroom run. I have already called into work for tomorrow and I think Dave and I will take turns holding Lauren. How sad is that. poor thing.
Anyway.......to make things a little more challenging. We have some leak in our upstairs bathroom and it was so bad that Dave had to cut this square out of our familyroom ceiling last night before the ceiling exploded. :) When it rains it pours! Oh and the other picture is Emma and I celebrating Thanksgiving today with her mayflower hat on, and of course sitting on a load of sheets "just in case."
Anyway, I better get back upstairs.

We sincerely hope everyone had a great holiday and we are so looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas time....if we can get healthy.

Shorts and Tshirts?

Wow, what a gorgeous day here. We spent the afternoon with mom, Stacy and the twins at the zoo and it was a perfect day for it. We were fortunate/unfortunate enough to be there when they were trying to net the monkeys to take them inside for the winter. I would go on about the details but Stacy took some pictures of the "activities" so I will let her provide the details of it. All I can say is I hope Emma doesn't have any bad dreams about what she saw. :)

We came home and still didn't want to be indoors so we raked the back yard. Lauren isn't sure if she likes to sit in the leaves but has decided that she likes to try to eat them.

A big thank you to mom and dad for coming over to play games with Emma and to watch Lauren while Dave and I got a couple hours alone to get something to eat and of course to go to the store to get baby wipes and milk. :) I kept thinking that I was forgetting something but then realized that I don't think Dave and I have been to supertarget without kids since before Emma was born. It was still a nice date.

I wrote enough the other night to last a week or two so, I'm done typing for tonight. Just wanted to post a couple pictures from today.

Remember the commercial?

Yes....for those of you who think you are seeing things...that is a box of Calgon soaps!! If that could really work at the end of some days, (and if baths didn't totally sick me out) I would invest in a case or two!!!!

There have been many a night where I have recited those famous words..." Calgon take me away!" How come those commercials aren't still on the air? Everyone can relate to "Calgon days."

I am sitting here...9:20 at night, typing one handed and using the other to keep little hands from tearing out my earring. This "little one" who shall remain nameless thinks it's playtime cause her nap went too late tonight!

Every once in a great while, Emma has really "off" days. I have come to the conclusion that calling them "off" days is a gentle way of describing the total breakdown of any good behavior/patience/manners that has ever been instilled in her little body. YES, I do remember that she is only 4, but if you all choose to continue to read this you must at least feel a little of my pain :) There is not enough time in the night to express all of the little "off" moments, so I will simply highlight the day. (This is better than a diary, although I've never had a diary) :)

Dear diary, :)

0830 hrs. - argument over having hair put in a ponytail or not. Then argument over what color pony tail to have. - mom wins.....hair in ponytail.

0845 hrs. - argument over who is taking her to preschool. not happy over the fact that dad is riding with mom to preschool to drop her off. Then instructs me to be the one to walk her into preschool. Ok, I choose to pick my battles. - Emma wins......dad stays in the car.

0900-1130hrs. - no "off" moments.....Emma is in preschool :)

1200hrs. - lunchtime.......Emma decides to make Lauren laugh by blowing bubbles in her water cup and making a mess. - mom wins.....it takes days to become dehydrated.....no drink till after lunch is eaten. :)

1200-1600hrs. - I get called into work on my day off to get something done for the County Attorney's office ASAP........AKA..."mom gets a break and gets paid for it" :) Anyway, my task was to search a kid's cell at the Youth Center. This "bad kid" is in a lockdown unit with some of the worst at the YC. So, of course I don't have my weapon on and I don't even have my badge showing when I go in there. As soon as I go in this "lock down" area, all the "bad kids" are at their windows peering out at the blonde "white chick" carrying a brown paper sack. I AM NOT KIDDING YOU WHEN I SAY THAT SECONDS LATER THE PROFANITIES BAGAN TO EMINATE FROM THEIR "poor incarcerated mouths" I heard everything that a cop could be called from "5-0" to "pig" to others that cannot be written. Actually, I found this hilarious because I truly didn't think that I looked like a cop. They were even yelling through the vents at me. :) (And people "feel sorry" for these "kids") - cop wins, suspect loses

1630 hrs. - we pull in the driveway at home. Lauren is asleep in her carseat. I've got her in one arm and the diaper bag in the other. Emma sees me headed toward the mailbox to get the mail and she immediately goes nuts cause that's "her job" OK, so she starts walking down the driveway as I hear a car coming up over the hill. I tell her, "be careful, there is a car coming." eventhough she is only halfway down the driveway. I watch her eyes look up the hill to "validate" my warning, then she looks right at me and begins running toward me (toward the street). Luckily, 4 year olds aren't the quickest so I was able to grab her with the "diaper bag hand" and promptly "redirected" her inside the house. If I would not have warned her about the car, she would not have ran toward me to FREAK ME OUT! - nobody wins

1635 hrs. - we are inside, on the way to her bedroom when I decide to discuss AGAIN why we don't run toward the street, even if we are just "clowning" Right or wrong, we had a discussion about what could happen if kids run in the street and are hit by a car. This time, I didn't stop at "you could get hurt and have to go to the hospital" Emma has been talking about death lately....(I have heard this is the age of questions about it) and knows what it means to die. SO, maybe this wasn't the best way to get the point across but I brought out the "if kids get hit by a car, they could die." Instant tears! I am embarrased to say that I didn't feel bad for her because there are few instances in life where the point HAS TO get across and if it takes brutal honesty than that's what it takes with this kid. I of course did tell her that as long as she listens to mom and doesn't "clown around" near the street, she would be safe! BUT, that she is still going to spend some moments in her bedroom. - I would like to say I won this battle, but the outcome is pending on the next trip to the mailbox

1700 hrs. - dinnertime - Emma is not happy with my selection of entrees....leftover Tater tot casserole, eventhough she likes it. She wanted to AGAIN make her own scrambled eggs in the skillet....... So, she picks at her food forever, probably like I did at her age, then announces that she is done and is getting a piece of Halloween candy for dessert. HA! So, I set the timer for 3 minutes and if her food wasn't gone no candy tonight. WOW can that girl shovel in "poisonous casserole" when she needs to. - mom wins

1745 hrs. - Emma is coloring at the kitchen table while I clean up the dishes. I turn around to notice brown marker all over the table. Luckily it came off but the marker did find its way to the trash.

1800 hrs. ANOTHER night filled with Chutes and Ladders. Oh how I wish she was a twin, then her and her little sidekick could play together. (yes Stacy, you heard me right) So, of course we can't play Chutes and Ladders without cheating. For all of you who need a refresher on Chutes and Ladders, you have to climb squares to the top and the first person to square 100 wins. There are ladders to climb and chutes or slides to slide down. So, tonight Emma was on square #26 and the biggest ladder (Super Grover) is on #28. So, she needed to spin a "2" to get there. I watched her spin a "4" then VERY QUICKLY spin again in an attempt to try for a "2" in case I wasn't watching. That little stinker actually got a "2" so she chuckled with delight and moved her "Elmo" up the huge ladder to "78". Sometimes I catch her cheating and let it go, but she had already cheated a couple of times tonight so I decided to address what I had witnessed. I told her that I had seen her spin a "4" and she informed me that she had not spun a "4" but had spun a "line" and that's why she spun again. I tried to make the correction as pleasant as could be and even tried to tease with her but she refused to put her "Elmo" on the "30" instead of the "78". I think this cheating thing comes from her grandma and greatgrandma but I could be wrong. It may seem mean, but that was it for that game for the night. She had way too many chances to "play nice." Thankfully our windows are closed because if not, I think the neighbors may have thought I was beating her for the loud screams that were coming from boxing up the game for the night.
- mom wins, except for my eardrums

I know I am rambling and if you are exhausted from reading this....please don't read on. The more I type, the more therapeutic is seems. :)

1900 hrs. - Emma absolutely cannot get over the fact that we are not playing the game anymore. She has set the gameboard up and has her "Elmo" on the "30" where it was supposed to have been 15 minutes ago. I am holding back my laughter at this point because she is relentless. I inform her again that we will try again tomorrow to "play nice."

1910 hrs. - still can't get over not playing the game, so she sits in her "timeout" chair in the family room. I grab Lauren to play with her while I read a JCPenney ad. Emma has been intructed to not talk for 5 minutes if she wants to get out. So instead she has to start nudging me in the back with her foot in an attempt to get my attention. So, I move forward, out of her reach and play with Lauren. Emma then begans to whine over and over, "nobody likes me anymore" "nobody loves me anymore." It was all I had not to laugh. Wow, sibling rivalry/jealousy at its best!

1920 hrs. -Lauren is playing nicely and smiling at everyone and everything as usual and Emma goes right over to her and takes the Sesame Street telephone out of her hands. Of course our "easy going" baby just smiles at Emma. (toughen up sister, don't let your big sister treat you like that) So I calmly said, "Emma, give Lauren back the phone." and she says, "well, I was playing with it first" yea, in 2003!! What can I say, she has a room full of her own toys and chooses to pull baby toys away from her sister. typical older sibling I'm sure. - Lauren wins with the help of her poor tired mother

2010 hrs. - bedtime.......THANK GOD! Literally, I was thanking God and probably muttering something about Calgon. I won't even go into the difficult bedtime routing tonight. I am starting to bore myself with all the excruciating details of the day. The important thing is that teeth were brushed and pajamas are on!!! - mom wins again

2030 hrs. - one last bottle for the smiling princess :) before I put her down. I think my princess was too full still from dinner cause after she drank 5 oz. she burped and it ALL came right back up on her sleeper. Of course she is still smiling at me. How can anyone get frustrated at that. So I gave her a kiss and upstairs we went to change sleepers. So, I am changing her in her bedroom and Emma yells, "Lauren, be quiet, I am trying to sleep" No response from me!! What I wouldn't do for a bigger house with bedrooms on separate ends of the hallway.

2120 hrs. - That leads us back to the beginning of this blog where miss Lauren thought it was still playtime. It is 2300 hrs now and no, she finished her bottle a long time ago and calmly, without a peep, put herself to sleep in her crib. :)

Dave should be home any minute which reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for eventhough there are days where I wish I could run far far away. :) Just kidding, I would be back after a few hours. I wouldn't change anything about my life and am thankful for my wonderful husband who does his best to convince me that Emma is a typical 4 year old and is not crazy or mentally ill as there are moments I wonder. :) Just kidding, just a lot of attention seeking behaviors. And of course I wouldn't change trade in my girls for a second. It is time for bed as I am exhausted and have promised Emma, long before today, that we would go to the zoo tomorrow.

So, everyone who has actually read this novel, please say a prayer that our day tomorrow goes much better than it did today.

I hope all who have taken the time to read this have atleast had a good chuckle as I have now looking back on the evening.

Good night and don't forget to pray for our attention deprived sibling.

Oh yea, and the Kids for sale picture was at Vala's pumpkin patch. How cute for today's blog. Of course she had no clue why I was laughing while I was taking her picture.

:) P.S. If you took the time to do the tally, you are not only a dork :) but you will see that I won the majority of the battles for this evening and that's what counts I guess.

The witch and her black cat

Well, here they are finally.

Believe it or not....grandma is the one that gave Lauren the sucker.

Trick or Treat

We had a very hectic but fun Halloween this year. Now I know why parents are wore out by the time November gets here. Between the parties and programs and dressing for cold weather to trick or treat....I am wore out and can't wait to clear my cluttered house of all the Halloween stuff. I need about a month of nothing before all the Christmas stuff starts to appear.

We have way too many yummy treats at our house. I'm sure though they will all manage to disappear over time.

Both girls fell asleep on the way home from mom and dad's last night after the festivities. Lauren only lasted about 4 houses, with the twins but Emma and I went out for about an hour. There really is no point anyway of taking a baby trick or treating...it makes NO sense. So, we are already arguing over what time of the day treats can be eaten. I just got home from work and Emma is telling me that she is hungry and that she needs a "snack." Apparently all of her lunch didn't get eaten so she got denied, which of course sparked a power struggle. UGH! Anyway, a nap is really more like what she needs, so I have just escorted her up to her room to hopefully "get that done" so we are happier tonight.

That's it for now! I need a snack :) Just kidding.
Blogger is frustrating....can't post any pictures now...