Better

I think we may be rounding the corner and things are looking a lot better from this angle. Somebody quick, knock on wood!

Cycling

I have so much that I want to blog about, but I am just running on empty tonight. I finally caved and got an antibiotic for my sinus crud and I hope to be feeling better myself soon. Tonight was Chiggie's Open House at her school and Tea threw up. The King had a meeting out of town so I was alone with all 4 kids. We had planned to go to dinner afterwards but just ended up grabbing a pizza. Will this ever end?

Baby Update

This morning I received a call from the Pediatrician saying that the baby's bloodwork came back from the lab and it did show bacteria. The results are still not back from the bacteria culture. She had an appointment this afternoon and has made a lot of improvement since she got the Rocephin shot yesterday. Based on her improvement she was given another shot of Rocephin and we are hoping she will just continue to improve. Thankfully there is no more fever and her breathing sounds good. I will be so happy just to put this behind us. Poor little thing.

Tag I'm It

I was tagged by Elizabeth, and I love to be tagged, so here goes:



Four Jobs I've Had:

1. Pat's Kitchen (Bakery)


2. Target
   
3. 9-1-1 Call Taker


4. Dispatch Supervisor

Four Places I Have Lived:

1. Canon City CO


2. Ocala FL


3. Boulder CO (Go Buffs!)


4. Grand Junction CO

Four Favorite T.V. Shows

1. Kids by the Dozen


2. Supernanny


3. 48 Hours Mystery


4. Hannah Montana (Seriously, I love this show)
   

Four Favorite Foods

1. Pizza


2. Cheeseburgers


3. Brownies


4. French Fries

Four Websites I Visit

1. Larger Families


2. Bresnan Home Page


3. Local School District Home Page


4. Weather

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now

1. Disney World


2. Camping


3. Hawaii


4. Living out on land somewhere, where my kids would have all the outdoor space they could dream of

Four Movies I Love

1. I Am Sam


2. So I Married an Axe Murderer


3. Over the Hedge


4. Madagascar

I would tag four people, but I can't promise four people even read this. If you want to do it, I tag you. Just leave me a comment with a link so I can check yours out as well.

Throw Us a Bone

We didn't sleep good last night, and the baby didn't get better. She got worse. Finally at 3 this afternoon I took her temperature and sure enough it was 101. Pretty high for such a tiny girl. I called the Doc back and they got her in right away. We spent most of the evening at the hospital where she had chest x-rays and blood work done. On the bright side the chest x-rays were clear. Unfortunately we don't really know what's going on. After the hospital we headed back to the Doc's Office where she was given an antibiotic shot.

I'm a wreck. Midge isn't feeling well either and it's ripping me apart. I wish I could clone myself and hold and rock both of them separately but obviously I can't. I feel like I am always letting someone down. The Babe needs me. So does Midge, she too is just a baby after all. I know I'll be okay and I'll feel better, especially after some sleep. But right now things just feel rough.

The Babe goes back to the Doctor tomorrow afternoon and at that point some decisions will be made. They are hoping for major progress after the shot. Me too. Poor thing finally fell asleep and has been sleeping for 2 hours now. Amazingly she weighed 10 #'s so that's good.

On a much brighter side, Chiggie is having a great week. She loves PE and computers. She is catching on to her sight words very easily and I love watching her learn. We miss her so much while she's gone in the morning but I love knowing that she is playing, learning, and having so much fun.

Please say some prayers that tomorrow is a sunnier day!

Update

*Sigh of Relief*

I feel so much better. Thankfully the baby just has a cold. Her lungs are clear and she is not running a fever. Her cough is caused by congestion, which will hopefully pass quickly. I am so relieved.

Now if we can all just get a little sleep tonight.........

0 to 60

I am really stressed out right now. I did everything in my power to keep the baby from getting sick. She is exclusively breastfed and I was really hoping that would protect her. Yesterday morning she started kind of coughing. Just a mousy ahe, ahe, kind of thing. As the day wore on it got worse and more congested sounding. She had kind of a rough night last night and now she's sees the doctor at 1:30 pm today. I have no idea what will happen as she is still only five weeks old. On top of that the other girls are still coughing. Uuuugghhhh.

The Mail Lady and other Weekend Ramblings

For the last three years we have had problems with our mail delivery. In our neighborhood most of the parking is done street side. A few houses have driveways and or garages, but most people just park right out front. If our car is within 2 feet of the mail box, our mail carrier will not deliver our mail or take any outgoing. Our neighbors don't have a mailbox at all and there mail is taken up to their porch. Yet she can't reach into our box. Finally this weekend as we watched her drive right by for the 3rd day in a row, the King had had enough. He chased her up the road and they had it out pretty good. She was very rude and basically just made excuses. He ended up having to go down to the local post office to complain. The maintenance team is coming by tomorrow to see about moving our box. We might just take it down altogether and she can bring ours up to the porch.

In other weekend news, we had a nice visit with my Dad and Step-Mom this weekend. It was nice for them to see the baby and the girls had a blast with the visit. Unfortunately the Babe appears to be catching this dreaded cold. Poor thing is sneezing and has a tiny baby cough. I will be calling the Pediatrician in the morning just to be safe. I'm worried about her as she is still so tiny. The other girls are still coughing but hopefully this will be in the past very soon.

Tomorrow Chiggie begins her first full week of school. I'm tired just thinking about all I have going on this week.......

Did You Know?

Tonight as I was leisurely strolling through the electronics department in W@l -Mart the phone section caught my eye. We have trouble with phones you see. For some reason my kids love to drop them in water. The toilet, the tub, the pool, the sink, a mud puddle, you name it they've done it. So you can imagine my surprise when I see a water proof phone. Why did I not know these things existed. Tracy, did you know about these?

1 Month

It's amazing how much can change in such a short period of time. She has grown so much. I would guess she weighs close to 9lbs at this point. When laying on her tummy she can lift her head to a 45 degree angle and look around. She loves her swing, her sling, and mostly being held. Her absolute favorite thing to do, aside from nursing, is sleep. This girl loves to catch her some z's.

Pure Sweetness

***UGGHHH....I wanted to post this last night but I thought the Internet was down. Really one of my kids just unplugged me!***

Conversations heard over the last week or so:



Chiggie, while picking up the baby: Oh come here sugar. Did Momma just leave you here to cry? You don't have to cry. I'm your big Sissy and I will take care of you.

Of course I had just set her down for a second so that I could clear the lunch dishes, sheesh.

Chiggie handing Tea a sequin she found on the floor: Tea I want you to have this so that when you grow up you will always remember that we are sisters.

NOT SO SWEET

Sometimes though their conversations take a turn. Last week for example my little sister (5) came to spend the night. She and Chiggie were arguing over something and didn't realize I was in the next room.

Chiggie: We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Give me back my doll or Scruffy gets it!

Ummmm am I raising a Mobster? Scruffy is my little sisters snuggle buddy and I hate to even imagine what would have happened to him had I not intervened.

She Went, She Saw, She Loved It

Chiggie's 1st day of Kindergarten went off without a hitch. By sheer coincidence she happened to know a couple of kids in her class which instantly put her at ease. I'm so happy and proud of her!

Done!

When she says she's done.......

She's DONE!

Love/Hate

• I love that Tea is feeling better but I hate that Midge caught whatever she had.
• I love going to church on Sundays but I hate getting up so early to get ready.
• I love that Chiggie is so excited about starting Kindergarten but I hate that summer vacation is over.
• I love watching the Babe grow so much every day but I hate that she can't stay a newborn forever.
• I love the chocolate cake we bought last night but I hate the calories.
• I love the freedom of not being pregnant anymore but I hate the way my body looks right now.
• I love being a stay at home mom but I hate being on such a tight budget.
• I love when the kids sleep in but I hate when they are up sooooo late.
• I love to cook but I hate to clean the mess.
• I love having a clean house but I hate all the work it takes to keep it up all the time.

How about you?

Yard Work, Viruses, and Cleaning Oh My!

We spent a lot of the day today outside doing yard work. Draining the pool, pulling/spraying weeds, mowing, edging, and trimming rose bushes. You can definitely tell that Fall is in the air. It was hot, but the air is changing that's for sure.

Tea hasn't been feeling well again. I feel so bad for her because she always seems to be the one to get these "viruses." It started on Thursday night when she crawled into our bed around 1:30 am just burning up. I took her temperature, gave her some medicine, and she fell right to sleep. She woke up on Friday, and while she was a little less energetic than normal, she seemed to be better. She never ran a fever on Friday. That's why I was a little surprised when she woke up today burning up again. Aside from being tired she is asymptomatic. Who knows, hopefully she'll be all better tomorrow.

I have a lot to do tomorrow. That is if I can work up the energy. I need to clean out the girls drawers again. At this point there is no room for their new clothes and they have grown so much this summer that there is a lot of stuff that doesn't fit them anymore. Chiggie has already picked out her "first day" outfit and is very excited for next week. I better hurry off to bed to better my chances of having the motivation to get some stuff done.

Swingin'

Sweet Scents

Throughout the morning today, I kept smelling a soft sweet scent. It wasn't perfume or air freshner, but I couldn't really pin point it. It took me half the day to realize that the wonderful smell was the Babe. Not lotion, shampoo, or fabric softener, just her soft sweet smell. If I could bottle and sell it I would make millions I tell ya, millions!

Somebody Stop Me!

Today I volunteered to be Chiggie's Daisy Troop Leader. Yeah, I'm scared too.

Take Them out to the Ball Game

Tonight our Church's Elementary Youth Group took the kids to a Sky Sox game. I really lucked out as the King volunteered to go along and take Tea as well. This left me with an entire evening with just Midge and the Babe. We ended up going to dinner with my Mom at a quiet restaurant and then over to my Mom's house to visit for a bit. Midge was so quiet and well behaved at dinner you hardly knew she was there. It was really just what I needed. Hopefully the King will come home with some good pictures I can share of their night out!

3 Weeks, and How am I Doing?

It really has been 3 weeks. It's unbelievable how slowly the last few weeks of pregnancy eek by and then how quickly the first few weeks postpartum fly. The Babe is wonderful. She eats good, sleeps a lot, and smiles frequently. She still seems so tiny and I love to swaddle her and rock her to sleep.

I get a lot of inquiries as to how I am doing throughout this whole process. It's odd because while my first reaction is good.... no great, I don't really know. I honestly have not had what I would call a "real" thought in weeks. My days are a blur consisting of diaper changes, night wakings, meal preparation, entertainment, and bathtime rituals. All to wake up the next day and repeat process. Kind of a Groundhog Day type of scenario.

The good news is that I am very aware of how short this phase will be in my life. I take time each day to hug each one of my babies and tell them just how much they mean to me. They are growing so fast and I know that one day I will look back at this time and laugh. I'll remember that my hands were full, but not nearly as full as my heart.

A Trip to the Big City

Let's face it. My family basically lives in Mayberry. The biggest store in our town, by far, is Wal-Mart. We only have one major Restaurant chain, and a few fast food joints. So today when we headed to the "Big City" to do a little school clothes shopping, it was interesting to say the least. I felt a little like Ma Walton bringing the family down into town from Walton Mountain.

Chiggie: Wow! This is so cool, all these stores in one place.

Me: Yeah, it's called a mall.

Our trip was successful, but hauling four kids through all those stores made us happy to return to our little town.

Closing Time

Today was the last weekday that our local pool was open. It was a perfect day to splash around and soak up the sun!

School Supplies

Tonight felt like a Friday. As soon as the King got home from work we all headed off to Wal-Mart to buy groceries and Chiggie's school supplies. Thankfully the store was not too crowded and we moved through the aisles quickly. We did all the grocery shopping first, adhering to a very strict budget.

After making sure we had everything we needed, we were off to the other side of the store to check out their school supplies. We found the list for Kindergarten and her school and were happy to see it didn't seem too bad......at first. As a matter of fact it wouldn't have been bad at all if they didn't specify what brand you had to buy. There was no way to bargain shop. The list was very specific and left little room for negotiation. In the end it was about $40-$45. It was exciting though. For her and us.

Once we got home we ate dinner and then loaded the supplies into her new back pack. Surreal I tell you, I have a school aged kid!

Catching Z's

Today for the first time in, well, forever I slept in. The phone ringing woke me up. I grumbled to myself wondering who could be calling me at such an hour. I peeked up at the clock to see that it was already 9 am. Shocked is an understatement. The baby was still sleeping soundly along with all 3 other girls. Surprisingly enough they are all already asleep tonight. Yay Me!

Raving and Ranting

Rant: Last night at the last minute I checked my voice mail and realized Tea had a dentist appointment at 9 am this morning. It was too late to cancel and too late to make arrangements for the other girls.

Rave: We made it to the appointment on time and all 4 of the girls were AWESOME! Tea had no cavities, she let them clean her teeth, and the x-rays looked good.

Rant: Tea was still wide awake at midnight last night. We can't seem to win for losing. If she takes a nap then she is recharged and awake half the night and if she doesn't she is whiny and miserable until she finally falls alseep.

Rave: The baby sleeps great. I got up twice as much with Tea last night than I did the baby!

Rant: Our grass still looks like its dying.

Rave: The last couple of days we have been getting decent afternoon rainshowers and I am hoping that this helps on top of the fertilizer and regular watering.

Rant: The girls are becoming obviously restless with our summer routine. They are definitely starting to get ready for fall and a more structured day.

Rave: School starts soon and along with it a whole bunch of new activities that ought to keep them entertained for at least a while.

2 Weeks

Just as always time is flying. Today I took the baby in for her two week well child check. I was relieved and impressed with her stats:

7#'s 10 ozs
20 1/2 "

She has really grown a lot just in the last couple of weeks. Her umbilical cord stump fell off this morning so tomorrow she can take her first fully immersed bath!

On another note it is also two weeks until school starts. We have to go to new student registration on Thursday and turn in Chiggie's immunization records. We still have to buy her supplies, but she already got her backpack last week. I know her starting Kindergarten will be a difficult transition for me, but I am so excited for her. It has become very apparent lately that she is ready. She is no longer content to just "hang out" all the time like the babies are. She loves to draw and write and has an obvious hunger for more knowledge. I'll miss her so much just in the few hours she will be gone, but I know she'll be having a blast.

How I Got My Groove Back

I am really starting to feel "normal" again. I know it's early, but I cannot stand to be cooped up. Beginning yesterday, I started migrating back into society. It was cooler than normal and we spent a few hours in the afternoon at the pool. My Mom and I made a shade tent for the baby and the girls enjoyed splashing and burning off some energy. The sun felt good and I was really happy to just get out a bit.

Today we had a nice visit from the King's Mom, Step-Dad, Grandma, Sister, and future Brother in -law. We had lunch, visited, and the girls ran them ragged. I enjoyed showing the baby off and she even stayed awake for a bit. Tomorrow we will go back to Church and I am excited about that as well. Ahhhh, to be back among the living!

Just a few Things

I never want to forget

• Your newborn smell
• The soft downy hair on your arms and back
• Tiny fingers and toes
• Your crooked smile
• The way you root around like a baby bird

I could go on and on and on........

Summer Love

All summer long my Mom and I have taken the girls to the chilren's library for the summer reading program. We have gone on Tuesdays, the girls have made a craft and checked out new books each week. Beginning with the first Tuesday a little boy just about Midge's age has followed her around trying to hug and give kisses the whole time. At first she resisted. She smacked him, pushed him down, or just ran. Well, this week my Mom took the girls herself. When they returned she came with the news that Midge had finally quit playing hard to get and was now giving hugs and kisses back. I wish I had pictures. Her first summer love!