Beautiful Day

The weather today was gorgeous. With all the complaining I do, I have to say, I can't think of anything bad to say about today. We slept in to the tune of 9 am, which was fabulous. The kids were all in good spirits, and just like I thought, Tea is feeling much better already. I took Chiggie for a longer bike ride this afternoon. It was my first ride this spring and it felt so good to be out. It's so cool to have a kid old enough to ride pretty much anywhere. We rode for about an hour and then we were both pretty much spent.

We just hung out this afternoon. I re-painted the trim in our sitting room and I can't believe how much better it looks. I guess I didn't realize how bad it was looking. For dinner we grilled hamburgers. It was delicious. It was also our first bbq at home this season. I think we've just been busy having a new baby around because it seems like a lot of these "firsts" are coming later than usual for us. After we ate we took a walk and let the girls play for a long time at the park. Buster was happy in his new stroller and it was a great way for the girls to burn off even more energy.

Tonight they all 5 went right to bed with NO problems. Clearly, every day can't be like today, but that doesn't stop me from wishing it could.

Tradition

What would Memorial Day Weekend be without a trip to see the on call pediatrician? What? That's not a tradition your family has? Well ours sure does. Poor Tea has a double ear infection. She started complaining yesterday and had a rough night too. She seemed a bit better this morning, but I still decided it was better to be safe than to have her experience any more un-neccessary pain. I'm glad it's a simple fix. She'll feel 100% in no time!

Nearly Here

Summer is nearly here. I can feel it in everything we do. Last night we went to the Drive-In to see Shrek IV. It was our first trip this season and Buster's first ever. The movie was hilarious. Way better than the third one. The girls sat in their chairs outside for the majority of the movie and that was fantastic. The weather was gorgeous. Very warm but not too humid at all. Perfect.

Today I went grocery shopping and also bought the girls some new summer clothes and swimsuits. They all really needed a new suit and we're celebrating Chiggie's b-day at Water World this year, so what better time to get them.

Then tonight we went to a graduation party/bbq for the son of a family we go to church with. It was a lot of fun and totally wore the girls out. It was a great kick off to my absolute favorite season of the year (sorry Elizabeth but Summer is the BEST!)

Poor Buster had a fussy period this evening and I think he was just overwhelmed. He had a long day and was just too tired. He's been sleeping AWESOME and is a very heavy sleeper. Once he goes down for the night, almost nothing wakes him up. I've been sleeping really good too and even though I've had a bit of a cold, I've been feeling pretty good lately. I can't wait for this next week to be over so the summer can officially begin!

Games Day

Today was Chiggie's school's annual games day. They don't finish up school for another week, but it was fun for them to have a break. The little kids and I went to watch for a bit, but in the end it was really hot and the little girls were getting impatient. Chiggie cooled off with her water bottle and they had squirt gun/water balloon fights to keep cool.

I'm so glad Tea will be old enough to participate next year. It's hard to be little sometimes.

New Things

This past weekend Chiggie spent a considerable amount of time auditioning for our county's Civic Theater Fall production 'The Music Man.' This morning we found out that she made it in the show and she'll be a townsperson/chorus member. She is so excited. The play is mostly composed of adults and I know this will be such a good experience for her. I can't express how impressed and proud of her I am. She has the courage to try new things and put herself out there, even when she's not sure what will happen.

Hack, Hack, Hack.....

I've seriously lost track of time. I just saw that I last posted on Monday, and I thought, 'wow I can't believe I haven't posted since Monday.' Sheesh, it's only Tuesday. There is a whole lot of coughing going on around here. Tea is continuing to do better. Boo and Midge, on the other hand, seem to have plateaued. They're not getting any worse, but I can't say they sound a whole lot better either. Last night was horrible. They both had coughing attacks that left them struggling for breath and crying. I haven't slept well in at least 3 nights now.

On top of that, this is a very busy week. We had t-ball tonight. Tomorrow is the final youth group of the year and I'm taking cupcakes. Thursday is Chiggie's in class talent show. Finally Friday is her school's field day and I had planned on taking the kids to watch. Hopefully they'll be physically well enough to go.

We're not going camping this Memorial Day weekend. We just can't. The school year changed this year and Chiggie doesn't get out until June 3rd. On top of that, the King leaves for another school session on the 6th and will be gone for 3 weeks. Combine that with everyone being sick and a new baby and it's just not a good time for us to go. The girls know we're not going and they know we'll go another time this summer. They're just excited for summer. We do have some other plans including a possible trip to the drive-in, so it will still be fun.

Sickies and Another Lost Tooth

We've been battling illness around here again. This time it's an upper respiratory. So far I'm the only one who isn't coughing at all. So far. Even little Buster has a teeny, tiny, baby cough. I'm hoping it doesn't progress to anything more serious.Boo, Midge, and the King have been hit the hardest. The little girls are taking 'round the clock breathing treatments. They hate these, so it's no fun for anyone really.Chiggie lost another tooth tonight. This time it was a silver one. This is a really big deal around here. It brought back all the memories of her first few dentist visits. I was pregnant for MIdge and couldn't be around the gas, so the King had to be back with her while she had the cap put on. It seems like forever ago. Once again, just for good measure, doesn't this just make you smile??

Saturday

Today started out beautifully, so even though the King had to work, I took the kids and my little sisters to the duck park for a picnic. My Mom is out of town and the girls are staying the night. It looked so nice out but the wind really was ridiculous. Chiggie HATES the wind, so she did not have fun at all.We were able to get through a quick lunch and a brief feeding of the ducks. The girls loved the baby duck above. Tonight Chiggie lost her very first molar. It was actually easier to help get out than the little teeth are. She was really excited.

While the girls played I spent the late afternoon reorganizing our book/game shelf. I didn't have a before picture, but I like the results.

This last picture is from the other day, but I just had to share. Somehow poor Buster ended up with gum in his hair. I have no idea how it happened. Luckily for him it came out very easily. Part of being number 5 I suppose.....

2 Month Check-Up

Yesterday was Buster's 2 month well child check. I was so excited to see, in numbers, how much he has grown. He didn't disappoint. He weighed in at a whopping 11lbs 5ozs and 24" long. He has almost doubled in size in just 2 months! He's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 95th for height. He's also been sleeping for long stretches at night. He will nurse at 9pm and then sleep until 3am. Fabulous! The first time he did it, I woke up panicked that I had maybe slept through a feeding, but he was fast asleep. It's so fun watching his personality develop too. He smiles a lot at all of us. The girls get so excited! He's our little dude and we love him so much.

T-Ball

Ahhh baseball season. I have loved this game since I was a very young child. It's still one of my favorite sports to watch and play for that matter. Tea is enjoying herself as well. I don't know if it's the sport or just the fact that she's finally old enough to be involved that she loves so much.

She's such a confident child. No matter what she chooses to do, I know she'll do it well.

Stalker

This poor, poor baby. You see, he has a stalker. A woman who follows him around, taking his picture, cooing at him in a high pitched voice, and constantly loving on him. That's right. I am officially the "Mammarazzi." This is his "I'm about to punch the camera" face. I love it!

Tub Time

Dinner was so messy tonight, meatball subs, that a bath afterwards was really the only answer for these two. They weren't disappointed.

They're both going through a crazy Dora phase. Luckily we got two of these dolls from two different people who were de-cluttering. Sharing isn't always easy!

2 Months

I seriously wonder how life ever felt normal without this little guy. I have genuinely felt this way after each of my children. Like they're all a part of the puzzle that has created this family I love so much.

Talent Show

Friday night was Chiggie's school's annual talent show. She tried out this year and her act made the cut. She was very excited and rehearsed for weeks. I'm so glad that she has the confidence in herself to perform in front of large audiences. Both the King and I have rather severe stage fright so I have no idea where this came from. The video was taken on the King's cell phone and you have to tilt your head to the right, but here it is:

***Okay, so I have no idea why the sound isn't working right. At least not on my computer anyway. As she's crawling towards the cup of water she is saying "water" and then once she gets there she says "thank goodness" pulls a comb out of her back pocket, and combs her hair. It was adorable!

Healing

Now that I'm finally healing from the whole "tooth yanked from my head" experience, I feel ready to tell the story.

It all started on Sunday evening. A tooth that hadn't bothered me in forever, but was badly broken off, was really hurting. I took some Motrin and tried several other things to take the edge off. At around 11pm I tried to go to bed for the night but I absolutely could not get comfortable. I got up and basically paced until around 2am when I woke up the King. He went to the store to try and find some type of numbing medication that would help. He bought 4 different kinds out of desperation and brought them home for me to try. Unfortunately the pain stayed steady for the rest of the night.

I called my dentist first thing in the morning and changed my Tuesday filling appointment to an extraction. The pain persisted but it did become more bearable over the next day or so. By Tuesday morning I was ready to do whatever necessary for pain relief. To paint a better picture the tooth that was hurting was my last molar on the bottom right hand side. Not a tooth visible when smiling, nor a huge deal when eating. According to my dentist the most important molar in your mouth is the one just before this one.

When I was called back to begin the process the Dentist first looked in my mouth. He expressed a slight concern that this tooth might not just "come right out." This made me a little nervous. He gave me 3 shots of Novocaine, which by the way hurt like the dickens. The syringe looked about as big around as pop can and the medicine, I'm not kidding, was the viscosity of maple syrup. I had to remind myself that this was all part of ending this horrible 2 day long toothache.

It all went down hill from there. I have never had a tooth pulled before, so I really don't know what normal is, but this was something you might see in a horror movie. The noises were hideous and the tools looked like they came from the King's tool belt, not a medical facility. After much effort he came to the conclusion that this tooth was not going to cooperate. They took my blood pressure, had me sign some papers, and decided to surgically remove it. I distinctly remember thinking I wasn't entirely okay with being awake during any kind of surgery. But again, if the ends justify the means, I cooperated.

I remained calm until I heard the word "scalpal." What? Fear surged through my body and was amplified when the first incision was made and I was not entirely numb. I was immediately given several more "horse shots" and lost all feeling and I'm pretty sure touch with reality as well. I don't know exactly how much more time went by. I do remember seeing the Dentist's forearm muscles bulging and shaking as he extracted my beligerant molar. When it finally came out I could sense the relief in the room. I was stitched up and biting on gauze in no time. When it was clear I wasn't going to pass out I was allowed to sit up and orient myself. I couldn't feel anything at all just swelling and numbness. The Dentist and his assistant were very nice telling me how good I had done. I distinctly remember pushing at his arms a few times, but he was very forgiving.

I left the office and haven't had much pain at all since, which is good because I'm still nursing and narcotics are a no no. It's more irritating than painful. I'm so relieved to have the acute pain gone that I can handle a little irritation here and there.

Moral of this long and rambling story: They are called permanent teeth for a reason. Evicting them is a long and difficult process, so try and work something out.

Kindergarten Buddy Day

Of all of the kids, Tea's pre-school years have flown by the fastest. It's like she went from baby to Kindergartner literally over night. She's ready for the world though, she really is. Our district no longer has half-day kindergarten so she'll be going all day long. This doesn't intimidate her at all. Like I said, she's ready. She loved Buddy Day and told us all about it. It's hard to believe that next year she'll be the Kindergartner and Midge just might be the buddy!

Thanks Mema

I had to go to the dentist this morning and the kids stayed with my mom. This afternoon this is what they looked like.

I'm not sure what they did, but they must've played hard and had fun!

Instead of writing about the absolutely horrible, unbearable night I had with another severe toothache I'll post cute pictures of this little hunk.

Seriously though, I'm having the tooth pulled tomorrow. I don't even care anymore. The loss of the tooth has to be better than the pain.

This is another busy week for us. What's new I suppose. Tomorrow Chiggie is taking cookies to school for her summer birthday. Wednesday Tea has Kindergarten buddy day. Friday is the school talent show, which Chiggie auditioned for and made it! It's all exciting I'm just hoping we can stay healthy and pain free for that matter.

We had a lovely Mothers Day. The King and the girls spoiled me with lovely cards and gifts. Even Buster gave me extra snuggles. It's my goal to take more pictures this week so we'll see.

Amazing

I know, I just wrote a long depressing post on how sick I've been and all that, but it amazes me how much better my kids make me feel. Not long after I wrote that post Buster smiled. Not a reflex smile. Not an "I'm dreaming smile" A real, eyes locked, I love my Mommy smile. *sigh* Oh I love him!!!

Blah, blah, blah....

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since Monday. I hate going that long in between posts, but I also hate posting the same thing over and over and over and well you get the point. We've been sick AGAIN. Seriously I'm done with all of this. I woke up on Wednesday, which just happened to be the King's birthday, with a fever, sore throat, and very sore joints. I was not happy, let me tell you. I had plans. Big plans, and they were all ruined. It wasn't something I could fight through. Every time I got up enough energy to get up off of the couch and try to accomplish something I had severe abdominal pain. I called the doc but couldn't get in until Thursday.

Somehow I survived the day, but it was awful. I just wanted to sleep or maybe even cry. I didn't have the energy to cry though, and it's not really safe to sleep when you're taking care of 5 kids under 9. On Thursday I went to the Doc and was rapid tested for strep which came back negative. I was shocked and ticked off. I stayed to see the doctor, not satisfied with just going home to ride out the "virus." After an examination he agreed I appeared to be infected with something. He gave me a prescription and sent me to the lab to have a tissue sample taken from my throat.

Once I started taking the antibiotic, just like last time, I felt better. The Doc called yesterday and the sample grew Strep. Just a different type of strep than the rapid test normally picks up. Oddly I was thrilled. I know it sounds weird, but I guess I felt validated. Hopefully the antibiotic will work and this will end for good. Strep twice in a month is not fun.

So for now I am feeling overwhelmed. Another couple days of being sick has put me even further behind. Top that off with the girls rotating through completely random, short lived bouts of fever and vomiting and one might see where I would be a little jumpy at this point. The King is still working Saturdays, but should be off on Sundays. This is nice, but we spend a good portion of our Sundays on church activities leaving little time for things around the house. I've come full circle and I'm right back to trying to find a balance.

Groove

After the baby was born, almost immediately, I craved some sort of routine. Even if it involved very little sleep, I craved predictability. I am definitely a planner and don't always handle "surprises" very well. Over time I can definitely say we have found a groove, but a routine not so much. 5 kids is just un-predictable by nature. Every time I think we're finally there someone gets sick or hurt or pulls an all nighter. I don't find myself to be overwhelmed in the traditional sense, but inflexible, yes that would be me. I'm working on it but the progress is oh so slow.

Today was an all day errand day. We picked up my Mom and took her by several places she needed to go and oddly it was a lot of fun. Just being out of the house on a weekday made a world of difference. Who knew eating lunch in the Safeway parking lot could be so much fun? Tomorrow I really need to buckle down and do the housework. I'm buried in laundry after a dryer fiasco that resulted in $100+ in repairs. I'm just thankful I've got two loads going right now. The weather continues to annoy me in every way possible with its refusal to make up its mind already. Summer is just around the corner, though, and I can't wait for that!

Blossom Festival 2010

Suddenly I'm realizing that all of those elderly people who have winked at me and told me on random occasions to "enjoy it, it goes by too fast," weren't kidding. This was our 6th Blossom Festival. Buster had no idea what to expect. I dressed him up and gave him a morning nap in the swing.The kids posing just before we left. It's still weird getting used to saying "the kids."This crew has grown so much over the years. Not just exponentially, but physically as well.Chiggie got a hug from Jelly Belly. They all also got bags of jelly beans.Tea grabbed a quick hug too. They loved tasting and trying to guess the different jelly bean flavors.This was my favorite float that we saw. We didn't stay for the entire parade though....Buster was perfectly content just sleeping on Mema's lap.Chiggie and Tea really enjoyed the gator coaster.Tea came out of the slide head first. Against the rules technically, but oh so fun anyway. I LOVE the Moby wrap. Buster slept and nursed and never got upset, while the girls road hours worth of rides.

Midge and Boo are such good friends. They loved these boats and rode several times.

Tea was hilarious riding the swings. I was so afraid that she would get scared and want off, but I went ahead and let her go and she LOVED it.
The slide, as always, was a hit!

The King spent a lot of time with the little girls making sure they got to ride everything.

Exhausted, Boo fell asleep clutching her precious carousel unicorn. We had a great time and already can't wait for next year. It'll be here before we know it!