Sundries

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all!

I've been kind of out of everything with a lingering ick, so sorry for the lack of posts.

We had a good visit with family for the holiday, except that they all had the ick, too. Bad timing.

In other news, I think Chase ate a bandaid today. Hmm. Wonder how that will come out?

Lyrics

Ian's little preschool class is still singing this song (and performing it on Sunday-- I can't wait to see it!):

I said, Pharaoh, Pharaoh, oooh baby, let my people go (Ooh-ah, ya ya ya ya)

Well a burnin' bush told me just the other day
That I should come over here and stay
Gotta get my people out of Pharaoh's hand
And lead them all to the promised land.

We were talking about it today, and Ian tells me, "...and Pharoah says, 'So I talked to a Bernie the other day.'"

I asked him if he meant burning bush instead of Bernie, but he was very adamant that Pharaoh was talking to a Bernie.

And the Winner Is...

Tiffany!!

Yep, it's me.

Back in 24 hours or so.

Told You So

Ian started complaining of a stomach ache this morning. It went off and on. He spent some time on the couch, but also spent time playing. He didn't have very much appetite, but then again, he never really does.

So we went about our day. Lunch with Bryan. Grocery shopping.

He was fine for lunch- happy, playful, but didn't eat. He was kind of whiny at the store, but he always is. He did opt to ride in the cart rather than push one of those cute little kid carts around, so that was kind of weird.

He fell asleep in the car on the way to lunch and on the way home.

On the way into the neighborhood, he perked up and wanted desperately to play with Leah, to which I emphatically said NO. You don't feel good, spreading germs...blah blah blah. Basic no-fun mom excuses.

He got 3 steps into the house before he puked all over the floor.

Here we go again!

Wanna take bets on who gets this rotten thing next? Me or Bryan? Maybe Gaga or Papa (since he spent the night with them over the weekend)? Winner gets bragging rights and one of those hospital germ masks.

All Good..Almost

Chase is feeling better, for the most part. Here we go with refusing to eat again, though. Maybe his tummy is still a little eh. Crossing my fingers that everything will be back to normal tomorrow.

Nobody else has caught anything. I'm probably jinxing myself. Watch- tonight Ian will wake up with it tonight. Ugh.

Other than that, no more catastrophes. The laundry is almost done, dinner is made, and the boys will be ready for bed by 6:30. Bryan is on a plane at this very moment, ready to come home and be tagged in :)

All is good. For now...

Never Ever Ask

If anything else can go wrong.

Remember when I said things weren't going smoothly while Bryan was gone? Well, last night as I was about to enjoy the peace and quiet of only have to run after one of my monsters, Chase woke up with a raging stomach bug- both ends- that went off and on all night long every 1 1/2 hours or so.

We've been officially up since 5.

We've both changed our clothes at least 3 times.

The poor guy can't even keep gatorade and saltines down.

Oy.

Day Three

It's the close of the 3rd day Bryan has been out of town. The house is really quiet. The boys' bedtimes have been progressively getting earlier.

He's celebrating his little brother's 30th birthday down in FL. It was a really awesome idea for my sister in law to get all 4 of the brothers together to surprise him. I hope he's really REALLY enjoying all the guy time, because I'm lonely here!! Totally looking forward to his homecoming on Monday.

It's not that bad, really- it's not like I can't do it by myself- but just having another adult in the house in the evening really breaks up the monotony of it all. Not to mention I kind of like my hubby, and look forward to spending time with him. And the boys miss him, too. Ian told him on the phone today, "Can you come home now because I really want to play with you!" Awww :)

And of course, it can't all go smoothly while he's away. Friday I spent a little time at the hospital for a possible blood clot in my leg. The tech couldn't find anything, but I know something is there. The Dr put me on thinners anyway, and I actually am starting to feel kind of normal again. Thanks to my awesome neighbors who kept all my kids for me while I checked out my veins!

Tonight Gaga and Papa took Ian for a sleepover...his first real one. He's spent part of the night over at the Gallers' house a couple times, but this will be the first time that he's voluntarily spent a night without me away from our house (Gaga and Papa stayed here while we went to Las Vegas earlier this year).

I guess it just feels weird having only one kid around here. And knowing that I'm perfectly capable of having him here, but he's choosing not to. I don't know. It's a strange feeling.

With Ian and Bryan gone, I feel a little empty.

Guess I'll go to bed with my heating pad and my book. Not that I don't enjoy an evening in bed with nothing else to do...I'm just not USED to it.

Orange Eater

One Last Campaign Message

From one of my newest favorite people, Jacob:

Check it out.

Ian The Bikemaster

This weekend, the training wheels came off and Ian let Daddy show him how to ride a REAL two-wheeler (just like Andy!).

He took to it so quickly! After months of saying that he wanted to take his training wheels off, then crying when I tried to help him balance, he finally got enough confidence to give it a try for real. Maybe Daddy just has the magic touch.

He had a little trouble starting, but Bryan showed him the "push the peddle, then bounce on your foot" trick. And within 10 minutes, he was off all on his own.
Three years and 9 months old and riding like a pro! I'm so proud :)
Doesn't he look cute on that itty bitty bike?

Since then, he's been out at least twice a day practicing-- he totally loves it.
I think he amazes himself.

Chase Pasttimes

One of Chase's favorite activities today was climbing up on the train table and clacking a strand of Mardi Gras beads on it.

I don't mind his little inventive ways, but it's just a little disheartening that we have this much stuff to play with, and he's happy with a string of freebie beads... :)

That should make Christmas shopping a whole lot easier.

Picky Eater

Apparently, applesauce and rice cereal tastes better by hand than it does off a spoon.

He refused to eat it from the spoon, but loved, loved, LOVED mushing it around and licking it off his fingers.

See? Food!

He looks like he's been caught in the act!

More please!

New Chase Trick

I'm trying to get a video, but he is camera shy.

His newest trick is pushing himself to standing from the floor for a millisecond, and then free falling into the bean bag chair. He thinks it's sooo funny.

And all I can think is, "Woo-HOO! One step closer to actually walking!"

Oh, Ian...

Last night, Ian had a hard time falling asleep because he ended up napping in the car and on the couch after running errands yesterday. He wasn't cranky, just wound up. So I told him he could read some stories in bed for a while.

That turned into reading in his rocking chair. Which turned into coming into our room several times to show us things he found in his room, to tell us things, and to ask questions.

Finally, we were very firm about how he needed to stay in his room and read quietly and help his body relax and go to sleep. He padded back into his room.

5 minutes later, there is a cry for help. Followed by, "I peepeed in my bed!"

GAH!

He is standing on his bed, wide awake, legs soaking wet, with a puddle forming under him...seeping through every piece of bedlinen possible. Comforter, blanket, both sheets, mattress pad.

He says he forgot where the toilet was. He said it was an emergency. Uh huh.

Then he told us with a smile that he put his BlueDogs on the rocking chair and his Bronco pillow on the floor so that they wouldn't get pee on them!!!! Crafty, yes. Secretive, no.

I asked him if he moved his pillow and dogs because he knew he was going to wet the bed on purpose so he could have a shower. He looked me in the eyes, and said, "Yeah." I love how honest kids are.

We baby wiped him down, decided to put him on Craigslist in the morning, changed the bed, and gave him new pajama pants. Then we didn't hear from him until the sun came up.

Oh, Eenie...*sigh*

Field Trip

Today I took all the kids (Ian, Chase, and William) to Chase's 18 month ped visit, got the boys flu shots, then hauled everyone to Monkey Joe's for some jump around fun.

Everyone was really really good. 3 very laid back kids.

But still, therapy, then almost 5 hours away from home with 3 small boys...so.exhausted.

Laryngitis

Ian:

My teacher was sick today. If she talked too much, her voice was going to run right out of her mouth!

Voter Confessional

I voted today.

For the first time, ever. I've been over 18 for almost 11 years...and I've always been to lazy to change my address, or find out where my precinct votes, or, well, vote. I know. I was a total election loser.

So I did it today :) And I feel so grown-up!

Oh, and there was NO LINE! I was expecting to wait forever, so I was pleasantly surprised. Although, this whole waiting all night long for the results is awfully drawn out, isn't it?

Back From My Pity Party

Thanks to Angelle who watched the boys while I biked this afternoon :)

It was a little eh out- kinda misty, a little windy, and just generally gray. I really really tried to use it as an excuse to put off riding one more day (or week, whatever.) but I read Mandi's post about her rainy bike experience, and felt pretty wimpy whining (again) about a teeny bit of rain.

So I did it. I got on my crappy bike and did 8.4 miles (that's 2/3 of the bike part!) in 40 minutes! That time also includes the time that I dropped my phone and it went skidding across the road and I almost ran over it, and also the time I had to stop because I almost ran headlong into a little girl. Oops. (She changed directions on me- it really wasn't my fault.) I could have even done more, I think, but I wanted to be able to walk tomorrow and didn't want to push too hard on my first time out on the bike.

So. If I can do the bike portion in under an hour, the swimming in 15 minutes, and add 10 minutes in for transitions, that leaves me with 50 minutes to do the 5k before they haul me off the course for being the slowest person out there-- and that's if I had to do it tomorrow.

I think I may actually be able to do this. Yay for low expectations! (Thanks, Cate!)

Random Whining and Not So Much Training

I guess it's this time change nonsense. I knew that the boys would be thrown for a loop a little, but I thought that I'd be able to handle it. I am so.freaking.tired. I went to bed the last two nights at like 8:30. I can't keep my eyes open after dinner. Oy. But on the up side, getting up in the morning is a lot easier when I have more than 5 hours of sleep.

Also I haven't done any kind of training since last Wednesday. So, I suck. Really bad. And, for some reason when I miss my exercise time, I compensate for it by eating really rotten stuff. That makes sense, right?

Ian has this new book, Martha Blah Blah. I'm Laurie Blah Blah.

It's just hard. I want to be able to exercise and be healthy and yadda yadda yadda...but who has the time? I'm all trying to keep up with Angelle and her amazing training schedule, while also trying to work around 4 weekly therapies and watching an infant full time. I just can't. I can't do it and keep my kids entertained and my house in some semblence of order. And take a shower every once in a while.

So. That's my whine for the day. I'm going to aim for a possible bike ride today...maybe that will make me feel better.

On the positive side, this weekend we:
* Went to the Rennaissance Festival and had lots of fun :) No, we did not dress up. We do not enjoy it THAT much. Other people do, though. Not that there's anything wrong with wearing a corset and a animatronic dragon on your shoulder.

*Cleaned out our garage. Like, took everything out, swept the floor, and reorganized everything cleaned it out. It's awesome.

My Little Prizefighters

Chaser the Eraser and Eenie Meanie

Yes- I finished their costumes!! I'm so proud that I turned $15 of Walmart's finest sale fabric into boxing robes :)
*whew* Thank God that is over!