Home Remedies?

Okay, so we are going on day 5 of this illness with Kyle and today for some reason he seems to be worse. He has loose bowels but no other symptoms. I've changed him 3 times in the past hour and his poor little bottom is starting to hurt. So if you have any home remedies out there please let me know. His "dinner" consisted of saltines, cheerios, applesauce and one bite of rice. Now he's into the Club crackers because he's so hungry. He is such a picky eater that it's hard for me to stick to the bananas, rice, applesauce, toast diet. He doesn't seem to be dehydrated which surprises me, but he's been really good about drinking gatorade and water.

I'm sitting here at home while Katie and Derek are swimming at the neighbors. Boo hoo.

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Beautiful Day

It's a gorgeous day outside so we played on the swingset again. I spent about 45 minutes laying on the hammock while the kids served me various treats...ice cream, pizza, Reese's peanut butter cup pizza, cinnamon, hot chocolate, etc. It was quite a varied menu today. Katie climbed in my lap and told me that she never wanted to get down.

Kyle's feeling a little better, but I think I'll keep him home tomorrow too since he's still having some tummy issues. Poor baby.

I also had to take a picture of my azaleas that are in bloom. I love spring!

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Starting to feel guilty

Since I keep putting Kyle on here doing girly things, I thought I better add a few photos of him just playing outside. He's been sick this week and still isn't 100%, but he's getting better.

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Tea Time

Both kids received tea sets from the Easter Bunny (Kyle likes to get into Katie's things so I figured it was better to just buy two), so we had a tea party this morning. Kyle had pink tea with cookies. Katie served iced tea along with chocolate ice cream with gummy bears. Delicious! And yes, we do boy things around here too...

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Happy Easter!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! I forgot my camera when we left this morning, but luckily Mrs. Wilke had Christian take some pictures of the kids today while they were hunting eggs. So whenever I get my hands on those, I'll put them up here. I just had to share my Louisiana Iris that finally bloomed this morning. These bloom about every other year but it seems like it's been longer than that. I think it's gorgeous. I know it's not an Easter Lily, but close enough and it's in my front yard. I love it.

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The Hunt

Today was the egg hunt at Grammie and B-bop's church. Unfortunately the kids are at the age where getting their picture together is harder work than it should be. So this is the best we have. We'll try again tomorrow when they are all gussied up again.

This year the hunt was better since they moved the 3-4 year olds right next to the 2 and under group. Last year we had to split up and I missed Kyle's hunt since Katie's was on the other side of the church. Kyle was all business this year and he had a basketful by the time Katie's group started. But, I didn't get any pictures of Katie this time! I handed the camera to Derek but he was the basket holder for Katie and didn't get a chance to take any pictures. Oh well. I'm sure we'll get some another time.

Tonight after bathtime I decided to verify with Katie which dress she wanted to wear for Easter. I had purchased 2 dresses in January, but she had not been with me at the time. Good thing I asked because the one she chose was not one I really wanted her to wear. So I took it downstairs to try to iron it out since it was a hand me down and when I started to iron it I noticed that there was a tear in it. I told her that she was not going to wear it for church - it would have to be a playdress or not be worn at all. She of course fell to pieces. I offered to take her to Kohl's to see if we could find something else. So we went on a hunt for a dress at 8pm the night before Easter. She found a playdress at Kohl's but we didn't like any of the church dresses. So we set off for the mall. She told me that she had seen an Easter egg dress at JCPenney the day before that she liked. There was no Easter egg dress, but luckily we found several that passed her inspection. We headed to the dressing room to try them on and I realized that was pretty much the first time she had tried on clothes at a store. At least the first time she really realized what we were doing. I think we did this last year too, but we didn't end up buying what she tried on. She had so much fun and wanted to buy all four dresses that we took in the dressing room. I eventually got it narrowed down to one. I enjoyed our little late night trip so much. I know it won't always be this easy or that we will agree, but I'm looking forward to more shopping trips with her.

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Pwincess Mommy!

While I was on the phone with Derek this evening, my children were basically throwing the contents of the playroom over the stair rail into the entryway. I'm sure Kyle is the one who was doing the throwing as Katie knows better, but she just watched him do it and laughed. So Kyle got to go to time out and Katie and I picked up all the toys. Rather than confiscate them like I usually do, I decided to have them both help me sort it all and put them back where they go. When we were finished, Katie started digging in the dress-up clothes and the next thing I hear is, "wear dis Mommy, pwincess!" as Kyle is handing me the fairy costume that Katie wore for Halloween when she was 3. You know I couldn't resist taking a picture! So here's my little pwincess with his hard hat on.

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Got the Green Light

and she's ready for Kindergarten! I stopped in to talk to Katie's teacher because I have been on the fence about whether or not to put Katie in Kindergarten next fall. We talked last fall and she said at that point there was no reason that she saw to keep her back, but we can revisit it in March. So, I decided today was the day to find out. I was so shocked when she showed me her progress. I mean I knew she was doing fine by the things she was bringing home, but I still had my doubts since she has a summer birthday. They have been working on "tubs and stations" which basically cover all the skills they need to have mastered to move on. She had mastered all but one, but the one that she had a check plus on instead of just a plus (meaning mastered) was lacing in a certain pattern. Apparently they haven't really worked on that before, so her teacher said it really wasn't a big deal. Then she showed me a picture that she had colored and I said, "Are you sure that's hers?" jokingly because I had never seen her sit that long and color a whole picture in without going out of the lines. Then she showed me a bear that she had cut out and all her color words which she had written. She's also been writing her first and last name. Anyway, she told me that Katie would be bored if we held her back which was our fear so she will be moving on next year. Hooray!

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A fresh coat of paint

So I put Kyle down for a nap and sent Katie to her room for "room time". She must be sleeping because I haven't heard her in quite a while. And I decided that rather than do the dishes or the laundry which I should be doing, I am tired of my hallway being half finished. My friend Shelly noticed the paint on one of the columns last week which is when I proceeded to explain that I eventually meant to paint the entire hallway and alcove that color, but we just hadn't gotten around to it. Why, I don't know. We painted that area last summer, so it's been at least six months which is typical in this household. Anyway, I finally finished it and it looks so much better. Now to figure out how to paint the entryway and the living room...that will probably take another year!

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Soccer, Haircuts and Shiners

Katie had her first soccer game this weekend. She had fun the first quarter that she played, but after about 5 minutes she ran over to me holding her ears and crying since it was so cold out. I sent her friend Sam in to the game in her place since she was not going to get back on the field. It all went downhill from there. She was fine until the last quarter when she was supposed to play again. She did not want anything to do with it. She started crying and holding on to me. I ended up having to walk away and let our neighbor take her out to the field. Both coaches and our neighbor talked to her and eventually she agreed to stay on the field. She got a chance to kick off as well. I think she just really missed her daddy at that point.

Saturday night we had the annual auction fundraiser at the preschool where I work. You would have thought it was Halloween. Katie came home with a bag of candy that is going to take months to finish. I think it might just disappear soon. And Kyle kept sneaking lollipops. He found the prize area in my classroom and would run in there, turn around to make sure no one was looking and then rip off the wrapper and stick it in his mouth. We had fun and came home with a bike for Kyle (going in the attic until Christmas) and my class's project, a platter to match the one I bought from Katie's class last year.

We sprung forward on Saturday night right into Sunday afternoon. Derek and I were exhausted and slept until 11am. How we did that with 2 kids is beyond me. We decided to take the kids to get haircuts since Kyle's was way too long. So I endured the screaming and the sticky lollipop covered with hair while he sat on my lap. I cannot wait until he outgrows his fear of the clippers. He did better with the scissors this time. Derek had the job of entertaining each child while the other one got the haircut, so he was walking up and down the shopping center and kept passing DoubleDave's. So let's throw the diet out the window for yet another day and go for the buffet. I started out well with a full plate of salad. Then went for the chicken, broccoli thin crust pizza. Yuck. So I went ahead and grabbed one pepperoni roll and another piece of some other kind of chicken pizza. Kyle had thrown a fit when we got in there, so he started his lunch with a gumball because I am at the point of giving in to him in public or we just have to leave. After we washed his hands three times I finally got to sit down and eat. He was distracted by the games which were around the corner. The next thing we hear is a crash and a wailing scream. He had fallen off a chair and landed on the side of his head. Derek scooped him up and I grabbed some ice and a napkin and they were outside in 15 seconds. Of course I hadn't eaten my pizza yet, so I grabbed it in a napkin and left. We overreacted and decided to take him to the ER which was a block away. Great ER by the way - First Choice Emergency Room - we were being seen within 5 minutes. Each child got a $50 lollipop and some stickers and we were sent home because he was fine. We were done there within 15 minutes. So my little guy has his first shiner. I hope it's the last for quite a while.

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What is that SMELL?

I just happened to be upstairs a few minutes ago and decided to check on little girl's room since she has a habit of trapping the cat in there. I opened the door and whew the olfactory senses went into overdrive. What is that? First thought, the cat peed, but no I'm a pretty good sniffer-outer of that particular odor and this was not the same thing. It was a sickly sweet mix between some seriously stinky pollen and pasta. I walked over to her bedside table, turned off the lamp which she is in the habit of leaving on and proceeded to walk downstairs to ask her if she knew what could possibly be in her room. I quizzed her on whether she may have snuck some food up there or a drink, some soap, lotion, anything I could think of that might be along those lines. She said no to everything and kept watching tv. So I decided to go back up there and try to clean up whatever it may be. I walked over to the window and opened it to air out the room. Took a step back and then thought, wait, it just got stronger. I stepped forward and looked down at the lamp. See for yourself:

So I brought it downstairs for a little object lesson and discussion about house fires when she looks at me and says, "Oh yeah, I burned myself on that." And then, "You're not going to throw my bracelet away, are you?" Um, it's not exactly wearable anymore.

Apparently the "house fire" talk went a little too far because now she will not go upstairs to play because, "what if there's a fire up there?" I hate to think how bedtime is going to go...

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Powdered food and broken cars

Today is the first official day of my weight-loss journey. I came home last night (after eating 2 hotdogs and a cupcake at church - I figured why not?) to find a huge box on my front porch - I could barely lift it so just hurling it in the door 3 feet and trying to block the cat from getting out is going to count as my exercise for the day. I opened it, looked at the food and thought what was I thinking? So I got out the packet of information and decided that would be my bedtime reading material.

So this morning I dug through the breakfasts and decided that since today is an at-home day and I have time I would cook. I went for the eggs with cheese. I ended up making an omelette and it was good! I had some fruit on the side and was full all morning. Hooray! For lunch I had pasta parmesan with broccoli and a salad with raspberry pecan dressing. I was able to put a small amount of chicken on my salad for my protein too. I'm amazed that what looks like a small amount of food turns out to be very filling and so far quite good. Of course I still have my little cravings for crunchy stuff...chex mix in particular today.

So I've only eaten 2 of the meals, but I am pleasantly surprised. We'll see how dinner tastes...

Now on to the car situation - what a pain! I dropped it off since the emissions light was on once AGAIN and when I got there I asked about the maintenance required light which started blinking on Monday. He said that it's time for the 60k mile service and then proceeded to tell me that since the car is 4 wheel drive it will cost $417 or something like that. I don't even remember at this point. He called yesterday afternoon to tell me that they FINALLY found the leak in the emissions system (this is the 3rd time I've taken it in for this). Oh and he explained to me that he was able to turn the gas cap over an inch so I am obviously not clicking it when I put it back on. I said, I ALWAYS click it more than 3 times which is what it says to do. Apparently you are supposed to click it until it stops. Well then why doesn't it say that? I was afraid I would crack the gas cap that they replaced two weeks ago since it only says click it 3 times! He is such a jerk. Anyway, then the guy said something about my engine is lifting up too much when you accelerate from a stop but that should be covered under the warranty. However, what is not covered under the warranty are the front brakes which are almost gone (he said we could wait on the rear brakes until this summer - thanks, I appreciate that). My head is just ringing like a cash register at this point because we're looking at a $75 deductible, the $417 service, the front brakes which are $209 and then he proceeds to tell me that I need 2 new tires also. I stopped him there and said that's okay I will take care of that on my own. Then he explains that the warranty company is sending out an inspector to make sure that the repairs are necessary which usually happens within 24 hours so once they show up they can start the repairs. Thank God that DH is gone so I can drive his car this week. I seem to remember the last time I had a quote for repairs that cost this much on a car we said, make the noise go away (for which they charged $100) and we sold it the next day. Don't see that happening this time...

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I swear I don't have a newborn

Here I sit at 1am because I have already been awoken 3 times out of a dead sleep tonight. What is going on??? Little boy just can't seem to go to sleep. I am hoping there is not an ear infection in his future because we were warned in January that she was "watching" him for the next couple of months and if he had another one we were being sent to the ENT. While I know ultimately it would be better for him, I cannot imagine putting him through surgery for tubes at this age. A year ago and he most likely would have forgotten it. But now, he'll be scarred for years because he's aware enough to remember what those doctors may do to him. I pumped him up with motrin a little while ago, so hopefully that will get us through a few hours. We have to get up early tomorrow to leave for school because DH is gone and can't take little girl to school for me. These are the days I question my decision to have her at one school while I work at another...

Since I'm up, I might as well clear out the clutter in my brain so I can get back to sleep...My car went back into the shop today. I am so sick of looking at that little yellow light that doesn't seem to want to go away! Last week I started checking our loan balance to see how upside down we were, but the next day DH informed me that we are not buying another car. I had convinced myself that I would drive this thing until it disintegrated in about 10 years, but if they cannot get this emissions problem figured out I will lose patience. Thank God that the light stayed off for 24 hours last week so that I could get my inspection sticker. I love my car, but I don't love it today. Oh and the maintenance required light has started blinking which made me realize that it's due for it's 60k mile service. So I asked about that today and he said, "is it 4 wheel drive? because if it's not, it's only $329, but if it is, it's $417...oh yea, yours is 4 wheel drive." Thanks, there goes another $400. Go ahead, take my paycheck. Y'elcome, as little boy says.

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None of my clothes fit!

So here I am, a year older, a black eye (courtesy of an accidental head butt from little boy), and 10 pounds heavier. To say that none of my clothes fit is an understatement. All of my friends are on the get skinny train and for some reason I have spent the past 6 months eating and eating and eating. I know that it was definitely emotional eating but I know better than to blame it on that so really it was just eating.

I thought I would go back on WW. Ha. I have no discipline and no desire to eat like that right now. I know it works. I've done it before and I thought that if I paid the money I would stick to it. Wrong. I have so many friends on WW right now that you'd think it would be a no-brainer. Problem is that I rarely see those friends on a regular basis.

So I'm putting it out there. I NEED to lose at least 15 pounds, preferably 20. I am starting a new diet tomorrow and I will be held accountable by DH since this cost a lot more money than WW. I don't have to think, but I will have to eat yucky pre-packaged foods. But at this point in my life I think that's what it is going to take to get me started. I'll check in weekly with an update on how it's going. Hopefully soon I'll be able to put on some of those cute pants I was able to wear last Spring.

Off topic, but speaking of DH, he is in California right now for training. I'm so bummed because that was supposed to be our trip for Spring Break this year. We were planning to take the kids to DisneyLand and then to see our friends in San Diego. But life happens and the money had to go elsewhere. I'd say maybe next year, but our friends won't be living there anymore so if we head to a Disney anything, it will be DisneyWorld in Florida. So sad. At least little girl has stopped asking about it.

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Voting

My friend and I went to vote on Friday and apparently they way over hyped the early voting situation in Houston because the line was out the door. We decided since neither of us knew who we were voting for, we'd just skip it and try again on the actual election day. So, I took Katie and Kyle this morning and wouldn't you know - not one single person in line in front of me! Katie didn't really understand what we were doing. I tried to explain it to her by talking about choosing people who make the rules, but she couldn't catch on to the big picture. I guess since the people who make the rules in her mind are Mommy and Daddy...and teachers.

So I voted. I made up my mind as I walked into the polling place and did something I never thought I would. I voted for someone who I don't want to be in office just to keep someone else out of office. I figured I could "fix" it the next time around and actually vote for who I want since this was just a primary. So while I did what I was supposed to do, which is vote; I don't really feel good about it. But the person I really want isn't really in the running anymore so I guess it doesn't matter.

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