And a goodnight to you...

Was bedtime last night an indicator of things to come today? You bet your butt it was.
When I put the kids to bed last night Irene went without a problem. Henry was fine until he said he wanted to hug daddy and realized daddy was not home anymore. Then it was twenty minutes of hysterical crying. I made up two stories and sang a song to calm him down...it worked until I decided to leave him then it was cry cry cry again. He did 20 minutes of crying.
When I went to bed Chang decided to bark and bark and bark and bark and bark. he woke me several times during the night. At ten to six this morning he sat at the foot of the stairs barking and growling. I had to get up before he woke the kids. I was ready to boot his behind outside. Instead I gave him a baby aspirin. He has really bad seasonal allergies that makes his skin itch like crazy. The aspirin worked...for a bit. Just barely got back to sleep when Henry came in my room. Put him in bed next to me which would have been fine if he had not awaken me every five minutes.
Now Henry is once again hysterical over a broken cookie. He is yelling for daddy again. I realize he has a cold but geez! At this point I want daddy too.

On a more positive note my older brother had invited us to his house for Easter. Mark will be working that weekend so it'll just be my mom, the kids, and me. I hate to make up a big meal for just us but I want my kids to have those family traditions that I had growing up. Easter was a big brunch after church with all the family. Grandpa would take the grandkids for an Easter walk. I loved it!
We'll go down on Saturday the 11th and stay over night. The kids will get to play with their cousin Eric plus all of my sister-in-law's nieces and nephews. Perhaps we'll even get to go for an Easter walk :-)

...it seems my doggies will be needing a sitter...someone to come let them out occasionally...any takers??!!!

Long time...

What a long week! I am exhausted. Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day. The kids and I took my mom out for corned beef and cabbage. She even got off work an hour early since we also had Kindermusik that night. We had dinner at the Bungalow. It was very good but last year they also served cake with green frosting. None this year and Henry was disappointed. After dinner we went to Kindermusik. Henry had a terrific time, dancing and singing. He loved it. Irene was cranky and did not want to participate in anything.

Wednesday (my birthday!) we drove down to pick up daddy! We ate lunch at Olga's Kitchen. I love their white bean chicken chili and Mark loves their cream of broccoli soup. We came home and Mark made spaghetti for dinner. While it was a pretty simple day it was a very good day and I was thrilled to have Marky home for my birthday.

Thursday and Friday were pretty lazy days. We went for a walk with the kids and dogs and the kids just went nuts playing with daddy. They were thrilled to have daddy home. Of course I was thrilled too...I get to sleep in when daddy is here :-)

Friday afternoon and Saturday Henry had a fever. He seems to have a cold, poor guy. We also discovered that putting a sticker on your face and leaving it on is not a good thing. It wouldn't come off and now a certain little boy has an ouchie on his cheek.

This morning we drove daddy back to work. It always bums me out to take him back to work and all those hours in the car poop me out. We had a great time with daddy and sooo miss him.

Roo with her St. Patty's sticker on her cheek.Henry wearing his sticker and looking like he had been partying with St. Patty!Henry during his fever. Poor guy looks like he doesn't feel well.And finally...Roo acting like she owns the joint.

Round 'em Up

On Saturday we went to Preschool round-up. I was excited to go to meet the teacher and ask questions. I have been worried about the best place to send Henry in the fall. In the end I decided on the same place I went to Preschool. I loved it there and have many very happy memories. Plus I like the way they deal with any tantrums/quarrels. The other place I checked out had a different discipline method that I wasn't to keen on.

I was surprised and very pleased with the amount of people we knew there. There were at least 4 families that we know. Granted they might not all decide to go there but I am sure a few will and that will be great.

Irene and Henry had a great time playing with all the toys and meeting the teacher and assistant. Henry did not want to share the big truck with another boy even though at the time Henry was not playing with it. I went over but so did the teacher and she handled it beautifully. She said that this is why we go to preschool-to learn to share/get along.

The only bad part of the entire time was when we decided to leave. Henry threw a huge fit because he didn't want to go. I ended up in the hallway with him trying to calm him down. My mom gathered up Irene who also threw a fit...she didn't want to leave either! If she was only 1 month older I could enter into the little kids class. Anyway I made Henry go back inside to thank the teacher and say goodbye.

The good thing is Henry keeps asking to go back. I think he'll really like it. Now we just wait until the fall!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Husband!!!

Happy birthday Marky! I so wish you were here to celebrate with us. You are our rock, jungle gym, and comfort. We love you so much and can't wait to have you home again!!!

We love you!!

Anytime now...

Irene has a high temp. Had it Tuesday. Seemed okay Wednesday and Thursday. Friday it was high again. Saturday...103.6 with the shakes. The doctor's office said to wait to bring her in. She needs to have had the fever for 5 days. Huh?
Last week Henry and I were sick. I am still coughing :-( I am exhausted and my house is a huge mess. Now Irene is sick. Nothing is getting done. I have not showered today and I am kinda starting to lose it. I worry endlessly about her and this darn fever.
I am tired, sad and lonely. I wish my husband was here so I wouldn't have to shoulder every thing on my own. That's not fair to him...I am just not feeling well and am so tired...and worried.
Please pardon my whine fest.
My mother has been fabulous. She rushed to work this morning to try to find someone to cover for her so that if we had to take Roo to the doctor I wouldn't have to go alone. She came right over after work and bought us dinner. She bought us all lunch and dinner yesterday too. Thank God for her. Without her I'd truly be a raving lunatic.
Time to end the whining. Please keep my stinker girl in your thoughts and prayers.

More of the Same

We took Mark back to work yesterday. What a drive! We ended up having to stop three times during the ride. Twice for me to be sick and once for Henry to potty. By the time we got there I was hoping Mark's run wouldn't leave until the morning so that we could stay the night. I did not want to drive back by myself. Of course his run had to leave right away. We had time for lunch and that was it.

Irene slept the entire ride down and back. When we got back into town I called my mom and told her to meet us at Wendy's. We had about 45 minutes until Kindermusik. Of course when we got to Wendy's Irene was soaked so I made a fast trip through drive-thru and went home. At home Roo cried non-stop. I was pretty much against going to Kindermusik but Henry wanted to go and my mom said she'd stay home with Roo. Henry had a great time so I was really glad that I took him.

Irene had a temp of 101.3 when I got home. Gave her medicine and put her to bed.

Roo still looking sick this morning.Henry posing with jelly on his face.Chang having his morning nap. Do ya think he thinks he owns that couch?And LuLu, taking a second out from jumping like Tigger, to go outside.

Daddy's Home!

Well we are all finally starting to get back to our normal, healthy selves. I still have a good bit of cough left but it is nowhere near as bad as it was. Henry will cough a little during the night but he is doing well.

On Friday we drove to Grand Rapids and picked up Daddy. My mom took a vacation day and went with us. It was lovely to have her for company on the drive down. We stopped for lunch on the way home at Golden Corral. Golden Corral is a buffet place. Everyone got to pick their favorites. Henry ate a lot of pot roast and beans. Roo picked at her food and talked loudly to everyone sitting around us. For some reason I was loving the brussels sprouts. I could have eaten just a plate full of them!

We have just been around the house this weekend. No crazy trips anywhere. Just fun times at home. We went to church on Sunday morning then out for breakfast afterward. We always sit in the "cry room" at church since my kiddies can be a bit loud during mass. Irene was having a fit about...well about anything and everything when a woman came in. She was there for some kind of class or group that was taking place after mass. She had little teddy bears with her and gave one to Irene. The bear was a miracle worker for Roo shut right up :-) The very kind woman also gave one to Henry. I am amazed at the free stuff my kids get all the time!! I would gladly take free stuff...free money please!!

About half way through mass Jill Vasquez came into the cry room with her little (8month old I think) boy. I had seen her and her husband sitting in church. Her son had a brain tumor that they found just before Christmas. It has been removed and he is now doing chemo. I was pleased to see her and to find out how he is doing. There was a fundraiser dinner for him last week that we were going to go to but we were all so sick. So I was glad to get to talk with her. Her son, Noah, is a cutie and I want to cry when I think about him going through this. Jill and her husband Roger are so strong to go through this with him. They also have a super cute daughter, Olivia. We pray for Noah and his family everyday and hope that you'll send your prayers his way too.

I will end this post by counting my blessings and sharing them with you. Below are pictures of my children and dogs playing tackle daddy. Please pardon the mess ;-)