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 ;-)

Shopping, sickness, and sleep...oh my!

It feels like ages since the last time I felt well enough to post. This cold or whatever it is has drained me. It had been a week and it is still holding on. We were suppose to go to Kindermusik tonight but Henry is still coughing a lot and I don't want to spread it around. We made a quick trip to the grocery store and that pretty much did me in. Oh well.

Two weeks ago Mark was home and we finally got our Christmas/birthday gifts for each other. Although before we even did that we had to buy a new TV. Ours was in bad shape and I finally convinced him to let it go. We went to Sears and got a 40 inch flat panel Samsung at a very good price. It was actually two hundred dollars less than what I expected to pay. I was soooo pleased!

After purchasing the TV we drove to Traverse City. We stopped at Applebee's for lunch. I will never eat there again. We were seated in non-smoking but the smoking section was right next to us. No window separating us or any kind of barrier. Three tables were smoking. RIGHT NEXT TO US! What the heck is up with that? How can they call that non-smoking. I complained but still...that is ridiculous and I will not eat there again. And just to put the icing on the cake Irene peed on me while I was holding her. So I got to eat in wet pants.

After lunch we got Irene a new outfit at Wal-Mart. Then we went to AT&T. It took forever there and I took the kids and sat in the car. Mark and I both got new phones and he got a wireless thingy for his laptop so he can go online while on the road. I wasn't going to be too picky about phones. I had a blackberry through Sprint and I only really liked the calender function on it. I really didn't want another one since they are so finicky. Mark decided I should get an iPhone. And...I LOVE IT!!!! It is the greatest phone ever made. I love the calender function and can keep every appointment for the month up front. Plus getting on Facebook or into my email is as simple as pushing a button. But I'll stop going on and on about it.

We also purchased a new kitchen table at Art Van. It is very nice and we got a fabulous deal on it. So once again I was happy. After that we hit the mall. Mark finally got a new battery in his watch. While we were wandering around we bumped into Jennifer and her daughter Abby. I love seeing people I know when out of town ;-) Overall it was a great day with my hubby and the kids.

The kids started Kindermusik last week. Saw a lot of people that we've know for years now including Amy, Mason, and T. We also met a few new ones. Henry was really out of it at class and kept telling Ms. Melinda that his tummy hurt. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and was very pale. Turned out he had a fever and that was the start of our (so far) week long illness.

Attack of the cooties...

It's been a long while since I've last posted anything. I have tons to tell! BUT....no energy to tell it with. Henry and I are majorly sick. Fever, super ouchy sore throats, coughs etc. etc. etc....

For two days I had such terrible muscle pain that I couldn't even hold a phone to my ear. That makes caring for two toddlers alone VERY difficult. Wish Marky was here. My mom has come over after work each day to help. She had the same thing this weekend and is slowly starting to feel better.

Okay...I am not going to be able to write anything here right now that is me whining.

Here is a pic of Roo sleeping in the car on the way to Grand Rapids. We took Mark back to work on Monday. And yes, she did have boots and socks! She just takes them off the second we get in the car.

Last week was spent feeling very drained. It wasn't that I was sleepy tired but rather I felt like all energy had been sucked out of me. It was hard to do simple things. Today I am feeling better just sleepy tired since Henry decided to get up early this morning then woke his sister. I kept dosing off in the chair and every time I was just about asleep Henry would wake me. What a good torture.

I tried to be a good mommy and take the kids to story time at the library. It is sunny today although very windy and I just wanted to get them outside. Snow is melting like crazy! By the time we got into the van it was after 11am. No parking at the library. Had to park a bit away and hoof it over. Got to the children's room at 20 after. The place was packed. My kids could not get through the mothers sitting, laying, squatting on the floor. Not just mothers but their babies too. Sprawled all over the floor! You could not walk through the room without stepping on babies or their mothers. And no one moved to let two little kids through!!!! I was ready to just stomp on them...babies too. Take care of your kids people!!! Irene got away from me and then Henry announced he had to pee. So I pushed through moms, babies, chairs etc. to get Roo. Again no one doing a thing to help. Arrrggggg.

I have to say here that last fall the library hired a young lady to be the new children's librarian. She is nice, educated...fine. A group of mothers got mad over this because they still wanted the other lady to do story time....so they quit coming. Fine by me!!! I couldn't stand that group. They all had kids a little older than mine so they had been coming longer. They seemed to think story time belonged to them and were rather nasty to newcomers. Unfortunately they're back. I have heard of crazy clique moms and all that crazy entitled s#*t they pull but I did not expect to find it in our small town. This ain't some hip, happening place. Yet here they are. It makes me think of a saying my mom once told me...some people think they are hot shit on a silver platter when they are really cold turd on a paper plate. I could forgive them and overlook them but when you act like you think you're better than my kids and you overlook them....Grrrr....momma bear is gonna eat you.

Anyway, took Henry to the bathroom and decided to leave. I felt horrible for my kiddies. They deserve a good time. The only way to get a seat and get my kids near the story circle is to arrive twenty minutes ahead of time. Perhaps next time.

Yesterday we went for a walk in the afternoon. The weather was warmer and the sidewalks were clear enough to walk on. We might do it again today. Same beautiful weather but very windy.

Roo eating a mini cupcake with pink frosting.

Pancakes and Sausage

I have not felt well this week. Very drained. Can't seem to get energy to do anything even write a post. We did manage to make it to church this morning and the pancake breakfast.

Loads of Sunshine!

Henry and Lu Lu sort through his millions of cars

Yesterday dawned with beautiful sunshine! What a wonderful Sunday! It was a lot warmer than it had been and the sun was shining like crazy. We left around 10am to take Marky back to work. Henry had a fit in the car because we left his pumpkin filled with his cars at home. Other than that it was a great drive down.

We stopped at Perkins restaurant on Alpine Avenue. I ate at a Perkins in Florida what feels like a hundred years ago when I was young but I haven't been back since. So it was a new experience as a family. We were pleased with the food and the restaurant. The kids' food was free since Mark and I each ordered a meal. Our total bill was for twenty dollars. Four meals, four drinks, and only twenty bucks! It has been a while since we have eaten that cheap. Granted it wasn't high end, high class but it was family friendly and fun which is a great combination. And no cranky pants people being annoyed that our kids were acting like...kids :-)

After lunch we dropped off Mark and headed for home. I think Henry fell asleep before we were even 15 miles down the road. We were home before 4pm and my mom came over. She made us dinner of tortellini mixed with cheese, peas, and bacon. It was very good but Henry only ate salad. Silly boy. Of course the best part was my mother putting bacon in my microwave on one of my good plates for five minutes. The package said 5 SECONDS per slice! About two and a half minutes in the bacon had heated to molten lava and broke apart my plate. Way to go Mom!

Overall it was a good weekend. Mark even got our taxes done which we didn't think would happen so now we are awaiting our refund :-)

Peanut Butter Fireman Henry reporting for duty.

Silly girl Roo chomping on a chip from lunch.

Lu Lu enjoying her new chew...although it looks like she is devouring a dead horse.