Crankies and colds

What a day. After yet another night of children getting me up all night Irene decided to just get up early. And she was sopping wet. So off came her sheet and blanket for the laundry. When Henry got up an hour later he had used the pull-up as a diaper...to major leakage results. So off came his sheets, comforter, pillow cases. I ended up with three extra loads of laundry. Grrrrrr.

And both kids have colds with coughs. Extra cranky babies today. I realize they are not feeling well but is it necessary to turn into drooling beasts that attack when eye contact is made? Then for sh*ts and grins (literal sh*t) Henry has forgotten how to use the potty chair and has pooped in his underwear twice. Yippee another load of laundry for me!

Big brother Matt texted me that the gift I sent him never showed up yesterday. Grrrr. There was an email stating it had been shipped but it wouldn't be delivered until Wednesday. What the....? I called, mad that this had happened. The gift is almost pointless now since it is two meals for them to make while Matt was recovering. I explained the situation to them and how I was upset that their website said it would be delivered by Monday. Supposedly there is a problem, that they know of, on their website that doesn't explain their delivery practices. They only ship on certain days blah blah blah. So why don't you state that on the site? It would have been useful information! Thankfully they are giving me a refund. I did not ask for a refund they just volunteered it...wonder if this happens a lot?

It would be nice if just for once something I did to be nice, thoughtful, or just needed to be done didn't turn to sh*t. I am discouraged today.

Pottys, colds, and partys...Oh my!

Ah potty training. What a way to bring out my insecurities as a mother. Am I doing this right? Is this how the other mommy's do it? Should he be sleeping/napping in a pull-up? I am trying to remember that what I am doing is fine and that yes, I am a good mom.

Friday was a terrific day pottying. Henry had six pairs of new undies. Three Thomas the Tank Engine and three Cars. He ran around in those all day and loved using the potty. He even carries it to the bathroom and empties it in the toilet. My only concern is naptime and bedtime. I put him in a pull-up at those time and he completely forgets about using the potty. Instead he pees in the pull-up when he wakes up. I think he thinks the pull-up is a diaper. I am going to have to suck it up and start putting him in bed with just the undies. I was hoping to avoid having to wash sheets each day, but I think that is going to be the best way with him.

Saturday I made a potty training mistake by going out of town with the kids. It was a trip planned before pottying was planned. It was a fast day trip but Henry would not potty in his chair, which I brought in the car. Nor would he use the grown-up pottys. Add to that the pouring rain, my headache, and my cranky mother.... Once we were back home he was back to pottying like a pro. And he even pooped on it! He just walked over and did it, no guidance needed. Good Boy! And yes, I took a picture. And sent it out to family and friends. :-0 So overall the potty training is going well. The big test will be driving to Grand Rapids to pick up daddy at the end of the week.

Last night we had a bad night of sleep. At 1am I was still awake. Every time I dosed off one of the kids would cry. Once I got to sleep one of them would get me up every hour. EVERY HOUR! Finally put Henry into my bed at 5:30am. He proceeded to cough and hack into my hair. Lovely. Both kids have running noses, sneezes, and coughs. I am NOT happy. I am hoping this cold will run its course fast. Henry's birthday party is on Saturday and we have a couple of kids coming plus adults. Here's your party favor...A cold. You're welcome!

It's Potty Time!

Okay okay...potty time doesn't start until tomorrow but my super duper smart boy has already tried out his potty chair tonight. We went to K-Mart to buy an Elmo potty chair. When you high five Elmo he says "great job". When we got home Henry wanted to try it out. And sure enough about five minutes later he had peed in it! I am sooo proud! Of course like any good mom I took pictures of him with my phone and sent them to daddy, Uncle Matt, Uncle Pete, Stacy.......

SO tomorrow is the big day. We are going to have our first official potty training day! I have stickers, m&ms (one for pee pee, two for poop), and lots of praise ready to go. Hopefully Roo will stay out of the chair although she thinks she should be able to sit on it too.

Wish us all luck!

Time for a quiet day.

Well the hospital is springing my brother today. Earlier this morning they thought his arm might need surgery but have decided against it. The heart doctor said his ticker is fine and he should be heading home soon. I am trying to send him some frozen dinners from Schwann's. It's more practical than flowers at this point and then they don't have to worry about coming up with meals for the next few days. We are having Henry's third birthday party next week Saturday and I am hoping Matt and the family will be able to drive up.

Yesterday Henry, Irene, and I had my friend Shannon over for dinner. She was kind enough to stop to the store and pick up garlic bread for me and I've just realized that I never paid her back for that. Sorry Shannon! Although Henry and Irene have seen Shannon before, last night they went crazy for her...so did my dog Lu Lu. I wonder if Shannon was wearing some kind of special scent? Eu d'love me? My feelings were hurt just a bit. Any other time these kids won't leave my side but Shannon comes over and they LOVE her? Gee thanks. And the damn dog too!

Anyway the kids really had a great time with her and Irene was on her best behavior. No temper tantrums, no dramatics. Of course she has more than made up for it today. Three temper tantrums in ten minutes. I did yell at one point during the evening when there was a "road rage" issue over the play car. They both wanted it and actually shared...for a minute. I was so tired though and I started to lag as the night went on. No scintillating conversation from me.

While Shannon was leaving Matt called me from his cell phone. Yes, he used his cell phone in the hospital. Those signs aren't meant for him, silly. Anyone that knows him will totally understand and laugh over that. Matt is the cell phone God. The best part was that everytime he tried to call out the cell phone signal would interrupt his IV and set off the alarm. Perfect.

I am off now to enjoy some peace and quiet...while the kids nap....yeah right. Quiet? Peace? In this house? I am going to enjoy a lower noise level :-)

Broken Elbow

Good news! My brother has a broken elbow. He is still in the hospital because he passed out with convulsions three times in the E.R. and even had his own code blue. His wife thought he was going to die. Crazy. Apparently he broke it two weeks ago while knee boarding. It just took all this time to get bad. The orthopedic surgeon took out 8cc of fluid from the elbow. Normally you'll have about 1/2 cc. Hopefully we will get more news tomorrow.
Thank you to everyone for your concern!

Worry

I thought today was going to be just another day. Not much to do today aside from our usual schedule. The kids and I were planning on company for dinner so I was trying to straighten up toys and newspapers. Then just as cleaning was starting I got a call from my mother informing me that my older brother was at the hospital in Lansing because of severe pain in his arm. Well. Great. What's the first thing you think of when you hear severe pain in arm? Heart attack. That was all the info she had. But I'm thinking that he is only going to be 35 so it can't be that. I hope.
I called my dad. He is living with my brother until his place is ready. Thankfully he had the info. Last night Matt's elbow started hurting a lot. It had been bothering him for a couple weeks but around bedtime it was so painful that he could not lift it up to take his shirt off. At 5am my sister-in-law, Kaye, woke my dad to say she was taking Matt to the hospital. It had gotten worse and had swelled. My dad would stay with their 8 month old son Eric.
We are now playing the family version of "telephone". Kaye calls my dad with news and he calls me. I call my mom and text my younger brother Pete. The last news from the hospital was at 11 this morning. The pain was so bad that Matt kept passing out. When he came to he was confused. They did tests for stroke and heart attack but those came back fine. They wanted to do an MRI but Matt couldn't get his arm over his head. The rest of his arm has swollen up as well so an orthopedic surgeon is going to drain the elbow. Thankfully he has been given a lot of morphine so he is finally starting to feel better. The hospital is keeping him overnight. As to the cause of this problem and what happens next we have yet to be informed. The mind runs through all the terrible things this could be. I am hopeful that this is going to be a simple, silly little thing that just happened to escalate into a major problem.
Please send your hopes and prayers his way.
Thank you!

First Time Here

Hello Everyone-

As a first time blogger I hope I don't make ridiculous mistakes while I fiddle my way through this. Please forgive if I do.
Today Henry, Irene, and I drove Daddy down to Grand Rapids. He will be on the road again for a week and a half. The kids hate when he leaves but thats the way the cookie crumbles right now. The kids missed nap time and went to bed early tonight. I am soooo ready for bed. My contacts are gummy and it's hard to form proper sentences. I wanted to get a post up before going to bed. Not very exciting but please keep with me!