Mama, will you hold me just a second?

That's what Boo asked me. I obviously couldn't turn down such a sweet request. Granted, the second turned into 20 minutes. And, I was right in the middle of warming up some dinner, but it was so worth it! She's my snuggle bug. It's a good thing for both of us! Of course, since she wanted up there, Doodle spent most of those 20 minutes saying, "But Mama, I NEVER get to snuggle with you..." Oh, it's nice to be loved! :)

25 Random Things

This is just a rerun from my Facebook note. For those of you who don't FB, it's great! I have found so many of my friends from high school and beyond and have been able to catch up with many people. It's such fun! Anyway, this was my "25 Random Things" note. It's definitely random...

1. I don't drink pop unless I'm sick. I have a cup of coffee in the morning then drink water for the rest of the day. Sometimes (pretty often in the winter) I have a big mug of Chai, peppermint or green tea mid-afternoon.
2. I haven't worn my wedding ring since I was pregnant. At that point it got too small, then we had four months of having to scrub in to go to the NICU (so I just didn't put it back on to avoid losing it), then I spent all my time doing baby stuff. Now it's too big, so I don't wear it because I don't want it to fall off. Yes, I realize I could have it sized… :)
3. My hands and feet are always cold. Well, you know, right now anyway. I don't remember them being cold in the summer, but it's possible.
4. I can't imagine what my life would have been like had I not had triplets. I can't imagine just having one child, or one at a time for that matter.
5. I love to read.
6. I play the piano. Nothing is more relaxing for me than spending an hour at the piano.
7. I've been married for 12 years (on Feb. 8). While it doesn't really seem like that long, it's hard to remember not being married.
8. My favorite toy as a kid was my Big Wheel. My parents got one for each of the girls last summer and they love them!
9. Julie (my cousin) & I once made a workout video for a friend…wonder if she still has that?!
10. I have had a tendency to allow others to cause me pain unnecessarily, but I am working on that. I deserve better. I think I'm finally developing a backbone!
11. I have lost 65 pounds since January 2007. It's been a great thing!
12. My family is more important to me than anything else in the world. I will sacrifice anything for them.
13. I talk to my parents every day. I love that we're so close and that my girls are so close to them as well.
14. I sing in the car…at the top of my lungs. I also sing in the shower, in the kitchen, while cleaning, etc. When the girls were little we would spend lots of time singing while they were in the bathtub. I think that's where they learned most of their first songs.
15. Two of my girls were on oxygen for the first year of their lives and didn't eat orally full-time until they were 3 1/2. We had big oxygen tanks in the dining room with tubes long enough to go all over the house and had to take portable tanks with us everywhere we went. They also had tube feedings that we initially did manually before getting pumps. We had to take those everywhere too. We didn't really go anywhere beyond the doctor for quite some time. I've kept some of those things around just so I don't forget what life was like. I also want the girls to be aware of how they started out.
16. When Hope and Addie got their buttons removed, I sewed them into a stuffed animal for each of them.
17. I love to cook. I especially love to bake. There's something relaxing about kneading bread dough.
18. I like to be alone. I don't mean all the time, I just like a fair amount of alone time. Maybe it's because I don't get much of it…
19. I love to be outside at Mom & Dad's. I love to hike through the woods, run on the big bales of hay and go fishing (as long as I don't have to bait my own hook -EWW!).
20. In college, when we were BORED, Julie & I sang on our answering machine. I still catch myself singing some of those messages. Hmm…let's see… "Well we were up all night wantin' you to call, but now we're gone and we're having a ball…" We had some real winners…
21. One of my guilty pleasures…The Real Housewives of Orange County. I know. Totally worthless TV. It's just like driving by the scene of an accident and not being able to look away.
22. I'm pretty sure that Hannah must be my sister's child (although I don't know how that happened) and that her youngest son is mine. While I'm sure he won't give her any problems, I'm not sure that Hannah won't give me some problems. I've heard stories of Donna having to have the last word when she was growing up, and Hannah's already been told many times to stop arguing and walk away. She's only 6. Pray for me!
23. I like to color with the girls.
24. I blog…almost daily. It's a way for me to keep track of all the crazy things that happen here. I wish I had been doing it when the girls were really small. I don't remember much about those years…
25. I am very sensitive and can cry at the drop of a hat. It's a family trait, I think.

SOOOOOOOOO Tired...

I am E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D. Do you get how much I mean that? I think all these nights of listening for every little cough has finally caught up with me. I have also worked my tail off cleaning today. I'm not sure what possessed me, but sometimes I just get the urge to have a major household purge. Today was a bedroom purge. Actually, it was more accurately a closet purge. It felt good. It always does! The girls know they'd better watch out when I get in that mood, though, because anything left on the floor is fair game. Boo helped me clean the living room this afternoon and was rewarded with a couple games of Disney Bingo that only she got to play with me and two extra pieces of candy. She thought it was worth it. I knew it was worth it to have someone help without having to be told. It was a good trade! I'm definitely going to be ready for bed tonight. Now...if I can just get the ladies convinced that their bedtime is one hour earlier. I'm kidding. I wouldn't do that to them. It wouldn't work anyway! :)

I think we've finally turned the corner with the girls' cold. They're not over it yet, but are certainly feeling better than they did yesterday. It's a good thing, because I am tired of this stuff! They made it through without any trips to the doctor this time - woo hoo! That's reason for celebration in our house! :) I'm very thankful to have been able to make it through (well, almost...am I setting myself up for a backslide now?) this one without an infection.

Hanny & Doodle spent the afternoon (while Boo was cleaning) playing together with Hanny's doll. Since she opened it up on Christmas morning, the doll has only laughed when we squeezed her tummy. She recently began crying once in a great while. We're not sure why. After hearing Hanny talk to her while she tried to dress her, though, I told her I thought I might know why the baby is now crying! Her exact words? "Good gravy, bad baby! Would you get your arm in this hole? You are a bad baby!" She's usually such a compassionate little girl. She is inclined toward a temper, though. Don't know where she picked that up...must've been her dad! :) At the moment the girls have my yoga mat out and have the entire stack of workout DVD's prepared for Hanny to complete. They've been through 5 or 6 and have had to stop after about 30 seconds because they're too difficult. Tell me about it, ladies! As I type, they've officially given up on the whole exercising thing and are now content to just sit on the floor in front of the TV and laugh while watching the DVD. Wow, if only that worked for me! :)

Snow? What snow?

I'm beginning to lose faith in our local KC meteorologists. I was really looking forward to being inside with 2-4 inches of snow on the ground outside. I figured that as long as we're staying inside anyway, what with the girls being sick and all, it would be really nice to have a snowy view from the windows. So much for that! We had just a teeny glaze of ice topped by a dusting of snow this morning. Granted, it has snowed a good portion of the day, but we have no measurable accumulation. This was a big meteorological flop! I am very thankful, however, that we don't have the ice that so many other people are having to deal with.

The girls are still puny. Hanny's been blowing her nose non-stop today. Doodle's still got the old smoker's cough - not made any less repulsive by her sweet, adorable face. Boo is still handling things pretty well and just has a stuffy nose. Oh well... We're well-stocked with kleenexes, Vicks, decongestant meds and vaporizer treatment, so we should make it through this one as well. So far they're not biting each other's heads off today either, so that's progress. Hopefully it continues on that track. I'm not holding my breath.

We've spent the entire day watching movies, coloring, playing, etc. Actually we haven't spent the entire day watching movies, but after the first 3 animated movies it seems that way. I'm going to be ready for bedtime tonight. I'm not that sleepy, I just want to hold (and use) the remote. Hmm...that might not happen until tomorrow night when Gary's gone. The odds of me getting to run the remote while he's here are slim to none. What is it about men and the remote?!

No Snow Yet!

Even if I hadn't been keeping an eye on the weather I would know there's a change on the way. Or maybe it's the phase of the moon...who knows?! The moon thing comes from the principal where I student taught. He contended that since our bodies are roughly 70% water and the moon has enough effect on the earth to change the tides it must therefore also have some effect on our bodies. It's a pretty interesting point, to say the least. But I digress... Whether it's the weather or the moon, the natives around here are a little less than cooperative today.

They're still sick, so that could be the cause of some of the strife. We're all a little short on patience when we're not feeling the best. Thankfully, Doodle is much less puny (and not running fever) today. It's just a nasty cold at this point. One of the symptoms is apparently a nasty attitude as well. At the moment they are all picking up a living room-sized tent. They are NOT happy about it. It's already been a long day, and it doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. Mama is going to have to have some quiet time by the time the day is over. I can just feel it! If that has to happen before bedtime there will be three little girls having quiet time in their rooms as well. That's not a bad idea, actually. Maybe we'll see if absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I'm not convinced yet! :) It is just amazing how quickly they can go from playing together and laughing to growling at each other and Hanny using the words "and that's FINAL!" Sounds like fun, doesn't it?! It actually is, most of the time. I'd be lying if I said I don't sometimes get a chuckle out of listening to them argue with each other! It's my ornery side coming out! :)

Now, we're going to have a good afternoon here...AND THAT'S FINAL! :)

One More Thing...

Last night Hanny & Boo were wiggling their loose teeth. Hanny's has been loose since August. Yes...August. Boo's was loose Friday. I noticed when I picked her up at school that she looked a little different and that's what it was. Anyway... Boo was determined she was going to get her tooth out last night. She is a very persistent little girl. Once she sets her mind to something, she typically sticks with it until she accomplishes her goal. She spent over an hour wiggling and pacing the floors trying to get the "stupid thing" (her words) out. Several times we heard her say to herself, "Good grief! When is this stupid thing ever going to get bloody?" She was hilarious! Neither one of them ended up losing a tooth last night, but they're well on their way to having another one gone. It was well after bedtime when we finally made them stop wiggling and go to bed. Nobody's bothered to wiggle this morning, so I guess they've forgotten about it for the day. Oh well... :)

Sickly Sunday

Well, it's another sickly Sunday here. Such is the norm, I guess. Doodle's running fever, but nobody else is yet. Poor little sweeties. I feel bad that they have to be sick so much. We'll get through it eventually.

I'm about mid-way through making bierrocks and hopefully some cinnamon rolls this morning. If I don't end up with enough dough to do cinnamon rolls today we might do them tomorrow. It's been a good day to spend in the kitchen. The rest of my time has been spent holding Doodle while we watch movies. She's pretty puny today. I'd like to think that the other two won't get that way, but I'm sure that's just wishful thinking. It might be a long week! If nothing else, we're going to be well-fed this week! Cold weather brings out the baker in me. It was very relaxing to stir up that dough this morning. The girls were sitting at the kitchen table at the time sorting the coins from their piggy banks. They've been learning the coins, their value, and also how to count them, so we practiced some of that this morning. We're currently watching a movie, and I'm sure there will be more to watch this afternoon.

Gary's supposed to have a meeting tomorrow night but is keeping an eye on the weather. He won't go if it's snowy, so we're obviously hoping for snow! He's also supposed to be in Greensburg Wednesday night and won't be back until Thursday. It might not be the greatest week for him to be gone! It's definitely comforting to know that Mom is just down the road if we need something now. We never know if somebody's going to need different medicine, a trip to the doctor, etc. We're praying for good health today...and always!

Saturday Sundaes

So I'm on here trying to find a hot fudge sauce recipe that sounds good. Let's face it, they all sound good! The girls (well, two of them so far) are coming down with a cold, so we decided we needed to do something just a little special this evening. Gary would have liked to go to Lawrence for some Mexican food, but I don't take sick kiddos out and about. We're settling for barbecue chicken and potato wedges for supper tonight. To make up for the loss of the Mexican food option, I told the girls I'd fix some hot fudge sauce and we'd have a sundae party after supper. Gary said he'd go to town for us, so he's picking up some ice cream and some Oreos and Whoppers to crush up. Sound like a calorie-fest? I think so too. On the plus side, I'm well below my calorie allowance for the day, so I'm going to splurge as well. It will be something fun, I hope.

Boo spent the night at Meme's by herself last night. It was the first time she'd done that by herself. She was just a little apprehensive, but did great. I knew she'd enjoy it. She apparently spent a good amount of her time there eating - always a good thing for her! She came home around 11:00 this morning and had already had her favorite lunch - Hamburger Helper (the cheeseburger macaroni kind), cottage cheese, and I don't remember what else. She told me that she missed me but that she didn't cry. While she spent the night there, Hanny slept on the living room floor with Dad - a treat for her, and Doodle slept in my bed with me. I'd have had a better night sleeping on the floor than I did trying to keep that little bug in the bed. She's not a snuggler. I'm a snuggler. Boo's a snuggler. Hanny's a snuggler. Doodle spent most of the night kicking me and trying to escape, apparently. I can't even count the number of times she woke me up kicking me in the side because she was cross-wise in the bed. I also had to yank her back toward the middle of the bed numerous times. At one point I woke up to the sound of her smacking her hand on the mattress while she was hanging halfway off the bed. I'm really looking forward to a night without her in my bed tonight! Gary might snore, but he doesn't kick!

And now we're preparing for another round of the cold bugs. I knew Doodle was starting in on one yesterday. Hanny's been showing signs today. Oh well... We made it through a full week of school last week, so it was pretty much expected. They're handling them better as time goes by, I guess. Maybe it's just that I'm handling them better because I've experienced so many this year. We sort of know that after they've been to school for a few days the next cold will show up. At least I keep up on what they're learning in school so I can supplement with stuff at home. It all works out in the end. I certainly appreciate the days/hours/minutes when we're not sick now!

UPDATE: The sundaes were spectacular! I found a super (and super-easy) recipe that made enough for us to have hot fudge for at least a week! Good news for the sick little angels! Let me know if you want the recipe, I'd be happy to share! :)

One Fine Day

And now, back to reality. We spent all afternoon outside yesterday. It was wonderful! At Meme's "cottage" here in town she has a small group of pecan trees that has produced the most amazing crop of pecans this year. We have all picked up pecans multiple times since they bought it but continue to find more every time we look. Actually, we don't even have to look for them. It's more of a "I can't leave these on the ground when there's enough to fill my hands without taking a step" sort of thing. I picked up several yesterday and raked some leaves while the girls played in the yard. We always used to pick them up in an old orchard that Dad has always had cows in, but we had to fight the birds and squirrels for them...and lost. With these 4-5 trees, we probably all have enough pecans to last us for several years. It's a GREAT thing! Yeah...I know. I'm so easy to please. I get excited over some pretty minor things. It's a postive trait, I think.

Sounds like we're going to have a cold weekend with snow on the way. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a/some snow day(s) next week. Actually, I haven't even mentioned to the girls that there is such a thing. I'd hate for them to get their hopes up and then be disappointed. It might be a little hard to deal with for me! Anything that gets them out of school for a day is great as far as they're concerned! They haven't had a snow day yet this year (although they should have a couple days), so I'm watching the weather and hoping for the best! They are going to make it through the whole week this week, though, so we're happy. They haven't been to a full week of school since a couple weeks before Christmas break, so that's quite an accomplishment!

The little angels were all up before 6:15 this morning. In fact, Boo & Doodle were up before 6:00. That can't be a good thing. I have a feeling we're in for some grumpy arguments today. Maybe there will be a nap this afternoon...probably not. When did they get "too big" for naps? Better yet, when will they get big enough to realize a nap is a great thing? I guess we'll weather the in-between time with a slightly grumpy smile on our faces.

Beautiful Day

Wow! It is a fantastic day out there! It's a nice change from what has been all month and what will be tomorow. It's nice to have a warm day in the midst of all these wintery days so I can truly appreciate them. We're going to spend the afternoon outside.

The girls made a giant stride at school today. Before I go too far, though, you should realize that while it is a giant stride for primarily the twins, it might be a small step for Hanny or someone else. That doesn't diminish my pride or amazement at all, though. They answered questions - OUT LOUD - in class today about a story they read. It's a big deal! Their teacher told them how proud she was of them and so did I. They took it all in stride and didn't act like it was anything out of the ordinary, but it is. It's progress. I'm never going to complain about progress, no matter how small. Progress is progress!

The girls are getting ready to do their schoolwork, after which I told them we'd go down to Meme's house for the afternoon to pick up pecans and mess around outside. We're going to take full advantage of the beautiful weather, knowing that by tomorrow we'll be stuck inside again. Maybe this dose of sunshine will last us until we're blessed to have another warm day!

Ahh...Bedtime!

Do you ever have one of those days when you're exceptionally glad to see bedtime arrive? Today was one of those here. That's not to say today was a bad day at all. I am thankful for every day that passes without any of us being sick. Nothing big happened. Nothing out of the ordinary happened at all. The girlies went to school, came home, ate lunch, did schoolwork, played, took a bath, ate supper then played some more before bedtime. It was that time period between supper and bedtime that was a little less than perfect. Actually, looking back, that was just when the proverbial straw broke this camel's back. It probably didn't help that Dad was gone tonight and wasn't here to break up the monotony. I had had to tell one little angel (who shall remain nameless) multiple times to clean up her multiple messes. That was beginning to bother me, because she knows the importance of listening. By the time 6:00 had rolled around, the living room was indeed picked up, and all was seemingly in good shape. Yeah, well, that was until we had a little too much outside voice and a little too little inside voice. Mama was beginning to get a little short on nerves. I fully admit that sometimes I have a lower patience level than others, but don't we all? Tonight might have been one of those times. It might also have just been that the little sweetie was testing the waters. Either way, I'm pretty sure we're going to be requiring a slightly better level of listening around here. Ahh...the big guy just reminded me of something very important! (That's why I keep him around!) The angel in question was the first one up this morning. It's not typical, nor is it a particularly good situation when she's the first one up! That might be the explanation after all. Hopefully she'll sleep a little longer tomorrow morning! :)

January 20, 2009 - A Truly Historic Day

Already this morning I am in absolute awe. The excitement in our nation today is palpable. Before the girls were up this morning I was able to watch some of the national news coverage of the morning. It was amazing to see the number of people already flooding the National Mall. At the girls' school, CNN was being shown on the big screen in the commons area. The principal announced while I was there that the teachers would be able to have it on their classroom TV's as well. The girls' teacher mentioned that they would be focusing on the day's events today... in Kindergarten. There's something different about this inauguration. I don't ever remember being this excited personally about the inaugural festivities or the new leader. I don't ever remember the nation as a whole being this excited about an inauguration. Granted, I'm only 34 years old, but I feel like I'm watching history for only the second time (the first time being 9/11/01). This time I feel like I'm watching a positive historical event. I feel like this will be one of the "Where were you when..." events of my generation. I know that it will be a profound experience to watch this today. Already I have felt tears come to my eyes after seeing an elderly African-American man bundled up and in a wheelchair waiting in his place at the National Mall to see President-elect Obama take his place in history. I don't know what it was like to experience discrimination based on skin color or any other trait that a person cannot control. I can't even begin to imagine how that must feel. I know how this whole election has affected me, but I can't imagine the effect it must have on those who have experienced first-hand the pain of discrimination. I'm going to take-in every bit of coverage that I can today. I am especially proud and feel especially fortunate to be an American today.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Good news! I have made huge improvements since yesterday! It's a big thing around here. I've actually made it through the entire day without a cough drop. It doesn't sound like much, but it is. Yesterday I made it until about 10:00 in the morning before I started in with the cough drops. The day before I think I probably had 24 hours straight with cough drops, so you can see how exciting it is that today has been cough-drop free! Hopefully we'll all make strides tomorrow as well. Boo has been blowing her nose most of the day, so I think she's getting rid of all the junk in there too.

It's been a good day around here. I spent a good portion of the afternoon piddling around with Doodle. Boo was being her creative little self and fashioning homemade dog fashions out of paper for them to wear when they're pretending to be the Snow Buddies. She's definitely our creative soul. If she has an idea to make something, she'll do it. Hanny was perched under the kitchen table playing with some animals. Doodle was perched right smack next to me just being her ornery little self. She started out by putting make-up on me. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a future as a make-up artist. She's a little rough, to begin with. She also got a HUGE kick out of finding the most vibrant color, applying it liberally to a fluffy ball, and then applying it equally liberally to all parts of my face. There was no gentle touch for her. She swiped that ball down the middle of my cheek from my eye to my jawbone. It didn't help that it was brown eyeshadow! To say she's ornery wouldn't even begin to describe her true nature. But as ornery as she can be, she can be just as sweet. At one point today she told me she didn't want me to go anywhere (not that I was anyway). She said, "I just love you so much, Mama." It melted my heart. I can put up with any amount of horrendous make-up just to be able to experience that side of her as well. Hanny came in this evening with a blanket cape, sunglasses, a stocking cap and a belt around her waist in which she tucked a kaleidoscope and a flashlight. I'm not sure what superhero she was... No name I could come up with could do her justice. She's now playing catch with Dad, who finds it necessary to throw the ball toward the bathroom door. This would be fine except that Boo is currently in there wanting some privacy. Hanny just told Gary, "Better not throw that and hit the door or she's gonna get CRABBY! She always gets crabby at me when I barge in on her!" Hanny & her dad are a lot alike in some ways. Neither one of them thinks twice before barging into the bathroom. The other three of us prefer our privacy and are a little more modest. It's a fine line to walk around here! :)

Second Verse, Same as the First...

Another day, another visit to the doctor. Can I tell you how sick I am of being sick? Everybody else is making great strides in getting over their colds (thank goodness). Not me. Apparently I'm the weak one of the family. The combination of the cold and the never-ending ear infection is making me weary. I've felt mostly awful since January 5. Life has gone on, and I have done things that had to be done, but I'm tired. I'm ready to feel good again. I'm ready to do something beyond the have-to's. I want to want to go shopping or something fun like that! As it is now, I don't even want to do that. I went back to the doctor this morning because the last round of antibiotics didn't really agree with me, apparently, and didn't seem to do the trick on this infection, according to the doctor. So here we go on round 4 of medicine. Hopefully this will take care of things. I'm saying my prayers and crossing my fingers. I'd hold my breath too, but that would sort of defeat the purpose. As it is I'm so congested I can't get any air through my nose. I don't think I'll add any unnecessary breathing issues to the mix.

As for the girls, they're as sweet and smart as ever. We've been doing LOTS of coloring together since that seems to be all I have the energy to do. I gave them a bath this afternoon and let them play in the tub for about an hour. After I washed their hair they told me they wanted to get themselves ready. Good news for me! They helped each other put on lotion, get dressed and comb hair. They then cleaned up the bathroom - what sweeties! While I was showering they (with Gary's help and prodding) cleaned up the living room, turned off the lights and had Dad light candles on the fireplace. It was so nice to open the bathroom door to that! It was definitely one of the bright spots of my day. Right now they're all three playing together in Hanny's room. They're getting along wonderfully, and that is music to my ears as well. There's always something positive to focus on, it's just a matter of being open enough to find it.

Snowy Friday

We woke up to snow this morning! It was very pretty and apparently pretty slick too, according to Gary. It's sunny now but is freezing out there! It's a good day to be inside.

We're home again today. We're all improving, but I didn't think we needed to be out today. I've actually accomplished a thing or two today. I know. It surprised me too. I've washed the bed, swept the floors, exercised a little (20 minutes), and...showered. That's been an accomplishment in and of itself this week. Other things take priority. They almost always do. I'm afraid I'm in for a crash this weekend as I've been surviving on 4 hours of sleep all week. I can't seem to go more than that without waking up. If I could go back to sleep it would be fine, but I can't. The insides of my ears, throat, sinuses, etc. all itch to the point that I think I'm going crazy. I'm beginning to think (yes, on day 10 of my 10-day supply of antibiotics) that maybe I've been having a reaction to them. I'm a genius, I know. (Did you catch the hint of sarcasm?) I finally realized that I'm not only itching on the inside, I'm also itching on my face and hands. Think I'll try to avoid this particular medication in the future. Live and learn.

Gary had a meeting last night, so the girls and I spent the evening playing school. They think it's great when they get to be the teachers. Actually, last night Hanny was the teacher. I was Junie B. Jones, Doodle was Lucille (the bossy, prissy one), and Boo was Grace (Junie B.'s other best friend). They thought it was great. I was being silly, and they got quite a kick out of that. They've already asked me more than once this morning when we're going to play school again. Needless to say, I don't get to be the teacher. We've got some schoolwork and homework we're going to do before I have to be the kid. They won't mind, as long as they get to spend some time doing some goofy things with me. It's good for me too to just be silly. Sometimes I forget that in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter to them whether the dishes are done now or in a couple hours, as long as they get to spend time making memories with me. Some things are just more important. I'll do all those household things later. They'll wait. The most important thing I can ever give them is my time. There's no more valuable way to spend it.

I Feel Like I Look

And I look like crap. In fact, I've pretty much looked and felt like this for 10 days. It's a sad situation. Poor Gary has to look at me and listen to me. I feel for him! I'm sure he's tired of it too!

We stayed home from school today. I know how I feel, and I don't feel like going and/or doing anything beyond the very basics, so I don't think they probably feel much better. Add to that that it's frigid out there and it was an easy decision to make. Maybe tomorrow... We're just homeschooling this morning. They had homework from their days they were sick earlier this week, so we did that earlier. I'll also print off a few worksheets for them to do later. They don't mind doing "schoolwork" (stuff sent home from school), but they LOVE doing "homework" (stuff I put together for them to do). We're still focusing primarily on social stuff at school, so I do a lot of the teaching stuff at home. They started some testing yesterday to see what their reading level is. They weren't able to finish because their teacher has to get the next level up of testing materials from another teacher because the girls completed the levels she had. They're considered independent readers, so that's great news. All those hours we've spent reading to, and now with, them have really paid off. I'm so glad they enjoy books. I think it's so important to have good reading skills, but also to enjoy reading. Hopefully they will enjoy reading throughout their lives.

That's the news from here. To recap: The girls are still puny. I'm still puny. It's COLD outside. Have I told you how much I'm looking forward to Spring?!

Another Day

The girls made it through a day (okay, so about 2.5 hours, but a day for them) of school today! Woo hoo! It's a little sad that we're excited about ONE day of school, but we're happy for any days at all at this point. They're very happily eating dinner. Boo had some hamburger helper at Meme's house last week and has been requesting it ever since. I fixed it for dinner today with some cottage cheese (part of the deal, as she thinks she has to have cottage cheese with relatively every meal right now) and jello. If I liked that kind of stuff, it would probably be a real treat. It's terribly cold and windy out now with the temperature dropping like a brick. When I got home from taking the girls to school this morning it was 36 degrees. When I picked them up roughly two hours later it was 20 degrees. There's a biting northwest wind that made our eyes water and took our breath away just while we were walking to the car. It's a good day to be inside, to say the least.

I still feel awful, which is beginning to get a little old. Who am I kidding? It's been getting old for several days. Last night was another rough one. They're beginning to catch up with me. I need somebody to take care of me! When the kids are sick I let them drink pop whenever they want, play whatever they want, watch movies, eat what they want, and I try to keep everybody happy. When do I get to do all those things?! I could easily spend the day on the couch reading were it not for three little angels who require clean clothes, food to eat and attention. Oh well...they're worth it. As long as they're feeling better, it'll be okay. I will survive. (Yes, after typing that I am indeed singing to myself the "I Will Survive" chorus. I know you are too!)

Doctor, Doctor...

So I decided to take the girlies to the doctor today. Two of them had complained a little about their ears hurting, so we headed up there. As it turns out, everybody (at this point, anyway) just has a cold with no ear infections. Woo hoo! That was good news. If they don't start improving by the end of the week or get over it completely by next week I just have to call to get antibiotics...no additional trip to the doctor. That's comforting as well. Hanny did have to have a strep test (aka the "gag" test, as she calls it) just to rule that out for everybody. It was negative as well. We went to Target afterwards to pick up a few things. I'm not sure we can go to the doctor without hitting Target. It's nice to be able to go somewhere besides the local Wal-Mart. I stopped at Price Chopper on our way home and took the time to go to the minute clinic in there. Good move, as I was up most of the night last night. No, I wasn't up with the kiddos. I was up with my perpetual earache. There was a point when shoving a toothpick into my ear sounded like a good idea. No, I didn't do it. I was tempted, but logical reasoning (and fear) won out. As it turns out, the girls didn't have to have any additional medicine, but I did. I should be totally cleared out from ear to ear considering all the decongestants I'm taking. That, antibiotics, and these ear drops should improve things, shouldn't they?! I'm ready for something. I've fought this since the first of December and have had an earache since last Monday. At least it's me with this problem and not one of the girls. That would be SO much worse. And it would be worse if Gary had it. You know it's true...men were not made to withstand sickness. Germs apparently temporarily alter their DNA resulting in them reverting back to childhood. It's something someone should study... No, Gary does pretty well when he's sick. I'll give him credit. He's just become aware that when he's sick everybody else is too, and I can only take care of so many people. It's only made worse when I feel crummy too.

Maybe they'll be back in school tomorrow. Maybe they won't bring home anything new and unusual. I just have to keep telling myself that we're all getting stronger, hopefully with regards to our immune systems as well as our emotional strength. I did hear this morning that people who get 8 hours of sleep get 3 times fewer colds than those with 7 hours or less (or something like that). Maybe I'll just go to bed now... I could get in almost 11 hours if I really tried. Okay, maybe not quite yet...

Fruit Cottontail?

Yes, you read right. The girls are perched at the kitchen table having a tea party. Well, they're sort of having a tea party. After the last two tea parties resulting in a watery mess, I put the screeches on any water use today. Yeah, I'm awful, I know. It doesn't seem to bother them too much, though. They've got their whole box of pretend food out preparing quite a feast for themselves and their stuffed animals of choice. They have a can that says "Fruit Cocktail" on it. Yesterday I told them what it said and explained what it was. (We don't eat that around here. It all goes back to a stomach bug I had in college...I haven't bought fruit cocktail since.) This morning we heard Hanny tell the twins, "It's fruit cottontail. You know, like Peter Cottontail, but fruit." Too cute! Since then Gary has told her what it really says. We'll see if she remembers!

We're still all fighting the latest cold. You had to sort of expect that, didn't you?! It's just the status quo around here. Gotta go. It's time for the prayer before the big tea party. I don't want to miss out!

Oh My Gosh!

"Oh my gosh!" is one of Boo's new phrases of choice. She also uses "Oh my goodness!" and "Oh my gracious!" relatively often. It's always funny to hear her say those. She's so dramatic and excited. The other phrase she uses often falls at the end of an explanation and is "is the thing." For example... This morning I told them they could pick out whatever they wanted to wear since they were staying home. (Oh, yeah. They're sick with another cold...again.) I went to make my bed and get my clothes on while they picked out their clothes and got dressed. While I'm in the bathroom, Boo comes to the door and says, "Mama, we picked out our clothes. We're wearing leotards is the thing." It's so funny to hear her say that, and my description doesn't do her justice. You just have to imagine her explaining something very seriously with her eyebrows raised and using those words at the end. It's too cute. I know it's something she's picked up from me as I've heard myself say that as well. Most often, though, I begin my sentence with "The thing is..." I think all that Junie B. Jones reading is rubbing off on all of us! (If you haven't read any of the Junie B. Jones books, you need to visit our house! I've been checking four at a time out of the library to read to the girls each week. They are hilarious!)

We've enjoyed (most of the time) each other's company the last two days. I told Gary last weekend that I would bet anything they'd be sick by this weekend. I was right. Oh well... I went back to the doctor Wednesday because the ear infection I've been fighting since the first of December (I'm on round three of antibiotics) was/is back again, this time with a vengeance. It's always something. I was supposed to start physical therapy on my knee (just to learn some strengthening exercises to improve my kneecap stability) today but had to reschedule for next week. On the plus side, the knee is doing much better and is considerably less tender and more stable since I've resumed my yoga workouts. Woo hoo!

Here's a little teaser for the next blog. It'll have to wait until I get my pictures uploaded, but I've got quite a story on the way. Let's just say that when Mama works out, it sparks a little desire to work out in the little ones...is the thing.

Breakfast Banter

I meant to get this in this morning but obviously didn't. I just remembered the incident and wanted to get it down before I forgot it forever!

Mornings at our house are typically full of me asking the girls (primarily the twins) to hurry up their eating, them arguing with and/or teasing Hanny, and Hanny giving huffy breaths to them. By the time we leave for school in the morning all three of those things have happened at least once. They get along exceptionally well most of the time, but mornings have the potential to get a little hairy. It could be because the twinkies get up sometime around 6:15. They're early birds. It could be because Hanny's not an early bird. Whatever the cause, we've learned to work around it in most cases and make it to school clothed, fed and clean. That's a pretty big accomlishment on some mornings, I'll admit.

This morning, while the girls were eating breakfast, I was attempting to get dressed and make myself somewhat presentable for my daily trek to drop them off. I was listening (I'm always listening) to the banter going on over the breakfast table. Everything was peachy until at some point, and I'm not sure what spurred it, Boo told Hanny, "You have an odor." I thought I'd die! I'll admit that this one came from me. I have, on more than one occasion, told each of them that they had an odor. It was sort of a slightly nicer way of saying, "You STINK!" They know from experience (and guilt) exactly what I mean when I say it. Needless to say, Hanny was not pleased. I quickly moved in with the whole, "Quit piddling & eat your breakfast!" And, as is the norm, Hanny exhaled her huffiest huffy breath. Just another day of the norm with a little giggle on the side. If laughter truly is a healthy thing to do, I just might live forever! :)

A Trip Back to Childhood

It seems like everything goes through a cycle. I've even noticed that toys do that. Several of my favorite toys as a child have come back for the girls' generation. Oh, the hours I spent on my Big Wheel... The girls each have one at Meme's (got them last summer) that they learned to enjoy as well. There was nothing better than that tick-tick-tick sound it made as I rode! I also had a Strawberry Shortcake doll that blew strawberry-scented air when you squeezed her stomach. Strangely enough, that's a toy that I've seen in the past couple years as well. I was also a big "Benji" fan when I was little. I had a Benji stuffed animal, Benji books, and even named one of our dogs Benji at one point. I vaguely remember seeing the movie, but since I was only 4-5 years old at the time, not much of it stuck with me. The girls recently brought home my old Benji book and loved looking through it and having it read to them. They're big into dogs right now. Anyway... I was at Wal-Mart this morning wasting time waiting for a prescription and found, in the $5.00 movies no less, not one, but FOUR Benji movies all in one package. I thought I had quite a deal and knew the girls would love it. I kept it a surprise until after we had eaten lunch and finished their schoolwork. We opened it up 30 minutes ago. I haven't heard a peep out of Boo & Hanny since they put in the first movie. It's been a long time since they've been so totally captivated by a movie. I think this one's a keeper!

Monday Morning Update

My prayers were answered. The drop-off today went off without so much as a whimper, a whine, or a teary eye. I thought I'd fall over when I walked out of the school an not even one of us was in tears. Yes, I was close, but not because it had been difficult. I was close to tears because I was so very thankful for answered prayers. What a way to start the morning! :)

Wish Me Luck...

So it's the girls' first day back at school in 3 weeks. To say that I'm dreading it and fully expecting the water-works would be putting it very mildly. Boo had already started in with the "But I will miss you, Mama..." last night. I don't enjoy these drop-offs that turn into them crying and me feeling like I'm sending the lambs to the slaughter (yes, I know that's putting it a little strongly, but you try peeling three little teared-up, trying-to-be-strong angels off your leg and explain to them that it's just for a little while and it'll be fun). It's not a fun experience. And I'm such an emotional sap anyway. They do enjoy it when they're there. I think. I hope. Needless to say, there are lots of prayers for strength (for all of us), patience (for me), and comfort (again, for all of us) being sent toward heaven this morning. Please say a little prayer for us that we all make it through without tears.

Sunday

It's COLD out there! To go from 65 degrees yesterday to 25 today is the pits! It does make me really appreciate the nice days this time of the year. Obviously we're staying in today as we have no desire to be ice cubes any time soon.

We tried out the Easy Bake Oven yesterday. I know. I even went online to find a recipe for a "from-scratch" cake to make in it. It was pink, sort of. It actually said it was a pink cake, but since it was made with red sugar, it turned out relatively red. I then let Doodle & Hanny (Boo was at Meme's for a couple hours) frost and decorate their cakes. If you haven't had the joy of using an E.B.O., let me fill you in. First, you preheat the 100 watt light bulb-powered oven for 15 minutes. It took almost that long to stir up the cup of batter, so that was no big deal. Our cake made two layers, since we had to feed at least three people. The pans hold approximately 4 tablespoons of batter. Yeah, they're HUGE! We could only bake one cake at a time, for 13 minutes a pop. By the time we had them both baked, we have invested almost an hour into these miniscule little treats. Yes, it was probably worth it. It probably would have been more impressive had these girls never been involved in the real kitchen with the real oven. They're pretty involved in the baking activities around here. They love stirring up and baking cookies, making noodles, etc. It just kept gnawing at me that in the same time that it took to create this tiny morsel of goodness I could have made a full-size cake that would have fed all of us more than once. On the plus side, I didn't get any cake. I didn't need it anyway!

Cafe Chat

Today's question on Cafe Chat was:
What is the most important truth/lesson you feel God taught you in 2008? How will that truth change your life in 2009?

I honestly can't even begin to imagine how many very important lessons God has attempted to teach me in the past year. Sometimes I'm just not aware of the lessons/truths until much later...I'm slow, I know! :) One lesson I have learned this year (and am trying to improve upon) is that God doesn't expect me to handle things alone. He expects me to give my fears and anxieties to Him. I've always felt as though I "should" be able to handle everything and felt like a failure when I fell apart because I couldn't handle things on my own. I now know that I have to give it to God. Max Lucado made an amazing analogy in his book Traveling Light that really stuck with me. I can't relay it to you as artfully as he did, but I'll give it a shot. Imagine you're in an airport with your child. She is attempting to carry the family suitcase on her own. Seeing this, I'm sure I would tell her to put it down and let me carry it. This is what God thinks of us trying to carry our fears, anxieties, guilt, etc. It's all big baggage that he doesn't expect us to carry on our own. We're the children, after all. This really made an impact on me. So now I am making every attempt to give it to God to handle. I'm improving but still catch myself freaking out from time to time. In 2009 I will continue my journey to allow my Heavenly Father to carry this child's baggage. I have a feeling it might take a little time before I'm able to really let it all go. Eventually, though, I have faith that I will learn.

Faith Out

One of the devotions I read for today was focused on "faithing out" instead of freaking out. It's a lesson I need to be reminded of often. I am very much a freak out kind of person who is making a concerted effort to be more of a "faith out" kind of person. Granted, my initial reaction is still to freak out when fear and anxiety rear their ugly heads, but just being aware of the futility of freaking out helps me to give it to God. I'm a work in progress, but I'm at least moving in the right direction.

One other thing that really stuck with me about this this morning was a comment that "10% of our life is what happens to us, 90% is how we respond to it." I am a HUGE believer in this. Sometimes I respond poorly, I admit. Mostly it's when fear or anxiety are involved. Choices are big. I choose (as does everyone) how I'm going to respond to any given situation. Therefore, I choose whether or not I have a good day. It's a choice. Everything is a choice. Yes, bad things might happen, but I control how I respond to them. I'm going to learn to faith out.

Playing School with Dad

The girls are up and going this morning. They're currently playing school with Dad, providing me with oodles of funny fodder. Hanny is the teacher, from what I gather, as she seems to be the bossiest of the three. Gary just gave her a playful little smack on the rump as she walked away to which Hanny responded, "Dad, remember... You don't smack a teacher on the hiney!" Definitely something to keep in mind! She then moved in to color with him and sat on his lap. We told her that it probably wasn't very nice for the teacher to sit on the students. She thought that was pretty funny! Doodle is playing with their new laptop toy. Boo is gathering coloring books in preparation for a marathon coloring session. Me? I'm sitting here pondering which Christmas decoration is going to come down first.

The big plan (the girls' plan, not mine so much) is to get out the Easy-Bake Oven after we get the Christmas decorations put away. I'm not sure if I'm really ready to undertake three little chefs with their own "oven" in the kitchen. I'm sure they'll love it, though, so I'll have to get out the camera and hope for good results! :)