Life. Love. Family. Our Perfect Imperfection. Living life as a Catholic, homeschooling family with three amazing, unique boys, a too-oft serious, frustrated and anxious but also loving momma, and a fun-loving, hardworking dad.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

To be honest,

I don't really want to go. I don't want to take Jackson who will be tired and cranky, because he won't have napped before, and he won't nap there. I don't want to take E who will most likely be bored and end up having a meltdown. I don't want to take myself, because I am not in a good mood. I am not in a mood that is conducive to being supportive and cheerful and the mom I want to be.

Alex has his first pinewood derby race in just over an hour.

We got up, E and Alex showered, ate breakfast and dressed for Mass. Jason fed Jack while I showered and got ready to go. After he finished, I dressed him and we were ready to head out for Mass this morning. Having only 10 minutes to get to our parish and not be late, I thought it would be prudent to go to a different parish today. The closer one is larger and has quite a few more families, so it's usually a little more crowded. I didn't anticipate how crowded it would be being Palm Sunday, so when we pulled in the lot and found not only every actual parking space filled, but also each curb "space" full, I decided it was just time to go home.

I guess it's a good thing we did, because when we got home, I checked Mass Times to see if there is a later (evening) Mass in our area and I realized that the Mass we almost went to started at 9:30 not 10:00. So we were very late anyway ;)

Regardless. Since we've been missing Mass a lot lately, either because one of us - or several! - are sick or because I can't get us all moving or don't want to "deal" with 3 kids at church by myself again, I really did want to go today. I was honestly looking forward to it. Not going, well, it put me in a bad mood. I know, it's silly really. But it's the truth.

Now it makes me not want to do anything today. Jason says I have my priorities screwed up. Because I was planning to take them to church, but I won't go support our son doing his Cub Scout activity.

Here's the thing though. I did plan to go to church. I planned to go to the derby too. And even though we didn't make it to Mass, and even though I don't want to go to the derby, even though I told Jason I plan to just drop Alex off and bring the other two home, I won't do that. I am his mom, whether I am having a good day, or a bad day, whether I want to do something or not. I will go, I will support him, I will cheer him on. Because I LOVE him and I want him to always know and remember that.

So yeah, maybe my priorities seem screwed up, especially when I spout off at the mouth. But, to be honest, my boys will ALWAYS come first, their needs, their wants, whether it's a good day or not.

Off to the pinewood derby in 35 minutes or so and I'm sure we will all end up having a good time, despite a cranky, tired toddler, a 10yr old Aspie's anticipated meltdown from boredom and a crabby mom, because sometimes, you just need to get out of the house and do something, anything to change everybody's attitude :)

Friday, March 22, 2013

Spring?

This "spring" weather is really getting to me! Granted it's technically only been Spring for, what, 2, 3 days? The thing is though, here in Michigan, we are still getting snow on and off, and it's cold!! I would love to have a really nice birthday in 2 weeks with some warmth. Actually, since we will be about 250 miles South of here, so it very likely will be a little warmer. :)

Regardless, Jason and I have been discussing whether we should consider moving South, like very South. As in Texas. I doubt we will. At least not in the next few weeks or months even. He'd have to apply for a job and get it, we'd have to sell the house or at least put it on the market, and then find a place to rent or buy down there. Plus the boys really don't want to leave behind their school, friends and teachers.

If you had the chance to live anywhere, where would it be?

I've mentioned before how I would love to travel around with the boys and Jason, exploring the states and then the world. I stand by that. First thing, we would definitely head out West and South, probably to the Arizona and New Mexico area and work our way further west to California and zigzag our way back towards the East coast, stopping in OH, MD, SC, FL to see family and friends on the way and finally head up towards New England and go to NY and CT to see more family and friends. Then if were up to me, we'd head over to Europe ;)

Right now, I'd just be happy to head South or West for a mini-vacay and to warm up! :)

It's ok, though. It will be warmer soon. Right? Please tell me that we will hit 50 soon! E and Alex seriously need to be able to go out and ride their bikes and really enjoy the sun without being freezing cold in two minutes time.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring brings lots to do!!!

We've got a busy few weeks ahead of us! Starting with this weekend, Friday is the school carnival, Saturday the boys have their final Catechism class of the year, and Alex has his first Pinewood Derby on Sunday.

Next week, I'm helping out at the school book fair pretty much all week - Monday and Thursday from 8-4 and Tues and Wed from 8-12 - and of course, Jack-Jack will be with me destroying the displays helping the kids all pick out books ;) Then Thursday evening, E and Alex have the school talent show with their friend J. Good Friday starts their Spring break, and Easter Sunday, we may or may not head to Ohio to see family. Not entirely sure what our plans out, so we shall see.

At some point over their break, the older two boys are going to visit Jason's parents for a couple/few days, probably the following weekend. My birthday is also that Saturday (April 6). Since I'm in my sister Heather's wedding - Matron of Honor - and we are still doing all the dress fittings and looking for the perfect bridesmaids dresses as well as making the table decor, we decided that weekend is perfect to go down to Columbus. So after Jack's 15 month dr appt., we are driving down (probably dropping E and Alex off at the in-laws that afternoon, on the way) to my parents to pick up my mom and then down to Heather's house till Sunday afternoon. I'm thinking we should go to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner as a birthday treat ;)

A week after that is Jason's sister Jorie's wedding. It's in Florida and we aren't going to be able to go. :( It makes me sad that we aren't going. I really, really hope that her and Matt's special day is perfect and they enjoy their day surrounded by everyone who loves them and that they know we are thinking of them.

The following Sunday - April 21st - brings Alex's First Communion. We are having a small celebration with immediate family and a few close family friends - I'm talking like 30-35 people, including the five of us!

Thankfully after that, it's pretty mellow around here for awhile. At least as mellow as it can be with 3 young boys, and a crazy husband ;)

Or if this crazy mama forgets something!!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Great Job, E!!

E had his final spelling bee for the year yesterday. He was in the 6th-8th grade group this year, and happened to be the youngest one up there.

He was starting to get overwhelmed after a few rounds but did pretty well. At one point, we thought he was out because he was given the word "guerrilla" and he spelled "gorilla". Since they are homonyms, and he spelled one of them correctly, and the sentence they gave wasn't completely clear as to which word, they gave it to him!

27 students to start, and by the end of round 8, it was E and an 8th grade girl. E was up first and was given "khaki". His nerves had set in, I think, because he knew the word but started with c, then tried to correct himself, which isn't allowed, so he had to just keep spelling it. The girl got a chance to correctly spell "khaki" and did and then was given the final word, "laborious", which she got correct also. E was runner-up, and he did wonderful. He was disappointed in himself - absolutely no reason for him to be though! We found out after that the girl was now a 3-time winner of the bee! So he only lost to the returning winner!

The girl and E were both given a trophy - she got one for first place, and he for runner-up/second place - as well as 2 tickets to Michigan's Adventure and a Kindle Fire!! He's been checking that out all morning after mom set it up yesterday for him. Since it can access the internet, we are going to "share" it as a family and it will be under supervision, as well as the parental controls and password are turned on.

We went to Michigan's Adventure for the first time last summer, after E won the bee and received 2 last year. In fact, we planned a whole vacation around it, our first family vacation. It was a lot of fun. I know he's excited that we are going to go again this year. Since it's on the other side of the state, we will make a weekend trip of it and do some other fun things too. It kind of forces us to take some down time this summer ;)

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Six Ingredient Challenge, #6

Six Ingredient Challenge buttonJoin the Six Ingredient Challenge hosted by Hobo Mama and Anktangle!
We're on a six-week path to eat more whole foods, guided by one simple rule: Buy foods with six ingredients or fewer. And we're blogging about our journey on the way.
This week we're answering the question: What are you learning about your body through this challenge? Your family's rhythms and routines? Your feelings about food?
You can see all the responses to this question on March 14 at the link-up post.
To join in the Six Ingredient Challenge anytime during the six weeks, visit the sign-up page for a list of posts and to link up!

***


So I'm whipping this post out really quickly this morning. Honestly I forgot! 

I would have to say that I've learned a lot of what I crave when it comes to food. I already knew I am a carb-aholic and can't seem to make it more than a day without a Pepsi. :( I feel better physically when I eat better.  This is probably TMI, but I have digestive issues when I eat things that are not good for me, and since eating better, especially over the last few weeks, those instances have been almost non-existent! The only times I did have a problem was the few times we either ordered pizza or had fast food (I know, I know, but sometimes it really is just easier! I am trying to learn not to beat myself up for making these bad choices and to try and make less of them :) ) I've also realized - duh! - I have more energy and am less irritable when I eat better foods! Less processed is really better for me physically and emotionally. Just need to remember that when I want to reach for the "easy" choice, whether at the store, or passing the drive-thru. 

Our routines and rhythms really do ebb and flow! We like to eat a lot of the same things, and most of the time, they are easy meals, but can be made healthy. Spaghetti, for example - whole wheat pasta with 1 ingredient, covered with a very good (preferably organic) spaghetti sauce full of veggies, topped with parmesan and maybe some ground beef, can be made even better by adding some fresh chopped veggies into the sauce and having a salad on the side, and maybe leaving out the garlic bread ;) We aren't an extraordinarily busy family, but Tuesdays, our middle son, Alex and Jason go to cub scouts, Saturday mornings the older 2 have Catechism class most weeks, and they have homework most nights - especially right now with "March is reading month" calendars and "play 60" books to do - so after we get home from school, we have to fit homework, dinner, and play time into just a few short hours and sometimes I am trying to cook while taking care of a crabby toddler who may or may not have napped! So trying to find a good rhythm while also making sure there are healthy meals on the table has been a challenge and seems to be getting easier as time goes on.

I have realized lately that all I think about is food! Well maybe not all, but it feels like I'm constantly thinking about what's for breakfast, lunch, dinner, what's healthy, what's not, food dyes, grocery shopping, the budget, etc. I am having a hard time NOT thinking about food in some way, shape or form. I've also realized I have a food addiction. I'm overweight, but not hugely obese, I'm 185(ish? LOL) and only 5'6-7" - not 100% sure how tall I am - and I know I need to lose weight, about 50lbs or so. My weight fluctuates a little but has sat about here for the last 8 years or so, except when I was pregnant this last time, when my weight reached it's highest at around 205lbs. Obviously, at that point I wasn't worried about it, since I was pregnant. But now, over a year later, I am back at my pre-pregnancy weight, and even though we are still breastfeeding on demand, I have not lost any additional weight. I know that it's because I overeat, I drink pop way too much (too much sugar!) and choose to eat sugary, carb-loaded, processed foods... because that's what I'm addicted to. I keep telling myself moderation. However, I think it's finally hit me. I can't DO moderation with these things. It's all or nothing. Not to minimize an alcoholic's or drug addict's struggle, but in it's own way, I feel like that is what I'm dealing with. It's hard to put that out there, especially considering I know family and friends will read this. It's very hard to admit you have a problem. I also realize that without help, I may never be able to stop eating the crap food that I "love"...

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Habemus Papam ~ We have a Pope!

Pope Francis.

If you haven't been watching the news, then you may have missed this whole process. As a Catholic, I have been trying to keep up with all of this. Pope Benedict XVI was elected Pope just a year before I went through RCIA, almost to the day - and a month and a half before Alex was born. Here we are almost 8 years later, and we have a new Pope.

Some thoughts. I find it very interesting that this is all happening about a month before that child I was pregnant with last time this happened receives his First Communion. I also find if fascinating that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose the name Francis. I think it is pretty neat that he chose Francis because it is also Alex's middle name!

Anyway, I look forward to learning more about our Pope and also to see how he leads the Church. It will be very interesting indeed.

I do know he is a Jesuit, and is from Argentina, both of which are a first for a Pope, I believe.

I think the next few weeks will be telling in how people react to his election and any "backlash". I am definitely curious. :)

Friday, March 8, 2013

It's certainly been a day so far!

After a very long week of being sick, I finally started feeling a little better last night and slept more. I feel a thousand times better today. Jackson is sick with a double ear infection and a sinus infection though, which would explain why the poor boy couldn't sleep well, nurse well lying down, and didn't want to lie flat in bed :( I honestly had no idea it was so bad. He's had no fever, but a cough for a few days that got worse a couple of days ago and Wednesday night, he started pulling on his left ear so I knew something was up. I love, love, love our pediatrician's office. They always have open slots for last-minute sick visits so we are always able to get in the same day. There are 2 doctors in the practice and they are both sweet ladies who take the time to really listen and talk to you. To be honest, if they would see adults, I would so go to them! LOL. While we were there, I made a point to ask about his thumb and she was equally concerned. She said even though it isn't currently bothering him, she worries that it could become a problem as he gets older and is learning to write. (Even though it already appears he will be right-handed and it's his left thumb. Hey, you never know!) She gave me the phone numbers for 2 pediatric orthopedist (is that right? LOL) and said to see what they would like to do. I'm just happy at 14 months not only is it the first time he's been really sick and need antibiotics, he's also finally hit 20 pounds!!! That's huge because even though we finally came to the conclusion that he's just going to be a small (thin and average/tall) child, he's been either off the growth chart or barely at 5th% so it's nice to see he's gaining more weight. Especially since he's way more active, and learning to walk. He actually took some steps the other night and E recorded it with my phone. :)

E, Alex and their friend have an audition for the talent show Monday at 3:48pm. I've got all the supplies for the pillowcases/costumes, just have to get on them. Also need to have the other little boy (and his family - JULIE!!) come over this weekend to practice.

I thought ahead last night. I decided to use up all the leftover taco meat and beans and made the older two boys tacos and Jack had leftover spaghetti surprise - mama wasn't very hungry, my stomach has been wonky ever since I started getting sick so nothing has been sitting right, so I just had some snack-y stuff, something light - and while I prepped that, I figured I could pack the boys' lunches last night. Since it's Friday and Lent, even thought technically they can have meat until they are 14, I've just kind of made it a habit for them to not eat meat just like myself during Lent. Alex decided he wanted hummus and pita bread - Costco sells a large box of 30 individual servings of Sabra hummus which are perfect for lunch!- and I threw in mandarin oranges, cheddar bunnies and a juice box. E wanted a tuna and cheddar sub, so that was easy, along with some sliced strawberries, tortilla chips and a juice box.

Of course, I took the boys to school and about an hour later, I got a phone call telling me E had thrown up and to come pick him up. I made a quick decision and chose to pull Alex out for the day too. No sense in driving back up there in a few hours with a crabby toddler and sick middle-schooler.

On the way home, we stopped and grabbed a few essentials for the week, plus some ginger ale and crackers for E. Now that we are home, I've been getting nothing but attitude from Alex. I had to sit him down and talk to him. Just because he is home from school today, doesn't mean he can treat me that way, and he can help me out. He's not sick (well at least not with a stomach bug, his sinus infection is almost cleared up) and so he can do his normal chores that I've been letting him slack on. He had to take 2 board games to the basement and empty the dishwasher and you would have thought I told him he had to move a mountain! It was like an impossible task. After we talked, he changed his tune and did what I asked much nicer.

Today is Budget Day (payday) so I get to figure where all our money is going, going, gone. LOL.

Fast forward a couple of hours  - lunchtime - E has not thrown up again, has kept down a bit of ginger ale and says he's hungry, and of course he's laughing and practically running around the house...  not sure if I should actually feed him lunch or make him go back to school, haha. I am a bit leary about giving him anything too heavy though as he did say his belly still hurts a little. :(

Oh yeah, and Jason comes home tonight. Yay! Except for the fact that he got to miss out on all the drama this week, I'll be glad to see him ;) I forgot to mention Jack split his lip, well directly under his lip last night. It didn't bleed to bad and it isn't a very bad cut, but I sure freaked out. I ended up calling the on-call/after hours number for our ped - per my mom's suggestion! - and she reassured me that it sounded pretty minor and just to ice it and watch him closely. Aye, aye, aye. See, I told you he missed all the drama!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Six Ingredient Challenge: Week 5

Six Ingredient Challenge buttonJoin the Six Ingredient Challenge hosted by Hobo Mama and Anktangle!
We're on a six-week path to eat more whole foods, guided by one simple rule: Buy foods with six ingredients or fewer. And we're blogging about our journey on the way.
This week we're answering the question: How's your budget? What money-saving strategies have you been employing?
You can see all the responses to this question on March 7 at the link-up post.
To join in the Six Ingredient Challenge anytime during the six weeks, visit the sign-up page for a list of posts and to link up!

***

I can't believe we are already in week 5 of this six-week challenge! No, you didn't miss a post for week 4, I actually forgot to write one. Oops! Oh well. 
The budget. I've actually been trying to bring down our weekly/biweekly grocery budget some. Jason thinks we spend too much for groceries ;) but the price of organics alone are crazy-high. However, they are so worth it, in my opinion. I can't drink non-organic milk any more without stomach issues and that means I'm spending $6.29/gallon for milk (store brand!). We have cut back our milk drinking some though so I'm usually buying 1 1/2- 2 gallons for a two-week period. This week I budgeted and spent $80 less than I typically do for the next 2 weeks. I will of course have to buy bread and milk next weekend as well as possibly some more fruit. We also didn't need a whole lot of other stuff (dog food, diapers, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc) so that saved us a lot this week. 

Eating from the pantry as well as finding recipes that use some of things we have and only needing one or two things for the meals has definitely helped lower the budget some. For example, we are having "spaghetti surprise" - we have rice, cream cheese and cheddar so I just bought sour cream, spaghetti sauce (which was on sale!) and ground beef. Since I always buy the organic ground beef from Costco and it comes in a three-pack, I was able to figure out 3 more meals with ground beef for the week from that! We also have lentils so I looked for a recipe that I could use them in and I found an awesome sounding one. It doesn't need meat, we have frozen homemade chicken stock and all we needed was some kale! $3 and there's a quick dinner! I'm going to also finally use some of the chia seeds we have in the cupboard as well as use up some more of our quinoa in a crockpot breakfast cereal. I hope it turns out good. 

I try to use coupons when I can and our local grocery stores - Kroger and Meijer - have e-coupons that you can "clip". I especially love Meijer's mPerks program because you can use both e-coupons and paper coupons on the same product and they double any paper coupons up to 0.50! Sometimes they even have specials for loyal customers and tailored-to-you coupons for items you buy often. I actually set up separate accounts for my husband and myself.

I'm not always good at buying things on sale, but this week I just planned to buy "fruit" and ran across strawberries for 10/$10 and bought 2 packs of them, and some others that were on sale. That way we have fresh fruits for snacks and to go with lunches. It's funny, I didn't buy granola bars again this week and the boys didn't even ask about them, as well as the gogurt! They are really doing well with this new change. I'm so proud of all of us!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Lenten Photo Challenge: Take 3

Day 15: Word





Today, I chose to take a picture of the Little Black Book. Today's photo was "word". How fitting to share God's Word.

"And behold, two men were conversing with Jesus, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem." Lk 9:30-31




Day 16: To be still







My caption for this photo was that it may have been the first time Jack had been still all day long. He's getting so big and is checking everything out. He really is a boundless ball of energy some days ;)






Day 17: Joy





Paying off this furniture store credit card bill was definitely a joyful experience. We used most of our federal income tax return to take care of this bill. Saving ourselves all the back interest (about $1000!) was a really big deal. We had to pay Michigan state taxes this year, so between the two our return is gone already! :( At least it went to something important.






Day 18: Kindness








Alex wasn't feeling well and was cold so Ethan decided to give him a blanket to cover up. :)









Day 19: Joy







Jackson has discovered cupboard doors, and will stand there all day opening and closing them, all the while looking up at you to see if you notice and then just giggle and smile away! Oh the joy of being one and discovering things the first time.





Day 20: Flexibility






We were going to have tacos or something else for dinner but I really didn't feel like cooking. Plus Tuesday is trash day, so we try to have leftovers Monday night. Leftover night is all about flexibility. You have a few choices and when it's gone, it's gone!








Day 21: Time







After Cub Scouts, I was not feeling so hot. I took this picture right before I headed to bed for the night. It was a very early night for this sick mama. Of course, I didn't sleep good at all and am going to bed early tonight also. I'm glad I took time to take Alex to Cub Scouts last night though. He had fun and I got to see how it goes firsthand.





Menu for 3/1/13 - 3/15/13

So here's what I have planned for dinners for the next two weeks. These are not in any particular order. It will just depend on time, what sound good, and who's cooking ;)

(crossed out meals we've already eaten)

  1. Homemade fish sticks/nuggets, fries, veggie (Friday meal)
  2. Leftovers 
  3. Italian subs, chips and fruit 
  4. Breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs and toast 
  5. Homemade whole wheat pizza pockets
  6. Tacos
  7. Spaghetti surprise (recipe on my personal facebook and I will share on the blog's facebook page too)
  8. Homemade chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, green beans
  9. Meatless spaghetti (Friday meal)
  10. Leftovers
  11. Cheese quesadillas (most likely a Friday meal), veggie
  12. Amazing lentils and kale (could also be a meatless Friday meal, but I'm using homemade chicken stock from the freezer)
  13. Cheeseburger baked potatoes, green beans
  14. "Let's call them swedish meatballs", pasta, corn
  15. Spinach, bacon and provolone stuffed chicken breasts, pasta
14 and 15 are from a cookbook called "Bulk cooking" and 13 is my mom's recipe.

I'm also planning to make blueberry and chia quinoa for breakfast one day, except I'm using vanilla coconut milk instead of soy milk and maple syrup in place of the honey. I'll let you know how it turns out :)

Very rough day and night

I picked the boys up from school yesterday, only to find out they both had "questions". It's the school's disciplinary actions. First they get a warning, then RTC questions (what was I doing? what should I have been doing? What can I change? etc.) then finally they go to the RTC (responsible thinking classroom) room for a little while and talk to the vice principal or whomever.

Alex always seems to get his questions from talking, interrupting or not listening to the teacher. His "problems" are never too bad, and he's 7, in the third grade and the whole class is a talkative bunch, according to his teacher.

Ethan, on the other hand, has been having some meltdowns. He's our Aspie. I love my children dearly, but there are certain things that I don't understand when it comes to E's frustrations and anxiety. I don't know how to help him. 3 or 4 weeks ago he had started hurting himself on a daily basis. He would get upset about something and punch himself, pinch his cheeks, smack himself with a book, etc. He was doing it out of anger. E has never hurt anyone else, and never seriously injured himself, thankfully. The worst incident was a few months ago when he smashed his head on the office wall and put a small dent in it, but he was uninjured. Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, after talking to him till I was blue in the face, for the gazillionth time about why we shouldn't hurt ourselves, that feeling angry is ok, but there are better ways to deal with those and ALL feelings, I came up with our incentive plan. If he could go all day with no self-injurious behavior, he would earn a star. After 40 30 stars, I would take him to go buy a used DS game. He loved the idea and it seemed to give him something to focus on and help him calm himself in class. E went 8 days of school (so Wed-Fri of week 1 (started on Wed), and Mon-Thurs of week 2(no school Fri) and Monday of this week) with no incidents. Then yesterday, every little thing started bugging him. He ended up punching himself in the right cheek, and it came to the point that the teacher, after asking him to stop, had to gently take his hand and hold it so he would stop. Then he went to the office for a break. He has a behavior plan and built-in breaks, for whenever he feels he needs them. The boys go to a public charter school and E is in a "regular" classroom, self-contained 6th grade, instead of switching classes with most of the middle schoolers. The school added a 3rd sixth grade this year and this is how they did it. We chose to have him in there, as he's a year younger (10) than most of the other kids and thought it would give him another year to mature and learn responsibility and organization. He does have a first hour that he goes to that switches each trimester, currently Spanish. This year, his IEP is focused on social skills and behavior, as academically, he is at or above grade level (even after being a grade ahead!).

So, after all that, I go to ask him what happened and he says "I'm sorry, I accidentally punched myself." Sigh. Really, buddy? How can you accidentally punch yourself, over and over. It makes me sad. Regardless, we talked to the teacher, and he had a better afternoon. I ask several times if he had all of his homework. Yes, mom, of course I do.

We get home and I tell the boys to do their homework, the play 60 challenge, and the March is Reading Month calendar. E proceeds to tell me that he forgot a sheet of paper to do his vocab pictures. Seriously? Well, I let him know he still needed to do them and to figure it out. I'm proud of him, because a few minutes later he lets me know that he's going to draw them on another sheet of white paper and paste it on the yellow construction paper when he gets to school tomorrow. Hooray for problem solving!!

At this point, I'm starting to not feel so hot. I've had a cold off and on for a few days, Alex has had a sinus infection and is on amoxicillin, and Jack is coughing and has a runny nose. E is the only one of us not sick. Jason's out of town for work and Alex has cub scouts. So I hurry up and make scrambled eggs, sausage and toast for dinner, we eat, I put Jack in his jammies, and we leave. By the time we get to cub scouts, I feel dizzy, chills, achey, and have a really bad headache starting.

We left a few minutes early and by the time we got home, I was ready to just go to bed for the night. I had the boys take showers and go to bed early and Jack was sleeping until five minutes before I was ready for bed (HA!). I had the worst sinus pressure. It was so bad, my teeth were hurting. We don't have any aleve, ibuprofen or tylenol (only 3 meds that I know are safe for breastfeeding for pain) and I can't take sudafed because I get heart palpitations from it usually. Jack and I laid down and I think between him waking up due to a stuffy nose or wanting to nurse - he didn't eat well at dinner last night, and slept right through lunch so he had a light snack around 3:30 and so he wanted to nurse on and off all night last night - and me waking up due to sore muscles and my head still pounding, we were up at least every two hours from 8:30 till 5:30, sometimes for over an hour. The little sleep I did get was very restless. Finally at 5, I dug through our medicine cabinet and found some advil congestion. It has pseudoephedrine in it, which I was leary about but I had to do something! By 5:30am, my headache/sinus pressure was waning, and I fell asleep on the recliner with Jack till 6:45.

Since I had told the older boys the night before that if I wasn't feeling any better, I might just keep them home today, E came out and asked how I was doing. I told him I was ok, and to go ahead and get ready for school. He looked very relieved. :) We were running a little behind and I think he was probably marked tardy for Spanish today, so hopefully that doesn't ruin his whole day. :(

Here's hoping they both have a better day and less homework! I really want to just come home and spend some time with them. We are going to sit and do cub scout stuff maybe. Alex has his Light of Christ book so he can get his religious pin, and the Fun for the Family book with activities we can all do together and earn pins/patches! I was thinking we can sit and pick out which ones they would like to start with from each section. Also we have to decorate their pillowcase for the talent show. I still haven't gotten everything I need, but I have some stuff around here, so I may be able to improvise.

Kudos to all the single parents out there. I have done it alone before, when Jason was in Afghanistan for 6 months and Louisiana for a few months with just the two older boys and when he was in California for a month when E was 2, and then when he first started working at this job and he was only home 2-3 days a week (usually the weekend) and he was living up here in an apartment during the work week for over a year. It was hard. This seems harder, having a third child thrown in. I don't know if it's because Jack is still so little, or maybe it's because we are (almost) all sick right now. But I miss Jason, I miss his help, and his jokes, just his presence. He and I really do feed off of each other, good and bad, but right now, I could use the calm, collected side of him. It always seems like when I have a bad day, he's able to be the rock, and vice versa. We are a pretty great team. Most of the time. ;)

Friday, March 1, 2013

7 Quick Takes, #3 - Music Edition


--- 1 ---
Alex, E and a friend are doing a dance for the school's talent show. They are going to dress up as "pillow people" and dance to Cha Cha Slide by D.J. Casper. If you've ever seen any of the videos of kids or teachers doing "pillow people" on youtube, you know how funny and cute this is. The 3 of them were supposed to start practicing today, but Alex isnt feeling well. He's got a sinus infection. :(

--- 2 ---
I was flipping channels in the car yesterday and ran across a good station. They were playing Pink Floyd "The Wall". Is it just me, or do you sing along, and all the while use that British accent that you don't actually have? LOL. Maybe it really is just me...

--- 3 ---
We also listened to Guns N' Roses, which made me think back to when I was little and my sister Heather liked that kind of music. I did somewhat too when I got a little older (I'm a child of the '80's and 90's so I listened to a little "hair" metal, some heavy metal, some "grunge" - think Nirvana - and NKOTB when they were big the first time around. Joey was my crush, his blue eyes, and he was the youngest, only 16, so being 10/11 it seemed feasible to me, LOL). Anyway, it just made me think of how much changes over time. People's style - clothing, music, hair (!!) - all for the better in this case ;) I wish I could find a good picture of Heather from the late '80's early '90's, maybe even with me to share. I'm 6 years younger than her so we didn't "hang out" much but still. My other sister Linda was a HUGE New Kids fan. I remember she did the nicest thing for me for my 10th birthday. I had a slumber party and she took all of her NKOTB posters and decorated my bedroom with them and other things as a surprise, and my friends all signed one of those huge birthday cards with a picture of the guys on it - I'm talking like 2 feet tall! It was the best birthday party ever as a kid!

--- 4 ---
If I see one more McDonald's commercial with the fish singing, I may lose it. However, I did show my 14 month old the original fish sandwich commercial with the big talking fish. My older two used to laugh so hard at it, and he definitely followed suit with that! He was cracking up! 

--- 5 ---
Alex is learning to play the recorder in music this year. He's got the B-A-G down pretty good. I'm glad he's enjoying music class.  

--- 6 ---
E likes to hum. A lot. I know that it's a "stim", most likely. However, it certainly gets somewhat annoying. I have to remind him to stop. He's getting better. He also likes to sing in the bathroom. It doesn't matter if he's just in there for a minute to wash his hands, or if he's showering. That's actually kind of cute, unless it's after his brother is in bed. Their room shares a wall with the bathroom and he doesn't always remember to keep the volume down. Still though, I do like hearing him sing and he sings the songs at Mass very nicely!
--- 7 ---
I will leave you with this:



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