Our Sick Spring

We all made it through the holidays and our birthdays without being too sick other than the occassional runny nose. Then February and March showed up and all the bugs arrived, too. A stomach bug that hit Ethan and Emma, an ear infection for Kylie & Emma, and a few diarrhea bugs that got us all sick. Just before St. Patrick's day, I came down with bronchitis that was treated with inhalers. After a couple weeks I still wasn't better so I had a chest exam that came out clear but the dr switched me to another inhaler to try in a few days if I wasn't feeling better.



By this time it was Easter weekend and we headed to the Cape on Good Friday. I used the new inhaler in the morning and that afternoon when we were settling in at Grammy's house, I went into a coughing fit and couldn't catch my breath to breathe. Christine called 911 and I took a trip in the ambulance to the ER. After some breathing treatments, another chest exam and being put on Cortizone, I felt a bit better and headed back to the condo with JP. Kaitlyn was still awake and asked me why the big ambulance took me away and whether or not the men in the truck were nice to me and did I wear my seat belt in the ambulance and was I safe? I assured that there was nothing to be afraid of, yes the EMT's were nice and helped me feel better, and that I wore my seatbelt and was safe the whole time I was gone. Her response, "Oh good- when can I go in an ambulance????"

The following weekend was my bi-yearly trip to the cape with some friends. I spent much of the time coughing my head off which I'm sure everyone greatly appreciated- and ended up with a sinus infection on top of the bronchitis..... I went on another round of antibiotics. A couple weeks later I just started to feel a little bit better and I came down with a vicious flu bug that left me feeling miserable and weak for over a week. Finally my doctor told me to just stay home, rest and avoid all germs possible so I could completely recuperate and get my strength back. By now it was Mother's Day weekend so I spent Mother's Day and the next few days in bed until it was Emma's turn to scare us all.



Then that Wednesday Emma had a febrile seizure and we called 911 for her and spent 6 hrs in the ER with her. Her fever was 105.9. They discharged us, told us all was fine but to return if it happened again. Well, Thursday night I was rocking her and she had another seizure so we headed back to the ER and they ran a battery of tests on her over 8 hours time including a spinal tap :( THey kept us overnight Thursday and Friday and her temp never got over 100.5 again thankfully. (Thursday at the ER it was 106.2!) They think it was Roseola- she was back to normal by Monday but it took me a while to get over the horror of it all. Finally, I started feeling better- less coughing but still lots of back pain from having pulled so many muscles from coughing so hard for so long..... It was a BAD spring to say the least.

And then just before our Memorial Day weekend away to the Lacoffs on Long Island, Ethan came down with diarrhea and vomiting and then Kylie came down with the same thing....By Saturday, everyone seemed well and we ventured to the ferry in CT to ride over to Long Island with Becca & Hester. It was a fun trip on the baot and the kids had a great time racing up and down and all around the decks. JP and I loved it because it's very rare for there to be a 1:1 ratio between adults and kids! Needless to say, that night after a great day of sun and catching up with friends, I came down with the stomach bug, too and Kaitlyn ended up throwing up in Rachels' room during the night which woke up the household. The next day JP was sick, too and by MOnday when we began the trip home both JP and I were drained while the kids all seemed to be back to 100%. It took another week for us to both feel back to normal. CRAZY!

Catching Up

I cannot believe that it's been 3 months since I last posted! During most days, something funny or cute (or troublesome) will occur and I plan to blog about it at night and then night comes, I sit on the couch and can't be bothered by starting up my laptop. Right now, I'm enjoying silence during the daytime hours while the big kids play outside in the play area and Emma is napping and I'm going to make use of the time to catch up (or more realistically, at least start to catch up).

A few more funnies:

Ethan & Kaitlyn were playing in the play room and Ethan comes into the kitchen crying while JP and I were making dinner and complains that Kaitlyn threw a toy at him. My sympathy level was running low after a long day so I told him that next she throws something just "duck". A few minutes later Ethan comes in crying again and says Kaitlyn was going to throw a ball at him again and he called her a duck bit she threw it anyway. ;)

The Easter candy was starting to run low (finally!) a couple weeks after Easter and Kaitlyn spied a stash of peanut butter eggs up in the snack closet. I told her they were for Daddy to which she replied that she had shared her peanut butter eggs with Dad so couldn't he share with her. Made sense to me- so I promised her that when she ran out of her own eggs I'd give her some of Daddy's. She then assumed a runner's starting position and pointed herself to towards the family room where her candy was up on the mantle and stated while pointing to her candy, " So if I run out to my candy, you'll give me more eggs?" ;)

Random Funnies........,

*Sometimes in a life with kids you just have those moments that make you laugh. Here are a few from our last few months:

- After the ice storm left us without power, I headed to my moms with the kids. Our second night there, Kaitlyn was still awake around 8:30 having napped earlier in the day but Ethan & Kylie had been fast asleep for a while. My mom and I are talking in the living room and we hear Kaitlyn who's playing in the hallway say "Whatcha doing Ethan? You have to go pee? But why are you peeing on Mimi's rug??????" Yep, he walked out of the bedroom, pulled down the front of his jammie bottoms and just peed on the rug. He pulled his pants back up and went right back to bed.

- While visiting Papa Perrault for a family St. Patrick's Day dinner, Emma (our resident neat freak) stood examining Papa's hallway which has light wood floors with occasional darker spots in the wood. She walked into the bathroom, grabbed a few sheets of toilet paper off the roll, returned to the hall and stooped over one of the spots and tried to scrub it off. She lifted the paper, saw there was nothing on it and tried again. Looked at the paper and still nothing. Then she moved onto a different spot and tried again.

- Emma's version of hugging someone is to go over to them and lean her head into them. She especially loves "hugging" the dogs who don't know what she's trying to do....

-Toilet training faux pas..... Oh so many- but a few that make us scratch our heads (all courtesy of Ethan) are when we found a puddle of urine sitting on the tp of the toilet seat. Thank goodness our seat cover is a bit concave. One day, my mom even found a big pile of poop on the cover after the kids had gone to bed, not smooshed or anything- not sure how he managed to get off without making a mess. Moral of these lessons: leave the toilet seat cover up at night.

Age 4 is lookin' good!

A few days ago I planned to write about how nice it has been around the house lately. The kids seem to have turned a corner in development and are back to being relatively nice, polite and fun little people.

Ethan has amazing patience with everything he touches and can sit down and work on a puzzle for an hour without batting an eyelash. He also puts together some amazing railroad setups. He especially loves taking his puzzles and trains apart so he can start all over again. His favorite pastime though is playing Wii MarioKart or "playing driving" as he calls it. He is so cuddly and lovable and deals with the girls (who tend to be the bosses around here) very well. My heart melts around him. Especially when he comes up to me and picks up my hand and kisses it. He's so sweet!

Kaitlyn is still the Alpha dog- so long as she is the first to do anything it's smooth sailing. Of course, she's not always the first as we are desperately trying to teach her that we all take turns being first. This usually results in a complete breakdown with a flashflood of tears but she recovers quick and moves on soon enough. Kaitlyn loves to play on the computer and play MarioKart as well. She's also been spending a lot of time lately with all her babies and settling them into their doll cribs for naps. It's rare for Kaitlyn to just plop down and watch a whole movie because she loves to move around. We are now recording Olivia episodes everyday and she loves to watch those after dinner at night.

Kylie is Kylie. Still a tough cookie but much easier to reason with lately. We've had some issues at school with her disobeying and acting out but at home she's been great. She loves to help out in the kitchen- getting dinner ready, setting the table, feeding the dogs. She's a snuggle bug and loves to curl up on the couch with us to watch movies. She has zero interest in Wii- she prefers to play with her princesses and play dress up. Definitely a girlie- girl!

It's amazing the things that they can do now that they couldn't do own their own a year ago:
- Getting dressed (Ethan loves to do his own buttons)
- Brushing their teeth
- Making their beds (as well as can be expected anyway....)
- Using scissors (Kaitlyn is especially amazing!)
- Getting coats and shoes on (we just need to zip the girls up)
- Going to time out when asked (usually without arguing)
- Playing nicely with eachother (for short amounts of time anyway)
- Playing card games- Memory & Go Fish are favorites
- Still eating great dinners- very little fussing at dinnertime- favorites are steak and salad, spaghetti and meatballs, and salmon.

Less arguing, fighting, and bickering is so nice. All in all, we've been having a lot more fun around here lately!

A Wonderful Field Trip

25 Random Things About Me

This was something I did through Facebook but thought I'd post it here, too since it sums up my life pretty well :) I was only supposed to list 25 but I just couldn't stop....

1. Everyday I hope that I can be as good a Mom to my kids as my Mom was to me.
2. I already feel guilty that there is no way we can pay for all of the kids' college tuitions. My Mom paid for all of mine and looking back on it, not having student loans was a lot nicer than I ever gave it credit for...... Thanks, Mom!
3. I don't play the lottery which rules out any option for #2.
4. I LOVE my kids so much- they are the loves of my life!!!! I do have "favorites" though.....
5. I miss my pre-children days when JP and I lived in Boston within walking distance of everything and had a life of leisure.....
6. My husband treats me like a princess and appreciates all that I do.
6. I regret very few things in life.
7. One regret- I wish I hadn't been so quiet in elementary school. It set me up as the "shy kid" which was a mold I was never able to break out of even through high school.
8. I wish I hadn't been such a goody good in high school- I would have had a lot more fun.
9. I let loose in college :) and had a LOT more fun!
10. I love my husband very much- marriage is a fine balance and we usually get it right.
11. I hate money and wish it wasn't needed in life.
12. I like my career but most days wish that I didn't have to work- I'd still lke to send the kids to daycare a few days a week though.....
13. I have very few complaints about my post-pregnancy body- but I would love to get breast implants someday. It just goes back to that darn money thing..... Maybe when I'm no longer paying so much for preschool ;)
14. I am terrified of the thought of dying young and not seeing my kids grow up and have their own families. I really look forward to being a grandma some day- although there is no rush.
15. Should I die young, I'm afraid of being forgotten by my children or replaced by someone else.
16. I fully expect to remain married to JP for the rest of my life- he may drive me nuts at times- but he is truly amazing.
17. I just heard about the doomsday prophecy for 2012 from another friend's notes and now I'm afraid of that...... Thanks a lot!
18. I am a perfectionist but frankly just don't have the time lately.
19. I love to read just to get lost in the story- especially murder mystery/ romance novels.
20. I miss my grandparents old farm house in Maine.
21. I wish I didn't get so offended that a few old friends no longer want to hang out with us.
22. My feelings get hurt easily.
23. Nobody better mess with my kids- ever!
24. I love my friends but wish I had more really close friends to talk to.
25. I wish I was closer to my Dad and brother.
26. I sometimes get jealous of the bond that all my kids will hopefully have together- but I'm so happy for them :)
27. I picked up and moved to SanDiego after college on somebody else's drunken whim.
28. I love being pregnant and I'm a little bit sad that it won't hapen again- but 5 kids would be a bit much. What would we drive?
29. I love driving a minivan- never thought I'd say that!
30. Oops- I can't seem to stop babbling-sorry! I'm also a wee bit of an overachiever.

Life is Good!

Today is my 36th birthday and I just have to say that life is good. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband who treats me like a princess (every little girl's dream come true!), 4 amazing kids who may drive me nuts most of the day but who are truly the loves of my life whose smiles melt my heart, and a beautiful home in a great town filled with friends. My only birthday wish is for a long and healthy life so I can be here for my kids and watch them grow up and have families of their own and so that I can spend more quiet time with JP someday later on in life when the kids have grown up and moved on.

I feel like I have lived two lives- one was pre-children where JP and lived in Boston within walking distance of everything we needed. We could sleep in, wander down the street for a leisurely coffee and breakfast and then walk up to Boston Common to catch a movie. We were never in a rush- our time was own. Our birthdays were special days- we'd go out for a nice dinner and just enjoy spending time with one another.

After we were married, my thoughts were instantly on starting a family. Little did I know that it would be 3 1/2 very long years before that dream would come true- but it was definitely worth the wait. I remember my 32nd birthday like it was yesterday because it was by far my best birthday ever. Ethan, Kaitlyn & Kylie were 7 days old and still at Brigham & Women's Hospital. JP drove me into the city to visit them but first we went to MGH to see Dr Toth- our infertility dr- to say thank you to him for all his help and to show him pictures of our little miracles. I remember thinking how very lucky I was to finally have the family I had dreamt about for so long. At Brigham & Womens- JP placed a birthday card from each of the kids to me on their isolettes :) We spent half the day with the kids- holding them, feeding them, and changing them. It was on that day that I realized that even though it may be my birthday, from now on each and every day would really be all about them- and that was just fine with me.

On my 33rd birthday, JP offered to take the kids out somewhere so I could have some alone time..... I insisted that we all go out together because there wasn't anyone else I'd rather spend my day with. So we spent the afternoon at the mall play area and had a great time.

By my 34th birthday, I was ready to spend some time by myself ;) I don't remember what I did but I do remember that JP took care of the kids for the most part of the day.

Last year, I had a sweet new baby in my arms once again and couldn't have been happier to experience all the wonderful baby firsts once again.

Today, I'm home with Emma just relaxing. There's no place I'd rather be. I am thankful that JP let me stay in bed this morning while he oversaw the kids getting dressed, made their breakfasts and took them to preschool. I was also thrilled to have a chorus of "Happy Birthday" sung to me over and over and over again by our 3 adorable 4 year olds :)

JP, Emma and I are going to the Olive Garden for lunch today with my Dad which should be nice, too. It's not like the elegant dinner we surely would have had pre-kids while living in Boston- but it's what our life is today and I couldn't be happier.

Yes...... life is good!

Enjoying breakfast with Emma: