Rediscovered Treasures

The other night I decided to take all the cushions off the couch and vacuum underneath. Yuck. We found some pretty interesting things. Nothing too gross, but we found lots of toys, books, kid jewelry, combs (from brushing Barbie and My Little Pony hair on the couch), a musical card, dress-up feather fan, etc. Many things the kids forgot they were missing. They had a total blast playing on the couch without the cushions and on the cushions we threw on the floor. Please excuse their attire, it was after we spent most of the day outside in the pool and right before bath time:).

I love this one of the Grant and Liam. They were so excited! They kept putting their hands up like this and yelling something I couldn't understand.

Oh, yeah. One last treasure we found was Matt's lost iPod we thought was in a landfill by now. Apparently it had fallen in between the sectional couch. Too bad we replaced it already. I guess with our kiddos it is probably good to have a backup!

Parenting from the couch

This is how many antibiotics we have going at our house right now. Hopefully I can make sure we are all compliant so we fully heal. Don't worry fellow pharmacists, the pink stuff is being appropriately stored in the refrigerator (only took it out for the photo)!

I think this is only the second time that Matt and I have been sick at the same time and tried our best to "parent from the couch." Not easy at all. I physically felt awful and mentally felt awful for being a bad mommy and letting the kids watch way too many television shows in one day. Today is a much better day. I have the inflatable pools blown up and the water from the hose is warming in the sun for an afternoon dip. The kids are going to get all the attention today.

The housework can wait. It did for the last two days, what is one more?

Digging for worms

Jackson is really loving the warming weather and being able to get outside. He discovered worms under our big landscaping stones and now has to look for them every time we are in the yard. He names them "slimey" usually (from Sesame Street) and is always very gentle with them. He likes to watch them move around in his hands for a little bit then puts them back under the stones to visit them again another day. While watching one move around in his hand, he excitedly exclaimed, "Look Mom! He made a J for Jackson!" It was so cute. And disgusting.

Spring

Matt and I are not huge fans of our house in general, but I really like this tree in front of the house. It is so pretty and just lets everyone know that spring is here bringing the birds, flowers, and showers with it. Speaking of showers...

we...had...water...in...our...basement...again.

Argh! Not a huge amount-a lot in the laundry room, some underneath the stairs where we have things stored, and some in an area by our exercise equipment. We are really getting pretty good at moving everything, putting on our rubber boots, and going to work with our shop vacs. God bless Craftsman shop vacs. Without them we would be lost and flooded. We are trying to decide what to do next--another sump pump, perimeter drain, ????. Everything is fine and dry now. See why we are not huge fans of our house? Happy Spring.

Mess makers

I realized the twins can reach in the pantry to get their own snacks. Not the best way to learn this fact! The funniest part was that when they saw me cleaning it up, the started shoving it into their mouths by the fistful. I guess they were hungry! My silly, messy boys.

Keepin' it real

Photos of my house after a normal day of playing. Really it has been worse, I mean there are still toys on the shelves and in the toybox yet to be removed by my 4 precious tornados:).

Sickies again

Just a short post tonight-Matt, myself, Jackson and Mia all have the pukes again. Since we just had a birthday and superbowl party this Sunday, I pray we did not give these little bundles of joy to any friends or family. If we did, I am so sorry because the way we feel is definitely not pleasant. Mia is probably the worst of us all. We spent most of the day curled up on the couch in blankets watching TV or movies. Luckily the twins are not sick and really behaved well today for not getting the normal amount of playtime or attention. Hopefully all will be well in the morning. I'll post pics from Mia's party tomorrow!

Green Bad Guy

This happened awhile ago, but I haven't had the time to blog about it. The story is too funny (or scary) not to share.

We have an EpiPen at our house since Jackson has a peanut allergy. Each box comes with two EpiPens (syringes with the medicine) and a "trainer" pen which does not contain medicine or have a needle attached. The actual EpiPen is green and the trainer is black. When first prescribed the medication, the doctor showed Jackson and I how to inject himself with the trainer. We had practiced several times with it so Jackson would be familiar and not so scared. The box of pens and trainer sit up on a shelf in our kitchen. One day I was putting Mia down for a nap (twins were already sleeping) and I hear Jackson crying (not unusual). I look out in the hallway to see what Jackson is doing and he has his pants down. I look at his leg and he has a small puncture wound on his thigh. He is crying, "I got an ouchie! That green bad guy got me!" I have no idea what the green bad guy is so I ask him where he was when he got hurt. He says, "In the kitchen!" I totally did not even think about the EpiPen. In the kitchen, on the counter is the EpiPen opened with the needle bent and the medicine expelled. I tried to relax, but I could not believe he had stabbed himself with the pen. Apparently, he saw the EpiPen box while going to get stickers (to put on the calendar for pooping in the potty) and decided that it was a good time to practice with his trainer. Except he didn't have the trainer. Woops. We called the doctor and poison control and 1 hour later Jackson was totally fine. He really had no effects from the "green bad guy" and the funny part is that he injected it in the right spot, just didn't need it at that moment. I felt bad for him because I am sure he was not expecting a needle to poke him in the leg since he thought he had the trainer. Poor kid. I don't think he will be practicing with the trainer anytime soon. He doesn't want anymore unneeded incidents with the "green bad guy."

Pukefest 2008

Doesn't the title just urge you to read on?? Sorry if this post offends anyone, but I feel it needs to be told to understand all of the joys involving child raising. We have been battling many illnesses since Halloween. The kids have had pneumonia, colds, coughs, runny noses, sore throats, ear infections, and now the pukes. The last few days have been crazy. For some reason, during the day the kids are mostly fine, but at night it is a whole different story. Last night it came to a head. Grant had puked in his bed the night before so we left the twin's door open to be able to hear the them well. It started with Liam. He decided to puke not only in his bed, but managed to get some on the wall, the rungs of the crib, the floor and the bed skirt. So Matt and I are in the babies room cleaning the mess and Grant wakes up due to the commotion. Not sure if it was the smell that got him or if he just felt ill himself, but while we are cleaning Liam's mess, Grant puked. So we clean both boys, change their PJ's and bedding and put them back to bed. I decide to sleep on the couch to be able to hear any future puking. Not more than 30 minutes later, Jackson is crying and running out to the living room. He stops just short of the living room and pukes on the floor. That was enough for me. I then joined in the Pukefest and hurled myself in the proper location for puking. Jackson eventually goes back to bed and guess who I hear? That's right, it was Amelia. You can imagine what happened. Unfortunately, I am not exaggerating. This is a true story. I hope I never have to type the word "puke" again. I pray there is no Pukefest 2009 or any other year for that matter. I tell you people, motherhood is not for the weak.

Post Flood

Cilantro from our garden
Peppers from our garden
Basement post flood
Dark part of fireplace is how high water was in basement

Here are some pictures of our garden that survived the flood and some basement photos. As I type this the sky is turning dark and thunder and lightening is starting. Here we go again...