Lately

We started our morning off with beignets. Cut some biscuits in half, fry them in some Canola oil, then cover them with powdered sugar. Thanks to Katie Compton for showing us just how easy it is to have a yummy treat anytime!

We had some happy eaters too! Kate wore the powdered sugar all over her face, and Blake stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.

Everyone got haircuts today but me- but that is only because I am the hairdresser. This is Blake's finished boy haircut, compared to his earlier mullet. He looks stressed in this picture, but he actually enjoyed climbing all over the chair while I tried to cut his hair. I didn't plan on cutting Kate's hair, but once she watched me cut Brandon's and Blake's, she said it was her turn.

Brandon ended up getting the bug on Monday, so we had another few fun days at home! I wish I could give you a good report on Kate's sleeping, but it just seems to get worse. I think it started with waking up throwing up last week, and she was scared it would happen again. Then it just turned into a control issue. I finally talked to her pediatrician about it the other day because I don't want to shut her in her room if she is legitimately afraid. BUT, Dr. Peters said this is definitely a Terrible 2 fit. I put a safety knob cover on the inside of her door, but she figured out how to open it. Then, I thought about turning her knob inside out so I could control the lock and not worry about her locking herself in, but I got a tight pressure mounted baby gate so she can still see out if she is afraid, but she cannot run out of her room. This has made for some serious noise! Sweet Blake just sleeps right through it, but I keep wondering when he is going to get fed up with it. She has fallen asleep sitting up a few times when I go in to calm her down, and she even fell asleep during lunch at Mother's Day Out this week. At least we know she is human and still sleeps sometime.

We are trying to read, say our prayers, and get out of her room without looking back- but she is pretty smart. She has pulled every toy that could hold her weight and slid her changing table to the door to try and climb out. Last night, I heard her scream something about her pajamas while she was throwing a fit, and I got nervous. Sure enough, when I got to her room, she had all her lights on and was standing stark naked in her doorway. All this was after she had thrown every book out of her room. Can you say TEMPER!

Please pray that this battle of the wills will end soon, it is taking its toll on me!

Where Have We Been?

Kate wants to show you her boo-boo on her chin. I picked her up from the nursery after Bible study, and she had a band-aid on her chin. When she finally let me pull it off (which took a while), there was a tiny dot of a scratch- drama queen!

Blake wants to spend EVERY WAKING MINUTE outside. If you even crack the door, he stands there begging, "side, side, side." I have started walking him out for every little thing I do outside, feed the dog, check the mail, etc. He doesn't care if it is freezing cold, he just is an outside boy. This day happened to be pretty warm, so the kids were able to play outside for a while.

Brandon and I raked while the kids napped, and when they woke up, they wanted to help. I am sure you can imaging how much "help" they were. Do you see Blake walking right through a pile of leaves?

Anyway, onto news around here... there is good news and bad news. The good news is that Kate put her pacifiers in an envelope to mail to the "paci fairy" so she can give them to a baby that needs it. She did ok with it, but we have had a few temper tantrums for it lately. I guess it didn't help that the night we took it away was also the night she got the stomach bug. That is the bad news! Kate came home from the nursery after Bible study on Wednesday and played all afternoon. She started telling me her tummy hurt, but how can you believe a 2 year old? So, we didn't do anything special for her tummy. We put her to bed, and she was so excited about giving her paci to the paci fairy, that she did pretty well, until 10 or so. She coughed and then cried and whined until Brandon went to check on her. Then he called my name to come help, which is never a good sign! We decided not to give her the pacifier because we didn't want her to know we still had them, she had done such a good job "mailing" them off. She did fine, she slept on me all night long on the couch.

She was pretty much over the bug the next day, just kind of weak. Brandon was on call Thursday night, and Kate was particularly difficult to put to bed. I was tired from no sleep the night before, but I also felt a little queasy... so I let her sleep with me. I just knew I was getting the bug, and then it hit! Wow does it hit adults harder than kids! I was up all night, and finally texted Brandon in the morning that he had to find someone to call in some Phenergan for me or I was going to die (he doesn't like to prescribe things for his own family). Somehow, he was able to come home in the morning instead of the afternoon after being on call, which was amazing. He picked up my medicine and some gatorade, and then I disappeared in my bed for the entire day. Literally, the entire day! I slept all day, and then all night last night. Kate was my little nurse. She refused to go play in the den, she wanted to lay with me. I told her if she could be still and quiet, she could stay. She stayed in my bed with me from 10 until 1:30, not moving and not talking! When we got up, she asked me, "can I talk now?" Isn't that sad? Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling much better. I washed clothes, sheets, scrubbed bathrooms, cloroxed everything I could see, etc. And then, Blake started throwing up tonight! It is like a domino effect, but Brandon has not had it yet. Please pray that he doesn't get it, because by the time it hits him, it will be when he needs to be working, and he can't really miss any work!

I was thinking how funny/gross it is to be a mom of kids with the stomach bug. First of all, I would NEVER have thought I could handle throw up on or around me, but when Kate was sick, she freaked out if you weren't holding her, so she actually laid on me with a towel in between us, and she threw up on the towel. Disgusting, I know! But, she was comforted and it was easier to clean up. Secondly, when I was sick, I realized that I was not even concerned about how long I was going to be sick, I was just praying that Blake wouldn't get it because I couldn't take care of him. Part of that prayer was answered, he did not get it that night, but he got it afterall (at least I can take care of him tonight). Thirdly, I was kind of thinking that I may want to catch another bug before bathing suit season comes along. There went a good five pounds I wanted to lose!

I hope you aren't too grossed out, and I sure hope you are not home sick with the bug! I hear it is flying around!

Cold Day Fun

On cold days, we tend to not get out much. And things get a little crazy! The kids climbed up onto the chair in Blake's room to play one day. Once I got the remote out of Kate's hands and the sound machine out of his, we were safe to play on the chair. Kate is really into "funny face time" these days. I think we have Uncle Derek to thank for that one!

The kids get a little whiny when there is nothing to do, and there are only so many cartoons we can watch, and I can't physically watch Shrek again! So, we got out the tunnel that my parents gave them for Christmas. It was A HIT! They just went back and forth over and over again, and it provided fun for a whole morning! It comes with a tent, but it looked like it may be more than I wanted in my living room, so we went with the tunnel alone (they will never know anyway). Please excuse Kate's hair in her face... we are fighting control battles with bows, jackets, etc. lately and it is just not worth it to argue about a bow at home!

We hope you are staying warm and having fun!