News and other stuff

First and foremost, Michelle and Jason had the baby today. Owen Michael was born at 8:51 a.m., and was 6 lbs., 14 oz. I'm going to see him around 3 p.m. before I pick up the kids. Yay!!!

Secondly, our laptop is being sent away for 7-10 days to be repaired (or have parts entirely replaced, in some instances). One super sweet and adorable little girl decided to get the stomach bug and barf all over it on Friday night. Oh, and it was while we were skyping with my mom, so she got QUITE the show. :) However, this computer mishap also means that I'm going to have a rough time showing people pics of Owen outside of cell phone ones. Sorry! :)

(sure is hard to be mad at this face when it's just THAT CUTE.)

We are mostly on the mend of the sickness, but some final prayers that we can kick this out once and for all would be appreciated. Addison has ONE. MORE. DOSE. of nasty Augmentin tonight and then praying all the side effects of that are gone, gone, gone. Augmentin diaper rash? Unreal. Carter finished his yesterday, so I'm hoping his "my belly hurts" comments are done too. Poor thing!! And poor mommy, too--sleeping on the floor of a toddler's bedroom 5 out of 7 nights a week is exhausting! ;)

And, because when it rains it pours, we had to purchase a new chest freezer last week when our upright decided to bite the dust out of nowhere. Good thing I craved a cookie that was in there or else we may have not discovered it until all of our meat was ruined!

The dryer is also on the fritz (well, or was, temporarily???) when it ran for FIVE HOURS without my knowledge but when I opened it, everything was cold and soaking wet. Super.

I'm attempting to schedule a hair appointment and color on Friday because, frankly, I look homeless. I seriously have zero time to do things like this with all the insanity at work, new babies, sick kids, sick me, sick Seth, dog sitting, cleaning, disinfecting, and repairing all major appliances in our house.

How's life with everyone else? (And how does that song go? Maybe trials of this life are mercies in disguise??) :)

Just living the life.

I haven't blogged in forever because the plague seems to have over taken our house. It all started back before Christmas with sniffles and a rogue ear infection for Addison. Fast forward a few weeks, and it's a house full of congestion, sneezing, coughing. Seth, I think started the January cold first (hard to keep it all together these days), but Carter quickly caught it. On Saturday, he was feverish, but we didn't think much of it. He's in that toddler phase where everything hurts --hands, feet, belly, nose, lips, etc. -- so we didn't even think anything of it when he kept saying his belly hurt Sunday morning (albeit, he DID keep pointing to his chest, so why would we?).

Next thing I know, baby love yakked on the floor and then again a few minutes later. Because he had a fever and had been a little "off," I scheduled him an appointment on Sunday morning. I couldn't believe it when they told me he had an ear infection. It had been so long!!

Sunday afternoon, Addison kicked up the crankiness a notch or five, and also seemed off. She was a congested mess, and coughing up a storm as well. She also began running a fever. I had a busy day of work Monday morning, and since the kids really couldn't go to daycare because of their fevers, they went to my aunt's house. Addison woke up with a nearly 103 degree fever, so I was back picking them up by lunch anyway. Annnnd, back to the doctor. Another ear infection for her too.

And then I bought stock in Augmentin. Geez.

I have been feeling horrible, too, and sleeping pretty much not at all (because how do you do that with two sick kids and a cough that could wake the dead?!?!), so on Tuesday, I scheduled an appointment for myself. Bronchitis for me. Excellent. I attempted to come back to work, but my head felt like it was about to explode and I was freezing from my fever so I went home to sleep.

Needless to say, last night was not pretty. I need a good, solid night or two of rest to kick this, and so does Seth (though he's alllllmost done with it!). The kids do, too, in a big way. We're praying this mess of sickness is gone for good here in the next few days because Michelle is having Owen next week (or sooner), so we have to be healthy to visit!

Prayers for healthiness.

And sanity. :)

Addison: Seven Months

Addison, 

At seven months old, you:

- Are roughly 18 pounds
- Finally (as in two days ago) made the switch to size 3 diapers. Man, we had a lot of 2's purchased!
- Wear size 6 month or 9 month clothing.
- Are still a pretty inconsistent napper (just like last month). At daycare, you continue to take mini naps (like 20-25 minutes), but at home you take two okay naps or one really good one. Because of this terribly inconsistent napping, you are beyond ready for bed by 7 p.m. Sometimes, we are majorly stalling you just to make it that long!
- Sleep through the night again, usually from about 7:15 p.m. until sometime in the 6 a.m. hour! Thank you, Jesus! However, you seem to be just like your big brother and started waking up earlier and earlier. Today, sweet love, it was 4:56 a.m. Let's not make that a habit (though you do have a cold, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt). :) On weekends, we definitely give you a bottle at that freakishly early time, swaddle you and put you in your swing.
- Are fully unswaddled now and sleeping on your belly in your crib. In the swing, you're still swaddled because otherwise, you just lift up the tray!
- Are no longer nursing. We nursed our last time on December 18. It was bittersweet for mama. Loved our snuggle time, but it was time for us. I'm so proud we made it 6 months, peanut!
- Love your food! You have eaten pretty much every baby food variety except pasta or meat, and love it all! You also LOVE puffs. Mommy's going to see how you do with super mushy foods this month. You eat solids at breakfast and dinner with bottles every 3-4 hours during the day and none from about 7 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. or so. Lunchtime solids will be added this month, too!
- Are still a pretty happy baby but boy, you let us know when you are tired or hungry. :)
- Love, love, love your jumperoo!
- Sit up like such a big girl, steady as can be and chew on everything you can get your hands on.
- Continue to love bath, especially since you can sit up in there now.
- Take a paci better than you were but thankfully don't care about it during the night.
- Are doing ever so slightly better in your carseat, but I do mean slightly. Still not a huge fan!
- Got TWO teeth this month. Mommy is going to miss that gummy smile!
- Celebrated your first Christmas in NJ with Oma, Opa, aunts, uncles, and cousins (you had fun, but you were one fussy little girl and barely slept at all) and in PA with Gramma, Pa, and more aunts, uncles, and cousins!
- Got to meet mommy's friend from college, Allie! - Nicknames this month: Peanut, peanut girl, pretty girl, beautiful, baby girl.

We love you, sweet girl! 

...and another!

Seriously, another tooth today....already. I saw it and felt it while she was screaming bloody murder for me to shovel her dinner in faster! I fear the gummy smile is on its way out! Oh, how I will miss it. For now, I will sit in a corner and wallow that my precious baby is growing up far too fast (as is her brother, who, just this morning while I was getting ready for work, said to me "Mommy, you look handsome." Sweet boy.)

(p.s. I'd love to upload some pics here but blogger hasn't been letting me upload pics for days. What is up with that?!?! Annoying!)

Let the teething begin!

Addison got her first tooth yesterday and I already know I'm going to miss that precious gummy smile. However, perhaps that explains the sheer misery since mid-December. She's done much better--getting up only once--for the past two nights, so here's to hoping! Picture of said tooth [hopefully, if she'll let me] coming soon! :)

2013 Bucket List

Resolutions, shmesolutions. When you call them that, it sounds all nice and pretty at first, and then just sounds like something no one cares about.

So we'll call it a bucket list. Ha!

Here are a few things I'd like to do in 2013, in no particular order:

1. Lose this darn baby weight and then some. And then a little more.
2. Put new siding on our house. (Fun, huh?)
3. Paint the garage and door trim of our house and the trim of the shed.
4. Go on at least twelve date nights with Seth. I'd like to focus on little things in our marriage and be more kind, accomodating, and generally more helpful to each other.
5. Learn my Nikon better and take one class -- online or in-person -- and learn how to use Photoshop Elements.
6. Hug, kiss, and play with my kids more. Not just regular playing, but good, quality playing.
7. Exercise more, even though I hate it. (P.S. Fun ideas for this, anyone? What type of exercising is FUN? And don't say take a class at the gym. I have two small children and no childcare at the local gyms; that will not work....or happen).
8. Count my blessings more, and try to be less stressed.
9. Teach my baby to sleep. (Had to throw it in there)
10. Pray more. (See #9. Just kidding. Kind of.) But seriously, pray for not only those "little," mundane things, but things like our marriage, my childrens' hearts and salvation, my heart, my patience, the world, safety, health, etc.

What do you hope to accomplish in 2013?