Birthday Madness

So, I haven't been very active here because I am employed now. I work at Target in the photo lab/guest service desk/cash registers since the first week of September. So far, so good. But this means that when I am not at home taking care of the kids and house and running around to E's appointments, I am at work. D is at work during the day and then comes home to take care of the kids, dinner, and bedtime. So, we are making it work and that is what matters.

In other news, it is the THE BIRTHDAY WEEK. E was on October 5th, mine was yesterday on the 8th, and G's is coming up on the 11th. We went ahead and celebrated E's birthday on her birthday just as a family and had a WONDERFUL time. I made curry shrimp with mango sauce and E inhaled it. Then we had brownies that I decorated with frosting and sprinkles and had her blow out her candles (with help from everyone). Presents came next- musical instruments and a "flinstones" car- and the girls had a blast playing with them together. And to wind down the excitement, we got out blankets and pillows and laid down in the front room to watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas". It was a perfect time together celebrating our E.



Last night was the party for myself and G. We had our friends J and J Baby over (with their mommy). They got to wear their Halloween costumes, make pizzas with me, and have presents for G. She got a bath time mermaid slide/swing and a set of Disney princess barbies, and princess book. I don't think we could have gotten her better gifts with how excited she was to get them. Even this morning, the first thing she and M did was to get out the toys, break open the barbies, and get set up at the kitchen table for some serious playing.


Lastly, our Z is growing like a weed (the CUTEST weed I have ever seen). He is army crawling everywhere, eats like a garbage disposal, and understands so much. As soon as D walks in the door and the girls yell out "Daddy!" and run to him, Z starts speed crawling and crying to get to his daddy as fast as possible. Those two are buddies and Z lights up whenever his daddy comes around. He also wants in on the action that his sisters are up to. Wherever they are, he is crawling to find them and be around them. When they are in the bath, he is on the floor next to the tub (but HATES being in it HA HA). When they are in their rooms playing, he is in there on the floor finding toys to play with too. I can honestly say that he is one of the greatest joys I have ever known and I get to enjoy him every day. I feel so lucky to have him (and his beautiful older sisters).


One final note concerns E. She was seen by what is called a Cranio-Facial Team a couple of weeks ago. After seeing a plastic surgeon, it is confirmed that she has a cleft submucousal palate and bifid uvula and will be having surgery within the next six months to repair it. I have mixed emotions concerning this because on the positive aspect of this, she will finally get to make progress with her speech and eating and will no longer suffer through nasal regurgitation any more. Her sinuses will get a chance to heal up from all the stuff that goes through them daily and she will get to live normally in at least that one area. On the other side of this coin, I am scared to death of putting her through such a serious procedure. This will put her under the knife, will hurt, take time for recovery, and very likely set her back with her eating and speech. The comfort I am pulling is that I was blessed with a vision of what life will be like for her once this is done and how much better she will be. I know this was a gift of comfort and strength given to me by God because after watching the recovery process after her g-tube placement, I am terrified to put her through anything like that again. So, here we are. The referrals are all in the process of being approved over the next week for her to go in for the consult and the MRI's to get ready. Then I will need to get my request in to work for a couple of days off to be with her in the hospital. Something very important is that this has to be done before we exit the military by as early as May 1st of next year. So, please send prayers for E and our family, they can only help. I hope you enjoyed catching up on our family and I send out my love to you!

Awesome Alice

I found out today that a roommate of mine from BYU-Idaho passed away 6 1/2 years ago which was only one year after she started college. She was only sick for one year before it took her. Alice was awesome. She was happy and bright. She was athletic and ambitious and extremely intelligent. She loved being naked LOL. I am sorry for not finding out about this sooner, but here are some memories for those of us who knew her to enjoy in photos. Heaven is a better place with her in it.

Evil, Flat, Purple Ball

6/29/2009

7:00 am- Wake up to stupid phone ringing and have to run to front room to answer before the person hangs up. Answer and it is Hubby asking about Elizabeth’s appointments so his work knows when he won’t be there. Feel tired all the way down into bones.

7:05 am- Take away package of hotdogs that Bruiser has gotten out of the fridge and she screams. Try to give her milk and she says no to it, so walk out of kitchen annoyed as she screams some more. Sit down at computer to do usual check of email, Facebook, and Blogger. Find it note-worthy to mention that Billy Mays and Ed McMahon have died also. Am freaked out about celebrities dropping like flies.

7:08 am- Give Bruiser a hug and she calms down. Now to go get Baby Girl out of crib and love on her. Then will need to start changing diapers and get day going. Am extremely glad that we cleaned up the house yesterday before babysitting starts back up today.

7:23 am- Diapers changed on all three… check. Now to go look at my check list and start moving down it in an effort to get things done before other two kids arrive.

7:45 am- Drag self off of couch after listening to Bruiser and Baby Girl play together in kitchen and cuddling with Boo Bear. See that Baby Boy has FINALLY learned to roll onto his back from his tummy and am relieved that this might mean he won’t roll onto his stomach and lay there screaming anymore. Decide to go make breakfast.

7:50 am- Have decided that it is best to give up on wearing anything but pajama pants today and just pull hair back to get out of way. Listen to “Phineas and Ferb” on t.v.

7:53 am- Stop Baby Girl from poking Baby Boy’s eyes out. Special.

8:02 am- While cooking up turkey bacon, find Baby Girl eating and drawing with chalk on kitchen floor. Awesome. Take away chalk and she cries because of the injustice.

8:07 am- Give Baby Girl her Claritin and Nasanex and feel bad for her because it HAS to taste terrible and feel icky to get the spray and drink the medicine.

8:15 am- Don’t you hate it when you go to do the dishes and the running water makes you need to pee?

8:16 am- Don’t you hate it when you REALLY have to pee and when you rush into the bathroom you realize there is no more toilet paper? So you have to run to get a new roll before you get to go? Yeah, me too.

9:00 am- Breakfast served and cups and bottles distributed to everyone. Don’t you hate it when you actually make a nice breakfast like bacon and scrambled eggs and your kids aren’t very grateful or interested in it? Yeah, me too. Makes me a strong believer in plain ol’ cold cereal with yogurt or fresh fruit. Baby Boy is getting peeved that I haven’t sat down to feed him his breakfast yet. Gotta love that super yummy formula that smells like something no one should EVER consume.

9:05 am- Stare into Baby Boy’s huge denim blue eyes and feel so much love… and then he farts on me.

9:10 am- Am finished feeding (and being farted on by) Baby Boy and get last of dishes loaded into dishwasher and turn on. Clean up counters and put uneaten bacon aside to make bacon bits for later.

9:35 am- Have finished in kitchen and notice that Boo Bear is pushing Bruiser around in a toy stroller and decide to not participate in a battle over it. Have decided that the game will end when a) the stroller breaks or b) they find something else to play and abandon stroller abuse game. Baby Boy starts screaming again to tell me he is NOT full.

9:40 am- Have a fresh bottle made up and am stuck on couch feeding Baby Boy. Decide to watch Tory & Dean reality show until he is full and looking for his binki (pacifier). Go retrieve binki and put him in swing and listen to horrible sound of music while batteries die a slow and painful death.

10:50 am- Am finally free of sitting around on couch now that Baby Boy is awake. Did, however, enjoy being able to sit and watch a show (even if it is Tory & Dean). Realize that if Tory Spelling can talk about wiping poop out of her daughter’s hoo-haa in a book and people actually buy it, that there are limitless possibilities for people to write about dumb things and make money for it.

11:09 am- Boo Bear comes up to me to inform me that she is a dog now and I say “ok” and she happily runs off making happy dog sounds. Yesterday she was a robot and in true robot style only said “robot” to everything I said to or asked her. I think robot is my favorite so far, but I did like these also: unicorn, Tinkerbell, cat, and mermaid. Wonder what she will come up with next???

11:12 am- Put an almost flat, purple ball in time out because it is making the kids hostile to play with it. Figured out long ago that it is waaay easier to put toys in time out than kids.

11:30 am- Oh crap, I have two more diapers Baby Boy’s size left… guess he will be wearing a size bigger until Hubby gets home. My bad.

11:35 am- Fresh diapers, clean daytime clothes, and brushed hair and teeth… check!

11:45 am- Daddy V arrives to drop off Scrapper and Baby V and he reminds me it will be MY turn to go to the gym and I am STOKED! Yay hoo! I can finally start running again!

11:55 am- Preheat oven to make chicken nuggets and French fries. Catch Baby Girl stealing flat, purple ball from Baby V (evil ball) and give it back to him. Take grumpy Baby Girl to her bed for a nap and she is NOT happy with me.

12:06 pm- Go and start putting away dishes in the dishwasher.

12:09 pm- Scrapper in timeout for pushing Bruiser during a fight over evil flat, purple ball. Hide evil ball somewhere it won’t go all “Lord of the Rings” on the kids anymore. Put food in oven and continue drying and putting away dishes.

12:15 pm- Hear Baby V start screaming while helping the two year olds pick a bucket of toys to play with. Locate screaming Baby V stuck under computer desk and rescue him. Give him a toy truck and all is forgiven.

12:45 pm- Feed the thee oldest girls, Baby Girl is in bed asleep, and sit down to comfort both the baby boys on the floor. See that Baby V is getting to be able to stand unsupported and am so proud of him!

1:00 pm- Have gotten Baby Boy fed and down for a nap and put Bruiser down for a nap she will likely refuse to take. Plan on letting her have a couple of hours of quiet time anyway. Less two year old throw-downs to deal with that way. Think it is time now to change Scrapper and Baby V’s diapers before going ahead and getting on with dishes that I STILL haven’t finished putting away. Sigh…

2:19 pm- Wow. I don’t know how else to describe the controlled chaos of the day so far. Baby V and Scrapper are now down for naps and I have surrendered to Bruiser’s hysterics yet again and she has been freed. Baby Boy is up and annoyed that I am not holding him (not that unusual) but I am hopeful now that he is in his bumbo that he might be happy.

2:26 pm- While on the phone with Hubby, who is now off work and on the way home, Boo Bear runs over to me crying and I automatically assume she and Bruiser have had an altercation. Wrong. She is tattling on a toy puzzle. Yeah, you heard me right, a toy puzzle. Have I created a tattle-telling monster??? Yes, yes I have.

2:39 pm- Have been going to check on Scrapper in five minute intervals as she doesn’t feel like napping today and thinks it is a great time to play with all the toys in Boo Bear’s room. Can’t blame her since there is A LOT of stuff to play with, but still have to be consistent and get her back in bed. Who needs a gym when you watch six kids under the age of five?

3:00 pm- Let the Evening Madness commence! Baby V is screaming for baby food, Baby Boy is screaming because he is tired and won’t sleep, Boo Bear and Bruiser start to fight over the toy stroller, and Baby Girl just wanders around trying to poke the babies in the eyes. Ahhh!!!

3:40 pm- Hubby home, Baby V fed and happy, Baby Boy passed out in his chair, and my three girls are playing or in timeout depending on the moment. Time to get on with the laundry section of the day… only 8 hours behind schedule!

4:00 pm- Sit on floor and fold laundry while we sing Patty Cake Patty Cake, Wheels on the Bus, Ittsy Bittsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Baby V sits and smiles and claps for every song and is super happy!

4:30 pm- Snacks for all the awake kids… check. One of two loads of laundry folded or on hangers… check. Hubby has damaged himself again… big check! Now to get first load of laundry put away and dinner started up… Chicken Baked Steak with Homemade Mashed Potatoes. Woo Hoo!

9:20 pm- Have survived making dinner, serving dinner, bathing kids, changing sheets on all the beds, getting kids in pajamas and in bed, and getting laundry folded, hung, and put away. Am EXHAUSTED and feel a long night of sleep is a well deserved super duper idea! Goodnight to all!

Parks and "oh poop"

6/26/2009

6:30 am- Decide to get up because Baby Boy is soaked from diaper and bring pillows out to front room intending to lay down once he is cleaned up. Do the morning email, Facebook, and Blogger checks and it is too early for anyone to be up for anything interesting to read.

6:35 am- Bruiser staggers out of her room and announces “poop poop” and I bring her over to lay next to Baby Boy to change her pull-up. Decide not to bother with the potty yet because a piece of it is missing and I don’t feel like trying to sift through house to locate it.

6:40 am- Turn on t.v. and find “My Friends Tigger and Pooh” for Bruiser to watch while she eats an apple and sit down to start recording day. Secretly wonder if my life is interesting to anyone besides self and decide it doesn’t matter so long as I am happy talking about it. Realize I am gross and head off to take shower while only half of kids are up and happy simultaneously.

7:00 am- Get up… check. Take shower… check. Brush teeth and hair… check. Step on scale and have lost another pound but am not happy for some reason… check. Spend ten minutes trying to find clothes that are now two sizes too big and finally get dressed… check.

7:05 am- Boo Bear comes to find me and remind me that I promised we would go to the park today before even saying good morning. I confirm I gave her that promise. Take look in mirror and realize I have more grey hair than most grandmothers and start thinking about how much it will cost to get hair colored and what color I want this time. Get frustrated and go to front room to write some more before starting the day.

7:14 am- Catch Bruiser in kitchen climbing onto “naughty chair” trying to get hands on goldfish crackers and threaten life. Bruiser cries really loud and wakes up Baby Girl.

7:17 am- Love on grumpy morning person Baby Girl and kiss her soft cheek. Notice Bruiser playing a dangerous game of peek-a-boo with Baby Boy and find it sweet and scary and tell her to stop.

7:20 am- Catch Bruiser ripping up “My Little Pony” book and get really mad. Send her to corner. Boo Bear complains about a “grumbling tummy” and Bruiser starts crying out “EAT EAT” from the corner to support Boo Bear.

7:25 am- Watch Baby Girl stagger around like a drunk because she has no balance from her middle ears being all messed up. Get angry that she won’t see ENT until late July and know there is nothing I can do about it.

8:00 am- Have fed older two cereal and Baby Girl some Lemon Pie yogurt. Notice she is eating a little less today but was able to get her to say “all done” when she wants down. Get all the cups and bottles set up for the day and Baby Boy starts to complain.

8:10 am- Have Baby Boy asleep in arms after tiny battle that I won.

8:40 am- Am sitting around because of sleeping baby and realize I need to: call WIC, call EFMP, visit Navy college, call in antibiotics refill and pick up, and pay Star Card, Time Warner, and Dentist House bills. Wow.

8:44 am- Watch as Bruiser does a “magic show” for Baby Girl that goes like this:
Bruiser puts weebles in weeble car and drops them to the floor with loud sound.
Baby Girl says “uh oh”.
Bruiser says “tah dah!”
Baby Girl claps.
Bruiser says “thank you, thank you” as she bows.

8:53 am- Baby Boy now awake. Find it noteworthy to mention both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are dead as of yesterday and think Farrah got screwed out of her time in the spotlight by Jackson.

9:15 am- Set out shrimp to thaw for dinner tonight (Curry-Dusted Shrimp with Mango-Ginger Sauce, rice, and vegetables out of the Weight Watchers cookbook Hubby bought me) and think I am awesome.

9:30 am- Daddy V arrives to drop off Scrapper and Baby V and announces he has forgotten diaper bag. I then inform that I have two diapers left myself and he runs to Wal-Mart asap.
10:00 am- Diapers are here and Daddy V has left so I am now running the ship of all six kids. It doesn’t take long for WWE to start up between the two year olds and I decide it is time to go to the park since there is a Relief Society play date now.

10:45 am- Have walked with all six kids to the park with
a) Baby Boy in front carrier on me
b) Baby V in back seat of stroller and Baby Girl in front seat
c) Scrapper and Bruiser holding on each side of stroller and walking
d) And Boo Bear walks freely as long as she listens well

11:00 am- Let kids run around park and end up not even getting to visit or get to know other moms because I am on kid patrol constantly doing head counts.

11:30 am- Am tired and all the other moms are leaving so I get the grumpy babies all set up in carrier and stroller, then bribe older three with a donut each for the walk home.

11:35 am- Just getting started on walk home and a mother and father are pushing their one child in a stroller toward us. Sidewalk is tiny and they pull off to the side to let us all pass. As we pass, woman says “Let me guess, you must be a child care provider.” To which I reply “Well, a couple of them aren’t mine, but four of them are.” And she says “Oh, I’m sorry.” and walks off with husband who then starts in on her that he “wants one more child still” and I pick up the pace to get away from them. C R E E P Y and rude.

11:45 am- Realize I need to get creative and make walk interesting for kids so have them count every road we have to cross and name off colors of cars we pass. Surprisingly have a much more fun walk on way back then way to park because of games.

12:00 pm- Am finally home with all six kids in tact and not run over by any vehicles and Mommy V arrives. So I get lunch made and served while she loves Baby V and Scrapper.

1:00ish pm- Have put down Bruiser, Baby Girl, and Baby V while Boo Bear and Scrapper play and Baby Boy sleeps on my arms. Decide to watch pre-recorded shows of “Mystery Diagnosis” with Mommy V and marvel at stories while Mommy V gets bored.

3:00ish pm- Scrapper is down for nap now and Baby Boy is STILL asleep so I continue to watch “Mystery Diagnosis” as Daddy V comes and goes and Hubby arrives just to take off with Daddy V to go to the store. AM ANNOYED AT HUBBY.

4:30 pm- Time to start dinner now and am excited to see how it tastes when it is complete and V Family leaves for their home.

5:00 pm- Hubby announces he wants to get me a present and thinks after the week (and especially day since it was supposed to be a day off) that he wants to go get it now. I permit it since he promises to pay back credit card on the first and he takes three oldest kids with him.

5:30 pm- Have served up everyone’s plates so I set up Baby Boy in highchair and have a quiet dinner by myself and share mango sauce with him, which he LOVES. Have officially given Baby Boy homemade baby food for first time by letting him taste little bits off of my finger.

5:45 pm- Family returns from store and I sit kids down to eat and Hubby unleashes AWESOME and expensive gifts…

5:50 pm- Am looking over the PS3 “Legend of Spyro Dawn of the Dragons” and BlackJack II phone (pretty much a blackberry!) that Hubby got me just because he loves me and wanted to thank me for all the hard work I put in around here. Love Hubby soooo much!

7:00 pm- Kids are in bath and Hubby is taking care of things while I get to write and look over new toys. Hubby tells me that for someone who couldn’t cook anything but Hamburger Helper when we got married, I have turned into an awesome cook and feel loved and accomplished.

7:10 pm- Am exhausted and so looking forward to weekend off work.

7:30 pm- Squeal like giddy little school girl when I open the box and take out my new phone. Help get Baby Girl diapered and dressed for bed after bath lay her down. Wait a few minutes for her fall asleep before running her feeding pump and hooking her up.

7:45 pm- Am at computer and Hubby is playing a new game on PS3 while Boo Bear sits on couch to watch. Hubby dies in game and M goes “oh crap” and Hubby and I’s mouths hit the floor. We then explain to her that that word is only for mommies and daddies and that she can say “oh poop” and she says “OK, I will try that now!”

7:50 pm- M yells out “oh poop!” and we laugh.

8:00 pm- Hook up Baby Girl to pump and decide it is time to talk to mom on phone.

A Day in the Life of a Nae

So I LOVED what a friend of mine did yesterday. She posted what she did throughout her day and I have decided it might be interesting to share with others what a day in my life is really like. I mean, how often do you get to glance into a mom's day with four children ages four and under and then two more added in that she babysits that are also two and under? So, just for the fun of it... here is my day(warning, will be crazy long, but totally worth the five or so minutes to read through):

8:00 am- Chastise self for staying up until 11 pm the previous night and swear to do better tonight. Stop avoiding getting up and drag self out of bed to start checking on sleeping children. Find G is awake and watching cartoons (did Darryl leave the t.v. on for her this morning or did she actually learn to turn it on herself???) and has gotten herself an apple. Wonder how aforementioned apple was attained and find she dragged the "naughty chair" over to the counter to reach fruit bowl. Secretly compliment G in head for being resourceful as usual and wonder just how many apples she has eaten before I got up. hmmm...

8:10 am- Bring grumpy Z into front room and lay him on floor to stretch while I do the morning email, Facebook, and Blogger checks on computer. Hear E crying in crib (she is quite the grumpy morning person) and get off computer to go retrieve daughter. As I walk down hall with baby girl, M walks out of her bedroom door and we exchange "good morning" greetings. Z fusses some more.

8:30 am(ish)- Post on Facebook on intentions to be good and get housework caught up somewhat before friends bring over kids for me to babysit. Decide now is good time to take shower.

8:45 am- Shower and brush teeth... check! Get dressed... check! Tame unruly hair... check! Wonder when she will have a shower where kids are not trying to hold conversations during duration... shrug and go on with morning ritual.

9:00 am- Change three yucky diapers and think to self that G should be potty trained but dread the fight to keep her on potty while doing a million other things. Promise self that I will start the effort up again... later.

9:30 am- Have older two kids sitting at table eating breakfast while I feed E Boston Cream Pie yogurt and watch brain-numbing show "Imagination Movers". Love on baby girl and secretly rejoice that today is a good day for her because she is eating. Notice baby girl's sinus infection is coming back again and plan on refilling antibiotics for millionth time.

9:50 am- Sit down at computer to Facebook again and decide to do this blog. Z starts crying again so I try to comfort him.

10:20 am- Make bottle after failed attempt to comfort baby boy and start feeding him. Catch self thinking about all the things I could be getting done and realize baby boy is so sweet in arms as he falls asleep eating.

10:30 am- Am excited when "Phineas and Ferb" comes on t.v. because it is funny and the girls LOVE it. Watch baby girl try to feed herself remnants of G's yogurt cup with spoon turned upside down and laugh at the cuteness. Catch M jumping on bed and send her to corner.

10:34 am- M is surrounded by sisters who miss her during her looong four minute time out and go through the "why are you in time out" "because I (fill in the blank)..." then the "what will happen if you do it again?" "I will go back in time out" and finally the "that's right and now you have to apologize" routine.

10:47 am- Z asleep, M has said sorry and given hugs and kisses to G, am blogging again.

11:00 am- Put Z in bumbo since he has already woken back up and face chores. Turn off t.v. and realize I have pretty much accomplished nothing and other two kids will be here in one hour. Panic.

11:02 am- Scratch bumbo and try exersaucer instead. It works and he stops crying, yay hoo!

11:10 am- Make up bottles and sippy cups of the day for everyone. E's is her normal cocktail of Pediasure, 1 teaspoon Canola Oil, and 2 tablespoons rice cereal. Other two score milk since we bought more last night. Z's is already set up from earlier feeding. Okay, now let's start cleaning dishes.

11:28 am- Decide that the dishes and laundry have a master conspiracy plan against me to break my sanity and that it is working!

11:33 am- Z is fussing again. Scratch exersaucer and try swaddling and feeding again. Scratch swaddling and feeding and try putting him in highchair so he is able to look around better. Scratch that, give up and go out to get baby carrier out of van to put Z in.

11:45 am- Babysitting kids arrive and father realizes mother is off work and packs kids back up so I get an unplanned day off! Sadly, all my kids are heartbroken that other kids have to leave and I am kind of sad to not spend time with them also...

11:50 am- M asks to watch the "Jesus movie" from the Living Scriptures set we bought last night about Lazarus and Jesus. Am proud mother for a minute as I put the movie in.

12:00 pm- Alarm clock goes off reminding me to start lunch (a little trick I adopted after the third child was born when I could hardly remember what time it was for meals or naptimes) and I reset it for snack time at 3:00 pm. M informs me that she really wants chicken nuggets for lunch so I agree to that and set the oven.

12:02 pm- Feel guilty for feeding children food that is processed and high in saturated fats and promise self to add carrot sticks to lunch to feel a little bit better.

12:10 pm- Chicken in oven and now to dress the kids. Decide closet doors are in on conspiracy with dishes and laundry and want to cry some. Pull it together and dress all the kids.

12:15 pm- Discover laundry breeding grounds on bedroom floor and bathroom... cringe and start gathering. Chicken done and out of oven to cool down. Start dishwasher and think about how much I miss the one in our last place.

12:30 pm- Read "The Digging-est Dog" to M and think that the story is kind of sad.

12:50 pm- Feed kiddos lunch (chicken nuggets, string cheese, and fruit cup) and sit down to snack on turkey pepperoni because I hate eating real meals for some reason. Watch E love on Z and feel so blessed to have my kids.

12:59 pm- Z fussing again and I am suspicious he is in on conspiracy, then decide he wouldn't do such a thing... or would he?

1:06 pm- Z is asleep and the respite nurse is late to our appointment. G attempts to steal E's lunch and share her spoils with M. I put her in solitary confinement in her room and tell her to take a nap. She screams A LOT.

1:10 pm- Nurse Lady shows up for appointment and M goes off to play quietly in order to earn her "quiet time" sticker and popcorn for a reward snack (don't worry, it is fat free popcorn).

3:00 pm- Appointment done and night-time respite nursing is set up for E's night time feedings. We have had the worst time trying to get her feedings to work so this will be much needed respite. Notice G is STILL screaming. Decide to just give up on nap for the fifth day in a row and open door to TERRIBLE site...

3:05 pm- Am in bathroom where G is now in bathtub as I clean her diaper overload off of her and properly dispose of disaster site of pull-up. Notice that her poo poo is a mixture of dirt and crayons and wonder how a child is so willing to eat such things but is so disinterested in actual food when meal times come round. Believe G to be a weirdo and finish up cleaning her before sitting her down with M to have some (fat free) popcorn in a fresh pull-up and towel.

3:10 pm- FINALLY put E down for her nap 4 HOURS late because I forgot to during appointment. Feel like bad mom now.

3:25 pm- Z is fussing because I put him down to deal with the great pull-up disaster of 09'. Am annoyed and trying to think of ways to convince him I don't have to hold him since my lower back is making threats to spasm. Am nervous about back now.

3:30 pm- Time to put away clean dishes and load next set in dishwasher before it is time to start dinner. Am amazed at how little I can accomplished in an entire day and am annoyed at self. Then I realize Z is in on the conspiracy and decide it is his fault, but can't be upset because I love him...

3:35 pm- Pass by a mirror and think to self "for lossing 12 pounds, I sure still look pretty darn overweight" and promise that I will hit the gym to start back up on 5k training and do some serious crunches or something to deal with the post-pregnancy stomach issue. Feel disgusted.

3:40 pm- D calls to let me know he has Floam for the kids to play with when he gets home and that he is off work and on his way home. Am grumpy and tell him I don't want to talk right now so that I am not mean to him. He agrees to the plan and phone call ends. Decide to render children helpless by putting in "Wow Wow Wubzy" for them to watch and sit down to blog before attacking kitchen again.

3:54 pm- D calls back to inform me that there has been a motorcycle accident on the Coronado bridge and not to expect him for a long time. Figure that gives me that much longer to get somewhat caught up before starting dinner. yippy

3:55 pm- As I walk into the kitchen, cell phone rings and it is the speech and occupational therapy people calling to make E's evaluation appointments. Am ecstatic because she needs these therapies so much. Appointment is made for tomorrow at 1:30 pm.

4:15 pm- Off phone and D walks in door. Ask him if he was playing a trick with last call and he says he got faulty information. D takes older two kids outside to play with Floam and I am AGAIN going to attempt to go get dishes put away. How did I get this far into the day and get so little done?

4:30 pm- D sits down with Z to keep him quiet for the first time today and decides it is prime time for playing some Lego's Star Wars on the PS3. I talk at him as I do dishes at about a mile a minute. He even pretends to pay attention.

5:00 pm- Have noticed that girls have lost interest in making sea horses with Floam and are now doing bad things to it and call them in. Go outside to survey Floam massacre and do my best at recovering the casualties. Laugh to self on my morbid sense of humor.

5:15 pm- Rescue baby girl from crib prison and shower her with hugs and kisses as she recovers from her grumpy mood she has after naps. Have put a sizable dent in dishes and after baby girl cuddles are done will begin cooking up our tacos.

5:30 pm- Start dinner so that I can go back to finishing up evil dishes that are plotting my demise...

5:45 pm- Finally get dinner on the stove and cooking and look back on a day with hardly anything to congratulate self on. Smile because I can hear “Phineas and Ferb” on the t.v. and I know D was the one who turned it on for him to watch on the sly.

6:00 pm- Read “Hop on Pop” and “My Little Ponies” to M and G. Decide to face the last of the dishes and drag feet to kitchen.

6:30 pm- Am exhausted and sit down to eat dinner and watch a recording of “Mystery Diagnosis” and cry for sad stories. Find out that new ward Relief Society has a Lady’s Night Out and D INSISTS I go and start meeting people.

7:00 pm- Get brave and leave for R.S. night out…

11:00 pm- Sneak into house after an AWESOME night out meeting the women in my new ward. Have decided that I will never ever go to bed before 11 pm no matter how much I intend on it and don’t care because tonight was totally worth it! Wonder if I had too much word vomit and think I will obsess over it for a few minutes before surrendering to my exhaustion.

11:30 pm- Post this blog and drag self to comfy bed with sleeping husband and baby boy and call it a night after a “thank you” prayer. Send love and hugs to all my wonderful family and friends…

Through the Eyes of a Desert Girl

Through these eyes, the ocean is an amazing, beautiful, and overwhelmingly scary thing. I have always taken in an ocean of brown dotted with sage brush and mountains peaked with white snow in July, but this is something my eyes are learning for the first time. And I am looking forward to it completely.

And We're Off...

to San Diego in only two weeks time! We have been trying to get moved somewhere that has the level of medical care needed for Elizabeth and we recieved the phone call this morning. We are to check out of this command by the last day of May and are due to check in to our next one no later than June 26th. So, we are in for a whirlwind over the next two weeks getting our place packed and scrubbed and ready to leave. Wow. Here we go.