Monday, November 30, 2009

A little less structure

Abby has decided to not sign up for swimming the second half of the year. At first I was a little bummed. I think she could be good, and selfishly it was nice when Dave was home and I had that whole hour to either work out, shop or just hang around. And then reality came through. I don't have to haul four kids to the Y, three days a week, past bedtimes, in the snow. (Although, sometimes it is nice just to have somewhere to go on those long, cold, snowy days when Dave is traveling!)

When I asked Abby why she didn't want to swim anymore, she simply said, "I just want more time at home." Fair enough. I think that's the same reason I quit work. :)

Sunday, November 29, 2009

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming

Tomorrow is back to normal, such that it is. It was a little of a crazy week, mostly really, really good. Max was sick Monday, seemed better Tuesday, and then had a fever Wednesday and Thursday, better Friday and is mostly better but is still just a little off. Ava has been up nearly every night, very often. She has a cough pretty bad but is getting better and will hopefully be 100% soon. Nolan threw up Wednesday morning a couple times, but then was fine after that. It's been strange! Dave was already scheduled to be home Wednesday with the kids, so he did that while I went to work. Otherwise we've just been hanging out at home.

Thanksgiving was very nice, at my mom and dad's new house. It was the first time we were all there, my mom and dad, my sister and husband and three kids, and Dave and me and the four kids. That's a lot of people in anyone's house! But it worked out well. The kids got along great and mostly stayed in the basement, and the adults hung out in the kitchen and living room. We all brought something so the food was covered and it was a holiday to be thankful for for sure.

Friday was just a really nice day at our house. I slept until 9:30 (which is really quite late for me, but considering I'd been up for hours at a time the past two nights with Ava, it wasn't so bad), then we all hung out in pjs while we put up all the Christmas decorations. Max went down for a nap and I played games and did puzzles with the big kids. Then we got dressed and went bowling and out to dinner and home to watch a movie. It was just really perfect despite the regularness of it all!

Saturday Abby and I took lots and lots of toys to St. Vinny's, which was nice and cleansing. Then I saw Paranormal Activity with a good friend of mine, which was nice and disturbing. Luckily we did the movie first and then dinner so we weren't freaked out all night.

Today was back to my mom and dad's for a Christmas parade. It was very nice, but got cold. By the end walking back Max and my nephew Cole were screaming because they were so cold. That was a bummer, but once we got back they were ok pretty quick.

And now it's now. It's bedtime and back to a regular week and it's almost December. The good news is all the time off at the end of the month that will be so nice. The bad news is January is hard. And February. And, well, March and April too. Not much vacation, cold, dark, did I mention cold?

But I am thankful... my kids, Dave, my family and my in-law family, my friends that I see and talk to often and those friends that I don't see or talk to so often but still hold a great place in my life and heart, and thankful that I get to be at home, enjoying Max and Ava lots and Abby and Nolan around school, that I don't have to juggle work with sick kids and try to push them to go back to school or daycare just because I have a meeting. Thankful for this day!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Doing better

Last night, Max asked to go to bed at 7, Nolan went to bed at 8, Abby got home from swimming at 8:40 and was in bed at 9, and I went to bed at 9:06. Then Ava got up at 9:30, Max at 10, and Ava again at 10:30. But after that, all was quiet until 7 this morning when the craziness resumed. Max seems to be feeling much better, Ava is still under the weather, but hopefully all will be well for the coming days off school.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Poor Nolan

No, no, Nolan has not been sick since last Tuesday. In fact, he was pretty sick Tuesday, Wednesday he was better but still at home, and then Thursday he was fine. He still has a cough, but nothing major. Now it's Max with the fever, 102, and didn't get off the couch today until medicine kicked in, and then it was just to play for 20 minutes, eat dinner, and then back to the couch and asking for bedtime at 7. Ava is also sick, bad cough, runny eyes, but no fever luckily. Last night she was up about every 45 minutes screaming her head off. Strange thing is that it didn't seem to be cold-related, but more tummy related. She always has gassy/poopy issues (tmi, I know!), but last night was bad, making her scream bloody murder. I'm just hoping tonight goes better.

So anyway, back to poor Nolan. He didn't really get mom time when he was sick. With Max and Ava still home, and not sick, there was too much to do--mostly chasing after Max! And then on Wednesday, it was just Nolan and I home (littles were at daycare since I was supposed to be at work), but I had to get actual work done so my time on the couch was very limited. Unlike today, where Ava slept all morning and most of the afternoon so I just hung out on the couch with Max, I maybe did 10 minutes here or there with Nolan. Poor kid was bored out of his mind by the end of the second day home, too, but he did good just sitting on the couch and relaxing. It was really quite amazing watching him sick, though. He's a big kid, and a little kid. He's BIG--long legs, arms, feet, but yet still so little, especially when he's sick. It's a crazy time of growing up, and I don't really remember it as distinctly with Abby. Maybe it's a boy thing.

Luckily, before the kids got sick, my mom and dad babysat for us and we headed to a Packer game yesterday. FUN! Well, fun for me. :) And they won, so even better. And it was 57 degrees (instead of the 5 degrees it was when my mom and I went three years ago!) so even better yet! It's amazing to me to watch a pro football game. It truly shows me how larger than life tv makes things. Even in that big stadium, those big men are just boys playing a game. Without the instant replay, stats at every turn and announcer analysis, it's just people throwing a football. And fun to watch.

Other than that, not much, but lots of everything going on here. Huh? It's just the regular work, school and busy time of year. Thanksgiving, then Christmas parties, the Abby's first reconciliation, then Christmas, Christmas and more Christmas! Now until the end of the year will go very fast. And then the slow, slow winter. January, February, March... can't say I'm looking forward to it. When is spring??

Anyway, here are some pics for your viewing pleasure...

Go Pack Go! Rodgers was nearly as fun to watch as Favre was last time.


This was the concession bin... only in Wisconsin is it "Beer here! Get your meat stick!"


The Big G. Lambeau is just a cool place to be. It was made even better this time because the UW Marching Band played. They're always fun to watch, and throughout the game the randomly appeared in the stands to play On Wisconsin.


What a difference three months makes! It was easier for all the kids to hold her back in the hospital!


Max loves to share his toys with Ava and then wants me to take pics. Here's Ava with his frog and "Nayva" (short for Mine Ava).


Max, Ava and puppy Annabelle (who's really Abby's, but Max claimed as his own).

Sometimes crying pictures are funny. She gets a really cute pouty face before this one, but it's hard to catch in time!


Thank goodness we have three excersaucers... what will Max do when Ava wants to be in one?


The little big with the little little.

Monday, November 16, 2009

102.3

That's Nolan's temperature tonight. I hope it doesn't go higher. We left church class early because he was hot and white, never a good combination. He was all ready for bed by 7 and didn't complain at all. You know he's sick when that happens!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Happy Veteran's Day, among other things

Happy Veteran's Day to all the veterans out there! Ok, ok, I know I'm a day late, but still. Abby and Nolan came home from school talking about Veteran's day. Abby informed me a veteran is someone who fought in a war. I asked if she knew who was a veteran, but she didn't. When I told her Grumpy and Grandpa were veterans she said, "Really? Did they fight in wars?" And then I told her Vietnam and Korean wars. She then asked if they won. Ummm, well, they won our respect. Does that count? Does for me! Thanks, vets!

I have officially become one of those parents. I let the kids watch a movie for 10 minutes in the car. Well, really not the kids. Just Max. Hey, where else would I find 10 minutes of quiet? (Yes, I count Elmo in the background as quiet. I don't have to answer Elmo, although I do find that he talks to me every now and then. Is that strange?) Bottom line, cut me some slack!

And now I need to go back to this post. You know, the one where I said I want the kids to WIN, to be GREAT, PERFECT, whatever I said. It turns out maybe it's not quite like that. Last weekend at Abby's swim meet, there was a mom of a 16 year old girl next to me. I knew her daughter was swimming when under her breath she muttered, "Hit the plastic? What the hell?" (She was referring to the lane divider.) Then she just proceeded to shake her head. When her daughter came over, she was partly crying, saying her shoulder hurt and that she couldn't hardly move her arm. Her mom rolled her eyes, said it was always something, and then rubbed her shoulder. The girl then started to cry more, saying she was so slow, she couldn't believe she got beat by so-and-so, and it was horrible. Her mom told her she wasn't just slow, her times were absolutely terrible. Wow! Geez lady, lighten up. Then, the girl did the Butterfly, and afterwards came over happy that she took off a couple of seconds of her time. The mom's response? And I quote... "How the hell can you get a better time on your fly but do so shitty on you freestyle?" It's a good thing the lady didn't look at me. I think my eyes were huge and my jaw was on the floor. I couldn't imagine.

So, rest assured, I'm not like that. I realized it's not even winning or being the best. I am always paranoid about being seen as one of "those". I don't want to be one of "those" moms (you know, the ones who forget to show up for swim meets or pick up fundraisers) and I don't want my kids to be one of "those" kids... they could be the ones who don't get it, the ones who are loudmouths, the ones who dress funny. Well, maybe that's us. But I also don't want them to be one of "those" who are so smart and good and perfect, with the egos to prove it. I like high middle ground. Make enough mistakes to know they and I are human, but not so many that we're one of "those."

We also had conferences tonight, and I get so nervous! But, the teachers like the kids, and the kids seem to be doing great. Abby even got an N on her report card, and she didn't cry about it like last year, and I am even ok enough with it to share it with all of you.

But, just for the record, 80% was all Es (Excellent) and 19% was Ss (Satisfactory). :)

Finally, I realized tonight why I like not working. I don't worry about it at night. I READ! Things not related to work. And I take baths. And surf for fun things on the net. It's a good thing. Oh, and I get to spend time with the kids. That too. :)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Why do we keep the crap?

Ok, this isn't a metaphorical post or anything. It's literally about keeping the crap. I spent all day of this beautiful 70 degree November day cleaning out the storage room. Again. Because before when I cleaned it out? I never purged the crap. I moved it from bin to bin until eventually the bins just got the better of me. But Thursday we finally bought a water softener and in order to have room for it, we had to clean out the storage room. It feels good to have gotten through it, but man it was a job.

We also talked to a carpet guy Thursday night to maybe get new carpet in our living room. But then Thursday later we realized the basement has water in it, under the carpet, behind the drywall in one corner. Ugh. I guess we forego carpet for now and fix the basement.

Swim meet tomorrow! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

This week's learnings

They say you learn something new every day. I'm not sure about that, but this week I learned two things for sure.
  1. If I worked full time, Abby wouldn't be able to be in swim club. Dave was gone last night, so I brought the boys and Ava to the Y with me while Abby practiced from 7-8. I was tired from working all day and as we were running around the track, I realized there's no way I could take that time three nights a week to take her without exhausting myself.
  2. Household chores will always be there later. I know, I know, duh, right? A couple of Fridays ago, the house was actually mostly clean, it was really rainy and dreary outside, and I was tired. So, when Max went down for a nap, I just sat down with Ava and napped with her. And I think I've done that every day since. At first, I thought I would regret not using the time to get laundry done, dishes, cleaning. Now I realize I would regret not taking the time to just sit with Ava. I know that too soon I'll be writing about her being too big to do just that.

That's it! Maybe it doesn't seem like big things, but they were big things when I thought of them!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Ok, since I used the extra hour yesterday to sleep, I thought I'd put out Halloween pics out today. But don't expect too much... I got an extra hour of sleep, but that just makes me want more! For Halloween we had a good time... neighbors and friends came over at 3, trick or treat from 5-7, and then everyone came back for a party from 7 (or until the kids were too cold and tired) until everyone went home at midnight.

Pics are random... bear with me!

Ava smiles...

The kids meditating to Wii Fit. Quietest they've ever been!

The Littles taking a bath. (Have I mentioned the new nicknames? Ava=Little Little, Max=Big Little, Nolan=Little Big and Abby=Big Big)


You know that kid you see in the store with the bright yellow boots and you think, nice boots? Yeah, that's my kid.


That's a sled they're on. They were hill sledding. I guess they're looking forward to snow.


Another smile. A little evil.


Here's a Halloween party pic. One of the games was ring toss onto the witches hat.


Another game... pick out a rat, bat, mouse and spider from the vampire blood (or red jello, as the case may be).



And we also wrapped the mummies. Cutest mummy ever!


Here's a pic from the pumpkin patch. I took the kids there Thursday (they had Wednesday-Friday off last week).


We have a Big Sister, Little Sister frame we've been trying to fill. This pic might do the trick.


The annual sorting and counting of the candy. Somewhere around 135 pieces.


Ava did NOT like to be in the costume. Or she was just tired. She was a little monster and it was so cute. I also put a little bat tattoo on her cheek that was adorable.


The crew.


Pumpkin carving. Don't worry, Max was fully supervised with his knife.


Little pumpkin


The pumpkin patch again.


That's it! And now it's November. Soon the snow will fly and it will be 2010. How can that be???

What did you do with your extra hour?

I could have washed clothes, done work, gotten organized, caught up on email, downloaded Halloween pictures or updated the blog. But I didn't. Instead, I went to bed at 8:00 last night and SLEPT! And I don't regret one second of it! How about you? What did you do?