A New Week. Without Naps.

As much as I hate Mondays, I'm glad for a new week. The 9yo has conquered the pukes and the 4yo seems to just be fighting off the remains of a cold. The last couple of days she's fallen asleep around 3-4pm and slept for an hour or so. Bedtime the last two nights has not gone well. Something like this maybe...

Moooooommmmm.

What.

I can't sleep.

Just rest your eyes and try.

Ok. (mom goes downstairs, settles into couch for blogging...)

Moooooommmmmm.

What.

I need my back rubbed.

Grrr. Ok (rub her back, pat pat, ok go to sleep)

3:30 am. Clunk. Sliiiidddee (imagine a sliding closet door, open....clunk. closed.)

(husband) What's she doing? (me) oh, just getting a new stuffed toy probably. at 3:30am.

Then I hear rustling very near our door. Ugh. I get up, and say 'go get back in bed'. I pick up the stuffed toys she's crafted into a bed. Head in to tuck her in again, at 3:30 am. Did I mention the time? She's wide eyed. Like I CANNOT POSSIBLY SLEEP WOMAN! Thankfully, she goes back to sleep.

NO MORE NAPS. Seriously, no more naps.

In other news, I can't wait to see Oh Dawn's new house. I hope there are loads of pictures. I may be moving vicariously through her move to a new house. 

The Hunger Games

Today I took myself to the movies. First I cleaned the basement tornado my children are incapable of NOT making. Seriously, how difficult is it to just put away your toy when you switch to another. Legos, EVERYWHERE, kitchen food and playthings, EVERYWHERE. Gah. But, it's clean now. I also finished filling the dishwasher, ran it, repeat...we had a lot of dishes. Then I took myself to the movies, to the 1:00 pm showing of The Hunger Games.

I read all three books, in very quick succession. I loved the books, although the last one is definitely NOT my favorite. For YA fiction, I expected a slightly more upbeat ending. But I still loved them all. So I was anxious to see the movie, but I couldn't really fit it in until now, and I went today because I was afraid if I waited any longer, it'd be out of the theaters and I'd have to wait for DirecTV to run it. The movie did not disappoint. I did notice the spots that were changed for time, like the mockingjay pin and the goodbyes. But otherwise I really loved how it was all portrayed. I'm not sure if I liked who they cast for Gale, but I thought everyone else was spot on. I loved Cinna and Haymitch the best I think, great casting there. I thought Peeta was pretty good too, and Katniss...now that I've seen it, she fits really well too. Stanley Tucci was excellent also and Sutherland is fine, I don't much care about those spots, they're side characters. I was in the theater with about twelve other people, only a couple talked a little too often for my liking, but it was ok. So I'm mostly glad I waited so long.

So, I'd say probably 4 out of 5 stars for a rating, only because I don't love story deviations. I really liked it though.

Also, I think I'm going to need a new laptop soon. This one is losing letters. See.

Lazy Liar

I lied. That was totally the only post for yesterday. Ha. When I checked my blog last night I remembered that I had posted that video..and said it wasn't my real post. And immediately decided it WAS indeed my post for the day. I'm lazy, and apparently, a liar. This week has just been a little too ridiculous with the sickness and other things. I just didn't want to post anything else, I had no new stories.

Today isn't much different. I went to Target. Alone. Blissfully alone. And tomorrow I'm hoping to go see The Hunger Games before it's out of theaters. The girls are doing better and I'd say they're at about 90%. The 4yo is coughing a bit, I think it's still drainage from the cold. I hope, she has until Monday to improve before I consult a pro.

So...until tomorrow peeps.

Filmmaker

I'm not considering this my real post for today, but I had to share. Adorable 4yo in adorable GAP sweatshirt singing Lazy Town song. Also, this was recorded on her vtech camera, so not the best quality but still super cute.

Everyone sleeps

Last night we turned a corner. The 4yo slept, no puke, just a little snoring...all night long. The 9yo thew up at 1130, but not again, and slept...all night long. I held her hair at 1130..and then I slept...all night long. Last night was borderline blissful. After getting through the newborn and sleep training years of small children, illnesses are the only time I lose out on sleep. My girls are such good sleepers, we can do pretty much whatever we want after their in bed. Now, to be honest, the 4yo does stall at bedtime and sometimes she makes me go up there to answer inane questions before she agrees to shut it and sleep. But overall they are the best sleepers ever. And, now that I think we'e in the clear for vomit, I get to sleep again as well.

So it seems we'll be all better for the weekend.

If I were a gambling woman...

So remember yesterday? when I said...

"Tonight is going to be a repeat of last night, I'd bet cash on it."

Well, I was right, but with a twist. Last night the 9yo spent most of her night in the bathroom, hugging the toilet. The 4yo did throw up to start, but I'm pretty sure that was snot/cold related. This one, is probably a stomach bug. So...it was a repeat..just with a different kid. And honestly, I much prefer when the 9yo has to puke vs the 4yo. The 9yo can run to the bathroom and make it (most of the time) into the toilet. No sheets to wash, no towels or precious blankets to wash. Just run, puke, rinse, sleep, repeat as necessary. She threw up around 7 times last night I think, each time with less results. She finally fully emptied her stomach at around 6:30 this morning. So that's something like 11:30 puke, 12:30 puke, 1:30 puke, 3:30 puke, 5:30 puke, 6:30 puke... and it's possible I've missed one in my recollection. The night was kind of a blur. I'm still working today though, because I have a particular project I want to get done, and the alternative is watching TV on the couch with the sickies..catching the sick.

So, I started this post this morning and I'm finishing it tonight. The 9yo threw up at least 4-5 more times today and rocked a fever of 101. It was down tonight but she's clearly not feeling well. Poor kid. We've worked hard the last 2-3 days on her very last Awana (church group) memorization. 32 verses, all said in a row. We were through 20 verses at least..and then she got sick and we couldn't finish and she didn't get to go. I'm so very proud of her, even without completing it. She was working so hard at it, and she's really good at memorizing. I don't think I could have done it. So she didn't eat at all today, and she drank some gatorade, but a bunch of that came back up.  Her stomach is just not happy with her right now and it sounds like there's a bug going around as well. So I tried to keep the 4yo separated from her, on the same couch..it's a very long couch..today, while they watched TV and rested. It went ok. The 4yo clearly feels better, she was playing and doing things and up and about more today. So my hope and prayer is that the 4yo finishes her cold, and doesn't catch the stomach bug the 9yo has. Ideally, the 9yo gets over hers after tomorrow also, AND the husband and I don't catch it. I'm not gonna hold my breath on either of those. We'll see how it goes.

So wish me luck, that Thursday is better than Wednesday..and Friday, oh sweet Friday, please be better than both of these last two days. Sorry, the only thing I have to talk about right now is not sleeping and catching puke. Sorry.

Ah motherhood

Parenting brings a lot of unexpected...happenings? consequences? ...STUFF.

I spent last night on the couch, catching the toddler's vomit every few hours. I have decided she's lactose intolerant. Maybe not 100% intolerant, but she definitely has a threshold. The nachos for dinner was not a good idea, the last time she had nachos, she also threw up, but I blamed a cold instead. She does have a cold now as well but I still think there's a lactose issue. So, no nachos and we'll lay off the dairy and milk products as much as possible. What do you feed a kid that only eats chicken nuggets and spaghetti and shredded cheddar cheese, when you have to cut out the cheese?

The strangest part about last night was that I could hear her start to throw up almost a half second before she realized that's what was happening. So I would FLY out of my spot, over to her end, pull her up and over the towel I set up to catch each episode. She doesn't do toilet or bucket puke yet, in time, in time. It's almost like the body has its own kid emergency receptors and I just flew into action almost involuntarily. I flew, its really the fastest I can move I think, if I could run a 5k as fast as I run to catch puke...well, I'd be winning some things.

Tonight is going to be a repeat of last night, I'd bet cash on it. While I was on the teadmill tonight she threw up her spaghetti dinner. I knew she would, her head is all congested and she can't breathe very well. Poor punkin. If I could just take it from her, I would. But the best I can do is cuddle her and let her sleep on the couch with me, so I can more easily catch the puke..and then let her rest and watch tv tomorrow while she recovers. Preschool has been one stupid cold after the other. I feel very very blessed not to have had to take her to the doctor much because of it. Last year we ended up in the hospital with dehydration..and preschool wasn't even involved. So..she's building an immunity. Right? RIGHT?!

Baby girls and laptop glare

Well, today was a little interesting. It's rare lately that I have work that keeps my interest so solidly. Ok, that's not that interesting. You're right. So...

I threw a baby shower this weekend for my sister-in-law. It was in Illinois at the great-grandparents house. She was coming into Chicago to take her Boards (Board Certification orals) and visiting the great-grandparents at the same time. So we took advantage and got as many family together as we could and planned her a baby shower. They live so far away that it's hard to see them very often and this new baby needed a shower. It was really great. It was great to see her and her little 7month basketball belly and it was great to see everyone that made the trip to see her for the shower.  She got a lot of really nice and super adorable gifts in addition to some that were sent directly to her from her amazon list and the cake was adorable and it all worked out really well. It made for a bit of a long weekend, but it was worth it and wonderful.

The cake

The spread

The cake and oreo cookie dessert with pacifier favors

It made today sort of difficult, since we did so much traveling and partying, having to get up for work the next day was a little bit ... torturous. It was really nice to be back in our own beds, but it would have been nice to have one more day to decompress. Oh well, and so it goes. There's not much else going on with us, we've made it through most of the wedding showers and baby showers and friends visiting and plans we've had and we're mostly in the clear for awhile. The weddings begin in May, then July, then September and hopefully we can do a whole lot of swimming in there as well.

Speaking of swimming, does anyone have a laptop screen glare thingy they'd recommend? I want to sit outside this summer while the girls swim and I need to be up on the deck with them in case I'm needed for rescuing or toy retrieval...and to tan myself of course. So I need to work outside, in the sun, which is very glarey. So I want to get something like this but I want one that will work at least well enough for me to get work done. The last couple summers I've been putting a beach towel over my head, which works..but it gets really really hot in there and I can't see the girls...so it's sort of...stupid. So..recs?

I gots nothing.

The hotspot was too spotty yesterday to post. And tonight I am just too tired to try. We went to Illinois to throw a baby shower for my sister-in-law, which was wonderful. But I'm tired, so tomorrow I'll come up with something wittier to post about. So later peeps.

So...hey.

Um. I don't have much tonight I guess. A few things happened today I suppose.

Today was Science Day at the 9yo's school. I had planned to drop over there around 1:30..and right when I was ready to go, I got an email that the school was on lockdown because of a shooting. Not as alarming as it sounds, they're very cautious and super protective of the kids, which I love. The shooting was at some local college apartments, where things tend to happen from time to time. Lockdown was less than an hour and I was able to get to Science Day after all. If I weren't so lazy, I'd put a picture here. She was re-exhibiting her Earthquakes research from an earlier earth sciences project. She didn't want to do a new experiment or project..because it was just 'too big' to do. Heh, I hear that.

We're prepping to entertain some family this weekend, so I may be unable to post tomorrow night, depending on how things go and where we are exactly. But I will try. I'm throwing a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Tonight we went around town picking up some last minute things. I found the most adorable Hawkeye dress at Target tonight. We went all the way across town to Von Maur to look for something, but they had nothing, not a single hawkeye thing. Target..came through. It's so adorable, I kind of want to buy it in a bunch of sizes so I can just send them periodically for the baby to wear all the time. I'll have to take a picture of it next time I'm there...I've already bagged it up for her so...yes, I'm lazy. Anyway, I'm excited for her baby, and her shower, and for the people that are driving quite a ways to come to it. It's fun, and exciting and I hope it goes well.

We took the girls for a SURPRISE tonight after all our shopping and dinner. Took them to Orange Leaf for the first time. They liked it, but they weren't as excited as maybe I thought they'd be. The 9yo had a pain in her leg, so I think that was really distracting her, and the 4yo..is particular about things. She really just wanted the toppings, which was fine, but they were touching the yogurt she didn't love, so I helped her eat some of that. The pineapple froyo is so good, I could eat a whole bowl, and the toppings bar is really a test of my willpower. So..many..good...things.

I should be able to post again on Sunday, if I can't tomorrow. I will try though of course.

I am Random. Weak. Tired.

I've wondered this morning if mommybloggers have friends. Are they real people that can get along with other people? Do they have a 'type' of friend like the rest of us? I'm just curious. Mostly because I think I'd really love to be friends with Linda (www.sundrymourning.com) and Amy (www.amalah.com). Of course, they live on east and west coasts and I'm smack in the middle, so it'll never ever happen. But. I'm curious. Mostly I wonder if a real friendship with them comes with all the same snark in their writing. Because that would be a requirement for me, I require the snark.

I am Weak. Every morning, after the kid or kids are in school I make hot cider. And..even though I've already had breakfast...I have donuts with the hot cider. Too many donuts. It is NOT a surprise I cannot drop ten pounds. Even though I run most week nights on the treadmill, I eat whatever I run off earlier in the day. It's sad and weak. I need a personal trainer and chef and nutritionist and to win the lottery to pay all those people.

I am Tired. Last night I played Horde mode on GoW3 for the first time in probably three weeks. Man I missed it. Both of my brothers came to play and another friend as well, it's great with at least 4. We quit at 11:15 or so, so we wouldn't be losing too much sleep. It was great fun and I hope to do it again next wednesday night. Usually I'd play on the weekend, but this weekend we'll be busy with baby showers and whatnot. Anyway. I'm still kinda tired today. I wasn't up any later than any other night, but I think the excitement and frenzy of the game makes me wired. I had a slight headache today too, but that might be unrelated. I'll have to retest next week when the additional factors are gone. I think part of me is also tired from worrying about the 4yo and whether she really was fighting a cold and won the fight, or if she was maybe catching something else and what does she mean when she says her throat hurts (it looks fine and she only does it seemingly when I'm asking her to do something she'd rather not). She's super playful again and no more puke for a couple days now. I think we're in the clear, but I still worry. Which keeps me awake..and makes me tired.

Things I Love, or Like

See, I'm not just a negative nelly. I like stuff...look at all this stuff I like.

• The word DYSFUNCTIONAL. Sure, you don't want to hear it when someone talks about you, or your family, or your job, but it's a neat word. So anti-...so complex and yet not. And so fun to say. 
• Green Mountain Hot Apple Cider K-Cups. Seriously, help me, I'm addicted.
• Gears of War 3: Horde mode. I'm playing tonight.
• Diet Dr. Pepper
• Berry Pomegranate Mio (water flavoring)
• Babies...that are not mine that I can cuddle and hand back when they get loud.
• Cheesecake
• The stories the 4yo makes up, sometimes just to trick or rile her sister. Last night she convinced her that we were going to Target for pretzels. We were so not, but the 9yo was fully suckered. She's a pistol, that preschooler.
• Baby showers and wedding showers. I just went to the nicest shower for a friend and it was so lovely and touching. Can't wait to go to that wedding.
• Weddings. I love the celebration of love, and the dressing up, and the party afterwards.
• Aruba
• Maui
• The Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. I love it because I love to shop and now also because my girls love going there on spring break to shop a little and play a lot.
• Words with Friends
• I LOVE that the 9yo loves to read and write and that she does both really well. She writes stories all the time and she's discovering all kinds of great books at the school library and our local city library. I rediscovered the library with both girls and it's been really great. We go nearly every Saturday and swap out books. 
• Troubleshooting. A lot of what I do at work involves troubleshooting. Digging into the code to see what's happening where and why X is happening and why isn't Y happening and fixing whatever needs to be fixed. I love it. I think it's because I can start, research, poke, fix and accomplish something with each task. It's nice. 
• LISTS! I LOVE LISTS! 

Stuff I don't like.

Or maybe Stuff That Bugs Me would be a better title. I dunno. I want to make a list, so I am.

• Not knowing what's wrong when a kid gets sick
• inconsistent weather (I know, I know..move to [insert somewhere always hot here])
• really bad kid shows like Barney, Tuff Puppy, I just cannot sit through that crap
• not showering. I don't shower Tues/Thurs mornings because I can't fit it in with all the school junk, I shower after my evening workout. But when I also don't shower on Monday...wow. I don't like it.
• when I accidentally change the channel and end up overwriting something I was recording. Oops, hope I can catch the rest of you later Candace Tells All
• The judges decisions on The Voice right now
• when the iPad crashes, which is ALL THE TIME
• when my brain knows what to do but my hands can't figure out how
• feeling like I'm never going to catch up on sleep
• not playing GoW3: Horde for two weeks, I'm having withdrawal symptoms
• my inability to NOT EAT JUNK
• my inability to motivate myself to work out more
• running. I do it and I like it some of the time, but it's soooo dull.
• my inability to cook
• my inability (and I really don't want to do this) to get up early to accomplish more during the day, it seems like it'd be awesome but I love my sleep
• my dogs snorting and wrestling at 7am
• dog #1 eating her poop
• dog #2 eating everything else
• The fact that everyone everywhere isn't listening and doing what I say. I guess the fact that I'm not the boss of everyone.

For the record, there are many many more things I don't like, but I'm not going to be that honest here. Ha.

Tomorrow..perhaps a list of things I love :) I've run out of pre-thunk ideas, so I'm making things up as I go now.

So. Tired.

Wow. So I took a sick day today because I knew I couldn't function on the little sleep I got. So the kid and I hung out on the couch today. I tried to nap, but every time I would doze off she'd start talking to me.

Can I have more juice?

What's on tv next?

She went to bed fine, but around 9pm we heard odd coughing and then whining. That was the puke. So cleanup, cuddling on the couch and then we all headed to bed at 11ish. Then she whined off and on every hour or so until 3am. So I'm asleep, listening...then whine, check on her, back to bed...wait, whine, repeat. Oy. So at 3am I brought her down to the couch. Set up sleeping spots on the couch and slept until 430 when she threw up again. This little tummy of hers cannot handle any amount of snot. None. Vomit every time. Slept off and on until 645 when the husband headed to work, and the napped until 730 when I got the other one up for school. Somehow the toddler slept through all the school prep and we went to sleep until 1030. The rest of the day was fine, and I just put her to bed....and heard the dreaded coughing again. Ugh, so we'll see how tonight goes.

Update: She threw up again last night at 9:30ish..but then slept all the way through, so I think we're on the way out. She went to preschool today and I'm working again.

Aw crap

Toddler vomit thwarted my plans for posting last night. So I've screwed up my attempt at NaBloPoMo. I will keep at it with a post today. Sorry.