I'm sad

I killed our desk top computer. Apparently, I fried our hard drive, oops. The sad part is, that is the computer that has all our pictures on it. There is probably over 2000 pictures on stored on it. J is taking it into Best Buy today to see if the Geek squad will be able to recover those pictures. I really hope so but until we get a new desk top I will not be able to put pictures on the ole blog. And this weekend we had Peanut dedicated at church, which means we took pictures of her in her sweet little dress. I really have no idea how long it will be before we get a new desk top as we just bought a new laptop. But it is going to be trying around here as the kids liked to play their computer games on the now dead computer and I can't do anything with my pictures. J is probably going to try and get over time now so the wait won't be so long.

Our break in pictures...somewhat. A video too!

Sorry there are no pictures from Chuck E. Cheese as I was having too much fun playing both times we went. But my friend got a video on her phone of Peanut on her first ride! I hope that you enjoy these pictures though.
GlamorGirl the egg dying pro!










Monkey coloring his eggs...











Red having fun!













Peanut with her first Easter egg! She had dropped it on her tray and I picked it up and she started to cry so I let her have it until it cracked :)









This is Easter morning. No baskets this year because we are giving the kids a membership to Brookfield Zoo.




When he is pointing he is saying, "That's my sister."

Here are a few pictures from the Children's Museum. We took a picture of our picture on the wall. J and Red did the same pose as the picture!

Lovin' our Break!

Good Friday was the kids first day off of school. On Friday we dyed Easter eggs and I have some great pictures of the kids especially, Peanut sucking on the hard boiled egg I gave her so I could take a picture of her. She screamed when I took it off her tray so I gave it back until she dropped it on the floor! I will hopefully get them up on here soon but right now I'm being lazy because I am too tired. This was also the day we taught the kids to play the game skip-bo. We played it about 5 times that day.

Saturday we were going to go to church for the Easter egg hunt but J didn't want to drive that direction twice. Our church is 30 minutes from our house. We improvised and hid the kids eggs in our house with money instead of candy. We spent the afternoon playing skip-bo and uno. Then one of our sitters came over to watch the kids so J and I could go bowling and out to dinner with our Sunday School class. We had a blast and over 30 people came out! This was a treat for the kids too because this sitter has only been here when I have been home. And I think that Monkey has a crush on her, too ;)

Then Sunday was Easter and Red was on the stage again. I have pictures of him talking into the microphone and a few videos of him on stage singing and talking. He was pretty funny. I hope to get one video up here soon too. Then we came home and J went to work and my friend Amy called and wanted to know if we wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese. We piled into the van and off we went. Amy even bought the tokens, which was so nice. Got home in time to eat dinner and go to bed.

Monday we spent playing skip-bo until we realized we should be getting groceries. So we did that. Then we played skip-bo again. We are addicted to that game. We play it in teams and solo, it's so fun. Then my dad called to see if we wanted to go out to eat. We ate at Panera Bread with my dad, step-mom and my brother Travis. We ate in the town J works in so he could come too. He wanted to hear about Israel. Then we came back to our house and we got our gifts. J got a shirt with a map of Israel, the boys got two pens (they said there wasn't any good kid gifts) GG got a beautiful hand knitted shawl type thing and a pen, Peanut got two pens to use when she gets older, and I got the best one of all. I got a necklace with my birthstone and earrings to match. The necklace is really cool and I really can't explain it so I will have to take a picture of them. But the symbol on the necklace was found in a cave thought to be the first symbol of Christianity.

That brings us to today. This morning we took the kids to Pump It Up and had a blast. Some of the moms from my playgroup came too. If you don't know what that Pump It Up is it is a huge space with tons of inflatables of slides, obstacle courses and jumping jacks. Great fun. Then we came home and after lunch the kids and I played more skip-bo while Red took his nap. Peanut sat in my lap for some of the card playing but she liked to grab my cards making it difficult, but the kids got a good laugh from it. Then they decided to switch it up and we played old maid, wig out and uno.

Tomorrow we are hoping to head to the Children's Museum to see our picture! It is going to be a long day as we will leave the house around 9am and won't get back until probably 9pm. After the museum we are going to church for Awana clubs. I need to go finish packing out lunch and then go to bed. And Thursday and Friday we have plans too.

6 month Pictures

These are the 6 month pictures we took of Peanut! Well the 6 that I like the best we took about 30! It's hard to take a wiggly babies picture.






***Now I need your help. Leave a comment and let me know which one you like the best. We're trying to decide which one to display.*** Thanks!

What's the saying...

You never know what you've got til it's gone! I got that lesson all around today. First, J had training this morning which meant I had to get up and get all 4 kids ready and get them to school. When J takes the kids to school he just takes the two school aged kids, who can dress and feed themselves. He rolls out of bed 15 minutes before they need to leave. I couldn't do that this morning. Lesson one: appreciate your husband being home in the mornings more. I survived getting the kids to school, picking up something from my mom-in-law and paying a bill only to come home to a flooded street and a bunch of city workers. Get out of the van and find out I can't park in my driveway because a pipe broke at the end of my driveway. Move the van and get the kids in the house. Peanut poops and I change her diaper and go to wash my hands. You see where this is going, don't you? We had no water. I'm thinking great I didn't shower before I took the kids to school, I'm glad I brushed my teeth! I go outside to see how long the water will be off. They told me about 4 hours. Second lesson: I use water a LOT throughout the day. I think I tried to wash my hands at least 20 times in that 4 hours if not more. Around the 3 1/2 hour mark both the boys had to poop at the same time, one in each bathroom. No water = no flushing the stink. I kept my eye on the work going on outside and when I thought they were done I ran out to see if we had water so I could flush those toilets. Once the water was on I got a pot of water for the dinner I was making, just in case. Boiled the eggs I was planning on doing tonight. We had water for about 2 hours when I got a knock on the door, the guy told me that another pipe broke on our street and they were going to be turning the water off again in about 3 hours. At this point I still hadn't showered. I dropped everything and got in the shower. Of course, it was more like a 4 hour time frame but we were happy to have the water the extra hour. The one thing I don't get is why my 2 year old usually only poops once a day decides his bowels need to be emptied twice and during the time we have no water!

Eye Check ups...

I have been having some eye issues so I made appointments for me and the two older kids, I figure they should get checked out since they are in school. The kids did great doing everything she asked them to do. They both have 20/20 vision! I'm happy about that. She gave me a prescription for glasses to use only at night when my eyes get tired. I have 20/30 vision. I didn't get glasses and I'm debating whether or not I should, she told me I didn't have to have them but only if I choose to get them. I can't do sunglasses so would I really wear them?!

Oh the most exciting thing happened today. We got a phone call from Israel, yep my dad and step mom are in Israel and they called us today! They said they have bought gifts and I can't wait to see what they got us. If I can't travel to cool places at least I get gifts from them!

Awana Clubs

Before I talk about that I just wanted to say that we have been crazy busy...shocking, I know! Plus, the weather has been extremely nice out and we've taken advantage of the warmth. This weekend GlamorGirl went to her first Awana Games, as did I. I didn't grow up going to Awana Clubs like my husband did so this was all new to me. It was great fun. There was about 32 churches there. If you are unfamiliar with Awana Clubs they start at Cubbies which is ages 3 and 4 year olds, then Sparks which is Kindergarten to 2nd grade, then they split the kids into boys and girls called Truth in Training better known as TNT Boys and TNT Girls, which is 3rd grade through 5th grade. Well this Saturday was the Awana games where the churches compete in different games. GlamorGirl made the team for our church. Hopefully Monkey will be on it next year. They had matching shirts with our church name on it and they also had spectator shirts that we bought for me, J, Monkey and Red. We ended up taking home 2nd place. She was so excited. On Sunday we all wore our shirts. The best part was that they were taking pictures for the picture directory in the hallway. I begged J to let us get our taken because we were making. He doesn't like to match! We got it taken and I can't wait for them to update our picture because the one on there now Red was 3 weeks old, he is going to be 3 years old in May! We needed to update :) The only bad part about this weekend was that I lost my hooter hider that my friend Belinda made me, so sad. I used it while we were at the games and I must not have gotten it into the diaper bag before we left.

On a goofy note, I just talked to some friends from church who went to Navy Pier today and they said that Red, J and I are famous with a 2 ft picture hanging up. I think it was in the children's museum? I'm thinking we might have to make a trip there and see this. I remember last year when we went there in February they were taking our pictures and told us that if they used it they would let us know but they never did. We also had to sign some kind of form. Too funny.

There's A Party at my HOUSE!

***I made this post a sticky post for the rest of this week for the Ultimate Blog Party, you can scroll down to see newer posts!***
Welcome to my humble abode! Please come in and watch out for the toys, all over the floor. I tried to tell the kids we were having company. But alas, they don't care, who am I kidding. Would you like to sit down and hold Peanut. She has her party dress on.

I'll go get us something to drink. I made strawberry banana smoothies! I also have some cheese and crackers if you get hungry. Here is your smoothie, but be careful because Peanut is at the stage where she is starting to grab at things, I wouldn't want her to spill the smoothie all over you.

Also beware that Buzz LightYear is running around the house somewhere and he likes to get people with his laser pointer.

He likes to party by jumping on the couch.

He seems to be entertaining Peanut and himself pretty well!





Oh look spidey joined us...this is my 5 year old, who we refer to as Monkey on here, as he is a lot like a monkey child.

Here comes my oldest (7yrs old) in her best party dress as not to be out done by her baby sister!


Now that you've met the kids...you can see I'm busy and there is never a dull moment in our house. I tend to blog about our happenings and the funny things my kids say and do through the day, if I remember! I've been married to my husband for over 8 years and sometimes it still feels like we are newlyweds and sometimes it feels like we've been married for over a hundred years ;) I hope you enjoyed your time at my party and I hope that you will come by again, soon!

Oh one last thing...my friend Belinda has an online store called Bellissimama. She is giving a discount of 15% off any purchase from her site by letting her know you got there from my blog!

To get back to the party links click HERE

As for the prizes I would like to win my top 6 are:
#61 from The Very Cool Lunchbox or #119 Personalized Lunchbox
#19 Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup or #137 BPA free Sippy Cup sampler
#29 Baby Girl Bracelets
#63 $50 Gift Certificate
I would also enjoy winning #8, any of the blog designs #24, #45, #67 or any of the stationary prizes such as #40 and #57

Finding time...

with a sick baby is HARD! I will say that slings are such a blessing, I can at least get some housework done. Since Peanut has been sick she can't sleep unless you are holding her upright, so she can breath. Her naps are usually the time I get on the computer to blog and the Ultimate Blog Party is going on right now. I feel so behind as I have only checked out about 70 parties and there is over 1200 last time I checked. I know I'm not going to get to them all but I'm not even scratching the surface. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining that I *have* to hold my baby. I love holding her. It is just wearing on me her not feeling good. I hate seeing my kids sick. I miss my happy content little girl who is nothing but smiles. I guess another blessing in all of this is that when in the sling she wants me to be moving so I am cleaning more then I do when she is healthy to so I can be moving with a purpose! This was such a boring post but I just wanted to say if I haven't been able to stop by your blog this is the reason.

Trip to the ER

Peanut and I got some bonding time tonight. She is still having diarrhea and it has almost been 2 weeks. Earlier today I had noticed she has started coughing a little. After her nap I laid her down to change her diaper and she was having difficulty breathing, she was gasping for air. So I sat her up and she started coughing a barky type cough. I looked at J and said, "I think she has croup." Made call to doctor and shortly thereafter we were on our way to the ER. We left the house at 6pm and got home at 9:45pm. While we were there they took a stool sample to test for the rotovirus = negative and took a swap from her nose to test for RSV = negative. They also did a chest x-ray on her. I have never seen a baby get x-rayed but they put her in this little chair that looked like a mini electric chair. They velcroed her onto it around her chest and belly. Then they had me hold her hands down while they took it then they had me hold her hands up in the air. It was one of the strangest things I have ever done. The x-ray came back good. The doctor said her cough was croup so they gave her some steroids and a breathing treatment as well as some prescriptions, one hopefully will clear up the diarrhea! I did learn that the older kids (GG and Red) probably have croup as well. I didn't think older kids could get it but the doc told me they can get it up until they are 12 years old. Tomorrow we are headed to the doctor's office with the three kids. I am the most worried about Red as he has it really bad. I hope the breathing treatments help him along with any prescription the doc gives us. I just want us all to be better. Can you hear the whine in my words. Seriously, I am so sick of everyone being sick. Did I mention that J is actually not feeling the greatest either? HE. NEVER. GETS. SICK. All I have to say is Spring Where are YOU???

We're back!

We went out of town to see some friends who moved to another state, their daughter was celebrating her first birthday. We stayed at the same hotel as them and went swimming. Peanut loved the water, except when the girls were screeching being loud. I forgot my camera so my friend let me take some pictures with her camera that she is going to be sending me. Anyways, it was great to see them and J and I went on a double date with the couple who have 3 girls. We got two sitters to watch the 6 kids in the hotel room. Of course, we took Peanut with us! I must say that I think I win "Mother of the Year" because I packed up the diaper bag for the movie and then left it in our hotel room. This is not a good thing when the baby has been pooping a lot to not have the diaper bag with you. As soon as I realized we didn't have it I started thinking of what I was going to do if she pooped. I told my plan to my friend and she came up with a different plan using a pad and gave me 50 cents. My plan was to get paper towel and put it on top of the poop and put the diaper back on her. This would of been great if the bathrooms had paper towels in them. I looked at the pad machine and they were 75 cents. So I hunt down an employee to see if they have any paper towels, he goes into the supply room and gets me some. I used some to clean her butt and some for the inside of the diaper and I was going to save some in case she pooped again. As I was putting the towel in the diaper she started to pee on her outfit. I quickly stuck some paper towel under her, but she had already gotten her outfit wet. No diaper bag = no extra change of clothes. The good thing was that the bathroom did have blow dryers, the outfit went under the dryer. I go back into the movie and tell my friend what happened and she laughed and said, "I should of gone with you." I replied, "Oh well it will make a good blog post!" About 10 minutes into the movie she pooped AGAIN! At this point she was tired and so J took her and put her to sleep. As soon as we got back to the hotel I changed her. Doesn't that scream Mother of the Year?

Life Changing News...

For me! J put in for a specialty unit with the department and HE. GOT. IT! I am so scared out of my mind excited about this new job. He will have a day shift schedule (starting next school year, we hope) which will change my life in this way:

-I have to get up read I get to sleep in now and get the kids ready for school and take them with no help.

-I will have to go grocery shopping and run other errands with just me and Peanut. Read as I have to be responsible for all the meals by myself Since J and I have been married 8 years we have always gone grocery shopping together.

-I have to bundle up the non-schoolers to pick up the kids from school in the winter...read I hate the cold.

-I will not be home by myself during the crazy homework, dinner, bath and bedtime! Read this is the most exciting part of the new position.

-I will get my nights with my husband like normal people. Enough said!

-He can go to church with us on Wednesday nights for Children's Choir and Awana clubs. I dislike late nights by myself especially the driving at night.

I'm sure there will be other changes that occur but these are the things that stick out in my head as of now. We'll see when it actually happens. I am so proud of him getting this specialty assignment.

Works for me Wednesday! Backwards addition

I'm looking for ideas on how to build our immune systems and to get rid of germs/bacteria in our house. We have been passing sickness back and forth between everyone for the last 2 1/2 months and I am in need of some IDEAS. Please :) Other than being a shut in as that is the way I am leaning towards as of now but if you know me is not at all possible! Also I know germs are inevitable with 4 small children but how do I keep them at minimal???? Thanks in advance as well.

Help me,
the exhausted, tired and sick mama of 4

For more Works For Me Wednesday go here

Sunday

Well I actually got to go to church this morning. I talked my sick little girl into going. I am a bad mama but I really wanted to go. She stayed in our class during Sunday School it worked out good because J played his guitar and we did praise and worship. Then during church she sat in the back with me and since it was the first Sunday of the month they didn't have kings kids during church because of communion. For the last three months we have been talking to her about communion and what it means. She really understands what taking communion means and so we decided today that she could take her first communion. She was so excited until she ate the bread part of it and said it tasted gross. This year for my quiet times I have been listening to the Bible online at www.biblegateway.com while I read along in my Bible. There have been a few times that she has been home while I was listening and she came up next to me and listen and then we discussed what was just read, it has been really neat to see her grasps different biblical concepts. I really want to show my kids the blessings of having that personal relationship with Christ and give them a deep level of understanding who He truly is, instead of having them think the Bible is just a bunch of rules they have to follow in order to earn eternal life and the love of Christ. I fall short in this area A LOT but this is a new day and a new chance to train them in the way of the Lord.

Going in a completely different direction Red was going to take a nap and he asked me, "Mommy will you lay with me for a couple of minutes and then leave me alone?" I told him I would and so I went to lay with him. I had my hand propping my head up and he looks at me and says, "Mom your not laying down. LAY DOWN." I told him I was laying down but he said, "No your not your hand is going like this." As he tried to do what I was doing with my hand but he used the other hand so his elbow was sticking up in the air. It was too funny and cute.

Also update on the sickies...Peanut has started to return to her normal pooping schedule today. Thank the Lord, her little butt isn't beat red anymore. GG has a headache and has been laying around the house for the last few days. As I mentioned I talked her into going to church where she laid there too. I have a headache still but not has bad as before. I am able to function, which is great. All the boys are fine so I pray they don't get any of this. And that we stop passing it back and forth between us.