Spring Cleaning

New paper filing system - check
Fans cleaned - check
Yard weeds sprayed (there are A LOT of them) - check
Clothing consigned - check
Vacuumed vehicles - check
Alexis' room painted - crap, where did the time go?? (I'll keep you posted.)
Go back to work - check, unfortunately I do this tomorrow after 12 blissful/stressful/lazy/crazy weeks...

Lots of stuff I had wished to get done didn't get done unfortunately. Family of five is a waaaaaay different story and quite an adjustment. Let's just say I took the time and smelled the roses. I'm just happy that I'm returning to work with a clean house and laundry caught up! We thank our God for all of the blessings He has bestowed. My husband never ceases to amaze me, and we're loving life together! I wouldn't change it for the world.

Have an awesome week!!


P.S. My e-mail at work is back in full swing tomorrow (after I get through the hundreds of e-mails likely awaiting my return). Thanks again for reading my life story!

Products II

Love, love this stuff! Having small children, it's great for their clothes, helps brighten and whiten and especially for those baby diaper blow outs! I would highly recommend it.

Products

This stuff works wonders on Elsie's baby eczema:

This stuff...not so much:

Fun in the Sunday

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE SISTER, LIBBY!

With today's weather awesomeness, we took advantage of the great outdoors. Little A played so hard and loved every minute of it. The girls and I set up the volleyball/badminton net out back, and Big A learned how to play badminton! She really got the hang of it after a while, and it was us girls versus Dad. (I think he still won.) While digging through the garage cabinets, I also spied a bucket of sidewalk chalk that was a huge hit. Daddy took the girls on a bike ride this afternoon in lieu of a nap... Little A gets excited for a ride in the trailer because she usually gets a drink/snack of some sort along with a few books for educational entertainment. This was the result: Apparently, Ava fussed about some trouble with her cherrios bouncing out of her cup during their rugged journey. Daddy suggested that she use her hand to shield the top of the cup. So she stuck her hand in the cup as seen in these pictures just in time to fall asleep. "Wedgie" has become a regular part of Ava's vocabulary lately. She gets frustrated with her pants on occasion, so it is always used in correct context! She reported her wedgie upon getting out of the bike trailer, and I was reminded of her humorous disposition. Our toddler is continuously amazing us. Ava was absolutely filthy from head to toe by supper time and still wanted to go back outside following dinner. Smart Daddy made a wise selection of black pants for today's attire! The girls just finished with their desperately needed shower/baths; and needless to say, they are fried.

I Like to Eat Candy...and Boogers

No, not me. My 2 1/2-year old proclaimed this in a very as-a-matter-of-fact way. Ah, out of the mouths of babes... She announced this as she was munching on a chocolate bunny ear or the like the other day. I'm sure that she will love hearing about this when she is in the 6th grade! I'm telling you - this girl likes her chocolate. I blame my husband for this trait of hers. Really anything with massive amounts of sugar is right up her alley. Therefore, holidays are brutal in our household. The candy is left up to Grammy R - we really don't even have to buy any.

If it were up to my oldest daughter, the sweets would lie around to rot and eventually make it into the trash a year or two later. Alexis could do without. She is the one diving elbow deep through the candy in hopes to find a book or movie or Webkinz or other "fun" toy. Meanwhile Ava runs over and helps her big sister with the sweet treats that are spilling out by shoving them in her mouth as fast as she can before one of us scrambles to make said candy disappear. Ava has gotten smart. She asks us "Can I have some of Sissy's candy?!" upon arriving home from daycare. Forget her candy. It's likely gone anyways.

Heritage School

So my husband decided he would grow a beard. Eight days later he had a beard. Odd. I've never seen him with a beard and didn't really care for it much. Now he has a smooth shaved face, and I will accept kisses now. Anyways, back to Heritage School. My hubby is a teacher of 4th graders (yes, he is that brave). As part of the 4th grade curriculum in Lincoln, the students go back in time to the late 1800's at Heritage School every spring. This is an exciting day for students (and their teacher) to reenact the aforementioned time period during an entire school day.

My beloved dressed in his 1892 best including a plaid flannel shirt, suspenders, handkerchief, rope belt and The Beard

Heritage School in it's new location at Pioneers Park

(Last year it was moved from the old State Fair Grounds)

The students participated in similar 1892 class activities and schoolwork throughout the day.

This year Alexis was able to participate being that she is a 4th grader!

Pictured here are some of the kids' lunches packed away in baskets, pails, handkerchiefs, etc.

Outdoor activities included a game of Red Rover.

This and That

Today we are going to meet Elsie's new sitter for seven weeks beginning April 19th! This nice lady, referred to me by a coworker, is willing to take our little girl temporarily until the hubby is out of school for the summer. After the summer is over, E will start at the daycare center that A is attending. Because of the ginormous cost of childcare, we NEED to save money this summer to afford care for the next year. Really, is it normal to pay more for two children in daycare or a home mortgage?? Well, in our case, it costs considerably less to own a house. In fact, we could easily purchase a vacation home when all of our children are in school in a short 5 years! Maybe even two vacation homes.

In the spirit of returning to work in a week, Elsie and I have been trying to get out of bed in the morning before 10 a.m. Sooooo, this morning we rolled out of bed at 9:00! E apparently thought it was absurd so she is sleeping soundly as I write this post.

Strangely, this is sort of sweet of Mr. Pom. I think he favors her more than the rest of us. This would have made me a lot more nervous before The Cat's declaw surgery...

Baby Stats

Our sweet little Elsie and I headed out for a morning visit to the pediatrician. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this appointment, but I was interested in hearing her new numbers and how incredibly chubilicous she was to other people, not just her daddy and me. She checked out to be perfect. Of course she is!! After her bout with RSV, etc., she will always be perfect. I love her in every way. I love her chunkiness because that tells me she is growing. I love her happiness because that tells me I am blessed to be her mother. I love her fussiness because that tells me she is alive.

I just hated holding her arms as she was poked three times in the legs. She cried so hard she turned bright red and had a hard time catching her breath. Now she has a huge bruise on her right thigh. Her sensitive skin is all red where the bandaids stuck to her skin. I ignored the nurse's instructions about giving Tylenol only for fussiness or 102+ fevers. Instead, I gave her some as soon as we got home. I want her to be comfortable, and since she can't tell me exactly how she's feeling this is the way it is. It used to be that you could give a Tylenol dose before vaccinations for pretreatment of pain. Why do all the "rules" and "recommendations" have to change all the time. My children range in ages from infant to 10, and I'm sure that all three kids have had different guidelines to follow!! Alexis, my oldest, got cough meds after turning 2. Ava still cannot have cough meds until she turns 4. Not that I want my kids medicated all the time, but it is frustrating all the same when they don't feel well. It's kind of like the fact that we as infants were put to sleep on our tummies. I wouldn't want to be caught dead doing that now! And what about crib bumper pads?? Nope, not supposed to have those either. (BTW, I still use them...) And the list goes on and on...

I brought up the fussiness issue that Elsie has been having lately. (You'd think that child #3 would be a piece of cake, wouldn't you??) I wanted to get our doctor's opinion on it. She is happy with Elsie's growth thus far and loves that she is a good eater and weight gainer. Food allergies are not really a concern that she had; however, she mentioned that I could cut milk products from my diet to see if that makes a difference in her fussiness. Milk intolerances are something that can come and then go with babies. They generally grow out of an intolerance especially in Elsie's case where there is good weight gain and no real family history of food allergies. I think I will initially try cutting back on dairy products and give the baby gas drops a try. I know I have an over abundant intake of milk, yogurt and cheese - I love milk! Maybe I'm overdoing it? I would hate to stop nursing this early because of a selfish dairy obsession...

Anyways, here are Elsie's stats!

• 13 pounds, 9 ounces (95th percentile) - yes, what a chunk!
• 23 inches long (67th percentile)
• 15.5 inch head circumference (50-75th percentile)
• 3 needle vaccines (DTAP/polio/Hib, Hep B, pneumococcus) and 1 rotovirus oral vaccine
• Negative stool heme test (they checked for an intestinal inflammation [blood] with her getting fussy and gassy with feedings)

Happy Easter!

Yes, maybe the bunny ears were a little much... Lil' A actually willingly got into this dress for this picture! Thanks Uncle Nick and Calla for the cute little spring dress that E is wearing!

Have a great Easter! Remember why we celebrate today...Christ is risen!!

Good Friday & Egg Dyeing

We all were home together on this Good Friday! So we did the traditional egg dyeing as we both did as children. How fun! The girls had a blast. Ava was really into it this year; Daddy called her a "professional egg dye-er."

I hard boiled 30 eggs which my hubby thought was "a lot" and would "take forever." However, after dropping and cracking 5 of the 30, they had all of them colored in no time. Sadly, I only got one white egg to myself... I've always been a big fan of egg dyeing - seriously! After Daddy ate one of the cracked eggs, Ava decided to give the next one a try. She surprisingly liked it! We have pictures to prove it.

Ava's egg-dye stained fingers holding her "delicious" boiled egg

Our plans for the holiday weekend are to travel back home to our families houses for some ridiculous eating and fun times. Tonight I baked a double chocolate cheesecake to take along.

Happy Easter weekend to all of my dedicated bloggy peeps!!!! Thanks for your comments!!

The Cat

Our getting-huge, sensitive-stomach, ornery "kitten," Mr. Pom, chose this sleeping position this afternoon.

Smiles!

We are loving these smiles as she interacts with us a lot more lately.

I caught a few on camera for the first time this morning!

Elsie is 2 months old now even though she is wearing some 6 month clothes already as you can see by the many rolls she sports! She will have her check up and vaccinations on Monday. We are anxious to see how much she has grown and cannot believe how fast the time has gone!