And So the Chaos has Begun

We are really doing it! The addition to our home is happening. Yikes! Yay! Several things have already happened. The big oak tree in back came down Fri Feb 17th. It was a huge tree and it makes me sad to lose it but it was a trade off we were willing to live with.

The first bit of construction (or unstruction as Duch says) began on Thursday, Feb 23.

Right now the kids and I are sitting in the playroom watching as the men pour the cement foundation. The are wheelbarrowling it from the alley across the back yard. This weekend I have to clear out the playroom and it will out of use through the rest of construction. The kids have chosen which toys they want to have in their rooms, which they want to box up during construction and which they are finished with all together.

In non-construction news...

We leave for Hank's Open on Wednesday. We are flying to Phoenix and then renting a car to drive to Yuma. We'll come back a week later. We are excited to see family, Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Nancy, Jake, Sara, and other aunts and uncles. Most of that side of the family have not meet Huck yet. Huck will have his first birthday the day we return.

Bubba had his Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby last weekend. It was a learning adventure for Daddy and Bubba. The biggest lesson Daddy learned was to start the project more than one day in advance... But the boys had fun and that is what is important. It was extremely well organized and not chaotic which is an impressive feat considering there were 50+ boys entered. Bubba was disappointed but not surprised that Dino Racer did not win any awards :-(

Duch spent that day playing with a friend. My friend, Miss Linda, invited her over to play with her 6 year-old niece who was spending the weekend. The girls got along great and Duch stayed all day! I left her about 11:30 and picked her up at 6:30. They played with the dogs, played outside, had lunch at the Purple Cow, went shoe shopping, and spent lots of time sharpening pencils (???)

An important discovery was made in the back yard this weekend. The kids found an "artifact." There are several hypotheses (sp?) about what it is:

1) A claw from a giant gorilla-type animal that dug the hole that it was next to. (Bubba)

2) The top of a Gladiators helmet. (Duch)

3) A plastic ax. (Bubba)

I put some items in a consignment sale this weekend. It is my first time to consign although I have shopped at this sale in the past. I got to shop early because I was a consignor and got a few dresses for Duch and a few outfits for Huck. I have no idea how I did on pricing stuff- we'll see when I go back to pick up anything that didn't sell.

And lastly, we have not yet kicked the sickie bugs around here. Huck's ear does not want to clear up. The first round of antibiotics did not clear the infection so he started a second round of a different medicine. Then a few nights ago Duch woke up crying saying her ear hurt. The doctor confirmed an ear infection so she gets 10 days of antibiotics. While we were there she checked Huck's ears and guess what... still not clear! So he got another 5 days of meds! And Pink Eye has taken hold as well- Bubba has had in twice, Huck had it and I had it. Duch may have it as well...

Stayed tuned for more adventures!

The Sweeter Side

Ahhh, Duchess... You do have a very sweet side to you. One day last weekend when Huck was sick Duch woke up and came and sat on the couch with me.
In a pitiful little voice she says "I think I'm a little bit sick, too."
Me: "What seems to be the matter?"
Duch: "My tummy is a little bit sick."
Me: "Oh, I hope not. You have a Valentine's Party at school this week."
Duch: "I think it is just a little bit sick today."
Me: "What do you think will make you feel better?"
Duch: "I think I need to sit on the couch and snuggle with you. And get lots of hugs."
That is one prescription I can get behind 100%. So snuggle we did.

She took Valentine's Day very seriously. She wrote cards for each friend in her class. She made several cards for each family member and shared her coveted "treats" (chocolates!)
Love you, Sweet Girl!

Sickie

Poor baby Huck was a sick boy this weekend... Is there anything more pathetic than a sick baby? This was really the first time he has been sick with more than a cold. It started on Thursday- he was a little more irritable than usual when I left for jury duty in the morning. By the time Juror #7 got home (luckily it was a one day case), he was pretty pathetic- clingy, quiet, warm and so very tired. The Hubby reported he had slept a lot that day. His temp was 99. By Friday morning his temp was a little higher at 100. I went to work but the Hubby called me around lunch saying Huck was "listless and pretty warm." My nurses sent me home to take care of my baby. I took his temp (because the Hubby refused to take a rectal temp...) and it was 101 so I made an appointment with the doctor. A few hours later we had a diagnosis of double ear infections and a prescription for an antibiotic. His fever went up and down all weekend and when it was elevated he was pretty sad. When it was down he would play. He nursed fine but didn't eat any real food all weekend. He NEVER just sits on my lap anymore but he sure did a lot of that this weekend. I really didn't get much of anything accomplished because I had a baby in my arms almost the whole time.
Then last night he really scared me. He woke up about an hour after he had gone to sleep and screamed. And I mean screamed! He was crying, screeching, arching his back, rolling around in my arms or on the floor ... I knew the poor guy was in pain! I called the Hubby and made him come home because I was really scared! The screaming lasted for 45 minutes almost non-stop. He'd fall asleep for a minute or two and then start screaming again. He fell asleep about 2 minutes before the Hubby walked in the door and stayed asleep that time. I kept expecting to see puss and blood come pouring out of his ear like his ear drum had burst. Poor guy. He slept through the night after that and the Hubby reports he seems fine today. Hopefully now that he has been on the antibiotic for almost 3 days he will only improve from here on out. Knock on wood- we really have such healthy children!

A Day to Forget...

Wednesday was a day I'd like to forget... BUT, I am going to put it into writing so that when the kids are teenagers and I am fondly looking back on how easy it was when they were little I can be reminded that parenting ALWAYS has it's hard moments.

It was a school day for Bubba and Duchess and Huck were home with me. The Hubby has started the weaning process of cigarettes (yay! we are proud of you!). During the day Duch had several moments that were rough. She was a bit congested and I thought she felt warm so I was chalking it up to her feeling a little under the weather.

The Hubby left for work around 5. Huk was sleeping. I went to the kitchen to start dinner. The kids were watching TV. Before making dinner I decided to get rid of some leftovers from the fridge. In the middle of that Huk woke up. Then I noticed the sink was not draining. Uggg. Called the Hubby who said call a plumber. I got under the sink to check the trap to see if I could clear the clog- nope! The clog was further out the pipe. But I did get all the water from the sink to drain into a bucket- and on the floor... and in the cabinet... and all over me. Gross left over tainted water. And Huck crawling all in it. I asked Bubba to help me watch him but he kept crawling to me. And crying. A lot. Wailing. Tears streaming down his face. Snot flowing freely. Nasty left over water all over his clothes. I asked Bubba for help again and was told "he's your baby you know" in a sarcastic voice. He got a serious LOOK for the attitude. Finally got the sink to a place that I could leave it. Thanks goodness for preservative laden microwave dinners because by this time there was no way I was cooking. Plus I had no water.

BUT during dinner it all got worse. Both big kids got up from the table for some reason and were asked to please sit back down. Duch wanted to get to her chair by climbing over Bubba. I said no, she still tried, I said no, she tried again, she was carried to her room. She cried, came out, she was taken back, she came out again, she was taken back again, she screamed, wailed, yelled. Came out again and crawled under the table to get to her chair. In my head I'm trying to decide if I should just let it go... But then, THEN, she looked over her shoulder at me and STUCK OUT HER TONGUE. She was hauled back to her room again. Huck almost falls out of his high chair. I sit down in my chair and act like I can't hear a thing around me. Duch comes and says sorry. She is over it in about 2 minutes. It takes a little longer for me to get over it...

So after dinner I am ready for everyone to go to bed. Duch refuses to put on her PJs. Fine, I'm not going to struggle with that one tonight. She wants to sleep in her sleeping bag in the hall. Fine, I don't really care at this point. But she puts her sleeping bag and pillow in the middle of the doorway to the family room. I tell her she needs to move it down closer to her door. "No" she says. "Yes" I say. "No." So I pick up her pillow and sleeping bag and throw them into her room and inform her she has lost the opportunity to sleep in the hall. Much crying, begging, and struggling ensued until finally she settled down and went to sleep. I went in to tuck Bubba in and apologized for the scene. He said "I know it is frustrating, Mom. You're having a tough night. I have those sometimes, too." Sweet boy. Makes up for the earlier comment and not helping with the baby. And miraculously Huck went to sleep with out a peep or a cry. I crashed on the couch, watched a little HGTV and went to bed at 9:00.

And now you know why I want to forget it! Luckily those days a few and far between! But you have my permission to remind me in the future that it wasn't all tea parties and Lego building!

What's Up with Huck... and the Science Fair

Sooo much! He is now 10 months old. It seems as if Huck is learning something new everyday. He has been walking for about a week now. We noticed yesterday that he spent most of his time walking as opposed to crawling. He seems to walk better when he has something in his hands and still has plenty of falls, but he is definitely on the move! Because of this constant desire for motion the high chair is now akin to a torture device. He twists and spins and can almost get himself out. He is eating 2-3 jars of baby food a day (favorites are plum-banana-brown rice, apple-blueberry, and sweet potatoes) a few finger foods and still nursing just as much as ever. He had his 9 month check-up this week and is 21.7 lbs and 31 inches tall. He got a finger poke to check his iron level and 1 immunization- and he didn't even cry. He claps his hands, can play peek-a-boo and give high fives. He has been playing with the toy kitchen and toy food, golf balls and Duplo blocks. He has a great belly laugh when you tickle him, a great big smile when he is happy and a great big cry when he is not. He makes lots of noises and babbles mamama and dadada but not real words yet. Nothing is safe if it is within his reach- cell phones, remotes, Lego people, chapstick, sippy cups... It is fun to see his determination! He is a joy!
























Bubba entered a project in the Science Fair. It was an optional project for 1st grade and he said he wanted to do it. His Investigation Question was "How are fossils exposed?" The experiment involved clay and shells and simulating the Earth's movement. He made an impressive poster display. It was a tricky line for The Hubby and I to figure out how much to help him. We wanted him to do as much as he could on his own, but he is 6 after all. So we did everything together in whatever way we thought was appropriate for him. He did some of the typing, but that would have taken two weeks if we had him do it all himself so we had him read the words to us for the rest of it. And he doesn't know how to format pages for printing so I did that for him. He learned some things and it was fun, so that is what is important to us. I think he gets a ribbon for participation.

I'm Calling Out the Hubby!

This little gem came home from school with Bubba.






Upon seeing it the Hubby said he will quit on Leap Day. We're holding you to it, Daddy. It's out there for all the blogosphere to see now, so no turning back! You can do it! We know you can! We are proud of you!

In other Hubby news, he just finished 3 days of jury duty. He actually got picked to be on a jury. He said it wasn't all that interesting of a case. But he did say he doesn't have a lot of faith in the concept of a "fair" jury since one of the jurors said to an attorney on the jury "you just tell us what to do and we'll do it." Fortunately someone spoke up and told her she was off her rocker. It got me an extra day at home, which was nice. Huck and I laid on the couch and I watched Seabiscuit.

Pshew!

I love the winter holidays but it is always nice when we can get back to "normal!" To catch up I think I'll go person by person...

Huck- He is growing so fast! He has all sorts of new tricks. He can clap his hands, raise his arm when one of the big kids says "raise your hand if..." (which happens about every 10 minutes), lift his arms over his head when asked "How big is Huckleberry?", cruise the furniture like a race car driver, stand up unassisted and... he took two steps on his own! He got his first tooth on New Years Day and a second followed shortly after. He loves to pull things out of baskets and drawers (laundry, clean clothes, dish towels...) He blows raspberries often and babbles "mamamama" and "dadadad". He fake coughs when he hears me cough. Daddy said the other day while I was at work he crawled around the house searching for me until he broke down in tears when he was not able to find me. He cries when Daddy leaves the house for work, too. When in his highchair he does this twist maneuver to try to get out and I am afraid one day he will be successful so we can't leave him unattended in the highchair anymore. He is eating 2-3 jars of baby food a day and has had a few bites of table food- I believe he is ready for more. He still does not sleep great, but generally is a happy guy with an infectious laugh.
His reaction to Christmas was interesting. I thought he would enjoy pulling tissue paper out of a bag so I put most of his gifts in gifts bags. He seemed pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing- he kept crawling out of the family room into the playroom. He didn't show much interest in the new toys (or wrapping paper or tissue) and instead kept going back to the familiar. But now that things are more normal he does play with his new toys. He loves to play with Duplo blocks as well. And Tinker Toys. And would love to get his hands on big brother's Legos.

Duchess- Where to start... hmmmm... Until talking to several friends with daughters I never knew that 3-4 year old girls were reputed to be such a challenge. Twos were nothing! She is a sweet girl at heart and can be so kind and loving, but when she is not- she soooo is not. She is so independent- always has been since she was tiny- and I think her desire to be independent is greater than her ability and much of the conflict comes from that. She has a tendency to dig her heels in just for the sake of it- like she will insist that she does not need to go to the bathroom even though she is dancing around and can't stay still and just told me 5 minutes ago she had to go- just because I told her she needs to go. She needs much attention from me these days and struggles with sharing it with her brothers. I try to find small ways to spend time with her alone, like taking her with me grocery shopping, and she eats it up. She loves all things fancy- tutu skirts, dresses over pants every day, french braids in her hair, and of course all things pink/purple. She is doing well in school and has a good group of friends. She can write her name clearly and many of the other letters. She is working on writing numbers. She has been doing lots of imaginary play and sings to herself as she plays. She is great at making Huck laugh and his face lights up when he sees her. Christmas was good for her. Some favorites were her Barbie roller skates (the kind that go over shoes), a Hello Kitty house, Tinkerbell story collection, and Lalaloopsy dolls. She also had a lot of fun playing with Huck's Weeble Wobbles.

Bubba- What a big kid! Sometimes I look at him and expect him to still be 2 playing with his Lightning McQueen can and riding on his dump truck. But no, instead he is playing Wii and reading chapter books. We have had a Wii for awhile and until Christmas had only played it a couple of times a month. But Santa brought Lego Star Wars and now that all has changed. Daddy is just as addicted to it as son, so there ya go. It is fun to watch the two of them bond over it, but when Bubba tries to give me all the details my eyes start to glass over... I have played with him as well but prefer to play Tangled :-) or Phineas and Ferb. I can't believe how well he is reading. For Christmas he got a boxed set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and while they are not my favorite I am okay with anything that has him reading for an hour at a time. He also got some roller blades and has been practicing away. And of course there has been lots of Lego building going on:-)