We got the hell out of dodge

So being sick and never sleeping and performing as the resident cow for the past year was really wearing on my sanity. You probably couldn't tell that from my last post though. So cheery as always, right? Anyways, my parents picked up on my impending trip to Crazytown and offered for the kids and I to come to Alabama instead! Which sounded like a FABULOUS alternative. I actually cried while my dad did a Santa voice on the phone with the offer. And I think that might have confused him a bit because he told Santa to scram and came on like, "Hello? Are you there? Do you understand what's going on?" Yes, I am just OVERWHELMED BY LOVE and can't make words right now. As much as I hated to leave Steve home for Thanksgiving, we both knew the trip would be good for everyone. So we loaded up and headed to the airport the next day for our flight down to Atlanta.

The last time Will flew, he was 5 months old, I think. A much easier, much more potato-y-er age than 10 months. He wanted nothing to do with anything that I brought. We ended up standing in the back with the flight attendant most of the time.

My mom picked us up at the airport and immediately took the kids to the bathroom. Bliss! We then drove just outside of Atlanta to a pickup truck and camo-packed Chick-fil-A where I got to go to the bathroom by myself and felt for a moment that I was on some sort of vacation. I mean, technically I was, but I feel like maybe life is hitting new lows when going to a CFA bathroom alone qualifies as a vacation.

I thought we had a while to go before we had to buy Will his own meal at a restaurant, but at the rate he requests chicken and bread, it appears I might be wrong.
We eventually made it home (about 4 hours south of Atlanta) but I lost my voice completely along the way. My throat didn't even feel scratchy! Just all of a sudden it started cutting out while I was talking to my mama in the car. And then sure enough it was completely gone. And it stayed gone for a solid 3 days. Let me tell you how hard it is to parent with no voice. I was mostly clapping like a seal or snapping my fingers and waiting on them to notice me before I could whisper yell and correct any behavior. Very frustrating. My mom told me on the way down that the other half of my Christmas present was that she and my dad put the crib in their room and they would be getting up with Will during the night while we were visiting. And I could sleep. By myself. With no baby. No breastfeeding. What. A. Gift. I honestly can't even think about it without getting choked up. Because it's not a gift you can just go buy at a store and be done with. It was a solid week of getting really crappy sleep and then getting up and "performing" all day. Big kids requested swing pushes and a million books and snacks and then cooking Thanksgiving dinner and hosting my four other siblings at the house, a football get together, etc. It was definitely the most meaningful gift I have ever received and I doubt anything can ever top it. I feel so undeserving of something as big as that, but I am so grateful to my mama (and dad) for giving it to me anyway. I like to think that one day when I'm logging a solid 8 hours a night, I can offer something like that to my kids. (Thank you, Mama. You really recharged my battery.)

The kids got straight to work watering flowers (and dirt) and digging up my mom's flower beds out front. If they weren't digging out front or having races, they were swinging nonstop on the swingset in the backyard.

A break for Sonic, of course

A quick stop to see Pops at work

completely fascinated by a door he can sit down at and still see out of- not a normal thing when you live on the second floor

My younger brother and his wife (and dog!) arrived a day after we did, late at night. And he was still up bright and early at 6:30 to play and read books with the kids. I was thoroughly impressed. His baby is due in January and I think he will make a great dad!

constructing something complex

who knows what all she's writing about us over there

He did special voices and everything!

he has no clue what he's doing

some pre-Thanksgiving artwork

this man child is the only reason I know Steve- incredible, isn't it?

Molly is his BFF because he spoils the snot outta her and is always up for a full body contact hug. Molly is a powerful hugger. Some would say a body slammer, but I think she just thinks she's loving you extra hard. (Oof)

Alabama in late November- trees kinda sorta changing, clothes out on the line, shoes (and pants) are optional

Will and Griffin- the dog with endless energy

Trix yogurt- not sure I'll ever get him back on regular ol' Greek

Just for one day I want her hair. (Ok, I'm kidding. I want it forever.)

On Wednesday evening, my older brother and younger sister arrived. Or as we like to call it, "fresh meat."

Notice the tower is taller and more elaborate than ever. Still can't get enough books. Bless his heart, he read them a million.

Turkey Day!!! We had a turkey the same weight as Will. We all agreed that Will has his weight proportioned much nicer than the turkey. A bit easier to carry around. It was the best turkey I think I've ever had, and I'm not a huge turkey fan. But this was great. Will wholeheartedly endorsed this meal by having two slices of turkey, two servings of stuffing, some peas, mashed potatoes, a roll, and a yogurt. I don't know how his stomach didn't just explode after the last bite but I've never seen him happier. We got him down from his highchair and he just rolled around and laughed and smiled at everyone. If this is the key to a happy Will, then our grocery bill just got a lot higher. *gulp*

Also worth noting- Will was completely weaned by Thanksgiving Day. A modern-day miracle indeed! I have a lot of thoughts on that but will save them for later. So SO happy to be DONEZO.

Holidays are no excuse to slack off on yard work, of course. Sam watered while this random neighborhood kitty acted unimpressed.

Black Friday came and I had big plans. My best friend from high school picked me up at 9 (what can I say, we like to get an early start) and we headed to CFA for coffee and then the Christian Mission for bargains. We used to hit up the Christian Mission all the time in high school for various costumes for school projects and also just for clothes to wear because we were poor and bored and had time to browse the endless racks of stinky clothes. This time though, we laughed our way through the ladies section, stopping to comment on how great this dress would have been for this class. We didn't pick anything up for ourselves this time. We did find quite a few good children's deals and I bought a China doll that I could have sworn was mine anyway but could not get confirmation from my mother on whether or not my actual doll had been donated or not. I bought it anyway. For $2.50 I was gonna have my memory secure. If I find mine in the attic, I'll just donate the duplicate right on back.

My mom, the kids, and I hit up Lowes to look at Christmas decorations and attempt to get some 99 cent poinsettias. No luck with the flowers, but the kids had a big time looking at everything!

Will enjoys this "no-shoes required" lifestyle. Might be why he hasn't really been bothered to walk yet....

Brittany and Haley came over later to run out some energy in the backyard with the kids. They *love* her. Pretty sure they are more careful and treat Haley nicer than they do Will.

Hello Kitty was a Christian Mission Black Friday find- and such a hit!

fair-skinned babes!

Night Two of Thanksgiving dinner. My final sibling arrived Friday evening and joined us for first leftovers. His wife is pregnant too and had schoolwork to finish (they live in Idaho) so he made the trip alone.

Oof.

Saturday was my sister-in-law's baby shower. Two of my aunts were able to come down and some of my mama's friends that I've known forever were there so it was really nice to catch up and talk with everybody.

Molly was SO EXCITED to attend this shower. This is her first real "girls only" event and I think she thought she might burst waiting for it to arrive. When she realized that it was mostly a bunch of ladies sitting around talking and eating, she seemed a little less than enthused to be there but some waffles and orange juice cheered her right up. I gave her my phone to take a few pictures too. Upon reviewing them later, it appears she had the camera set to time lapse, so there are tons of one second videos that will really make you sick if you aren't holding onto something while watching. She captured a lot, and in a very creative and bold way. Ahem.

Later that afternoon was the Iron Bowl. I can't remember the last time I got to watch it live but the kids made sure that 2016 wasn't that time either. Watching football to Molly is "bohring" so she, Will, my mom, and I hightailed it to Hobby Lobby to look for Advent candles. Or kill time. Something like that. Auburn ended up losing anyway. The lone Alabama fan was a very gracious winner. I guess when you're used to winning all the time, you get good at winning graciously. Every Auburn fan hopes for that "miracle" year where they can possibly upset Bama but it rarely happens. And when it does, I don't think we are the most gracious winners. lolz War Eagle anyway!

the whole gang (minus Steve and Celia, my brother's wife)

Will loves his Hodgie!

One of my younger brothers (and wife and dog) left Sunday morning and my older brother and little sister left Sunday afternoon. Sam was absolutely devastated by this. He lost his soccer pal, racing buddy, reading partner. All of my brothers were playing with Sam, but he took to Daniel for some reason and was especially sad when he left. So my dad busted out the riding mower for some leaf removal and let the kids take turns driving!

But you know I can't reach the pedal, Clark.

That evening we loaded up the suburban and took the kids to see Mr. Trawick's lights- a Christmas tradition since I was little. Sam and Molly were tired (gee, probably from waking up at 5:30 every morning) and thus, quite grumpy and underwhelmed by the drive thru light display that was a staple of my childhood (INGRATES), but Will was thoroughly pleased by everything he saw, which absolutely delighted me. Naturally, I forgot to take his 11 month photo, so when no one was right behind us in line, my brother hopped out to help me snag this photo.

Eleven months old?! How on earth is he turning ONE in a month?! It has flown by. And yet, when I think about how much I haven't slept, it kinda seems about right that we are approaching one year. I do feel like I haven't slept in a year. So I guess I'm ok with this natural progression. He is pushing himself up into a sitting position, crawls (in his own special way), eats everything in sight (including appendages if you don't move your hand in time), fist bumps, has THE GREATEST cheese face I've ever seen, and claps when he sees something he likes. We love him despite his poor taste in sleeping habits and look forward to his first birthday!

Eventually we had to make our way back to Atlanta. Sad faces all around. Molly kept telling me on the plane that she didn't want to leave Alabama. I told her we were already in Georgia. She maintained that even so, she still didn't want to leave.

My brother was flying back to Idaho shortly after our flight was scheduled to leave, so he helped us through security and bathroom trips and watching baggage as I ran around trying to get everything done before we boarded. A huge help! I realize now that I kinda took fewer and fewer pictures as the trip wore on, and I don't think I got any of this brother with the kids. Definitely regret that. His wife is having a baby in March and I think he is well suited for fatherhood too. (My brothers with babies on the way are twins and I think they will both be great! Can't wait to see the similarities and differences in their parenting though.) Our flight was delayed by an hour, and then a bathroom door broke on the plane, so we sat there for another 20-30 minutes waiting on them to fix that. During that time, Will decided to take a massive, incredibly stinky dump. Perfect.....

Will had another poop on that flight that took out his pants. This was unfortunate because I don't carry extra clothes when traveling. Not because I enjoy being unprepared but I literally don't have the bag space or arms to carry one more thing. Clothes won't fit. So if you have an accident, you have to suffer the consequences as well. Sounds a bit harsh for an 11 month old but it was 57* when we landed so he wasn't in danger of hypothermia or anything.

Exited the plane in style, wearing nothing but a jacket and some shoes. Doesn't he look thrilled to be alive? Sam looks like he's seen some shit too, but that's because he has (literally) and Molly can't understand why everyone moves SO SLOW and to be honest, I CAN'T EITHER. IT'S BEDTIME, PEOPLE. LET'S MOVE WITH SOME PURPOSE. Steve picked us up outside and we drove straight home, bathed everyone quickly, and they were all in bed and passed out by 10. Steve and I talked til midnight (idiots!) and Will actually slept through until 6. I hesitate to even share that because I know the events leading up to the 8 hour sleep stretch make it a total fluke, but what the hell, it needs to be documented. I got 6 hours of sleep and it was pretty heavenly.

So that was our Thanksgiving saga. It was a whirlwind but it was also super relaxing and fun! I'm not up for air travel anytime soon, but I do look forward to our next trip south. Now Steve is picking up our sad little Charlie Brown Christmas tree so we can have some Christmas in our house for the next two weeks, then we'll pack it all up and drive to Philly, then Steve will drive to Minnesota! Hard to believe it's all happening so fast. I've prepared by making last minute Christmas cards and writing this blog post! Really contributing to this move. What can I say, I'm a team player! Team Documenting Memories, that is.

I turned 30 and it was not fun

I turned 30 yesterday. I kinda thought it would be more of a momentous occasion, but after taking a quick poll of a few fellow mom friends, we concluded that "birthdays as a mom suck." Excluded from this statement are the Pinterest/perfect blogger moms who wake up on their birthdays to not only a perfectly fluffed bed, but also a instagram-worthy breakfast being served in it, with a flower too rare to be purchased from local grocery store (forethought required!) as well as children who are wearing pajamas that match and contain no holes, and all of this after a full night of rest. Unfortunately I can't provide 30th birthday details to rival that. But I do have a lot of stories about poop, so let's get started.

The day before my birthday, it was raining buckets. The kids and I walked our wet selves to school and then Will and I slogged home and he took a nap. I had been contemplating whether or not to take him to the doctor because he just still didn't seem like his regular, happy self. He was constantly fussing and having diarrhea and continuing to NEVER SLEEP AT NIGHT, but no fever. When he woke from his nap and immediately went into hysterics, I thought, what the hell, at the very least, we can rule out an ear infection or something else I can't see. We were able to be seen right away, luckily, so we drove out to the office. And then the doctor confirmed that he had the flu! Wow. Did not see that one coming. She said that he was probably 4-5 days into it, so there was nothing they could really do. "Keep him hydrated. Keep him quiet." As if that's not my life's work already! We came home and I, once again, attempted to lure him into a quiet trance with Baby Einstein. Why these children must be taught to love television is beyond me. They are rarely allowed to watch tv, so you think when I turn it on, they'd be glued to it. Sam and Molly are now properly trained and give the appropriate response when a tv is turned on (catatonic state, no sudden movement, hushed whispers) but Will is taking a bit longer to get on board.

Once the big kids got home from school, Will took his afternoon nap and I let the big kids watch some tv on my bed. I needed to be horizontal and I needed for them to not constantly bicker with one another over legos and colored pencils. This worked well until someone claimed they pooped their pants. Apparently a fart was overtrusted and it turned out to be the start of some crazy diarrhea.

At this point, I had been on the phone with the allergist and the school nurse for a while. Sam's class was supposed to go on a field trip on my birthday (the next day) to the botanical gardens. The nurse told me that I needed to go due to Sam possibly needing benadryl, a "nurse dependent issue." I said, great, I'd love to go, but I will be bringing along my 10 month old son as well. "Oh no, he can't come. You'll have to send someone else from your family." Like I just have extended family hanging out all over the place here in NY. Also, they are walking around a garden, not going rock climbing, it's unlikely that I will need to do more than stare at the children as they sniff flowers. I told her that would not be possible. To which she replied, "Well if you can't find someone to go in your place, the entire trip will be cancelled." Not, your child will have to stay behind, but all three kindergarten classes would not be able to go on their field trip that's been hyped up for weeks. Now, bear in mind, this is all happening because the allergist wrote that Sam needs benadryl in case of a minor allergic reaction. The teachers can administer the Epipen in case of anaphylaxis, but due to a new state law they just recently decided to start following (? NYC does what they want?), teachers cannot administer medicine to students. I get that on a fundamental level, I really do. Teachers are busy and have a lot of kids to tend to, and maybe dosing out someone's seizure medication isn't in anyone's best interest. But for over the counter sleepy medicine? I asked the nurse if I, as his parent, could write a note saying that he does not need benadryl for the trip. Because I knew he wouldn't. They are a peanut-free school and there are not too many peanuts found in the wilds of NYC. I also haven't given Sam benadryl since we were living in Korea. It's been actual multiple YEARS since I've given him benadryl. I do not see a class trip to the gardens as the time that I will break that streak. Anyways. The nurse started saying medical things to me that I, as an idiot non-medical lay person, could not argue with. She told me to get a note from the allergist stating that he doesn't need the medicine. Because a doctor trumps a parent apparently. So after speaking with the allergist's office (and no one listening to a damn word I said), I got the run around and eventually ended up talking with THE allergist. I told her the situation and that I needed a note saying he did not need the benadryl for the class trip. I then backed this claim up with the astute medical advice given to me by the fast-talkin' school nurse. The allergist proceeded to tell me that what I told her (which I credited to the school nurse lest I sound like a medical idiot), was completely "bad medicine" and she could not write such a note because doing so would put her medical license AND INTEGRITY on the line. She told me that if the school nurse had further questions, to please contact her directly, as it seems she does not understand how benadryl and epipens interact. Yay. I love telling medical folks when they are wrong. (Not.)

Anyway, it was about this time anyway that the diarrhea started and it was decided that he wouldn't go to school at all. Molly woke up the next morning coughing up all sorts of random gunk and sounding like she smoked 3 packs a day. She ended up staying home too. And I know what you're thinking - you get to spend the day with your children! What more could anyone ask for on their birthday than to be surrounded by the ones you love most?!

Well, first of all, I could argue that I'd like a damn break? The six lightening-quick hours they are in school don't feel like enough time to accomplish even half the things on my to-do list. But when they are home? Things come to a grinding halt. Getting a load of laundry into the dryer seems to take me actual HOURS to do. It is understood that that load will not get folded or put away for at least a few more days. Running errands, obviously, take three times as long- finding shoes, coats, socks, that ONE book that needs to be read in the car, buckling and unbuckling all the damn carseats, finding that terrible shopping cart that is as long as every aisle in Target to house all three kids, etc.

There are some people out there who would just say, forget the chores! Forget the errands! We are going to lay around in pj's all day and watch movies and just have a lazy day! Well! I want y'all to know that if your family is capable of this type of day, I am greener than the grass on the fairway at the Augusta National in May! Because my family is not! My children want to move! Constantly! They are perfect angels for one movie TOPS and then it's like they've gotten too used to the idea of watching tv and they turn into smug monsters. And forget Will. I think the longest he's ever sat still or "snuggled" with me was ten minutes. And he might have had a boob in his mouth at that time. Just sayin. So while I would like nothing more than to tune out my life for a solid 90 minutes at a time, it's not in the cards for me. I pay dearly for it later with the big two, and the tiny one just doesn't give a shit that I want to lay down.

BACK TO THE STORY HERE. So all three kids are home with me and I am trying to figure out what we're going to do so as to not go absolutely batshit crazy. We were stuck inside yesterday due to the rain, and now we're stuck inside again due to everyone being sick. Sadly, I HAD to run to Target because we were out of a few random essentials like toilet paper and coffee. Definitely essential when no one sleeps and everyone poops. Lugging everyone out there was a true test of sanity. I loathe that massive shopping cart, but I think I hate trying to shop and watch the kids walking into every display and person in the store more, so I got the big shopping cart. I wore Will so he wouldn't touch anything and get more germs/spread his germs. Sam and Molly instantly started with the touching and the poking and the "he's on my side!" "she's on MY side!" "he won't stop looking at me!" "I wanna put that in the cart!" "let me get down so I can show you all the snacks that I want!" Meanwhile I am hissing at them to sit down and behave and giving death stares and wondering WHY THE HELL WE RAN OUT OF TOILET PAPER TODAY. We finally checked out and got back into the car. Molly messed with her carseat straps to the point that she could not even get one arm through. One side of her was stacked with groceries and the other side of her was Will and his massive carseat. It just makes me wonder why the entire world is working against me. WHY OH WHY can't we just get in the car and GO. Why must it be a production every single friggin time?! Finally got the carseat straps loosened and readjusted and started driving home. Getting all the kids and groceries up the stairs and put away is one more nail in the coffin containing my sanity. Then everyone is losing their mind because they're starving for lunch. Steve comes home for lunch too. I need him to start throwing food at Will, so I make his lunch too. Sam and Molly have the GALL to ask me why their lunch is taking so long. As the smoke comes out of my ears, I remind them that I'm making lunch for EVERYFREAKINGBODY and I have about 6 inches of total counter space and y'all all want something different and I'm not a machine and maybe I'm hungry too how do people ever in their right minds homeschool?! I would shank someone on the first day. And it might be myself.

Steve had to go back to work too soon (who could blame him- I'd leave if I could too!) and then it was just me alone with the three stooges. When I need to recharge my sanity, I usually vacuum. So I did. I love the loud, white noise and the way it drowns out my children's whiny voices. I like watching something I do have an actual visible impact, even if it is ruined a mere two hours later. But mostly I like the fact that the kids know I can't hear them (heh) when the vacuum is on so no one bothers talking to me. Will seems to accept this too and just rolls around the floor and attempts to grab the cord. Anyways, once the highlight of my day was over, it was back to business as usual. After the behavior in Target, I informed the group that EVERYONE would be taking a nap today. No tv. Since Will is always wanting to nap early, I decided to indulge him since we didn't have to stay up to go pick the big kids up from school. I banished the big kids to their room with strict instructions to stay put OR ELSE. I got Will down only for the big kids to alternate coming out asking me if naptime was over yet. And then 10 minutes later, Will woke up and would. not. go. back. to. sleep. I must have attempted to salvage that nap for an hour and a half. He wasn't having it. Literally laughed in my face. So I waved the white flag. The big kids came out and I tried not to cry. At some point I got desperate and turned on Baby Einstein. Like moths to a flame, the big kids sat mesmerized. Will improved and sat still for about 7 minutes. I attempted to make dinner.

I know what you're thinking. Why the hell are you making dinner on your birthday? ORDER TAKEOUT. And I would have, but I have been really focused on us eating everything in our freezer before we move, and I just so happened to have some breakfast sausage completely thawed and needing to be cooked. I knew I'd make a delicious breakfast casserole with it, but attempting to cook dinner with a baby who was literally clinging to my legs while screaming and wiping his snotty nose on my pants was the furthest thing from fun. Steve had mentioned earlier how he was going to go get me a cake from the bakery after work. I called him, begged him not to go get a cake. We don't need a cake. I don't want a cake. I want you to come hold this screaming baby so I can make this friggin dinner and throw everyone in bed. But too late, he had already gotten the cake. He rushed home and wrangled the kids for me. Pretty sure he saw a scary amount of crazy in my eyes by that point.

I'd also like to add that the realtor texted asking if she could show our apartment at 8. Mind you, that's 8 in the EVENING. As in, one hour past my children's bedtimes. Oh she gave me a good laugh, I'll tell you what! Knee-slappin' good laugh. 

We finally ate dinner. Then Steve opened the cake box and Sam's eyes got wider than silver dollars at the fudgey chocolate that sat before him. Everyone sang to me and Molly hugged and kissed me and repeatedly wished me a happy birthday, as if she hadn't just been steering the bus driving me straight to insanity a half hour earlier. Sam snarfed down his slice and Will threw his bite on the floor and Steve offered to bathe everyone for me. I nursed Will to sleep and brushed the big kids' teeth before saying prayers with them and tucking them into bed. I went downstairs to put away the leftovers before saying a big "F U" to all of the dirty dishes. And then I talked to my parents on the phone, which always cheers me up and makes me laugh. I finished the day passed out in bed with my "festively plump" sweatpants on and laughing at memes with a friend. And I was asleep before 930 because I knew in my heart that I'd be up again before midnight, and, as usual, Will did not disappoint.


So if you are having a less-than-stellar birthday with kids that could really give a shit about your "special" day, please know you're not alone. Not by a long shot. I am comforted (sort of) with the thought that one day I will be able to actually celebrate a birthday, not just survive it. And maybe my kids will have kids that will make their birthdays miserable too. I cannot confirm nor deny that that was my wish as I blew out my candles...



PS. Happy birthing day to my Mama! I love you and appreciate that natural birth you had, especially since you did it before it was trendy. I'm also in constant awe at how much sanity you have retained despite having four children in three years. The fact that you went on to have a fifth a few years later (surely you had regained your senses by then!) really blows my mind. I'll never understand how you did it all (and with such a cheery disposition!), but wouldn't be opposed to you sharing every last one of your secrets with me. (Please? PLEASE)

Chick-fil-A, diarrhea, and other interesting happenings from the past week

The kids school was a polling place, so no school for them on Tuesday. (Horrible.) Luckily a new CFA opened in Hicksville, which is about 30 minutes away on Long Island. So we went out there that morning to get breakfast and play.

Right behind CFA is Ikea, and we had a dresser we bought for the kids' room that we never even opened. So I decided that despite it weighing 9 million pounds, I was going to return it. We played at CFA for at least an hour, had a chicken biscuit (Will is a huge fan!), and then went over to Ikea. As I was unloading the dresser from the car (I am the incredible Hulk), I heard over the loudspeakers that the store would be opening in 5 minutes. Except we went straight to the kids play area and it was already full somehow. Ugh.

So the kids had to wait in line with me while we returned the dresser and then I needed to look at a few things. We ended up sitting in every chair, lying on every bed, and coming out with a dish soap dispenser and 2 chocolate Advent calendars. The kind of Ikea trip Steve dreams about.

We hit up CFA (again! I'm not even embarrassed!) to grab lunch for everyone and then met Steve at home to eat. I'm so sad there is no CFA in Minnesota so I guess my two-a-days will have to do for now. Getting out to Hicksville is a real pain in the ass though so that won't be happening often.

clean but confused dinosaur

Apparently there was a beautiful sunset one evening.

We have had our landlord's realtor contact us multiple times about showing the apartment to potential renters. The first time, it was a lot of work. I really focused on decluttering and scrubbing areas that a stranger might notice, but that I have probably accepted as being disgusting forever. Naturally they didn't show. We have been given notice of five showings now, only to have one person actually show up. This past Thursday, we had someone (supposedly) coming over at noon, so Steve and I were cleaning before the kids were off to school. I was upstairs and heard a lot of groaning coming from downstairs. I went down to the kitchen to find Steve lying on the floor and Sam standing above him asking if he was ok. Apparently Steve somehow twisted his back while bent over and something popped and he hit the floor. He is still sore, but it's getting better every day. It's tough being 87. My back went out once in Korea while Steve was in the field and it's true that you really do not appreciate good back health until you don't have it anymore.

Sam "reading" a book to his class. He is such a ham!

Sam took this picture of Will and he got such a genuine smile out of him so easily! Will really adores Sam and Molly and wants to be all up in their business at all times.

They happened to be matching that day and Sam thought it was so cool and my heart just about exploded all over the floor at how cute they are.

I'm still trying to get Will hooked on television, Baby Einstein in particular. The big kids still love watching it, and the music and nature scenes and colors are very soothing so I don't care when they all want to watch it. Everyone settle down and teach your brother how amazing TV is.

Steve's parents came into town on Saturday (after another no-show potential renter) and I took zero pictures! But Sam grabbed my phone at some point and snapped one.

By this point, Steve's back was still out, and all the kids had diarrhea to some degree, so we were essentially homebound. Luckily, Steve's mom was up for playing 600 games of Chutes and Ladders and read the same book to Molly 87 times in a row, so the kids could care less that we didn't go anywhere. Molly woke up with a croupy cough Saturday night but was on the mend on Sunday. Will's diarrhea worsened, he's teething, had a fever, and his little bottom was completely on fire from the diarrhea, so he was obviously very pleasant. We took a walk down by the bay to distract him from his miserable situation and he seemed to enjoy that.

He was up every 2.5 hours last night, but I guess I can't blame him since he isn't feeling well. One day this kid is gonna run out of excuses and have no choice but to sleep through the night. And that day better come sooner rather than later.... I've only been waiting about 11 months.