You know you're a mother of boys if...

Have you run across this FWD yet? You know, the one with all the images of boys doing crazy, hilarious, and dangerous things. If you haven't, it's hilarious. Well, I decided after 3 days this week, I'm able to make a list of my own. That's right, all this happened within three days time.

You are the mother of boys if:

• You feel like you're constantly making food or snacks because the little boy is ALWAYS hungry.
• You're having to practically force your son to eat because he all of a sudden doesn't want the snacks/food you've fixed for him.
• You constantly turn around to find your son on the chair or table reaching for something that is "off-limits."
• You find your son putting magnets, computer plugs (one prong kind) into his nose, mouth and ears.
• You run from the back room to see why your daughter is screaming to find both children laying on the floor watching T.V. and your sons fingers are intertwined with your daughter's hair as he tugs and grins with every elicited scream.
• You have to dry your son off from his daily splash in the toilet where he was trying to flush the shampoo bottles down the hole.
• You come out of the shower to find your son (and daughter) sitting in a pile of powdered formula. Entire can ($30) completely emptied onto the floor and the dog is happily licking it up.

The View this Morning....

... from my backdoor...

...and from my front door.

It started getting heavier.

Then it really started coming down.

Only one kid was brave enough to go out in it. Well, maybe Canaan would have been, but I didnt ask him. ;) Brooks stayed warm in the house and just stared out the windows.

This is the second year in a row we've had snow. Last year it was late as well. It snowed the Saturday before Easter, this year it was the Friday before Spring Break. I hear Dallas is getting 2-4 inches. We're only 3 hours north of Houston, so this is definately strange, but welcome, weather. So fun!

streptococcus in the throatus

After a weekend of sleepless nights, fever and shining flashlights in throats, I was relieved to see Lianna diagnosted with strep throat. The doctor thought I was strange for smiling after she told me my daughter was sick. I had to explain that I knew she was ill, and was relieved to know I'd been wise and brought her in. There's a balance a parent must find in letting your child fight through little colds and sore throats by themselves, and knowing when it's bad enough to go to the doctor for treatment. I chose wisely yesterday. :)

So far the rest of the children are fairing well. We think we might have contained it to our daughter only. It will take a day or two to be sure, as Darrell is showing signs of illness now. We are all under quarentine (except Darrell who must continue to earn a paycheck) until tomorrow, provided Lianna stays fever free.

On a completely different note, my 9 month old son still refuses to crawl. I admit, I have not pushed him very hard, okay, okay, I havent encouraged him at all. :D He has recently found an alternate mode of transportation though. He now can roll himself from one side of the living area to the other, and has once rolled himself into a corner of his sister's closet. It's quite amusing actually. Here's to baby #3 may he take as long as he pleases to crawl, walk, and run!

Avoiding the Dishes yet again

It's amazing how long you can distract yourself on the internet. Mmmmm... Don't I look yummy? Ha!

The Search is Over

Back in December, our family had the difficult task of having to find a new physician. Our previous one was a member of our church, hunted with Darrell, had children the same age as ours, and his wife was a friend of mine. We were so sad to see them move, for so many reasons. Darrell and I decided our next physician should have many of the same qualities our previous one had.

Same Day Appointments
Family Physician (could see us all)
Short wait (20 min. or less)
Friendly staff and nurses
Encouraged phone consultations with nurse
Friendly
Doesn't prescribe antibiotics for everything

We thought we'd found our doctor. He was great, but had a longer wait than I really preferred. I thought I could deal with that, since he had all the other qualities. I was wrong.

Wednesday night Brooks started running a fever and by 4:00 am it was 103.9. Thursday morning I called our doctor to make an appointment. The good news was that Lianna was at Mother's Day Out, so I'd only have to take the two boys with me. The bad news was our doctor's partner was out sick so our normal 1 hour wait, would be even longer, and there was no appointment open for the morning.

Darrell and I made the decision to try another doctor. My time is just way too important to wait all day in the doctor's office. I called a pediatrician and she was able to get me in within two hours. I arrived 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork. I was in the exam room with both boys by our scheduled appointment time, and was walking out to my car within an hour. The pediatrician was great with Brooks, and though she suspected he had Strep she didn't just automatically prescribe antibiotics. She ran a test (in office!) and it came back negative. Go figure! He didnt need antibiotics afterall. She encouraged me to call and visit with her nurse if I had any questions, and gave me some instructions for Motrin to keep Brooks's fever down and reduce the inflamation in his throat. I was sold!

I asked the receptionist if I could make an appointment for his two year check up. In doing this, I realized the doctor had set aside special days specifically for well-child-checkups. What a concept! The well children, will not be in the waiting room with sick children. I'm telling you, I'm so excited to have a doctor who values my time, and my children's health, enough to arrange her schedule accordingly.

Ewwwwww!

I've been a mother for three and a half years now. You'd think having three children within that time would give me ample preparation for the gross things in my life. I've potty trained my daughter, and changed multiple diapers between two sons that continue to wear them. We've been through stomach viruses where there was both puke and diarreah. (okay, yeah, that was bad... as an infant lianna once was in here johnny jump up and her diaper leaked, loose stool ran down her leg. When I immerged from the shower I found her jumping in her own waste that was in turn being mushed into my carpet.)

After typing all that out I realize this wasnt so bad, but I was surprised none the less. Today, in effort to make life easier on the sitter tonight (her first time with our kids) and an effort to make Saturday less busy, I decided to bathe all three children, at the same time, by myself. Other than getting a little (okay, a lot) wet, and the nice surprise I was given, it went fairly well.

Everyone is scrubbed and I decide to remove Canaan from all the chaos. He's most likely to get knocked over by an older sibling, and once dry, he doesn't wander too far from where I place him. I wrap up his chunky dripping body in a warm towel and carry him to his room. I remove a diaper from the drawer and a wipe from the container on the dresser. As I begin to unwrap the towel, I find a nice pile of poo that he'd left just for me. Ugh, I wipe his bottom and reach for the diaper with my right hand while holding his two feet with my left. I feel him strain against my left hand, and turning to scold him for trying to wriggle out of my grasp, I realize that wasnt the reason for his straining at all. He was evidently not finished giving me my surprise. Ewwwww! At least it's all being caught in his towel, and it's fairly solid enough to dump in the toilet afterward. I do a little "heeby jeeby" dance, laugh at him, and once I think he's finished I carefully wad up the towel and quickly put a clean diaper on him, in case he still isnt finished.

I return to the bathroom,towel in hand, where Lianna and Brooks are throwing buckets of water on each other, and of course little of it is staying in the tub. I mop up what I can with a handy towel (not the poopy one), and dump my "gift" into the toilet, then flush it away. The rest of the children are dried and dressed with only minimal naked running up and down the hall.

The story of my crazy life. Now there's a title for a blog..."Mi Vida Loca". Dont worry, I'm not changing the name of mine again.

An Adventurous Spirit... Well Sort Of

I dont know about you, but I dont consider myself very adventurous. I have no desire to climb a mountain, or explore the ocean or my refrigerator for that matter. (That would be really scary!) When I go to a restaurant I usually order the same thing. I know what I like and I dont venture far from that security. I rarely branch out and try something new, and usually only after I've seen or heard how great it is.

Ever since Canaan was about 4 months old, I've been eating oatmeal for breakfast. You can imagine the mundane feeling I get every morning when I heat the milk for my oatmeal. Having the same thing for breakfast can be utterly boring and drive a person insane. I only do it for Canaan.

When I was growing up my mother always served oatmeal with honey drizzled over it, or a scoop of brown sugar on top. My favorite has always been the latter. Yum! Every now and then, I'm surprised by a little brown sugar crisp in my spoonful if I didnt mix it up completely. Double yum!

As you can imagine, after a just a month of mornings like this, one can get pretty tired of oatmeal. I was discussing this morning regiment of oatmeal with a friend of mine, who has oatmeal every Saturday morning. She told me she always serves hers with cinnamon and sugar. Hmmmm.... interesting.

Oh, but I'm not that adventurous am I? This is new.... what if I dont like it? What if it makes it harder to eat the whole bowl? All these questions fill my head with doubt, but oh, how I long for something different in the morning.

On Monday morning, I did it. Instead of pulling out the bag of brown sugar, I mixed some white sugar with cinnamon. It wasnt bad. It was pretty good. I was able to finish my entire bowl and enjoyed it. But I havent gone back again. It's kinda sad really. I want variety, but I like what I eat. Oh well... I guess I can choose my misery or not. Maybe one day, I'll try apples.