Week 13, Round 2

All I can say about this week is that March is going by too fast.  Maybe it is because we have spent a good chunk of the month under the weather, but it seems like Corinne's birthday and Easter are sneaking up on me.  Oh well, I sort of welcome the time to fly by so that before I know it Nathan will be home.  (Wishful thinking!)

After our awesome time at Disneyland on Wednesday, Lincoln was finally feeling back to normal with his ear infection on its way out.  Too bad Corinne woke up with a fever!  Sometimes I feel like I can't get a break.  We toughed it out at speech and I canceled swimming lessons for the day.  We spent the rest of the day trying to keep ourselves entertained at home.

I thought pink fingernails might cheer up the princess.

Then Lincoln and I prepped for the upcoming weekend storms and trimmed the palm trees and pruned the flower beds.   We managed to divide and transplant a few ferns while Corinne was napping, but she woke up in the middle of our mess.  She was not happy that we were so dirty and insisted that we come inside, take a shower, and snuggle on the couch.  We quickly wrapped it up and did just that.

 Lincoln sometimes watches Survivor with me, and he decided that our discarded palm branches would make the perfect shelter if they were draped over his picnic table.  Friday afternoon, he made me get him a tarp so it was waterproof, then drug in the cushions from the outdoor furniture and grabbed his sleeping bag.  He decided his was "100 times better" than the shelters on Survivor because his was actually comfortable.

Corinne was feeling better, so we ran to the store in between playing dress up. 

Zebra always seems to put a smile on her face--even when she isn't feeling her best.

Here is Lincoln, trying to steal the spotlight.

And he succeeds!

The bad weather hit Friday night, but Lincoln was scheduled to start his sports clinic on Saturday morning.  Apparently the clinic started last Saturday, but since I can't read my own calendar--I spaced it.  It was a bit chilly and drizzling, but having grown up in Indiana this is what we would call good soccer weather.  So I bundled up the kids and loaded them into the car ready to get soaked, but have fun.  Clearly Californias have a different vision of good soccer weather--only one other family showed up for practice.  I was more than a little irritated to not get a phone call or email and then find that the coach didn't show up to at least tell everyone to go home.  And it really was the perfect day to sleep in---bummer! 

We came home and peeled off a few layers, and then we got to work on our St. Patrick's Day dessert--mini pots of gold (pecan tasties).  Lincoln helped me break up the dough and form the balls into little cups.

Then he filled them with pecans.  We added the sugar and egg mixure, and let them bake and cool.

One can of edible gold spray paint and a pinch of yellow dusting sugar later we had mini pots of gold!

We changed into our green clothes then headed over to Jessica's for the festivities.

The kids had a great time.  This was one of those moments when one child makes an annoying noise and then it takes off like wildfire and quickly escalates into pure chaos. 

After failed attempts to get them to quiet it down a bit, I finally just told them to let it all out at once--but then they had to stop.  This is Corinne's crazy, screaming face.

Jacob and Lincoln got loud and spooky.  The craziness could have been the result of having so many kids the same age playing together after they have been cooped up all day in the rain, but it also might have been the Lucky Charms that they snacked on before dinner!

Later in the evening Gabe broke out Just Dance for everyone to enjoy.

The kids were hilarious, but I gave it a whirl and had a ton of fun too.  It kind of, sort of, makes me want to get Kinect for the Xbox.  We didn't make it home until around 11 pm that night.  Corinne fell asleep in the car, but Lincoln was still wide awake.

Lincoln slept until 0930 the next morning, so we skipped church (again).  We took Sunday to recover from our hard partying and tried to get some chores done around the house and do a little Hooked on Phonics.

It was still a bit chilly on Monday, so we ran to the mall to exchange a princess doll that I bought Corinne for her birthday.  We met Brittany and Ellie there, and the kids got to have some fun at the play place.  Then we came home and they helped me make egg salad for dinner.  Both Lincoln and Corinne stole bites from the bowl during the entire prep process, but when it was time to eat it for dinner, they each gave me the excuse "I don't like that stuff".  Hmmmm, you mean the stuff you have been snacking on constantly for the past 20 minutes.

Tuesday morning the kids slept in, but Corinne woke up grouchy and then started complaining about her ear.  I thought, awesome--now I have two kids fighting an ear infection!  And of course she waited until after sick call was over to tell me her ear hurt.  To top it off we still had speech and I was watching baby Hunter all morning.  Corinne screamed and cried for a good half hour while I switched the carseats and loaded the truck.  She perked up when Hunter showed up and I had hope that we might survive the morning.  Speech went fabulous and Corinne stopped complaining about her ear.  But because I had been down that road just last week with Lincoln, I knew it might get worse the next time she laid down to sleep.  Our doctor's office was able to squeeze us in because they had a 2 pm cancelation.  After speech I came hom and made lunch while the kids entertained Hunter.  Here is Lincoln showing Hunter his "pet anemone". 

Corinne was trying to get him to crawl.  At this point she wasn't even acting sick anymore and I thought about canceling our appointment, but I knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Hunter did do a bit of a sea lion scoot for us. 

I think the kids wore Hunter out.  After we ate, I swaddled him up tight and bounced him to sleep and he was down for the count.  While he rested the kids played outside and I cleaned up.  After Jenn picked up Hunter we headed to the doctor.  My suspicions were correct--Corinne had an ear infection in the works, but it wasn't horrible at the moment.  I had my good friend Moxi on call at the pharmacy if she got any worse or started running a fever again.  While we were there I asked if I could go ahead and get her three year well baby visit done at the same time since we had an appointment in two days.  Of course, there wasn't time for that--why on earth would you want to kill two birds with one stone!  We were seeing way too much of Dr. Robbins lately, but alas, we would be back on Thursday.  As luck would have it, we didn't need the antibiotic.  Corinne was fine the rest of the day.

The weather was great on Wednesday, so we headed to the San Diego Safari Park (formerly Wild Animal Park) for a good workout in the sun.

The whole place is nothing but hills, so this time I dressed ready to sweat.  Lincoln's favorite area is the playground, so we headed there first.  They climbed and ran about and then enjoyed lunch.

Lincoln had a mini picnic in the cave.

Then we waited for Brittany to meet us with Ethan and Ellie before hopping on the tram.  Ava and Corinne cheesed it up for the camera.

And we finally got the boys in the picture too.

Lincoln was happy to see his buddy Ethan and even more happy to borrow his binoculars!

Ellie enjoyed the view and squeezing in some standing time with her mama.

After the tram ride the kids had another snack, then we got a little lost trying to find the best route to the tiger trail.  Time crept up on us and it was time for Jessica and I to head home if we were going to beat the traffic.  As we were loading up the car, we got a call from Nathan.  It's always great to hear from our other half.  Lincoln told him all about our busy day.  Then we started for home and Corinne quickly fell asleep in the car.  She slept for another hour and a half when we got home while Lincoln helped me clean up and prep for our busy Thursday.  Despite all of us being a bit under the weather, we had a great week and still managed to squeeze in time for fun.  Hopefully next week we will all be completely healthy and able to enjoy our visitors, Chris and Terri (yay!) and have a blast celebrating Corinne's 3rd birthday!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Quote 1:  I overheard this one while the kids were playing.

Lincoln:  "Sissy, I'm sorry.  Your Zebra is sick.  He has been sneaking and eating paint."

Where does he come up with this stuff???

Quote 2:  Right after waking up from a nap, still a bit delirious--talking to Nathan.

Corinne:  "Dr. Robinhood gave me a Silvermist tattoo."

Me:  "You mean Dr. Robins?"

My kids love their doctor.

Quote 3:  Nathan called while Lincoln and I were working in the yard.  Lincoln had just discovered that our hole-digging frogs were back.

Lincoln:  "Dad, don't worry.  If those frogs come out I will poison them for you, or I will stick a nail right through them like a sword.  Then all that will be left is dead meat."

Nathan:  "I don't think we should try to kill them, maybe just try to get them out of our yard.  Maybe you should catch them, and throw them in the neighbors yard."

Oh my kids are gruesome!

St. Patrick's Day

This is just a sneak peek at our week.  We had a great St. Patrick's Day over at Jessica's house with her three little leprechauns plus Brittany's munchkins and my wild two, for a total of seven kids and one dog.  Somewhere along the night Gabe broke out Just Dance and we all had a blast.  Here is what might be the next America's Best Dance Crew!

More of the kids in action...

Week 12, Round 2

Last week was a bit of a roller coaster for us.  We were super busy having fun with Aunt Cary here.  Then just as her visit was coming to a close, Lincoln came down with a fever which turned out to be an ear infection.  He is as good as new now, but it was a rough few days. 

On Thursday, Cary tagged along for speech and swimming lessons.  She is an avid swimmer and former swim coach, so she was able to get a little chlorine fix while she was here (not actually getting in the water, but at least she got a good whiff).  Corinne spent a good part of her lesson diving and swimming under the water (not the goal here, but it was fun to watch her). 

On Friday we headed to base to check out housing so that Cary and Jason could try to tackle a short sale, since you get WAY more for your money out here if you go that route.  Then we headed to the beach.  It was almost perfect, but a bit windy that later developed into a slight sand storm.  (We were cleaning sand out of our ears for a few days.)  It was nice to soak up some sun and introduce Cary to Jessica, Ava, and Jake.  The kids were in desperate need of some playtime with friends after spending a good chunk of the week house hunting.  I brought my camera, but of course I forgot the memory card in the printer at home.  Oh well!  Hopefully my whole summer will be filled with pictures from the beach.  The kids were exhausted when we got home and we had a nice quiet evening.  Corinne woke up around 1 am from a nightmare--screaming that there were spiders in her bed.  I tried to reassure her that her bed was free of bugs and laid down with her in her bed.  She was shaking and continued to insist that we move to my bed.  I thought, sure--whatever, this is my daughter that insists on having her own room to sleep in, she will lay with me for a few minutes then retreat back to her own room.  Well, not only did she want to sleep with me, but she felt most safe from the spiders sleeping on top of me!  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.  At 5 am with the sun rising, she threw in the towel and headed back to her own bed.

On Saturday, we laid low and ran a few errands.  Lincoln seemed a bit unusually grouchy, but when we went to Freebirds World Burrito with Cary and he insisted on standing in the sun and rejected a chocolate chip cookie--I knew something was up.  We came home, took his temperature, snuggled him up, gave him some Tylenol, and laid him down for a nap.  I snuck a nap in too, but he woke up and was still on fire.  Cary suspected that he might have a UTI since he was peeing so much on our outtings.  Lincoln had also been fighting a horrible cough, so I decided to take him to the ER when a second dose of Tylenol didn't even touch his fever.  Cary had to run off for more house hunting, so I packed up the kids and headed to base.  Luckily Jenn was available to watch Corinne for me while Linc and I headed to the hospital.  (Thank you Jenn!)

The ER cleared his urinary tract and lungs for any issues.  My little pirate loved having his chest x-rayed and getting to see his bones.  It was good to hear nothing major was going on, but the doc found a mild middle ear infection in the works.  They sent us home with cough medicine (which I was previously too unsure on the dosage to try out), more Tylenol (which I found out I could up his dosage), and ear numbing drops.  I was informed that they generally don't treat ear infections with antibiotics anymore.  I thought...Okay, we will give this a whirl.  At least it isn't a major infection and he isn't even complaining about his ear right now.  We will just treat the cold with Vicks and his vaporizer on top of these new meds.   I was also instructed to pump him full of fluids and anything clear since he had lost his appetite.  Lincoln was more than happy to hear that popsicles would be on the menu for the next few days. 

All seemed well Saturday evening, and we picked up Cary as soon as we got home for some "dinner" at Yogurt Factory.

Sunday started EARLY for us.  Cary's flight left at 6 am down in San Diego.  So we needed to leave the house by 4 am, that meant I had to wake up at 3:30, but it was actually like waking up at 2:30 because of the time change.  Luckily I set two alarms because my phone alarm switched timezones sometime during my alarm setting.  We all headed off to San Diego at the crack of dawn.  We got Cary off without a hitch and both kids managed to fall back asleep on the ride home.  I was praying for a cloudy day, and I rushed us back and ushered the sleeping munchkins back into bed before the sun could poke through the blinds.  I was just minutes into dreamland when I woke up to Lincoln screaming about his ears.  I was confused because I thought the ER "kick the cold" plan had started to work.  What I hadn't thought of was that Lincoln was asleep when we were driving home and hadn't effectively cleared his ears.  After giving him all the Tylenol and numbing drops that I could and trying to calm him down I finally got him calm enough to let me teach him how to Valsalva and clear his ears.  That seemed to offer some relief, but my plans to hit the hay were shattered as everyone was now wide awake from the screaming.  The rest of the morning was rough.  Lincoln's ear was obviously getting worse.  Corinne was overly tired and acting like a festering sore herself--kicking her brother while they both lay together on the couch.  Lincoln was demanding popsicles, but I needed to get in the shower before heading to the store and I wasn't sure I could trust them to not kill each other while I bathed!  They finally shared a peaceful moment so I could get ready and head to the store.

I got out of the shower to find Corinne wearing her giraffe costume with a big bulge in the front, saying she is going to have a baby.  I snapped this picture of the expecting couple. 

Then I overheard the following conversation:
Lincoln: "Okay, time to have the baby. Let's go to the hospital." He attempts to unzip her costume.
Corinne: "I'm not ready! It isn't time."
Lincoln: "I thought you said you were going to have the baby today. Come on!" He's an impatient father.
A few minutes later Corinne gave birth to two babies--a baby doll and a zebra.  Although it is safe to say that Lincoln will be a good father to them both, there is no doubt that this giraffe got around the savannah a time or two. 

We made it to the store, and I also called Brittany to give me the 411 on how to make garlic oil (a natural antibiotic) for his ears.  At this point, I was desperate and the homeopathic route seemed like a better option than another trip to the ER on a Sunday. We all finally got some much needed rest around 3 pm. I laid Corinne down for her nap and Lincoln and I fell asleep together watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

We all woke up recharged, and I was hopeful that the garlic oil was doing wonders for my child.  We caught part of the second Pirates of the Caribbean after dinner and then headed to bed for the evening.

On Monday the kids and I tried to lay low and let our bodies recoup from lack of sleep.  Lincoln's ears didn't seem to be bothering him that much, so made a trip to the pet store to get Chomper some more food and check out the animals.  Then we headed home for some backyard playtime and more popsicles.

Somewhere in the mix Corinne lost her clothes.  Oh well, one less stain for me to fight later.

Nothing beats the sunshine and a cool treat.

But this riding a trike and eating business is hard work.

Corinne definitely has her father's lizard tongue.

We had an overall good day and I was thankful to finally get caught up on sleep.  Oh, but I spoke too soon.  Monday night was like hell on earth for Lincoln and I.  He went down to bed fine, but about an hour into laying down he woke up screaming.  All I know is that there is a special place in heaven for children with chronic ear infections (and their parents)! Thank God this was a first for us. I can't imagine this being the norm or ever getting used to your kid screaming that he, "wants to cut his ear off" in the middle of the night.  Nothing seemed to help this time around and he was maxed out on his medicine.  I spent most of the night running back and forth between our rooms trying to get him back to sleep, but he was restless, in pain, and angry.  I tried to lay in bed with him, but he tossed and turned so much that I had to retreat back to my own bed.  Finally he came into my bed and I even tried to get him to fall asleep sitting up in my arms, but nothing seemed to cut his pain.  He cried most of the night and my heart was breaking for him.  He said he knew there wasn't anything else I could do, but he felt better next to me.  So we both laid awake and waited for the doctor's office to open up in the morning.  I think I got a grand total of 20 minutes of uninterrupted sleep that night!

We called in sick to speech and headed straight to the doctor's office, then to the pharmacy for some antibiotics.  We gave the "natural" method a good run, but at a certain point it is time to call in the big guns.  Amoxicillin, you are my new best friend.  Thank you for being there for me in my time of need.  Hopefully I will not need you often, so that when I do need you--you can do your job! 

Lincoln spent the morning just sitting in the sun trying to soak up some energy while Corinne rode her trike and I pounded coffee.

We decided to do a Harry Potter marathon on Tuesday afternoon.  Corinne made it through the first one, then I convinced her to take a nap.  Linc and I slept through most of the second movie. 

I made jello that morning in an attempt to give Lincoln another food option.  Both kids decided it was more fun to play with than eat.  We had tried this a few years ago when they were sick with little success, but I was hoping it was just the flavor they didn't like.  It turns out they both hate jello altogether. 

With two doses of my new friend Moxi in him, Lincoln as a new kid.  We wrapped up the night with a viewing of Harry Potter 3. 

Lincoln slept 12 straight hours on Tuesday and we all woke up refreshed.  Jenn was on-call to meet us at Disneyland, depending on how our night went.  The kids were overdue for some serious fun.  And fun we had!

Jenn showed us the Sword in the Stone that we had previously missed on our last 50 visits!  Lincoln was convinced he would be the one to pull it out!

The weather was perfect, so we decided to tackle the 40 minute wait for Peter Pan's Flight.

The ride broke down for a bit, but as we got close the kids were anxious to see the Tic-Toc-Croc!

We hit up Pirates of the Caribbean, then the kids and I rode the steamboat for the first time while Hunter settled in for a nap. 

They enjoyed the top deck views of Tom Sawyer's Island.

Then they did a bit of ship exploring.

Corinne took a break with Jenn and Hunter while Lincoln and I rode Big Thunder Mountain on a fast pass.  Then we headed to Toon Town for the Gadget's Go Coaster.  It was a long line, but they were extremely patient.

Then it was time for the fun to begin.

Corinne knows the thrill is just around the corner.

But Lincoln seems suddenly unsure (odd considering he is a Tower of Terror addict).

Oh wait, this is a good ride!

Here we go!

Almost done!

After Toon Town I let Lincoln pick out his treat for the day (Corinne's was popcorn that we gobbled up in line) and we headed to It's a Small World.  It isn't Lincoln's favorite, but the "ginormous lollipop" helped make it more fun.

Hunter seemed to enjoy his first trip around the world.

Corinne always like spotting her favorite princesses hidden in the singing dolls.

Next we headed to Buzz, where Jenn managed to smash our shooting scores with Hunter in her lap and having to stear the car.  (I think she knows which targets score big points, because no one ever comes close to beating her.)

We grabbed dinner and Hunter took another nap, so the kids and I hopped a ride in a doombuggy at the Haunted Mansion.

We wrapped up the evening by taking Hunter on his first Winnie the Pooh ride, then headed home in no traffic!

We had a great time at Disneyland with Jenn and Hunter.  I think the plan to stick to one park a day is the easiest and most enjoyable.  We typically hop between Disneyland and California Adventureland, but sticking to one cuts down on trying to cut through the crowds with a beast of a stroller.  Lincoln and Corinne were so patient and didn't even fuss about not getting to ride some of their favorites in the other park--but then again they know we will be back in a few weeks for Corinne's birthday! 

We also got a surprise phone call from Nathan while we were there.  It was so nice to hear his voice again, without any sort of delay or lag.  He seems to be doing well, but is ready to come home as soon as he possibly can.  We will be waiting with open arms--just wish we knew when that day was coming.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Quote 1:  All alone in her booster chair with no one around her.

Corinne:  Waving her hand in front of her face with disgust.  "Somebody just tooted.  I don't want to liv in this house ever again."

Me:  "It had to be you my dear.  No one is even in that room and Chomper is outside."

Corinne:  "Oh no, not me!"

She needs to be a bit more sly about not calling herself out.

Quote 2:  When I showed him the jello setting up in the fridge.

Lincoln:  "Gello?  That we eat?  Like the gel we put in my hair?"

Well, they are both blue.

Quote 3:  After our very long night without any sleep.

Lincoln:  "I need to go sit in the sun and get some energy."

Me:  "Oh, like a lizard or snake does?  The sun makes me happy too."

Lincoln:  Completely disgusted that I would call him a snake or lizard.  "No!  I'm a turtle Mom!"

My mistake, I should have known.

Quote 4:  After an unsuccessful tug on King Arthur's sword.

Lincoln:  "I think we should ask Miss Jenn to bring Uncle Warren and all the mans she knows to help pull that sword up.  Yep, that is the plan.  It's a good one, that will work I think."

Worth a shot I guess.

Quote 5:  As we turn the corner and find a bit of a line even with our fast pass.

Me:  "Oh man, we still have to wait a bit."

Lincoln:  "It's okay Mom.  Waiting in line is just part of life.  Without having to wait it wouldn't be as magical."

Ahhh, yes.  Good things come to those who wait.