Hard Evidence...

...that this child seriously needs a full body padded suit every time he steps even just a toe out of his bed!!! He has a goose egg from falling on the sidewalk, two black eyes from Graham throwing a juice cup at him and a scratch on his cheek. Since this picture was taken, he has also added a bloody scrape in the corner of his eye and additional bloody scrapes on the outside of his eye!

The Wrath of the Breastfeeding Gods

Thursday night I had my first (and hopefully last!) run in with mastitis. Oh. My. Gosh. It was MISERABLE. Thursday night at dinner I all of the sudden started to feel really cold and achy. My temp was just under 100 degrees. I assumed I was coming down with something and figured I'd head to bed early and be just fine. Not so. Within a few hours my fever sky rocketed to over 103 degrees. I was feeling BAD! I was covered in goose bumps, shaking and could not get warm. All I could think about was missing Marshall's field trip the next morning and what were we going to do when all six of us got this nasty bug. I was also worried that I might have an infection from the Adiana tubal ligation procedure I had last Monday. (More on that in another post!) Well, early Friday morning I figured out what was going on. When I woke up I had ALL the classic mastitis symptoms. I immediately called my OB and the nurse immediately called in two prescriptions. I'm on antibiotics four times per day for about two weeks. The really fun part of all of all of this is that Robert woke up early Friday morning with vertigo! So, two parents down and four children under the age of five. Not a good combo. I took enough ibuprofen to function so I could go on the field trip and Robert was well enough by late morning to watch Bella Grace. I put in a call of desperation to one of our baby sitters and she came over for the afternoon so I could sleep. I really thought I wasn't going to make it. I just couldn't stop shivering and my fever was not breaking. But, by Saturday afternoon I was feeling better. There's still a lot of pain where the infection and clogged milk duct are, but it's getting better. So, dear breastfeeding gods, PLEASE let this be my first and only run in with mastitis. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!

Miss Pretty

Well, this post is really about nothing- just an update of pics of my Miss Pretty. She is almost 10 weeks old!! How did that happen?!? Bella Grace is such a good girl. Sleeps well, eats well, doesn't fuss too much. Well, except for when she's tired, hungry or over stimulated. The over stimulated thing is just a hazard of being the fourth child and having three older brothers!! But, all and all, she is just precious. :)

Sleeping through P&G Day at Kings Islands on Sept. 18, 2010

Marshall just loves his baby sister!!

All the cool newborns wear silly bands, right mom?!?

Her brothers insist that she wear them on a daily basis!

Patrick is SO sweet to Bella Grace! He is reading her his

Turtle magazine. He is definitely a great big brother!

Sleeping through our Labor Day party.

She just about always sleeps with her right

hand up by her face. Funny thing is, that's how

she was in all of my ultrasounds from 12 weeks

on and it's even how she decided to be born!!!

Graham thought that Bella Grace needed some toys

while she was peacefully sleeping in her swing. All

three week old babies need Duplos, right? Graham continues

to adjust to loosing his spot as the baby of the family.

He will always be one of my babies. :)

My Version of a Good Day

Yes, today has been a good day. A great day, in fact. Yesterday, notsomuch. We won't go there. But, TODAY, the boys woke up in half way decent moods, ate their breakfast (without complaining they wanted something else!) They managed to get dressed (without any major temper tantrums or me putting the wrong clothes on the wrong child!) We were on time to school (and I even remembered to pack lunches since they stay late for Spanish class. Forgot their Spanish books, though!) Graham, Bella Grace and I headed to the gym and I got a great run in (and managed to have time to shower before leaving!) Graham and I had a great lunch date that involved Happy Meals (while Bella Grace peacefully slept in the booth!) We also had friends come over to play for a short bit (without too many "You have to take turns" discussions!) Bella Grace went down for her afternoon nap very well (in her crib!) My children have not yet covered themselves in dirt from the backyard that requires a hose down before entering the house (they have, however, been pulling the fluffy lining that coats the inside of my couch cushions out!) This, my friends, has so far been a fabulous day. Funny thing? It also is following a night where I slept from 9:30pm until 6:30am. Amazing what a little sleep can do for a momma!!

Manual Labor

This is my version of entertaining three little boys while attempting to keep this disaster of a house clean!! They will spend 30-45 minutes vacuuming. I love it! It is also my way of *hopefully* teaching them that this house does NOT clean itself. No, the Cleaning Fairy does not live next door to the Tooth Fairy! Now, I have a reason to justify my compulsion to purchase vacuums ALL THE TIME. YES!! And, even better is that here pretty soon Bella Grace will be old enough to vacuum and I'll just HAVE to purchase another vacuum! That just totally makes my day. :)

It's JUST a WALK!!

Yeah, so last night's little trip to return a neighbor's crock pot that she made us a fabulous dinner in (thanks Liz!) ended just like every 'little' trip/adventure/errand I plan at the wrong time of the day. First, Patrick has a melt down because HE wants to carry the crock pot. I tell him it's too heavy. He doesn't believe me. I let him try to carry it (not smart, mom!) and he almost drops it because it IS to heavy. I catch the crock pot. Disaster avoided. We successfully return the crock pot. Our great neighbors come out to visit for a moment before we head in for bed. The kids are blissfully playing in the front yard and on the sidewalk. Life is good. Not for long, though. Marshall falls in the sidewalk and gets a HUGE goose egg on his forehead and rightfully so, melts down. Our neighbor grabs ice and some arnica gel (miraculous stuff, people!) and we get Marshall settled down. Before I blink Patrick trips and skins hes knee. It's bleeding and he's freaking out. Just in time for Bella Grace to wake up and fuss in her stroller. Awesome. But, we made it home, everyone made it in their pj's, brushed their teeth, Bella Grace settled down and Marshall did not start vomiting or acting funny. Whew! A trip back to Children's avoided! By 7:15pm everyone was sound asleep. Just in time for daddy to come home. Oh, the excitement never ends!

Finding Time...

...for the blog. And, a whole bunch of other things. But, the blog is one I am going to devote some time to. All three of the boys have given up their naps. Yes, GIVEN UP naps. AHHHHH!!! This is throwing me for a loop. A BIG loop. Nap time was when I got things done around this place. It was also when I tried to write my blog posts. So much is going on around here that I want to document so that we always remember it. And, so that it gets printed at the end of the year when I have the blog printed! I am not a baby book or a scrap book kind of person, so the printed blog is my substitute. So, one of my goals is to devote an hour or so every Tuesday and Thursday to the blog while our baby sitter is here. And, I'll even put up pictures!! So, hold me to it guys! :)

Daddy Needs a Big Bicycle

According to Marshall, Daddy needs a bicycle. Not just any bicycle, but a big one and it must match Marshy's. Why? So they can ride together!!! SO sweet, my little Marshy-moo! :) Marshall informed me of this on the way home from school yesterday. Out of the blue. And, he was sobbing by dinner time because he had wanted me to call daddy at work and tell him and then pile in the car to go to the "bicycle store." He has his sweet little heart set on getting a bike for his daddy! And, only daddy. Not me, Patrick, Graham or Bella Grace. We'll have to see about the bicycle for daddy. This whole desire of his also started the conversation about just because we want things we do not simply go to the store that very moment and buy them. Sometimes we have to wait, sometimes we have to earn the privilege to buy things we want. Didn't go over so well with the 3 year old in my house!!! We'll see, though. Maybe with some good behavior, helping more with picking up our toys and listening to mommy and daddy we might be able to arrange a trip to the "bicycle store" (aka Target or Wal-mart!) to purchase a bicycle for daddy. And, a helmet, too! A nice Cars helmet to match Marshy's! Daddy just can't wait! :)

Lots of Posts and It's My Birthday!!!

So, I've got a back log of blog posts that are half complete in my draft folder. Someday they will make it to the actual blog. I promise!! From Bella Grace's birth story to Patrick's birthday to Graham's birthday to the first day of school. I will finish them. Eventually.

But, there is one little tid bit I just have to post because it occurs daily and makes Robert and I laugh every day. Graham got a truck for his birthday that came with a power drill so you can take apart the truck and put it back together. The big boys helped me wrap it for Graham- after they played with it for an hour!! When Graham opened it he was in LOVE!! But, his brothers wanted to take it from him and play with it. So, I told them that it was Graham's birthday and it was his present so he got to play with it first. They had already had plenty of time to play with it when they helped wrap it while Graham was napping. Graham quickly caught on and every time they tried to take his truck he would say, "But it's MY birthday!" It was pretty funny.

Fast forward to now. Graham is STILL saying, "It's MY birthday!!" every time he wants something they have or if they try to take something he is playing with. It's hilarious!! With all these birthdays Graham keeps having he's got to be at least 100 years old by now! If all else fails, tell 'em it's your birthday.... :)