Smooth as pie!!!

That is my answer if you were to ask me how things run at MY house. 


Because I would never want you to think that it is hard work to balance the lives of 4 kids, a husband and a dog. Not to mention ME. I am high maintenance you know.


And really, sometimes the dog IS a lot of work...like when he wants to go for a walk. Or you accidentally say "walk".  There is no recovering from that one. Plus, Hank does NOT like Monkey's pace. Monkey walks soooo ssslllloooowwww. He has no "hurry" speed on walks. Sorry, that was totally off subject and not related to anything.


Anyway. Things here are Smooth as PIE! Or I wish I was eating pie. It's one or the other. You decide :)


We are enjoying a wonderful spring after that shocking day of Winter that we had. Ya know, the snow. This is how Agent P feels about snow:

Obviously he knows me all to well. See the sad faces on the Mom? That's me. I am a fair weathered Mama and he knows I would rather be inside with him watching others play in the snow. But really, we did have that time recently where it was winter for like 4 days straight. It was ri-dic-u-lous!


So, a 10 highlights from the weeks past:


1. Monkey got a cough then a fever for 3-4 days then Monkey got Walking Pneumonia. I asked if it was contagious, cuz that is what a Mama of more than one child says. Pediatrician said "No". Thank goodness.


2. Got home from Pediatrician's office (literally) to Mini P running fever with her cough. 3 days of 102 fever later off to Urgent Care because it was of course Sunday - she had Walking Pneumonia. Thank goodness it is not contagious. That would have been unfortunate.


3. Agent P has started Tball. Oh the joys of going from watching a 13 year old playing to an almost 6 year old (and his teammates of ages 4-6). Wow, so glad that is not one of the biggest challenges of my life. What a relief. Since my sweet husband and I help with the team.


4. Of the 12 Tball games Agent P plays - 6 conflict with A-Dogs. Nice. That will be interesting.

5. We started cleaning out the garage. I know, you are in shock. It's not done....it's an ongoing project. But we did start. It's a mess.


6. I lost a critical part of my small stick vacuum (the part that holds the little filter thing on). This has led to some unreasonably dirty parts of my house and an uprising of the dust bunnies. Yes, it is true I could use other vacuuming tools (such as the large vacuum or heck, even a broom in the kitchen). But I don't wanna. So, things are going downhill in that area. Plus, the part is on back order because apparently lots of other people lost that part too.


7. My twins have discovered the game closet. Connect 4, Upwords, Scrabble, Clue -they are taken out every single day. That has increased our clean up time significantly.


8. It is Spring Break! It will be full of Spring Cleaning, fun field trips, lazy days and wearing PJs. Likely I will only get to participate in Spring Cleaning and fun field trips.


9. The Pool. Not done.  Here is where it stands: waiting on fence guy. Once that is up, they can clean out the trash that they keep putting at the bottom of the pool (gross water, pieces of tile, paper, cigarette butts...) and prepare for plaster. After plaster - in goes water.  Wonder how long it will take to hose fill a huge pool. Don't worry, I will time it for you! I will not spare you that detail I assure you.


10. I've got nothing. Shock I know.

Cheers!

Snow in the Desert!

After reading the title you may be thinking to yourself...wasn't that like...almost 2 weeks ago? Not quite friends, it was merely 10 days ago. I am not THAT far behind. But, each year here in the desert, we get 1 snow fall without fail. Sometimes it is December and once it was even mid-March.  So, here it is. Our 1.5-2.0 inch snow fall extravaganza. 

Yes. In PJs and rain boots. It's all we have. :)

I cannot explain this. In shorts and sandals. I promise, he owns clothes.

Mini P hitting ADog with a snowball

And yes, even Hank enjoyed it!

If you are wondering about the orange fencing and random construction - remember, the pool? I will get you an update soon. It is getting closer, but seems to be taking longer than it should :)

He gets it!

Last night I drove A-Dog to baseball practice...just the 2 of us.


When we pulled up I said:


"I'm going to get a beverage at Starbucks, I'll be right back"


He says:


"You think because you drove me to practice, you should get a reward?"


Yup.


Yup I do.


It was not an easy task to leave a couple of sick kids home with daddy (1 is not)...all needing a shower, dirty dishes all over the counter, toys all over the floor....


But I DID IT! 


And I should be rewarded :)...or something. 


Plus, it was going to be like 48 degrees with a bit of wind at practice...and if I was going to make it until 8pm, I needed a warm drink.


(Hey, come on - my sweet husband did the EXACT same thing to me Sunday night(left me with the house in total shambles....but I'm pretty sure he didn't get a reward...but the practice HE went to got moved indoors, that is reward enough!)

Less is more?

If less is more, is it OK to have less more often? I suppose more or less it could be...


Thanks to Starbucks' price increase, I've had to either go longer in between drinks or buy a smaller size.  My Mocha is a reward for my survival. Raising 4 kids can be very stressful (and even when it isn't, I still reward myself). 


Honestly I only get 1-2 a week, so it's  not like I over indulge. It IS 10 miles to Starbucks and no where near my neighborhood, so I make up reasons to go to Target (which houses a Starbucks) or run errands near one with a drive thru.


So, what started out as a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with candy, cards, Valentine's hugs and a trip to Target - came crashing down on me as soon as we got home.


Agent P spent his $1 on a new Hot Wheel.


Which he dropped in the potty.


While he was pooping. (please don't ask me how this could possibly happen. I really don't know. I've tried imagining it and it is too much for this mama to handle)


And I had to retrieve it.


With poop in the potty.


Thank goodness I have gloves.


Did I mention there was poop in the potty?


I hope you were not eating lunch or anything while you read this...


I have no photos of the event.


Again, you are welcome.


And I may have to drive back to Starbucks. And reward myself. Again.

Dodged a bucket

After a couple puke sessions over night on Monday - yesterday did NOT bring more stomach flu.


It brought one more kid with Strep Throat.


YAY! 


It is sad that I am very happy about that, but I am.


I don't appreciate that Strep often brings a bit of puke, but it is easier to manage than every 30 minutes of vomit!


So, 2 out of 4 kids with Strep - and enough antibiotic between the 2 bottles to treat 3 kids. How sweet is that?


Now, if we can get thru it quickly, so we can leave the house again.....

Stomach flu, you are not my friend.

I thought it was a simple cough.

My sweet husband had just gone into their room and covered them back up. Literally, 30 seconds later Monkey was coughing. Then he cried a bit. So, I reluctantly got out of my warm bed and ventured into the room. Thinking he needed a drink or something, I took no precautions to grab my glasses or turn on a light.

He wanted a "tissue for his mouth". Ok, not a problem. But, then I got closer. 

Oh for the love of....what on earth...eeeewwwww.

Really?

At 10pm? 

Does the stomach virus have some sort of time table it is required to keep? Some law against starting up prior to people GOING TO BED??? OR SLEEPING???

So, I scooped him up and took him to my sweet husband so he could get cleaned up.

And I went back into the toxic zone to assess damages. (note to self - a full body radiation suit is a good investment for this task). Not good. Down side of bed, on floor, in slats of toddler bed. Lovely.

I think I singed my nose hairs with the pungent aroma of puke. I am still smelling it.

My hands will smell for days. Even after scrubbing them. 12 times.

My washer has been running since last night.

Why couldn't he just get Strep throat like Agent P (who started antibiotics for that yesterday)? Although, puking often goes with Strep, so I just don't know.

Just to be safe, here is the letter I've composed.

Dear Mr. Stomach Flu ("Mr." because no mama would allow this in her house), 

We cannot be friends. You cannot come over to our house anymore. We do not like the way you play, and frankly, we do not like the way you smell. 

You are a nuisance and a disruption to our normally chaotic life. You interfere with the laundry 'schedule' and may cause certain somebodies to dig jeans out of the dirty pile again (I admit, last weeks laundry debacle was not your fault, but I'm just sayin'.)

Goodbye. Stay away. And please, I'm begging you - LEAVE THE REST OF US ALONE.

OH - and I didn't add any photos.


You're welcome.

Taking the plunge!

This is what we woke up to yesterday. According to my weather station....

Do you see it? 12.9 degrees, 13 mph wind and -1 with wind chill???


I know some of you might be thinking "girl, you don't even KNOW what cold is!"


It is true. I'm the biggest of wimps. I grab a jacket if I know it will be under 70 degrees. 


Go ahead mock me if you must. Others do.


But even my windows didn't appreciate this temperature plunge.

This is ICE the INSIDE of my window in the kitchen.

I will look back on this day as a 100 year old record broken, coldest day of my life and the day I almost let my 5 year old skip school because I didn't want to leave the house to take him to the bus stop (by then it was 19 degrees, 10 degrees with wind chill).


I will also remember it as the day they started digging up our backyard for our POOL!


So, if we ever said it would be a cold day in you know where before we get a pool, that happened yesterday, hence the pool. Just kidding, we've been talking about a real pool for a couple years. Really, I swear!

Summer is just around the corner...I think.