Baby Bertha

Our neighbors and friends came over for a BBQ Saturday night.  After it got dark the kids went inside and played in the basement while the adults talked politics in the living room.  The babysitter had come over around 9pm as she was spending the night so we could ride bikes in the morning.  She was in the basement with the kids when we heard Big Will start screaming and crying. I got up and asked if everything was fine.  She said he was fine. One of the other kids said he fell down the stairs. He seemed fine after he calmed down.  Saturday night he cried and moaned all night. It isn't uncommon for him to cry/moan in his sleep when he's excessively tired as he seems to sleep worse on these particular nights.  And since the kids didn't get to bed until 10:30pm it didn't seem too odd.  

Andrew and I got up and went bike riding Sunday morning and when we got home the babysitter told me about how he couldn't walk when he got up.  He was hobbling a lot or refusing to walk or crawling. Andrew took him to Loyola Immediate Care.  The X-Rays showed there was no break but the dr explained to Andrew that the bones in a kids foot aren't like the bones in an adult foot.  A child's foot can absorb more impact b/c their bones aren't as compact to leave room for growth.  

He still wasn't walking Monday or Tuesday.  I called to get an appt with an orthopedic dr Tuesday morning and they got me in for Wednesday.  

My friend gave me a chocolate croissant as a "this could be really rough" gift.  I ate it and loved every morsel. 

 Wednesday comes around. He walks/limps to our bedroom but I think this is an improvement. I consider not taking him to the appointment. I sent a text to Grandma D for the tie breaking vote (b/c Andrew thought I still needed to take him). She said take him.  So I took him...and Cate. Mistake. Big Mistake.  Two of them trapped in a drs office for an hour about did us all in.  There was lots of screaming and yelling by all of us.  The nurses eventually brought the kids highlighters, stickers, and papers. Cate ended up taking a nice bite out of the tip of the highlighter..that was awesome.

The resident came in. Will screamed at him. Told him his whole foot hurt when the resident pushed on it but it clearly didn't hurt him b/c he didn't flinch at all.  And he answered yes before the question was asked.  I was thrilled b/c we'd waited 45 minutes for him to get to our room. I was sure we were going to be walking out very soon. He had to go talk to his boss (the actual dr) and when they came back she told us the exact same things that the dr Sunday told Andrew about the bones in a kids foot.

The doctor said that over 50% of all broken bone cases with kids show no broken bones until 10 days after the break.  They casted it as a precaution (I guess) and we have another appointment for next Tuesday. On Tuesday we will go back (without Cate) and get the cast taken off, X-Rayed again and determine if it's actually broken.

He sat still and watched cautiously the entire time.  The doctor told me that he was probably that serious and cautious as a child. I guess we should continue to fund his college fund. 

He picked a blue cast.  No one is surprised by this.  After they put the cast on they got us a baby walking boot so he can walk, run and jump.  They said he should be moving around in no time.  He's struggling with it right now. He just keeps screaming at me and telling me he wants it off now.  I keep telling him I can't take it off.  It could be an interesting week.  For everyone.

No theme...just pictures.

The bat mask is back at McD's. 

I found Cate on the cabinet shelf one day just helping herself to some shredded cheese.

 My new goal is to put the kids to work. No more easy living around here.

Vacuuming the car. I just remembered it needs vacuumed again.  Sounds like a great afternoon project. 

 Destroying a cookie.

Miss M wasn't ready to go to bed one night after we'd put down the little two.  She got to stay up and watch the iPad for hours while we sat on the couch, ate dinner, and watched a movie.  If we wouldn't have heard the iPad we may have forgotten she was there b/c she didn't move the entire time.

 Playing at the park b/c who doesn't want some fresh air.

 After we'd gotten enough fresh air we went inside to say hi to the fish at the library.

 Hazel loves giving kisses.  Even when they aren't wanted.

 Just playing with water shooters...without pants.

 Miss M asked me to put her hair in a pony tail. It was awesome.  She looked so grown up.  The front part doesn't fit in the pony tail very well but it was adorable.  Big Will wore his daddy shirt and so Miss M calls this picture her mom and dad picture.

 Just scooting along.

We dog sat for cousin Katy and Sean.  Porter is about the best dog I have ever met. He doesn't make me want a dog. Not a chance.  But we were more than happy to help and keep him for a couple hours.  Miss M was in charge of Porter and I think she liked dog sitting b/c she likes to boss people around.  She could boss Porter around without much push back.

Will made sure Porter was properly hydrated by spraying the hose.  Cate was initially scared of Porter but eventually came around and wanted to throw the ball to him.

I bought Andrew a bike trailer for Christmas. He took the kids for a spin Sunday evening.  I think the kids really liked it and he only had to tell them to keep their hands to themselves a few dozen times.

The kids and I loaded up the car one day b/c we needed out of the house.  We packed up to go to the zoo.  We were able to spend about four hours at the zoo before we had to head back home. The kids were awesome. They rode when they needed to ride. They stayed with me. They didn't fight. They were just happy running from exhibit to exhibit and seeing the animals.  It makes me want to plan trips for everyday.  I could use a little less fighting in my life.

The hippo was very playful while we were there. He usually hangs out at the back of the exhibit and eats lettuce.  On this day he was swimming and coming right up to the glass. Miss M thought it was awesome and it really was awesome.

FLW Race '16

I signed Andrew and the kids up for the FLW race again this year.  Last year Miss M ran the race and it was a gorgeous day.  This year Big Will was eligible to run and the weather was awful. It was so cold, damp and windy.  

Miss M was the the 5 year old race this year which was the furthest distance race before they move to the mile race! They did some stretches with the kids before the big race. 

 Lined up and ready to roll.

 Big Will and a friend from gymnastics class ran the 2 year old race.

 Elmo was at the finish line!

 Andrew dominated the race.

I don't have much to say about the race this year. We didn't stay very long.  The kids just complained how cold they were the entire time.

Hair, Hair, Everywhere

All the babies are getting hair.  Some have more than others.  

If they both were naked could you tell which one was which.  Probably not.

Which is why Big Will got a haircut the very next day!!! He watched Thomas on the tv and didn't move.  We were in and out in ten minutes.  Boom.

And now he's all trimmed up and looks so grown up.

And yet again, he has no pants on.

A long time coming

I have no idea how long Andrew has been working for C&C. I just know it feels like a long time.  It probably feels longer to him.  

As of April 1, 2016 it became official that Andrew is now a partner at the law firm. It was a very exciting day as his hard work, dedication, hair loss and long nights have paid off.  We are so proud of him and would like to start seeing him at home a little more (which is not likely to happen anytime soon).  

We got a babysitter and went to dinner to celebrate the occasion.  We went to Oak & Char (his selection) and had a nice dinner then cruised back to OP and went out for a glass of wine.  We ended the night early bc we are old and tired (and the kids still wake up before us).  

A big Congratulations to Andrew for making all his dreams come true :)

Naked kids.

Miss M has been watching copious amounts of Doc McStuffins b/c she wants to work on her babysitting skills. Here she is trying to read to Cate and get her to go to bed.  Cate wasn't anymore cooperative about bed with Miss M than she is with me. I was really disappointed b/c I thought I might score some free time back in my life. 

Just hanging out in his underwear and boots.  Usually he doesn't have underwear on.  Will was sick with strep throat a couple weeks ago.  I couldn't pin point the date if I had to. I found it the most opportune time to potty train him. I had talked to his teachers the week before at conferences about his lack of desire to use a toilet. They had always told me to look for a window of opportunity b/c once the window closes then I had to wait until it opened again. I was saying how he was showing no interest and they told me I might need to pry the window open.  So I took a crow bar and did just that.

Will was laying on the kitchen floor with one leg crossed over the other watching me put the new garbage liner in  when I told him on Thursday that he was almost out of diapers and when he ran out of diapers he needed to start wearing underwear.  He responded with "okay - just let me know". I decided then that we were out of diapers.  I think we had less than a half dozen left so it's like being out of diapers.  I threw him in some underwear and he was set.  He picked it up quick. He had some issues at first with getting to the toilet on time but he figured it out easily.

A week into the potty training adventure he decided he wanted to pee standing up. So this is what we do now everywhere we go.  He does a pretty good job of paying attention but it's still early in the peeing adventures.  Whenever he has to go to the bathroom he finds it necessary to completely remove his underwear and pants and not put them back on which leads to a lot of yelling. I don't need Cate in his business checking out his parts and I don't need his bare butt rubbing all over my house.  

At least he has unders on to go with his stink eye face.  Who knows why he's sassing me this time. He's learning a lot from the oldest one. It's a joy.

The kids are obsessed with the space heaters in the rooms.  They turn them on full blast whenever we're upstairs. I am constantly running around shutting them off. They get so hot.  They like to turn them on and get warm while they dry off from their bath. Cate has started doing it. She likes to stick her little rump in the heater and get warm.  

She thinks it's hilarious.  She also thinks it's hilarious to run around without a diaper. It's all fun and games until there's pee on the floor.  I often tell myself that one day my house won't smell of pee and hidden dirty diapers. I dream of those days.

She's flexing her muscles here.  She likes to show us her muscles when we ask the bigger ones to show us theirs.  She often looks like she might explode.  

We need summer to get here. Nakedness is much more acceptable when it's not snowing outside.  Our neighbors are in for a treat with Will's desire to pee in the backyard all summer.

Easter Palooza 2016

Easter fell early this year. The end of March to be exact. This is not desirable when considering the possibility of having 8 kids ages five and under running amok in your house.  Thankfully the weather was once again wonderful. We shoved them outside to hunt for 178 eggs (probably more b/c I stopped counting) and made them play where we couldn't hear them screaming at each other  

I filled so many eggs. They don't need 178+ eggs but the squirrels found a few dozen before we started I am pretty sure.  

This is how Will feels most of the time.

Cate hunted eggs before the egg hunt started. I think she scored approximately 17 pieces of candy before I finally cut her off and took her inside where there was no accessible candy.

The Easter Bunny brought the kids a few toys and Will got a mini sand box. He loves a good construction site.

A little break to consume some loot.

The rain looked as though it was going to start coming down a bit after we had sat down for lunch so everyone ran to pick up all the food/drinks/toys/chair cushions and take them to safety.  This worked out pretty good in Andrew and I's favor because it was less clean up that would have otherwise not happened.  Muhaha - jokes on the friends!