Sick of being sick

We are on day 9 of illness in this house. Ugh! It started last weekend.

After a very fun day playing outside in the water, Rachel had a fever at bed time. She went to sleep just fine and I wondered if she was just tired or overheated from the day's activities. At around 11 that night, she woke up and threw up all over herself and her crib. Poor baby. I ended up having to put her in the pack in play portable crib in our bedroom. (And I kicked myself for not having extra water proof mattress covers.) Well, I wanted her near me anyway. The next day, she had a fever but then seemed fine by Monday.

I was happy that no one else got sick because our friends were babysitting the girls for Bob and I so we could go out for dinner. I cherish those rare nights when he and I get to "date."

That night, poor little Morgan woke up throwing up all over herself. She woke me up around 1am. I heard her crying and saying, "it's okay, it's okay." She was so upset, and I felt so bad for her. She was in there comforting herself by saying it was okay. My heart breaks just thinking about it. So she spent the night with us in our room.

On Tuesday, Sophia had a fever and her stomach flu was coming out of the other end. Morgan's fever went up to almost 103. It was a pretty awful day. By Wednesday, I thought we were over it all. Then Rachel started coughing and having a runny nose. By Friday morning, our whole house was sick again. I even had a fever that neared 102 ish. Bob and I have really had it rough all weekend. I'm sure all parents would understand how hard it is to take care of sick kids when you're sick yourself. The sleepless nights and fussy days.... Just blah!

In other news, remember when we had to spend a ridiculous amount to replace our oven/microwave wall unit last January? Turns out it was a $2,400 mistake. Our new oven started doing the same thing the old one did. It would just run out of power and die. Long story short.... It has everything to do with the circuit breaker box or whatever the heck it's called. We called the electrician who lives across the street and apparently this has been an issue in most of the homes on our street. He's had to do upgrades to several of our neighbors' homes. So tomorrow our power is going to be off for 6 hours while the replacement/upgrade is being done. This issue also explains why our three year old dryer has been taking almost 2 hours to dry clothes lately. Our electricity bill has also skyrocketed in the last few months. All of our appliances have been running longer because of the shortage of power to them. Isn't home ownership grand? HA!

I'm just hoping that the girls are all on the mend. It's been a lonnnnnnng week and I'm ready to have my healthy happy girls back. I'm doing a lot better myself. Bob still has a pretty awful cough, but hopefully it will be better soon too.

In happier news...... I'm proud to say I have lost 29 pounds in the last 8 weeks. Working out with a trainer and knowing he is keeping me on track, has made all the difference to me. Today I zipped up a pair of jeans that haven't fit me since before I got pregnant. I still want to lose another 30 pounds so I have a long way to go. I missed my work out session on Saturday morning due to being sick so that was a bummer. I'm hoping to be able to go tomorrow. It will depend on my cough and if my sore throat is gone. I'm so OVER being sick.

It's JUNE, not flu season. Apparently, we missed the memo that flu season is over. I say flu since we all had fevers. But... I'm not a doctor so who knows. Plus, we all had flu shots. Grrr... either way, I hate it when we're all sick.

Boring.....

I am really not doing a good job at this "blogging every day in June thing" that I wanted to do. Oh well. By the time I get the girls bathed and in bed, I'm exhausted. Then I have to wash dishes and clean up a bit, not to mention try and get loads and loads of laundry folded. Oh the life of a mommy. haha....

The good news... I'm down 23 pounds since my pre-op surgery appointment. I've been sticking to my healthy diet and exercise regimen for the past 6 weeks. I've had maybe 5 "cheat" meals where I've splurged, but I have been getting right back on track the next meal. I used to let one cheat meal throw me off for weeks at a time, and of course that is why I gained so much over the last year. So I'm feeling pretty darn good right now. It's a nice change! I just feel so much healthier. Also, here's a record... I haven't had a coke since May 5th!

We're enjoying a break from therapy. It's kind of nice not having specific plans each week. We were able to make it to one of the play dates today that my multiples group has each month. We usually always miss it because of our busy schedule, so it was nice to get out and have some fun. Morgan is such a stealth little thief though. She stole my friend's son's snack and sippy cup and took off with them. Stinker... She also took a hat from another little boy. I think I need to step up her time outs at home when she takes things from Rachel or Sophia. She just doesn't do it very often at home. It's usually when we're out of the house. I need to keep an extra eye on her. Sophia took a little time to warm up to the play area we were in, but once she did, she was unstoppable. I was really proud of the girls for climbing to the highest spot on the play structure and going down the big slide. Okay, I was proud but terrified they would fall at the same time. Thankfully, the majority of the moms there were from our club so we all keep an eye out for each other's kiddos.

Time for me to get some sleep. My trainer has been kicking my ass lately and I have an appointment with him tomorrow. I must say though.... I love that I am getting out of the house and that I get to take a little time to do something just for me!

Day at the Zoo

I can't believe it's been a year since our last trip to the zoo. I packed us a picnic and headed out this morning. We met my mom and niece there, and we all had a really fun time. 

Morgan was really excited to be there. She kept saying hi to all the animals. "Hi giraffe," "Hi monkey," she'd say while waving with excitement. Oh she was just the cutest little thing!

Sophia didn't like being contained in the wagon very much, so since it was three on three, we let her run around a lot. She was happiest when she was free to roam. She seemed to like the smaller animals the best. She even said "ink ink" when looking at the flamingos. That's how she says "pink."

Here are Morgan and Rachel looking at....um.... I don't remember!

 I think the duck pond and flamingo area was the girls' favorite. We walked by it several times, and each time they wanted to stop and check out the action. I think they liked that the ducks would come really close to them. They had a pretty good view from their level. 

Here we are taking a little snack break. I'm such a proud Mommy!

I'm really pleased the girls did so well today. Sophia had some moments of being not so happy, but what 2 year old is happy all the time?! We're going to spend a lot more time at the zoo. I bought a family membership today and splurged a little. I got the membership that gets us in as many times as we want for a year as well as 2-3 guests depending on whether or not Daddy joins us. That way, we can always bring along a friend (aka helper) or two. We also got 20 passes for the train and merry go round with our membership. Not too bad! So I plan to make a lot of zoo memories in the next year!

Today was also special because it's our five year wedding anniversary!  Since we were sick all week, we didn't get a babysitter in time for us to make plans to go anywhere. We ended up getting some sushi take out and watching a movie. (Shh don't tell my trainer about the sushi!) It was a perfect ending to a really nice day. There's just something about the way I have been feeling lately. I'm finally not in pain all the time and am really enjoying life and taking time to see all the blessings God has given me and my family. It's a good place to be!

Sick in June

So not cool.....

I had to miss my neice's high school graduation yesterday because I have the plague.

Okay, it's not the plague, but it's a pretty awful cold.

Sophia has been coughing during the night, but seems to be just fine during the day.

Morgan has a little runny nose and Rachel shows no sign of illness.

Here's to hoping they don't get the cold like I have it.

Today is day 3..... I'm really hoping I feel better tomorrow. It's a long day taking care of the girls when I feel like crap.

I'd have some cheese with my whine.... but cheese isn't on my diet. HA!

Kicking butt and losing weight...

So I wasn't going to admit this, but after "coming out" and telling some of my girlfriends tonight, I think I can share this now. The big news????

For the past two weeks, I've been working out with a personal trainer. I know.. It seems a little silly that I wanted to keep it a secret at first. For the past two years, I have been packing on the pounds and failing every time I try to lose weight. I have been complaining for months about how fat I was getting and I think Bob was a little tired of me complaining about it all the time.

So as a Mother's Day, birthday, and anniversary present (because they are all within one month of each other), he bought me a 12 week package with a personal trainer in a private studio. There just wasn't any way that I was going to step foot into a gym with other people right now.

I'm so thankful that Bob did this for me. I really need to be held accountable and have someone push me harder than I push myself. Now I have someone who is not my friend or family member who knows how much I weigh and exactly what my measurements are. You can't cheat when you have that kind of motivation. Plus, this was an amazing gift that Bob gave me so I'm not going to mess around and not drop the pounds!

I'm very happy to say that I've lost 20 pounds since my surgery. 10 of those pounds have been lost in the last 2 weeks while working with the trainer. I am starting week 3 with him this week. I'm lifting weights and doing exercises that I would never push myself to do. I thought my "at home treadmill work outs" were hard, but they are nothing compared to what my trainer has me do. It's been an interesting experience so far. I'll be honest. There are some days I'd rather sit on my butt and not work out. However, we paid for 12 weeks in advance that keeps me accountable. I am going to show up for every scheduled work out!

I go for 3 one hour sessions a week and then work out 2 days a week on my own. Now that I don't have abdominal pain anymore, I am feeling so much healthier. I just know that THIS IS IT.

This time, I am really going to stick to it and reach my weight loss goal. Go me!

You say it's your birthday....

Well, it actually is my birthday today. I can't believe I'm 29. HAHAHA... Okay, I'm 35.

Sophia gave me a special gift for my birthday. For some reason, the girls wouldn't settle down at nap time. I was surprised since, for the last week, they've been napping like perfect little angels. About an hour into nap, I heard jumping on the bed..... then I heard a very loud THUMP.

Of course, I knew exactly what that thump was. I hadn't heard it in our own home before, but lots of my friends have told me about the sound. I opened the door to their room and Sophia was crying really hard and getting up off of the floor. She had somehow climbed and then fell out of her crib. I'm sure there was nothing graceful about it. Thankfully, she is fine. Bob and I decided to give up on nap for the day since no one was sleeping.

Because today is my birthday, my mom and step-dad came over in the afternoon/early evening so that we could go on a date. It was a nice relaxing break that was much needed. We drove downtown to our favorite Spanish restaurant. The wine was excellent and the food was even better. It was a really great way to spend the day together.

After our dinner, we went to an electronics store. We were on the hunt for a camera we could mount on the girls' bedroom wall. We ended up buying one and plan to install it tomorrow. I know it's not going to stop Sophia from climbing out, but we want to be able to see if she tries. I might be in denial, but this might have been a one time thing. She once climbed over the back of our couch and fell really hard. She hasn't gone anywhere near that high on the couch since. I'm hoping she scared herself enough not to do it again........at least any time soon. I'm not ready to move them into toddler beds. I know toddler beds are not too far off, I am just not ready for that step.

We still weren't ready to go home, so we continued shopping. If you know my hubby, then you know he hates shopping. And I mean.. he HATES it.... So I was surprised that he agreed to go into Target with me.

He ended up cracking me up. We went to Target because today was the last day to get a free $5 gift card when you buy big packs of Huggies. I had to do my usual stock up on overnight diapers during this sale. Well, we went in for the diapers and ended up buying out the whole store. Bob decided we needed to finally replace our printer/scanner that hasn't worked in months. Then he decided we needed new phones..... which we actually did. Our current home phone system drops calls and are impossible to answer because you hit the on button and the phones just die. We also ended up with a new larger swimming pool for the girls. It should be big enough for us to sit in too. Then of course we had to get some new drawer organizers because I'm finally going to get all plastic sippy cups off of my kitchen counters.We ended up having a lot of fun shopping together. Mr. Never Shops.... bought a lot of electronics and stuff today. Maybe I should take him with me more often.

We got home around 7pm and since the girls didn't nap, we immediately got them ready for bed. I was so worried Sophia may jump again, so I ended up sitting outside of their bedroom door until they fell asleep. Thankfully, they were all asleep by 8 and no one tried any funny stuff!

Here's to hoping they don't try to escape their cribs in the morning.

Goodnight.....

Wow.... I'm 35.

Summer break

So much for my goal of posting every day in June. I totally forgot yesterday and didn't remember until almost midnight, and by that time, I was ready for sleepy town. Oh well....

We are officially on summer break for all of the girls' therapies. Well, with the exception of Rachel having the behaviorist come twice a week to work on her with her eating issues. Honestly, I'm ready to kick the whole food therapy thing to the curb. It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I like her "eating therapy team." They are really great with her and truly have her best interest at heart. However, I just don't see progress. It's increasingly frustrating because she gets so upset and will not give in and try anything. I know she's hungry too. She seems like she wants to eat, but she just won't let herself do it. She just cries. It's awful to watch. I know we should continue the therapy (and we will), but it's just so.....um..I hate it. Also, we had cancelled her autism evaluation earlier this month. Our case worker came over for a meeting and saw Rachel. So between our case worker and the therapists that were here that day, we decided she is certainly not likely on the spectrum. But now the evaluation is going to be rescheduled because the food therapy team would like to at least rule out. I could really just use a break from it all.........I think Rachel could too.

So now that we're on a break from the majority of the therapies, I need to figure out how to fill our days. We're buying a membership to our local zoo, so I'm excited to spend a lot of time there with the girls. Now only if the weather would improve!

That's all I have for tonight. I'm boring......

Tornado warnings... Really?

We had some very unusual weather today. I should have taken some pictures of the dark clouds that were over our house. 

When we all went down for nap around 1pm.. (and I say "we" because I was sleeping too), it was just lightly raining. I woke up around 3:30 to some seriously loud thunder. Then my phone rang. It was my sister, who told me to get up and turn on the news. There was a tornado warning for our county and apparently a small tornado had touched down about 30-45 miles away. I know this seems like nothing for people who live in tornado alley, but this is northern CA. This doesn't happen here! 

I got the girls up and we all went downstairs. I looked out the window and saw clouds darker than I'd ever seen before. Well... okay, I've seen dark clouds like this before, but that was when I was in Nebraska and not my own home!

It was hard to hear the news reports over the girls. They kept asking for Barney or Elmo and Yo Gabba Gabba, but I wasn't about to change the channel. We don't have tornado sirens here. The news was my only link to what was going on. (Yes, I'm laughing at me too!) I wouldn't have been so freaked out if an actual tornado didn't touch down last week and destroy a barn/farmhouse not too far from here.  I started formulating a plan in my head as to what I would do if something actually touched down in our neighborhood. I decided that I'd tell the girls we were going to go wash our hands. They love washing their hands and pretty much run into the bathroom when I say "let's go wash our hands." The downstairs bathroom would have been the safest place for us to hide.

Thankfully, the storm passed after about 45 minutes. We had thunder so loud though, and it really scared Sophia and Rachel (and me too, a little). Morgan doesn't seem to mind loud noises, but the other two.... they just can't take it. They wouldn't move from where they were sitting on the couch. Poor girls! They did learn two new words today though... "hail" and "thunder." 

I finally ended up changing the channel to one of their shows. What better way to spend a rainy/stormy afternoon. I snapped this picture of Morgan and Sophia. Sophia is all curled up on the floor with a "kankett." That's her word for blanket.

I'm really thankful that the storm didn't actually create any tornadoes here. Still, those were some scary freaky looking clouds! I can't imagine what it's like living in an area where you have to worry about tornadoes. Ugh... 

As of now, the rain has passed and shouldn't be back at all tonight. I can sleep soundly.