Issues

Riley has been complaining of stomach pain on and off since June 7, his symptoms similar to ones both I and Ken had been experiencing. It seemed like a minor bug that makes you feel nauseous off and on and also becomes more obvious when hungry or full. For a few days, the bug seemed to have passed, but now Riley's complaining of pain again as nightfall approaches. He tosses and turns at night and switches beds and sleeping positions every ten minutes. I know this because he was in and out of my bed twice last night. Here's a couple of positions I caught him in (and I have no idea what Corey is doing in Riley's room, so don't ask!)

Sorta spooning, he's usually curled up in a ball as of late.

Um, hiding under a pillow... is it nightmares or Corey's breath?

Another thing I noticed when viewing these pictures (aside from the fact that the water-filled sippy has a serious leak?) Corey is getting really tall and looks more like Riley every day.

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With a high temperature of 67 degrees yesterday and no chance of water play, I drug the boys to the library. What a fiasco! A craft session was just ending, there were children and mom's everywhere, and the warning that you must be extra quiet in a library was proven false, (and don't think my boys didn't catch on.) With all the chaos, all I wanted to do was get out of there, and all the boys wanted to do was run around loudly like the other children.

After Shannon nearly knocked over an 8 foot tall display, we left. I must confess, I wasn't even a little embarrassed when I noticed a mom laughing at my frustrations in trying to get the kids buckled into the car. An empty threat, most likely, but I ran out of things to scare the boys with so I said in my most stern Mommy's-very-mad voice, "Keep it up, boys, and when we get home, I'm going to introduce you to the fine art of scrubbing toilets!"

Once again, I didn't follow through, because here I am, the next day, gearing up to clean all four bathrooms. "Oh, Riley..."

Garble

Hmm... let's see. Shannon has a double ear infection, again. The antibiotics are kicking in and the Tylenol is no longer necessary. He didn't wake up at 5:00 am this morning crying, so things are good. He's feeling better just in time for Ken to take the boys to Ohio for the weekend! (I get to stay home and put my seedlings in and whatever else I feel like doing. I'm not complaining!)

The boys felt good enough to go watch their Dad's softball game last night, and we all actually enjoyed ourselves in the warm 75 degree weather. Daddy had 5 RBI's, including a home run for 3 points. In the outfield, well, he's had better days. Throughout the game the boys had a blast playing on and under the bleachers, hanging out in the dug-out, and even taking turns at being bat-boys. Daddy's team actually won the game, too, 8-7. This doesn't always happen.

The seedlings I'd previously mentioned are doing really well. Well, 3/4 of them are. If you look at the pot, you'll see what happens when you dump 1 1/2 packets of seeds into a small space. I gotta do something about that...

And then there's the flat that didn't really take. These were from seeds I'd harvested last year and most likely stored improperly. Can anyone tell me, is this a perennial plant or a couple blades of grass? If it's just grass, I still have time to tear up the tray and put in some more seeds...

I'd put two Cat-mint plants in by the mailbox last year, and they are now going nuts! I've had so many compliments and inquiries about them this spring, I'm thinking of writing a description of them, complete with name and care instructions, (put in ground, forget about them, whack them back when they get too tall,) on my mailbox along with directions to the local nursery. They are gorgeous, though:

And here's how my little flower bed by the house is coming along. You can't see the Cat-mint plant very well because the wind smashed it down so horribly that I had to whack 1 1/2 feet off of it already. It hadn't even bloomed yet! I also have 7 Black-Eyed-Susan plants, which had originally only been 3. Those things multiply faster than rabbits!

And finally, my compromise for making s'mores for a sick kid who couldn't go outside. Not my best idea, but it did warm the house up and melt the marshmallows a little bit...


Yeah, that's me toasting marshmallows in an oven. The kids sorta ate them... well, Corey said they were too sticky, Riley said he felt like he was going to throw up after a few bites, and Shannon, the one who really was sick, he ate all of his. Not to worry, though, I finished off Corey's and snuck the remaining chocolate out of what Riley had left behind...

Double Ear Infection

Corey came into my room screaming at about 3:00 this morning, holding his ear. After a little medicine and water, he determined that "it's too cramped in here," and went back to his own bed and slept the rest of the night. He woke up this morning cranky and demanded to be cuddled. After a stretch on Papa's lap, he climbed onto his Dad and started nodding off with him. Soon both were rudely awakened by a rather large amount of vomit, courtesy of Corey. Impressive considering he's been refusing food for over a day. Once the commotion died down, Corey asked if he could go take a nap in his room. Time to call the doctor, Corey is requesting a nap.

It appears he has a double ear infection, but after a little Motrin and a dose of Amoxicillin, he's already back to his old self. Perfect timing because in a little bit we'll be heading out with the cousins for a little bumper-car driving, laser tag and whatever else they have the energy for.

Germs, Cooties, and Other Annoying Creatures

I know I shouldn't complain, but I just can't help but think something may be wrong here. For four days now Corey has been taking afternoon power naps. Corey hasn't napped since he was two, by the way.

I know we're all recovering from bad colds/flu/whatever it was (except for Ken who is now in the thick of it,) but four days of napping? Today he slept for three and a half hours, woke up for one hour and went back to bed for the night. The only other indication that something might be wrong is that he has a runny nose. No fever, sore throat, tummy ache, ear ache, etc... Maybe it's just a growth spurt or maybe he just gets bored with sick Mommy so he figures he'll nap too.

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Our biggest challenge lately is that Shannon and Corey will not keep their hands off of each other. I'll get Shannon behaving well and then the minute I take my eyes off the boys, Corey is running after Shannon threatening to touch him! When he does actually succeed in touching Shannon, Shannon hauls off and punches Corey in the middle of the back. Or Corey will be obsessing over his signs and Shannon will come up out of nowhere and pat Corey on the head. Next thing you know, Corey is whining and crying and running around the room trying to touch Shannon. It's wrong. Just wrong. The least they could do is get it right and yell "Cooties!" when they feel compelled to touch one another. Geeze.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's the day for the wearin' o' the green and all that jazz. My father is walking around Disney World today with a bright green beard and moustache, leprechauns are up to no good and I am sick as a dog! Yippie!

Riley and I have that wonderful type of cough where you'd better carry a bowl around with you just in case you cough up a lung or get to vomiting. Shannon's not quite as bad so I sent him off to school, we'll see what tomorrow brings. Maybe Spring wasn't quite here on Saturday and Sunday after all?

Here's hoping you all have a happy and healthy St. Patty's Day, especially you Irish lads and lassies!