Fairy Princess

For Christmas/our 11 year anniversary... Colin and I got a new mattress.   It was expensive.   Also WAY overdue.   At least according to the commercials that repeatedly told me how nasty and full of dust mites my 11 year old mattress was. 

Plus, ours was really uncomfortable.

So we did it.  Then we bought a bed, too....

since we had never done that either.  

We "made" a headboard with plywood and fabric 10 years ago.

Our nightstands were some that I babysat for (I think I babysat for a week and took those home as payment from the family that also owned a furniture store).

So, new mattress, led to new bed, and now to new nightstands. And new bedding.

I'm nesting a bit, I guess.

 

Anyway, the kids got a kick out of it, because they can't really jump on it anymore.   They just kinda sink (it's a memory foam thing).

 

Maggie was sporting one of her favorite dress up outfits ...

thank you to Margaret Louis for gifting this fairy costume to her. 

She takes own a whole new persona when she puts it on : )

 

 

 

 

 

Oh this little girl brings me so much joy. 

Her most favorite thing to do right now is talk with her hands on her hips.

sigh.

She's about to get a "big girl" bed.   Which is really just a toddler bed... she's still in her crib.  I like her there.   She can't get out.  She sleeps.   And naps.

But, it's also becoming very difficult to lift her into it for me and my growing belly.

She was sick last weekend ... lots of snot.   Actually didn't sleep for several nights because she couldn't breath well.   Finally took her in when she was complaining of her ear hurting.   Lots of tears.  Turns out her ears were too full of wax for the nurse practioner to see her ear drum.

So, they tried to flush them out. 

Should I mention this wasn't our normal pediatrician - who I have known for 8 years, through 4 kids, 3 surgeries, objects up the nose, rashes, earaches, flus, and stomach bugs.  

Anywho, these nurses were nice.  It was nothing against them.

But I lost it.

Maggie was sobbing and begging them to stop.  

They kept going ... and no wax was coming out. 

She was screaming, "It's hurts!  My ear hurts!   Please mommy stop!" 

 

I was imagining myself grabbing her, and Charlie who was observing the whole mess, and running out of the office.  But I didn't want to act crazy.

 

So, I tried to say, "Let me just take her to the ENT"

And the tears started flowing.

I've never cried like that at the dr. office.

I was sobbing (pregnant, sleep deprived, and feeling crazy).

 

I finally got them to stop (they gave up).

Never did get the wax out.

I was waiting to pay when our pediatrician's nurse walked around the corner and saw us. 

She grabbed me and pulled me into a room.

Got to see our doctor.

She calmed Maggie and I both down.

Whew. 

She confirmed that I was not crazy.

Maggie got a sucker.

All was better.

 

Anyway, she's feeling much better now.  We go back in a week to try and clean out her ears.

When she doesn't have an ear infection... so hopefully it won't be painful this time.

eeesh.

 

I'm writing this so I will remember.

Parenting is hard

And "staying at home" is hard.

 But I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hard to imagine that #5 will be here in May. 

Can't wait to meet him/her.

God is so good.

IT's hard to always keep my focus on what a blessing it is.   I know children are a blessing.  I know 5 children are blessings.  I am so tired.  Sooooooo tired.   And sometimes I just don't feel well.

But it isn't forever.  And soon they will all be at school : ( 

And soon they won't be wearing fairy costumes and asking for pigtails.

Or asking me to play ANOTHER game with them.

Just have to keep focusing my eyes on Christ, and remembering what a gift these children are. And how blessed I am to be their mom.  And how blessed I am to have Colin.

 

 

 

Christmas

 

The boys had their annual Christmas program the week before Christmas break.  Our priest, Father Cliff, narrates the Nativity story and the kids come in waves to sing behind the 5th grade actors. 

Charlie was out first - he spotted us!

Hard to do in a PACKED church.

 

Cooper next.... looked around the whole time... never saw us.

 

Jackson!

Maggie hung out with Mr. Jason for most of the show.

 

She LOVED the singing and the costumes.

 

 Here are the 3 rascals after all was finished. 

 

A few days later, on the second day of our break, Jackson got the flu.   Then I did.   And Charlie.

It was not fun.  Jackson's cough sounded terrible.   Until I heard Charlie's.  His sounded even worse.

He had it the worst out of all of us.   For me, it was mainly headache, body aches, etc.

We had all either had the shot or the mist ... so maybe it was milder than it would have been??

 

Cooper asked me, "since things stop for Christmas, like school, and work, .... will the flu stop for Christmas too?"   Poor guy.  His buddies were confined to a room the whole time in an effort to contain the illness.  ha.

Our priest had been telling us all not to celebrate Christmas early - to focus on Advent, the anticipation, the waiting. 

We hadn't put up any Christmas decorations yet.   We only had an undecorated tree up.  Which was now very dead.  Even Colin agreed, it had to go.

Poor Cooper ... when he came downstairs the next day, he lost it.

It was pretty said.   Two days until Christmas.

Not one touch of red or green or nativity set. 

No tree.  No ornaments.

Anyway, we got the artificial tree up at 8:30pm on Christmas Eve. 

We put a star on top, but no other decorations.

 

Anyway, the "well" people went to vigil mass on Christmas Eve. 

How cute are they...

 

 

Christmas morning ... didn't get but a few pictures.

 

 Colin made Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls.  Oh my.   So wonderful.

It's so good to be pregnant during the holidays and not give a lick about what I eat!

 nice mask, eh?

 

Colin's fam was planning on coming the day after Christmas, but they postponed it a little bit - just to give the germs a chance to clear.

 

We took them to the trains at NorthPark Mall.

 

 

Charlie was grumpy about something.

I think he wasn't still quite right after the flu business.

 

Colin's parents taught Jackson to ride his bike, too. 

It was overdue .... and since then, he's only been able to practice a couple of times.

January was COLD. 

 

Think I took one or two pictures in January.

Maybe.

 

But I am hoping to do better in February : )

Today, Jackson threw up in the van.

So I took the opportunity to let him (and Maggie) watch a lot of TV while I checked some things off my to-do list ... most importantly catching up on this blog.

 

 

 



Oh Christmas Tree

 

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to the tree farm for a hayride, hot chocolate, and to pick out a tree.   My mom and brother came with us, too.

My mom and I spent the first 25 minutes in line waiting for a bathroom.

Then we met the rest of the crew while they ran around and played. 

 

 One of them fell of after this picture.   Maybe Cooper?  or Charlie?  I can't remember.

Charlie and Jackson

 

 Maggie Moo

 

no Cooper....

 Daniel and Charlie.

 

 Grandma and Jackson

 

 Oh look!  It's Cooper!   He was mad about something.   Maybe he is the one that fell off the tractor?!

 What are these cuties looking at?

 

Our tree shaking!

 

We didn't actually cut down a tree.   We picked one out from the "pre-cuts" shipped from somewhere up north where they grow pretty fir trees.

 

Watching them shake it out made us laugh so hard.  We have such good memories going with my dad to pick out a tree.   He wouldn't ever let them shake it or wrap it up ... not sure why.

Maybe we should have done the same.   Ours was dead, dead, dead by Christmas and we had to drag it out of the house on Christmas Eve.   ha.

We did order a fake tree (SIGH!) and had it up a 8:30 pm Christmas Eve.

More on that later.

 

I still think about the joke my dad made at least once every year at the tree farm.   When "we" were choosing the tree (actually - I don't think my or Daniel's opinion mattered at all), he would say something about a tree looking "too religious" (as in "holy" .... too many spaces and holes in the branches).   What a lame joke, but I'd give anything to hear him say it again.

A photogenic bunch.

Charlie had gone with Colin to get some hot chocolate.

 

Maggie and the rest of the crew got some, too.

 On the hay ride!

 Next year I'll consider fixing my hair and putting on some makeup.

 

Later, maybe the next day?  Jessica, David, Sam, and Stella stopped by and spent the night on their way home from Oklahoma.   So good to see them.