The Wedding of 2009

Didn't I tell you I was going to show a million pictures when I got back from vacation? First off I just want to give a huge Thank You to all of my guest bloggers. Each one of your posts were amazing and unique, even though some of you covered similar topics, they were not at all redundant.

Erik and I started off our first week long vacation in 3 years with two romantic nights in San Francisco. This was so we could store extra energy for the week in San Diego with our kids that lay before us. The last week-long vacation Erik and I took together, was when he had his vasectomy and a benign tumor removed from his neck on the same day, and needed a week to recover from the surgery. At the time I was pregnant with Jake and already experiencing early labor pains. To say that this vacation was long overdue is an understatement.

We only have 3 pictures of San Francisco because all we did was eat and sleep. Food, booze, sleep, food, booze, sleep. Then we went home and packed for San Diego. Do you like my new sailboat hat?

Note to self: that tube top makes you look like you have a bigger beer belly than you already have.

The flight to San Diego was Bekah and Jake's first and Mike's third. But Mike was so young the other 2 flights that this is the one he will remember. My mom flew with us so the adult to child ratio was 1:1. That's still not enough. The flight was fairly uneventful. Mike got squirrely towards the end so I had to hiss at him a few times but Jake (and Erik) fell asleep so that was a blessing.

As we filed off the plane Mike was invited briefly into the cockpit. He took one look around and said,"Is this all for real?". That got a good laugh.

Do not ever rent from Enterprise. They took FOREVER to bring our dirty mini-van to us and in the meantime Jake peed right through his diaper. I was not well prepared so he ran around the front of the car rental building wearing a shirt, shoes and diaper, no pants.

After we checked into our hotel it wasn't long before my Dad, step-mom Cherie and my brother Bill showed up! We followed Bill to his house for a barbecue. Below is a pic of Jake wearing one of Bill's helmets. For those who are new to this blog, I forgot to mention that my brother Bill is a Navy SEAL, and I went to San Diego to attend his wedding. And for all the ladies who read this blog who think my brother is hot, I also forgot to mention that his friends are hotter. I followed around his roommate Joe making small-talk, but really I was just looking at his fabulous butt. Then of course one of my sons and my husband stepped in dog shit so I had to deal with that.

Bekah wearing Bill's helmet.

My brother and his wife are animal lovers and very nice people. That means when Bill's buddies go to Iraq, or some other shithole on our planet, Bill and Ari watch their dogs. What I don't understand is why are the dogs stinky? Even when these dogs are clean they are stinky, strange coincidence. This dog even has a mohawk down his back. Bill thinks it makes him look like a lion, it doesn't. And that's Michael of course, my brother's clone.

Beautiful Bekah in Bill and Ari's very cute kitchen. I love their house.

After the bbq we went back to the hotel where the kids took forever to settle down and Jake fell head first out of his crib. Luckily his head is made of concrete. The next day we went to Lego Land. I know I am almost 39 years old but I had an AWESOME time! I highly recommend this to parents with kids 7 years old and under. The park is clean, food wasn't too bad and it's packed with fun stuff to do. Bring a change of clothes though because there are some water-themed activities and you get soaked.

Yes that pumpkin is made of Legos. Cool huh? Bill came with us but Ari had to run errands for the wedding. Mike asked where Aunt Ari was and Bill said, "Aunt Ari is doing girl things and that takes a looooong time and costs a lot of money.". Ahmen brother and don't you forget it.

My mom and I were on the boat ahead of them taking pictures. Jake stayed in the stroller with Erik because we trying to get him to nap. Fail.

Universal rule for theme parks: keep hands and feet inside the ride. See the boat listing to one side? Mike was convinced he was making it move faster. I was losing my mind and Bill could care less.

Thank you G-d for ice cream cones.

Bekah has a goatee just like her father.

After Lego Land, Erik, my brother, my Dad and some of buddies of Bill all went to a baseball game. My mom and I got lost driving around but eventually found a really tasty Mexican restaurant. The next day we went out to a breakfast place called the Waffle Spot which had a fountain out front. Jake tried to swim in it but the food was good. My youngest brother Brandon and his wife Amanda joined us. After breakfast we went to the wedding rehearsal at the Japanese Friendship Gardens in Balboa Park. Absolutely beautiful but we discovered they were getting married right in front of a Koi pond. Jake tried to swim in it and it was kind of stressful. Jake spent his time throwing himself on the ground in protest. Mike didn't behave much better. Bekah was well-behaved. Did I mention my brother's friends are hot?

Erik took the kids back to the hotel for swimming and Jake napped while Brandon and Amanda watched him. My mom and I went with Ari, her sisters and her friends and got manis and pedis and had lunch. Perfect. Below is a picture of Jake at the rehearsal dinner that evening, we accidentally stole that monster truck from some other kid.

Very cute picture of my mom and Jake at the rehearsal dinner.

My youngest brother Brandon and his wonderful wife Amanda.

Ok I am posting this series of pictures to let you know what my personal Hell would consist of. My personal Hell would be to have to live in Texas and be a professional children's photographer and eat avocado for the rest of my life. I can't think of anything worse. Erik and I always marvel when we see kids sit nicely to have their pictures taken. Our kids DO NOT do that. See below as I yell at Mike.

Unsuccessful parenting moment caught on film as I smack my oldest upside his head. I am not proud. Jake is mesmerized by his mother losing her temper and I have no idea who Bekah is talking to.

Elbowing Mike.

Ok now everyone look at the same place at the same time and smile!! Jake looks like he wants to die and Bekah is still in another world.

I just want one decent family picture.

Seems like a good time to pick your nose.

G-d forbid we forget the other nostril.

Examining what he found in his nose.

Clearly he didn't finish emptying that side of his nose. We have completely lost Bekah and Mike.

Whatever.

The next morning we went back to the Waffle Spot. Bad idea. There now hangs a poster with a picture of Jake saying, "Do Not Serve This Customer". We went back to the hotel for swimming and primping. It's wedding time!!!

Bekah was perfect in her flower girl duties with 2 of Ari's nieces. Mike walked down the aisle with the ringbearer's pillow on his head, but he walked. I held Jake's hand, and the pillow, and he lunged for the Koi pond but didn't protest too much when I tugged him away. Bekah was able to stand for the entire ceremony and she was gorgeous. Mike was able to stand but only because one of my brother's hot friends put his large hands firmly on his shoulders and occasionally covered Mike's mouth with his hand. Jake lasted about 5 minutes before Erik had to whisk him far away.

That's the best family picture we have ever taken. Jake is eating a lollypop. The wedding was perfect. The setting, food, weather, music. It all went flawlessly. I did my reading without stuttering, or crying, even though Mike was running around me trying to get the microphone. We had a wonderful time and I didn't get enough pictures so I can't wait to see the professional ones.

Jake is devilishly handsome! Erik bought me those coral earrings in San Francisco.

The day after the wedding we went to Seaworld but this is the only picture I took. I was just too tired. Jake drank water from this tide pool, several times, it was disgusting.

My brother, my son, a megaphone; always a bad idea! But we had a wonderful time and I miss them like crazy.



For those who are friends with me on Facebook you can skip this anecdote. After another decent flight home, Jake once again blew out his diaper. But this time it wasn't just pee. As we boarded the shuttle bus to take us to the long-term parking lot my mom and I sniffed the air and looked at each other in alarm. Sigh, ok no biggie I will change him when we get to the van. It was a short ride and as we were leaving my mom pointed behind me asked, "Did you drop something?". No, I didn't but Jake did!! He dropped something right out of his diaper! A giant poo rolled down his leg and was laying on the floor of the shuttle bus. I shooed everyone off the bus and told my mom to watch the kids while I went back to clean it up. Then it took 3 adults to change Jake's atrocious diaper on the ground of the parking lot. My mom had to watch the other kids, I did the dirty deed, and Erik had to open all the luggage looking for more wipes after I used practically a whole box wiping Jake from his belly button to his toes. My mom also walked the bag of poopy diaper, poopy wipes, poopy socks, and poopy jeans across the parking lot to the garbage can. Miraculously there was no poo on his shirt and I refused to throw the shoes away because they weren't hand-me-downs. Jake rode home in a shirt and diaper and I was twitching from P.T.S.D. for the rest of the afternoon.

Otherwise we had a wonderful time!!!

Fairyland and the 1st Day of Kindergarten

Wow I have really been neglecting the family blog. I did finally get around to uploading these cute pics from Fairyland in Oakland. We went there with our dear friend Auntie Laura who nannies for 2 cute kids.

Bekah being a surly 3 year old.

Auntie Laura and her nanny monkey.

I just bought Bekah a Dorothy costume for Halloween yesterday! So damn cute!!

Mike is going to be Optimus Prime.

Old school puppet show.

The weather was perfect that day.

Updates:

Mike started kindergarten and is mostly doing great!

Our trip to San Diego for Bill's wedding was perfect except I was hiding the fact that I was really sick and ended up in the hospital for 3 nights when we got home.

My stay in the hospital has contributed to Mike having some bad days at school.

The medications make me cry and I hate crying!!!!

I am looking forward to October and 2010!

Why Moms Can't Go To The Bathroom

Or take a shower, or pay some bills, etc. Usually when I take a shower at home, and all 3 kids are present I leave out some snacks for them so they don't harass me. Because they have no problem barging into the bathroom and start begging for food while I am naked.

So I usually just put out this cupcake pan and fill it with snacks so they can help themselves. There is something for everyone in there: diced oatmeal cookies, cheerios and graham crackers, diced strawberries, diced apples, diced mozzarella cheese, and pretzels. Doing stuff like this makes me feel like a good little stay-at-home-mom. Everyone is happy! I get to shower with minimal harassment and they get to eat yummy snacks.

But today I just had to go to the bathroom. That's all. I wasn't even in there that long and everyone left me alone. Mike and Bekah were putting their clothes on in front of some cartoons, and well Jake was being quiet.

Jake was being too quiet. I left the bathroom to find him on the kitchen table chewing on apples. Not eating them, just chewing on them, spitting out the pieces and then throwing them on the floor.

I know exactly what happened, he was cruising along playing with that pink Care Bear and saw the sippy cup of water. So he decided to climb up there and get a drink and lo and behold a bowl full of apples.





Oh look there is another apple in front of the fridge. He threw that one pretty far.

The little monster is actually saying, "Cheese".

His cuteness is his best defense against child abuse.

I Hate Prop 8

So today started off pretty awesome with a Hispanic woman being picked as a nominee, for our nation's Supreme Court. But then civil rights took a step backwards just as quickly as it progressed. The horribly hateful Proposition 8 was upheld by California's Supreme Court. 6-1. To quote my brother Brandon, that is "6 justices who don't believe in civil rights.". I was angry and disappointed, but I turned off the television, and had a nice playdate with a friend and her adorable son. Then comes naptime, and my computer time, and now I am really angry after reading an article on S.F. Gate.

These are the paragraphs in particular that made me angry:



Among the first to go were Shawn Higgins and Robert Franco of San Francisco. The two men, who said they are engaged to marry, had stood for about an hour in the intersection calmly kissing while demonstrators all around them screamed, "Prop. 8 will go down, San Francisco (is a) big queer town" and other slogans.

Damn straight San Francisco is a big queer town! (excuse the pun) And don't you forget it! Who let the Prop 8 supporters over the bridges?!



Jorge Riley, 31, of Sacramento also got up early to make the drive to San Francisco to hoist his sign reading, "Gay = Pervert."

Seriously?! What a hateful, horrible person.

This is a civil rights issue, plain and simple. If you do not agree with me please do not read my blog, do not leave any comments on my blog, and do not follow my blog. Quietly go and unfollow me. And tell your friends not to read my blog. I am too angry and disgusted to be diplomatic right now.

I think rioting is completely warranted. I know that is a shocking statement, but think about it. Somebody is telling you that you can't get married. Think really hard about that........you can't marry the person you love. Wouldn't you feel outraged? Hurt? Demeaned? Feel less than a second class citizen? I would.

I want to take to the streets but I am ashamed to admit that I get caught up in the logistics of whose going to watch my kids while I am in jail. And honestly I don't want my kids around those hateful, ignorant Prop. 8 supporters. They frighten me, so I am sure they would frighten my kids.

This is the part of that article that gave me hope:

While some police officers kept watch from the outside of the protest circle, about 10 officers were positioned inside. Each of those 10 officers are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, said Lt. Lea Militello of the Tenderloin Station.

"Absolutely it affects me. I got married in October," she said.

Police Sgt. Carl Tennenbaum said the officers on the scene ranged from gay to conservative, and many had to say they had "mixed feelings would be putting it mildly." However, he said, "You just have to set the issues aside and do your job."

Maybe when supporters of Prop. 8 see that this truly affects "normal" citizens, like police officers, they will begin to change their minds. I say this because I am under the impression that many supporters of this hateful legislation, have only experienced stereotypes of homosexuals. They are not aware that gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgender people come from every walk of life. So I believe we will have a chance to put this on the ballot again, and make justice and equality for everyone.

I am in another newspaper

The Post Chronicle picked up another one of my "articles". I better go change a poopy diaper before I get too conceited.

Things On My Mind

So there has to be 3 things on a magazine cover for me to buy it off the shelf: Britney Spears before she was medicated, Octomom, or anything to the with the FLDS. That is the Fundamental Latter Day Saints (Mormons with tons of wives and kids). When I saw them in their prairie dresses on the cover of a People magazine, I snatched it right up.

I was super excited to read about them and was all ready to be outraged and disgusted. Instead I found myself agreeing with some of their opinions. Shocking isn't it?

I realize that the FLDS handpicked 3 families to be interviewed so I am sure they are the families most likely to toe the line. But I really couldn't disagree too much with what was being said by the moms in this article.

Remember that raid on that huge FLDS compound? I totally supported that raid because they were going after parents who allowed their underage daughters to be married off. I am not talking 17 year old girls, I am talking 12 year old girls. Disgusting. Out of 439 children that were removed, 12 of them were found to have been married off between the ages of 12 and 15 and the husbands' trials will start in October. But all of the children, except 2, of been cleared to return to the ranch because everyone got re-educated. I truly hope that is the case.

So the parts I found myself agreeing with the FLDS moms had to do with diet, chores and family time. They quoted one mom as saying that she makes homemade rolls because store-bought rolls are "laundry bread" with the healthy parts washed away. I buy store-bought bread but you can't really fault a mom for feeding her kids whole grains. The children on this ranch milk cows and pitch in with the recycling and other household chores.......from the tone of this article you would think these kids were putting on hot tar roofs in the summer. My kids help bring groceries in from the car and help me sort laundry and "make" their beds. My kids are 2, 3 and 4 years old so they aren't that useful yet but I believe kids should do chores too and I don't wear a prairie dress.

This one mom also talked about how her daughter was exposed to an unmarried pregnant woman at the shelter, where they stayed after the raid. Now I know that surprise pregnancies happen to the best of us, but I have never met a single mom who really wanted to do child-rearing all by herself. Can we all just agree that having 2 parents is best? I don't care if it's 2 dads, 2 moms or an unwed couple. But it sure is a lot easier to parent with 2 adults instead of just one. Anyways, I wasn't as disgusted and enraged as I thought I was going to be.
Another thought that has been poking my frontal lobes this last week has to do with my oldest. Mike is 4.5 years old and is in Pre-K. This is Mike's 3rd preschool because he was on the verge of getting kicked out of the other 2 before I finally yanked him out and found a perfect fit for him. In his classroom there are 6 boys and 2 staff. And even though Mike is a lot more successful at this school, he is still a very demanding, high energy boy.

So my son is a case study. His lead teacher, Miss G. ,is working on her master's in education (or child development) and she is using Mike has her case study. She asked my permission, and I agreed, because I want to use the tips she will find in her research to help with his behavior at home. So I am grateful for that, but of course there is a part of me that is like great my son is a fucking case study.

Then Miss G. tells me after she presented Mike to her class, her fellow students start ripping on her and making her cry. WTF?! She told me that they believe the school is too rough on him and that maybe he has attachment issues. That is outrageous!

Let me tell you why they are wrong. After Mike's first unsuccessful preschool episode I took him to our pediatrician for an assesment. I actually believed the bullshit they were feeding me about Michael being hard of hearing, possibly autistic, only a 4 word vocabulary, etc. etc. My pediatrician rolled his eyes but agreed that responsible parents follow through with concerns like this, and since assesment is free through our school district then why not? Guess what? There is nothing wrong with Mike.

The 2 child behaviourists spent an hour with him and they said the only thing wrong was that they now needed a nap and they thought I was amazing. I was 7 months pregnant with Bekah at the time and they couldn't believe I was still standing. The diagnosis; a very energetic boy who would rather play than sit in a circle or do schoolwork.

So now Miss G. has made him her case study and they are not too hard on him and he does not have attachment issues! Mike needs rigid structure. External control for internal chaos, and me and the school are on the same page with this issue.

Attachment issues? Are you shitting me? I realize that there is a need to label Mike with something because then you will have a set method to deal with a set problem. Mike is very attached to friends and family. He has 2 parents at home, a large and super involved extended family,and a loving babysitter. I want to go to Miss G.'s class and set these people straight but obviously that would be inappropriate. The only label that really fits my son is, spazz.


Have you heard of Freecycle? It's a Yahoo! group where you can get free stuff, and get rid of your stuff. This week I swapped with another mom through freecycle. She took a bunch of Bekah's shoes and clothes and I got a DVD player that had only been used once. Sweet! Our old DVD player in the kids' rec room died after Mike gnawed through the cords (see paragraph above for the reason why). So Erik and I told Mike don't you dare do that again because it's not safe and that's not how you treat your belongings. We told him he would get electrocuted and asked him if he knew what that meant. He said, "That's when you light up, start shaking and get all bony.". Sounds like he has been watching too much Tom and Jerry.

I am sure by now you have heard of that woman who got attacked by her friend's 200 lb. chimp? I was watching the news and her current health status is that she has lost both of her hands, her eyelids, her nose and her lips and may be blind and have brain damage. They are keeping her in a medically induced coma so she can heal. It was announced this week that her family is going to sue the now dead chimp's owner. They are suing for $50 million, and I don't think that is enough. What a horrible story.

For anyone reading this for the first time I will inform you that I live in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The weather this week has been spectacular! Sunny and warm and trees are blooming. But my daughter got an ear infection and we have all been stuck inside, arrgh! After the ear infection she got some horrible diarrhea from the antibiotics, ugh! But now she is all better and it's gorgeous outside still so we will have one day to enjoy this weather before it rains again tommorrow. Beer drinking in the backyard is on my agenda for this evening, how about you?

Things On My Mind

1. Nadya Suleman bugs the shit out of me. I can't get her out of my head. I was the same way with Brittany Spears when she was going through her nut job phase, but I had a ton of compassion for Brittany. I have no compassion for Nadya. For her 14 kids I have a ton of compassion, and concern.


The link above brings you to an article about the release of a 9-1-1 tape of Nadya frantically callling the police to look for her missing 5 year old son. Ok losing a kid sucks I will give her that. But on the tape she goes on and on about how she is going to kill herself, until the dispatcher rightly so, tells her to stop saying that in front of her other children. And Nadya is now quoted as saying she doesn't remember saying that about killing herself, and that she was just hormonal from the pregnancy with the octuplets.


I am telling you she can't do this by herself. And I know this for a fact because it's taken me 45 minutes just to write these 2 and a half paragraphs. I actually type pretty fast and Jake is napping, but both Bekah and Mike had to poo at the same time. Mike sprinted to the downstairs bathroom first so I had to escort Bekah upstairs to my bathroom and once I got her seated I hustled back downstairs to wipe Mike's butt. Then back upstairs to do the same for Bekah's tushy. As well as all the handwashing etc. etc. So does Nadya have 14 toilets in her house?

Two kids needing to use the toilet at the same time is really not a stressful issue. When I say Nadya can't do this by herself I mean all the other stuff and I mean all day long. And I know this for a fact.

2. So this is where I have to talk about feelings and hypocrisy. Unfortunately, my feelings and my hypocrisy. Last month I wrote about hearing of a local mom who committed suicide. I wrote about how it's important to reach out to others when we need help. But I am a big fat hypocrite because I didn't do that.

When I went to wean my youngest, Jake, from breast-feeding I suffered from post-partum depression. I was so lucky to not have gone through it before and really didn't know what was wrong with me. We had also just moved into a new house and I didn't have a nanny and I was beyond stressed out. Now I did share with others that I was stressed out but I usually talk about my feelings in a humorous way and downplay everything. So nobody knew that when Erik would go to round on his patients on the weekend, he would come home to find me in uncontrollable tears.

My children were never in any harm because I turned my anger and depression on myself and eventually, after a couple of months it all went away. But now 18 months down the road I realize that A) I was a complete coward for not seeking help. and B) It's only by luck that this period didn't last longer and ended up being detrimental for my kids. For which I would never forgive myself if that had happened.

Ok I don't necessarily feel better for admitting that I am not a super-mom but I do feel better being honest.


3. Excuse my need for numbering my thoughts but it's keeping me focused. The other issue that has been poking my frontal lobes this week is that story about the Army mom who brought her kids with her when she showed up to report for duty to go to Iraq. Her claim being that her husband travels for work and she does not have adequate care for her kids. Ok so I am not a mean person, don't get me wrong. I am all about choices though and so far in America we still have an all volunteer military. So she chose to be in the military. This woman also chose to have kids. After perusing the article it states that she had not been in active duty for quite awhile but she had to have known that we are at war and she could be called up for duty at any time. Which means she should have scrambled to have back up care for her precious kids ready to go.

Her actions/inaction pisses me off. I believe that this North Carolina Army mom did all working women and all military women a huge disservice. I have a friend in the military and I have seen her scramble for care for her kids, I also have family members active in the military, Army Ranger (cousin), a Marine (female cousin), Navy Seal (my brother Bill). These 3 do not have kids yet but I can't imagine my cousin Leah not having all her bases covered if she did have children. And I believe that if this woman had been a father he would not have been let go. I really believe this was sexist.


4. I didn't realize that people still listen to Rush Limbaugh! And not only do people still listen to him but whenever a Republican talks smack about Rush, a couple of days later that same Republican will go on his show and apologize. WTF!? He is just a radio guy. And the Democrats are playing into his bloated ego as well. I want people to ignore Rush Limbaugh because that is the worst we can do to him. So I will stop giving him attention as well.



5. American Idol is so damn boring this year!! And the new judge is pointless and the wildcard stuff is just hurting my small brain. It better pick up soon. They should have made the blind guy dance, give him a chance at least.


6. The California Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Hopefully they will come to their senses and realize that denying civil rights to humans is unconstitutional. So far I haven't seen any pics of guys wearing assless chaps. They are probably at work and I will have to wait for the evening news.


7. Here is the last thing I am going to talk about today; our economy now compared to The Great Depression. The article I have linked points out the similarities with our current situation to the events that lead to The Great Depression. They are very similar. That article talks about the financial factors. I want to talk about social factors.

My grandmother was born in 1923 and came to California during the depression. We are talking Grapes Of Wrath stuff here. They ended up in The Central Valley, living under a bridge in Modesto. The 7th St. bridge, also called Lion's Gate Bridge. There were 10 kids all together. Eventually they were able to get a dairy farm.

My Grandmother ended up being a mother of 6 and solidly middle class. Her house is spotless, and she prefers Cadillacs and poodles. But she saves everything. Even the very last swallow of root beer she will put in a jar and you can finish it the next day. Yuck. But I understand what drives those habits.

One time I was visiting my Grandmother while her sister Julia was in town. I was raiding her fridge and my Grandma Hazel and Great-Aunt Julia were being all cute, knitting and watch the Home and Garden channel on t.v. I was half listening to their chatter when Grandma says, "Remember when Dad tried to sell me?". I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth.

"Grandma, what?!". "Oh yes my father tried to sell me to a Modesto doctor and his wife who couldn't have kids.". I was immediately concerned thinking, if this had happened I wouldn't exist. "What stopped your Dad from selling you?", I asked. "Well he felt bad because my mother and I couldn't stop crying while we packed my suitcase.". So my Great-Grandfather changed his mind and didn't sell his precious daugther. Yikes, that story gives me the willies.

I would hope it is not that easy to sell a kid in America at this present day and age but with the rise in unemployment and homelessness what are the permanent social changes we are going to see? What are my kids' generation going to be like when they are adults? I realize my kids are not being affected by any homelessness or unemployment and I am very grateful for that. But I am curious about their generation in totality.

Ok I am done, thanks for listening.

You Ain't Gonna Believe This Shit

So remember when I told you what happened the last 2 weekends? I had the stomach flu and ended up going to the e.r. for I.V. fluids. Then Jake got the Croup and an ear infection. Then Bekah got the stomach flu and then Michael got the stomach flu! Ok so Monday (President's Day) through Thursday we were healthy. Phew!

Then Friday morning Jake starts coughing again, very badly and has horrible green snot. Then Friday, after midnight of course, Bekah barfs all over her bed. And shortly after that Erik starts having some issues (I will spare you the details) and it becomes clear that he now has the stomach flu as well! Arrrgh, I need at least a month of healthiness.

Thankfully Auntie M picked up Mike today and took him to a birthday party that started at noon and she didn't bring him back until 8:30 tonight. He had a blast and it got him away from the sickies.

Now Erik has a fever of a 102 and is shivering. I interuppted my blogging to pile 5 blankets on top of him and then lay on top of him. It didn't help so I gave him some Tylenol and he went to bed. I am going to go bring him some more blankets right now. Poor husband! He's even talking about taking Monday off and he hasn't had a sick day in the 9 years that I have known him! Wish us health!

A Much Needed Break

Let me give you the run-down on our last 9 days here in the Gracer household.

1. Last Saturday Feb. 7th I woke up feeling nauseous with stomach cramps and thinking it was my monthly visitor, I soldiered on.

2. Erik let me nap that morning but I could hear from upstairs that he was not handling the kids very well and seemed very stressed out.

3. I put Jake down for a nap and took Bekah and Michael hiking on Mt. Diablo.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517
That whole hike I was nauseous but just kept trucking along.

4. On the way home I stopped to get a take and bake pizza for dinner. As soon as I walked in the door and got a whiff of the pizza I knew something was seriously wrong with me. Pizza usually smells awesome so I knew as soon as my stomach flipped and I broke into a sweat that I was in trouble.

5. I took pizza and kids home and laid on couch and tried to eat apple sauce while Erik fed the kids. Soon I visited the bathroom and started to vomit and have diarrhea.

6. This continued through the night and Erik went to his office and got a shot of Phenegrine but I continued to vomit through that as well. Also a side effect of that medicine is restless legs so I tossed and turned and could not sleep.

7. When I got up to take care of Jake at about 3am, I was so dizzy I contemplated crawling. I told Erik this and he said it was from dehydration and I would definitely need to to the E.R. in the morning for fluids.

8. I called and woke up Auntie M and Uncle Chrissy and begged them to come over and watch kids so Erik could take me to the E.R.

9. We both fell asleep in the E.R. room and felt like we were on a date, it was so much more relaxing than being at home.

10. 2 liters of fluid later and I still didn't have to pee, that's how dehydrated I was.

11. That night, Sunday, Jake was up almost all night with a horrible cough. He was still sleeping at 9am when I plucked him from his crib so I could take Bekah to school.

12. Took Jake to the pediatrician and he has a ear infection and the Croup. I am still incredibly nauseous and having to visit the bathroom frequently while running kids to and from school, pediatrician and Target.

13. Wednesday Bekah skips breakfast which is a horrible sign because Bekah loves food. She is incredibly lethargic all day and refuses to eat and is crying because I kept her home from school and she loves school. In the middle of the night she finally starts barfing and barfs a lot.

14. I thankfully get Sarah to take Mike to school so I don't have to drag Bekah and Jake around and Erik picks Michael up in the afternoon.

15. By Wednesday I can finally eat solid food again and good news I have lost 4 pounds.

16. I was supposed to have a Valentine's party here on Friday for my new and far superior mom's club but thankfully my friend Barb took over. Auntie M takes Mike to the party after she picks him up for school. And Erik goes to the party and brings Mike home later.

17. Our electricity goes out for 2 hours.

18. Saturday afternoon I take Mike to a graduation party for our friend Laura. Bekah and Jake stay home with Erik. Michael is fine at the party but then around 11p he starts puking all over his bedroom. This is our Valentine's Day.

19. Mike is nauseous and lethargic and is crying because he couldn't go to his buddy's birthday party. He promises me that he will puke in the toilet at the Bowling Alley if I let him go. Poor baby.

20. I spend all day scraping barf chunks off of Mike's bedding and doing tons of laundry.

21. Finally, Monday, everyone seems to be in better health!!!


So today is Monday, President's Day and our dear sitter Sarah is coming to watch the kids so Erik and I can go get massages and go to dinner. We need it!! We are getting a couple's massage at Bodylines Day Spa.

http://www.bodylinesdayspa.com/day-spa-packages.aspx

Then we are going to dinner at Va de Vi in Walnut Creek. Awww, I can't wait.

http://web.mac.com/vadevi/Va_de_Vi/Va_de_Vi_Home.html

Before you have kids most people know that you are going to be dealing with a lot of poop. Then you become a parent and realize you had no idea just exactly how many different bodily fluids you have to deal with on a daily basis. Then you become a seasoned parent and build up an immunity to grossness. Nothing seems to make you squeamish anymore. Yesterday I found something that made me very squeamish.



We went to the usual weekend little kid's birthday gathering with mandatory jumpy house in the backyard. Jake's shoes were off due to the jumpy house and he managed to make a few runs of the backyard in his socks so they got very dirty. He was very tired after the party and on his way home instead of popping a binkie (pacifier) into his mouth he peeled off one of his filthy socks and stuck it in his mouth! Retch!




Jake is 3 rows back in the mini-van so I couldn't reach him to tear the offending sock out of his mouth and I was driving so I couldn't climb back there. Erik can't turn around in a moving vehicle because he gets car sick. I was forced to look at the below image everytime I looked in my rearview mirror. Gag!

As soon as I got home I snuck that hideous thing out of his mouth. And took a picture of it. The toes of the sock were in his mouth and he was actually sucking on it like a pacifier. This nice family owns a large dog so you can just imagine the things that sock picked up. Heave!

I guess it's nice to know I am not as jaded as I thought I was. Maybe having a fourth child will finally make me immune to all things disgusting. Hurl!

Broken T.V.

Bekah ended up with a fever of 103 last night and I felt terrible for being annoyed at her potty training mishaps. I kept her home from school this morning and now she seems fine, no fever and torturing her brothers. She made Jake cry so hard he held his breath, turned blue and almost passed out. I had to run over and catch him and then blow on his face to make him inhale.

The lamp on our t.v. is burned out and I have a ton of laundry to fold. The connection there is that I find it physically impossible to fold laundry without the t.v. on. What am I supposed to look at? The laundry while I fold it? How boring!

Bekah's 3rd Birthday

This is Bekah with her 2 favorite gifts. Throne from Auntie M and Barbie guitar from my Dad. This is from the end of the evening and she is partied out! She had a beautiful butterfly dress on to match her butterfly theme party but she pooped all over it. Poop is actually a more appropriate theme.

Super cute butterfly and lady bug cake. Bekah is very excited as you can see. No poop on cake.

I chose this picture because I look thinner than any other picture from that night. Also nobody else's kids are in view and I don't want to post pics of other people's kids without their permission. That beer is courtesy of a dear friend and fellow beer drinking mom who gave me a 12 pack for my birthday which was last Friday.

That beer did eventually get kicked over and spilled by my oldest. When you are a parent you just can't have your beer and drink it too. At least nobody pooped on my beer.