Boo at the Zoo

Last weekend we took Steven and Lyla to Boo at the Zoo. We did some trick or treating at the stations the zoo sets up and avoided as much candy as possible! We did visit the photo booth again this year and got a great photo of the kids in their costumes. Well, Steven was in costume and Lyla was wearing her super cute pumpkin outfit!

And, yes, Steven's costume looks familiar. We love that astronaut suit so much we pulled it out again this year. It still fits, so why not!

Diagnosis...

Ecoli or is it a virus?

So, we've been blog-less for two weeks now because the madness has not ended! After Steven's stomach mess, I got strep/double ear infection/ conjunctivitis and was just miserable for days. Then last Monday Tom and I got a stomach bug that caused some of the worst illness for both of us that we've ever had. Tuesday and Wednesday we could barely move. Finally, Thursday I went to the doc and based on all I told him he thinks it was a major case of food poisoning and gave me antibiotics. Tom went to his doc on Friday and got a different diagnosis - virus. I am feeling better than Tom is at this point so I vote that my doctor wins this time!

Check out the posts below to see the fun things that we've tried to fit in between the illnesses!

Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Lyla hates being put in her high chair but once we get out the spoon she smiles and grabs for it like she can do it herself. We've tried sweet potatoes and carrots so far and she loves them!

We are finding it very hard to coordinate mealtime, though. The kids come home from daycare with Tommy around 4:30-45. He tries to get dinner started but they just want his attention. Then I get home and the circus continues because Lyla wants to eat and Stevens wants uppy and the screaming begins! Tom is now done with student teaching and the kids are going to part-time at daycare so maybe we will get back to a little bit more normal schedule. We hope.

Not real smart

When Steven and Tom were in Arkansas I had planned to take Lyla shopping because the cold weather had creeped upon us more quickly than we anticipated. The kids were really lacking in long sleeves and warm coats. Even though it probably wasn't too smart for me to be out shopping on Saturday (considering the next day I would be diagnosed with strep) I was determined.

Went to Burlington for Steven's coat and snow pants. We just want to be prepared, not that we have a lot of snow but any time we can get him outside our situation is much more pleasant! I also picked up a few outfits for Lyla. She is really growing! Some of the 6 month clothes don't fit her and her little belly sticks out of most of her t-shirts!

Our little Marshmallow Man!

Visit to Arkansas

Tommy took Steven to Arkansas with him for the Clark Boy Work Weekend on October 10. The boys were helping their dad reshingle the house after hail damage. Grandma and Heather stayed inside with Steven, Ava and Bridget. I was at home with Lyla; trying to stay healthy (ha ha).

The kids had a lot of fun and Steven told me "I love you" over the phone for the first time. He is so sweet! He has also taken to calling Grandpa Steve "papa". He can say Grandma just fine but has changed Grandpa for some reason! It is pretty cute.

Madness

Will the madness ever end?!?!

I got a call at 12:15 from daycare that Steven vomitted. So I pack everything up and head over there to bring him home for another 24-hour detox session with Mommy and Daddy! When I got there he had fallen asleep so I had to wake him up and just after I carried him out of his room - it all came up again. In my hair, on my jacket, all over Steven..poor babay!

Two teeth!

Lyla's two bottom teeth broke through yesterday! Thank goodness because she finally slept through the night last night...we've been waiting for that through our sick week. Teething just compounds everything!

Steven got his first teeth a little earlier than this and he was trouble the whole time. Hopefully Lyla won't be as hard to soothe and hers won't come in over such a long time frame as her brother.

No pictures yet, she won't keep her tongue out of the way long enough!

By the way, we've started rice cereal - her face is priceless when we put the spoon in her mouth. Mommy, what the heck is this?!?!

Germs, Germs and MORE Germs

Let me start by saying I love my kids! But I really hate their germs.

Last week I think a truck ran us over three or four times and we are still recovering! You can read about the start of it in my last post. It continues with Tommy staying home with Steven on Tuesday as he was getting over being contagious. We thought we were in the clear until Wednesday afternoon when I picked up the kids at school and Lyla had weepy eyes. Off to urgent care. She had conjunctivitis and they gave us eye cream to help her. Who thought that eye cream for a baby was a good idea? Trying to pry her little eyelids open while pinning her flapping arms down is not an easy task.

So I kept her home on Thursday because she was contagious and by the end of the day I was feeling down. Tommy came home and I told him to be prepared to stay home with me and Lyla on Friday and he did.

Friday Tommy helped me with Lyla and packed for the Clark Boys Work Weekend in Arkansas. Tommy and Steven had planned to go down there to help replace the roof on the house since August. They left around 3pm while Lyla and I hunkered down for the weekend.

Saturday I was feeling a little better and a little stir crazy so I showered and decided to venture out to get the kids some winter clothes. It has suddenly turned very cold and we really weren't prepared. So I went to Baby Depot and a consignment shop to get some things. By the time I got home I was wiped out. My throat hurt, my ears were stinging and I kept sweating then getting the chills then sweating then chill.....

By the morning I was miserable and decided to go to the Doc in the Box at Walgreens. The nurse there was really good and since I got there immediately at 10am when they opened I was first in line. She did a rapid strep, ear check, etc and it turns out I have a double outer ear infection, pharyngitis (not definitively strep but she thinks if we did a culture there would be no question) and conjuctivitis. The pharmacy wasn't as good as the nurse and I had to wait about an hour for them to get three prescriptions - I did get to roll my eyes at an irate woman who didn't get her flu shot but an hour sitting in the pharmacy with a fussy baby and spinning head was miserable.

So I am now home for the day by myself and will hopefully have 6-7 hours of rest and recovery! I love my kids but those darn germs are on my list!

Daycare strikes again!

I spent the day at home with the kids as they have fallen victim to the day care virus of the day. Our family is a walking viral infection right now. Tommy had a cold sore, I have a canker sore (is that a virus?), Steven has gunky eye and an ear infection, and Lyla has a cough and is teething.

Life was such bliss when we didn't expose our kids to the germ factory. Today at the doctor we saw the same physician assistant that we saw four weeks ago. She just smiled and said "the next year is going to be like this but just know that their immune systems will be better for it". That is comforting.

Today was fun though. It is nice having time with the kids to play all day and just be a family. Lyla is sitting up on her own. We still have to be right there because she topples over pretty frequently but she is really learning a lot of new things. Steven is also growing so much. He knows so many words and is a total mimic. He hears something once and repeats it all day long. Unfortunately, he seems to know the things that he shouldn't repeat and does repeat them over and over again. One of us made the mistake of say Oh, my God and now that is his favorite phrase. It is kind of ironic that he goes to a Catholic day care. We'll have to warn them on Wednesday when he goes back!

Borts Family comes to town

I think we are starting a new family tradition ... every other year the Borts family comes to town for Jack's birthday! Well, it isn't just for Jack's birthday but that seems to be the timing. We expect to see them in early October 2011! Of course, sooner but definitely then! Check out the quilt in the background of the picture - thanks Grandma Pam for Steven's space-themed birthday quilt!

Steven and Lyla had a great time visiting with their cousins. Steven was particularly taken with his big cousin Jack. And I think Jack was taken with Steven's riding toys. More than once Jack's parents told him he was too big to ride on Steven's Mickey Mouse ride-on airplane and Caterpillar dump truck! That was okay with us, though, because they were all having such a good time.

Emily is great at holding babies but she did get to experience the not so fun parts, too. Lyla is prone to big spit ups and Emily fell victim to a pretty good spit! Lyla also tooted pretty good and I suggested that Emily put her down and thank goodness because shortly thereafter we experienced a blow out!

And with all the time we spent together I didn't get one picture of my sister with the kids! Oh, well we'll just have to wait until 2011.