Home is such a great place to be...
We were all very glad to be back in our own beds on Monday night after flying all day. The kids had fallen asleep on the way home from the airport, and went straight to bed. They even slept in past 7 am in the morning which was wonderful since they had been waking up at 6:45 central time all week.
We had a wonderful time in my parents full house. 3 infants, 4 bigger kids, and 8 to 14 adults made for a noisy but wonderful family reunion.
We had planned to the Nashville zoo on Friday, but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead, we had lunch at a Japanese steakhouse where they cook in front of you, and then we went to the Opryland hotel. When we walked in the door Alyna said, "a jungle," as she pointed ahead of us. She did figure out quickly that it was a jungle without animals and was quite disappointed by that. Ryan just wanted to climb every set of stairs we came to, and there were a lot of them.
Friday night Barry and I went to dinner and the bookstore by ourselves. It's always enjoyable to finish a meal without having to share it, or get up to change a diaper.
On Saturday we did a photo shoot to get pictures of the whole family, the individual families, me with my siblings, the cousins, and the cousins with the grandparents. Of all the children to meltdown we never would have suspected it would be the 2 year old girl who loves to pose for the camera. Alyna just did not want to be there that day, and threw fits the whole time. I had to be the one holding her and forcing her to face the camera in the family photos. Candy was the only thing keeping her in place during the pictures with just the kids. After we said we were all done, she was perfectly fine again.
Saturday night my siblings and I and all our spouses went to dinner at O'Charley's. We don't see each other very often as adults, and it was a nice time to renew our adult friendships with each other.
Sunday for lunch we had a room reserved at Christy's 6th Street Restaurant and Cafe in Columbia. It was a wonderful place for the occasion, and they had a great home-style cooking buffet with roast, mac 'n cheese, mashed potatoes, salads, and more.
I was also able to do some shopping on a couple occasions and returned home with much needed new dress clothes.
We're still exhausted from the trip and the overcast skies here on Tuesday didn't help that, but the sunshine today is encouraging me to get things done.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
To grandma's house we go...
We fly out on Wednesday morning for Grandma and Grandpa's house in Tennessee (my parents). It's supposed to rain most of the week, so some of our plans may change, but it will still be a good time of our family all being together.
Grandma and Grandpa
My older brother, his wife, and 2 boys (11 and 8)
Our family of five
My sister, her husband, and their 6 week old baby girl
My brother, his wife, and their 5 month old baby boy
2 of my aunts and their husbands
That's 14 adults, and 7 kids (3 of which are infants).
Many of us are actually staying at the grandparents house... at least until we decide we need to do otherwise.
Grandpa is saying it's an invasion, but of the best kind.
Grandma and Grandpa
My older brother, his wife, and 2 boys (11 and 8)
Our family of five
My sister, her husband, and their 6 week old baby girl
My brother, his wife, and their 5 month old baby boy
2 of my aunts and their husbands
That's 14 adults, and 7 kids (3 of which are infants).
Many of us are actually staying at the grandparents house... at least until we decide we need to do otherwise.
Grandpa is saying it's an invasion, but of the best kind.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
You know a kid is sick...
You know a kid is sick when they won't eat anything and they don't argue with taking another long nap.
Kellyn had a stomach bug on Tuesday, throwing up several times and having stomach cramps throughout the night. Wednesday she was feeling better except that she hadn't slept or eaten like normal, so she was just out of sorts. She seems all better today except for the diarrhea hanging on.
Alyna didn't eat dinner last night, didn't want a bedtime snack, and went to sleep saying her tummy hurt. She talked in her sleep last night, which is something I do when I'm stressed or not feeling well. She woke up with a 100.5 degree fever still saying her tummy hurt. She laid on the couch watching TV all morning. At 10:30 am she finally ate some mandarin oranges, but I think that gave her some stomach cramps. She fell asleep on the couch during a movie and I moved her to her own bed around 11. She woke up at 12:15 and cuddled with me in a chair. I moved her to the couch at 12:45 so I could put Kellyn and Ryan down for a nap. As I took Ryan to bed, I saw her eyes drooping, so I carried her to her bed again for another nap. She didn't fuss at all about it. I did make her drink some water before laying down because I'm worried she's getting dehydrated. Poor thing...
Better this week than next, and at least I got some sleep last night. Tuesday night with Kellyn I didn't sleep much at all and never for more than an hour at a time. And of course this week is the one that's important for Barry to work overtime and even work the weekend because he's in charge of the big software turnover at the plant.
I just pray it runs its course through everyone before Tuesday, because we fly to Tennessee on Wednesday.
Kellyn had a stomach bug on Tuesday, throwing up several times and having stomach cramps throughout the night. Wednesday she was feeling better except that she hadn't slept or eaten like normal, so she was just out of sorts. She seems all better today except for the diarrhea hanging on.
Alyna didn't eat dinner last night, didn't want a bedtime snack, and went to sleep saying her tummy hurt. She talked in her sleep last night, which is something I do when I'm stressed or not feeling well. She woke up with a 100.5 degree fever still saying her tummy hurt. She laid on the couch watching TV all morning. At 10:30 am she finally ate some mandarin oranges, but I think that gave her some stomach cramps. She fell asleep on the couch during a movie and I moved her to her own bed around 11. She woke up at 12:15 and cuddled with me in a chair. I moved her to the couch at 12:45 so I could put Kellyn and Ryan down for a nap. As I took Ryan to bed, I saw her eyes drooping, so I carried her to her bed again for another nap. She didn't fuss at all about it. I did make her drink some water before laying down because I'm worried she's getting dehydrated. Poor thing...
Better this week than next, and at least I got some sleep last night. Tuesday night with Kellyn I didn't sleep much at all and never for more than an hour at a time. And of course this week is the one that's important for Barry to work overtime and even work the weekend because he's in charge of the big software turnover at the plant.
I just pray it runs its course through everyone before Tuesday, because we fly to Tennessee on Wednesday.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Sunbeams from Heaven
Today is definitely a day to play outside. There's blue skies, lots of sunshine, a slightly cool breeze, and a high of 76 degrees. Being at an elevation of 3500 feet above sea level, our sunshine is very direct and hot year round. I realized this morning when we were outside at 9:30 am in shorts and t-shirts that I didn't have any sunscreen to put on us. We stayed outside for about 45 minutes.
When Kellyn woke from her nap we trekked to the grocery store to buy items for our congregation's food pantry. We took them up to the church, changed diapers and made a potty stop, and headed off again for lunch at the park.
In the drive-thru I ordered a burger for myself with no onions and no pickles, and Alyna said, "I don't like tickles." 2 year olds are so funny.
We met several other local moms and their young kids at the playground. I pushed Alyna in the swing for probably 20 minutes, while Ryan ran around and played in the bark/dirt with his new friend "George".
I borrowed sunscreen from one of the moms, and I'm hoping the kids didn't get burned, especially Kellyn. I had her in the umbrella stroller facing away from the sun with a hat on, but her legs were in the sunshine the whole time. I actually think that if anyone is sunburned, it's me.
When Kellyn woke from her nap we trekked to the grocery store to buy items for our congregation's food pantry. We took them up to the church, changed diapers and made a potty stop, and headed off again for lunch at the park.
In the drive-thru I ordered a burger for myself with no onions and no pickles, and Alyna said, "I don't like tickles." 2 year olds are so funny.
We met several other local moms and their young kids at the playground. I pushed Alyna in the swing for probably 20 minutes, while Ryan ran around and played in the bark/dirt with his new friend "George".
I borrowed sunscreen from one of the moms, and I'm hoping the kids didn't get burned, especially Kellyn. I had her in the umbrella stroller facing away from the sun with a hat on, but her legs were in the sunshine the whole time. I actually think that if anyone is sunburned, it's me.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
tough stuff
It's hard to wait on things to go your way especially when you are 2 years old, and especially when you're always waiting on your baby sister.
Ryan had several melt-downs this morning as he repeatedly had to wait for Mommy to finish something with Kellyn before doing something "very important" for him. During her morning bottle he wanted a rice rusk for a snack. During her lunch time bottle I made the mistake of saying that when she was done I would fix their lunch. So he stood beside me and whined that she was done for the whole time. Then during Kellyn's baby food lunch he dropped one of his cars into a hole in a taped up diaper box. He had to wait until she was done so that I could get the scissors to open the box. Ryan was not happy at all about that.
I know these are actually good lessons for him to learn about delayed gratification, but having a constantly screaming 2 year old today is wearing my nerves thin.
"Teach me LORD to wait, down on my knees, 'till in Your own good time, You answer my pleas..."
Ryan had several melt-downs this morning as he repeatedly had to wait for Mommy to finish something with Kellyn before doing something "very important" for him. During her morning bottle he wanted a rice rusk for a snack. During her lunch time bottle I made the mistake of saying that when she was done I would fix their lunch. So he stood beside me and whined that she was done for the whole time. Then during Kellyn's baby food lunch he dropped one of his cars into a hole in a taped up diaper box. He had to wait until she was done so that I could get the scissors to open the box. Ryan was not happy at all about that.
I know these are actually good lessons for him to learn about delayed gratification, but having a constantly screaming 2 year old today is wearing my nerves thin.
"Teach me LORD to wait, down on my knees, 'till in Your own good time, You answer my pleas..."
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
getting close
We're all well again after a long month of one person being sick after the other. Kellyn is eating even more than before her RSV, and back to only waking up once at night. I think she's in another growth spurt which means by the end of this month she could be a 7 month old in 12 month clothing. She's already wearing the clothes from when Alyna was learning to crawl and pull up on things.
2 weeks from tomorrow we fly out to Tennessee to see my parents. All of my siblings and their families will be there for that weekend. There will be 10 adults, 4 children ages 2-11, and 3 babies (1 to 6 months old). Fun times. 2 of my aunts and their husbands, and 1 of my cousins are also joining us for family time that weekend. It will seem really quiet at home after having all those people in an 1800 square foot house. 13 of us are actually sleeping at that house for 4-5 nights too. We'll see how that works...
I've got my packing list mostly done, but the time is approaching quickly. We bought the kids their own adjustable size headphones for this trip so they can more easily watch videos on our video MP3 players. At least I'm not flying by myself with the 3 kids this time.
2 weeks from tomorrow we fly out to Tennessee to see my parents. All of my siblings and their families will be there for that weekend. There will be 10 adults, 4 children ages 2-11, and 3 babies (1 to 6 months old). Fun times. 2 of my aunts and their husbands, and 1 of my cousins are also joining us for family time that weekend. It will seem really quiet at home after having all those people in an 1800 square foot house. 13 of us are actually sleeping at that house for 4-5 nights too. We'll see how that works...
I've got my packing list mostly done, but the time is approaching quickly. We bought the kids their own adjustable size headphones for this trip so they can more easily watch videos on our video MP3 players. At least I'm not flying by myself with the 3 kids this time.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
barefoot in the back yard
Yesterday morning I could not persuade Ryan or Alyna to put shoes on to go outside to play. Apparently if the temperature is over 65 degrees and the sun is shining, shoes are a burden even though the dead brown grass is prickly. In fact, this morning while it was still about 40 degrees, Ryan had to stand on the porch for a couple minutes barefoot and without a jacket before he would agree to put them on. Now he's happily playing outside in the sunshine, without shoes on, while he waits for Alyna to wake up from her extended nap. They are definitely kin to their grandma who grew up on a farm in Missouri, and still prefers to go barefoot.
Kellyn is mostly feeling better from her RSV. She's developing her jumping skills in the jumperoo, and reaching to play with more toys each day. Her breathing still rattles in her chest some, and she still coughs after drinking fluids. We're keeping her home for a couple more days.
Her 6 month stats from last week's dr. visit: 17 lbs and 7 oz, 25 1/2 inches. She's getting to be a hefty weight to carry around for long periods.
Kellyn is mostly feeling better from her RSV. She's developing her jumping skills in the jumperoo, and reaching to play with more toys each day. Her breathing still rattles in her chest some, and she still coughs after drinking fluids. We're keeping her home for a couple more days.
Her 6 month stats from last week's dr. visit: 17 lbs and 7 oz, 25 1/2 inches. She's getting to be a hefty weight to carry around for long periods.
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