Praise God We Made It

The weekend had started out very relaxing.  Everyone slept in and after breakfast we enjoyed some family time outside.  Right as I was about to fix lunch, Ryan crumbled to the ground screaming that his stomach hurt.  This was not the first time he had complained about his stomach so I thought he was hungry.  I picked him up and carried him inside.  That's when the mayhem began.  He got sick all over me.  Not knowing what to do, I froze.  Thankfully, Matt was close by and told me to get into the garage.  I did, and moments later, more came.  My smart husband, closed the garage doors so that Ryan and I could strip down and head to the bathroom. He had no fever so after the bath I put him into bed.  About 30 minutes later I heard him crying. Yes, he was still sick and it was everywhere in his bed.  Again we cleaned up and I brought him downstairs with a big towel.  Ryan got very good at getting "things" in the bucket on Saturday.  That night we put him to bed since it had been hours since his last "event", but at 1am we awoke to a familiar sound.  Poor little guy.  On Monday, Matt and I were singing our praises that it looked like we had weathered the storm and things were over.   At 3:15 I left for a doctor's appointment and errands (of course I left the cell phone at home).  At 4:30, Matt got sick and he had to take care of the kids.  Unfortunately for him, I had prepared hot dogs and broccoli for the kids' dinner and he had to warm it up in the microwave.  When I finally returned at 7pm, he looked like a dead man.  From that moment, I started antibacterialing everything and washing hands every 10 minutes.  Though sick, Matt is always thinking forward and told me to get a bucket for Madeline and me in case we got sick in the night.  At 9:30, as I crawled into bed (in the hallway on a sheet, because there was no way I was going to share a bed with Matt), I heard "it".  I rushed to Madeline's side and helped her aim for the bucket.  All I can say, is thank goodness for the vinyl covers on the mattress and pillows!!! We had already thrown away 2 of Ryan's pillows, but Madeline's were saved.  Sick Matt made his way into Madeline's room and started cleaning up the mess while I took care of Madeline and myself.  The poor guy had to take a "break" in the middle of cleaning things up to visit the bathroom.  We moved Madeline down to the family room on a carpet of black, plastic bags and towels.  She, too got very good at getting it in the bucket.  By now it was 11pm and I was very, very scared.  Part of me was hopeful that I would not get sick and part of me was horribly scared, as this stomach bug was violent and long lasting.  At 12:30 the nausea came on and I joined my family.  Since Matt's onset was 9 hours before mine, he took over with Madeline. Praise God for that.  Though the vomiting was over by morning yesterday, Matt and I were weak, exhausted, and afflicted with horrible body aches.  Little Ry was feeling great and so was Madeline.  I am amazed at how resilient children are.  Let's just say that Matt and I have NEVER been as grateful for cable and playhouse Disney, as we were yesterday.  We could barely get up.  When the children told me they were hungry, I told them to go to the cupboard and get something (though Madeline was on a Ritz crackers and Gatorade diet yesterday). When I awoke today, I realized that Ryan had pulled all the clothes out of my drawers upstairs and had pulled out every dvd and cd we owned and placed them in a pile in the hallway.  But guess what, I did not care!!!  We now feel irreversibly bonded with the Flynn's, who went through this two weeks ago.  

So. . . stay away from the Wells' home for the next few days!!! :)  We would never want to pass this bug on.  

A few things I learned from this:

-do not feed hot dogs to children when there is potential for a stomach bug

-cover all children's mattresses and pillows with vinyl covers

-always have gatorade and crackers in the cupboard

-do as much laundry as you need to without feeling guilt that you are adding to the water deficit

-always make sure that toilets are clean so that you have something nice to look at while in the bathroom

Picture Tribute to Ryan

On Monday Daddy left for a week of travel. So what does Ryan decide to do that night. . .get croup!!! Because my wonderful neighbor, Roxann, told me months ago that if you catch croup early enough you can get steriods that will decrease its severity, I was at the pediatricians door at 8:30 this morning. I am praying that the steroids will work and that tonight will be filled with sleep for Ryan and Mommy!

When Grandma visited she came with a large bag of clothes from cousins Emily and Zachary. For whatever reason, Ryan loved these swim trunks. When I told him to put them on, he promptly placed them on his head.

Ry and Nate enjoy some guy time at Jacob's party. I actually took a ton of pictures at the party, but they are horrible. The boys move around so much that it is difficult to get shots of them together!!!

Not only did Grandma arrive with a large bag of clothing, she also brought Ryan his very own molding hair clay. Believe it or not, this mowhawk withstood the incredible winds on Saturday. Thanks Grandma!

Madeline and RyRy love their Grandma.

Mommy LOVES her babies!!!

Absolute Worse Day as a Mommy

Friday began as a promising and exciting day.  We were expecting a visit from Grandma.  The night before I had mapped out our morning so that I could finish some cleaning projects and have the children bathed and clothed by the time Grandma arrived.  By 7:30am both kids were in the bathtub and all was smooth.  Ryan told me he had to poopie and therefore he wanted to get out of the bathtub.  Of course I jumped at this potty training opportunity. Quickly, he went from bathtub to potty seat on mommy's and daddy's potty.  I could tell he was going to do it (you mommies know the precursors), so I rushed downstairs to the kitchen for a treat.  It took me a few minutes to rummage through my baking supplies to find the peanut butter chips.  This rummaging event is what turned my morning into a complete disaster, and, of course, my own foolishness for leaving a two year old on the potty by himself.  When I got back upstairs, Ryan had pooped!  Unfortunately, it occurred on the floor.  In the small amount of time I was away, he had stepped in it and picked it up.  And of course, there was pee everywhere.  From the neck down, Ryan was covered with poop smears, and he was screaming. After cleaning him off with wipes and toilet paper, I immediately placed him in the bathtub and decontaminated him.  I then instructed Madeline to start a TV show and I began the task of cleaning the floor in our toilet room.  The first thing I did was flush the toilet since I had placed as much of the "package" as possible into the toilet.  Little did I realize that Madeline had clogged the toilet right before this incident with her brother.  So yes, the toilet overflowed. Let's just say it was not pretty.  The water had already reached the main bathroom by the time I was able to grab some towels.  The water level in the toilet did not go down and already I was standing in sewage water that fully saturated my feet.  There was no choice but to plunge.  Since the toilet was brimming with water, you can imagine what occurred as I plunged.  The water on my feet rose higher and higher, as the toilet continually overflowed, and since I am not the best plunger, it took about 10 attempts before the water went down.  Then came the task of figuring out how to clean everything up without contaminating the whole bathroom and the walkway to the laundry room.  It was horrible!!!  Once everything was contained in bags, I spray bleached my feet, legs, arms and hands, and trekked to the laundry room, where the first sanitary washing machine cycle began.  I then took a trip to the trash can in the garage and started another show for the kids.  They ended up watching a lot of TV Friday morning, and the only thing I managed to do was bleach my bathroom and shower before Grandma arrived.  I truly and genuinely have a new appreciation for plumbers and trash man.  And if Ryan is in a diaper until he's five, you will understand why.  I have been scarred for life in the potty training arena.

Pants Down at Chick Fil A

I can't believe I forgot this story in yesterday's blog entry.  While Ian, Conor, Riley, Madeline, Ryan and Ty played in the play area at Chick Fil A, Anna, Laura and I sat at a table next to the glass visiting.  From my vantage point, I was unable to see a portion of the play area.  As we were enjoying conversation, another mom came up to our table and told us that the little boy in the blue shirt was naked.  Of course, I bolted into the play area.  All I can say is that I WISH I had a camera.  There was Ryan, with his diaper pulled to his knees flashing everyone.  He was like a statue, unsure what to do.  I used every ounce of strength not to laugh.  Turns out that sweet Conor thought it would be funny to pull Ryan's pants down.  I was actually grateful to hear this, as I had already started envisioning running after Ryan in public places as he wrestled off his pants.  

This Week

What a blogging slacker I have been!  The past few weeks feel like whirlwinds and on Friday Grandma comes for a long weekend.

Today we enjoyed a free breakfast at Chick-fil-A with the Shields' and Walters' family and then we joined the Shields' for pool time at the Morrisville Aquatics and Fitness Center.  I am SO excited for the pool to open.  Madeline and Ryan had such a great time and then took awesome naps.  I am constantly in awe of their differences in personality.  Twice Ryan went under. Though he had a shocked and pained expression on his face when he surfaced, he just came to me for reassurance and then kept playing.  When that happened to Madeline in years past it took at least 10 minutes before she was comfortable getting back into the pool.  While there I mentioned that I will soon be signing her up for swimming lessons.  She was immediately frightened and has not stopped talking about it all day.  My sweet girl is so scared to try anything new or anything that is not comfortable.    What a different pair she and Ryan are.  I often pray that they will be like iron sharpening iron to each other.

One of the highlights of the week was a trip to Raleigh's Natural History Museum.  They had a special program on kitchen gadgets that was fantastic.  Madeline got to roll out biscuit dough and cut shapes out of the dough with cookie cutters.  She learned how to separate eggs and how to brush the tops of biscuits with an egg wash.  They then squeezed lemons to make lemonade to drink with their hot biscuits.  After the program, we headed to Costco for a bit of shopping and lunch.  How is it that regardless of what you buy, your bill is always $100 or more!!! Because everything comes in bulk, it is so disappointing to see the number of items purchased and the total price of the sale.  

I have been trying to brainstorm all the nicknames we have come up with for the kids. Madeline has gone or goes by Maddie, Mad Dog, Little Mow, Princess, Sweetheart, Puddin' Pop, and Frankina (when she toots).  Ryan list includes RyRy, Ry the Guy, Bubbubs, BamBam (during the phase in which he bammed on his door until someone came to let him out of his room), Rys, Turkey, and Frank (when he toots).   

TK's Jungle

We have found a new favorite Tuesday event.  Half price day at TK's Jungle, an inflatables fun house in RTP.  Since we went last Tuesday, Ryan wakes up each morning asking if we can go to the jumping place.  Here are a few pictures from our time.  It was actually VERY difficult to take pictures, as the kids were running from one inflatable to the next and then, literally, bouncing all around.

Here's Ry with two of the Shields' boys.  I hope Ryan continues to look up to these two.  They are ALL boy, yet sweet and well-mannered.  Ryan followed them all around and they were quick to help him when he need a push.

This picture is to showcase the newest mohawk cut.  Daddy really outdid himself this time!

Oh no, Madeline and Ryan are being eaten by a giant shark!!!

This girl is too sweet for words.

Here are Madeline and Ryan pretending to operate a race car game at TK's.  This picture is included because it highlights their innate differences as male and female.  From the look on Ry's face, you can tell he is focused and driven (ha, ha, ha) to win and conquer the game.  Though you can't tell from the picture, Madeline is right beside him, placing her head on the steering wheel and moving her head back and forth as she gently turns the steering wheel.  It was quite amusing to watch.

A new game was invented today at TK's.  The children would press their hands and heads on the mesh and the mommies would press back on their hands, making them fall over.  This game produced belly laughs from Madeline, Chase, Ryan and Jackson.  Above is a picture of Ryan and Jackson.

Madeline and Chase playing the mesh game.

This morning Daddy left for Fayetteville.  Both Madeline and Ryan wanted to climb onto his lap and have some cuddle time before he headed out.  Daddy loves his babies.  We can't wait until he gets home!!!

Some interesting things happened at TK's Jungle:

-For the first time, I was approached by another parent for my child's behavior.  I was in one of the jumping houses with Anna and Beth and the kids when a mother came up, who was sitting a ways off, and asked whose child had on the blue shirt.  It was Ryan.  She told me that I needed to watch him because her son (who was about 3.5 or 4) just told her that Ryan had pushed his head.  I promptly began to watch Ryan like a hawk.  At the time, he and Madeline were at the top of a slide and the little boy with the complaint was directly behind them.  Just as Madeline was about to sit down to go down the slide, I watched this little boy push her from a standing position down the slide.  I then observed him do the same to Ryan.  As soon as the little boy got down the slide, he decided to go through a tunnel.  At the time, Jacob, Ry's almost 2 year old friend, was climbing through the tunnel.  Instead of waiting for Jacob to climb through, the boy proceeded to climb on top of Jacob and in front of him.  I then realized that if Ryan had pushed this little boy's head, it was not without provocation.  When I had time to think about it that evening, I realized how funny it was that the little boy's mom was paying no attention to him or his brother, but sitting in a central area doing her own thing, but was accosting me about my child's behavior when I was only feet away from my children.  I wish I could say that was the end of things.  About 30 minutes later, as the little boy and Ryan were both entering the same inflatable, the little boy looked at Ryan and continually said, "you horrible, horrible boy". Thankfully, Ryan has no idea what the word horrible means and I quickly scooped him up.  The boy's mother was next to him at the moment and chided him for saying such things, but did not stop him and then just uttered, "oh, boys".  Part of me wishes I had confronted this mother, but the other part of me likes peace and I had a peace about this situation--my children were not harmed physically or emotionally, and there would likely be nothing but strife that resulted from a confrontation.

-Today at TK's an older boy befriended Ryan.  This boy was a bit overly helpful and Ryan was overwhelmed by him and came to me crying a couple times.  I, of course, kept a very close eye on them and finally told the boy that Ryan just wanted his mommy.  The funny thing was that Ryan's friend, Jackson, who is a year older, became very protective of Ryan and literally started pulling Ryan the opposite direction as this older boy tried to "take him away".  It was really endearing to watch Jackson display such strong bonds of friendship at such a young age.  

-Joe Shields is the most energetic dad I know!  He was all over the inflatables with the kids.  Madeline and Ryan were in love with him by the time we left.  

-Tim Walters is the most flexible man over 6 feet tall that I have met!  He was like a snake slithering through an obstacle course that I struggled to get through with the kids.  I wish I had a video snip to show.

-While I have loved chatting with the ladies at TK's, I had the most fun tonight when it was just me and the kids.  I played with them in the inflatables, jumping, climbing up stairs, sliding, and chasing.  It was such special bonding time.  As I mature as a mom, I hope to spend more time investing in what Madeline and Ryan enjoy, versus getting tasks done.

Pictures from the week

I need some help from my blogger friends.  When I attempt to post vertical pictures, they post horizontally.  When I look at the vertical pictures in iphoto (our picture software) they are vertical.  However, they don't post that way.  What do I do???

Here is Ryan making a Valentine at a special time for tots at North Carolina's Natural History Museum.  It is here that Ryan discovered scissors and his passion for cutting.  As a result, all scissors were placed high out of reach when we got home.

On Valentine's Day we had some friends over to decorate cookies.  Here are sweet Emmy and Madeline decorating their cookies.

Where's the cookie in Madeline's hand, you might ask?  It is hiding beneath the multitude of sprinkles.

Of course this is a Wells' child.  Do you know what he is doing?  Licking his place mat to make sure that every last sprinkle lands in his mouth.

That's right, we have become one of those parents.  We let Maddie and Ryan take their strollers and baby dolls (Ryan has a dog) to the mall.  Of course we started out the day at the museum where only Madeline brought her stroller and doll.  It turned into a disaster, as Ryan too wanted to push the stroller.  As a result, we took two strollers to the mall that evening.

Madeline and her GG.

Look at that handsome boy!

Here is Maddie making her Valentine at the museum.  Do you see that she is placing heart stickers in a line around the perimeter of the card.  She is very methodical and practical, just like her mama.

The Ry guy and his GG.  This boy loves his energetic GG.

GG and Madeline await Ryan's descent down the slide.

What a sweet pair.

My favorite time as a parent is watching Madeline and Ryan play with each other and enjoy each other's company.

GG and Madeline bury a hidden treasure in the sand.