WE SURVIVED!!

We survived the sickness of winter. How? I really do not know, it is all a blur!
January went just as expected....mild flu symptoms, head colds, and the "not to fun" winter virus. If there was a sickness, we had it. But I never expected February to be just as bad. Week after week of ear infections, head colds (again), major runny noses, and the Rota Virus. To say that life was emotional, sleepless, and stressful was an understatement. After 6 long and cold weeks....we have today!!!
TODAY NO ONE IS SICK AND TO CELEBRATE...THE SUN IS OUT!! I feel like singing and dancing!!! I guess one perfect day out of 42 is all one needs to lift the energy and give hope!! Summer is really coming...not for a couple more months but it is coming!!
For Caleb, today was the perfect "First" day not to be sick. The mini tractors and concrete plows are in front of the house fixing the road. It's like "BOB THE BUILDER" live!! I can tell Caleb is feeling better because he is quite the comic...always trying to make his sisters laugh. He makes the "much favorite" Mac N' Cheese with an apple seem hilarious! He has become my little helper ever since last weeks Nail Polish debacle and has actually kept his room spotless!!! But I do not understand why he woke up at 5am this morning. Why?
This week marks the first week that Aubrey hasn't had to be dragged to school...LITERALLY. We have to DRAG her out of bed, I have to wrestle her while dressing her, and when her teacher goes to get her out of the car she gets stiff and refuses to move. To say she is not a morning person is an understatement! I remember the days when I wasn't a morning person. Now it is not optional. For some reason this week she has gotten herself dresses and is constantly saying "Mom, we are going to be late...hurry!" "Can Dad take me?"

Lately when I pick her up from school the first thing she says is:
"Can I go to Gerbetos house?"
"He is my friend!"
After a week of begging I looked into it and found out Gerbeto and his mom do not speak English. Which makes it extremely hard for me to set up a play date! Also, Gerbeto's Mom has a pink van (PINK) which explains why Aubrey has requested that we also buy a Pink van.Ainsley is finally feeling better. Thank goodness! Poor little Ainsley dropped back down to 18 pounds. With the way she eats (just like Caleb) I know she will gain her 4 pounds back fast! Ainsley loves laughing at Caleb! She cut her last 2 top teeth this past week and loves to show them off. I have also taught her new words:
More Please
PaPa
What's That?
Here
Baby
Pooh (always used to state the obvious)
They are not to clear yet but she loves saying them.

Funny News:
The other night Andy was watching Ni- Hao Kai-lan with the kids (a cartoon like "Dora the Explorer" but with Chinese instead of Spanish). All of a sudden he was laughing. It was a very emotional time of the night, the kids had been sick all day, they were cranky, and I was tired. I could not understand why he was laughing so loud and so much. The cartoon uses a lot of chinese and takes long passes so you can repeat certain chinese words back....Do you know how to say Snow in Chinese???
I started laughing...what a highlight to a long hard day!!!

TA DA- UPDATE!

Thursday:
48 hours after the Caleb nail polish disaster life and daily structure is finally back to normal! Ainsley's hair is also finally back to the normal, static, and messy state it always is! I am so glad she didn't loose too much hair in "operation remove nail polish" task. What an ordeal!
Although, Ainsley has spent the last full 24 hours throwing up I have high hopes that she will feel better this afternoon. I think what everyone needs is a good long quiet nap!!! I think if I plan things right I might be able to have an "abnormal" day on Saturday!!

FRIDAY:
Caleb and Ainsley both have the Rota Virus. Long nights and hard days. The poor kids and the poor new couch.....how does a piece of furniture recover from so much throw up?? Summer cant seem to get here soon enough!

Good News of the day:
1. Congradulations Uncle Greg and Aunt Jackie!! We hope mom and Berkley are both doing well!!! We loved looking at the pictures! He deffinatly looks like HYDE! The more cousins the merrier!!!
2. We get our car back this afternoon and we are patiently awaiting our tax returns so we can buy a family wagon. After much research we have narrowed down the type of van we want and can afford, now if only we can agree on the color. Who will win...to be continued!

Less then 10 Minutes
In less then 10 minutes the calm and normal structure of the morning can completely change. Why you might ask? Have you ever had a Caleb?

Yesterday morning (after spending the long weekend with a head cold) I was feeling better so after dropping Aubrey off at school I took Caleb and Ainsley to Walmart for "the must have, cant wait a day longer, I promise to be really good" soccer ball and HSM3 Blu-ray. When we got home I started cleaning the family room, kitchen, and dinning room. Caleb was really good to help and Ainsley was playing quietly upstairs in her room. Caleb said he was going upstairs to get his vacuum and that was that. I had lost track of time and was focused mainly on getting everything cleaned before I had to pick up Aubrey. After less then 10 minutes I had a weird feeling. It was WAY to quiet. I grabbed the camera (I thought I would be able to capture a quiet loving brother/sister moment) and headed to Ainsley's room. Caleb must have heard me coming because he slammed the door and pushed his body weight up against it so I couldn't get in. OH NO!! What has happened??

When I was finally able to push my way in (he is a very compact buff/chubby kid) he was already crying. Nail polish everywhere. My make-up everywhere. Of course, I still had Caleb and Ainsley in their nice clothes (not over worn play clothes...I save a special, not bought on sale, outfit for the kids to wear ONLY when we go out in public).
It appeared to me that Ainsley was the primary target.

With little time I tried to wipe it off Ainsley. No luck. I swooped both kids up and carried them down the stairs to put them in the car (I notice on my way downstairs that nail polish was ALL down the stairs, upstairs hall, and Ainsley's bedroom floor). During the car ride across town to pick up Aubrey Ainsley non-stop kept saying "UH, OH. OH. UH, OH. OH. MOM."

Upon returning home Caleb was in BIG trouble. I called my dad who lacked compassion but not honesty. Although I would have rather had the compassion I know I needed the honesty. He said, "Sara, Caleb is not smarter then you. HIDE YOUR STUFF and start scrubbing. I love you, you'll be okay."
I spent over an hour scrubbing the stairs/upstairs hall and was able to get the nail polish out! I was able to get half the nail polish out of Ainsley's floor before I ran out of stain remover. I was not able to get it off of Ainsley because Caleb dumped out my nail polish remover on his path to total destruction. I tried to use soap but no luck. Poor Ainsley.

The good news of the day came at 7 pm. An hour after Andy got home I scrubbed and scrubbed Ainsley's soft little face with nail polish remover and was able to get it off her cheeks, forehead, ears, and nose. I was unable to get it out of her hair or loose from her scalp. Poor Ainsley.
As for Caleb and Ainsley's nice clothes. They were gonners. No amount of scrubbing was able to remove the nail polish.
I would like add that while I was driving to pick up Aubrey the car kept over heating. What a cake topper!!! I am doccumenting this day because no child was sick (FINALLY, the first day all 2009), I have been saying for the last 2 months how exciting and nice it would be to have a day without a sick child. It has been so long that I forgot how "ON TOP OF MY GAME" I have to be when life is normal.
My dad said something that had me thinking.
I said, "Can't I just catch a break...just one break. Just one normal day?"
Dad said, "Sara Jean, this is a normal day for you. This is what it is like to have 3 little kids with one on the way."
I said, "Dad, I just need one teeny tiny break. Can I just catch one break?"
Dad said, "No, but love Caleb and look forward to night time when he is sleeping!"
He later emailed me and said, "Pray for an abnormal day."
So, here is hoping for an abnormal day and here's hoping we have another girl and not a boy. I guess we will find out next Friday (I wanted to wait until the baby was born but Andy wants to be prepared). Do not get me wrong, I love Caleb. He is my little buddy and says the most entertaining things. But for right now I do not think I can handle 2 Caleb's and I do not know how poor little Ainsley would survive!

The week of Valentines!!
Weeks with holidays are always fun and this week was definitely not boring. With the weather being perfect, sunny, and 70 on Monday and Tuesday with it came the crash of my lap top and our neighbors house was robbed in the middle of the day. By Wednesday it was snowing, overcast, and I was paranoid (especially after watching the documentary on the Zodiac with Andy). Thursday seemed to settle down and Friday morning Aubrey had her school party! She loved dressing up and giving Dora Valentines with Stickers to all of her school friends. While Aubrey had her party I went and registered her for next years preschool at St. Paul's and I have high hopes we will find an affordable preschool for Caleb! I will cross my fingers!

Friday afternoon the kids actually took a nap and I couldn't believe how quiet the house was. It must have been the calm before the storm because Aubrey woke up screaming and holding her ear. Unbelievable!! It was deja'vu of last week with Caleb. I made a quick call to the doctor, woke up Caleb from his nap (not a happy camper), shoved the kids in the car, and drove across town. After waiting 1 hour 30 minutes, Aubrey had an ear infection.

Saturday was Valentines Day!!! After a crazy week I really wanted to do something fun for the kids. I blew up balloons and bought some fun little gift for the kids. They were so excited!!

The First week of February
Every year I dread January...the sickness, the snow, and the cold. I have been counting down the days until February was here BUT the first week turned out a bit rocky.Sunday, Andy and Ainsley were sick with a cough but I was grateful Caleb wasn't sick. By Monday I was eating my words when Caleb started the morning sprawled on the kitchen floor screaming...he was a little warm, had a bad cough, and a never ending runny nose. I did not think his symptoms warranted the strange behavior but lately he does tend to be over dramatic. After carrying him around all day; by 4 o'clock I broke down and called my mom...at the same time Caleb started rolling around holding his ears. After a quick answer that he had an ear infection, confirmed by Marlene I called my "always saves the day" neighbor for a near by Urgent Care Center. I waited for Andy to get home (7:30) and an hour later we were out of the KU Medical and on our way to Walgreens for medication. A DOUBLE EAR INFECTION. After 3 more days of carrying a crying Caleb around I was ready to get out of the house. With the outside temperature of 65 and the car tagged and licensed we headed to a newly discovered park. It was nice to go play, and be outside!! We even went to a different park later that night when Andy got home from work!
I need to add that part of my frustrating week was getting pulled over twice and taking the drivers side mirror off the car while pulling out of the driveway. Talk about bad luck. I went through last summers storage tubs and broke out flip flops for Aubrey, shorts for Caleb (although they were a little snug in the stomach/bum area), and a sundress/flip flops for Ainsley!Ainsley's hair is finally long enough for real piggy tails! She even let me paint her toe nails!Saturday was a great end to a crazy week! It was over 70 outside, we sold our coffee table on Craigslist in less then an hour, and we got a lot done. Andy raked and picked up the dreaded and never ending leaves from our front yard (the side yard it just going to have to wait until March when I can mow them), the kids played on the neighbors trampoline, I took the kids to the park while Andy put our new grill together, and we had the neighbors over for a cook out!!! I cant wait until Summer!!!

Good News Updates:
1. Ainsley says "eye", "bum", and shakes her head yes if she wants something!
2. After 5 days of crying and crankiness Caleb is finally feeling better.
3. Aubrey's desire to move to Mexico this week was relentless..."I love Mexico!" "But David and Trinity are moving to Mexico." "They have new schools in Mexico Mom!"
I honestly had no idea what to say and without advance warning it was hard to come up with a logical comment, so I said "Aubrey, we cant move to Mexico because the water is gross!" she instantly said "That's okay, I will drink milk!"
4. Since Andy has totally thrown out my desired boy name "Bleaker" I have named the kids new cabbage patch doll Bleaker. Hopefully, after hear "Where is Bleaker?", "I cant find Bleaker!", "I love taking care of Bleaker!" all day from the kids Andy will grow to like it!!!