Sick Girl

Our sweet Reagan had a rough time the last few days. Saturday afternoon, she went from bouncing around and playing, to lying on the couch with a 103 fever, pretty much instantly. Since, strep is a frequent culprit around our house and Addison had had it a few weeks back, Tommy made a quick trip with her to urgent care for a strep test. I knew if it was strep, we could get her an antibiotic and she would be back in business 24 hours later. She also has what they still at this point call "Reactive Airways Disorder", so we always need to double check her lungs anytime she is sick. They arrived back quickly, reporting no strep, clean lungs, just a virus that has to run its course.

Tommy put Reagan to bed and we continued on with our night. That evening, I checked her before we went to bed and she was really hot! Tommy packed up his pillows and moved to the guest room and Reagan came to bed with me. We were up all night, while she fought fever, as high as 105.5. Despite Motrin and Tylenol, I could never get it below about 101. I slept with one eye open, while she thrashed and moaned all night long. She was miserable and neither one of us got any good sleep. I left to serve at church Sunday morning and was surprised to come home and find her still in bed. The poor girl didn't move a muscle all day. She slept the entire day, fighting high fever, coughing and moaning. She slept with me again Sunday night and it was another rough night.

Monday morning, Tommy stayed home to help me get her to the doctor. Poor girl moaned and cried as we carried her there. I held her while the doctor checked her over. I have never seen one of my children so miserable or lethargic. The doctor suspected pneumonia, so we gave her a breathing treatment in the office, and we were sent for chest x-rays. Poor girl really just wanted to be home and back in bed. Tommy and I took turns carrying her and she would cry every time we moved her. The x-ray confirmed pneumonia, and the radiologist took one look at her and told us not to leave. He wanted to send the x-rays to the doctor right away and he wanted us to wait there to speak to her. He brought the phone to me 30ish minutes later. The doctor gave me prescriptions to pick up and told me to head home, keep up the breathing treatments and that she would call in a few hours.

I brought her home, gave her all the meds, and tucked her in. When the doc called a few hours later, I took her temperature and found that she was right back up to 104. Her heart was racing, her breathing was erratic and I just couldn't stand to see her look so bad anymore. My sweet neighbor took Addison and Gracyn, I called Tommy to meet me at the children's ER and off we went.

We spent about 4 hours in the ER, determining that after 2 1/2 days without a bite of food and very little water, on top of the pneumonia, she was dehydrated. The ER doc felt like if we got some fluids in her, it would help get her temperature under control and then her respiration rate and O2 stats would improve. She was right! About mid-way through her IV bag, my little one came back to life. In fact, after not speaking more than a few words in the last several days, she looked right at me and asked for chili from McAllisters. She also informed me that I hadn't fed her dinner. I had to laugh, I don't think she even realized that she had been asleep for days. By the time we left, she had much more normal breathing patterns, a near normal temperature and she walked out herself....the first time her feet had touched the ground since Saturday. She has been on the mend since! I actually had a hard time keeping her still on Tuesday (which is usually the case when my kids are sick) and today she was back in business. She went to school and even swim lessons. We have many days of breathing treatments and antibiotics still awful my girl is better! It is no fun watching them feel so bad!!! Also, score one for Cincinnati. We have a branch of Cincinnati Chilren's less than 10 minutes from our house. If you have to be at a hospital or ER with your kids, they are amazing!

Poor miserable Reagan when we first arrived. She did take a bit of interest in the fact that her bed had a remote for the TV. That was the first thing I had seen her show any interest in for days.


This was late in the ER stay, Tommy had gotten the girls from our neighbors. He brought me something to eat and brought the girls to give Reagan some moral support. My girl is a rockstar!!! She didn't shed a tear when they put that IV in.

First Grade Musical

Thursday night, the family headed to Addison's school for an exciting show about space and planets performed by the 1st grade. They did an amazing job. Each year, as I attend the spring show, I am impressed at how dedicated the specials' teachers are at her school. The team collaborates to choreograph the show, design the sets and direct the students. They incorporate skills from each area. They kids worked with their PE coach on hula-hooping, basketball dribbling and a few other phys ed skills. They sang about space and gravity, which they learned from their science teacher. The art teacher helps the kids design the set, and paint and frame art throughout the building and their music teacher incorporates it all into one big production.

This year's theme was Space. The kids made "Spaceworm" puppets to perform with. I actually volunteer in Addison's art class, so Gracyn and I had helped make the Spaceworms. Addison had a special spot at the start of the show demonstrating some basketball skills and the biggest moment of the night, was her singing duet with her little bestie, Chloe! They had practiced and auditioned for the part together and we were so proud of them. It was adorable!

We had a great evening seeing the artwork in the hall, reading books she had written in class and then watching the performance. We finished the night, meeting up with Chloe's family at our favorite pizza place to have a very late dinner and celebrate the girls. We had a tired crew. Reagan was asleep in the car on the way home, but it was a great night!!

We're all Pierced

Gracyn joined the ranks of her big sisters and got her ears pierced this weekend. We allowed each of the girls to do so when they asked. I think Addison was 3 and Reagan and Gracyn were just before thier 3rd birthdays. I thought Gracyn would be holding out, as in the past, when sisters have mentioned ear piercing to her she would tell them, "No tank you, that will huwrt me!". Thus, I was surprised when she approached me a few weeks ago, with earrings from the girls' jewlrey box, clutched tightly in her fist and said bravely, "I want to wear earrings!". I gave it a few weeks to see if she was serious and indeed she was.

Saturday, we headed as a family to the mall to get it done. Tommy and Reagan went in the store with her, to get in line, while I ran Addison to the restroom. By the time I got back, they had picked all manner of fabulous earrings for her to have. They didn't realize she had to start with the simple piercing earrings. Once I got her settled on the appropriate kind, we were ready to go. The peanut gallery was right beside her, cheering her on! Gracyn was a brave girl. Not a tear shed! She looked a little stunned for a moment, but was all smiles when we showed her a mirror. Throughout the day, she showed her earrings to anyone who would look and told them. "I is brave, I didn't even Cry (said with no R, just C and long I sound)."

Don't mind their hair in the pictures. I had actually washed and blowdried everyone that morning, but a cold winter day, winter jackets and gymnastics on the living room carpet before we left had all taken thier tole and left us bow-less with bad cases of static!

Royal Tea Party

Last night, Addison, Reagan and I attended a Royal Tea Party for mothers and daughters. Gracyn didn't quite make the age cut-off, so she and Daddy had a date at the swimming pool. I had a great night with the girls. The church did an amazing job putting together an enchanted evening full of all things girly, pink and princess, all with a great message included.

As we came in, the girls made tea party hats. Those fancy hats started from an overturned styrofaom bowl, a headband and some pipe cleaners. We attached the headbands and then they decorated with tissue paper flowers, jewlels, stickers and feathers. They turned out adorable. All the little girls were quite proud of them and wore then all night. After our hats were finished we dined on tea sandwiches and fruit. They lead us in prayer, talked to us about tea party manners and read us "Gigi God's Little Princess". They told each girl how they were royalty, the daughter of a King. After the message we were off to a beautiful dessert bar. We had tea cookies and they had a milk bar with white, chocolate and strawberry milk. It was complete with pink cookies attached to each white plastic cup. My girls were in heaven.

After dinner, we had an evening of games and crafts. They played musical tea cups, toss the tea bag into the tea pot, they had a tresure hunt for jewels and then made a necklace, and we made magic wands and pictures frames.

It was a perfect evening fit for little princesses. My most favorite thing of the night was looking around and realizing how quickly this small(ish) town has become our community. As we are approaching our one year mark here, I was grateful and amazed by how connected we are. My girls and I knew so many people at the event. Paths cross frequently here, so we saw people we know from church, school, the gym and gymnastics. We spent the evening with close friends, surrounded also by good friends and aquaintances. I am so thankful to be surrounded by the community God has provided for us. On the way home, I was able to talk to the girls about how far we have come in the past year and talk to them about all that God has provided.

My Date for the Night

While the big girls headed with Daddy to the Twirly Whirly Ball, Gracyn and I went with Miss Mandy and Elle for a night at Build-A-Bear. Gracyn was thrilled to get to ride in Elle's car and I was thankful to Mandy for getting me to a mall! It is not exactly close here (about 40 minutes for me) so we never go. This was actually only my 3rd trip there in the year we have lived here and the other 2 were super quick runs, with the whole crew, just to grab one particular item. Mandy showed me around the mall a bit, but the little two did put up a protest when we tried to shop, so we just enjoyed our time with them. They got pretzels for dinner, then we headed to Build-A-Bear to, in Gracyn's words, "Blow-up our bears".



Gracyn picked a kitty to stuff. Elle hadn't been there before, and she couldn't quite understand why the animals didn't have any stuffing. She couldn't get excited about the shell of the bears, so she ended up picking a tiny stuffed cat that was already made. Gracyn stuffed her kitty and they had the best time at the bathtub. Both girls picked out clothes and then we were off to get cookies.






Addison had been waiting for bedtime all day. I had promised her that I would sleep with her a bit that night and she had been planning all day for all the things she wanted to tell me about while we cuddled. It lasted about 2 seconds, before the other 2 heard from their rooms that I was in there. One at a time, they came and jumped in the bed. Addison was good sport about it and we had some good snuggle time sharing stories from our evening. Eventually Reagan and Gracyn tired out and Addison got her few minutes alone with Mama. What a great day we all had!

Twirly Whirly Ball, 2012

Saturday evening Tommy got to take Addison and Reagan to the annual Twirly Whirly Ball at our gym. The girls were thrilled to for their fun night with Daddy. The fun for Mommy actually started weeks before. We had the best time planning outfits and shopping for dresses, shoes and jewelery.

Addison and I spent at least an hour in a dressing room a few weeks ago, picking out the perfect dress. She tried on dozens, paraded in front of the mirror and asked me to rank the dresses on a scale of 1 to 10. Ultimately, she picked the most expensive dress (one she had brought into the dressing room without my knowing). It was a tough life lessons in the fitting room, when I told her that she could have that dress, but it would mean she had to put back the coveted high-heels (age appropriate wedge)that she had chosen and wear shoes she already had at home. In the end, she picked a less expensive dress, she just couldn't part with the shoes.

Reagan was a different story. She caught of glimpse of her dress from across Target while we were out running errands. She took one look at it, decided that was what she wanted and couldn't be persuaded to try it on. She brought it home, was in love with it and never gave it a second thought. Total opposite experience, but equally fun.

Both girls got jewelery, sparkly hair glitter and hair accessories for Valentine's Day and they were all set. My fun continued on Saturday afternoon as the girls piled in my bathroom for mani/pedis and hair curling. My oldest two came out quite glamorous and thrilled. Daddy appeared in his tie and their excitement just steadily rose! I fought back tears as I chased them around taking a million pictures. As the day unfolded in front of me, I couldn't help thinking how quickly we would be getting girls ready for proms and weddings. Time passes so quickly I am glad for now they are just dating Daddy and they appreciate my wardrobe and hair help, I know all too soon that will change.

The ball was a big hit. The girls had a pizza and dessert buffet. They had a photographer take their picture and they did a few crafts. The ball had a DJ and a colorful disco ball. The girls danced the night away with their Daddy and all their favorite friends. Gracyn joins the fun next year and Daddy is going to have his hands full with all 3 beautiful girls.

Donuts with Dad

Reagan had a little Valentine celebration with her first love at school last week. They had "Donuts with Dad". She and her class worked for weeks making the special ties for their Daddies, answering a few questions about them (always funny), and preparing a few songs to sing. The classroom was beautifully decorated and ready to receive Daddies.

Reagan has the biggest potential, at least at this point, in my trio to be a Daddy's girl. They are all very much Mommy's Girls, but Reagan waivers some. She ADORES her Daddy. She waited and waited with much anticipation for her special day to arrive. She reminded Tommy several times to make sure it was on his calendar and he was ready. The morning of the big day Reagan carefully selected her dress and requested that I curl her hair. She looked adorable and she loved it!

When we arrived to school, the whole family (minus Addison who was at her own v-day school party) attended a special chapel service. The children learned all about the post office and how you could send love to people in the mail. They had a postal worker there and at the end, each child had a special Valentine, that she stamped and we sent off. The Valentine arrived to us in out mailbox the next day.

After chapel, Gracyn and I headed home and Tommy stayed for his date. He said they had the best time. She was so, so proud to have him there and I know that made his heart happy. We are so thankful for our sweet special girl. Daddy still loves her, even if she told the teacher that his favorite show was House Hunters, his favorite vacation was Texas and he writes a lot of papers for his job!

How we Super Bowl

Our Super Bowl party consisted of great friends and tons of yummy food. We ate until we were beyond stuffed. Who knew, I think Super Bowl day at the grocery store, might be busier than the week before Thanksgiving. I wanted to make sausage balls and had to go to 2 stores to find sausage. Even then, all that was left was reduced-fat.

We visited all through the evening. The girls were dressed up like princesses the entire time. We watched very little football, but we were treated to several shows written and performed by our little girls. We did gather the group for the half time show. I had already called the girls in when I realized it was Madonna. For a second, I wondered what they might see, but it turned out fine. The girls danced right along with the show, mine had just gotten dressed to head home, so they were sans dress-up for that part.

Poor Gracyn, she had been running low on sleep for days. She never naps anymore, if fact, if she even closes her eyes for a second in the afternoon, she will be up until midnight. She usually sleeps late one or two mornings a week, but hadn't done so recently. It all caught up to her at the party. I handed her to Tommy to hold her while I helped the big girls clean up toys. I came back a few mintues later and she was out cold! She slept through one of the girls' shows, the half-time show and the car trip home. We moved her to her bed fully clothed and she slept till morning.

I think we all required a bit of Super Bowl recovery on Monday! We were all tired and dragging a bit, but it was totally worth it!

2 Hours

In my former life, before babies, I set my alarm each day for 2 hours before I needed to head out the door to my classroom. Looking back, I haven't the slightest idea what I did in that 2 hours. I know I got myself dressed and ready, made our bed and packed a lunch, but these days that doesn't seem like much. I guess I did it all at a very slow and leisurely pace, usually while listening to the mornings Focus on the Family radio broadcast. I think this former life included lots of long, hot, quiet showers, and plenty of time for hair and make-up. In hindsight I think I could have sped it up a bit and gotten lots more sleep.

Fast forward to my current life. The first 2 hours of the day are a whirlwind. In 2 hours I shower and get myself dressed. Admittedly it is far too often with unwashed hair in a ponytail and gym clothes. The girls wake up and I get them breakfast. I pack anywhere between 1 to 4 lunches depending on the day's activities. On a good day I unload the dishwasher and get dinner going in the crockpot. When I finish in the kitchen I run upstairs and make all 4 beds. Yes, I know, the girls could (and can) do that themselves, but somehow it is just easier and faster (and prettier if I do it myself. I supervise (Spur along) Addison in the shower and get all 3 girls dressed. Then comes the hair....my girls wake up every day with 3 very serious cases of bed head!!! While Mama sports a ponytail, I am in the bathroom wetting them down and blow drying them each day....otherwise, they would be out and about with something resembling a bird's nest on the backs of their heads. Once we are all dressed, I bundle myself and all the girls up for the walk to Addison's bus stop. We bid her good-bye and 1 hour and 50 minutes later the morning is almost done.




The last 10 minutes of my morning routine, to complete the 2 hours is this! Reagan, Gracyn and I trek back, strip of the coats and head back inside. That is when I tackle this! How do they do this everyday? Not sure they even get toothpaste in their mouths. Tommy always looks at it and says, "They're just baby teeth, can we just stop making them brush them?". Three toothbrushes, two kinds of toothpaste and a big fat mess on the sink, every day.



I sure love my crazy, hectic life! I know someday I will miss that messy sink and I will wish I had kiddos standing outside my shower door asking for orange juice. For know, I just reflect back to my long, leisurely mornings and laugh at myself, wondering what I did with all my time back when I just thought I was busy!