Trick Or Treat 2009

Pumpkin Carving. Nick was totally uninterested and REFUSED to stick his hand into the pumpkin to clean it out.


Lucas was interested in wielding the plastic knife that he was allowed to carve with, but he too refused to get his hands dirty with all the "spider webs in the pumpkin".


We went to a large community event sponsored by a church. It was perfect for the little ones and had lots of games to play and candy was being handed out. Lucas is a ferocious lion and Nick is a active monkey. We chose warm costumes with hoods because of the cold weather, and are glad that we did.


Look at that little monkey. He is too freakin' cute with that banana in his pocket.



















My little lion was anxiously waiting in line to jump in the bouncy house and he had such a good time he went back again and again.



















Nick got his spots for his monkey costume. Not sure why Dad put spots all over but it was still cute.


Lucas got his cat nose and whiskers.


And he ended up with a lion painted onto his forehead as well. Yaayyy for carnivals with face painting!





Toss the bean bags into the pot and get a prize. . . everyone gets a prize for trying!


Monkey got tired.


Lucas went door to door with AJ and some of his "friends" from the court. He was so excited that his friends went with him. And they are slightly older than Lucas so they showed him how this whole trick-or-treating is done. Lucas wanted to stop and talk to everyone and explained to multiple people how he was "a lion and not a scary lion but a nice lion". Ashley and Bubba, his friends, gently took him from house to house and made sure that he got candy in his bowl each time. He was so excited to be included and part of the group. I am so excited for him.

I think this is the first year that Halloween has been this fun and it has been so much fun because Lucas is so into it. I expect Christmas to be really fun this year too because Lucas is finally at an age where he is really into the holidays and festivities. Yaaayyyy! I've been waiting for this age to come!

Overheard by a Neighbor at the Front Door

The title says it all. Lucas and I had a conversation in the hallway (close to an open window) while my neighbor had apparently knocked on the front door and waited for me to answer. This is what my neighbor at the front door to my house overheard:

Me: Lucas get your hand out of your pants!
Lucas: My butt is itchy.
Me: Let me see.
Lucas: Nooooooo.
Me: Stop. Move your hand. Stop it. Lucas let me just look at it.
(pause)
Me: Lucas. Your butt itches when you start to poop and then suck it back into your butt.
Lucas: Me not poop.
Me: Yes you did, and now you have skid marks. That is what itches. Let's go wipe your butt.
Lucas: Me have skid MARKS!!!!!
Me: Do you need to poop on the toilet?
Lucas: Nooooooo.

Then the neighbor knocked again - this time I heard the knock. And then she laughed at me (I laughed too) as she told me what she heard. Great. Now my neighbor knows all about my poop conversations with the 3 year old. Thank goodness she has kids too.

Did Something Crazy

We just ordered a truck. It should arrive in a couple weeks. And I'm not even freaking out, because we have been thinking and planning this for a while now. But still - it's weird to pull that trigger, you know? There is no turning back!!!

Fire Bomb the House

We are just a huge germ bath in here. I think the only solution is to fire bomb the house so that we can get rid of what ever germs are on rotation making us all sick. Hey - I know someone who just got a huge gun that shoots fire. . .

You know how I was complaining in my last post about how loud and obnoxious AJ's coughing was? And I was deeply concerned about HIM keeping ME up all night with said coughing? Well he slept like a baby. I was up all night coughing my ass off and I was waking HIM up with MY coughing (and I even took Nyquil!!). F*#@ing Karma!

Took the dog to the vet yesterday for an unexplainable sickness she has been wrestling with for over a month now. They wanted a stool sample. . . Ewwww! Thankfully they gave me a handy little tool to collect the sample in. But her stools are so loose it was still yucky. She is now on a special prescription food diet for 5 days. She is also on drugs for her gut and I'm sure the vet will think of some other expensive things to do with the dog once the stool sample comes back from the lab. And if all these tests fail, don't worry because it could just be a stress induced imbalance of bacteria in her gut. STRESS??!!! She doesn't have stress! I HAVE STRESS!!

Then Nick. Oh yes Nick. I told you he'd be back to the doctor more times than you could count. I took him back today for an all over body rash that has persisted for two days now. It is a major rash too, otherwise I would have made him suffer through. He also has diarrhea. Again. He won't eat. Again. And I saw the same doctor. Again. They looked at him. Again. It appears that little Nick (aka Drama KING) has come down with another stomach bug - probably from his recent visit to the Emergency Department when he tried to bite through his own tongue - and nearly succeeded. The tongue is still ugly and the two doctors came in and oooed and ahhhhed at how ugly the tongue still is. Like I said: he doesn't do anything half-assed.

I had a parent teacher conference today with Lucas's teacher. Did I say today? I'm sorry, I meant to say at 7:30am. Because 7:30 am doesn't qualify as today when I should still be in my PJ's. Today starts when I become coherent. Lucas is doing alright. He is doing really well in some areas and not so well in others. The bulk of the stuff he needs to work on is social stuff. He gets overwhelmed in large chaotic groups. Some kids (such as Nick) excel in those situations and jump right into the mix, but Lucas stands back and doesn't know how to integrate with the group. Just like his Mommy and Daddy. We are both the exact same way. The teacher said that Lucas excels at small group work and individual work. She said she was blown away by his ability to follow verbal instructions. Yayyyy!! My yelling is working!! : ) But seriously, he is three years old.

I'm a Giver

I am listening to AJ cough up a lung in our bedroom. He finally has a full blown case of the flu, complete with a killer chest flu as well. I'm finally feeling somewhat healthy again and so I am the caregiver to all now, just like AJ did all last week. I swear he is coughing more than I did. And I wasn't this loud. So I, being the kind considerate caregiver that I am, went into AJ who was laying half dead on our bed and announced that we needed to lay out some ground rules. He smiled at me and immediately knew I was talking about him keeping me up all night with his coughing. I offered to inflate the airbed for him and he started to laugh, which threw him into another fit of painful coughing. I'm a real keeper aren't I? All the men are jealous that AJ got me first!

But all joking aside. The man refuses to take medicine for that cough and it is LOUD and constant. And I need my sleep so that I can maintain my striking good looks and genteel personality. But I'm a giver people. I care. And somehow I'm going to drug that man tonight, like it or not.

The kids had fun with stickers!!! They are so damn cute!!

Supportive All of the Time?

Is it wrong to sometimes wonder if the kids are going to work at McDonald's their whole lives? I don't wonder this all of the time. Just occasionally.

Edit: I wrote this after I asked Lucas to pick up some puzzle pieces. He turned the box upside down (open side on the floor) and started feeding puzzle pieces into the slits along the edge of the box. Nick was unable to help because he was too busy putting grapes in his mouth and then spitting them back out.

Thankfully AJ's Here

I am so grateful that AJ has been home all week to take care of us sickos. Now it seems he is very gradually becoming ill as well. With the kids it was sudden and with the adults it has been gradual. He has kept the kids quiet so I could sleep, he has cooked, fed the dog and done his best to keep everyone in the house happy and comfortable. He has responded to my every request and been very caring and thoughtful throughout this ordeal. AJ wouldn't expect me to be able to do his job well and I don't expect him to do mine well either.

Here are some pointers for the next time we all fall ill:

• The dog needs water. Check the bowl during the day and refill as needed.
• The sponge in the sink grows bacteria when you leave it sitting in filthy water. That is what the odor in the kitchen is. Get a new sponge and next time ring it out and set it up so it can dry between uses.
• When your wife doesn't emerge from the bedroom in over 15 hours you should probably check on her. Wake her up and make sure she isn't too dizzy to get out of bed to get her own water.
  
• When you hear banging on the wall coming from the master bedroom - check to see what is going on. It might be your wife who is too dizzy to get out of bed to get her own water.
• Painting projects for the kids are great but you need to clean up the paint before it dries.
• Splurge and buy me the expensive chicken noodle soup. Please. I know you are always looking for a deal but this matters. A LOT. That stuff you brought home was chicken fat, water and mediocre imitations of vegetables and noodles.
• The odor coming from the laundry room is the wet laundry sitting in the washing machine. For FOUR days. It isn't really a "mystery odor", a simple investigation would reveal the source.
• Pancake batter needs to be cleaned up promptly or it becomes cement.
• I don't mind showing you how to operate the dishwasher. I'm glad that you are doing dishes. I'll even show you how to work the vacuum if you want!
  

Love Kristin

Just Shoot Me Now

Seriously. Just kill me now.

I'm of course being overly dramatic but there is no doubt that this flu sucks. Today was my worst day yet. I spent all but 3 hours in bed with a terrible fever in and out of sleep. I'm dehydrated because instead of drinking I slept. I left the TV on (because my arms hurt too much to search for the remote which was lost in my bed) a program called Snapped all day. Snapped is about women who kill their loved ones and spouses. It was very surreal to have Snapped playing quietly in the background while I drifted in and out of consciousness.

Nick was up all night with a very high fever. Tylenol and Motrin combined didn't bring it down until THREE hours after we gave him the drugs. Nick and I collapsed at 3:45am on my bed and didn't really move until close to 9am. He has had a fever off and on all day and he has stopped drinking. We finally coerced him into taking fluids with some very sugary popsicles I had buried in the freezer. He had two Jelly Belly popsicles and then started to perk up. He is back to drinking but only a little bit at a time. I think he is alright though because his energy level came back up this evening and he was running around. I'm still watching him like a hawk though - when I'm coherent enough. He is so little that I really worry about him.

Anyway. AJ is getting sick now. I hope that I feel better tomorrow so that he can rest. Lucas was better but had a fever again today plus he is super irritable. To be honest both AJ and I want to kill the kids. I know they don't feel well but all the crying and screaming and short tempers are hard to take when you don't feel well either.

First of Many Traumas with Nick

Nick fell off a chair this afternoon. It was inevitable, he climbs everything and actively seeks out rooms that we are not in so he can climb without interference. Keeping up with Nick is impossible, so we generally keep all doors closed so he can't get into too much trouble.

Today, when he fell he bit through his tongue. It was very bloody and fairly upsetting. Neither AJ or I get worked up over blood, but when it is pooling and pouring out of your kids mouth and won't stop it caused both of us to be concerned. It eventually stopped and we got a look at the wound, which was very ugly. By this time my shirt (which I liked) was completely ruined and there was a mess in the kitchen from all of the soaked paper towels. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was a lot of blood.

We called the nurse advice line at Blue Cross Blue Shield and asked if we should go to the Doctor, they said that we should. Nick and I went and waited to be seen. While we waited a couple ambulances arrived carrying teenagers that were in a pretty bad car accident. Five teens total in the car two transported by ambulance, three arrived in the waiting room with less severe injuries. The parents of the badly injured children arrived in the waiting room and were frantic to see their children, they didn't know what condition their kids were in. The looks on their faces were horrible. I turned to Nick and whispered to him that I'd kill him if he ever made me look like that. After a while the various parents came back out to the waiting room to tell other relatives about the teenagers conditions, and thankfully it looked like everyone would be alright after the broken bones healed. But I've found that the pediatric waiting area at the Emergency Department is full of interesting folks.

Nick got pushed up to the front of the bunch because he had a really minor injury that could be evaluated in minutes. Essentially they wanted to get him out of there. As it turns out, unless the bite is at the tip of the tongue or is extreme (1/2 the tongue is severed) the doctors won't do much about it. The head doctor came in and evaluated Nick and told me that the procedure to stitch a tongue is pretty awful. They sedate the child, put a HOOK through the tongue and pull the tongue out, stitch it up and then remove the hook. I guess the procedure takes over an hour to perform. She said that the tongue is a huge muscle and it contracts on itself and heals quickly and without incident in most cases.

While Nick's tongue injury would probably require stitches on any other part of his body, this part of the body is the exception. Whew. Poor kid.

I told the Doctor that we'd be back soon enough. Nick is one of these kids that is balls to the wall, all or nothing, dare devil. He seems to live every moment to the fullest, lives only in the moment and feels every emotion with a great deal of passion. I think he is one of those kids that could be a really good race car driver, ER Doctor, gang leader or bank robber. He loves adrenaline and doesn't half-ass anything. I hope we are able to successfully steer his intelligence, energy and zest for adventure into a positive (and legal) direction. For now I have the nurse advice line on speed dial.

On the flu front, Nick's fever is back with a vengeance this evening. He seemed to be getting better for a while, but now he is sick again. I'm not worried about that yet because he is still eating and drinking. The doctor listened to his lungs tonight and they sound great. Maybe the stress of the evening caused a temporary relapse. Lucas is over the flu, I am still pretty sick, AJ seems to be immune from it for now which is really good news.

Lucas and Nick LOVE LOVE LOVE Steve from Blues Clues. They love Joe too but Steve seems to be the favorite. Nick refused to drink anything so I bought him mini-cans of sprite. He feels like such a grown-up with his own soda. He doesn't know that this is just a temporary Flu-only drink.


Nick and Lucas chillin' out on their couch. Lucas wasn't feeling too well and got up and moved away from Nick who was feeling very touchy-feely (he wanted hugs).

Mr. Mom

So now that I've been laid out AJ has graciously stayed home from work and is caring for the kids. Last night he did the dishes!!! And then he peeked his head into our room where I was convalescing and asked me how to start the dishwasher. That was pretty funny.

This morning I exited the bedroom and found the kids bouncing off the walls getting into trouble because they were bored out of their minds (clearly they are feeling better) and AJ happily watching Top Chef.

Men do things so differently than women do. I'm just grateful he is able to help me out while I recover.

More sickness

Earlier in the day I posted a rant about my visit to my doctor today. And it was posted on my blog. And then little Nick somehow deleted it while I was arguing with Lucas about drinking his "special flu juice". So there you have it.

I am sick. Went to the doctor who didn't examine me but stared at the computer and asked me questions that the computer prompted her to ask. She concluded I either have anxiety or allergies. I then waited in the room for her to grace me with her presence again for 70 minutes, at which point I stood up and walked out. Fuck it.

They called me on my way home and apologized. Now that I am home I am having more definitive symptoms of the flu such as chills and a productive cough and body aches, which weren't there earlier today. Wonderful. So much for my mysterious chest infection . . .it is after all the flu. If I'd have known that I'd have stayed home.

AJ is swamped at work and can't take much time off and I am really tired and the kids are driving us both bonkers. The dog is driving us bonkers too. There is the update. I've gotta say that this is unlike any flu I've ever had. It didn't mess around at all, it went straight for my chest and has been sitting in there for several days now and just today do I get the fever. It doesn't feel like I'm going to be recovering anytime soon either. But I'm grumpy and pessimistic right now so take that into account when you read this.

Flu Management

We're only in day one of the flu but I thought I'd share a few things I've learned thus far.

Things to have in your house:

• Diaper rash cream. Diarrhea brings diaper rash to a whole new level.
• Yummy liquids in cool bottles/containers. My kids love water but won't touch it now that they are sick. Short of serving them alcohol anything goes at this point as long as they drink it.
• Lots of laundry detergent - scented. Accidents happen with sick kids and those accidents STINK. You want to get rid of the odors and Oxiclean isn't 100% on odor removal.
• Scented antibacterial cleaners. I like this one because it covers the odors and kills the germs. I just cleaned an entire bathroom with it actually - which reminds me . . .
  
• Remove fluffy bathmats from in front of the tub/toilet. Replace them with a thick washable towel. Trust me. Don't ask why, just do it.
• Make sure the mattress protectors are on the beds . . . and not in the linen closet.
• Have multiple medicine droppers. Nick alone is on 5 medications and when I want to give him multiple meds at one time it gets tedious washing the dropper out each time and he looses patience.

That's it so far. I'll keep you posted.

Oink Oink

Yup. It has finally arrived at our house. The dreaded swine flu. . . . dum da da dummmmm. First Nick was struck down mid-day with a mysterious fever that quickly accelerated from a "hmm this is weird" fever to a "Oh my Gosh he is burning up" fever. All in about 2.5 - 3 hours. We coincidentally had an appointment for him at the doctor for a suspected ear infection. He had a long lasting cold and was tugging on his right ear a lot (see pic from waiting room as evidence). Then around 11:30 he started with the fever. By 2:00 he was at 103+ and was lethargic. Example: This kid has never, not one day in his life, allowed me to lay him down in his stroller in the "bed position" but today he let me lay him there and never moved or protested. He was just plain sick. And as it turns out he has a sinus infection AND the H1N1 virus. Yippeee! But wait it gets better . . . . . . (insert dramatic pause).

They gave him tamiflu for his flu and antibiotics for his sinus infection. I sure hope he feels better soon. That little baby was so hot when he was on my lap that he was making me hot too.

This evening I started to feel, um, funny. My chest is tight and I have a headache and I don't feel in fighting form. So I walk into AJ in the living room and tell him to brace himself because I think I too may be getting sick. He replies that I need to brace myself because he doesn't feel so hot either. He then asked me to get him water because I was standing.

This is going to get ugly people. Very ugly. I like to be cared for when sick. AJ is a care giver, that is one of the main reasons I married him. He turns into a BIG ASS BABY when he is sick and wants to be cared for too. Up until this point we have never simultaneously been sick together. This could cause some serious strain on our marriage. No joke. And throw a couple of sick babies in the mix and . . . well I am cringing just thinking about this.

Here are some pictures:

This is Nick at the doctor's office today. He was all flushed with fever. You can see he really doesn't feel well at all. That spark is gone from his eyes.



Here is Lucas in the waiting room. I made him stay in the stroller and repeatedly told him "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! It's all yucky so no touching!!" So far Lucas feels just great. Let's hope he has a superior immune system and breezes through this flu bug without incident.


Here is AJ after telling me he might be sick also.


This is all the jam I've been making every night for four nights. AJ has a lot of people we need to remember during the Holidays and I thought I'd get a jump on things before it got too crazy around here. I've got about four batches left to do. So far we have 2 batches of peach, 1 apricot and1 raspberry. I think I'll do another 2 batches of berries and 2 apricot pineapples. I had some of the raspberry on my toast this morning and it was good. I'm glad I went with the fresh berries instead of the frozen, you can tell the difference.

Recent pictures

This is the lovely group of ladies that made Christmas presents with me. Amy in the front was the ring leader and is really very talented with crafts. She told us all what to do, let us use all of her very fancy crafting supplies and held our hands if we needed help. We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to get away from the house minus children! It is amazing how often women talk about boobs, boob jobs, tummy tucks and waxing when there aren't children or men around. The moment Amy's husband got home we all were speaking in hushed tones. Strange, but I was doing it too and I didn't even realize it.


Lucas had a spider painted on his face at the Carnaval they had at his preschool. He had so much fun.


Here is little Lucas playing outside with Miss. Olivia.



Nick decided to color himself and not the paper. I just let him. Why fight it?



Lucas watched in horror. He has never been inclined to color himself, it would just be way too messy.


The kids wear irrigation boots (for children!) because they insist on standing in the troughs around my plants when they get watered. So once again, I don't fight it, I just put boots on them.




Nick chewing a rock? Whatever he was doing he sure was happy doing it.

Ewweey Eww

Dog poop, cat poop, toddler poop, preschooler poop, everybody's poop everywhere. When does everyone start to clean their own bottoms, clean their own litter and use their own pooper scooper?

That's it! No fiber for anyone - for a week!!

Don't Mess with Mama

Dear Mother F*@#%ing Spider,

You might remember a few years back, pre-children, I liked you and your relatives. I was not too concerned about you visiting me and my husband in our home uninvited. As you recall I would say hello to you and then gently carry you outside to an area where I thought you would have the most success with your hunting. I didn't own any insecticides and was by all definitions a tree hugger (aka spider hugger). My views of you and your relatives remained unchanged despite a terrible bite from an immature male Apache recluse spider which landed me in the hospital. I forgave everyone involved and continued to be fascinated with your kind and photographed you regularly.

Today dear Spider you crossed the line. Taking up RESIDENCE in my baby's room right by his crib. . . well that is just a little too presumptuous. And then after I politely asked you to get into a safe container so I could transport you outside you had the guts to show me your red belly! What an insult!! And I'll just say it: What a bitch.



So dear Spider I'd like to introduce you to death. Death meet the Mother F*@#%ing Spider, AKA: your newest target.

Spider I recognize that you have evolved into quite a powerful little animal in the millions of years it has taken you to arrive at your present form. You have a wonderfully solid exoskeleton which is very difficult to penetrate. You have venom which allows you to incapacitate your prey and anybody who decides to mess with you. You have an incredibly powerful web, which us humans have yet to be able to compete with.

But there is one thing I have that you don't have. I have the magnificent Chemical Engineers at Dow Agro. And as a result of their hard work this vulnerable human with my soft, easy to penetrate skin now possess chemicals. No longer do I need to flail blindly at you with a wad of towels trying to kill you, and I don't need to try to step on you either. Nope. I can stand far away and spray you. And I did. Tell your friends that the rules have changed. Living with my children is not an option and is punishable by death.

Annnnd We're Back to the Crib

Nick has been in his crib screaming for one hour and 10 minutes. I have gone in and tried to comfort him but he refuses. He is just pissed off and by God the world needs to know all about it. I can't keep chasing him around the house trying to keep him in his big boy bed, he is exhausted and needs sleep. The crib is unacceptable to him. He wants to sleep in Mommy's arms and that is ALL that he wants. I have important shit to do such as running to the bathroom every 15 minutes because I ate something baaaad, very bad. So I can't hold him as much as I'd like to cave in right now, I just can't. So I keep going in, hugging him and trying to lay him back down and he just keeps crying. Why can't this kid just sleep like all other kids on the planet? He has always been sooooo difficult when it comes to the sleep thing. AHHHHHH. I hate this parenting thing sometimes. This is so hard.

Ongoing Projects

This weekend we attempted to tackle some projects that have been hanging over our heads. And as usual we didn't finish any of them. But at least we made a dent. I think the most important thing that was accomplished is that I actually got some laundry folded. Usually we dig through a pile of clean clothes.

Here is a picture of the newly painted fireplace. What you don't see are all the areas that need touching up and the unfinished side of the fireplace. However, I really like this color. The color on the wall to the left is a very muted green. The two colors look really good together - I think.


The boys were working with Dad sanding the "new" dining table. I made them wear masks so they wouldn't inhale all those nasty particles.



Here is the table after it has been stained with one coat of varnish. It will need to be sanded and varnished several more times. I want a really thick varnish so that the kids will have a harder time destroying the table. Also we have to paint the legs white. The chairs still need to be hand sanded, stained and varnished and in places painted. Lots of work for a single table. I suppose by this time next year it might be done.


This is my bathroom. It has looked like this for three months now. Tonight is the night I try to finish the painting in there.


Here are the boys in my tub. Apparently Mom's tub is better than their tub and they insist that this is where they want to bathe now.


"I have a Roman nose. . ."

So Thankful

A friend of mine lost her mother, about 2 hours ago. She is 8 months pregnant and has a 18 month old little girl. I can't imagine the huge hole that will now be in her life. Can you imagine never seeing your mother hold your little baby? Or never seeing her get to know her grand children? I just can't imagine. Who does she call for the maternal wisdom that we all need when raising children? I constantly turn to my mom for advice. I don't know what I'd do without my mom.

They're baaaack

The balloonists. Everywhere you go each morning there they are and there is no avoiding them. And today I nearly crashed because of them. It was my own fault. Driving, taking pictures, and balloon watching don't go together. It is hard not to watch them though because they are so neat. But the annual balloon festival marks my escape from hell in southeastern New Mexico. One year ago I arrived up here and was amazed at all the places to go and things to do and I'm happy to report that I still feel much as I did one year ago. I am still amazed that I can go to the farmers market and LOAD UP on beautiful fruits and veggies while paying half the price I would have paid for crappy produce in C-bad. I admit that I get a little ruffled when some of the moms in my mommy group don't fully appreciate this area and all that it offers. I just want to yell at them that they have NO IDEA what it is like out there!!! Soak it up! Enjoy! But I can't do that without sounding crazy. But truly each and every day I am thankful that we are where we are. The kids are happy, AJ loves his job and I'm slowly developing a support group of friends here in the neighborhood which feels good.

A chase vehicle (just look at the sticker on the side of it)

This balloon landed in the neighborhood it is hovering over. I don't know how they decide where to land.

There are at least 4 balloons in the bottom picture. . . they are everywhere.

Here are the kids playing with some new items that were sent to them by some family. They were so excited. And by the way, this picture was taken at about 10:00am and note that they are still in their PJ's. No one wanted to get dressed and I didn't feel like fighting about it.