Arrival

 Friday night we drove to the airport in hopes of picking up Josh's parents.

 The weather had been iffy all day long and we had heard over the VHF (our  community CB radio) that a plane headed for Russian Mission and Marshall had to turn around & get back to Bethel ASAP, so we weren't holding our breath.

 I was very happy to drive to the airport.  I haven't been since the night we flew in back in January.  It's a beautiful drive, and I enjoyed it. 

 Our evening got even better when we heard a plane coming through the clouds and it turned out Josh's parents were on it.

The boys were overjoyed to see Carol. 

And she them.

Just Write- Laundry

I got this idea from another blog I came across, and I thought it was brilliant.  The idea is to take something, an experience, and just write about it. No tying ideas together, no point. Just stringing words together about something you did or went through.

So when you see "Just Write" in the title, it's just me, expressing what's on my mind, going nowhere in particular.

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I opened the laundry room door with my right hand, the baby propped awkwardly on my left hip, his head leaning back, making it difficult to maneuver one-handed.  It was warm in there, smelled like dryer sheets & Tide.  I propped the baby up on the cold tile, leaning him against the laundry baskets piled up from a weeks' worth of laundry.  He cooed at me, his eyes still heavy with sleep, a sweet pudgy handprint stretching from his cheek to his forehead from having fallen asleep on it. 

I opened the dryer and put my hand inside.  The warmth touched my sleeves.  My fingers grasped at the sweatshirts and pajama bottoms that made up the load.  I threw each item haphazardly into yet another laundry basket, two feet away, in the kitchen. 

Then I opened the washer, grateful that my replacement had come and I no longer had to catch the rinse water in a pan placed under the unit, and began pulling items out to place in the dryer.  Once the load was in, I reached to my left to grab a dryer sheet and toss it in.

I then placed the next load in the washer to start the cycle all over again.  Tide? check. Downy? check. Correct settings? check.  Pushed start on both units, scooped up the baby, reminding myself that he needed a bib, and closed the door.

Let go

 First, I want to say that I know the picture quality of my last post was really awful. AWFUL. But I thought those pictures were hilarious and a real representation of how I spend my days.

They were in timeout.

In trouble.

Being disciplined.

Well, you could have fooled them. They were having a gay old time, playing "Corners" like we used to in the car, only on the bottom step of the stairs and with a lot more elbows.

I kept telling them to stop, but finally I gave in and grabbed the camera. 

Sometimes you just gotta let go.

 Like today. 

Today I let go.

 Today my kids are sick. Mostly Jack and the baby. (Will I always call him "the baby"? I don't even mean to do it, but I call him that at least as much as I call him Wyatt or Super Wy. Maybe even more... I guess we'll see.)

 Anyhoo, the kids are sick.  Wyatt is super snotty & extra cranky, and Jack, poor Jack, is really out of sorts. He has had this insane fever that has been really hard to keep under control.  It started yesterday morning. He woke up not feeling well. That lasted all morning, and then after naps he seemed better. I was so relieved! Then we got back from the post office, and he started to deteriorate again. 

 I gave him Tylenol when we got back from our errands. Then Ibuprofen at bedtime. Then Ibuprofen again before I went to bed and then Ibuprofen again at midnight when he woke up, completely forgetting I had given him some just two hours prior. I called Poison Control.  She assured me he would be just fine, that Ibuprofen is really pretty safe. She said he might complain of a tummy ache, is all. I felt so relieved. 

 I have nothing to say for myself except that I am sleep deprived and that is how it goes.  I went to bed at 10, woke up at 12, slept until 1:30 when I woke up to check on Jack again.  Slept from 2-4:30 when Wyatt woke up.  Then fell asleep to awaken to Logan telling me he was lonely and wanted a snuggle, at like five.  Tucked him in and crawled back in bed until six when Jack woke up needing more medicine.

 And so my day started.

While it sucked to wake up so tired, again, for like the hundredth day in a row, it was actually good to start my day this way.  I woke up knowing I would need to go with the flow. I woke up feeling good about my abilities as a mom (even though I had made a mistake) and knowing I could provide exactly what all three of them needed. If I would just let myself.

 So I did.  After my shower, Josh left for work and I settled into the morning. I made Logan Cheerios and Jack requested pancakes, so pancakes he got.  They wanted to watch a movie and snuggle on the couch, so we did.  They wanted to play upstairs on my bed, driving the "truck", so up we went.

Around eleven Jack tuckered out, so I carried him upstairs with his bubba and put him to bed, even though the "schedule" says he shouldn't sleep until noon. I continued with the laundry, Wyatt playing on the floor in the kitchen and Logan playing independently at the table.

 Josh came home for lunch at 11:30, as usual and he and Logan ate lunch together while I fed Super Wy.  Soon after Josh left to go back to work Jack woke up and came downstairs.  I fed him some applesauce while I ate my lunch. Then we moseyed back upstairs to see if we could get Logan a nap, as well as Jack.

Jack never fell asleep again, but that was alright.  Logan did, so he's snoozing away upstairs right now while Jack is laying on the couch watching Franklin, snuggling with Josh who is home early because tonight he'll head back for parent/teacher conferences.

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 In the last four days I have cleaned the entire house and washed everything (literally) in my broken washing machine. (Thank you Alice for the advice to put a pan under it!)  It's been messy and a pain in the butt, but at least the kids have been treated and all possibly infested items have been cleaned. 

(Almost.)

 This afternoon Josh & Joe will switch our washer/dryer combo for the ones' that the principal had in his unit before he left.  Then we will get a bed from Nichole (Yep, we are borrowing a bed from our neighbor) to set up in the playroom for Josh's parents.  I think that will make for more comfortable sleeping arrangements than an air mattress or the couch. 

 Then tomorrow I will put the finishing touches on their room and at 5pm we will head to the airport to pick them up.  They will be here ten days and will depart April 2nd.  Their visit will be awesome because A.) I will have someone to talk to other than my children all day; and B.) The weather is going to reach the upper twenties this weekend so we will be able to get out and show them around. Fun! Oh, and C.) They are bringing us MASSIVE groceries and we are very excited about that! 

Glad it was a busy, productive day, and that I also got in some quality time with all three boys. 

(There is one perk to the three of them napping at separate times!)

Here's hoping with Jack's fever broke, we get a little more sleep around here tonight! 

I'll keep you posted...

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday morning RANT

 I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was so COLD. I was literally trembling from being so cold. And I had on this many blankets. (You can't see me, but I am holding up 5 fingers!) Then I finally fell asleep and guess who woke up? Wyatt. I breastfed him for a while, then lay him back down.  As I laid him down he, of course, startled & began his blood curdling, you-didn't-just-lay-me-down-in-here-did-you? scream.  I just shook my head and walked my exhausted butt back upstairs.

Then I was too HOT to fall asleep. I changed my pajamas and crawled into bed, nestling into my down pillow, only to awake again, about four hours later, to Logan calling my name in the hallway. "Mommy? Mommy, I'm wet.  I'm all wet. In my pants. On my shirt. I'm all wet."

 Oh god.

 Sure enough. He had wet his pants in bed in an attempt to stay there until the light turned green. "You don't have to stay in bed if you need to pee, buddy. Just go potty and go straight back to bed, next time, okay?"

 Then I carried the boy and my tired old bones into the bathroom to change him.  Quietly we tip-toed down the hall back to his room, hoping not to wake his brother as I checked to see how wet his sheets were.  Luckily he had been wearing fleece jammies, so most of the pee was absorbed by those. I was able to set a blanket on the bit of wet and tuck him in with a new blanket. 

 I made my way back to bed only to lay there just long enough to nod off when Wyatt awoke again downstairs.  So I made my way down, scooped him out of his crib and nestled into our cozy spot in the recliner in an attempt to feed him back to sleep.  I was successful and as I was falling asleep yet again (this time on the couch) I heard the twins wake up and make their way downstairs. 

 The worst part of Logan wetting himself is not that I was up for the day today at 4:30am, it's that my washing machine is broken. A tiny piece of the rubber gasket on my front loader ripped off somehow and now once it's full of water, it leaks out the front of my machine.

 With Logan's Scabies diagnosis yesterday at the clinic here in Marshall, I not only have my regular laundry to do (which I am now super behind on, thanks to that stupid gasket!), but I basically need to wash every towel, blanket & article of clothing in the whole house to make sure the mites are dead and we won't re-infect ourselves.

 Ugh.

You know, when we had TV Tuesday was my favorite day, because Biggest Loser was on.  I think that makes this Tuesday sucking feel even worse!

Care Packages {Take Five}

Another amazing week for us at the Post Office, folks.

Your love & care packages never cease to amaze us!

Nanny & Papa:

My parents sent a box chock full of goodies.  A camping lantern (with LED lights) so that if the power is out for an extended period of time, the boys can still play; more Cars bad guys (hallelujah!!!) as well as an outside thermometer (hello -60!) and lots of groceries.

 She also included a pair of teeny-tiny grey camo Uggs for Wyatt, that are so super cozy.

And I gotta tell you, we were pretty excited about the chips! Especially Jack & Logan.

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Grandma Carol & Papa Carl:

 Carol & Carl's packages never disappoint. There is always butter and cheese. Those are like gold up here.  And this time, they even included mozerella for our Friday date night pizzas.  We also got olives, mushrooms, tomato paste, salami, pepperoni & regular Cheddar cheese.  Josh made an amazing pizza with our new ingredients. Yum!

We also got popcorn, my mail (hello Parents & Redbook!) and tons of candy for Josh's classroom.

They will be here Friday evening and they are bringing with them a load of groceries for us (chicken nuggets, apple juice concentrate, eggs...) That is going to be so awesome!

We are so excited to show them around Marshall, spend some time catching up and just have some family around, especially for Logan and Jack. I'm not sure they understand that they are really going to be here.  Jack told Grandma when she comes that they could Skype.

A few weeks back when they spoke on the phone I overheard Jack tell her, "You have to take four airplanes... two airplanes... three airplanes.  And when you see snow, you are in Alaska." How cute is that?!?

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New Jersey Fan:

Oh my blog fans... How I love you.  A new fan has popped up, New Jersey Fan (not to be confused with Chicago Fan) and the package she sent had me singing with joy.  She sent toys for Wyatt (adorable little "animal-cars") that he loves, as well as toys for Logan & Jack, which they love.  She sent Tow Mater/Finn McMissile walkie-talkies and the boys are in heaven!  And so am I. This gift has kept them entertained for days!  They are so cute, talking to Holley Shiftwell, making plans with Mater... Awesome.

 She also sent Top Ramen, Blueberry Cheerio snacks for Wyatt, Cars graham crackers (HUGE hit!), silly straws, and Funfetti pancake mix!  To go with the Funfetti (as well as Buttermilk) pancake mix, she sent REAL maple syrup! I can't wait to try it!

For Josh she sent pepperoni sticks (his favorite!) and for me she bought the Kellogg's bars I've been dreaming of since we left Josh's parents house.

And she also sent real potatoes.  Josh is so excited to have them. He has our whole dinner planned out tomorrow, centered around our real (not boxed!) potatoes! Doesn't take much to make us happy these days!

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Lynnette:

My sweet, sweet friend Lynnette, who just had her second baby, a son she named Owen (I love that name!) sent us an awesome care package.  My favorite part was the self-addressed stamped envelope she included so that the boys could write to her daughter Norah because she loves getting mail so much! Isn't that a brilliant idea!?! I love it!

Lynnette's package was one thing after another having us ooh and ahh.  She filled that thing to the brim with pears, apples, oranges & fruit leather bars. (Those things are divine, Lynnette!)

There was also candy bars, chips, magic putty & play-doh.

As well as baby food, and a few disposable diapers for Wyatt (because, as she says, every momma needs a break once in a while!) and two blow up balls that kept the boys entertained all afternoon.  (The best part? I wasn't breaking a sweat that they'd bust something because the balls are lightweight.)  Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, Lynnette.
{{hugs}}

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Julie:

  Last, but certainly not least, is Josh's sister Julie.  She sent an awesome box this week.  In it was Cars & Lightening McQueen socks for Jack & Logan, as well as kaleidoscopes (you should really hear them try to say that!) and yo-yo's.  They loved all of that.

She sent the stuff to make some Easter Egg cookies (a cookie dough mix, frosting & an egg shaped cookie cutter) and the boys are really excited to try it out. I just can't wait to use some food coloring to dye the frosting fun colors, and use up some of the sprinkles we have. Fun, fun, fun!

There was also Cars apple juice boxes, Thousand Island dressing (per my request, for taco salad), peanut butter & butter.

 And the last thing she sent was two packages of Fizzy Tub Colors.

Holy moly, were the boys ever excited to try them out!  We decided to mix a yellow and a blue, and their bath was this awesome green color. So fun!

Jack kept asking what would happen if he put his face in the water. I think he thought it might turn him green! I just love his grin in this one.

Thank you so much, Julie (and everyone) for helping Josh and I put smiles like this on our boys' faces.

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If I had one new request it would be for snack items, like:

Ritz

Better Cheddars or Cheez Itz

Chips (particularly Fritos or either type of Cheetoh's)

Chocolate graham crackers

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Thank you again for your love, thoughts, prayers & packages. When I was so homesick, it was nice to know that the next day we'd be heading to the post office to pick up some pieces of home, sent so lovingly, from all of you.