just.stop.

Seriously?

Sunday: Caught austin's puke in my hands in sacrament meeting. Definitely caused a distraction getting him out, getting Ryan to take him home, finding disinfectant cleaner to clean the gym floor. I can only imagine the awesome things the people sitting behind us were thinking.

Today: Downstairs exercising. Hear Austin screaming like crazy. Run upstairs to find him covered in puke. Thats right - - coughing caused again. Only this time all over my pillow and couch. One of those moments where you don't even know where to start. Throw everything in the washer, put screaming Ausy in the tub, deal with the couch/pillow fiasco later.

And tonight we are taking family pictures. We will not cancel. I have been wanting to do this for months and months. I am still working on what I will wear. Why oh why did I not find my own outfit first? Dumb.

infectious diseases

Mia has had some awful luck lately. Coughing so much she throws up (sometimes daily). Pink eye. And now she has a staph infection.

She had a rough night on Wednesday night, waking up all night long crying, pointing to her diaper and saying "potty." No, she didn't really need to go potty but I had no idea what was wrong. It looked like she had a little bit of a diaper rash but I just put some cream on it and put her back to bed. The next morning I woke up to find this:

An awful rash all over her legs which has now spread pretty much over her whole body. It is itchy and awful and looks so so painful. I took her to the doctor and she has been taking an antibiotic which has seemed to help the itchiness, but it still looks awful. I feel so bad for our little leper.

We have been able to go out to dinner with friends and with our kids. It helped me remember how hard it is to have an adult  conversation with my three children trying to chime in.  But it was fun nonetheless.

And then tonight I took Mady and Austin up to see The Goofy Movie at BYU. They hadn't seen it before and Mady loved it (and the free popcorn) but all Austin could talk about was Max's bad dream where he turns into Goofy. Too scary for him, apparently.

china

Yesterday I took the kids to a trampoline place. They were a lot braver then I thought they would be and even Mia was jumping on the trampolines.

And then she started coughing. So hard she threw up. Of COURSE I didn't have any extra clothes, so I stripped her down to her diaper and let her keep jumping.

Austin is going through a rebellious phase where he says things like "I don't want to obey." "Your a stinky pants" (pretty much the worst thing he can think of to say.) I'm kind of struggling with how to discipline him because nothing really seems to be working. And he does some CRAZY things that I just haven't had to deal with before. Like we went to the grocery store and he was so mad that we couldn't find a cart with a truck on the front that he just took off running through the store. I piled the girls in the cart so I could take off after him but I couldn't find him. My heart was beating a million miles a minute and finally I spotted him. Of course as soon as he saw me he took off again. When I finally caught him I spanked him right there in the store and buckled him in the front of the cart so he couldn't get out. I was so frustrated and scared that something would happen to him.Meanwhile instead of being sorry he says "Mom you are not my very best friend. I don't love you." Cue the tears and feeling like a disaster of a mom.

He has also reverted on potty training and is having accidents again. He just forgets (so he says)! And wetting the bed at night. I kind of just don't know what to do with him.

Last night I made Indian food. I love making it but the kitchen clean-up afterwards is the worst.


It sounds like this has been a crappy week but really things are good. Ryan isn't working as late as he used to. I am all caught up on Downton Abbey. My house is comparatively clean. I am finding time to exercise and train. My garden is surviving. I just read a good book.

our little china doll

 

doing some serious thinking

To remember:

Mady: "Mom, my banana has a rash"
Me: "Wait...your banana has what?? Oh - you mean a BRUISE"

weekender

This weekend:

- watched Mady play baseball. Loved it, as always. She is even starting to remember to run after she hits the ball.

- 11 mile bike ride. And officially signed up for a triathlon in June. Nervous.

- hit balls with the fam. I had the shanks. It was not a pretty sight, but we still had some fun.

- amazing dinner night with friends to The Copper Onion in SLC. Delicious food, good conversation, sans children.

- snuck out on the golf course to play #8 with Ryan. 

- crazy packed Sunday (as always).

- quick family dinner with the Salmon's. I finally made Ryan's birthday cheesecake. Used our last frozen raspberries from Grandma's garden to top it off. He was definitely worth it.

- played the organ/piano for our stake seminary graduation.

- went to bed early-ish to start our week off on the right foot.

I love weekends.

pomp and circumstance

Last night Mady had a joy school graduation celebration! She has been so excited for a looong time. It did not disappoint. She loves attention. 

We barbecued, presented "scrolls" (as Mady called them - diplomas) and graduation caps (made by me!), and the kids got adorable cupcakes. It was a fun party to celebrate a fun school year. The only sad part was that Mia threw up right before I left. I thought she was better, but no. So after a quick bath and an emergency call to Ryan to come home (he wasn't going to be able to come. Work.) He came home to put the munchkin to bed and I took Mady and Austin to the party. I tried to over-document the event for Ryan, even though he thought the event was a little over the top! Hey, what are parents for.

- took Mia to the doctor after a hard night of coughing, fever and throwing up. Turns out she does have pink eye as well as a nasty cough. Lots of resting for her.

- took Ryan on a birthday date to his favorite Pizzeria 712. Loved everything, like always.

- hauled a lethargic little Mia around (as well as the other kids) yesterday to get the oil changed and go to the library. It was good to get out of the house and then come home to take a nap.

- made some delicious rhubarb streusel muffins to go with our salad for dinner last night. Yum yum.


And the overheard breakfast conversation:

Mady: "Undies are for girls. Underwear are for boys."
Austin: "No, Underwear are for girls. Undies are for boys."

back and forth....

Mady: "Austin, we aren't supposed to talk about underwear. Only when you go to the bathroom."

garden

Ryan was out of town last week. I kept myself super busy on projects I decided to surprise him with for his birthday, which is today! For months I have been drawing up plans for plants in our front yard. Researching kinds, measuring the space we have...I've been stressed out about it looking great. Ryan was a little sick of me asking him what he thought about this plant or this tree. I decided it would be a great surprise for me to just get it done so he wouldn't have to worry about it any more.

Luckily I had my mom and dad help me. We had an expensive trip to the nursery, but got everything I wanted. We spent an entire day planting all the bushes and plants I bought...just for the front yard and side rock walls. The next day my mom and I spent putting in sprinkling system to all those plants. Let me tell you, if you want to feel empowered or like you can do anything just put in your sprinklers. It was awesome.

Meanwhile, my dad decided to tackle our garden. I originally had wanted to build some garden boxes but after some research decided that probably wasn't the best option. Instead, my dad enclosed an area with huge wooden timbers which we then filled with gorgeous topsoil. We started planting while Ryan was gone, but honestly just ran out of time. This was a huge project. We finished planting yesterday, in between going to our best friend's beautiful wedding and reception, and ended up with cantaloupe, cucumber, potatoes, raspberries, carrots, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and pumpkins. I honestly lie in bed at night thinking about the garden because I am so excited (it is my first real garden!). I just hope we can keep some of it alive!

The kids were amazing little helpers, although by the end they were a little bored of all the hard work outside. Mady said "Mom we have had some boring days. Can we have a fun day now?"

the view from our back porch

Ryan was so surprised and loves having all the hard work done :)

And today is Ryan's 30th birthday. To be honest, it has been an underwhelming day and I feel bad about it. I made my favorite french toast breakfast that I could just pop in the oven, which was a delicious start to the day. Then Mia and Austin both woke up with swollen, gunky eyes that we suspect may be pink eye so they had to stay home from church. I only had one surprise for Ryan, which wasn't that exciting (a weed whacker for the yard). I didn't even get to make him a cake or make him a special dinner because his family is doing a mother's day dinner while his little brother calls from his mission. For my standards, I kind of failed this birthday.

Except the finished yard. I guess I did ok there.

To remember:

- Ryan was frustrated with the sticky mess on Mady's fingers after eating cotton candy. He said "this is why I hate cotton candy"    Mady was quiet for a minute, then looked at him and said "But did you always hate it, even when you were a little boy?"

-Mia is talking up a storm and will try and repeat anything you say. She said the prayer this morning and her little jibber-jabber was adorable. I love it when she says "Dixie."

-Austin has a hard time pronouncing many letters. While driving past his friend Bradley's house he said "Look there is Bradley's house!" but it came out a little scrambled. Mady tried to help him pronounce it by breaking down each syllable: Br....aaa....ddd...leeeee. Finally Austin just said "I'm doing my best!"

-Mady dancing like a ballerina last night at Kyle and Rebecca's reception. She was in heaven. And not understanding why she couldn't open all those presents...