Easter '11

We had a nice, pretty quiet Easter! It was super rainy which was a bummer, but mostly because we had to hide eggs inside the house and rain boots replaced cute dress shoes haha The Easter bunny didn't bring a ton of stuff this year which is fine because Easter isn't about candy and toys ;) I was a bit disappointed we did not make it to Mass as a family, we were all ready to go and about 20mins before we had to leave, Audrey and Charlotte started having a melt down that we could not comfort them out of so it was obvious they needed a nap. I figure Jesus understood ;) We also didn't get to go to our home parish which was disappointing because they have finished a big remodel and I wanted our extended family to see it but they wanted to go downtown to our Cathedral so we opted to go with our family over going to our parish by ourselves. We had a nice family dinner with all our extended family too! All in all a nice, quiet Easter was perfect!

Easter buckets so big they could sit in them!

Also good for being robots

My sweet twinesses :)

Best Friends

I absolutely adore this picture of them! Best part, they did it all on their own, this was not staged! :)

Like father, like son hahaha

Charlotte had to try too

As well as Audrey hahaha

Mommy and my snuggler

Audrey was all about having her picture taken!

My sister Paula, her husband Jason and my nephew Simon!

The kids table hehe

This was Simon's first Easter!

A Light at the End of the Potty Training Tunnel???

The last 2 days, Audrey and Charlotte asked to go potty!! (finally!!) They even INSISTED they sleep in panties because, to quote my very stubborn daughter Audrey, "I A BIG GIRL!" Hahaha Who am I to argue with that? So I found them each a pair of those thick Gerber undies, had them wear the plastic covers over them and put beach towels down on their beds! I really wasn't sure they were ready to go all night dry, obviously hahaha They had done really well yesterday! Lotty had only 1 accident but once used the potty once. Audrey decided to use the "big potty" instead of the little one and was doing great! She went twice in the potty but had about half a dozen accidents. So they woke up this morning, pretty wet, but surprisingly they have been wetter when their diapers fail them hahaha Audrey had a rough morning, she went through 5 pairs of panties in about 30 minutes. Charlotte stayed dry all morning!! Just before lunch, I fell asleep on the couch (thank you decongestants) and was woken up by Charlotte shaking me yelling "I DID IT!!" I had pulled their little potties out to the living room and she had taken off her panties and almost filled her potty! I was so proud of her! As I was helping her get cleaned up and empty her potty, Audrey apparently felt left out because the next thing I know, she is running to the bathroom yelling "I DID IT TOO MOMMY!!" Sure thing, she had done the same thing!! They stayed dry all through lunch, didn't need to go potty before naps so I set them up the same as last night. They were only a little wet when they woke up from naps but were in pretty grumpy moods plus we needed to go get Kate from school, so they went in their first diapers in over 24 hours! They have been bouncing around, playing with Kate and Naty so I haven't pushed them to go back in panties this evening. We'll try to go before bed again and take it from there in the morning! I'm very encouraged that they have been the ones asking/wanting to do this finally! I'm hoping that is a sure sign they just need to get their basics down and then they'll be potty trained! *fingers crossed*

Cute Memories

I have a friend who recently started a blog and I think she has such a good take on why to blog (at least to me) She said blogging is her fix for a bad memory so she can remember all the things she wants to about her children growing up. I love it and I think it finally gave me focus for this blog. It's what I always meant it to be, but as you know I am an active Facebooker too so I already share so much on there. But it's hard to recall things on there, only pictures and notes are easily accessed so years from now, I won't be able to find that silly story Naty told me or the sweet thing Kate did for daddy. Kate is already 5 and I feel like I've forgotten so many little stories like that. I figure those of you who will continue to read this blog are most likely fellow parents and can understand ;) Ok so on to the real story hahaha

Audrey and Charlotte are potty training right now and doing really great in my opinion! Charlotte is going pee in her potty pretty constantly already and although we had a poop accident in her panties today, she wasn't very upset about it and I could see the cogs turning in her head as she was figuring out how not to do that again. Audrey has been a slower learner but she is finally peeing on the potty and is enjoying getting high-fives for it and love to go around telling everyone she is a big girl!

Potty training twins has been interesting but not as big of a challenge as I worried it might be. The only thing I am really doing different this time then when I trained Kate and Naty is we are using the little potties, in the past I have just used the little seat over the big potty. I couldn't figure a way around the inevitable problem of both of them having to go at the same time, so I figure we'll get the basics down then move to the big potty. They have been so funny together, just sitting there waiting for someone to pee so they can celebrate! Their favorite thing to do is have me read Llama Llama Mad At Mama (trying not to read into that ;) hahahaha) or play their "game phones" (old iphones we have loaded with kids games) We have had to get creative a few times to keep them on the potty when I know they need to go! Apparently having to sit so close to each other makes them fight because they have gotten into so many slapping fights! Sometimes you can tell they are playing but then a few, they are serious baby fight club time!

I keep trying to get a video of Charlotte's celebration when she goes pee because it's hilarious!! She goes around screaming "I DID IT!!" and pumping her fists, giving everyone high-fives and then saying "I a big girl! I go potty!" Love it! Audrey is finally getting excited like that too, but after she went the first time I asked her if she was proud of herself and from behind her game phone she very flatly answered "Yeah." LOL I thought it was funny what a contrast it was to the Lotty parade!

Potty Training Day 1 (and still on a fort kick hehehe)

They hadn't gone all morning so I knew they would pee the second
I let them off, so I gave in and let them watch TV for a bit. It was a fruitless effort 

Kate came home from school with TP roll binoculars, the girls were so excited
about them that I made them some. Kept them on the potty for a good 30mins!

Audrey and her game phone, I believe this was the first time she
finally peed though!

We have junk in the trunk issues with panties ;) I think it's funny

This whole process is bittersweet. This is the last time I plan on going through this stage (although who knows what God has planned) So I am trying to enjoy this stage and not stress that they aren't all trained in 3 days or something like that. They are doing great and I know they will continue to learn and master it! It will be nice (and strange) to not have to buy diapers anymore after close to 5.5 years of buying them straight!! ;)

Pajama Party!

Kate's class has been having Teddy Bear week and today is the last day so they are having a pajama party with their bears! She was so excited about it! We let her go shopping for a new set of "pretty" pjs last night. She was pretty funny while shopping, she had to go through both the big girl and baby girl section and carefully examine all her options hahaha It was very scientific ;) These are the jammies she finally chose..

Miss Kate is a big Hello Kitty fan

Because my mom had an early morning meeting, she wasn't here to stay with the little three like normal, so they had to come drop her off. I am not a morning person, so all children not going to school and myself are usually in our pjs most of the morning. That back fired on me today since they knew Kate was having a pajama party and they were in their pajamas, they thought they were going to get to go :( They were pretty heart broken. By some miracle my brain was working today though, LOL, so I quickly told them we could have our own pajama party! We started by building a fort in the living room then popping some popcorn and watching a movie together!

Our fort

Popcorn and a movie!

The pajama party is currently outside getting some fresh air, then mommy is hoping we can take a short nap before going to pick up Kate! I doubt that one will work, but a mommy can dream right? ;)

Fun with Allergies

Oh my Audrey, she is proving to be the one to keep me on my toes most! So, a week after the scarlet fever fun, I am woken up by Kate at 7am saying "Mommy, come quick! Audrey is COVERED in spots!" Complete with arm gestures to relay how serious this was. I can't help thinking her gestures are funny because they come straight from her elaborate Italian side ;) Ok so I get out of bed and go find Audrey, as I'm walking up I can already see she is acting normal, she even greets me with her thousand watt-smiling-happy-morning-person smile! But when she turns around this is what her face looked like...

Her poor face

When I went to change her diaper

She was absolutely COVERED head to toe. I was totally baffled because these spots were all different shapes, sizes, some were clustered together, some more spaced out, some raised, some not, and some redder then others. Honestly the first thought I had was that my dare devil had somehow gotten chicken pox Hahaha I can see she isn't in any distress so no need to rush her to the ER but it's 2 hours til my pedi is open. Thank God for social networking and the BEST mommy friends ever!! I posted a picture on Facebook and asked if anyone had any ideas, within about 2 minutes I had a friend say amoxicillin allergy, which of course she was on for her scarlet fever. Within about 20 minutes I had several friends chiming in with the same thing! Of course I was out of Benedryl so I had to run and get some, but I was feeling so much better about the situation! I totally forget that my brother is allergic to amoxicillin too so as soon as my friends said that, it jarred my memory and this was no longer quite such a big surprise. I called the ped office when they opened and just because she had had scarlet fever, they wanted to see her. Luckily we were able to get an appointment right away, within 15mins actually so I had to run around like a chicken with my head cut off getting us ready! My mom didn't have to be to work early that day, so she was able to stay with Naty and Lotty. It was a quick visit, didn't take long at all to confirm it so we got her chart labeled with the allergy and she wrote Audrey a new Rx to finish her antibiotic run. My poor child looks like a leper so we are laying low until the rash clears up as to not concern the public ;) Luckily the weather has been warmer so she can at least play out back with her sisters!

She is proudly showing off her spots today!
They are her "puppy spots" as in 101 Dalmatians LOL

Just a Little Thought

Today has been interesting. I'm feeling better and so is Audrey, which is great, but now I find myself getting caught playing catch up around the house. So, here I am, still in my pjs, eating lunch, making a list of where to start up cleaning because I don't want to over do it and relapse, I get a call and the exterminator service will be here in 20 minutes to do the annual termite inspection! I did not make this appointment, another family member did and I'm not going to lie, I was very pissed they did not reschedule for me when they got the call this morning. So, cut to me running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, picking up, throwing clothes on Naty and I (Audrey and Lotty were napping), but I didn't have time to vacuum and the kitchen is a mess that is no quick fix. Bug guy came, we're good, I was mortified the whole time. That got my hair on fire so I start laundry, dishes and I'm in a full tizzy, not pretty. I'm just about to start on bathrooms when Audrey comes don from her nap. Snuggling while they finish waking up is something we love to do, so I stop and pick her up and we go sit. Next thing I know, she is sound asleep again! I haven't had the pleasure of snuggling a sleeping (non-sick) girl in months! :) So, this whole story is leading up to the simple thought I had while holding my sweet little girl, not doing anything I thought I absolutely needed to do, kids help us remember what is important and they constantly are reminding us of that in the smallest ways. For me today, Audrey helped me remember that a spotless house and a showered mommy are not as important as snuggling while I can with my girl :)

Audrey, fast asleep on me <3

What a 24 Hours!!

I'm feeling quite drained today, yesterday was more excitement then I had bargained for. Jason had a mid-year conference to go to in Florida for three days so we spent this afternoon running around town with Naty, Audrey and Lotty getting some errands done so I didn't have to worried about trying to get them done while he was gone. Had a lovely time, ate lunch out, bought the girls Despicable Me when we were at Target, and then we dropped off Daddy at the airport and went to pick up Kate from school. About 5pm, I was helping Kate and Naty decorate this paper teddy bear for a project in Kate's class when Audrey came up and laid down on the floor next to me. I went to give her a kiss, thinking she was just tired from the day, found that she felt very warm :(

First thing I did was take her jeans off to help her cool off a bit, she then pulled her shirt up and saw this red, spotty rash all over her upper torso. I then followed it and saw it was on her neck and face too! I was home all by myself so as I was taking Audrey's temp (turned to only 100.7 thank goodness) and getting her some ibuprofen, I called my mom at work because my brain tends to freeze up in times like this, so I needed help figuring out what to so because I really didn't want to have to take the other 3 girls to urgent care with me. My dad was on his way home and luckily it turned out my brother was home, so Daniel came and stayed with the girl so I could leave with Audrey for Urgent Care right away. Got all checked into Urgent Care and was told it would be a little over an hour before she would be seen, this urgent care is only about a mile from our house and they keep a schedule so we were able to come home to wait. That was good because I was able to make some dinner for the kids, Audrey ate all of it which was good because she hadn't eaten a lot at lunch. Kate was supposed to have RE at church that night, which I help teach, so she was asking if she could still go. I, of course, couldn't take her but after some discussion my brother offered to take her and pick her up. So sweet and it really meant a lot to Kate :)

7pm rolled around and I took Audrey back to urgent care, so happy we were able to go when we did originally because there was about 4 kids there when we returned, all of whom got scheduled to come back starting at 9:30pm! We didn't have to wait long, which actually upset Audrey because she was having a great time playing with this giant toy hahaha Audrey hates, hates, hates the little finger thing to take her BP, took about 5mins to get a read. After that though, I was very happy that we didn't have to wait long at all to see a doctor! Doctor looked her over and said she wasn't even going to waste our time with a strep test because she was sure that's what it was and she had a strep rash, aka scarlet fever. Even though I know scarlet fever isn't the deadly thing it used to be, it is still some scary words to hear about your child. Doctor prescribed a round of amoxicillin and said if she doesn't feel better by the weekend to bring her back. Urgent care sent her prescription to the pharmacy electronically so by the time we got there it was ready, which was good because it was about an hour passed Audrey's bed time at this point and she was exhausted! Got home, got everyone in jammies, Audrey took her meds and I tucked them into bed. Kate got home from RE and Daniel took her with him to pick my mom from work since my dad was with my girls, so she got home shortly after that and I got her all changed and tucked in. All the girls went to bed about 1.5hrs late so they were asleep pretty fast, thank goodness.

Today Audrey is feeling better, she is acting almost normal, she does want lots of cuddles, but that is fine with me :) Everyone is looking pretty tired because even though they went to bed late, they all woke up at the same time so I think naps and early bed time tonight will be in order! Going to have to get my creative juices flowing because all the girls have been asking to do something special since Daddy is out of town but now we can't really go anywhere since Audrey is sick. Maybe we'll make home made pizza or something. We also have supplies left over from Kate's school project so maybe I can think of something fun to make with those. I am very thankful to the Lord that Audrey is fine and should recover without any complications! God is good! :)

Audrey's rash, she was not a happy girl :(

She is feeling much better today already though :)

This is Princess Bear that we made during all the excitement!

This is the hug and kiss Kate had me send to Daddy last night because
he was still on a plane and she couldn't call him, so sweet!