Christmas Time for the first time

We are nearing that amazing time of year - Christmas.  I love it. I always have.


This year is going to be really fun because Robbie "gets it."  He is afire with curiosity about the tree, the lights, the music and presents can't forget the presents.  Annie hasn't figured it all yet but she is certainly not willing to let her brother get too far ahead of her in anything so what she does not understand she just does what he does.


We are working on the reason for the season and its importance but that is a work in progress but there is magic in the innocence of a child and the gleam in their eyes. 


Susann and I are excited about being able to build memories over the next couple of weeks that will last our children for the rest of their lives.  

Unwell (aka, don't read if you don't like words like rhyme with comet)

We have likely had the hardest couple of months of parenting yet in the last 6-8 weeks, and I can't even begin to tell you the sheer exhaustion it has left on our bodies and minds.

I'd love to say that it was the month-long bronchiopnuemoniysnotty funk, kicked off by yours truly, followed by a wicked cold from each of the kids.

Or the double ear infection and sinus infection that R had when I finally took him to the doctor. Three weeks later.  #notwinning

Or the car sickness every 45 minutes both up and down the road for Thanksgiving.

Or those diapers that Uncle Joel avoided with abandon.

Or the stomach virus that has summarily knocked out Anna Helen (2 days), Robbie (4 days), and Shawn (going on day 6).

Or the fact that in the last three weeks Robbie has gone to school three full days.

I'm washing my hands.  Lots.

And lots.

And lots.

We are so freaking weary.  Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Sick of 15-16 loads of laundry a week you know because vomit.  And potty training.  And worse.

Fearful of losing jobs or opportunities because of the amount of time we have had to call out sick or drag a sick kid to the office, knowing that your kidless colleagues are looking at you like a leper.

Frankly, waiting on the other shoe to drop.

2014 has been a bear.

Not one of those sweet cuddly teddy bears.  One of those Koala bears.  The kid that looks so cute and innocuous until it stabs your eyes out with eucalyptus.

And then, stuff gets real.

As you know, R has a fairly severe peanut allergy, but since he was a baby, he has had more-that-usual vomiting... in the car, when coughing, when crying.  I mentioned it in passing at our last allergist appointment and it set off a frenzy of appointments over the last few weeks, all at Children's Hospital.  (Note to self:  never ever bitch about allergies and vomiting except to your friends on the internet after spending a significant amount of time at Children's).

Do we have malabsorption?  A hole in the esophaugus?  And intestinal digestive issue?

R has been poked and prodded, blood tested.

I wanted to kick the doctor in the face when he said "it's very unlikely, but if all the other tests come back negative, it could be a tumor in the brain".

I know there isn't a tumor in the brain.  I mean, there's no freaking tumor in the brain.

It's just vomit, ya'll.

But how can you NOT send your kid for the upper GI.  The one where you scheduled it for 8am because you knew the 8 hours of fasting including milk was going to result in a tantrum-laden morning (it did).

The one where you have to convince him the barium is a milk shake (ps, it isn't).

That the hospital gown is an artists cape (not).

And the x-ray tech is dressed like a knight of the round table (she wasn't)

The one where PTL you were smart for once and packed the kindle so he could watch Thomas from the tunnel (he did).

The one where you have to convince him the x-ray machine is a very cool tunnel (it wasn't).

The one where you have to stand in the hallway when the amazing nurses tend to your three year old (not a baby but still a baby), and listen to him wail for Mama for what felt like 30 minutes (it was 7.)

Let me just say, it sucked.

It sucks.

He was brave.  Me?  Not so much.

And of course, nothing was found that was wrong.

So I'm going to take our vomit and go home. 

I don't want to do this again.

Universe, you owe us a break.  Seriously.

Thanksgivingish

What did we NOT do for Thanksgiving?  Remember to take photos :/

It may have had something to do with the kids eating on their own time. 

Or the stomach virus

Or the 3 hours of sleep AH blessed us with on Wednesday night.

But we did do Thanksgiving-- I promise.

And I haven't forgotten about this blog - I promise.  If you can check in from Doha, Uncle Mike, I certainly can try to get back on three blogs a week.  Two weeks is probably the longest we've gone without writing on this thing in its four years of existence.

Here's one of Appa and Uncle Joel, and one of Robbie hanging in "his" car watching a little Macy's parade with Pop.

School picture

School picture.

Nailed it.











And then you get the 38 iterations of backgrounds when you buy the ridiculously overpriced digital package and you get some of these gems. 

Same pose.

Ridiculous backgrounds.

Let me know next time you are posing your kid.

On a stool.

In front of a waterfall.

In black and white.

With primary color faux kid art.

In the whimsical forest.

And the Hawaiian sunset.

School photos.

Because America.

Photo Catch Up

One of my favorite uses of this blog is to seal for our family album photos.

Doing may not come with great stories in every moment, but it's just as fun to have the snapshots of our ordinary.

Our ordinary right now is playground visiting, school going, birthday partying, guacamole eating as always.

Nothing overly exciting.

But I wouldn't trade it for the world.