Here in the Trenches

I  still in the trenches battling to get through the day with a family of sick people. I will be very grateful for this to move past our house. This is exhausting, the kids are getting grouchy, we have all seen far too much of the inside of these walls.

From Here

Hello from the land of the sick.  We are all still battling this flu/cold.  The day started off okay, but one by one I got calls from the school about sick babies. And, by 12:30 all my kids were home snuggling with their stuffies, feeling sick.  This sick mommy is hoping my sick babies start feeling better soon.

This Week

So at this point I think our house should be quarantined. Prince Charming is the only person who seems to have avoided any part of this cold, or flu, or whatever yucky thing this is.  The other five people in our house are all sick.  This is NOT a fun week.  It is not to try to mommy 4 sick kids when you are sick too.

Sickland

I am checking in from the land of the sick.  Princess Snifflefritz is feeling better, but now Princess Magpie is sick.  She is miserable, not moving, and crying.  Not at usual for my 11 year old girl. Little Prince is on the mend, but he is still not himself.

Yay!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE Doctor Who. I have been a fan for years. And this week one of my favorite characters came back!! I was thrilled to see Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) come back!!! I am so happy!! I hope this is beginning of many more episodes. 

Poor Babies

It was a quiet day today. Little Prince is still sick.  And, Princess Snifflefritz is sick too.  She doesn't seem as bad as he does, but I will probably keep them both home tomorrow anyway.

Poor boy

And now my poor is actually sick.  He us running a fever and crying.  I hate that he can't tell me what's wrong.  He was crying before the fever started, and I couldn't tell he was sick.  We were all hovering around him, offering him everything he usually likes.  Eventually he settled down and seem happy for a while before starting to cry again.  That's when his fever started.  My poor baby boy.

Progress

I am still struggling with this headache, but I managed to get some things accomplished anyway. I tackled my pantry and got it better organized. I actually ended up with more space and everything is sorted into zones.  I am pleased with my progress.

Sick?

They sent Little Prince home from school today.  They thought he might be getting sick.  He was fine and cheerful all day.  There was not even a hint of sickness. He happily watched television and YouTube videos all day.

Sleepy

Little Prince was so tired this morning.  He just lay on his bed with his eyes closed and his arms behind his head while I changed and dressed him.  When I stood him up to out on his coat, he leaned on me so that I could help him stand up. It was exceptionally sweet.

Given that I am STILL fighting a headache, I feel his pain.

Why?

So, I am still suffering with an awful headache. And, I tend to think weird things when I have a headache. So, this is what I'm thinking. Why does my house had this amazing view on one side of the house, and no view at all on the other side of the house, but this is the side that has the big windows? If that makes no sense, I apologize again, I have a headache. But what I mean is that the side of my house that has the amazing views that I love has a teeny, tiny window in my bathroom, and a small window over my kitchen sink. Out my big picture window all I see is a street with other houses. I think this whole should have been turned around. Now, that may make logistics be getting into the house from the car complicated, but who needs that when you have a great view. 

Sunset out my kitchen window:

Ouch

I am having one those days where my headache is so bad that I can't function. I am trying. I really am.  But, my vision is even a little blurry.

Snowy Saturday

While we didn't get the snow my friends in St. John's got, we did have a snowy, windy day.  I puttered around, tidying up, organizing, baking, and enjoying my kids. I love how often I hear them singing in the room.  Even Little Prince does his best sing the school song. And it is SO adorable.

This is how our back deck looks!

Melting

The last few mornings,  Little Prince has been so cute.  While I am dressing Little Prince he will stand up, put his head on my shoulder, and just melt into me.  It is a moment of pure sweetness.  He will stand there half dressed, his head on my shoulder, his arms around my neck and just lean on me, like he is soaking up all the love he can get.  He stays there until I physically move him and gently let him know that we have to get ready for school.  I LOVE my boy.  I am so lucky that my autistic boy loves when we snuggle.

Proud

Not too much to share today.  I am super-tired and have a headache. 

Princess Snifflefritz is excited that she gets to go swimming with her classmates tomorrow.  She did Show and Tell in school.  She showed a slideshow of our cat.  It was a big hit and she felt good.

Princess Magpie earned 100% on her French test today!  This is her first year taking French. 

So, I may not be at my best, but my girls are shining.

January?

Is it the fact that it is January? Is it the fact that I can remember one sunny day in the last two months?  (It stood our so much I blogged about it!) I don't know, but I am so tired! I wake up exhausted.  Princess Magpie even commented on the fact that I am making silly tired mistakes every morning (wrong lunch in the wrong bag, forgetting stuff, all sorts of littl things). I don't mean to complain, but I am just so completely, entirely exhausted and I have been for weeks.  Send help! Or at least coffee!

New!

Little Prince called me "Mom"! He has always called me mommy and now suddenly it is mom! He us learning from his sisters, I guess. He is growing and changing SO much!  I mean, he is autistic, and so I remember not that long ago crying because he called out to me at all.  Now he while he still doesn't speak in sentences, he is using big boy words.

At Least It was Passive

Little Prince was tired today.  He decided to pull a passive resistance style of protest. At the door (where he usually watches for the bus), he melted to the floor and refused to stand up.  I tried to get him to stand and it was like trying to wrestle a limp noodle into a standing position.  When  we got to the bus, he refused to walk up the steps.  He just stood there. No movement at all.  I lifted him up the bottom step, (thinking the big step was too much for him to manage this morning). He then stopped on that one! I had to move him step by step up to his seat! He didn't cry.  He didn't whine.  He just didn't want to move.  Silly boy.

The Sooners

I am having a day of the sooners.  I would sooner be somewhere else than here. I hold firmly to the fact that moving here last summer was a mistake.  I am trying to make the best of it, but there are days when the wish to go back in time and change things is strong.

Quiet.

Quiet Saturday at home with my kids. I have a headache and didn't get much done, but it is so nice to hear my kids playing and laughing together.

Coming Along

I got a lot accomplished today.  I packed all the Christmas boxes downstairs into the storage room, shoveled the driveway and steps, and tidied the house.  Now, I am sitting here with every part of my body aching SO badly.  I am trying to gather up the energy to drag my sore butt into the kitchen to make supper.  But, I am glad to see the house coming together.

Wow!

We had a CRAZY amount of snow today.  It 8s windy, snowy, and cold.  All on the coast, all the schools are closed, we have a winter storm warning. But, the schools here are still open. So, I trudged through knee deep snow carrying Little Prince to the bus for school.  But, luckily I have a wonderful neighbor who used his snow blower to clear the driveway so that he could walk home from the the bus (holding my hand) after school.  (I only dragged my aching, old butt outside to shovel the porch and steps). In the meantime, we are all home, I am in my jammies, and I don't care about the storm outside anymore.

Always Seems to Happen

A new year always seems to be the time that I feel like getting organized and doing a thorough cleaning.  So, this week I am tackling some projects.  I have organized the girls room, Little Prince's room, the living room, and the linen closet. I have Christmas all boxed up and ready to carry down to the storage room. I still have some cleaning that I want to do, and my pantry cupboards are calling me, but I am pleased with my progress.

I do have to say that I am feeling really old these days.  After a day of cleaning and organizing I am SO SORE!  Once I sit down, I can barely move.  It is ridiculous. 

Sunlit

It was sunny today. And when I saw the house lit up with the sun, I realized that it has been dull and gloomy from long time. I think it's probably been like that the whole time the kids wee off for Christmas. I don't remember last time the house was filled with sunlight like that. Even Princess Belle came out of her room and commented on the fact that her room looks so nice all lit up with the sun. It's funny how just a sunny day can make me feel so good. It came to my whole mood.

Back at It

The kids went off to school today. They looked so cute all decked out in their new snow suits and boots. They were so excited to be going back to school after Christmas. It is nice to see them so happy.

I took down the Christmas decorations today. It was a lot of work, but I did take the opportunity to do a little cleaning too. The house looks naked now. I think need a few more things for my walls. It really does look really bare in here. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get more cleaning done. Now that the kids are back in school, I would like to get their rooms cleaned.

Inspired

I have been inspired by several things to make a little change.  Here are some of the things that inspired me:

• I was given a curling iron and a flat iron
• I got my hair cut
• I found some new unopened makeup. 

Because of those things I have decided to do a little more about my hair and makeup.  Today, I blew my hair dry instead of simply air drying it. Tomorrow, I will experiment with some of the makeup.  Too much fun.

Sleepy Saturday

We had a quiet day home today.  I did a little tidying, prepared some healthy food to keep me on track for my diet the week, and listened to my kids play. It is lovely to just spend some time relaxing with the kids.

New Year, New 'Do

Went out and got a haircut.  It was from a cheap place, but it feels good.  I still want to get it colored and to get my brows waxed but at least I don't need to hide my hair under hats!

Resolved

My New Year's Resolutions are simple for this year:

1. Continue on my weight loss journey.  Try to get to 100 lbs lost overall by the end of this year.
2. Continue to clear out the extra kids clutter.
3. Move somewhere to improve our life.  
4. End this year in a better financial place than we are now.
5. Give my babies the best Christmas ever next year to make up for the things I couldn't do this year.

And just for fun some fun pictures of our trip to Grandma's house:

New Decade

I am looking back at 2010 and comparing my kids and myself, then and now.  So fun.

2010:

2020:

Yup, that's me

We had the most boring new year's ever.  We spent a couple of hours at Grandma Great's house and then came home and did nothing.   It was a lot 9f driving and I was exhausted.   Welcome to a new year, and a new decade.