Random May Moments

So these are some random May moments. I have finally gotten around to pulling off all 400+ pictures off my phone and these are the last to share.

The new attire someone special will be wearing to his next A's game. You can see for yourself he LOVES it.

The girls made a friend during science week.

This was the day we were all sick. It hit me in the morning. Dave stayed home to take care of the kids, to get them to school, and Ava's filed trip. He got sick seconds before leaving. The kids seemed fine until they got home from their respective places. Within an hour they were throwing up too. Good times.

This was a gift from a friend. It is size 18 months and has not been washed. My nine month old is a giant.

He who control the remote wins---> WINNING!

Ava geared up for her friend's party in a castle in the park yesterday.

While she was playing princess and running around Olivia and Nick were catching crawfish with hot dogs. They were loving it. When Ava's party ended all the kids fished, rode the rides, had lunch, and fished some more.

Out of the Woods

Or so I thought.

Of course when Ava finally finished all of her medications Olivia began coughing and sneezing. Of course.

But that I could handle.

It was the last six days of diarrhea I couldn't. Wednesday she had it 11 times. 11. I didn't think that was humanly possible for someone so little. Thursday she seemed like she was feeling better and only went twice. I felt very relieved when Liv didn't wake up in the night and cry to go to the potty last night. I was sure she was going to make it through today without diarrhea. I was sure of it.

Until.

She ate breakfast.

And then it happened.

Again.

Maybe it will only be one time today. One can only hope. It would be nice if both kids could be well at the same time. Plus Ava cannot get sick from here until her surgery or we will have to reschedule. We want to get it over with before summer so she can play all summer long.

Somehow I think it's going to take a miracle.

Apparently Olivia is somewhat of a Nostradamus. Thursday she predicted diarrhea which she did not have at the time but Saturday, Sunday, and today she does. Maybe she has a job lined up as a fortune teller in her future.

She seemed to be getting over her diarrhea yesterday but it has made a come back today with a vengeance. More brat diet for her... Poor little girl. She says that her belly hurts like something is scratching it on the inside.

On our way from dropping off Olivia at school and taking Ava to her follow-up appointment a friend handed Ava a belated birthday present. Ava's eyes lit up as she removed the paper from the bag that was concealing a most coveted zhu hamster. Well that certainly made going to the doctor a whole lot more fun.

Ava's O2 has reached 100%. Her ears are still infected but should look and feel better within a few days. Her wheezing is still present but better. She's on her meds for a few more days and other than that, she's great. So great in fact the doctor had left me a message when I got home that her surgery was moved up from April to March. St. Patrick's Day actually. It seems like we are just killing the holidays this year.

So now I need to go make some phone calls and re-schedule all of the pre-surgery appointments we had to ones that would actually occur before the surgery. More phone calls...ugh.

Love Day

Yesterday Olivia whispered sweetly in my ear, "today's love day. I love you mommy." I replied, "I love you too Olivia."

Yesterday felt like anything but love day. Ava and Dave had been MIA since 10:30 AM. I had no idea what the chest x-ray showed. I couldn't get a hold of Dave once they were given an exam room and as the hours kept ticking away so did my thoughts of , "Oh God, what is happening to my baby?"

FINALLY at 5PM they arrived home with donuts and scratch offs. Because that's what good Daddies do when their kids are sick. They feed them donuts. Right Dave ? :) Priorities...

They also came home with a double ear infection for Ava, a O2 reading of 96 (getting better), more antibiotics and medications, and thankfully NO pneumonia. They thought she might have had it in her left lung but she didn't so they wanted to make sure what was in there didn't turn into it so now she's got some super meds to ward off the cooties.

Today she looks better. Her eyes are fine. Her face turned red again after the Prednisolone but after about an hour it went away. She's eating from the steroids just fine. She's in an excellent mood and was given the option of what she wanted to do today and she requested to stay in bed and draw. So she did.

She and Liv had breakfast in bed after Liv sprang out of bed sometime after 9AM. They watched cartoons all morning. I showered them both one at a time, combed their hair, gave them a quick trim in the back, blew their hair dry, put on some soft clothes, and plopped them right back into the bed. They ate lunch in bed and followed it up with a nap for Ava in her room. It was an exhausting day let me tell you.

So we are off to linger in bed and recuperate since tomorrow we have to get up and take Liv to school and go back to the doctor for a follow-up exam. I am hoping Ava's ears look better and her lungs sound decent.

Till tomorrow...

When It Rains...

This weekend we were supposed to get this huge storm that was supposed to last forever as they proclaimed on the News. Feeling like we were going to be trapped inside for the weekend and following week I felt we should get outside and have the girls ride their bikes. Liv went to her eye appointment first thing in the morning and we got that out of the way. (Her vision has improved with her glasses. She is now 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. So that in and of itself is good news that we know she can see.) Dave stopped by HD on the way home from Liv's appointment and picked up the calender project that we missed on our drive home from Redding at the beginning of the month. Once they crew arrived home they were riding their bikes and loving it.

Sunday rolled around and still no rain. We decided we would get out there again and go shopping and bought the birthday gifts for the parties in the next weekends. Then the girls and Dave ate their hearts out at Costco with all the free snacks that were being given out. We came home and lounged around. So far so good for the weekend. See, I am a rain hater. I don't like getting wet from the car and then going in somewhere and feeling wet. Then by the time I am dry I end up going back outside just to get wet and then I have to ride home wet. Plus the grocery carts are wet, the kids take longer to get in and out of the car. Rain just sucks. But this weekend we had daddy power and that trumps rain.

Monday Dave had off due to the Holiday. We woke up late. Dave made breakfast in bed for everyone. It began to rain but we went to B&N for the reading and marshmallow project anyway. Dave suggested we hit Chuck E. Cheese's and use up the game tokens we had acquired from various birthday parties. So we braved the rain again, played, and had a great time. We then went out to lunch since the restaurant was nearby and we were out already. This was the calm before the storm.

We all know Ava likes food- A LOT. She didn't touch her food at lunch. She also took a really long nap and then requested cream of wheat for dinner. While she ate maybe 4 bites of food, she threw up a lot of food all of over her clothes and the table. Dave whisked her away to the tub, Liv and I cleaned up the dishes after she finished eating. Not only was it raining outside it was now pouring inside. Once Ava was cleaned up, she crawled in bed with me to snuggle and Dave showered Olivia so she would be nice and clean for school today. Soon they were off to bed and we had a few hours to enjoy ourselves and watch Dave's favorite TV show. It was minutes after that show ended Olivia started crying. She had to go the the bathroom. An hour later she was crying again. She had thrown up in the bed, on her clothes, and in her hair. Dave showered her again, and wrapped her in a towel. It's now around midnight. We sat together on the lazyboy and rocked while Dave scooped up all the laundry. While he took it downstairs and to the garage, Sugar made a beeline for the rug in the downstairs bathroom and peed and pooped. He was literally in the garage for 30 seconds but apparently she wasn't stupid and she was not going out into what was now a storm. So while he did laundry he cleaned that up and brought up the puke bowl. They rocked for awhile on the chair and Liv seemed OK so Dave suggested she get in bed with us. She promptly march to the toilet and threw up some more. She got in bed with us after that and threw up a few more times.

I'm thinking no school tomorrow. OK no big deal. It's now almost 3 A.M. anyway and she hadn't really slept and it is pouring down rain. So Dave got up at 5 and left for work. Ava came in my room around 8 AM and we didn't have any power. Good grief- what am I going to do with two sick kids and no cartoons? I guess it's good we weren't planning on getting up for school too. We would have been really late. On my way downstairs to get the 7 up for the girls the power comes back on and what do I find- more dog poop. This time she left it in the loft. Good Lord. Is it like when one person has issues we all have to have issues at the same time? So I get the girls their drinks and some pancakes. I head back upstairs and find pee on the rug. OK someone might die now. I think it is safe to say Sugar hates the rain as much as I do.

The girls have laid in bed all morning. They have eaten and drank successfully with nothing coming back up. The rain outside has stopped and the skies are a beautiful blue. If this were a normal day Ava and I would be on our way to pick up Olivia at school and we'd get to see what really cool project she made, we'd hear about who she sat next to, what snack she ate, what story she heard, what new thing she learned in school, and we'd be talking about going to dance class later today. Today is not a normal day. We are watching Sesame Street, lounging in our jammies, looking haggard from a hard night, silently clutching out lovies. Honestly, this isn't so bad either. I'm kind of enjoying my babes in their quiet laid back and relaxed state. Now if only I could get that darn dog to use the potty outside instead of all over my house.

Thanksgiving Week

How to begin this very long post... Dave's brother, sister-in-law, and their two kids came for Thanksgiving. Along with them they brought a Cajun Turduckhen (a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken and between all the layers was sausage stuffing). Sounds crazy right? Oh but tastes so good. So here's the first morning Wii session before we headed to Union city to do the IFLY. Everyone took their turn. (Michael is wearing yellow, Jacob is wearing white)

Here we have arrived at the IFLY and everyone's waiting for their meeting to begin. I was getting as sick as a dog by this point. Olivia still had her cough/sneezing/ sinus infection and was on day 8 of her antibiotics. Ava was hacking like a smoker and sneezing all over herself. I was wiping my nose every two seconds and getting very light headed, not to mention my watery eyes. So you ask why did I even go... Well someone had to take the pictures.

Here's the gang getting in their flight suits.

Here's Dave and his baby ready to fly.

Scott, Lisha, and Dave prepare for flight.

The kids. Ava still thinks she's involved at this point.

And they are off and in the tunnel.

Look at my man in goggles. Hot stuff!

Here's Michael flying high.

This is Olivia flying away!

And this is Thanksgiving morning or as I like to call it...moments before my death. At this point I could still sit upright. Scott's tickling the kids.

They ganged up on him.

After several hours we dressed the kids. I'm not really sure why. We weren't going anywhere but it was Thanksgiving. I was so sick by this point our relatives and Dave had to cook their own Thanksgiving.

The turduckhen... Umm turkey good. Umm duck good. Umm Chicken good. Suasage stuffing good. Put them all together and we give Thanks!

Here's the kids table.

Friday we went bowling. I was feeling a little better. All the medication I had taken the day before was still in me and I could breathe a bit. Liv was still spraying everyone with her sneezes and Ava- well she coughed and gagged at the same time. Real Fun. But we managed to make it through bowling and had a good time. It was at this time that I just began apologizing for our sickness to the relatives. If they make it through this next week without becoming violently ill, it would be a miracle. Oh and P.S. Olivia can throw her own ball thank you. As she told me, "Mommy, you go sit down over there please."

Here's Michael and Ava bowling.

The boys and their balls (pun intended).

Lisha and Ava saying hi.

Cousin love.

And since the boys had never had a black jack taco from TB we picked up a few on the way back from bowling. They were stoked and the girls even ate a taco too. (They would have never eaten them if it weren't for their cousins. I've tried tacos before. It's always a no go.)

During Ava's nap the kids helped build a gingerbread house.

And when Ava woke up, they ate it.

The next morning Dave's family flew home, we went to a birthday party at Pump it Up, and then we rested the rest of the weekend. The girls are better now. They still have the deep cough, but the sneezing is gone and they look better. I feel better too but now the mucus has decided to unleash itself so I'm full of wonderful phlegm.

Olivia went to her first day of school wearing her glasses today. None of the kids even noticed. Thank God for some miracles.

Liv's 4 Year Appointment

This appointment was scheduled as a well-child appointment for a 4 year old. Most of the appointment we dealt with the sick girl with the bad cough, yesterday's high fever, and her headache and body pains. So much for the flu-shot. Liv's been hacking for a few days, finally got the fever yesterday but it's gone today, and now had a headache which I assume is more like a tension headache from coughing and constantly sneezing. There's a small possibility she may have strep throat and we could have done a culture but we decided to wait a few days to see if she gets better on her own. We also went over Dave's family history of heart problems to see if it's genetic since both his sister and brother have Mitro Valve Prolapse. The doctor's looking in to it but thinks that it is not genetic. Phew.

Wanna know what I got? Nothing, just my period. I thought I'd just throw it in there that we all apparently need to suffer at the same time. Dave has had chronic back spasms, the dog barfed on the couch yesterday during the fever and it left a stain which means I now need to take the cover off and wash it. It doesn't sound like work but it is when you try to put that sucker back on. It takes a small army. Ava is sneezy but not yet sick although her face is bright red... could be anything I suppose.

So yeah. The well-child appointment didn't exactly go as planned but I did promise Olivia that she was not going to get any shots. The doctor confirmed this as soon as he walked into the room except that he then realized this was a 4 year appointment not a 3 year appointment as it is a week before her birthday and now she needs FOUR shots after she turns 4 next week. Sigh. We also found out that she needs to see the dentist twice a year and the eye doctor once a year. Both of the girls have seen both doctors but not as official appointments. Usually they get checked when we get checked since they like to sit in the chair and the doctor obliged. So once I got home I made their appointments for Saturday for both vision and teeth. Should be a fun day. Sigh.

Anyways here's the stats... Olivia is 38.8 pounds clothed, and 42 1/4 inches tall. This puts her weight in the 74% and her height in the 93%. She will most likely be somewhere between 5'8" and 5'10" as an adult. Her BMI for age is 38%. Overall she's right on track and healthy (ok maybe not today, but overall.)

Just for reference: Ava is 39 inches tall or in the 93%, 38.0 pounds or 97%, and in the 88% for her BMI (which should be under 85% or 37 pounds). So we are still over in her BMI which she had been doing well on until Halloween and Liv's birthday rolled around and we weren't as strict with her diet. So we will get her back on track and keep working at it.

Where To Begin???

Saturday we used the last of our freebie zoo tickets and spent the day relaxing with the animals. Ava rode the roller coaster this time since Livy got to ride it last time. They both drove the airplanes and went on the merry-go-round. Everyone was satisfied, the weather was breezy, and the day was totally free. That in and of itself was the best part of the day.

After visiting the animals we drove over to Alameda to check out this toy store we used to shop at to see if it was still there. It was and it had some great stuff. We have a $40 credit so we got some ideas on what the girls would want so that Dave can go back and pick it up later. Then we bought a couple of sundaes and headed to the beach. Olivia was so excited to build sand castles she could have cared less about her ice cream. Ava was carefully guarding hers and asked if she could eat Ava's too. We told her she couldn't and she was ok with it since she was going to get to run in the waves.

After a few minutes of playing in the waves the girls were soaked and sandy but totally happy. It was worth all the effort of having to rinse them off and wipe off the sand before getting in the truck to go home. They enjoyed every minute of it and were so worn out they slept most of the way home.

Sunday we got up and Olivia wanted to ride bikes so we got out our helmets and geared up for a ride to the park. Olivia is awesome on her bike. She can turn well, brake well, and has now mastered the ability to stop on slopes and control her speed so she can stop before going off the side of the curb. Grammie's buying her a new big girl bike for her birthday so she's using the smaller bike for the last few rides before it gets handed over to Ava. She's very thrilled about this and asks quite often if it is her birthday today. Not until November I tell her. It must seem like a lifetime for her.

Once we all arrived at the park I took each of the girls separately for a lap around the track. Dave pushed Ava on the swing while Olivia jogged and while Ava jogged Dave chased Olivia on the bike. At was at this time I noticed Olivia was starting to get a runny nose... Can you see where this is headed?

This morning both girls woke up with puffy eyes, runny noses, bad attitudes, and the inability to breathe. As the day has progressed Olivia now has developed a cough. Of course this happens the week before they can get the flu shots. Yea, how lucky am I? I was hoping to get the flu shot and Olivia's 4 year checkup done together but now I don't think it is wise to wait a month to get the shot. Wonderful. And on top of the stinking flu, Ava has her appointment on Thursday with the Nutritionist. I'm sure she will love that I brought my germ filled daughter to infect her. And if Livy is too sick to attend preschool, Thursday I get to take 2 sick kids with me. WooHoo. The best part is Dave is also having a friend over tomorrow for dinner before he leaves for 2 months to the Philippines. We will probably infect him too and send our germs with him to the Philippines. I feel so special.

On a totally different topic Dave and I have been struggling with whether or not to walk away from our house since it is worth less than half of what we paid for it in 2006. We have read absolutely everything out there on the pros and cons of foreclosure and short sales but we still don't know what to do. If we leave we could re-buy in a few years at a considerably lower price but our credit would be trashed. We'd also end up being renters and paying someones else's mortgage in the mean time but we would not have to pay property tax and would save $1500 a month. In a few months we could pay off all of our bills. It's a big fat conundrum that I never thought I would even write about here. But it has been weighing on our minds since the beginning of the summer when we sent all the info we needed to the bank for the supposed mortgage reduction plan and still have not had anyone call us back. Apparently our stuff is at the underwriter but if that were true wouldn't they want to speak to us? So for the last 6 months while the bank has screwed around we've still been paying at 6% & 7%'s on our loans. We thought about not paying for a few months so that they have to speak to us and we could put that money directly to other things that we need to pay off but I feel like that is shady and I'm not quite ready to be like the rest of the jerks that are driving the housing market into the toilet. So basically in 30 years when we pay this shindig off we may merely break even. This means we can never move for any reason. Oh I mean- we can't move for 30 years... Yeah that sounds much better. My stomach doesn't hurt at all.

And top it all off the cat has been projectile vomiting all day all over the house. The first time she hit the rug we just cleaned. Gee thanks for that. The other times she managed to hit the girls dress up attire, another rug, what seemed like the entire floor... I have used almost half of a roll of paper towels. She better get better soon or she's sleeping outside.

The Ickies & The Panties

The ickies have now been passed all around the house and Ava's nose is draining and sneezing, Dave has a sore throat, and Livy is still as slobbery and sniffley as she was on Friday. Sucks too because she will most likely have to stay home from school tomorrow and she is really looking forward to attending. I guess it comes with the territory... I haven't gotten the sickness yet but I'm sure it will hit me as soon as the girls both feel better and begin to be energetic again and run crazy. Sounds about right.

In other news, Livynut only had one accident since she began wearing her panties to bed. She's been really stoked about waking up in her panties and not having to take off her pull up in the morning. It's funny how simple things like this please kids. She is so proud of herself and we are very proud of her. If all goes well over the next month and the accidents are slim to none I guess I'll start having Ava sleep in her panties too. She already makes it through every nap with a dry pull-up so I might as well get her out of nighttime pull ups as well. I just don't want to start her now in case Olivia has frequent accidents and then I become overwhelmed with laundry. Plus if I wait too long it will be closer to winter and with more blankets and stuff on her bed I won't want to wash all of that bedding every time. So we will play it by ear and see where we end up later. If we have to wait for Ava until after her 3rd birthday and more towards next spring then that's just how things will have to be. One thing at a time. Day by day. We're makin' it.

Sick, Sick, Sick

It has hit us again. This time it struck only Olivia. My poor baby threw up all morning long. I felt so bad for her but she's a trooper. She sat in her little chair all morning long and watched an overabundance of cartoons while slowly sipping her drink. She fended off Ava's advances to steal her blankie and her throw-up bowl for as long as she could and then finally she just gave in. I was shocked that she didn't cry or whine about letting her belongings go. Ava squealed in delight about getting the blanket. She marched all over the living room showing off her new possession. She amused herself and Olivia got the time she needed to relax.

Olivia seems to be feeling much better. She ate lunch and was very eager to ask for more. For now they are both laying down taking their naps. I finally have a moment to catch up on stuff and things I have needed to get done. I also have an episode of Californication I'm dying to watch. Yes, I succumbed to the cable people and ordered Showtime. I had been holding out for so long but with the new season of Dexter beginning soon I just had to do it.

The Weekend of Sickdom

Is there such a thing? Sickdom? Our contaminated house would say yes. Ava started us off with this round of illnesses. She woke up Friday with a fever, a lot of sneezing (mostly in my face), and then the massive snots brigade. I washed both our hands after every sneeze and sanitized practically every thing that I could but sure enough the sickness spread to Olivia by Saturday night. It really sucked too because Ava was much better by Saturday night and we thought we had escaped any big drama.

Saturday night the neighbors kept letting off fireworks which in combination with Olivia's inability to breath clearly it kept her awake. After repeatedly going into her room we decided to let her sleep with us. By morning it was obvious that that wasn't the best decision as we woke up to a puddle of urine in the bed. I am guessing that her diaper shifted since she usually doesn't pee in the bed. Does it really matter? No. We still woke up today in a puddle of pee.

So Olivia is feeling miserable. Snot has engulfed her face and hands. She has a fever and has been somewhat crabby. Ava is better with little or no snot so I'm hoping by tomorrow Liv is feeling better.

On the Ava front: She made a poop in the potty. This is our first one in recorded history. Some did make it into her panties but hey we can't expect miracles and I certainly wasn't expecting this so soon. Dave found her pushing and rushed her to the potty. Way to go Daddy Dave and Avacakes!!!