You're Just Getting Old!

Tonight Charlotte and I were driving home from church just the two of us.

Charlotte: Mommy, what time do you go to bed?

Me: Usually around 10:00 or 11:00. Grown-ups don't need as much sleep as kids do because kids are still growing.

Charlotte: Oh yeah, that's right you are just getting old but I'm still growing!

What a way to make a mom's day! I won't even get into the craziness of the rest of day.

Off to bed. Yeah right, so I can get older.
Jenn

It's a Surprise!

Michael took Charlotte with him to run some errands on Saturday. One of the errands was picking up a scooter for Rehm's birthday. I didn't think about Charlotte having to keep a secret when I sent her with her daddy on the errands. At some point while they were gone Rehm asked where Charlotte was. I told him and he wanted to know why he didn't get to go. I told him they were buying his birthday present - I know probably not the smartest thing to do but I usually err on the side of honesty with the kids.

Not long after Charlotte and Michael got home the following conversation took place.

Rehm: I hear you got my birthday present

Charlotte: Yeah it's a scooter....Oh no, it's a surprise!

Rehm: I heard what you said - you said its super!

Micheal and I start laughing relieved that he didn't hear what she said. Then Rehm starts questioning us about just how super the present is. We then had another conversation with Charlotte about the importance of surprises.

Bets on how long it takes her to tell him what it is again and him to understand her?

OK everyone - you can't mention his birthday present to him until the end of March. I'm sure none of you want to be the one to ruin the surprise!

Jenn

A Little Wrench in the Plan

Today was grocery day. For some reason it always makes for an interesting day. However, it seems that the challenges change from week to week.

Somehow I was running behind this morning and left to take Charlotte to school about ten minutes late - this put me off for the whole day. Of course that meant we got to the grocery store later than usual and then shopping ran later than usual as well. The shopping itself was uneventful and the girls were very cooperative. Ruby was even nice enough to nap for most of the trip. The employees were as nice and helpful as always, but it is a little disconcerting as they are all starting to recognize me and I think are becoming even more helpful.

I left the store at 11:30 which is typically when Ruby and Eliza Claire have their bottle. No
big deal, in fifteen minutes we'll be home, I'll unload groceries, get them set up with their bottles (yes, I prop bottles) and put everything away.

Well...I get home, open the garage door and it gets almost all the way open and stops - we've been having ongoing problems with it. Michael keeps working on it, it gets better for a few weeks then gets weird again. So no big deal. I close the door to try again.

Oops, this time it won't open at all! I get out of the van and can hear the motor running but the door isn't budging. Again, no big deal I can just go in the front door.

Oops! I don't have my house key. I let my in-laws borrow it a few weeks ago when the garage door wasn't working and it never got back on my ring.

So lets recap. I have two hungry babies, a car full of groceries, a bunch of which needs to be refrigerated and I can't get in the house!

What to do? I call Michael's cell, I get his voice mail.

I call Michael's office, I get his voice mail. What to do?

I decide I can take the groceries to my in laws (12 miles away) and hope they have room for the refrigerated stuff (this is definitely a gamble). Then I can stop at the store, buy a can a formula and feed it to the girls in their sippy cups. Oh joy!

I start driving. Michael calls. I tell him I need a key and will come pick it up.

Get the key. Get home. It is now 12:45 - gotta leave in 20 minutes to pick up Charlotte from school. Get the groceries in. Get Eliza Claire in. Lay her down to start feeding her. Something stinks! What is it? Smells like cat pee! Where is it? On the blanket for the girls to play on the floor. Can't move the blanket. Eliza is laying on part of the blanket to eat! Stupid cat! Get Ruby in. Get her set up to eat. Unload the refrigerated items. Change diapers. Clean up cat pee. Start a load of laundry. Make a sandwich. Back in the car to get Charlotte.

The day didn't improve. I was just behind all day! Of course the dishes didn't get put in the dishwasher. It was 3:00 pm before the rest of the groceries got put away. I didn't get the soup started for dinner! We ended up having hot dogs and mac and cheese instead - Rehm wanted mac and cheese. This is where my mother would say you aren't supposed to eat hot dogs and mac and cheese at the same meal because mac and cheese is a meat substitute! Oh well, at my house mac and cheese is a side dish :)

The good news is the grocery shopping is done until Tuesday (I have to change my schedule to accommodate the grocery game), no one got lost or left at school, we didn't eat out for dinner, and no animals were harmed in the process -though for the cat it was a very close call!

Off to indulge in some mindless TV
Jenn

Advertising

OK so how many of you noticed the wonderful little ad on the right side of the page about door-to-door advertising? Kind of ironic isn't it? I'm complaining about how much I dislike the practice and my husband turns on the advertising features of the blog and low and behold you can find out just how to put the door-to-door advertisers to work for you!

I won't even get into his need to try to make money from our wonderful friends and family by hoping you are going to actually click on one of the ads that appear. Maybe he is really a closet door-to-door advertiser! That is troublesome. I don't like advertisers and now he is one! Hmmm. What does it all mean? I guess I'll have to think on it for a while...

Off to make a grocery list - yep tomorrow is my weekly grocery store adventure! Woohoo!
Jenn

PS In case you are wondering we definitely, have one aquasaur and a bunch of fairy shrimp. Now to see who will survive.

Economics, Family Dynamics and a Rant to Boot

Economics

I think a little economics lesson is in order as I'm getting a lot of flack for charging my kid for his Propel and hey, I gotta put that education my parents were so nice to pay for to use for something.

I have been accused of price gouging. By definition price gouging would be charging and exorbitant amount for an item. There are two problems with this accusation. First, we're not charging an exorbitant amount and second, in a free market it is impossible to price gouge. You notice yesterday I said we were charging Rehm our cost (and didn't even include time and gas in there, just divided the price we pay for a six pack by six - you know he's getting a deal because we didn't factor in the tax we paid either!). Thus the fact that the Propel costs him $0.65 and he has $0.70 of disposable income makes Propel a luxury item for Rehm. Maybe he should choose less expensive beverages (or free ones - like milk and water) if this one takes up too much of his income. Or maybe my parents should buy me a Suburban and sell it to me at the price I can afford even if that means taking a loss on it... I like that idea! But it isn't what I want to teach my kids.

Now to the free market part. You see in a free market a fair price for an item is one at which the seller is willing to sale and the buyer is willing to buy. So if someone is willing to buy it at the price you are offering, even if that price seems extreme it is a fair price. This does not preclude other sellers from offering the same product at a lower price, thus there is no price gouging. If Rehm is not willing to buy Propel at $0.65 then maybe he will find someone willing to sell it cheaper. Maybe Charlotte will learn that she can save her free bottles and sell them to Rehm for $0.50. If he doesn't buy from me I will quit selling and stocking it as it is not worth my while. If we were opperating on the free market price I could probably actually make money on Propel as Rehm would probably pay at least $1.30 a bottle. So you see I'm really being nice.

Family Dynamics

Charlotte has been talking about Cici and Papa all day and is excited that they are coming to see her soon. I asked her who Cici and Papa were and she said "they used to be your parents." I said, "who are they now?" Her response, "Cici and Papa." In a different conversation she said something about that I used to be Cici and Papa's daughter. When I asked who I was now she said I was her mommy. Apparently when you become a Mommy you can no longer have a Mom and Dad. I asked her if she would still be my daughter when she grew up, got married and had kids she never did answer that question. I wonder what that means.

Later in the day we were talking about everyone's names. When I asked her what my name was she said my first and maiden name but never would add my last name. I'm about to think I'm a woman without a family...

And now for the Rant

Today when I was walking home from school with all four kids we saw two men placing flyers on all the doors. First let me say I absolutely despise this way of advertising and refuse to buy from anyone who leaves something on my door. Both these men were scary looking and not the people I want hanging out in my neighborhood getting all the way to my door! I mean what is to keep them from casing the joint while they are at it? But further more the ones today were not the kind of people I want roaming the neighborhood when my kids are out. I really didn't like them out and about as all the elementary kids were walking home from school. It just did not feel safe to me. Now I do have to say I didn't feel very safe today anyway as there was a helicopter circling the neighborhood at the same time! I have no idea why, but I'm assuming it was some law enforcement agency looking for someone...

Then this evening a door-to-door salesman rings the doorbell at 8:15! I won't even go into why you shouldn't ring my doorbell at that time of night and if he had actually awakened anyone he would have gotten an earful from me. Luckily, Michael answered the door. He was selling the Sunday paper. He had a good deal and you got free coupons on top of the paper subscription. Michael was all set to sign up until I started in on how I didn't like to buy from door-to-door salesmen because I didn't trust them, didn't like them at my door and didn't want to encourage them to keep selling door-to-door. So he went back and told the guy never mind. Now I'll probably end up paying more for my paper subscription when I call the newspaper to sign up but there won't be any concern as to whether or not I'll actually receive the paper and who has my personal information!

I asked Michael if he would have wanted me answering the door for this person if he had not been home - it was after dark to boot. Of course his answer was no. So I think he'll be OK with paying extra for the paper too....

So if you are a door-to-door advertiser or salesmen, stay away from my house, I don't like you. And don't get offended if you ring my doorbell, see me come to the door and see me turn around and walk away. If I don't know you, I don't open the door. Period! Oh and don't be walking through my neighborhood putting your flyers out when my kids are walking to and from school!
OK I feel better now. Off to fold some laundry. OK who am I kidding it is late enough I'm not going to touch laundry until tomorrow! I'm really off to watch some TV
Jenn

Dance Class

Monday is dance day for Charlotte. The funny thing is I look forward to dance class as much as she does. Not because I love watching her dance (which actually I do - there is nothing cuter than a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds doing ballet and tap) but because of the women I get the privilege to talk to while waiting for Charlotte.

When we signed up for the class in the fall I was thrilled to find out that there were two girls in the class that go to our church and another little girl that goes to the church's preschool. I didn't know any of the moms well at that point. Now we have some of the funniest, frankest conversations and I leave there feeling lighter and well, giddy. I usually chuckle for the rest of the day about something that was said. Today has been no different and while I would love to share some of our conversations I can't - well I can tell you that one lady swears that the Morning Star Breakfast patties are really good and we should all try them - but not the links, they aren't good. I love these ladies and truly feel blessed that God has placed them in my life. I really do think I look forward to dance class even more than Charlotte and that is saying a lot!

Aquasaur update- I know you are all dying to know what is happening. We hatched something. Well actually about 10 or so somethings. Now only time will tell what they are, but so far so good.

I wish for each of you at least one person in your life that makes you laugh the way these ladies make me.
Jenn

Propel

Rehm loves Propel. He loves it so much that he begs us to but it at the store - begging is not a good tactic in our house. We of course would rather he drink milk or water and are not willing to provide it for him to drink all the time. That being the case we buy it and then charge him for every bottle he gets. We sell it to him at our cost so we aren't making money on the deal - he pays $0.65 a bottle. Now to truly understand how much he loves it (or how mean we are) you must know that Rehm gets $1.00 every week for allowance. Of that $1.00, $0.20 must go to savings and $0.10 must go to charity. That leaves him $0.70 a week of discretionary income.

This week was our turn to buy snack for the basketball team. So knowing Rehm's love for Propel I bought it and goldfish for their snack. We ended up with 3 extra bottles of Propel. Today he came downstairs to buy a bottle and I told him that since we had bought it for snack I was willing to let him have some for free and poured some in a cup. A few hours later, after playing outside, we came in and I proceeded to pour part of a bottle in a cup for him and gave Charlotte some from the same bottle. Rehm came unglued! He told us "Daddy wouldn't let me buy it but I wanted my own bottle." I explained that we had free Propel right now and I was not going to charge him for it and give it to Charlotte for free - that wasn't fair. And as long as we were having free Propel we would be sharing. He ran upstairs hysterical and came back with money again to buy a bottle and I told him that until the free stuff was gone he couldn't buy it. He was so mad! He kept walking around with his dollar. He still thinks that we are being completely unfair because we won't take his money. His father finally got him to calm down when he told him he could start buying it again on Thursday after we went to the store and bought more.

Hope you had a great weekend!
Jenn

PS I added pictures to the photo album. Go take a look.

The Quest for Aquasaurs - Part Two

Yes, we are once again trying for aquasaurs (AKA tadpole shrimp). And in our quest we have of course spent even more money. After extensive research (OK reading one web site) we decided that we needed a larger tank (which we had), a heater and filtration system (which we didn't have). So after a trip to the pet store and another $40 (yikes) we are back in business. Can I just say this shrimp has cost WAY too much money. I guess we probably should have cut our losses already but what can I say I'm determined (Michael would say I'm obsessed). I did justify the new expense due to being able to reuse everything to just have a small tank for the kitchen or one of the kids rooms.

We added eggs to the water today so in 24-48 hours we should have hatched something. In about a week we should know if that something will be aquasaurs or fairy shrimp... Bets are currently being taken as to the success of this project. If we don't get auqasaurs this go round I'll call the company and complain and ask them to send another thing of eggs. After that we'll just have to see. But I am optimistic that it is going to work this time.

The Grocery Store Revisited

Yep, it's Thursday and that means grocery shopping. But this week's grocery store story actually starts last week. You see, after my last grocery shopping entry someone in my life decided that the grocery store I use should be aware of how much their customer service helps me. This person decided to email my story to the grocery store chain. Any guesses on who might do this?

If you guessed my mother, you would be correct! Luckily, she did tell me that she had sent the grocery store my story so I was a little prepared. And for those of you who want to know where I'm shopping that has such great customer service, it is HEB. And they have great prices too!

Shopping today was actually uneventful. I put the girls in the stroller and pulled the cart behind me. This is actually starting to get easy - I guess it is all the practice. Eliza Claire even took a nap while we shopped. Of course there was the usual stopping to answer questions about the girls but otherwise shopping was quick. I didn't see Brenda until I was almost done shopping and she as always helped me unload the cart then disappeared which was surprising. But she came back and had several sheets of paper in her hand. You guessed it, it was my story from last week. I guess the corporate office had sent it to the store. She had come over to thank me! Of course then I had to explain that I didn't send it but that my mother did! So then I'm sure she's wondering why I didn't? Anyway, I thanked her again for everything the store employees do to make my shopping easier. It was all a little surreal.

There is actually a reason why I haven't formally let the store know how much I appreciate their customer service. You see, they are currently doing a contest called MY HEB. Where you send them a commercial about why you love HEB. Yep, I have a commercial in the works to send and I'm hoping my story is good enough to win something. Cross your fingers for us to actually find the time to get it entered before the contest ends. If your wondering when I'm going to have the time to do the commercial your guess is as good as mine...

So here are the two things you should learn from my experience. If you write things in an open forum there is no telling where they will end up. And if your the one responsible for them ending up other places, you should expect to get written about! Love you Mom!

Grocery store trivia: The girls eat about 30 jars of baby food a week! And we haven't even started feeding them solids for breakfast! I think it is time to introduce table food.

In other happenings today, Rehm decided he loved his sister today and shared his Valentine's Day candy. He even did so without any adult intervention. And he shared more than one piece! Ruby and Eliza Claire seem to be back to their normal selves and are recovered from getting their tubes. Charlotte is well, Charlotte.

Happy shopping,
Jenn

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you. I hope everyone spent this day with someone they love. I spent at least parts of it with 5 someones I love!

Charlotte had her school party yesterday as she doesn't go to school on Wednesdays. She came home with a bag full of goodies. She loved looking at all the cards. When Rehm got home she shared her goodies with him and he probably ended up with at least 40% of her treats. Today Rehm came home from his school party with a bag of treats and didn't share anything. I reminded him that he should think back to yesterday and how nicely and willingly his sister had shared with him when he didn't have anything to share with her. His response, "In the Bible God says it is wrong to expect a reward for doing a good thing." What do you say to that? Ah sibling love.

Go give someone you love a squeeze
Jenn

I Am Blessed

One Monday a month I facilitate a Pregnancy and Infant Loss support group. I do this for many reasons. It is my way of giving back. It is something I get to do every month for a child I don't get to raise. It is the one thing on the calender that is scheduled Sam time. I like to think it makes Sam proud. It also helps me remember how blessed I am.

I am the mom of five beautiful, special, amazing children. I get the privilege of raising four of them. They challenge me, wear me out, make me laugh, make me cry and sometimes make me angry. But at the end of everyday I thank God for all five of them and beg Him to watch over them, protect them and let them feel His love.

Sam is my angel. He died at birth over seven years ago. He is waiting for me and one day I will see him. And while I do not get the privilege of raising him, he has a profound daily effect on my life. He never saw my face and I never saw him open his eyes. I never heard his voice but I know his spirit. I will always get to be his mom even though I do not get to watch him grow up. And as his mom, I get the privilege to reach out to others who also have to travel this very unfortunate journey. It is my gift to him and his gift to me.

I am reminded daily of how blessed I am but the second Monday of the month makes me even more aware of my blessings and even more grateful that God chose me to be Sam, Rehm, Charlotte, Ruby and Eliza's mom.

Several months ago Rehm's teacher was thoughtful enough to let me borrow her Watermark "A Greatful People" CD so I could hear the song "Glory Baby" which is about losing a child. I feel it gives a small glimpse of what we have gone through. Here are the lyrics.

Please thank God for your children today and remember what a precious gift they are.
Jenn

Kid Cook Night

Somehow right after the twins were born Kid Cook Night began at our house. I know the timing is a little odd but I guess we didn't think we had enough to deal with and thought "hey what's one more thing, how much crazier could it possibly get around here?"

Kid Cook Night is supposed to be every Sunday and alternates between Rehm and Charlotte. For their night they get to pick the menu. It must include an entree, side dish, vegetable and fruit. You can not pick the same entree or side dish for an entire month. You must help with the grocery list and shopping and of course with the cooking. Rehm somehow always suckers Michael into agreeing to dessert and then they together convince me. Charlotte seems to get the short end of the stick and doesn't insist on making dessert and isn't as good about reminding us it is Kid Cook Night so sometimes we end up taking a week or two off until we remember again and she has her turn. Of course Rehm tries to use this to his advantage and just skip her but I think we haven't allowed that to happen yet. But I'm not 100% sure. Poor Charlotte I'm afraid she is becoming the typical middle child that is just lost in the shuffle. OK, if you know Charlotte, you know she is never going to let you forget she is around or what she expects from like. Oops, I think this might me a whole different entry for a different day. So where was I? Yes, Kid Cook Night...

Tonight's menu consisted of Pepperoni Crescents, Fettuccine Alfredo (out of a package), baby carrots (raw), canned oranges and chocolate muffins. Yes you guessed it, it was Rehm's turn. I have to say he came down stairs yesterday with the recipe he had printed online and asked to make them. I was proud of his resourcefulness, but knew where it would lead us. As expected it led to an extra trip to the grocery store to get some of the ingredients and lots of extra dirty dishes. I do have to say Michael helped the kids make the muffins so the dirty dishes may or may not be the kids fault...

It seems that Kid Cook Night always leads to a big mess, eating late and lots of dishes to clean up after the kids go to bed. At least when I cook I usually end up with leftovers for another night's dinner. The only thing leftover from tonight is a bunch of muffins that aren't going to help me lose the rest of my baby weight!

But the upside of Kid Cook night is the kids are learning lots of important things in the kitchen from meal planning, to cooking safely, to measuring ingredients. And every once in a while it leads to someone trying something new. The kids really look forward to it and feel a great sense of pride for cooking dinner for the family. So I guess in the end it is worth all of the dishes and spills they leave behind. Now if I could just do something about these chocolate muffins with chocolate chips, icing and sprinkles that are staring me down... I think I'll send them to work with Michael tomorrow.

Off to get ready for tomorrow,
Jenn

But Papa Does It!

Charlotte has been playing with a tape measure all day. After Rehm got home from school they were in the living room measuring each other. I heard Charlotte say, "Hold on Rehm I need to go get a pencil to make a mark on the wall." I reminded her that we don't mark on the walls, as she had made big circles on the wall in the family room earlier in the week - obviously the consequences were not sufficient. Her reply to me, you guessed it "But Papa does it!" So I took the oppurtunity to explain that if he chooses to mark on the walls in his house to record their height that is OK, but we do not EVER mark on the walls of our house. Luckily she listened THIS time.

Happy Weekend.
Jenn

Trips to the Grocery Store

Today I need to brag on my grocery store! The last several weeks I've actually managed to go to the grocery store with only the twins in tow. While it is easier with just two it is still a logistical nightmare. Where do I put the twins? Do I put them in the stroller? Do I dare try them in the cart? ect.

About two weeks ago, I decided to put them in the stroller and pull the cart behind me. This seems to be the best solution. About halfway through the store I'm trying to find frozen mashed potatoes when two employees walk by and ask if I need anything. I say, "Well actually I need two things. What aisle are the french fried onions on and do you have frozen mashed potatoes?" They start to tell me where the onions are on but then look at my cart and stroller and offer to get them for me. I agree. The other goes to find the frozen foods manager to find out about the mashed potatoes. At one point there are five store employees standing around me! They could not find the frozen mashed potatoes but offered several other options. I declined and started on my way. They offered to have someone push the cart through the rest of the store for me to make my shopping easier. I declined but what great customer service! Then about two aisles later the frozen food manager tracked me down because he had found the frozen mashed potatoes and wanted to make sure I got them.

This week, I decided to put one baby in the Baby Bjorn and the other in the cart. I thought this might be easier than doing the push/pull routine - I found out it isn't! As soon as I got in the store one of the baggers, Brenda, came up and asked if I needed any help. I told her I didn't and proceeded to the rest room to realize I couldn't get in with the cart and couldn't go to the rest room holding one baby and wearing the other. Brenda offered to watch Eliza while I used the rest room. I had a moment of, can I really leave my baby with this lady? But then I realized that I had to go and would never make it through the grocery shopping with out it. So I was quick.

Then we shopped and the girls did great for the first half of the store. Then they got fussy. I switched who was in the cart and who was in the Baby Bjorn. This involved laying a baby on the ground for a minute. Not my favorite thing to do in the middle of the grocery store but it was the only way to make the switch. I made it to the Valentine's Day aisle before both were crying. Brenda came to find me to see if we were OK or needed any help. She did a price check for me and then pushed the cart to the check out so I could hold Ruby and have Eliza in the Bjorn. Then she unloaded all the groceries for me. This is when I realized I couldn't reach my wallet because, well, both hands were full. Brenda was nice enough to get it out of the back pack for me. Then offered more help but I assured her from here I had it under control.

What continues to amaze me is just how helpful everyone is. Most places I go it seems I'm more likely to get the "can't you come without the kids" look than offers of help. But at my grocery store they would happily walk through the entire store with me just to make my shopping trip easier! And to top it off they have really good prices too!

Hope you have a blessed day
Jenn

What About the Adults?

I realize that all the updates seems to be about the kids so I thought today I'd give you a glimpse of some funny conversations between Michael and I.

Most nights at dinner time I end up feeding the girls while everyone else eats and then rushing to eat my dinner before bath time. One night this week I was complaining about how my dinner would probably have been really good if it were hot. I had about two bites left of the dish. Michael was very quick to ask, "Do you want me to heat it up?" To which I responded "Can I not just complain about something without you trying to fix it?" His response, "No!"

The same evening I come upstairs to find the laundry I had been folding on our bed earlier in the day in the basket at the end of the bed. I knew Michael had not been upstairs more than a minute or two and that I had not finished folding the clothes when some other task became more important. This is what took place next.

Jennifer: Did you put the folded laundry back in the basket on top of the the stuff that was still unfolded?

Michael: There really is no good way to answer that is there?

Jennifer: No!

Michael: Well, I was trying to clear off your side of the bed for you! That's gotta count for something!

Yes, these are the typical exchanges we have. Yes, we usually find humor in them. Yes, we really do like each other. Yes, it is obvious we have been married almost 10 years! And, yes I'm am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who is always trying to make life a little easier for me.

In case you are wondering the picture is our self portrait from our honeymoon in Coralla, NC .

Go Heels
Jenn

Can Somebody Get this Girl a Real Pony?

I wanna be a Cowgirl...Charlotte obviously needs a bigger pony, but she sure was cute trying to ride this one today. This is her Doodle Pony and she and Ruby both love him. Charlotte likes to color on him (which is his intended use) and Ruby likes to chew on his mane. When Charlotte emerged from the play room like this today I could not help but burst out laughing and tell her to "stay right there" while I grabbed the camera.

In other news, Rehm is feeling much better today but still not back to normal. Luckily his highest temp today was only 101.5 - much better than his high of 103.6 yesterday. The antibiotic definitely seems to be doing the trick so I'm hoping he is 100% soon. Eliza saw the pediatrician for an ear recheck today to find out that she still has an infection in one ear - she just finished a round of medication yesterday and got to start a new one today. It is a good thing she has an appointment to see the ENT Wednesday. I think she'll be getting tubes with Ruby next week. You know it isn't good when 3 out of 4 of your kids is currently taking an antibiotic!

Off to watch the A&M vs Texas game with my husband. The scary thing is this now qualifies as a date! No sitter, no fancy dinner, no movie or show, we are just excited to be able to sit down and watch a basketball game together. Ah, life with four kids - I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Gig 'em Aggies!
Jenn

So Long, Farewell

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night.

I'm sad to announce the passing of Frank the fairy shrimp. He lived 6 full weeks in a wonderful tank with lots of fake plants and fake volcanoes - I guess that is OK for a fake auqasaur. He is proceeded in death by 4 of his siblings and survived by too many water fleas to count. He will be missed.

Given that the average life span of the fairy shrimp is 4 to 8 weeks and Frank lived approximately 6 weeks, I feel like we did OK. If only our goal had been to raise fairy shrimp...

In other news, Rehm went to the doctor today because he had been getting progressively worse for the past few days. He woke with a fever of 103.6 and while at the doctor sat on my lap with his coat zipped to his chin, his arms pulled inside the body of the coat and still shivered. The doctor diagnosed Scarlet Fever. I really think he does have strep throat (event though he wasn't cultured for it today) and while I know I'm not a doctor, everything I read about the rash that comes with scarlet fever doesn't match his rash. So I don't know what to think. Luckily the little girls have a well baby appointment with our regular pediatrician tomorrow so I'll run it by him. My mommy instincts tell me he has strep throat and a virus on top of it, but I didn't spend 100k+ and 8 years of my life on that educated guess, so who knows.

Charlotte is definitely on the mend, and Rehm has not had anymore bouts of chills since getting up from his nap and having his antibiotic. So I'm crossing my fingers that everyone is finally on the mend. Wouldn't that be nice?

I almost forgot that today was the Superbowl, even though it is on in the background right now. I just saw the greatest Emmit Smith HEB commercial. Very well done. OK so I guess I now have to admit I actually watched Dancing with the Stars. Yes, I know it is embarrassing but I'm sure I'm not the only one out there...

It doesn't feel like Super Bowl Sunday since our friends who used to have the greatest Super Bowl party ever had a kid and quit having the party - well, at least that's what they tell us, maybe they still have it and just don't invite us anymore... If your reading we still love you anyway.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and your team won,
Jenn

I love you!

When buckling Charlotte in the car today after lunch I said "I love you Charlotte." Which I followed up with, "I love you Rehm. I love you Eliza. I love you Ruby. I love you too Daddy." Michael was nice enough to say "I love you" back. To which I said, "I'm glad somebody loves me!" This started a fit of giggles for the older kids followed by a round of "I love you's" that would have made the Walton's Proud.

I realized that as crazy and hectic as life is right now, especially with 3 of the kids sick, I love my wacky, crazy family! And I love that as crazy and hectic as it is we still manage to have fun and laugh as a family!

Make sure you tell someone you love them today!
Jenn

Is that a Toe I See?

Mid morning I picked Ruby up to do a quick diaper change and felt something cold on my arm. I looked down to see a little baby toe sticking out of the foot of her sleeper! You see, Ruby LOVES the walker and has figured out how to get around in it. So this morning she did enough movin' and groovin to wear a whole in her sleeper.

Later today I noticed that my little wiggle worm (AKA Ruby) was getting her tummy off the ground! She is not completely up on her knees but give her about a week and I'm afraid I'm going to have a crawler. She has already figured out how to roll where she wants to go. I'm not ready for crawling babies.

Charlotte and Rehm were both home from school today due to illness. Both went to the doctor. Rehm has Viral Tonsillitis and Charlotte has a sinus infection. When we got home from the doctor they both took naps! Neither has done that in a long time. The staff at the doctor's office was shocked to see me there because of the older kids, it seems lately every appointment has been for the little two. They laugh every time I show up because I'm there so frequently - at least once a week right now.

Ruby saw the ENT yesterday and will be getting ear tubes on February 13. Eliza sees the ENT next Wednesday and will hopefully also be getting tubes that day. Then maybe I can go longer than a week without seeing the pediatrician.

Here are pictures of my girly girls in their new hats courtesy of Cici (that's my Mom). Are the not just the cutest hats? Rehm saw them and asked "Why didn't Cici send me a fancy hat?" Who would like to take on explaining to Rehm that he would look like a girl in one of these? When he talked to Cici later in the day he asked her to make him a purple or green hat. At Christmas she made all 5 of her grandchildren "sleeping" hats because Rehm had asked for one in the fall. It is so wonderful to have grandparents who are so handy and loving around.



Off to clean the pig sty I so lovingly refer to as the kitchen. What is it about dishes and laundry - they never seem to go away!

Jenn