The Sick House

The poor kids have spent the last two weeks being sick. Runny noses, coughing, teeting for Max, and fevers have made this the sick house. Lily missed a day of school, but seemed better except for her cough, so she has gone back. Those coughs can last forever! She also had a wart on her face that we were putting medication on, but it got infected so now it's just a big wound. The doctor gave some ointment and oral meds and Lily is so excited she gets to take pink medicine. There are a lot of tears when we have to peel the band-aid to put the ointment on, but after we pull it back she always says it didn't hurt. I wish she'd remember that each time so we could save on the loud wailing she does in anticipation of the pain. Ryan had a fever the other night so I gave him some purple medicine, which he was also very excited about and would easily overdose if I'd let him. He's always asking for more.

Jeff had to spend several hours on the phone with Kaiser figuring out our new insurance because the pharmacy couldn't find me in the system when I went to get Lily's medication. The kids did very well in the pharmacy for an hour, but after that point I came home a bit jittery from trying to manage the kids in that tiny space for that amount of time. And in the end I still had to go back the next day, but I'm just grateful to have the medication at all now. And I got this picture of them trying on glasses in the pharmacy. They did find fun ways to pass the time.

I got released from Primary Presidency and was called to be an advisor for the Mia Maids. Young Women's is defintely a time intenstive calling, but luckily before Brother Nackos came over to extend the calling, I had prayed to feel okay with whatever it was and at that point I knew I'd be an advisor and I had a really good feeling about it, a confirmation. I was just relieved I didn't have to play the piano, since I thought I might get that calling. So that was comforting. Brother Nackos said they really want and need sisters who have strong testimonies themselves and who are doing good things in their lives to be leaders of these girls since they have so many negative influences around them. It's always nice to have more motivation to live a life where the spirit can be my constant companion so I can receive guidance on what to teach and how to relate to the girls. And of course this will all bless my life at home with the kids and Jeff as well. So it's a win-win.

Jeff spent part of Saturday cleaning out his car and the kids had so much fun helping him. They really love to help and are such good and enthusiastic workers. Afterward he took them for ice cream and Lily said, "we sure did a lot today, and you know what the best part is? This!"  Ryan finished his ice cream quickly, then moved to sit by Lily in hopes he could finish hers off too. He knows his sister and when she was done, he was ready to move in. Whenever we talk about that outing he always pipes in, "I love ice cream!" It was such a beautiful day as well so we spent the morning at the park they got a lot of running in.

Ryan chased that ball so many times

GOAL! 

Lily loved playing goalie

Lily wanted to help Ryan with his Thomas the Train puzzle, but Ryan wanted Daddy to help. When Ryan was distracted, Lily said to Jeff, "maybe if you leave, he won't notice." And he didn't notice, smart girl Lily. This set of Thomas puzzles has pictures on the back of each puzzle to help identify the different puzzle scenes since all the pieces came jumbled together. I made a wrong connection with one of the pictures and puzzle pieces so when the kids wanted to do the puzzle with the giraffe they got a puzzle with just Thomas. Lily came to us and said, "we finished the puzzle, but I have sad news, there's no giraffe." It was so funny to Jeff and me beacuse it sounded like a real tragedy to them, but we all laughed when I told them it was my mistake and they thought it was funny that I mixed the puzzles up.

I'm doing P90x3 every day, which I love. It's only 30 minutes so the kids can be down playing while I work out and it's not too long for them. And this way I don't have to get up extra early or do it at night. The only downside is that I don't always pay attention to what they are doing while I'm exercising because I'm pretty tired. This is when they got in their old clothes bins and emptied them out reliving the memories of when they used to wear those clothes. They did have a lot of fun and Ryan put the clothes all back, so I can't complain. Lily would pick the item up from the bin, exclaim her love of that article of clothing or a memory from it, then Ryan would say, "okay Lily, give it to me." He then would throw it on a pile on the floor.

They have been looking through a lot of old photos and they love it. When looking at our wedding photos Ryan would sometimes say, "that's so cute!" or "Look, mommy's kissing my daddy!"

Some pictures from the last couple weeks:

"Look Mommy, I'm Iron Man!"

Max enjoys chocolate

The kids discovered Daddy has fun clothes to dress up in

I was doing something and I heard Ryan keep saying he was reading his book. He kept turning pages and I looked over and it was this book (I had him pose for this picture though so he wasn't reading it on his face). I'll have to see if he really is a new kid by Friday, if so, thanks Ryan for doing all that heavy reading for me. 

And then Lily wanted a picture of her reading the book too. We'll see if I have TWO new kids by Friday, fingers crossed 

And cute little Max. He doesn't love to stand and when he is holding on to the couch he loves to let go and fall back, though I'm pretty sure he's expecting me to catch him. This is Jeff trying to help Max practice standing. 

This is what happens when you're on the phone for a few minutes. 

 Lily is becoming so independent it blows my mind. She can make quesedillas all by herself and one time before I even knew what she was doing she was almost done! She gets the tortilla and cheese out from the fridge, puts the cheese on, gets a plate from the cupboard, then puts it in the microwave. Plus, she has to move her stool all around to get to things so it's kind of a lot of work. But she's very proud and so am I.

I got an egg slicer and Lily loves it. I wanted to make egg salad but when Lily saw I had 6 eggs to slice she had to do it. And when she got to slice each egg two ways to make little pieces she was in heaven.

I show a picture of this salmon and brussel sprouts because this is the first meal in a long time that EVERYONE ate! Even Max. It thrilled me to only make one meal....though there still was cereal for a snack later on that night, but hey, this was progress.

 I walked by the window and saw these two sitting outside like they were just chatting and shooting the breeze. They invited me to come out so I joined them for conversation, it was pretty sweet. We were on ships and deciding where to sail to.

 Ryan said to me, "We're on our ship. I'm Jake the pirate, say 'hi' to Jake!" Lily went inside to watch Max (she would come out periodically to tell us Max was doing great) and Ryan and I talked. He always brings up going to watch Daddy play basketball and how they play catch afterward and roll the ball to each other. It is so special to him and I love that Jeff has taken him twice now. Ryan is thrilled to have this one on one time with Jeff. I looked in his eyes and I said, "Ryan, when I look in your eyes I feel so much love for you." He said to me, "Mommy, you have blue eyes. I can't see my eyes, I can only see your beautiful blue eyes." He then went on to tell me I have beautiful hair. And when we read books that day he asked me to put my arm around him. Talk about a sweet boy, he melts my heart.

Look at that cute and one of a kind fashion girl!

Lily drew this picture and for the first person said, "uh, this one has a weird smile. This can be you mommy, mine is going to be perfect." But then the other two she made also had weird smiles, so they became Daddy and Ryan. It wasn't until she drew her 4th person that the smile was just right and that could be Lily. And then she rememebred to add Max in. 

I had a busy couple days shopping with the kids: Home Goods, Walgreen, Sam's Club, and Bed Bath and Beyond. The highlight for them was playing in the dog kennel and on the dog beds.

I think this could be a great addition to our home. A new timeout spot.