Happy New Year (A Little Late)

So FINALLY I am back on here, but anyone who reads this knows by now it is usually few and far between. Baby is getting older so maybe I will be able to get on here more. It is hard to believe that Julia is will be 7 weeks already. I am now half way done with m maternity leave. She is a beautiful and sweet baby. I can't help but think that someone in heaven put in a special request. Up until I delivered I don't know why, but I was extremely nervous as to how I would handle being the mom of 4. I think just because this was a surprise for us it just threw me. I just didn't know how I would do it and have time for everyone. Right after she was born though all my worry went out the window. Holding that little baby in my arms I couldn't help but say to Paul, "How could anyone think this could be an accident." We have made our way and I think rather smoothly. George has really not been bothered about sharing his time and has been patient. Something I did not expect. Lydia had a rough start. She missed the long snuggly time before bed. Reading stories and playing, but now that Julia is older we are able to get back to that a bit. All the kids are eager to help when Julia is crying. George at times a little too eager, but he's a good boy. She just started smiling at 5 1/2 weeks and now is cooing right along. She is much more entertaining now and it amazes me how fast that happens. I believe she is going to wake up soon so I will go ahead and post this. Maybe next time she'll give me a little longer.

Things...

So I have yet to make it a full week of work within in a months time. Since Mayme was sick with pneumonia, the following week was short due to MEA which I guess I made those two days, but then Lydia got hit with the 24 hour flu bug again, then the following she got pink eye and yesterday I was home sick. I wonder if we will ever get out of this.

I also find myself up late at night thinking about baby things and getting ready. I am trying to figure out if I want to try to move George into a bed now or wait until a few months after the baby. We have yet to get another infant seat since our other is out of date that we used for Lydia and George. I had a check up last week and have to preregister for the room and make out our birthing plan. So it turns out that this baby will actually be coming and that alone sometimes keeps me up. Baby is very active at night too so I have a reminder. : )

Monthly Update

So the last month has just flown by and we've been keeping busy.

There were a couple of rough weeks at work where we had the ambulance called three days in a row for three different events and that caused everyone I think to be in a stressful mood. Plus building up to our big Freaky Friday where the parents come and spend the whole day with their kids going through their classes the whole day. Now that, that is out of the way and MEA is almost here I feel like I can breathe.

So here is an overview in no particular order:

Lydia was sick with a stomach bug a for a few days a couple of weeks ago, but made a quick recovery.

Mayme was sick starting a week and a half ago with a nasty cough and headache. Then that progressed into major joint pain and a fever. So we took her into the doctor on Monday and they thought possibly she could have Lyme's disease or Fifths disease. They did blood work for both. Mayme has never had blood drawn so she was quite concerned about that part and just thought it was a strange experience when all said and done. (Normally they don't test for fifth's since it's a viral bug, but with me being pregnant it can go to the baby). Both tests came back negative and Wednesday night she was still running a fever so we took her back Thursday where they did a chest x-ray (another new experience for her) and they found she had pneumonia. So now after four days on antibiotics I feel like I have my girl back. It was a struggle. It was hard to keep her home almost a full week before finding out she had pneumonia, but working in a school and knowing the expectations that if your child has a fever not to send them I knew there was a reason why, but still it was tempting to want to send her because I was afraid of all that she would miss. But we got three days of work and got it finished while she was home and she can work on the rest over MEA.

We had flooding back at the end of September and our basement got three inches of water in it and we had to throw a lot of stuff. Lost all of Mayme's kindergarten stuff, notebooks of drawings far back as I can remember, her baby book (which I am trying to save pieces of). All of Lydia's preschool stuff. Those were the tough things. Thank God most of the photo albums were salvaged. When my grandmother passed away I had the albums out looking for pictures to use at the funeral and I never put them back in the boxes and just left them on top of a dresser. Diaper boxes are so handy for packing, but plastic tubs is where we are going. At least to set the diaper boxes on. We threw I think almost 800 pounds of garbage. I was sad I had to throw all my records too. : ( We live on a hill and don't expect to get flooded, but for some reason our sump pump quit working. I had a doctor's appointment that day and on the way home we called the girls because they got out of school early due to the flooding in our area and I for some reason thought I should have them take a look so Mayme went down and she said "Well, my flip flops are floating. " So I have missed days due to kids being sick, flooding, and appointments. Trying to save as many days as I have to put towards maternity leave, but so far it's been off to a rough start.

In good news, Lydia lost another tooth on Monday. She was so excited and I think even more so because she lost it as school so she had the little treasure chest that they put it in. Also the girls got a bunk bed from their cousins and so the girls are loving that!

So that's kind of it. My doctor appointment went well and all is going good with baby. Can't believe I am at 28 weeks and have the feeling the last bit of time is going to fly by.

This week we have conferences and Mayme starts band. The idea of a quiet house is still out of a reach for awhile. : )

Week 2

Well we started off the week fairly well. Still with the weather being nice it's hard to believe we are only at the beginning of the year and not closer to the end. By Wednesday both Mayme and Lydia were in tears coming off the bus. May was upset because all the girls that are around May's age were sitting at the front of the bus my Lydia. Mayme just feels that Lydia is so popular and Lydia was afraid Mayme was going to hate her for whatever it was she did so that's why she was in tears. Mayme very much just likes her quiet time on the bus to look outside or read and I don't think she realizes how much more outgoing Lydia is. All I know is that Mayme doesn't want her to be that way. May also is not a big fan of "silly bands" and apparently all these girls were giving them to Lydia. When I asked if that made Mayme feel bad she said no and that she thinks they are stupid and just didn't think Lydia needed to have them. Thankfully the weekend came when it did. Mayme was crying again. Lydia came home with a big gecko connected to her backpack made out of beads that one of the girls had made for her. While Mayme on the other hand had asked this girl previously if she would make something for her. It's a tough position to be in to have to explain each side to the other. Neither one is upset truly at the other, but it's hard to be referee especially when I'm exhausted.

On a happier note Lydia lost her first tooth on Friday night. After a couple weeks of it wiggling she was looking the in the mirror playing with it and all of the sudden it came out. Her expression was priceless. On to week 3!

First Days

Wow two posts in one day! Mayme started school on Tuesday and was all ready and knew the drill. She was a little nervous about what the year would bring, but I told her we all go through that. She was glad to know that none of the "mean" girls were in her class. I reminded her that a lot can happen over the summer and who knows what changes those people have gone through or what new people she will run across this year. She just has never really found a niche. I really don't know how much that bothers her, but I think for as much as she says it doesn't it kind of does. That's the hard thing about not being there to see what's going on. I ask her who she plays with at recess or who she sits by and she never really says a whole lot. I know what a sweet girl she is and wish that others would see that too. She has some really sweet kids in her grade too, but she just doesn't seem to want to be with them as much as the others that don't seem to care that much about her. For the last few years I have been concerned about her reading and kind of put it on the back burner because at conference time her teachers would say how good she was doing in it and grade wise as well. When she reads at home to me though she struggles and I wonder if she has some dyslexia. So now I have been trying to figure out what steps to take to get that looked at. I guess I should have gone with my gut instead of being worried about people thinking I was being a paranoid parent. She is really enjoying school so far and that is the best thing.

Lydia started school Thursday and for the last month she has been quite worried about school. I knew she would be until she could actually get going and see what her days would be like. She had a hard time falling asleep the night before because she was so excited. In the morning she was up and ready to go. I took pictures on the deck and then Paul and I walked down and waited with girls for the bus. I started to give Mayme the talk about looking out for Lydia for the billionth time and she stopped me and said "Mom, I'll take care of her". It's amazing to me that I was so worried about Lydia and poor Mayme when she was in kindergarten had to go off on the bus all alone and find her way with no help. Lydia was in good hands. The bus came and Lydia grabbed me and hugged me then went off with Mayme and got on the bus. I of course start crying once she starts for the bus and that was okay. My goal was going to be not to cry in front of her because I didn't want her to think I was sad. Because really I wasn't it was just that I was so nervous and excited for her. This little person going off on her own little adventure and I wouldn't be there with her to help her if she needed anything. But soon I looked up at the bus and there was her little face looking out at the window at us grinning from ear to ear and waving. I knew it would be okay. When she got home she had so much to tell me. They got to hear stories and went to music. Her favorite part was going into the gym at recess. She likes all her teachers. She said "My teacher is so nice! I can't remember her name, but she's so nice!" She was very excited that she was going to get to go back the next day.

So now we get to me. I don't know if I was ready to get back to work, but I was ready for a change. It was good to get out and about. I always remind myself at the beginning of the year that for as fast as it seems summer comes and goes so too will the school year. So it was very busy, but that was great. Made the days fly by and here it is Saturday already. It was strange to come home Thursday while George was napping and the girls gone at school. It was so quiet and I was waiting anxiously for the bus to arrive to see how all went. Very soon though after the girls got home all the kids were wrestling and screaming on the living room floor. So much for the quiet. : )

And for George he seems to be coping well. I do enjoy the excitement from him when I get home as he says "Mommy's home!" and runs over the hug me. Thursday when I went to get him after he woke up from his nap I asked him if he had a good day and he said yes. I asked him he went to get groceries with daddy and he said yes and then I was trying to tidy the room up a little and he just says out of the blue "I missed you." (tears) I have never heard him ever say anything about missing anybody or anything so it was a really sweet moment.


So all in all it's been a good first week. Hoping next week is even better.

August

It never ceases to amaze me how I think it hasn't been that long since I've posted and then I see it's been over a month. The last month has been crazy with trying to get everything crammed in before heading back to school and work.

We got to go to the fair. It is the one thing we try to save up for because we enjoy it so much. It was a lot of fun because Mayme and Lydia could go on the rides together. Both girls are pretty brave with the rides they chose. Even if I wasn't pregnant I don't think I'd be going on them. Watching Lydia's expression was so much fun as she was going around on the tilt-a-whirl. Poor George didn't really like hanging out with me and having to be in the stroller watching everyone else go on rides so he was much happier when we got to go look at the animals. The kids each went on pony rides and George loved shouting yeehaw!

We surprised the kids by going to the Children's Museum. They had a blast. Mayme loved working in the kitchen pretending she was cooking up something, while George enjoyed driving the bus and delivering mail. Lydia liked shopping at the grocery store. I forgot how much there really is there for kids to do.

We got to meet Mayme and Lydia's teachers. It actually turns out that Mayme's teacher was someone I went to school with, and with Lydia having the same teachers as May did for kindergarten it made for a relaxing week before school started to know that they were in safe hands.

The girls each got in their dentist appointments. Lydia's bottom teeth have been bothering her and it turns out that she has two loose teeth on the bottom. One is almost out, but I am not brave enough to just yank it out of there. I told her she is going to have to wait for an apple to help her out. She is hoping it comes out on the gym floor at school.

I just tried to enjoy as much time with them ass possible and enjoy getting to get George out of his crib every morning. I will however not my George alarm in the morning shouting "Mom, Mommy, Mom!!!!!!"

Faster Then I Planned

So everything that I thought would be happening down the road seems to happening faster than I was planning on. I just can't keep up. We had planned on putting Mayme in the downstairs bedroom as soon as the baby was born and put the baby in with Lydia. Well now that we have thought about it we've decided that George and Lydia will share a room. Mayme has been telling me she has been a little nervous about sleeping in her own room. (For as much as she wanted her own room I think she was quite happy to have had Lydia in the same room with her.) I told her we would keep our eyes open for some nice sheets she would like and I would buy them so she could have them in her new room to help ease her into the transition. We found some and now she is already sleeping downstairs. Up until now it's been a toy room and I was planning to move all the toys upstairs and move out boxes I have from my Grandma's house that are sitting in there, but I was thinking in a few more months. I did not think it would be so soon she would want to take on the room, so now I'm thinking about where to put everything and trying to get it done before school starts. Lydia is doing fairly well for not having a roomie for the time being. She likes rotating between her bed and May's old one. George is still sleeping in his crib in his room and we plan to keep him there for awhile if he so decides. Then we think he can use the other twin bed, that was Mayme's, when he moves into Lydia's room. Otherwise we would have to buy another mattress for the toddler bed so I think we will look for some kind of railing attachment and be good to go.

In potty news! All of last week George decided he was not going to where a diaper during the day. Once even he took it off at nap time. So this week we are going to go with pull ups that hopefully he will keep on at nap time and night time. I feel like it's too good to be true. It is going to ease the money situation so much by not having to buy two boxes of diapers. So apparently everyone is ahead of the game, but me.