I'm a little crabby

It has been a tough few weeks for miss Aine.  She no longer naps (unless she is home with Dad, not sure why that is) but she needs to nap.  Since she isn't napping, as soon as 5PM rolls around she is crabby...non stop tears and pouting and disobeying.  It makes for a long 2 1/2 hours of staraight drama before she goes to bed.  Last night she was so cranky that at the dinner table she refused to eat anything until she got some more crescent rolls.  Well, crescent rolls are like gold at our house - everyone loves them and wants the extra one. She already had one and we told her she couldn't have more until she ate her actual food.  Aine wasn't going to have any of this and after sharing with us what she thought about that through grunts and wails, we removed her from the table.  I put her on the couch and told her that this is not how you behave at the table and she was done eating.  She cried and hollered a bit and then it got quiet.  Completely quiet... see - she fell asleep.  It was 5:30, in the midst of defiance, she crashed.  Unbelievable.  The rest of us at the table all just kind of looked at each other, chuckled, and enjoyed a quiet meal together...

In honor of her crabbiness, we had her wear the perfect shirt that my mom, dad, and younger brother Brian picked up for 

Aine at the Mall of America.  We think it is hilarious because it is so fitting to her personality right now.  She thinks it is hilarious because we say, "Aine are you a little crabby?" and she laughs

 and replies, "I am not a little crabby, I am a little girl!"  Ahhh bless her heart.

Hair today...gone tomorrow

We have been pestering Karl for weeks now about his hair. He decided to grow his hair out because he was afraid he was going bald. Like his dad, he has colics on each side of his forehead and hair doesn't grow there so great. He thought his forehead was too high and he looked bald so he grew his hair out to cover it up. It didn't take long for him to see that growing his hair out only made to bigger, empty spots on his head - see, he had one long center bang and then two long sides growing well past his ears. After letting go of his stubbornness concerning the matter, he took a good look at his hair, started laughing and agreed that it showed the colics and bald spots worse this way and allowed his dad to cut his hair.

Everyone gathered in our small bathroom to watch the hair go. It was impressive how much hair fell to the ground - and it is amazing how different our little man looks without his locks.

Sick Mommy

Every mom out there knows that when the kids get sick...Mom takes care of things, When the husband gets sick...Mom takes care of things.  And when Mom gets sick-yet again, mom takes care of things.  Well, life was quite different in my world this past week.  

Every one in my house has gotten quite sick over the course of this wint

er.  I could probably take all my sick days that I used (not including the pregnancy ones) from the past 3-4 years, add them up, and they still would not equal the number of days I have missed this year.  I hate missing work - it isn't like my dad's job where if he calls in sick, the secretary rearranges any necessary meetings; or like my husband's job where others just pitch in and when he gets back he deals with what they couldn't.  No, my job, if you call in sick you have to plan an entire day for hundreds of teenagers spread out through 6-8 different class clusters, all while you are sick and can barely think clearly AND you have to deal with it and more when you get back.  Yes - I chose my job, and yes - I like my job, but any teacher of spouse of a teacher clearly sees how much of a huge pain in the butt it is to call in sick.  

Any who, excuse my rambling tangents, I have spent the greater portion of this winter taking care of my sick kids.  Mike ha

s helped out substantially but the bulk of it has fallen upon my shoulders.  Lately we have had an outbreak of strep...not fun but I hadn't gotten really sick throughout this time.  That quickly changed on Thursday.  

Thursday - I was looking forward to a nice relaxing trip to get my hair cut and colored (and time away from the kids), and I got just that.  The last hour I sat in the chair though, I had the strongest, most uncomfortable cold shivers running through my entire body.  My head began to throb(not good when getting a cut and style), my throat began to hurt.  In the flash of mere minutes I went from cool and calm to cool and trembling.  As soon as I got home I went to bed - and there I stayed (other than the 90 minute round trip doctor check to verify I had strep) until mid Saturday.  I have never ached so much-I couldn't do a  thing.  I whined(hate whiners), I moaned(dramatic!), I pouted(won't work missy), bossed and ordered(do it yourself), I even cried(big baby...)-I hurt so badly.  I didn't "just suck up and deal with it" because physically I couldn't.  It was awful.  

What was wonderful throughout this time was my husband.  He left work early on Friday to help me (and was welcomed at home with three kids running through a trashed house, baby Sam in a high chair with toys and finger food, and mom crashed on the couch oblivious to it all.  He got me up, took me to bed, helped me get comfortable, brought me a covered drink(of Sprite and orange juice, my favorite), a phone, remote, tons of blankets and pillows and saltines before he closed the bedroom door and left me alone. 

 Then he got the four kids ready, took them out to eat for dinner, treated them to a movie and didn't bring them home until nearly ten.  I slept the entire time.  The next day he scrubbed the house.  I haven't had such a strong Lysol and bleach smell permeate through my home in ages.  He dusted, vacuumed, got on his hands and knees and cleaned floors, (I think I should type that again... see...he got on his hands and knees and cleaned the floors) AND continued to let me be a complete sick slacker.  

Not a single complaint from him.

Not a single request later.

Nothing but help.

Nothing.

Maybe I was truly delirious and I simply envisioned it all.  Maybe he secretly has a uterus.  Maybe he just loves me and is sick of all the sickness.  

Not sure - don't care.

I'll just take it.  

What a guy.