Cold and colds

Right now I am using Allen's laptop at the kitchen table. The kids are surrounding me with giggles, squeals, and a bit of whining as they color. Ice Age is on the TV, but since no one is watching it, I really should turn it off. We are aiming to have a calm (aka: lazy) Sunday morning inside while it is cold and misty outside. We are not going to church this morning as planned because Will is on the second day of a 102-degree fever. He was up at least half a dozen times last night because he was cold, or hot, or coughing, or nauseous, or thirsty, or tired, or uncomfortable, or lonely. . . so that means I need more coffee to get through the day because I was up as many times, too.



This past week I feel like I've accomplished a lot. Yesterday (another "lazy" day with a sick kiddo) I even cozied up on the couch with a blanket and just read a book. I didn't even feel guilty because there wasn't much I HAD to be doing. The weather is cool enough that the house is a bit chilly, but mostly comfortable. I had fall scented candles melting while the turkey roasted and the aromas definitely shouted that it is fall . . . this weekend, anyway.



This week we decided on the color we'll paint Maddie's room, and the little boys' mural arrived. It is a jungle scene with many colors, and finding the "right" one to put on the walls has been a bit of a challenge. By the end of this week, the Sherwin-Williams employees won't even need to ask me my phone number to pull up our account. I've put three different colors up on the walls, and maybe (just maybe?) I put one on this morning that will be the winner. Sadly, it looks disgusting in the can, but on the walls it is quite nice -- warm, neutral, and calm.



Allen went to WalMart to stock me up on a few paint supplies -- somehow we seem to have left our paint roller and tray in Kansas, but we brought lots of brushes and roller pads with us. I plan to spend my Mother's Day Out this week painting one room or another, and hopefully we will have the little kids' rooms done before Thanksgiving. With the right circumstances, I think I can get most of the work done before Halloween, but hanging the 100-square-foot mural will be the challenging part since I'll need adult help with it and another for the kids.



Next weekend the triplets are turning three, so this week I went on a grand adventure -- to the Party Store for decorations. And to make it even more exciting, I was crazy enough to take the three birthday kids. I am glad to say I survived it, but there were times I was wondering if they would. Somehow we left only with the things I intended to buy, but there were a few tantrums because we didn't need 8 dozen cups in four different shades of pink and two shades of purple. Maddie settled on a pink party hat and one package of purple cups. Another fit happened because I suggested Jon pick a different party hat other than the silver sequined cowgirl(?) hat with the white maribou trim. He settled for the green polka-dotted one. And yes, Ben had his fit, too -- I insisted we get blue plates and he didn't think we needed any. Every time I put them in the basket and turned to move on, he'd put them back on the shelf. I can't say I had fun, but I intended to. Next year, I will either take more adults or fewer children, or maybe I'll plan ahead enough to just order the supplies online. The last few days I've been strolling through miles of photos we've taken of the kids over the last three years. Ben, Maddie, and Jon are going to be three next weekend and with all the family coming for our party, I hope to create a slide show to see how far they've come since they entered this world. It's been hard for me to look at the NICU photos because no parent likes to see their newborn full of tubes and IVs, but its been nice to see the changes that we don't notice because they are with us every day. It's been nice to see the circumstances we've overcome, lived through, and learned to enjoy. Until I get more photos uploaded, I leave you with some recent ones of the kids.
This is Ben sleeping in the car. He woke up long enough to get out of his car seat, but fell back to sleep on the way to the door. He didn't come out when the other there came tumbling out, and when I looked for him, I found him asleep again -- on the floor of the van with his head on the seat. He has always slept in some strange positions, and here is another one for the books. Here is Will's toothless grin.
And this was snapped just before Ben, Maddie, and Jon went for school pictures. They each chose their own outfits, and Maddie insisted on pigtails. Since what they pick is so much about who they are at the moment, I let go of the fact that the photos might not match on the wall (yes, I'm a bit silly about things like that.) In the end, the proofs turned out adorable and the teachers even posed them together for a picture. I can't wait to get the pictures back to share!

And finally, Maddie got the prize last week for my favorite quote: ". . .and Mama, don't call me pumpkin! You can call me Princess."