Wow, what a week!

To start the week, I had to cancel daycare for Monday so that I could take my sick girls and myself to the doctor. Anna had been complaining about a sore ear the day before, but said she felt fine Monday morning. I didn't make an appointment for her, but my 'mommy instinct' told me to have her checked anyway. Glad I did...she had a very severe double ear infection, which will need to be followed up on in two weeks. Taryn, just a run of the mill cold, and me...a sinus infection. How predictable for me! I completed my course of the z-pack and am definitely on the mend. And having been sick for over a month...thank goodness.

The girls both missed dance class this week, but they needed the rest. Most of the rest of our week was normal. Friday we had a our daycare Halloween party, which was low-key but fun. I had a few themed activities planned, and the kids really got into it and weren't overwhelmed by too much excitement. Friday night we carved pumpkins with Mom and Randy at our house. I don't think the kids ever had so much fun...after all, this is the first year the both really got to carve their own pumpkins.

Saturday, Halloween, was even more fun. Everytime I would talk to Taryn to pump her up for wearing her costume and trick-or-treating I'd tell her that she's going to knock on our neighbors' doors and get candy. Every time I'd say that, she'd yell "Be FUN!" with such a twinkle in her eyes. Her excitement for life almost makes me giddy. Gosh, I love her. Before leaving the house, I wanted to get some pictures of the girls in their costumes, but neither of them really cooperated. Anna, especially, because she went into one of her 'moods'. If you know Anna, you know what I mean. Her moods are unpredictable, and usually pretty stormy. Watch out! Luckily her mood perked up before we left, and she was a happy trick-or-treater for the rest of the night. The only negative thing about this holiday is trying to keep the kids' candy consumption to a minimum. Not an easy task. Pics to come soon!

Moments with my Jekyll and Hyde (that's Anna)

On Wednesday night I ventured out of the house knowing I had two extremely crabby girls. Why on Earth would I do this, you might ask? Well...Hubby works late on Wednesdays, and I badly needed to get groceries for daycare for the rest of the week. The brilliant mother I am, I started keeping dum-dums suckers in my purse for crabby outings like this...but even the dum-dum couldn't handle my two crab apples! Anna dropped her sucker on the ground, so I picked it up and told her to get a new one since this one was dirty. She then threw the sucker pouch onto the ground and gave me a dirty look. So...I pick it, put it back in my purse, and tell her no more suckers because of her behavior. Wow, was that ever a bad idea! For the next 5 minutes I had to shop as quickly as I could, enduring the evil and wondering stares of other shoppers because not one, but BOTH of my daughters were hysterically crying over Anna's dirty sucker. Have you ever heard my daughters cry? It's like police sirens wailing. Their cries carry like nothing else I've ever heard! Nothing I did calmed them down, and I was just short of sitting on the floor and crying myself. I have never been so embarrassed by my kids before! Luckily their moods changed once we walked into the Halloween section, but it is a moment I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

And to end this day on a more funny note...If you know my firstborn, you know her favorite food is the almighty cheeseburger. Well, on the way home from grocery shopping, she kept saying she wanted a cheeseburger for dinner...a cheeseburger from Lion King, to be exact. I was really confused, so when she couldn't clarify her statement I just nodded "mmhmmm" and drove on. Then she said, "But Mom, you already passed Lion King. I wanted a cheeseburger!". And I had my "aha!" moment. My very mixed up Annalise wanted a BURGER KING cheeseburger! I LOLed SO HARD when I realized what she meant. It's funny how kids can mix up stuff like that. And that single moment made me forget about the trauma I had just experienced 20 minutes earlier while grocery shopping.

I just hope that someday I can get used to and anticipate Anna's mood changes more accurately. I honestly think I might need help in learning how to deal with her down the road. She's only 4 and I already struggle. She's quicker than lightening, and let's just say it...I'm almost 30 and am no longer that quick.

Anna's 2 Haircuts

I've been waiting for the day that one of my kids pulls this trick out of the bag, and who better to do it than Annalise? Yes, you guessed it...she gave herself a haircut. I really didn't even see it coming. She had been doing an art project, cutting paper, after daycare was over the other day. I was preoccupied with vacuuming. She got up from the art table and told me that she was going to the bathroom, which I didn't question. Why would I? My four year old is perfectly capable of using the bathroom by herself, right? LOL She left the bathroom calling "Mommy, Mommy...look what I did!", and held up a nice chunk of hair for me to see. My heart sank. But I'm not complaining because thanks to Kids Hair (the "just for kids" salon who fixed her mess!), I now realize that a cute, short, easy to manage haircut is just what Anna (and Mommy) needed. It's shorter in the back, angled longer in front, and adorable!

Haircut #1
Look on Anna's left side...there's some short hair winging out!

Haircut #2
Not the best photo, but you get the idea of how short we had to go to even it out...lol

Go Away, Cold!

I have to admit that although I'm fully aware that it's cold and flu season, I'm a little bummed that I caught a cold and it's taking my body so long to fight it off. For almost 2 years now, I've barely been sick...and I mean, I'd feel the onset of a cold, then it goes away a few days later. This one is running me ragged. I started with a sore throat and itchy ears about 2 weeks ago, which progressed into a nasty phlegmmy cough, and now the sore throat and itchy ears have added themselves back into the mix. I'm just so tired, and can't seem to get nearly enough sleep.

This cold started with one of my daycare kids, and each and every one of them ended up with the runny snot nose except Anna, who really isn't showing any symptoms except a weak cough here and there. Even Andrew got it, though he took a day off of work and slept a lot, and kicked the cold really fast. Wish I could get enough rest to kick it, too. Oh, what's a tired mommy to do? I'll be the first one in line for the H1N1 vaccine when it's ready...Just can't risk getting that, being responsible for the health and safety of 6-7 kids on a daily basis!

Electrician Needed Desperately!

We've got some major issues going on in this house as far as electrical work goes. I'm fairly certain there is a short somewhere...needs rewiring. I saw one of the living room outlets spark the other day, but luckily I had nothing plugged into it besides child safety covers (which were melted into place, by the way!). We can't have the space heaters running in the girls' bedroom and the living room at the same time, or it trips the breakers. That's happened several times this week, until we figured out what was causing it. There has also been water coming inside through the spot where the conduit goes into the basement, if that isn't risky! Sometimes I wonder if we really didn't find a good deal in this house after all?

This morning at about 8:30am I heard what sounded like an explosion, and simultaneously we lost all power to the house. I was worried that it was something majorly wrong with just our house, but it turns out that the power was out all over the neighborhood. Whew! The kids were pretty confused about not having any lights or music, but we managed to do some puzzles and read some books in semi-darkness. The overcast morning wasn't offering us much natural light. Finally we opted to go outside, and as soon as the kids were all dressed and ready, the power came back on! We decided to go out anyway, and took an extremely long adventure to see Anna's school. The five kids I had with me did great on that long walk. They took turns riding in the stroller, sometimes I was pushing four at a time, though, with one walking next to me. So far it's been an interesting day. I'm hoping for a calm evening with lots of good, relaxing tv.

Licensing Visit

Since July I have been agonizing over my upcoming visit with my licensor, and for no reason. I should have known that I would have senselessly worried about it. The visit could have gone better for circumstantial reasons...such as: He showed up during quiet time, which I completely didn't expect. I was downstairs doing laundry and didn't hear him knocking. Thank goodness that Anna was awake and came to alert me, or I never would've known he was here (except that I was on my way upstairs because I heard Daphne barking outside). Then, as soon as my licensor sat down at the kitchen table, Taryn started crying in her room. I excused myself to investigate, and found that she had pooped in her diaper, took the diaper off, then stuck her finger in the poop! She was very upset that she couldn't get the poop off her finger, even tried wiping it on the rug. LOL Then, she heard a man's voice, and came running out bare bottom, yelling "Daddy, Daddy!". Boy was she disappointed...but I got a chuckle when my licensor said at least he got called Daddy, because he's been called Grandpa on several occasions by excited daycare kids.

That was the worst of it...everything after was surprisingly easy. I thought he would inspect everything that had been looked at during my first inspection, but the only thing he physically looked at besides my records was the water temperature in the bathroom. He said I was amazingly organized and that my records were great. He even saw some paperwork in there that was above and beyond what is required, and was quite impressed.

Lastly, he approved changing my license to a C2, though I plan to operate as a C1, effective November 1. I will be having two infants starting within the next 6 months, so this is the perfect change for me. When all was said and done, he left happy and I was thrilled about how well it went. And I felt a little silly for being so anxious. :)

Birthdays galore!

Last Sunday we celebrated Taryn's birthday. I can hardly believe my baby just turned two. And it feels strange to not be 8 months pregnant like I was when Anna turned two. It was a great party, and the bad weather held off just until the party was over. Having outdoor parties can be risky, but it turned out well for us this time. The kids all had a great time running around the park while the grown ups chatted.

Today we attended Brynn's birthday party, also held at a park. It was very chilly today, almost needed hats and gloves for the kids! Their poor fingers were frozen from holding onto the cold metal of the playground, but they didn't seem to mind. I think the kids had even more fun because Roxie and Julian rode over with us, and we got to stop and shop at Target on the way. Crazy to think that I've known Roxie for almost two years now, and we've just started doing things together outside of daycare. So strange...it feels so natural to be with her, as if we've always been friends. Even after the Lorine's stop bringing their kids to my daycare, I hope that we stay friends for the kids' sake, as Julian and Taryn couldn't get any closer, and I would hate to see them grow apart. They make the best pair.