Catching Up, Way Up

I am sick. It is official. I have been feeling down for quite some time, but I am really sick. It just seems to be shifting it's form. I was depressed, then I had a head ache, then I had no voice and a cough. Now, my throat and mouth are really swollen and I have a head ache. I am guessing it is strep. I haven't had strep for like 15 or more years. I don't have time to go to the doc, so I just keep hoping I will wake up better. I will go tomorrow if I am not better. Despite my malaise, we have been busy. We have used our Treehouse membership like 5 times already. It's our new favorite hangout. We went swimming and that did wonders for my S.A.D. I just tried hard not to look in a mirror and soaked up some sun from the windows at the pool. Here are some pictures of our latest adventures, not in any specific order.

Augi in her Bilibo, in the Bath

We had a campout in my bedroom this weekend. This is about as close as these children will ever get to camping with me as a mother. I freakin' hate camping. I want a shower and indoor plumbing and a comfy bed.

Don't ask.

Augi posing, Dayton looking guilty.

Snugglers. Augi is fake-sleeping.

Me, taken by Augi.

We went to India's bday party. Dayton looks guilty, again. Hmmmm. I am beginning to wonder about him.

The boys enjoying the party.

S.A.D. treatment

Augi dressed all warm, ready to go swimming. OK, so it was a weird choice of clothing--but at least she had a hat on.

My little poser in knee-highs and a swim suit. Pay no attention to the mess around her. The story of my life these days.

The World According to Augi

We got Augi her own camera for Christmas, but the piece of crap broke in the first week. I am boycotting Polaroid. Anyway, we have been letting her use our camera. I left out the pictures of carpet and upholstery close up, but these are a few from her recent shoots. I think she is pretty good. She has an interesting perspective, don't you think?

Sensory treatments and the Princess

Many of you know I diagnose my own children on a daily basis depending on my mood and theirs. Try to put that aside. Augi seriously has some sensory processing issues, especially concerning tactile stimulation. This is psychobabble for "she hates clothes." Getting her dressed is a nightmare. Everything is too tight, too loose, too itchy, too buggy. She was even willing to miss out on India's birthday this weekend rather than have to put on "saggy" unders. The specialists at my work have suggested some desensitization type techniques. Well, yesterday we held her upside down and tickled her--basically overloading her sensory system. Afterwards she went into her bedroom and put on an entire outfit of typically buggy clothes. Tights even. There isn't much research behind sensory treatments, but if it helps me get this kid dressed, then I am all over it! Check out Sarah's blog for a picture of how she is dressed today. She is calling herself the "Practical Princess." More updates about our weekend, my SAD, and a little therapy tonight...

*Sigh*

Maybe it is S.A.D. I don't know. I just seem to have the winter blues. I am grouchy with my family and I don't have any motivation. Ug. Work is dumb. I am so incredibly tired of the politics. I am just tired. I can't wait for this slump to end. Spring...must...come...soon...

So, I have not been motivated to blog. It takes all of my energy to even comment. I am reading your blogs. All of you. It all looks wonderful. Especially the warm ones.

Whenever I get blue, I start to obsess over things to take my mind off my funk. I started to make pendants from scrabble tiles. I got all the supplies, made a couple, and now my motivation is lost. You see, I really want to be a very talented and creative crafter type. I always lose my focus along the way. It doesn't help that my kids' day mommy is perfect. Yeah, that's you Sarah. So, I am now obsessed with finding patterns for play food made from felt. Most people want you to pay for the patterns. Did I mention that I am poor? Maybe it is cheap. Regardless, I am not paying for their patterns when I know I will lose interest after one or two felt strawberries.

My attempt to get out of the blue and into the yellow (that's my happy color!) has brought us to the Zoo with Julia and her mommy and to the Treehouse Museum with the Chelsies (there are too many of them to list...). Here are a few shots. It was hard to pick the best pics. Any decision is hard. Maybe I should get my hair cut. That always helps.

BTW--the Treehouse museum does plays throughout the winter season. Chris and Augi had a date on Saturday and saw Sleeping Beauty. Em and I fell asleep at 7:30. It is what we do best and it was wonderful!

TREEHOUSE MUSEUM

Em learning anatomy. Studying for med school starts early.

Augi cookin up something good. They had felt food, hence my new obsession. Em turned into an obnoxious little brother this weekend. He must destroy anything and everything that Augi creates. Augi waiting patiently, or not so patiently, while we let Emmett play with one thing that he chose rather than her. It is sure hard being thrown from your only child throne. Augi running and dancing--her favorite thing to do.

Little Red Riding Augi. I love the dress ups.

Clompton (insider joke/nickname) and her new accessories. She really pulls off two babies and their gear quite nicely, don't you think? She's like a mule.

Kaedyn is so brave. He joined the troupe of the Participlay! He is in the brownish shirt on the far left. He was great!

The gang enjoying the play, before Kaedyn was selected as the star.

Augi heading off to school. With her baby. Go figure.

Emmett found a tunnel. Hooray! I think he could have crawled back and forth all day.

Mirrors!

Enough of the Museum...we thought we would try out Em's artistic abilities at home. Pretty good, eh. He was inspired by Jackson Pollock.

It was a cold day, and we almost didn't go to the zoo, but I am glad we did. It was fun. Chiana couldn't make it, she was sick. Augi had fun with Julia. We can't wait for their new baby brother.

Well, hopefully I will survive this winter. Fun times with the kids will definitely help.

Conversations with Augi

Work is a pain in my behind these days. I hate the political crap that is inherent in working with a group of angry, passive-aggressive, repressed women. I am always eager to get home. My conversations with Augi are the highlight of my life. Tonight I walked on the treadmill for a while and when I came up, she was still awake (she is sitting next to me now, and it is past 10 pm). I asked her why she was still up. She said, "Well. It's like this. My eyes are sort of like wet and my nose is like stuffy and my mouth is like all coughy so my head is not letting me sleep. My body is letting me sleep, though. So it is like that." She has pink-eye and a low-grade fever, so I am letting her get away with anything.
The other day I was brushing her hair. She was distracted by her own reflection in the mirror so I snuck a pony into her hair. CUTE! I whispered to Chris to snap a photo. It was funny. After about 5 minutes, I heard, "Maaaaa-aaaam, I don't like it when you do that to my hair!"

Emmett is so mobile it is scary! He can move from crawling to standing, although he still falls. He is cruising along furniture. He is barely 8 months old!
Augi and her pink eye(s). She has been a challenge the last few days. She is really testing limits with us. I have to pretend I am my own patient. "Your daughter is seeking the safety and security of boundaries. Stay consistent and firm in your limits." Yesterday she monkeyed around in the car, so she didn't get her bubblegum ice cream and there were lots of tears (from both of us!). Then, she got all of her scissors taken away because she cut the belt on a dress after specifically being told not to. This was the first time she has EVER cut anything she wasn't supposed to and she has had free access to scissors for over 2 years now!

The little hooligan! He is such a sweetheart. He took a brief tumble down the stairs tonight--but I caught him by the leg before his feet went over his head. It was only two stairs, but it scared the crap out of me. I just walked away from him and forgot to close the stair gate. Dumb.

Here we are with my little gnome in one of his signature hats.

I wish I could remember every single conversation I have with Augi. We put a mosquito net over her bed and raised it a few inches. Very princessey. I thought I took some pics, but I can't seem to find them. I guess I just thought about it. She has planned a Valentine's party at our place. If you didn't get the invite, you will. I am committed now. She has everything planned out. She loves Fancy Nancy now, so it might just be a fancy party.

Well, I need to get the dishes in the dishwasher, lunch packed for tomorrow, and the diaper bag ready to go. Oh, and a shower would be nice.

Augi is still chattering away next to me. Now she is singing. If you haven't heard her sing Mama Mia, ask her sometime. It is really cute. I will try to get her on video.

So much to do...So much to say!!

I haven't blogged for a while...I am going back to work tomorrow so I thought I had better get an update on here before I get too behind. I am a list-maker. I make lists of everything I need to get done. I like the feeling of accomplishment when I cross something off. Chris always thinks he is funny and he will add things like "breathe" or "eat" to my list. Anyway, my list for the last few days has been a mile long. I have just about everything checked off. But, there are still several things on there that I would have liked to have finished before my holiday was through. Oh well. None of my projects are going anywhere! Unfortunately, I have not been able to complete many of the items on my list because I am experiencing what must be a migraine. I have had migraines before--especially during pregnancy. But, I never really got a headache. I would get funny vision things and sort of a dull numbness in my head (haha--don't make jokes) and nausea. The docs say they are migraines. Well, last night I was reading to Augi and I started to see some fuzzy spots in my vision. Then, I saw a line on the page. Well, I couldn't focus. This went on for about 5 minutes, then BAM! A horrible pain on one side of my head. I have really been able to keep it under control with Tylenol and lying down. Ug. No fun.
I have enjoyed my time with the kids, but I am ready to go back to work. I have said this a million times and I will say it again...I really wish I could work 20 hours a week. It seems like the perfect amount of time for mommy time and professional time. I just need to find that big pot of money or a job that pays super well AND gives me insurance.
The kids have missed Sarah and the gang. Augi couldn't contain her excitement tonight. She was running around completely excited, packing her bag for tomorrow. Emmett will have fun too. I have been holding him for 2 weeks straight. He is so big, but so cuddly. With all of my holding, he isn't making much progress on the crawling. More importantly, he has started giving me kisses now and he thinks it is great fun to put his binki in my mouth. He laughs hysterically. As for milestones for Augi, she took her first shower on her own tonight. It is weird to feel sentimental over something as silly as a shower. But there she was, taking care of herself and I could just see her being 16 and hogging the bathroom. She told me "Mommy, I prefer showers from now on." I told her she is getting so big. Then, she reminded me that she doesn't want to get old. This is a common worry for Augi. We tell her to eat healthy and get lots of exercise and play time and she will always feel young, so she doesn't need to worry. But, then, she worries that she isn't getting enough exercise. She told me tonight, "Mommy, don't bring a stroller anymore. I need to walk and exercise. You can just carry Emmett."

We spent the last night of 2008 at Chelsie and Rocky's place. I always feel like I am going to a foreign country when I am allowed on the military base, so it was extra fun. They had a ton of cute Christmas decorations and Augi was thrilled to play at Kaedyn and Caisy's pad.

Emmett was entertained by the jumperoo.

Sorry, I can't tell them apart. They must have finished partying before we arrived. They were passed out most of the time we were there.

Look at that toy room! Yes, that is Kaedyn in the box. The girls look guilty, don't they? Caisy's drawers were falling down, as usual. Little no-butt. We partied until 9:00, but decided it was time to go once Augi was completely undressed. My child the nudist. I agree, though. Clothing is so restrictive.

How can one express oneself with clothes on?
Let me introduce you to Ava. Isn't she cute? She arrived on Christmas, but there was some dispute about whether or not she would stay. I have a weird obsession with vacuums. Yes, nudity and vacuums. Anyway, this is my self-operating vacuum. I am in love. I just hit "clean" and she goes from room to room vacuuming the floor. She gets the corners and under the beds. Then, when her battery is low, she returns herself to her charging dock. Augi named her. We have spent way too much time watching her move around. It is really great entertainment.

I have been threatening to add video for a while, so here it is...We finished grocery shopping at Target this afternoon. I wanted to sit in back and nurse Emmett so he would have a full tummy before he fell asleep. Augi likes to "drive" while I do that. Well, it didn't go as planned. Augi was a noisy, crazy driver and Emmett was squealing with delight as he stood up in his car seat.

Goof balls.