Jan. 30, 2006

7:00 Drop off. Ariel was awake, but I put her in the bjorn and she dozed off

7:50 Bottle

Here's Ariel displaying her unique fashion sense. Yes, those ARE reindeer pants!


Awwww


The good news is Adam is feeling much better:


The bad news is that Alex is feeling much worse. He seems to have gotten the stomach thing that Adam had last week. He's not puking, but he hasn't eaten today and is voluntarily on the couch. This will make today interesting, as it looks like we are staying put. *sigh*

9;15 Ariel dozed off in the bjorn, I laid her down so I could attend to Adam, who seemed to think he was lacking attention

9:45 Ariel woke up. I left her laying down for a bit while I read books to Adam next to her.

10:00 Back in the bjorn, dozing

1100 Bottle

1130 Decided we must leave the house

11:45 Actually left house. We walked to the post office and then the yarn store. And I didn't buy anything at the yarn store, I was picking up the communty knitting project so I could take a picture. I don't knit much for that group, but I do maintain their website. Speaking of, last night I had to listen to Dad, Jeremy and Carl bad mouth the fabulous yarn store. And Carl hasn't even been there! Then we stopped by the grocery store so I could return some formula. Adam got a cookie (OOOKIE!!!) and they both rode the penney horse twice. And at least five people said some variation of, "Looks like you have your hands full."

1:30 Got home, changed a wet diaper, Ariel took a bottle.

1:50 In the Bjorn. Ariel was actually a little fussy. Not crying, but on the verge.

It seems that whenever I'm not holding Adam or he's not hanging on my leg, he's either pooping or getting in trouble. This afternoon, he was doing both:



He just empted my scrapbook box. Sigh.

At least Alex is feeling better, he's had about 12 mini waffles since noon.

2:45 Asleep in bjorn

This was Ariel's fussiest day yet. I walked her inside. I walked her outside. She wasn't ever crying, just not content. Probably because I told dad yesterday that she's never fussy with me.

3:35 Bottle

I saw this cartoon today and had to put it in:


I've actually said this to Jeremy, and he's replied back that he never reads this. He also quotes me a bumper sticker he saw that said, "Nobody gives a *bleep* about your blog."

4:00 Wander around outside waiting for Becky. Adam decided he wanted to walk to the park or creek or somewhere outside our property.

4:20 When Becky got here, I was trying to get Adam inside and he was throwing a full blown tantrum. Becky commented that Adam actually has four modes - Up, Trouble, Pooping or Screaming.

Jan. 27, 2006

7:00 Drop off

Alex got this toy for his birthday, and he made this kitty all by himself:


8:40 Wake up - 3oz bottle - kept most of it down

9:10 Go to Crissy's house.

Crissy needed her baby fix:


Every time we are at Crissy's, Adam plays with this cash register:


10:00 Tried to put Ariel down to sleep but she woke up.

10:15 Asleep in bjorn.

11:15 Crissy fed 3 oz bottle.

12:00 Go home. Fed boys lunch. Attempted to pack for skiing this weekend. Ariel slept in her carseat.

2:00 Finally get Adam down for a much needed nap.

2:35 Adam woke up prematurely, I tried to get him back down.

2;45 Ariel woke up, clearly ready for her bottle. So I left Adam and went to Ariel. Adam screamed the entire time. Adam has been screaming a lot this week. Poor boy has been sick with a cold, a tummy bug and is teething like crazy. I hope he gets better soon, Mommy can't take much more!

3:10 Decide to walk to the grocery store so Adam would stop screaming.

4:10 Get home, Becky waiting for us.

I thought Ariel had a pretty low spit up day today.

Jan. 26, 2006

So, I didn't have Ariel yesterday because Adam was sick. Actually, Adam has been sick for a while, but he was extra sick Monday night. He'd been have some diarrhea since Friday, but starting throwing up Monday night. And Tuesday. In the car. Anyway, Becky and I decided it would be best for my parents to keep Ariel Wednesday, though I still saw her in the morning at the doctors.

All three kids had an appointment Wednesday morning with my regular pediatrician. Alex had his 4 year check up. He's 29 lbs, 38 3/4". Still a peanut, but following his curve. Adam had a weight check but since he was sick, his weight was below his 15 month so we aren't counting it. Ariel was 7 lbs 10 1/2 oz. We saw yet a different doctor, who switched her back to the soy formula and doubled her Zantac dose. The doctor wants to see all three kids back in two weeks, Ariel for a weight check and the boys for their ears.

Oh, did I forgot to mention both boys had raging ear infections? Alex's eardrum was even preforated and was seeping and festering. Which leads me to my next story, trying to fill an antibiotic prescription. After we got the boys home, I took the prescription to the grocery store. They told me it would take a half a hour to fill. When I checked up 40 minutes later, they still weren't done. Then they told me that my insurance was only valid until December 14th. This freaked me out a bit, because I was pretty sure that I had health insurance. I called Jeremy, who had to work with HR to straighten it out. I checked with the pharmacy, and it was going to be $150 without insurance, so I decided to wait until we figured this mess out. Jeremy's HR had to contact the health care provider rep, who said it was not that we didn't have insurance, but that the doctor would have to authorize the prescription. What the buh? I thought that's what a prescription was in the first place. So then I had to call my doctor and have her call the insurance. When she did, she was told it would take 2 days to authorize, so she changed it to a different antibiotic. So in the evening I went back to try and get the new prescription. And it took a really long time, so long I had time to read an entire Us Weekly. And the new problem was that the insurance wouldn't cover two identical prescriptions for two family members. 'Cause gee, it couldn't possibly be because they are sick with the same thing, huh? I finally got it filled and worked out with insurance but what a freaking waste of everyone's time.

7:05 Drop off, asleep

7:45 Wake up, full 3 oz bottle

8:30 Took Alex to preschool, Ariel fell asleep in the car.

9:00 On the way home, we stopped by Gart Sports to exchange some ski socks I got for Christmas. I tried on some new ski jackets, not because I *need* a new one, but mine is red and with my helmet, I look like a boy. No, I really do, lift operations have called my "buddy." But the jackets were still $80, so I didn't get one. But I did get some new boots. Ariel spent the trip napping in her carseat.

10:15 Got home, full 3oz bottle given by Grammie Judy while I tried to get Adam to nap. Judy and Ariel hung out a bit, Adam never full went to sleep.

11:20 Gave up on Adam, put Ariel in the Bjorn to nap.

11:45 Crissy came over, wanted to hold Ariel while I made Alex's birthday cake.

1:00 Crissy left, Ariel woke up, full 3 oz bottle

2:00 I put Ariel down to sleep in the carseat so I could get ready for Alex's birthday party.

3:00 Drove to Alex's Pump it Up party.

3:40 Ariel woke up, Crissy wanted to hold her, feed her. She was very spitty during her bottle.

And here are pictures from the party:

Adam loved the slide. Too bad he couldn't climb up by himself, I got quite a workout today:


Beep Beep!


Alex with his birthday gang. This is as good as it gets when the mean age is 4:


"Chunky cheeks" Annikah:


Alex enjoying a worm from his "dirt" cake. Half the kids got freaked out when I said it was dirt and wouldn't eat it:


Mommy and Grandpa came for cake. Gee Becky, don't you own any other shirts?:


Happy Ariel:


Really Happy Ariel:


See Laura, if you smiled nicely you would have a nice picture:


Grandma


Becky got there around 4:45, we were out of there by 5:00.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, Becky and Carl!!!!

Jan. 23, 2006

6;55 Drop off. Asleep, crib. Actually stayed asleep, so I got a ton done. Fed the boys breakfast, changed sheets on two beds, and put away a load of laundry that has been sitting for 4 or 5 days.

9:30 Wake-up, full 3 oz bottle. She took it fast, and had a pretty big spit up when I burped her.

9:50 I used Ariel's Bjorn time to vaccuum.

Hey, look what I made this weekend:



It fits perfectly, I guess I could have made a size bigger.



This is what I look like half the day. Wendy's kid friendly taxi service. Oy, my back:



10:30 Left for a fun adventure at Target. I picked Super Target so I could get a Starbucks in the same spot. We also had to buy some supplies for Alex's birthday tomorrow.

11:00 Went next door to Michael's. Mom, looked for your yarn, didn't see it. And I didn't buy anything. It's a record!

11:30 Went over to Chuck E. Cheese.

How do I look so old and wrinkly?


Adam didn't like this:


Alex did though:


I had a great time. Apparently I'm a skee ball addict. Must come from a repressed skee ball-less childhood. I wonder if I can join a skee ball league. You know, like a bowling league.

12:30 Full 3oz bottle

1:30 Get home, asleep in carseat.

Oh, and at Target, I had to get Adam this shirt. It was made for him. I think Adam's second word was "mine."



It say:

The Toddler Laws of Property:

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

4. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.

5. If I think it's mine, it's mine.

And also speaking of Target.... So whenever I'm out with all the kids, most people look at me and a good many of them make comments like, "Wow, you have your hands full," or "Two boys and a girl," and so on. So I have this inner dilemma thing going on. I feel like I can either explain that she's my neice, or pretend that she is mine. Whenever I do say she's my neice, then I have a whole conversation on why I'm watching her and how lucky we all are. And I don't want to go through my whole life story with every Target checker. So unless the conversation really gets going, I'm just going to let people assume that she's mine. And feel a bit guilty.

2:50 Full bottle.

3:30 Walk to the yarn store and grocery store. Get more of the above comments.

4:10 Get home, Becky was waiting for us. Sorry!

Jan. 20, 2006

7:00 Drop off - asleep, crib

7:20 Awake. Adam was very cute when she woke up. She was crying while I was making her bottle, and Adam kept going in the room and saying "Baby!"

7:30 Full 3 oz bottle. I tried not shaking it very hard, but it still got pretty foamy. I took it out of her mouth when it seemed like there were too many bubbles in the nipple.

7:40 Bjorn

8:00 Ariel was still awake, and had some very loud hiccups

8:40 I tried to lay Ariel down so I could deal with a screaming Adam, but Adams screaming kept waking her up. Sigh. So then I did a quick photoshoot.

Her eye is still a bit irritated, but it's looking better:



Adam held Ariel for the first time:



Baby!



This is classic Ariel (notice the spit up in the corner of her mouth):



9:15 Crissy got here, and brought the elixer of life (Starbucks) with her. I'm without a car this morning, so I made her come here for a playdate.

10:25 Crissy gave Ariel a full bottle, and overcame the foam. She just kept the bottle tipped so no air got in the nipple.

10:40 Crissy put her in the Bjorn.

11:40 Crissy tried to lay Ariel down. (looks like I owe Crissy some babysitting money today)

11:50 Crissy playtime

12:15 Change wet diaper

12:20 Nap

1:00 I finally got Adam down for a nap, Alex was watching Bob the Builder, and Ariel was still sleeping. I thought I was going to be able to eat a quiet lunch. But then, while cutting my apple with unsafe cutting techniques, I sliced my pinky open. Of course, Ariel chose that moment to wake up. And it's hard to type with a band-aid on my finger.

1:15 3 oz bottle. Becky, I had no problem with foam this time. I shook it very gently, then used Crissy's technique to keep the bottle very verticle to make sure the bubbles didn't get into the nipple. She didn't drool or gulp at all.

1:30 Poopy diaper (and I can tell it's a new formula. You'll see :) )

1:35 Into the Bjorn.

2:30 I had to wake Ariel briefly to put her snowsuit on so we could walk to the store. We picked up more pictures for Becky, mailed a letter, and had an aborted attempt to enjoy the library. Sigh.

3:30 Got home

4:15 Becky got here just as Ariel waking up. Since she last ate 3 hours ago, I gave her another bottle.

4:40 Becky and Ariel leave.

Jan. 19, 2006

7:10 Drop-off. Ariel was not asleep, so I swaddled her and held her until she dropped off.

7:30 Laid Ariel down for a nap.

8:30 Transfered Ariel to carseat so we could take Alex to preschool. Lucky for me, at preschool one of the moms took Alex in so I didn't have to get Adam and sleeping Ariel out of the car into the snow.

9:15 Stopped by Crissy's house for a quick latte. Ariel woke and took a full 3 oz bottle. Also realized that there were no diapers in Ariel's diaper bag. I swear, if there was a Mommy test, I would fail. I emplored Ariel not to poop, but Crissy and I decided that if she did, we would be able to improvise one of Adam's diaper with some scissors and duct tape.

10:15 Left for Ariel's doctor appointment.

10:30 Met Becky at the doctor's office.

11:00 Finally saw the doctor. At least we were waiting in the inner waiting room and not outside with all the sick kids. So the doctor's appointment report:

Ariel's birthweight was 6 lbs 4 oz. Today, at 2 months, 5 days, she was 7 lbs 8 oz. She gained 6 oz since her last appointment 9 days ago. The doctor switched Ariel's formula to Similac NeoSure, which she said was higher calorie than her current formula. The game plan: Ariel needs to gain an ounce a day. She'll come back next week for a weight check. If she hasn't gained 7 oz, the doctor wants to switch her Zantac reflux medicine to prevacid. If that doesn't get the desired weight gains, then Ariel will have to undergo some more invasive tests, such as an echocardiogram on her heart. My gut feeling is that she's just a peanut, so I'm not worried. I hope Becky isn't either :)

The doctor is not going to treat the eye boogers unless her eye gets matted shut. So we'll continue to rinse her eye out.

11:30 Left the office.

11:45 I stopped by to pick up some pictures and stop by the yarn store.

12:15 Got home. Ariel had a 3oz bottle of the new formula. She took it without a problem.

12:45 Loaded everyone in the car to pick up Alex from preschool. Ariel fell asleep in the car, as did Adam. I had Noah's mom watch the car while I ran in and got Alex.

1:30 Got home, Ariel still asleep.



(some people have wondered how I have time to do this blog. just so you know, this just took me 12 minutes.)

2:45 Wake up, full 3 oz bottle

3:00 In the Bjorn, napping

4:30 pick-up

Jan. 18, 2006

7:00 Drop-off. Adam was still asleep, so I left Ariel in the living room. And then I had an unheard of 15 minutes when all three kids were asleep. I was able to attend to such personal hygiene activities such as drying my hair. Alex was up by 7:15 and Adam by 7:30. And Ariel kept sleeping, so I had a very productive morning. I made breakfast, cleaned up after breakfast, got a load of laundry in the dryer and our lunches made.

9:20 Ariel finally woke up. She took a quick full 3 oz bottle.

9:40 Left for the Denver Aquarium. Ariel was awake and not screaming in the car. Yay!

10:10 Arrive at the Denver Aqarium. We've never been before, so we were very excited. Part of the reason we went is because when we were at the Butterfly Pavillion, Alex was looking for sharks in the 40 gallon tanks and the koi pond. And we found sharks:



Adam thought the tanks were pretty cool too:





Some parts of the aquarium were too loud and too dark for the boys, so we had to hurry though.



11:45 We had lunch and Ariel woke up and took a full 3 oz bottle. Then we went back to look at the big shark tank, which was too dark to get good pictures.

12:30 Before leaving, I changed a poopy diaper

And Ariel has the disease that we call eye-boogers around here. I've been using a folk remedy that worked on Adam a few times - a cotton ball with some breastmilk on it. But Becky, you should probably get it checked out.





Enlarged to show gooey detail:



12:35 Leaving the parking lot, I had a dilema. Parking was $6.00, cash or check. I had $2.57 cash, no checks and credit cards. So I told that to the parking attendent, and also offered 1 or more children as collateral. Luckily, I just had to sign my parking stub and I was let through. Whew, I still have all 3 kids!

1:00 Get home. Ariel was on/off napping in the carseat.

2:00 Crissy stopped by real quick, Ariel woke up so Crissy wanted to hold her.

2;15 Full 3 oz bottle.





2:45 Back in the Bjorn.

3:00 Adam was needing me, so I swaddled Ariel and put her down, but she was on to me and woke up. Or she had to poop. Not sure which.

3:15 Change poopy diaper. Back in the Bjorn.

4:20 Pick up.

Jan. 16, 2006

7:00 Drop off. Thought Ariel was asleep, put her in the crib.

7:08 Apparently she's not asleep. I give her a minute to change her mind.

7:15 Get her out of the crib, swaddle her up like a burrito. Feed my kids breakfast one-handed

7:45 Ariel finally falls asleep, I put her down

8:30 Wake up - full 3 oz bottle

9:00 Go to the Butterfly Pavillion

9:30 Actually get to the Butterfly Pavillion. Now, I'm going to share some pictures that are NOT Ariel. Ariel spent the whole time sleeping the the Bjorn, so it was pretty hard to take her picture. My kids were being cute and availible, so that's what you get:

Alex held Rosie the Tarantula:



She's pretty darn big:



Adam enjoyed the cockroaches (Apple!)



I love this picture. Adam was hesitant about going in the butterfly room. I held him a bit, but then came the time when I needed to put him down. I asked Alex to hold his hand, and they were both ok with it. Alex led Adam all over the place, it was so cute:



See, Ariel IS here:



10:40 We left the Butterfly Pavillion

11:00 Trip to Westminster Mall. Wow, is this mall dying. Even the Mervyns is pulling out. The kids played at the play area, then we had a pretzel snack.

12:00 Miss Ariel had a 3oz bottle while the kids watched the balloons:



Then we walked down to the Pet Store. Coming out the the Pet Store, we met Grandma. She gave Adam a vague "cute baby" smile and didn't even recognize him. She almost walked right by us. Creepy. And the she said, "I was thinking Adam had an outfit just like that." Do-do-do.

12:30 Leave the mall

1:00 Get home - Ariel and Adam napping.

3:00 Wake up - full 3 oz



Look at these shoes!



3:30 Back in the Bjorn

4:25 Pick-up

Jan. 13, 2006

Do-do-do - It's Friday the 13th!

7:00 Drop-off - asleep, carseat, crib

7:45 Not asleep

8:15 Bottle - full 3oz

8:45 Drive to Crissy's

9:15 While changing Ariel into her 2 month photoshoot outfit, change a poopy diaper. Crissy and I tried to put tights on her, but they were ridiculously big, along with the shoes. So I just skipped the lower half of her body.

9:20 Photoshoot (note - no babies were harmed in the filming of this series)

Waaaahhhh!!!!


No wait, I'm a happy girl!


I'm pretty, too


Awww, sweet baby


Nap break


Look at those big eyes!


Grinnin'


9:45 We got a few pictures done, then Ariel needed a nap. Miss Crissy (whom Ariel loves) swaddled her, and we got her to sleep for a few hours on the couch.

11:45 Bottle - full 3 oz. Ariel was mad when the bottle was empty, but we decided to let it sit before giving her more. Then we took more pictures.

1:15 Get home. I changed her diaper and put on her Christmas dress and did a quicky shoot:

The Christmas dress grandma made (complete with head-garter-belt)


2:20 In the Bjorn, fast asleep.

3:15 Adam was not a happy camper when he woke up from his car nap, so I threw him in the stroller and we walked to photo express to pick up some pictures I had ordered.

4:05 Got home (it's only 1/2 mile each way, but Alex is a slow walker)

4:30 Pick-up

Oh, and here's the picture of the bracelet I finally got around to making. It's so tiny!: