Afternoon at the park

Now I'm sick!

Okay, well Austin is nearly all better and returning to school tomorrow but yesterday I came down with strep throat! It's the kind that hits ya like a Mack truck. I'm a night owl and I fell asleep at 8pm last night! Every muscle in my body aches...can't wait till this is over.

Finally got a picture

This is the best picture I could get! The shiny eyes are from his medicine for pink eye.=)

Bummed

Ok, so I took a really funny video of Austin and his way of wiggling his tooth but it came out so dark that it doesn't show up online! I can view it on my camera and from the file on my computer but that's it. Any suggestions anyone? By the way, he wiggled it so much that he swallowed it overnight. =) That's the 2nd tooth he's swallowed! I've tried to take a picture of him with his missing tooth but no such luck yet.

Update: Austin is still sick and we've stayed home from church today. This morning he woke up with conjunctivitis in both eyes so now I've got to treat him for that as well. We're off to the pediatrician tomorrow. =(

Still sick...

The Sand Man strikes again...

Austin has always been the type of kid who will fall asleep wherever he is at the time. It makes for some interesting pictures! This afternoon he at least made it to a bed, although it was our bed! I think this is the first time he's ever slept in our bed. Hey, he's comfortable right?

Sick...again!

It's Austin. He's sick again. What is with all the sickness this year?!? Wednesday and Thursday, I got notices, calls, etc. from Austin's school and teacher telling me Austin has cried a lot and just doesn't act himself. Austin had been acting normal at home and had been sleeping fine so I sent him to school anyway. Austin's teacher noted that Austin did take a short nap at school (not like him) and when Austin got off the bus and fell asleep again, I knew he was sick. He's an 11 hour sleeper, no naps. Well he napped from 5pm-6:30 and then went to bed at the normal time of 7:45pm! Would you believe I woke him up at 9am the next morning!! He's got a fever, constant sneezing, and congestion. He was acting sluggish this morning so I put our bedroom tv in his room (what a treat!) and gave him his breakfast on a lap desk. For those of you wondering why in the world my 6 year old is drinking out of a sippy cup, here's why: I was worried about dehydration and Austin can down a sippy cup fast so there ya go. Plus, I wanted him to stay in bed but still get his fluids in. =)

Favorite part of the day

My favorite time of the day (besides the glorious naptime) is putting Austin on the bus. No, it's not that I'm glad to see him go for the day. Shame on you for thinking that! =) We have a routine for pretty much everything we do with Austin and the bus routine is becoming quite cute! Everyday (Monday-Friday), I help Austin onto the bus then go stand on our porch steps as he makes his way down the aisle to his seat (his assigned seat faces our house). Once he's seated, I wave bye to him. Not that big of a deal right? Well, the last few days Austin has actually waved back at me along with the ENTIRE right side of the bus! There's nothing quite like watching a whole bus load of kids with special needs smiling and waving back at you. Puts a smile on my face every morning!

Wanted: help!

Three to four months ago, I would have told you that Andrew is a good eater for a toddler. Yes, he was somewhat picky but he'd eat enough to make me happy. Not anymore. For a couple of months now, the only thing he'll eat is carbs. Bread, waffles, mashed potatoes, etc. Oh, he'll eat enough of that one food to fill himself up but 80% of the meals I serve he won't even touch. I can't even get him to eat one bite! Each meal, I'll put a plate in front of him although Ben and I both know he won't touch it. Any suggestions? Austin is the complete opposite. The boy will eat anything you put in front of him. Sometimes he'll even reach for it without even knowing what's about to go in his mouth! No nutrition problems there!

I would love to say I can get Andrew to eat one bite, decide he doesn't like it, and then refuse to eat, but I can't. I had the one bite rule but it got the point where he sat at the dinner table by himself screaming for a LONG time.

I'd love to hear how everyone else deals with this! I can't wait till this phase is over!

BTW, Austin has his 2nd loose tooth! It should fall out any day now!

This too shall pass...right?

Now that the stomach bug has passed through our family (I was the only one who didn't get it!), I'm back to blogging again.

I'm curious of all you bloggers out there...what's the one (or two or three...hee hee) thing that your kids do that is really frustrating/irritating? Here's my current frustration:

Andrew is knee deep in the terrible twos. Everything makes him mad and he doesn't want to do anything we ask. Makes you want to pull your hair out! My frustation with my kids? They laugh at me when I get stern with them! Okay, so they don't do it all the time but when they do-it's drives me batty. I think Austin does it primarily because he really does think my facial expressions are hilarious but Andrew, who knows. Here's an example:

Me: Andrew, it's time to pick up your toys.

Andrew: No way

Me: Don't tell mommy no. Go pick up your toys please.

Andrew: (running in the opposite direction) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Me: (chasing after him then bending down to look him in the eyes) You need to obey mommy, now go pick up your toys. I'll help you.

Andrew: (Hysterical laughing)

I then will pick him up and attempt to make his hands put toys in the basket. This usually makes Andrew continue to laugh and go completely limp.

*I will give Andrew some credit here. This isn't an everyday occurrance. Sometimes he really does obey mommy...although sometimes it comes AFTER a time out. =)

So, there's my frustation. It grates my nerves...anyone else's kids do this too?

When will it end?!?

It seems as though every day I hear of someone else sick with the stomach bug. It's been non-stop! Andrew is now 95% healthy and has begun eating again, but this morning greeted me with the very same bug with Austin. At least he managed to throw up in his bed. =) Bedding is much easier to wash then the carpet. He's not acting nearly as sick as Andrew did so I'm hoping this sickness with run through him quickly and he'll be able to attend school on Monday. It'll be a miracle if I don't come down with it as well!

Go Ahead and Laugh!

Yes, this is me. I'm 15 years old in this picture. Don't you just love the huge glasses and big zit? LOL

So frustrated...

Sometimes the struggles with what goes with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome is just so frustrating! Tonight was one of those times. Andrew hasn't been feeling well all day. Listless and grumpy. He once even cried out in pain and said 'mommy, I cryin'. Well while he was standing in front of the tv (bad mommy) watching Jeoparady with Austin (wierd, I know but it's one of their favorite shows so we watch together!) and he started vomiting-projectile. As any mom would do to save her carpet, I quickly took off my bathrobe to catch most of it. Andrew has never thrown up before so he's trembling and crying, giving me this pathetic look, and then he says " mommy, I so scared". Now doesn't that just break your heart?!?

After Andrew has finished, I was in the process of stripping Andrew's clothes off when I notice that Austin is now LAYING in Andrew's puke. So now, I have to haul Andrew up to the bathtub but I also have to haul Austin as well, do all the laundry that goes with it, and then clean up the carpet.

My head was just screaming 'why oh why oh why are you laying in your brother's vomit?!? Don't you realize that's disgusting?'. Within 10 minutes (10 long minutes) I got over it but it just puts it all back in your face that life as we know it is not 'normal'.