Yeah, you *thought* you'd just pop over...

Last week was Rodeo Week in Tucson, and Lillian had a few days off school so we decided to pop over to California for a quick Disneyland trip.  I actually wanted to go camping, but it was too cold, and I need 15 pillows to sleep in a bed, so I probably couldn't handle sleeping on the ground.

On the way, we stopped to see my Uncle Jim and my cousins (not pictured) in Thermal.  Jim's pig had babies 2 days before we got there.

Baby pigs = super cute.  Mama pigs = super scary.  Also, did you know that pigs are huge?  Like, I was looking at the daddy pig and then looking at Tyler and I decided that the pig was taller.  And weighed 500 pounds, or something.

We were cooing over the pigs and I wanted to pet one but the mama pig was making it clear that she wasn't even OK with me *looking* at her piglets, when Uncle Jim launched into a big spiel about how he's going to sell them at the Easter auctions because the price of ham goes up at Easter and he can get X amount per piglet inside I was like "I'm never eating ham again!"  Easter Means Carnage!  But then I looked at the daddy pig and he was huge and ugly and I thought that I could eat him.  I'm awful, I know.

This is what the kids look like in the car.

 Waiting for the tram.

Disneyland actually worked out really well.  My sister Anne came so there were 3 adults for 3 kids.  It was convenient that I am pregnant because I can't go on the big-kid rides.  So Tyler would take Lillian on the Matterhorn, or whatever, and the little kids and I would chill out on the kiddie rides.  Except I took them on Snow White, and Ethan will never be the same again.  He still talks about how creepy the witch was.

Then I wanted some nature, so the next day, we headed to Laguna Beach with my brother Andrew for a little hike.

The kids haven't quite caught the vision of hiking.  The hike was probably 1.5 miles, and it took a good 2.5 hours.  There was much rock throwing, flower picking, and asking where we were going and when we were going to get there.

There was lots of grass that the kids kept running over and sitting in.  It's like they've never seen real grass before... oh, wait... they haven't.

 We decided to head over to California Adventure the next day.  This day went slightly worse for several reasons:

1. Turns out I'm allergic to Southern California.  "Didn't you grow up there and never ever have allergies?" you ask.  YES! I developed allergies when I lived in San Luis Obispo and I had a cold that wouldn't go away.  Tyler told me it was allergies and I told him he was nutty.  He persuaded me to just try a Claritin and it worked like a miracle.  Still, I was OK when we went to visit my parents.  Then I moved to Arizona for a few years and now whenever we cross the Colorado River, my face explodes.  So I was a little bit miserable from that.
2. Two adults for three kids is not as desirable a ratio as the above mentioned 3:3.
3. Ethan was like, "Didn't we just do this?" and proceeded to freak out.  Also he told me it was too loud there, and this is kind of true.  The rides are all loud, there is loud music playing everywhere, there are loud people, and as soon as we sat down to lunch, the rag-time band started up 10 feet away.

 
Apparently, this is just how my face looks.

This ladybug ride is my favorite: the line is pretty short and the ride is pretty fun.  While we were waiting in line, a little girl who was probably 4 or so told me all about how her favorite ride is Tower of Terror.  I have never been on this ride, so I didn't know what it was like, but if this little girl loves it then it must not be so bad.  Both Lillian and Nora were tall enough so Tyler took them both.

I was waiting at the exit when they came out and both the girls looked like they were going to cry.  Tyler said that he was a little bit scared on the ride and Nora looked at me and solemnly declared that we were never going on that ride ever again.  Ever.

For me, at least, the trip would have been 30-35% more fun if I wasn't constantly sneezing, blowing my nose, or spacing out from the medication.  Oh well.

Things are going better

I went to Tyler's soccer game last night and a friend on the team came up with a concerned face to ask me if I was doing OK.  "I saw your last blog entry," she said with a grimace.

So yeah, that was bad, but it's better now.  Aside from some lingering runny noses, most of the sickness is gone.  I no longer want to put Ethan up for adoption, which is a major improvement.  It must have mostly been the sickness because I swear, it was like he wanted me to beat him.  Then a few days ago, I was playing with him and he was being so cute and I remembered that I actually liked him.

In other news, Lillian's teacher sent home a note asking the kids to EACH bring in 3 DOZEN cookies.  What the what?  My mind is still boggled.  What the heck are they going to do with 780 cookies for 27 people?  I mean, maybe she's counting on some kids forgetting, but seriously.  ONE kid bringing in 3 dozen cookies would mean everyone would get a cookie plus 9 left over.

I read the note like 3 times and asked Tyler to look at it to make sure I wasn't missing anything.  I sent in one dozen because I don't support craziness.

And then in other, other news, I am back to being a 99% stay-at-home mom and you know what? It's just as boring as I remember.  I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOMEN DO TO ENTERTAIN THEMSELVES ALL DAY LONG.  My house is possibly less clean than it was when I was working full time because I think, 'eh... I've got all day long to clean that up, what's the rush?' And then it doesn't get done because I end up reading all mid-morning, then Lillian gets home from school and we have to bake 3 dozen cookies for school the next day.  Or something.

It doesn't help that I am still (STILL) pregnancy sick and very tired.  Oh. So. Tired. Such that when I do feel well enough to go on a walk or something, my children's whines about not wanting those shoes or needing the pink jacket when it's in the washing machine, or needing to go to the bathroom one more time or actually deciding that they hate walks and thought that when I said, "do you want to go for a walk" I said, "do you want to go to the zoo" and now WHY CAN'T WE GO TO THE ZOO, it wears me out and I have to sit down.

I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that I really hate being pregnant.  However, having had 3 kids already, I know that this is a temporary condition and that it will e v e n t u a l l y end.  In the mean time, I have a lot of cleaning to ignore.

First Dentist Visit

First Cleaning

Nora and I went to the dentist together.  I got my teeth cleaned first so she could see how it was done, then it was her turn.  She was a little suspicious at first and asked if she could hold my hand and made me promise to not let it go "the WHOLE time."

Then about 2 minutes later, she told me that her arm was tired from holding my hand and that I could let go.

Things are... not going well

It started with Tyler being sick, and culminated in me trying to figure out how to load Tyler's gun last night at 3 a.m.  There were a few Motherhood Feats of Strength and a few more Low Points all adding up to the fact that this week has been really awful so far.

Saturday night: Tyler started complaining that he didn't feel well.  I put the kids to bed myself, which might not be a big deal to the rest of you, but I'm pregnant and tired and my body wants to quit at 7.  Not just quit, but like, shut down.  I don't handle all the whining and last-minute attempts at negotiations well at all.  There is kind of a lot of yelling and usually someone ends up crying.

Sunday: Tyler started shaking violently when he attempted to change into his church clothes.  His skin was burning up, so I told him to stay home in bed and I would take the kids to church.  Ethan got to stay home and watch The Incredibles because if you stay home sick from church, you have to keep the baby with you according to the rule I adopted from another couple in our ward.

I came home from church to find Tyler on the couch with MY barf bowl next to him.  Tyler never throws up, so I knew he was really sick.  The rest of the day was spent trying to keep the children away from him and put the kids to bed by myself, again. 

Sunday night: Ethan woke up crying hard.  This is unusual so I went into his room.  As soon as I picked him up, he vomited all over me.  It was in my hair and was running down my back.  I might mention at this time that I'm super sensitive to smells.  I may or may not say this several times a day.  I have found that spraying my entire house with Febreeze is not enough, so I started spraying a hand towel and wrapping it around my neck.  Also, I could smell Nora's hair (which smelled like shampoo) from across the room, so I may or may not have sprayed her head.  Anyway, there I was with a screaming child, puke all over both of us and also, he's not breathing.  Croup.  I forgot to mention that part.

I got him downstairs and gave him some steroids and some Tylenol much to his dismay (the kids complain that the steroids sting in their mouth and that the Tylenol is gross.  I can't wait until they are old enough to swallow pills) and set about cleaning him up.  Also, I'm still covered in vomit.  He vomited all over his blankie, which was unfortunate because blankie is an essential sleeping item.  ESSENTIAL.  I changed his sheets and rinsed out the vomity parts of blankie and put him back in bed with a wet blanket.  He was not happy about this.  By this time, his breathing was better, but not great so I sat up in his room to make sure that the steroids kicked in and that he didn't vomit again and then asphyxiate.  He started talking in his sleep in a crazy demon voice.  Eventually, he calmed down and went to sleep and I went and got in the shower at 2 a.m.  My body took the cue that now was the time to be awake, what with the shower and all, and I didn't fall asleep until 4.

Monday: Ethan had a fever but mercifully did not throw up again.  He is normally a regular awful awful two-year old, but when he's sick, it's 10 times worse.  Also, Tyler was still really sick and could not participate in any parenting activities.  Ethan was demanding and cried and screamed at the drop of a hat.  And then the Tylenol kicks in and they drive you crazy because they suddenly have all this energy and want to go someplace and play but you can't leave because you know he's really sick.  ALSO, I ran out of zofran on this day, so instead of just feeling like I was going to throw up, I was actually throwing up all day long.

By the time I got everything in order to where I felt well enough to leave the house to go fill my prescription and Ethan and Tyler's needs were attended to, Nora woke up with the croup and a fever and I had to fight her to get her to take her medicine and then she just wanted me to hold her.  Then I had to make dinner.

Then I put the kids to bed by myself, again.  I could not fill my prescription as I was done for the day.

Tuesday: Tyler was feeling better, so he LEFT to go on a 3-day business trip.  Ethan was still sick, Nora was still sick.  I managed to get my zofran and a new prescription for phenergan filled.  Activities this day include more crying, more managing fevers and catering to bossy 2-year old.  Nora didn't go to preschool so we were just home.  All. Day. Long.

Tuesday night: I didn't sleep well, I can't remember why.

Wednesday: Ethan woke me up at 5:30 by screaming in my face and asking if he could watch TV.  Love that kid!  I decided we needed to get out of the house so we set off for a walk around the lake.  Nora decided that she wanted to ride her bike.  We got 3 houses down before she freaked out.  She couldn't ride anymore. She wanted me to push her on her bike the whole way around the lake.  No. I'm not doing that.  I told her she could get off and walk or she could start riding.  She screamed for a good 20 minutes.  She eventually decided to walk, but then cried and had several melt-downs on our .33 mile walk.  After we got back, I threw up so I decided to try a phenergan.  The doctor gave me a low dose, so I thought it might not make me sleepy.  I loaded up the kids and headed to the library for story time.  I nearly fell asleep while driving home.  I forced the children into bed and then crashed on the couch.  At some point Lillian came home and proceeded to be VERY NOISY.  I did not use nice words when I told her several times to stop talking to me and be quiet.  I was so very tired.  I was finally able to get off the couch around 4 and then had to do our usual long-haul homework.  We had grilled cheese for dinner.

Wednesday night: I forced the kids into bed at 7.  No stories.  No scriptures.  I was still really tired and I climbed into bed fully clothed at 7:05 and slept until around 10.  I got up and watched way too many episodes of 30 Rock. I went to bed around 1:30 and as I was quieting down to go to sleep, I heard a noise downstairs.  I shrugged it off as a normal house noise and tried to fall asleep.  Then I heard another, then another, then I heard a shuffling sound.  I turned on the light and the noises stopped.  I started freaking out.  I told myself I was being paranoid and I just needed to go to bed, so I turned off the light and I SWEAR I heard the back door open.  I locked the door to my bedroom and got out Tyler's gun (which is where I spent 4 heart-pounding minutes trying to figure out how to load it) and put it under his pillow next to me.  I tried to talk myself out of a home invasion because seriously, who would break into my house when my next-door neighbor is obviously much wealthier than me?  Also, why not wait until we leave in the day?  Why break in 20 minutes after I turn off the lights?  I kept hearing noises so I finally called to police.  They came in about 3 minutes and walked all around and checked all the closets.  I was all hopped up on adrenaline so I didn't fall asleep until 3 or 3:30.  

Thursday morning: Lillian has had a sort of low-grade cough this whole time, and on Wednesday claimed she couldn't go to school.  The cough didn't sound that bad, so I told her she needed to go and that she could tell her teacher if the cough became worse and I would come get her.  She came into my room at 6 and coughed all over me to prove that her cough was worse and that she couldn't go to school today.  She has proceeded to fight with her siblings and be super annoying.  Tyler gets home late tonight and then I go to work tomorrow.

My only saving grace has been that I have just been normal pregnant sick this week: no fever, cough, or body ache in sight.  It's a small consolation, but I'll take it.