Week in Review: Easter, Ear Infections, and the Return of Winter Weather

I have to be honest, last week was LONG. It was partly because Jude and Alaina were sick at the beginning of the week so we were stuck at home several days, and it was partly the weather. Spring decided to take a vacation and winter returned. It was FREEZING and rainy for days, and we couldn't even go outside to break up our time at home. We survived, and hopefully this week will be better! The weather is definitely better so far! :)

Sunday: This was Easter, and it was a great day! We got ready for church that morning, and while I finished getting ready, David tried to snap a few pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits.

We had a great morning at church, and we left as soon as we got out of Sunday school so that we could get home before our guests arrived. My family and my grandparents were coming for Easter lunch. I started cooking a corn casserole when we got home, and when my family got here, we went outside for some family pictures.

 

My mom fed Alaina lunch and then put her down for her nap while I was getting everything else ready. My grandmother brought a ham, and we had a delicious lunch :) After dessert, we visited for a while.

 

 

And then everyone left. We took naps, and we went back to church that night. We had a prayer service, and then we had fellowship time after it was over. We stayed for a while and then came home and put the kids to bed. I got on the computer for a little while, and we went to bed fairly early. Alaina could NOT stop coughing, though, and Jude kept waking up too, so it took me FOREVER to get to sleep. Jude ended up having a bought of croup in the night :(

Monday: David had the day off, but Aubrey had school, so he still took her like usual. He came back home after drop off though, so that was nice. Jude seemed to be over his croup, but right before lunch, he started frantically asking for a bandaid for his ear and saying that it hurt.

At that point, I knew we needed to go ahead and get him checked out. I decided that we should have Alaina looked at while we were going to be at the doctor anyway, since she had been coughing so much the night before. I had planned to pick Aubrey up from school and then stop at the grocery store on the way home, so David was going to take the little kids to the doctor that afternoon. I made a grocery list, and then I left. I went to an organic grocery store to get a few things on my way to get Aubrey. I then picked her up from school, and we stopped at Ross and Kroger on the way home. When we got home, David and Jude and Alaina weren't home yet. I put Aubrey in her room for a rest time and started prepping dinner for that night. David called to let me know that Jude and Alaina both had ear infections. Poor babies! He still had to go teach karate that afternoon/evening, so he wasn't going to be able to stop and pick up their medicine. He dropped the kids off at home and went and got Aubrey up, and then he had to leave. I got the kids a snack, and then we loaded up and went to Target for the medicine. It ended up taking FOREVER, and Alaina got super fussy. We finally got our medicine and came back home. By the time we got home it was 5:30, so I got dinner cooking as quickly as possible. Everyone was just kind of melting down at that point. I finally got dinner on the table, and Jude didn't touch it, as usual. He DID rub mashed potatoes all over himself, though. Ughh. He HAD to eat something in order to take his medicine, so his lack of eating was more stressful than usual.

We finally finished dinner, and I was helping one of the kids in the bathroom when Alaina threw her pacifier in the toilet. We only have one (maybe two) pacifiers, so I had to fish it out and boil it. Yuck! We watched some Dancing with the Stars to pass the time, and we were all super happy when David got home! I put Alaina right to bed, and David took the other two upstairs. When he got them to bed he ate dinner, and we talked. We then went to bed early(ish).

Tuesday: We had to skip Bible study since the kids were under the weather, sadly. It worked out well, though, because Jude ended up sleeping until 9:30!! That's extremely unusual, and I knew he needed that sleep. He woke up happy, and we had a pretty good day even though we were stuck at home. I put a roast in the crockpot that morning because I was taking dinner to someone that night. I put Alaina down for her nap, and then I attempted to do the 30 Day Shred DVD. Alaina didn't end up going to sleep, so I didn't get to finished the whole workout, but I definitely got enough in to be good and sore the next day ;) I got Alaina up and took a shower. We ate lunch and then I did some school work with Aubrey and read several books to her and Jude. Then it was finally naptime :) I got all the kids down, and I baked some brownies to go with my meal for that evening. I got on the internet for a little while, and then I got myself ready. The kids got up, and we came downstairs. I got the sides in the over for the meal, and then I just waited for David to get home so that I could go deliver it without the kids. He was running a little late and I was frustrated, but it ended up being fine because it didn't take me as long to get there as I expected. I dropped off the food to a sweet lady who recently had surgery and I visited with her for a few minutes. I then came back home, and David and the kids were outside when I got here. I had made extra food so that we could eat some too, so our dinner was all ready. We came inside and ate, and then we had a family devotion. I took Alaina upstairs and bathed her and got her ready for bed. David then bathed Jude and Aubrey while I put Alaina to bed. I came downstairs and watched Dancing with the Stars, and then I got on the internet and picked a book club book for this month (it was my turn to choose). I ended up reading book reviews way longer than I planned, and we went to bed late.

Wednesday: David took Aubrey to school that morning, and Jude and Alaina were still asleep when they left. It was nice to have a quiet house for a few minutes. Alaina woke up shortly after they left, and I fed her breakfast and played with her. Jude slept way late again. He seemed back to his old self when he wok up :) I fixed breakfast for him, and then I put Alaina down for her nap. She had trouble going to sleep again (maybe she's trying to drop that nap?) but I did finally get her to sleep. She only slept about 45 minutes, though. It gave me enough time to take a shower and get a few things done. After she got up, we ate lunch, and then I got Jude and Alaina dressed and finished getting myself ready. We left to go get Aubrey and it was wet and COLD outside. I hated to get Jude and Alaina out in the rain. We got Aubrey and came back home for naps. I got on the internet and straightened up the house while the kids rested. Aubrey ended up falling asleep, and I had to wake her up when it was time to get ready for church. She was in a terrible mood -- I hate waking her up :/ She finally snapped out of it, and we headed to church. David had to be at church early for a meeting, so we just met him there. When we got to church, he was still in his meeting, so I had the fun of doing church dinner with the kids by myself. Thankfully, my family helped a lot. After we ate, I took the kids to the nursery and taught the 1st and 2nd graders. When I finished teaching, David was STILL in that darn meeting. He finally finished (after 3 hours!!), and he drove the kids home, and I drove his car. Ahhh, silence! :) When we got home, we got the kids to bed, and then David and I talked before bed.

Thursday: We had another cold, rainy day at home. I so wished it was at least good weather so that we could go outside. It was not, though :( We hung out at home and had a very uneventful day. I skipped Alaina's morning nap because she had slept late that morning. She's definitely at that weird stage where she's on the verge of dropping it, but everyday is different. We ate lunch at home, and then I put the kids down for a nap. I took a shower and got ready while they napped. When they got up it was still pretty early in the afternoon and we NEEDED to get out, so we went to Chick Fil A to play on the indoor playground. I got a tea and just enjoyed being outside of my house :) The kids seemed to enjoy it too! After about an hour, we loaded up and headed to church. I'm taking a sewing class once a week for a month, and David volunteer teaches karate on Thursday afternoons, so I had to take the kids to him at church so that we could trade off. I visited with David and my dad for a few minutes, and then I left. I drove through Backyard Burger and got myself and delicious and nutritious dinner ;) I ate in the car and then went to my sewing class. We're going to be making a pair of pajama pants and a tote bag, so that night we picked out our fabric and then just talked about some basics. The real fun starts next time :) After my class was over, I stopped at Kroger for a few things and then came home. David was upstairs playing with the kids, and it was about bedtime. I took Alaina and got her to bed, and David put Aubrey and Jude to bed. David and I talked for a little while that evening, and then I played around on the internet briefly before bed.

Friday: Aubrey and I were going on a field trip with her school, and I was excited to be getting out of the house. We got ready that morning, and then my grandmother came over to watch Jude and Alaina. Both of them were still asleep when we left home at 8:45. The field trip was a little dance performance by her gymnastic teacher's dance troupe. It was really geared towards young children, so it was perfect! Aubrey loved it, and I really enjoyed it, too! After it was over, Aubrey and Ann Peyton played for a few minutes while Sarah Denley and I visited in the parking lot. When we left, it was still fairly early, so Aubrey and I went to Corner Bakery and had brunch. It was fun having one-on-one time with her! When we got home, Jude and Alaina were playing and having fun with my grandmother. Apparently, Jude had slept until 10:45!!! I was shocked to hear that! He had several nights where he didn't sleep well because of his ear infection, and he still NEVER naps anymore, so I guess he was just catching up all week by sleeping super late. He was in a great mood! My grandmother left, and I got lunch ready for the kids. They played for a while, and then I put them down for naps. I straightened up the house, and then I read a little bit. When the kids got up, I got them a snack, and then David got home. We got the kids ready, and we went to meet his parents for dinner at Broadstreet. It was fun, but Aubrey and Jude were WILD. They were bouncing off the walls hyper. It was kind of annoying because they would NOT calm down. I was about ready to get out of there by the time we finished eating. Haha! On the way home, we stopped and rented a movie from the Red Box. When we got home, we got the kids ready for bed. We had been telling Aubrey all week that she could sleep in Jude's room on Friday night. (She's been dying to sleep in there ever since we moved his twin beds in there.) They were so excited about their "slumber party."

Well.... the slumber party lasted about an hour and a half. At that point, they were both still awake and BOUNCING off the WALLS. They kept calling us up to the room for various reasons. We finally told them that if they called us up one more time, Aubrey was going to her own room. A few minutes later, they were calling. So, we had to follow through and send Aubrey to her bed. They were disappointed, but they quickly got over it, and we didn't hear another peep out of either one of them. We're going to try again soon, because we're going to the beach in 3 weeks, and they'll be sharing a room there (for a week -- yikes!). Hopefully now that they realize that we're serious about them going to sleep, it'll be more successful :) Anyway, between all of that, David and I watched our movie (Breaking Dawn 2). I enjoyed it! After it was over, we went to bed.

Saturday: David and the kids were leaving later than usual to go to the Farmer's Market, so they woke me up to see if I wanted to go with them. I did, so I threw on some clothes and a baseball hat and we left. We ate breakfast there and then walked around for a little while. On the way home, I ran in the organic grocery store to get one thing for our dinner that night. When we got home, the kids and David played in the backyard for a while, and I made some pizza dough for dinner and some granola. David and the kids came inside and we fixed lunch for the kids. We then put them down for naps, and I made a grocery list. I then got to get out and go shopping for a little while all by myself. It was SUPER nice. I had a gift card, and I got a few shirts. I realized I have like NO summer clothes. I guess last summer I wasn't quite fitting into my regular clothes. Ha! Anyway, after going to several stores, I went to Kroger and then came home. The kids were just getting up. I cooked pizza for dinner, and Aubrey and Jude actually helped me with the toppings :)

 

After we ate, we went on a family walk. Alaina started off in the stroller and Aubrey and Jude were walking. Alaina got fussy, so I got her out and Jude rode. Then Aubrey was tired so she rode for a while. We definitely played musical strollers and David and I were taking turns carrying kids and pushing the stroller. We enjoyed our walk and made it home in one piece, though :) When we got home, David and I gave the kids baths and put them to bed. Then I ironed church clothes, and we went to bed fairly early.