Halloween

31/Oct2014 – halloween

Well this year certainly didn’t go quite as we had hoped. Belle woke up at 4:00 in the morning vomiting. I hoped so bad it was a fluke and she was fine but no such luck. For Belle, it’s so much more complicated than just a stomach bug because we start dealing with blood sugar issues. So with that stress along with feeling sad that she was missing out on Halloween after so much excitement just made for a miserable day.

The boys got up, and dressed up in their Mario and Luigi costumes before heading off to school. They were so excited for a day of fun and parties in the classroom. When I picked them up in the afternoon Max came running out showing me a skeleton he made, and Logan came running out with a face stained of blue icing. They couldn’t wait to get home and go trick or treating. They were really anxious to get out and get going.

As the time to go out trick or treating got closer, Belle was even more upset that she was not  well enough to go. This sad face ripped me up:

So with the help of Daddy and the other kids, we did a special trick or treating inside. Upstairs, everyone picked a room and closed the door. We dressed Belle in her princess costume and we went door to door a few times around, knocking and saying “trick or treat!” We loaded up her bag with treats and then put her back to the couch since she lost her energy pretty quickly. Here’s a few pictures, and I’m so glad the kids had fun in making Belle’s Halloween special too

 

After Belle was finished her trick or treating, I took the other three kiddos out. Inside I just wanted to cry that we weren’t all together but the kids had a blast running from house to house yelling “trick or treat!” And Logan was so cute telling everyone to have a happy Halloween.  We were out for about an hour and the kids came home with full bags.

 

Lastly, the official pictures of the kids in costume

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Peds Appointment

27/Oct/2014 – Peds Appointment

Belle and Logan both had an appointment with the pediatrician this afternoon.

For Logan: his asthma is out of control. We changed up and increased his meds/inhalers. He also seeing an allergist because we really can’t figure out his triggers. On the days we think it might be a bad day (like hay being bailed just behind our house) nothing happens, and on clear days we are completely caught off guard. Hopefully we figure out something to alleviate some of the really bad attacks. I’ve learned a lot since Logan got diagnosed with asthma: I didn’t realize how big of a deal it really is. When you experience your own kid struggling first hand it sure changes a lot.

For Belle: as usual things are complicated. She is being sent for an MRI of her lower spine for marks on her back and her sacral sinus. There is concern about a tethered cord or some kind of congenital anomaly because she has difficulty emptying her bladder. I’m so annoyed that I brought this up with nephrology and they didn’t even look at her, but just handed me a pamphlet on pee schedules. I should have pushed harder though. On top of that her pediatrician doesn’t even know what to think about her elbows since he’s never had a kid her age pop them without cause. She will have an MRI of both elbows too while we wait on ortho.

 

Pumpkin brains!

26/Oct/2014 – pumpkin brains

We spent this chilly Sunday inside and carved pumpkins. After the kids got cleaned up for the day we decided to break out the carving kit daddy bought and have a little bit of fun. All four kids sat around the table as daddy carved out the bottom of the pumpkin, totally bracing themselves for what they were about to see. We were calling the seeds all kinds of things to get them riled up: brains, pumpkin guts, pumpkin juice. When they got a glimpse of the insides Belle had her hands over her ears and ran, Miley screamed and left, and so did Logan. Max sat there just fine. We caught it on video which is just hilarious.

Once that part was done I started hollowing it out, and poor Belle just looked like she was in utter distress the whole time, Miley just wanted to make sure I didn’t touch her with any of it but the boys looked on. Eventually though, I was abandoned while they decided to lay out the templates and vote on what to carve. In the end they voted on the cat.

While I took the boys to swimming, daddy traced out the template and carved out the delicate parts and then each kid took a turned carving. It was a lot of fun. For the little pumpkin Miley and Belle decided he should look like a minion.

Changes

24/Oct/2014 – Changes

Last night was a big night for belly button. We moved her back into her own room which she shares with Miley. We made a really big fuss all day long about how she was going to sleep in her room: she picked out a special tinker bell plush toy and we outfitted her with a new doc mcstuffins blanket. We kept on with the typical evening routine so not to upset things too much.

When it was bedtime she lost all the excitement she had throughout the day and started to cry. We tucked her in anyway with lots of hugs and kisses and then sat outside her door until she fell asleep. The little monkey fell asleep pretty quickly and only yelled for us once through the night. I certainly didn’t sleep well, and really miss her being in our room. I think Miley really likes having the company of her sister and this is a great move for her too.

She woke up this morning and proudly announced “you can give the crib to the baby now.”

 

Thanksgiving

16/Oct/2014 – Thanksgiving

Gramma and Grandpa flew in from NS for the long weekend which was a surprise for the kids. They knew guests were coming but had no idea who. When Gramma and Grandpa showed up on the front door step, the kids went wild. It was a jam packed few days but fun. Logan worked hard to fight a cold and enjoy the days while they went on walks, spent grandpa’s money at the toy store, hot tubing at Uncle Dave’s, and eating a big turkey dinner.

Belle didn’t cry at the sight of the turkey this year, and Logan ate a bagel while the rest of us ate the big turkey dinner. Miley preferred to call it chicken. Max helped Gramma baste and cook while the rest of us napped the late morning and early afternoon away. Mom’s stuffing is like no other: when everyone went to bed I finished it off before anyone else could get their hands on it.

We finished off their visit with some fall photos and board games, and Jon and I slipped out to do a few errands (Christmas shopping and all that) alone.

 

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In other news, Miley needs glasses. She is going to get her pupils dilated at the end of this week and then we are on to shopping for frames.

Belle had a follow up with nephrology and needs an ultrasound done to take a look at her bladder. She doesn’t mind going there; she gets a sticker every time and is pleased as can be. The poor kid keeps dislocating her elbows just by looking at them. We have more appointments to deal with that at the end of the month.

Logan and Max are doing great in school. They play together every day and Max always includes Logan in his group of friends. Aside from that they seem to bring home every latest cold or virus circulating and I think we’ve had maybe five days of everyone being well since the beginning of September. It’s enough.

We have a tradition where we go to build a bear and make a special bear for the baby before it is born. We took the opportunity to get it made while Gramma and Grandpa hung out with the other kiddies. Here’s the latest bear in the family, filled with two hearts and good wishes.

 

 

 

Diva girls

7/Oct/2014 – diva girls

I always thought Miley was the diva of the household. She loves shoes, makeup, everything pink and glittery, and all things girl. I had Belle pegged as the kid who was just happy with whatever.
Miley is still all those girlie things I listed, but Belle has really changed.

Belle suddenly cares a lot about her appearance. She doesn’t get that from me: I feel so crappy all the time that I put no effort into anything and probably look homeless to others. Her favorite color is still yellow, and she loves all things tinkerbell, cupcakes, and sparkles. Last week she had to change her pants because she fell in the mud and had a massive cry telling me she “won’t look cute anymore.” A few nights ago her favorite tinker bell shirt was in the wash and there was no reasoning with her; she absolutely had to have something tinker bell. I ended up putting her in pjs that were far too small for her that had tinker bell on the front of the shirt. Today she looked at her navy pants and then proceeded to inform me they had to come off: “mommy these aren’t cute, there’s no sparkles.”

I have to say I expect this of Miley, but I wasn’t expecting it from button. I took the girls shopping for new clothes and they had more fun than they do in a toy store. I had to slow them down and help them choose some things that weren’t necessarily all pink, yellow, or sparkly!

Look at these two!