Finally!

It's the end of a very, very, VERY long day. It all started when my alarm didn't go off this morning and didn't stop until 30 seconds ago... The kids are finally in bed and I have a second to breathe! Since my alarm didn't go off this morning, I started off rushing and never stopped. Literally, never stopped. To compound things, Matt has clients in town, so he still isn't home. UUUUUGH! I am so ready to relax!

Today is my day to help out in Katherine's class, and as soon as I arrived the kids ran up to me, forming a circle around me and excitedly yelling and jumping. One little girl had tears in her eyes. With all of them yelling and screaming around me, and her teachers laughing at the situation, I could only hear two words... "SLIVER FAIRY".

So here's the little story behind it....

While we were in LeMars this weekend, we all went to Cleveland Park. For those of you not familiar with LeMars, it's a super cool park with lots of different activities for the kids -- and it's all made out of wood. Wouldn't you know, Katherine got a sliver. Oh, and not just any sliver either -- oh no... unfortunately it was pretty good size. If her tears were any indication, you'd think she shoved a tree trunk in her hand. She was a total water factory. Literally, every time we'd even TALK about it, she'd turn on the tears. It was almost laughable. We tried everything -- soaking it, putting ice on it, rubbing it, everything we could think of, but nothing worked.

Out of desperation, we invented the "Sliver Fairy". Think of the tooth fairy, but rather than teeth, this little girl collects slivers -- oh, and she's only in LeMars because she watches over the park. Pretty far fetched, I know. Laughable, really. But after a few minutes, she was a believer. She totally drank the sliver fairy juice, but still wouldn't let anyone get near her hand. Every time someone tried, the tears would start. UUUGH!

So, what was a mommy (and Grandma) to do? I'll tell ya! Let her fall asleep on the couch, pluck the sliver out, and carry her into bed. Since she was sleeping with Grandma, I wrote a note from the sliver fairy, attached the sliver and put a couple of bucks next to it all, and went to bed. The next morning, as I was getting out of the shower, she came running downstairs with a huge smile on her face and showed me the note and the sliver. Oh happy day!

I have to say... I think there's a small part of her that thinks we're full of phoney baloney. Seriously, she totally wants to believe, but I'm not entirely sure she does. She almost snickers every time she says, "Sliver Fairy". I guess that's part of the magic of Santa, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy.... EVERYONE believes, so it's easy to jump on the bandwagon, but starting something new??? Not nearly as easy!

Anyway, she took the sliver and note from the sliver fairy and showed off the proof to her teachers and class. The rest is history! Needless to say, several kids are going home to profess the existence of the sliver fairy, and her teachers are having quite the laugh.

I have a ton of pictures from the weekend, and I'll edit them and post them soon. I'm still having problems with Katherine's birthday pictures, so I may have to beg Danyel to help me out! Pictures soon!

Gettin' a break!

Since we are getting our taxes done on in LeMars on Saturday, we decided to leave a few days early and spend some time with Matt's parents. It's so nice to get out of town and have an extra set of hands to help out with the kiddos -- especially since they haven't fully recovered yet.

Both Katherine and Caleb slept in the car on the way up here, and then both of them took another nap after we got here. All three of them also have a yucky sounding cough, which hopefully goes away soon.

After we got here and got settled in, I made the Wal-Mart run. I NEVER visit Wal-Mart in Des Moines, as it's absolutely disgusting, but I LOVE going every time we come here. I found all sorts of goodies -- Pinocchio and activity books to occupy the kids while they rest on the couch, little toys for Andrew, cool mouthwash stuff for the kiddos that turns their teeth colors if there's plaque, and new lip chap -- on of my simple addictions.

Couple little funnies --

Tonight after dinner Caleb started moaning and whining, "I hate this day! I hate this day! This is not a good day". When I asked him why, he looked up at me with these big watery eyes with bags underneath and says, "Because I have a HEAD EGG!" I had to laugh -- clearly he's heard that other people had a headache this week. LOL.

Then after I got him out of the bath, I was wiping his face to get the dirt out of his eyes. An eyelash feel out and I told him that he should make a wish, close his eyes and blow it off my finger. If it's gone, his wish will come true -- if it's not, it won't.

He closed his eyes as hard as he could and blew. When he opened them the eyelash was gone and he instantly starts smiling. "You know what I wished for Mommy? That I'd have a big tummy burp!" With that, he lets out one big toot and laughs. "It really works!! Eyelash wishes come true"! That's the little boy I know and love -- and that I've missed this week. He's clearly on the mend!! LOL.

It continues...

Oh, man... another day has passed with two very sick little boys. It's been exhausting!

Caleb has run a fever all day, and just like Katherine's, I can't get it to come down. He feel asleep around 6 and slept for most of the evening -- no dinner, no trip outside to say to friends and get some fresh air, no playing with his toys and running around the house. My poor little man was just lifeless tonight. He was so exhausted that he even feel back asleep when I was giving him the nebulizer. He couldn't eat, and was burning up. When I went to put on his jammies, every muscle in his poor little body was just trembling

Then there's Andrew -- my happy little guy. He's typically full of smiles and ready to play. Today, not so much. It was horrible... He would just lay in my arms or in the bed and whimper. Literally, with every breath he let out, he would just groan. Oh, and his fever -- just as high as the one Katherine and Caleb had. The one time today he really had a meltdown, Andrea could hear it from the back yard. Let me assure you, that's one set of lungs!

So -- tonight we were in the process of putting the kids to bed, when all of a sudden, Caleb throws up all over my bed. Into the bath he goes, gets his teeth brushed, PJ's changed, the works... Just when he was cleaned up and almost asleep, he throws up again. UUUUUGH! So, guess who is in bed with me tonight.... I'm sure you guessed! Caleb and a bucket.

I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow at 9 and let me tell you -- I can't wait! Oh, and one other thing -- guess who's getting new bedding??? After this weekend, Matt and I are soooo deserving! Now I just have to find the perfect set!

We're infested!

Complete infestation. The influenza A has spread, and as of now, I'm the only one to have escaped its wrath.

Caleb went to bed last night with a fever, and then proceeded to wake up at 12:30 am, dripping wet and puking all over the place. Fun times! So at that point, I put both him and Katherine in our bed, and I slept crosswise at the foot of the bed. I wanted to keep an eye on them in case either one of them got sick again.

Andrew slept for the longest stretch of time EVER without eating. He went to bed around 8:30 and didn't wake up until 5 am. HOWEVER, when he did get up, he had a horrible cough and fever. The poor little guy is just miserable.

To top it all off, it's going to be 75 and sunny today. Such a gorgeous day to be stuck indoors....

sick...

Influenza A has struck the Hanson household, and struck it hard. We've been completely and positively unable to enjoy the nice weather and have spent the last 48 hours in the house, and and in pain.

Poor little Katherine came down with a fever that reached 104 last night and I was unable to get it to break. She took a total of 5 naps today, and during nap #3, I had to wake her up to take her to the doctor. She fell back asleep in the car, and I'm not even counting that as one of the "naps". Matt also got it bad. He spent all day Sunday in the basement and then slept until 11 today and spent the entire day on the couch.

I spent the day playing with Caleb and entertaining Andrew while Katherine and Matt tried to get better. As luck would have it, Caleb started getting the fever tonight right before bed... Thankfully, Dr. Jon put Katherine on Tamiflu and we also started Caleb on it, about 1 hour before his symptoms started. Hopefully his won't last long. UUUUGH.

So we started off spring break with a bang! Matt and Katherine are really sick, Caleb is well on his way, and Andrew and I holding our breath that we escape!

As a side note, I'm still working on Katherine's birthday pictures, but didn't get around to it today. I've had my hands pretty full!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to Katherine! I can't believe that my baby girl turned 6 today. AAAHHHHH....

We definitely celebrated in style today. It was all about her, and for the most part, NOTHING was off limits. Today, more than ever, she was a princess.

When she woke up this morning, she jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to take a peek at the presents she'd get to open later in the evening. Talk about a happy girl. She was just giddy! Then we went into the kitchen for breakfast. When she asked for a piece of chocolate cake, my inner child couldn't resist her... So there she sat at the island, eating chocolate cake in her pj's and smiling ear to ear. She had that unmistakable twinkle in her eye -- she knew she was getting away with something that on a normal day she wouldn't! But really, isn't that what birthdays are for?!?!?!? I then made her her fave breakfast -- pancakes with tons of syrup, sprinkles and whipped cream. HELLO sugar high!

Katherine went to school for a half day -- just long enough to prance around in her birthday crown, collect the much coveted birthday pencil from the principal, and eat the cupcakes I brought in for her class as a treat. The plan was to take her out for lunch, and as luck would have it, Matt was able to join us. Talk about great!

Since it was a yucky day, we went home and played all afternoon. We painted, played play-doh, and decorated her and Caleb's rooms with streamers. Actually, we made a door out of streamers so that you run into them when you walk through. They LOVE it!

Since it was freezing rain tonight, after gymnastics we came home and got takeout from Texas Roadhouse. My baby girl LOVES steak! My parents came over to celebrate with us, and for dessert I made her fave -- frozen berries covered in hot white chocolate. It was a great day!

I have a ton of pictures from the party, but for some reason, they won't download onto my computer. Since I'm not tech savvy, I may have to beg Danyel for help! I promise they'll be up soon!

So today was amazing. It was all about Katherine, celebrating every moment with her, watching her glow and giggle all day long, living in the moment and loving every second. I couldn't help but to be transported 6 years back in time when I held the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen, reliving the moment when I became a mother, the moment when I thought all my dreams had come true. At that time, I didn't think I could love anyone as much as I did her. Only now do I realize how wrong I was. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't love her more than I did yesterday. There isn't a day that passes that I don't thank God for bringing her into my life. She is truly amazing. She believes in the power of her dreams. She has found her own voice. She is comfortable in her own skin. She inspires me to be a better person. It's been the best 6 years of my life, and I am so blessed to have her in my life. So blessed too be loved by her. So blessed to be her mommy. So blessed.

It's a party!

Today was Katherine's big friend birthday party, and oh, what a party it was! She was a little girl, absolutely glowing, full of laughter and squeals and happiness. She loved every moment, and I'm so happy that she got the party of her dreams.

We got home and were exhausted! We all took nap and just hung out tonight. So I didn't get around to uploading or editing all of the pictures, but I promise I won't leave you hanging. I'll post them all soon!

Today

Today we are spending the day preparing for Katherine's 6th birthday party. I can't believe it's here already. It seems like just yesterday she was Andrew's age.... AAAHHH....

Anyway, today we are off to buy party supplies, make goodie bags, and straighten up the house a touch. Her party is tomorrow from 1-3 at Rainbow, and she is just giddy with excitement. LOVE it!!

Her actual birthday is on Tuesday, so I'm going to take her to school in the morning, come back and volunteer at 10:15 and then take her with me when I leave at 11:15 to grab Caleb. We're going to spend the day together -- out to lunch, a little shopping, gymnastics at 4:30 and then a family celebration that night -- dinner at the place of her choice, and then cake, ice cream and presents at our house. It's going to be a fun filled weekend! I'll post pictures soon!

Just catching up....

I'm just playing catch up with life in general right now. We are in the midst of birthday party planning for a soon to be 6 year old little princess. She's always loved her birthday, but NEVER been excited like she is this year. It's so wonderful to watch her enjoy every moment!

We are having her party at Rainbow Playsystems this year, and invited the usual crew -- kids from her class, neighborhood friends, and other great friends that she's met along the way. You'll know there will be lots of pictures to come!

Anyway -- Since I've been such a bad blogger lately, here's some pictures for ya! I finally got around to editing a few from the past week or so...

When I'm in the kitchen and I look into the living room, this is often the sight I see. Literally, if Katherine is home, this is the position I find her in most times.

My baby boy -- full of smiles, dripping with drool, and perfectly round. LOVE HIM!

My mom with the Katherine and Andrew.

How can you resist a smile like this??? I know I can't!
And this.... AAAAHHHH, He's always happy. Always.

Matt's parents came down this past weekend to watch Leo and Gus. We went over and hung out with them on Saturday night and the kids had so much fun playing together. However, by the end of the night they were just tuckered out! That's always a good thing in my book!

Katherine cuddling with Grandma.

DON'T BLINK. Here's a picture of the boys taking a break from the usual chaos. It never lasts long!

Andrew cuddling with Grandma.

Hangin' with Grandpa...

Katherine and Andrew spending some quiet time together...

The rest of the week will be spent getting ready for Katherine's party. There are presents to buy, gift/goodie bags to fill, and decorations, plates, napkins, etc... to organize. We'll be busy! And I'm sitting here in disbelief... already thinking of how old my little girl is getting. At 6, she's 1/3 of the way toward adulthood. UUUUGH. I can't even think about that now.

facebook

Over the past few weeks, I've been totally addicted to facebook. I was having a blast reconnecting with old friends from high school and college and found it an easy way to keep up with current friends. It was great -- until tonight.

I got the shock of a lifetime. My high school debate partner found me, and we chatted for a while. At one point in our lives we spent a TON of time together, but hadn't talked since high school.

Long story short, seeing his picture has COMPLETELY FREAKED ME OUT. Before tonight, if you would have put three pictures in front of me and asked me which one was Rick, I can honestly tell you that I would have picked the wrong person.. He doesn't look remotely similar to the kid I knew in high school. If I would have passed him on the street, I wouldn't have even done a double take, and this is saying something. He was my debate partner in high school. We spent HOURS together. Literally. And today, I wouldn't have even recognized him.

Wow... that's all I can say. There are no words. Literally none.