After nearly a week, all my loves are under the same roof again. How quickly I forgot how loud the house is with all of them here! We are all glad to have Baby E home! 😍

C got off the bus in tears this afternoon. I was asleep when the incident happened, but Tim met her as she got off. Apparently one of the neighborhood children told her she wasn’t her friend anymore and only likes​ Big E and Baby E. My poor girl was heartbroken. It was unprovoked and hurtful.

It did not surprise me when I learned which child it was, but it did make me sad because we have gone out of our way to befriend her. I’m disappointed that C is dealing with this kind of nonsense at her age, but she is, and now we have to work through it. Tim explained that C didn’t do anything wrong and sometimes people make bad choices or say hurtful things. 

Not everyone comes from a loving home and not everyone grows up knowing how to treat others. Tomorrow will come and the girl will no doubt want to play with her again.

And while I don’t want my daughter to be a scapegoat, I do want her to be able to forgive and love others as Christ loves us. I want her to learn healthy boundaries, but also be willing to go out on a limb and love the marginalized or overlooked. So tonight, instead of being frustrated or angry I’m going to pray for the little girl that lashed out today. I’m going to pray God brings more people into her life that show her that love can be unconditional and friendships are valuable. If she sees it modeled in her own life, maybe she can put it into practice herself.

Big E is on the mend. Tim seems to be getting better as well. I’m still on the fence. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!

Four out of five of us have succumbed to this wretched bug in the last week. Somehow C still stands strong, but I imagine not for long. It’s a strange bug that lulls you into a false sense of security by making you feel only mildly ill for the first day or so and then unleashes it’s havoc just when you think you are getting better. At least that’s what I have observed. I’m still in the mild-ish stage though I’ve been going downhill all day. Tomorrow should be fun… Unless I’m miraculously cured! (Note false sense of security)

To be honest I’m feeling pretty blessed. I made it through three stomach bugs, two bouts of the flu, multiple colds, and strep unscathed this year. If you ignore the ectopic and the broken finger, this is actually my first day off from work for my own sickness since sometime in early fall. It was nice while it lasted. 😃

Here’s the deal… My family has had four stomach bugs since just before Christmas. FOUR!!! That doesn’t even count the times my children have thrown up from sicknesses that weren’t the stomach bug. I’d say that’s overkill. We’ve paid our dues. We’ve sequestered ourselves as much as possible. Our children have missed out on so much because of all the various illnesses we’ve had these past few months. So without further adieu I officially beg that sick season be over! Immediately! Now! Please!!!

*Sigh*

It appears Baby E is enjoying his weekend with the grandparents.

Surprisingly, Baby E slept through the night last night, but when he woke up this morning he still wasn’t himself. He basically just wanted to lay on his chair and rest. He took 3-4 naps before 11 am, but when he finally got up I decided to give him a bath and wash away the yuck. That seemed to really perk him up. Finally he started smiling again, and begged to go for a walk. So I put him in the stroller and we headed for the stinky bridge. He never actually wanted to get out and walk, but that was fine because I would rather him save his energy. I’m so grateful that he is feeling better, and earnestly praying that no one else gets it. I had hoped we were done with illness, but hopefully this was the last kick on its way out the door. 🙂

This is Baby E post bath. So many smiles!!

Baby E has been under the weather again. He had a pretty miserable day, but he is sleeping now (not in that chair, in his bed.) I’m praying his little body gets some rest and the big kids stay healthy.  

When I was a little kid I used to have bad allergies, but only during August. I’m not sure what it is that blooms or dies off in August, but that time of the year was the absolute worst for me. I was delighted when I moved to NYC for college and realized there were no trees or grass and my allergies cleared up almost immediately. But as I have gotten older, my allergies aren’t limited to August anymore. This past week has wrecked havoc and this evening I stopped for some allergy meds… which I took… which claimed to be non-drowsy… but don’t seem to be.

So I’m off to bed. However if you see me in the next few weeks and I seem to be crying uncontrollably, rest easy, it’s just the pollen; and if I’m walking in a daze, it’s the Allegra. Sorry!

For the third night in a row, all three of our children are sleeping in the same room. I use the word ‘sleeping’ very loosely, because honestly the last few nights they have not done much of that, but here’s to praying they make it through the night tonight. An overly tired, and slightly grumpy mother might have threatened to eat some of their Easter candy if they wake us up again. (I know, I know, #mommyfail)

I’d like to do a quick shout out to my amazing dad who celebrated his birthday today. I’m bummed that we couldn’t be with him on this auspicious occasion, but at least we got to spend some time together this past weekend! Love you, dad! 🙂