Everyday Life Around Here

Over the last couple of days, we've had some strange moments that have caused concern for us, but things are fine now (that's my disclaimer before you read anything - and I mean ANYTHING - in this post).

A couple days ago, Tyler fell down the stairs here (only about half way, but that's still about 7-8 stairs). And after I got him calmed down, I'd see him sit down every so often and just sit there talking to himself and playing with toys, sometimes laughing at the other kids when they'd do something funny. So, I sat and watched him during one of these "sitting episodes" and discovered that he was shaking (almost like Parkinson's patients do...) while sitting there, and as soon as the shaking stopped, he'd get up and go on with life. He didn't do this often, but it was often enough that it caused me to worry (when do I NOT worry, I know). I made sure I watched him really close and the next time he sat down, I was right there, making sure he made eye contact, could still "talk", move his hands around....all-in-all, just making sure he wasn't having seizures. He was totally coherent during all of this. I put him in bed that night and watched him after he fell asleep, and from what I could see, he wasn't shaking, so I went to bed myself. The next day, he did it only a handful of times, once when Chris was home and could see it, and today, hasn't done it again (that we've seen).

Celeste has had some diaper issues (smelly....not normal smellies....), so we gave her a warmer-than-normal bath and that's seemed to help kill whatever bacterias that were lurking around that region and she's fine and happy now.

Now, on to today's events.....

My day started out like normal, kids fighting over where they get to lay down on our bed at 630-7 am, Chris gets up, gets the kids breakfast while I feed and change Celeste, and then he leaves for work. Then I get up and dressed and start a load of laundry, log into my computer, sometimes join my cleaning chat support group (other times, just "clean" with my sister so we can give more personal moral support), and then take on the rest of the house....and kids. My washer has been acting up. It's taking longer and longer to fill up on the rinse cycle. It takes, on average, 3 hours to just wash it (another hour to dry it after that)! It's frustrating cuz I only fit in 2-3 loads a day with that (there goes the laundry DAY....everyday will be 'laundry day'). So, that was frustration #1. The kids are SO smart and creative when they get bored....its sometimes annoying how smart they just CAN be.

I told the kids they needed to help with their laundry (I'd already sorted it into piles so they could just take it to their rooms and learn how to fold and put it away....don't ask me what I was thinking). They both drag their designated laundry baskets off to their rooms, and what follows, I can only blame myself. Terra dumped out her laundry, didn't fold a thing OR turn things the right way, and shoved them into drawers....they were put away, what else matters, right?! James took his into his room, Tyler grabbed a few pieces of clothing and ran around the house, with James running after him, crying because "he's stealing my clothes!" Tyler runs back into the bedroom, throws the clothes at James, so he pick up more out of the basket, throws them back (yes, I was watching this and couldn't help but laugh), so then it turned into a clothing fight (much like a food fight would look....just with clothing flying everywhere).

Then, they kept dumping out the dvd's all over the living room, I told them to pick them up and put them away and gave them many opportunities to do so. Finally, I told them that they had better pick them up by the time I came back up from the basement, or they were MINE. They failed to do that, so now the dvd's are in boxes in my bedroom. They cried and cried while I was taking them away, and when I got done piling them on my bed and was getting ready to put them in boxes, James came in bringing with him the VHS movies, so I told him to go put them back because the dvd's were the only thing I was taking away and he cried because I was making him put those back (wish he would make up his mind, he was distraught with me taking them away and is now mad that I'm giving those back....).

And, finally, for some reason, they have this gravitation to water. They can't seem to get enough of it! They plugged up the sinks in my bathroom (luckily they didn't over-flow them this time) and then got out my new-ish can of mousse and emptied it all over the bathroom (I really SHOULD buy nicer smelling stuff...). Then they got cups (all my cups and bowls and sippies are disappearing fast....soon we'll just have to go drink out of the faucet if we're thirsty) and filled up those cups and got the couch wet, and dumped them out on their step-stools....the foam was their favorite part, I'm sure.

So, yes, I'm tired, and SO ready for bed (which is where I'm heading as soon as I hit "publish post".

Oh, yes, and I must not forget to tell you about this one. The cats and kids alike keep trying to climb into the bassinett while Celeste is in it, so I had to move it to my closet to keep them away from it. So far, so good. Wish me luck there!