"they flew through a flaw in the flue" with the flu?

I softly spit out the letters "F-L-E-W" and was promptly eliminated from the 2nd grade spelling bee. The word I was supposed to spell was "F-L-U".

Today not much has changed. My spelling skills certainly have not improved and now more than ever I wish the word "FLU" never existed.

We're on day 6 of Olivia having the flu. Poor girl just lays around all day, everyday. I've only stepped outside twice in 6 days.

It could be the cabin fever but this childhood poem keeps going through my head:

A fly and a flea in a flue Were imprisoned, so what could they do? Said the fly, "Let us flee!" "Let us fly!", said the flea. So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Perhaps they had the flu too?

Sniff, cough, sweat, sleep, vomit, rinse and repeat.

The kids and I were sick this weekend and Daniel was at a Track Clinic.

Naomi, the only healthy one was due for shots on Friday but had to switch to tomorrow.

Then we can all take drugs and sleep all day.

joy.

Thank goodness for netflix instant play, wii, and a sis-in-law to drop off some pedialyte!

I also managed to clean the house, put all 5 loads of laundry away, read a book, go grocery shopping and make homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls. Sometimes this mothering thing is empowering after all.

The Trouble with having 3 kids at home is...

1. Exercising is down right impossible.

(I tried DVDs, Wii, pushing a double jogger with 3 kids in it... all to no avail. My hubby and i are rarely home at the same time, my hubby is training for an ironman, and i refuse to pay more for childcare at the gym than I would for my own membership. i will be chubby this year. the end.)

2. The simplest of errands can leave me exhausted.

The number of potty breaks and times i have to buckle and unbuckle grows expotentially.

3. There isn't a single room in my house that Peter Walsh would be proud of.

As soon as its picked up enough to sanitze its already time to pick up again.

4. Someone is always crying.

too tired, too many choices for breakfast, too many tackles, too many kids

5. The biggest problem with having all 3 of my kids at home with me all day long is knowing that this will be the only year of my life that I have them totally and completely all to myself.

Next year is kindergarten followed by new teachers, new role models, new friends, and new heros, new problems, new heartaches, new ideas, new attitudes, less control, less time, more demands and eventually having to let them all go.

Who would've thunk being a chubby, exhausted, messy momma was something to cherish?

A Walk in the Park

The kiddos and I experienced this gem of a nature trail a few weeks ago on a preschool fieldtrip. Saturday's weather was made-to-order so we decided to let Daniel in on our little find.

It was a glorious walk in the park.

the yummy pond:)

Mulberrys and hubby:)

A forest in Texas?

My lil stick collector

bumps on a log

Naomi is taking a long hard look at her daddy so she can remember him by June:)

With track meets around the corner, monthly scout campouts, coaching clinics, fundraisers and banquets, this was one of the last Saturdays we had with Daniel.

Glad it was a good one!

4th Annual Monster Jam

This year kolby got to bring his bff Maddox to enjoy the show.

The crew included Daniel's bro and 2 bro-in-laws with their daughters.

Daniel swears that the boys had a blast...who could tell with a pic like this haha. Perhaps the earplugs kept them from hearing the photographer say, "smile"? heehee.

Olivia and I had a girl party at home. She's been suddenly needy and jealous so I took her out to McDonalds, bought ice cream, popcorn and new nail polish, put Naomi to bed early, played dress-up, put on make-up, watched Ramona and Beesus, and put sponge curlers in our hair. When i put her to bed she said, "Mom me and you had a fun girl party huh? but when is daddy coming home?"

To Each His Own

While i was watching football, eating junk food and lovn on my niece in Atlanta, my hubby was running a marathon, and running it quite fast I might add:)

Ya, he took 1st place!

I really did miss watching him run.

It's always inspiring to see someone perform in something they are so talented and passionate about. Daniel (of course) was disappointed with his time, since he ran 400meters the wrong way, but he was still happy.

He and his brother qualified for the Boston. I'm guessing after the Ironman in May a trip to Boston may be in the works.

The Lawtons made it a family affair. Daniel also ran with his brother Mark, his dad, his sis-in-law Rosie, his bro-in-law Erwin and a friend. His two sisters ran the half as well.

And these are my crazy-talented in-laws...

check out the ginormous medals and "year-of-the-duck-hats".

2 sisters, 2 babies, 2 bedroom apartment. 2 am feedings...Best New Year's EVER!

Last Tuesday night my hubby took pity on me and found an awesome deal on a flight to Georgia. My sweet sisters-in-law agreed to take turns watching Kolby and Olivia and 3 days later on New Year's Eve these two lovely ladies met:)

Haha check out the size!

We had a blast just snuggling little Avery, eating, and laughing, playing games, and watching tv.

My sis and I made up this tradition to have "Chinese New Year" and eat Chinese food on New Year's Eve. We think we're pretty darn funny. We've manged to have Chinese new year 3 years in a row together now:) be jealous..very jealous.

While we were waiting for midnight we played Ticket to Ride aka "The Train Game"...i love it!

and Avery got wasted before midnight...

Uncle ryry and Naomi tickling the ivories Somehow Brittany even convinced my dad to make his amazing apple pie* on New Year's Day. He was thrilled obviously if you can't tell by the pic...esp without a pastry blender. (*As a side note my mom made the amazing apple filling-Johnathan apples and lemon rind not juice...she just doesn't get all the pomp and circumstance we give dad because EVERYTHING she makes is delicious!)

The ladies pretended to be domestic.

The rest of the time we just chilled...

my cute parental units

this pic was of everyone yawning when Avery yawns...too bad my dad looks like he's actually going to eat her instead

which then lead to everyone getting the giggles...

I thought it'd be fun to take the wee ones out for a stroll. TOo bad it was freezing!!!

We went to the Cushman's for dinner and Naomi took it upon herself to work off all the holiday calories for us.

I also managed to squeeze in a lunch date with one of the coolest people i know. Ashley and her adorable kiddos moved 15 minutes away from my sister so now i get a bonus every time i visit :)

Wow if you made it this far through the post i'm impressed.

I was so tickled to be able to meet my new little niece (and yes i bawled like a baby when i had to snuggle her for the last time) but even more of a treat was to see my lil' sis become a momma. I know I'm the big sister and probably am supposed to offer my pearls of wisdom but honestly she has taught me so much about the joy of motherhood. She has wanted to be a mother for so long but couldn't and I found myself complaining a little less and enjoying a little more of the everyday mothering stuff the last few years because of her.

Thanks Brittany for always putting things into perspective.

I love you and know you're gonna be the best little mama in the world!!!