Dear Rotavirus

You have now been at our house for over a week. I think it's time you left. Guests (especially those who are unannounced and uninvited) should not stay this long. We will be leaving for vacation in less than a week and need time to prepare for our time away. Furthermore, this is not the first time you have visited our home. I believe there was the first time-when we were relatively new, unsuspecting parents-in 2002. That was our initiation into your ways. Then again in 2004 or 2005-you definitely overstayed your welcome then, taking your sweet time to go through both of my children. Well, now I have 4 and I don't think you should hang around here at all.
You are hereby given notice that we are no longer unsuspecting parents. If you choose not to leave very soon we will hunt you down with a can of Lysol and spray you until you D-I-E! Sorry, no southern hospitality here anymore.
Cara
mom to hosts and potential hosts: Lindsay, Jared, Haley and Nathan

**for any new, unsuspecting parent that doesn't already know this Rotavirus = 3-9 days of vomiting and diarrhea that will overtake your home and leave you like a wet dishrag. Thankfully we've had the vaccine for the younger kids so Haley's bout has been much less severe than our first experience with this virus (in 2002 when Lindsay was 2) and Nathan should escape it (more due to the fact that I'm breastfeeding than that he's been vaccinated). Lindsay and Jared have had it before, so Jared's was less severe than it could be. We've not had any dehydration yet....stay tuned.

Where Has All the Time Gone!?

So, I have all of these ideas and ideals of what my house, car, kids, yard my self and even my blog should look like. Do any of the real things resemble the ideals or the ideas? No way. Does this bug me? Yep. What am I going to do about it? I really don't have a clue.
Because the time has all gone away. I will admit that I vacillate (see? I still know some big words) between thinking I should spend all of my time being mommy. The poem that says "...cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow..." would sum up my philosophy on life. The stacks of papers that need to be gone through can wait. The dust on the end tables...who cares? As long as the big stuff is swept up and the dishes are done once a day...what does it matter?
Then there are days like today! Today I see all of the messes as if through one huge magnifying glass. Ugh. The ideals come back.
I want to have a home I'm proud of. I should be able to hold my head up high as a housewife, right? I don't want my kids to ever ever be ashamed if someone comes over and sees our home. If someone drops by (although in our society today that is pretty rare I guess) I want to be able to welcome them in with a smile. Not frantically wondering what they will see that I didn't clean up, pick up or throw away. Worse than that...what will they smell!?
I am after all a housewife (aka Stay at home mom, aka domestic goddess--ha ha). And to be a successful housewife you should follow these instructions, right?
But where is my lipstick? Yep. The (now) 3 year old used it all up on her face.
So, how can I freshen my lipstick before he comes home? He being the king of this (very small, messy) castle? Besides, if you wear lipstick it gets really messy kissing your babies.

So, what is a mom to do when she wants her house to look neat and smell...passable? Ok, so I could take the trash out. I think one of the biggest answers is to clean out the clutter. We have a very small house for the size of our family (at least by today's standards). I laughed when a couple that is planning their wedding and life said the house they are buying is small. They have never been married before, therefore have no children. The house is 1500 square feet. Ha. That's not small. I can show you small. We are a family of 6 living in 1000 square feet. So, here goes nothing! I must get on this project! I feel no peace in all this mess. I'm going to *gasp* take some before and after pics. Because I want my work to really show. I want everyone to know what I've spent my time on. My energy. My (former) naptimes!!!!!

It might be slower going than for some people because I do have a baby (that is right now screaming-but that's because he chose not to nap today) and I do have to educate my children. The plan is to go through every room and evaluate what needs to be gotten rid of then do it. Garage sale in a couple of weeks! Woohoo!

Sickies

Cough Cough. Fingers in mouth. Cough cough. Nose picking.
Barf Barf. Fingers in mouth. Barf Barf. Drinking out of someone's cup.

It will NEVER end if this cycle keeps up.
Last week (including Saturday) I had all 4 kids to the doctor! Haley had her 3 year check up on Wednesday. I had to add Linds in to that appointment because she has developed asthma.
Then, Jared had something wrong with his tongue. The doctor thinks a virus...I think it's an allergic reaction. Because it went away and then started again yesterday.

Meanwhile, Haley had developed a cough (after her appointment of course). Ok, no biggie. Until she coughed on Nathan. It is a big deal for a 3 month old. Even a big, healthy one! So, off to the doctor we went on Saturday. Breathing treatments. Blessedly, no RSV (he tested negative-they thought he sounded like he had it).

Harold stayed home from work on Monday. Sick.

Tuesday, Jared threw up and has other stomach...symptoms. Still. (Yep, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday.) Partly because we keep feeding him "normal" food No more. From here on out it's the BRAT diet (Banana, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) until he's completely over all symptoms.

So far no one else has had the stomach symptoms...we shall see. We are exactly 2 weeks away from leaving for Missouri for our vacation (to see my grandparents whom we haven't seen for almost 2 1/2 years!). If anyone is sick, we obviously can't go! :(

I'm going to quarantine everyone in their OWN room. No more breathing on each other. The end.

Routine?

So, I am having the hardest time lately finding the balance between routine (or schedule) and being flexible. It seems we lean towards chaos. I don't want to be so rigid (and I can't)