random stuff

Some random 'Heil Family Happenings' from the last week or so...

It's been too cold to do much outside so we've been entertaining ourselves inside. We did get out to IKEA last week, which is always fun. I never knew they had bottle warmers! That place is so kid-friendly. It was a good family outing. We bought a t.v. cabinet for the new t.v. we ordered for the playroom. We wanted the t.v. so that we could move the Wii to the playroom and out of the family room. 'Wii' have been using it a lot. So, we went to IKEA because they have great furniture for a great price. They also have unique furniture and we needed a locked t.v. cabinet because of Emily.

Emily has a DVD obsession. I call her a DVDaholic. She loves to open them all up, take the DVD's out, watch them, put them places...you name it. I used to keep them in a basket on the t.v. stand but the DVD's were getting all scratched up because of her fondness for them. Now, if I leave some DVD's out and she gains access to them, she falls off the wagon. Her eyes get wide and she can't get to them quick enough. Before I know it, she has the DVD case open and is walking around the house with the DVD. I think she needs a 12-step program.

So anyway, back to the new playroom set-up. It's great. We found matching DVD cabinets, which we put on the side of the t.v. cabinet and will keep all of the Wii games and kids' DVD's in them. They have openings for photo's on the front, which is really cool and they lock too! Connor has designated himself in charge of the keys. There are two sets and he makes sure to keep them high enough so that they are out of Emily's reach. He is taking his job very seriously. Here he is putting the Wii and t.v. remotes away.

Camryn is learning how to sit on her own. If she stays centered, she can last pretty long. It's when she leans to the left or right to grab something that she falls. I'd say between now and the next 3 weeks she'll get the hang of it.

This is a picture of Emily's new fake cry. Her fake cry, which you really have to hear to appreciate, has been a new thing for her over the past week or so.

And last but not least...

We've been missing a Little Einsteins DVD for some time now and had the idea this week to finally look for it under the couch. Well, we found that and more!

This is everything we found: a kitchen utencil, a DVD without the case, a DVD case without the DVD, 4 cat toys, a domino, part of a microphone stand, two drumsticks, 3 coasters, instructions to a card game, the blue flower Magna Doodle magnet, Sally from CARS the movie, a bouncy ball, a guitar pick, a ball of DVD wrapper trash, a marble, a blue Trouble game piece, and some yellow plastic thing that Carl said was part of a toy but I can't figure out what it goes with. Oh, and not pictured, a Gerber puff that Emily ate as soon as she saw it.

bedtime...i'm gonna miss this

Anyone who knows my situation knows that I have to do the bedtime routine alone five nights per week (seven nights if it's soccer season). I am not a complainer, I can pretty much handle anything, but there are some nights that are such a challenge that even I have to scream a little. Tonight has been one of those nights. Here's a play-by-play of how the night has gone thus far...

5:45 p.m.: After an early dinner (because Camryn didn't nap much today and Em decided not to nap at all) I headed up with all three for the baths. I typically give Connor and Em a bath together while Camryn sits in the bathroom in her bouncy seat; however, because of Connor's virus, I have been bathing them seperately. So I gave Em a bath first, it went fine. Filled the tub, put Connor in and got Em dressed. Camryn in the meantime was pretty fussy in her chair, but no big deal. Got Em dressed. At some point, Camryn spit up all over herself and I didn't see it right away, so she had both hands in her mouth and thus spit-up all over her hands and face, including eyes. So I cleaned her up, got her dressed and put her in her crib to play with one of those hanging toy bars so that I could go wash Connor. She was okay for about 3 minutes and then cried until I was done. Em just ran around like a maniac upstairs during all of this. At one point, she did try to sneak into the tub with Connor, with her jammies on...but I caught her just in time. So I got Connor out, he got dressed and we all headed downstairs.

6:30 p.m.: We made it downstairs just in time for a new episode of Speedracer. Got the girls their bottles (yes Em still has a bottle of milk before bed). I fed Camryn, Em drank her milk and Connor watched Speedracer with a Gatorade popsicle (his new favorite treat since being sick).

7 p.m.: Headed up to bed with Camryn and Em. I got Camryn to sleep fairly quickly because Em was pretty quiet tonight. This is usually the biggest challenge because while I rock Camryn, Em usually dances, sings, jumps and runs around Camryn's room. So, I guess I should be thankful that this part went well.

7:15 p.m.: Camryn was asleep. I headed into Em's room with her, we read, rocked and she was asleep by 7:30. I went downstairs to get Connor.

7:45 p.m.: As Connor and I were reaching the top of the steps, I heard Camryn crying. She's awake, crying and not settling down so I took her into Connor's room so that I could get his routine finished and get him to bed. She made it difficult to read books, brush teeth, etc. but we got through it.

8:15 p.m.: Connor got in bed and I told him I'd be back to lay with him as usual (our little one on one time). I took Camryn back to her room.

8:30 p.m.: Camryn is asleep for the second time. I left her room, got halfway down the stairs and what do I hear? Yep, Em. She's crying "Mommy!", so I go in there, take her out of her crib, stand there rocking her, put her back in. She usually doesn't want me to leave the room so I lay on the floor until I know she's asleep, but she was asleep...thank goodness. I left her room and went to Connor's room to lay with him for a few minutes.

8:45 p.m.: Got downstairs.

8:47 p.m.: Camryn is awake and fussing again. Just as the fussing was turning into crying, I went back in, gave her a pacifier and sat on her floor for a few minutes to make sure she was settled. I had to give her the pacifier a few times until she fell asleep.

9:00 p.m.: I'm downstairs again...everything is quiet. I started cleaning up the toys all over the place and the kitchen, the two big jobs usually left for this time of night. I was frustrated that the whole routine took me over 3 hours. Think about it...3 hours! That's a huge chunk of time just for bath and bedtime.

Anytime I start to get a little frustrated though over things like this, I realize that this isn't going to last forever. I have three little kids. It comes with the territory. I signed up for it and I couldn't be happier.

It's during these times that I always think of Trace Adkins song, "You're Gonna Miss This". I always sing the chorus in my head...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

If you're a parent and you haven't heard it, definitely listen to it. It will give you perspective on all of the little challenges you face and will face with your children. We don't get the time back and we don't get to do it again. We have to make the most of every moment, even the frustrating ones.

what a week

Monday night into Tuesday, Connor caught the stomach virus that has been going around (it's been on the news). He literally vomited every 5-10 minutes from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then had to go to the hospital for fluids via IV. When Connor started to get sick in the middle of the night, Carl and I decided that only one of us should be with him and the other would handle the girls so Carl spent the entire night in Connor's room, on the floor, with a basin, not sleeping, and cleaning up after him. What a dad.

Then they spent the day at the hospital on Tuesday, not getting home until 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were spent just hangin' in, taking care of Connor, disinfecting the house, and keeping the girls occupied and away from the sickness. Today was the first day that Connor didn't vomit and he finally got to eat. Up until today, he has been living on Gatorade, liquid and popsicle varieties. Today he ate toast, applesauce, crackers and wanted mac n' cheese for dinner. He finally cracked a smile today too and was up off the couch. Now we just have to get some weight back on him...he looks like a skeleton to me. I think he's lost at least 5 pounds.

Be glad I don't have pictures to illustrate this past week. I do have a picture from tonight though when he was feeling a little better:

another month, another milestone

Camryn will be 5 months tomorrow. I love this age...4-6 months has always been one of my favorite times. I guess it's because for the first three months, babies don't do much. There are first smiles and some rolling over, but you can't really do anything with them other than sit them in a bouncy seat so that they can watch what's going on. Re-reading that it sounds bad, but those of you who are parents know what I mean. From 4-6 months, you get to pull out all of the fun baby items that keep them entertained, having fun and create more interaction with you! Last month I posted about her first time in the Ultrasaucer, which she spends time in everyday. She really enjoys chewing on the toys. Last week, we introduced her to the walker and today, the Johnny Jumper! Tonight she was hanging out in the jumper looking at me very strangely as I cheered her on. "Jump, Jump, Jump" I was chanting repeatedly. She got excited for a few seconds, but I think it was because she was watching Emily jump around the foyer.

After the excitement of the Johnny Jumper, the girls hung out on the floor. I love these two pictures because it's like syncronized swimming, without the swimming part.

laundry

This is what I should be doing instead of posting on my blog. The laundry. I just can't seem to keep up with it. I don't think the kids' clothes have seen their closets in weeks. It usually ends up staying folded on the couch and I grab their clothes from there. Lately though, and maybe I can blame it on the holidays, I seem to be just living out of the laundry basket. I justify it by saying that it's actually easier anyway to get the kids dressed from the clothes on the couch then it is to go back upstairs into three different rooms to get outfits. It really is easier.