Long week.....

Last Thursday I woke up at 2 AM to Maddie having a temp of over 104. When we got up around 9 she would not stop screaming & her fever kept spiking. I got worried since she is only 5 months so I called the Dr. They took her right away.
They could not see anything obvious was wrong so they figured she had a virus. They said to keep her comfortable, hydrated & let her rest. We had a hell of a time for 5 days & it finally passed on Tuesday. I was beyond tired & run down after this point. She was very much a mommy's girl while sick & that carried over for a few days afterwards. It finally got to the point just on Thursday where she would let anyone else hold her again.
All of this while the older 2 had school & all that entails plus my 4 year old at home. The joys & stresses of being a mommy. I am glad she is well & seemed to weather her 1st illness. I am sure more will be on the way as fall approaches & I am not looking forward to it.

weekend recap

   I meant to post this yesterday but as you can see life got away from me. My older girls started back to school yesterday so it was a long, busy, tiring day.
  Brooke is now in 7th grade, I am not sure I am ready for her to be in junior high. Catie is now in 5th grade. They both said they had a good day which is a plus. Brooke is having to adjust to getting up at 6:30 AM & having to ride a bus.
  Now on to my weekend. Friday I turned 34. The girls decided to make & decorate cupcakes for me. They turned out wonderfully. I was proud of Brooke as it was the 1st time she baked anything on her own.
  We had Chinese for dinner which I love. Well the girls & I had it. I got something else for Joey since Chinese raises his blood sugar way to high. I also got a yellow birthday cake, though I don't think I took any pictures of it.
  We needed a new wireless router for the computers so Joey told me to go to best buy & get one. He also told me to get whatever I wanted for my birthday. He is the worst shopper & knows I know exactly what I want. This system has worked well for us for years. He does sometimes surprise me with things he thinks I'll like, which I also love.
  I had done some research & deep thinking about whether I really wanted a tablet computer or not. Joey was afraid I would end up not using it. I decided I wanted the Hp touch over the iPad since I wanted something that supported Flash.
  I got a 32g HP touch & case. I am really enjoying it. The typing is touchy now that we put a screen saver on it, but I am figuring that will work itself out. I still have not read the instructions manual, but I am loving it.
  Saturday Joey's cousin from New York came over. He was in the area for the week visiting my sister in law. I had never met him & he wanted to meet our girls. My sister in law brought him & his partner over. They were both very nice. Maddie decided she liked John's partner Dave right away. She held out her arms to go to him. It was sweet. She let Dave hold her too.
  The girls & I had plans so we did not get to visit long. They were having the closing party for the summer reading program at the library. Brooke had won 2 books in the weekly raffle. All 3 girls won at sometime during the summer. We also won a 4 pack of tickets to the zoo, we will just have to buy 1 ticket.
  I spent Sunday getting ready for the girls to go back to school the next day. I am trying to get back into the habit of going to be bed at 11 PM, so I can get the girls up.

Started my workout today

   I started the Biggest Loser game on the wii today. I started with a 4 week challenge on beginner. I am hoping I can stick to it. I need to get back into working out.
   On Tuesday I got the last bit of dental work done before my partial comes in on August 30th. I am wanting to transform into the new me that I am happier with. I was doing really well a few years ago then I had major marriage problems. I am an emotional eater so I let it get the best of me.
   I am getting hi lites in September for the 1st time. We are holding off until the sun is not as strong outside as to cut down on fade time. I got my hair cut in June so I won't need a hair cut for  a while.
   I need to get my sugar problem under control. I need to find better snacking options & portion control. I also stay away from artificial sweeteners so that limits a lot of the so called "diet" foods. I am need more veggies & fruits. I seem to forget about it once I buy it & then it ends up going bad :(
     

beware of making the mom mad.................

   My oldest has a friend of sorts I guess you would say. We will call her L. She is a grade higher than she is & they will both be in junior high together this year (Brooke will be a 7th grader).
   L has the bad habit of calling over a dozen times a day on Brooke's cell phone. Brooke has asked her to stop calling so much, will not answer the phone & has even turned her phone off.
   We were having some issues with Brooke yesterday & L was around with her mom. I asked her to please give Brooke some space for a few weeks. 2 hours later she was at my house again with her mom wanting Brooke.
   This did not make me happy since she would not respect my wishes. It was beyond hot here today & a trying day for me. Brooke was on her way to see her friend R when I went to get her & bring her home. She had taken the baby with her outside after we told her it was way to hot.
   I am dealing with her when L calls for about the 14th time that day. I finally answered it & said to not call again. When we got home R called wondering where she was. I told her to go ahead & answer the phone & let her know she would be not be there.
  I hear Brooke getting really upset & start yelling. It turns out L is there & saying that next time I answer "Brooke's phone" she will call the police. Well for starters Brooke is 12 so it is not her phone. She is not old enough for a job to pay for it nor can she enter a contract.
   I ask to talk to R. I ask about the current drama going on, R knows I have no tolerance for drama. I can hear L in the back ground ranting & raving like a lunatic. I told R Brooke was not going today but maybe she could tomorrow. I do not want her to be there if L is there. If she shows up & Brooke does not leave than she will not be allowed at her house anymore.
   I had been trying to block L's number but AT&T was having issues. I was able to get it blocked tonight though so hopefully that will cut down on the piddly junk. 

Mommy, mommy there's a bead in my nose

   These were the words my 4 year old just came crying at me. She had a small green bead in her left nostril. I tried holding one side of her nose & trying to blow it out. 
   I got the tweezers out but it was to far up to even try. I then thought of the chop stick in the kitchen drawer.  I had to give it a try because I did not want to end up in the ER at 11PM. I was pleased that it did the trick & pulled it far enough down so she could blow it out.
   I am hoping this teaches her a lesson about putting things in her nose or ears. I did stick a bean in my ear when I was younger & did not tell anyone. It started to hurt as it sprouted. I am just glad she told me right away so we could get it taken care of.
  That was my excitement for the night. She was not wanting to go to bed before that but now she is in bed on her way to sleep. I am hoping I can get some sleep of my own now. I have to be up early to go to the dentist in the morning.

Yes Virginia, I am thinking about Christmas shopping

   I am trying to get a jump start on Christmas, especially since 3 of our daughters have winter birthdays. Their birthdays are 12/22, 2/8 & 3/4. 
   I will wait on most things for the older girls since their choices will change as they see stuff being released. I know some video games, movies & such I will get. 
   I am going back & forth about getting them MP3 players. We would have gotten them iPod Nanos but do not like the new design, we have an older generation that we love. I am not willing to put out over $250 a girl for touches. We do have 2 iPhones that will turn into touches but we will not want them carrying those around with them.
  Our youngest will be 1 in early March. The problem is after your 4th girl you run out of things to get that you don't have a version of all ready. I have a few things on my amazon list for her. Our oldest will be 12 1/2 by Christmas & just at that awkward stage to buy for. Our soon to be 11 year old still wants to be into things that I feel as getting to be to young for her. It is not that I want her to grow up to soon I just want to get things that will grow with her.
   I have talked to my sisters & they said our brother wants a PS2 for Christmas. I guess his ex wife threw his away or something like that. We are looking into getting him a used one from Gamestop. I am using my points from Myview survey site to get a $25 gift card to there to put towards it.
   I am saving my change to cash in at coin star for amazon codes for my sisters & mom. I also know we will take our points from our debit card & get gift cards for my dad & in laws. That just leaves my sister-n-law & her husband to figure out. 
   My mom & FIL have late Dec birthdays too plus my dad has a late Nov birthday. That time of year hits hard.  Starting in early Oct until March we have 10 birthdays not including all holiday spending.
   I also have to make our 6 stockings. DH is the worst to shop for. He is one of those people who basically wants for nothing & gets what he wants when he wants it. I am the same way. I do love makeup, books,  bath things, movies & video games though. That gives me lots of choices for my stockings. I end up getting DH things I know he will use (hair gel, body wash, gum, tylenol & such)

Back to school shopping

   One of the things I hate about going to school year round is the short shopping time we get for the next school year. My girls last day was June 30th & we start August 8th. 
  I am finding myself trying to get the basics for a 5th & 7th graders. The problem is a lot of the school supplies are still on the expensive side. That does not include that even our public schools wear uniforms here too so that really adds to it. I hate that they have to wear white shirts especially since I am allergic to bleach so that makes it hard to keep the shirts clean. You can add to that a child who gets chronic bloody noses & I am sure you can imagine my disdain.
   On Wednesday I went & tried to get the bare minimum they will need & then hopefully get the rest when better sales hit. I do still have to get a note book since I forgot 1 for my oldest. I spent $65 & all that I got was: 2 back packs, folders, 2 binders, pens, 1 box of crayons per girl, 1 pack of glue sticks, notebooks, 3 packs of post it notes, computer paper.
   I still have to get uniforms, 2 pairs of shoes per girls (3 each if I get gym shoes) plus extra paper, poster board, notebooks, folders, glue, crayons and the list goes on (imagine in your head me singing & "the beat goes on"). I am lucky my 4 year old does not start preschool until mid September so I can wait for things to go on clearance for her.  None of that cost included the workbook fee for them.
   My 5th grader wanted to take her lunch this year until she learned she would have to make it herself & that deterred her. I told her she was old enough for that responsibility. I don't think she quite saw it my way.
   Oh I forgot to add into the cost of a new cell phone since my oldest will not be at the same school as my 5th grader. Then in late fall we will have to replace our oldest daughter's phone. We got her a cheap starter phone & it has not held up well these past 2 years. Normally we would just passed down our phones when we upgrade but we got iPhones. We have decided we do not feel comfortable with the girls walking around with those. We will turn off the service & turn them into iTouches they can use around the house.