I Need to Work on My Exorcism Skills

Remember on Thursday when I posted about declaring our house germ free?

This is kind of how it played out...

Me: Germs be gone! Scram! We're done!

Universe: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Suck it.

No sooner than I hit "publish", Anna was complaining that her ear was hurting. If there's one area of parenting that I feel like maybe I need to step up my game (one area? ha ha. more like 100 areas, but let's not even start with that today.) it's in the part where I react to injuries and sickness. I'm pretty laid back when it comes to that stuff and I usually brush most things off with a "oh, you're fine, let me kiss it". I think a lot of that attitude comes from teaching and coaching - seventh graders are reaalllly good at faking illness (or think they are, at least) to get out of doing things like take tests or run laps. So when Anna said her ear hurt, we gave her some Tylenol and went about our day. On Friday she never mentioned it, so I figured it had been a headache and forgot about it. By Saturday afternoon, however, she was saying it hurt again, and this time it was clear to see she was feeling miserable. No appetite, glassy eyes, just generally out of it, so Mike and I decided to swing by the pediatric urgent care on our way home from swim lessons. (See? My kid complains of her ear hurting and I'm all, "shake it off! get in the pool!" Mother of the Year, for sure.) And then I started feeling really bad because in both the waiting room and in the examination room she laid her head in my lap and fell asleep - which never happens. And then I started feeling horrible when the nurse asks me if she's been running a temperature, and just when I'm like, "No, not that I know of," she slides the thermometer across Anna's forehead and shows me the reading: 103.4. Raging fever and ear infection. Like I said, Mother of the Year.

Antibiotics and Tylenol began working their magic right away, enough that Anna could go to a birthday party that evening, but just to be sure we didn't get any slick ideas about getting healthy again, the Universe threw another wrench in our get well plans. And that is how our St. Patrick's Day was spent like many more before it - cleaning up vomit. Except instead of our drunk selves drunk college kids, it was our sweet girl, having a bad reaction to the taste of the Tylenol. (I need to give a major shout out to Mike here. I was all, "Ahh! Puke! She's puking! Ahh!" while he's just calmly holding Anna's hair out of her face and rubbing her back as she spews all over him. He was awesome and it was reason number 4,378 why he's a great dad.) We did manage to make the trip to see my parents, although in hindsight we probably should have just stayed home.

Sacked out at Mema and Grandpa's.

So I guess I learned a few things this weekend. First, don't tempt the health gods with declarations of sickness-free households. Second, I chose well in my husband, particularly when it comes to dealing with the bodily fluids of our children. And last, and probably the most important, I need to do a better job of listening to my kid when she tells me something is wrong.

So. Much. Sick.

Ok. I don't want to jinx anything here, but I'm going to go ahead and declare this the end of the sick season in the Arends household. I mean, yes, both the girls still have slightly runny noses. And Mia is still coughing a little. But seriously? We. Are. Over. It.

It's been more than a month since Mia tested positive for RSV (a nasty, highly contagious respiratory virus) and it was all pretty much downhill from there. I was sick. Then Anna. Mia then had an ear infection. And even Mike and his iron-clad immune system were no match for this yuckiness. This virus was sneaky, because just when you would think you were feeling better, it would come back even worse.

I'm putting my foot down. And disinfecting the crap out of every possible surface in our house. Enough. RSV, you may have owned February (and a good chunk of March). But you're done. We're fighting back.

Plane tickets have been purchased for a vacation to Florida. New summer sandals and bathing suits have been ordered. Dreams of drinking icy cold beers on the beach are replacing feverish dreams of regaining the ability to breathe through my nose. I may even go extra crazy and bust out the self tanner this weekend, because nothing says "I'm healthy and free of germs" quite like a tropical glow. (Also, I just tried on said new bathing suit and I may have been blinded by the pastiness of my skin.) (Also, that might have been a good thing since I probably didn't want to see myself in a bathing suit anyways.) (Also, that is why I will require several alcoholic beverages when on the beach.)

In short: I have exorcised the germy demons. This house is clear! And ready for spring!

On an unrelated side note - Mia is over five months old. How is this even possible? I'm working on a post devoted entirely to this sweet girl, but here are a few pics to tide you over. I am so, so happy that she is finally feeling better, because she truly is the happiest baby - so quick with a smile or a giggle and such a pleasure to be around.

Oops, ran out of ink in our printer, so I had to get my Photoshop on!

What are your tricks for staying healthy? And what are you most looking forward to about spring?

Happy (and Healthy!) Wednesday!

A New Training Plan

The good news is that it's February 11th and I've actually kept up at least part of my New Year's resolutions.

The bad news is that it's not the part where I write more on my blog.

For those of you paying attention, that means that I've made our bed every single day since the start of 2013! It might not happen until three in the afternoon, but it happens. And I know some of you might be all like, "Not impressed." I don't blame you. It's probably a totally normal occurrence for most people. But it should be obvious to you that I, especially when it comes to matters of staying organized and mess free, am not like most people.

I need to start small. I need clear-cut directions. If I get overwhelmed or intimidated I lose focus. Remember when my sister helped me get organized? It didn't all stick, but the parts that did involved a label maker and specific instructions on where things go. Our bathroom closet is filled with sets of plastic drawers that say things like "First Aid" or "Dental" or "Shaving Needs" and in a shocking turn of events, I can go to those drawers almost two years after Kristin helped me set them up and find Neosporin or razor cartridges or nail files exactly where they're supposed to be.

I'm also this way, I've realized, when it comes to running. For so many years, I would think "I want to be a runner! I'm going to go running!" And then I would lace up my shoes, hit the pavement, and feel like keeling over ten minutes later, muttering curse words under my breath and vowing never to run again because running sucks. Then I read an article about this plan called the "Couch to 5k". You start small - like running for 30 seconds at a time. But it doesn't suck at first, so you keep at it, and then before you know it you're eight weeks in and you can run 3.1 miles without stopping. There is a specific schedule, and if you follow it, it works. I've actually done this program at least three times - once before Mike and I got married, another when Anna was about nine months old, and I finished it again a few weeks ago. I never, ever, thought I could be a runner, and then I ran two half marathons in one year. Luckily, my friend Katie and I just decided to train for a 10k, because I know that I need to follow a training schedule to stay motivated.

So I guess my bed-making resolution was kind of my attempt to start "training" for a more organized house. I'll probably be in training for a reeeeally long time, but that's ok. It's working. Our bedroom is staying neater. It's amazing what a smoothed bedspread and fluffed-up pillows will do for your overall attitude - it's spilling over into how often I deal with the pile of clothes I let accumulate at the foot of the bed and how often I vacuum. Maybe I can call it my "Slob to Neat Freak" training plan? And maybe, just maybe, it could actually work?

All you neat freaks out there - what should be my next step? What's something small (remember, baby steps!) that I can add to my daily routine that would help me reach my goal?

And I know I keep saying it, but I'm really going to try to make the time for this space more often. I always feel like I need to write these epic posts, when really, all I should be doing is documenting our everyday lives. The neat and the messy.

So. Many. Things.

It's been awhile since I've shown my face around here.

Mostly because we've been busy just sort of living life.

There have been so many times I have thought to myself, "Oh, I should blog about this!" I used to write out posts in my head at night in bed, before I fell asleep. These days I'm pretty sure that the second I close my eyes I'm out cold. It's not that there hasn't been anything exciting to share, it's that I can't seem to find the time to get it all out.

I also sort of blame "Friday Night Lights". Have you seen this television show? Gah. Any free time I might now have is devoted to watching another episode of this awesomeness. So many people (ahem, Alexia, mom, Kristin, etc.) had told me how great this show was, and I even think that Mike and I started watching it a year or two ago. And then when Mia was born I found myself sitting on the couch a lot more and I was all caught up on my other shows, so I decided to give it another go. I'm not joking here, people. Probably my favorite show of all time. Although if you see me in the next couple of days, please ignore my crying and blubbering. Because I have one episode left. ONE. I've sort of been saving it, trying to find the perfect time to watch, because then it will be over and I will be so, so sad. And I will have much more time for productive things, like writing...

What Would Riggins Do?

So, really, not my fault that I haven't been around much.

In all honesty, though, part of my New Year's resolution was to get back to this space more. Because I enjoy it and because I love having this blog as sort of a scrapbook for my life. (The other part of my resolution was to make our bed everyday. Dream big, my friends.) I have some catch up to do - I want to write about Mia's first few months (spoiler alert: she sleeps!) and discuss the completely insane fact that Anna is now three (spoiler alert: she is equal parts tyrant and angel!). I want to do a better job of documenting our story, so that one day, far in the future, I can read back over everything and be reminded of how damn lucky I've been to live this life.

From Mia's newborn session with the extremely amazing Rachel Vanoven.
I can't even describe to you how much I love this picture.

As those Dillon Panthers would say: Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose.

Hope to see you back here soon.

Party of Four

Oh my. Would you believe me if I told you it had been five weeks since our second daughter was born? FIVE WEEKS? It's one of those crazy things where I sometimes stop and say to myself, "Wow, these weeks have flown by!" and I sometimes say, "Wow, only five weeks? It feels like she's been here forever." (That's possibly the lack of sleep talking - dozing in two hour stretches can sometimes make your brain do funny things.)

And so it goes.

I don't really want to bore you with all the minute details of Amelia's birth, but there are a few key points I'd like to highlight and remember. The first one being, clearly, that I really don't recommend spending your last baby-free night sleeping in a tent out in your backyard. It obviously wasn't planned that way - my due date was still over a week away - but I can remember sleepily thinking to myself as I was peeing in the yard for the third time that I would be really pissed if I wasted my last precious night of uninterrupted slumber in a sleeping bag in the freezing cold with a toddler who kept stealing my blanket and a husband who snored through it all. Wouldn't you know it, my water broke the next afternoon.

Waking up to this pretty much made it all worth it, though.

Amelia knew what she was doing, however. In fact, her timing couldn't have been better. Almost my entire pregnancy, my father-in-law joked that September 30th would be a perfect day for her arrival - his birthday, too. And since we never got it together to send him a present, our new daughter knew just how to make us look like the best gift givers in the history of ever. I think the lady from the birth records department came to our room no less than five times, only to be turned away because we hadn't made a final name decision. After consulting many, many people (including all of our nurses and the poor birth records lady), the choice was clear. Amelia and her Opa (Albert Jacob Arends) share initials, and her middle name, Jacoba, is from her great-grandmother on his side. We've been calling her Mia more often than not, and Anna still sometimes throws in a Joey - what she called the baby all throughout my pregnancy.

It also worked out that my sister and brother-in-law were in town. Without being too graphic, let me just say that when your water breaks and your sister arrives minutes later with adult diapers in hand, you know some kind of fate was involved. All kidding aside, having them and my parents here was incredible. I was an emotional wreck, trying to bake cookies and snuggle with Anna and pack my hospital bag, and they were here answering my questions and cleaning my kitchen and letting Mike and I have some quiet time before we left for the hospital. My sister might want to seriously consider a side career as a doula...

And then she was here. And all those things people say about your heart growing even bigger than you imagined it could proved to be true. For me, I am finding it so much easier to just enjoy Amelia because I've experience first hand how quickly it goes by. Yes, I was exhausted when they placed her in my arms for the first time. Yes, she didn't want to be put down, preferring to snuggle against one of our chests. But those things will change. We will eventually sleep. Soon enough she will be a toddler whose idea of cuddling lasts about 3.2 seconds. With Anna, it wasn't always easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I see it now, and if the tunnel lasts a little bit longer it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

We're settling in. We're adjusting. Our first night home from the hospital our poor dog got locked out of the house all night. And on our first outing as a foursome we drove away from the gas pump without paying - luckily the nice policeman who knocked on our door was very understanding (And in all fairness, Mike did swipe the card. The machine didn't read it. Swearsies.).

We're taking it one day at a time and basically just doing what all other parents try to do - get both kids to nap at the same time. (Victory is mine today! Hooray!)

Baby "Joey" on Halloween

Welcome to the world, Amelia. We are so very, very glad that you are here.

If You Give A Mama A Trip To Target...

I can remember a Mother's Day from when I was younger, probably eleven or twelve, where my dad took my sister and I to a Detroit Tigers baseball game, leaving my mom alone. At the time, I can remember thinking how sad she must have been, that her whole family was abandoning her on the most special of all days and how she must have spent the afternoon waiting by the window for us to return.

And then I became a mom myself, and I imagine now that the second our car rolled out of the driveway she was doing a little happy dance in the living room. It was probably the best damn Mother's Day she'd had in the history of ever.

On Friday, my in-laws came and scooped up Anna for a day of Costco shopping and visiting relatives in Grand Rapids. All week, I had been planning in my head what I was going to do with my temporary freedom, and it mostly involved a Starbucks run and a glorious, peaceful, toddler-free trip to Target where I meandered through the aisles and stocked up on Easter basket goodies. The only bad thing? The part where I had to pay for all the fun stuff I had blissfully thrown in my cart.

As if the day couldn't get better, my Target adventure was followed by a sushi lunch date with Mike. We sat at the bar, conversed like real grown-ups, and didn't have to stop our conversation twenty times to pick food up off the floor or flag the waitress over to bring us some more milk or more napkins. It was glorious.

And I swear to you, the rest of the weekend played out like that children's book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie", because it seems those few precious hours of Anna-free time were just what I needed. I finally cleaned and organized the toys that were threatening to take over our living room. I swept and mopped every floor in our house. I washed windows. Heck, I even painted my toenails. The next morning, I cleaned and vacuumed out my car. I was on fire, and all it had taken was a soy latte, that red bullseye, and some wasabi.

Sometimes, as a stay-at-home-mom, I don't feel entitled to take days off. It's so hard to remember that even though I'm not on a payroll or punching a clock, I so need those mental health days to decompress and drink coffee alone and try on twenty things without a two-year-old trying to escape the dressing room.

All my cleaning and toe-nail polishing was followed up with a visit to meet my dear friend's baby and a trip to my parents' house to celebrate Easter. We ate cheesy potatoes, eggs benedict, and lots of chocolate, and finished the day with an egg hunt out in the yard.

This is what the mullet looks like first thing in the morning.

"No pictures!"

Ready to hunt.

My Aunt Janet is the master of the egg hunt.

I hope everyone's weekend was as awesome as ours, even if you didn't get to go to Target.

This afternoon, we embark on a trip down to Florida - Mike is fishing with his brother, and Anna, my mom and I are heading down to visit my sister. I'm looking forward to the beach and the sun. And maybe even giving my mom an afternoon or two off so she can go to Target!

Happy Tuesday!

Nap Time, I Thought We Were Cool

I think that Mike and I are dealing with a little Post-Traumatic Stress when it comes to Anna's sleeping habits. I mean, the kid has been slumbering twelve to thirteen hours a night in her own crib for more than a year, and I swear to you the one night she happens to wake up we both get all twitchy and angry and totally revert to our sleep-deprived maniacal selves. That's the way we functioned the entire first year of her life, because girlfriend was not what is known as the kind of baby who, well, sleeps like a baby. Or, rather, maybe she was, and the person who came up with that expression is a huge jackass.

I've been noticing lately lots of pictures of kids popping up on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram sleeping in totally random places - sacked out in front of their blocks, curled up with the family dog, sawing logs in their high chair - and I find myself chuckling and feeling just the tiniest bit jealous. Because there is no chance in hell that Anna would EVER fall asleep anywhere but in a moving vehicle, someone's arms, or her crib. And while we've come leaps and bounds since her first year, (despite her lack of spontaneous nodding off) there have been some changes 'round here in her sleeping patterns, and they've got me quaking in my boots.

The rarest of all Anna sightings - spontaneous sleeping!

I am starting to fear that Anna is coming to the end of napping days. It hurts almost to type it. Nap time - those treasured two or three hours every day when I can pop open a bottle of pinot and catch up on reality TV (ha)- seems to be disappearing. I put Anna in her crib, and no joke, two hours later she will still be in there laughing and singing and talking to her toys. She's not crying or complaining - she's genuinely having fun. As I type this I can hear her calling to Super Grover to bring her a sandwich. Some days she finally seems to give up and go to sleep, but by then it's pretty much the time she's supposed to be waking up, and her whole schedule gets out of whack. Other days, she fights it and I relent and go get her. At first, on the days she would miss her nap, come six o'clock she would be a walking little terror. But lately I've noticed that missing her nap doesn't seem to throw her off as much as it used to, and she goes to sleep at night much faster and easier. Is this how it all ends? Please say it ain't so!

Two smaller things have been happening, but none so life-altering as the loss of the nap. First, Anna has rediscovered sleeping with her mama and dada. It started one of those twitchy nights when she woke up for some reason or another, and instead of putting in the work to rock her or sing to her or rub her back while she went back to sleep, I simply scooped her up and brought her into our bed. As I was doing I thought to myself, "Oh, this could be trouble!" But then we all snuggled up and slept wonderfully and that was that. Until two nights later, when she was up again. This time, I was more determined (less lazy?), but Anna had other plans. Immediately she was asking, "Sleep in dada's bed?" Well played, kid. So far, it hasn't been too much of a problem - she's probably been joining us about once a week, and both Mike and I sort of like having her around. She did sleep with us the entire first year of her life, after all. The girl knows how to get what she wants, though, and we have created a (snuggle) monster. I submit the following photo as evidence:

She somehow convinced my sister to share a twin bed with her...

The last thing is much less dramatic, although it definitely has the possibility to be, well, messier. Several mornings a week I open Anna's door to find a small pile on the floor consisting of pajamas and a diaper. And a naked, bouncy toddler grinning up at me. So far, no accidents, but who knows how long that luck will last. The girl wants to be naked, I guess.

Who can blame her, really?

All is quiet in her room now, which means that she'll probably be asleep until dinner. So I best be gettin' my drink on. Or, you  know, folding some laundry.

Parents - when did your kids drop their naps? Am I fooling myself in thinking this might just be a phase? And any tips for keeping my baby clothed (and her crib free of poop)?? 

Huge Elmo, Pie, and a Baby Shower

Well. Would you look at that? The month of February is basically over, and it turns out I've been kind of a slacker in the blogging department.

Truth is, it hasn't been too exciting of a month. But in a good way, I suppose. We did take Anna to see Sesame Street Live ("Elmo is huge! On the stage!") and we did have some fun celebrating Valentine's Day (with delicious pie, how else?). Of course I didn't really document either of those things, but lucky for me my good friend Alexia did, so if you're so inclined you can check it out here and here. (She's eight months pregnant, so I'm not really sure what my excuse is, but I'm thankful she's a lot more on the ball than I am!)

Mike and I also escaped for a little weekend adventure (baby free!) up to Traverse City. Kristin and Drew were up there for the Special Olympics, and we had lots of fun exploring and hiking and taking in all the festivities. It was quick, but so nice to get away without Anna for a couple of days.

Probably the biggest excitement in February was a baby shower we threw for my oldest friend Caitlin. (When I say oldest, I mean that we have been friends since we were in our mama's bellies - not that she is old!) And seeing that her sweet baby girl arrived on Saturday, I suppose I could share some pictures from the party.

I'd never really been involved in throwing a baby shower before, but I have to admit it was a ton of fun. Of course Pinterest played a huge part in many of the ideas we used (did you expect anything else?), but the whole day was such a lovely celebration of Caitlin and Doug and the new life they are bringing into the world.

For the life of me, I could not blur out the address using Photoshop. Paint for the win!
Invitations from Etsy.

We played a fun game with everyone's baby photos

Favors - here is the original link for the DIY instructions

We all signed a copy of Caitlin's favorite book when she was a baby

The decorations were simple, but oh-so-fitting

What's a party without a little champagne?

Delicious cookies from Caitlin's aunt and uncle's bakery - Johnny B's Cookies

The parents-to-be

Womb Sisters!

One of the ladies made these sweet buttons for everyone to wear - little Caitlin and Leslie were so cute!

Now all that's left is a trip to Chicago so I can squeeze baby Madeline in person!


I hope everyone has had a wonderful, er, month. Here's to March - I'm ready for some sunshine!

What has filled your February?