RIP Naps

I'm not sure how it happened exactly. I didn't really see it coming to be honest.  It was a slow slide. And then all of a sudden it was here.

Life without naps.

(An actual picture of one of Levi’s last naps...taken under the door with my phone. I wanted to know if he fell asleep but I didn’t want to open the door.)

And to be completely honest I'm not sure I like this nap-less life.

Sure its great that my schedule is so much more flexible. Afternoon play date? Sure! Stay at the beach all day? Of course! Quick trip to the grocery store before school pick up? I mean sure I could do that. I don't but I could. So much flexibility.

Sounds good in theory. But the reality is that I have a very whiney needy three year old boy on my hands ALL OF THE TIME! But at the same time I can not for the life of me get him to nap. And when he does nap he stays up WAY WAY past his bedtime. Such a catch 22. The proverbial rock and a hard place. I'm there.

Send help.

Okay its not THAT bad. He's awfully cute too.  But I am struggling with parenting this perpetually slightly overly tired three year old. I know its a phase. It won't last forever. But for now I miss naps. And cribs that contain napping children.

Saying Goodbye

Tonight we said goodbye to our residency home. The plan was to have a “picnic” in the empty house and reminisce together. However reality is that moving is exhausting. Change is hard. The kids were crabby. And we were all short on patience and kind words. It wasn't exactly the storybook ending I was hoping for. Charlotte did manage to muster up some final words about the house, “I’m glad we got to grow up here”. And with that we called it quits.

Because going from this: 

To this:

Is only magical and easy in pictures. The actual process is somewhat painful and slow when moving with four kids in tow (and a husband that is working seemingly endless hours). I may or may not have thrown an adult sized fit in middle of this entire crazy process. After which I texted my husband and apologized like the mature 34 year old I am. But I also told him I am NEVER moving us again without movers. This is our eleventh move in (almost) 15 years of marriage. I’m done moving. I mean it.

Except I’m not actually done moving. This was just stage 1 of our end of residency move. Currently we are residing in a furnished rental home until the end of residency. We are all adjusting. Including Frankie the tortoise.

In two months (or sooner depending on our house buying process) we will move to East Texas for Joe’s post-residency job. His first big boy job:) But that move HAS to be easier, right? I mean 90% of our stuff is packed and in pods just waiting for our next home. Unloading and unpacking HAS to be better than packing and loading. It just has to be. Because this move was pure torture. Physically and emotionally.

ERx2

Just when I thought we were finally recovering from all the sickness and trips to the doctor Monday happened. A day in which I took two kids to the ER for two separate emergency visits. That was two too many visits for my liking!

The ONLY good part of these ER visits was we got to see daddy on a day that we otherwise wouldn’t have seen him until bedtime. Gotta count your blessings where we can find them! And really Joe and his colleagues took such good care of us. 

Here’s the synopsis of how it all went down. All three big kids went off to school like normal. Mid morning I got a call that Isaiah was having sharp chest pain with breathing. After a few calls/texts between me, Joe and the kids’ pediatrician,  Levi and I went to get him. The three of us went to the ER. Ultrasound revealed an infected but otherwise normal lung. Thank goodness. We head home. Levi, Isaiah and I pick up the girls from school. Back at home I’m starting an early dinner (because Charlotte has dance) and I call the big kids into the kitchen to work on homework. Charlotte makes an extra running lap around the coffee table. She slips and busts her chin open. After a few crazy texts and pictures to Joe we head back into the ER. Me, Charlotte, Isaiah, Hannah & Levi. Mind you the hospital is under construction so the closest parking I could find was on the opposite side of the hospital so we got to parade through the entire hospital before reaching the ER. Just me and my entourage. Charlotte mercifully has stopped screaming “I’m dying! I’m bleeding. Call 911! I’m dying...” by this point. 

And no one did in fact die. We survived. It kicked my butt. But we survived. Oh and I never did make that dinner. We ate McDonalds in the van:)

A South Texas Easter

For the past two weeks I’ve had a sick kid and I’ve been mostly house-bound due to that. So it felt extra good to get out and celebrate Easter...South Texas style:)

Outside egg hunt with residency friends a couple days before Easter. 

Unfortunately Isaiah was still sick this day and missed the egg hunt. Thankfully his dad was off work that day and able to stay home with him. 

Lightweight summery clothing on Easter Day. No snow boots or tights or even cardigans necessary! Minnesota got lots of snow for Easter this year. 

Hannah wore my Easter dress from childhood. So I present Easter 1988 and Easter 2018: 

She was definitely cuter in it than me! Unfortunately due to sick kids and being stuck at home I never made it to the store to buy Easter hats for me girls. That would have really completed the look!

Cascarones! 

These confetti filled eggs are a Mexican tradition. One that brings good luck;) I was intending to buy some for our last South Texas Easter but then...sickness. There were a lot of things I was going to do for Easter that just didn’t happen. But then these cascarones found us! They were the table decorations at our Easter potluck with Joe’s grandparents at their RV park. My kids happily collected them after lunch and smashed them on each others’ heads outside! It was fun. I’m glad we snuck this tradition in this year! 

Lastly we spent the rest of Easter swimming and hanging out with the great grandparents at the RV park. 

All in all (despite the sickness) it was a great Easter. I’m always grateful when Joe has a holiday off. Being together as a family is wonderful and not a guarantee around here. We take it when we can and don’t take it for granted. 

And now I’ll end with this adorable Easter bunny picture. Of 3 out of 4 of my kids...because sickness. 

We ran into him at Walmart after our egg hunt while I was buying stuff to fill their Easter baskets. Discretely buying candy and small presents for your kids with your kids...I don’t recommend it! But it was the best I could do. Back to the Easter bunny. It was completely unplanned. But my kids were so excited to see him (and his candy!). They ran from the register for a picture and I followed them...without paying for my full cart. Oops! But it kinda perfectly summed up our Easter this year. Typically I make plans and we visit the Easter bunny. Typically I also buy my kids’ Easter basket stuffings early and without them. This year was anything but typical. But it was still lovely. We were together. And our Savior is still Risen.