You've got to be kidding me!

The moment I think we are finally healthy and free from sickness the bomb is dropped! Sunday morning I took Eli into the clinic to treat Pink Eye. Within one day Barrett, Eliana and me all came down with a nasty cold. Runny nose, cough, sneezing. Barrett and I are the only ones with fevers. Today Tristan comes down with the cold and he is a PILL when he gets sick. I put them to bed around 8pm and Tristan started crying at 9:30. I checked on him and he couldn't breathe from congestion. He refused to take his medicine. After two days of dealing with grouchy defiant kids my patience level is very low. I pulled him out of bed and brought him into my room only to discover he has pink eye too. Thankfully, Eliana does very well when I put the ointment in her eyes. Tristan is another story completely. I told him I was getting it into his eyes whether he liked it or not. He had the choice of the easy way or the hard way. After several minutes of arguing I jumped on top of him and told him I was doing it the hard way. He screamed and said "easy way, easy way." In the middle of his tantrum Barrett wakes up for the third time since I laid him down. I had to hurry and wash my hands but by the time I got to him Grandma Elaine had already gotten up to tend him. Finally after 20 mins of battling Tristan I get some (little) into his eyes. I REALLY hope it is not that hard 4 times a day to get this stuff in his eyes.

I took a 2 hour nap today and I feel like I couldn't even enjoy it. If I were feeling normal a nap would have been energizing. But I woke up feeling awful with a 101 fever, same as when I laid down. Now Elaine is getting sick too. The only one left is Soren and since the babies share everything from food to toys to mom, he is bound to get sick too.

Our household has been plagued with sickness for 3 months. I have had brief moments of feeling better. I wish a miracle would happen and everyone would be 100% in the morning so I can send them off to school. Well, I am sure someone out there in the world is having a harder time than me. I can only do my best to keep my cool, take care of everyone and pray we will all recover fast.

Goodnight

Eliana's 5th Birthday

Preparing for Eliana's birthday was fun and exhausting. Her costume Grandma made this year was awesome. She wants to wear it all the time. There wasn't a set theme this time. She was a Renaissance princess and Tristan a Knight in shinning armor. Her cake was a flower garden. One of my good friends Lynnea Weller came over and did a 30 minute balloon twisting show. Her balloon flower basket was the best! She made all the kids wands and swords and told fun stories. Afterwards we had the kids ride on stick ponies and jousted there wands and swords into balloon hoops around the room. I made crackers, cheese and ham (homemade lunchables), a fruit tray and hot dogs for refreshments. I had a little fiasco with lighting the candles on the cake. I had locked the door to the office so little ones wouldn't get into things. When I couldn't find my lighter or matches to light the candles we tried to get one out of the office but then realized that the key to unlock the door was in the office along with the micro screw drivers. I couldn't find anything to unlock the door or light the candles. My friend Jill ran next door to get a lighter as the kids were getting impatient. It was well worth the effort to light the candles. It took her 5 blows to get all 5 candles out. Opening the presents is always interesting with a room full of kids. I would have preferred to not open them at the party but the other kids would have been disappointed.





All in all it was a great party. The cake was the cutest and easiest I have made so far. Thankfully there is a whole year before I have to do another party for her!

No sleep for mom

So the ONE night the babies decide to sleep through the night I get up with Eliana. She was fussing around 2am then at 4am she started to cry. She had an ear ache and said she heard a noise in her ear and she had a runny nose. My kids are not prone to ear infections. I have her some Motrin and milk. She said it got better but she still heard the noise. She couldn't get back to sleep and came in my bed around 5am. I refused to let her turn on the TV but I gave in about 6am after the 50th time she woke me up to ask. My alarm was set for 6:15 to get her ready for school anyway.

Tristan...what to do about Tristan? I checked on him at 2am to get him up to pee and he had already had an accident. I have had friends tell me that their son was doing great then started wetting the bed. I have to seriously look into my options because I can not keep washing his bedding everyday and give him another bath every morning. Plus it is hurting his self confidence. A while back I paid for a 3-day potty training program. I am going to dig up my account info on that and get in touch with that lady to see if she has any helpful info. I am open to ANY advice that may be out there. Thanks!

Crazy days

This past week has been hectic. Eliana's birthday party is this Sat and so I am anxiously getting everything in order. I had a massive amount of laundry to do. One day I had 6 loads of laundry on my couch. You would think there wouldn't be anything left in our closets! Tristan has been wetting the bed almost every night...AHHHH!! I refuse to go back into pull-ups so I am constantly washing sheets. A couple days ago I told him I was going to start waking him up in the night and make him pee. He wasn't too thrilled with that idea. However, this morning when he woke up wet he blamed me and said " Mom, its all your fault! You forgot to get me up in the night to pee." So tonight I will get up with my automatic alarm clocks (babies) and make Tristan go potty.

Chris' mom Elaine arrives tomorrow for a visit from Alaska. We are all very excited for her stay. I have made arrangements for her to be in Eli's classroom on Tuesday to read a book about Alaska and she has post cards and stickers for all the kids. Then she is eating lunch with Eli at school. I still need to arrange the same thing at Tristan's school. I am going to swamp her as soon as she gets here. Friday night I will be doing last minute stuff for the party. Saturday will be crazy busy! Eli's party is 11-1pm then we will kick everyone out and I will clean up while babies and grandma take a nap. Then we are off to the church fall festival for chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat then back home to put the kids in bed and then I am off to a neighborhood Halloween party with some friends.

Well, it is 10:15 and I still need to wash bottles and sweep and mop the floors before bed. I am posting some recent pics of the kids.

Strength

I was watching an episode of the Unit tonight on the computer because my TV didn't record it at the right time. Anyway, at the end of the episode Kim says to her husband "I'm not strong enough. What do you do when you're not strong enough?" reply "You act as if you are." This really hit home with me. When ever I run out of confidence, I put on a brave face and pretend that I can do anything. I think most people live this way. At least people who want to have successful lives...most the people I know. It helps that I am surrounded by friends and family who love and support us. My strength stems from my faith in Heavenly Father and my husband who never lets a day go by without making sure I know he loves me.

SMILE-Spiritually Minded Is Life Eternal. So my intention with this post is to exude optimism. Don't let life's trials get you down.

Splash Mountain

"Come on Tristan...lets go on a roller coaster ride, Splash Mountain!"

WHO ME??

This picture just makes me laugh!

Barrett is crawling!

Barrett has been working on crawling for several weeks now. The other night he made it all the way across the kids room but he did a lot of belly flopping. Today we were at the soft play in the Savannah Mall and he crawled about 5 feet without falling. He was concentrating so hard on his coordination. Now I have to be careful about leaving him unattended for any amount of time.

LOST!

Yes, I have been lost in the chaos of my life. Exhaustion has taken over me and I have had zero motivation to get things done once I get the kids in bed and unfortunately that is the only opportunity to get things done. SO...nothing gets done. Was that a run on sentence? :)

I feel like I have jipped Soren on documenting his happenings. He now has 3 almost 4 teeth and has truly found his screaming voice just like his sister. Last time in Relief Society I almost had to take Barrett out for laughing for 20 minutes straight. It was the most hilarious thing ever and I know it was distracting for the teacher but everyone thought it was just too cute to stop. I should have taken him out but I was the adoring mom that couldn't help but love the sound of his laugh and hated to make him stop. Today Soren was my screamer in RS. He wasn't mad or upset, it is just how he voices himself. He would pipe in just as the teacher asked a question and everyone would laugh and say, yeah, Soren hit it on the nose! Thankfully they haven't become momma only boys and they let others hold them happily. I have to say that I look forward to Sundays because I have several people who come and confiscate my babies then I can send the kids off to nursery and primary for 2 hours!! One day I just wondered the halls and marveled in the quiet moment.

Both babies are very close to crawling. I would say that Barrett is there but he can't get that far yet. Soren gets caught up on his leg. Really, I haven't been pushing them because I know it will mean more effort on my part to keep up with them. I have to hurry and get the gate on Eli and Tristan's door.

I was worried again about Barrett's teeth. This one stumped the dentist but he said it doesn't look concerning and to just keep an eye on it. As you can see in the picture his very first tooth that came in perfectly normal has gotten closer and closer to the outside and the gums have thinned out and receded down to expose his whole tooth. It doesn't seem to bother him...yet.

Eliana is about to drive me crazy! I just can't stand her noise level. She is always screaming. It makes me wonder if she needs another hearing test...lol. I can tell she is bringing home attitudes she picks up at school. I have dealt with a few tantrums that are too exhausting to talk about. Tristan is adorable and nerve racking all in the same minute. He steals cookies and hides underneath the kid table. Tonight after I tucked him and and was having prayers with Eliana I saw him sneak out of the room and come back looking totally guilty. I kept asking what he did and the reply was "nothing!" After I went into the kitchen I saw his misdeed as I noticed a big chunk of cheese was missing off of the brick I hadn't put away yet. He loves to use those chompers!

Eliana and Tristan got their costumes that Grandma Elaine made this year. Eli is a Renaissance Princess and Tristan is a knight in shinning armor. She really out did herself again. Eli has practically been living in her dress since she got it. Tristan loves his armor and they role play for hours. The babies are going to be Ducks but Grandma is still working on those.

Eliana's birthday party is on the 25th. I can't believe she will be 5! Here is a copy of the invitation. Simple but pretty.

Well, I told myself that I was going to bed soon after I got the kids in bed. I just had to post since it has been so long.

WOW!! 100 posts P.S. Sickness has struck once again.

I can't believe it. I have posted 100 times. Thanks to all of my friends that check in on me. I have really enjoyed posting and using this as a journaling tool (since I never journal.) Loves to all of you!

OK I am SO tired of our household being sick. Ever since school started we have had some kind of sickness. Last night I stayed up late cleaning because a friend was coming over to watch the babies. The house looked spotless (other than dusting:) I finally laid my head down at midnight and literally seconds later Tristan started crying. I checked on him and he was burning up with 104 temp. I gave him Motrin and laid with him for a little bit. The babies started to cry and fuss. Soren was having a hard time staying asleep. Between all the kids I laid back down in my bed around 2am. Then at 3am Tristan started crying again. As soon as I opened the door he looked like he was going to throw up. I ran to him and picked him up so he would throw up on me and not all over his room. Sure enough it was all over me as I carried him to my bathroom. I kept him in bed with me and 15 mins later Barrett woke up. I sat on the couch and gave him a bottle then went back to bed with Tristan. He was still hot with 101 fever. He was too tired to take meds. Soren was up at 5am and wouldn't settle back to sleep but I knew he was still tired. I put him in the swing with baby einstein and slept for 45 mins till Eli had to get up for school. At that time I was able to give Tristan some tylenol. Soon after, everyone was up. Babies are now playing on the floor and Tristan is watching TV in my bed. I am thinking I will be totally exhausted today. maybe its good I cleaned last night so today I can just sit on my butt.

I was going to Eli's classroom to colunteer but I can't go now. I hope and PRAY that the babies don't get what Tristan has. I think I am going to ask my home teachers for some blessings.

Just TOO funny!

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Stuff, stuff and more stuff

I have been neglecting my blog lately. We have ALL been sick for 3 weeks now. Eliana brought it home from school. I have had it the worst. I guess better me than one of the kids but this is just down right miserable! I cant kick this cough and post nasal drip. Fun times in the Damato household.

So, I bought a new desk off of craigslist. I was nervous about the purchase because I had to borrow a trailer and drive an hour away to Statesboro. I thought I was SO prepared and brought blankets and ratchet straps. I guess I should have made sure I knew how to use the ratchet straps before I left the house. I felt like an idiot! I had 3 heavy duty straps and couldn't use them. Thankfully this guy had some thin rope I could use. He wasn't much help at all. Not what you would call a handyman. You should have seen me back the trailer up his long driveway. Lets just say it took me several attempts to get it right. At least I didn't run into anything. It took a whole hour for me to get out of there and back on the road. Over all I think it turned out great! I love our new desk and I got it for $250.

That night a good friend offered to come over and watch the kids so I could escape. It was awesome to be able to go out and know the kids were in good hands. The girls and I had a great time laughin' it up at dinner and then watched the Dark Knight. (AWESOME MOVIE!!) I got home around 10:45 and I wasn't very tired. It is amazing how tired I get from my nightly routine with the kids from 5-bedtime. I could feel a huge difference just by going out one night. I should have just gone to bed but I decided to put this desk together and tackle the computer. I was a little intimidated about taking the whole computer apart and then hoping to get it all back in working order. The next morning I was patting myself on the back until I realized that I didn't have Internet. What did I do wrong. The next day I was on the phone with comcast hoping they would enlighten me of my mishap and sure enough after his first question I knew what I did wrong. I had taken the splitter off and didn't have the modem connected. Simple fix and now everything is up and running.

When a woman is without a man she has to step up and tackle the manly jobs in hopes that she doesn't screw up! Yes that would be me. Thankfully the percentage of screw ups is relatively low:)

Well, I am off to watch Prison Break.

Volunteering in Eli's classroom

Today was my first day as a volunteer mom...ever! I was probably more excited than Eliana was. I was there during Center time, which is like free time to explore the classroom. When I got there Eliana was painting on a big easel. She painted her name on top then painted clouds and flowers. I was very impressed. Eliana introduced me to her friends as they came to see me. They were all so sweet. We read books, played in the kitchen and put stickers on each other. Then I was able to go outside with them while they played on the playground for a bit. I loved being able to watch Eliana interact with other kids and see how she socializes. Mrs. Drescher says Eliana is a little shy but very obedient, sweet and bright. It helps that she is one of the older kids in the classroom so she is at an advantage. I look forward to volunteering as often as I can. I have to thank my best friend Kayleen for always being willing to help out with my little ones. Her kids Zach, Jacob and McKenzie are great friends with my two.

I look forward to many years as a volunteer mom.

Scrunchy Faces!

It is wild how Barrett can go from looking like a perfect angel to a crazy baby within seconds. When he gets really excited he smiles with his whole body. He starts to wiggle and his face scrunches up. It is hilarious to me. Soren opens his mouth wide and puckers in his lips like an old man with no teeth. I couldn't get a good picture of it but these are just as silly. My boys...one minute they are cute and cuddly adorable little creatures then they turn into wild, crazy faced babies. Gotta love them for it. They make me smile all day long.

Finally Soren has his first tooth!

Soren is now 8 1/2 months old and finally has his first bottom left tooth. IT really caught be off guard. I guess it's because he never lets me look in his mouth. I am guessing his other 3 teeth will come in fast now. They are all a little swollen. I was wondering what was wrong with him because he has been waking up more in the night just crying. I thought he might be getting this sickness that I have but I am much happier that it was just teething. Barrett still has that Eruption cyst on the bottom. IT has been about 6 weeks. We are just waiting it out. I am busy busy busy...gotta run.

Books from Dad

Have I mentioned that our dad is the BEST?! The kids got a package from him filled with books and a DVD of him reading to the kids. What a treat! We all loved seeing dad on the big screen and interacting with the kids. Eliana turned through all the pages as her daddy read to her. Tristan tried to keep up with where daddy was reading but had a harder time. I am going to play him every day to the babies so they will know his voice and his face when he comes home.



The USO has all these donated new/used books and the program is called United Through Reading. Chris picks the books, reads them to us then sends them our way. In turn I send him pictures and video of the kids watching and reading with dad. This is just one more way the kids can stay connected with their daddy.

What a STINK!

I feel SOOOO guilty. I have been wondering why my boys have had upset tummies and why their spit up has smelled absolutely horrid. I thought they may have had a reaction to the bull frog sun screen i loaded on them yesterday or that they might be sick. I gave them two baths yesterday because the smell was unbearable! I finally figured it out when I was sucking on the nipple to get the milk to come up from the bottle straw and got a taste of their milk. I wanted to gag right then. The formula was rotten!! I opened the can and took a whiff and almost barfed again. The smell was THAT bad. Why hadn't I figured it out 2 days ago when I opened that can of formula? I thought there reluctance to eating was from the new bottle. Then they just tolerated it all day today without a peep. I can't imagine drinking one tiny sip of what I have been feeding my babies. I use Parents Choice Sensitive from walmart. The use by date is May of 2011. I called walmart to make sure I could take it back and get a new one and to tell them they need to find out if there have been any other complaints about that lot of formula. They need to find all the formula from that lot and check a few cans to see if it is all bad. Anyway...I feel dumb that I didn't figure this out sooner. Even after two feedings of good formula their tummies are still churning. I hope they feel better soon.

Eliana threw a fit this morning when I woke her up for school. As soon as I woke her the first words she uttered were "Umf...I never get to go FIRST!" She must have said it 100 times in 30 minutes. I tried to convince her of all the things she gets to do first but I had no success. I offered to say a quick prayer with her so she will feel happy today an not worry about who is first in life. She folded her arms and listened patiently then said "I don't feel better yet!" I said that it takes a little time for moods to change. I also told her that going first isn't always the best. That doing something for the first time can be scary and it is easier to watch others do things first. AND if she always insisted on going first that she would have a hard time keeping friends because her friends would never have a chance to go first and that would make them sad. IT took about 5 minutes for her to forget about her little rant. THANKFULLY! She was driving me nutty!

Podee bottle straw

These are the best things ever! Now when I need to feed two hungry babies I can just give them the bottle straw and post on my blog like I am doing right now:) I can't wait to see how they will help my life while I am out shopping or running around. YEA!!

quibbling twins

The boys are starting to interact a little more with each other. Soren is a thief! He will reach over into Barrett's lap and take all of his toys. Because Barrett is so laid back he sits until he gets bored then flops onto his tummy for a different adventure. So today I got a little story line going with some pics.

Give me that book!


No way man...that's MY book!


Let's ditch the book and play together.

Dude! I didn't say bite me!


Lets just chill out and watch some Baby Einstein bro.

A wet nap!

We had a play date with Kayleen's kids at the pool today. Unfortunatly it was during the babies nap time. Barrett had his bottle while floating in his ladybug and crashed out. He was dragged around the pool and had screaming kids right next to him for a full hour. That baby can sleep through anything! Soren wanted nothing to do with sleep. He never wants to miss out on any fun to be had. When we got home I started dinner, bathed the babies and put them in their highchairs for sweet potatoes and turkey. (yummy baby food:)) Soren cried the entire time from exhaustion. I put him to bed at 6:45. I really hope he stays asleep through the night.