Life

Life with children is not always rainbows and unicorns. I saw a commercial tonight that said "My children were so cute as babies that I wanted to eat them up. Now that they're older, I sometimes wish I would have." Yes.

So what has my last week involved? Lots of whining. Lots of runny noses. Lots of coughing, a few fevers, and very, very little sleep for me.

Oren is a fireball and, while he's better than he was this spring, he is still sneaky and ornery as hell. He has managed to flush an apple, a pair of safety scissors, and a rubber, squirty penguin toy. It goes without saying that our toilet is having problems. Where was I when all of this happened? In the office paying bills for about 10 minutes. I know he acted alone with the apple, but I have a feeling the scissors and penguin toy were suggestions given by siblings. They have all claimed innocence, of course.

Maeve and Oren were the first two to be sick. It was a cold, but Maeve acted as though she was going to die. She wasn't quite sick enough to be quiet, but she did sit in her chair most of the day and whine about  wanting to cut off her nose. I think she sneezed three times, maybe. She was fine after that.

Oren's cold was longer. There was a lot of snot involved and a coughing spell that lasted three days and was the worst at night. He would be awake from 12-2 am and again from 4-5:30 am. We sat in the bathroom many times with the hot shower steam. I still have not recovered from the lack of sleep. I suspect I will not recover until the end of next summer when baby #4 knows that night is for sleeping.

Finn never did get a cold. Instead, he had a fever, a belly ache, and puked water. All over my bed. That was a lovely way to say good morning. He was sick for an evening and part of a morning and never sick enough to not whine. Finnegan is also great at the man moan, which, I am certain, he inherited from his father.

Oren now has a fever. I took his temperature before we left for art class and was hoping the fever would break while he napped in the car. While the boys and I were driving around during Maeve's art class so that Oren could finish his nap, we got in a car accident. Everyone is fine and there was no damage on either car. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the lady is honest and doesn't become some sort of psycho, insurance fraud kind of person. Oren's fever had climbed during his nap so we went to the doctor after art class to rule out an ear infection or strep. He has a red throat, clear ears and had a negative strep test. Sigh.