Big hair

I came home to this today....

Thanks Shannon.

Bells

We had to run to the ER yesterday. Good times. She came inside from playtime and dropped on the floor screaming so her teacher called me and I picked her right up. We had to wait and pick up Hannah before we left for the hospital. Luckily we got there just before a bunch of people came in and the doctor was super cool and just checked on her while we were in the triage room. Her ear isn't ruptured, I thought it might have since lat time she started screaming out of the blue about her ear that was the problem. The doctor told me her ear does not look normal but to hold off on the antibiotics until tomorrow and see if the pain goes away with just some Tylenol. She hasn't had a temperature so it might just be the last stages of one. Who knows...What I also don't know...the number of times we've seen the doctor these past 3 months.

On a good note...the trip only took us 3 hours! Record timing!!! It's just an hour to get there one way and we ate after we were discharged. Highlight of my day...

The girls and me

We take the greatest pictures....

HAHA!

She figured it out!

 I'm too cheap to buy a gate for the bottom step.  I need to start teaching her how to get down.

 Rock Star Bells...who doesn't play a fake guitar in a silk dress...

 Madison is just look too "old" again.

There is a light!

I am so done with kids being ill.  Holy cow...Abs has had a cough since December.  Since then she has had 2 ear infections, a cold/flu with a fever, virus that lingered FOREVER and the latest, she's possibly allergic to dairy milk!  Yes, that was no fun getting blood drawn from her chubby arms one week ago.  He should have just done the finger prick in the first place but instead, he tried drawing blood from her arm 3 times!!!!  I was so mad!!!!  I wanted to cry and scream at him.  My poor Abs, she was screaming and just kept looking at me like with the "why" face.  I laughed when she kicked him in the chin and in the groin area.  I have since then taken her off dairy milk and she no longer has a eczema rash and isn't itching like crazy.  She also has kept down food.  Last Sunday...my house was a big puke bowl....wait..it just was NOT a great day in general.

Bells has been battling a cough and we found out last Friday it was in fact pneumonia.  YAY!  Really, I was so happy about it.  Finally an antibiotic and this cough/puke/high fever (104.7) could go away.  She is no longer coughing, she is eating once again...she lost 3 pounds while she was sick...and she's back to sassy, tornado Bells.

Madison and Hannah have luckily not had anything too major.  Madison was "sick" but it was really because of the school situation.  Yesterday Shannon took in a letter of her with drawl from the school.  I haven't heard back...surprise surprise.  So we've been slowly getting into the home school routine.  It was odd when she went on her school website and there was an apology message from one of the girls wanting her to come back.  In my dream world, the teacher would realize she has been a b**** to Madison and she would apologize that she was wrong...but I know that won't happen.  Oh...best part of this whole ordeal...the main girl getting Madison in trouble came up to Hannah and asked her where she was.  Hannah told her she wasn't here....I had told Hannah not to say anything.  Hannah being Hannah though did ask her why she would tell Madison off all the time.  She responded, "I had to, otherwise my mum would take away my pocket money."  Seriously???!!!!  Now Hannah would not make that up...we don't even use that expression.  The whole thing is just messed up and I find it funny that it all kind of started when I said no to a favor.  Apparently, I need to bend over backwards for people...it's ok...I'm only living in a foreign country with 4 kids alone since my husband is stationed somewhere else.  I really am not that busy.  (It's called sarcasm if you didn't get it.)  I mean there is a chance the story is all wrong but knowing this lady...my chances of it being true are more realistic.

But I'm over it.  Life has moved on and I'm finally getting to sleep more than an hour during the night.  I think my body is finally realizing I'm sleep deprived...I just can't stop yawning today.  Besides...this whole thing has helped me want to just get out of here already...I'm ready for some warm weather!!!

Girls

I've had a couple moments these past few days I didn't know if I wanted to scream of cry...good thing they are so darn cute...I was ready to ship them to Grandma Nancy's.

Long distance love

I love Dan. He always has a way of making me laugh...like yesterday...while we were skyping he told me he missed me so much he had to show me something...

So he flipped the web cam to his screen and there is a picture of me in my wedding dress as his wallpaper on his monitor...he had shrunk my face on skype to fit over head in the picture...so apparently it was like I was there...talking to him...in my wedding dress.

I love that man.  I still giggle thinking about it.

I never thought I would

I'm going to home school Madison. It's a long story...I really don't want to say too much other than that...I could go on and on...but basically my little girl no longer wants to go to school because she is terrified of her teacher. That isn't right and after trying to talk to her teacher about what was going on, I was getting the "teacher" lecture from her that basically she's right and I'm wrong since she's "investigated" with her "credible resources" and Madison is a liar and bully. I believe my credible resource, my daughter, who I can tell when she's lying about something...that she's not and the fact the teacher was quoting things Madison "says"...I realized she is so wrong. Madison has come home and told me so and so called her this...I ask if she told on them...she said no or I tried, but the teacher didn't believe me...she said I called her it. I don't know...but I'm pretty open with my kids...and we have a pretty tight relationship. I have never heard my daughter say the phrases she said she used and we don't say "idiot" in our house. The only time I can imagine Madison saying it would be in a situation where someone called her it and she'd say, "I'm not an idiot." I am not going to have her stress out over this old lady who is horrible. I don't call too many people that...she is one of them. What I find so maddening about this whole situation is the other kid involved is KNOWN for making trouble. Madison has always been an excellent student and gets along with everyone and has never been in any kind of trouble. The only thing I've heard is she is giggly. I've told her to stay away from this kid...the kid follows her on the play ground AND the teacher has them in the same groups in class. LAME! Madison already has enough stress in her life for an 8 year old...her dad is away for a year, she's moving from a place that is her home...ummm...yeah...I will suck it up and remember never to say never....

It did feel pretty good when I told the teacher that this is the first time Madison has ever hated coming to school. She hates her class. And she most likely won't be returning but I will have to talk to her father before I formally pull her out. I had been stressing about meeting her...it took 4 days to get to talk to her since she didn't realize I wanted to meet with her. Seriously...I left a message...I need to talk to you about Madison being put in the red book. I felt that was pretty clear.

Life

Abs and Bells have been very sick. High fevers, coughing, throwing up and snot have been a part of my life for far too long. I want them to be healthy again. The past 5 days we've done a lot of sitting on the sofa watching Winnie the Pooh.

I'm a vegetarian

Hannah has stated she is a vegetarian.  It went something like this:

"I'm a vegetarian except I can eat bacon, hot dogs and eggs."

I seem to remember this conversation a long time ago...except I was the vegetarian and my exception was Taco Bell...

Planning

I was so excited to talk to Dan today....it had been 2 days since we had been able to Skype.  We were talking about how he looks forward to being back together as a family and I think it's great that he is getting 45 days off after he PCS from his current job but I was not looking forward to having all this time and living out of a suit case.  So we were talking about it and what he wants to do but then he mentioned he wanted to see the Grand Canyon.  First off, I CANNOT believe he has not seen it or the Arches in Utah or Yellowstone...it is just crazy to me!!!  And so we're going to do a big family road trip...just the six of us!  I'm so excited!  He also mentioned how he would like to stop in Utah to see my sisters...yes Christina and Nicole...feel special.  Perhaps an Oregon Coast trip as well and of course some rafting down the Rogue River and he wants to go fishing with his dad.  I'm beyond excited we're not staying in Southern Oregon the whole time and he wants to go out and see things.  And so while I should be looking at what I'm going to do about home schooling my Madison....that is another post in itself....I am looking up possible places we should go.  YAY!  I'm so looking forward to this...5 months!!!     

Happy 1st Birthday Abs!

I'm not really in the mood to arrange these in order.  I have been trying to upload them since her birthday on the 28th!  Blogger has not been liking me lately...

So we had a quiet birthday.  Poor girl was ill on her birthday...she's been sick since the beginning of December...she's still sick and we're in the middle of February.  Madison, Hannah and Shannon decorated....she loved all the balloons.  My favorite was the fact that Madison and Hannah drew on several of the balloons...some of them were HILARIOUS! The girl loves Winnie the Pooh...so naturally the girls picked out that cake.  That is why she's crying in the cake picture...she wanted to hold him.  Luckily, after we started to sing, she was happy once again.  Love this girl!  She is such a joy to  have in our home...Dan and I are pretty lucky we were blessed with yet another beautiful, smart, funny, strong willed girl.  (3 apparently wasn't enough....)

Snow!

It has been sooo sooo cold here the past few days.  It started snowing this evening.  The girls were excited.  I'm just happy I washed my car and cleaned it out yesterday.  I had let it just go...it was the worst I've ever seen it.  Oh this weather...wait...the school car park...it is killing my poor car.