We used the camcorder for Christmas so I do not have pictures. But here is a documentary of the after-Christmas happening. These pictures were taken about noon and shortly after, Daddy started throwing up. At about 6pm, my stomach didn't feel well and by 7:30 it was my turn to empty my stomach. Matty started doing the same thing at 3am the next day. Katie had her first vomit session at 5am, and then Jojo at 10am. It was a family affair.
Here is Matty with the trike that Santa left him. He was so excited! He rode it around and around the house tirelessly.
This is Katie with Daddy (just before he got sick) while he uses the laptop. Katie didn't warm up to her grandparents until the next day.
Jojo showing off a lovely smile just for Daddy.
Matty with his Papaw lounging around watching some Noggin shows. Matty ran around until he got tired and sleepy, he would then crash on the couch and watch TV to recharge and then he was off again.
Jojo and Matty hanging out with their Nana.
We were all so happy until after lunch on the 26th and then it went downhill fast after that. I have heard some friends on the opposite coast go through the same thing and I believe it's the same bug. It spread like wild fire through us, affecting 10 people in a matter of 2 days.
The twins stopped vomiting at about 5pm last night and by the middle of the night, I they were eating pretty well. So today, with no one else vomiting, we finally packed up and headed home. We are all exhausted from dealing with this stomach flu, especially the girls.
My poor mother-in-law is now probably de-germing her whole house. Amazingly, she was the only one left standing.
hmmm, I wonder how much weight I lost? I can only hope I lost at least 5 lbs.
We are 4 hours down south spending Christmas with the in-laws. We've been here since Sunday night. Our Christmas was fun. Matty woke up to find the trike that Santa left him. Boy, he rode that thing all around the house (it was cold outside). He also enjoyed opening his sister's gifts for them.
Then the day after Christmas came and the hubby complained of queeziness after his morning coffee. He said it must have been the coffee. Noon came and he was started throwing up. Two nephews were also sick with the same thing. By early evening, my stomach felt queezy but didn't want to tell anybody because I thought it may be psychosomatic. If I ignore it, it may go away. By 7:30, I thought I'd put the girls down to bed and lie down. Shortly thereafter, I was upchucking what little I ate. I was down for the count with the hubby. It was a heaving symphony.
I left Matty with his nana and said let him stay up until he is sleepy and then bring him in our room. By 10pm, they came in to me throwing up again. Nana said it may be better if Matty stay with her in the livingroom. So of they set up a bed for him and nana, and a cousin staying for the holidays.
By 3am, I hear footsteps, and in came nana with Matty and a bowl. Oh great, another up-chucker. By 5 am, I hear someone heave. It was Katie. Thankfully by this time, me and the hubby were no longer throwing up so we break up into teams. He gets Matty, I get the girls. I move the girls in bed with me, instead of the bassinet. An hour later, there were more from Katie. I breastfeed, but she brings it all up. The hubby and I have not gotten any sleep at this point, so we break into a conversation and pray Jojo gets spared.
By 6am, we all finally fell asleep which lasted until 8:30. Matty seemed to be fine by then. Katie throws up some more. Me and the hubby take turns showering to wash off the nasty virus. We were supposed to go home today, but we decided to postpone until tomorrow. Come 10am, Jojo throws up. ARGH! Three of us are better now, but we're hoping the girls would get over this as fast as we all have.
We emerge from our bedroom to find out that Papaw has gotten this bug. The only one spared in the house is Nana.
After a few moments of quiet following our tickling fest before bed, I said, "Good night, Matty." A couple of seconds went by without a response, so I said more insistently, "Good night, Matty!".
He finally replied, "Good night, Mommy."
"I love you."
No response. "I love you, Matty." I said insistently again while I turned to face him.
Matty turned the opposite way. "Go to sleep, Mommy. Go to sleep."
Katie looks like one she's wearing one of those Egyptian headdress, doesn't it?
Jojo looking so innocent.
Everyday we start getting ready to pick up Big Bro from school at 3:30. I nurse the twins, change diapers, put them in their snugly warm carseats (thanks to the carseat sack, there's no need to change to warm clothes before we go!) and then put on their hats and mittens.
It took a little while to find a hat and mitten combo that fits, though. I found hats that fit just right, but their hands could barely fit the mittens, then the mittens fit but the hats are too big. I finally got lucky at Old Navy. Now, who gets to wear which color? The current system is whichever color comes first in the alphabet goes with Jojo and Katie gets the other. Who knows if we'll have to come up with some other system later on, but for now this works.
When I picked up my son from preschool, he ran ahead of me and opened the door to get out of the building. He opened it as wide as it could go and then pushed it closed. There was a little girl there and I saw part of her arm get hit. I was so worried, I kept asking the girl if she was OK. She didn't cry though and didn't show any pain, but she was quiet. There 3 adults right there but none of them even knew what happened until I asked if she was OK. But it seems that she was OK. I was so scared for that little girl, I started laying on Matty. I told him never to push doors closed like that because someone could get hurt.
Then he ran ahead of me to get to the car. Normally, he walks ahead of me and stays on the curb and never steps down to the parking lot. Today he did. I was seething! For the first 10-15 minutes in the car ride home, I was lecturing Matty with raised voice. OOoooh, I was so upset I called the hubby and asked him to get home earlier if he could.
After I was done, I just decided that I was not going to speak to Matty. But then he started saying sorry. "Sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean it" he said.
I had a late night last night. Last week I signed up to bring a fruit tray for Matty's school party, so last night off I went to the store at 9pm after the kids fell asleep. I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a fruit tray, but they had some very sorry looking one. They sell them for $15 and it's not much of a tray. In order to feed the 17 kids in the class, I have to buy about 3-4. Screw that. So I was just going to make my own, but then again, Wal-Mart had some sorry selection. The whole produce section looked like it was raided by the mob (it probably was). So off I went to another grocery store. I finally got home at 11pm. I had cantaloupe, grapes, apples, strawberries, mangoes. I was so tired, I enlisted my husband's help in cutting up the fruits. I also got my hubby to wrap up a book for the gift exchange.
This morning, the hubby took the fruit tray and the gift to school when he dropped of Matty. Later, I happen to look at the refrigerator and glanced at the school calendar. Doh. It's only Tuesday! The party is on Wednesday!!! I called the teacher and explained to her what happend. Thankfully, the fruit will be OK until the next day.
Poor Matty. I see him going to school wearing pajama for pajama day, only he's a day early for it. Poor kid.
We finally bought a 2nd exersaucer and it seems Big Bro is more excited about it than the twins. Here he is teaching Katie how to use one of the toys. He is turning out to be a really great big brother. He tells me when they are crying, and sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when I ask him to. And of course, the girls just eat him up especially Katie. The taste of the lollipop that he shared with her still brings a big grin on her face.
There were no runny noses and teary eyes this weekend, and certainly not fevers. So we finally made it to Sears and got our pictures taken. Suffice it to say, our Christmas photo card may be a little late, if not right on time. Sorry!
I couldn't have planned the day any better. No one had a tantrum. All three of the kiddies were great. Katie (in green) was just a grinning little princes but Jordan (in red) was a bit reserved. She gave everyone the evil eye every time the flash went off. She has an evil eye that could make a grown man cower, just like her momma. I'm so proud.
After shelling out the children's college fund to pay for the portrait orders, we went to see Santa. Matty and I waited (Daddy took the girls to walk around the mall) in line for almost an hour and I heard not a peep of whinning. When it was his turn, he ran to Santa and told him his wish list - a nice shiny bike/trike with monster tires.
We were having a leisurely dinner at Panera (very rare occurance when in public) when hell almost broke lose. Daddy up and left to go to the bathroom without telling the little boy first, and left me to fend for myself. Do I run after Matty and leave the girls behind, or do I stay and let him run after his Daddy and hope that Daddy realized what was going on? Thankfully, I was able to grab Matty before he was able to run and spared me having to make some rash decision.
You would think Matty was abandoned at the side of the street the way he was bawling when Daddy came back. With a little lovin' Matty finally quieted down.
Oh Daddy, don't you know by now that you must check with this boy first and let him know where you're going?
The boys are better, except for the residual cough with Matty. It sems that the women have been spared the flu. Halleluiah! I am hoping to get our Christmas family picture done on Sunday and hopefully I can get pictures out to friends and family before Christmas.
The girls got their 6 month shots yesterday. Poor things. On the way out of the building, a woman stopped and cooed at the twins. Then she left and got her co-workers to look. So funny. Good thing they were nice enough not to touch and poke and prod.
Creative juices are flowing just in time to get the teachers' gifts out. I'm sure Miss Meagan and Miss Sonja would be thrilled with such personalization. Now, only 7 more bags to decorate.
When I was a teenager, I tasked my grandmother what Santa Claus had to do with Christmas when Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. Being the devout Catholic that she was, she told me the story of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas came from a very wealthy family, who raised him to be a devout Christrian. When his parents died, he gave all his inheritance away to help out the poor, the needy, the sick. He loved children, and so he was especially generous to them.
This story amazed me. I didn't even know that there was such a person and that Santa was real!!
In the spirit of Christmas, we celebrate what Jesus is - the ultimate giver. And in this sense, so is St. Nicholas.
So, if you are wondering what is so Christian about Santa..here it is.
My son is now 2 years old and 9 months and has become quite adept at telling us what he feels and what is bothering him. I am quite happy at this milestone as I could see that telling us what he feels has averted quite a few tantrums. One day he was quite happy at looking at the Christmas lights in houses, but then he paused and said he was sad. I asked him why, and he said it was because there are no lights in his home. Sometimes at home, he ventures on to an empty room in the house and plays. But then he comes running in to me or his daddy, and says, "aaah, I'm scared of the monsters!" There was a time when he would do this and cry and we wouldn't know exactly why.
I've also taught him to voice out what he doesn't like, so now when he and Daddy gets to tickling way too much, he says, "Daddy, stop!! I don't like it!". On other days, I hear him talk to the bugs and say, "Lady bug, don't come in my home and eat it! I don't like it! Don't eat my home. You go outside!" LOL By the way, this technique apparently works for monters too.
Aside from the tantrums and power struggles, I really love this stage of development!
By the way, he is finally back to school today. Yesterday was the only day he didn't suffer from a fever since Thursday night. Hopefully, the flu has left our house without touching me and the twins.
In between a high temperature of 102.2 F and a low of 99.0 F, this is the Sunday night jam session brought to you by Matty himself. Matty on guitar, Mommy on baby rattle, Daddy on drums, Katie & Jojo as audiences. Rock on!
Matty didn't eat a thing at lunch at school yesterday. And his teacher told me that just about an hour before I picked him up, he started to crash. He just sat in a corner. He didn't really have a fever in the middle of the night last night, but today he did. I left his fever alone so that his body could fight off the infection, but at 102.2 F (39 C), I get a little scared. So I gave him Tylenol and put a damp hand towel on his head. That seemed to do the trick and in 20 minutes, he was up and about ready to put more Christmas decorations up.
Finally, our Christmas decorations are up! Matty is getting excited about the trike that Santa is getting him.
Since it's already dark by the time we get home from picking Matty up from pre-school, he has had great fun looking at all the Christmas lights on people's homes. One day he said excitedly, "Pretty lights!" but then he realized something and said in a sad voice, "There are no lights in my home, Mommy! No lights in my home."
So finally, here it is. You wouldn't know he was suffering from a 101.1 fever by the way he jumped up and got busy hanging decorations on the tree.
Here is Big Bro putting up decorations on the tree, with the girls as spectators.
Big Bro disappeared and the spectators got bored.
All done! Or as done as it's going to get. Big Bro got distracted by the train ornaments and went off somewhere with them. The twins got bored and started crying. All done indeed.
We don't have a lot of shots of the little man in the bath, so this is long overdue. He is always so happy at bath time, but it isn't easy to get him there! It's always, "I want to do this first and then take a bath."
He came down with a low grade fever in the middle of the night, but he is his normal difficult self this morning (with no fever) so we sent him off to school. Hopefully he stays well and doesn't come down with the flu courtesy of his dad.
We are scheduled for a family portrait on Sunday, but right now that isn't looking too good. I don't think sick kids make for a good photo.
The twins got their 3rd RSV shot this morning, and their first flu shot. Hopefully the flu shot provides some immediate protection, as we suspect Daddy's cold that took him down from Monday thru Wednesday was really the flu.
This little red sign was a gift from the makers of the RSV shot and I love it! It saves me from having to tell people not touch the girls, especially when I pick up Big Bro. Though I don't have to worry about Big Bro's class mates gathering around the stroller and touching the twins when I pick him up from pre-school, I now have to worry about adults touching them when I leave them in the hallway and I'm not around.
So the hubby finally returned to work Thursday when his fever broke. Well, what do you know... last night in the middle of the night, Matty came down with a fever. He barely slept. It was a low grade fever though. But he was up and about this morning like his usual self so we sent him to school. I'm hoping that I don't get a call in the middle of the day that he has gotten worse.
This morning I took the girls for their 3rd RSV shot and flu shot. I am hoping the flu shot kicks in fast and provide them with protection because we are now suspecting that the hubby was sick with the flu. And now Matty may be coming down with it. It terrifies me that it is indeed the flu that has intruded our house and the girls may come down with it. I can only imagine how flu would affect my preemie angels if they get it.
Don't you hate one of those? But I have to admit that I am a backseat driver myself (just ask the hubby). As it turns out, my son is too. When I picked him up from school, he said, "mommy, STOP! The light is red." I had to explain that I have to be close to the line before I could stop. Then he said, "mommy, slow down! There are cars on the road." He then looked around and started telling the other cars to slow down too. Then we were at a stop and the light turned green. We were in a long line of cars so I couldn't move right away, and what do I hear from the back? "Mommy, go, go, go! Light is green! Green is for go!"
I guess the apple does not fall from from the tree.
The hubby got sick Sunday night with fever so he has been home. His fever finally broke last night so he is finally able to return to work today. I've been doing double duty again in terms of dropping off and picking up Matthew. It's not much, but I feel so tired. I guess it's all the late nights and early wakings I had to do to get Matthew up and ready for school. Then the girls haven't been happy campers lately, waking up more than usual in the middle of the night.
The house has been a big mess ever since our trip to the in-laws for Thanksgiving. I've cleaned up the kitchen and onto to the livingroom now. So so tired. Haven't even put up any Christmas decorations yet because the house is such a horrible mess.
Matthew is even sad because we have no lights up. It is already dark when I pick him up from school so he gets to see all the lights in houses, and yesterday he said, "Pretty lights. Wow!", then he paused and said, "there is no lights in my home. No lights in my home."
Must eat something sweet to get my energy up to clean the livingroom. I'm going to crash, I just know it. And it's only 10:30 in the morning!! waaahhh
I can't control anyone. I can't even control my husband, as much as other people thinks he's "whipped". LOL The only one I can control is myself. I can't make you like me, I can't make you laugh at my bad jokes, I can't make you cry when I tell you something sad, and I can't make you feel sorry for me by telling you a sob story.
I can only control myself. I can control my emotions. I can choose to believe the worst in people, or the best in people - depending on my mood. LOL
Minti is unhappy lately and wouldn't it be nice to change it in time for Christmas? The voting down issue has not died, and it's driving some of us down. Let us remember that after we click on "Publish", the information is out there for the world to interpret and do with as it pleases. As much I think an article deserves 5 stars, you may not think so. And as much as I think an article deserves 3 stars, you may not think so either. But I won't think less of you.
My son has a built in alarm clock and this is unfortunate for me and hubby on the weekends when we want to sleep in. The little man has slept later then usual, napped later than usual, earlier than usual, and still he wakes up at the same time in the morning.
You would think a reaper with some sort of a machete is coming at him. The drama! All I wanted to do is show of his new haircut. It turns out we don't have a sasquatch (just look at the picture below, if you don't believe me) as a first born. Underneath all the hair was a handsome, mischievous, not-so-little 2-year old (who can hardly contain himself with the thought of Santa bringing him a bike for Christmas).
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(Jojo and crazy Mommy) 
The little man has slept later then usual, napped later than usual, earlier than usual, and still he wakes up at the same time in the morning. 
