Right Now, Belated

Right now, I'm...

...feeling tired. That kind of tired that only parents know... the down-to-the-bone weary that comes from lack of sleep, worry, and juggling all the moving parts that go along with having sick kiddos.
...hoping the meds, the naps, the teas, the fresh air, and the sunshine will keep working their magic on this house and get us back in our rhythm!
...realizing that in the dim light of dawn this house doesn't look so dirty! Nice.
...wondering if we'll get the chance to get out to the grocery store today, or if we'll be diving back into the freezer for dinner and going rogue for tp............ it's getting dire over here folks.
...planning the movement of the way-too-big-for-the-bathtub chicks out to the coop, and soon. Only a few more touches will make the hen house ready, and oh, am I ready to get them out of my house.
...loving the gentle rain we've had for the past few evenings and the beautiful green that's popping up in the garden! The house may be a mess, but when we're out walking between the sprouting beds in our garden, who really cares?

At the risk of 'jinxing' us all, let me just say the kids seem to be on the mend, the day seems to be promising beautiful weather, and I for one am ready to take full advantage of the upswing. We may be tired, but it feels so energizing to look out the windows at the bright warm sunshine.

Let's do this.

Happy... Tuesday!

Three

Today my Baby Bubba turns three years old. We had grand plans of celebrating this kind, laid-back little man with special foods, an outing to feed some giraffes, and some construction work with his new tools, but sadly he gets to spend his birthday with a 104.7 fever and a dry, hoarse cough.

Our poor sweet Hen, what a crummy way to kick off your third year.

The amazing thing about this guy, though, is that he'll still be just as loving and sweet, despite it all.

So we'll trade the special foods for oatmeal and he'll be just as happy. We'll swap getting out for staying in, probably piled on top of each other on the couch (Audrey's still under the weather, too), and he won't mind. We'll put off working outside until another day when he's on the mend, and that'll be OK too.

At least there's a silver lining- if not for this, there's probably no other way I'd get to spend his birthday holding him... and that's what this Mama really wants for this landmark day. Wishing he were well, but glad to hold him a little more than usual.

Happy birthday Henry Warden, we will totally have a do-over when you're feeling better.

Tractor Party

Our Tractor Party Day has come and gone. I think it'll go down in Henry's book as the most perfect day ever. At least that's what he's called it (in so many words). He's asked when it would be here every morning since mid-March, and this morning all his wiggly body parts were going in different directions all at once from excitement- it was finally here.

I hope it was what he was wanting. We had cow-spotted balloons. We had fried chicken, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad, baked beans and biscuits. We had fruit pizza (my kids don't like cake). We had a ride in a real, "big huge" tractor. We had some spot-on completely inspired gifts.

I think it was a success.

Notice Audrey all bundled up, looking a little unhappy, and coughing in that last pic? That's quite a side story... Audrey woke up in the middle of the night (the night before the tractor party) with a fever so high our expensive exactly-what-the-pediatrician-uses digital thermometer would only say "Error/Hi." With an every-two-hour regimen of alternating doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen we got her fever down to 105.3* and in the morning rushed her off to the doc (thankfully our pediatrician has Saturday office hours, awesome).

*Side note: Audrey has always run extremely high fevers, which we figured out when she got strep for the first time and along with it a 107.3 fever. No kidding. 

We exhausted all their tests, ended up at the hospital for chest X-rays, and finally found out (mid-party) that she has walking pneumonia. She's on amoxicillin now and tucked in to bed. Hopefully that'll be the end of the pits and we'll be on the upswing soon.

Poor girl.

So that was our Tractor Party Day. We've left all the packaging, wrappings, crumbs, sticky places, and clutter exactly where they fell. We soaked up all the family and friend goodness while they were here, soaked up the quiet and togetherness of the four of us when things settled back down, and we are now resting.

Tomorrow we'll clean, tomorrow we'll find places for all the new treasures. Tonight we need the stillness- for kiddos to recover and for Mama to wrap her head around it all.

Henry is Three.

Time flies, folks. It really does.

This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Party, Party, Party...

Over here on this muggy, gray morning the agenda for the day is party, party, party... prepping.

We'll be cleaning and tidying our space, getting some of the food under way, and readying some of the birthday goodies. I'll be trying my hand at hard candy for the first time, too! I found these molds and ordered some flavoring oil, and as long as I can avoid burning the sugar (or myself) I feel optimistic about pulling them off!

Our little workin' man is getting a fully-stocked tool box of his own from Mama and Daddy, and I need to finish making his tool belt/tool apron thing that'll go with it. His sister wants to make him a watercolor painting of a tractor, too (her own idea, love), so we'll probably tackle that when he goes down for a nap.

An afternoon of making and doing for a generous, sweet, loving Little who is getting so big so fast; all labors of love, and everyone almost as excited as he to celebrate this weekend!

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...sitting in the pre-dawn dark figuring out the week, making our shopping list, and planning the menu for Hen's third birthday party (every morning he asks if his tractor party is here yet, love).
...keeping my ears open for the loud panicked-chick peep that we've been hearing as the feathering chicks figure out they can fly out of the bathtub (where they've been for a few days now that half of them are too big and feisty for my little brooder box), then freak out because they are suddenly loose in the bathroom (me freak out or them? um, both).
...getting 'FINISH HEN HOUSE' on the to-do list for this week so they can get out to their permanent, safe home and be completely contained.
...wondering if I could make it out to the local plant nursery amid all the other things on the to-do list this week to buy my fig tree and tomato plants (and potentially return one of my blackberry canes, as it is just not doing well at all).
...loving a weekend that saw two special dinner outings, some family and some friends, and in general a break from the norm that has left me feeling refreshed and ready to get this week started!

Oh, and by the way- it's the last day of March, too! Holy cow.

Ahem.

Happy Monday!

This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.