Day 17: Flashback Friday

Yesterday Colin had to pick G up from school after a couple of hours due to her getting another fever. He discussed the high fever with the doctor, and she confirmed it was just from her body fighting infection, so that's good. She had a low grade fever this morning. If she's still running one tomorrow, we might call for some stronger antibiotics.

He took Erin to the doctor too because she's had a runny nose for over 2 weeks now. Luckily, it's probably just due to teething, so no medicine necessary.

It's funny. The other day I mentioned Grace currently weighs 27 lbs. Well, Erin weighs 24 lbs. :-) 17 months apart, but only 3 lbs. difference.

What can I say? Grace is a cuddler. And Erin is a trooper! G had covered her sister up then laid down on her legs.




Colin snapped these this morning before we left for school:








Who said I'm not crafty (I'm not!)? Here we have a homemade eye patch, made out of felt and stapled together. lol




Flashback Friday:

Jingle Bells

I love hearing Jack as a baby!!!!

Finished this up during my lunch break! Enjoy the weekend. :-)

Days 16: Romans 8:39

Here's a link that won't disappoint. So precious!!


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Day 15: Ramblings

Colin and I walked out of our bedroom at approximately 5:45AM this morning, and all 3 kids were helping themselves to (as well as enjoying) a breakfast of champions - brownies (sigh......).

The big news today is that Erin got moved up to the next classroom. I was so excited to hear it. I liked her previous teacher, but a new classroom with older toddlers means new things to learn, so I LOVE that! Her new teacher's name is Ms. Lizzie. She seems great, and gave me a very detailed report of Erin's day. She said she did awesome all day and that she participated nicely in circle time. The new environment and transition didn't seem to effect her a bit! :) She has pink feet from a Spring-time painting craft they did today.

Grace spiked a fever on the way home from school. She was acting completely fine at school (and by fine, I mean running away from me to go get a drink from the water fountain, going into Jack's classroom and playing with Mr. Potato Head, running down the hallway to go to the door to leave, etc.). Then when we got home and out of the van, she just sat down on the garage floor. I took her temperature when we got in the house, and it was up to 103!!!! I'm hoping (and pretty sure) it's her body's reaction to fighting off those nasty ear infections. She's currently laying on the couch pitifully, watching Cinderella.

Update: She did perk up as the evening progressed. She skipped dinner, but taking a bath seemed to make her feel better. She ate an entire slice of pizza right before bed.

After being very quiet for a while (for her), she said to me, "I want new clothes, mom." Okay, Gracie! No prob, your b-day is just around the corner. :-)

Yesterday I forgot to mention that at the doctor, she weighed in at 27 pounds!




Jack has been requesting all kinds of pirate gear lately. Specifically an eye patch and a new sword (since Erin broke his in half). So I guess that's what incentive he's working for with good behavior. This Saturday is his big Opening Day, where he gets his uniform, has team pictures and his first baseball game of the season. Go Tigers!!! We are pumped!

Jack and Erin during bedtime prayers. Grace had already escaped to her bed.

Getting ready for bedtime stories (poor G):






Yes, we are in Christmas jammies in February!!!

Day 14: Nothing New

There's nothing new to report here. Colin had a challenging day with J&G misbehaving at the pediatrician. We might be in the market for a new pediatrician (for several reasons). We know we have a great doctor, so we have always gladly been willing to drive 40 minutes to get the best care. However, for several months now they've had new staff in there nearly every time. Plus we've had to wait over an hour consistently, and we definitely do not have time to drive that far to get there, wait 1-2 hours, and drive another 40 minutes home...times 3!

Yesterday when I picked up Grace from school, her teacher said she took over a 2 hour nap (highly unusual) and that she was complaining of ear pain. Turns out that both ears are infected, so she's on antibiotics. It's great when they're old enough to tell you what's wrong! She really doesn't have any other symptoms, so we had no other indications of her being sick.

Jack teaches Erin.

Erin reading her favorite books:








I took this on the first night in her big girl bed. I turned the light on to take the picture, so that's why she's squinting.




I forgot to mention yesterday that I had a special delivery at work. It turns out, Colin knows the way to a teacher's heart. He bought me a laminator. If you need something laminated, I'm your girl! :) Very exciting!

I have a little one climbing all over me, so I'm going to wrap this up for tonight.

Here's an old picture I found on the iPad that I don't recall sharing. :-)




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Day 13: Updates and Misc.

The first night, when the babysitter put her down, Erin did perfectly in her big girl bed!

Last night, I had to go put her back in bed, as she was enjoying her freedom a bit too much. I was surprisingly pleased, amazed, and shocked that Grace was setting a good example for her and also trying to redirect her to do the right thing!!! I can assure  you that Gracie was the one who taught her all of the mentioned shenanigans! I was watching and listening on the monitor. Erin got up and flipped the lights on and was walking around and getting toys out. Grace said, "Erin, turn off the lights." And, "Erin, you better get back in your bed." "Erin, mommy's going to give you a spanking." "Erin, please stop talking!" LOL!  I only had to intervene one time, and she stayed put and fell asleep after that. She did, however, fall out 2 times in the middle of the night. I had to go back in there (in the midst of a Benedryl coma) and tuck her in. We have a solution to that problem though, of putting two PBK chairs in front of the bed (as seen in the below photo). I'd say she's doing pretty good so far!

Colin sent me this picture from nap today of Erin reading while she was supposed to be sleeping:

Erin LOOOOOVES books! It's how Jack was too. She will sit and study every page in a book for several minutes. Of course, she also loves being read to. I love it!

I'm feeling much better today. So much so that I went ahead and canceled my doctor appointment for tonight. I think my body is fighting it, and I don't want antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. Very happy about that!

I took this picture last night right before before bed.

We enjoyed the nice weather this afternoon playing baseball, riding bikes, running, etc. in our front yard:

Trying to catch a lizard - yuck!

Bedtime bath:

A video of Erin saying "Dream Light". I keep watching this one. I love how she talks! Right now she is saying, "mommy? mommy?" Then once I answer she is saying, "thirsty." I don't think she knows what she is requesting, because she definitely has milk in her hand.

Lastly, I recommend this recipe that I made tonight. It was fast and easy, delish, plus pretty cheap (I think I spent $10 on the meat and snow peas, and I had the rest of the ingredients already on hand.)

Day 12: Church

This morning we all went to noon mass, which I knew would be "special" because its right during lunch and nap time. We typically go at 10:00, and that works fine. But Devin received her confirmation today, so we wanted to be there. The service ended up being almost 2 hours. Considering that, Jack did pretty well! He did get a few compliments on good behavior, so that's always nice to hear.
Jack made a bowie with a tissue:



Devin and her sponsor, her grandpa:



The girls still go to the nursery, but I'm going to start bringing Grace in the church soon:



We went to Kelly's afterwards for cake:

Jack saying the Sign of the Cross

Day 11: A List

1. Yesterday on the way home from school, I asked Jack what they did in school. He was telling me that he went to Spanish. Then he recited this song for me. Since I didn't take a single class of Spanish, I have no clue if he is truly speaking in Spanish.

2. My cold has turned into a nasty illness that is keeping me from functioning today. I tried napping once I laid all the kids down, but laying down seriously makes it 100 times worse. My ears start throbbing and I can't breathe out of my nose. I'm thinking I'll sleep in the recliner tonight. I've been on a steady stream of Mucinex since waking up, and it doesn't seem to be touching it. I don't have time for this nonsense!!

3. We are going out tonight, and I'm going no matter what! We will probably go to our regular spot, the bar at P.F. Changs. The other option is going to see a movie since there are a few out that we want to see. Date nights save our sanity! We try to do it at least every other weekend. Thank God for lots of wonderful babysitters!


4. While Jack and Colin were at baseball this morning, the girls went to the gym for Body Pump and then to Publix. Probably not my smartest choice, being sick, but we got it done.



5. Yesterday, Colin sent me this video of Grace "helping" fold laundry. Erin somehow fell asleep in the middle of the living room floor. She's never once done that in my presence!

6. Mike and Kiya agreed (thanks!!!) to watch the kids for us, so Colin and I are going to go see "Wicked" at Bob Carr on March 9th. I got the cheapest seats available, but from what I'm told, there isn't a bad seat in specific that theater.  Counting down and super excited!

7. Just now, while typing this, Erin climbed and fell out of her crib during "nap". Therefore, the 18 month old is now in a big girl toddler bed. Wow! We had another good 6 months+ before that occurred with the others. Wish us (or should I say the babysitter) luck tonight! We spent the afternoon re-babyproofing the girls' room since she will now have free reign once she gets out of her bed.

8. I'm part of the Disney Movie Club, and yesterday we got the Peter Pan BluRay in the mail. It's Jack's current obsession, and he is REALLY into being a pirate!

9. Here are a few pictures I took this morning.:

10. I don't really have a tenth thing to share, but I want the list to be even... Erin talks a ton. If someone says thank you, she replies "you're welcome". If someone sneezes, she's always the first to say, "bless you". If you call her name, she will respond, "what?". If you ask what she is doing, she will say, "nuh-fing." She can also sing a great version of the Happy Birthday song! I think she picks up on all of this from Jack and Grace. It's so funny! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, everyone!! :)

Day 10: TGIF

Keep your thoughts to yourself if you think this makes us bad parents, :) but ... For the past 2 mornings we've slept through the five o'clock hour!!! We have been putting a banana, a juice cup, and the iPad on the counter for Jack to use until we come tell him he can get up. Now...I couldn't tell you when he's been getting up. But I can tell you that the entire rest of the McCormick bunch is much more rested. Which makes for a much more pleasant household. Hallelujah!

I am looking forward to this weekend so much that I can't even put it into words. It is much needed! Not because we have anything exciting planned at all, but just some uninterrupted family time together.

I took a video of each kid this morning at breakfast.:
Jack
Gracie
Erin

Flashback Friday:

One Year Ago

2 Years Ago

Three Years Ago

4 Years Ago

5 Years Ago

Day 9: Dr. Seuss

We are gearing up to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday around here! We started decorating the baby zone a little tonight. We have been reading The Cat in the Hat for our bedtime story. We've done a coloring page of Cat in the Hat. Jack, Grace, and I are going to go see the play on March 2nd at the Orlando Repertory Theater. I'm really looking forward to it!

I wanted to post a video of Jack reading, but he is way too exhausted to do that at the moment. We are working on catching up on sleep around here. Plus nobody feels 100% health-wise. But I will post a video of him reading a Dr. Seuss book soon!

Also, "Wicked" is in Orlando for the next month, and I'm doing everything in my power to justify spending that much money to go see it. I've gone to ticketmaster to purchase the tickets 2 times now, then not gone through with it. I knowwwww it will be worth it and I won't regret it.

Misc. Pictures:

Erin is in the clumsy stage. The bruise next to her nose, above her mouth is from running into the corner of a table. The gash on her forehead is from falling off the couch and banging it on the windowsill. I was trying to take a picture of her banged up face, but she wanted to ham it up for the camera. She's also raspy, running nose, and drooling from teething. She's a mess these days, but still a happy camper!

 

Oh man... Getting everyone fed, bathed, jammied, and to the baseball fields on nights when I'm solo is quite the feat.  (Tonight he may or may not be skipping.) It is from 6-7, and we go to bed at 7:00. When Colin is here, it isn't a huge deal because I can stay home and clean up dinner and get the girls down. 

Yay, Jack! Sibling Pride! (Needless to stay, she wouldn't stay in the stroller like I had planned.)

Day 8: Behavior

Jack and Grace are now old enough to recognize that when their actions are unacceptable, a consequence will follow. So I just wanted to share our new behavior plan that we implemented a week or so ago. They're still learning the ropes! Somedays this house seems nearly unmanageable with all we have going on, but having this in place helps.

Just as I typed that last sentence Jack kissed my cheek and said, "Mommy, I love you mucho mucho." Then Grace heard him so she goes, "Mommy, I love you with all of my heart." Such sweeties!




































Watching Peppa Pig tonight before bed:



Today when I was getting ready to walk the kids into school, Erin saw her friend Sophia walking in. Erin was still in her car seat, but the van door was open. She yelled, "HIIIII, FEE-YA!" to her friend. Such a friendly girl.

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