How do they do it?

Well, last night I was really happy to get to bed relatively early. The kiddos were both asleep, and I was just really tired for some reason, so I was going to zonk out right along with them. Unfortunately, things rarely turn out the way you want them too.

Serayah got hit really hard with some awful tummy bug. I won't go into detail, but just say that the sick-bowl and the toilet were both used a lot... I had changed the sheets once, and we were back in bed (I was laying down with her in hopes to get the bowl to her quickly enough to avoid a big mess... you know how it is), and she had just fallen asleep. I closed my eyes, and heard a piercing scream from Cam's room. Why, oh why did Art have to work last night? I looked at the clock. 12:15. Great. I stumbled into see what was going on, and ended up staying with him for an hour. He kept saying his tummy hurt, and would toss and turn, then sleep for like 4 minutes, then wake back up wanting me. No idea what was going on there, but I didn't want to risk him throwing-up too, so I wanted to make sure he was OK.

I'd just about gotten him settled when Serayah started crying. Crap. I book it into her room, and the poor thing was just sitting in the middle of our bed getting so sick and just shaking. She was worried that I was going to be mad at her (which broke my heart). I got the shower going, and her stripped and in it, while I stripped down the bed and cleaned up. Miraculously, Cam decided all was well after this, and was sleeping. Whatever... I'll take small favors in whatever form they take.

I get Serayah in her 4th pair of PJ's, and we come downstairs and snuggle up on the couch. Thankfully, my dad's here, so I had him come up and sleep in Serayah's bed to keep an ear out for Cam, so I could take care of Serayah and not wake her up during the little bits she was sleeping. I think it was 2:30 or so by then. Serayah finally stopped getting sick around 3:30, and she seems to be feeling better (but not great) this morning. Art came in around 7:00, and my dad told me to go to bed and try and get some sleep, and that he'd take care of Cam when he woke up. God bless my dad. I was able to sleep 'till 10:3o.

This just made me realize how lucky I am to have a husband (yeah, he's on nights right now, but usually he's here during the night, and is more that willing to help clean-up and get up with sick kids (or mommies, for that matter)), and a dad who are so great. There are so many single parents that have multiple kids, and I just don't know how they keep it together to take care of sick kids through the night, then get up and face the day, without any help or support.

I think we're in trouble....

Cam's Dance Class

As promised, here are a few quick snaps from Cam's Thursday morning dance class. He's in a class full of babes. He had some competition with another little boy this week, but he's still got Tanner and Dianni in his sights.

He actually really enjoys the class. It usually takes him a few minutes before he jumps in, but fun is always had by all. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Cam Marching
Tanner

Cam eyeing Tanner (He's got a major crush)

Cam's dancing so fast, he's a blur!

Miss Dianni

Cam, practicing his rolls

Cam... giving Dianni a hand with her roll

Bowling Fun

Yesterday, my dad and I took the kids bowling after Cam got out of his dance class (I'll be posting pictures from that pretty soon). The kids had a lot of fun... Serayah was thrilled no matter what happened. Pins fell... Pins didn't fall... It was all good to her. I hurled a gutter-ball, and she came running up to me "High Five, Momma! Great job! You did it!". Always good to have a cheerleader. Cam had fun too... for the first 4 balls. Then he was bored. The machine that dispenses bowling stuff was a lot more entertaining. Oh well... it was nap time, and he was pretty tired. All in all we had a great time. As we left, Serayah looked bummed. I asked what was wrong, and she said "Momma? I want to live at the bowling alley!". Ahhh... the dreams one has at the ripe old age of 4 1/2.

Oh, and we made a 1/2 birthday cake for Serayah today. Cam's was on Valentine's day, and we made him one too... I guess its the start of a new tradition.

Enjoy the pics! You can see how much they loved cheering for each other.

Bath time fun

Here are a few shots I took of the kids in the bath yesterday. As you can tell from the back of teh tub, the new bathtub markers have been popular! They really wanted to wear the swim goggles... but Cam took his off after a minute or two. Poor Serayah's face still doesn't look too great, but it's getting better!

We had a bad day.

Well, yesterday our good friend MaryAnne had a surprise 30th birthday party. The kids and I went (& I know she was really surprised), ate cake, then left. We walked out to the parking lot, and I opened Cam's door and was buckling him in. Serayah ran (after I had just gotten done talking about not running) to the other side, and I suddenly heard a thud... followed by screaming. Crap. I ran over, and Serayah was laying face down on the asphalt, screaming. She'd slipped on some ice and done a header onto the parking lot. Her princess glasses (which, as you may recall, we had just gotten replacement frames for last week after she'd done a header off the arm of the couch) were shattered, and she had blood in her hair, but I was able to get her calmed down and in her car seat.

I drove back home, and we rushed inside to better assess the damage. After giving some Tylenol and using the pretty princess boo-boo freezer pad, she was curled up in my lap on the couch, and things seemed to be going OK. My dad, who's here from Oregon, went upstairs to get the kids jammies, and Cam went up after him. All of a sudden, I hear a Thud... Thunk.... Thud.... I (unfortunately) had heard that one before, and jumped up... chucked Serayah on the couch and ran to the stairs. Crap. Cam had taken a header down them. Not good.

Fortunately, Cam is made of rubber, and after some Tylenol for him and some cuddling, he was right as rain in about 5 minutes. My heart returned back to normal about an hour later, and I was afraid to let the kids do anything else for the rest of the night. Sigh.

Well, we were pleasantly surprised this morning to see that Serayah didn't look like she'd gone 8 rounds with the champ, and that CPS wouldn't be called in for child abuse if a neighbor saw her. We really thought she'd end up with a shiner of astronomical proportions, but it doesn't look too bad. The picture actually looks better than it is, 'cause you can't tell how swollen it is when she's posed like that.

Cam wanted in on the photo op, so he returned to the scene of the crime, and posed for me on the stairs.

The other shot is a random one from Serayah the other day...