I'm Here...

Lots to update on...when I'm feeling better...when everyone stopsa being sick for crying out loud!

Fighting a Losing Battle...Licking My Wounds...

I haven't been around the blog this week. How's that different from any other week you ask? Ha! This time I have an excuse :P

Last Tuesday evening our family began the epic battle against... A STOMACH VIRUS (insert high pitched screams)

Lucy got it good (well, really bad actually) Tuesday night about 10ish and so I ended up camping out with her on the living room floor where she was up and down to the bathroom several times during the night by 4am she had stopped getting sick. She was better (eating foods that she deemed would not make her stomach "blow up") by Wednesday evening. No school for her on Wednesday though and we are trapped in the house.

Friday morning, about 4:50am, Max woke up and went to the bathroom and ended up with diarrhea. He kept writhing in pain saying his stomach was "killing" him (have I mentioned before that my children are HIGHLY dramatic and that I expect each of them to win an Academy Award at some point in their lives?).

By 5:10 he was throwing up. 15 hours later...yes, I DID say 15 hours later he was done. No school for him on Friday needless to say and we were once again...trapped in the house. I also camped out with Max on the living room floor Friday night.

I should also mention on Friday Ruby got sick all over me, her, and the office floor...yuck.

Fast forward to Saturday morning and I wake up (who am I kidding? I couldn't sleep on the floor) nauseous and dizzy. I could feel it coming on. I pretty much felt like I had been hit by a truck all day. I figured...okay, not the bug, just worn out. Nope...it was the bug. So I was trapped in the house all day Saturday as well...sigh...

Sunday morning dawns and shines right in my eyes that are reeling in pain from a migraine. I was able to down some Motrin and sleep the edge of the pain off. By 8, John was ready for me to get out of the bed (all the kids were up). I was recovered well enough to take Lucy to a birthday party and bake and decorate the cutest turkey cupcakes for Lucy's Thanksgiving "party".

Also insert that Ruby threw up again randomly...

My husband, always the optimist ("I am 100% sure we are going to get this virus Staci"), was not gloating so much when he woke up early this morning with said virus. If he could have mustered up the energy he would have. I had told him the other day that if he got it I was going to call his mom and tell her to come and take care of him...he's harder than all 4 kids being sick at the same time! He stayed home from work in bed and although I couldn't play nursemaid (it's not like he coddles me either people) I did bring him ginger ale and water and crackers and called in sick for him (etc).

The last one to fall was Abby. She was the only one who didn't get hit with this the last time it made it's way through our house.

She came home from school today complaining of a belly ache. She got progressively "poopier" acting as time went on. About 5:30ish it hit. She has on;y gotten sick once and was acting for apple juice (I made her drink water) and crackers within about an hour). She has fallen asleep on the couch and I'll camp out with her tonight. No school for her tomorrow...we'll be trapped in the house :P

So, the bug has defeated us all and now he needs to get OUT OF MY HOUSE so I can get to everything I need to do before Wednesday! I have been spraying everything I think a sick person may have touched. Tomorrow is a deep...deep...deep cleaning of all bathrooms...guess it's a good thing I'll be trapped in the house anyway!

Happy Birthday Mama!

What an adorable couple :)

Happy, Happy Birthday to my awesome mama :)

She has always been there for us and has taught her three girls to be tough and "get it done". She has been friend and confidante and disciplinarian and a rock that we could always count on(and still can and do).

I hope she knows how much she is appreciated and loved. I can only hope and pray that I can be the kind of mom to my kids that she was to my sisters and me (although Mallory got away with so much more since she was the "baby").

She still worries about us even though we are grown and out of the house...a mom's work is never done I guess. Then we go and make her a "Nana" and multiply her worry (8 times!).

She is always thinking of others and how she can make someone feel better (of course she tells her own kids "oh you're fine, shake it off"... :P...Did I say I love you mom?)

She's not really big on confrontation but she is by NO MEANS a pushover! She says no and she means it, "gosh doty soctamolie".

Her grandkids LOVE her to pieces (mostly her stuff turns to pieces but she's okay with it when it happens..."Soooorrrrry Nana!"). I was talking to her the other day on the phone and when I hung up Lucy asked me who was on the phone. I told her I was talking to Nana and Lucy said, "Oh, I love Nana". I said, "Me too Lucy". She said, "I love her mommy, she's a nice girl!"

Oh yeah, she's also been known to give up her snack to her grandkids (they have inhaled a few bags of her Goldfish crackers from time to time!)

Mama, I hope your _ _th birthday is filled with love and peace (the kids and I will wait until this weekend to see you :) and joy. You deserve it.

Love and appreciation always and xoxoxoxoxoxox,

Your oldest baby,

Have You Thanked a Vet Today?

Happy Veterans Day and a huge thank you to all those who have served or are currently serving our country in any branch of service.

My favorite vet...my dad...served 20 years in the Navy. He enlisted in 1968 right after high school. He was a submariner. In fact, he was on a submarine on patrol when I was born. We didn't get to meet until I was about 3 months old.

What a handsome guy! He was about 27 or 28 in this picture.

Being a military "brat" gave my sister Shea and I (Mallory didn't come along until I was 13 and my dad retired 4 years later so she didn't move around like we did) many opportunities that we otherwise probably would not have had. We lived in Charleston quite a bit but also were stationed in Great Lakes, IL (fun for snow), Kittery, Maine (More fun for snow and it was pretty), and Honolulu for 3 1/2 years (AWESOME!). When we left Maine to move to Hawaii we drove cross country and got to see and experience so much. Shea and I still talk about that trip :)

This was before he went out to sea...

Being a military family isn't always easy. I remember my dad going out to sea and how much we missed him. We didn't realize at the time though how hard it was on my parents. Back then we didn't have the internet for Skype so we really didn't get to "see" my dad at all until he came home. My mom, practically a kid herself (she had me when she was 20 and Shea when she was 23), was basically a single mom.

So, to those serving in the military and to those that have served...from the bottom of my heart I thank you.

This was at his commissioning ceremony in Hawaii...

He's an Officer AND a Gentleman :)

To those spouses that have "served" (or still are serving)...from the bottom of my heart I thank you for the support and sacrifices you have made to our country.

Saying goodbye to the Navy after 20 years...

They walked it together...

To the children...thank you so much for allowing your mom or dad to give their time away from you to make sure our country stays safe and free.

Happy Veterans Day!

20 Years...How the Time Does Fly!

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend my 20 year high school reunion. It felt so strange to think we graduated 20 years (+5 months) ago! Even being the mom of 4 small kids doesn't make me feel old enough to have graduated 20 years ago. It didn't even feel like it had been 10 years since the last reunion.

To think, at that one John and I had only been dating for 6 months. Since then we got engaged, married, and had 4 kids...whew! Let's hope we can relax a little more during the next 10 years (HA!)

I was on the committee that was planning the reunion and about a month ago we had to cancel our original plans due to lack of ticket sales. Another classmate of ours came in a saved the day!

We met at a club and were given our own DJ and the VIP appetizer and drink prices. We also had two servers assigned to our crowd. We pretty much WERE the "crowd" until about 10:30 or so then the regular crowd started drifting in. The classmate that made the arrangements was telling us that someone from our class had called him to see if there was a dress code for the club. He called the manager of the club and the guy told him that they would be a little more relaxed for us since we were an "older" crowd...ACK!

One of our classmates brought our Senior Class video with her and we got to watch it on one of the big flat screen TVs in the room. It was quite funny looking at all of our "big hair" :)

I recognized many faces and I recognized a lot of names. Unfortunately, none of the faces and names matched!

John and I had a great time...even more so because the kids were spending the night with my parents :) Thanks to the mostest awesome mom and dad on the planet for that!

So,
to the Stratford High Class of 1990...
It was great to see many of you again and ...

Go Knights!

"All hail thee mighty Stratford!

Together we shall stand!

We'll show our pride and spirit

To all throughout the land.

With hopes to last forever

As many years go by.

We'll be forever faithful.

All hail thee,

Stratford High!"

- our Alma Mater

See you at the 30 year!

Happy Halloween and Bananas...

Last Friday Max brought a "friend" home from school. Bananas is the class "pet" in Max's 2nd grade class. Each weekend one student gets to take Bananas home for the weekend. The students are supposed to take pictures and write a small story about what they did with Bananas that weekend. When they return to school they get to read their story to the class. Bananas comes with his own backpack and clothes and a notebook to keep all the stories in.

Below are some pictures of Max and Bananas...

Bananas went with us to Five Guys for Dinner. Max let him "taste" a peanut :)

Bananas taking a nap on Max's bed.

Bananas and Max getting ready to go trick or treating.

This Halloween the Bailey kids transformed into a variety of different characters...

Max (as you can see above) was an "Army guy". We had to go to the Army/Navy surplus store to get the camouflage. He got pants, the t-shirt, a hat, and...probably his personal favorite...a set of dog tags with his name, DOB, and US Army "Sniper" on them. The man at the store asked what branch of the military he wanted and what he wanted to be in that branch. Should I be worried he said "sniper"?

Abby decided she wanted to be a cowgirl this year. We found her costume at Wal-Mart and she borrowed some boots from a friend.

Lucy FINALLY came to a decision after changing her mind for weeks. We got to the store to buy her costume and she chose Snow White. I was so glad when I paid for that costume and we walked out of the store!

Ruby thought about being Minnie Mouse this year but there were no costumes in her size to be found so she settled for being a cute little Ladybug :)

Before we went Trick or treating we went over to a neighbor's house for pizza. We got some pictures of the kids posing outside. Once it started getting dark we headed out. Max, Abby and the neighbor kids moved much faster than my little Snow White in her dress up shoes so about half way through John took Ruby the Lady bug with him to catch up to the big kids and it was just me and Lucy the rest of the way. She really started having a good time with the trick or treating. She about knocked me to the floor when she actually said, "Trick or Treat" to someone! She didn't have her fingers in her mouth or mumble. It was clear as a bell! Then she surprised me even further by telling them "Happy Halloween" as we left their porch. YAY Lucy :) She still isn't talking to her teachers at school yet so this was BIG for her :)

The kids got TONS of candy and will probably have enough to last until Christmas. I can't believe Thanksgiving is already only 3 weeks away...SLOW DOWN! After that I will blink and my sweet baby Ruby will be celebrating her first birthday. I'm having a tough time with that one.

John and the crew before Trick or Treating...notice Bananas on Max's lap.

Me and all of my monkeys...plus Bananas!



Max and the neighbor kids playing "dead" in the graveyard.

Lucy and Abby thought they were being silly.



Little Miss Ruby L.O.V.E.S. her some pizza!

Daddy was feeding her little bites and pretty soon he coldn't feed her fast enough :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

A Letter From Me to the Tooth Fairy...

Dear Tooth Fairy,
Why are you picking on my kid? Would you please cut Abby some slack here? She is the one kid (she is getting Lucy on her bandwagon though) who is adamant about brushing her teeth! She never forgets and if she does then she'll get out of bed and come remind me that she forgot to brush them.

So, since she is such a dedicated tooth brusher, why on earth is she the one that keeps getting cavities, abcesses, root canals, etc. Why didn't you give her a bigger mouth (to fit her teeth, the volume on the "big mouth" is plenty loud thank you vey much) so her teeth wouldn't be too crowded? Her cavities have been between the teeth which of course is harder to keep clean when the teeth are crammed into her mouth.

Would you please let her just lose a tooth naturally for once instead of her having to have it forcibly removed due to an abcess? Give her a break already! If you know what's good for you then you'll let her have an much easier time with her permanent teeth (which are already crowded according to the x-ray...grrrrrr...)! Yes I know that braces are in her future...you don't have to keep rubbing salt into that wound do you?

Sincerely,
A Frustrated Mommy

** I took Abby this morning for her teeth cleaning and to replace her spacer that had to be removed last Monday because it was loose and digging into her gums causing a lot of pain. Well, the abcess that she had last Monday is now bigger (but still not bothering her thank goodness), so she is now on anti-biotic for that. She has three teeth (molars) that need to be fixed (filling on 1 and the enamel is chipped on 2 more...teeth grinder). The worst news was that the tooth that has the abcess on it has to come out. She had 2 fillings in that tooth (a front top tooth) and opne had come out. The fillings were on the sides and hidden by the teeth on either side so we had no idea it was out.

Unfortunately, the tooth has become infected and thus the abcess. Her dentist (WONDERFUL MAN! So glad we found him), also said that if we wanted to he could go ahead and pull the other top tooth so it looks more "natural". It would be purely for cosmetic reasons and wouldn't help or hurt the permanent teeth come in...so John and I will talk about it.

The dentist also said that she could wait until January to have the work done so that her insurance will start over again by then. She maxed out her benefits back in January. He said that if it was critical he wouldn't want to wait but she'll be okay since we are so close anyway. If that changes then we will certainly get it done before then and just pay whatever it takes...her health and comfort are our first priority of course.

So as of now she is scheduled for January 5th. Max and Lucy are getting their's cleaned on the 24th. Here's hoping THAT trip is uneventful!