Germ Evacuation!

Another naked picture of my girl - how cute are those rolls????
I took this picture yesterday because I thought it was one of those cute moments when Ann fell over and hit her head on the floor. I rushed over to lift her up and hold and her and she proceeded to hold her arms out and grunt for Molly. So she laid in Molly's arms for about a half hour and then drifted off to sleep. Poor Molly was just happy to be able to hold her again after being sick for so long.
Peter showing me what my belly is going to look like in a few months - he thought it was hysterical!
Poor Annie - I made her put an awful sun hat on and then took pictures of her in it. She looked so flippin cute!

We packed all the kids up and took them to Grammy's beach house today to try to get all the germs out of our bodies and our house. We left all the windows opened at home and then took off for Westbrook for our first trip to the beach. Uncle B bonded with the kids on the beach for a few hours and even took a family picture for us. Of course, we are all wearing Papa's sweatshirts because we didn't realize how much colder it would be at the beach than up in RH.
Pete writing notes to us in the sand - my little smarty pants!

Molly Girl getting some energy back and looking forward to the promised DQ ice cream from Uncle B later on. I didn't get a picture of Unlce B with the kids for some reason but how awesome is he? He came all the way down to the beach with the money he saved from not going out last night so he could play with them and get them ice cream. He did nothing but spend time with the kids and make them feel special. Annie adores him - she smiles every time he looks at her! Auntie Meg was there, too but we tried to leave her alone so she could study - you can imagine how easy that was with three excited kids!
Annie is not sure about the sand!
But she did love the driftwood!
Molly found lots of shells for Grammy and left them out on the porch for her with a note inside directing her on how to find them - a surprise to welcome her back to the beach house!
Annie loved the feel of the sand on her fingers and I loved watching her manipulate her fingers and try to brush the sand of - she was way too cute. Wait until Papa gets a hold of her on the beach!

My beach Baby!
Molly is definitely looking more germ free after an hour on the beach!
Annie Bananie and Daddy on the beach!
Annie's baby foot covered in sand!
Annie taking a snooze on the couch at the beach house.

All in all a great day of doing nothing and just getting out of our icky house. The kids are watching the Disney Channel Premieres right now - I'm a sucker! Uncle B made the day really special and Bob and I felt reenergized after some time away with the kids just having fun.

Hopefully all of these pictures make up for the nasty blog entry yesterday!

Sick of Sick!

Molly is just amazing to me. My poor girl is back to being feverish and sick again and yet we had some really profound conversations today as we waited for the doctor to come in and draw blood and check hydration levels. There was a poor little girl in the next room and I had been talking to her about my c-section because she was there to get stitches out of her head and was terrified. She had asked if I had ever needed stitches and so I told her a bit about it and that it really doesn't hurt much - especially when Mom stops at DQ on the way home. Mom agreed to DQ but the girl still asked to see my scar - Uh Oh! I was thinking of a nice answer to this request when Molly piped in calmly, "You really don't want to see the scar because it is hidden by my mom's underwear - ewwww." Picture an appropriately grossed out face on my gorgeous daughter and then, "And you should see the rest of my Mom's tummy - she has 10 scars and they all look ugly and gross." Not exactly what this little one was looking for and certainly not a rousing endorsement for my abdomen but........the girl and her mom got a HUGE chuckle out of it!

Mols woke up with another fever this morning and so I called the doctor as requested. They tested her for the flu and she has it - they aren't sure if she can even go to school on Monday. We are all going a bit stir crazy but Molly was seriously annoyed when we showed up back at the doctor. She did give Dr. Lux a little smile when he cracked a joke but now her cough is driving her nuts! If I watch one more episode of Zack and Cody or Hannah Montana I'm going to end up in a looney bin but the idea id to keep Molly on the couch and stationary for the next few days.

Annie went to bed at 7 p.m. with a slight fever and a runny nose - Is this some kind of sick joke?

No pictures - no remarkable stories - I'm too tired! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and Ann will miraculously escape the worst of this awful cold/flu!

Case De Inferma

One of my staff at work called to see how we are doing at the "Casa De Inferma: and it sounded kind of catchy. Gratefully today was a turning point for Molly. Okay every mother is going to cringe but after eating crackers and ginger ale all day - thanks to a well timed and thoughtful care package from Auntie Karla at around 5 p.m. Molly announced her hunger. We asked what she wanted and she responded quickly with "I know you're going to say no, Mommy, but I really want a happy meal." And I am weak and pathetic and sent Bob out immediately to get her one. The one think I have to say about Mols is that when she gets over a sickness she does it with gusto! So she downed 3 chicken nuggets and half a milkshake (Yup, I let her get a milkshake, too) and then declared her belly "bubbling and full." So far so good!

Pete found his spiderman costume today and was cracking Annie up as he ran around spinning his webs. She loves anything this little boy does for her!
She truly didn't even mind having the mask over her face as Pete played hide and seek with the Spiderman mask.
Peter and Annie kissing and cuddling! He was so attentive today while Annie started feeling kind of out of sorts.
Molly and Annie Bananie - Molly was very relieved to be able to hug and kiss her sister again now that the germs are pretty much out of her system. Annie was in her PJ's way past the rest of us!

Pete thought it was fun to stand out by the road in his Spiderman costume waving to all the cars going by. The response was mixed!
Molly girl with some color back in her face and getting some fresh air - she finally got back to normal a bit late in the afternoon.
Spidey and his sister!
Peter got a much needed reprieve from the sick house when Papa came and rescued him. He could not move fast enough to get out of the house with Papa.

Molly drinking a milkshake and looking great. Bob is still hanging on by a thread and Annie was looking a bit green but I hope we are on our way to recovery. Grammy came and took me to Walmart to get some diapers for Banana - it was really more of a chance to just get out of the house and away from the sick people. Not much new to blog about - we are watching our 3rd Hannah Montana of the night and then we are all off to sleep at 9!

I know the Annie videos get annoying and people are probably wishing that my camera had no video option on it but it comes in quite handy. Like today when I was struck by the beauty of Annie's tiny little, dimpled fingers so delicately and carefully picking up raisins off her high chair tray. She LOVED the raisins. I still haven't been able to get her on camera doing "So Big".

Thanks to everyone who reads the blog and sends me sweet e-mails humoring me about how interesting life in the germ infested Harding-Wheeler house is.

Update on Molly-Dolly and Uncle Scott's Birthday!

Before I start the blog I just wanted to ask that everyone keep my cousins Jack and Julie and their son Corey in your prayers today as Corey undergoes major surgery to correct some issues with his legs and hips. The recovery will be 8 weeks long but the result with be a better quality of life for Corey. Scary stuff for a parent to have to watch their child go through.

This is the best Molly could do for a smile this morning but her fever is down to 99 - and so we don't have to go to the ER as the pediatrician suggested last night. She is currently eating a bagel and if she keeps it down we may be on our way to recovery. I spent 15 minutes praying over her while she slept last night after the doctor so kindly informed me that there had been 3 flu-related deaths at Children's Medical Center this week.
Birthday party for Uncle Scott last night - the twins and my Dad hanging on the loveseat with Annie!
Auntie Meg and Annie - Auntie Meg LOVES to hold and kiss Annie Bananie - she can't get enough of her!
Annie loving on her bread!
Papa teasing Annie - she actually looks a little annoyed with her papa for once!
Uncle Scott blows out his candles on his cake.
Unclcle Scott and Peter
Meg and her boyfriend Tim. They have been dating for about two months so the jury is still out but he passes my test of treating Meg right and hanging with the family. The kids love him - especially Peter and he is a GREAT judge of character. I guess the real test will be how big my present is on my birthday!!!!

My sick baby girl!

Every mom hates when one of their kids is sick but Molly-Girl is particularly pathetic because she has spent so much time being sick with her asthma and breathing difficulties. She is sort of used to a limited activity schedule when she really gets hit with an attack and she is so stoic and brave. This is a kid who needed 14 breathing treatments in one 6 hour period to avoid hospitalization last winter and was more worried about the fact that she couldn't hold Annie because of her possible cold than anything else.

So today Molly got struck down by the stomach flu that has been going around. And she felt awful - temperature of 102-103 all day and so sick that water came up but yet her main concern was still Annie and whether she could hold her and touch her with her germs!

After 6 hours of throwing up Molly finally feel asleep curled around the "puke bucket". When she woke up she cried because Papa had come to check on her and she had slept through it. He left her a special "I love you" note which she later fell asleep with. Too cute, my baby girl!
Trying out a bubble tubby to see if it helped soothe her stomach - it worked for ten minutes until she took a sip of juice and started throwing up again! She was a tropper though. Molly is the only kid who gets a stomach bug and produces no extra laundry - she has perfect aim if you know what I mean!
I sent Annie off to our wonderful babysitter today to see if we could avoid as many germs as possible and she came home with a bo-bo in her hair. When she walked in the door with Bob and we all oohed and ahhed over her bo-bo she started cracking up and clapping for herself. She is also starting to say Ma-ma, or so I thought. Turns out she does not say it in response to me but in response to Molly entering the room or playing with her so we are pretty sure that her 2nd word (Hi was her first word) is going to be for her 2nd mother - her sister!

I'm off to see what Simon Cowell has to say about my "idols". Okay - I know I have no life but my husband spent the better part of this evening laying in bed next to Molly sharing her puke bucket! I'm sleeping on the couch tonight to avoid germs!

Oh and I have to add one more comment about KK who, in her comment, promises to help with the kids once she is home. Everyone who knows me knows that KK is my best friend, very often my savior with the kids and my sanity and, in all honesty, the most generous person I know with her time and energy! And Peter thinks she is a pretty fabulous godmother, too!

Gratitude!

Today I am just feeling unbelievably blessed. I truly feel that way everyday but today it just seems as though I am the luckiest person in the world. Let me start with last weekend when my cousin Eileen stopped over with a gift for us - a portable DVD player and holder for our van. We take several trips a year to Washington DC, Baltimore and other places that I need to go for work and am able to turn into family vacations thanks to my wonderful husband! I had been telling Eileen that the kids constantly asked why they couldn't have a DVD player like everyone else to watch movies while we travel but that the cost was just too much for us right now with all the other new baby expenses. Eileen showed up on our doorstep a few weeks later with a cool portable DVD player and case so it can hang between our seats - the kids can't wait for our next trip! Eileen also finds numerous other ways to help Bob and I out with small and large surprises that give us a little break once in a while - a gift card to a restaurant or a well timed visit to tell me how great I am - those are my favorite!

And as if the generosity of one Kelly wasn't enough on Sunday Brendan came over to visit with the kids and after noting my green complexion and inability to stop throwing up he took the big kids up to Auntie Kake's for a while. He played outside with them, fed them dinner and brought them home hours later tired, happy and feeling unbelievably loved!

Unlce B hanging with the girls on my bed before he whisked the big kids off for a day of fun and freedom from their nasty mom !

And then there is Grammy and Papa - the best grandparents ever but only after being the best parents ever. They took the kids yesterday for us - all three - all day so that Bob and I could both work. It was the first day of vacation and you have never seen two kids dress and brush their teeth faster than when they heard they were going to Grammy and Papa's. They spent the entire day being spoiled and loved and hugged and kissed and when I pulled up many hours later the 2 big kids faces fell when they saw me. So I went inside and visited with Grammy while Papa bought the kids icecream and took them for one more bike ride. And then after having the kids ALL day my mom took pity on my inability to stop throwing up and sent me home telling me that my Dad would bring everyone home in an hour. I put a little fight and then flew out the door to lay on my bed for an hour before making dinner and bathing and getting kids to bed - Bob was at school last night. And I must mention that both of my parents have been sick for over a week now and were not feeling great themselves. So I am the luckiest person alive and this just scratches the surface of the last few days.

All these pictures are ones that the kids took yesterday - they didn't do half bad!

Peter took these two pictures - pretty good other than the bad focus!

Papa and Molly making funny faces for Peter.
Peter's self portrait - check out those nostrils!
Molly took this one of Anny Bananie smiling away!
Peter pretending to be asleep while MOlly takes a picture.
I took this one because I was amazed at how big Pete looks on Papa's lap - his feet almost reach Papa's feet.