Wordless Wednesday

One Coughs, Two Coughs, Three Coughs....UGH

 Hi.  Remember me?  It's Mama Nic.

I know I have been MIA for a bit but I have been here.  Trust me,  I have been here....at home in the trenches so to speak.  Actually if I haven't been here I have been at work.  Yes,  work!  I started back again but instead of full time, I am now in a new position just 2 days a week.  Being out of the house for 2 days is nice.  I wouldn't or couldn't possibly handle more than that right now, but 2 days is working out.   At least I get to sit down and eat my lunch for a change.  Working is not so much working out  for Kaiya or her Grandparents who have to care for her while she is going through some pretty serious separation anxiety issues,  but I have to have faith that they will all work it out. 

So besides getting back into the swing of our new schedules due to be returning to the workplace outside the home, it has been a full on battle of the germs and I hate to say....the germs are winning.  Hubby got a cold, then Bubba was sick, then Marmalade, and now today Chica is coming down with a cough and stuffy nose.  I am bracing for her to get it full on with fever and such that the other kids had.  Needless to say I am feeling pretty overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed out to the max.  I feel inches away from my breaking point some days.  I really am just trying to take things one day at a time here with my husband as we raise these three wonderful kids and take care of the house, 2 dogs, a  cat, and each other.  It is hard and some days I feel like our ship is sinking.  Things are piling up, the to do list is growing, dishes and laundry are endless, and then there is the night nursing, feeding bottles, pumping to make the bottles, noses to wipe, diapers to change, vomit to clean up, temperatures to be taken, medicine to be given, doctor appointments to go to and just for good measure the shower that we just put in about four years ago got a crack in the base and decided yesterday would be a good day to leak through and down into the ceiling below and come out pouring.............(at least it came out pouring into a room that needs to eventually be gutted and done over anyway, I guess.  Maybe sooner than later now.)

I get calls and emails that always say "How goes the battle?" because they all know it is a battle for us lately. I am glad to have people check in on us and I know I am supported although all the support in the world doesn't help those overwhelming moments I have throughout the day and night when things seem to just peak with chaos and noise and stress and crying....by everybody.   At the end of the day Hubby kisses me and says "we made it through another day."  It may seem like a small victory to you all but for us it is huge.   

Not sure how to wrap up this post,  but I must for there is a ton to do.  Why am I blogging instead of taking care of business right now?  I need to take a short break to write.  Sometimes you need to take a break to do what you want to do rather than what you need to do.  But duty calls and while this co-captain of the ship is still healthy, I must go and get the job done.

Take a look below at our little quick outing to get pumpkins with the "big" kids.  Chica was snug and warm with her Mima while we took advantage of no one having a fever and got out of the house for an hour.  We packed the kleenex, took the cough syrup and headed out to a farm on a cold and damp fall day in New England.  We missed you Chicaboom, my snugly babe, laugh-out-louder, thumb sucker, smiley one but we did pick out a pumpkin for you too.

When it rains it pours.....sometime out of the ceiling!

Love,
Mama Nic

FOUR!

I will share with you all, my recipe in how to make a 4 year old have a great Birthday Party.  It was easy, inexpensive and yet we all had lots of good food, good laughs, and the memory of Bubba so happy at his fourth Birthday party is planted so perfectly in my memory. 

Here we go........

The who:  He wanted to invite all his family and everyone from preschool.  Don't judge.  I said no.  We invited family only, which lucky for us includes his cousin that is 2 years older than him and his other cousin that is Marmalade's age.  Perfect playmates!  The noise decibel in the house from 5 children is way more than anyones ears should have to endure on a daily basis but, we can handle it (barely) for a couple of hours.  I can't imagine the noise level with more children involved!  I also needed to be nice to myself and make this party a breeze.  Having 3 kids is a challenge everyday enough on it's own.  No need to invite everyone in town and make it harder.  Plus, he had a great time with "just us."  We ended up with 5 kids and 9 adults.  Perfect. 

The what:   Let your child pick the theme.  He happened to pick a "Seashore-Spongebob" party most likely because we had just returned from a trip to the beach when we talked about it but hey, who doesn't love the shore?  Great idea, Bubba.

Then when:  A Sunday afternoon sounded like a good fit.  Right after Marmalade's nap.  Don't try to have a party when your children usually nap.  That is not fun for anyone. 

The where:  At our home.  It is easy and free.  We haven't had the chance to have many parties there because we have been in a state of remodeling for years.  Things are pretty much wrapping up in the rooms we would need the most to host a party, so it was a great chance to enjoy and share our new space.  We still need to redo the kitchen and bathroom downstairs,  but things were good to go in the living and dining room,  and the kitchen was functional so it worked out. 

The how:  Search Pinterest for some clever ideas and try using things around the house that you already have to keep the cost down.  

Blue streamers from the Dollar Store makes the windows into an ocean.

Spongebob banner and table clothe from Target, crab, dolphin, turtle stuffed animals that they kids had work great as accents around the room.

Buckets, shovels, blue napkins, cups from the Dollar Store.  Pineapple center piece that Bubba picked out at the grocery store is the perfect finishing touch to the table.  We added a Spongebob toy that came in a Happy Meal.  We served up chocolate Goldfish, Cheddar Goldfish, Krabby Patty Gummy candy, Swedish Fish, popcorn, shrimp cocktail, a veggie platter, and cookies to munch on.  We also got 3 party pizzas from the grocery store and added some veggies to dress them up. 

Fish in a fishbowl.

Add one goofy Sister.

Add one little Sister who has no clue what was going on.

A few presents!  By the way, Goodbyn makes fantastic lunch bags.  Ecological and economical accessories to make packing a lunch easy and fun.  Plus you can buy dishwasher safe stickers to decorate the reusable plastic containers.  He loved it!!

Add some Monster trucks.

And a little something for the Sister too.

A cousin to help unwrap and show off the gifts.

Add family around to "ooh and aaah."

And don't forget to make the Krabby Patties!  Use this recipe.  I only bought one container of frosting rather than two and it was just enough.  And we used flax seeds instead of sesame seeds because we had some handy.    It made 24 Krabby Patties.  Bubba helped assemble them and had a great time.  Order up!

Cousins all in a row eating the Krabby Patties.  Yum yum. 

Grammy and baby.

And there you have it.  A Seashore-Spongebob Party for all to enjoy!  A half an hour at most of cleanup after every one left, and the house was back to normal.  Easy peasy and Bubba had a great day.  We all did.