Update on Kiddos (including a surprise ending)

Simon and Coen had a pretty rough day yesterday. Coen's cough seemed to be getting better during the day, but by the evening he was doing not so well. Simon's cough seemed to be getting better except for the frequency. I called his Dr. yesterday morning to see what he suggested, he prescribed a cough suppressant and told me to call him back 3 hours after Simon took it. I got a taxi and went to the pharmacy. The suppressant worked for the cough and put him to sleep. Finally he would get some really good rest.

After about 3 hours on the medicine he woke up from his nap and was coughing just as bad as before he took the suppressant. After I talked to the Dr again he told me to give the suppressant right away and then again at bed time. The second dose of the med didn't seem to work nearly as well. It made him super sleepy but he was still coughing a lot. But after dinner (which consisted of one teeny tiny bite of grilled cheese made softly so as to not aggravate the throat) he was ready for bed. So, one more dose of the suppressant, plus the other three medicines he's getting for this, and he was off to sleep.

He slept through the night!! I was so happy for Simon that he got a good nights rest. Coen, however, did not sleep through the night. He was up at 2:00 (ish) at which time I walked him back to sleep. Then he was up at 3:30 at which time I fed him because he only ate 4 oz of diluted formula (per the dr's orders because formula can make already phlegmy situations worse) for dinner. He ate about 4 oz of diluted formula and then went back to bed. I was hoping that he'd sleep until about 7:00 so that I could sleep more. Nope! He woke up at 5:50 - bleh. I think I'll nap today.

Malachi came home from school yesterday and his first words after he got off the bus were, "my throat hurts." Awesome. So, today I kept him home. His throat hurts pretty bad, and he's coughing up phlegm, although his cough isn't nearly as bad as the others' yet. The main concern with him is seizures because being sick with a virus or bacteria, or really bad allergies even, can cause seizures. Hopefully his anti-seizure meds will keep the seizures away.

Want another Malachi story? Trust me...you do.

Last night while he was devouring his softly made grilled cheese sandwich and daddy and I were trying to somewhat relax we hear, "tooth's out!!" That's right...our first baby lost his first baby tooth. Can I just say?...It's super tiny! So as I'm holding his super tiny tooth in my hand I say, "now what?" and we start talking about the tooth fairy. He reveals a secret though...he knows it's going to be us, that we'll just pretend to be the tooth fairy. I laughed so hard! He told us to get a coin out of the car for his tooth. When John was tucking him in last night they put the tooth in the bedroom.

When I went to bed I grabbed the coin that I had gotten from the car and went to Malachi's room. I couldn't find the tooth under the pillows, and for once Malachi was actually on one of the pillows. I didn't want to disturb him, so I almost just left the coin under the one he wasn't on. But then I remember hearing John saying something about making sure the tooth was safe, and I felt around on the night stand and sure enough that's where it was.

At about 5:50 this morning Malachi came squealing into the room that "she came!!" He was convinced John had done it, and John vehemently denied it and revealed it may have been me. He's so proud of his quinientos coin (which is 500 in Spanish and it's about a dollar, which is probably more than what he would've gotten in the States because he told me that the tooth fairy leaves one coin). He doesn't have much of a gap though because the adult tooth is already growing in, and I would guess is already half way in. I would have taken pictures but we can't find the camera right now, and we're very unhappy about that.

Sick Kids

Last week on Wednesday or Thursday Simon started coughing. It didn't get too bad, and I just thought it was his teething. He's been teething his canine and I teeth for quite some time now. I thought with the presence of the cold that meant that he was finally going to break through the gums. But the cold got worse and the teeth weren't breaking.

Then Coen started coughing. Over the weekend they both got pretty bad, so yesterday with the advice of the Embassy nurse (whom I love and is amazing - I'm going to miss her) I called the Pediatrician. He had us go to the office yesterday, late morning. While we were sitting in his office, he heard Simon cough (it had turned into a high squeaky cough) and looked very concerned. He listened to his chest and told me that while he can't call Simon an asthmatic, the cough sounded like an asthmatic cough.

He said that some people can have a bacteria in them that predisposes them to asthma and allergies. Since John had asthma as a child and now has allergies we could assume he has that bacteria and that the kids could get it. That explains Malachi's allergies. And that explains the boys' coughs. The Dr. said that the coughs probably started out as a regular cold and then got worse. He ordered some medicines to be delivered to the house. We got them in the afternoon and the kids started their three medicines.

Today they're a bit better, but I still feel like we have a long road ahead of us for recovery. The Dr. also said that what they have is very contagious and he expects the whole family will have it. Awesome. I just put Simon down for a nap at 8:30 this morning because he woke up at 5:30. I've been up since 4:00 because of Coen, and I'm super tired. We'll see how this day goes.

School

Before I start, I just want to say that this is my 500th post on wife-mommy-woman. I think that's pretty awesome. Now back to our regularly unscheduled blog post...

A friend noticed that I've been a little silent and asked if I'm ok.

I'm doing pretty well, although I am pretty stressed out. If you're my facebook friend you may know that this semester I returned to school. You see, I never finished my bachelor's degree. About two years in I got pregnant with Malachi and decided not to finish. But for some reason, now that I have three kids (omg), I've decided it's time.

Really, there won't be an easier, or slower time in life, so I might as well get it done. And in order to get the degree I want (Business Administration in Management) at the pace I'm going (two classes a semester) John said it will take about 8 1/2 years because not all of my credits will transfer to that degree.

I'm determined to get that degree though - it's what I want. So maybe next year when we're in Manila and I have even more help in the house I'll take three classes a semester. I think I'll still work part-time, but I'd like a job that's even more part-time than my current one. Because even though I love working in the CLO, there's a lot of work to be done outside of my 16 hours/week in the office. I'd like a job that I could leave at the office, maybe I'll work in the consulate. Who wants to come take care of my three kids in D.C. next summer so I can take ConGen?

I realize I'm rambling. So...here's what's going on with me right now:

1 husband
3 kids
1 part time (16 hours, plus comp time for events) job
1 personal trainer 3 x a week to get rid of the mommy body and get back some semblance of the hot body I once had
2 University classes (American History 1301, Lifelong Learning for Adult Students) and I don't even have the books yet - I can't imagine what it'll be like when I do!
Hanging out with friends (when I have time!)
Salon services (it takes a lot to keep up a hot bod) when I have time!
And other random things you throw into the loop

Can I just say that without P (the nanny/maid) I would not be able to accomplish all of this.

So if I am a bit silent in the next 6-8 years, it's not because I don't enjoy blogging, it's because I'm really (insert expletive) busy!

Good weekend

Since Coen was born our weekends have been difficult. We fight the "crazies" (what we call it when Malachi and Simon have pent up energy and start going crazy, the action is usually followed by the request that they "tone down the crazy.") with trips to the mall to walk around, or to a playground.

Even when we do things like this we can have horrible days where the parents are counting down the minutes until bed time, and depending on children's attitudes that time might come sooner than normal.

But as you can probably tell from the title of this entry this was a good weekend.

Saturday John and the older boys went out in the morning to do some shopping and John and I went out to a dinner party that night with some friends. Sunday afternoon we had a going away party for a Vice Consul that actually has been on a year long TDY in Iraq for the last year. His time is done now, as is his time in Costa Rica, so now he's PCS'ing out.

This morning John and I realized that it was a pretty good weekend with the kids. I think it's because we're starting to get the hang of having three kids.

Finally!!

Throwing a Fit

Well folks, I’ve reached it. The place in my tour when I admit to John that I don’t want to leave next year.

I really like my life here a lot. I have great friends here and they’ve just arrived, so I’ll be the one leaving them. Malachi really likes his school here and comes home happy every day. I have an amazing nanny who I absoultely love, and I mean I really love her. It’s going to be so hard to leave her.

I have a great house, a great job, a great everything. I can’t imagine leaving – AND I DON’T WANT TO! But I have to. Almost 8 months to the day. Don't get me wrong I'll be happy to see people in TX, MN, and DC, and I'm excited for Manila - but can't I just come back here where everything is awesome and familiar? No? Damn.

Favorite Places

This weeks Roundup is being hosted by Brooke at The World That We Live In. Check it out on Friday.

John was hanging out with friends one day and they said that home to them was Alaska. When John was asked where home is, he didn't have an answer like theirs. To him, home is where his family is. When I went "home" in January I realized the exact same thing can be said. Even though I grew up in MN and love it (in the Spring and Summer...) and I spent my adult years in TX and love it, neither of them are home without my husband and children.

John and I have moved five times in almost ten years. It's what we do. It's one of the reasons we joined the Foreign Service. We're quite nomadic people. The longest we've lived in one place was an apartment in Dallas that we were in for three years - and it felt too long.

So I think that it's great that we're not too attached to one place. We both know with confidence that no matter where we are, it's home.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise, especially to people who know me, that my favorite places always involve my family. My favorite places also always change depending on my mood. Right now, because I'm not working, my favorite place is out. Out with the family. Yesterday we went out to lunch and then to a playground in a nearby suburb. The kids had a blast and I loved being out for a while.

Sometimes my favorite place is whatever restaurant my husband and I are having our date at. Sometimes it's the resort our family is at for vacation.

It may sound dorky...but my favorite place is where my husband and kids are.

Apologize

I have to apologize to a few bloggers. Nomads by Nature and The Wandering Drays both submitted blog posts and they didn't make it into the Roundup last week.

Heather at The Wandering Drays didn't blog about kitchens, but rather a very long week (that's now almost over) that she was facing. Jason should be home very, very soon now.

Nomads by Nature didn't post about their kitchen either - but rather about the things that fill them. They did a great post about their process of consumable shipment shopping. There are some great tips in there, check it out!

I really do want to apologize to you guys - please forgive me. And everyone else, check out their entries - they're both very good.