Dude, I got a Dell

Remember those "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" ads? Well, my laptop has been restored to functionality from the friendly folks at Dell. I am happy to have it back, and I am hoping that it can survive a family with four kids age 6 and under for the duration of its existence.


We've had a good week. I'm no longer weighing whether a week is good or bad based on who is healthy. Zack has been to the pediatrician four times in the past fourteen days and Mylie has been once. In the past two weeks Zack has had the flu TWICE, pink eye, and a recurring ear infection. He has gone through multiple kinds of antibiotics. I feel so sad for him. His eardrum burst a while ago and is still draining, but he is still a non-stop bubble of energy and laughter. Mylie had pink eye two weeks ago. It was gone, but today one of her eyes is looking questionable. We'll see how it looks tomorrow.


Yesterday I had fun attending a special Mother's Day Tea at Andrew's preschool. He was very excited to have me sit next to him and see the flower pot he painted for me, a tissue paper flower with a pipe cleaner stem, and the card he made. On the card is a tracing of his hand. As he showed it to me, he put his hand into it and said jubilantly, "It's a match!" I love Mother's Day. My kids always make me such fun things.


Mylie has become quite a big girl. I am excited by each new thing she learns, but also a little sad at how fast she is growing up. She is nearly 10 months! Her latest tricks include waving and saying "Bye-bye!", standing up in her crib and calling, "MaMa," if anyone says "No" she vehemently shakes her head no. She loves to clap, especially if she hears anyone say "Yay!" Wednesday she started putting her hands above her head and saying "Tada!" My girls talk way earlier than my boys. She loves being part of the action and is a very sweet and good natured little girl. However, she is furious when I put her in her high chair, jump-a-roo, or exersaucer lately because she wants to crawl and climb. Her new favorite places to explore are the stairs. Our baby gate was accidentally thrown away, so life is risky business with Mylie these days. She hasn't fallen down the stairs yet, but she has had many close calls.



My neice, Abbie, turned 2 on May 4th. We had a lot of fun at her little party, which had a them of "Tu-tu Two Year Old" and she made a beautiful appearance decked out in a birthday tiara and a special made tu-tu. Zack, who is also 2, and Abbie are great friends.

Do you remember the entry about Andrew shattering the glass in one of Brooke's french doors? Well, here is Andrew posing with the door:

One lovely day this week, my mother-in-law was kind enough to come and pick up Zack and Mylie and take them to her house for some Grandma time. I kept Andrew with me. While Maddie was at school and the little two were at Grandma's, Andrew and I had a lot of fun. It is rare that he and I ever get a chance to spend time with all the others, so we lived it up by going to a local working farm called Frying Pan Park. We saw sheep, baby goats, piglets, bunnies, chickens, cows, peacocks and turkeys. Andrew was especially excited to see the tractors.





It is getting roasty-toasty in Virginia. It has been in the 80s a few days this week. I am excited for when the pollen count drops back into bearable levels. My gray car keeps turning a lovely shade of yellow from the fine yellow dusty pollen that is rampant in this area lately. However, I love looking out and seeing all of the green leaves again.


However, nice weather means playground weather. Both of my boys have had swing injuries this week. Zack learned the hard way why we don't walk in front of people on swings. He ran in front of Maddie's swing, got kicked, and slid along the mulch face first. Andrew's injury was one that I wish I had recorded on video. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in along time. Ben was pushing Andrew very high on a swing (at Andrew's request). Out of the corner of my eye I see Andrew soar off of the swing, flying into a perfect back flip, over-rotate and bellyflop biff it in the mulch. I don't know how it happened. It was entirely an accident. He was very shaken by the incident. He amazingly enough was not hurt, however he looked like he had a mulch moustache and goatee when Ben picked him up.


Entirely unrelated to a park injury, Maddie lost another tooth. I think the top middle teeth are the most exciting teeth to lose.




I hope everyone is enjoying spring. I am excited that so many people are starting blogs lately. Checking blogs is one of my new favorite pass times!