Sick of Being Sick

My worst nightmare came true early last week.  EVERYONE was sick.  I remember bringing the girls home those first few weeks and thinking to myself, "I can handle anything as long as they are not all sick."  Literally, I would think how lucky I was that we didn't have to worry about that - especially during the transition period.  Turns out, I was right.  We were so lucky!!!  It has been horrible!!!!!!!!

All three of my babies and a borderline sick husband is just not pretty.  It all started with Karlie.  She had a terrible fever and cough and had to be held all day - wow, she is 30 pounds and I felt every ounce of it by the end of the day.  And I would race around her and make sure that everything she touched was wiped down, trying not to spread the germs.  What an idiot I am!  That didn't help a bit, and I should have been conserving energy!  Then came Ella.  Ok.  I can handle it.  I am an expert at holding two babies, rocking and feeding them is no problem.  Yeah, add Maggie to the mix and then a whiny husband.  By day 2 I was doubling my Zoloft and just praying someone would start feeling better.  By day 3 I think Karlie really did feel better, but she had figured out that if she acted sick she would get more attention.  My sweet, sweet, manipulative little girl.  By day 4 I was extremely concerned because not only did I feel like crap, but there was no end in sight.  By day 5, I called the emergency number for the girls' doctor (of course it was Sunday) and just balled to the poor doctor who returned my call.  She probably wasn't expecting to talk to a completely worn out, hysterical Mommy, but that's who she was dealing with.  By day 6, Ella's fever finally broke completely by morning, and Maggie's that afternoon.  By day 7 everyone was really doing better - except for a totally exhausted Mommy.

On a more serious note, that was a really scary sickness we went through.  I have never experienced fevers spiking like that, and it came on so fast!  I really wish someone would come out with some type of medicine to give the babies.  It is some kind of hell to watch them suffer; knowing the best you can do is Tylenol and a humidifier. 

On a less serious note, it is only the end of November.  I really hope we don't get sick all winter!  I'm going to have my Zoloft refilled tomorrow!

My New Diaper Deal

I totally renege on the diapers.com post.  Now that I have been buying diapers for 3 babies for a few months, I think I finally have it figured out.  Not just diapers either.  Here is my new gig for groceries, diapers, cleaning supplies, etc.

So you can load coupons onto your shopping card - I use Kroger.  For some reason the electronic coupons (which do not double by the way) do not interfere with physical coupons that you hand the cashier.  So for any one item, you basically use 2 different coupons, AND the paper coupon if it is under $.50 still doubles.  I found this out totally by mistake, but am now going to take full advantage. 

Here is an example:

Jumbo pack of Huggies at Kroger $8.99.
Electronic coupon loaded on shopper's card -$1.50.
Paper coupon for Huggies -$3.00.
Total cost - $4.49.  For Huggies.  Not a bad deal.

I only bought one pack of diapers and some other items I had coupons for because I wanted to verify that was what was really happening.    It was and is.

SWEET!!!!!

Now I have to go back and buy more diapers.  Really.  We'll be out in 3 days or less.  Seriously.

Ba, Ba, You Damn Little Sheep

Karlie has a Ba.  It is her absolute favorite, favorite, favorite stuffed animal.  She has multiple blankies and depending on the day, other favorite stuffed animals, but they ALWAYS come second to Ba.  If it is time to sleep, cry, or even in times of great happiness, we need BA.  BA needs food and drink at the same time as Karlie, and frequently he needs bottles, to be burped and put down for a nap, go potty or a new diaper, etc at the same time as everyone else.  He also likes to play outside, typically in Karlie's jacket.  He is very needy.  BA is an extremely well-loved, ragged out, used to be white sheep.  Of course it is one of those stuffed animals that came from the dollar store (I know this because I finally found more BAs) which means that he does not hold up to wear and tear nearly as well as a 2-year old thinks it should.

Last Friday, BA underwent major surgery.  Two of his arms needed to be sewn back on (they were almost completely torn off), and his entire chest cavity was seeping out.  Ok.  No problem.  Mommy the surgeon took care of that.  Happiness and contentment in our world again.

Yesterday, we lost BA.  WE LOST BA!  WE LOST BA!  THIS IS NOT GOOD!  Somehow, that damn little sheep has found the most elusive hiding place in our house - I know he is in our house somewhere - and after hours of searching by myself during the day, then searching again with the hubs last night, we had to declare BA missing. 

As I said previously, I found more BAs at the dollar store.  We have 8 more of these little sheep in a bag in the closet in Karlie's room.  According to Karlie, these are not acceptable.  They are new BAs and have no resemblance to old BA (she is completely right - new BA is entirely too white and fluffy).  Damn.  Are you sure you can't sleep with a new BA?  Ha Ha.  "That not BA Mommy, I need BA!!!!!!"  Damn!!!

We have lost BA before.  Of course it was one of those special times when my husband was out of town, so the frantic searching ensued for hours by myself.  I didn't find BA then either - I am fairly certain he was "exchanged" for a rooster at the Kroger. I called the store, and did another frantic search in the parking lot at the Kroger, but it was no use.  BA was gone.  So, I took a new BA, cut off his tail, ripped some holes in him, let the dogs chew on it for a little while and ran him over with my car.  I then proceeded to sew a new, more acceptable "tail" which would be the tag - the most important part - and all of the sudden - "Mommy, you found BA!" was declared and I could finally relax a little.

Last night, Karlie passed out from exhaustion so BA wasn't such a big deal at this point.  Luckily, from my previous experiences with that damn little sheep, I now am constantly breaking in a new BA.  I always throw one in with the whites in order to start the "matted, well-loved" look.  So, while I am sure that I will need to "fix" the tail this morning, and he might still need to be played with by the dogs, and hell, I'll probably just run over him with my car for fun, new BA will hopefully become acceptable as old BA by the afternoon.

God I hope so.

A Little Q & A

I am frequently amazed at the audacity of some people.  Since my dealings with the public are typically in the grocery store, it is from my most recent trips to such stores that I would like to share the stupidest, rudest, and down-right thoughtless comments I receive:

Comment #1:  Are they twins?  Oh, are they girls?
Real Response:  Yes, they are.
Response in my head:  No.  They are just the same exact size and have matching clothes and car seat carriers.  Somehow I gave birth to children just a month apart.  And no, they are not girls.  I like to dress my little boys in flowers and have them swim in seas of pink all day.  Do you think they will turn out gay?

Comment #2:  Wow, you had twins?  You look really good for having twins.
Real Response:  Thanks.
Response in my head:  What the hell?  What am I supposed to look like?  You mean for having twins, or in general?

Comment #3:  What did you do to get twins?
Real Response:  We just got them the old-fashioned way. 
Response in my head:  Fuck.  You should try it.

Comment #4:  Wow, you look really great, oh goodness, did the babies do that to your hiney?
Real Response:  No, God gave me this hiney, I've always had it....
Response in my head:  I've always had this ass.  I got married with this ass.  I'll probably die with this ass.  Luckily, my husband likes a big ass.  In fact, he likes it so much it spurred the response in comment #3, which made the twins.

Comment #5:  My kids are 9 months apart, so I know what it's like to have twins....
Real Response:  Do you think so?
Response in my head:  You are so incredibly silly you have no idea.  Did you have 2 newborns to nurse, change every hour, and deal with in general?  Do you really think that a 9 month old is the same as bringing home an extra baby fresh out of the oven?  Just think about that statement for a couple minutes.....

Silly, silly, silly people.  I don't think I'll ever forget that 4th one.