Profanity, Profanity...Amelia be thy name!!

We've been having a problem lately with Amelia using an inappropriate term (dumb a$$). Paul and I have been trying to teach her that this is not tolerated, and that she needs to use an alternative term, like potty mouth or dummy head, ect. She continues to forget, and Thomas is more than happy to tell us each time she uses this word.
Last night they were in their room at bed time. They were talking and pretty soon they come out and Millie asks that I tell her the story of the word. I was confused so I ask Thomas what she's talking about. He told me that she had said the "P" word. I didn't know what he was talking about, so I asked him again. "You know, the "K" word." We're getting further off track here, so I just ask him to tell him to tell me exactly what word she said. "You know, she said, dumba$$." I again reiterated to Amelia that she can't say this, and she needs to use something else when she gets upset. Thomas was trying to help her find something else to use and says to her, "Just say something like...."Oh, my hell" instead." No Thomas this is not something that either of you should say.
Millie then says, very earnestly, "Oh, I see, I need to say, "Oh, my hell, you dumb a$$"."
Oh dear, we have a long way to go......

The Story of Teeth

So, its all about the teeth in our house lately. Paul had a really bad tooth ache last week, and absolutely hates to go to the dentist. In fact, I don't think that he's been to the dentist the whole time we've been married (8 years this May). He was hurting so badly that he took Advil, Aleve, and Tylenol. He was really hoping that it was sinus pressure that was hurting him, but when he was still in massive pain the next morning, I called Dr. Stevenson's office and got him an appointment for that afternoon. We both thought that he would just go in for a quick visit and get something for the pain and infection to get him through the weekend. After a 2 hour visit, he returns home and reports that he was lucky enough to have had a root canal. Ugh, poor guy. But I'll tell you what, he was 100% better the very next day.
Now my cute little Thomas, 6 years old, has his first loose tooth. He's so excited to have it fall out so that he can have a visit by the Tooth Fairy. I keep telling him to just get me the pliers and I'll take the tooth out for him. The other day he solemnly came to me with a pair of tweezers and told me that I could go ahead and take out his tooth. Funny boy. I had to laugh just a little. Well, he'll just have to keep working on that loose tooth.
And lastly, my baby boy, Jack, 8 months old, is getting his very first tooth. He has been so cranky (at least cranky for Jack), very drooly and I was letting him chew on my finger the other day when I felt the very sharp start of the baby tooth on the left lower gum. So fun (not). Poor guy. As Chari pointed out, as my oldest is losing his first tooth, my youngest is getting his. Circle of life. :)

Let The Crawling Begin!

So its that time in our house once again. Time to baby proof everything. (This was so much easier when I only had one child to worry about, and there wasn't any more of them to leave little "treats" all around for the baby to find). Jack started really moving around about 2 weeks ago. He would roll over and scoot in a circle. He could make it around the front room in no time flat. And now he's on his hands and knees. He hasn't mastered the actual forward motion of the crawl, but he doesn't go to his hands and toes and kind of "jump" forward with all of his might. I can't believe that he's old enough to be as mobile as he is.

Happy Birthday Thomas!

I didn't write about this on his actual birthday, but one week ago Thomas turned 6!! Oh my goodness, I can't believe he's already 6 years old. We had a great day. The day before (which was Sunday) we went to the ranch and had cake and ice cream for his family birthday party. Paul and I had given Thomas the choice to either have friends to a little party at Carl's Jr, or we could just have him and Paul and I, go to Carl's Jr. and let him play, go bowling and then go to Walmart and let him pick out a Wii game for his present. He chose the latter for his party. It was really fun. I think that Paul was the only one that broke 100 when we were bowling, and that was us using bumpers while we were bowling. He then chose The Last Airbender for the Wii game. What a fun and sweet boy. He's getting to old for his own good.

Vomit-gate 2011

So just when I thought we were in the clear, nope the vomiting started again. The next day after having given Millie 2 or 3 doses of Phenergan, she was still vomiting. Paul and I decided we had to take Amelia to the E.R. to be seen in case she was getting dehydrated. Jaymi and Ron once again volunteered to watch Jack and Thomas while we went into Ontario to the hospital. When we arrived the doctor did determine that Amelia was dehydrated and needed an I.V. bolus infusion of fluids along with Zofran for vomiting and some Tylenol and Motrin for her fever. She was very brave (only crying a little) while they placed the I.V. in the crook of her arm. I layed with her in the bed and held her while she cried herself to sleep and the I.V. infused. After her infusion she refused to eat or drink anything, so we had to feed her apple juice from a syringe. She kept this down so they finally let us leave with her. This was the last of her vomiting for a long while. That night I got really sick and vomited, but only once. Then the next day (Monday) it was Jack's turn to throw up. He was sick for most of the day, but finally stopped vomiting by the next day. I thought that we had made it through, but I again, was wrong. Tuesday night Paul started with the symptoms and sure enough was vomiting before too long. We went to bed rather late, and a hour after sleeping Paul woke me up saying that he thought Millie was throwing up again, and that Thomas was wandering around the house aimlessly. I got up and sure enough Millie had been sick again, but instead of being upset that she had thrown up , she was upset that she had thrown up on her Princess dress. What a long couple of weeks. Could it really be over?

Don't look now....

Just when we thought our family was on the mend, the vomiting began. I hadn't been able to go grocery shopping for about 2 weeks due to the fact that our family had been so sick. So Paul and I decided to go and do a large shopping trip while Thomas was at school on Friday. We took Jack and Amelia along with us. They both did great at the store, but Amelia acted like she was really tired the entire time. Having just recovered from the flu, she probably was exhausted. We got home and she layed down on her dad's chair. She started to complain that her tummy hurt. Just as a precaution I got her the barf bucket, but as it always goes in our house with her as soon as she started vomiting a few minutes later she refused to use the bucket and just vomited all down the front of herself and on the chair. This was the start of a series of bouts of vomit over the next 12 hours. She continued to refuse to use the bucket so we went through a lot of blankets, sheets and towels. She also took about 6 baths in a 6 hour period. Everytime she'd vomit she'd then start begging to eat something. Its heartbreaking having to tell your sobbing little girl that she can't eat until she stops vomiting. We were very concerned that she might get dehydrated, and she started complaining that her ears hurt so I took her into the urgent care center to be seen. Paul was busy working on a hat order, so that meant that I was in charge of the kids. I called and asked Jaymi how brave she was feeling, and the answer was pretty darn brave because she agreed to watch both Jack and Thomas while I took Amelia to the doctor. This was the first time I had ever left Jack with someone for more than about 15 minutes. Jack did great as long as Jaymi or Ron played with him. Anyway... Amelia ended up not having an ear infection, but the P.A. was very compassionate and did give us a prescription for phenergan to help her to stop vomiting. We're home now, she's had the phenergan and so far it seems to be working. Here's hoping that we're finally on the mend.

Would you like fries with that?

I already recorded this happening on my Facebook status today, but I know that if I want to keep this long term I need to blog it. This morning I was running around trying to meet all of the needs of my kids. Jack was whiny, Millie wanted hot cereal instead of biscuits that I was already making and Thomas was asking about a million questions about everything. I sat Millie at the table and she requested her sippy with some lemonade. I got her the drink she requested and thought that Thomas had also asked for something to drink. I went about doing all that I needed to do, and included getting a drink for Thomas too. As I handed it to him he gave me a very quizzical look and stated "I didn't order a drink, I ordered something to eat." Excuse me.... do I look like a short order cook to you?!?! Did he actually say "order"? I guess I know what he thinks a mom's job is. Oh well, he'll be very shocked when I give him the check, especially when I've already figured in a 20% tip. Oh how I love my sweet little boy.

On the mend

We are finally on the mend. Thomas woke up this morning and declared that he was bored. This is a really good sign that he feels much better (that and he feels like teasing his little sister). Mille's fever is down and Jack is sleeping better. I love it when we are well in the house. We just need to keep healing.

Influenza 2011

And its attacked our house, influenza A has officially set in. Thomas came home from school on Wednesday very pale and grumpy. He was complaining of his back hurting, then being dizzy and his head hurting and finally of stomach pain. I thought he was just trying his best to get out of helping to clean his room. Later that night he came to sit next to me to cuddle and then next thing I know he's throwing up all over me. That started it all. He threw up off and on for about 24 hours. I thought that we might be lucky enough that whatever was ailing him would pass all of the rest of us by. I was so wrong..... On Friday evening at about 6 PM Jack was with Paul and I at the wrestling tournament where we were attempting to sell some T-shirts. He was being awfully quite and sweet, just rocking in his swing. Paul picked him up as he started to get fussy, and wham, vomit all over Paul's shoulder. I took him home and the fever started. He slept really soundly through most of the night, just whimpering when he hurt. He woke up once for about 3 hours and couldn't get comfortable. His fever finally came down and back to sleep he went. Amelia was still symptom free so her wonderful Aunt Jaymi and Grandma Jerri came and took her with them on Saturday so that the boys and I could rest at home. Thomas was still very feverish and lethargic, but seemed to be over the nausea and vomiting. Jack just cried and slept most of the day. Chari and Gus came by because Paul had to go back to the wrestling tournament. Chari held the baby while I showered and ran to the store for food and medicine. Jaymi and Chari were going to keep Amelia for the night and take her to church the next day. But you know how well layed plans go.... down the tubes. I got a call about 5 PM on Saturday night from Jaymi saying that Millie was glassy eyed and feverish. Millie came home that night and cried and cried from pain and achiness. I finally put her in the bath. Between the warmth of the water and the ibuprofen she finally started to feel better and wanted to know if she could go back to Jaymi's house. That night Millie "bomited" about 4 times and continued to be feverish. Jack also was very feverish and the only thing that would help calm him down was ibuprofen and me singing "How Great Thou Art" to him. It occurred to me yesterday (Saturday) that I'm fairly sure that my family has the flu. I knew that if the patient got started on Tamiflu within 48 hours of starting a fever it can shorten the symptoms of the flu by a significant amount. I took Amelia and Jack into the St. Alphonsus Ontario E.R. and they were tested for the flu. They both came back positive for having influenza A. Oh joy. My poor babies. At least they were both able to start on Tamiflu. Thomas is still lethargic and running a fever. I'm hoping he'll feel better with in a day or two and can return to school. I promise, promise, promise myself that we will get our flu shots next year.... all five of us. Now Paul and I both have headaches, back aches, sore throats, and muscle fatigue. It should be a lot of fun in the Jensen household over the next week or so. I'm also very sorry to those families that we've been around in the last week, Megan Moeller, the Hyde's, and my entire family that lives in this area. I hope they can miss being hit by this awful infection. It's definitely not fun, and NOT cheap.

Orange or popsicle?

I wondered today how much of my Amelia's conversations with herself that I miss. I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and Amelia was standing right outside of the kitchen. She came to me and asked if she could have an orange. I told her that I would peel her one as soon as I was done with the dishes. I then hear her talking to herself very quietly. Here is the conversation that she is having with her hand:
Hand: I want a popsicle.
Millie: No I want an orange.
Hand: Can I have a popsicle?
Millie: No.
Hand: Why?
Millie: Cause you don't have a mouth?
Hand: Why?
Millie: Cause  you're my hand.
I laughed SO hard I was crying and could hardly stand. Oh, how I love my kids!!!

Rolling over

Today was a big day in the Jensen household..... Jack rolled all the way over from his back to his front all own his own. It was so awesome. He had to work very hard at it and his motivation was the little blue dog that was just out of his reach. He struggled and struggled and kept on at it til...... we have tummy time. YEAH!!! It was so awesome to see. I loved it and actually got some video of it.

Hot cross buns.

There's a new development in our house. Amelia is A LOT like her Grandma Jerri in many ways and I keep finding more and more ways that they are alike all the time. The newest way that they are alike is that they are both cold blooded and one of the ways that they fight against this in the winter is to stand on the heat registers in the house. If you are ever looking for Amelia there are a few places in our home to look, standing on any of the heat registers in our home. She wears her purple princess dress right now so she stands over a register and if the heat is on it puffs her skirt up and makes it look like she has a huge hoop skirt on. Today she was standing on the register that is right behind my chair that I sit in to hold Jack. The register was not on at the time so she said to me that the heat wasn't working and she was cold. It's so funny. She actually got out of bed tonight because she couldn't sleep and asked if she could stand on the heat to warm up. She's very inventive.

My best friend, EVER!!

Thomas loves to have his friends come and play at our house, or to go over and play at their homes. I have to limit this or he'd be at their homes everyday. But today we decided to invite over one of our favorite friends, Dylan Hyde. We just love the way the boys play together. But today I decided that Dylan was definitely MY best friend. The boys were playing in Thomas' room and the next thing I know Dylan has convinced Thomas that before they make a tent in the room they need to clean up the room. He can come and play at my house EVERY DAY!!!!! What a great influence. Hopefully he'll rub off on Thomas.

There are starving children in China!!!

My son, Thomas, hates it when I actually cook dinner because it means that he doesn't get to choose what he gets to eat and he has to eat something disgusting like lasagna, spagetti, tacos, etc. My New Year's resolution is to cook more meals for my family instead of having "fend for yourself nights". Tonight I made Mongolian Beef Stir Fry. I made my family sit down at the dinner table like normal human beings and eat what I had fixed. Thomas was having a fit because the dinner was "disgusting". I had a vision of that scene from A Christmas Story when the mother was tellling the little boy to eat and to think of all of the starving children in China. It didn't work with Thomas, but he did eventually eat most of his food. He's going to learn to like my cooking whether he wants to or not!!!
Tonight Millie decided that if she couldn't wear her princess dress (because it's dirty) than she'd like to watch the princess show. She picked out Beauty and the Beast to watch. After watching it in her room for about a half an hour she came out to inform me that she's not afraid of the beast like the other princess is, and that the beast is hers. She's so funny. When it was over she decided she wanted to watch it again. When I went in to her room to restart the movie she was dancing by herself and singing the theme song from the movie. I just love walking in on moments like those. They are so precious.
There's also another not so precious behavior that Amelia has started. Anytime we walk in and find her doing something that she's not supposed to do and she knows she's in trouble she turns and puckers up her lips and starts to smack them together. She thinks that if she immediately kisses us than all is forgiven. She's one smart cookie!

Attack of the blanket monster!

Jack has a new "game" that he has started playing with himself. When he's laying on the floor covered with his blanket he grabs a hold of it, covers his face with it and then freaks out with his limbs, pumping his arms and legs as fast as he can. I move the blanket off of him and find his eyes open as wide as possible and a hint of a smile on his face. Within a few moments of moving it off of him, its back over his face and the arms and legs are going again. He's such a fun and silly boy. Its a game he'll play over and over again all day long. It keeps him occupied.

Attack of the Cookie Millie Monster!

Tonight Amelia asked for a few Pringles to munch on after dinner. As she was eating them I noticed that more than a few crumbs were dropping to the ground. She was being even more messy with her food. I asked her to be more careful and stop being so messy. She said she wasn't being messy, but she was eating like Cookie Monster. When I told her dad about this new habit he said, "that's it, no more Seasame Street for her." Maybe I should have her start watching Clean House and then she can start acting like the people who come in and clean out your house for you..... excellent idea!!!!

Feeding of the baby

So its that time again in life to try to start our baby on "solid" foods. He's a little younger than my other kids, but Jack seems like the kind of kid who may need something other than nursing to satisfy him. So we started this evening with some cereal. And like most of these first time attempts he ended up with most of the food on his face, in his hair and spit all over his stomach. But I think he really liked it. Well the adventure now begins. And trying to convince Amelia that he's not her baby to feed is going to be a real adventure in and of itself.

Here we go.

So now that we have a laptop and wireless internet I have the opprotunity to start blogging. I'm hoping that this will suffice as my journaling and it can be one less thing that I have to feel guilty about not doing. We have had a great start to our year. We just celebrated my brother's marriage to Lexi yesterday at my parents house. It was an awesome experience. It was so great to see so many familiar faces that I haven't seen in so long and be able to catch up on our lives. Its so seldom that we get to have the entire family together that it was fun to enjoy being together again as a family. I love our new family member, Lexi. She fits right into our family so well. It was really great meeting her family and getting to know them too.
We started the year with another new family member, Jack. He's our newest addition to our Jensen family. We all just love the heck out of him. He's a big kid compared to my other baby's. At 4 1/2 months he weighs about 16 lbs. He's very vocal and very strong. He won't be truly happy with life until he can get mobile, and then I think a little more of my sanity might just slip away. He is so loved by his older brother and sister who still fight about who gets to hold him first. Its pretty hilarious to see Amelia try to hold him because he's almost as big as she is. And speaking of Jack; I'll have to end the entry at this point because he's going into emotional meltdown because I'm not giving him my complete and undivided attention. I think this is a good start and will continue later.