Ahhhh

More fevers, more diarrhea and yet it was just another usual day in our house.  Hannah was in our bed all night - and she didn't sleep very well.  At 3:00 I ended up getting up with her and giving her more Tylenol, changing her diaper and giving her some Gatorade (they finally drink the blue one!).  I tried to sleep in this morning after Pete got up with all 3 of them - but it's near impossible to do so! 

My mom came over for a little bit and then the girls actually went down for early naps (around 10:30).  They fell right to sleep and didn't wake up for 2 hours!  Once they were up - we ate and headed to a new park we hadn't been to before.  Hannah's fever has been holding strong but knowing that it's an ear infection - we figured there's no need to keep her locked in the house. 

The park we went to had about 12 slides (it was pretty big).  The girls love slides.  I love slides!  Thankfully I didn't attempt this outing alone because I quickly realized it was a job almost too big for Pete and myself.  A 3rd adult would have been great.  The girls were being wonderful...listening and making sure to stay together or wait for us to catch up.  I was right behind them wherever they went and Pete was at the bottom of whatever slide they chose.  Picture this - Hailey is going down one slide and her sneaker got caught on the side of the slide.  Her foot stuck and the momentum of her body kept going - she went head 1st over the SIDE of the slide.  My WONDERFUL multi-tasking-quick-thinking husband grabbed for her and caught her by the feet.  The way he caught her actually broke her fall and she did a soft, head over heels somersault.  Had he not been there...ugh.  We've been through this before when Hannah fell head 1st over the top of the slide.  Parks are fun but man oh man they take years off my life. 

The ice cream truck showed up so Pete bought the girls a Sponge Bob pop and we sat in the shade and enjoyed a frozen treat.  After making quite the mess - and cleaning up with ease (wipes are Gods greatest gift to moms), we headed back to the slides.

I don't usually do much 'people watching' when I'm with the girls since I have my own zoo to keep up with.  But today while the girls were eating their pops - I noticed a dad with his 2 daughters - also enjoying some frozen treats.  We were all sitting pretty close to the garbage can and one of these girls came over to throw out her wrapper.  She was probably about  8 or 9 y/o.  I saw her wipe her hands right down her shirt as she walked away from the garbage can and I snickered to myself because I had JUST DONE THE SAME THING!  I even had a package of wipes with me - yet it was just easier to wipe my hands on my shirt.  What took me by surprise was that by the time she got back to her father - he was yelling at her.  "How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use your shirt as a napkin?"  OMG I think I had a bad flashback because immediately I was brought back to a memory of me in Friendly's with my Dad and brother - and my dad was saying THE SAME THING!  Guess what Dad?  It didn't work!  I STILL USE MY SHIRT AS A NAPKIN! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   But come on - she didn't even have a napkin for crying out loud!  They were in a park and I'll bet he used his freakin' jeans to wipe his dirty hands on.  Next time I'm yelling at my kids for something ridiculous - someone please smack me over the head. 

One little boy - about 10 years old - tried to cut Emily off at the entrance to the slide.  Ha!  She looked at him and said "No!  It's Emmie's turn!" and she nudged her little butt in front of him (rightfully so because he really did cut her off) and she took her turn!  Haha what I love about this is that they know 'turns' and also that she didn't take sh*t - not even from a BIG BOY much older than her!  Side note:  The same kid did the same thing to Hannah and after she let him get in front of her she looked at me and cried.  Although my heart broke for her - I said 'Next time - say that's it's your turn and ask him to wait.'  I'm learning that I simply can't fight their every battle - and if I do it will only make things worse for them as they get older.  So the kid went down 1st and Hannah hopefully learned a lesson. 

Then came the 'Would you like to leave right now or would you like one more time down the slide?'   I dread this with Emily because leaving a park with Emily is eventually bound to get DCF called on us!  She is MISERABLE when it comes to leaving the park.  But - with some happy "Yay!  Ok make it a good last time!  Great slide!  Now go stand next to daddy and wait for everyone else!" - she was fine.  We walked back to the van and said "Bye bye park!  Thanks for letting us play today!  We'll see you soon!"  Not a single tear shed.  THANK YOU JESUS!  Pete and I are both tired from a few sleepless nights and I don't think either one of us was ready to battle the park departure.  However; I think we're making progress.  It feels great to see something work that we've worked for. 

Once home - the girls and I went to visit a neighbor who had their dog outside.  Another 30 - 45 minutes outside and then it was time for dinner.  Andy came home, we all ate dinner, then baths and bed.  We've been reading the girls some Santa books in preparation for X-mas.  Sounds weird right?  Well when the girls know that Santa is NICE and  not NAUGHTY (sort of hehe) they will be fine at the mall and when we pass a Santa in a suit.  They don't take well to costumes - so some preparation is only going to benefit us.  And what's even better?  They are excited!  And so are Pete and I..............................