S'More Training

Eliza is pretty obsessed with s'mores lately. In fact, she loves them so much that she wants to teach you how to make one, too :)

Decorations for Our Tree

After a morning full of cuddling congested and clingy little ones, Nathan suggested we finally go and buy some decorations for our tree. He thought a bit of Christmas cheer might lift everyone's spirits a little.

We got to the store, and Eliza was absolutely delighted by all of the various decorations. She spent so much time looking over everything and finally announced that she had found the perfect decorations for our tree.

Nathan and I would have never chosen purple, hot pink, and turquoise ornaments, but how could we say no to our four year old? She was so excited to get home and put everything on the tree.

I'm usually opposed to artificial trees, but Nathan found such a great deal on a pre-lit tree that it made sense to buy it. Nathan did a good job of making the branches look full, I put hooks on the ornaments, and Eliza got to work hanging everything!

I'm pretty sure this girl is going to be an artist. She has an uncanny ability to make things look great! She spent a considerable amount of time looking at the tree and judging where she should hang out the nice ornament. She was very careful not to hang two similar ornaments next to each other and would occasionally step back to admire her work. It was fun just to watch her. She loved the "shiny" ornaments the most and the fact that she could see her reflection in them.

She was definitely pleased with the final product, and so were we! Nathan and I jokingly said that we never should have doubted her selection of ornaments because everything looked wonderful!

It really feels like the Christmas season now. And I couldn't be happier :)

Almost Better?

We've all taken turns being sick. Eliza and I are pretty much better, but the twins and Nathan haven't been feeling great. Elliott was taken to urgent care earlier this week when he began having trouble breathing. Like Eliza, he was diagnosed with croup. Both boys are taking medicine (even though Ezra wasn't as sick as Elliott), and I am hoping this is all the sickness we have this winter!

Today, there was a rare moment when everyone was full of energy, so Nathan and I decided to take the kids somewhere to play. It was a little too cold for the park (especially with everyone recovering from sickness), so we went to an indoor play place and let the kids run free. I think they were happy to finally get out of the house!

Hooray for medicine! Hooray for friends who bring over essential oils that have helped our children's congestion so much ("breathe" is amazing!). I'm just glad things have improved!

27th Birthday

I woke up, walked into the kitchen, and saw this:

Nathan obviously hadn't forgotten my birthday and had been listening to me earlier in the week when I said I wanted a Christmas tree. The cute guy went to Walmart at midnight (after his sick wife and sick kids finally fell asleep), bought a tree, and even set it up. He also was thoughtful enough to buy me two pretty dresses and scatter Hershey kisses everywhere because he knows they are my favorite. I certainly felt loved!

Sadly, I'm still really sick and so is Eliza. Nathan spent the day serving. He did the cooking, the dishes, took care of the kids, and let me rest. He then found my grandmother's cake recipe and made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting from scratch. Yep! I married an amazing guy! The cake wasn't the prettiest, but it was delicious and made with love. That's all that matters, right?

We lit the candles, the kids sang "Happy Birthday," and we had a great time together as a family.

My sweet friend Kelsie brought by dinner, and my amazing friends Kimberly and Jeff brought by a birthday card with a gift certificate to get an hour long massage. I felt totally spoiled. Our friends are so wonderful.

Becca gave me a beautiful shirt from Forever21 and threw me a little birthday party. She had the most amazing cake, and Ariel brought homemade Oreos. It was basically heaven.

Keslie then came over to Becca's with another cake! We were all full (to say the least) by the time the party ended.

When I got home from Becca's house, I found that Nathan had prepared a mini spa for me. He had a bath full of warm water, nice music playing, and candles lit so I could take a long and relaxing bath. He really felt bad that I was so sick on my birthday, and he was hopeful a nice bath would help me feel a little better.

I am so lucky to have a great family and wonderful friends. Undoubtedly, this was one of my best birthdays ever (if not the absolute best). It's nice to feel so loved!

Two Little Dudes

Ezra and Elliott have had pretty bad congestion the last couple of days. Nathan and I have been giving them warm baths to try and open up their airways some, and it seems to help a little. The major development, though, is that the boys finally enjoy bath time! For months, they have been disinterested in bathing and always want to get out of the tub before they are clean.

Tonight, however, they played in the tub and even decided they were okay with having their hair bushed. These are some huge steps, people! After their hair was perfectly combed, they both insisted upon sitting on the bathroom counter and looking in the mirror at themselves. I think they approved.

To Nathan and me, they looked like two little Kevin McAllisters from Home Alone. Adorable. 

Sick and SYTYCD

Eliza's croup has been intense these past couple of days. The twins aren't feeling too well, either, and I'm worried they are both going to be sick. Of course, I became sick the morning after Eliza's trip to the emergency room. We are all pretty pathetic at our house!

Eliza has a fever and has been delirious at some points (despite medication), and Nathan almost had to take her to the emergency room again last night after another breathing episode. The doctor told us to take her outside into the cold air if she began to struggle to catch her breath, so we tried that before rushing to the ER again. It did the trick. She's still miserable, though.

Even though I wasn't feeling the greatest, I had a good reason to try and force myself into feeling better: tickets to So You Think You Can Dance! I don't follow the show obsessively, but I do enjoy watching it. For the past couple of weeks, I have been watching clips trying to become familiar with all the dancers from this last season. Becca received tickets from her mom a few weeks ago for her birthday. Karen was nice enough to include an extra ticket for me, too! Becca and I decided to make a date of it and went shopping beforehand and ate a quick dinner at In-N-Out because Zupa's was insanely busy.

We had a great time! It was the perfect early birthday present for me, and I definitely needed a night out after a rough week.

Midnight Trip to the Emergency Room

Yesterday was completely normal. Eliza went to ballet, we ran some errands, Nathan went to class, and the children and I went to the park in the afternoon. Everyone was feeling great when we got home right before dinner, and all three kids went to bed without complaining.

Around 11:30, Nathan and I both woke up to a gasping noise coming from Eliza's room. My heart felt like it stopped beating as we both jumped out of bed and ran to her. Nathan carried her out of the room and tried calming her down so she could catch her breath. I ran and found my inhaler. She had a hard time breathing in the albuterol correctly, but I could tell it helped somewhat. I held her as she continued to gasp for air, while Nathan hurriedly dressed. He then ran out the door with her and headed to the emergency room.

After they left, I sat in the living room and cried. The past five minutes had been intensely scary, and I was still terrified something would happen on the way to the ER. I couldn't get over the fact that Eliza had been fine when she went to bed, only to wake up a few hours later incredibly sick. Knowing I was probably upset at home (which I was), Nathan was great about giving updates. He called a short time later to say that once they stepped outside, the cold air helped Eliza breathe a little better. He then texted me once they arrived at the hospital to let me know that Eliza had been seen immediately and had received a steroid shot to help her breathing. She was diagnosed with croup. A couple of hours later, they came back home. Eliza was sleepy and feeling sick, but definitely doing better. After two trips to the emergency room in less than three weeks, she told me that she doesn't ever want to go back. Poor girl has been through a lot lately.

It was a crazy night, but I'm incredibly grateful we heard her struggling to catch her breath. I'm definitely a light sleeper, but Nathan certainly isn't. It's amazing that we both were able to hear her in distress from down the hall; I am so glad we sleep with our doors open!