The Stomach Bug Hits Us!

Well, I will admit it.  I have been patting myself on the back because I have been reading for months on Facebook about people getting the stomach flu or some other illness and my family has been completely healthy.  I can't even remember the last time one of my kids were sick.  Well, this week we made up for it.  Logan went to a birthday party at Monkey Joe's (bounce house) last weekend and that night he threw up!  He then had a fever for a couple days.  Just as he was getting better Colin came down with it.  When Colin gets sick he always gets really really sick.  Sure enough he threw up several times that night and then had a pretty high fever the next day and missed 2 days of school.  Leah and Dennis then came down with it, but not too bad at all.

Then, Friday night it hit me pretty hard.  I was sick all night and pretty miserable the next day.  Dennis got to take care of all four kids all by himself all day and they gave him a run for his money.  Being cooped up all winter is really starting to get to them.  I can't wait until the weather warms up and they can play outside.  It's way easier to be a parent when it is nice outside!

Anyway, today I am feeling better.  I took the boys to church class and then Dennis took the three boys to a lego exhibit while I stayed home with Leah, so she could nap.

We are praying that Evan stays healthy and that we have a healthy week.

Colin is 9 Years Old!!!

Colin is 9 years old today!  At 9 years old Colin is a great kid.  He is doing good in school.  His report card has been really great.  He especially excels in Math, it comes very easy to him.  He is doing great reading and has been getting some pretty big books at the library to read.  He is great about coming home and getting right to homework.  He can be absent minded sometimes and needs reminders to put things in his back pack or remember to bring his lunch bag home.  But, he is super intelligent and does great in school.

Colin continues to love sports.  He likes soccer and football especially.  He will be doing soccer this spring, but wants to try tackle football in the fall.  Today, he started his first day of a soccer training camp at an indoor facility.  It is for 9-11 year olds, so he is the youngest there and they are definitely really good athletes there.  I think it will be good for him to learn some different foot skills and play along kids that are really good.

Colin is a great big brother.  He has been known to change diapers without being asked and make his brothers breakfast.  He continues to love cooking and has been making himself eggs many mornings.  He is a helpful kid.

Colin is growing more and more mature everyday.  It is really fun to watch him grow.  He continues to be all boy though and is very active.  He loves to tackle (even though he isn't supposed to), play hide in seek or any other physical game.  He also loves playing video games.

Today was a bit crazy.  After school we had to quickly get homework done and then I had to take all the kids with me to Colin's soccer.  Then we had to get home, eat dinner (Colin wanted sausage, pepperoni and pineapple pizza), have ice cream cake, open presents from us and family and then get everyone bathed and to bed.  It was definitely very rushed.  I think Tuesdays are going to be a bit crazy around here for a while!  Colin enjoyed his gifts though!

Skyping with Grandpa McLaughlin

Leah's 1 Year Pictures.

Today I finally got around to getting Leah's 1 year photos done.  I had to keep postponing it due to snow and the kids being home from school.  Dennis ended up working from home so I could take Leah without any other kids (since the kids were home from school again).  Leah did not do well during the pics.  She was crying a lot so they aren't the best pics, but we got through it.  Here is the outfit she wore...


When I got back, the boys and I did some baking.  Colin wanted to try out a cookie recipe in his new cookbook...

We have been playing board games a lot the last couple weeks.  We love the game Ticket to Ride!

Snow Days.

We spent most of the rest of winter break in our house.  We had a big snow and the kids had fun playing in the snow!

The snow was followed by some crazy low temperatures all week which caused some school closing and delays.  We had a lot of lazy days at home inside since it was too dangerous for the kids to play outside.

Christmas 2013!

We had a wonderful week in Virginia.  I'm sure I am going to forget a lot of the details, but here is a quick run down of what we did...

Christmas Eve we spent most of the day at Grandma and Robert's house.  The kids enjoyed opening gifts from everyone and we had a wonderful meal, as always.  We also had fun doing the gift exchange.

Christmas Day the kids woke up and were so excited to open presents.  I believe they woke up around their usual time 6:45 or 7.  

This year, the older boys didn't really ask for anything expensive or big, all they wanted was football stuff, so that is what they got!  They were so excited!  Logan's big gift was a Jake and the Neverland Pirates Ship.  The funniest part of opening gifts was when Logan yelled, "This is just what I wanted!"  When Grammy asked him what it was, he said, "I don't know."  He was just so excited to be getting gifts.  I think being a parent on Christmas morning might be even better than being a kid.  It is so fun to see them excited.

After the kids played for a bit, we went to Christmas mass with my parents and then later went to Aunt Julie and Uncle Phil's for Christmas dinner.  The kids did a gift exchange and the adults all did one too.  It is always fun to reveal who had who.  The kids spent a lot of time playing in the basement with their cousins.  They love getting to hang out together.

Leah and Cousin Brandon enjoying their milk.

Logan opening Leah's gift

On the 26th, we went to Aunt Meghan and Miranda's house for brunch.  We got to spend time with Grandpa McLaughlin.  The kids watched a movie and the adults chatted.  Leah took a great nap and then we headed back to Grammy's house.  That evening, my sisters, sister in law Fanchon, and my Mom and her friend all went out to a nice dinner and then to see Flashdance at the Kennedy center.  We went to celebrate Fanchon's new baby coming in March.  We try and do some kind of shower for every baby, even it is just a small get together of just us ladies.  While we did that, Dennis and my Dad took the kids to Julie and Phil's house.  The kids all watched a movie and they ordered pizza.

On the 27th, we met up with Dennis' friend Tasha and her family at the Mall.  The kids played in the play area and we had a nice lunch.

That evening my Mom's whole extended family had their annual party at the hall.  We played games and ate delicious food.  The boys had a blast!

On the 28th we met up with our friends, Mandy and Stephen, and their kids, at the National Zoo for Zoo lights.  We had an awesome dinner before hand and then went there.  The traffic around the zoo was crazy, but once we got in it was real fun.  The lights were cool and they had some exhibits open.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to the rides the lines were crazy so we didn't do those, but it was still a fun evening.

I can't really remember what we did the rest of the weekend.  We met up with Grandpa McLaughlin for breakfast one day.  We also visited with Shane and Lisa and it was fun to see their little ones.  We watched football over at their house.  We also, of course, played Catan at Julie's some evenings.  Oh and Sunday evening, Julie's family, David and Fanchon, and my parents and us all went out to an Italian restaurant we like.  We like it because there is a separate kids room with a TV and a "babysitter" that entertains the kids and takes their orders.  It's nice to have adult conversation without being interrupted or distracted the whole time.

Monday afternoon we hit the road back to Indiana.  We arrived back here at 1am on New Years Eve.  It was a long drive and Leah got a little fussy, but for the most part it went fine.  Dennis and I both felt it was a nice trip to Virginia, not to rushed and we got to see lots of people.  Christmas 2013 was a good one!