Photos of Erik & Meg's Children

Meg and Erik's children are so precious!  I had to brag. 

Landen (almost 6)

Kate (3.5)

Cohen (2)

The Princess and the Frogs

Meg and I took Kate, Landen, and Ian to see The Princess and The Frog. It was Ian and Kate's first movie in a theater. They did great. They ate a ton of popcorn and stayed in their seats nicely. Kate took one trip to the potty but overall they did great. I enjoyed the movie and liked the story. It had scary parts and Ian refused to look (definitely my child) but I didn't think it was as scary (from a child's perspective) as some Disney movies. I loved the music! All the reference to cajun food and New Orleans made me miss my friend, Jessica.

Ian, Ruby, and I went to church briefly this morning. We were alternates for the nursery and didn't know if the scheduled person would show up or not. Of course, the scheduled nursery person was there but it allowed the kids to play w/ those toys for about an hour and it was good to catch up with some of our adult friends. Then we left for a movie. I felt kind of bad about ditching church for a movie but rationalized that it was an important "family activity" and the 11am movie time was better for naps. Regardless, it was good for Ian and Ruby to have a change of scenery on a rainy morning. It also gave Chris some quiet time to rest and recover from his most recent illness, the stomach bug. So far, Chris has struggled in January. Hopefully his immune system will resist future illness for a while. He came home Friday night from work with an urge to get to the bathroom and he didn't leave most of the night. Poor guy! Today he seems to be feeling a lot better.

Because of Chris's illness, he did not get to go to Charlotte Reynolds's memorial service. Ian and I went with Meg, Erik, and Landen. Ruby stayed home napping. Meg and Erik had a sitter for Kate and Cohen. Chris did watch the service through the live feed from the http://www.cjstuf.org/ website. The service was amazing and perfect! The children's sermon was phenomenal and Ian and I loved the music. Again, I was so amazed and inspired by Roger and Rachel and their ability to speak at THEIR child's memorial service. And what they said was so rich and "full of Charlotte". I can't say it enough, I have been changed by this experience and so appreciate them sharing their journey with me and thousands of others. The reception was just as amazing and perfect. There was a chocolate fountain and Ian LOVED that. After he was done, it appeared that I had skewered him and dipped him in the fountain. He had so much chocolate. The funniest part was between the service and reception, Ian and Landen were running around some trees. From across the grounds I see Ian start to pull his pants down next to a tree. I ran across the lawn screaming "NO"! He gathered himself and we jumped in front of the line to go to the potty. Geesh, that could've been bad, but we made it! I connected with some of my favorite Richmond Mommies at the reception and that was great. Now, we've become Facebook friends. We also loved the balloon launch. It was so beautiful to watch the purple and pink balloons float up into the sky. As they got farther and farther away, Ian said, "they look like polka dots in the sky." He later asked if the balloons were going to Charlotte. I said, "Yes".

When we got home, Chris and Ruby were reading books and both Chris and Ruby had napped well. Chris was so happy to have been able to watch the service from the website. Ruby, Ian and I then went to the playground and were lucky to find a neighbor and her three kids there. It was great because Ian could play with Will. Ruby was more interested in the apple she was inhaling to play much but it was still good to get some fresh air on a warm January day.

The kids went to bed well and then I went to GAP with Meg to check out the sales. Meg and I both found some good items for great prices. We are sad that the VA Center Commons GAP is closing. Ugh! It's about the only reason I go to our mall.

Chris and I both slept pretty good through the night. Much better than Friday night! Chris is off for MLK Day but I have to work. I'm glad he has another day to get better. I feel like I've got a bullseye on my head since Ian, Ruby, and Chris have all had this yucky bug. I'm still crossing my fingers and praying that I don't get sick. I hope it works...

Poor Sick Ian!

I went to bed last night at 11:30pm.  Our cleaning lady was here so the house was so nice and clean.  At 12:00am, Ian was screaming and I stumbled to his bed to find a disgusting mound of nastiness.  He'd thrown up and was scared and confused.  I went into clean up mode and stripped his bed and clothes.  So much for Ian's nice clean room.  Then I got the yucky hospital basin from under the sink for Ian to aim when needed.  He continued to retch and vomit a little more.  No fun!  Luckily I knew my back-up was going to be coming home soon.  So, Daddy got home and brought in the 2 boxes of Kraft/Nabisco items for Charlotte's memorial service reception.  Then he came upstairs to change clothes and found me cuddling with poor little Ian.  Chris took over so I could go to bed for a little while.  And then the night was full of nasty sounds and smells and Ian was very restless.  Of course, Ruby was up at 4:00am to make sure she got some attention.  I cuddled with her for a bit and then we listened to her scream for a bit and then she was back to sleep.  She's cutting some teeth and her room was chilly.  I was so relieved to find that her crib wasn't filled with throw up too! 

So, I got up and got ready for work and took Ruby to daycare.  I went to work for 3.5 hours and then came home to relieve Chris so he could get to work by 3pm.  That's the only positive about 2nd shift (besides that Chris is employed)...the ability to tag team childcare when kids or sick and not miss a whole day of work. 

Ian seems better.  He's had some apple juice and Premium Saltine Crackers (Kraft plug) and kept it down.  He said, "I'm feeling better cause I'm not throwing up."  He's having a cartoon marathon and enjoying Olivia right now.  It's a cute show and he likes that Olivia's little brother's name is Ian. 

I made a pot of vegetable soup and had some for lunch.  Yummy!

He's so sweet and cuddly when he's sick.  Chris and I feel guilty for liking it when he's sick.  He's just so cute and sweet.  Last night I told him that he scared me when he screamed.  He said, through his tears, "well I needed you!"  Oh my, too sweet. 

Apparently this bug is going around the daycare and I'm hearing that there are kids in other setting with this bug too.  We were at Chick fil A with Erik, Landen, Kate, and Cohen last night so I sent them an email this morning sharing about Ian's condition.  I remembered Ian sharing ice cream with Erik and Kate.  Geesh!  I'm hoping it will be quick and that no one else will get it.  I'm a little uncomfortable since Ian had some strange stomach bug about this time last year and I believe that's the virus that my body overreacted to and caused transverse myelitis.  So, I'm a little creeped out by it but trying to not worry too much.  I'm still feeling great eventhough I feel weird nerve flutter/twinges multiple times a day. 

I'm also really sad about the earthquake in Haiti.  I can't imagine the devastation.  My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.  I did send a message to Magda Munoz Gonzalez, a mother of child who I case managed in Richmond who moved back to the Dominican Republic, their home.  I hope that they are okay, I haven't heard much about the Dominican Republic but I know they share the same island. 

Ian and I will go pick up Ruby from daycare soon.  Hopefully she will continue to feel well.  And maybe we'll ALL get a good night's sleep.  :)