Time Out

Can someone please put me in timeout?  I would be happy to sit in the corner all by myself for two minutes (or more) and have no one talk to me or mess with me.

I am a cranky tired b%&$h.  This past weekend wasn't exactly how I pictured it to be.  We were supposed to go to Michigan for the weekend.  However, on Tuesday Simone was diagnosed with RSV.  She had it last year too.  Apparently once you get it (especially when a little baby) you are prone to getting it again because your lungs are compromised.  This will probably be a yearly sickness, which sucks.  She was having a lot of trouble breathing and requires a breathing treatment three times a day.  On Wednesday night I heard her crying in a strange way, so I went into her room.  She was breathing very heavily, then her breathing would slow down and then she would stop breathing.  I mean really stop breathing.  I had to hit her a few times to wake up and when she did she would cry out.  That was the noise I kept hearing.  She was sound asleep, but obviously not breathing well.  I freaking out, called the exchange and they told me to take her to the ER.  We spent pretty much the entire night there.  I didn't get home until 4 am.  Her breathing regulated while she was awake, but she also had a double ear infection.

Ever since Wednesday night she has been getting much better.  I am just happy we didn't have to admit her to the hospital.

On Thursday night Joseph started coughing a ton.  We decided it was best for him not to go to Michigan because being on an airplane and the fact that he would stay super busy and not rest much would probably turn a minor cold into a huge one.

So I stayed home with the kids all weekend and Dave went with Samuel to Michigan.  Joseph continued to cough like crazy and ended up coughing so hard he threw up all over his bed on Friday night.  I was happy that we made the decision to keep him home because that would have been miserable.

The rest of the weekend was fine.  Simone is getting better and Joseph is still the same.  This time of year sucks.  Sickness is going through the schools like crazy and my kids seem to always get something.

Besides being at home with the sick kids, I have been so upset over the killings in Newtown.  I am just completely sick to my stomach.  There are no words to express the sorrow and heartache I feel for the parents and family of all those that were killed.  It is just unbelievable. There are so many issues that I could state my opinions regarding gun control, mental health issues and that fact that somehow people are trying to bring up that there should be prayer in schools because you know this tragedy would have never happened if there was prayer in school, WHATEVER.  I am not going to debate these issues right now even though I would be happy to at some point.  I just think we should focus on the beautiful lives that were lost and send our thoughts (and prayers if you participate in such) to the families of these lost souls.

Even though it was a rough weekend and I am exhausted and cranky, I am so grateful to see, kiss and hug my beautiful kids and husband.  Sometimes it is hard to put things into prospective, but when a tragedy like Newtown happens I realize I need to refocus and reevaluate the priorities in my life.

Trying to get back at it

I just started to write after over a month and I wanted to download pictures.  Apparently I am out of space.  Can someone please tell me what you are using or used once you ran out of storage space?  I want to be able to continue to post pictures and videos.

Of course, I finally sit down to write and Simone is waking up.  I put her down around 2 and she barely took a nap.  What is wrong with my kids?  Don't they know that mama needs more then 50 minutes to get stuff done at home.  Luckily the boys are keeping themselves busy.

Clearly life has been crazy around here.  I am going to get back into writing because I miss not documenting things that are going on in our lives.  I tell myself that I will remember, but I know the reality.  I already don't remember shit, so who am I kidding.

I am off to grab the baby.

Someone please let me know what you did about your storage availability.

Been a long time.

I figured pictures would be the best way to illustrate everything that has been going on in our lives with a little commentary.  The past few months have been extremely busy, emotional, trying, etc....

Since my last post we have finished the basement (almost).  It was finished right up to the day that all the family arrived for Simone's birthday party and baby naming.  We still need to put shelving in the play room and in the wine room.  There will always be things to add, but it is comfortable and people can stay in the basement.  We have been having lots of fun utilizing it.  We play and hang out in the basement almost every night.  

Okay, so here are more pictures.

Simone's favorite meal is pasta with pasta sauce.  She also loves it when we add ground beef to the sauce.  She gobbles it all up.  This was the meal we gave her on her birthday.  

See how much she loves it?

She loves making funny faces and LOVES the camera.  

 Savta, Papa, Oma, Opa, Uncle Izzy, Aunt Kay and Zayde all came in town for Simone's birthday celebration and Hebrew baby naming ceremony.  Also in attendance were Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Laura and Haidyn.

Papa and Simone

Samuel and Zayde

All the pictures with Zayde are very special to me.  I am so happy that he was able to make the trip to St. Louis.  We had a huge celebration and I know he was very excited to be in St. Louis.  One week after he was at our house in St. Louis, he passed away.  He was an extraordinary man.  I am so lucky to have had him in my life for so long, but I was not ready for him to leave.  I honor and cherish the time I had with him.  What a gift he was to me and my kids.

Dave and Simone on her celebration day!

Simone, Oma and Opa.  

First time she ever wore a headband.  She loved putting it on, but it didn't last too long on her head.  

A rare picture of me and Simone.  

Here we are at the naming ceremony.  Simone's Hebrew name is Shayna Bayle.  She is named after my grandmother "Shayna Toba" and her middle name Bayle is after my grandfather's sister who died in the Holocaust.  She is a lucky girl to carry on such beautiful names in honor of beautiful people. 

There is a feet washing portion of the ceremony for little girls.  The boys were a little nervous to help out, but eventually got really into it.   

Simone's first cake.  We found out that she loves vanilla and isn't a huge fan of chocolate, just like her brothers.  What is wrong with this kids?!

Another family picture with Zayde.

On Sunday, Oma and Savta ran a 5K race.  They did a great job!  The kids were really excited to cheer them on as the crossed the finish line. 

Originally the boys were both going to be super heroes.  Samuel changed his mind later.   Here they are trying on their costumes.  

All the kids hanging out with their grandparents.  I think everyone was in heaven.

Savta dressed up with them.

This was the morning of Simone's birthday.  Samuel decided when he woke up that he was going to dress up for school in honor of Simone.  He picked a tie, but later decided on a bow tie.

I love the look on Simone's face.  It's the biggest smile I have seen.

All the kiddos

Here's the bow tie he ended up wearing.  I think he actually looks better in the bow tie.  Super cute.  

Simone on her first birthday.

 Simone's statistics:

Height: 30 inches (79%)
Weight: 20 pounds 11 oz. (44%)
Head Circm: 18.19 inches (81%)

She's a big girl.  I thought her weight percentage would have been higher because she feels so heavy.  Apparently she is tall and skinny.  Not bad.

The kids on Simone's bday.

Right before Halloween

Halloween night - Samuel decided to be a gorilla.  

Simone's daytime Halloween outfit.

About to leave for trick or treating.

Simone was a spider.  

Out and about.  We only lasted 45 minutes, but I thought that was pretty good.  They got enough candy to last them weeks.  

So that is a quick update of everything that has been going on.  Last week Joseph had a monster ear infection and this week Simone is sick with some type of stomach bug.  Life in the Glasser house in the winter.  Somehow from November through February we have many rough weeks.  Hears hoping everyone stays healthy.

I can't believe that it is already time for Thanksgiving planning, Holiday shopping and New Years planning.  This year has flown by.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

On a time crunch

We have been slowly moving along with our basement.  We seem to make progress and then nothing happens.  Well, we must be done by next week.  All the grandparents and family are coming in for Simone's first birthday (which I can't believe) and her baby naming ceremony.  We want the basement finished so everyone can stay with us.

I have been on a rampage of scheduling and making sure we have everything we need.  Not everything will be done by the time everyone comes in town, but there will be places to sleep.  Furniture will be deliver (bed and couch).  I am sure we won't have a TV or anything else down there for that matter, but it will be comfortable.

This morning I woke up with chest pains as my anxiety is starting up already.  I am in a little bit of denial that Simone will be turning one.  This year has flown by so quickly and she is such an amazing baby.  I don't want her to get older.  I am not ready.  This past month she got four teeth on top, which brings her grand total to 6 (2 on bottom).  She is absolutely adorable, happy and mostly easy going.  She is not putting up with any shit from anyone.  I feel so grateful that I got a little girl.  Not only do I appreciate her more because she is my only girl and my youngest, but I also appreciate my boys too.  They are all so different and I love it.

I am in the process of planning and making my list of foods and desserts for the celebration.  I have the food menu prepared, but I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do for the desserts.  For both Samuel and Joseph I made a huge cupcake for them to dig into on their first birthday, but I am not sure I want to do that for Simone.  If anyone has cute ideas, please pass them along.

I am off to do some Internet searching for birthday cakes.  I have to make something adorable!

Crazy Week

Holy shit this week has been busy, crazy, tiring, hectic and the list goes on.  The boys started school this week and I feel like all I have been doing is driving.  School starts for them at 8:45, so we have to leave the house around 8:15.  School is released at 11:45.  However, on Tuesday and Wednesday Joseph was released at 10:30 because all the 2 year olds were let out early.  So I was driving back and forth non stop on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Yesterday and today I got a little bit of a break, but not much.  

I got home yesterday and was planning to bake a little bit.  I went outside to the fridge in our garage to get some more eggs and I found that our fridge was not on.  The lights were off and things in the freezer were starting to melt.  Our other big freezer chest was also not working.  I had to run extension cords and get the freezer chest back up and running.  Apparently our fridge is completely broken.  So I moved everything that I could from the outside fridge to the one inside and all the stuff in the freezer to the chest.  By the time I got all that done it was 11 and Simone woke up from her nap and I had to pick the boys up.  

It is always something.

The boys have been exhausted after school.  Joseph has boycotted naps all week, which is fine but by 4:30 they are all going nuts.  Needless to say it has been an early bedtime for the boys.  We start the bedtime routine at 6:30 and they are in bed attempting to sleep by 7.  Samuel usually passes out within 5 minutes of rubbing his back and Joseph stays up and plays for a good 30-45 minutes before he goes to bed.  I swear he requires no sleep to function.  

Simone was supposed to start her school on Wednesday.  She is going to go Monday and Wednesday, but I kept her home.  She got a little cold on Sunday night.  I think it is a combination of allergies and teeth.  On Monday another tooth cut through.  So she now has a total of 5 teeth.  Another tooth will be popping out soon. I am anticipating it making an appearance this weekend.  Anyway, she hasn't been herself, so I kept her home.  Hopefully Monday she will go.  

Simone turned 11 months on Tuesday.  She is getting quite the attitude.  She is still sweet and most of the time easy, but boy is she feisty.  She isn't taking shit from anyone lately.  As I mentioned she has had a cold, so her nose has been running.  If I try to wipe her nose off, she leans back as far as she can away from me, screams and yells, then whips her head forward and tries to pinch or smack me and if I'm not quick she will try to bite the hand that is holding the Kleenex.  Of course she gets in trouble for her behavior which causes her to scream even more, but at the same time it is pretty funny how pissed off she gets.  I am shocked and how passionate she is.  She is also not taking shit from her brothers.  She is starting to steal toys from them, she yells at them if they take her toys and she gets right in on the wrestling.  This is little girl is going to be tough.  It is pretty clear that she is going to be ruling this house pretty soon.  

Anyway, here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

When Joseph was little I caught Samuel giving him a Popsicle and now it was Joseph's turn to give it to Simone.  Look at the guilty look on her face.  She LOVED it.

First Michigan game of the year and we have a little Michigan cheerleader.  

Joseph is dressed up too.

Dave got these pants for Samuel last year.  Size 7.  Dave thought for sure it would fit him for a while because they were so big last year.  The fit him perfectly.  By the end of the season they are going to be too small.  Samuel is huge!

Samuel is yelling "Go Blue".  Clearly Dave was super excited about the game and getting the kids all dressed up.

Oma and Opa were town over the weekend.  Everyone was ready for the game.

First day of Pre-School.  He was so excited.

Samuel is ready for pre-K!

Joseph put on his smock.

Samuel is clearly happy again.  He couldn't sit still.

The crazy boys.

Outside school with their back packs on.

Joseph in class with his teacher Sr. Martha.

Samuel with his teachers, Sr. Paraquey and Sr. Isabel

Hanging out after school.  You can see how tired the boys are, but not Simone.

Simone at 11 months with crazy hair.

More 11 month pictures

Look at those teeth!

Here is how crazy the boys are.  A few weeks ago they got into markers while I went to the bathroom.  Samuel drew on some new eye brows and Joseph drew a uni-brow.  I still laugh when I look at the picture.

After their first day of school, I was putting Simone down for a nap and I heard noise in the kitchen.  After I put her down, I ran out to see what they were up to.  They had two spoons and a half gallon of ice cream and they were shoveling it in as fast as they could.  I asked them, "Whose idea was this?"  Samuel replied, "It was my idea.  We were trying to be sneaky."  Great, the sneaking around is already starting.  I can't wait for when they are teenagers.