Sick Day

My little Emma missed school today. She was sick..bless her heart. She cried and cried that she couldn't go to school. She said yesterday morning that she wasn't feeling well but still begged to go to school. So I sent her and told her to have her teacher call me if she wanted to come home. She didn't. And the teacher did ask but she insisted she was fine. When I picked her up I could tell she didn't feel good. Upon getting home she promptly parked herself on the sofa and didn't move until we took her up for bed. She was running a fever all evening. Poor kid.

This morning she announced "Mommy, I'm feeling much, much better..I am sure I can go to school." Umm..sorry..your fever is 100.6 - no go sweetheart. She spent all morning on the sofa - sniffling with no energy. About 10:45 she declared she had a plan..that all she needed was a bath and she'd feel better. So cute - so we took a bath and indeed she did feel better and it appears her fever has broken. She's still lacking energy but at least no fever.

This is actually the first missed day of school she's ever had. Darn elementary school germs..

Sleep Update

Because I'm sure you're all dying to know: Jacob slept 10 hours last night. In a row (with the exception of 30 minute crying spell at 11:36am). In his crib. That's right people...10 hours! That's the longest stretch of sleep he's had EVER. And the longest stretch of sleep I've had in a long, long time if you don't count the few times I got up to make sure he was still breathing. The tummy sleeping thing has me nervous...but I'm getting over it. 10 hours!! Hoping, praying and crossing my fingers for a repeat tonight. Thank you God and to the doctors who promise us your child will live if you let them cry it out.

zzzzz's

So you know how Jacob's been such a BAD sleeper..well, my friend Lauren recommended the book Healthy Sleep Happy Baby (or something to that effect). I read it Saturday and Paul and I decided it was time to implement the program Saturday night. We put Jacob to bed and he cried. And cried. And cried some more. For 45 long, painful minutes. Then I rolled him onto his belly and he slept for 3 solid hours. That's the longest he's slept in his crib in ages! He woke again at 11:30 but I just gave him a paci and he slept until 1:30 when Paul gave him a bottle. Needless to say I got about 7 hours of sleep on Saturday night - the longest in months. Bliss!

Last night he fell asleep sooner - only cried for about 20 long, painful minutes and we put him down on his belly..which makes me crazy worried but he can roll if he wants and he's almost 5 months. He slept solidly until 1:30 - 6 hours! That's right..6 hours straight! Seriously he hasn't done that since before Christmas - and in his crib no less!! I nursed him and put him back down...he woke up at 2:30 and wasn't happy...we tried to follow the program...so for 45 long, painful, excruciating minutes he cried. Do you know how awful it is to hear them crying like that in the middle of the night? But finally he fell asleep until after 6. I got some nice solid sleep.

Moral of the story: His sleep is a work in progress but it's getting much, much better. As Paul says - 2 decent days do not make a good sleeper but at least we're on the right road!

Dance Party

It's Friday

Yeah for Friday! Tonight we're having Family Movie Night - which is apparently BIG news for my 4 year old since she told her carpool all about how we get to eat dinner in the family room. Who knew eating in the family room was so exciting! We're watching High School Musical 3 which we're all pretty excited about. The girls saw it in the theater but Paul and I have not seen it. And, I'm not too embarassed to admit that I'm a fan of the franchise so I'm excited to see it.

Friday also means that Paul is off for 2 days and that means he gets up with Jacob more at night. Jacob...aka...the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sleeper..is still not sleeping well. SIGH. We switched his reflux medicine this week with hopes that would help. However, 2 days after the medicine switch he caught a cold (it's gone through all the kids now). So, I have no idea if the medicine is working or not. Every day I'm hopeful that he'll sleep. I'll just keep hoping. And praying.

Photo Friday

I haven't posted any pictures of the kids recently so here a few that I've taken over the past couple of weeks:

10 Years Ago

Happy Valentine's Day! I've never really been a huge fan of this "holiday." It's generally so overrated and your expectations almost never get met. Really shouldn't we appreciate the ones we love everyday? But 10 years ago Paul proposed to me on Valentine's Day so I had to get over my dislike of the day. My proposal was very special and wonderful. Paul surprised with a trip to New York City. We did all kinds of touristy stuff - a couple Broadway shows, shopping on 5th Avenue, dinner at some fun restaurants and a visit to the Empire State Building. That's where he proposed - at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day - 1999. I actually have no idea what he said when he proposed - I saw the ring and went into shock. I remember the words "will you marry me" were in there somewhere. It brings back great memories. We got married in April of the following year...hard to believe that was 10 years ago. Hard to believe...

Extreme Home Makeover

We've had a lot going on at the Potter house this past week. We are not usually ones to do too much home improvement -hence the buying of new or relatively new houses. There are several things we've been wanting to do around the house and there's no time like the present..right? So in the past week we've: installed a ceiling fan, installed gas logs in the fireplace, built cubbies and reorganized the mudroom, had the built-ins finished and got new furniture for the girls room. We're definitely doing our part for the economy.

The projects are great but it's created a ton of work for me! Reorganizing the bonus room is a huge project as was moving the girls all in together and reorganizing their stuff in the new furniture. Add to that this week I'm helping with Lily's Valentine's Day party and volunteering at Emma's school book fair. And, this weekend Girl Scout Cookies arrive. So a lot going on..I'm hopeful the house projects will all be done by the weekend before the Thin Mints invade our home..wish us luck...I'll post pictures the girls room and bonus room when when they are done. Now I'm waiting on Paul to move out some furniture so we'll see how long that takes...apparently his timetable is not the same as mine..go figure...

Diaper Caper

So we get Julia out of the bath tonight and go to get her a diaper. There are none in the basket in the changing table so Paul opens the brand new box and this is what we find:I'm SO mad & irritated! Seriously..who repacks diapers!! Upon inspection it looks as though the bottom was opened and Paul seriously asked why I didn't notice. Um..cause I'm shopping with a 2 year old that says "mama" every 15 seconds and a 4 month old..But anyway..who repacks diapers? Perhaps a guest needed one diaper and left the rest? Now I can't use any of these diapers as I feel they are tainted. I'll have to go into my emergency car stash of diapers (which is one) so that Julia will not pee all over everything before I can go to Target in the morning and unleash my ire...

Boookshelves!!!

In an attempt to try organize the toy pit that is our bonus room we decided to have some bookshelves built. I have been obsessed with built-ins for years so I am beyond thrilled we got them. The project started last week and was a tad slower than expected but, no worries...it's done now. He wrapped up this morning so I need to wait until tomorrow to fill them. I can't wait! Here's a peek at them:

The Sleep Diet

I kid you not. I saw this story on the Today show this morning. Now, there were 4 kids around so I may have missed part of it but this is what I got out of the story: Glamour magazine took a few women..these women supposedly did not change their eating habits..they went to bed at the same time every night and slept of a minimum of 7.5 hours. AND they LOST WEIGHT - up to 15lbs! Seriously. Or so they said this morning on the Today Show. Clearly none of these women had a 4 month old that didn't sleep.

Are we seriously supposed to believe that diet and exercise have nothing to do with weight loss and the magic "pill" we've missing all this time is sleep? Right...So folks, there you have it..right from my TV to you...Sleep - the ultimate weight loss magic...

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Friday night was Date Night in our house. Sadly it wasn't me going on a date but rather Emma and Paul. Our church had a Daddy/Daughter dance for the Kindergarten and First Grade Girls. So cute! Anyway Emma got all dressed up - she picked out her entire outfit and hairstyle (a pony tail with sparkles in it) and picked out a restaurant for them to go eat. Golden Corral. Oh yeah...that's her favorite restaurant. Really. I think she likes getting to pick whatever she wants to eat herself. Anyway, Paul loves the GC so he was happy to take her. So they went to dinner and then to the dance.

Apparently a great time was had at the dance. Dancing! Crafts! Cupcakes! What could me more fun! Emma's been talking about it all weekend - she had a very special evening with Paul. I was so glad he was excited to take her and that could have a night out together.

Friday night is again date night but it's Lily's turn. Can't wait to see what she picks to do!

Haircut Bliss

I love, love, love getting my hair cut. Love it. Did I mention that I love it? I love going into a nice salon, having a good shampoo, getting the dead ends cut and shaped and then getting a blow dry and style. I always (well, almost always) walk out of a haircut feeling good about myself (reality sets in the next day when I can't style my hair like the hairdresser but that's another post). In general I am pretty frugal but I will pay a decent amount for a good hair cut and a nice salon experience. I like to go every 6 weeks to get my hairs cut but because of the frugalness I usually stretch it to every 8 or 9 weeks. That said I was LONG overdue for a haircut. I went before Jacob was born but haven't been since. Yep..he's 4 months old..yikes!

The girl that I usually go to only works during the day and that no longer works for me. So, I decided I would try somewhere new this time. A bunch of my friend and neighbors go to this salon, Blo, so I thought I'd give a whirl. And let me say, it was great. The receptionist was super friendly and offered me a beverage when I checked in. The girl who cut my hair was very nice and gave me a great scalp massage while shampooing my hair. They also have a cool massage chair that you sit in while you are being shampooed. I almost feel asleep I was so relaxed. The cut was good and the blow dry was great - I love how they do it. It was overall a great experience.

Seriously if I ever hit it big on the lottery I am so paying someone to come blowout my hair every day. And I seriously mean every day....

Preschool Quandary

So I just can't decided what to do for Julia for preschool next year. She'll be over 2 1/2 when the school year starts and I think she would benefit from being with other children her age. And, lets be honest, I would benefit from her being at school 2 mornings a week. I love, love the preschool my older girls have gone to but, it's sort of far from my house and elementary school. I want Julia to go to a church preschool and there are not a ton near my house and the elementary school. One issue is that elementary school doesn't start until 9:15 (drop off begins at 8:45) and most of the preschools start at 9am - nice, huh..

We applied to get into a school near the house but we got wait listed - she's 4th for one class and 6th for the other. So the quandary is do we just wait it out and hope we get in. Or do I register her at our current school and lose $$ if we do get into our first choice (of course our current school may be closed too). I'm sure we'd be happy there but the drive is a pain. There is one more school but I'm sure I'd get on that wait list and it's more expensive than the other 2 schools. So what to do? Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Jacob's Big Week

Jacob's had a big week. On Tuesday he turned 4 months old. Thursday he had his 4 month checkup. His stats: 12lbs, 15oz (10th %), 25 3/4" (75%). He's a stringbean. Thursday afternoon we noticed that is his first tooth cut through. Saturday we noticed the 2nd tooth had cut through. Now he has both bottom middle teeth - I totally forget what they are called. And on Saturday he rolled over for the first time - tummy to back. He was so darn cute too. After he rolled he had the biggest grin on his face. Of course we were cheering wildly at him so maybe we amused him. But still..so cute. I must say I don't think I'm ready for him to be moving..I like to be able to put him on the bed and know he's not going anywhere. But, at the same time it's fun to see them starting to interact more. One thing is for certain and that is that my baby boy is getting bigger every day. And despite January lasting 53 days time is really going fast.....