Creative Kimpire: March 2023

We had a good run. We made it, what? Almost 2 months without getting sick? Quinn woke up from nap on the Monday before last with a fever of 102.5, which is where it stayed for about the next 48 hours. The next afternoon (Tuesday), he woke up from nap and it had reached 106. I panicked, gave him a dose of Advil, a popsicle, and an hour timeline for it to come down. I told him he needed to take a cool bath to try to get his temperature down, which he was all for. Unfortunately, I had unknowingly chosen the worst time to start a home improvement project involving the bathtub 🤦🏻‍♀️. I had ripped out the old caulking earlier in the day, planning to recaulk around the tub after nap time. In typical fashion, I didn’t get to finish my demo, and had left the tub a mess, thinking that was a problem for future Kim. So, before I could run his water, I had to take all the old caulking out and then clean the tub. While doing so, Asher was behind me, pulling on my legs as a means to stand up, and then when he moved onto the edge of the tub instead, he started throwing his bath toys inside 🤦🏻‍♀️. I was frustrated, to say the least. The bath did the trick though, because I checked Quinn’s temp fifteen minutes later and it was already heading down, and was 101 by an hour later. It stayed around 102 all evening and through the night, and had broken by the next morning (Wednesday). I thought we were in the clear, but then he kept saying his throat hurt “so bad,” so I called his doctor. Lori had told me the night before that Lincoln had strep for the third time this year, and that it’s running rampant, so I wanted to get him checked, just to be safe. I told Quinn I was going to call Dr. Gary and he said, “Well, I wanna talk to him, too.” 😂😂 They were able to get us in that same day to see Dr. Amanda. When we went to the counter to check in, the receptionist, Lisa, greeted us and I told her Quinn was there. She asked him how he was doing and he said, “Good.” We were waiting while she worked on her computer and Quinn said, “Mom, why are you not talking?” I told him we were just waiting for her to check us in on the computer, but then I said, “You may not know this, but we don’t always have to talk. Sometimes we just need to be quiet and wait patiently.” Lisa laughed and then said to him, “But it’s fun to talk, isn’t it? We talk all the time. We love talking.” I laughed and said, “Yeah some love it more than others.” The other office worker turned around and laughed with me. He was such a trooper during our visit. He took deep breaths for Dr. Amanda to listen to him, stuck out his tongue before she even asked, and answered her and the nurse’s questions. Dr. Amanda had him checked for strep, RSV, flu, and Covid. While we were waiting for the results of those rapid tests, Quinn told me to ask the nurse if she thought his Paw Patrol shoes were cool😂. She did, of course. All the tests came back negative, so they did a throat culture. It takes 2 days to get a result, so we went home to continue treating his fever, which had returned right before our appointment, and wait. She was fairly certain what he had was viral and didn’t want to prescribe an antibiotic, which wouldn’t help anyway, unless he needed it.

Despite saying his throat and belly hurt, I thought he seemed to be feeling better, because after having been awake for 13 minutes that morning, he said he had a story to tell me. It lasted for approximately 4 minutes and 37 seconds, the gist of which was this: he was walking through the woods with a cow named Cow (appropriate), and a wizard named Cranky, who doesn’t laugh very often (also appropriate). That’s it. That’s the story that took so long to tell. I hate when he’s sick, but the silence from the day before was sort of missed 😂🤪. If Quinn isn’t talking nonstop, you know something is wrong. I constantly have to tell him things like, “Less talking, more peeing,” when he stands on his stool in front of the toilet, not pulling his pants down to go pee because he can’t do two things at once. Or, “Chew your food, then talk,” because he can’t wait 10 seconds until his mouth is empty to finish whatever story he feels is so important. I get so annoyed when he interrupts me while talking. Philip and I practice with him, to try to teach him how to take turns in a conversation. I’m pretty sure, “Mom,” is his favorite word in the English language. Sometimes he just interrupts by saying my name, but doesn’t even have something he wants to say. I told him one day I was going to set a timer and he wasn’t allowed to say, “Mom,” again until it goes off 😂. It became apparent we’ve missed the mark in these lessons in conversations when I said something to Philip one day. It didn’t require an answer, like a request I could see he was getting. Quinn didn’t get that cue and said, “He didn’t answer you. Say it again, but louder this time.” I replied, “No, he heard me,” and Philip acknowledged, “There is the problem.” Uh huh.

On the Sunday before this sickness hit, Quinn was being obnoxious (talking entirely too loud, kicking the covers, etc.) when we woke up, so I told him he needed to be quiet and that everyone doesn’t have to wake up just because he’s awake. He said “Mom, let me tell you something. When people wake up, they want to talk.” 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

Speaking of that Sunday, I’m pretty sure that’s where this started 😞. We took the boys to the mall for Sunday Family Funday, something a family he watches on YouTube does. We had a great time shopping, eating pizza, and then playing at the playground in the mall. It was fun watching them climb and play, especially Ash, because we didn’t get to do things like that when Quinn was his age, thanks to Covid 😒. However, that may very well be where Quinn picked this up 😭.

Quinn was so excited to go 😃.

We always have to rent a fire truck now 😆.

😃

We got Ash this hat at the Children’s Place. It is in my top ten favorite kid things I’ve ever bought 😂. He kept coming over to get it. He wears it around the house all of the time, too.

😆😆😆 I love that he likes wearing hats.

😛

It doesn’t even have to be a hat, he’ll wear half a plastic egg shell on his head 😂.

Anyway, Quinn’s temperature stayed around 101-102 most of Wednesday and Thursday, even getting as low as 99 before bed time. However, he was having a hard time sleeping, shivering with chills even, so I took his temp at 12:30 am. It was back up to 106. I panicked and started planning to take him to the ER. Asher woke up, too, of course, complicating things. I gave Quinn more medicine (he had been alternating Tylenol and Motrin for 3 days at that point) and got him to agree to take a cool bath and eat a popsicle, and within an hour it was down to 101.7. I felt better about that, so we went back to bed and I called Dr. Gary the next morning. His temp was back to 104 when he woke up. They were able to get us in again that morning. Dr. Gary wanted to assess him to make a plan. The results from Quinn’s throat culture weren’t back yet, but given that it was Friday, he went ahead and prescribed Quinn an antibiotic to treat for strep, in case that was the issue. He didn’t want him to have to wait until Monday to start treatment if his test came back positive. However, he was still in agreement with Dr. Amanda and thought it to be a virus. I asked about his fever getting to 106 and what a scary-go-to-the-ER temperature was, and he said a consistent high fever in itself isn’t really that scary. That’s just your body doing it’s job, which I knew. I also know about a situation where a high fever and a seizure caused detrimental damage in a child, so that is always in the forefront of my mind. I told him and he said he understood that. He told me some signs to watch for, which would be indicative of an emergency, and said there is an answering service at the hospital that could reach him if I had questions over the weekend. I previously felt really stressed trying to decide what to do—like does he need to go to the ER? Should I take him to EZ Care? So, it was helpful talking to Dr. Gary. I trust his opinion and felt content with our visit.

Quinn’s nose started running that day (Friday), and we needed to stock up on tissues and get his prescription, so I went to Walmart that night. While I was getting ready to leave, I picked Ash up to tell him bye, and he threw himself backwards (his new favorite thing to do 🙄🙄🙄), giving me an opportunity to look inside his mouth, where I saw one of his molars making an appearance 🥺. Perfect, just what we needed. He had been cranky on and off all week, and had a slight temp of 99, but I thought he might’ve had a little bit of sickness. It was most likely his teeth causing it though. While at Walmart, I bought myself a pre-birthday cookie cake so I could eat my feelings 😂😭.

Earlier that afternoon, Quinn’s results from his throat culture came back and they were negative for strep. Because of that, and the fact his fever had broken again, I didn’t give the antibiotic to him right away. I was hopeful it was starting to go away. No such luck, though. By bedtime, his fever had returned, so I gave him the first dose, even though I really didn’t think it would help because I was sure it was a virus causing the fever. At 4am, Quinn woke up with a 106 degree temperature again, so he got more medicine. When he woke up that morning, a few hours later, it was still 103. That was the last measurement I got with that thermometer because, in a case of worst possible timing, it broke 🤬. It was a Withings Thermo smart thermometer, which has Bluetooth and syncs with my phone through an app, saving all measurements, offering guidance for fevers, and allowing me to keep track of meds given. The app still works without the thermometer, luckily, and we have a backup one, but I honestly don’t trust it. We muddled through with it on Saturday though. That was Day 6 and it brought on a huge bout of snot and sneezing. When we laid down for nap (which we all desperately needed), Quinn sneezed in his sleep, and I felt the droplets float onto the side of my face 😩🤦🏻‍♀️. I have no idea how I didn’t get sick. Aside from that, he whined for me or Philip to wipe his nose every five seconds, because, ya know, snot is gross 🙄🙄🙄. He completely forgot how to do anything for himself during this illness. He would constantly say, “I need a tissue,” or “I want a drink,” when the box of tissues and his water bottle were right beside of him. When I pointed this out, he would say in the whiniest voice you’ve ever heard, “But I want you to do it!” 😩😩 He was so cranky, and honestly, he had earned the right to be. The poor kid has been through it. His little face was so chapped from all the snot wiping. On Saturday night, I’m not even sure how he slept because it felt as though he woke me up every single time I fell asleep, wanting me to wipe his nose. When I had to get him up to take more medicine, I told him he couldn’t wake me up for that anymore. I told him to just wipe it on the top sheet 🫣. I felt guilty for what seemed like “leaving” him to be sick on his own, but I had to get some sleep. Asher was going to get up in the morning whether I slept or not, and I knew Philip would be leaving on Sunday at some point to visit Aaron, so an extra nap probably wasn’t going to happen. I truly did feel bad for him though, throughout. He was so miserable. It’s awful not being able to help your child feel better. Especially when he asked me, several times, “What would make me feel better?” 😩😭 He never liked any of my answers—medicine, cool baths, wearing shorts (he refuses to wear anything but jeans 🙄, or be naked). He especially hates taking medicine at this point, and again, he’s earned that right. But it’s a friggin fight Every. Single. Time. and I’m so over it. Like, screaming fights. I’m all for him having body autonomy—he can choose what he wants to wear, if he gets his hair cut, if he wants to hug or kiss someone; but he can’t choose not to take medicine. I’ve given it against his will with a syringe in his mouth more than once. I don’t like to, but he has to have it. I’m struggling with figuring out the line between screaming on purpose and actual crying. He can cry, he can’t scream. I tried to be more patient with him while he was sick, but he put me to the test. Even Philip had his patience tested and emptied 😂. He has learned he isn’t as calm as he once was. As I said before, we lived a very drama free life before having children 😂. I literally cycled through being heart broken for Quinn one minute, but then wanting to knock him out the next. Some days I went to bed wishing I had just held him more and been less frustrated with him though 😞.

For a child who is in peak stubborn stage, this has been extremely exhausting for everyone involved. Quinn has had to acquiesce to more than he ever wanted to, and it was never easy. We recently had a debate about who is the boss (not him, as he was shocked to find out). He kept screaming at me, saying he was the boss, so he went to time out. It escalated way too much. Later that day, when I took the boys to the park, Quinn apologized to me, saying, “Im sorry I said I’m the boss. You’re the boss, but I’m the boss of play doh” 😂. I gave him that one. I’ve since tried to think of a few things he’s allowed to be the boss of, like his clothes. And play doh, apparently 🤷🏻‍♀️😂. A few days before he got sick, he got a small cut on his finger and it was bleeding. He came and told me how it happened and asked what would make it feel better. I told him we would have to put a bandaid on it because it was bleeding. He was so mad and tried refusing. Had it not been bleeding, I wouldn’t have cared, but I wasn’t going to allow him to get blood all over the house. He insisted it wouldn’t make him feel better, getting extremely upset and crying over it. I put it on him anyway. Later that day, he told me he couldn’t take a nap: first, because his finger would hurt, and then, because his bandaid might come off 🙄. He just pulls things out of his ass sometimes 😂. Like, the time he wanted a bite of my apple strudel but then wouldn’t eat it because he said he wouldn’t like it, despite never having tried it and him liking apples. Another time he said he couldn’t eat the beef stew I put in his bowl because there wasn’t enough 🙄. I told him he could have more if he ate it all, but he argued there wasn’t enough for him to try it 🙄🙄. Whatever. He didn’t get more. He gets mad at perceived issues that are actual non issues, like being upset that Ash is going to get his toy/food/whatever, even though Ash is nowhere around him. I’m beginning to question whether Quinn doesn’t actually know what first means, or rather, his wants supersede his understanding. “I was here first,” and “I had it first,” translate to “this is where I want to stand,” and “I want this toy.” You can’t trust him if he tells you he did or had something first. He also makes up any excuse to get candy. When we went to the mall, he was allowed to get one toy. On the way home he said, “I think I should get a mint for being a good boy and getting a stuffed animal.”😂 Later on that same ride, he said, “Now that we’re driving slow, I need another mint.” Like, what?

On the day that Quinn’s fever started, he was being awful. Just truly, truly awful. Mean. Cranky. Awful. I guess I should’ve known then something was up, but to be fair, it was a Monday and Mondays are usually shitty for us in terms of behavior. Anyway, he kept being mean to Ash and time out wasn’t phasing him, so I told Quinn he couldnt watch his shows on tv because he was in trouble. He was mad and screamed, of course. Later he said, “You could just turn on Aubrey and Caleb.” I told him, “I could, but I’m not going to.” It was like he was telling me something I hadn’t thought of.

Seven straight days of high fevers is truly exhausting; for everyone. It has to be by some breast milk miracle that Asher didn’t catch whatever respiratory virus Quinn had. It’s the only time in recent months that I’ve been happy we’re still going, if that’s what saved him 😂. If both had been sick at once, it would’ve certainly amplified the anguish.

Quinn was fever free from Sunday afternoon and all day Monday, so I thought we were in the clear. I was excited to go to story time at the library on Tuesday and get back to our normal routine. No such luck because Quinn woke up with stomach cramps and diarrhea. He had so much poop, I had to just put him in the bathtub to clean him 🤮. I thought the snot was bad, but then the shit quickly took first place. Have you ever seen or played the game Gooey Louie? That’s what wiping Quinn’s nose was like and I was always the loser. I swear, he must’ve had snot wrapped clear around his brain for the lengths of mucus that exited his nostril to be possible. You’re welcome for this very graphic description 🤪.

When Quinn woke up that second Monday, feeling the best he had felt in a week, he immediately put on a costume and started making up for all the words he had repressed while ill. He Hulk smashed me to my limit and I finally told him to stop. He replied with, “That’s what you get for giving me all of that medicine!” 🤦🏻‍♀️. I had to impose a rule a few months ago that no one in this house is allowed to say, “That’s what you get,” because Quinn was being a real jerk with it 😂. So he got another warning over that one.

He told me he wanted me to cut his hair one of the days that he was sick. I told him I wasn’t going to do it then (I knew it would be a total shit show because there’s no way he would sit still and let me finish), but I would do it when he felt better. So, when he asked again on that Monday, I told him I would. He was so excited, telling me how he was going to have handsome hair 😂. Once I finished, I told him he needed to take a bath to get the hair off of him. As per usual, he was being a shit while in the tub, so I told him he was going to get out of there and go into time out. He splashed Ash again and I told him to get out. As he was standing up, he asked, “Do I have to go in time out? “ I said, “That depends on what you do next,” thinking he was about to try a cannonball in the 6 inches of bathtub water or something. Instead he said, “I might wanna walk around the house with my handsome hair.” 😂 I mean, how could I impede that? 🤦🏻‍♀️.

He was very excited about his “handsome hair.” He kept kissing the mirror 😂😂.

His poor little chapped face 🥺.

Quinn gets mad if I say someone (usually Ash) is being a shit. He always tells me it’s not nice, him knowing this from the period of time when he was saying it constantly and I had to break him of it by telling him it wasn’t nice 🙃. Anyway, he knows a song called Johnny Johnny from a show they watch called Steve and Maggie. It goes:

🎶 Johnny, Johnny

Yes, Papa?

Eating sugar?

No, Papa

Telling lies?

No, Papa

Open your mouth, ha ha ha 🎶

One day I was telling Philip that Ash had been being a shit—he threw my hair towel into the running bath water as I was getting his towel ready for his bath, as I was stepping into the shower, he dumped his basket of toys onto the floor of the tub, he capitalized on me talking to Mandy at playgroup, not paying attention to him, and he dumped and smeared his applesauce onto the end table that was painted with chalk paint so it scratched the surface 😬. That was all in one morning. Anyway, Quinn heard me say, “shit,” and told me, “Mom, I’m gonna start singing 🎶 ‘Mama, Mama. Saying shit?’”🎶 We were dying laughing about that one.

Crime of opportunity 🙄. He got ahold of the box of tissues Quinn had and started ripping them into pieces when I wasn’t paying attention to him 🤦🏻‍♀️. Yes, this was my fault. I was sitting right beside him 🥴.

Quinn is such a smart kid. I’m positive that will get him in lots of trouble one day. Sometimes he uses it for good though, like when he’s considerate of others. If Asher pushes the bathroom door open while I’m showering, Quinn will come close it and tell me he’s doing so so that I won’t be cold when I get out. If he comes in the bedroom while I’m putting Asher down for a nap, he always whispers so he doesn’t wake him up. This only applies to nap time 🤪. He gives Ash snacks when we’re walking (the double stroller doesn’t have a tray, so Quinn has to hold the container for them and gets them out for both). Even when he was sick, he said, “turn on Steve & Maggie cause Ash likes that,” one day when I asked what he wanted to watch. He was a couch potato most of that week because he didn’t have the energy for anything else. He routinely tells me, “Be careful for werewolves,” when I tell him I’m leaving the house/going to the basement to do laundry/etc. I told him Ash’s mouth was hurting because he’s getting teeth and Quinn said, “I’ll go get his chewy thing from the freezer.” He couldn’t find it so he got him a popsicle instead 🥺.

Transforming into a werewolf 🤦🏻‍♀️😆

Ahhhhhhhh 😳

He tried to feed it to Quinn 😂.

The boys love each other so much, and it makes my heart melt. However, while jealousy from big to little was present from the beginning, little to big is now in play. Ash does not like when Quinn sits on my lap. Even if he wasn’t sitting with me, or even near me, he comes over and tries to push Quinn off me, yelling the whole time 😂🤦🏻‍♀️. For someone who doesn’t have many words, Ash never runs out of things to say. He has constant commentary, most of which is unintelligible, but you know he’s trying to communicate. He learned to say, “Yuck, yuck, yuck,” he routinely points and makes a “guh,” sound, and uses the word, “Drink,” for drinks and bites. Anytime he sees a cup, he feels entitled to a drink. Same for anything anyone is eating. He doesn’t like for me to break his food into small pieces, and prefers to take bites of things. He was eating a graham cracker one day and I was holding half of it in one hand, and attempting to snap off small pieces of the other half with my other hand. He grabbed the big half out of my first hand and started eating it 🤦🏻‍♀️. Another time I had cut up pieces of steak on a plate, leaving a big chunk to be cut up as needed, and he grabbed the hunk and stated gnawing 😂. I’ve attempted getting him to wean from the breast by giving him whole milk in a cup. He will take a drink and then let the milk just leak out of his face, as though he has a hole in his chin 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️. Maybe I should start drinking it and he will want to because I am 😂. It’s never too early begin reverse psychology, right? 🤪.

I won’t, because, for real, I get tired of sharing my food 😂😂. Quinn is the worst about that when it comes to sweets. He’ll have a bowl of ice cream, but then think he’s entitled to half of mine. That’s why I prefer to eat stuff like that after the boys go to bed. I saw my friends John and Mollie at the store one day a few months ago and joked about how I didn’t have any kids with me, so I was going to buy cheesecake and eat it in my car. John told me that was sad. He just doesn’t know yet 😂.

Hugs and kisses 😘

Captured from the baby monitor ❤️.

Trying to get Brother off of me 😂.

Hugging or attacking Brother, not sure which 🤪.

Graham cracker stealer.

He eats a banana almost every morning. I cut it in half and he eats it that way 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Gnawing on his hunk of steak 🤦🏻‍♀️. It was leftover from dinner the night before and I was just giving it to him as a snack. We’re a little odd sometimes 🤷🏻‍♀️😝.

Ash is still working on walking independently, but he is down to holding our hand with just one of his. He can push pretty much any toy to walk, and things that aren’t for walking, like laundry baskets, boxes, and chairs. I can’t wait until he can walk because 1. He’s freaking heavy. I’m tired of carrying him. He literally makes my back and hips hurt. 2. He’s always using me to pull to stand, so anytime I’m a sitting duck, like when I’m doing dishes, he uses the opportunity to grab my legs and trap me. 3. I sit on the floor with him a lot, so when he wants to stand he often uses my shoulder to do so and pulls my hair 🤬. 4. I get so touched out from constantly being pawed at. I think those reasons are extremely valid and he should use them to motivate himself 🤪😆.

Practicing.

He’s such a funny kid. He’s very receptive and understands so much, it surprises me. He’s like a cat, if he fits, he sits. He loves crawling into the foam block tote. He loves a good sword fight with foam blocks, using his pirate “Rrrrrrr” impression the whole time. He loves stealing things and crawling away. A few weeks ago, he started this thing where he would be crawling and then just randomly stop, sit on his butt, and bring his arms up to his sides and wiggle side to side 🤣. We’ve since named this the Ash Wiggle, and he does it on command. He’s getting good at following directions to move out of the way when he tries to trap us behind the door in the bathroom, and to stand up to get out of the bathtub. He gives kisses when asked. We’ve been reading lots of books and Ash will sometimes stay engaged. He always wants to turn the page before I’m done reading. That’s fine when it’s just him, but Quinn gets mad, of course. Quinn’s attention span is much longer than it used to be and he can sit for long stories and enjoys them. He even “read” a book back to me one day, having memorized most of it, using words like “trumpeting brigade,” and the phrase, “It’s a real jungle out there.” It’s cracks me up when he says them.

Sitting in the train table drawer,

Block tote,

Again..

He got in the dump truck by himself,

And turned himself around, but couldn’t get back out 😆.

Quinn: “Hey! Get your big ole butt off of me!” 😆

He’s such a lover 😆.

Asher is highly afraid of the train and comes crawling to me while crying anytime he hears it going through. He isn’t scared of the vacuum, though, he is drawn to it, so I don’t know the reasoning behind his train fear. It’s obviously not the loud noise 🤷🏻‍♀️. I’m sure the vacuum will become disturbing to him eventually though because I remember when Quinn would freak out about it for a bit.

I think the time period between 12-18 is a big one for being afraid of things. Dr. Gary said Ash’s next well check at 15 months will likely be our worst, as he’ll be at the peak of stranger danger phase. I’m hoping we won’t have to have any extra doctor visits between now and then, but it’s not looking promising. I had written the all of the above prior to our newest development. After being home for 12 days, I was excited to think that we were all good, and woke up ready to go to Playgroup on Friday. However, my left eye was swollen and looked like someone kicked my ass while I was sleeping. I didn’t have any of the typical signs of pink eye—no redness, mucus, etc., so the consensus among my friends I polled was that it was likely just allergies. Ash was extra clingy, but he has been since his teeth started coming in. He was drooling hard core, too, further supporting that conclusion. We went to Playgroup and had a good time. We napped shortly after we got home, and then Ash woke up with a fever 😩🤦🏻‍♀️. I was still on the fence about it being from teething, although many doctors say teething isn’t accompanied by a fever. I gave him medicine throughout the evening and before bed. He woke up at 2am with a fever. When I took him in the kitchen to get his medicine, he puked allllllll over me. It consisted of 95% saliva and 5% milk. I think the drainage caused him to throw up. He was up for over an hour and a half, fussing. His fever persisted most of the day Saturday, but I kept him on a rotation of Tylenol and Motrin regardless, because of his fussiness. Thanks to the nasty winds, our power went out during nap. It was an extremely inconvenient time to not have the assistance of an electronic distraction, aka the tv 🤪. The condition of my eye stayed about the same, getting slightly less swollen, if anything. Later that evening, Philip’s eye started to turn red and irritated, and that’s when I started to guess that we both have viral pink eye, despite mine not turning pink. Asher had another 2am fever fest Saturday night, staying awake until 4. He was so miserable, crying, nose stuffed so much he couldn’t breathe or nurse correctly. He wouldn’t even take his bink. Anytime I tried giving it to him, he would rip it out of his mouth and forcefully throw it. I guess my mama milk didn’t save him after all 😞. He kept telling me, “Drink,” and while he did drink lots of water during that time, I think what he really wanted was milk, but it was too hard for him to get it 🥺. When he woke up yesterday morning, his eyes were red and leaky, his nose was pouring snot, and he had a fever off and on all day. It’s awful when either of them are sick, of course, but at least Quinn can tell me what hurts, what he wants, etc. Ash just cries if I leave his sight or put him down 😩. Leaving us both overwhelmed and exhausted. He hatessss getting his nose wiped, so he resists and often gets it on me. I feel like a human tissue 😪. I thought both of them being sick at the same time would be the worst, but I was wrong. Quinn feels fine now, so he’s extra sassy because he isn’t getting my full attention that he wants. Not to mention, it is an even longer recuperation when they take turns 😩. I’m just hoping Ash’s illness doesn’t last as long as Quinn’s did. So far, his highest temperature has only been 102.7, so I don’t know if that’s a good sign or not. I like to think so.

😭💔.

It’s really hard to fold laundry with an extra attachment 😕.

Do you see alllll of that room over there, not on me? Yeah, no one ever wants to sit there 😭.

Making sure I’m not going anywhere.

I make a good pillow, I guess.

He woke me up from nap, sat up for a minute, and then laid his head down on my belly and went back to sleep.

My watch is looking out for me 😂

He woke up this morning with his eye all matted 😭.

Dr. Quinn tried fixing him, but he wasn’t amused. I messaged their real doctor and asked for advice. He agreed he thinks it’s viral, so there’s no prescription medicine that can help 🥺.

Mine and Philip’s eyes seem to be clearing up. I only had redness for a short amount of time, the rest has just been crustiness, watering, dryness, and irritation. Hopefully Ash’s doesn’t last long either. He keeps grabbing at his eyes, so I know they’re bothering him 😭.

While I’m excited for our farmers market season to be starting, it has sure been difficult getting things in order with all of the crankiness and neediness in this household. I’m so exhausted from it all that I can barely make myself work on things after they’ve gone to bed for the night. I’m getting through the paperwork, having luckily not waited until the last minute to get it started, which is extremely out of character for me 😂. Maybe 36 is finally the year I get my shit together 😂😂🤞🏻.

I woke up to this huge sign in the kitchen on Wednesday 🥰.

Despite the sickness, I still had a nice birthday. Philip got me a new Apple Watch, screen protectors, and bands.

He got me some cupcakes, too. Ash approved 😃.

I wasn’t able to celebrate with anyone outside of my contaminated household, but my friend, Chris, dropped this delicious ice cream cake and wine on my porch ❤️.

Quinn was psyched about that balloon 😃.

Michelle and Joaquin shipped me this succulent assortment. I love it! 😍. It was on the porch in a box and I thought it was something I ordered for Quinn. I had him on standby while I opened it. Boy, was he disappointed when it wasn’t for him 😅.

Due to all the sickness and the shitty weather, we didn’t get nearly enough outside time the last two weeks. I’m looking forward to the spring forecast and warmer temps! Spring is probably my favorite time of year. The first day of spring is always around my birthday, and it brings a new season of growth and warm weather. This hasn’t been a good start so far though!

We’ve logged 63 outside hours so far this year.

We decorated my weeping cherry tree for Easter.

It bloomed a few days later 🐇

Ash loves rolling a ball ⚽️ 🏀

We did get to take a quick trip to the blue park.

Ash just chilled in the stroller for that one.

Quinn practiced on his skateboard 😆.

Quinn loves to play “Wendy’s” in his garden house, and make me or Philip walk around it and order through the windows. Does that tell you where we eat out at most? 😂

Even with a fever and snot leaking out of his face, he still had a smile while swinging yesterday.

We got a sensory experience and outside time at the same time yesterday. Quinn helped me build a bird nest out of pipe cleaners, and then looked for the hidden bird eggs in the “grass,” aka split peas. Ash enjoyed making a mess with the peas, throwing handful after handful on the deck 🤦🏻‍♀️. That’s why we did it outside though 😉.

He asked if they were real eggs and I told him yes 😆. He bit one and showed me and asked if that was the bird inside 🤦🏻‍♀️.

They were kicking us as they swang and we were pretending it hurt. They laughed so hard 😆.

“Worker Quinn” worked really hard on fixing the radio on our hot tub. I told him the power is off because the pump is broken, but he was still disappointed when he couldn’t get it to work 😆🤦🏻‍♀️.

We even got in a few other activities:

We explored different ways to play with the magnet building blocks I ordered for the boys. Quinn had to tip the cookie sheet to try to get the ball under the arches.

I made Quinn a lacing and read along activity with The Very Hungry Caterpillar book.

He did a really good job! I told him this would help him learn how to sew one day, and he excitedly reiterated that to his dad later that day 😆.

I made Ash a Feed the Bunny activity, although it was a little advanced for his current hand eye coordination.

I would get them started and tell him to push them in.

I made Quinn a carrot alphabet game, where I planted the carrots and Quinn harvested them to find which letter was on them. He was trying to find the letters to match each of our names.

Maybe a better pic of the activity. He was saying the letters in his name.

We played with the bunny box again, minus its ears 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️.

I tried to give Ash a visual of Three Little Speckled Frogs while singing the words of the book, to keep him occupied while brother bathed. Normally they bath together, but this was on one of Quinn’s 💩 days, so I couldn’t risk a shart getting on them both 😂🫣.