Memorial Day Weekend and AC Woes

Well, we had a busy and fun weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Parry came to visit for the long weekend. We spent a lot of time at the petting farm. Much to the delight of the girls. They even had their first pony rides! And even though the pictures show some serious faces, they really did love being on the ponies. The weather was actually rather chilly. Fortunate, since our AC is on the fritz. Moses fared well with his grandparents. Much better than the girls used to at his age.

Grandma and Mo - looking like a such a "big" boy 

 Whenever grandma and grandpa come, it always seems time goes by too quickly. The girls were sad to see them go on Monday morning. To lift the girls' spirits I took them to the store to get a couple kid-sized rakes and trowels. We bought some begonias and the girls helped me plant a couple hanging baskets. Oh they loved it - especially the dirt ;-)

Frances and Grace "Green Thumbs" Wacha

Our continuing issue right now is waiting for the AC to get fixed. Our stroke of luck with the cool weather ran out. It wouldn't be so horrible if the kids weren't stuck in the house sans AC all day, but they are. We brought the fan down from the attic and it helps a bit. And we have the ceiling fans on high in the bedrooms. We're really annoyed at BGEHome. We've had a service contract with them since 2007 - we pay monthly. This is the first time an issue has come up with our unit, usually we just have our run-of-the-mill inspection and all is good. They said $131 for a replacement part and that it was an "easy" fix. Well, the rookie tech they sent over last Friday, spent 5 hours on it only to realize he couldn't do what he needed to do and had further damaged our unit (set off fire alarms in the process!). He said, the new part he had to replace would be "on the company" since it was his fault... and hopefully they'd have it fixed by Tuesday or Wednesday. Well, Wednesday came with no word, so Richard called. They said they had ordered the wrong part and had to stop by to get the serial number again - a 2 minute job. It was 90 degrees on Wednesday. We notified the nanny, kept calling back for status updates, and no one came. Finally, late in the evening, the tech calls and says he'll have to come first thing in the morning on Thursday - yes, for a 2 minute job, while my kids are continuing to suffer. So he comes Thursday morning, gets the number, and places the order. Later in the morning Richard gets a call from BGEHome saying the part will be in on Friday and it will be $1,000!!! Richard asked why they were quoting him the cost since the tech said THEY would cover it. The customer rep gave him the run around so he asked for a manager to contact him. So the manager calls, hemming and hawing about how our unit is "old" and hard to find parts for, and copper is expensive. Well, Richard says, "Not my problem, your tech broke it." I pointed out to Richard that BGEHome installed the unit brand new in 2005, so it's not even 10 years old yet. What a racket. Plus, they broke that extra part! So long story, a bit shorter, they agreed to only charge us our original quote of $131. But not before trying to convince Richard to shell out $6000 for a new unit. I have to force myself to find time to register a formal complaint to the company, the state agency that oversees them, and the Better Business Bureau. In the meantime, they had said they would fix it on Friday and now they say Saturday, but more likely, Monday. What? Sounds like they are trying to "teach us a lesson"?? About what? How douchey they are? Believe me, lesson learned, at least on my end. Anywho, can you tell I'm annoyed?

Anyway the kids are sweating it out yet again, as well as the nanny. And with temps in the 90s through the weekend... yay! Extra cranky kiddos. Trying to convince Richard to clean up the basement so the kids can play down there where it's much cooler. We shall see.

I took Francie to the dermatologist today (Grace tagged along). She has had a bump on the middle of her eyelid for about 5 weeks now. Apparently it's molluscum contagiosum. Kind of like a wart but not as big. It's a virus. She had one before on her foot. The doctor said kids with eczema are more susceptible to these skin viruses since their skin immunity is lower. So she gave us some retinoid cream to put on twice a day to help "wake up" Francie's immune system to fight the virus. Ah well. Hopefully it will go away with-in the month. It is contagious though so I have to keep an eye out for other bumps on her or her siblings. But no worries. It will pass.

On the way back from the doctor this morning.
Wearing dresses that grandma bought them.
(Frances on left, Grace on right)

On the Moses front, his top two front teeth are finally coming in! He's pulling up like a champ and starting to cruise. He seems more agile in general than his sisters were. I have heard him say "ribbit" for frog a few times (no one believes me!). But that's about all that's new on the speech front. He understands "No" and can shake his head no. He loves clapping. And he really loves chasing after and playing with his sisters.

The Elusive Bead and Attack of the Blabberwockies

Well, I was taking Francie's beads out last weekend and I brought up the "bead incident" from the weekend prior. I said, "Doesn't it feel better to have that bead out of your nose?" She said, "Mommy, I had a boo-boo. I had TWO beads in my nose!" And proceeds to stick both fingers up her nose to demonstrate. Oh no. So I figured I'd play it safe and take her in to see the pediatrician. Plus, there is this bump on her eyelid that hasn't gone away in, now, 4-weeks. So we trekked over to the doc's office.

The nurse practitioner looked with that light they use to look in your ears and nose. She said she couldn't see anything, but that she can only see so far, hardly even past that first bump in the nostril. She said we could either wait it out or go to an ear, nose and throat specialist. I decided we'll just wait it out. She said it might have even passed into her poop already. Hahaha. Gross. Anyway, we'll just keep an eye on her and see what, if anything, unfolds.

As for the bump on her eyelid. She said it didn't look like a pimple or a sty - that maybe it's a wart (darn dirty playground haha)? So we're heading to the dermatologist just to see what it truly is and if we need to do anything about it, or just wait it out.

In the mean time, Moses is talking more. He's been saying "Mama" and "Dada" - but just in general, not really towards us. He also likes elephants. I usually do an elephant sound and raise my arms like a trunk. He likes copying. And he's so serious when he does it. Too cute. He doesn't do both at the same time though. He'll either raise his arms or make the noise.

Here are some funnies from the mouths of babes this past week:

Grace to Frances (quite frequently, I might add): "Francie, no! You go right in timeout! Look at the wall! Two minutes!"

Mommy: "What do you guys want for dinner?"
Grace: "Beef, tables, and carrots."
Mommy: "Tables?"
Grace: "Yes, Tables."
[Wracking my brain here...]
Mommy: "Do you mean 'po-ta-toes'?"
Grace: "Yes. Po-tables."

Frances to me: "I don't like you!"
[I give a sad face.]
Frances comes and gives me a big hug.
She's been doing it a lot this past week and it's like a game to her. She smiles the whole time too. Poor mommy... what a sick and twisted web these toddlers weave.

Welcome Baby Zekiah!

Eveck, Paul and baby Zekiah

Me and my new nephew!

Welcome baby boy, Zekiah Otwon Magomu-Wacha! Born yesterday, 5/14 at 9:26 p.m. at 38 weeks old via emergency c-section. 5lbs. 7.5 oz and 19.5 inches long.

Mommy Eveck is doing well - she's one tough cookie! Baby is all happy and healthy. And Daddy Paul is all smiles. I feel so blessed that I was actually able to be there to share in this special day! It was a wonderful experience to be on the "other side" of delivery for once and being able to soak up that baby cuteness right away!

Here are some pics (you don't need a facebook account to view them, just click the link): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151384551575474.1073741827.509305473&type=1&l=b51af96cda

Congrats and welcome to the newest member of the family!

Mother's Day times 3!

Wow! My first Mother's Day weekend as a mom of three!

Saturday was rainy so we hung out inside pretty much all day. At nighttime I've been in the habit of brushing the girls' teeth in front of the big mirror in Moses' room. So I'm brushing Francie's teeth. She's facing me. I say, "Okay, now I have to get your back teeth." She turns her back to me. I say, “What are you doing?” Looking over her shoulder with a big ol’ grin, she says, “So you get my back teeth.” And then she starts giggling. I ask her, “Are you being funny?” She says, “Yes, I funny.” I tell her, “Oh you think you’re sooo smart.” And she just gives me a big cheeseball grin. And then I realize, wow, this is a whole other level of humor we’ve reached… I’m in big trouble! Hahaha. What a silly girl!

Sunday morning Moses did us a favor and slept all the way until 7:30 a.m.! Whew! It was nice to sleep in for once J We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary for Mom’s Day. We go to the farm every weekend. And usually we go on Saturday, but the weather was so bad, I promised them we’d go on Sunday. I normally take the girls by myself and Richard stays home with Moses. But Moses was upset seeing the girls leaving so Richard said we should all go, so we did. One big happy family.

It was sunny but chilly due to the wind. Moses ended up conking out in the stroller. It worked out better this time, than the other time I took them all by myself, because one of us was able to sit with Moses so he could truly sleep, while the other was chasing after the girls. The kids are all still dealing with a nasty head cold. And the girls still aren’t proficient in blowing their noses so of course that means a lot of mucous ends up in the belly. Well, Francie was running around, which triggered coughing, which started the vomiting. At least we were outside. BUT she just stood straight up and puked down herself. I kept telling her “Bend over.” And trying to help her but she was stiff. Poor kid.

In that same instance, we had another revelation…

First, a bit of back story. My sis-in-law came to do the girls’ hair two weekends ago. Just two days later, on Monday, when I got home from work, Frances tells me “Mommy I has a boo-boo in my nose.” I touch it and look at it but don’t notice anything out of the ordinary. So I try (as best as you can with a 2-year old) to ascertain the problem. She says it’s a bead (they wear little beads in their hair). So I look up in her nose and don’t see anything. I pat her on the head and just tell her to go play. So every other day she mentions her nose boo-boo. So I finally get a flashlight and look up in there and don’t see anything. So again, I ignore it. Well, ever since this head cold set in, she’s been complaining more about her nose boo-boo, but I’m thinking she’s really means a stuffy nose boo-boo at this point.

So back to the farm puke story… so in the midst of coughing, puking and a big ol’ sneeze, a whole bunch of nasty comes out her nose, including a blue hair bead!!!!! Poor girl. Richard and I were like “What the hell?!” We felt bad that she had suffered with it in there for so long, but at the same time we were glad she got it out. So I guess this cold and all the mucous were actually good for something (definitely helped lubricate an exit and propel it out – ewww gross!!).

The rest of the day passed with much less excitement (thank goodness). I went grocery shopping and treated myself to a Boston Crème Pie Parfait J. The girls and I called grandma to wish her a happy mom/grandma day. Uncle Raw-knee brought me some flowers and played with the girls.

Richard and I are looking forward to future Mother’s and Father’s Days when we can actually relax! Is that even possible? Please tell us there's hope! hahaha.

On a side note: Moses loves clapping. He even knows the word "clap" and will do it on command. And really loves playing Patty a Cake. He also likes reading and turning pages. And "singing" along to the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star book that grandma and grandpa recorded.

Moses is crawling... bring on the Red Sea!

Well it's official: Moses is crawling... bring on the Red Sea! hehehe. 9 months, 1 week, and 1 day old. Quicker than his sisters, even though he's much bigger.

The girls were cheering him on, "Go MiMo! You can do it! Come on!" -- until he started getting in their stuff and under their feet. Now they are more annoyed with his new skill. So now we have to start being more cautious about heavy toys being stored up high, small toys on the floor, food on the floor, and all the stuff we really haven't had to worry about in awhile (like leaving the basement door or stair gate open). Yay! Oh the fun.

Moses is enjoying his new found freedom. He made several almost successful escapes from the girls' room last night when we were getting them ready for bed. And this morning he traversed the whole main floor of the house. Oh the fun. Now the real work for mommy, daddy and nana has begun! hahaha.

On another note: all the kiddos are sick. Nothing like spending the morning trying to wash buggers out of curly hair. Yuck! I swear they rolled in them all night! Hopefully we get better soon (just in time for mommy and daddy to catch it haha).

Trochanteric Bursitis ... obviously...

So I finally had my appointment with the orthopaedic doctor. His diagnosis: Trochanteric bursitis (http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/tc/trochanteric-bursitis-topic-overview). Which explains why I have pain while sitting, standing, walking, moving around/picking up the kiddos. Just constant, even when sleeping. It’s, as I knew already, a result of my pregnancies. Hormones are released when you are pregnant that loosen the ligaments and tendons to prepare for delivery. After pregnancy, hormones go back to normal and things tighten back up again – in my case they tightened up wrong on the left side of my hip. So my bones are pushing into each other causing the pain. In fact, when laying flat, my left leg appears 1 inch longer than the other, as a result of how the iliotibial ligament reset itself. So every time I walk/stand I’m lopsided and that leg pushes into my hip more as a result. Of course my gluteus and lower back pain are directly related to my body compensating for this hip issue. So anyway he gave me a set of exercises to help loosen the muscles and stretch the ligaments back out.

For pain management I’m stuck with Tylenol for now. I have an appointment coming up with a GI doctor to see if I’m suffering from reflux – so I can’t take any anti-inflammatory drugs till I get the okay. He offered me some muscle relaxers but I really can’t afford to be dopey on a full-time work and mom schedule, I’m already dragging at the end of an average day.

So the plus is that the pain can be improved, managed, and even cured! Although he said he reserves the right to assess me with disc problems. Right now, we’re just gonna work on fixing this and see if this is the answer to all that ails me – at least back and leg-wise.

As for the diastasis recti… He concurred with the first OB – NO abdominal workouts: no crunches, no sit-ups, nada. He said that will just make it more pronounced and will cause disc issues. So his advice: yoga! Woohoo! I love yoga. So I’m glad he gave me the all clear. He said yoga is good because it’s a prolonged stretch and strengthening of the core muscles – not the short bursts like crunches, which can cause damage. So there we go! It still won’t ever close without surgery, but if I can have some strength return, that would be nice.

So on to the GI doc in a week… hoping for some more good news.

Mo's 9-month Check-up

That's right, time flies! Richard took Moses to his 9-month checkup today. He’s doing well, aside from the food allergies. But even with those, his eczema is improved immensely and we’re doing well at avoiding the culprit foods.

He only has 2 bottom teeth. The two top teeth should be next to come, but nothing is even brewing yet. His sisters had 4 teeth a piece with more brewing at 9 months.

He has been sitting up by himself the past couple weeks – getting better and better. He gets into the crawling position with his belly off the floor and goes up on his tippy-toes trying to move forward. Sometimes he does, by pure luck though. He tends to get frustrated and just roll his way around to where he wants to go. I think within the week he will be crawling. His sisters started crawling around 10 months, so it will happen eventually... and then the real work for us begins! Hahaha.

Here are his 9-month stats:

Weight: 23 lbs. 4 oz. (on an empty stomach no less! 94^th percentile)

Height: 29.3 inches (86^th percentile)

Head circumference: 47.5 cm (97^th percentile – right on par for our big-headed children hehe)

For comparison, his sisters weighed about that much at a year old! Granted, girls are on different charts than boys, but still… he’s a big dude.

At 9 months old, Frances weighed in at 21 lbs. 3 oz.; was 28.5 inches long; and had a 46cm head.

Grace was 21 lbs. 4 oz.; 28 inches long; and 46 cm head.

At 9 months old, cousin Ben weighed in at 22 lbs. 7 oz. and was 30 inches long.

Savannah??

Time will tell if Moses will continue to be a big boy. His sisters have thinned out considerably. In fact, Grace only weighs about 9 oz. more than she did a year ago! While Frances has gained about 2 pounds. So we shall see. Although I’m content to wait as long as possible because these kids are already growing too fast! Haha.

I forgot to mention that on April 8^th we welcomed a new baby cousin, Juliet, to the family, weighing in at a whooping 11 lbs. 9 oz.! Beating her “big” brother! Something tells me she’ll be off the charts on her well visit check-ups J.