Let the sick season begin...

It has begun.  The virus season has hit the Westfall house.  It started last week with Emma waking up in the night vomiting everywhere.  She recovered quickly and thankfully was out only for 24 hours.  I was hoping that would be it for awhile but it was not to be. 

This morning Dawson told me that he wasn't feeling well.  He said that he had been coughing all night.  He hadn't been, our room is close by and I didn't hear a peep.  So off to school he went.  When I picked him up from school this afternoon he immediately told me that he wasn't feeling very well.  I thought maybe he is having some allergies and that is why he isn't feeling well.  We loaded up in the van and got about three blocks when I heard a cough and then the sound that no mom wants to hear, especially while inside of a car.  Dawson threw up all over his backpack and the floor of the van.  By the time I was able to pull over he was, of course, done.  I will not get into the details but it was horrific my friends.  I rolled down the windows and finished the remainder of the drive home.  Ten minutes later I pulled in our drive way and got Dawson settled in the house.  I sent Emma to the backyard so that she would stay out of my hair.  She thought that it was awesome that Dawson got sick in the van and kept trying to "help".  Once Aubrey was in her high chair with some snacks I set to cleaning out the van.  SO GROSS.  I got it done and sprayed Lysol everywhere in the van.  Thankfully Dan had some plastic gloves in the garage.  With me being so immune repressed I have to be careful when the kids get sick. 

Dawson is now laying watching Power Rangers but is so upset that he will be missing school tomorrow and can't go on his play date with his best buddy Ethan after school.  Emma is upset because Dan is gone and I don't have anyone to stay with Dawson so she is missing her soccer game.  I think that we will be watching movies this evening and then after the kids go to bed I will be scrubbing down the house.  Hopefully we can keep the sick from spreading!  I found this Baby Blues cartoon strip and it cracked me up.  I just had to share because I can't say that I haven't thought about trying it;)

Aubrey and Emma 1 / Mommy 0

Tonight Aubrey, between the hours of 4:30 -6:30 pm, did the following things:

1.  got into the chocolate chips (which were in a closed Tupperware container)
2.  got into the Doritos (which had a chip clip on it)
3.  squeezed out a juice box that Emma left out onto the kitchen floor
4.  dumped half of a large bottle of soft soap (it has a screw top lid) onto the bathroom floor
5.  tried to eat a red crayon

Tonight Emma, between the hours of 4:30-6:30 pm, did the following things:

1.  dumped all her crayons onto the living room floor and then cried for 15 minutes when I told her to clean them up
2.  made a huge mess of her room not 15 minutes after I had just finished cleaning it up
3.  yelled at me that her room could be as messy as she wanted it to be and there was nothing I could do about it
* she quickly learned that there was something that I actually could do about it
4.  took all the couch cushions off and made a big mess in the living room. 
5.  yelled at me after I told her to clean her living room mess that I should just send her to bed

And...that is just what I did.  Two girls got ready for bed and were in their beds for the night by 7pm. 


I miss Dan when he is gone.

Emma's beautiful moment

There are times as a parent that you just stop and swell with love for your children and this was one of those times.  Emma came home from church on Sunday just bursting to tell us her memory verse that they have been working on.  As she was saying the verse to me I thought to myself how beautiful this moment was.  It made me think about God and what joy He must have at her enthusiasm in remembering His word. 

I will be honest, when I read God's word I do not have the same sense of excitement as my sweet Emma.  The times when I am just bursting to tell others about God's word are way to few and far between.  I truly believe that as the years go by God will use Emma and her enthusiastic, joyful nature to speak His words to others.  I look forward to seeing her grow in her relationship with the Lord and I am thankful that He has begun using her already by speaking to me. 

Here is the video of her...

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  Matthew 19:14

Dawson and too many activities?

This week we had a choice to make.  Dawson had brought home a flier about Boy Scouts.  He seemed very interested and excited about joining.  I mean the man said they would be able to shoot BB guns!  Who wouldn't want to join?  As Dan and I talked about it we kept going back and forth.  We both felt like it was something he would really enjoy and probably excel at.  However, there would be a time commitment not only for Dawson but for myself.  I felt like since I was not involved in anything else I would probably be able to make that commitment.  When we sat down to talk to Dawson about it though I was a little surprised at his response.

We talked about the different activities that he would do while at Boy Scouts.  I explained about the meetings and then examples of what he would have to do to work on getting badges/pins.  I have a friend who spent some time talking to me about Boy Scouts.  Her son has been apart of it for a couple of years and really enjoys it.  As we were talking I can see that Dawson's face was getting nervous and worried.  The sign up meeting was that night and he started getting teary as we were talking.  He decided that he didn't want to join this year. 

As I talked to him more about why he didn't want to join I think that I began to understand once again how much he is like me.  Dawson is at school from 9 am and then gets home by about 4 pm.  He has homework (not a whole lot) that he works on each night.  He plays until dinner at 6pm and then we start doing our bedtime routine by 7pm so that he is in bed by 8pm.  It is stressful and overwhelming for Dawson to have a lot on his plate.  Even having to go to activities that aren't his own (like Emma's soccer games and practices) can get to him. 

It seems like Dawson will be similar to me and probably not be able to participate in lots of activities at the same time.  Too many things overwhelm him and it only ends in tears.  It is interesting to me that too many for Dawson I know will not be too many for Emma.  They are just different personalities and we (Dan and myself) will need to remember that.  School, Wednesday night church and maybe one sport during the whole school year I think will be plenty for Dawson.  I want him to enjoy the activities that he is involved in.  I don't want him as 6 years old to feel stress about school, church etc.  I am sure that when Emma and Aubrey come along we will have to assess what it too much for them and most likely it will be very different.  That is what parenting is all about though right?  Doing what is best for each child.  Maybe as Dawson gets older he will be able to slowly add to his plate but there is no need to rush it now. 

Dawson and Emma having fun on the trampoline after school.

Emma sayings part 2

Emma has said the following to me this past week or so and I needed to make sure that I wrote them down so that when she has her own son or daughter that ends up being just like her...well, I'll be able to show her this.

Emma (after being sent to bed early for being naughty): Mom, why are you nicer to Aubrey then you are to me?
Me:  Emma, you are going to bed early as a consequence to your actions.  Someday when you have a little girl and when she disobeys you will have to give her consequences too.
Emma: Yeah, someday I will have to give her a big spanking just like the one I am working on right now.

Mom, you need to cut my hair in the morning.  This is just not working for me right now.

Emma has just said a naughty word right in front of Dan and I.  This is the conversation that followed.
Dan:  Emma, we do not say that word.  It is a naughty word and we don't talk like that.
Emma: Okay.
Heather: Emma, come here please.
Emma (interrupting before I can finish it):  Mom!  Dad already handled it.
Long pause while I collect myself

Emma is downstairs putting her soccer clothes in the laundry.  I am in the kitchen when I hear her crying. I meet her at the stair and this is what she says to me.

Me: Emma are you okay?  What happened?

Emma (still crying, takes a deep breath and then says):  It all began while I was downstairs...(insert long drawn out story how she pinched her finger) ...and that is what happened to my poor, poor finger.

So much mischief from such a cutie.