old saying

Ya know, the one "You pay for your raising"?! Well, I think Harper is that child for me. Bless her, she's such an outgoing child but she has this uncanny ability to get into everything. I don't know if it's that my time is divided or if it's her personality, but my mediocre parenting skills are really being challenged. I had to call poison control again today (called once before for Pierce when he ate a packet of silica gel they put in new shoes). I was refilling our scentport (fragrance oil warmer) and P was acting up. I was putting him in time out and came back to her sucking on the refill. *faints* I called poison control and they said they aren't toxic but are an irritant (may burn, cause redness, etc.). I bathed her and gave her tons of Gatorade to drink (a rare treat). She's still breathing creamy nutmeg though. *sigh*

In other news, we postponed our Hill Country vacation until March. Pierce ended up catching Harper's cold. It was just too far of a drive and too short of a stay to justify leaving home with sick babies. Thankfully, they are both loads better!

Harper too.........

except for thankfully it's *just* a lot of congestion. Although, 2 sick babies combined may derail the Texas Hill Country vacation we had planned for tomorrow. We'll play it by ear and may leave Sunday instead.

already?!

Ugh.......2 days back to school and we already have a sick sweet P! He has an awful tummy bug. I was up every 15 minutes with him last night throwing up. We're both exhausted. Poor lil' dude said, "Mom, I need a break from throwing up". Breaks my heart! I called his pediatrician first thing this morning and being awesome as they are, called him in some topical phenegran. We've used it before--it's a gel that comes in a syringe and you rub the contents in on their forearms. Super convenient! I'm so thankful I didn't have to drag a puking baby to the office--our ped really is fabulous. Mark arranged his schedule to pick up the script and some gatorade. Thankfully, Pierce hasn't thrown up since his first dose. I'm not sure if it was the meds or just that he's been ill for 12+hrs and it's over. But regardless, we're hopeful he's on the upswing and crossing our fingers no one else (Harper) catches it. It was quite pitiful watching him lay on the couch all day.........

outside play!

Freezing (or near) temps since Christmas has prevented us from testing out Santa's loot outdoors. Instead, the kids have been riding their plasma cars and bikes all over the house. Our poor wood floors are all scraped up, but their joy was worth it. We were finally able to take them outside yesterday. Harper wanted to take the wagon instead but sweetly insisted on wearing her helmet anyway. Of course, I took the camera to capture their first rides outside with their new gear.

No more stairs for Harper!

Ever feel like the worst parent? I do.......... *sigh*

Harper tripped going UP the stairs tonight and hit her head (yes, the same part of her forehead that still sports bruises from falling DOWN the stairs 2 days ago) on a wooden rail at the top of our stairs. Not only that, but she must've hit her mouth too b/c it was gushing blood. I never found the source although the inside of her cheek and a tooth look suspicious. And you guessed it, she was going up by herself. Seriously, if my obsessive worrying bad enough one of these incidents alone would drive me to the nuthouse, let alone the combined ratio. I'm so worried about my baby girl and furious with myself for making such poor decisions. Harper isn't allowed on the stairs alone for the forseeable future.

:-(

Harper fell (err, was pushed by her brother) down the stairs today. Fortunately they are carpeted, but she long/hard fall (about 10 stairs to the landing). It was one of those sounds you pray you never hear again. Praise God she's fine! She got a bit of rug burn on left cheek and both sides of her forehead and a pretty nasty bruise/lump on the right side of her forehead. The worse part is, it was completely preventable. I left them alone on the stairs to go down to wait for a phone call that was supposed to be coming in. I heard them bickering on the stairs. Instead of going up to help, I only yelled from downstairs to "leave her alone", "she'll come down by herself when she's ready", and finally "don't mess with her on the stiars"! I thought to myself, surely he won't push her. About that time, I heard lots of loud falling followed by Harper screaming. It was unbelievably scary. Piece said he pushed her because she wouldn't hold his hand. It was all completely avoidable on my part too. I feel awful for letting my baby girl down and not protecting her. Once the tears were wiped away and she stopped crying, she's been perfectly fine. If you rub her head where it's bruised she'll say, "Oww, stairs, Piercey". It brings to my knees when I think of what could've happened. Thank you Lord for your protecting arms that faithfully surround my children! I feel like the worst mama in the world for letting this happen to her. And what I was doing was so completely insignificant to her safety (knitting, on the computer, waiting for a phone call.......). Not a proud moment.