So, Jeff's been gone for 12 days now. It's been a crazy week and a half, but it's starting to calm down......I think! I hope! So far, I've been able to talk to Jeff every day, which is great. Of course, I don't get to talk to him nearly as much as I'm used to, but at least I get an update every day. He's doing well. He's been a little sick with a sinus infection, but other than that he's good. He's even been able to talk to the kids a few times and I know they love that!! I've only cried a few times since he's been gone, which surprises me. (I thought I would have been a ball of tears by now, but I'm doing okay. Taking one day at a time.)
We still have a little sickness going on in the house, but it's ten times better than last week! I've been doing tons of laundry (with bleach), scrubbing everything with Clorox wipes, and steam cleaning the couch and living room (in the middle of the night......sorry Katie and Bill!!) But, I've been trying to do whatever I can to get these damn germs to DIE!!! Soon......soon.......
We've had some visitors over the weekend. My mom came over yesterday and I gave her a haircut (and then Julian wanted one, too) and my brother-in-law Dave came over yesterday, as well. The kids were T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. yesterday and I think we all cried at some point and I did a lot of yelling........but it has passed and I shall move on! Today was a much better day (behavior wise). My dad and Liz came to visit today. The kids were pretty good and had fun. I thought they were so good today that I even made a cake before bedtime and they each got a piece! (It's a nummy treat that I need to try to keep my hands off of!!!)
I even got a chance to color my hair today. (My roots were lookin scary!) While I was dyeing my hair, I asked Cleo, "Hey, should we dye your hair black, Cleo?" She grabbed her hair and said, "NO WAY! I want it be golden forever!" I thought that was pretty cute! I don't think she realizes that her hair is "blond," to her it's "golden" (like a princess, of course!) ............Yesterday, I was getting dressed and Cleo was staring at me. I said, "Cleo, one day when you get bigger, you're going to get big boobies!" She exclaimed with excitement, "Really??!" I said, "Yep, and you can even wear a bra! Would you like that??" She said very matter-of-factly, "Course!" She can be so flippin cute sometimes.......keyword....."Sometimes!"
Julian was pretty much a butthead all day yesterday. At one point, the boys were digging in their piggy banks and counting their money. Julian had just finished counting his and he was shaking it around and ready to put it back on the kitchen counter......and, of course, he dropped in and it shattered. So, coins went all over the place and he cried cuz his monkey bank broke. Dave was here and he was nice enough to move the stove so we could get his coins. Well, it was gross under there, so we vacuumed it up and Dave went to put the vacuum cleaner away. He said, "Hey Julian, could you please come open this door for me?" Julian looked at him and said, "You have two hands." (In a snotty little tone.) We didn't really know how to react to that one. It was funny and horrifying all at the same time!! Little shit!
The other day Owen was asking me to write down everyone's names in the family. He wanted first, middle, and last names. I wrote mine, Jeff's, his, Julian's, Cleo's, Westin's, Phillip's, Dayna's, Dax's, and Cliff's names down. He said, "Hey, why don't Dax and Cliff have middle names??" (Keep in mind this is the dog and the turtle.) I said, "I don't know. I guess we just never thought of any middle names for them. Maybe you could think of one?!" He thought about it for a while and then he announced, "Mom, I came up with a perfect middle name for Dax!" I said, "What did you come up with?" He said, "CARL!" So, I said, "Dax Carl Escher??? Like, Carl with a "c" or Carl with a "k"??" He said, "Carl with a 'c'!" I said, "Well, why don't you think of some other names??" He said, "No, I already decided....his middle name is Carl." So, now my dog has a middle name. A little while later he said, "Mom, I thought of a middle name for Cliff! It's 'Mayor'!" I said, "All right. Cliff Mayor Escher it is, then." He's so silly. The thing is, he has such a flippin awesome memory, that he will not forget these names. There's no way I could change them down the road!! So, now our whole family has middle names.........
We've had quite the eventful little week around here and I'm hoping we can settle a little more into a routine this week. I know I said that last week, but I didn't know I was going to have tooth issues and that Cleo would get pinkeye again! Oh, did I not mention that?? Yeah, Cleo had pinkeye.....again.....UGH!
Now, I just need to work on planning some little outings for the kids. I know if I keep them in this house all the time they will go insane. So, besides just playing outside, I need to think of things to do and places to go! Perhaps we will take a library fieldtrip this week or maybe a Maple Maze excursion?? I don't know. It has to be fun and cheap! I don't like figuring things out last minute. It makes it so much easier for me when I plan ahead. So, I'm going to start getting creative!! (We'll see how that works out.......ha ha!)
Anyway, I thought I'd just put a little update that things in the Escher household are still crazy, but they are a little less crazy now than last week at this time! So, all my children have been sleeping for a while and I'm going to enjoy the little bit of quiet time I get each night! I will write more later!
~Rachelle (The mom with the crazy kidlets!)
