It dawned on me today that it has been 14 months since I slept through the night without any interruptions.  Between frequently getting up to pee  (seemingly since the day of August's conception) and my bout with insomnia while pregnant and the wake ups that I have gotten since August was born from all 3 of the kiddos, solid sleep has become a luxury that I often find myself day dreaming about.  August's nose is finally starting to clear up and he actually only woke up twice to eat before 7AM, giving me sleep that would have been amazing IF Beata had not woken up to pee and needed me to snap her PJs shut and IF I hadn't then discovered that Elek's mumbling was actually him trying to relate to me that his "bed [was] wet" and had to give him a bath and change his pajamas and sheets and IF B hadn't woken up at 7AM to poop which ended up waking up Augie for the day and, in turn, Elek.

I told Andrew of my no-solid-sleep revelation this morning and asked him to keep this in mind whenever I seemed irritable.  I personally think it is a totally legitimate excuse for bitchiness!

Today is Halloween.  Last night, about 20 minutes before bedtime I realized that we hadn't carved our pumpkin yet and wouldn't have time to do it today so I had Andrew churn that baby out as quickly as possible.  I made sure to snap some shots of the kids digging pumpkin slime out of the gourd so that when they are older the picture archive will tell them only that they had fun carving a pumpkin with their dad and not that it was a 20 minute affair that was hurried along to meet a bed time deadline.  Despite the rush, they did have fun doing it though and it actually was just about a perfect length of time given their attention spans!

All 3 are sleeping now and if I wasn't so superstitious about naps throwing me back into insomnia I would totally lay down with them.  But instead, I'm off to do dishes, vacuum, and make dinner :(  While listening to David Grey on Pandora :)

Beata:  "I don't have any more of my snack....so I have to eat my buggers."

August was more cranky than usual last weekend and his cough was sounding more junky so on Monday I took him to the doctor to make sure that he didn't have an ear infection.  The doc said his ears and lungs were clear and sent us on our way.  Over the week the cough seemed to worsen further and become more frequent, he developed a terrible runny nose and he screamed anytime I put him down.So I took him in again on Friday afternoon and the doc ended up diagnosing him with bronchiolitis.  Poor baby.  He has been pretty miserable and having a very hard time sleeping. Hoping he will kick it soon!  

I told my parents on the phone how much I am impressed by Elek and B's unconditional love for their little brother.  Despite the fact that their mommy was preoccupied both physically and mentally with the screaming baby all day yesterday they would still come up to him and try to make him laugh and say things like, "he's so cute," and "he's the best baby in the world."  And when I brought August back home after his doctor's visit they both ran to the door yelling, "AUGIE!!!"

Another thing that made my heart melt:  

I was spying on Elek and B in the playroom when I heard Elek say, "Hit Girl, come here I have to tell you a secret!"  She leaned in and he whispered (as quietly as a three year old can whisper, anyway), "you're the best sister ever!" So. Sweet. 

And maybe this is one of those, you gotta be there moments but I thought it was so funny and quintessential Beata when we both saw this gross little thing on the playroom mattress and, after I walked away, distracted by August, she came up to me and said, "hey mommy, I think that that icky thing on the playroom mattress came from my nose."  

"Eww Hit Girl, that's gross." I said.

"It's ok mommy, I got it off of the mattress."

"Oh good B, what did you do with it?"

"I put it on the floor."

"Oh gross, Hit Girl!  You are supposed to put icky things in the trash!"

" Well, I couldn't touch it though because it was icky."

"Then how did you put it on the floor?"

"With my toes!"

At which point I leaned over and gave her a great big kiss and hug.  I LOVE my crazy Hit Girl!

Will talk about CA trip another time but wanted to leave a few randoms:

1.  When B gets excited about something lately (as in the past 2 or 3 weeks) she says, "yay, pomegranate!"  She crazy and I love it!

2.  Tonight 15 minutes after being put down to bed Elek kept shouting, "I'm a little too scared to go to sleep........I'm a little too scared to go to sleep!"  Andrew went in there to help him "analyze" it and within a few minutes he was out!

3. Andrew threw a live and rather large glass snake at me today.  I had trapped it under a bucket so that when he came home from lunch he could put it in a container so the kids could see it later.  So he put on his gloves and grabbed the thing with an old t-shirt.  But as he was putting it in the tupperware container I gave him, the thing started to slither and squirm which freaked him out and caused him to lob the damn snake right at my face.  I had been standing about 6 feet away and felt the thing hit my leg and foot while I did a very crazy looking heebie jeebie dance to avoid and escape it.  I was soooooo grossed out and immediately went over to Andrew and punched him in the arm.  He maintains that it was an accident and that he was just overcome with fear but I swear there was a look of intention in his eyes that I saw in the split second before I saw the snake flying through the air toward my head.  Regardless, after the incident we were both laughing hysterically.  And needless to say, the kids never got a pet snake.

  August discovered that he could touch his feet on his own yesterday during lap time!  

We met up with Grace, Carrigan, and Brogan at Gleason Park yesterday to play and feed the ducks!  

Went to Ross and Panera with Grace and August last night.  While I was gone, Andrew helped the kids make the following movie (3 different takes below) in order to show Elek that the Goblin (or Gobbler as he called it) that he saw on a cartoon and described as shoes walking all by themselves, were not real.  Andrew told me that it was amazing how much direction and rehearsing was needed to produce the following short clips!  Hope you enjoy and get as much laughter as I did out of these gems :)

Well, no middle of the night coughing fits since Elek was started on the Zyrtec and antibiotic! Each night he has gotten into a fit right before going to bed but no wake ups.  Again, I am hesitant to throw a no-more-coughing party just yet since we have been tricked into thinking it was over before but it certainly feels good to not have to wake up and do breathing treatments!  August's cough on the other hand seems to be getting even more junkie and he is waking up more frequently.  This morning Elek woke up at 6:45 and couldn't go back to bed.  He just kept peeking into my room until 7:30 when B woke up and I went out there to feed them and turn on the TV.  I seriously can't win!

Took the kids to get their flu shots yesterday.  Decided on telling them beforehand what was going to happen rather than surprising them when we got to the doctor's office.  Andrew told them it would feel like a flick and demonstrated on their hands.  They both went into the room feeling very confident and "tough."  Elek and B volunteered Elek to go first.  He laid down on the table with a smile and nurse Laura kinda held him down while another nurse stuck him.  His smile immediately turned into a grimace and he cried, "ouch, that hurt!!"  He was still crying pretty hard when it was B's turn to lay on the table.  The whole time she did it she was looking at her brother crying and saying that it, "really hurt bad."  Still, she had a smile on her face and when the needle went in she barely cried out and said, "ouch," and that was it.  No tears, no complaining, no nothing.  She is seriously insane and I love it!  I remember that last year when they got their flu shots I predicted a similar outcome so I had her go first and sure enough, she didn't cry while Elek was balling after his turn.  Don't know how Andrew and my softy DNA were able to make such a tough cookie but man am I proud :)

I took the kids to see the end of Andrew's boxing class yesterday so that they could see what he does every Sunday and Wednesday and meet Fadul or, "Fadulo," as Beata calls him.  It was very cute to hear B wave and say, "hi dad! hi!" until Andrew would wave back at her.

Booked our tickets for Vermont last night!  I told Andrew that we haven't traveled in 2 years and now we are going on two vacations in 3 months!  Making up for lost time, I suppose :)

So much to do in terms of packing and cleaning in the next 24 hours before we leave for St. Pete and Cali.  Not sure how in the heck I will get it all done with the 3 munchkins begging for my attention all day but somehow I'll have to make it work!

Took the kids to see Dr. Weare yesterday.  $60 worth of copays later, Elek is believed to have a chronic sinus infection and is going to be taking another antibiotic along with Zyrtec, Beata also has what is believed to be an allergic cough so she will be on Zyrtec as well, and August may have a little cold so we just have to let it run its course.  The best news of the visit though was that we can discontinue Elek's breathing treatments as the doctor did not hear any wheezing.  Thank goodness since they were a pain in the ass! No coughing fits last night but I am not about to think that the war is over!

Elek got a haircut yesterday which you might have noticed in the swimming video.  He loves going to the barber shop, mostly because he gets a lollipop when it's over.

Went on a nice walk with Grace and August last night.  Really love having her live in Melbourne and I am going to miss the heck out of her when she decides to move along :(

I'm getting more excited each day about Andrew and my (and August's) trip to California for Rachel McNeal's wedding this weekend.  I've planned for some really nice hikes and Andrew is super psyched about taking a hang gliding lesson!  Most of all I think we are both looking forward to being able to have conversations without toddler tantrums and screaming for 5 days straight.  It is going to be so weird!  The kids seem to equally be looking forward to 5 days spent at Weeta and Pop Pop's house.  We have really talked up the whole junk food aspect of it so whenever you ask them about it they talk about how Weeta and Pop Pop are going to let them drink Coke and have lollipops.  This will be the longest that I have ever been away from Elek and B since Elek was born over 3.5 years ago.  Up to now the longest that I have gone without seeing them was when I was in the hospital having August.  And even then I'd see them before I went to bed at night and in the morning the next day.  And the one time last year that my parents came to stay at our house while Andrew and I spent the night at Crown Plaza on the beach, I broke down and came home to tuck them into bed after we had dinner and before we went back to the hotel.  Needless to say, while I am excited to go away I am anxious about leaving them.  What makes it easier though is knowing that they will have the familiarity of one another.  I think they have really become one another's security blankets. Elek used to fight going to school in the mornings but once we started sending B, we really never heard any argument from him about it again.  It is a pretty sweet bond that they are developing!

Ok, time to wake up Andrew's butt and send him on his way to work.  No plans with the kids today.  These usually end up being the most interesting kinds of days...

Andrew gave the kids a clothes on swim test to make sure they wouldn't drown if they fell in Weeta and Pop Pop's pool while Grace and I were on a walk. I think they did pretty well!

Pretty much all day yesterday I was eyes burning, fall over tired.  In my exhaustion I managed to work myself up into a tizzy about how it annoyed me that Andrew always moans and groans anytime I suggest that we attempt a family outting.  The end result of my sleep-deprived fueled protests was the institution of "Family Fun Day!"  So at 6PM yesterday the whole clan plus aunt Gigi departed for Ryckman Park.  I swear that our children have a 6th sense for when mommy and daddy are arguing and are determined to help daddy win all arguments since as we were getting out the car B started tantrumming about some insignificant detail of the unloading process and throughout our stay at the park each kid took their turns throwing fits.  Then on the way to part two of family fun day, dinner at Off the Traxx, Elek started into a coughing fit (which ended up lasting all the way through dinner) and August was screaming bloody murder.  Needless to say, throughout the evening Andrew was provided with endless opportunities to make sarcastic comments like, "wow, you were so right!  This s so much fun!  How did I not appreciate the joy that can be had in hanging out with two toddlers and an infant before?!"  and by the time we sat down to scarf down our meal so we could get home and put the demons to bed, I was conceding that Andrew was right and going out as a fam really could be a pain in the ass.  Not that it was all horrible.  While at the park Andrew started a game on the tennis courts where the kids had to sneak past him on their bikes and touch the stroller before he could tap them on the helmet with a stick.  It took them a while to understand how to play but after a while they got it and really enjoyed it and it was so much fun to watch the determined look on B's face as she killed Elek in the game.  She would wait in the safe zone until Andrew wasn't looking and them zoom toward the stroller to score a point.  We think that she was so good at it because she loves being sneaky!  B also had Andrew, Grace, and I dying with laughter at dinner when she requested a lemon and them proceeded to eat the entire thing, rind and all, like it was no big deal!  She just said, "mmm, this is yummy!" And apparently she really did enjoy it because she kept asking for more and even after I explained to her that the rind wasn't for eating she ate two more whole pieces! Crazy girl!  Plain spinach leaves, tomatoes, salsa, and now lemon rinds are just a few of the more foods that make us think she is going to give Andrew a run for his money in terms of food experimentation!

Between showers, breathing treatments, and extra food when they got home, it was 10PM by the time we got all the kids down for bed.  August woke up at 2:30 and then again at 6:30 for good.  Elek slept through the night without a coughing fit which was wonderful but I still plan on taking them all into the doctor today for their coughs.  We'll see what he says!