A Spring of Joy

So, this morning started off with a bang. I got up a little before 7:00 to feed Audrey and put her back to bed. Just as I finished getting her settled and asleep, Asher got up and we discovered a 102.1 degree fever. Ugh. He climbed in bed with Brian, and I jumped in the shower, because I knew if I didn’t, I might never get one. I threw on some clothes, pulled my wet hair into a ponytail and headed downstairs to hopefully get a few minutes to read my Bible.

About two minutes later, Micah came out rubbing his eyes, his lower lip pouted out, saying, “I want my Asher back.” (He hates waking up and finding Asher gone.) He headed upstairs to “nuggle Daddy”, and I actually got 20 minutes of quiet time! The only thing that was missing was a good cup of coffee, something I missed immensely during my pregnancy!

At 8:15, Brian finally rolled out of bed with the boys and I helped them put together some puzzles while he got the coffee brewing. The hungry boys finally got some breakfast–bagels and hotmeal (Micah’s name for oatmeal), of which Asher only ate a few bites of before he said, “I give up.” Having never heard that one from him before, I assumed it meant he was done, and I figured that since he wasn’t feeling well, I wasn’t going to press the issue.

Once they finished, I got them cleaned up and gave them both some cough syrup against which Asher profusely protested because it was “too spicy” (it burns a bit going down). Of course, Micah, who eats anything could care less. He loves to eat hot salsa with chips, so he must have inherited my iron stomach.

Audrey eventually woke up and we all went into her room to get them out of their jammies. Asher dressed himself (although his wardrobe choice left something to be desired), Micah tried dressing himself but kept getting stuck, and Audrey just lay quietly on her changing table in the midst of the clamor. Once I got to her, the boys were vying for the best position in which to watch and “help” Audrey get changed. By this point, she had reached her over-stimulation point and had started to cry, I sent Asher out of the room b/c he kept pushing Micah and refused to stay where I told him to, and Micah kept climbing the crib to see better. Finally, after that circus was over, there were fresh clothes for all kids (which lasted about 10 minutes in Audrey’s case… spit up galore)!

I finally got to fix myself a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee (yes, my first one!)… gobbled the cereal and took a sip of coffee before Asher came whining for me to play with him. Audrey was still fussing, so I picked her up to rock, and we sat in the rocking chair, Asher next to me, while Micah pulled up a chair beside mine. Audrey fell asleep in my arms while I read books until 10:00, when they occasionally get to watch Sesame Street (and today was one of those days!).

At the appointed time, the boys raced upstairs (Asher’s fever certainly didn’t slow him down) to watch “Ses Treet”. In the meantime, Audrey woke up b/c it was time to feed, and Asher wanted her to watch tv with him. I headed upstairs w/ the boys and nursed Audrey while Asher laid his head on my lap and Micah leaned on my arm (I could barely breathe by this point.)

Halfway through Sesame Street Audrey fell asleep, the boys started asking for snack (more like demanding it until I made them ask), and I headed downstairs. Audrey napped in her crib, the boys got their snack, and I sat down to finish my coffee (yes, I had still only had one sip!) I checked my email and started a reply to one of my best friends in the whole world!

When their show ended, Asher turned off the TV and Micah got mad b/c he wanted to turn it off. Asher came downstairs, and halfway down heard Micah turn the tv on then back off. Asher ran back up the stairs yelling at the top of his lungs that he was supposed to turn it off b/c Micah turned it on when it was time for Sesame Street. I dealt with that battle, the boys both apologized and hugged each other, and all was quiet on the western front… for 15 minutes. But in 15 minutes, I could at least get a few more sips of coffee.