Lately - Survival Mode!

 Well my "lately" has been a whole lot of survival mode! In my last Thankful Thursday post, I was saying how Dom was getting sick. I don't know for certain what he had, but I'm thinking he got Hand Foot Mouth from school and brought it home with him. Apparently it can manifest in different ways for kids, and all 3 of my kids got sick, but all in different ways and at different times. First was Dom with fever, cough, etc. Then it was Eva with blisters on her feet, hands and mouth but no fever. Then Emilia with a low fever and blisters inside her mouth/throat. Dom was off school for two days (making it a 5 day weekend), and Emilia was off for one. 

Trying to keep the sickness away from everyone, we left fevered Dom upstairs watching garbage truck videos.

Eva stroking Dom's head as he rests on the couch

Whipped up some bubble foam for Eva. She didn't love is at much as I was hoping haha

On Sunday evening Mom came over so Dave and I could have a date after the kids went to bed. We couldn't really have anyone babysit the sickies, so we got them to bed first. We went to Barley Merchant for some beer and poutine. One more date night before he's gone for 8 days!

On Tuesday, which was Dom's first day back after being sick, Dave left for his hiking trip in Montana at 4am. Gramma was dropped off that afternoon and stayed with me for 4 nights. THANK GOODNESS! It was absolutely necessary to have an extra set of hands with these kids. 

Dom started his full days of kindergarten this week and that has been a major adjustment for him. He comes home completely tanked and all his feelings come out in very loud and sudden ways. He requires 100% of my attention just to decompress after the long days for a while. In that time, Eva also requires 100% of my attention because Eva. And then Emilia is feeling middle-childed, so she's also requiring 100%. And then dinner. And ahhhh!!! 

The days are so quiet while Dom is at school though. So I do get time to breathe. But anyway, I am so incredibly grateful Gramma stayed with us and helped out or I definitely would not have been able to do it. It was also nice to have some evening company, and I introduced her to Ru Paul's Drag Race haha! Now I just have 4 more days before Dave gets home... At least we're all healthy now. 

I couldn't believe how quiet it was in the house with Dom at school

Gramma got there just in time for school pick up the first day. Nice to have extra hands with the girls!

Emilia waiting for Dom to get out of class

He asked me to get the big lego bucket out of the closet because he really wanted to play lego. He could barely keep his eyes open but was so determined haha

I did some lego with him for a bit and built what I thought was a pretty sweet not very aerodynamic race car. He looked and said in an unimpressed tone, "Ah. A golf cart." Guess that's why I don't design cars haha.

Emilia dressed herself this day. She also had a canucks tshirt on under her pineapple dress. It was a lot haha

She begged to get there early for pickup so we could play on the playground.

Thank you Gramma for helping the first half of solo-parenting to be possible!

Yesterday morning my parents took Eva for a couple hours, and Aunty Sonya came over in the afternoon to play and help out and give me a break. I'm so thankful for this village! I get very overstimulated and overwhelmed with all the noise and neediness, so it's amazing to get these opportunities for breaks!

Brought some crafts to do with the kids <3

She tried to take the kids to the park so I could walk the dog, but first Emilia the Velcro child wouldn't go without me, and then when I tried to sneak away the dog wouldn't walk without the kids. I had an epiphany as we were walking though. Almost every time Dave or I try to take Sherlock for a walk with just one of us he refuses. He will go half a block and stop dead, refusing to go anywhere but back home. It is extremely frustrating because we know he wants/needs to walk, but he just won't. We ruled out pain, heat, etc. He wouldn't even go for treats. 

We've been going for more family walks lately since the kids ride their bikes and can keep up, and he walks great. Like an angel. No issues. 

After this walk, I realized he won't go with just one of us because the kids are still at home. Even when we were walking yesterday, he would not let the stroller and Eva get behind at all. He walked directly in line with the stroller the whole time. SO weird. At home he's pretty indifferent to the kids, especially Eva. So realizing he is actually extremely attached and protective of them is very interesting. 

I heard Dom playing at 630 this morning and peeked at the monitor. He was behind his blinds and I could hear him playing something on the window sill. I went to check later and found this. Something about it just makes me smile haha.

And here are some pictures Dave has sent from his trip. These are just the phone pics. He also brought both his cameras and will be coming back with some amazing photos and video I'm certain.