Feeling better

I don't have much time to write, but after checking in and realizing that the last post left with me very down, I wanted to reassure everyone: THIS WEEK IS GOING MUCH BETTER!

I decided on Monday that I would MAKE this week better.  And I have.  I've been getting stuff done, and the weather has been just beautiful.  It has lifted my spirits greatly.  I'm having a very good week.  And I'm not feeling so quickly moved to tears either.

Thank you for all of your love and support, friends.  I will be back soon with pictures of the family enjoying this beautiful spring weather!

Emotions...

In my last post, I warned you that an emotional post would be coming... If you hate those, this isn't the one for you to read...

The end of last week was a real struggle for me.  I struggled to find motivation, energy, and even happiness.  I was starting to wonder if, and why I might be depressed.  Spring has ALWAYS been my favorite season.  I couldn't figure out why I couldn't MAKE myself find happiness.  It was frustrating for me, and I know that Steve was worried about me.  He does that anyway!

Finally, in processing how I felt, I realized that the last time I felt this way was when I was postpartum with Avery and Silas.  I at least had the baby blues after they were born, if not Post Partum Depression.  And then I started thinking about recent changes in my life.  And I realized that weaning Chaille from nursing (albeit slowly) has my hormones changing.  And I don't deal well with it AT ALL.  So, just knowing what is happening is helping.  Realizing that this is normal and that it should be temporary is enough to really make me feel better.  I can be honest with those around me, informing them when I'm just being hyper-sensitive (and boy am I ever, lately!)  And i have to remind myself to try not to overwhelm others with it.

It doesn't help that the kids are all dealing with colds and runny noses (as well as Chaille's ear infections!)  It has been a tough week in that regard as well.  I'm hoping that we had a rough end to last week, so that this week can end wonderfully!  We are expecting 70 degree temperatures and sunshine at the end of this week.  I'm hoping that the weather will hold up to those predictions, and that my children will all feel better!  This week could end MUCH better than the last one ended!

Pray for me, if you will.  I want to ease out of this pretty quickly.  I'm tired of being on the verge of tears for no reason.  I want to start to experience more happiness with everything.  I have a million reasons to be happy.  And I truly want to BE HAPPY with all of my blessings.  Thank you in advance for your prayers and for loving me even in the brokenness of this moment!

Poor baby...

Poor Chaille... She was feverish yesterday, and you could tell she didn't feel well at all.  So in the afternoon I took her to see the nurse practicioner at our pediatrician's office.  We really liked her.  And she confirmed that not only did Chaille have one ear infected, but she had a DOUBLE ear infection.  Boo... She has had two of them in the last 2 months :o(  And she was so healthy all winter!!!  So they put her on Zithromax for the next five days.  I pray she feels better soon, because as of last night, she still did not, and she still had a fever.

We enjoyed Avery's spring break very much.  The Entertrainment Junction place that we went to in Cincinnati was a lot of fun. Steve has some pictures on his phone that I will share soon, but he is working this weekend, so I don't have access to them right now!  I will share soon.

Well, Chaille is just waking up for the day.  I need to go get her and see how she feels today!  I pray she feels BETTER!!!!

Back soon!

Spring Break

Silas was on Spring Break from preschool last week.  This week, it is Avery's Spring Break.  We have enjoyed not having to rush around to have Avery out the door by 8:00!  Otherwise, we have had a fairly "normal" week so far.  Tomorrow, Steve and I are planning to take the kids to a place in Cincinnati called Entertrainment Junction.  It is a train museum with a large play area and lots of things for children.  I hope that they kids will all be able to enjoy it!  If you want to check it out for yourself, here is the website: http://www.entertrainmentjunction.com/

It seems that although we aren't super BUSY with things, I have just been busy with life!  Keeping the laundry and dishes up as well as school stuff and playing, it just doesn't leave a lot of time.  Add to that the workout program, and our days are swamped.  I'm on day 38 of the workouts, just one week away from the "half-way" point.  I love it, and am impressed with the strength I am gaining.  I can finally do a pull-up.  Just one, and only with a reverse grip.  But, it is a huge accomplishment for me!

I'm in a reflective mood lately too, so watchout... this could lead to one of my more emotional blog posts soon.  I think the seasons changing, kids growing, etc. just puts me in that kind of mood.  Plus, I just finished reading Beth Moore's book "So Long Insecurity."  It was a great read, and I'd recommend it to any woman of any age (or man, really!)  But it really changed my outlook on some things.  All in GOOD ways.  I feel almost empowered, but not in a "feminist" kind of way.  It is more about realizing that I can control my own security.  I don't need it wrapped up in what others think of me.  I can choose to feel secure in everything, because I am a Christian and I have all that I need in my Heavenly Father.  You should read it, it is such a good book, and a fast read!

Ok, I'm off.  I left the dishwasher half full of clean dishes (yes, I intentionally used the phrase half full! Wouldn't want to be thought a pessimist!)  Plus, my laundry has yet to fold itself.  Maybe if I fold it creatively, it will un-wrinkle itself from the baskets that it has been sitting in (for anywhere from 1-3 days!!!)  I think I just admitted to being a slacker mom... Oh well!

Pictures!!!

I'm finally getting around to getting these pictures on.  The first few pictures are from our visit to my friend, Sandy's house.  The kids enjoy visiting.  The boys love to play her wii and Nolan and  Chaille enjoy exploring a new place!  Sandy is so good to us.  Enjoy the pictures:

Chaille takes a break to see what the boys are doing.

Silas is really into showing off his balancing moves lately!

Nolan laying on the floor playing with Sandy and the toys that he stole from Chaille.  He's also missing a shoe :O)

Avery with a great smile.  Two times now when we went to visit he has had pajama day at school!

Sandy is helping the boys set up their game.  Look how long her hair is!!! This was yesterday.  She got it cut today :O)

Nolan and Silas enjoyed watching the geese.  Silas was making up stories about them.  Too cute!

Chaille is starting to stand some.  She can pull up to her knees and sometimes her feet for a minute.  I had to hurry to snap this picture of her standing!

One evening last week the boys had a movie night together.  Is there a dad in the world more blesed than this one?  You'd be hard pressed to find one!  I think the boys are pretty blessed too to have a dad that spends quality time like this with them!

Chaille enjoying a bottle and a cartoon.  She is almost completely weaned now, and we are already moving her to sippy cups (since she steals Nolan's all the time anyway!)  It is kind of bittersweet to have your youngest move through these milestones.

Really into this cartoon!

Silas and his blanket.  He is like Linus with that thing.  Except it very rarely leaves the house.  It's more of a HOME thing for him!  Oh, and his watch that he wears to impress the ladies!!!

A Beautiful Day!

Yesterday was such a beautful day!  I spent all day trying to think of ways to take it all in.  We opened the windows to let the 72 degree weather in.  Then we walked over to get Avery from school.  The boys rode their bikes down to the post office after that.  We had lunch and naps at home before heading out for another bike ride and a trip to the park.  We even played on the track for a little while.  All 3 of the boys ran a lap around in their BOOTS!  Ouch...  Here are some pictures from our sunny day adventures:

Avery helped Chaille down the slide.  When I told him thank you, he replied "that's what big brothers are for!"

Nolan running on the track.  He told me "I'm super fast!"

A picture of our bike ride to the post office.  Silas seems to be outgrowing his bike!

Growing up...

I can't believe how quickly these children are growing up.  It's like overnight they change and grow!  We've had a nice few days of warmer weather and sunshine.  We took advantage of it yesterday and went to the grocery.  And, for the first time, it was warm enough for me to take Chaille in without her car carrier and put her in the cart like a big girl.  She LOVED it.  She didn't try to chew on the handles or anything either, which is a huge bonus!  We had a busy, busy morning, but a good one.  We signed up Avery for baseball as well, which is so exciting to me.  It means spring is VERY close!!!  Enjoy a picture of baby girl having her first "big girl" shopping experience:

Sunshine

Silas finally started feeling better Thursday evening.  And for two nights in a row he slept ALL night.  Whew!  I just pray that the bug he had is gone for good from this house. :O)

We are enjoying our third day of sunshine here today.  Each day it has gotten progressively warmer, and the kids have LOVED being outside playing once again!  On Thursday we went for our first walk/bike ride of the season.  It was still a bit chilly, but it felt SO good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.  Here are some pictures from our walk that day:

Avery and Silas rode bikes and Nolan and Chaille rode in the stroller.  We stopped up at the school for Nolan to run around a little, and he enjoyed that.  I don't think anyone enjoyed the walk more than me though :O)

Last night we had a family night at home.  We watched Wall-E and had root beer floats.  I just love family evenings.  I hope that they will be remembered fondly by our children!

Update

Poor Silas has had this tummy bug for 5 days now... My heart is breaking for him.  He had to miss both days of preschool this week, and is just not himself.  He isn't sleeping well at night, having most of his trouble then.  Three of the last four nights he has spent more time awake than asleep!  You can tell in the picture below that, despite the smile, he doesn't feel well.  His coloring is off and he's missing that sparkle in his eyes.

I thought I'd add some more adorable pictures today too.  The boys sure do love on Chaille.  Both of these are from this morning, when they were expressing their love for their little sister:

Chaille is really starting to pull up on things.  She often gets to her knees and sometimes even to her feet just briefly.  Here she is this morning posing with the Sit-N-Spin.  I love her smile in the second picture:

Adorable

Chaille is trying to pull up!  She gets to her knees but isn't quite strong enough to make it onto her feet.  Here is a picture of her trying to pull up this morning on the ottoman:

Our little HAM, Nolan won't let you put the camera away without a picture too:

And for a really good laugh, check out these pictures from last night.  He was really hamming it up last night:

http://jenniferp90x.blogspot.com/2010/02/day-14-x-stretch.html

Me and my baby girl!  She is growing up WAY to fast!

We've been dealing with a touch of illness at our house.  Nolan and Chaille have been dealing with diarrhea for 5 to 7 days now.  We attributed it to both teething and the fact that they were both just on antibiotics UNTIL... yesterday Silas started complaining of a tummy ache.  Last night at 1:30 in the morning he too started having the same kind of trouble.  He was up consistantly until 5:00 this morning.  Then he finally slept.  He's had a little trouble today that has had him in the bathroom, but otherwise he is eating and drinking and playing like normal.  I pray that soon he is better!  He just got up from naps and headed straight to the bathroom... :O(  Poor boy!

Well other than this little run of illness, all is well at the Frye home!  We are looking forward to spring coming soon and some warmer weather so that we can get out and go for walks and visit the park.  We greatly miss those activities!!!