April 19, 2006

Hello all,
Well, the doctor thinks my boys have chickenpox, although a very mild case since they did have the vaccine. So that means they can't go to school and they can't go to California this weekend. We were all very disappointed, but we will instead transfer our tickets to go out in June when Rosalynde and her kids are out. I was SO looking forward to some time off, but it is not to be.
My friend Rena, 10 or 11 weeks pregnant with twins, has never had chickenpox, and both her kids were around mine and others in the ward who have since come down with chickenpox. And since the virus is contagious a few days before spots appear, we were very very worried about whether her kids would get it, and if so, if she would get it. Chickenpox is very serious in adults, and can be deadly to unborn babies, particularly in the 1st trimester. So we decided that her kids should come and stay with us for several days. If they don't get it, great, we won't worry, but if they do, then they won't be around their mom. They came over last night (only 2 kids, a 9 year old and a 3 year old), and as of today they have no spots so I'm hopeful that if they do come down with it, they got out of their house soon enough to protect their mom.
It is a little crazy having 5 kids here, but I think we will adjust. Carter (the 9 year old), is a great kid, and is at school until 2:00, so he's not a problem. Emma is a fairly well-behaved 3 year old, but it is mostly my boys that kind of misbehave when other kids are here. Today they very nearly drove me crazy. So much yelling and talking all at the same time, and getting into naughty things (they deflated and then CUT UP my exercise ball-- WHAT were they thinking??? Major trouble for all of them). I am so exhausted right now, I can't even tell you. But I think the boys will adjust and things will calm down a bit over the next few days. I hope so since they will potentially be here for 2 weeks. And I'll be on my own from Friday to next Wednesday as Ben still has to go on his trip. I'll try to plan some fun things for the kids, and maybe get someone to babysit Friday or Saturday night so I can get out by myself at least. Honestly, I've been worried sick about Rena's little babies that I am very very glad to be in a position where I can help out. And I must be earning brownie points somewhere, right?

I just need to find some time tomorrow (way too tired tonight) to get some photo work done-- I got my order in from the photo shoot I did a couple of weeks ago, and I'm very excited, so I need to finalize the prints, get them sent off to the lab, and get that squared away. I'm cancelling my photoshoot tomorrow morning but still hoping to keep the one Saturday (maternity). We'll see if I can find somewhere to take the kids during that time.

Mosey is such an amazing talker now, every day I am astonished. He talks in full sentences now and pretty much continuously! It's so cool how the speech just suddenly explodes. He is constantly asking me questions ("What's that sound, mom?" "What's that number?"), narrating his life ("I'm taking my shirt off, mom," "I'm pulling the dog's tail"), and getting just a bit demanding ("Get me nilla milk mom," "Don't change my diaper," "I need my care bear") etc., etc.
Well, I hope you all have great Thursdays. I'm going to try to get some sleep. I am so tired it isn't even funny, but I can't seem to get to bed earlier than like 11:30. By the time the kids are in bed, dishes in the dishwasher, last-minute chores done, it is always almost 11:00. I WISH I could get by on 7 hours of sleep, but right now at least it is just wearing me down. But I shouldn't talk about sleep deprivation when there are mothers of little babies reading these emails...