Emergency Room

Charlie threw up again. Josh and his dad are on their way to the ER with him, upon the recommendation of the Kaiser advice line. I'm at home with my other three children, completely helpless.

Great

Josh just reminded me that Charlie fell and hit his head pretty hard earlier tonight. So now he's got me worrying about a concussion.

The Fun Never Ends

Josh just went to check on the kids on our way to bed. Discovered Charlie had thrown up. We took him into the bathroom to put him in the shower. 2nd discovery: stomach flu seems to be affecting both ends. Joy!

Josh currently cleaning Charlie. All the commotion woke up Katie. My hallway smells like puke, since I don't have an actual space in which to keep dirty laundry or a washer and dryer to throw pukey stuff into to clean right away.

Looking forward to the inevitable spread of the illness. Hopefully, Fitz will be unaffected.

Happy Easter

Beautiful.

Family Outing

I'm trying to slowly catch up with my posting. Here are some pictures from Free Museum Day here in Sacramento, which happened way back at the beginning of February. Josh and I took the kids to the zoo and to Fairytale Town and we didn't pay a dime. Woo hoo! It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time. We even eventually got Charlie to start looking at the animals.

Coming Back to the Land of the Living

I actually am feeling pretty normal today. I am wearing pants that do not have an elastic waistband. (Although, these are still three sizes bigger than the size I was wearing when I got pregnant. Good thing I held on to some of my fat clothes.) I have a little bit more energy -- thanks to Fitz who slept very well last night and also to Josh who let me sleep in a long time this morning. I've been home alone with Charlie, Katie and Fitz most of the day and am actually surviving, managing to keep kids fed, etc. I actually feel like a real mom.

I'm still a little sore in my back, stomach, hips and thighs. Carpal tunnel and swelling have not completely gone away. But I have to admit that recovery has been pretty easy thus far. Somehow I have the good fortune to have fairly easy pregnancies, labors and recoveries. Maybe that's part of the compensation I receive for not being able to be a stay at home mom.

Fitz's jaundice seems to be clearing up. And he is already having longer periods of wakefulness. He was up for about 2.5 hours this afternoon. A lot of that time, he was content just to hang out in his car seat and look around. That was pretty nice. It meant I actually got to eat lunch.

Josh is at the airport with Alek and probably won't be home for a few more hours. I hope my energy lasts me until then. And hopefully after the kids get to bed tonight, I still have some energy left to do some very overdue cleaning while Josh tackles laundry.

A girl can dream.

Announcing the Birth of Fitzwilliam Thomas Barker

It is a fact well-known that babies are one of the purest pleasures that life affords, and that the inevitability of these little ones growing older and becoming just like everyone else does little to deter most women from filling their homes and their lives with them. This being the case, it came as no surprise when Mrs. Jessica Barker decided that having four children under foot would be preferable to having just three, and it did not take long to convince her husband of the wisdom of the scheme. Thus within a short amount of time, Mrs. Barker found herself awaiting the arrival of a new little one, although unfortunately without the aid of a full-time nurse or the comfort of a quiet country home in which she could spend her confinement. After many months suffering under the complaints that women generally endure in such a case, the day at last arrived when Mrs. Barker would have to endure no more.

Fitzwilliam Thomas Barker was brought forth into the world on Sunday, March 29 at 10:28 p.m. Sir Fitz weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. Many received the news with pleasure, and the baby was universally declared to be the most handsome in all Carmichaelshire. Most were struck by the amount of dark hair atop the lad’s head, as Mrs. Barker’s previous children were nearly bald as infants.


Despite an exhaustion that would no doubt last for at least 18 more years, Mr. and Mrs. Barker were thoroughly pleased with the outcome of their plans. Indeed, Mrs. Barker was heard to remark, "Four healthy children. Oh, Mr. Barker, God has been good to us," to which her husband simply replied, "It would appear he has, my dear. It would appear he has."

Announcing the Birth of Fitzwilliam Thomas Barker

It is a fact well-known that babies are one of the purest pleasures that life affords, and that the inevitability of these little ones growing older and becoming just like everyone else does little to deter most women from filling their homes and their lives with them. This being the case, it came as no surprise when Mrs. Jessica Barker decided that having four children under foot would be preferable to having just three, and it did not take long to convince her husband of the wisdom of the scheme. Thus within a short amount of time, Mrs. Barker found herself awaiting the arrival of a new little one, although unfortunately without the aid of a full-time nurse or the comfort of a quiet country home in which she could spend her confinement. After many months suffering under the complaints that women generally endure in such a case, the day at last arrived when Mrs. Barker would have to endure no more.

Fitzwilliam Thomas Barker was brought forth into the world on Sunday, March 29 at 10:28 p.m. Sir Fitz weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. Many received the news with pleasure, and the baby was universally declared to be the most handsome in all Carmichaelshire. Most were struck by the amount of dark hair atop the lad’s head, as Mrs. Barker’s previous children were nearly bald as infants.

Despite an exhaustion that would no doubt last for at least 18 more years, Mr. and Mrs. Barker were thoroughly pleased with the outcome of their plans. Indeed, Mrs. Barker was heard to remark, "Four healthy children. Oh, Mr. Barker, God has been good to us," to which her husband simply replied, "It would appear he has, my dear. It would appear he has."