Finally Getting Better!

Well the week didn't kill me. He had his meeting at work with the managers on Tuesday, and was informed on Thursday(a week after being walked out) that he had his job back. Friday we went and looked at a house in Hanover, rent to own, awesome house. It's a 3br 2 ba, ranch style house with an attached 1 car garage. And we go Monday to fill out apps for it. A good friend of ours is willing to co-sign on the loan, and will be living with us in the furnished part of the basement.
Adrian went home to his parents on the 24th, after 12 days of being here. They've decided to get back together, and are working on their problems together. He's doing good and will be 2 in a couple of weeks.
The other kids are doing well, same stuff different day. I'm really hoping that we get this place and can move their this summer. It's a really quiet neighborhood, small town and only 20 minutes outside of the city we live in now.
Hopefully more on that later this week.

Crap Just Keeps Hitting The Fan...

Things have to get better instead of worse right? I sure hope so, because this last week almost killed me. Mike got up late last Saturday (he was supposed to work), and called in. Apparently he called in 3 whole minutes AFTER he was supposed to be there. Which sucks, because it put him over on points for work. Which means that he was effectively fired on Thursday, when the paper work caught up. It also means no holiday pay for Good Friday. And we won't find out until later this week if the other manager was able to get him back in to work.
Then, on this Saturday, my rear driver's side window was smashed out by some punks running through the neighborhood. The cops didn't catch anyone, and our deductible is $500. Which of course we don't have since again, no job. A used window will cost about $75, but the salvage yard doesn't have any for my van. Go Figure!
This totally sucks! Not that I mind having some help from Mike, but he drives me nuts after a while. He's been home since about 2pm on Thursday. It's only Tuesday and I already need a break! On top of all that, the heating element on the dryer went out, and of course no money for that either. So I'm (again) hanging clothes to dry. All this crap has to hit at the same time, because if it hit one at a time, I'd be better able to handle it.
It's been chaos around here, getting the plants ready for the garden, doing school and keeping up the house. The kids are doing good, Gabe gives me less of a hassle on school than he used to, as long as Mike isn't getting on him about it. Caleb is doing really well with this math game i got him for the DS. It goes from 1st grade all the way through 5th, and he can do almost everything on it! Caitlin has been doing more and more reading without even realizing it. They've all been using the magnetic letters that I have up on the door. James is working hard on 4th grade work (3rd in some areas), and working hard on doing things correctly the first time so he doesn't have to re-do them later.
Adrian is doing great, talking more and more. It really irks Gabe when he repeats whatever he is saying. His favorite is to say mom over and over like Gabe does, he knows how much it bothers him and you can see a grin on his face when he does it. Little stinker! He also sleeps all the way through the night here (at home he wakes a lot), and is taking regular naps. I still can't believe the difference between him and Gabe at this age. It's sad in a way because Gabe at this age is so firmly in my mind still.
Gabe is also getting more jealous of Adrian. When he is here, Gabe has WAY more accidents, and even refuses to go potty. He frequently tries to push Adrian away from me, and likes to get his attention and put his arms around me and say "MY MOMMY" to him.

Gotta go for now, Gabe is still awake and I need to check the other kids.

Asthma, Allergies and Potty Habits

The last couple weeks have gone pretty fast. We're trying some new things with learning words and how to spell them with some magnetic letters on the front (metal) door. Caleb and Caitlin especially have been trying different combinations of letters to see how things are (and not!) spelled. Gabe is starting to get interested as well, and has told me what a LOT of those letters say and the sounds they make.
He has also started noticing the letters and numbers on his clothing. He asks what size if he's not sure and has asked for his favorite sweatshirt (the one with the 0 and the 7 on it) several times this past week. He knows all his colors and is very particular as to what he will wear. He's also still(!) wearing underwear all day and has had very few accidents. Still in pullups at night, and when he's not feeling well (like yesterday afternoon).
Caleb's asthma and reactive airway have been acting up again, I think mainly because of the change in weather and the fact that he's been spending so much more time outside. He's been wheezy a few times, and has even had a few accidents at night from getting so tired out from not breathing as good. So we are upping the nebulizer treatments for a while to help him even out.
He is now on Flovent and Proventil (inhalers), and Albuterol and Pulmicort (nebs), and Concerta and Methylin, with benadryl at night for his allergies and to help him sleep.

He and Gabe are doing well in the potty area, very few accidents and just wearing pullups for bed! Lots more stuff going on here, but have been so busy that I haven't had time to take a breath, much less post.
The rest of this week is going to be interesting, I have Adrian until his dad gets him on Saturday, and Austyn comes tomorrow to stay til Friday night! Plus of course my 4. Just slight chaos.

A Very Busy 2 Weeks

There's been a lot going on in the last couple of weeks. We went as a family and saw dad, staying overnight at a hotel in Milwaukee. It was a good visit, with dad getting to see all of the kids, and the kids and Mike getting to see him again for the first time in several years. We had an outrageously priced dinner, and got to relax and hang out for a while. That was also the weekend of our anniversary.
Then last weekend, we had our anniversary party, and dad and Colleen came down for it. There were about a dozen or so people, all family, there at the party. Dad and Colleen got to see Jaime and meet her kids for the first time, and see the rest of the family. The trip back up to drop them off was interesting, we had a bit of snow and freezing rain to navigate through. I only went like 40-45 all the way up and back on the highway. Got to meet both of Colleen's sons when I dropped them off.
Gabe has now mastered all but 4 letters, and knows with total certainty all numbers to 10, and is learning 11-20 now!!!! He also is wearing underwear more reliably during the day, and we have noticed can stay dry upwards of 8 hours at a time (when he pays attention!). He's had 3 days in the last 2 weeks where he has NOT come into our bed during the late night/early morning hours! Lots of good news there, and things are going well as far as school and sleeping and potty training.

All in all it's been a very long 2 weeks, and feels more like 2 months. Hoping to keep caught up on here in the future. I'd like to, at minimum, start posting once a week or more. Ideally, I'd like to post every day or every other day. We'll see though how it goes. Teaching Gabe is hard work, and keeps me busy!