Stranger Danger

In our quest as parents to keep our children as safe as possible we have been having a series of talks with them about the danger of "Strangers." We've talked about how most strangers are good but what to do if one tries to come up and give them anything. We've talked about who to talk to if they are in trouble, and how to stay safe in our home. These conversations might have been a bit too much for our children based on their reactions. MD, who is curious about everything, just asked question after question about strangers and wanted me to show him pictures of them. Hyrum became terrified. Every knock on the door scares him, He refuses to be alone, and labels everyone he sees as a "bad guy" We have tried to do damage control but it hasn't really worked too well as shown by this incident:

Hyrum when walking out of church sees a guy behind him.
"He's a bad guy!" he starts saying to his dad
"What?" Michael asks
"He's a bad guy! He's a stranger! He's a bad guy!"
Michael looks and sees who he is talking about
"He's not a bad guy Hyrum." Michael says trying to quiet him
"He IS a bad guy!"
Michael is trying to hurry and get the kids in the car
Hyrum, who refuses to take his eyes off the poor man yells "He's looking at me!"
Michael tries to calm him down by explaining again that all strangers are not all bad guys when MD starts singing
"Follow the stranger! Follow the stranger! Follow the stranger-He knows the way!"

Yes I feel like we messed up a bit since neither child has quite taken the message the way we meant it.

No title for this post. That takes more creativity then I currently have right now :)

So after the Pink eye hit (Michael the dad has it now) we also caught the Flu :) Smiling about it keeps me from wanting to curl into a ball. This winter has seriously been the worst winter I have ever had dealing with sickness-Mostly because it is multiplied by 4. I am over the flu (mind you I got the Flu shot, seems absolutely pointless now) Yet I am still EXHAUSTED! My older boys caught it too, but besides the one day of crying they manage to be as energized as ever.

Because we were considered highly contagious we spent even MORE time cooped up indoors. That means we ended up in front of the computer quite a bit because the boys love taking pictures of themselves:


Ok we ALL like to take pictures :)

When did this happen?

My sicklet kiddos all got better for one week before being hit with pink eye-And then like clock work it passed from kid to kid and is dragging out as LONG as it can possibly last. Fortunately we had recently taken a child in because we thought he had pink eye earlier this year so we are well stocked with meds.

Seth went in for his four month check ups (Four months!?!) and we were told once again that this kid is fat and happy. Which makes me happy-because really, a roly poly baby always brings a smile to my face-especially if he is also incredibly cute and happy.

The weather has cleared for a couple of days and so we have been spending hours at the park. Watching my kids play and intermingle made me realize how much they are growing.

I have been having bittersweet feelings about MD the last couple of days as I have watched him play and laugh. When did this boy grow into a kid? How much longer will he look to me as the most important person in his life? It feels premature to feel like I am mourning the loss of his childhood when he is only four. He is changing in front of my eyes and growing into a thinking individual who can make decisions without wanting help. I don't want him to stop growing, however I would like to be able to go back to moments where I can hold him as a baby and rock him to sleep. I want to be there again when he learned to ride his bike or hold him tight when he went from being the only child to a big brother. I sound sad don't I? Really I am happy and sad at the same time-bittersweet...When did this happen? I feel like I missed a crucial moment when MD decided he was ready to think without me and I am not ready to give it up....

Hyrum is also growing and changing...This amazing child seems to be in the opposite stage as MD. It seems like he is here with his hand in mine asking me to tell him the way the world is. He trust me entirely that I will not lead him in the wrong direction. What complete love and faith he shows to me and I feel at a loss.

My husband bought me a mini van. While this action might seem a little odd to be bringing up these questions, as I drove home in the van from the dealership I thought to myself " When did this happen? How did I jump from being a newly wed to here in such a short amount of time?" Again it sounds like a sad question, but really it is more a feeling of being overwhelmed. So much has happened in 5 short years that I still sometimes feel like my head is whirling. And when I say so much I mean so much GOOD has happened. I have entered a different stage of life without completely realizing it..:)

Sick-lets

These last few weeks have been full of snotty noses, vomit, fevers, coughs and cranky kids.

MD caught it first. He showed up in our room about 2 weeks ago saying he felt awful. Michael went and picked him up then told me to come check his fever. When I felt him he was burning up and before I even tried to take his temperature we gave him ibuprofen, started trying to cool him down with a cool rag and made him start drinking water to keep him hydrated. When I finally got around to taking his temp it was about 104.0 degrees. He slept in our bed that night and we kept him on ibuprofen for the next few days. After a couple of days it seemed like he was just getting worse-On top of the high fever he was coughing so much he was throwing up, he said his stomach hurt and he was acting pretty lethargic so we decided to take him to his doctor. Diagnoses: 2 ear infections, a cold and some major bloating that landed MD on a liquid diet for 3 days. That night Hyrums fever spiked and he started throwing up too. The doctor said that the cold was very contagious and to stay away from everyone for a week. A week for Hyrum ends tomorrow :) Just when Hyrums cold stated getting better Seth started running a low grade fever, got very congested, developed a cough and completely lost his voice. It has been kind of cute to listen to Seth complain-he sounds like a baby kitten mewing except more breathy.

Seths week ends Saturday-Thank goodness because I am so ready to get out of this house!

First Day of Hyrum feeling sick

When MD started to feel better I decided to let him try his hand at some online games from pbskids.org. He loved playing on the computer.
Hyrum waiting for his turn
And sick little Seth
I can't resist this baby in his diaper-He is such a fluffy little cutie!