Me vs. 4 Kids

Well, Keith went back to work today. He was just as bummed about going back as I was. He enjoyed his time at home with us. He said he likes just hanging out and having fun (not that our lives are all fun and games). It was so nice to have a helping hand around the house. I got to rest a lot to gear up for the days without him. At least it is already Thursday. I can survive two days without him for the time being.

McKenna had her 4-7 day weight check and Michaela had her 3 year old appointment. Both girls are looking "perfect". McKenna lost a little weight (she's now 6 pounds, 13 ounces). But, she is looking healthy and will be checked again next Friday. Michaela is a big girl! She is weighing in at 32.5 pounds and is in height 36.5 inches (that's the 60th and 40th percentile respectively). We are going again on Monday for Kyle's 18 month and Kevin's 5 year appointments.

The appointments were at 11:45am. We started getting ready at 10:00am. I have forgotten how hard it is to get all the baby gear put together. Our next outing I will definitely back all the bags before we go. I gave the three olders baths before we left. Maybe I should do all that the night before too! We rushed out the door by 11:10, grabbed lunch and got to the doctor's office at 11:40. They wanted me there 15 minutes early for paperwork. Oh well.

McKenna has been sleeping mostly during the day and has been awake in the wee hours of the morning. The doctor suggested that I wake her every four hours and feed her and let her take her long naps at night. That was news to me because every thing I have read says that it is not possible to switch a baby's schedule around. But, if I can sleep at night, I am going to give it a shot.

McKenna has been awake at night anywhere from 2am to 6am. But, last night she woke at 1am and then again at 5am, but both times I was able to get her back to sleep within an hour. The nights prior she would be up on and off for anywhere from 3 - 4 hours. I feel like I have gotten some sleep if I can sleep at least a three hour block.

So far, it hasn't been all that hard to watch all four kids. McKenna sleeps a lot. She is sleeping on the couch right now and all the kids are in the same room playing and making all kinds of noise. I am so happy that she can sleep through it. With her sleeping all the time, it seems like it is business as usual. Even hauling the four kids in the car and walking from the car to the doc's office wasn't hard. I carried Kenna's baby car seat hooked in one arm and held Kyle's hand with the other. Kevin and Kaela held hands and then Kevin decided to hold Kyle's hand too. I guess I am really lucky in that my kids don't run off and are extremely mindful about cars in the parking lot and waiting to cross the street. I haven't tried the whole shopping thing yet, but I figure that if there is shopping I have to do, out comes the double stroller. Kevin and Kaela do stick with me and don't tend to wander.

Okay, totally off topic here, but what is up with our weather here? Yesterday it was in the mid 80s. Today it is about 15 degrees cooler. I do like it more today, so I shouldn't complain.

Well, it's Thursday. Apprentice and Survivor are on tonight. Yippee!