Submerged

We have been home for a week now and the kids are all learning what their new lives look like. I think Mae has had just as hard of a time with this adjustment as the babies because she lost something too... First place. We try our best to give her very intentional attention but that doesn't change her struggle to figure out how to share her mom and dad with two very needy toddlers. Sharing was always something she did very easily before Jovie and Ian so it's been sad to see her struggle so much with this. She takes things from them and wants everything they have... Even if it's of no interest to her, she wants it. She's been in trouble over and over and over again for this, so we are waiting for the day that it sinks in with her. We hope she will learn soon how to treat them the way she would like to be treated. Having siblings is a beautiful thing once you figure this out.

One thing that has helped so much is Mae's desire to help me... She loves to be my helper. She has learned how to help put away her clothes and her sister and brother's clothes now and loves when I give her a job to do. 

Our picky eater isn't picky anymore. Ian has been eating everything and asking for more. Both Ian and Jovie eat twice as much as Mae does at every meal. 

Holly is by far the little kids favorite... She gets the most attention of all.

We had a gift come in the mail this week for Jovie. A dear friend of mine made her a blanket just like her big sister's. My loving friend, Theresa, made Mae's for her when she came home and it is her most cherished thing; Mae sleeps with it every night. When Mae saw Jovie's she ran to get hers to show her sister and the girls had a precious moment of loving together and snuggling with their blankets. These blankets are such a treasure. Thank you Theresa! 

Play dough was a fun way to keep the kids in one place but holy moly the mess x 3! I'm making my rounds to call all of my friends with boys and first tell you all I'm sorry for assuming your day looked the same and that your little boys played like my little Mae!! I'm also going to yell at you FOR NOT TELLING ME!!! People say boys and girls are different / hahaha! 

This is my new understanding: Girls sit quietly with one toy at a time and boys run from toy to toy and chuck them over their shoulder as they run to the next. My boy is great, but OH MY the difference in toddler boy and toddler girl. 

So there are a lot of hard things we are combating right now. 

Still night after night of sleeplessness with babies waking up crying, being so tired by 5pm I can't keep my eyes open, in bed by 8, but wide awake at 3am. 

If you have a weak stomach I urge you to skip this part: 

To add to our adjustment we have a new problem... One I hope someone out there has a solution for!! The new babies get incredibly, horrifically car sick. 

Wednesday was Mae's first day to go back to school and I made a doctors appointment for the babies for after I dropped Mae off. Jovie threw up on the way to the doctors office. Luckily, she gags first to give warning and her seat is close enough to me that I could reach back and catch it in a diaper. 

On our way home the poor thing threw up again. Well, it's lunch time and I have to feed them. And then we have to get back in the car to go get Mae from school (but before we left I grabbed a blue vinyl throw up bag someone in our travel group gave me- thank you Nicole!) and started towards Mae's school a little more prepared this time. Good thing, because Jovie threw up 2 more times on the way to get Mae. 

So I should tell you throw up is my undoing. I know there's no one in the world that would deal with throw up and be happy about it...but for me, I can not see vomit, hear vomit or smell vomit without an immediate trigger in me to vomit. I try - but how can you tell yourself to stop this? It's unvoluntery. So by God's grace I was traveling home, on the phone with my sister, and I look back just in time to see Ian errupt. I kid you not, this child gives absolutely no warning on his face, opens his mouth and vomit comes gushing forth. I am trying my hardest to just drive us home and not throw up in my lap. I'm guessing throwing up while driving isn't safe. The smell is ungodly and I have every window down, freezing the children for their safety and I'm telling my sister her job is to distract me and keep me from thinking. I triumphantly pull into our driveway and Ian is sound asleep. Yep. He never gives warning, or cries, and can fall fast asleep covered in puke. (Learning a lot about our children.) I got Mae and Jovie out and grabbed the roll of paper towels. I had to get Ian out... but as I would start, I would have to run to the driveway to throw up. Thank you Jesus that he was asleep and not flipping out too. I called Cody and no answer. He texted and said "I'm in a meeting, is everything okay?" I explain over text that Ian threw up and every time I try to get him, I throw up, and do you know what he said? "Do you want me to come home?" And he did / I was able to get Ian out, peel off his clothes and give him a bath. My knight in shining armor drove home and spent hours cleaning the car seat, my van and even washing Ian's clothes. Never did he even blink an eye at doing this. Never did he make a comment at how rediculious I am for falling apart because of it. That's my husband y'all! 

But we have a problem, these babies are crazy car sick. 

I called my pediatrician to see if there's anything I could do for them and her nurse left me a message telling me she said to avoid taking them in the car and do not feed them before getting in the car and to not let them look down or look around. 

Oh really? Anyone else have something better? 

So my only solution right now is to put bibs on them and cover their seats with towels. I have to take Mae to school but to make matters worse, now Ian is so upset when we get in the car because he knows what happens... So he cries the whole time, which makes Jovie cry. Maybe sleeping is the only answer?? /-: