Blah!

We're back from a week in Maryland, where we spent the girls' Spring Break. It started out well enough. I wanted to attend a baby shower on Saturday so decided to drive with the kids on Friday with Nate flying in on Wednesday morning. I figured at least if the trip was awful, I wouldn't have to dread returning by myself on the other end. Much to my delight, the kids were wonderful in the car and aside from a couple frustrating potty stops (no changing stations, Alexander touching bathroom floors, Juliana refusing to try to go, etc.), the trip was a breeze. They really are great travelers and I won't hesitate to travel a long distance without Nate in the future now that I know I can handle it.

I enjoyed the baby shower for my friend, Heather, who is expecting a baby boy in May. She was at both my showers and really made my shower for Kathryn special by getting stuff just for me so I happily returned the favor. Mom watched the kids and when I called to check on them, remarked, "Are you aware of how many children you have?!" I got a good chuckle out of that one. She was a trooper and they had a great time enjoying a picnic at a huge playground.

We planned to have an Easter/Rich's birthday get-together on Sunday, but Kathryn woke up with a sore throat, slight fever and white spots on her throat so off to Nighttime Pediatrics we went. Normally, I would have given it some time, but with so many kids coming in the afternoon, I couldn't risk the possibility of spreading Strep. The rapid test was negative, thank goodness, and the Malloy family joined us for the afternoon. The Martins decided to postpone because Becca had just gotten over something nasty and didn't want to risk another illness so soon. So, we rescheduled tentatively for Tuesday pending Kathryn's symptoms. We had a great time with Mike, Kevin, Kristy, Sydney and Kayla. The kids looked for Easter eggs hidden in the front yard and the bigger girls had a blast on the play set in the backyard. Alexander and Kayla were content to sit on the bench in the front and have their pictures taken. They were so adorable! Soon, they got in on the action in the back and each of the 5 of them took turns sliding down into Ampa's waiting hands and swinging through his legs; human swings are so much fun!

Monday, Mom joined us on a trip to see my Aunt KK on the Eastern shore. Both my cousins were there with their families. The kids got along really well and Kathryn and Juliana particularly enjoyed the 4 dogs that were visiting from Kentucky with my cousin Andy, his wife, Kim and their kids: Jonathan, Kaitlyn and Cole. As on previous family occasions, Kathryn had a blast with my other cousin, Matt's son, Joshua. And, of course, I loved getting a chance to see my aunt and get a tour of her new house. I told her it's her turn to drag her butt to Ohio to see my new house that we've lived in for almost 2 years now! :)

Tuesday brought a visit with Rich, Anna, Becca and Isabel. The kids played on the neighborhood playground and we went for a walk.

Wednesday, the stomach bug reared its ugly head and attacked my baby first. Alexander was standing in the kitchen and threw up quite a large quantity of milk. It's the first time he's ever vomited (other than baby spit up) and he was pretty distressed about the whole thing. It worked its way through the rest of the family from smallest to biggest. Juliana started at 2:30 AM and then it hit Kathryn at 12:30 AM the next day. By Friday, I felt awful and spent the day in bed. Nate was able to get home by about 1:30 and take over allowing me to rest. He went out Friday night for a while and was home just in time to help clean up Alexander after he threw up in his crib. After a quick bath and linen change, he went back down, but was back up within the hour. I asked Nate to check on him and he brought Alexander to me saying Alexander was fine, but that he was about to throw up! Ugh! It was just terrible! Mom didn't feel so well either, but she managed to avoid the worst of it. We feebly packed up Saturday morning and bid farewell to Maryland. It was an uneventful trip home, but Sunday brought diarrhea for all 3 kids. I also found out that my grandmother had been ill and my step-dad came down with it really bad on Sunday. What a nightmare! I told them I'm doing Spring Break in the Bahamas next year!! :)

We missed out on several scheduled visits including seeing Nate's dad and two of my good friends and their new baby girls. :( Hopefully, we'll get back this summer and stay healthy long enough to make the rounds! We also missed Nate's mom, but that was because she was in China during our visit. I'm sure she'll be glad she wasn't around when she reads this! Welcome back, Nana!

Fortunately, all are well today (although Juliana is a little tired from her ordeal) and the girls went back to school today. We've managed to get two whole nights of uninterrupted sleep in a row and I'll probably head back to the gym tomorrow, given there are no further setbacks.

I'll post pictures in a different entry once I've downloaded them. I'd say that's about enough for now!