Happy Halloween!

Noelle STILL has a fever! Day seven of this crappy flu and the fever is still going strong, ugh! We decided to go trick-or-treating, but only to a few houses.

We didn't get a costume for Violette because she is just too young. But she did wear a Halloween outfit. Noelle and Max also had Halloween shirts that they enjoyed sporting today.
When it came time to put on costumes, Max was not having it. Now Max is probably the most like me in temperament and actions. He is stubborn. An example of just how stubborn he is happened a few weeks ago. He hit his sister and we insisted on an apology. We gave him a choice, either apologize or sit in time out. He said, "I go sit in time out". He sat there for a long time and every few minutes we asked if he was ready to apologize, he said no and chose to keep sitting. This went on for a long time! Anyways, he decided tonight that he didn't want to dress up. He threw himself on the floor, kicking and screaming. We had to capture this!
After he was finally dressed, and still whining, we headed out. I knew that once I was pulling them in the wagon he would calm down and he did. Noelle was an adorable Kitty Cat and really enjoyed trick-or-treating. After a few houses she was shivering and begging to go home. We were back by 6:30pm having left at 6pm. That was all her still sickly self could take and that is fine by me!

I wouldn't say this was a completely wonderful Halloween evening, but I think it turned out okay. We are hoping that soon Noelle will make it through a full day without being wiped out by this bug.

Friday With Ceecee

Because of Noelle's illness and the resulting long week, Aunt Ceecee decided to come and help out on Friday. It has been since July since we have seen her, way too long!!

Noelle was feeling much better, although she still had fever. Her joy at Aunt Ceecee's arrival, early Friday morning, was adorable. It was one of the very few "real" smiles we have seen from her all week.

I was able to take a much needed nap and the children enjoyed having a break from my constant presence. By the time Noelle's bedtime rolled around she wanted Aunt Ceecee to tuck in her and never leave! It was a great visit!

Max is still wary of Charlotte, but was warming up to her more and more as the day went on.


I was able to get my hair done too. Charlotte cut bunch off and I love to result! Yes, the date stamp is again off. We got our camera back from being repaired, but discovered it was taking blurry pictures so I resorted back to the back up camera and didn't reset the date stamp. Oh well.


Thanks for helping us out Charlotte. It was just the break we all needed!

Rough Week

Saturday evening Noelle came down with a fever and it's been a long week ever since. Monday we decided to take her in because her fever was high and showing no sign of decreasing. Even though she had a negative flu test the doctor came to the conclusion that it was most likely the H1N1 (swine) flu that she had caught.

By Wednesday, she was crying out in pain every time something came near her ear. A large amount of unpleasant drainage accompanied the pain, and of course the fever was still going strong. I talked to my aunt, who is a doctor, and she said that is was probably a perforated eardrum and I needed to take her back in. Again we went back to the doctor's office. Sure enough it was. Noelle was very brave, even though she was in immense pain. We were given some amoxicillin and ear drops to help.

Today she still has a fever, but she seems to be doing much better. She was actually playing and smiles were back on her face. The ear is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen, seeping lovely fluid and puss like a faucet. She shouts, "my ear is leaking again" whenever it starts to run down her face and I wipe it away, only to have it happen again shortly.

The nights have been very long as her fever peaks and her little body struggles. She has found a place in our bed and we can feel the heat radiating from her and hear her little heart pounding so hard. It breaks my heart!

Max and Violette have shown no signs of contracting the flu, thankfully. I am doing my best to keep Noelle away from them. We should be buying stock in Lysol and hand sanitizer with the amount of use in our house.

We had planned on going up to Traverse City to go trick-or-treating, but we will be staying around home instead. I am hoping her fever subsides and she can go out because I don't want to break the news that she will miss Halloween this year. We'll see how the next few days go!

This is what Noelle has been doing this week:

26 and Annual Apple Picking

Saturday I turned the big 2-6. Tom picked me up some delicious cupcakes from an Ann Arbor store, The Cupcake Station. Delectable flavors like Mocha Latte, Razzle Dazzle, Chocolate Lovers, White Chocolate Dream, were enjoyed by all of us!

Tom and the children bought me some lovely presents including some new perfume, a toaster (a very "mom" gift, but I really needed one), some new pans, and a griddle. All very practical and much needed gifts.

For the past few years, in October we have been getting together with the Mitzel family to go apple picking at a local orchard. Saturday seemed to work out for every one's schedule. The weather was chilly but the children all bundled up and didn't mind the cold. The highlight was, of course, the tractor ride through a decorated forest. We look forward to next year!

Carving Pumpkins

This week we carved Noelle's and Max's pumpkins. I was a little apprehensive about this task as the probable mess turned me off. Children elbow deep in pumpkin guts clouded my mind over the joy they would experience. Tom assured me it wouldn't be that messy and Noelle and Max would thoroughly enjoy it.

He was right. I was right. They did get elbow deep in the guts and loved it! Noelle was given the task of scooping out the innards. She really enjoyed the gooey feel and couldn't get enough of it. Max tried to eat it!
We are not detailed pumpkin carvers. We just quickly do the typical triangle eyes, squared nose and crooked mouth. When two impatient children and a third moving around our feet, the quicker the job is completed the happier we all are! The kids love their pumpkins and that is all that matters!

Wordless Wednesday

No Denying Their Relation....

Roehrig Gathering

Saturday we had a wonderful family get together in Sturgis with most of the Roehrig's. It has been way too long since we all have gotten together and this was a perfect fall weekend for it. Granpa Roehrig made mountains of his famous spaghetti and we had plenty of deserts to go around. All the Roehrig girls, from left to right: Tessa, Chloe, Violette, Noelle, and Macy

The day was sunny and beautifully crisp. The children headed outside to play in the woods and collect leaves. Not having any trees in our yard, Noelle really wanted some colorful leaves for art projects. We busted out some old school toys and the kids had a blast playing with them. The toys brought memories back for all the adults. Aunt Mary lead an action packed hide-n-seek session that all the children giggled and had tons of fun with. We did set a date for The Roehrig Family Christmas and drew names for presents! It might be October but Christmas is just around the corner and I'm excited to start my shopping early this year!

Around 6pm we said our goodbyes and left for home. Max, not having had a nap, zonked out very quickly. He was so tuckered out he was unable to keep his prized fuffa in his mouth! Now that is one tired Maximilian!

Wordless Wednesday

Red Wings Game = A Visit From Friends

For me tickets for a Red Wings game mean a long night home alone with the children. Saturday's game was not the usual! The Feyes Family came in to make a very enjoyable weekend for us all. The men attended the Red Wings (against the Washington Capitals and they got to see Ovechkin in action) game while the women tended to the children.

Olivia, who is two months older than Noelle, has a birthday on October 20th so we got her a cake and had a little celebration complete with Spongebob party hats. Mia is a mere two weeks younger than Violette. She is crawling all over the place and weighs a substantial amount less than our little Chubbies. Being only six months old the girls didn't play together but seemed to enjoy each other and even mauled one another a few times. It was cute watching them! The evening rounded out with finger nail painting and baths. All the children were tired and went to bed fairly well as the Mom's enjoyed the rest of the evening talking!

Sunday we got out Noelle's beloved makeup kit and the girls enjoyed making themselves look even more beautiful! I do believe Max has a little crush on Olivia as he enjoyed hugging and kissing her whenever possible.
It was a very nice weekend that we all needed. We look forward to our next visit from them!

P.S. Yes, I realize my date stamp on the camera is off. It is our backup camera because Noelle broke our other one. I have changed it since realizing it was off.

Wordless (Superhero) Wednesday

Sewing Machine!!

I enjoy sewing. I don't get a chance to do it often and the times I do start projects interruptions prevent me from finishing. This weekend was different and I became a sewing machine! I made Noelle and Max curtains for their rooms and then some satin pillow cases. The curtains were a very large project, as my children like it to be basically black for optimum sleeping conditions, and I had to use black out material. We had many interruptions and I could only work an hour here and an hour there. With a shortage of large unused space in the house it was a little difficult cutting and attaching fabric and black out, but I managed and with a little help from Noelle. The curtains look great! They have their flaws but all in all I did a pretty decent job. Noelle and Violette have a sparkly butterfly print and Max picked out a hockey print.

We started a Sunday tradition awhile ago of getting ice cream sundaes and Noelle doesn't let us forget it. She goes to bed Saturday night reminding us, "Tomorrow is Sunday so we have to get Sundae's!". The children love McDonald's version of the sundae and thoroughly enjoy our new tradition.
My initial suspicions that Violette will not crawl for awhile have changed. She seems to try her little heart out, going from sitting position into crawling. She isn't there yet, but she wants to move and get into whatever Noelle and Max are doing. It will still be awhile before she is completely mobile on all fours but I fear it will be sooner than I had previously predicted. Oh boy, I'm not ready for it! We accomplished a lot (for us) this weekend and I took the camera out for awhile. Here are some pictures to enjoy!