gross things and complicated trashcans

Warning: This post contains talk about the stomach flu and going #2.

Every once in awhile I notice and appreciate the fact that all the kids are out of diapers and no one needs to be breastfed and none of them are toddlers and they can all pee in the toilet and buckle their own seatbelt. It's pretty awesome. I have these glimpses of how much easier it is now than it was a few years ago.

But then fall comes. Sicknesses start at school and we inevitably catch something. Addie got the stomach flu. Yesterday afternoon it started. She does we call a puke, sleep, rally. Every time Addie gets sick, and it's been plenty for some reason, she pukes, goes to sleep, then wakes up like she feels better than she ever has in her life. And after she pukes, before she goes to sleep she looks like she is literally dying. I had to keep her head up in the bath so she wouldn't go to sleep under the water while I washed her. She was that belligerent. She took a three-hour nap like she usually does following her visit with the toilet. Then she greeted me downstairs fully dressed with a thermometer in her hand and exclaimed with attitude and a sideways head wiggle, "Who's sick NOW?!" Then she bounced around singing and dancing. Still praying no one else gets it. Winter begged me to let her hang out with Addie and eat after her so that she could lay in bed on the kindle and miss school. Twisted kid.

In other news...

We have a new kitchen. We have some fancy new changes like a touch feature on our sink. You don't have to turn the faucet on. You just touch it and it turns on. Like if you're dealing with raw chicken hands or slimy egg yolk hands or whatever mess you make with your hands, you just touch the back of your hand to the base of the faucet and it turns on. Pretty handy.

Another cool thing is our new trashcan. It's in a pull-out cupboard type thing. You just bump it with your knee or hip and it opens. Well, it opens for everyone but me. Winter likes to booty bump it. Addie slams her belly into it and Dan bumps it with his knee and it opens. I have tried everything and it hates me so I use the handle. It's fine. I'm not complaining. I'm just fancy trash challenged. I tried to show Mari how cool it was when she came over and after I slammed my hip against it like 10 times in different places, things got awkward and I gave up.

You know what my kids do that's kind of weird and gross but also kind of sweet? When one of them is pooping, another kid will go into the bathroom and sit with them and talk to them to keep them company. It stinks in there but they still do it. I'm not sure who initiated this but they all do it. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

A conversation we had in the car this week:

Me: Mya, I'm almost done with your costume. I just need to find a tutu.
Addie: I need a tutu for school! (They are learning the letter T so it was "Ties and Tutus" Friday)
Angus: I need a tutu too!

And guess who didn't have a tutu Friday because her mom forgot... Sorry Addie.

I went to pick her up from school and I knew I'd hear about it from her. She was nearly in tears, but turns out she didn't care about the tutu. She was fine with the handmade tie. She was upset because she misplaced her water bottle. The one that kept her water cold all day long. She loves ice-cold water.

Mya is fine with not being the poop emoji for Halloween and went completely in another direction. A ballerina.

Such a good big sis/horse.

I had to get a pic of all of my soccer players together. Dan and I set our chairs down in the middle of all 3 fields and take turns cheering on the four kids. Angus isn’t crying anymore when his team scores goals so that’s good. But he has yet to last a whole game without coming over and sitting down and saying he’s done at halftime. "Yocca is YO tywing." He says. Last week he came home and fell asleep immediately and snored which is new for him.

Dan tried to threaten/bribe him with the soccer snack. The parents take turns bringing snacks at the end of each game. It's usually a bunch of unhealthy things the kids love. It's pretty much why they play.

Dan: You can’t have a snack at the end if you don’t play.
Angus: Well, what is in the snack today?
Dan: I don’t know but you won’t get it. Addie will because she’s playing.
Angus: Weeelllllll, what IS the snack?

Pumpkin hunt playdate at the park.

Winter wanted to make her sandwich a little more fun.

Remember this picture 2 years ago?

This is why we buy apple sauce pouches.

I'm at Costco all the time. I walked back to my van last week and saw this. It IS a good van. I don't blame these other people for buying the exact same one. Go team gray Odyssey. 

There are children who are not getting enough to eat all over the world. So I always feel a bit guilty buying things that cost a lot of money. We just bought some new couches. But I think in this case, it's kind of justified... I've been duct taping this one for over a year. It was getting embarrassing. 

So we bought some new couches. My thankful thing this week is our amazing trash service in Azusa. This is what we are throwing away tomorrow. Ugh, poor guys. 

A speaker at a mom's group I attend gave me some good simple ideas for the holidays coming up. I'm all about minimal stress and effort. So I only pick up on stuff I can actually do. One good idea is to just buy one awesome thing to decorate your house each year. Something you love. And after like 10 years, you'll have 10 somethings you love in your house. Everyone thinks they need to buy a bunch of crap every year so that they can decorate, and that's expensive and overwhelming. I have a bunch of stuff handed down from my grandma mostly and a few other things that are Christmassy that I don't love but I keep them because they're festive. I'm definitely starting this tradition of getting one thing I love for the house, maybe for each season... we'll see. I don't have anything for Fall... But I did put out twice as many decorations as I did last year...

           

This kind of reminds me of a fashion tip for those of us who don't have extra money to spend on clothes. I've been doing this each season with my wardrobe. Most of what I wear is from Wendy's hand-me-downs or the thrift store. BUT I do try to get something affordable for each season. Just one thing. A staple that I can wear all the time. For instance, I just bought a pair of high waisted skinny jeans at Target for $15. I mix my thrift store purchases with my 'on trend' jeans and viola. Amie has an updated look. In June, I bought some high waisted super flattering shorts. Last Fall I bought a sweater that I wore like every day. The year before that, some boots from Forever 21. If I have just one thing that's trendy that is affordable, it makes a huge difference. These are the ones I'm loving right now. Jeans that I like are not easy for me to find. I find a good flattering comfortable pair like every 5 years. So I may buy another pair of these. Click here to check them out at Target.com.

Another thing the speaker talked about that's super easy that my kids would love is to get festive holiday paper plates at the dollar store and use them for dinner instead of real plates. That's SO easy and cheap. I'm totally doing that. For all the holidays. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, all of them.

This is a weird one that doesn't really fit into the fall theme but I had to mention it. I'm not sure who bought this or where it came from but I noticed it by the detergent in the cupboard and I started using it on stains. And it's usually stains I've noticed after I've washed the clothes. You just spray it on, leave it for an hour or so and throw it in the washer and it's magic. It always gets the stains out. Like every time. I've debated putting it a post because it's been around forever but I didn't know it was amazing until recently. So if you've never tried it, give it a whirl. It's super easy. Don't mind the stupid blue arrows. I'm tired and they were in the screenshot. Whatever. 

From laundry to breakfast. Another fun tip you may already do is take leftover veggies and fry them up with eggs in the morning. If there are any leftover veggies, you can pretty much guarantee I'm eating them for breakfast. This one was mushrooms, onions, and sweet potato fries. Delish.

This salad is awesome. I love it the most of all the salads I've had at Costco. I'm going back for more.

Happy Sunday night!