Tucson, Herpangina and Neked Babies on the Table

(But first a note of warning: It's been a long week and it took me several days and countless kid and computer related interruptions before I finally got this thing posted. It's long and most of time I'm just rambling on. This may not be much of a difference from the norm but this time I'm giving you a heads up to be nice.)

So first the exciting part.

Last weekend Patrick and I took Sophia on a "This may be the last and only time you will experience being an only child" trip to Tucson while Grandma and Grandpa C. very generously stayed home with the boys. I knew Sophia would enjoy having some alone time with us because I suspect she still remembers and misses the good ole' days when she wasn't so frequently upstaged by two little brothers but OH MY WORD did she ever soak it up.

The trip went like this:

Back seat to herself, no fighting over what DVD to watch with the boys or having to share snacks along the way. On the first stop at a convenience store she was able to pick out her own munchies PLUS when she asked for the Dora Travel Coloring book and crayons she actually got it on the first try. Later when we arrived at the hotel we immediately went swimming (and by "we" of course I mean Patrick and Sophia) even though it was dark and well beyond her bedtime when we arrived.

After a quick toweling off we went across the street to Coldstone where she picked her own flavor ice cream (Chocolate!)  with whatever toppings her heart desired (rainbow sprinkles)

and then we returned to the hotel where she was able to sleep in the king sized bed snuggled between Mommy and Daddy.

Sleeping with us may not seem like a big deal but I honestly think she would foregone the rest of the trip just to have another night of not sleeping in her room alone.

The rest of the trip included Shrek 3, two tubs of buttery popcorn that didn't have to be split five ways, picking out a few more toys, playing at an indoor playground, burgers for dinner three nights in a row (her choice at every restaurant), a trip to the zoo

and a ride on the train at the park

and swimming every day.

Despite living inside a four year old's fantasy I would guess her favorite part (other than not having to sleep alone) was having parents who were so laid  back, patient, and willing to say "Okay yes, we can do that".  At one point she even said "Wow Mommy! You're sooooooooo nice! I like it when you act like this." Ditto Sophia. I loved having fun with you too.

We all had a great time and missed our little boys like crazy but upon arriving home (a home that Grandpa C. strategically organized and cleaned over the weekend, thanks Mom!) we found poor little Alex  had contracted Herpangina .  Yes, really. Herpangina.  My first thought upon hearing the doctor's diagnosis was "Umm, okay but don't you need a vagina to contract something-something-gina". But apparently herpangina is just a viral infection of the throat (usually) that causes blistering in the mouth and throat (which explains the screaming) and is similar to hand, foot and mouth disease. At any rate herpangina had Alex screaming for mercy and fevering for a couple a days before fully recovering. At which point he passed it to Max who then did us the favor of passing it to Sophia. The fun part is now they've logged another viral strain into their immune systems (yay!) that we won't have to worry about later. The not so fun part is back to back to back sick kids one of which regressed from talking into mind numbing, nail clawing whining for the duration of their illness. It seems that every time someone in our house is sick it just further confirms that I was never meant to work as a nurse or anything health care related. I DO NOT HAVE PATIENCE FOR WHINING. Even when said whining is related to a blistering throat.  Lord forgive me. My kids are definitely going to stick me in a nursing home.

This is how Alex spent Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Max and Sophia struck similar poses throughout the week but I was too tired to get the camera. 

And finally something completely random... neked babies.  On the table. All the live long day.
I don't know why the boys love sitting on the table. They never get too for more than a couple of seconds before we yell at them to "get off the table!!!"but still they persist. Potty training and letting them run around naked makes this even more interesting but I'll save the truly neked baby pictures for their high school year book and stick to the ones of them wrestling "nearly" naked on the table while big sister  works diligently on her homework and completely ignores their testosterone fueled antics. Aren't little girls and boys so different?