Poopin' and Paintin'

Since our return home, Andy has been a sick little bear. It started pretty mild with a little spit up here and there and runny poo. Unfortunately, with his sensitive little bottom, it quickly turned into a pretty bad little rash and now he's started vomiting a little more as well. We finally broke down and went to the pediatrician on Friday and were told it was likely just a virus. It's weird. He's fine in the mornings and things seem to get a little better. Then, it's full on from about noon until bedtime. He usually throws up every other day and then mostly at night. He also has a nasty poo pretty consistently between 2-4 a.m. No fever and very little complaints, except when we change him and now pretty constant but I think it's because of his bum mostly. With his sensitive little bum, I have to be really diligent. So, we aren't leaving the house much. Today alone, I changed over 35 diapers and did five loads of just Andy laundry. I think my hands area as chapped as his bum with all my hand washing. The doc said 7-10 days. We are on day eight and I just pray I can make it the next two! I also pray no one else catches this. Although, like I mentioned- It doesn't seem to be really that bad except for little bums.

So, that's what I've been up to since my return home from London. Welcome home! :) Still, I'm glad we went and had such a great time. I'm just wondering when I will ever catch up on this jet lag. I just interrupted this post to change bedding once again from both ends. So, it looks unlikely that tonight will be my night to sleep through. Poor little guy.

One of the things I've been wanting to do forever is to add some color to our house and make it a home. I even had a themed birthday party where my friends were supposed to come over and help me choose decorations. More on that later. So, since we have to be home anyhow, I've started doing some painting around here. Hence the title of the post. Rob was teasing that at least neither of my kids have decided to paint with their poo, as many kids do!

Sweet Tara took Suzy for a while on Monday and gave me a little reprieve. Poor Suzy. She wants attention so badly right now and I just don't have enough to go around as much as she needs. While she was out, I tried to steal a quick shower. Yup, this is my life. I threw some Kix (in a bowl that was dumped) on the floor with some water and tried to wash quick. It just made me laugh at further proof of my previous posts about how Andy is a little puppy.

Is it just me? Or is this photo "all boy".
With all the laundry, I'm having trouble keeping up. Normally, we are a disposable diaper family. But not when Andy is sick. I can't imagine the expense of 35 + diapers a day. So, I'm doing as much laundry as I can and using all kinds of little loin cloths. Here's a nice burp cloth that my sweet friend, Ivy, made for Andy. I had to laugh because when used as a diaper, it's upside down.
Ah, yes. Now you can see it says, "Andy". I guess it was meant to go over my shoulder and not on a bum. ;)
Don't you just love those chubby little legs? I could kiss them all day long.
Andy is into EVERYTHING right now. Suzy could care less about the bathroom as a baby. We have to be very careful with lids and doors with Andy. Yup, another way he's like a puppy.
Oh, no.... not the plunger! You know he was thinking about it.
Such a cute little baby but. Friends and more experienced moms tell me that fresh air is good for the bum. So, we put the diapers on really loosely and head outdoors. The problem was, he kept scraping his knees on the sport court. So, I improvised some little baby knee guards. My friend Cynthia called them something fancy and said I was just being stylish. Yeah, that's what I was going for. Style.

When it's really bad, we go sans diaper. I love how all "aired out" he is in this shot. It was right after I took off the diaper and he just relaxed for the longest time with this big look of relief on his face. It was too funny.
Pooh and Tigger? Yeah,... STYLE.
I put the hose on the slide and he thought that was great fun.
He even did a little soaking. I bet the cool water felt good.
Other than the frequent changes, this bug hasn't seemed to slow him down a bit! He's still in all kinds of mischief. Here he was caught red handed reaching into the pots and pans.
I've been trying to keep Suzy busy and do some fun things with her while Andy naps. Plus, I'm going crazy. I have to feel like I'm getting something done. It's in my genetics. When we Blacks get stressed, we gotta tear something up or get something done. So, painting it is. Suzy loves this little roller and pan that I bought for her to help me.
She's actually a pretty good little helper. We have to prime the wallpaper first before we can paint it. I'm too lazy to rip it all up. I don't even care if it looks bad. It HAS to be better than this floral I've been staring at for four years.
Suzy even learned how to clean up.
Not too bad for three years old. It was a good "base coat".
Her favorite part was getting all messy. Surprised? I'm not.

However, I probably should have thought twice before letting her paint with Kilz. She still has some in her hair and on her body that several swim sessions and baths haven't removed yet. Oh well.

On Monday, Rebekah came over for a play date. While Andy napped, I put both girls to work up in Suzy's room. She wants a pink room and we plan on doing a mural with Grammy this weekend.
They really enjoyed it and I got about half of the room edged while they worked on the one wall. The only thing I didn't think about was all of the little paint drippings that dried on this wall. Again, oh well. It will mostly be hidden by her dresser anyhow. That's why I chose this wall for them.

Suzy helped me finish up this morning during Andy's nap. Again, probably shouldn't have done her listening program with expensive equipment while she was holding a paintbrush. And again, Oh Well! Can you tell I should probably try and get more sleep before I do these crazy big projects?
She was so cute. The girls got a little paint on the floor and I was trying to get it cleaned up. Suzy grabbed a rag and said, "Mommy, take a picture of me being helpful!" So sweet. So starved for attention. (Notice the two day old paint still on her legs?)
Overall, I think it turned out well. It's a lot darker than I had planned. But, Suzy loves it. She thinks I'm cool because I let her have a very pink room. That makes it all just fine by me.

You can kind of see the purpleness next to her little lamp. It's hard to get colors just right on camera in a really dark room. Especially when trying not to use a flash.
Next up... maybe Andy's room or our master bedroom. Ooooh, will Rob let me continue my exhausted manic spree? Stay tuned to find out!