Frustrated

Jack is frustrating me. I was just enjoying a little "after the kids finally went to bed and I get to be by myself" time---which tonight means cleaning, and Jack started screaming out of a dead sleep. I truly think he has bad reflux. We went to his 4 month appt on Wednesday and I was given two options: go dairy free and see if he has a milk protein sensitivity or reflux medicine. Well I tried the dairy free and made it about 24 hours and Jack screamed at least 15 min out of every 2 hours yesterday. Then during one of the screaming fits yesterday afternoon I went to the pharmacy and picked up the Ranitidine (Zantac) prescription that the dr had waiting there in case we wanted it. Well little did I know Chris and I don't see eye-to-eye on this subject. Chris does not want him to have medicine, whereas I think it's worth a try to see if it makes him feel and sleep better. Let the battling begin because I'm about at my wits end. I'm exhausted a lot of the time from not getting enough sleep and then dealing with a screaming baby, it's enough to drive anyone over the edge.
Enough Jack talk, it's depressing me. Time for some Mike and Will stories.
Some good Will quotes from the past week:
-Will jumped on my back and said: "Mom, you're a branch and I'm a koala."
-"I'm a Scharenbroch. I can do anything."
-Will: "Mike, you're a boob." Me: "Where did you hear that word?" Will: "Horton, the elephant."
Mike has really turned into a caring, protective older brother.  He was very concerned about Jack getting shots at his appt this week and wouldn't leave the nurse or the doctor alone, asking every 2 minutes when Jack was going to get his shots. I asked him why he was so upset about it and he replied he didn't want to see Jack getting hurt. Then when it was actually shot time, Mike not only couldn't look, he went and stood in the hallway with the exam room door shut. He's just overflowing with empathy, the sweet kid.
I've attached some pictures from this week. Nothing too exciting, just everyday ho-hum around the Scharenbroch household. One that just cracks me up is Will and his "funny bear." Will doesn't just have stuffed animals, he has "funny animals" that do "funny things." Would you expect any less? Two of his favorites, "funny bear" and "funny duck" got lots of love from his markers. You can see the orange marker on funny bear's head. Another picture that amuses me is of Mike and his video game attached to his pants. He won the game at Easter from Grammy and now attaches it to every pair of pants he wears, pajamas included.
This must come to end...the dishes are calling my name.

Exhausted

I'm hoping to write a full post with some pictures in the coming days, but right now I'm exhausted. Jack is sleeping poorly and has been fussy a lot recently. I'm hoping for a good night tonight so I'm off to bed now to get every ounce of sleep I can before work tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

So I'm seeing now that writing everyday may turn out to be somewhat of a pipe dream. We were gone out of town over the weekend to celebrate Easter with Chris' side of the family. Yesterday morning we got up (not as early as we were planning) and drove to New Holstein. We celebrated Easter a day early with dinner, an egg hunt and kids' games all prepared by his mom. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves as did we. My husband (as well as his brothers) were feeling extra nice---not sure what got into them---and let us girls, me and my sister-in-laws, away from the kids for part of the afternoon. At first we were hesitant to leave, but then after going we decided we were crazy for ever second guessing ourselves. The original plan was to head to the scrapbooking store (shocking, I know), but when we discovered it was long closed and now was a nasty place that looked like a garage sale gone bad that could house bums off the street, we had to look for a new location for our freedom. We ended up going to get a drink and had a great time chatting for a couple hours without the constant interruption of little people needing things.
We came back to Madison today. For Easter instead of baskets and eggs, because they had already done that twice (Grammys and daycare), I hid presents. I bought each of them a fishing pole, knowing full well they were going to be instantly attached to them. It was even more so than I expected. They sat on the deck all afternoon and into the evening casting their new fishing poles out into the yard. "Big Chris" came over and even he left after only 30 minutes because he was so bored with them only playing their poles. I love when I get them gifts they can't play enough with. Now the trick is taking them real fishing in the summertime. Chris said I'm the one who has to put the worms on and take the fish off because he refuses. Hmmm...not sure how that's going to work, but we'll figure it out.
I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and is ready for the week ahead!

Jack's First Day and a Pink Flamingo

So I missed a day writing, bound to happen now and again. I had stamping club here last night (which was tons of fun), but I was beat when it was done and opted to go to bed.
Today was Jack's first day at his in home daycare. I was really anxious to see how it was going to go since he's been a bit fussy lately. From what she tells me he did well, so I was very relieved. He catnapped for her just like he does for us but at least he didn't have any screaming fits. Chris lovingly calls Jack, "Captain cat napper." The kid seriously only naps for 15-30 minute increments throughout the day. If he ever makes it to 45 minutes I'm constantly checking on him to make sure he's still alive.
After the kids and I picked up Jack this afternoon we ended up over at Super Target, because as Mike put it "it's so close we should just go." Yeah, twist my arm. I love Super Target and the place where Jack goes is ridiculously close so it's going to be a very frequent stop I can see already.
The boys had earned $2 each in the past couple days and they really wanted to frivolously spend it on crap at Target. So that's exactly what they did. Mike bought two foam weapons from the dollar section and Will.....being hilarious Will....bought a plastic pink flamingo. Don't worry you won't have to imagine what it looks like, I took pictures. :) Will really wanted it for their zoo because they only had paper flamingos that they had drawn and cut out and now, thankfully, they have a real live plastic one. What a relief!
I decided to bring out the jumperoo today for Jack. He totally loved it! It's going to be my new go-to spot when I need both hands. I also had him on the ground and he is so very close to rolling over from back to front, he just needs a little push from his brothers.
On that note, I have a list of to-dos tonight before bed so off I go.

Snow? Really??

Well aren't we lucky? Snow after the middle of April. Completely unfair. I felt like a prisoner in my house today watching the snow followed by nasty sleet come down. If it was January, ok, fine I still wouldn't like it, but APRIL??? Come on. I want to resign as a Wisconsinite and take up residence in a really hot desert.
Nothing too earth shattering happened today (besides the thundersnow). Nicole and Elliott came over to play this morning. Always nice to see them and get the boys together.
Chris was supposed to go back to work today now that his paternity leave is over. He drove off to the dentist this morning before work and then 1/2 hour later he drove right back home. He decided he needed one more day off before heading back to "the grind."
Jack slept pretty good last night because of being comfy cozy in his car seat all night. He only woke up every three hours to eat. All that sleep made him a pretty happy camper today. And don't think I won't do it again tonight....because, yes as I write this, he's right back in his fabulous "works-just-like-a-crib" car seat.
One last little funny story before I finish up this post. Mike has this cute little bracelet he likes to wear that he made at daycare recently. The bracelet is made up of beads and little jingle bells. Well the other night Chris and the boys were playing Sorry. Mike decided that every time someone got "sorry-ed" he was going to ring his bells. I was watching the whole thing and it was downright hilarious. They are always very competitive and all of sudden from the table I'd hear, "jingle, jingle (Mike shaking his arm so the jingle bells would ring)....sorry!" It was the funniest when Mike had to ring the bells when he was getting sorry-ed. He was so mad sitting there shaking his arm. Anyway, today Mike was wearing the bracelet again so I thought I'd get a quick pic. Another pic below is of Mike drawing a "zoo map." Mike & Will spend a lot of time during the day making zoos with their stuffed animals and then drawing zoo maps. Of course I also had to add a picture of today's lovely weather.
Hope you had a great day and thanks for checking in with us!

I need a sleep fairy

So Jack stinks at sleeping. Well he used to be ok at it, only getting up to eat every 3 hours and then would go right back to sleep. He decided that was way too easy. For the past week he's been fighting the sleep fairy. Last night he really went to battle. Up every 1 to 2 hours, screaming. This is why I've decided I'm not much of a baby person. I like sleeping way too much and they apparently don't. It made for a rough day at work on not much sleep. I wish I knew why he was so upset so I could help him, but that would be his own little secret that he's not sharing. I've weighed all my options and still don't have an answer. Teething already? maybe, but I don't feel much. Reflux? good possibility since he's a puke monster. Hungry? hmmm, I think not....have you seen the kid's rolls, one would think he'd have enough stored up in those cheeks to make it at least 4 hours. And here I am left to ponder, while I currently have Jack velcroed in a halo sleep sack in his car seat, hoping he'll sleep at least 2 hours straight. Hope you all enjoy your many hours of sleep in a row tonight cause I sure am jealous.

And now I feel bad

After looking at my first post, it doesn't even sound or look like we have a third child. So I should mention Jack...although boring he is. He did  a little sleeping, pooping, and hanging out in the exersaucer. :)

So I've started a blog...

So I'm starting a blog about my life with 3 boys and another one that still acts like a boy. I wanted a place where I could journal our day to day activities and post pictures. Since getting my new camera I have taken tons of pictures. This way I can post pics daily or weekly and not feel like I am overwhelming my facebook acct with picture after picture. I guess I'll start with the mundane details of our life today.
We went to church this morning and had to squeeze into the very back against the wall next to the ushers because we didn't get there until right when church was starting. I felt like we were constantly apologizing to the older woman right next to me or to the ushers b/c we were taking up too much space. Live and learn, but I still think we won't ever get there early. Too many kids to get ready and things to pack to be punctual.
"Big Chris," our neighbor's grandson, came over to play this afternoon so Mike & Will spent most of the early afternoon playing hockey on the deck. I shouldn't say Will got to play. He was the gopher. He went and retrieved any tennis balls (their hockey puck) from under the deck. But he was happy to be included and doing something important to keep the game going.
The boys had there 2nd soccer games of the spring season today too. It was in the 40s and windy, but hey at least it was sunny. Mike scored 2 goals during his game. Will, not so much. Will wasn't completely thrilled about soccer today. At one point he was sitting down cross-legged in the goal.
The day ended with Will making a book...I know, not an obstacle course....he and Mike are into making books now.

And so ends my first blog post. Thanks for checking it out!