Brief Recap...

Ahhh! Well, to put it lightly things have been a little crazy since my last posting. After raving about my germaphobia, my youngest baby was admitted to the hospital for a 4 day stay from dehydration after catching my oldest daughters stomach bug. Oddly, my fear of the girls getting sick has eased since this event. I think it is because having to take one of the girls to the hospital was a fear of mine and something I SO wanted to avoid. But then it happened. And we made it.

Sweet Girl in her Hospital Crib

Unfortunately, the hospital stay lasted through Easter so we had an "Easter Tuesday" to make up for it. My middle baby Durie was right in the midst of potty training and has since reverted back to diapers, not having us around for those few days was not easy on her... :(

Easter Tuesday

We have since toughed out a very difficult quarter in college and made have successfully remained on the Deans List (Chad) and the Presidential Honor Roll (Tia)... Now we have a brief break from class before summer quarter starts. Whew!
Well... that's my brief (very, very, brief) recap of the last couple months! More to come!

My Name is Tia and I am a Germaphobe...

I get a lot of grief over my germ-issues. I sanitize every cart with a complete rub down, then I sanitize the girls' hands upon entering and exiting a store. I will skip aisles if there is a coughing kid in one of them, I avoid large children get-togethers during the flu season. If you and your family has been sick, I won't see you for a while. This may seem over the top for some, but this week has re-affirmed my diligent germ attacking nature. Friday, Novee woke up with the brief yell "My stomach hurts!" then, before any reasonable reaction time, vomits on my bedroom floor. Oh, fun. She has no fever and is acting relatively normal so I try to convince myself throughout the day she just ate something... then the evening comes and she is back to it, not able to keep down any liquids. Saturday morning brought forth a visit to the walk-in, and then back to the house where I try to 'quarantine' my poor sick daughter from the rest of the children. I realize how futile my efforts are in reality, but in my own mind there is some hope if they are not all in the same room. Novee has a slow recovery (and each hour brings new world-ending tragedy; "My WATER is ALMOST gone!") but by Sunday evening she is back to the norm. Whew! Glad that's over! Wait.... did I just hear... NO! 4 am Monday morning Miss Mae begins her run with the dreaded virus. Poor Mae has not been sick before and I believe she has the intention of transferring all of her illness to me via me absorbing her. I am not able to put her down for 12 hours until I have to go to night school. Last night consisted of 40 minute intervals of vomit, crying, rocking, walking, etc. Today has been no different and now another trip to the doctor is on the schedule. Lets pray Durie is safe... Sick children is not something I handle with grace and ease. I am a complete stress ball, exhausted, emotional, and scared to death they will never get better (yes, I understand this is slightly irrational). So, the next time we head out to the public petri dish, I will need a sanitizing body spray to add to my arsenal of disinfectant.

And Then She Was Three...

Tonight is the eve of my beautiful daughters third birthday. It is always hard for me to look back on their little lives so far. Not only is the nostalgia of their babydom already bittersweet, but then I always question whether I am doing a good job. Did I read enough books to her last year? Did I give her enough love, attention, affirmation, etc. I know I cant beat myself up on the small things, but every birthday I vow to do better. I think every mom feels the pinch of time with their babies. The responsibility involved in developing these little beings into children of God is a little overwhelming to me sometimes. It is up to me to develop their character? I know the Lord doesn't give you more than you can handle, but I honestly wonder 'Was he sure on this one?' Three is not typically hailed as one of the 'big' birthdays, but it is the one wear the baby-ness starts to fade and the new young girl starts to develop. Durie is our second child, and is as opposite from Novee as hot and cold. After having a daughter already, I expected Durie to be born with the same looks, personality, etc. She had other plans. Hair as light as the snow and eyes as blue as the ocean, these angelic looks easily deceive you. This childs personality rivals a firecracker. She has a quick wit, and an imagination that keeps her in her own world. Her truly has a heart of gold and searches for laughter from her sisters and parents. Everyday with her brings something new to my life: new insight, new frustration and always a new smile. Happy Birthday Sugarpea. I love you!

A Child By Any Other Name...

When I told my husband I was starting a blog about us and our girls, he wasn't fond of me using their real names. I think the first-second-baby plan might also get confusing. My sister thought of using their nicknames, which is basically all we call the in the first place. So, just to bring you into the 'know'... Our first daughter is now 5 and her name is Novee. Our second daughter is 3 (in two days) and her name is Durie. The baby is 8 months and her name is Miss Mae. Just a brief FYI... :)

Ahhh... Monday.

This Monday begins what can only be called a "weekzy", this is a term I affectionately use for crazy weeks I have planned. This week is finals week for me at college (AHHH!), kindergarten registration for my oldest daughter (AHHH AGAIN!), the oldest one and the baby BOTH have shots tomorrow, and this is all on top of the normal day-to-day duties. My washing machine, sensing my upcoming "weekzy", has decided to leak all over my laundry room this morning, and my oldest tried to scale a dresser to get into the baby crib and has a wonderful egg-sized growth protruding from her head. I have been busy creating a final PowerPoint presentation, and my middle daughter has decided she will only wear her older sister high heels today. This decision has proven not to be the best as we are now on our fourth (yes, 4) horribly tragic falls on the "stupid slippy floors". This may seem like a rough start to my Monday, but I have actually been rather relaxed today! I think I am slowly losing stress sensors in my brain... I wonder if there is some type of power surge in which these sensors become so overloaded they implode (one can only hope!). Onward to the second half of day one!

Well, Here We Go...

This may be a crazy plan to add one more item to my list. Although, I think this may be a beneficial way to release some of the crazy that consumes our home out onto the 'world'. To briefly bring you up to speed, my husband and I have three daughters. Our oldest is 5, the second is 3, and the baby is now 8 months. In this past year we have moved five (yes...five) times. We have now settled into a great home where we plan to be for a while. My husband owns his own small business and in January 2012 became a full time student at the University of Washington to complete his Bachelor's degree. I am a stay at home mom raising 3 very lively and wonderful girls, and I am also a full time student working to obtain my Associates in Science. For those of you who are not close to my family, you will quickly learn throughout my blog that these are no ordinary girls. They do not have the dainty, quiet, qualities some might assume young sweet girls to have... they are so much better than that! They are bound and determined to keep me and my husband on our toes and so far they have succeeded... Here you will learn of these three silly Strasser sisters.