Comic Relief Can Be The Best Medicine

In my 9+ years of being a mother, I've learned that us "moms" have an extraordinary, supernatural power to avoid most sicknesses. I mean, really. Any mother can attest to this. 

Sing it with me... we've been puked on, spit up on, sneezed on, coughed on, slimed on.... you name it. And ninety-five percent of the time, we keep charging on strong. We can kiss our precious babies' sweet little sweaty, fever-ridden, contagious foreheads and snuggle them tight all night long, then wake up feeling like SuperMom, ready to tackle that kid's virus and any other threat on your family's health or happiness that day. 

Us "moms" are super-human at times. 

But then... there are "those other times". You know--the five percent. When your children somehow unknowingly share their latest virus with you. And, like the flip of a switch, you go from SuperMom to SuperSick. 

This happened to me recently. Six days ago to be exact. 

Over the course of the last 12 days, three of us have had i.nfluenza (not confirmed by blood tests - but obvious by symptoms), one child with a double ear infection and c.roup, one child with F.ifth's D.isease (aka, S.lapped F.ace Syndrome), and then another ear infection. 

Sometimes, all the hand-washing in the world (and the vaccine!) won't protect SuperMom. 

What happens when SuperMom is SuperSick? 

Well, in my house... SuperMom needs to charge on. My husband is usually gone during the week on business travel. And, I'll be honest, my kids really don't care if I'm sick or healthy.

I'm not going to sugar coat this. This is my reality. I could be passed out on the ground and my children would still be yelling "Mom", "MOM", "MOOOOM", from 10 rooms away. The littler ones would probably be poking at me repeatedly while saying "Mama...mama...mama....MAMA!" They would all most likely keep mom'ing me, with annoyance, until their needs/wants have been met. I don't think it would even occur to them that I was passed out on the floor from a fever or dehydration. 

Lucky for me, I happened to get sick on a Thursday. So, Dan was actually home on days 3 & 4 of my sickness to help with the kids and house stuff. But, then Monday came...and I was still sick.

Every so often, I have one of those days where I feel like the universe is trying to make me the butt of of it's joke. Yesterday was "one of those days".

I was on day #5 of having the flu. I woke up without a fever, instead just horrible chest and head congestion--which was great. But, in the span of time from when Dan left Sunday night to my alarm going off Sunday morning, I now had to add a dental appt to my day (my temporary crown came off while flossing), and a pediatrician appt because Rocco woke up crying from ear pain in the middle of the night. And, he never cries--so it was most certainly an ear infection. Then, add the knowledge of the normal Monday morning chaos that I still had to get 3 kids out of bed, dressed, teeth & hair brushed, 3 lunches packed, and drop 3 kids off at 2 different schools... and this SuperSick SuperMom was exhausted just thinking about the morning ahead. I wasn't feeling 100%--more like 30%. And it wasn't even 7am yet. 

Our normal Monday morning mad-dash out the door includes lunch bags and sweatshirts flying, me yelling reminders like "Did you pack a snack? Where are your socks? Make sure you have your folders." Add to that the 2 year old who almost always needs that emergency diaper change at the worst possible moment. And, then he proceeds to demand I carry him WITH his favorite brown blankey and five of his favorite R.escue Bots. Seriously, this is insane. The child is already getting heavy in my arms... now he's heavy and awkward in my arms. So, I go rushing out the garage door, holding Marco and his armful of stuff as if he's part of my circus act. Now, one of his shoes fell off en route. The thought that I don't have time for this crap quickly flies through my head, and I just leave the shoe in the path of lateness that I was most certainly leaving behind this morning. I was tired, sick and frustrated... mostly with myself for not feeling 100%. 

As I open the car door to get Marco buckled into his car seat, Giuliana looks at me and greets me with her "Mom. Mom. MOM!" 

"Yes, Giuliana", I say, while struggling with the bottom buckle for Marco's seat. 

She then proceeds to very proudly and matter-of-factly announce "Mom, I named my balloon P.ENIS!"

Oh. My. Gosh. WHAT?! Wait.... WHAT?!?!

Where in the world do kids come up with this stuff?!  

I had to hold back from laughing. I quickly had a little discussion with Giuliana about balloons and body parts and bathroom language. 

But, I couldn't stop laughing on the inside. This comic relief was just what I needed on this crazy morning. At this point, I had no idea that my day still included waiting at the pediatrician's office for over an hour, three calls to different pharmacies, two stops at different pharmacies, etc.  

Been a Little Busy--Time to Catch Up

It's been an incredibly busy year. Hence the reason for such a lack of blog posts and updates.

The kids have me spread thin these days... Gabby & Rocco are both in elementary school. Giuliana is in pre-kindergarten. Marco is home full time.

Gabby does 9+ hours of gymnastics every week, plays in a girls basketball league during the winter, and is on swim team. Swim team begins in February and ends in October. But, they only swim competitively May-July.

Rocco is on the same swim team - so he is also busy with swim February - October. His practices are a tad bit shorter than Gabby's though. He also plays basketball August - March, is in gymnastics year round, and is in Little League which runs February - May. And they also have a fall-ball league that he participates in August - November.

Giuliana is still in dance once a week and they have shows in December and June. She also does gymnastics once a week and will be joining Gabby & Rocco's swim team in May as a Junior member. She is OVER the moon about being able to join swim team. It's pretty cute.

Marco is full-time-keep-someone-busy. Rocco is his best pal and idol. He pounces on and follows Rocco around as if he is Rocco's puppy. Rocco greets this constant attention with a combination of laughter, annoyance, and love. If Rocco isn't around, it can be hard to keep this guy happy and entertained to the degree in which he demands it. Rocco is a saint! :)

Anyway, I know I've said this before--but one of my current goals is to catch up on a number of blog posts.  I am also working on completing some writing projects that I have started and stopped numerous times throughout the past several years. I will share more about those in a later post though.

As I update, I'll list here:
* Qualified for the Boston Marathon!
* Marco 2.5 yrs old & Skiing!
* 6 Wide Down the Mountain
* Giuliana Skiing Video
* Marco missing siblings 

6 Wide Down the Mountain

The Martino family is now 6 wide down the mountain!

Giuliana and Marco both tried downhill skiing for the first time last week. They both took to skiing with ease and seemed to really enjoy it. I think the younger you start them - the better. The little kids don't seem to have any trouble with crossing their skis, etc. Marco earned himself a mid-day nap on my chest. And, Giuls fell asleep while eating her crackers in the lodge at the end of the day. They were happy & pooped!

Gabby and Rocco are both skiing like champs and ready for more challenging runs.

There is a lot more snow in Tahoe this year compared to last. So, we decided to buy season passes for the family. We were able to get them up the mountain 4 times over the holiday break which was nice. It's a hop, skip and a jump from our house so it's quite easy to cruise up for even half days of skiing after school or the kids weekend basketball games.

Now we just have to HOPE for more rain storms in northern California this winter, bringing even more snow to the mountains!

Oh, and check out this ADORABLE photo some guy took of Marco and Dan on the chair lift. Marco's face is SO CUTE! Their chair lift buddy had this tiny little digital polaroid camera... pretty cool.