Apparently the humbling I’d experienced as a new mom to 4 boys 6 years and under was not enough. So God sent sickness to our home…Sunday night my 2-year-old began throwing up in the middle of the night & continued until Tuesday morning. The challenge then became meeting his needs while attending to the other 3 and keeping them from getting sick. (not my favorite).

Did I mention it was “spring break” this week too?

Despite these challenges, I managed to have a few favorites from this week:

1. Recycled Cardboard Zoo

One of my favorite things is the frequent arrival of packages and gifts celebrating the arrival of the new baby. When you have a 4th child, friends are kind enough to send presents for the older boys too.

One friend sent us this wonderful craft. That day my post-preggo brain was functioning (hallelujah!) and I put this craft away in the closet to pull out for Spring Break.

Boy oh boy am I glad I did! For the entire morning my boys worked on putting together this zoo. It completely saved the day. I was able to give my sick son the attention he needed & feed the newborn.

You can buy it on Amazon for about $22 (free shipping with a prime membership). Here is the link: Recycled Cardboard Zoo.

2. Lia Sophia Jewelry

Another package that I received this past week was a wonderful surprise. I opened it expecting something “baby”. This is what I saw:

My sweet college friend, Joey, sent me a gigantic amount of jewelry from the company she represents, Lia Sophia. She read about the robbery at my home & my thankfulness in the midst of it. She wanted to help me replace the jewelry that was lost! Amazing!!

Her heart is beautiful (& so is the jewelry…check it out here: Lia Sophia).

3. Pei Wei’s Honey Seared Chicken, aka “yummy chicken”

For MONTHS my husband has asked me if I’ve shared this favorite on my blog yet…here it is:

If you are looking for something to feed your kids at a restaurant, try Pei Wei’s Honey Seared Chicken…we suggest asking for “no garnish or rice sticks”. Our boys devour this dish. Who wouldn’t love chicken nuggets coated in a syrupy sauce? The 3 boys end up eating 2 adult size portions!

I would also suggest NOT trying to copy this dish at home. I “pinned” a recipe for it on Pinterest…it took me 2 hrs to make, 1 hr to clean up and the boys didn’t like it. Lesson learned.

4. Great deal on a great date

On Sunday before the sickness I went on a little date with my 4-year-old. Did I tell you how awesome he is one-on-one? He really is. Incredible.

Anywho…we were in the Gap making some returns. He spotted a Spiderman puffy vest behind the counter in a pile. He asked if we could get it. I had already told him we weren’t buying anything during our date…just spending time together. But I looked at the price tag out of curiosity. It read: “Final sale: $9.95”!!! AND that day I got 40% off all purchases. That’s $6 for a brand-new puffy vest…that could be passed down to two more brothers!

Quite the little supermodel, huh? =)

Here is the best part…I peeled back the price tag to see the original price (drum roll please…) $45!!! What a deal!

5. Friends & Family

I could NOT have made it through this week without the prayers & help of friends and family.

A good friend came on Tuesday morning and picked up my two older boys and kept them ALL DAY! Other friends called, tweeted, emailed & texted to encourage me. We had gourmet chinese food delivered to us. Another friend brought an amazing BBQ pulled pork dinner & key lime pie (on Pi day…3/14 =).

My husband has done SO much to help me out. Particularly when I’d reached the absolute end of my rope when the newborn started coughing Tuesday afternoon and I feared he had RSV. My husband came home to find me holding the newborn in the closet crying…yes again!

On Wednesday my mother-in-law arrived. She originally was going to come Friday night but the week before we asked her to come earlier. God’s provision. We didn’t know at the time she changed her flight how desperately we would need her help. Thank you Lord!

(see those cute, coral pillows on the couch? My mom made those while she was here…don’t you love them? THANKS MOM!!)

When my husband came home Wednesday night to find us playing a game of Uno and laughing, my eldest son said, “Guess what? mommy only cried once today! And it was because she was happy!” Love it!

these cute brother shirts were a gift sent to us from another sweet college friend! Thank you Linnea! (this was the best pic I could get today…represents things well).

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