Monday, November 25, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Kala and Adam's wedding 11-9-2013
I'm not going to be able to re cap this trip in as much details as I hoped, as the event was nearly 2 weeks ago and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write about it. I started once but didn't finish. The trip to Bowling Green, OH overall was really great. We took a couple days to get there and pit-stopped at Martha's in Chicago, had breakfast at Yolk downtown with Jeff/Denise and Martha, and drove the rest of the way the next day. Utilized our Ipass (boy that is nice to have, makes paying tolls super slick). We had a great time hanging out with family, swimming in the hotel pool (silly mom forgot swimsuits, so we made a run to Walmart for swimming items that weren't necessarily swimsuits, ha!), got nails done, got all dressed up for the wedding, played a small part in the ceremony by leading the group singing the Doxology, partied at the reception (kids were babysat by their older cousins!), met Kala's new husband, and drove the entire way home on Sunday. Lots of music was played, kids did overall very well in the car. I'm sure Violet completed many parts of her minecraft world on my kindle while we were driving. Dave serenated me with the "My Maria" song on our long 9 hour drive. Many pit stops for bathroom, food, and stretching. I will post pictures that will recap the weekend better than I could in words. It was really fun and we loved seeing many from Dave's side of the family as well as celebrating Kala's marriage to Adam.
Eli - Fall 2013
Eli is almost 18 months old (on Dec 4th he will be). He's a little toddling bundle and is generally very happy child.
Eli:
- likes to say "mom! mom! mom!" over and over until he gets what he wants.
- says "more, more more!" when eating for his next bite and makes it very obvious by turning his head quickly if he is done eating
- loves milk
- if he's in his car seat and wants his paci/blanket he will reach down to his right thinking they are down there saying "more, more, more" to indicate he wants them, but they often aren't there. I think from our recent road trips he tosses them down there and thinks they're always there.
- has learned to run in the last few weeks.
- has learned how to climb up on a chair and up onto the table (yikes!)
- sticks legos in his mouth all the time and never swallows them. If he sees me coming up to him with something in his mouth, he take it out and gives it to me.
- is wearing 2T clothes
- weighs almost 30 lbs
- is trained to use the toilet only if I take him. He won't do this on his own.
- still sleeps in the crib in the guest room
- takes one nap a day, sometimes at 11 am, sometimes not til 1pm. I'm happy if he gets one good nap in every day.
- likes to reach up and switch off/on the light above his head when I change his diaper. He twists and turns and is our current "battle" if you want to call it that...to lay still during a diaper change.
- has started going into Maggie's sunday school class - she said she'd take him and work with him since the 2 yr old class is pretty small. He does ok. Sometimes cries, but he'll grow into it.
- sits in the stroller a lot of places I go so he doesn't get into trouble
- likes raisins, grapes, cheese, chicken nuggets, pancakes, oatmeal, cheerios, cooked carrots, noodles, popcorn, bagels with cream cheese, and has recently discovered candy, after the onslaught of candy from Halloween.
- is teething right now, getting 4 in. eye teeth and canines.
- still loves those blankets and pacis. I can't find but only one paci lately so he's a mess if I can't find it. He snuggles his blankets and whimpers if its not available at the moment.
- is getting over his first ear infection. He slept terribly at the hotel one night in Ohio, we suspected something could be wrong. I saw infection in his ear when we got home and took him to a doctor and he was put on antiobiotics right away. He's feeling much better now.
11-22-2013 - update
Just in the last hour, I have found Eli:
- digging in the corner cabinet banging the glass jar of molasses on the tile floor. It didn't break.
- flushed the toilet and ran away
- found him with his teeth sunk into an onion he must have dug out of the cabinet
- found him on top of the dining room table with legos in his mouth
- climbed onto the seat of the green trike and fallen over three times
- knocks over Vanessa's stacking cups whenever he gets a chance
- plugging and unplugging everything he can find
- pushing buttons on the small oven controls
he is keeping me on my toes!!
Eli:
- likes to say "mom! mom! mom!" over and over until he gets what he wants.
- says "more, more more!" when eating for his next bite and makes it very obvious by turning his head quickly if he is done eating
- loves milk
- if he's in his car seat and wants his paci/blanket he will reach down to his right thinking they are down there saying "more, more, more" to indicate he wants them, but they often aren't there. I think from our recent road trips he tosses them down there and thinks they're always there.
- has learned to run in the last few weeks.
- has learned how to climb up on a chair and up onto the table (yikes!)
- sticks legos in his mouth all the time and never swallows them. If he sees me coming up to him with something in his mouth, he take it out and gives it to me.
- is wearing 2T clothes
- weighs almost 30 lbs
- is trained to use the toilet only if I take him. He won't do this on his own.
- still sleeps in the crib in the guest room
- takes one nap a day, sometimes at 11 am, sometimes not til 1pm. I'm happy if he gets one good nap in every day.
- likes to reach up and switch off/on the light above his head when I change his diaper. He twists and turns and is our current "battle" if you want to call it that...to lay still during a diaper change.
- has started going into Maggie's sunday school class - she said she'd take him and work with him since the 2 yr old class is pretty small. He does ok. Sometimes cries, but he'll grow into it.
- sits in the stroller a lot of places I go so he doesn't get into trouble
- likes raisins, grapes, cheese, chicken nuggets, pancakes, oatmeal, cheerios, cooked carrots, noodles, popcorn, bagels with cream cheese, and has recently discovered candy, after the onslaught of candy from Halloween.
- is teething right now, getting 4 in. eye teeth and canines.
- still loves those blankets and pacis. I can't find but only one paci lately so he's a mess if I can't find it. He snuggles his blankets and whimpers if its not available at the moment.
- is getting over his first ear infection. He slept terribly at the hotel one night in Ohio, we suspected something could be wrong. I saw infection in his ear when we got home and took him to a doctor and he was put on antiobiotics right away. He's feeling much better now.
11-22-2013 - update
Just in the last hour, I have found Eli:
- digging in the corner cabinet banging the glass jar of molasses on the tile floor. It didn't break.
- flushed the toilet and ran away
- found him with his teeth sunk into an onion he must have dug out of the cabinet
- found him on top of the dining room table with legos in his mouth
- climbed onto the seat of the green trike and fallen over three times
- knocks over Vanessa's stacking cups whenever he gets a chance
- plugging and unplugging everything he can find
- pushing buttons on the small oven controls
he is keeping me on my toes!!
Vanessa - Fall 2013
When I think of Vanessa, I think "personality!" She's very social, will attach herself to just about anybody who will give her attention.
Vanessa:
- is almost 3.5 years old
- is starting to speak her words more clearly, although there are sounds she can't make. She can't say "duck", instead she says "guck".
- loves puzzles
- loves books being read to her. She would sit on the couch all day with me and read books if I had the time to do that.
- loves Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. She watches 2 shows every day and memorizes the little tunes and songs and sings them all day "Everyone is Big Enough...Big enough to do something" and "If you have to go potty, stop and go right away...flush and wash and be on your way" and "You can take a turn, and then I'll get it back.." and "You gotta try new food cuz it might taste good.." there are tons of them, but she really loves to sing them and it helps her sometimes to try new things or remember to wash her hands after she flushes. When two shows are over, she turns off the receiver and TV and says "Fank you for wetting me watch Daniel Kiger"
- really enjoyed dressing up for Halloween as a princess. She says "you say trick or treat, then they give you candy, then you say thank you!""
- goes to preschool Tues/Thurs mornings at OHCP for 2.5 hours. She loves it! She does have a hard time with being nice to her friends sometimes. Her teacher says she uses her hands to bother other kids, either tickling their faces or something, but she's improving. I help her by motivating her with 2 pink gumballs. If her teacher gives me a good review, she is rewarded. If her teacher says she had to be reminded to stop doing something then she doesn't get them. The other day when I went to play bunco with my friends, on my way out the door, she said, "mom, be nice to your friends!"
- starting to write some letters in her name
- loves Violet's friend Alexis. She runs excitedly out to the playground after Violet and Calvin are done with school (if I let them play for awhile) and hugs her.
- is learning what it means to obey. She says, "but I don't want to.." if I ask her to do something and is getting better at obeying. The last battle we had was me asking the kids to come to the van while on the playground. Calvin came running first, followed by Violet, but Vanessa ran the opposite direction. I told her she couldn't play next time because she didn't come when I called her.
- loves pink. absolutely loves it! she dressed today in pink pants, a shirt with pink hello kitty, pink socks, and asked for a pink bowl to eat her pink cereal she picked at the store (strawberry frosted mini wheats). She talks about pink all the time.
- sleeps with her dark pink/striped blanket and a few babies she hasn't really attached herself to yet, and her little Ariel princess figurine.
- wants us to "tweep" (sleep) with her at night, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. Last night she woke up in the middle of the night crying because she wanted someone to sleep with her. I laid down with her for a few minutes until she went back to sleep and then I snuck out.
- wants "pwetzels and pea-da butter" for snacks a lot. "Look at dis udder big one!" showing me a big lump of peanut butter on the tip of her pretzel
- says "I'm firsty about milk" to say she wants a drink of milk.
- says often, "I can't fink about it" (I can't think about it) if she doesn't know the answer to a question
- loves Berry Kix
- likes filling up a square building board with square legos
- asks for oatmeal squares all the time
- purposely shys away from the camera and won't smile. She dodges photos. Occasionally I'll capture a great smile out of her.
- still talks about Andrew, her swimming lessons instructor.
- takes me along a series of why questions...every answer I give is another reason to ask why to that answer.
- doesn't like her hair up in ponytails. She yanks them out. Her curly crazy hair is hard to control so she looks like she's got bedhead about 90% of the time except for right after a bath when the curls she has form nicely and look great.
- stores socks in her shoes all the time, I don't know how often those socks get washed.
- can buckle and unbuckle her carseat by herself
- still bothers Eli all the time by pinning him down with her legs or arms. He fights it and gets out of it sometimes.
- is getting into coloring more. We print a lot of pictures, and the pink marker gets used most of the time
- doesn't regularly nap. Maybe a couple times a month, she'll lay down to sleep for a nap but its too much of a struggle for me to get her to sleep so I don't push it. I have to leave every weekday at 3:00 to pick up Violet and Calvin anyway so I'd have to wake her up to go do this if she was sleeping.
- won't let anybody call the place she goes twice a week "school" . "No!" she says, "its PREschool!"
- has less snot-blowing sneezes but they still happen. I still hear sinus congestion when she talks.
Vanessa:
- is almost 3.5 years old
- is starting to speak her words more clearly, although there are sounds she can't make. She can't say "duck", instead she says "guck".
- loves puzzles
- loves books being read to her. She would sit on the couch all day with me and read books if I had the time to do that.
- loves Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. She watches 2 shows every day and memorizes the little tunes and songs and sings them all day "Everyone is Big Enough...Big enough to do something" and "If you have to go potty, stop and go right away...flush and wash and be on your way" and "You can take a turn, and then I'll get it back.." and "You gotta try new food cuz it might taste good.." there are tons of them, but she really loves to sing them and it helps her sometimes to try new things or remember to wash her hands after she flushes. When two shows are over, she turns off the receiver and TV and says "Fank you for wetting me watch Daniel Kiger"
- really enjoyed dressing up for Halloween as a princess. She says "you say trick or treat, then they give you candy, then you say thank you!""
- goes to preschool Tues/Thurs mornings at OHCP for 2.5 hours. She loves it! She does have a hard time with being nice to her friends sometimes. Her teacher says she uses her hands to bother other kids, either tickling their faces or something, but she's improving. I help her by motivating her with 2 pink gumballs. If her teacher gives me a good review, she is rewarded. If her teacher says she had to be reminded to stop doing something then she doesn't get them. The other day when I went to play bunco with my friends, on my way out the door, she said, "mom, be nice to your friends!"
- starting to write some letters in her name
- loves Violet's friend Alexis. She runs excitedly out to the playground after Violet and Calvin are done with school (if I let them play for awhile) and hugs her.
- is learning what it means to obey. She says, "but I don't want to.." if I ask her to do something and is getting better at obeying. The last battle we had was me asking the kids to come to the van while on the playground. Calvin came running first, followed by Violet, but Vanessa ran the opposite direction. I told her she couldn't play next time because she didn't come when I called her.
- loves pink. absolutely loves it! she dressed today in pink pants, a shirt with pink hello kitty, pink socks, and asked for a pink bowl to eat her pink cereal she picked at the store (strawberry frosted mini wheats). She talks about pink all the time.
- sleeps with her dark pink/striped blanket and a few babies she hasn't really attached herself to yet, and her little Ariel princess figurine.
- wants us to "tweep" (sleep) with her at night, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. Last night she woke up in the middle of the night crying because she wanted someone to sleep with her. I laid down with her for a few minutes until she went back to sleep and then I snuck out.
- wants "pwetzels and pea-da butter" for snacks a lot. "Look at dis udder big one!" showing me a big lump of peanut butter on the tip of her pretzel
- says "I'm firsty about milk" to say she wants a drink of milk.
- says often, "I can't fink about it" (I can't think about it) if she doesn't know the answer to a question
- loves Berry Kix
- likes filling up a square building board with square legos
- asks for oatmeal squares all the time
- purposely shys away from the camera and won't smile. She dodges photos. Occasionally I'll capture a great smile out of her.
- still talks about Andrew, her swimming lessons instructor.
- takes me along a series of why questions...every answer I give is another reason to ask why to that answer.
- doesn't like her hair up in ponytails. She yanks them out. Her curly crazy hair is hard to control so she looks like she's got bedhead about 90% of the time except for right after a bath when the curls she has form nicely and look great.
- stores socks in her shoes all the time, I don't know how often those socks get washed.
- can buckle and unbuckle her carseat by herself
- still bothers Eli all the time by pinning him down with her legs or arms. He fights it and gets out of it sometimes.
- is getting into coloring more. We print a lot of pictures, and the pink marker gets used most of the time
- doesn't regularly nap. Maybe a couple times a month, she'll lay down to sleep for a nap but its too much of a struggle for me to get her to sleep so I don't push it. I have to leave every weekday at 3:00 to pick up Violet and Calvin anyway so I'd have to wake her up to go do this if she was sleeping.
- won't let anybody call the place she goes twice a week "school" . "No!" she says, "its PREschool!"
- has less snot-blowing sneezes but they still happen. I still hear sinus congestion when she talks.
Calvin - Fall 2013
The biggest change for Calvin this year was starting kindergarten. He says he doesn't like school, but I think that's just typical boy behavior. The first few weeks were a little rough as he adjusted to the schedule and not having as much time around the house to play. His teacher, Miss Smits, says he is compliant, cooperative, respectful, and seems to enjoy school.
Calvin:
- likes putting on his belt when getting dresses and gains satisfaction by the fact that he can get it through all the loops correctly and buckle it.
- learned to tie his shoes last week or the week before - it just took a few days of practice.
- is outgrowing ALL his pants. He is going through a growth spurt. When I hold him he feels so strong and thick, and doesn't have an ounce of fat. His Uncle Josh commented on Calvin's physique while observing him in the swimming pool on our recent trip to a hotel for Kala's wedding. He runs so fast too!
- loves oatmeal with maple syrup or bananas
- loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- is a mom-and-dad pleaser. He often says "yes mom!" or "yes dad!" when we ask him to do something. He is motivated to be caught doing good and have the reports be sent to his teacher at school. Other times I think he says "yes mom!" or "yes dad!" to upstage his siblings behavior.
- is working on controlling himself. He gets upset really quickly. Just this morning, Dave used some water to smooth down his "bed head" hair and got some drips of water on his sleeve. Calvin almost lost it in a fit of tears because he didn't want a wet shirt going to school.
- his handwriting has improved dramatically since starting school
- recognizes his sight words more regularly. "the" and "mother" are ones I can remember.
- learned to spell Vanessa's name.
- does things for his sisters like drawing them pictures is something he likes doing. He wanted to print a picture of Vanessa's favorite princess (Ariel) and made it all pink.
- still fights with Violet and Vanessa over "the first stool" on the island.
- says Natalie is his favorite friend in school
- found Bennett's (school friend) toy on the playground after school and brought it back to him the next day at school
- listens with intent when Dave or I read the Bible story, even if he's upside down somehow, he's listening.
- gets easily distracted when asked to do a task
- knows our address and phone number
- loves to play on my kindle - his favorite thing to do. The kids earn "minutes of time" to play on the kindle (only allowed on the weekends). He likes angry birds, subway surf, minecraft, and candy crush.
- is learning to ask for things nicely (i.e. May I have a mint please? instead of "can I have a mint?")
- absolutely loves all things chocolate
Calvin:
- likes putting on his belt when getting dresses and gains satisfaction by the fact that he can get it through all the loops correctly and buckle it.
- learned to tie his shoes last week or the week before - it just took a few days of practice.
- is outgrowing ALL his pants. He is going through a growth spurt. When I hold him he feels so strong and thick, and doesn't have an ounce of fat. His Uncle Josh commented on Calvin's physique while observing him in the swimming pool on our recent trip to a hotel for Kala's wedding. He runs so fast too!
- loves oatmeal with maple syrup or bananas
- loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- is a mom-and-dad pleaser. He often says "yes mom!" or "yes dad!" when we ask him to do something. He is motivated to be caught doing good and have the reports be sent to his teacher at school. Other times I think he says "yes mom!" or "yes dad!" to upstage his siblings behavior.
- is working on controlling himself. He gets upset really quickly. Just this morning, Dave used some water to smooth down his "bed head" hair and got some drips of water on his sleeve. Calvin almost lost it in a fit of tears because he didn't want a wet shirt going to school.
- his handwriting has improved dramatically since starting school
- recognizes his sight words more regularly. "the" and "mother" are ones I can remember.
- learned to spell Vanessa's name.
- does things for his sisters like drawing them pictures is something he likes doing. He wanted to print a picture of Vanessa's favorite princess (Ariel) and made it all pink.
- still fights with Violet and Vanessa over "the first stool" on the island.
- says Natalie is his favorite friend in school
- found Bennett's (school friend) toy on the playground after school and brought it back to him the next day at school
- listens with intent when Dave or I read the Bible story, even if he's upside down somehow, he's listening.
- gets easily distracted when asked to do a task
- knows our address and phone number
- loves to play on my kindle - his favorite thing to do. The kids earn "minutes of time" to play on the kindle (only allowed on the weekends). He likes angry birds, subway surf, minecraft, and candy crush.
- is learning to ask for things nicely (i.e. May I have a mint please? instead of "can I have a mint?")
- absolutely loves all things chocolate
Violet - Fall 2013
Violet is almost 8! Almost. I will enjoy her being 7 for nine more weeks.
She's going through second grade very well! She's reading very well, working on math problems like 85-49 and learns to correctly spell 20 words a week. She made a birdfeeder yesterday at school and I helped her climb a ladder outside and hang it in the tree. Of course, its brightly rainbow colored. She is very creative. She made a coloring book herself by asking me to print some coloring pages on the computer. She decorated the cover herself. She and her friend Casey have thought up to make a Thanksgiving journal they will trade having and write in it things they will do for Thanksgiving coming up. Her favorite friends at school are Selah, Alexis, Casey, Reagan, and Ashley.
My mind comes up with things about Violet and here are some:
- She loves dresses. She likes wearing dresses/leggings to school and if none are clean, that's when she will pull out the pants and polo shirts.
- She loves honey bunches of oats for breakfast.
- She sleeps on the top bunk in the girls room and is surrounded with 5 pillows and her blankets. She doesn't have a top sheet or comforter - those things get in her way of the "nest" she created. She got some new warm pajamas recently and has her cozy Dora blanket she uses to cover up with if she feels cold. Up in her bed is a Kleenex box and her alarm clock. She still sleeps with her favorite pink blanket (she says she likes it because its cold) and her baby doll.
- She generally wakes up happy, even though I have to drag her out of bed at 7:00 am every morning as quietly as I can so I don't wake up Vanessa.
- She loves to whistle. Through her teeth and normally - she's just like her dad. She's constantly whistling and it annoys Calvin.
- She loves music! She always wants to listen to music in the car, and she likes all kinds of music. She recently heard the song "The End of the Beginning" by David Phelps and really loved it and wanted to hear it multiple times in a row.
- She LOVES the Bible story at night. She turns the chair by her desk around so she can face Dave or I as we read it at night. Her and Calvin enjoy acting out whatever story is being read if there is time to do that.
- She also likes helping me in the kitchen. If I cook noodles she dumps them in the water and stirs, and of course, tests them to see if they are ready yet. Not yet! She ways...one more minute! Its still crunchy. She says her favorite food is mac and cheese, but really, anything with noodles she will end up loving. She also loves soup and bread.
She's going through second grade very well! She's reading very well, working on math problems like 85-49 and learns to correctly spell 20 words a week. She made a birdfeeder yesterday at school and I helped her climb a ladder outside and hang it in the tree. Of course, its brightly rainbow colored. She is very creative. She made a coloring book herself by asking me to print some coloring pages on the computer. She decorated the cover herself. She and her friend Casey have thought up to make a Thanksgiving journal they will trade having and write in it things they will do for Thanksgiving coming up. Her favorite friends at school are Selah, Alexis, Casey, Reagan, and Ashley.
My mind comes up with things about Violet and here are some:
- She loves dresses. She likes wearing dresses/leggings to school and if none are clean, that's when she will pull out the pants and polo shirts.
- She loves honey bunches of oats for breakfast.
- She sleeps on the top bunk in the girls room and is surrounded with 5 pillows and her blankets. She doesn't have a top sheet or comforter - those things get in her way of the "nest" she created. She got some new warm pajamas recently and has her cozy Dora blanket she uses to cover up with if she feels cold. Up in her bed is a Kleenex box and her alarm clock. She still sleeps with her favorite pink blanket (she says she likes it because its cold) and her baby doll.
- She generally wakes up happy, even though I have to drag her out of bed at 7:00 am every morning as quietly as I can so I don't wake up Vanessa.
- She loves to whistle. Through her teeth and normally - she's just like her dad. She's constantly whistling and it annoys Calvin.
- She loves music! She always wants to listen to music in the car, and she likes all kinds of music. She recently heard the song "The End of the Beginning" by David Phelps and really loved it and wanted to hear it multiple times in a row.
- She LOVES the Bible story at night. She turns the chair by her desk around so she can face Dave or I as we read it at night. Her and Calvin enjoy acting out whatever story is being read if there is time to do that.
- She also likes helping me in the kitchen. If I cook noodles she dumps them in the water and stirs, and of course, tests them to see if they are ready yet. Not yet! She ways...one more minute! Its still crunchy. She says her favorite food is mac and cheese, but really, anything with noodles she will end up loving. She also loves soup and bread.
Maria - Fall 2013
I feel strange updating things about ME. I start typing and come up blank, wondering what to write about. I've enjoyed recently the reality that our family is complete and since Eli stopped breastfeeding, I feel like "a free woman"...and really peaceful that I won't have to deal with the stress of having another baby.
I'm imagining all the things we can do as a family that won't be restricted by having a frequently napping/nursing baby...it's all I've known for the last 8 years.
Life is probably just as busy, but in a different way. I am constantly feeding people, cleaning up, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, and engaged mentally with everything that the kids need all the time and thinking of what things they can do to keep busy. What clothes do they need for the next season? What fits, what doesn't? Organizing their clothes is a full time job, putting away and organizing things that don't fit that I'll keep for a younger child, or what I want to sell or give to a younger cousin.
This season of life:
-I like to run errands when Vanessa is in preschool on Tues/Thurs AMs, this way I am taking just Eli with me to the store.
-I go to women's Bible study twice a month on Thursdays - we're reading a book called "Being A Great Mom Raising Great Kids" which I'm pulling things from to help me.
- Our small group is starting a book by Henry and Melvin Blackaby called Experiencing the Spirit. I am very excited to learn more about this.
- have had some dental work done recently, I got a crown (forever a princess!) put on my upper right molar and have two new inlay fillings to be put in in January 2014. Its nice to see my dad and his office staff working so well.
- I'm working on improving my wardrobe. I pulled 90% of the contents of my closet out and got rid of them. Stuff that was visibly worn out, didn't fit, or was way out of style. The tired-looking workhorse nursing bras in the garbage, maternity clothes out. That left me with 4 long sleeved shirts and a pile of sweatshirts for winter. So I've done a little shopping here and there when the budget allows me to and buy some new things for winter. I have found this process to be exhausting. I can't easily just go shopping. Shopping online is convenient but I hate shipping back and exchanging things. I need basics. Like cami tanks, plain tops, and my undergarments need an upgrade. Its fun to buy new things but the process of shopping, finding them, and trying them all on is hard for me. I have to figure out "my style"...what I feel most comfortable in.
- The time from 3:30-bedtime is super busy. I get the kids and bring them home from school. Violet usually has homework which is reading, studying spelling words, and practicing her memory verse. She also needs to practice piano for 20-25 minutes. Calvin sometimes has homework too. Getting backpacks in, folders opened, papers out and reorganized takes me a long time. Vanessa is excited to see her siblings but also is tired by this time of day and can be a pill. Then I make supper, we eat, someone cleans up dinner and the other goes upstairs to help get kids to bed. We start the bedtime process by 7pm because it takes an hour, even longer if there is a bath involved.
I'm imagining all the things we can do as a family that won't be restricted by having a frequently napping/nursing baby...it's all I've known for the last 8 years.
Life is probably just as busy, but in a different way. I am constantly feeding people, cleaning up, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, and engaged mentally with everything that the kids need all the time and thinking of what things they can do to keep busy. What clothes do they need for the next season? What fits, what doesn't? Organizing their clothes is a full time job, putting away and organizing things that don't fit that I'll keep for a younger child, or what I want to sell or give to a younger cousin.
This season of life:
-I like to run errands when Vanessa is in preschool on Tues/Thurs AMs, this way I am taking just Eli with me to the store.
-I go to women's Bible study twice a month on Thursdays - we're reading a book called "Being A Great Mom Raising Great Kids" which I'm pulling things from to help me.
- Our small group is starting a book by Henry and Melvin Blackaby called Experiencing the Spirit. I am very excited to learn more about this.
- have had some dental work done recently, I got a crown (forever a princess!) put on my upper right molar and have two new inlay fillings to be put in in January 2014. Its nice to see my dad and his office staff working so well.
- I'm working on improving my wardrobe. I pulled 90% of the contents of my closet out and got rid of them. Stuff that was visibly worn out, didn't fit, or was way out of style. The tired-looking workhorse nursing bras in the garbage, maternity clothes out. That left me with 4 long sleeved shirts and a pile of sweatshirts for winter. So I've done a little shopping here and there when the budget allows me to and buy some new things for winter. I have found this process to be exhausting. I can't easily just go shopping. Shopping online is convenient but I hate shipping back and exchanging things. I need basics. Like cami tanks, plain tops, and my undergarments need an upgrade. Its fun to buy new things but the process of shopping, finding them, and trying them all on is hard for me. I have to figure out "my style"...what I feel most comfortable in.
- The time from 3:30-bedtime is super busy. I get the kids and bring them home from school. Violet usually has homework which is reading, studying spelling words, and practicing her memory verse. She also needs to practice piano for 20-25 minutes. Calvin sometimes has homework too. Getting backpacks in, folders opened, papers out and reorganized takes me a long time. Vanessa is excited to see her siblings but also is tired by this time of day and can be a pill. Then I make supper, we eat, someone cleans up dinner and the other goes upstairs to help get kids to bed. We start the bedtime process by 7pm because it takes an hour, even longer if there is a bath involved.
David - Fall 2013
A recent thing Dave went through is the first of two surgeries on his feet. He had two procedures done that corrected his flat feet (Cotton Osteotomy and Extra-articular Talotarsal Stabilization). He had his first foot surgery done on September 17 by a podiatrist in the Minneapolis area since nobody local would do the procedure. One of his foot bones was cut and a metal plate and screws were inserted so his foot would have an arch. The cotton procedure helped his ankle bone have more structure. At least that's how I understand it...a little googling would help anybody who wanted to know more about it. He was unable to put weight on his foot for 6 weeks, which made life a little difficult for both of us during that time. His right leg was sore from hopping and his knees got callouses from crawling. His armpits got sore from using crutches. He did use a special walking boot that allowed him to walk with out his foot touching the ground, which overall was helpful, but big, clunky, and hard to wear for long periods of time because his leg would sweat from the thick plastic thing he had to put on before the brace to help it not slip. A friend of his from church let him borrow a wheel-cart thing that allowed him to "bike" through the house on one knee.
He didn't complain through all of it. He chose to do his best possible in every situation and managed to be helpful with the kids on one foot. He continued to drive the kids to school in the mornings. There were times he even cooked me breakfast. I'm amazed.
The 6 weeks seemed to crawl by moment by moment. They went by and at his 5 week check up, the doctor said he could try walking on it. He is putting weight on his left foot now regularly and said it feels great. There's some tightness that will have to be stretched out when he has full mobility, but overall, he said he's very happy he got it done. He is appreciating walking more than ever! The right foot is scheduled to be done on December 17.
Dave is a busy guy. He's wearing a lot of hats right now, and manages to keep his wife and kids a priority above it all. He's recently become a new elder at our church, is the Commander of the Awana program, leads a small group, and he and I help manage the coffee nook at church and keep things clean and stocked. His work is demanding. Then there is his relationship with me and all the kids. He helps clean up the house and empties the dishwasher when he can. He helps me manage the finances on the computer program we use to keep track of the budget. He's willing to watch the kids a few evenings a month when I can get out of the house to socialize with friends and family. Writing all this down makes me realize how much he does. He keeps the Lord a priority as well by waking up before the family and meets with God.
Thank you Lord for David!
He didn't complain through all of it. He chose to do his best possible in every situation and managed to be helpful with the kids on one foot. He continued to drive the kids to school in the mornings. There were times he even cooked me breakfast. I'm amazed.
The 6 weeks seemed to crawl by moment by moment. They went by and at his 5 week check up, the doctor said he could try walking on it. He is putting weight on his left foot now regularly and said it feels great. There's some tightness that will have to be stretched out when he has full mobility, but overall, he said he's very happy he got it done. He is appreciating walking more than ever! The right foot is scheduled to be done on December 17.
Dave is a busy guy. He's wearing a lot of hats right now, and manages to keep his wife and kids a priority above it all. He's recently become a new elder at our church, is the Commander of the Awana program, leads a small group, and he and I help manage the coffee nook at church and keep things clean and stocked. His work is demanding. Then there is his relationship with me and all the kids. He helps clean up the house and empties the dishwasher when he can. He helps me manage the finances on the computer program we use to keep track of the budget. He's willing to watch the kids a few evenings a month when I can get out of the house to socialize with friends and family. Writing all this down makes me realize how much he does. He keeps the Lord a priority as well by waking up before the family and meets with God.
Thank you Lord for David!
Family updates to come - see next few posts - Fall 2013
I don't really know where to start with what's been going on with our family since it seems so busy all the time. I'm going to post a short update for each member of the family and tag them since in my mind that's the easiest way to get things recorded. My goal with this blog is to help me remember "what life was like when I had little kids" because I can't even remember what I wore yesterday or what we did.
Friday, November 15, 2013
There's a song stuck in my mouth
While driving today, I told Vanessa I had a song stuck in my head and she replied "no, you have it stuck in your mouth!" :)
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Monday, November 04, 2013
Calvin's quotes
I have been a lazy blogger lately. I will catch up at some point!
This one is nice and short because I wrote down what I wanted to keep. Calvin said a couple funny things lately.
While putting his shoes on getting ready for school - I opened the garage door at the same time. He was leaning over, tying his shoes (he learned how this week!) and coughed. He said in all seriousness, "That cough will go outside and get lost."
Next one was after driving home from school last week and he said, "I have an itch but it keeps running away and I don't know where it is!"
This one is nice and short because I wrote down what I wanted to keep. Calvin said a couple funny things lately.
While putting his shoes on getting ready for school - I opened the garage door at the same time. He was leaning over, tying his shoes (he learned how this week!) and coughed. He said in all seriousness, "That cough will go outside and get lost."
Next one was after driving home from school last week and he said, "I have an itch but it keeps running away and I don't know where it is!"
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