Psalm 127

"These Are a Few of My Favorite Things . . ."

2012-01-29T12:23:00.000-08:00

Micah's favorite things, that is: his thumb, a big brother, and his fuzzy blue blanket.

We gave him the blanket for Christmas. When it got cold back in November, I searched around but couldn't find any appropriate "boy" thick blankets, which was a source of great annoyance, since I know my Aunt Rocky made a big fleecy one with teddy bears and a red edge for one of the boys. It must be in some clever place, because I know I have seen and used it in this house . . . Anyhow, all I could find for Micah's crib was this really soft fuzzy pink blanket that someone in our co-op passed down to the girls. So of course I used that without a second thought. Hey, it's dark!

But then I realized Micah REALLY was liking the blanket. He was definitely searching for it in the crib, and he would sleep with his face on it. Very cute, but I really didn't want a fuzzy pink blanket to be his "lovey", LOL. So I found this nice soft blue blanket at Babies R Us, and he has taken right to it.

Now I have 2 "blanket babies"--Faith has her "Bear Blanket", which is another one my Aunt Rocky made, and she absolutely adores that. She always sleeps with it, and when she's upset, that's what she wants for comfort. No one else was really into blankets! A thumb-sucking baby with a blanket is soooo cute and snuggly . . .

Candy Question

2012-01-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

I was perusing the kids' Clubhouse magazine over lunch today. This year Clubhouse is celebrating its 25th birthday, so it had a little comparison chart for what was popular back in 1987, and what is popular in the same category now. So for example, cassettes were popular back in 87, and iPods and cell phones are popular now. Gas was apparently $ .89 a gallon, versus $3.50 now, although I wasn't driving back in '87, so I don't really remember, LOL.

But here was the weird thing--Clubhouse claims that Atomic Firealls and Bit-O-Honey were the most popular candies from 1987, while Snickers and Reece's Cups are popular now. Seriously?! Fireballs and Bit-O-Honey?! I would never have eaten a Fireball, and I would only have eaten a Bit-O-Honey if there was absolutely no other sweet options available, and I was a freshman in high school in 1987. I think of both of those as sort of the "get a big bag for cheap to pass out at Halloween because you're too stingy to buy the good stuff" candies. I didn't know anyone who would have preferred eating them to a Snickers or a Reece's Cup, both of which were certainly popular back in 1987!

Seriously--who would pick anything over Snickers or Reeces? Okay, M&Ms too. How come those didn't make the list?! Allergies is the only thing I can think of!

Clubhouse also had a little paragraph about how kids who grew up reading the magazine are now working there. So maybe they just polled those young whippersnappers and asked them what candies they thought were popular back in the olden days of 1987. In which case I should be glad that horehound candy and peppermint sticks didn't make the list!

Random Happenings

2012-01-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've started several posts in my head lately, but I have never gotten around to actually typing them. And for those of you who aren't my facebook friends and assume you are missing vastly exciting things that I am only posting on there--wel, I haven't updated my status either, LOL. Sometimes it just seems like too much effort all around! So here are a few random and undeveloped thoughts of late.

1. Our big project last weekend was my desk. When my family moved to Ohio from Okinawa, my parents bought me a big antique oak teacher's desk at a sale that, if I recall correctly, was at the Springfield Mall, of all places. The desk has a huge oak top with 3 drawers on the left side, one same-sized drawer on the right, a big double-sized drawer also on the right that you can put files and folders in sideways, and a skinny drawer for pencils. When I was on college, Tram, the Vietnamese man who lived with my parents, made Amy and me both hutches to go on the back of our college desks. We use one of the hutches on the back of this big desk now. So, this desk that is over 100 years old has had a good long life--but let's just say it was not made for a military life! The only way to move the desk is to unscrew the top from it, and each time we have moved, it has become less and less stable and secure. The last straw was when we thought we were moving to Guam in Dec. 09, and we got new carpet put in our downstairs. When we put the desk back together ater that, the drawers one by one starting falling into each other and not sliding in and out. So we solved that by just stacking the drawers in various locations on the floor of the study! We knew that eventually we needed to tackle the desk and give it one more shot, and that was last weekend. We took it apart, and Bob used this nylon clamp thing to wrap around each section of the desk. He glued and nailed, and eventually the desk shaped up! I started putting the drawers back in--until I realized they didn't fit! They had also succumbed to old age and started sagging, so Bob had to get back out the clamp and wrap them up as well. So finally all elements are nice and tight again, and we are just waiting for another weekend to put it all back together! Maybe then I'll get around to taking a picture.

2. I never got the vomiting bug that the kids got, but Wednesday I did not feel well at all. I didn't throw up, but my stomach roiled around all day. So we did a minimal amount of school, and I laid around on the couch the rest of the day, reading Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein. It was an interesting book, but I wasn't too alarmed at any of her findings. My girls love princesses and dressing up, but I am not worried that they will "give up everything for a man", a la Ariel, or that they will emulate the latest "older" Disney girl, like Miley Cyrus or whoever. That's where, to be honest, it's really nice to homeschool and not watch much TV, where these things are blasted at kids. I'm definitely a "moderation" mom, so I'm not going to allow anyone to become obsessed about anything. She did have some interesting, if questionable, points. She said that babydolls were invented essentially in the early 1900s as a way to "revive the flagging maternal instinct of white girls, to remind them of their patriotic duty to conceive . . ." Really? What about all those colonial corncob dolls? Girls have always loved babies! Aso, she is definitely not one for traditional values or feminine roles, which is not too surprising considering she is definitely a liberal (always clear to point out how she hopes her daughter explores all of her sexual options, etc.).

3. Micah has been so much happier this past week! Even though he has a little cold right now, he's been sleeping well and playing so nicely, even by himself. Of course, if we don't hear little noises anywhere, that is our clue to jump up and check the stairs--he loves climbing them! Since I realized that he just hasn't gained weight since he started crawling, I have been making a concerted effort to give him tons of extra stuff. So he has been happily munching on whatever table food I can give him, plus English muffins with honey and butter, toast and jam, regular muffins, fruit, whatever. I do think that he is sensitive to milk. It's been tricky to tell because he is also sensitive to hot and cold things, and he'll get a little rash from things like little pieces of ice or rice cereal that is a little too hot. But like I gave him some cornbread (made with milk) last night that was not wam at all, and he got a hive on his cheek--there have been a few things like that lately that have made me think he is reacting to the milk. So that rules out things like yogurt and cheese. After the freedom of this past year of being able to cook whatever without worrying about subbing milk, I am not looking forward to going back! I'm definitely not even going to try peanut butter or any nuts. I need to get a jar of sun butter next time I'm out. I don't really want to start him on soy butter, like Caleb likes.

So there are a few random thoughts to get you caught up on our busy life! You can fill in the rest of the time with school, laundry, cooking, and running people around to various basketball practices and Civil Air Patrol. That's my life!

Still Alive

2012-01-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

Hey, it's me! We didn't all succumb to the dreaded plague! In fact, I never even got sick! Nathan and Jonathan did, though--last Wednesday night. They felt better by Friday. Funny Jonathan story though: I was soooo tired last Wednesday night, due to my being up all the previous night dealing with various vomiting children. So when Jonathan came in around 2:00 in the morning to tell me he had thrown up, I didn't even open my eyes.

Me: "Did you throw up in the trash can?"

Jonathan: "I think so."

So I stumbled into his room, tied up his trash can bag, took it downstairs to the big trash can, and stumbled back to bed, all with my eyes barely open. I did register that his trash can didn't really smell, which should have been a big red flag, but like I said--I was tired! Jonathan came into bed with me and threw up several more times, but each time he hit the trashcan like champ, and by the end, I just had a ton of bags lining the trash can, and I would just reach over, tie up the thrown-up-in bag, smoosh it down, and leave the trash can ready for another shot.

Anna came into my room about 4:00 to ask if she could use the potty in my bathroom, because there was throw-up in (on? I wasn't really listening, LOL) her potty. I told her (with my eyes still shut) to flush her potty, but that she could certainly use mine.

But when Jonathan came back into my room (at some point he left? I wasn't awake for that!) to tell me he needed to use my potty because there was throw-up all over their potty, I finally woke up enough to realize that indeed Jonathan had NOT thrown up at all in the trash can. I mentioned that to Jonathan, who said, "Oh yeah! I was peeing, and then all of a sudden I had to throw up, and it went all over the back of the potty!" LOL! Glad it all came back to him!

So I found myself scrubbing the toilet at 5:00 in the morning. I will say that I think my attitude was a little better than if I had been doing it at 2:00, but still . . .

When I got up to get Micah at 7:30, and Nathan told me he had also thrown up a few times during the night, but had not needed me, he became my new favorite child, LOL.

Bob was TDY this week as well. When I drove back home from picking up Nathan from Civil Air Patrol on Tuesday night, I was praying I would not come home to find anyone lying on the couch, sick, like I found last week! Thankfully everyone was well, so the only thing I just had to deal with was getting all the boys to and from their various basketball practices by myself. And I'll take that over dealing with vomit any day!

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

2012-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

No one has thrown up since early this morning, so I am cautiously hopeful that this bug is behind us. No one really ate much of anything all day either, with the exception of Nathan and Jonathan. It turns out that cleaning up all that puke took my appetite right away too, LOL. But I was getting a bit hungry by dinnertime, and I decided to make some chicken noodle soup. This is an easy recipe that is really tasty--and hopefully it will stay down for everyone!

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

1 T olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
2-3 cloves garlic
as much chicken broth as needed--I used . . . hmmmm . . . 1 big can (48 oz) and 2 little cans (14.5 oz), and I probably could have used one more small can
1 pound cooked chicken (I always have bags of this--okay, more like 2 pound bags--in my freezer)
1 1/2 c egg noodles (I just eyeballed about half of a 16 oz. package)
1 c sliced carrots (I dumped in a whole bag a frozen sliced carrots--did I mention how tired I was?!)
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion and celery in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes (add the garlic in for the last 2-3 minutes). Pour in chicken broth, and stir in chicken, carrots, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Add noodles and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

As I Was Saying . . .

2012-01-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

So just back on Monday I posted about how whenever Micah would happen to sleep through the night, other people would have problems, so I would still not get a full night's sleep.

Well . . . last night I got the girls and Micah into bed by 8:30, and then I left to pick Nathan up from Civil Air Patrol (Bob is TDY this week). When we got home, Luke was lying on the couch. A little while later he leaned over the side of the couch and threw up into the trash can. Huh. A little while later he threw up again. I stayed up until 11:30 to see if he needed anything, but when he went upstairs to lay on the hallway floor (his choice, LOL), I went to bed too. But first I checked on Micah as well as the girls, like I always do. Micah was fine, but as soon as I walked into the girls' room, I knew someone had thrown up, because the smell hit me like a wall. A little investigation determined it was Grace, who had apparently thrown up next to her pillow, sat up, thrown up again down by her feet, and then, completely inexplicably, lay back down again and went back to sleep. She was, to put it mildly, a big stinky mess.

As I gingerly tried to extricate her from the mess and scrape some of the more solid stuff into the trash, Faith, who was sleeping on the trundle bed I was standing on, got up on all fours and threw up on her bed. Ack! Now I had a war on 2 fronts to deal with! I got both girls stripped, as well as the beds, and I put Grace in my shower, since she had vomit in her hair. I left her there while I tried to get Faith changed and settled in again. I put new sheets on her bed, and then ran back to check on Grace, who was crying in the shower and making no effort to wash any part of herself. That is the problem with showers that are taken at midnight! So I got her washed and then decided she would sleep in my bed, since she has a track record of having a sensitive stomach and vomiting often once she gets started. But then I heard Faith crying, so I ran in just in time to see her vomit on her bed again. Ack! One more sheet (bottom only this time), and a towel over the pillow. During this time, Luke had thrown up a few more times, but he can be relied on to always hit the trash can, and he can wipe his mouth up by himself.

So i got the girls settled and went back to bed. About 15 minutes later, a little after 1:00, Caleb threw up, although he managed to hit the trash can as well. Yay!

I went back to bed for a few minutes, until I heard Grace make a funny noise. I leaned over, pulled her upright, grabbing the trashcan in the process, and forced her head into it, right as she threw up. Lightning reflexes, LOL! I was very glad she didn't mess up my sheets! I had to do that at least 3 more times during the (very long) night, so having Grace sleep with me was definitely the best option.

So Caleb threw up again, as did Faith, and around 3:30 Anna started whining and complaining that her stomach hurt. I knew it was only a matter of time, and sure enough she threw up for the first time around 4:00. She threw up once more, and Grace threw up for the last time around 5:30. So then I got 2 whole hours of sleep before Micah woke up at 7:30 . . . Micah, who had slept the entire night, from 8:30 until 7:30. Sigh. It is indeed some kind of cosmic conspiracy.

So we canceled Latin for today, and everyone is just sitting around. Well, actually Micah, Jonathan, and Nathan seem perky! I am so hoping they don't throw up all this night. I think I'm going to start a video for the girls and then go take a nap!

9 Months Old!

2012-01-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

What are you looking at?! Yes, Micah is 9 months old today. He is crawling all over the place now, and he is a champ at going up stairs. I really need to work with him on turning himself around so he can go down stairs as well, although so far he hasn't shown any real interest in going down. He loves pushing this little rolling walker thing around (I meant to take a picture but keep forgetting). He will stand by himself, but not for very long, so he's got a little way to go before walking.

Micah has hit a weight plateau at right around 20 pounds. I never did make a 9 month well-baby appointment for him, so there won't be any sort of official numbers coming out! He's not gaining much, since he's been really active and crawling, which is just like all my other kids. That boy does love to eat, though! He is eating a lot of table foods now, which is nice since I never did get around to making any homemade baby food for him, not even sweet potatoes or squash! Poor 8th baby . . . Good thing he has all those teeth! I haven't started him on meat yet, but pretty much everything we eat he will chomp away on.

Micah is a happy baby who loves all the attention lavished on him by his older siblings. However--he is by far and away my worst sleeper. Not for naps--he takes great naps. But at night. There is always something! He was the latest of my kids to sleep through the nap, at around 10 weeks. Then after a (very) few good weeks, he started teething in July. That lasted until November, when he finally got the last of his 8 teeth pushed through. But then he started this terrible habit of pooping between 3:00 and 4:00 every morning. Seriously?!?! And of course it woke him up, and changing him was disruptive, so of course he wanted to nurse, and so the whole thing takes a long time, and is very disruptive for me! How do you change someone's bowel movement schedule?! He seems to be one who just goes often during each day (and night)! And even when he would go the whole night and not poop, then there would be an unexpected pee accident or someone would have a bad dream or something. It seems like a conspiracy! I really think that interrupted sleep is some of my problem these past few months, as far as me not being motivated or energized at all to clean or start big projects (or even little ones!). As we start up our co-ops again tomorrow, I am really praying that Micah will be able to get onto a good sleep (and intestinal, LOL) routine so that I can feel better able to handle life!

What's New in 2012?

2012-01-07T09:34:00.001-08:00

A haircut for me! That is actually a big deal, since my last haircut was in February 2011, back when we were visiting in Ohio for our winter break. Usually my plan is to find a cheap place where I can walk in and be done in a short time after the person just trims my hair a bit, since I have no ideas about what to do with my hair!

There's a lady in our church who has a real gift for working with hair. I can't even say how many times I've gone up to someone in the past year whose hair looked really great, and the answer has been, "Oh, Suzy cut my hair!" We have a bunch of ladies in our church with naturally-curly hair like mine, and she always does a great job with their hair. One of the families in our co-op lives across the street from her, and one of their daughters got an amazing haircut from her this past summer. But I was very intimidated to make an appointment with her--she is always so polished-looking, while I am frumpy and frizzy-headed, so I was worried she would take on look at my scraggly hair and be like, "I have no idea what to do with this mop!" And then where would I be?!

But at our women's fall retreat this year, Suzy was in my small group, and she wasn't at all too polished to talk to, LOL, so I decided to call and make an appointment. Although I move at glacial speed, so I didn't get around to calling until after Thanksgiving. And by that time she wasn't taking any new clients until after the New Year. The lady at the desk sounded like she thought I would be disappointed, but in reality, it was perfect timing! After Thanksgiving I was looking at visiting Bob's family, finishing co-ops, going to Great Wolf Lodge, finishing Christmas stuff like chocolates and present-shopping, visiting my family--I definitely didn't really need to add in a new haircut to all that! So I made the appointment for Tuesday, Jan. 3--after all the stress of the holidays was over, but before co-ops start again!

It was so nice to go to someone who really knows what they are doing! She spent a ton of time with me beofre even cutting my hair, going through all of my hair-care routine (well, that didn't take too much time for me to talk about my part, LOL), and giving me a ton of hints for how to better care for my hair. I told her my main requirement was that whatever she did had to not take much time to do, since I definitely don't have any extra time at this stage of my life. and then she went to town! Another lady walked by and said, "Oooh, look at all that hair on the ground!" So now my hair is short, and it's really easy to work with. I have to remind myself not to run my fingers through the curls all the time (that separates the curl strands and contributes to frizziness!), LOL. Bob has always preferred me with short hair, so he was thrilled. The kids were . . . surprised by the change, LOL. Nathan is going to be one of those men who only wants his wife to have long hair . . . but everyone seems to have adjusted! Micah was funny. He stared and stared at me for awhile when I first got home, but you could practically see him think, "Hey, the milk's still there, so who really cares", LOL.

And I've already made another appointment for May, right after testing is over. I'm going on the "2 or 3 haircuts a year" plan now!

Cousins!

2012-01-03T12:18:00.000-08:00

So my brother Dan and his family also drove to Ohio for Christmas. They have 2 girls--Emily, who is almost 5, and Elia, who turned 2 back in September. These ages dovetail in quite nicely with our girls, who are 5 1/2, 4 1/2, and almost 3! The girls always have SUCH a grand time whent hey are all together!

Anna, Grace, Faith, and Emily all slept in one room. The first night we were there, the girls got pretty much no sleep at all! I kept hearing giggling, so I went down to check on them around 11:00. The lights were on, and they were all chattering and reading books! I told them to get in bed and go to sleep, but when Bob got up around 2:30 to go to the bathroom, he heard giggling and told them to settle down. When Micah got up to nurse around 6:00--more giggling! I again told them to settle down and go back to sleep, but they were all upstairs a little after 7:00! We were expecting them to all be very crabby, but surprisingly they were not.

I put the fear of God in them the next night, telling them that if there was any trouble, Emily would have to sleep on a mattress in her parents' room. I told them they needed stay in their beds, close their mouths and eyes, and go to sleep! I was very firm, LOL. So firm that Emily was scared to get up at all, even though she needed to go to the bathroom! Anna didn't feel that same fear, so she got up, and Emily was amazed at her bold disregard for the clear law that had been laid down. I was actually directing my comments to Faith, who is one of the main troublemakers, so the next night I had to be careful to clarify!

Emily is just a lot like me, in terms of taking things literally. When I was 4 or 5, I was in this day camp for a week through our church, back when we were stationed in Los Angelos. One little field trip we had was on some pirate boat out in some bay. The pirates were being all fierce (and completely over-the-top, as I can clearly see now when looking back on it), and they threatened to throw any kid overboard who did anything wrong. I. was. PETRIFIED. I sat in one spot and didn't move the entire trip. I kept wondering when they were going to come around and get all of our names and addresses, because without those, how would they let our parents know that we had been thrown overboard?! LOL!

Aunt Melinda was a very patient reader of stories for everyone! Grace has obviously been in her stocking stash of chocolate, LOL.

Even though Emily's birthday isn't until tomorrow, we celebrated in Ohio early. We went bowling at the base. They have this little dragon thing that the younger kids can roll the ball down, so you don't have to wait an approximate year for the ball to get down to the pins. Also, they have the nice bumper things in the gutters, and you can lift them up and down, depending on who's bowling, which makes it nice for Jonathan and Caleb. The boys were really helpful with the girls, helping them carry their balls over to the dragon, making sure it was centered and all.

Elia had the absolute most fun. As soon as she gave the ball a push, she would start jumping up and down, clapping and cheering, as she watched her ball roll down the lane! A very enthusiastic bowler indeed!

She was not an enthusiastic eater of green beans however, LOL. We had those at our Christmas day leftover dinner, and while she would have eaten as much of the cranberry sauce as possible, she wanted nothing to do with the beans, so Dan had to lay down the law--eat this green bean, which was cut into 3 pieces, or no more cranberry sauce. And with that, the battle was on! She refused the green bean the rest of that day, and on until Monday evening. Bob and I went out for pizza with Dan and Melinda, and while we were gone, Luke somehow convinced Elia to eat the bean--all 3 pieces! Yay!

So now we are all missing Emily and Elia, and wishing they lived closer!

Christmas Downtime

2012-01-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to have some downtime during this break! We all got a lot of games for Christmas, so much time was spent playing them! The boys got Settlers of Catan, plus the expansion pack so a total of 6 people could play. That is proving to be a very popular game! They also got a card game called Quidler, plus a game called "Sort It Out", where you're given a weird collection of things which you have to organize in some given order. Here's an example: Sort these things by length, from longest to shortest: average female sea lion, anaconda, giant salamander, a yardstick, and a bootlace worm. You have to get each item in the right position, so you can basically have them all but one in the correct order, but you put that one wrong one in the first place, so it pushed all the rest off a place, and then you get credit for none of them being right. The good thing about this game is you pretty much have as much a chance of getting things right by randomly guessing than if you have some idea of what is right. So Jonathan never won, but he hung out in the middle of the pack, when he had no idea about pretty much all the cards!

The girls got some fun games too, which were played by all. A big favorite was a charades game Dan and Melinda gave to Emily. All the younger kids thought that was great fun. The Princess Memory game was also a favorite.

One thing I really love to do is work jigsaw puzzles. One day when I was in Barnes and Noble I saw this 1000 piece puzzle, which I just loved. I hope you can see the picture clearly, but it's a grandma and grandpa sitting in their huge library--but then as you look down the hallways, you see that the books stretch out in every direction! My dream house! So we gave that to Mom and Dad as a Christmas present, and then we brought up the old card table and actually started it Tuesday. It was a fun puzzle to work because there were lots of separate areas you could do. Luke finished it up Friday morning!

I was also able to spend some time just reading, which was so relaxing. I read the second book in the new 39 Clues series, which was a quick read. I also read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, about the woman whose cancer cells became the hela line. Absolutely fascinating!! I am going to have the boys read that book next summer before we start biology at Rivendell. Christine has recommended the book after her book club read it, and I was so glad I read it! I also finally got started on the 3rd Harry Potter book. I read the first 2 in August, but then Rivendell started, and I have pretty much had no time for pleasure reading. I need to finish that up tomorrow so I can take it back to the library! We also listened to about half to The Lightning Thief on CD on our long trip home. We have the book, so right now Jonathan is finishing it up, then Caleb is in line, and then me.

Wow--puzzles, reading--what a lovely break! We don't start back at Rivendell until Jan. 10, so I technically have some more break time. But now I really need to do more prep work for science and Latin, plus I still have goals for cleaning and decluttering, so I think my break is more or less over. Wah. It was good while it lasted, and it was so nice being at my mom's house, where I wasn't constantly reminded off all the stuff in the house I need to clean and organize!

Christmas Weekend

2012-01-01T10:31:00.001-08:00

We had our big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, in the afternoon, and then we went on to the candlelight service at the base chapel. I think I am going to make this our new tradition, because it was so nice on Christmas to just be able to heat up leftovers, and not have to worry about cooking stuff while trying to watch people open presents!

Look at all those beautiful girls in their Christmas dresses! We went to church Christmas morning at the chapel, then we came home and ate a quick meal of leftovers before opening our presents.

We all got some really neat presents (and the best part is that they all fit in the van for the drive back!). Lots of games, legos, and other fun things.

Nathan has been talking about how he would like a hatchet, so my dad gave him his old Boy Scout hatchet!

Then we had our birthday party for Jesus. After we ate our cake, we looked through catalogs to decide what our birthday gift to Jesus was going to be. After much discussion, we settled on a goat and 2 chickens, plus a share in a deepwater well. I think we ended up going with the World Vision catalog. Looking through those catalogs makes us wish we could give a thousand times more--so many needs!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in Ohio with my parents, and my brother and his family, who drove up from Texas. They arrived Wednesday, but we got to Ohio late Friday, since we couldn't leave until noon because Bob had to go in to work for a few hours. Then Bob rode back to VA Tuesday with the son of a friend of my parents. He is a USAFA grad who is now out of the service. He lives in downtown DC, but he was kind enough to drop Bob right off at our house!

The kids and I stayed until yesterday. We got a late start on the drive because Anna woke up feeling sick. She heaved a few times before we left, but since she hadn't eaaten anything since dinner Friday, there was nothing in her tummy. She moaned and groaned pretty much the whole ride home, and we had to make a really long stop at lunch because of her tummy troubles, so the trip just took forever, it seemed. We drove straight to the L's house, since we were planning on going to their annual New Year's Eve party. We were only an hour late! Bob met us there and took Anna and Micah home, while the rest of us stayed and ate dinner. The boys played games, including their new Settlers of Catan game, which they brought in. Grace and Faith and I left before everyone counted down (at 9:00) because I was just so fried. Bob went back for awhile and brought the boys home eventually.

I am glad to be home, but dealing with all the stuff Bob unloaded from the van is almost too much to think about! I'm not feeling 100% myself, actually. Micah never really slept well at all at my parents' house, and I have 2 big canker sores in my mouth from the lack of sleep, as well as just some general snuffles. So I'm sitting here, foggy-brained, trying to muster up some motivation to do something useful. Maybe I'll upload pictures from our camera and write some more posts. That might be all the motivation I can muster, LOL.

Rivendell Goes to Great Wolf Lodge

2011-12-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

We just got back yesterday from 3 days at Great Wolf Lodge! We all really needed the break, and we had such a good time! Our homeschooling group got the same great deal we got last year, so we were able to stay in the 2 bedroom Grizzly suite again. Woo-hoo!

Micah really enjoyed the water! As it turns out, however, he doesn't like his bare knees to touch anything like water or even carpet, so he spent a good deal of the time doing this gorilla walk. I guess he hasn't been in any shorts since he learned to crawl! He really liked the wave pool, and he would sit in the shallow part and splash, or crawl around like in the picture, when it was still. But as soon as he heard the wolf "howling", signaling when the waves were starting, he would crawl over and sit in my lap!

Grace had a really good time as well--much more fun than last year. She also LOVED the wave pool, and she, Faith, and Anna would all bob around in these rings forever, during the still times as well as when the waves were going. She was so much braver! She went on one of the big water slides (River Canyon Run) with Bob and the other girls several times! Yes, Faith went on that slide too, as well as the ones from the center fort thing! She was absolutely unafraid. What a pill!

I love how the skillful photographer was able to make it appear like Caleb was peeing with wild abandon--LOL. I didn't get too many pictures of the boys, since they were running around and I hardly ever even saw them. Fun was had by all, though.

We all (3 Rivendell families plus one other homeschooling family in our bigger group) went out to Golden Corral Wednesday night. Micah was a total pig (well, everyone else was too!). Carrots, green beans, rolls, tons of fruit--he kept stuffing it in. The kids were quite excited by the chocolate fountain Golden Corral now offers, even though the strawberries weren't really in season. After we got back, the boys all watched "National Treasure" in the room of the other family.

Thursday we went to Cici's for dinner, and then the boys came to our room and played cards for awhile. We brought Skip-Bo, Monopoly Deal, and Uno. While the boys were playing cards, the girls, Micah, and I went down to the lobby for their little "show", and to hear "storytime with Rowdy the Reindeer". Rowdy was one of those costumed actors with the gigantic heads--the kind that used to terrify Anna at Chik-Fil-A and cause her to scream hysterically. We have come a long way, however, since now Anna, as well as Grace and Faith, all lined up to shake Rowdy's hand when the story was done. They all drew the line at giving him a hug though.

We left Friday right after lunch. This was a little earlier than we had planned, but the girls and Micah were just done. Since we were on the road so early, we decided to stop at Ikea for the first time. Wow--so much stuff! Bob and I had a great time looking at everything. There was some complaining, although not from any of the younger 7 kids . . .

We got back home, unloaded, and immediately got ready to go to Bible study for our annual Christmas story play,. The nicest part was that we had a baked potato bar, so I brought shredded cheese and sour cream, but I didn't have to cook! Woo-hoo! Elizabeth cooked 15 pounds of potatoes, and we had exactly 2 potatoes left over. The kids said they didn't want them because "there weren't any toppings left". And they were right! Chili, taco meat, ham. broccoli, bacon bits--all gone. There was just a bit of cheese left. Locusts, they are!

Then after the grand performance (parts for all kids who wanted one--and there were 25 kids!), we had an absolutely delicious ice cream sundae bar. I brought M&Ms for that, but there were also brownies, oreo crumbs, pineapple, and lots of sauces including Amy's homemade chocolate marshmallow one. Mmmmm.

Our Christmas break is off to a good start!! (And I just want to point out for the benefit of other homeschooled readers who might be envious of our Christmas break, that this is a break for ME, LOL. The boys will still be doing some school next week, especially math and English . . . so don't be too envious!)

Fall Stresses

2011-12-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

So that was just a big vent chock full o' complaining there in the last post. What has me so stressed that book exchanges and etiquette teas are pushing me over the edge?!

Well, homeschooling is more difficult, for starters. Rivendell is amazingly awesome. I could not even attempt to do high school without these other ladies. Nathan would just have to take a bunch of online classes or something. So I know how much easier my load is because I have Rivendell, but at the same time, physical science has been a ton more difficult to prepare for than last year's life science. The BJU book is definitely at least 9th grade course--integrated physics and chemistry. I feel like sometimes the text is written in a way that is more confusing than enlightening, like they go out of their way to make concepts more difficult. I've spent a lot of time with a jr. high physical science book (Prentice Hall Science Explorer) that I got used off Half.com for a dollar. It has been SO helpful. I'll probably use it for the whole course next time (when I don't have a high schooler in the class!), except I don't think it's possible to get a teacher's manual or any tests for it, so I'll have to make my own.

Also it's been hard to figure out how to best use the class time. We really need more than one hour and a half class period to cover a chapter and do labs! Fortunately the book has 21 chapters, and we have 33 weeks, so I can take 2 weeks on a good deal of the chapters. What has ended up working the best is for me to take one class period to go over the entire chapter, and then use the second class period to do labs. I'm thinking about next year already, which will be biology for the high schoolers, and life science for the jr. highers. For biology, maybe the boys will watch the DIVE dvds at home, and then use the class time just for labs. We are going to prepare for the bio SAT II test, so I am thinking that maybe we'll have another afternoon (not Tuesdays) where we just go over the dvd stuff, plus anything extra I think will be important for test prep. I don't know. No matter what, I am definitely looking forward to getting back into biology stuff again! Physics was never my favorite!

Prepping for the Latin class has been another thing that has taken more time than I expected. The first part of Henle pretty much reviews all the stuff Latina Christina I and II teach, just covering it a LOT more quickly, and with tons of translation. But still--it wasn't difficult because all my years of teaching Latin to younger kids has finally cemented in my brain all the declension endings and basic verb conjugations (first and second conjugation, present, future, and imperfect tenses). BUT September rolled around, and now we're not reviewing anymore! Finally we learned the past tense (or the "perfect indicative active" as it is technically called), which has different endings on a whole different principal part, and now we're working on the passive voice. Gah. I am NOT remembering these things very well, so it takes me a long time to work through all the exercises! I am just trying to think ahead and think positively about how easy this will all be when it's time to teach Caleb and Jonathan! The boys will take the National Latin I Exam the second week of March, and that is as far as I will go in Latin. I really do enjoy Latin, but right now--it's just one more thing I really don't have time for. One day I'll be retired from homeschooling (that day is a minimum of 18 years away, LOL), and then think of how much time I will have! I'll become a Latin expert! I'll write my Christmas letters and blog in Latin! Well, maybe not, LOL. But it won't be a stresser like it is now!

All this prep work, plus the regular grind of homeschooling at home, has really taken a toll on the house. Here's a warning--don't just drop in to visit us, LOL. Or if you do, walk around with your eyes half closed. I have big plans for this break. Big organizing plans. One example--we took down Faith's crib back in oh, September some time. We propped it in the hallway until I could organize the basement storage room to fit it in. It is still propped up in the hallway. Drives me crazy! Another area of disorganization is Micah's clothes. He is now out of 12 month clothes mainly, so I brought up the 18 month tub of clothes. Now both tubs are in the hallway with clothes piled haphazardly in and around them. I think it is high time that boy has clothes in his actual closet and dresser! These are not the only areas, of course. And we need to clean too, not just pick up and straighten. I am actually so overwhelmed with how dirty the house has gotten these past few months that I can hardly even think of where to start and what to do. Hopefully I'll be able to make some inroads into the chaos in the next week. I'll keep you posted on my progress, or lack thereof. Unfortunately, the 3 big messmakers will be around . . .

Christmas Break!!!

2011-12-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

We're on Christmas Break! We're on Christmas Break! I am practically dancing, LOL. This fall has been a rough one. I knew back in August that once we started, I'd just have to hang on, and that is indeed how it's been. Now I am so ready for a break!

The last week was hard to get through. The elementary co-op had a few things going on, and I was just NOT in the mood to deal with them! For instance, we had our Christmas party last Friday. It's always a skating party, which the kids really enjoy, and this time it was really nice because the organizer had the brilliant idea to have a little area with some simple crafts for the younger kids who weren't going to skate. Grace and Faith had a great time there! The thing that was so (unreasonably) stressful about the party is that a few years ago, a lady had the bright idea that we should do a book exchange there. So each year all the kids bring a wrapped gift of a book they are done with, and they get to pick out a new book. Sounds great! Except we're never "done" with books, LOL, and I have 4 people in different grades! This year, finding books for everyone was very stressful for me. No more book exchange! Once again you can tell gifts aren't my love language.

Then on Tuesday the co-op had an "etiquette tea" as a special 5th week activity to wrap up the etiquette unit. They did this several years ago as well, and it was definitely a highlight for Nathan. The organizers bought these cute little plastic Christmas-themed teacups from Oriental Trading Co., the leaders of the unit were the "servers", complete with towels over their arms, and it was just fun. I think we each had to contribute a plate of cookies, and the kids got to pick either tea or hot chocolate. Nathan came home talking all about tea and asking me to buy some for him the next time we went to the commissary!

This time, the organizers sent out a big list of what foods the moms in each grade were supposed to contribute--cheese and crackers, fruit, tea sandwiches, cookies. I about died, since I have 4 different grades represented, but thankfully I reread the email and realized I only had to bring something for class which was the smallest. That meant Grace's class, and they were assigned cheese and crackers, so that wasn't bad at all. But they didn't buy any sort of cups--we had to send a tea cup along for each child. They said in the email that if we didn't have cups and saucers and didn't want to buy any at the thrift store, then mugs would be alright. Well good, because I'm not sending in 4 breakable cups and saucers, even if we did have any, and I'm certainly not making a run to the thrift store! Yes, I was getting annoyed by petty things, I'll admit, LOL. Fortunately Amy has sent each of my kids a lovely plastic dishwasher safe mug with their names on them, so those were called into service. Whew! Thanks again, Amy!!

I was assigned to help out with this activity, so I had to be there early to supervise the "craft" for Grace's class, which turned out to be coloring. Then someone did a chalk talk, which was really neat. I love seeing those pictures come alive, with all the different lights! After Christine was done teaching history, she drove over and took over for me, so I could rush to Rivendell and teach physical science. Fortunately we were only doing a lab, but still, I felt very rushed and unorganized, since I had not had any time to set anything up. Oh well. We finished it, and we made it through the day--and now we are on break!!!!! I can always tell when I need a break because minor things become very stressful and highly annoying to me! I'm really quite thankful for the elementary co-op. It is very well-run, the kids enjoy it and get a lot out of it, and I really don't have to do all that much for it! But there are definitely times--like last week--when I was not in the mood to deal with it at all!

A Painful Gift

2011-12-09T13:06:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we all attended the memorial service for our friend Jennifer. It was an amazing service, absolutely filled with the hope of the gospel. Three friends of Jennifer's gave beautiful tributes to her, and then her husband Joe spoke. I couldn't believe he was able to get through the whole thing--I was praying for strength for him!--but he did. What a powerful testimony he gave. He was able to give thanks not only for Jennifer's life, but also for her death. In all the tributes, it was very evident that Jennifer lived her life for Christ, and she sought to know Him more and more deeply. That is also her desire for each of us. He shared a poem written by Martha Snell Nicholson called "The Thorn".

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, “But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.”
He said, “My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.”
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

Wow--what a perspective on this terrible tragedy, which Joe himself said was the hardest thing he ever has had to face. But truly for a Christian, death is not the end. There is hope, and for right now, peace and even joy. Joe said that he has already come to know God in a deeper way through this, and it was evident that he was trusting God's plan for his children as well. What faith! I am praying that Jennifer's faith will have a tremendous impact on many through her death. I was so glad we brought all our kids so that they could see how Christians deal with tremendous pain. Hopefully Joe's testimony will bear fruit in their lives as well.

But this family is in a long marathon, not a sprint. Please keep praying for them, as they work out the realities of life without Mom.

No More Time

2011-12-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been busy, lately, as usual. There's really never enough time to get everything done, and I constantly feel behind and not as productive as I should be. On the other hand, though, I still feel like I have unlimited time--many more Christmases, afternoons with family, special memories, etc., and so I don't really use my time very effectively or intentionally. But none of us may have all that extra time.

Friends of ours from our church left in January for a 2 year assigment in a remote country that was a part of the former Soviet Union. Joe is in the Army, but he was serving with the US embassy there. Joe and Jennifer had 7 kids, and the whole family went along for the assignment. Their kids are all almost exactly 1 year older than the matching kid in our line-up, except for their last 2, who were the same ages as our #6 and #7. Jennifer had her 8th baby at home on Saturday, Nov. 26, with Joe and their oldest daughter helping. The baby boy was just fine, but Jennifer ended up having complications. She died on Wednesday, leaving 8 kids including a 4 day old newborn.

This has really hit close to home. I just can't stop thinking about Joe and the kids. The oldest 2 are daughters, and they are such competent and loving sisters. A lot of hard decisions have to be made right now. Please pray for this family, that God will clearly lead them and comfort them. As Christine said, Jennifer is completely enjoying Jesus right now, and she fully understands His plan. But for those who are left--what crushing sorrow.

For me, my heart is just so heavy. I am so not excited about Christmas or any celebrations. But now more than ever I realize we have no guarantee of time left with our kids, so I really need to make lots of memories, and spend time deliberately. I want to catch up on the kids' scrapbooks. Who cares about housework and schoolwork? But that doesn't work either. So I continue on prepping for the physical science lesson on Tuesday and wrapping presents for Bob's family, with tears constantly threatening.

Catching Up

2011-11-26T20:10:00.001-08:00

I've had a bit of a chance to take a breath here this Thanksgiving break, and it has been so wonderful. I am REALLY looking forward to the Christmas break, where we'll have 3 weeks off from our co-ops. Anyhow, I realized I haven't been blogging very much, so I thought I'd go back and catch up on a few things I missed.

1. Nathan got his expander put in a week ago. Now we can once again experience the lovely sucking noise that we used to hear from Luke, as Nathan tries to clear food out from on top of it! Ah, how we've missed that noise . . . LOL. We are faithfully turning the key each night. Nathan's mouth doesn't have the obvious things wrong that Luke's did, where teeth were popping through really high up because there was no room, so we're not going to have the dramatic results. But his bite will be aligned! Now Jonathan on the other hand--he is another one with the really narrow jaw, and teeth popping out in weird places. I foresee an orthodontic visit for him sometime in this upcoming year. Whee!

2. We are getting ready for the basketball season to start. Caleb and Jonathan are going to be on the same Upward team, practicing on Thursday nights, and Bob is going to be the assistent coach. Fun! Nathan and Luke are playing in the house league where they played football this fall. Luke's team is all set, but for Nathan's group, they had more boys than they had anticipated, and they didn't have enough coaches. Sooo . . . after the commissioner kept calling and asking parents for help, Bob, who has never played or coached basketball at all, is going to coach Nathan's team. Should be interesting! And once again we are running out of nights of the week, with Civil Air Patrol, Bible study, church small group, etc. I keep telling myself, this is just a season of our lives! At least for basketball, once the games start everyone will only have practice one night a week, as opposed to 3 for football.

3. Micah has become much more confidant in his crawling. Now he crawls around the house looking for me. He's really not that much of an explorer though, unlike Faith. He is also pulling up on whatever he can, giving him many more opportunities to knock stuff off higher surfaces and generally wreak havoc. He has a terrible diaper rash right now, so he is not a happy camper. Bring on the Desitin! I'm hoping it's not as a result of the cranberry sauce I've been letting him have. He just seems to have sensitive skin like his brother Caleb. Will he also have the food allergies? We shall see!

4. We just spent a fun evening with the L's son Zachary, and his fiance Karybeth, talking about marriage. Ed and ELizabeth are doing some premarital counseling with them, so they had prepared a list of questions for us to talk about. It was fun and rewarding for Bob and me to think back over our 18 years of marriage as we answered questions like, "What did we not find out in our pre-marital counseling that would have been good to know ahead of time?" or "How would you describe your first year of marriage?" It was good to see how we've grown as a couple, and how the Lord has used hard times and conflicts to bring us closer together.

Now the break is just about done, and it's back to reality. I've been working on Latin and science, getting ready for Tuesday and Wednesday. I had some time over the break to go through some papers (we bought a new shredder!), and I am quite happy to say that the main level of the house looks cleaner than it has in a while. Yay! That is a good way to start off, although I anticipate falling behind quickly, LOL. Just 3 more weeks until Christmas break . . . I can do this . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I have so much to be thankful for. We only have 3 more Thanksgivings with everyone all still living at home, most likely, so I've been reflecting lately on how thankful I am for these busy years, and for how much fun we have at home with everyone here.

This picture was taken as Bob was still carving the turkey, so it looks like we had an uneventful meal of delicious food. In reality, we had a more exciting afternoon. It actually started last night when we went to a Thanksgiving dinner at our church. The meal was part of a weekly outreach that our church has to Hispanic students at a local high school, a taste of a traditional American Thanksgiving meal. Church members brought various dishes. We brought dressing, cranberry salad, and apple pie squares for 25. It was fun! Nathan reported that he could understand a lot of the Spanish.

There was a lot of food left over, and our pastor's family was going out of town, so we were all encouraged to take some of the left-overs. There was a little bit of my dressing left over, but not enough for us all to eat today, so I decided to take some of this other dressing. I didn't eat any of this dressing, but it looked pretty similar to mine, and I didn't think another thing about it, which turned out to be a colossal mistake.

I had a not-too-stressed morning cooking, since I had already made the cranberry salad (I saved enough for us out of what I made for the potluck), the mashed potatoes, and the dressing. We had brined the turkey Wednesday night, and we decided to try cooking it with the convection oven. It was WONDERFUL! We cooked it with the breast down, and it was so moist and juicy--delicious! And even though it was a 25 pound bird, it only took 3 hours to cook. I also made sweet potato casserole, rolls, and garlic green beans. It all came together, and we were ready to eat around 2:00.

As I was dishing out plates, and we were all getting ready to pray, Caleb started holding his throat and saying he didn't feel well, like he had eaten something he was allergic to. I asked him what he had eaten, and he said nothing, so I started thinking about what else could be irritating his throat. I gave him a Benedryl when it became obvious he was getting more uncomfortable, but I still couldn't figure out what had happened. After a few more minutes of complaining, I went upstairs to get his Albuterol and Flovent for his puffer. As I was getting it, I heard Nathan ask Caleb if he had eaten any dressing. It turned out he had nibbled on some. It also turned out to have chopped walnuts in it, which was what Nathan had discovered when he looked at it carefully. Argh!! Walnuts are Caleb's biggest allergen on his prick tests! His throat was feeling more swollen, so I got out the Epi-pen, but Caleb got all agitated and didn't want me to give it. I felt like his panicking was making everything worse, so I told him to just calm down, and I wouldn't inject him. Bob took him off to the ER, which is only a few miles away, where they gave him a shot of epinepherine, LOL.

So Thanksgiving dinner ended up being a bit of a let-down for us all. Jonathan and the girls really didn't eat much at all, I think because it's hard to see someone else have an allergic reaction like that. I finally did eat after Bob and Caleb left, but my plate was pretty cold, and it was hard to enjoy it, since I was feeling so incredibly guilty for not thoroughly checking the dressing. And poor Bob and Caleb--they didn't get to eat until they got back, hours later!

We did have the McCs come over for dessert, and they were still here when Bob and Caleb came back. The kids all watched "Cars 2" while the adults visited, so that was a nice quiet activity for Caleb, poor guy. I was very glad to have them over, because I think otherwise I really would have obsessed about being careless.

And obviously I have gotten complacent. Ironically, at the dinner and at most potlucks, Caleb only eats my stuff, or things he is sure are safe. But since I was the one bringing home the other dressing, and serving both dressings in the same bowl, he didn't think about being careful here in his own house! We actually have quite a few people with nut allergies in our church, so it really didn't occur to me that there would be chopped walnuts hiding in anything. I guess I figured that nuts would either be really obvious, like in the pecan pies, or that there would be a sign, like at other church potlucks where people have brought dishes with nuts. To be honest, I just really didn't think about allergens at all, which was a huge mistake. Since Caleb outgrew his milk allergy last year, I've gotten careless because nuts are in general so much easier to avoid, and have so much more publicity than milk allergies. But clearly I still need to be really conscious, so today I am really, really thankful for ER doctors.

Here Comes Captain Washington . . .

2011-11-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today was a "5th week activity" for the elementary co-op we're involved in. This time the theme was "Colonial Times", which the kids have been studying the past 4 weeks. The challenge was to dress the kids up, so we spent yesterday working at this. Caleb and Jonathan were adament that they wanted ("needed" even) wigs. I still have several boxes of unused pantyhose from my years at Cedarville (back when we wore skirts to class unless the wind chill was less than 0 degrees!), so I cut the legs off 2 pairs. I'm not sure how those boxes escaped the axe and moved with us across the country, but they came in handy, LOL. After tying off the leg holes, we put the pantyhose over a balloon in a bowl for our wig stand. Then we glued some fiber-fill stuffing, like you would use to stuff a pillow, all over. I had that bag of fiberfill under the crib in Anna and Grace's room for forever as well. I'm really not at all sure why I ever bought it, and when we took down the crib a few months ago, I almost tossed it, but instead I stuck it in the closet. Again, it came in handy!

I don't really recommend fiberfill as a wig-making material, LOL. It was very . . . fluffy. And hard to stick on. Oh well--it lasted for one day! I put one longer part on the back for a ponytail part, which we tied with some blue ribbon (that I actually appropriated from a leotard thing, because I couldn't find any other ribbon). Alas, I never took a picture of the back view.

A few years ago, when the L's were cleaning out their storage room, Ed gave us his old mess dresses from his Academy years. We were able to use the jackets to complete our colonial attire. We had quite the unique look!

We also spent some time making mobcaps for Anna and Grace. I found a website for making a paper cap, so instead I used some fabric from previous 5th weeks. No sewing involved, though! I should have done something about aprons though--that was what the girls were lacking! Here they all are with Joel McC. Most of the kids dressed up, and they all looked so cute! We were the only ones to attempt wigs though, LOL.

The kids did some presentations about the different colonies at first, then they took turns going to 4 different rooms. One room was about toys, and the kids made 4 toys, like a top, clay marbles, little dolls, and a game where you try to get a pencil into a cup. Another room was all about games, and the kids played with a big wooden hoop, which you had to roll with a stick, and marbles, bowling with a hard bouncy ball, a game like horseshoes, except with rope circles, and "flying hoops". There was also a household room, where the kids decorated bags with cookie cutters and made cards and hornbooks. Last was a kitchen room, where the kids got to taste some colonial foods. They made lemonade and ground corn, and they also sampled hasty pudding (not a favorite), corn bread, ginger snaps, pumpkin pie (Anna's favorite), popcorn, and beef jerky, which happened to be made by none other than Nuclear Nate! Nathan was commissioned to make the jerky, which he worked on this weekend. Yum! So the kids had a really fun day today!

Happy Birthday, Caleb!!

2011-11-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

Caleb is 10 years old--ready for his very own ID card! His birthday was yesterday, but we started the celebration Friday night at Bible study. He picked a sports theme cake, with lots of little cakes. Although the cake was difficult to make, it took a ton of time because I had to make up a lot of different icing colors and pipe a bunch of little lines! All that time spent drawing soccer balls in high school came in handy finally.

Friday was a very busy day already because we took a field trip with Rivendell downtown to the National Gallery of Art. The older boys had a tour of Renaissance art. The docent who led it did a good job--my boys enjoyed it more than the one last year. They looked at a lot of religious art, and it was very interesting to see the style and the colors change over the years. The younger kids had a tour about how to look at pieces of art. This tour was led by the wife of Nathan's football coach from last year, so it was a surprise to see her again! Caleb and Jonathan had a good time.

Here are the older boys looking appropriately contemplative and wise.

We continued the celebration of Caleb last night. He chose sausage roll for his birthday dinner (I quadrupled the recipe, and we finally had a little bit left over!), along with sweet potatoes, wild rice, and stir-fried green beans (3 pounds!). Then we had some leftover cake and more ice cream. Bob was at a men's retreat with our church Friday night, so we wanted him to try some cake too! Then Caleb opened presents. He has wanted a watch and some slippers, so we got him those, along with 2 UnderArmor-knock-off long-sleeve t-shirts that he has also been wanting. He loves them and says they are "so comfortable". My parents got him the Narnia DVD "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", and Bob's folks gave him a Bionicle thing--oops, I stand corrected-- a "Hero Factory villian". Apparently there are no more Bionicles, just these Bionicle-like creatures who coincidentally are made by the (former) makers of Bionicles.

So all in all, it was a fun birthday for Caleb, who is glad to now be in double digits! We are so thankful for Caleb, and for all he adds to our family!

Micah Update

2011-11-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

Micah had his "6 month" well-baby appointment on Monday, just a little over a week before he turns 7 months, but who's counting. Micah is 18 pounds, 12 ounces, and right about 27 inches long, which puts him about in the 50th percentile for both. The doctor said he is "finding his own growth curve", which is true. I told her the genetics just wouldn't support him staying soooo big! To be honest, for our babies, 50th percentile is ginormous!

Micah is finally crawling, albeit tentatively, and he is also pulling up to standing. This is a big change from my lightweight girls, who were all crawling by 6 months. Micah has been channeling all his energy into teething--numbers 7 and 8 have just popped through! They are the other 2 on the bottom, so now he has a matching set of 4 on top and 4 on bottom. He has been very crabby lately, and he's been waking up at odd times during the night again, so I suspected teething. I kept feeling his gums, but they never felt swollen or anything. But today I checked again, and there was a big tooth on either side of the ones already there! Hopefully now he'll go back to sleeping well again!

It was fun at his appointment on Monday--all the doctors and techs at the peds clinic were dressed in Halloween costumes. There was the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, a Transformer, a cowgirl, and several Sesame Street characters--Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Cookie Monster, and the Count. I took Anna along with us as my special helper, and I was glad she is past her terrible fear of anyone in costumes, especially ones with big heads! That would not have been a pleasant appointment! Our doctor was a ladybug. Micah was particularly fascinated by her bouncy anntenae!

The not-so-fun part of the appointment was waiting approximately forever at the shot clinic. I don't why they were so slow, but we waited well over an hour. Anna was a good sport, and it helped that there were cartoons on the TV, which she was enthralled by. Now that NNMC has merged with Walter Reed, I think the level of crowding is going to be the new normal, unfortunately. There were a lot of wounded warriors around as well, which is a good reminder to pray for all our soldiers and sailors, but especially the ones who have been so wounded.

After we finally got home, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for our annual Halloween dinner, which the kids look forward to all year long (they call it "Chuck E. Cheese Day"). There were 4 other families there from our Friday night Bible study, as well as a new family. The kids had such a great time, and I enjoyed visiting with the other parents! I look forward to the day when all the kids are old enough to walk around and play games all by themselves, and I'll just be able to visit the whole evening!

Some People

2011-10-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

I went to Office Depot on Monday afternoon to make copies, and while I was there, I bought a 3 pack of HP refill printer cartridges for our printer that we now use only as a copier. Today I was copying a few things, and I changed out the black cartridge. My first clue something was wrong was when I opened the box and took out the first cartridge--and noticed that the HP plastic bag thing around it was all ripped. And upon closer examination of the cartridge, it had a Costco sticker on the side, where someone had written in pen "foiled". But, I gamely stuck it in the printer, where of course it was dry as a bone. So I took out the other 2 cartridges, which were also used ones. One of them wasn't even for my printer! So someone had bought new cartridges, put their 3 old cartridges back in the packaging, carefully glued the box back up, and returned the used ones to Office Depot, where they got a nice $85 refund.

I was so upset. I knew there was no way to prove that I hadn't done that myself, but I wanted Office Depot to know what had happened, so I called them up. I told my tale of woe to the clerk, and then to the manager. He was very nice and told me to come in so they could replace it. I leaped up and drove over right then! When I got there, the manager was talking with a man by the checkout counter. After the box was exchanged, he came over to talk to me. He said he had been talking with the HP sales rep, and he had told the guy what had happened. The HP guy said they were thinking about redesigning the box so that there was some kind of cardboard pull-thing, where it would be really obvious if it had been opened. Brilliant idea! In the meantime, you should open the packaging for printer cartridges while in the parking lot, just to make sure you are getting new ones!

Cavity Filled!

2011-10-20T18:19:00.001-07:00

You may recall that back in September we discovered that Faith had a cavity. Well, this morning was her big day to get that taken care of. I was nervous, but she was excited to go back to the dentist, so she went back with the nice hygenist with no problems.

I productively used my waiting time to calculate grades for the physical science class, as well as keep an ear on the DVD playing on the screen in the waiting room--"Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I thought it was annoying as could be, and I was delighted when it was finally over. If that is really how schools are these days, then that would be the strongest argument ever for homeschooling. How miserable! And don't get me started on the teen brother. Gah. Not a movie we'll ever be watching here, that's for sure.

It wasn't actually too long, maybe 30 minutes, before the hygenist appeared, carrying Faith. "Can we keep her? She was AMAZING?!" is what she said, which was a huge relief to me! She again said how cooperative Faith was, sitting there with her mouth open, not moving at all. So funny, since "cooperative" is really not the first word that comes to mind when I think of Faith, LOL. When I went back to pay, the dentist herself came out to tell me that in her 10 years of practicing, she had never had a 2 year old act as well as Faith. "Best 2 year old EVER!" were her exact words. Yay, Faith! So now the cavity is gone, and hopefully no more will appear.

Since Faith did so well, she got to pick out a "special" prize, out of a different box. She came out with this big stuffed elephant, which she has carried around the rest of the day and is sleeping with tonight.

She also came out with that slightly glassy-eyed look, along with the open mouth, LOL. She was not sure what to make up that numb lip feeling! When we got home, she watched a video on the couch while everyone else was eating lunch. But when that was over, she came over and asked me to make her a burrito (we were eating leftover taco stuff), of which she ate all. I thought she'd be really tired, but she ended up not even taking a nap! I guess the laughing gas didn't affect her too much! We had ice cream after dinner to celebrate her being such a big girl, and now she's sound asleep. Whew--I am glad that is over!

There May Be Business to Discuss . . .

2011-10-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

Nathan and Luke went to a birthday party tonight for Christopher, another boy in our Rivendell co-op. The theme was a 20's/30's Mafia one, and we had quite a good time getting costumes and props to go along!
Since we were up in PA last weekend, we checked out a thrift store near Bob's parents' house, figuring (correctly!) that things would be cheaper in PA than in northern VA. We found a suit for Nathan for $6.00! We also found a shirt, black shoes, and a red tie--all (including the suit!) for the grand price of $11.50. You can't beat a deal like that! We couldn't find another suit that remotely fit Luke, but we did get shoes and a tie for him. We then went to one thrift store near here (not a Goodwill or Salvation Army, since those seem to be more expensive), and we were able to find a suit for $10.00 for him, along with a shirt and the 2 red pocket kerchiefs (is there a special name for those?). Bob did some magic "safety pin" tailoring, and voila! A transformation!

We hit upon the idea of wrapping the present in a brown paper bag and carrying it in Bob's old hard-side briefcase. Nathan googled "money clip art", and soon we were printing off stacks of $20 bills on green cardstock! A lot of dough for the boss, LOL.

Nathan and Luke along with Isaac and Caleb--definitely a scary looking mob!

The party was great fun--lots of "bumping people off" and other games, plus pizza and cake! The gang members are heading for bed right now, but I will ask them tomorrow if they have anything else to add . . .

The Never-Ending Story

2011-10-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

Back on July 15, 2009, my wallet was stolen at the National Zoo. That September, we were welcomed by Chase Bank as new customers--but they also mentioned that the address on the account didn't seem to match our known address, so if I hadn't opened the account, to let them know immediately. We certainly did!

Then in January, 2010, I got a letter from the Penn Credit Corporation, detailing a scam that some former employees of theirs had been involved in, using the personal information of people like me. The guys had been caught, and the Manhatten District Attorney's office was investigating the case.

Yesterday, when we got home from PA, where we celebrated Bob's mom's 85th birthday with a lovely party Sunday afternoon, I got a letter from the Manhatten District Attorney's office. They are prosecuting the guy for "criminal activity. Investigation has determined that this defendant or a co-conspirator likely opened a Chase Bank account using your name, social secutiry number, and other personal identifying information in order to conduct fraudulent bank transactions without your consent."

The letter said to contact them at my earliest convenience, so I called them this morning before my co-op science class. The lady was very nice. Apparently the account the bad guys opened in my name was the first one where the DAs could see them transfer this fraudulent money into or something. The DA people are trying to get the defense to accept witness testimony on paper, where I would just type something and sign it, but if they don't, then I might have to go testify. Ha! I'm sure it won't come to that but seriously . . . over 2 years later, and I can't put that horrible wallet-stealing episode behind me! Testifying in New York?! Gah! Who would have ever thought?!

More Tooth Troubles

2011-10-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, so far Fall has had a rather disturbing theme of teeth issues. Right around lunchtime Caleb and Jonathan were wrestling around in the entryway, and somehow . . . Jonathan's head wacked into the door and *voila* his front tooth chipped off. He never cried, and it didn't seem like anything else got injured at all, like his lip or anything. But it was a permanent tooth, so I called the dentist and made an appointment for later in the afternoon, after Luke's orthodonic appointment at 2:00. Of course, this meant we had to postpone Latin class again until tomorrow morning, but better to get Ol' Snaggletooth fixed up, LOL.

The dentist was able to glue the tooth part back on, so $160 later, Jonathan is almost as good as new! I am totally afraid of it chipping off again, though. Jonathan--our only boy who has broken a bone, and now our only boy to chip a tooth. What a record!

As I was checking out, the receptionist told me this is why her husband thinks they should only have one kid--2 will beat up on each other! I told her we have 8, and this was the only time we've had a problem like this, so really I would chalk it up to a fluke, rather than a cautionary tale! But I do have a new anti-horseplay saying: "Stop wrestling around! I don't want anymore chipped teeth!" After all, it's all fun and games until someone loses a tooth . . .

Micah

2011-10-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Micah is almost 6 months old! He's been busy this last week or so. His 6th tooth finally poked through Sunday, so he's been fussy and nippy again, which means I am also sore and crabby again, LOL. I am looking forward to some time without teething!

He is also sitting up by himself now, and he is pushing up on all fours and rocking back and forth. Surely it won't be too much longer until he is crawling! He also can now finally roll himself from his back to his front. This means he can roll to get himself to where he wants to go, although he prefers scootching along on his tummy, or pushing up and then falling forwards.

He started solid food a couple of weeks ago, and he loves it! I've been going slowly with introducing new foods, because he just seems like he is going to have more troubles than recent kids. He gets blotchy sometimes, and he definitely has eczema spots in his elbows, knees, and neck crease. So far he eats rice cereal, sweet potato, squash, and pears. I want to be sure he isn't allergic to anything I'm giving, so I'm waiting awhile in between starting new foods.

Sometimes, after all the new food, the new skills, and the new teeth . . . a fellow just needs to take a nap. How convenient to have so many people ready and willing to snuggle!

Hike!

2011-10-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

In a huge answer to prayer, the weather held, and we were able to go on our hike yesterday morning! Hooray! It was cloudy and a bit chilly in the morning, but it didn't rain--and the day got progressively nicer. Now the bad weather seems to have moved off for awhile, and we are all so thankful to see the sun again!

I took the 3rd graders over first (Jonathan's class). There were 10 of them, and 3 other parents. I wasn't exactly sure how the timing of the hike was going to go (since Luke and I had spent a lot more time stopped, identifying trees, than we did yesterday as a group), but it was fine. We ended up going up this path, then diverging onto a second path that goes up along a ridgetop. The forest up there is different than the one down at the bottom of the trail--primarily tall oaks and hickorys, as opposed to a ton of red cedars and shrubbier-type trees down at the bottom. We walked around the trail and started down, and then turned onto a different trail that heads back and meets up with the trail we were on originally (at the point where we diverged), so we didn't have to back-track the whole way. The timing was just perfect! Luke and I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to the second trail, if we hadn't run into those wasps, so it was all good that I knew how the trails connected and could go that route.

The park has planted a stand of trees in a little meadow, next to their nature center, so we started there. American chestnuts, sweetgums, and ash are planted there, and all those leaves were in the book we made last week, so we reviewed the identifying characteristics of the leaves (simple, compound, alternate, opposite, margins, etc). We looked at all the chestnuts that were on the ground in their big spiny cases ("Why would a chestnut not be a good shade tree to plant in your yard?"), and I talked about the chestnut blight that killed over 3 billion chestnut trees in the first part of the 1900s. Sad! We talked about how you can chew the sap of the sweetgum tree (not that you should ever wound the bark of trees!) and what sorts of things are made of the strong yet elastic wood of ash trees (baseball bats, bows, etc.). Then we moved onto the trail.

I talked about the 4 layers of the forest, and what sorts of living organisms are in all the layers. We saw dogwood trees, and a blackgum tree, with its characteristic square blocky bark. It's leaves are among the first to start changing colors, so we talked about why leaves change colors, the different pigments in leaves, and why only some trees can have leaves turn red (not all trees produce the pigment anthocyanin, which helps the tree regain the nutrients in the leaves when it is stilll producing sugar in the warm sunny days of fall, but the sap can't move the sugar back down the tree during the crisp, cool nights).

As we walked up the trail, we noticed how the forest changed in appearance. We looked at the ground to see the acorns and hickory nuts, which are so important for animals in the fall and winter months. We talked about moss, lichen, mushrooms, and bracket fungi, of which there were lots of examples to be noted! Some bracket fungi even have growth rings, which I didn't know before I started reseaching exactly what I was going to say! There were a lot of downed trees, and the ones which had been chopped gave us a chance to review the inner parts of the trunk, which we talked about last week--heartwood, sapwood, cambium, and bark.

We meandered our way along, and I think all the kids were just so happy to be outside, stretching their legs in the fresh, non-rainy air! I know I was! It was wonderful to be outside. The kids really remembered a lot of what we talked about last week, about the different tree types. I was pleasantly surprised! Of the 14 leaves we talked about last week, we saw 9 of those trees. I think they enjoyed recognizing the leaves on the trees!

So the timing worked out perfectly--we got back to the church a few minutes before 11:00, when they switch to their "aide-time" class, where they eat lunch, play games, take prayer requests, and do character time. They had plenty of time to wash their hands and drink some water. Then I picked up the 4th graders, and after their bathroom break, we were good to go! We took the same route, I said the same things, and it also worked out really well! That class (Caleb's class) had 13 kids go with us, and 2 extra parents. It was really fun!

We got back to church before pick-up time, which is at 12:30. Then I took the Rivendell kids over to the other church for the afternoon. I still had memory work and science left to teach! We got home about 5:15, and we had about 20 minutes before we all had to rush off to get Nathan and Luke over to their football practices. Whew! When we got home, Bob was home, and I made a quick dinner. The I sat on the couch and didn't move, LOL. It was a good day, but a long, tiring day. I was so thankful God kept it from raining!

Tooth Troubles

2011-09-27T18:03:00.001-07:00

Not from Micah, for a change, though! Anna and Faith had dentist appointments Monday morning. Anna had a small cavity on one of her molars where she went for her cleaning a few weeks ago, so she was getting that filled. Faith had never had a dental cleaning. To be perfectly honest, I don't usually start taking my kids until they are at least 3, if not 4. (Bad mom! And I actually have gotten better about this--Nathan and Luke were the latest to go for the first time!) But Faith has been eagerly awaiting her first visit, since Anna and Grace love the dentist and are always talking about how they can't wait to go back again. So I decided to make an appointment for her while Anna was getting her cavity filled.

Faith did really great! Anna was called back first, and when the lady came for Faith, she walked back there like a big girl, holding the lady's hand! I brought all those leaves to cut out, so I worked on those out in the waiting room while I waited. When the lady brought Faith back out, she was singing her praises about how she was so obedient and quiet (?!?). I was glad to see that Faith has this other side, LOL. But anyhow, the hygenist said the dentist needed to see me, so I went on back. It turns out Faith has a cavity between her 2 front teeth. Ack! You know, the boys have never had a cavity, none of them, and now Anna and Faith have each had one?! Hmmm. Ironically, Grace didn't have a cavity in her check-up, so she was entered into the "No Cavity Club" drawing, along with the names of al the boys--and she won! She won a ticket to a movie. Ha! I guess we'll just drop her off someday so she can use it. Kidding! Not sure what exactly we'll do with one ticket though. I guess Bob and I could go on a date and just buy one ticket, but I think the last time I actually sat in a movie theater was when "Jonah:A VeggieTales Movie" came out. I think I was chasing a toddling Caleb up and down the aisle, LOL. Meh . . . movies . . . they don't do it for me. Anyhow, I thought it was funny that Grace won.

So the dentist told me that usually they want patients under 3 to get oral sedation for fillings. That costs a TON, if you can imagine--like $300 extra, and insurance doesn't pay for it. BUT since Faith was so amazingly quiet and cooperative (?!?), they felt like they could try the laughing gas, which is only an extra $50. None of my kids have ever had laughing gas, so I have no experience with that at all. I guess she has to keep a mask on the whole time? So now my fervent prayer is that this obedient, cooperative Faith will again be the one who shows up at the dentist's office on Oct. 20! And believe me, toothbrushing and flossing supervision for the girls has taken on a much higher priority!

Teaching Update

2011-09-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

My first week of teaching at the elementary co-op went well. I think the kids enjoyed making the leaf identification books, and I think they liked that I had brought so many leaves to show them. Most of them had never really thought about what kinds of trees were in their yards or wherever, and they enjoyed learning something new. Now we just have to pray for good weather next Tuesday so we can go on our hike. The 5th and 6th graders were going on a field trip today, and they ended up postponing it because it looked so threatening all morning long. It never did rain.

I came home with all the co-op kids, and we had Rivendell at our house, since our pastor was having a luncheon at our church, where we usually have Rivendell. This was actually a blessing from the Lord! I put an exhausted Micah down in his own bed right after we got home, and Faith went down about 3:00. Normally Faith doesn't take a nap on Rivendell days, and Micah doesn't sleep as well. They were both so tired from their stimulating morning! Fortunately Micah was very co-operative, and he was ready to nurse at 11:00, which is when the 3rd and 4th graders switch classes. So the floater came and watched the 3rd graders for a few minutes while they packed up, and stayed with the 4th graders for a few minutes after they came in. It worked so well! That was a real answer to prayer!

After I ate a quick bite back at home(after 1:00-I couldn't get out of there because a bunch of people needed to talk to me!), I taught memory work, and then science. Whew! I pretty much talked from 9:30 until 4:40. I don't know how teachers do it, day in and day out! So exhausting! I think being a full-time teacher is definitely a calling from the Lord. And those women, like my friend Marianne's mom, who retired this summer after teaching 30-some years? Wonder woman! They have all my respect!

Busy Time

2011-09-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

These next few weeks are shaping up to be totally crazy! The main source of extra stress is that it is my turn to teach for 2 weeks at our elementary co-op, so I'm busy preparing for that on top of my physical science and Latin classes (and of course all the regular homeschooling teaching and grading for 5 people, LOL). And next Saturday is a consignment sale, and the following weekend I have a ladies retreat with my church Friday and Saturday, and then we head up to PA to celebrate Bob's mom's 85th birthday Sunday and Monday! And of course football takes up every evening, plus 2 games on the weekends. I figure if I can just make it through Oct. 11--then things will settle down a little bit.

So I'm teaching 2 lessons on trees for the elementary co-op. I really like trees, and I taught a chapter on them last year in life science, so I already had some ideas. Unfortunately I did not use my summer time wisely and plan everything out then, however, so I've been busy the past week. Tuesday we're going to touch briefly on the different parts of trees, and I'll bring in my tree cross-section slice that Ed L. graciously cut for me last summer. I've gotten quite a bit of use out of that thing! Then we're going to talk about the basics of tree identification using leaves--simple, compound, opposite, alternate, pinnate, palmate, serrated margin, complete margin, lobed, --those sorts of term. I drew 14 leaves (that is what took so much time, LOL) that illustrate those terms, got them copied on to green cardstock, and now I am cutting them all out (for 26 students!) so they can glue them in the appropriate places next to descriptions on white pieces of cardstock, so they have a little tree guide for themselves.

Then, Lord willing, we will take a little field trip the next Tuesday to a local park, where we can hike around and see those 14 leaves on actual trees. Well, only 13--I used the buckeye to illustrate palmately compound leaves, and I haven't seen a buckeye anywhere around here yet! Oh well. This is actually a big prayre request because we have been having quite a bit of rain, especially on Tuesdays of late! The boys and I were laughing ont he way to Rivendell last Tuesday (in the rain). Last year we primarily had nice, sunny days on Tuesdays. The only thing that has changed is that the C family moved to Hawaii, so clearly they took the sun with them. Come back!! LOL!

Back before the co-ops started up, the kids and I went on a hike at this park so I could find a good trail and make sure I knew what trees were on it. It was hot, the girls were whiny, as were some of the boys, and somehow I lost my notes once we got home. Story of my summer! So I knew I needed to go back to make sure of my plan!

This time I was smart, and just Luke and I went on Wednesday! We had a really nice time, and it was great to spend some time with just him. He didn't whine or complain once! We headed up the trail we went on last time, and as we got to the highest point of it, right in the middle of a nice oak/hickory forest, there were several wasps flying around the trail. After evaluating the situation, we decided to turn around and go on a different trail, LOL. No need to be a hero! Luke was understandably skittish because as it turns out, when he was at WSS this summer, as he and the rest of the campers were coming back from rapelling, he stepped onto a yellow jackets' nest, and he got stung several times. The poor kid behind him got stung even more times though. So yeah . . . no need to repeat any stinging opportunities!

We identified all the trees we needed to, but the real stars were the amazing fungi fruiting bodies that had popped up all over the forest with all the rain we've had lately! So big! So many colors! So cool! Here are a couple of examples, but I'm not going to identify them because, well . . . I'm just not that into fungi. And I don't have time to look them up, LOL.

Early Teething is a Real Pain

2011-09-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Micah has been a real pill lately with this teething thing. He was so crabby for most of August, which was bad enough, but then he started biting me while nursing. Ouch. I flicked the cheek, pushed his face into me, etc., both of which would stop the biting, but he wasn't really learning any lessons, as far as not biting me the next time! Then early this week he bit me so hard on my right side, and I've really been struggling to nurse these past few days (although not anywhere near the struggle my friend Beverly is having with her newborn (6th child)--while her husband is deployed!). I have been in so much pain!! Wednesday and Thursday I actually stopped nursing him on the right side most of the day. I did pump a time or 2, but mainly I just gave it a rest, hopefully to heal. I also took a ton of motrin! That all has been helping, as it is a little less painful today. I still didn't nurse him all the time on that side though. Gah.

It makes me all stressed and tense to even think about nursing because it hurts so badly (and this is coming from someone who delivered a 10 1/2 pound baby naturally, LOL). Caleb was my other big biter, and he bit me so hard he drew blood a few times. Coincidentally, he was also my other early teether. Hmmmm. Anyhow, in Caleb's case, he tested positive for all these allergies when he was 7 months old (wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts). I continued nursing him for 2 more months, with me cutting out all those things from my diet as well, but I gave up the good fight then. I think the allergies were sort of a good excuse for me, since the whole nursing experience with him had been more stressed because of all the biting. I really don't want to duplicate those feelings with Micah, but it is really hard to be excited about the thought of nursing him for 14 or 16 months, that is for sure.

I am hopeful that he will settle down and learn some nursing boundaries soon--and that maybe we'll have some sort of a break from all the teething! He is so young that a lot of the tricks I usually use for teething just don't work for him. For example, I let my babies chew on frozen bagels, or suck on frozen peaches in one of those little net things with a handle. They love those things! Micah has only started rice cereal on Tuesday, and he still has trouble holding onto things really well, and actually getting them into his mouth! Poor guy! I have noticed that he seems to be nippier in the football hold, so I'm only nursing in the cradle hold, especially on the bad side. And no one can be around me, because he's nippier when he's distracted. You can imagine how easy it is to keep everyone away and quiet! Ha!

So this week has been discouraging for me. I'm hoping next week will be better.

Red Cabbage with Bacon

2011-09-15T10:14:00.001-07:00

For physical science lab last Tuesday, I needed some red cabbage indicator, so I had to boil a cabbage. I remembered having this yummy red cabbage dish at our friends' house, so I thought that would be a good way to use the cabbage! I called Ania to find out exactly how to make it, since it had been awhile., and she gave me the scoop--just like her Polish mom makes it!

Red Cabbage with Bacon

Chop a small red cabbage finely (if you have a smaller family than ours, you could probably just chop half a cabbage--it makes a ton!). Put in water, and boil until tender, between 5 and 10 minutes. (I brought the water to a boil after I put the cabbage in, and that worked fine.) Drain in a colander, and then immediately put back in pan. Put a few tablespoons of vinegar in, to make the pink color stay. (You can always add more vinegar later if you don't get enough in for flavor.) Add a teaspoon of chicken bouillion, and a teaspoon or 2 of sugar, as well as some salt and pepper. Chop and fry 6-7 pieces of bacon. Stir the cabbage into the grease. (Or I guess if you use a small skillet, then stir the grease and bacon pieces into the cabbage! I just fried whole pieces and crumbled them after I was done, because I don't like chopping bacon.) Then taste, and if there's not enough flavor, add a little more vinegar and sugar. So delicious!

I've never made cabbage because I've always heard how terrible cabbage smells when boiling. I didn't think this smelled very bad, though, so maybe green cabbage is worse, or this just doesn't cook that long . . . or maybe my nose is going in my old age, LOL. Anyhow, it was good and easy. We were having a roast and rice with gravy, and this was a good side for that!

5 Months Already?!

2011-09-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Micah turned 5 months old today--and his 5th tooth also poked through today! So now he has 3 on top and 2 on bottom. Crazy! In the picture, Micah is holding court as king of the table at WSS in his bumbo. He likes to be in on all the action!

And here is a picture of Micah with his Grandma and Grandpa! It was so great to spend time with them this weekend, and Micah enjoyed it too, even though he looks a bit scowly here!

The New Hotel

2011-09-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

This past year White Sulphur Springs built a brand new hotel in a big meadow up the hill from the old building. Now I absolutely love the old building. It has so much character, plus so many wonderful memories for me! But I must say that as a busy mom of many, I LOVED the new hotel. It was so. very. nice. A lot of the rooms connect. We had two rooms, each with a double bed, 2 twin beds, and a (twin) fold-out love seat. Can you imagine?! Beds for 10!! There was so much SPACE! Here's a picture of the room where Micah, the girls, and Bob and I all slept. Faith got the pull-out couch, and Micah was in a pack-n-play. The furniture was beautiful and so well-made--and all donated by a company in Denver! The whole hotel's worth of furniture, plus linens! Now THERE is a business man who can really say he supports the military. Everything was SO comfortable too. The mattress was really nice!
Here's a another view of our room from by the window. You can see the counter for the sink--the toilet and tub are in a little room by themselves. In the old hotel, the bathrooms were so tiny, and I always worried that a toothbrush or something was going to fall fromt he sink into the toilet! No worries here!

Here is the room where the older boys all slept. It was a little more narrow, but still very roomy.

This is a nice lounge/gathering area in the middle of the second floor. There's another area like it on the third floor. It was nice for reading or talking or playing cards. On the walls were beautiful pictures of the WSS property taken in different seasons and matted and framed beautifully. I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures. Down the hallways there were old black and white photographs of the old hotel on the walls. I love old pictures!

And finally here is a picture of the lobby area from the railing in the second floor lounge area. It's a really nice place to have conversations with friends as well! It looks out to the big porch, which stretches across the entire back of the hotel, and then out to the hills beyond the meadow. Beautiful view!

So while the old hotel had character, the new hotel feels very . . . luxurious, I guess. I really felt pampered, and it was easy to relax there! It is rare to feel like there is room enough for our family at a hotel, but here there was plenty of room! I really hope we can do a week of family camp next summer, maybe while Nathan is on staff and Caleb and Jonathan are at Camp Caleb or something. I'm looking forward to it already!!

Catching Up--First Day of Co-ops

2011-09-09T12:46:00.001-07:00

Okay, whew! I am back in contact with the rest of the civilized world! I didn't realize how completely cut off I would feel without email. I think maybe we are thinking about getting at least one smart phone whenever we actually replace our dinosaur phones (got when I was pregnant with Faith--and they were the free ones then!). We actually got our brand-spankin'-new router delivered Wednesday afternoon, and Nathan set it all up after football practice. Bob was TDY, though, and I just haven't had time to do any blogging until now. I want to have a separate post about our weekend at White Sulphur Springs because it was so great--the new hotel is SO nice (and I took some pictures!), and I had some free time so not only was I able to finish science preparations and get a little ahead in Latin, I was also able to read the second Harry Potter book! Anyhow--another post for all that.

We started both co-ops Tuesday morning, and I don't think there could have been a gloomier day to start! It rained continuously, as it has pretty much the entire time since Tuesday. Yesterday had to have been the worst though. I had to drive to Walmart to get stuff for next week's science lab (denatured alcohol, ammonia, a fire extinguisher--that sort of stuff, LOL), and I also had to drive to my friend Kimberly's house for our weekly Bible study. I thought the car was going to float off the road! These past few days have been much more impressive than Hurricane Irene, I have to say. Finally the sun has peeked out a bit this afternoon, which is a welcome sight. Football practice was cancelled the past few nights (well, Nathan had practice Wednesday night), but that was actually a nice break for me, since Bob was gone. The kids need to be able to get outside and run around though.

So, back to the co-op . . . Rivendell went very well. Again the skype connections were great, so it wasn't a problem at all to have one student be represented by a computer screen in science class! At one point in the afternoon Nathan came down to the basement, where I was doing memory work with the little guys, to tell me that I had neglected to tell him about some literature reading he was supposed to have done, as well as some terms he was supposed to have defined. Whoops! I later found the assignment sheet in the school room (Jenny gave it to us at a meeting AT MY HOUSE!), and then as I was going through some papers piled up on the kitchen counter this afternoon, I found an envelope from Jenny that had the reading enclosed for Nathan. So (*cough*) now you know that I am really not organized at all, and things are indeed slipping! I need a better system for mail. Someday I'll organize that . . . I just need some extra time . . .

I think we are getting back into a good school routine for the other days of the week as well. We've been getting a lot done each morning, especially with Caleb, Jonathan, Anna, and Grace, so I've been very happy with that. Anna is really coming along with her blending, but she's still not really reading. I think she will benefit with more consistent work! Caleb and Jonathan are both (finally) finishing up their math books from last year. Now they'll be able to skip the first 30 or 40 lessons (well, I have them do the tests every 10 lessons), since everything is still so fresh! This summer I started them doing this Xtra Math website each day to help with their math facts. It's like doing flashcards, but since it is on the computer, it is infinitely more exciting than doing flashcards with mom, LOL. And it takes none of my time!! So they are definitely going to continue that.

Christine also sent me these lovely assignment sheets that she had made up for all her boys. I changed the categories to exactly what we needed and printed off several weeks' worth for the boys. Caleb and Jonathan just check off what they have done, but it is helpful for Nathan and Luke to be able to map out what all they need to accomplish each day to be ready for Rivendell on Tuesday and Latin on Wednesday, as well as making sure they finish their regular math and grammar. I think it's good preparation for college to be able to do that.

Off the Radar

2011-09-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post to let everyone we are still around! We had a great weekend at White Sulphur Springs, but when we got back home, our internet stopped working after about an hour. After a long conversation with Verizon, it was determined that our router had failed, so they are supposed to be sending us a new one. In the meantime, we are without internet access! I checked email briefly at Rivendell, and now Nathan and I are at the library to pick up a video we had requested. But for the next few days, you had better call if you want to get in touch with us--we're back in the 90's, communication-wise, LOL.

Almost Ready

2011-09-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

We're almost ready for co-ops to start up again on Tuesday. We did school last week, but I ran around like a crazy woman in the afternoons to finish up last-minute errands. I was able to get my 2 posterboard maps of Europe laminated (although the teacher shop moved--without consulting me, if you can imagine--and so it took much longer than I had planned), and I got Nathan and Luke's Spanish books spiral bound at Staples. It cost $9 per book, but they cut the binding off and put the spiral thing on. The books look great, and hopefully they won't fall apart like Nathan's book did last year. I got my Home Science Tools order, so we're set for labs. Christine sent me some nifty assignment sheets she made for her boys, and I changed them to fit our subjects and printed them off for my boys. Hopefully this will help keep everyone organized!

We also set up the girls' new bunk beds. I had hoped to post a picture, but I haven't gotten around to taking one yet. We still haven't completed all the furniture switching-around that will take place once we take down Faith's crib, though, so maybe I'll wait to take pictures until after that. Faith is sleeping on the trundle bed though. The first night she was up and down so many times, Bob finally put her back in the crib. The second night she was up and down again, but not as much. The third day I stopped letting her take a nap in the afternoon! She has still been up and down some (mainly to go potty), but it has definitely been greatly reduced!

Micah has not been as fussy this week, which was such a blessing. His third tooth came in last Saturday, and he worked hard for it, based on how fussy he was the week before! Now the other top tooth is SO close to poking through. You can see white, but there is still a tiny bit of gum over it. I thought we'd get a break after this tooth comes through, but there's another tooth on top the is really close as well! He's going to have a mouthful of teeth by Christmas--just in time for a big turkey dinner with us, LOL.

But first we have one last weekend, and we're spending it at White Sulphur Springs! I hope it is really relaxing and refreshing--I'm a bit nervous about the start of a new school year! I had a disturbing dream last night, where we were going to move in 24 hours, so I was trying to sort through all our clutter. But I knew it just wasn't enough time, and I woke up very flustered! I think I still feel like I'm not ready to start, and there's more to do to be ready, and so that's why I had that dream. But as my friend Kimberly said, the co-ops are starting on Tuesday, no matter how ready I am!

4 Month Well-Baby

2011-08-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Micah had his 4 month well-baby appointment this afternoon. At least I squeezed it in before he turned 5 months in about 2 weeks!

He weighed 17 lb, 12 oz, and was 26 1/2 inches long. That's a smaller curve than he has been on. as far as the growth chart (80th percentile as opposed to 95th!), but still WAY huge compared to any of our other kids! Micah was smiley and charming for the doctor, obviously a healthy baby. Caleb drew the short straw to be my designated helper for this appointment. It is so nice to have an extra set of arms, even though no one leaps for joy at the prospect of a trip to Bethesda! On a random side note, as we were driving in the parking garage (we had to go all the way up to the 7th floor to find a parking space at 2:00 in the afternoon--crazy!), we drove past a minivan with a Dayton Christian bumper sticker! So cool!

Here is a bonus picture of Micah. Caleb thought he looked like a gym rat/Rambo sort of dude, so he fitted him out with a "sweatband", which is actually a headband of the girls'. I'm sure Micah will be so proud of this picture when he gets older! Be sure to check out the rolls of "muscles" in his arms!

"Twas a Dark Yet Not Too Stormy Night"

2011-08-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here we are, listening to the rain and wind from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene. Once again Capital Weather Gang called it, as far as how our little area was going to be affected (or not affected) by this storm. They're amazing! Our power went out once, briefly, but other than that burst of excitement, it hasn't even seemed very windy!

I noticed that I have neglected to update my blog all week, which might lead one to believe that we had a relaxed, restful week, but of course that was not really the case! While at home, I've been trying to get ready for school starting next week, as well as the co-ops starting Sept. 6. But we've also been rushing around too, especially in the evenings, when Nathan and Luke both have football practice from 6:00 to 8:00, but not in the same place. Exciting times!

Monday: Nathan mowed my friend Lynnea's lawn. He has been gainfully employed this summer by ,mowing their large lawn once a week! And while he was doing it this week, the girls, Micah, and I visited with Lynnea and her 3 girls (and 2 bunnies). I always enjoy visiting with Lynnea! In the afternoon I had a chiropractor appointment, first one since before we went to Ohio in June. I want to start the school year off properly aligned!

Tuesday: The kids and I went off to a local park to hike on a trail. I am teaching in the "trees" unit for the elementary co-op the end of September, and I am hoping to take my classes over to this park, which is close to the church where we meet, so they can identify some trees. The kids and I walked up an easy trail, but there wasn't a lot of tree variety--mainly oaks and hickories. I think we're going to go with it though. The girls (and Nathan) were very whiny, so I am going to have to go back by myself to really prepare what I am going to say! The weather was gorgeous though--sunny, breezy, and not very humid. A perfect day for a hike!

Wednesday: I taught Latin at 12:45, and then we all headed over to our church so we could do a dry run test for Rivendell. Now that Siri is over in Hawaii, we had to make sure that we could have 2 computers in each location, and both sets of computers skyping each other. I am happy to say it was a great success! Whew! Hopefully things will go that smoothly when we are actually having classes!

Thursday: Luke had an orthodontist appointment, and then he and I went to Walmart to get school supplies. I think we got what we need for the year, and we also went to Sams to stock up before the great storm. A big afternoon of shopping! I am still hoping to make a commissary trip next week before school really gets going.

Friday: Other than taking Caleb to his book club over at the McC's house, we didn't have to go anywhere today. We spent some time putting all our plastic yard toys under the deck and policing up the yard (which should make our neighbors happy, LOL). Then the younger kids and I went to Bible study, while Bob dropped both boys off at their practices, stayed at Nathan's, and went to a parents' meeting when it was done, while one of Luke's coaches dropped him off where Nathan's team meets. Having 2 boys playing on different football teams has been quite a time so far! I don't know how other families do it!

Saturday: This morning Bob and I looked at a set of bunk beds a family on the homeschool email loop was selling. The bunk beds have a trundle bed that rolls out from underneath, and I thought that might work for the girls' room, since that is a small room, and we weren't sure how to fit everyone in once Faith is out of the crib. The set also came with a chest of drawers (we can always use more dresser space!) and 2 desks, one with a hutch. We ended up buying the set for $475, including 3 twin mattresses. It's on the older side, and not really feminine or anything, but it is very sturdy, and it should work just fine. We mde 2 trips to get all the furniture home, and on our way back we ran into Walmart to buy 3 twin sheet sets. Walmart was a zoo, as people were buying bottled water and toilet paper, LOL. We were trying to beat the heavy rain, but since that never really materialized, I guess we could have dilly-dallied a bit more! Luke had a football scrimmage this afternoon (in the rain), but after they came home and ate dinner, the boys helped Bob set everything up. Bob got the bottom bunk set up, but when he went to put the top part on, he realized that part of one post was broken, so he will need to fix that tomorrow. So for tonight, Anna is on what will be the bottom bunk (where Grace will normally sleep), Grace is on the trundle part (where Faith will normally sleep), and Faith is still in her crib. She is VERY excited about sleeping in a big girl bed, however, so hopefully it will be an easy fix tomorrow.

So that's what we've been up to. I've been busy drawing a map of Europe on a piece of posterboard for me to use for mapwork at Rivendell this year. I've finished drawing it, and now I need to outline it all with a sharpie, and draw in the lakes and rivers. Then I'm going to draw a second one for Christine to use for history, and get them both laminated at the teacher store not too far from here. That is a goal for next week!

But now, as I listen to the wind actually pick up a bit, I think it is time to go to bed!

I Can Finally Say . . .

2011-08-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

. . . that Faith is potty-trained! Yay! Back down to just one in diapers!! What I can NOT say definitively, however, is that girls are easier to train that boys. And that is a very valid point--if we had stopped having kids after Anna, I would have been certain that girls were a piece of cake (if you did it right, of course--just as I did it, you know . . .). Grace was more difficult than Anna, and Faith was QUITE difficult. Now watch--Micah will be really easy, just to prove some boys are really easy to train (please, please, please, Lord!! LOL).

While we were at the beach, Faith was pretty much dry. She went in every public restroom the girls went in (our first child to not be scared at all of public potties!). Now back at our little bungalow in the evenings, she proceeded to poop in her diaper. Grrr. When we got home, she continued to be dry, but not to poop in the potty, so I left her in the diaper.

Last Saturday Bob took Jonathan, Anna, Grace, and Faith to PA, to the Idlewild amusement park. Each year the company his dad retired from has their annual company picnic at the park, and pretty much all of Bob's family tries to make it. We take up a lot of tickets, so recently Bob has been just bringing a select group of kids, which has worked really well. This particular Saturday Nathan and Luke had football weigh-ins, so it was a good time for them to stay here, and Caleb is a lot like his mother in that amusement park rides just don't do anything for him, so he chose to stay home.

I decided to put Faith in a pull-up for the day, figuring she would want to go potty like Anna and Grace, and it's a real hassle putting a dry diaper back on. I did pack a diaper and an extra set of clothes just in case! But I shouldn't have worried. She was dry the whole day, and when they got back to the hotel, she sat on the potty in the room and pooped! I find it funny that both of her big pottying breakthroughs have involved Bob taking her to PA. (She peed for the first time in the potty at WSS when Bob took Caleb to camp.) Must be something about those PA potties!

So she came home Sunday, and she was accident-free this whole last week. I kept her in a pull-up until Friday, just because she seemed to prefer that, but she was in panties yesterday and did fine. And I know it really has taken because she got out of bed last night to go poop in the potty! So over a month later, Faith is finally potty-trained. Seven down, one more to go . . .

A Blast From the Past

2011-08-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

We skipped Bible study this evening, since we are all dealing with some kind of summer cold thing, and we didn't want to share the wealth. I was sitting in my newly created "school room", and I decided it would be a good idea to clear off 2 shelves on the bookshelves in there so I can put all the TOG books for this year on them. As I was moving books around, I discovered some folded papers in my very old black KJV Bible, the one I used for high school, since my parents gave it to me as a gift on my birthday in 1987. I found a veritable treasure trove of notes and pictures that my best friend Amy and I wrote during health class during "J-term" of our sophomore year. ["J-term" is a part of the Dayton Christian school year, in January, as it happens, where you only take 2 classes--one all morning and one all afternoon.)

Health class was, as I still remember to this day, exceedingly boring. My clearest memory is of a poster that we each had to make, illustrating a "safe dating" slogan we had made up. Mine was "Treat your date like a brother, else you'll end up a mother." Very clever, eh? Amy's was more to the point--"Wait 'til you're wed to jump in bed."

I spent a good deal of time in this class writing limericks, and I am sure you all will agree I have missed my true calling in life by not following my poetic muse. Ha! Here are some samples for your reading enjoyment these 22 years later.

There once was a girl named Claire.
She had naturally curly brown hair.
She cheerleaded, ran,
Played the clarinet in band,
But sadly was just second chair.

(I know, you are all wondering why I have been hiding my light under a bushel all these years! Here is another one.)

Once we were all in health class,
Apparently having a blast.
But looks are deceiving,
A lecture we're receiving.
But yay! This day's almost our last.

One last one, this time a rather questionable one about Amy, which I am happy to report did not end up coming true, LOL.

A girl named Amy I knew,
Dozens of orchids she grew.
The flowers were great,
But she couldn't get a date,
So she died in bed with the flu.

??? I don't think Amy ever grew orchids, and she's been married now for 16 years, so I'm sure she is thanking Jason for saving her from this dire fate!

Among other pictures (featuring frogs and butterflies, Amy!!) was a picture not very skillfully drawn of me in a casket (I was the artist, unfortunately) with the inscription, "Here lies Claire, peaceful, undisturbed. It's a sad, sad story--health class killed her". What makes it quite remarkable is that on the lid of my casket Amy wrote "8 kids, lived in Okinawa, Japan". Ha--8 kids!! I'm sure we got a big kick out of that one!! It was obviously one of the most unreasonably ridiculous things we could think of to write, back in our sophomore year of high school! And yet . . . here I am. So I just want to publicly acknowledge Amy as the prophet she obviously always has been! LOL!

Spontaneous, Flexible, Responsive . . .

2011-08-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

. . . these are not words that normally describe our family. I would say we're about as maneuverable as an aircraft carrier! But yesterday we were amazingly flexible and spontaneous.

It started around lunchtime, when I decided to sign up to make a meal for our pastor's wife. Our homeschool co-op is making meals for 2 weeks, and no one had signed up, so I jumped right on that! A little before 2:00 (1:47 to be exact), I was puttering around the kitchen, thinking that I should just start making the meal right then, so I could deliver it early for a change, and not be rushing around in the afternoon/evening. At that moment, Nathan came thundering up the stairs from the basement. "MOM, I HAVE A DENTIST APPOINTMENT AT 2:00!!!" Oh yes--the second orthodontic consult. The one that I had gotten an automatic reminder call for on Sunday night, and the one that I had then filled out all the paperwork for, but never thought about one tiny bit all day on Monday! Oops! Well, now my afternoon is filled! We literally leaped into the van and rushed off to the appointment, which fortunately was about 10 minutes away. Whew! Once again I was tremendously thankful to have older boys--I could leave everyone else at home with Luke, including Micah, who I had just put down for a nap. Otherwise, I don't think we could even have found shoes for everyone and gotten out the door in 10 minutes, much less actually arrive anywhere!

So . . . we made it there, had a good appointment (topic for another post!), and came back home so I could put the meal together. Then Bob called. He had a TDY to Quantico Tuesday, and it's a real pain to get down there from here, so he was going to spend Monday night in the TLF. They had given him a 2 room suite with 2 double beds and a pull-out sofa--did we want to go to Quantico that night with him? Yes! I have wanted to go to the Marine Corps Museum since it opened a few years ago, but I've never made the trek down there with the kids. Now we'd already be down there!

Bob delivered the meal and took both boys to football practice while I packed up stuff for everyone for the night. He picked the boys up, we loaded up the big van and the minivan, and we left about 9:15 to drive south. We didn't get in until 10:30, so the kids weren't in bed until 11:00, which made for some crabby girls today, but oh well.

The girls did sleep in a little bit, and once I nursed Micah (a second time, since he was up at 5:15, grrrr), we were ready to go eat around 8:30. I decided to run out to the van to get a stroller for him to sit in , and when I passed the breakfast area, a guy was wiping down the counter and putting the last bagels in a box! Not to worry--I had been afraid there wouldn't be any breakfast at all, so I had packed a cooler with milk, along with cereal, oatmeal, and hard-boiled eggs. So we just ate in the room. Whew! The paper in the room said breakfast was until 9:00, but clearly it was over . . . that's the military way, LOL. As we went out to the van, I eagerly looked forward to the day when we could take a simple overnight trip without requiring a luggage cart to get our suitcase, 2 pack-n-plays, 2 sleeping bags, 4 pillows, toiletries bag, cooler, grocery sack of food, and other random items out to the van!

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is an impressive building that you can see from I-95. We've driven by it several times at night, when it is all lit up. The spires and metal actually reminded us all a little bit of the USAFA Chapel, but it is supposed to invoke the image of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima, with the angle of the pole.
There is an atrium filled with tons of light right when you walk in.

In the atrium were some cut-outs of previous Marine uniforms that you could stand behind. Here Caleb is modeling a uniform from Revolutionary War times. Quite dashing!

The museum was set up really well, with lots of galleries, and many interactive scenes, dioramas, videos, and so on. It was really moving to hear the interviews with Marines, such as from World War II, that were playing. We made it all the way through the World War II gallery, but we didn't get to the "Cold War" gallery, and I believe there might have been another gallery or 2 that we missed. It was really a big place--bigger than it looks on the outside. There were a few interesting-looking movies that were playing in theater-like rooms, but we didn't watch any of those. Faith was being a real stinker, and I knew she wouldn't sit happily through a movie. I had to carry her pretty much the whole time, and I wished I had put Micah in the Ergo and her in the stroller! Of course, then she would have wanted to be out, because what she REALLY wanted was to be contrary, LOL.

The kidi did sit through several of the short little films showing around the exhibits. The one below had several news clips from World War II, as well as some cartoon commercials for war bonds (seeing Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck was what drew them in!).

I would like to go back to see the rest of the exhibits. It is always moving and humbling to spend time contemplating the tremendous price people have paid for our freedom. We are especially proud of Bob's brother Dennis, who was active duty Marine, and now is in the Army reserve!

The "Bungalow"

2011-08-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the little former base house where we stayed. It had a lovely front porch that I wish our house here had!

And here is a dark shot of the living/dining area from the front door. The bedrooms and bathroom are down the hall on the left.

These were some of the intimidating cleaning instructions. These ones were on the fridge. They also went to the trouble of mailing us a paper with regulations and requirements, but which lacked actual useful info, such as that the pool is always closed Mondays, and the lifeguards don't show up at the beach until 11:00! This sort of info was also not on the website. We decided the people in charge at this place had the attitude that we should be grateful they were allowing us to stay in their place, as we were clearly a bit of an inconvenience to them by making them do work. Definitely not much customer service! But having 3 bedrooms was wonderful, and it was only $120 a night--which Bob's company paid for, since he was working! (Well, not Sunday night, since he was off Monday.) Still, a great deal for us! What's a little cleaning!?!

Beach Pictures!

2011-08-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

We took a walk on the beach Sunday night, as soon as we got there. It was a good thing we didn't wait--a storm was coming in, as evidenced by the windiness!

Monday morning, during our long wait for the lifeguard, the kids got more and more in the water. Eventually they were lying in the waves . . . that's not swimming, of course . . .

As we were eating lunch, a guy approached our table, stopped about 10 feet away, pulled out a very small bullhorn, and made an official announcement of a sand-castle building contest and other games, courtesy of the "AZ", which turned out to be the "Adventure Zone". Then he left and went to each of the other groups on the beach, because his bullhorn really could only be heard from no more than 10 feet away. We thought we were in trouble when he first came up though! So anyhow, the kids dutifully built sand castles, since the guy had said everyone would win a prize. Here is Nathan's, which won the prize for "most fortified". Jonathan's won for "most efficiently constructed", as his went up very quickly, once he decided he was actually going to make one, and the judges were already coming around! Caleb's won "best group effort", since the girls and Jonathan all helped. Luke was reading a book and didn't make one. For their efforts, they all got little dollar store trinkets, LOL, but they had fun.

Faith loved the water! And I didn't have to worry about big waves knocking her over! She also loved the sand. Aunt Jane and Uncle Terry had given the girls sand toys when we were at Rose's house back in June, and the girls had been dying to use them. They got their chance! In fact, all the kids enjoyed playing with all the sand toys, so it was really nice to have so many things!

This is the beach. We were almost all the way over at one end of it. This is close to 2:00, and you can see how it has filled up somewhat. It was practically empty until close to lunchtime, and we were the only family there--a private beach! It was nice because there were all these plastic coated tables with benches on the beach. We stuck our beach umbrella through the hole in the middle of the table, and we didn't have to worry about it falling over, plus we had a nice shady place for lunch! We also had a Neat Sheet on the other side of the table, in the shade, where Micah took naps on beach towels or sat in his bumbo like the king of the beach.

Big Day For Anna!

2011-08-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

I went to Wegmans, Sams, and Walmart this afternoon, and when I pulled into the driveway and opened the garage door, Anna was right there to welcome me. She was amazingly excited to show me that she had her first loose tooth! And when I looked at it and moved it around, I realized that in fact it was QUITE loose, and would most likely be falling out in the near future! She wriggled the tooth around for a little while, then picked a granola bar to have for a snack. A bite or 2 later, and out came the tooth! Piece of cake!

Anna has been so excited about this tooth--it is practically all she has talked about all evening long! Now Grace is anxiously awaiting her first loose tooth. And maybe I'll actually notice she has a loose tooth more than 30 minutes before it actually falls out!

So Anna's loosing teeth, and Micah's gaining them--his third tooth is just about through! It's a busy tooth time for out family, LOL.

Mini-Vacation

2011-08-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

We just got back this afternoon from a little vacation! Bob had a TDY down at Pax River, and there is a little Naval rec center across a bridge from there called Solomons Island. It's where the Patuxant River and the Chesapeake Bay come together. It used to be an actual base, but now it's all just a recreation area, with a little beach, pool, mini-golf course, and several playgrounds. There are also a bunch of different lodging options.

So we all went with Bob after church on Sunday, and we stayed for 3 nights in a "bungalow", which is a fancy name for the former base housing, LOL. It was a 3 bedroom house, with a kitchen, eating area, living area, and bathroom. It was nice, but definitely a base house. I spent some time while trying to fall asleep thinking about how I would manage if I had to live in such a small house with all the kids, how I could efficiently use the very limited amount of storage, etc. I always woke up so glad I don't have to do it, LOL! But for a 3 night vacation it was just perfect--enough rooms that Micah and Faith could both take naps, and all the kids could go to bed, while Bob and I could stay up later! We watched "House Hunters" several times, which we used to do fairly regularly but haven't done in at least a year. I was also able to do a lot of typing, entering in all the memory work stuff for next year, and I did some Latin as well. I also started a Bill Bryson book called At Home, which has been fun and interesting so far. It was so nice to not be at my own (cluttered and messy) house--very relaxing!

Bob's meetings didn't start until Tuesday morning, so we spent Monday at the beach. We got to the beach at 9:30, where all these signs said swimming was prohibited unless a lifeguard was present. So we set up and waited. The kids dug in the sand for awhile, then stuck their toes in, then laid in the water . . . and still we waited. It was boiling hot and humid, and we about gave up hope that a lifeguard was ever going to show up. But eventually, at 11:00, 2 came zipping up in a little vehicle. We were all very glad to be able to swim without feeling guilty. The beach was small, but it wasn't crowded at all. It was very man-made, with big piles of rocks on either end making it crescent-shaped. There were small waves, which were perfect for the girls. They had such a good time in the water! Also, it wasn't as salty as ocean water. Although I reapplied sunscreen to the kids several times, I wasn't as faithful with Bob, and he got a sunburn on his back. We were there until 3:00ish, which was plenty long for us all! We all went back, showered, and then Bob took the kids to play mini golf, which about gave everyone heatstroke.

Tuesday Bob had to work, so he drove the van in, then came back at lunchtime. We then dropped him back off at the base and continued on the a naval aviation museum right outside the gates. It was free, and it was small, both of which were good things with all the little kids, LOL. I thought it was quite interesting, and hey--it was air-conditioned! I had considered taking the kids to a playground, but I decided I just couldn't handle being out in the heat! We went back to pick Bob up, then went swimming. They have a really nice pool complex, with a few pools, water slides, and diving boards. To be able to go on the diving boards and water slides, you have to swim the length of the pool and get a blue wristband. All 4 boys did this, so I was really proud, especially of Caleb and Jonathan! One of the pools was 2 feet deep for a lot of it, and I think it only went to 4 feet at the deepest part. It was perfect for the girls, although Faith did spend some time in the baby pool in the beginning, while I was nursing Micah and Bob was watching the boys swim across the big pool. She did fine in the 2-ft pool, but I wasn't confident enough in her for her to be in there while I was nursing!

After the pool, we went to Ci-Ci's Pizza for dinner. It happened to be a "kids eat free" night, so with our 4 adult buffets, we got 4 kids in free, so we only had to pay for Faith! Woo-hoo!

This morning I took Bob in to work and then rushed back to get ready to leave. We had to be out at 11:00 (and I dropped Bob off before 8:00), so you would think there would be plenty of time! But let me tell you, it was like getting checked out of military housing--I was afriad someone was going to come with a while glove and inspect! There was a long list of cleaning requirements posted on the fridge, and the threat was if you didn't do these things (and do them well, I presume), you would incur a cleaning fee of $50/hour! Yow! So we were stripping beds, wiping counters, sweeping and vacuuming (and picking small rocks out of the carpet by hand because the vacuum provided was really crappy, LOL), and trying to get all our stuff out to the car--in between nursing and trying to keep the girls helping in useful ways, not unhelpful ways, if you know what I mean. I was a ball of sweaty stress by the time we actually handed in the keys (at about 10:59)!

Bob actually didn't come back with us. He finished up meetings there this afternoon, and then he drove with his boss to Reagan National and caught a plane to OH for another TDY. Busy week for him! The kids and I came back here and got ready to take Nathan and Luke to their first football practices. This was a bit of a sore spot, since they actually missed the real first 2 days of practice with this little beach jaunt. And it was stressful, trying to find where the teams were supposed to meet, not having the right equipment with them, etc. Hopefully they will both settle in well and have good seasons. Tomorrow we have another Rivendell meeting here at our house, in between dropping the boys off at practice and picking them up. Then Friday night I'm co-hosting a baby shower for Siri at Christine's house--I'm making chocolate-covered strawberries! There are only going to be about 10 ladies there. Luke thought I should make hundreds, just to be on the safe side, LOL. I'm also in charge of games, so I need to get organized! I have pictures of the trip that I will try to post, if not on here, then on Facebook, but I'm not sure when that will happen!

Physical Science

2011-08-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

I have finally made some headway with the physical science for next year. It took me awhile to really get into it because first of all, it's not my favorite of sciences, and second, the lab stuff was just too overwhelming. But I need to order the lab stuff, so I had to jump in.

The thing about the labs for this course is that they all use wildly different components--6 V batteries, density cylinders, hooked weights and a demonstration balance, various metal electrodes, alligator clips, and wires, mini light bulbs and bases, magnets, optic bench, spectroscope, various different chemicals with all the glassware associated, as well as burners . . . and that's just some of the things! When I printed off the order form for BJU physical science from hometrainingtools, it was 7 pages long and cost over $200! That's for one person! The course is an introduction to physics and chemistry, so it hits a ton of different topics. Obviously some trimming had to be done.

I was able to find a used lab demonstration DVD online from BJU, so I have been watching the labs. Wow . . . it is really not too fun to just watch a bunch of labs being done, LOL. I would not want to do all my high school science that way, for sure! But it was very helpful for me in seeing what labs were extra, what things I could substitute, and most importantly, which labs could be done in one big group with only one apparatus, and which ones would be most beneficial for us to do in smaller groups. We'll have a total of 7 students next year, although Eric will be roughing it in Hawaii and will have to watch us. So that leaves 6 students, and I think we'll break them up into 2 groups of 3 for a lot of labs. That will give more hands-on experience, especially for the ones who might be more timid and not naturally just leap in to participate. But that does mean I have to buy enough stuff for 2 groups for those labs. I'm not sure how chemistry (in 2 years) is going to work out! I can see that getting really expensive! Although . . . not as expensive as a class at the community college. And I do want the kids to have good hands-on lab experience in high school, like I did--even if they don't have a super-experienced teacher like Mr. Minor to teach them!

Checking in Mid-Week

2011-07-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I updated the blog! It has been extremely hot and humid, and I certainly haven't been spending any time outdoors, so you would think that would lead to plenty of blogging time. Obviously that has not been the case! We've been very busy though. Here's a brief update to catch everyone up.

1. Friday, July 22--Bob, Nathan, Jonathan, and the 3 girls drove up to WSS to pick up Caleb from his week at Camp Caleb. He had a really fun time, and I think it was even better because it was a really small week--only 5 boys and 1 girl. Caleb even did the zip line at the end! He had been very scared and nervous about doing it, so we were all so proud of him for conquering those fears and doing it anyway. I still don't think that was his favorite thing to do by any means, however.

2. Saturday was the day for potlucks. First off, we had a "kick-out" party at the McC's house for Rivendell. We were saying goodbye to the C family as they head off to Hawaii for 2 years (we are seriously looking into space-A flights--wouldn't that be totally fun?!), and we wanted to get a group shot before they left. And here we all are! Lots of kids! Five families, and 22 kids (plus Siri's bun-in-the-oven, as well as a few kids who are graduated from one family). It was boiling hot, but the McC's have a big blow-up water slide from Christine's sister-in-law, and the kids all played on that and ran around with squirt guns. We adults sat inside where it was cooler and talked.

The second potluck on Saturday was dinner time, and that one was at our house. Our church small group was saying goodbye to a family who have been here for 3 years. John's assignment is over, and they are heading back to their home, but we are going to miss them so much! Elya is Anna's age, and the girls have had so much fun playing dress-up and other games together at our house.

3. Sunday night Bob's sister Rose drove down to visit. She had a meeting Monday morning with a supervisor in an office not too far from us. She will have to come see him other times, so we are looking forward to more visits! Hopefully she'll be able to bring her girls along too sometimes. Speaking of her girls, Madison packed up a bunch of her old dolls for the girls. They were so thrilled with them all! They ahve been playing almost nonstop with them! I should have gotten a picture of Rose and the girls with the dolls before they went off to bed, but I didn't think about it! Instead, here is a picture of all the dolls, lined up very neatly and orderly by Anna. I think she was inventory-ing, LOL.

4. Monday I drove around like a taxi-driver. Nathan's AO group had a mini-reunion with the northern VA kids down south, so I drove him and Jessica down to Burke for bowling. Then I rushed back, got Anna and Grace, and drove them out to Tyson's Corner for Elya's birthday party. (They had waffles with all sorts of toppings as their dinner/cake there--isn't that a great idea?! They loved it--"We had WHIPPED CREAM with our DINNER!"). Then I rushed back home because Bob was taking Nathan and Luke to a football camp, which is actually all week long in the evenings.

5. Tuesday we had 2 little girls from church, plus their 8 year old male cousin, over to play. What fun! The girls dressed up and played with the doll house, especially. The boys played Monopoly. Nathan and Luke suspiciously asked if Caleb and Jonathan had roped him into playing, but they said that he had told them he liked playing Monopoly, and wondered if we had it! So they had a nice game.

6. Micah has been busy all on his own. I was talking to my mom on the phone on Friday, and I happened to glance in his mouth and notice that he has a tooth already! Bottom right. It's in quite a ways already too! I had noticed that he had been pretty drooly and a little more fussy, so I had wondered if he might not be teething, but I was expecting a tooth to come in another month or so! he's only 3 1/2 months now! He's our earliest teether, that's for sure. I'll have to go back and check Caleb's calendar, because he was early as well, although I think it was 4 months for him. He was a real biter (of me!), so hopefully Micah will not be that way . . .

Micah has also been loving the Johnny Jump-Up, as well as this little exersaucer thing we have from the McC's. He likes standing! He'll spin himself in a circle in the jumper thing, but only counter-clockwise, LOL. That Johnny Jump-Up is a real classic--the L's bought it for Anthony, some 22 years ago. They used it for their 4 older kids, then we borrowed it and used it for Nathan down to Faith. When they had Theodore, we gave it back to them for him to use! Now we have it again . . . that's 13 kids! Pretty impressive!

So . . . that's what's been happening. Now I need to buckle down and get ready for this next school year. I have a rough lab list made out, but I need to fine-tune that and get the order in. I need to really plan out the year, as far as physical science goes. Some weeks we'll only cover 1/2 a chapter, and I need to decide for sure which weeks those will be, plus get the assignments all planned out. I also need to type up all the memory work for next year, and make final decisions aobut what poems we're going to memorize, and where each poem will go in the year. I also need to finish pulling the science facts from the physical science book. And I need to plan out my 2 weeks of teaching for the elementary co-op. I teach the last 2 weeks of September, so I need to have that all done before Rivendell starts up and I'm swamped! I know I am focusing on trees, so at least it's something I like and already know a lot about! And of course, if I ever get bored, I need to work ahead in Latin so I can keep teaching that class. Once I get all that done, I can really relax and enjoy my summer . . . ha! And now you know why I probably won't be blogging much in the next few weeks either!

Potty-Training Update

2011-07-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sure everyone has been on the edge of their collective seats this past week, wondering how Faith was progressing with her potty-training. You know, the more kids I have, the more I realize that I don't have all the answers. I was such the expert when I just had one!

So . . . Faith did not pee one bit in the potty Saturday. VERY frustrating. Sunday was the day we needed to take Caleb up to White Sulphur Springs for his Camp Caleb week. Bob was going to drive him, and he very kindly offered to take all 3 girls, along with Nathan. I said no, but Bob insisted that I needed a break. (What a man! This was our anniversary as well--what a present!!) So off he drove, with Faith in a diaper. When they got up to WSS, they were early for Caleb's check-in, so they went up to the gorgeous new hotel so everyone could go to the bathroom. After Anna and Grace went, Bob suggested letting Faith try, since her diaper was dry. Everyone thought this was terrible idea, but Bob went ahead. And what do you know?! She sat right up there and peed! Wow!

After they got home on Sunday, Faith went again a few more times on the big potty, each time wanting her diaper on afterwards, NOT panties. And that is how the past week went--Faith peed most all the time on the big potty, and she wore a diaper the whole time. She only had maybe 3 (pee) accidents all week, so at least our diaper consumption rate has fallen way down. She still has not pooped once on the potty however. Maybe that challenge will be met next week? Who knows! I have to say that I have never had a child who did well with wearing a diaper while potty-training. And most have wanted to wear the big-girl panties! I'm not sure when to make wearing them an issue. Right now I'm just concentrating on her staying dry, and not pooping in them!

Faith--my easiest delivery, my most challenging child!

18 Years!!

2011-07-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

Bob and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary by going out to a fondue restaurant near us. We had both seen the coupon in one of the advertising mailings, but I wasn't sure anything would work out for tonight, since we had to take Caleb up to White Sulphur Springs for his (first!) week at Camp Caleb. Bob made the reservation for 6:45, and we made it right in time!

The coupon was for a cheese fondue course, salad, and main course. We chose their special Latin American cheese special, and it was good. They brought us bread, veggies, and green apple chunks (?) to dip. The veggies were the best, we both thought.

For the main course, they brought us each a plate of things to fry in a pot of oil. Literally! I wasn't really expecting that. We ate at a fondue place in Colorado, and we definitely did not fry meat in a vat of boiling oil, LOL. I think we grilled them on a little hot plate or something? Anyhow, we had 3 chunks of teriyaki sirloin, 2 chunks of filet mignon, 3 chunks of chicken breast, 3 shrimp, and one ravioli. The teriyaki sirloin was by far the best. I attempted to eat 2 of my shrimp, but I eventually gave up. NOT a fan of shrimp. Blech. There were also potato pieces, broccoli, and mushroom caps to fry.

The server also brought us a bowl of tempura batter and a bowl of sesame batter, so we could dip our meat in those if we wanted to, and have a crispy coating. I tried both the mushroom and shrimp in the tempura, but even that didn't imrove the taste, LOL. There were also a ton of dipping sauces for after the meat was cooked--teriyaki, sweet and sour, curry, etc. It was all good and fun, like a science experiment, but it also was a lot of work! I told Bob we were paying for the privilege of cooking our own meal!

After we were done with the main course, we chose to have the chocolate dessert fondue too (duh!). That was $5 extra per person, but it was totally worth it! YUM!!! The restaurant had a bunch of different chocolate choices, but we chose the "flaming turtle", with dark chocolate, caramel, and pecans. It was so delicious I can't even describe it! I could have eaten the chocolate with a spoon, LOL. There were strawberries, banana slices, brownie chunks, pound cake, rice krispie treats, cheesecake, and marshmallows to dip. When we finished all that, the waitress asked if we wanted anything else! We got a few more pieces of banana and strawberries, but we were pretty stuffed at that point.

Bob and I agreed that what we should do next time is just come in for the dessert! Neither of us are huge appetizer or cheese lovers, and cooking our meat was a lot of work. The chocolate, however, was to die for, and it didn't require any extra work! It was $15 for a small bowl, and that would be a fun date some night after the girls are down!

Anyhow, we had a fun time celebrating our anniversary! It sure beat Wendy's, which is where we stopped to eat after our wedding!

A Brief Reprieve

2011-07-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

When we got home from Bible study last night, it seemed like a good idea to finally move Faith into the crib in Anna and Grace's room, and let Micah sleep in the crib in Faith's old room. Everyone slept just fine, except all the girls were up at 7:00, and shortly after that, Anna threw up all over the comforter. Great! Grace threw up a little later, but I'm not sure that wasn't a sympathy vomit. Grace has a "suggestible" stomach, just like her sensitive older brother Nathan, LOL.

Anyhow, in all the excitement, Faith peed in her diaper. Eventually we all got downstairs, Nathan and Bob went off to launch a rocket with CAP, Anna threw up again, and Faith sat on the potty for awhile. While I was on the phone, she started making weird noises and swallowing funny. I knew what that meant and shoved her head into the trash can, where she promptly threw up. We sat on the couch for a little while, and then Anna threw up again. At that point I put Faith back in a diaper, because I didn't want to be cleaning up 2 bodily fluids today. (And I'm not even mentioning the possibility of diarrhea. Wait, I guess I just did.) You have to draw lines, LOL.

Right now everything seems calm. We'll see how things shape up after naptime for Faith. Judging by the temper tantrums, I'm thinking naptime is going to come early. We might try panties again after nap. Yesterday was actually a fairly good day. It took a lot of coaxing and pressure, but she sat on the potty a lot and peed on it a lot. She did not have any accidents, (yay!), which was impressive because we had 3 little kids over to play. So I think we are on the right track. We just don't need any stomach bugs to mess things up!

1 Step Forward, 10 Steps Back . . .

2011-07-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, we've started potty-training Faith. We ran a ton of errands on Monday so we wouldn't have to be gone much the rest of the week. Over the course of the past few months, Faith has had opportunities to sit on the little potty, but she has only actually produced anything on very rare occasions. I knew we would have to go cold turkey, so I put her in panties Tuesday morning, fully expecting lots of accidents. Good thing I was expecting them, since she had several big ones that morning, LOL. She'd sit on the potty for awhile, get up and walk away, and promptly pee a huge puddle all over the floor. Sigh. And since we were all drinking apple juice (pushing those fluids for lots of peeing opportunities), 2 cups also got spilled all over the floor. I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees, mopping up messes of one sort or another. Faith did not produce one drop of pee on the actual potty. She also pooped in her panties. Grrr.

After lunch Tuesday, Faith got it in her head that she would like a piece of gum. Ha! I told her she could have a piece of gum when she peed on the potty. I called everyone else in the kitchen and asked them if they had peed on the floor that day (the answer was unanimously "No", you'll be relieved to know). So I ceremoniously passed out gum to everyone except Faith, who had a rip-roaring temper tantrum while I ignored her. Eventually Faith settled down, went over to her potty, sat on it, and *voila* peed in it. Yay! The rest of Tuesday went by very well, with no accidents. I was cautiously optimistic.

Yesterday went well also. She peed on the potty the whole day, with no accidents (no poops either, but hey--none in the panties is good). Bob came home from a business trip, and he was enthusiastically positive about her pottying success!

Today, however, we took all those steps backwards. Good thing I was only cautiously optimistic, LOL. She had accidents all day long, starting with a huge one in the laundry room while getting oatmeal. Nothing like cleaning your laundry room before even eating breakfast to start the day out right! By 1:30, she had 4 accidents, plus one poop in her panties, and I was tired of it all. I put her down for a nap, even though that is very early for her, and she slept until 5:00, which was lovely. When she woke up, I told her she could go outside if she peed, and she sat down on the potty and peed like a champ. She went again in the potty later, although then she went outside, ran around for a bit, and promptly pooped again in her panties. Sigh. Baby steps . . . I'm still waiting on the child who just trains himself. I'm not holding out high hopes for Micah, either, LOL. Bob took me out tonight, and we split a piece of cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. It was so nice to get away!!

Tomorrow's another day. Have I mentioned how much I dislike potty-training?!? More cheesecake may be in order!

Mattress Issues

2011-07-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

I've been having trouble with my lower back and hips lately, and I think it's because of our mattress. We bought this mattress after we moved to the Air Force Academy, back in 2000, so it's 11 years old. I guess I don't think of that as terribly old, as far as mattresses go, but it certainly seems to be showing its age! We didn't get a pillow-top, so we do flip it, and I thought it would last longer.

Neither of us really want to spend a lot of money on a new mattress right now, so when I was in Walmart last week, I decided to buy a memory foam mattress topper on a whim. An anniversary present for us! It was 4 inches think, and I did absolutely no research on it at all. Thankfully I did start looking into mattress toppers before opening up the huge box, because if we had taken that thing out, we would never have gotten it back in there! So now we know more about mattress toppers that I ever wanted to. It turns out that the 4 inch mattress topper is only 1 inch of memory foam, and 3 inshes of just regular foam. The foam isn't very dense either (2.5 pound density, which is low--you want at least 3 if not 4), which means it would quickly get all squashed down. Also, most people complain about the memory foam toppers being really hot. I am definitely a "hot" sleeper, so I was thinking that didn't sound so good.

We did more research and discovered that now they are making "gel" memory foam toppers. The gel is supposed to help wick away the body heat so you don't get as hot. That sounded good. Also, it doesn't seem like a good thing to get a topper that is too high--then it is really hard to turn over or even get up from. Considering how much time I have spent pregnant, I don't need anything to make it more difficult to get out of bed!

We looked at a bunch on Amazon (since they qualify for free shipping), and we read a gazillion reviews. Most people love them, even if they do conced that they are hot, but some people didn't like them. One lady, who is a side-sleeper like me, said that her hips and back felt better after sleeping on it, but now her neck is having problems, and she feels like she just exchanged one set of problems for another.

Once we hit upon these gel memory foam toppers, a lot of people mentioned that they got similar ones a lot cheaper at Costco. We looked online at their website, and what we found sounded great-- a 2.5 inch thick topper with gel that comes with a cover, for around $130 less than a similar one on Amazon. We went to Costco Saturday afternoon (it was a total zoo of people), joined, and came home with the topper, which was $10 cheaper than the website's price! (And also a bag of dark-chocolate covered acai/blue berries--YUM! Those are seriously addicting, and now the bag is gone . . . but I digress . . .) A lot of people had also complaimed about the smell of these things, so we brought it straight down to the basement, unrolled it, and let it air out and puff up in the bedroom down there.

By nighttime, the odor was hardly noticeable, so we hauled the thing upstairs with Nathan and Luke's help (it actually wasn't that heavy or anything), put it in the cover, and set it up on the bed. I was so ready to just effortlessly fall into a deep sleep and wake up so refreshed! That didn't really happen though. It was definitely hotter than just our normal mattress. I didn't wake up sweating, like if there was a plastic mattress protector on or anything, but it was noticeable. I guess we'll never need our flannel sheets again!

I also wasn't totally in love with the sensation of sinking down into it either--good thing we didn't get an even thicker one! Elizabeth had said she used one and liked it when she was pregnant with Theodore, and she felt like it was hugging her gently, and she slept really well on it. I'm not really liking the hugging though--touch isn't my love language, and I already have a ton of little people all over me all through the day, so I guess I want my mattress to leave me alone, LOL.

So we've slept on it for all of 2 nights now, and my hips and back are actually feeling better, which is good. But my neck and shoulders are worse, and I woke up this morning with my arm asleep. I really struggled with that all during this last pregnancy, but after I had Micah, I stopped having that problem. I don't want it to start again! And although all the write-ups talk about how you will sleep deeply and not toss and turn, I was consciously awake several times during the night, and I had a hard time getting comfortable. Finally I laid on my back, with my knees bent, and that was very comfortable--but I don't really want to sleep like that, LOL. I like sleeping on my side!

So I'm not sold on the thing yet. One thing in its favor, however, is that Bob seems to snore less on it. Hmmmm. That might make it worthwhile. And really, how could we ever take it back?! There's no possible way to compress it enough to get it back in the box!

Yankee Doodle Dandy

2011-07-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here is Micah in his cute little 4th of July onesie from my mom! It's a good thing the 4th wasn't any later, because he would not have fit into it! Micah was 2 months old on June 9, but we were in Ohio, and I didn't get an appointment for after we got back either. So this afternoon he finally had his 2-month well-baby appointment, a few days before his 3 months old! He's a big boy--15 pounds, 15 ounces, and 25 1/2 inches long. I just don't know what is different in my milk this time that is producing this giant baby! He's obviously a happy, healthy baby, so the appointment went just fine. Jonathan was the designated helper who went with me today. It's nice to spend some more individual time with the boys as we go to these appointments! Micah did get his first shots today, which he was less than thrilled about. I hope he still sleeps well . . .

I thought I'd throw in a family shot as well, for good measure! (Did you note that Nathan is pretty much as tall as I am?!) We had a 4th of July potluck at the L's house last night with our Bible study. Ed smoked a ton of pork, so we had barbeque pork sandwiches for the main course--yum!! Then we all headed over to the local fireworks display that we have gone to the past 2 years. It's fun, and it's not too far away, so we don't get home at a terribly ungodly hour. Going downtown is great as well, but right now, it just doesn't seem worth it! This is so easy!

AO!

2011-07-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Nathan spent last week at Allegheny Outback!, an adventure camp for high-schoolers put on by White Sulphur Springs. The L's drove Jessica and him up to WSS last Saturday morning, getting there in plenty of time for the 11:00 showtime. Once all 12 campers arrived, they played a game to know each other's names, and they did some team-building exercises, an obstacle course, and a "trust fall", where you had to fall off a platform and everyone else caught you. Nathan reports that they finished an hour ahead of schedule, so after they finished dinner, Jared, guy counselor, announced that in 15 minutes they should be starting dinner. Instead, they played more games. They spent that night in the AO village, in cabins.

Sunday: They packed up a bunch of different bags--a day pack, with lunches and rain gear; a frame pack with flashlight, mess kit, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, Bible, rain gear, and sweatshirt. Clothes were optional--as in, this was for the over-night hike, and you didn't have to pack any to change into, LOL. The other clothes were in duffle bags. Then they went to the high-ropes course, and they learned belay for rope-climbing. In teams of 2, they had to climb up the 40 ft. cargo net, get onto the beam on top, get onto the platform, cross a log, go across several wires, and jump/fall off the end platform, whereby you are lowered gently to the ground. Nathan forgot his camera for this, but it would have been a good photo opportunity. Then they hiked a short distance to their campsite for that night.

Monday: They hiked out from their campsite (8 or 9 miles) to a waiting van, which drove them to Ohiopyle, a town near a PA state park. They had to carry all their equipment up a huge hill, where they set up all the tents. Then they ate dinner and went to bed.

Tuesday: They did white-water canoing on the Youghiogheny River. Nathan reports that this river is very stinky, and indeed his sport sandals and clothes bore this out. His boat flipped twice because the 2 least experienced canoers were put in the same boat! But it was fun.

Wednesday: They rock-climbed and rapelled. It was fun, but Nathan had no details he is allowed to add about this day. (?!?)

Thursday: They went white-water rafting. It was the birthday of one of the girls in his raft, although they did not sing to her. They all had to row, and they had 2 guides in kayaks, 1 guide in a raft with 2 people, and 1 guide in a raft with the lunch (sandwiches). They stopped halfway through the day to eat. Several people fell out over the course of the day, but all were rescued with no problems. In one rapid, all but one person fell out of one raft, so the lone guy had to fish everyone back out of the river. Then they drove back to WSS and told all their adventures to Dailey.

Friday: They cleaned up all their equipment, ate lunch back at the hotel, and got picked up by parents.

Nathan had a grand time, but he was dirty and exhausted, so he was not thrilled that we were continuing on to visit Bob's parents so they could meet Micah! But we had a good visit with them, as well as Bob's siblings that live in the area. Nathan survived and made it back home to sleep once more in his own bed. After 2 washings, his clothes finally did not smell, but it took a third washing with bleach for his sandals to start freshening up!

Motivational Paragraph

2011-06-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Do you wish you had a motivational paragraph you could dwell on, something to help you become all you can be? Sort of along the lines of Khalil's motivational tapes from Veggietale's Jonah movie ("You are a skilled metalworker . . .")? Yes? Well, here is something sure to fit the bill, straight from Henle's classic Latin I text!

You are good men. Therefore you praise peace and virtue and pray for all men. You do not prepare (for) war because you are not eager for fame and victory. You do not attack neighboring cities; you do not seize the towns of neighboring tribes; you prepare swords and legions, not on account of war, but on account of peace.

Or maybe it is more motivational in Latin . . .

Estis homines boni. Itaque pacem et virtutem laudatis et pro omnibus hominibus oratis. Bellum non paratis quod non estis gloriae et victoriae cupidi. Urbes finitimas non oppungnatis; oppida gentium finitimarum non occupatis; gladios et legiones non propter bellum sed propter pacem paratis.

Now go and improve yourselves!

. . . And After

2011-06-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well, before any "after" shots, here is one "in the middle" picture. We moved all the toys into the entryway first, leaving the big pieces of furniture--a bookshelf, an armoire that was a home to stuffed animals, and a black desk--in the living room. Wow--that's a bunch of toys! Now you can see why we don't have big birthday parties for the kids!

With all the cleaning and moving, several missing things came to light, such as puzzle pieces, and several Little People. We were also able to find the matches for all 9 pairs of cowboy boots that own. I kept 4 pairs upstairs and put the rest in the basement!

So here is our new schoolroom. I still have all my books in the study, in those 3 big double bookcases, but the boys can do their work here. And we put the laptops on the black desk, where you can see Luke, so now we won't be tripping over the cords! I put all my science stuff, plus other misc. school stuff, in the big armoire back in the left corner. Close the doors, and the clutter is gone1 What a concept! We do need to get another lamp for the front of the room. The one torch light was fine for a playroom, but we need a bit more light for schoolwork! I am VERY happy with this room. It is going to be so nice this year!

And here you can see some of the new playroom. It's right off the kitchen, so it's even easier to toss the toys which somehow migrate into the kitchen back into their home territory. And the room has French doors, plus a door going into the kitchen, so I can close them all when the girls are too loud! Well, I probably won't, unless we're having Rivendell over or something, but it's a nice option! Everything fit into the new room except our keyboard, which is currently still in the entryway, right outside the bathroom. Convenient! That will not be its permanent home, however. I've moving it down to the basement. The girls are enjoying the new playroom just fine. We do need to get something to shorten the chandelier chain though--I bonked my head on it a few times already!

Before . . .

2011-06-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

When we were in Ohio, I had a reorganizing brainstorm one night. The day before we left to drive to Ohio, we had a Rivendell meeting ar Siri's house. Siri lives in a beautiful old house, and we met in her dining room/schoolroom, which is a huge room at the front of the house. She has a big table in there, along with lots of cupboards, school desks, filing cabinets, etc, as well as plenty of room to move around the table. I left thinking how nice it would be to have so much room. Our dining room is where the boys are doing more and more of their school, and that is often where the laptops end up. But we don't have anything against the wall, so there are always cords stretching to the wall, which are huge tripping hazards! I also store all my science lab supplies in the dining room, and we have this really comfortable pink chair that our neighbors gave us when it didn't sell at a garage sale. So things are pretty crowded in there!

Here are Luke and our neighbor, playing the computer, with school clutter surrounding them. You can see the pink chair in the corner.

This is a better view of the lovely wire shelves, pulled straight from our garage just because I needed SOME kind of shelves right away, where my science lab supplies are. The big box on top is the microscope. And there on the floor is my new (to me) copy of TOG year 2! As a side note, the almond joys on the table are NOT mine. Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely detest coconut with an undying loathing. Just wanted to make that clear.

We do, however, have lots of space in our playroom--which is technically our formal living room, except there is obviously nothing formal about it, LOL. When we moved in (7 years ago?!?!), we knew we didn't want or need another room with a couch, especially one which we never used. So we made the room a playroom, and it has worked out great. We have always had lots of kids playing in it! You can see I didn't trouble myself to really straighten anything up before taking these pictures. I'm all about keeping it real, LOL. But it is a bigger, wider room than the dining room, which got me thinking . . .

So my big brainstorm was to switch the two rooms around, and make the dining room the playroom, and the living room the schoolroom. Wednesday we had friends over in the morning, but starting that afternoon, moving the rooms was our big project for the rest of the week.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!!

2011-06-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

Nathan turned 14 today! I can't believe it! It occurred to me tonight that I only have 4 more birthday cakes to make for him before he leaves for college! Wow--that doesn't seem too far away.

For his cake, he requested the Civil Air Patrol command patch. My 10x15 pan was too skinny, so the patch was longer than it should be, and not wide enough. Oh well. It tasted good, and the patch doesn't have a complex emblem involving eagles, globes, and the like, so I was happy enough!

Nathan is leaving early tomorrow morning to go to Allegheny Outback, the adventure camp for high schoolers at White Sulphur Springs. He is beyond excited, so it was really the perfect birthday for him! The L's are driving up and dropping him off, along with Jessica, who is also going. Then she will stay at WSS and work on staff for 2 weeks, and we'll pick Nathan up Friday afternoon. We are planning on continuing on to visit Bob's parents for a night. We'll have to stop at the hotel first for him to shower and change clothes, I am sure!

More Water Fun

2011-06-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday after breakfast and packing up our room, we headed back over to Rose's.
Bob, Nathan, and Luke decided to go kayaking. They went all over the lake, and Nathan even got his feet sunburned from having them sticking straight up for so long!

Rose took the 3 girls on a paddle boat ride. I thought Grace would be afraid and Faith would be fearless, but instead Grace, once she got situated, was pretty comfortable, kicking her feet in the water, and Faith had a death grip on the boat! At the end of the ride, though, Rose pulled up by the dock and got Anna out, setting her in the shallow water, since Anna said she wanted to get wet. Grace and Faith set up such a loud wail that Bob thought something was wrong and came leaping out of his kayak to help! Then the girls just played in the little wading pool there by the dock, LOL.

Rose has a golf cart with a cute little tralier to get stuff from her house down to the lake, and Luke loved driving it (and the girls loved riding in it). Why walk when you can drive?!

Here is a picture of Bob's sister Jane and her husband Terry with Micah. Terry was helping Rose install some trim, and Micah was giving him a hand with the drill . . . Terry and Micah had already bonded the day before when they both took a nap on Rose's side porch! Jane was a huge help with the girls. Rose's house is across the street from the lakefront area, and drivers zip by her house, so Jane helped the girls cross numerous times. She also watched them play on the trampoline, read them books, and just really helped keep an eye on them, which was so wonderful especially since I had to nurse a lot and just be with Micah. I know I wouldn't have had nearly as enjoyable of a time without Jane and Terry's help with the kids!

Ann and Wally's daughter Christi and her husband Andres were also there, along with their 6 month old daughter Jasmine. We both brought our bumbos, and Micah and Jasmine looked so cute sitting next to each other! Micah is about the same size as Jasmine, which is so amazing to me. What is in my breastmilk this time?! Jasmine got to go on some boatrides (she even fell asleep!), but she was not a fan of the water in the wading pool! Next year, she'll be right there in the mix with the older girls!

So we had a really fun weekend, and the drive back was much less stressful than the drive there! Of course, when we got back home, our house definitely looked like we had been gone for 2 weeks, come home for 2 days, and then left again. It was so messy! It's taken us these past 2 days to get it in some kind of shape again! We're not going anywhere this weekend, except to meet my parents halfway and pick up Caleb and Jonathan. Did you miss seeing them in the pictures?! We missed having them, although I think it was nice for the older boys in that they were able to do more things with Bob. Actually Jonathan has been fighting off some kind of virus the past few days, so he hasn't even been having that great of a time at Grandma and Grandpa's, poor guy. Hopefully he turned a corner today and will be back to himself tomorrow, so he can enjoy the rest of his week. We look forward to seeing them again on Saturday!

Weekend at Rose's

2011-06-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday we drove up to NE Pennsylvania, to the house of Bob's sister Rose. It was her birthday, so we had a big party on Saturday to celebrate her! The drive was hectic (you really can't leave D.C. on a Friday afternoon--it took us one and a half hours to drive 20 miles!), but once we got there, we had a fantastic time. Five of Bob's six siblings were there, along with their families, and it was great to see everyone. We had the party Saturday afternoon, complete with a cake made by Bob's sister Ann, but we celebrated the whole weekend! Rose lives in a beautiful old house on a lake, so there was lots to do.

One thing I did a lot of was rock in the big porch swing with Micah! Rose's porch is so big and restful, with a lovely view of the water.

Rose took us on boat rides! The 3 girls went on some too. I thought maybe they would be scared, but they loved it! Even I was able to sneak away Saturday afternoon while Micah was napping to go out. The weather was simply gorgeous the whole time we were there, which was such a blessing.

Nathan, Luke, and Bob, among others, went tubing! They have this inflatable raft thing with handles, so you hold on tight, and the boat pulls you across the water! Luke was not a huge fan, and I knew I would hate the water splashing in my face, but Bob and Nathan thought it was great fun!

We also went paddle-boating. Here are Bob and Luke. They went out for forever, all over the lake, which was quite a leg workout. Bob and I went out too, but not as far or as long!

That's what we spent Saturday doing. Jane and Terry brought sparklers for the kids, so before we went back to our hotel, the kids had a ball lighting those in the front yard! We got back to the hotel and to bed around 11:00, and the kids especially were exhausted--they slept until 9:00 the next morning! Then we headed back over to Rose's for a few more hours of fun on Sunday.

Home . . . Briefly

2011-06-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is a few days late, but we made it home from Ohio safely Tuesday night. The drive was uneventful, and we even met Bob at McDonalds so he could take Nathan on to Civil Air Patrol. The most interesting part of the drive was when we stopped in eastern Ohio for lunch at Taco Bell. This exit has a mall and a strip mall, so imagine our surprise when, as we pulled in to the parking lot, we had to wait for an Amish horse and buggy to go by! They pulled into the bank parking lot adjacent to Taco Bell. One guy hopped out and went inside while another man and 2 ladies waited patiently for awhile. I know it was awhile because we were all also waiting patiently for Micah to nurse, LOL. As we got out, eventually, the man came back, and they all trotted off.

We listened to more of Tom Sawyer on the ride, until Faith and Micah got too loud as we got close to Virginia. One chapter was about this end-of-school recitation event they had. I was gratified to hear that one selection mentioned was "The Assyrian Came Down", otherwise known as "The Destruction of Sennacherib". We memorized this poem during memory work this past year! In fact, Daniel McC put it to music, with a modified version of "O Worship the King". So funny to sing that tune with those words! "And there lay the rider, distorted and pale, with the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail . . . " [Did they even have mail back in Hezekiah's time? I think not.] Well, I don't think we'll be singing those words in church any time soon anyhow, LOL.

We were only home 2 full days before packing up and launching back out again, this time to NE Pennsylvania. We visited Bob's sister Rose at her beautiful old house on a beautiful lake. Lots of Bob's family was also there, and we celebrated a big milestone birthday for Rose (35, LOL). It was tons of fun, but I'll post more about the weekend later.

So we're actually down 2 kids right now. We left Caleb and Jonathan with my parents for a little over a week of special "Grandma and Grandpa Camp" time. They have already been to Magic Castle with Amy, her mom, and Jacob, and to the Neil Armstrong Museum. There's more fun on tap for next week, and then we are planning on meeting halfway and picking them up Friday.

Reunion Weekend

2011-06-13T20:21:00.001-07:00

So this past weekend was my 20th high school reunion, and I had more fun than I really thought likely! It was so great to see people I hadn't seen in years and talk to them. I was going to post a few pictures, but for some reason my laptop is running really slow tonight, and it's not working. Another time . . .

My relaxing weekend started Friday a little before noon when Amy picked me up. We met our friend Julie, who now lives in PA with her husband who is a pastor, for lunch at Panera Bread. Julie doesn't live too far from Bob's family, and for awhile we used to drive over to their church Sunday mornings when we were visiting Bob's family. But as we had more and more kids, that just became logistically more than we could do, so it had been several years since I had seen Julie. We caught up on each other's lives over lunch, then we did a brief bit of shopping at Kohls before heading to a nail salon to get manicures and pedicures together!

The last time I had anything done to my nails was when we were out in Utah for my cousin's wedding back in May 2008, and I got a pedicure and manicure with my Aunt Claire and sister-in-law Melinda! I think this is a nice tradition every 3 years, LOL. It was just so relaxing and fun. The lady who did my nails was the salon owner, and she kept commenting on how beautiful and strong my nails are. Not to brag, but I really do have nice nails, for some unknown reason. When they are long, they look like I have a French manicure, without me doing anything to them! I told the lady it was all the prenatal vitamins I take, LOL!

Friday evening was the first official event of the reunion, and it was casual. Classmates met at Marion's Pizza and ordered what they wanted. The invitation specifically said "classmates", not spouses, which we all thought was really weird. Bob was not in town, so it was a moot point for me, but I'm sure if he had been in town he would have come with me anyways. There were a few other spouses there. There was a big turnout for this event--like 50 classmates, out of about 110. Everyone talked and talked and talked. In retrospect, it was kind of nice without spouses. I think people stayed longer and talked more because they didn't have to worry about entertaining their poor spouse who doesn't know anyone and is bored to tears! I went to a Christian high school, and there was definitely NOT any sort of "meat market" atmosphere of people trying to flirt or hook up or anything. It was just really fun to see old friends and visit over pizza! Amy, Julie, and I had all come together around 6:45. We were thinking we would leave around 9:00, since surely 2 hours would be plenty long, and we would be looking for excuses to go! Ha! It was after 10:00 when I finally looked at my watch, and I was so shocked--time really flew by unnoticed! We scooted on home so I could nurse Micah!

Micah was the only flaw in the day. He did NOT want to take a bottle either in the afternoon or the evening, so Mom just ended up holding him with his pacifier in so he would sleep until I got home. I had just left formula, since he had some formula before we left on this trip, and he took it just fine. I decided to go ahead and pump some Saturday morning, in hopes that he would like a breastmilk bottle better. I also went to Walmart and got some nipples with a smaller hole, since Mom said he didn't like the milk sort of dripping out at him. I was pretty nervous when Amy, Jason, and Julie picked me up Saturday night for our dinner at a country club, however. I kept expecting my cell phone to ring with Micah screaming bloody murder in the background! Thankfully that did not happen, and he happily drank the bottle. I had only pumped 3 1/2 ounces because we had a really busy day Saturday, and that's all I had time for. It was fine though, because I was really ready to nurse when we did get back Saturday night.

Before we went out to dinner, the kids and I went over to Amy's house Saturday afternoon after lunch. Julie and her kids came, as well as Julie's sister Tricia, who was 3 years ahead of us at DC, and her kids. We 4 moms visited while the kids played on the slip-n-slide and ran around. That was a really fun afternoon, but all too soon it was time to ehad home so I could get cleaned up and dressed up!

The dinner was at a country club down south, and there was a smaller turnout of classmates here. Again, it worked out just fine, as it was easier to talk in-depth with a smaller number of people. I had longer conversations with several old friends. It is really neat to see where people are and what they are doing. I know I never expected to be a homeschooling mom of 8 back in high school, and other people have had changes in their plans as well! I thought my classmates all looked really good! We're aging well, LOL. And none of us can believe it's been 20 years, because, well, we don't FEEL like we're close to 40!

Saturday night it was 11:00 before I looked at my watch! I couldn't believe it! I probably could have talked until they closed up the place, at 1:00, but I was definitely feeling the need to nurse at that point! I was very relieved to hear that Micah had done much better when I called home as Jason drove us all back. And I was very relieved to take my dressy black sandals off. My feet were killing me!

The reunion weekend continued for me Sunday. The kids and I went to Amy and Jason's church, which is also where Julie's parents go, so she and her kids came there as well! We took up 2 long rows! After the service, we all went out to eat at a Chinese buffet. It was so nice to catch up with Julie's folks as well!

So this was truly a memorable weekend, filled with a lot of laughter! I was a little nervous, especially Friday night in the parking lot of Marion's, but I very quickly felt like I was back among old friends again, with nothing to be nervous about! I had a thoroughly enjoyable time both days, and I am definitely looking forward to the next reunion! And in the meantime, at least we have Facebook, LOL.

Catching Up With Old Friends

2011-06-09T20:34:00.001-07:00

This weekend is my 20th high school reunion, and I am really looking forward to catching up with friends from back then. But I have actually already started catching up with old friends on this trip! The nice thing about Wright-Patterson AFB is that people often end up back there, so it's a great place to run into people from the past! So far in this visit, I have caught up with 3 friends from way back.

1. Beverly and her husband Ted were stationed at W-P back when we were stationed here, and we have kept up through the years. Their family stayed with us back in September while they saw the sights in D.C. Ted is now deployed in Afghanistan for a year, but we met Beverly and her kids at a park near my parents' house Saturday morning and had a lovely picnic lunch there.

2. Marie and her husband Fred were stationed at W-P back when I was in college, right after Bob and I were married. She and Fred had just gotten married as well, and he and Bob worked in the same organization. We even all went to the same dining out! Marie and I both graduated from Cedarville, and we only reconnected because we have another set of friends in common, one of Bob's old bosses! We met Marie and her 7 kids, plus one friend, at the pool Tuesday afternoon. It was broiling hot, but we had such a nice time visiting while the kids splashed away. Marie's husband is deployed to Germany right now, and Marie is getting ready to take the kids over there for 60 days to visit--fun!!

3. Dawn and her husband Fred were stationed with us in Colorado. We were in the same childbirth class before Nathan was born, and after their son Fredrick was born (just a few weeks after Nathan), Dawn and I were in the same moms walking group at Peterson AFB. We had such a great group of ladies! Dawn and Fred eventually followed us to W-P, so we went to each other's kid's birthday parties and had play dates together. But as frequently happens in the military, we both moved, our Christmas letters with new addresses got returned, and we lost touch. Thanks to Facebook, however, we reconnected! They are stationed back here at W-P, and Dawn and her 3 kids came over and visited Wednesday afternoon! It was so wonderful to see them again, and to catch up with Dawn! It turns out her husband is also preparing to deploy as well, although his deployment will be state-side. I know some people complain about Facebook, but it is certainly a wonderful tool for finding and keeping in touch with people you don't live anywhere near!

Now, I am sure you can see the common link here--all 3 of these ladies have husbands who have or will be deployed. Clearly, if you are friends of ours who have been stationed with us before and are now stationed at W-P, it is just a matter of time before your husband will be deploying! Just a warning--so sorry!

But now I am looking even farther back in time, as I think about seeing people from high school. Tomorrow Amy and I are having lunch and getting manicures and pedicures with Julie, our good friend, who is coming in for the reunion from PA. I am so excited to see her, since it's been several years! And then we have dinner at a pizza place Friday night and a more formal dinner on Saturday. I am a little nervous, I'll be honest, but I am so glad I'll be going in with Amy and Julie! The three amigos, LOL.

We're Here!

2011-06-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

We made in to Ohio yesterday after a long day of driving! Actually, we had a crazy long day before yesterday as well! Luke popped a wire off his braces over the weekend, so I was able to get him in to the orthodontist at 11:15 on Tuesday. I nursed Micah, then passed him off to Nathan and took Luke. On our way home we got a few things for the trip at Walmart and made some copies at Office Depot for Latin class. Once home, I ate lunch, nursed again, and then had Latin class. After we finished, I nursed again, passed off Micah, then headed off to a Rivendell planning meeting. We had a productive time, with another surprise announcement from Siri, the queen of surprises, and then I rushed back home again to nurse. I again immediately passed Micah off to waiting arms, then leaped back into the car to take Nathan to Civil Air Patrol. After eating a quick bite of dinner, I actually had to do some packing! I got everything into suitcases, but I pooped out before loading the van. It was soooo hot and humid too. I wasn't very motivated!

Wednesday I was up and nursing by 7:00, but since I had to load up the van, we still weren't able to leave until 9:45, after I nursed a second time. That makes for a long day already! Micah did really well on the trip. He smiled at whichever brother was by him, and he played with his dangling toys, for the most part. He also obliged by taking his binky when he was up before it was actually time to stop. He did decide he was done with the carseat the last hour of the trip, and he spent that time loudly protesting his imprisonment, but still--not too bad. We were remembering a trip we made to Hershey Park when Grace was about the same age, and she screamed the entire way up and back, which is only a 2 hour drive or so!

Faith, however, was not so cooperative. She pitched quite a few temper tantrums, complete with loud wails. I'm sure she would have been just fine, had she been allowed unfettered access to her snack bag, but alas, we cruelly took it away. We were listening to Tom Sawyer on CD, but we had to turn it off after Columbus because she and Micah were just so loud! We put on a TobyMac CD and cranked that up nice and loud. It didn't drown out the sound, but it was distracting enough for me. That is one nice thing about the big van--the sound isn't so compressed! For the trip back, though, I am definitely moving Faith's carseat right behind my seat. Her seat was in the middle row, out of reach of the long arm of the law, as it were.

Speaking of the big van, it really wasn't as tiring to drive it as I had expected! I think it is just so fatiguing to drive in the city, where there are lots of turns and lane changes. Out on the open road, however, it was fine. And I found I actually prefer driving the entire way, rather than sitting in the passenger seat. In that seat, the engine thing in the middle pokes way over where your legs go, so you really can't straighten your legs out. The driver's seat, however, has plenty of leg room, so it is much nicer.

So we're here, and we are filling up our schedule with seeing friends! I'm looking forward to a relaxing week here!

A Few Random Pictures

2011-05-29T13:45:00.001-07:00

Looks like being done with testing did not lead to lots of time to keep up with the blog, LOL. We've done some things that warrant their own post whenever we get around to it (Nathan's O-ride for CAP last weekend, for one), and otherwise we've been busy doing things that are routine and boring and do not warrant any kind of post at all. Like school. So here are a few random pictures, just to catch up a bit.

Bob put up for the weekend the big wooden horse that Aunt Ann and Uncle Wally gave Jonathan last year for his birthday. The only branch it works on is on the tree in the front yard, and with the trampoline-hating neighbors next door, you can imagine it can't stay up permanently! With the big van in the driveway, however, you can hardly see it from their house!

Grace and I were inside yesterday when all of a sudden she looked out the window and got so excited. "Daddy is getting out applesauce!!" she exclaimed as she raced outside! I was confused--applesauce outside? How messy! And unlike Bob! But it turns out the kids and Bob have named the horse Applesauce, like in the Apple Dumpling Gang, and I was just out of the loop entirely on that one. Anyhow, much fun has been had riding on Applesauce this weekend.

Speaking of riding, here is our own little cowgirl, Anna. She was invited to a western-themed birthday party for one of her little co-op friends, Amelia, yesterday afternoon. To say she was excited about it is putting it mildly! As soon as she received the invitation a few weeks ago, she was planning out her outfit and present! The kids all dressed up for the party, and Anna looked so cute! It is definitely a benefit, when dressing for a western party, to have had 4 older brothers, all of whom went through a big cowboy phase. Oh, and the oldest 2 of whom were actually born in Colorado. We probably have 10 pairs of cowboy boots, in stairstep sizes, as well as 2 complete vest and chaps sets, and numerous cowboy hats and bandanas. If you need cowboy dress, we're the place to go!

Here is a picture of Anna holding Micah, just because I thought it was cute. Micah is continuing to grow and grow. He's about 14 pounds, and he's getting so long too. I think he might actually outgrow the infant carseat before he's a year old, which will be a first for us! His skin has gotten a lot clearer, finally. He kept on waking up at 4:00 in the morning, so a few nights ago I started just giving him the binky then. He's taken it no problems and gone right back to sleep, as have I. Very nice! The he wakes up again around 6:30 or 7:00, a much more civilized time to begin the day, LOL. This makes for a much happier mama. You can't say he is lacking for food!

Faith has discovered this lovely, vibrating recliner, perfect for reading! She turns on the vibrating feature herself before climbing in and getting comfortable, LOL. Summer days are made for relaxing . . .

Here's one last picture of Micah. He is smiling more, but overall, he is a serious baby, always looking like he is pondering deep, complex thoughts!

We had a nice Memorial Day cookout with our Bible study Friday night, and we are relaxing for the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow I need to start getting ready for the trip to Ohio. It will be the first time I drive the big van out by myself, so prayers for a safe trip would be appreciated!

Testing's Over!

2011-05-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

Now maybe I can relax a little bit! Of course, I always worry until I get the results back, LOL. Everyone assured me it was so easy, and that they all took their time and were very careful, but you never know . . . Jonathan especially took a rather cavalier attitude toward actually reading through the entire question (and all the answer choices) during our test practice time, so we'll see.

I tested the first-graders, of which the only one doing the testing with our homeschool group was Joel McC. Christine told me he had been nervous about the whole thing, but it worked out so well. Last year there was a snafu in signing up for the church building. The church built a new building and moved into in during last summer, and the lady who had taken our "reservation" retired, so we never made it onto the church's calendar. Another homeschool group signed up to use the church for testing during "our" week. When our lady in charge realized this, she ended up working out that we would share the facility. Our group was upstairs in some rooms. This was bad in that there was no nursery room, but the room that Joel and I were in was like where you might hold a small group meeting--2 comfortable couches, a coffee table, etc. It was like testing in your family room! I was worried about where I would sit while nursing, so it was so nice to have this couch! I even laid Micah down on it to nap beside me, and he was happy as a clam. And Joel felt totally comfortable in there too--definitely no nervousness. It was nice!

Since there was no real nursery, Christine watched my girls Monday and Wednesday at her house, and Lynnea took them to her house Tuesday. This was such a blessing! They had so much fun at these houses, and it was so much nicer than sitting at the church for 3 days in a row!

There was talk of combining the 2 groups next year, or at least having us test at the same time again, since that makes the church be used only for one week. I'm taking over as the testing head person for our group next year, and I really would rather not do either option. We really can't combine. The other group has an elaborate structure--moms sign up to make all these snacks (plus sub. ones with kids with milk, gluten, nut allergies, etc.), the 3-5 year olds don't have nusery, but rather a VBS-style program, and every mom has to volunteer for some job (well, I do like that). The big thing is that there is a $10 cost PER CHILD to cover all this. I can't afford to pay an extra $60 or so so to be able to test! The tests alone are fairly expensive! And I would just as soon pack my own kids' snacks. I know what they like, and it is a whole lot cheaper than $10 per child!! Too complicated and expensive.

I don't really want to share the facility either. I NEED to have a nursery next year! And we barely had enough rooms this year, so next year one group would probably have to use the youth building as well as the upstairs. That is just really not as convenient, and I don't want to have to deal with it! I think having the 2 groups test different weeks gives people as option, if one date doesn't work or whatever.

I guess I'll be figuring all that out next year, joy, joy! To be honest, in a few years, I think Christine and I will test together and not worry about the group. Stanford has changed the rules so now you can test your own children, although I think you have to test other kids as well (so just not ONLY your own children). But for right now--WE'RE DONE! And I'm not worrying about it until later, LOL.

One Month Old Already?!

2011-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Micah is doing well, although we have said goodbye to his beautiful smooth baby face! He's broken out terribly on his face and chest, poor thing. I am sure this a combination of several things--for one, he is doing a bit more crying, since Grandma and Grandpa aren't here anymore, LOL. Since he sleeps on his tummy, he rubs his face in the dampness when he cries, which is irritating to his skin. But a bigger thing is that I had gotten lazy and was just washing his sheets (and clothes) in regular detergent, but I think it is too irritating. So I went back to the All-Free detergent a few days ago, when I had that brainstorm, and his face is actually looking a bit better.

He is definitely eating well. I think he is 13 pounds, based on me weighing myself, and then him and me. Wow--we just don't see those kinds of numbers at this age around here. I might actually have a baby that is 20 pounds by his first birthday! He's really not that chubby-looking--no big rolls of fat. Just solid!

He's finally started stretching out the night. I've been feeding him the last time around 9:30, and he's been going until 5:00 or 5:30. That has been SO nice. (Although watch--tonight he'll be up every 3 hours to prove the last 3 nights were a fluke, LOL.) He still fusses around to get off to sleep. That should make next week a challenge. He's going to be with me while I administer testing--fortunately, I'm testing 1st graders, and it's only Joel McC. I guess we'll just have to take breaks while he fusses around to get himself off to sleep, since he does that even when I am holding him! It will be a long 3 days, however, I am thinking. The days where I could just set him in his carseat and expect him to drift off peacefully have passed way too quickly!

Micah waited to really start smiling and cooing until after his grandma left, even though she was waiting eagerly for such a smile. He really smiles at the kids. He started smiling and cooing at Luke even before me! And although he does smile at me sometimes, he still mainly has a very serious demeanor with me. Obviously, eating for him is a very serious business! He's such a sweetie though. We are all thoroughly enjoying him!!

Oh, forgot to add--in the picture, Micah is sporting a space shuttle mission patch sticker, which we got at the NASA Goddard open house we went to today. It was quite crowded, but the kids got some neat little trinkets. We missed out on the tours because we weren't there as soon as the gates opened to pick up tickets (if that is indeed how you got tickets for the tours--the helpers were unhelpfully unclear about the actual process). But we made it there, and we made it back, with all 8 kids, so that was in and of itself a victory!

Ice Cream!

2011-05-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

The end of another week! Today we were supposed to go to the National Cathedral with our co-op, but we ended up postponing. I was so thrilled, not because the tour wouldn't have been fun, but because I just really needed a day where we didn't have to go anywhere! We have been rushing around this week, and I am so tired, especially with Bob being gone.

We finished up our Rivendell year with an ice cream sundae bar on Tuesday. We had lots of ice cream and a bunch of toppings, as you can see from Caleb's multi-colored creation. Fresh strawberries, M&Ms, and chocolate sauce are all I need to make a yummy sundae, and we had all of those, so I was quite happy! Before we ate, the younger kids recited all their memory work--I was so proud! Nathan just has to finish his history final, and he'll be all done for the summer . . . except for the Spanish Siri assigned to keep them all from forgetting everything they ever learned this past year! Actually, that is a bit misleading, as we'll still do math, grammar, and Latin over the summer as well. But he'll be finished with the rest of Rivendell stuff!

Wednesday, Grace had her 4-year well-child appointment. The doctor and I were pleased to see that she has really chunked up since her month of sickness back in October. She is up to 31 pounds, which puts her in about the 20th percentile, instead of the 5th percentile or below, where she's been the rest of her life! I'm not sure what to attribute the weight gain to, but it's a good thing! Grace was so funny in the exam room. She stood at attention, like a little soldier, with her arms at her side, and a little smile on her face, but she would not answer any questions, even what her name was! Finally she did say she was 4. No, no socially awkward homeschoolers here, LOL. I made sure to point out all the socialization opportunities we are involved with! Grace had to get 4 shots as well, and absolutely miracuously she didn't cry at all! She was very excited about the lollipop and sticker she was going to get after it was over, and I guess the thought of those things was enough to get her over the edge. I took Luke along to help me with Micah, and I was so glad to have another pair of arms. How did I manage before I had all these older boys to help?!

We are also dealing with a poison ivy outbreak here. Bob and Jonathan did some yard work last weekend and touched some, because both of them are suffering. Bob is really sensitive to poison ivy, and he didn't have any benedryl or anything during his TDY, so the reaction just got worse. Hopefully we can get a handle on it this weekend. He was able to be home today, since he already got in all his hours, so that was nice. We all had a restful day at home!

So that was our week--plus other miscellaneous activities, such as a house appraisal on Monday (and all the cleaning that goes with that!), Latin class on Wednesday after Grace's appointment, and my Bible study with Kimberly and an orthodontic appointment for Luke on Thursday. Thursday night we had a treat--the McC's invited us over for dinner and to play! That was a fun time! We rushed home to take showers, and then I picked up Bob from the airport. Whew! I always think "next week will be easier", and yet--it never is! I just have to get through testing next week . . .

Week-End Wrap-Up

2011-05-07T08:18:00.001-07:00

Wow, Micah is 4 weeks old tonight! And life has gone on in other areas as well!

1. The Tuesday morning co-op finished up the year on Tuesday with a second week doing the Presidential Physical Fitness Test. Luke was a Presidential award winner, and Caleb and Jonathan were both National winners, just missing the Presidential mark by a bit in 1 or 2 categories. We did have a big personal victory for Caleb in the run, though. Eight-nine year olds can either run the 1/2 mile (in a blistering pace of about 3 1/2 minutes for the Presidential time) or the mile (in 8 1/2 minutes). Caleb just wanted to run the 1/2 mile, but I encouraged him to do the mile, because I knew Luke couldn't make the Presidential 1/2 mile time 2 years ago. He dithered back and forth, but eventually he decided to try the mile. And he came in under the 8:30 time! I knew he could do it, and I was so proud of him for trying, because he often likes to just do the easiest thing, not the thing which he is capable of but is more difficult.

Nathan and the other Rivendell boys ran as well. They actually ran with all the different age ranges, encouraging all their little brothers and sisters, and after the siblings were done, they also would go back and find the runners who were having a hard time finishing and run with them into the finish. It was so nice to see them being so encouraging!

Tuesday evening we had the big end-of-the-year picnic and graduation ceremony for the 6th graders. The weather forecast for Tuesday was very gloomy--lots of rain and thunderstorms--but the Lord held off the rain and bad weather until Tuesday night, so we had a lovely day! It was really special for my parents to be there to see Luke get recognized as a graduate. They usually don't get to be at these kind of occasions!

2. I've used the new oven a few times this week, and it's been mixed, at best. I baked chocolate chip cookies for Bob's birthday, and they turned out fine. But I made meatloaf Monday night, and that was dry and a bit brown on the bottom. I made a turkey on Thursday (that was actually what Bob requested for his birthday dinner, but I didn't get it out of the freezer early enough to make on Monday!), and that was also a lot drier than usual. So I'm going to have to play around a bit with temperatures and times, it looks like. But cooking is one thing I do a ton of, so I will have plenty of opportunities to practice, LOL. So far I have only really used the top oven, so I need to do more with the bottom oven and see if it has the same issues.

3. My parents left this morning, after being here for 5 weeks. We are really missing them already! They were such a tremendous help the whole time they were here. They gave the girls baths and put them down many times. Mom helped with the cooking, Dad helped with some outside work, and both helped with the general clean-up. Now we have to get back into a regular routine! Bob is going TDY to CA for the week on Monday, so I will be thrust into dealing with all the kids on my own! Good thing I have so many older helpers, especially ones who want to hold Micah! And we are getting a ton of delicious meals from friends in church or co-op, so I doubt I'll have to do too much cooking next week! Our friends are such a huge blessing to us!

4. Looking ahead to next week, we have our last meeting of Rivendell on Tuesday. I can't believe the year is over! We're having an ice cream sundae party to celebrate! The next week is the Stanford Achievement Tests, so we are mainly doing test practice and prep this week. We are starting the Latin class up again on Wednesday. We took a few weeks off after I had the baby, although the boys kept doing exercises. We were at a review point in the book, so that was perfect timing. And Friday we are taking a little field trip to the National Cathedral with the other Rivendell families. Should be fun!

Happy Birthday, Grace!!

2011-05-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since Grace was born! She was definitely our surprise baby, coming just 13 months after Anna! Her birth story was another more difficult one, like Micah's. Hmmm . . . something about my even-numbered children--they are harder to birth, LOL. But we are so happy that Grace came into our family! She is such a delicate little sprite. She loves to dress up and to play dolls with her sisters. Her new favorite activity is coloring. She is a very dedicated colorer, very particular and careful. She colors in the lines, and she even outlines--Aunt Claire's coloring genes have passed down to another generation!

After our exciting birthday celebration Friday night, Saturday was a more quiet day! Bob did some outside work, the rest of us cleaned the garage and the house, and then Bob took the kids to a showing of "Tangled" at our church in the evening. There was face-painting, popcorn, and cotton candy as well, so the kids had a great time!

But the most important thing that happened on Saturday is that Bob and my dad finished installing our new double oven!!! Our old top oven died on St. Patrick's Day--I could not make Irish soda bread! The bottom oven limped along, taking longer and longer to preheat, and sometimes turning off, but it kept working until the end, praise the Lord. I was able to bake Grace's cupcakes and reheat a casserole a friend from church brought us on Thursday, and then Bob and my dad took out the old oven in preparation for the new one being delivered Friday. There were a few technical difficulties--some drywall had to be cut to make it fit exactly right--but it is working now! Here is a picture of our new workhorse. Hopefully it will last close to 20 years, like the old one.

Today we had church, and then growth group at our house in the afternoon. I made Amy's nachos, which were a big hit, as well as some more chocolate-covered strawberries (also a big hit!), and we ate the rest of Grace's birthday cupcakes. After growth group, Grace opened her presents, and then we were able to Skype with my brother and his family! The kids really enjoyed seeing Emily and Elia, their cousins! So it was a good day, and a good weekend!

Big Birthday Bash!

2011-04-30T20:00:00.001-07:00

We are having a very special birthday weekend! My dad's birthday was yesterday, Grace's birthday is tomorrow, and Bob's birthday is Monday! So to celebrate, we brought lots of desserts to Bible study, where we sang "Happy Birthday" to all the celebrants, to include Amy P., who shares Bob's birthday on Monday!

My mom and I made birthday request desserts--my Grandma G.s coffee cake for my dad, cupcakes (funfetti ones, just like Anna's!) with purple and green frosting for Grace (notice the "4" design), and chocolate-covered strawberries for Bob. He actually wasn't sure what to request, so Caleb suggested the strawberries--mainly because I hadn't made them since he outgrew his milk allergy, and he wanted to taste them! (He thought they were "okay". We assured him that if he was not THOROUGHLY enjoying them, then he could just leave them for everyone else, LOL.). We came home with a few cupcakes, and that was all--the coffee cake and the strawberries (4 pounds of them) all went!

Grace has been so excited for her birthday to come! We have our church small group over tomorrow afternoon, but after they leave, we'll eat left-over cupcakes and she can open her presents. So exciting!!

Micah's 2 Week Appointment

2011-04-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

I realized I never posted here about Micah's 2 week well-baby appointment, which was on Monday. He has regained his birth weight, plus one ounce, so he is up to 10 pounds, 9 ounces. He's grown another 3/4 inch to be 22 3/4 inches long. He's healthy and happy, and everything checked out just fine! He's settling into a good sleeping routine as well. I've been feeding him and putting him down for the last time around 11:00, and he wakes up around 4:00 and again around 7:30 or so. I can't complain!

He is still constantly surrounded by his ever-adoring fans, all of whom clamor to hold him. Has any baby ever been surrounded by so much love?! I have to remind people to give him some space, LOL. A friend asked me yesterday how Faith was doing, and if she was jealous. She's doing fine with Micah, and I would say she is not jealous at all--I still have plenty of time to hold her, because so many other people are always holding Micah!

Random Post-Partum Thoughts

2011-04-21T11:17:00.001-07:00

I really haven't disappeared, but I am enjoying this "babymoon"! We've sort of taken a 2 week spring break, with minimal school especially for the younger kids, and it has been so nice. I've actually had time to have some random thoughts!

1. Micah is coming right along, as far as sleeping. He had a few nights where he basically only got up once to feed. I fed him around 11:30, then he was up again around 4:00, and then again at 7:30ish. The last 2 nights he's been up twice during the night, but still . . . I can't complain. He's awake for much longer periods during the day too. He has a really strong neck, so he is always rearing back to look around at things . . . or I should say faces, since those are what usually surround him. He has his 2 week well-baby appointment on Monday, and I'll be curious to see how much he weighs. He's a good nurser! He had his first bath yesterday (his cord fell off Saturday). I love snuggling with a clean baby who smells like baby shampoo!

2. There's a lot I greatly dislike about the first few weeks of nursing, but one thing I do like is all the time to read! One book I just finished was Three Cups of Tea, which is timely in light of the controversy going on right now about whether Greg Mortenson lied about what he has done, and if he spent the money donated wisely. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that people sure are quick to judge Mortenson and treat random people from Afghanistan and Pakistan as worthy and reliable witnesses, with no real evidence to do so! From reading the book, it seems that the reason people didn't like Mortenson, or found him hard to work with, was because he was scatter-brained, had no concept of time, and did things on his own schedule. I can see someone like that telling stories but not getting all the details completely right--compressing stories, mixing them up, etc. I've known people like that! And I think that is also the culture he is working in, so that's probably one reason why he fit in there. I'm not sure all his critics really understand the difficulties of working in a culture that is so different from America? I don't know--it just seems like a lot of what I have read has been unreasonable expectations, flavored with a bit of sour grapes. But now the Montana governor has opened an investigation (which will hopefully be more even-handed than one led by sensationalistic 60 Minutes!), so hopefully any real wrong-doing will be exposed, and any unjustified criticisms will also be revealed, although I'm sure those will never get any press (did everyone notice that Gen. McCrystal has been cleared of wrong-doing? Yeah, that didn't get the big headlines. His career was ruined by a left-leaning rag, with no real evidence . . . ).

3. Another book I just finished was called Birth Day by Mark Sloan, a pediatrician in Roseville, CA (did you know him, Melinda? : ) The subtitle says, "A pediatrician explores the science, the history, and the wonder of childbirth". It was so interesting, and Sloan is a pretty funny writer as well. The chapters on the history of pain medicine in labor were really fascinating, and as usual, I am left wondering why hospitals in America don't get on the nitrous oxide bandwagon for pain relief. One quote that I thought was interesting was, "Here at home the goal of hospital labor pain management is often the complete obliteration of pain; in Europe and elsewhere, particularly in countries like England, where most uncomplicated vaginal delieveries are performed by midwives, the objective is "good enough" pain relief." I would have been interested in something that briefly took the edge off of my most difficult transition contractions, but went out of my system a few seconds after I stopped inhaling it. I was absolutely not interested in something that would make me nauseous and woozy and would affect my baby, especially since I realized, even if the doctor didn't, that I was almost ready to push. Anyway, I think because the author is a pediatrician, and not an OB (or a midwife, for that matter), he was able to be a little more even-handed about the managed hospital births that generally take place here in America. There was a TON of evolutionary biology, which is so speculative, and I did not enjoy that, but overall the book was really a good read.

4. I LOVE the nursing camis that Target sells! What a great idea! They are comfortable, they layer well under shirts, and then when you nurse, you don't have to pull up your shirt and expose your belly that has the stretch marks of 8 pregnancies for all the world to see (theoretically, of course)! I only bought one, but I'm going to get some more. I think I'll wear them for all my in-public nursing!

Hmmm . . . I am sure there are more things I was going to post about, but my brain is still a bit mushy . . . We are still battling the ants, who have opened up another front in our pantry. We are enjoying tremendously all the delicious meals friends from church and co-op have brought us. I am very blessed to have generous friends who are excellent cooks! And we are looking forward to my dad flying back here Saturday. He flew back to Ohio last Saturday to take care of some business, and he had a little scare with some chest pain/pressure. He was hospitalized for 2 nights while they checked into things. Nothing showed up as wrong with his heart, which was good, but now he has to follow up with his family doctor.

Finally . . . Some Pictures

2011-04-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

I put some pictures up on Facebook, but I have sadly neglected the blog! Here are a few pictures of Micah.

My parents brought everyone to visit Sunday morning--the kids were too excited to go to church! They stayed for awhile, and Bob, Grandpa, and Nathan brought lunch back from the base McDonalds for everyone. All the kids got to hold Micah, but Faith was more interested in snuggling with me!

Micah was a little too big for his hospital t-shirt and blankets! We had quite a time keeping him all covered up--usually one foot was poking out the bottom!

We came home Monday afternoon, and everyone was quite happy to see us! Micah's skin on his face has cleared up nicely. All the hospital staff kept remarking on how round and well-shaped his head was, even though he was so big. And it's true--Faith had this huge ridge on her head for the first few days after her birth, and she was almost a pound less, with a much smaller head!

Micah's doing well. We're working on getting his days and nights straight for him, and he is not enjoying the feeling of his bowels working, LOL. But he is a great nurser, and he loves that my milk is already in and can fill his tummy! He despises being on his back and lets us know that with the screechiest cry of any of our babies, so we've already been putting him down on his tummy some. I don't think there has ever been a baby who has been more loved on! Micah is definitely not lacking for attention and snuggling!

Micah Edward is Here!

2011-04-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

Now, for all the details . . . Nothing happened after I exercised Saturday morning. Once again, I only felt contractions if i sat down, and they weren't regular or strong or anything. But Bob was really getting antsy about having another crazy drive down the beltway, like we had with Faith, so he wanted me to just go in and get checked. I called the labor unit, and they said to come right on in. So we got to Bethesda around 3:00. They put me on a monitor, and it seemed like the baby's heartbeat was going up and down, although later they decided it was actually just the monitor being wacky, and not the baby. But that made me a bit alarmed and more likely to want to want to stay. When the doctor examined me, she said I was at 5 cm. I was hoping to be at least 6 cm, but oh well. So they admitted me, with a plan to let me walk around a little bit, and then start some pitocin to regulate my very irregular contractions and also to break my water. Now I don't like interventions, and I would much rather go into labor all natural. But it wasn't happening, and I was just a little bit concerned about the baby being healthy. Two of my other kids (Luke and Anna) passed meconium before birth, and I knew that was a possibility here too. I just had this weird feeling.

I walked around for about 30 minutes, although I knew that wasn't going to do anything, if all my treadmill walking didn't ever start anything! I was happy to find a birthing ball in the room for me to use (an improvement over 2 years ago when I had Faith), and well as wi-fi (another improvement!). My nurse was great about letting me sit on the ball, so I rocked on there for awhile. Eventually the pitocin got started at around 4:45, and the contractions did get regular, although still not too strong. Finally the doctor came in at 6:15 to check me and break my water. I was still at 5 cm! That was discouraging! And there was indeed meconium in the water. Another thing to pray about. So they kept ramping up the pit, and eventually when I was checked at 8:00 or so, I was all of . . . 6 cm. What?! I was not happy! I was sure I was moving into transition because I was geting sweaty and a bit shaky. I was starting to doubt this one doctor's ability to measure me, LOL.

The contractions were getting quite strong by this point, and Bob was doing a great job of pressing his fist into my lower back to put counterpressure there. I was lying on my left side by that point, which is my "favorite" position for transition. I will say, though, that the thought of having hours more of these strong contractions was making me seriously be tempted by an epidural. In fact, the doctor (same one who kept measuring me) told me, "I know this labor isn't progressing as fast as you would like, so you can always just have some other drugs, if not the epidural . . ." I was actually tempted, but I just tried to take it one contraction at a time. I could tell the baby was moving down, and I was definitely feeling more pressure.

Around 9:00 I told Bob I was getting close, although I knew I wasn't complete yet. He went ahead and pressed the call button, since you never know how long it will actually take the doctor to get there! To our surprise, 3 of them (2 regular docs I had been seeing all afternoon plus one student) came right away. They checked me and said I was at 9. Then the one who usually measured me said they would check back in an hour! Ha! I let them leave because I wanted to be on my side for a little longer, but I told Bob I was already feeling pushy, and it definitely was not going to take an hour for me to go the last cm! Sure enough, by 9:15 I was definitely pushing, so we called the doctors back, and they officially declared me complete at 9:20. It was nice to push on my own for a contraction or 2. I hate the whole "breaking down the bed" uncomfortableness, right as you are ready to push!

So there I was, pushing away, and I could tell this baby was going to be big because he wasn't just popping out, LOL. I could feel him moving down and start to crown, so you would think that the next push would just pop him out. But it didn't. So with the next contraction, I pushed really hard. And kept pushing. Took a breath and pushed some more. And a bit more. Why wasn't he out yet?! The doctors and Bob were all saying, "Keep pushing! Don't stop!" and they were moving my legs all around. But the head was not coming out!! I was pushing so hard I saw stars! I was really starting to doubt if this I was going to be able to push this baby out. It was a little scary, but it wasn't like I could really dwell on it, LOL. Finally the head came out, but there was no relief, because there were the shoulders. Another hard bit of pushing, and then FINALLY I felt the body slither out. Relief--at last!

Micah Edward was born at 9:38 PM, April 9. Because of the meconium, the baby had to go directly over to the pediatrician there in the room for suctioning. I could not have cared less, LOL. I was just so relieved to have him out of me! I took a look and could tell he was a big baby--like I had any doubt about that after all that pushing! The peds docs got him all suctioned out, and then I started nursing. He fussed around for awhile, but remembering Faith and her low blood glucose adventures, I really worked to get him to latch on. Finally he did and nursed for awhile. I talked to my mom at this point, but we didn't have any details about any statistics because no one had weighed or measured him! Finally the corpsman came in with the scale about 11:00. Micah was 10 pounds, 8.5 ounces, and 22 inches long, with a head circumference of 38 cm (15 inches!). Yeah--that's big. Micah did have a low blood glucose reading the first time they took it, so we had to get it checked a few more times. But thankfully it was never low again, and he's been nursing like a champ.

I was so sore last night. I had to laugh about how much I had been complaing about my aching pelvis. HA! I didn't even KNOW what an aching pelvis was! I thought my pelvis was going to crumple up and fall out. I could hardly walk! Thankfully, that is another benefit of Micah being my 8th, and not my 1st--today I feel much, much better, and not so sore at all. My bleeding has really tapered off too, which is nice. The doctors and nurses kept remarking about how amazing it was that I had a pitocin-induced delivery with no epidural and no tearing. It was definitely a gift from God. Micah's name means "Who is like the Lord?", and I could feel the Lord strengthing me during the whole labor.

So we will be coming home tomorrow, Lord willing! I wanted to get pictures posted from here, but the connection is really slow, so I'm not even going to bother trying. In the meantime, Bob and I are just enjoying this nice, quiet little vacation, snuggling with Micah and rubbing his sweet newborn head and cheeks! He's a doll! We're so thankful for him.

Update

2011-04-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I have no idea why my posts are not publishing with paragraph breaks in them! I keep going back and adding them in, even manually into the html code, but they still are publishing in one big paragraph of type. Frustrating. So I apologize that they are hard to read! Okay--editing one more time to say I think I figured out a new way to make paragraph breaks that is working! Yay!

Now for the update. Obviously I am still around. Thursday night I had several contractions that woke me up during the night, although they never were in any sort of regular pattern or anything. I was nervous about Bob going in to work, but with no pattern or anything, it seemed like the best idea. And sure enough, once I got up and started the day, I had no more contractions. I felt uncomfortable throughout the day, though, and I did end up losing my mucus plug, so I guess things are still technically happening.

Last night, I didn't have any contractions at all that woke me up, but I just didn't feel good. My back was quite achy as well. But again, now that I am up, nothing is happening. Sigh. It would be very possible for me to make it to my appointment Tuesday afternoon with no contractions and not in active labor! I was 5 cm dilated and not in active labor when I went to my appointment on Anna's due date, and the doctor did not send me home because she was worried I would go into labor and have the baby immediately! So we will see what happens. I am going to go exercise here shortly. At least we made it to the weekend, where traffic shouldn't be the issue no matter what time it is!

Progress . . .

2011-04-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

I had another OB appointment this afternoon, and I am pleased to report some progress! I am now between 3 and 4 cm dilated, with a "stretchy" cervix. I'm 75% effaced, and the baby is at -1 station. She did strip my membranes, although not all that thoroughly I didn't think, so hopefully it will be enough to move me into active labor sometime in the near future. I still haven't had too many contractions that I felt were actually doing anything, so I was glad to hear that some progress was indeed made, even without me feeling it really.

So now we just have to pray for the timing also--getting to Bethesda in rush hour is a dicey proposition. Ideally I would go into labor tonight or tomorrow night, or else during this weekend! Bethesda doesn't induce until 41 weeks, so I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 3:00, which is about the worst possible time for an appointment, as far as rush hour goes. Hopefully I won't need it! If the government does indeed shut down, then Bob's conference will be cancelled, so maybe having the baby next week wouldn't be such a problem. We'll see. Like I said before, though, having him this weekend would be better! We are having some second thoughts on names, however, so maybe he is waiting until we are settled before making his debut?

I've been taking an ever-increasing number of herbs to help things along. I always take my prenatal multivitamin, as well a fish oil pill, which is supposed to help even out moods and promote brain development in the baby. Around 32 weeks I started taking the red raspberry leaf capsules, which promote uterine toning and effective contractions. At first I just took 2 pills a day, but now I am up to 4. At around 36 weeks I started the alfalfa pills. Those are supposed to help control bleeding after birth, and after the doctors I had with Grace were so paranoid about that, I did research and took them with Faith (no problems there!). I'm taking 4 of those a day now too. And starting Saturday I am taking 3 evening primrose oil pills a day as well, to help soften the cervix. Those appear to have worked! I should have started a few weeks ago with those too, but I didn't think of it until I read some things on the alldoulas message board I like to lurk on. So that is 13 pills a day if I remember everything, LOL.

As I wait, I am more and more uncomfortable. My poor aching pelvis! Plus, with each baby I have, I think I dread the actual delivery more. I hate pushing, even though it is so much shorter now than with the first 1 or even 2. The doctor did say that she thought this one looked like a big baby, since my belly is so big, and I would have to agree with her. Caleb and Jonathan were 9# 5 oz and 9# 6 oz, so I would say we are definitely looking at that size or bigger. And it IS harder to push out a 9 pound baby than an 8 pound one! Oh well--no turning back now, LOL. And I am definitely not willing to just continue being pregnant, just to avoid pushing! I will be glad when it's all over, though. I will try to keep everyone updated if anything does start happening, although I don't think Bethesda has wi-fi. We'll see!

Cupcakes For Anna

2011-04-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Anna's 5th birthday again Friday night at Bible study! Bob flew back in Friday afternoon, and my parents drove in at dinner time, so we had lots of people to celebrate with! The picture is of her and her birthday buddy Amanda, who turned 13 on Mar. 28! For the past several months, we've been trying to nail down what kind of cake Anna wanted me to make. She came up with several complicated princess-y ideas, which of course changed all the time. But a few weeks ago, she came up with the idea of cupcakes, which I thought sounded wonderfully easy! My mom had the brainstorm of using the timy mini-muffin tins, instead of the regular-sized one. I thought this was a great idea, since 24 cupcakes wouldn't be enough for our whole Bible study, and I really didn't want to make up 48 regular-sized cupcakes. She picked out "white" cake, so Luke and I thought she would enjoy Funfetti cupcakes, like Amy and I used to make in college. And of course she wanted pink frosting! So using only one box of mix, I was able to make about 55 mini cupcakes, and we had 9 left over! I just frosted them using a big star tip--some with a big swirl, and some with stars. Anna liked them! Everyone else liked them too, and I especially liked how easy they were to make, LOL. Grace is now saying she also wants cupcakes for her birthday, although with purple and orange (?!) frosting, and I am fine with that! Here's one last shot of the 5 year old birthday girl, enjoying wht is left of her ice cream!

OB Appointment

2011-03-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

So I had an appointment this afternoon. She checked me, and frankly, not too much is happening! I am only a fingertip dilated, and not too effaced either. I was pretty surprised, because usually by this point in pregnancy (38 1/2 weeks), I am around 3 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. So that was quite discouraging. I go back again next Thursday. I've been having more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions in the afternoons and evenings, and it is always sad to realize they have been accomplishing nothing at all! I know people who rocket from 0 to 10 in a few hours--but I am not one of them, LOL. And you would think if it hasn't happened like that in 7 births, it's probably not going to happen with this one either! I had posted on Facebook that I hoped this baby wasn't going to take after Jonathan, who is #4. He was 2 weeks overdue and had to be induced--except that I really think my dates weren't that accurate with him. I was nursing when I got pregnant, and I never had an early ultrasound. He was the last baby I did the triple-screen, or any of the bloodwork for possible problems, because his numbers came back really low. Obviously he didn't have any problems, and if we were off a bit on his due date, that could cause the low numbers. I am not uncertain about this baby's due date, however--in fact, the doctor moved his due date back to Ap. 11 after an early dating ultrasound! So maybe he just doesn't want to come out. Sigh. I am ready for him to be born! My pelvis is aching, my pubic bone is so sore from his head being on it--I'm done! Jonathan was my biggest baby, at 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and I really don't want to have one bigger than that. I like to lurk on this doula website, and one of the websites often mentioned there is Spinning Babies. The site tries to help women get their babies in the best position for birth. I'm going to try some of their exercises--maybe he's just not in a good position. We'll see. If you drop by in the next few days, and I am crawling everywhere on my hands and knees, you'll know what I am doing!

Birth Curiosity

2011-03-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has been quite curious about birth with this pregnancy. He has suggested a few times that I just have the baby at home, so he could see the whole show, LOL. When I told him it was kind of messy, he suggested I just have the baby outside! That way the carpet wouldn't get dirty. Good thinking! I am sure our crabby neighbors would LOVE that! ("I'm sure there's a covenant about that, 'David'--keep looking!!") Ha!

Anyhow, when I was at the library last weekend, I picked up a video called From Conception to Birth, put out by Discovery Channel, thinking that might answer some questions. I watched it that night, and tonight all the kids and I watched it together. It wasn't bad, as far as the actual pregnancy part went. They were very tasteful about conception, never really mentioning how the sperm and egg got together, so that made it nice for a multiple age range viewing. And they had lots of nice computer graphics to show how the baby develops during the 9 months in the womb.

But the birth scenes--oh, my goodness! They drove me crazy! The video follows 9 women who are expecting, and it shows the births of 3 of them. Two are having their 3rd babies, and one is having her first. They all have total hospital births. They never come out and say they were induced, but it seems like they all could have been. The two women having their 3rd babies get epidurals pretty much immediately, but the first-time mom wants to hold out. You can hear the nurse say something like, "Well, the contractions only get more intense, so be sure to tell me right away whenever you want your epidural." Shockingly, she gives in pretty soon after and gets an epidural as well. And all 3 of these women are just laying back, like huge beached whales, during the whole labor! No changing positions, no walking around, no comfort measures . . . NOTHING! I kept telling the boys, "They could be doing things so much differently, and maybe they would cope better with their contractions!" But no one was suggesting ANYTHING to them to do differently, or even to the husbands to help them.

And during the whole time, the narrator was intoning drivel basically about how impossible it was to give birth, how scary, how painful, etc. Gah. No encouragement for expecting mothers there! All 3 women pushed again pretty much laying flat on their backs. I seriously can not imagine a more uncomfortable position to be in to push, not to mention the bad physics of then having to push the baby UP over the pelvic bone from that position. And sure enough, the first-time mom had a really hard time. She pushed for while with no progress until the doc threatened her with a section ("I'll let you try for 15 more minutes . . ."). Then somehow she got a second wind and managed to push the baby down. Again, no one suggested anything that she might do differently!!! As if a c-section is the only other option out there! I kept telling the boys, "Laying flat is THE worst position to push in! Work WITH gravity, not against it!" Gah . . . so frustrating.

The actual births were filmed very nicely--all from above or from the shoulder. You could see the baby emerging, but not really anything else, so that was really nice. They did a great job with that. The boys couldn't believe all the tugging on the babies as they were being born! And the girls were a bit alarmed at the blood and goo all over the babies, LOL. I do think the video answered any questions about childbirth, so that was good, and I didn't hear Jonathan say anything about wanting to see this one, LOL. I think seeing all those precious newborn babies made us all very excited to have this little guy come soon, though! And hopefully everyone will have more sympathy and understanding for me!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

2011-03-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I am a few days late with this post, but Anna turned 5 years old on Monday, hard as that is to believe! She has been eagerly awaiting her birthday for quite some time now! Bob had to go TDY to California Monday, but fortunately he didn't have to leave until 1:30, so we were able to still celebrate with him before I took him to the airport. We had Anna's birthday meal at lunch ("tuna pockets"), and then she opened her presents and we all had a chocolate chip cookie (we made them Monday morning) and a scoop of ice cream. It was kind of nice to have the celebration in the middle of the day like that! Anna got a magnetic princess book from Grandma and Grandpa B (because she loves the one Aunt Amy gave Grace so much!), a princess coloring book and puzzle from us (puzzle is already missing 3 pieces . . . sigh), and a set of pink pom poms from Uncle Dan and Aunt Melinda (she knows what to do with those from watching all the basketball games, LOL!). She got to play with her presents the rest of the day, so I think she liked opening them up in the afternoon as well!

We are going to take cupcakes (at Anna's request--no big cake! Woo hoo!) to Bible study on Friday night, so we will continue the celebration then. Bob flies back Friday afternoon, and my parents drive in then too, Lord willing, so there will be lots of people around for the second party! In the meantime, Anna is enjoying being 5, along with all the added maturity and growth that goes along with this huge jump in age, LOL.

Winding Down

2011-03-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that the school year is winding down for us, especially since we're not really slowing down, LOL. Well, I am, but that's a different story! At the one co-op for the younger kids, they are in their last unit, which is weather. They'll finish that up and then have 2 weeks the end of April where they will take the Presidential Physical Fitness test. People have been practicing here, although some have been practicing more than others, so we'll see how that all goes. Nathan actually has to take a PFT Tuesday for Civil Air Patrol as well.

As far as Rivendell goes, we officially end May 10 (our 32nd week), so we have a few more weeks. Life science, however, only had 27 chapters, and we have diligently plowed through them, so we will be done with science in 2 Tuesdays, on April 5! This worked out perfectly, since I am due April 11. That week we will have our spring break, since another mom will be busy with last minute details of her only daughter's wedding that next Saturday. After spring break, the boys will just have literature/writing, Spanish, and history, so I know they will think they have it easier!

I have been very pleased with the BJU Life Science text this year. It has given the boys a very thorough overview of biology, and I know they will be quite prepared for their high school biology class. It covered a lot, though, and there were definitely some chapters where I would have liked to spend 2 weeks! The next time I teach it, which will be Lord willing in 2 years, I probably won't be having a baby, so we will be able to slow down a bit. Next year we are doing physical science, or, as it is currently faddish to call it, "Integrated Physics and Chemistry", and that book only has 21 chapters, so I am looking forward to going at a slower pace. I will say, however, that I am not looking forward to the subject matter as much, LOL. I love chemistry, but physics is NOT my favorite. Oh well.

We will also be stopping the official memory work part that I have been doing with the younger kids in the afternoon after spring break, although I have everything all copied out for the rest of the year, so they can do it individually if they want to. That's what we'll do, anyway! The kids have learned a ton of stuff this year--we're almost all the way finished with Hebrews 11:1-12:2, and we've memorized 5 poems completely. We're on point 27 ("The Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression--1929") of the 32 point timeline, and the kids are really doing well, even with the dates. They've also memorized a science fact each week from the life science chapter that the older boys are working on, and I must say it has been helpful for the older boys to hear the younger kids chanting things through the week like the formula for cellular respiration, the stages of mitosis, and the main bones of the skeletal system!

I have been so pleased with Nathan's progress in Spanish, writing, and history this year as well. In Spanish, he is so much more fluent than I ever was after 2 years of high school French! Siri is going to have them keep working on some stuff over the summer so they don't forget everything before August. And now that we have started doing Latin again, Nathan is singing the praises of Spanish, as compared to Latin! Luke is looking forward to starting Spanish next year.

I have also seen vast improvement in his writing, thanks to Theresa and her wonderful teaching. He has become a lot quicker at expressing his thoughts on paper, as well as clearer. He is still much more succinct in comparison to some though, LOL. He has also enjoyed the books they have read and discussed for the literature part. Luke is also taking a literature class from Theresa in the afternoon, and he has also really enjoyed the discussions and books. Theresa pretty much has them writing something each week, which has been great, and Nathan has had to do a lot of timed essays for practice as well. Right now he is doing a big research paper on blood.

In history, the boys have finally reached Rome. Christine tells me each week about the lively discussions they are having, which is Nathan's favorite part. Tapestry of Grace also moves really quickly, and in fact next year, when we do TOG Year 2, we are going to split it into 2 years, since it covers so much so fast. That will hopefully give the boys more time to do some of the extra more hands-on activities that we just haven't had time to do this year. They have covered so much ground, and they are retaining a lot too, as evidenced by all they talked about at the museum in Philadelphia!

The past 3 weeks we have met at our house, as opposed to our church, where we usually meet. Our church building is being remodeled to make room for more offices. When Craig, the church administrator, first told us this was on the agenda, way back in August, we thought, "Oh no!" But the timing has worked out perfectly. It's been really nice to not have to lug all my science stuff up and down stairs in the church--it's right here at my fingertips! When I'm not teaching, I can sit on my own couch, in my slippers! And my bathroom is right around the corner, as opposed to up the stairs. Nice! Plus, the girls can just play in the playroom, and we don't have to spend time cleaning like we do when we're done at the church each week! We do really miss the big field outside for the boys to play football, but they have the trampoline (I am sure our crabby nieghbors love that we now have 17 kids over here Tuesday afternoons, LOL), as well as the basketball hoop. We do love meeting at the church--it is nice to have a dedicated place that feels more "school-like" and official, and where the classes can be a little more spread out, but this has worked out well for the short-term, and it has sure been nice for me at the end of pregnancy. Craig said today that they are really coming along and hope to be done in the next 2 weeks--they should for sure be done when we are back from spring break. And the women's bathroom is being remodeled as well, so I know it will be very nice!

So that's where we are. We are already making plans for next year, and I think it will be just as great! The Lord has been so faithful with this co-op--what a wonderful group of ladies and kids! We have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them!

Three on Thursday

2011-03-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

Nathan pointed out that I hadn't blogged for awhile, so I thought I would steal an idea from my friend Beverly and give a brief summary.

1. Our top oven is not working. Last Monday I was making cookies to take to our small group dinner. I had chosen to finish the Latin exercise I was working on first, so I was a bit pressed for time. I know I heard the oven beep when it was preheated, but when I turned around to put in the cookie sheet, the oven temperature display was blank! Huh! So I turned it back on again. A few minutes later, it was back off again. For some reason, I kept on playing around with the buttons, but it never did work. At some point it occured to me that if I wanted to bake these cookies, I had better get the bottom oven heated! That's what I ended up doing, and we took 2 minivans over so I could finish up. I was hoping it was an isolated incident, but alas, the oven has continued to not work. Now it doesn't even bother heating up at all--it just shuts off a minute or 2 after being turned on. So we are in the market for a new double oven. Of course, the family who lived here before us had 5 kids, so between our 2 families, those ovens have gotten a lot of use! They are almost 20 years old, so I guess I can't complain too much. And the bottom one is still working, so it is not completely urgent. But still . . . I do like having 2 ovens, and I use them both frequently!

2. Friday night Jonathan asked me to cut his toenails, since one was jagged. As I was doing so, I noticed a big wart on the bottom of his big toe, right where his toe joins to his foot! Jonathan said it hurt, but he could offer absolutely no clues as to how long it had been there, LOL. He then pointed out a smaller wart on the palm of his hand, which probably came from his picking at the one on his foot. Was he ever going to mention these to me?! Bob and I talked about over-the-counter remedies, but we decided I should take him in, since (once it was noticed) he was complaining about it hurting quite frequently. Also, with the baby coming, if an OTC remedy didn't work, then I would have to take him in along with the baby, and that's a hassle. The computers were down Monday, but I was able to get an appointment for his yesterday at 1:15. This doctor was very nice as well (and her last duty station was Okinawa!), and she decided to freeze off the palm one, but not the toe one. She said it would be really painful, because it was in such an awkward place. So now we are soaking his foot in warm water with some vinegar every other day, and then we put a piece of mediplast bandage over the wart. Hopefully that will work with some degree of speed. Jonathan was a trooper for the freezing part, although he was a bit nervous.

3. Our church has started a new women's ministry model (men's too, actually), where you are paired up with one or 2 other people, and all the groups go through Romans. Then we meet every few months as a big group (well, just women or just men) for something fun and social. So this afternoon I had my first meeting with my partner Kimberly, and we had such a great time! She has 3 small kids (4, 3, and about 5 months), and I have enjoyed talking to her at church and when I brought them dinner after her baby was born. I am really looking forward to getting to know her better, and I think our study of Romans will bear a lot of fruit in both of our lives!

So that's a quick update. I want to post an update about where we are with Rivendell, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully soon!

Faith's Well-Baby Appointment

2011-03-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

So I just posted on Wednesday that I didn't have any more appointments scheduled until my OB one the last week of March! But yesterday morning I was thinking about how I had never scheduled Faith's 2-year well-baby appointment, and how it would be so much better to get that out of the way before the baby comes. So I called the appointment line, and miraculously they had a well-baby appointment open for 1:00 today! I took it, and Faith and I got to spend some "Mommy/daughter time" at Bethesda this afternoon!

We had the absolute nicest doctor. Actually, he was a third year (resident? intern? Can't remember which, and I get them all confused), so there was another doctor in there for part of the time, but eventually she went off and did her own thing. This guy was also the 7th of 8 children! How cool! His family's pattern was "3 boys, 1 girl, 3 boys, 1 girl". Anyhow, he and his wife have a 2 year old, and his wife is 8 months pregnant as well. She is thinking she wants to homeschool, so we had some talk about how that worked for us, how the older ones help, etc. You know how sometimes you can just tell that a person is in line with your choices and doesn't think anything you do is weird?! That's how this was, and it was such a pleasant appointment!

And Faith is perfectly healthy. She is 25.6 pounds, which puts her about in the 30th percentile--pretty chunky for one of our babies, LOL. I think she is going to pass Grace up! She was smiley and happy, but she was not very cooperative, as far as saying anything or pointing to anything, like her nose, when asked, even though she definitely knows that! Oh well--she wasn't going to put on a show, LOL.

Then we went to get shots. She only needed the second hepatitis A one, and we went ahead and got a flu shot for her. Now I need to remember to take her back after 30 days for the second one. Apparently 2 years ago we got one flu shot for her, but not the second one, and you have to have 2 the first time. Then, whenever you get another flu shot, you only need one. We rarely get flu shots, but I figure this way she'll be set. It's not like I won't be in several times getting shots with the new baby, so she will just tag along! Anyhow, she was a real trooper while getting the shots. I wished I had brought certain other family members *ahem* to see a demonstration of an appropriate amount of crying (about 20 seconds, LOL). By the time she got to pick out a sticker, and I gave her a lollipop, she was way done with the tears. So nice!

So Faith is healthy, and I still don't have any appointments lined up for next week! But things could always change . . . I'm sure there are plenty of other things that I need to get done, and maybe something else will jog my memory!

It's What We Do . . .

2011-03-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Grace: "How old will I be on my birthday?"

Me: "4"

Grace: "And then I'll be 5 . . . and then I'll be 6!"

Me: "What will I do when we have such a big, big girl?!"

Grace: "Have another new baby!"

On the Other Side

2011-03-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that I am have survived these past 2 1/2 weeks of the "cold that wouldn't leave", as well as all the appointments every day. I am finally feeling better! Last Wednesday was the worst day--I was certain the whole thing was turning into a sinus infection because my face felt so heavy and full, and my teeth were hurting so badly. Fortunately, Thursday was a better day, and things seemed to finally really start draining. It took the weekend for me to actually start feeling better, though. We were supposed to go to PA to visit Bob's family last weekend, but we ended up not going. It was a hard decision, since his sister Rose drove in with her girls, and his sister Ann was going to ride up with us, so we would have seen all the siblings, as well as Bob's parents, but it was the right one. I was still feeling so miserable, and the kids were mostly all snuffly and hacking away with coughs as well. Not good to travel with (or sleep in a hotel room all together!), and certainly we didn't want to pass the love onto all Bob's family! So we just hung out here at home and rested. It must have worked because I think we are seeing the tail end of this dreaded head cold!

I am so glad to be done with all these random appointments as well! The last 2 weeks I have had at least one appointment every day, and occasionally two, and that's not even counting our two co-ops or the Latin class! Teeth are cleaned, Anna's tooth is fixed, the pantry is full, my back is aligned, Nathan's eyes haven't changed since his last eye exam (and 2 new pairs of glasses are coming our way, since he was down to only one pair), we got pictures of all the kids done, and Luke's braces are adjusted. Whew! And this morning I had an OB appointment where everything looked good. I'll go back in 2 weeks, when I'll be 38 weeks. And right now, I have no other appointments on the calendar until that one! Woo-hoo! It will be nice to actually stay home and have uninterrupted time to do school, especially with Anna and Grace! I haven't exercised very consistently the past 2 weeks either. Part of that is just because I felt so crummy, but most days it was because I really didn't have time. So it will be good to start walking on the treadmill regularly again too. Got to keep the baby moving down! Less than 4 weeks to go!

Anna at the Dentist

2011-03-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Anna had her appointment at the dentist this morning to fill the spot on her tooth that never enameled properly. Although Anna has really looked forward to her last few visits to the dentist, she started off more shakily. Before she was 2, she fell and one of her front teeth turned gray. That dentist appointment, back in December 07, went fine, but that was before Anna started her "terrified" phase, where she was petrified of pretty much anything. Her appointments back in the summer of 2009 were ones for the books, where one time she wouldn't even open her mouth until I laid back in the chair and had her lay on top of me! Fortunately, she is past all that now, and her cleanings go just fine. But I was a bit worried about getting a cavity filled . . .

I am happy to report, however, that I had absolutely nothing to worry about! Anna marched off back to the dentist chair all by herself with nary a backward glance! When the lady came out to get me about 30 minutes later, she was full of praise for Anna, saying she couldn't believe how she just laid there and didn't make a peep! She said she had never seen anyone so young be so calm and composed, with no nitrous oxide or anything! LOL--we've come a long way!! And now Anna is happy not to have that orange-y spot on her tooth anymore!

Bad Mom Award

2011-03-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a busy day! Caleb and I made what is hopefully our last trip to the commissary before the baby comes. Now Caleb has actually come down with the cold I have, so we were a snuffly bunch, and we brought a ton of kleenexes in with us!

Actually, our main challenge came when we drove up to Ft. Myer and realized that the gate we usually enter was "closed for repair". That did seem like a good plan, since the gate was a pile of rubble, but nonetheless, it was a total surprise to us! That particular gate had been completely remade not long after we moved here, so maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I never dreamed it would be redone again so quickly. Since it had been closed awhile back, I knew there were other gates, but I was stuck in the van with no map, no GPS, and no real memory of how to get to these other gates. And the problem with being down in Arlington is that you pick the wrong road and suddenly you are headed somewhere you really don't want to go with no possibility of recovering, so I was quite hesitant about trying to wander around and find the gate on my own. I told Caleb we'd try one thing, since I had vague memories of a gate being off of Rt. 50. Indeed, there was a gate there, and it only took a few missed exits (and lots of prayer, and a phone call to Elizabeth L.) to get to it, LOL. It's technically off of Clarendon Rd., just for my future reference . . .

So eventually we got there and got all our stuff. This was indeed a big trip--almost $900--and we are hopefully set to eat for awhile, as well as have this baby! I got a ton of newborn and even some size 1 diapers.

We arrived home around 2:30, and we started unloading. Finally all the stuff was out of the minivan (although not stowed away), and I was working in the garage to put away to freezer and extra fridge stuff. I heard Faith fussing away by the van. She was upset because I had closed all the doors, and she wanted to go back in there. I left her there and went back into the garage. Finally I finished up and collapsed on the couch for a few minutes before our afternoon Latin class. Luke and some of the other kids were playing outside, but eventually they came in and Luke shut the garage door. (Do you see where this is going . . . ?)

After resting about 15 minutes, it dawned on me that I should put Faith down for a nap . . . she had been getting crabby, so why wasn't I hearing her anywhere? I asked where she was, and no one knew, so we all leaped up and started looking. I went out the front door and some of the boys went out the garage just as the McC's were pulling up for Latin. Fortunately, Caleb happened to glance in the minivan window. There was Faith, who obviously did manage to open the door for herself at some point, sound asleep in her carseat. She had even buckled herself in! Whew! I think I lost 10 years off my life in those few minutes! She ended up napping for a good while during Latin class, while I sent boys out to check on her every few minutes.

I was already a candidate for the Bad Mom award earlier this week, as I left Grace's little Beanie Baby puppy, the one I used as a model for her 2 year birthday cake, in Philadelphia. Ooooooops! Thankfully it was found and is supposed to be on its way back to us. We've been praying every night for safe travels for Grace's doggie, LOL. She has actually been remarkably philosophical about the whole thing. Luke was generous to let her have his old Beanie Baby elephant that he used to sleep with, and that has helped.

So I have definitely not been on top of things this week! Less then 5 weeks to go . . . but unfortunately, as others have so rightly observed, those brain cells that turn to mush during pregnancy never really return!

The Infamous Haircut

2011-03-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

So back on that horrible Sunday, Grace took a pair of scissors to her own hair and lopped off a big chunk right in the middle of the back of her scalp. I knew theoretically that it could have been worse, but I still had such a hard time dealing with it. It took me 2 days before I could even really look at her to begin to evaluate how I could attempt to make things better! Here is what it looked like. She cut up and down, so there was a nice, long hunk missing, and no possible way to do layers or a block or anything like that to disguise it. I guess I could have shaved it, LOL.
So after contemplating for awhile, I finally just cut everything shorter and tried to blend the back as best I could. It really isn't as noticeable now, unless you are really looking.

And, thankfully, you can't tell anything from the front, so we are still going to attempt pictures sometime in the next week or so. Before anyone else gets hold of any scissors or gets a black eye or anything . . .

Belly Shot!

2011-03-06T14:39:00.001-08:00

Melinda asked for a belly shot, so here is one from this afternoon! I'm 35 weeks along. First, the view from the front:
Now, the side view. Oh my goodness!

I am at the stage where no clothes are really comfortable--my shirts ride up, and my pants ride down! Oh well--only 5 weeks to go!

Penn Museum

2011-03-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had such a fun day! We went on a little field trip to the Penn Museum with our Rivendell co-op. One family couldn't come, but we still made for a large group--6 adults and 16 kids! This is the same museum that we visited back in June 2009, when we took our weekend trip to Philadelphia and stayed with my college friends. Back in the fall, someone posted a message on a homeschooling email loop that Christine and I are on about this great deal they had seen for the museum--buy 4 tickets for $16! So we all did that, although it seemed like the beginning of March was light-years away when we were planning this trip. I think we were all doubting if it would really work out as the time actually got closer, but we all made it there and had a terrific time. It was a great review for the kids too of all the ancient history we've been studying this year with Tapestry of Grace year 1.
We started out on the 3rd floor with the gallery on Upper Egypt. The mummies were impressive, as always!

Then we moved on to the Asian gallery, where the crystal ball was admired.

In several places, Christine had the 3 Rivendell boys go through the room and pick one thing to explain to the younger kids. Here Nathan is explaining about the lion, which would have guarded a palace or something. The Chinese lions look like dogs because lions aren't native to China, so the artists used dogs as models. I had always wondered about that! Also, this is a male lion because it has a globe under its paw. Female lions are depicted with baby lions under their paw. Interesting!

Here is a group shot taken by a kind passer-by in front of a Japanese Buddhist shrine. I told you we were an impressive group! Buddhists at one point in time underwent a period of persecution in Japan, and so they started making these minature "portable" shrines, of which several were displayed.

We moved on through the Rome and Greece galleries before heading outside to eat our picnic lunches on the benches in front of the museum. The weather was beautiful, praise the Lord, so the kids got to run around this fountain and work off some steam. Then we headed back in and finished up with the Lower Egypt gallery, as well as the American Indian and African galleries, which aren't that big. Here are the 3 Rivendell boys in front of one of the excavated pillars from a palace in Lower Egypt. You can see a doorway in the background.

We were done by 3:30, and we all headed back home, exhausted. The 3 girls fell asleep pretty quickly in the van! All the driving and walking about did me in, and I am still so tired!

We are supposed to go to PA to visit Bob's family next weekend, but this drive has made us have second thoughts. I might be too far along to make another drive--it was so frustrating to have to stop all the time for me to go to the bathroom, and I was so uncomfortable sitting! So we'll see how I am feeling in a few days.

Pregnancy Update

2011-03-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'm now over 34 weeks along--less than 6 weeks to go! I am feeling big and uncomfortable, so yeah, everything is normal. I have definitely been mushy-brained lately--I made whole wheat biscuits a few nights ago and used baking soda (4 1/2 tsps!) instead of baking powder! Blech! I am even more foggy-headed because I have a cold and am all snuffly. I'm sure I could kick this thing if I could just lay around all day for a day or two! Ha, ha, I crack myself up!

I had an OB appointment yesterday, and everything looks fine. The little guy is a very active kicker! I lurk on this doula forum, and someone posted a link to a woman's blog, where she had a slideshow of her last birth, which was a homebirth. It was all lovely and quite natural, but she had an 11 pound baby and had to push for like 2 hours, even though it was her 5th baby!! Ack! So that is my latest nightmare and worry, LOL, especially since I already do have big babies (Caleb was 9#, 5 oz., and Jonathan was 9#, 6 oz.). Anyway, I asked the doctor if I should take another 1 hour glucose test, just to make sure I didn't have gestational diabetes. She was quite surprised at this request, LOL! She was really not that concerned. She said I passed the last 1 hour one with plenty to spare (my number was 102, and anything under 140 is passing), I haven't gained too much weight, and the baby is measuring right. She also said that the 1-hour test, which is just a screening anyhow, gets less and less accurate once you get more than 28 weeks along. So I didn't take another test. I guess I'll just keep up with the exercise, although I didn't exercise today. This cold is making it hard for me!

As I was walking up to the line to make my next appointment, 2 pregnant ladies were talking. I heard one of them say she was 35 weeks along, which surprised me because her belly was clearly larger than mine! I don't like to brag, but I usually win most belly contests at this point, LOL. I asked her if she was expecting twins, and she said yes, in a surprised voice. She looked really great--all belly! She called it a "torpedo belly", and that was what it looked like! She actually lives in Annapolis, but the Naval Academy doesn't have an OB department in their clinic, so all the ladies have to come to Bethesda. That's quite a drive, especially when you are pregnant with twins! So whenever I am tempted to complain, even about the drive to Walter Reed, I need to be glad I am not having to come from Annapolis!

Anticlimactic Allergy Appointment

2011-02-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

This morning Caleb and I trekked back over to Walter Reed for another follow-up allergy appointment (after his big anaphylactic scare before Christmas). This time we brought samples of all the food he was eating at lunchtime--pepperoni pizza from this local restaurant, fresh pineapple and grapes, and decaf Folgers coffee. I thought he was going to eat them in an oral challenge-type thing, but as it turned out, the doctor just wanted to use those things to prick Caleb's back. So the tech made a slurry of the dry coffee, and for everything else just stuck the pricker in the food, then stuck it in Caleb's back. Caleb had prick tests done back in July, on his forearm, and he was a basket case! He moaned, wailed, and otherwise carried on. I am thrilled to say that this time he just laid there and read a comic book! Yay!

And he didn't show any positive reactions to anything, which was not that surprising. He had a tiny wheal by the pineapple prick, but it evidently wasn't big enough to be called a positive reaction. But he's had all those food many times before without any problems. He has had mild reactions to fresh pineapple before, but only when he's had a ton of it in the previous days. So I think my theory of him being sensitized by the exposure to his friend's pets the day before the reaction is probably the best one, and I expect it is the pineapple that was the culprit.

So with no positive reactions, the doc sent up over to the lab to do a blood draw for a RAST test. We'll see if anything shows up there, and based on the results, they will bring Caleb back in for an oral challenge. Hmmm . . . I really don't know if I want to make yet another big trip out to Walter Reed in the next few weeks! But we'll keep on avoiding fresh pineapple for a little while more, I guess.

One interesting thing was this pediatric doctor who was shadowing our allergy doc. He was seriously the tallest man I have ever seen in person--he had to duck to go through doorways! Our allergist is not a short man by any means--probably 6'1" I would say. He almost came up to this other doctor's shoulders! When we were sitting in the waiting room before our appointment, I heard some tech asking who "Doctor So-and-so" was. "You can't miss him. He's the really tall guy in the black navy uniform" was the response. And as soon as I saw him, I realized he was obviously the guy being discussed! Definitely not someone who blends into a crowd of uniforms!

Happy Birthday, Luke!!

2011-02-27T15:58:00.001-08:00

Today is Luke's 12th birthday! We started celebrating on Friday, when we brought Air Force dessert to Bible study. I'm still not entirely sure how this delicious dessert got its name, but it is an old favorite from White Sulphur Springs, and it is much yummier (and easier to make!) than a traditional cake! I had to ask Marty Thomas and Carri for help with the recipe--thank you, ladies!!

We also celebrated tonight by finishing up the Air Force dessert. Luke also opened his presents.
He got a Transformer, as well as 2 comic books (Zits and Foxtrot) Nathan and I picked out from Half Price Books while we were in Ohio. Of course, we actually started celebrating Luke's birthday IN Ohio, where he received a Lego Minotaurus game from Aunt Amy, as well as a really challenging flag puzzle from my parents, where the flag is actually made up of a ton of tiny pictures. He has already started working on this puzzle!

Luke is such a tremendous help with the girls, and I definitely appreciate his attention to detail, especially when he is helping me find something that is missing! He still finds a ton of money whenever we are in stores. He is also an amazing basketball player--taking after his cousin, Pilot! He just finished up another undefeated season.

Here is a close-up view of the Air Force dessert. I doubled the recipe to fit in my big pan (it's a roasting pan, but I use it for casseroles and other big things--like desserts!). We only had a little bit left!

Air Force Dessert

16 oz. Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 gallon ice cream, softened (we used cookies and cream, which is the traditional kind, I believe)
1 jar chocolate fudge topping
1 small cool whip container

Reserve 1/4 cup crushed cookies for topping; mix remaining cookie crumbs with butter, and press into bottom of 9x13 pan. Spread softened ice cream evenly over cookie layer. Drizzle fudge over ice cream, then spread cool whip on top. (We added another layer of chocolate topping here, just for good measure, LOL.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs. Freeze.

Another Random Conversation With Jonathan

2011-02-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

So before we left for Ohio, I was changing Faith's diaper, and in wandered Jonathan. He told me he really wanted to go back to visit "Florida". This threw me for a loop, since the last time I could think that we were in Florida was to visit the L's when they were stationed down there, and I was actually pregnant with Jonathan. So . . . hard to imagine him having fond memories and missing it, LOL.

I suggested that perhaps he was thinking of Virginia Beach, where we spent a couple nights last spring. That was fun, although we were all squished together in one small hotel room for 3 nights. He insisted it was not there, and that we had stayed in a nice house with a dog that Faith wasn't afraid of. They played ping-pong, and the dog kept picking up the ping-pong balls . . . I was really stumped, as I was still stuck on "beach-y" places, and I couldn't think of any friends who lived near a beach and had a dog. Fortunately, Nathan came in then. He was able to think outside the beach box, and he suggested that Jonathan really wanted to visit PHILADELPHIA again, where we had stayed with my college friends Phil and Sandra in their beautiful old house, back in June 2009. They have a big dog named Sox who had indeed played ping-pong with the kids. Bingo! Well, you know--Philadelphia and Florida . . . practically the same place! So easy to get mixed up! LOL! And of course, the big memories from that little trip were not the Liberty Bell, the tour of Independence Hall and Betsy Ross's house, or meeting "Ben Franklin". Ah well . . .

So next Jonathan asked if Sox was dead. Ummmm . . . I don't think so . . . what brings that up?! Well, Jonathan was concerned for his health because the pets of ALL of our friends are either having to be put to sleep, or are moving away. Apparently, knowing our family is the kiss of death for pets, in Jonathan's mind. Actually, Amy had to put her cat Pumpkin to sleep a few months ago, and the McC's dog Stormy died a few weeks ago, but both pets had lived at least 17 years, so this was not totally unexpected, and I don't really think the deaths can be pinned on us, LOL. And the L's dog Ned finally was able to go live with Anthony, his actual owner, since Anthony is in pilot training now and has a house with a yard. So that's 3 pets we know . . . I don't think you can draw any statistically meaningful conclusions from that small sample size, so I think we are still safe to be around those of you with pets! I did send an email to Sandra, however, inquiring after Sox's well-being. I will let everyone know if he is still enjoying good health and happiness (as we all fervently hope, LOL).

We're Back!

2011-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

We drove back yesterday from Ohio, and it was such a dreary day! The one spot of excitement was as we were merging onto I-70 from I-68 in Maryland. It goes to one lane, and a semi had overturned in the median between where we were merging and where the cars coming south from Breezewood on I-70 merge. There were ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars, plus a bunch of people milling around. The police officer had set out some flares, but other than alert us to the fact that something was going on ahead, they didn't clearly lead us anywhere. There was a pickup truck ahead of us, and he was really zipping along. It was actually a miracle that he didn't hit the police officer, who had to jump backwards as the guy zoomed past. I just followed along, but as we passed, I saw a paramedic holding his hands up in the air, like he was asking, "What is going on?!" Then I looked back and realized that all the cars behind us were stopped. So obviously the policeman was trying to stop traffic, and we were the last vehicle to get through! Whew! None of us were in the mood to just sit on the highway for however long!

Our book on CD was The Mysterious Benedict Society, a book which I actually had not read before. I also had out Tom Sawyer, so there was some debate about which book to listen to when we started. The book ended up being quite interesting, with lots of little puzzles to figure out, so I was glad we picked one I hadn't read! Also, it is very long--13 hours--so we still aren't done with it. We have a little trip next weekend up to Philadelphia with our jr. high co-op (field trip to the Penn Museum of Anthropology and Archaology), so we'll be able to finish it on that drive.

So now we are back home. I spent the morning unpacking and trying to get the house back in some semblence of order before everything starts back up next week. I was able to get a little bit ahead in Latin while we were gone, so that should be helpful. I still have some prep work for science on Tuesday, though. Tomorrow is the last day of Upward basketball games, so we have 3 games to attend. Then we have church on Sunday. It will be good to see everyone, but I do confess I am not looking forward to it. Hopefully kinks will have been worked out, but it was just so terrible last time. Oh well--stiff upper lip and all that. I want Sunday to be a good day--it's Lukie's 12 year birthday! We're actually celebrating at Bible study tonight!

Vacation is over--back to the real world!

Fun in Ohio!

2011-02-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it has now been a week since I last posted. We definitely had a much different (and better!) weekend this time. We packed up and drove to Ohio on Friday! It is the winter break for our co-ops, and it was definitely time for a vacation!

The weather was absolutely beautiful for driving (although Luke did comment that it was a better day for playing outside, rather than driving, LOL). Our book on CD was Cheaper By the Dozen, one of my all-time favorites. There was a tiny bit of language that was a lot more noticeable to me when it was read aloud, as opposed to me just reading it. I guess I just skipped over it. Still, it is such a funny book, and as we have more and more kids, I can relate more and more to the book! We'll be painting Morse code messages on the walls and listening to language recordings in the bathroom in no time! Ha!

We are staying with my best friend Amy for the weekend, which has been so much fun. Satruday was a day of basketball. We went to Jacob's Upward game at 11:00, and then on to Zach's middle school game at 12:00. The weather was still nice, so the boys played outside all afternoon long while Amy and I caught up. Then we met my parents at Young's for dinner and ice cream before heading over to Cedarville to watch the last regular season basketball game at the university! The Yellow Jackets won handily, and we got to see Zachary L. cheer, so it was a very fun evening!

Yesterday Zach woke up running a fever, so he has not been up to par yesterday or today, poor guy. But the rest of us all went to Amy and Jason's church, where there was plenty of seating and no threatening black curtains, LOL. Nice! The service was nice, and their assistant pastor preached an excellent sermon. Afterward, ew came back here, where Amy had a delicious meal of chicken and noodles waiting for us in the crockpot. Amy and I go to do a lot of scrapbooking yesterday afternoon/evening. I finally got Faith's little album started--actually, it's almost finished! Now if only I wasn't 3 years behind on my regular albums. Maybe this summer I'll have some time to work on those.

Some time today we'll move over to my parents' house for the next few nights. They actually lost power last night and are still without it this morning, so we'll wait until it comes back on before making the big move! In the meantime, the kids are all playing nicely, and I am contemplating exercising. Ahhh . . . I can feel the stress melt away! So relaxing to not have to do anything or go anywhere!