We're here!

We had a safe trip to Ohio, praise the Lord. We were able to leave by 9:30, which is not bad for us, LOL, and we made it here by 6:45. I nursed at 9:00, and then we stopped at 12:00 for me to nurse again and for lunch. That stop took a lot longer than our normal lunch stops, but it was fine. I put Faith in the frontpack while I ordered and everyone ate. We got a ton of attention. There must have been 6 or 8 people that made a point of stopping by our tables (we were at McDonalds) to comment on the family, and a lot of other people just pointed and whispered, LOL. This was in western Maryland, close to the WV border. You'd have thought they had never seen a large family of fairly well-behaved children! Three people asked me if they were homeschooled, and when I said yes, nodded and said they could tell. Well, I have certainly seen some very poorly behaved homeschoolers (we have 2 in our co-op!), so that is not a given!

We stopped one more time, at 3:30, to nurse. We just stopped at a rest stop, since the weather was bright and sunny in Ohio, unlike the drizzly rain we left in VA, MD, and WV. I parked by a large hill, and the kids ran up and down this big hill a bunch of times. Good to get the wiggles out!

We listened to The Great Brain on CD, which made the day fly by. Faith fussed around a little, but overall, she was an excellent traveler. Grace did well too, but usually by close to 2, the kids are used to long car trips and can amuse themselves. Of course, she also had all that practice on our 4000 mile jaunt out to Utah last summer! She still fussed around some, but most of the time, she played with her magnadoodle, looked at books, and ate her snacks when allowed. It's so nice when they realize no amount of fussing is going to change the fact that we are in the car, and we aren't stopping for them! Makes for a much quieter and more enjoyable ride!

This afternoon we are heading over to Amy's house to play. She is busy getting ready for an open house this weekend. On Saturday, her husband Jason is graduating with his MBA, and on Sunday, they are hosting an open house to celebrate! Yay, Jason!

Happy Birthday Anna!

Anna turned 3 today! It's hard to believe that 3 years ago, I went in for my appointment on my due date, they found out I was already 5 cm dilated but not having contractions, so the doctor admitted me, started pitocin, broke my water, and Anna arrived a few short hours later! And with her arrival, the color pink appeared in our house. Now pink is almost taking over!

Anna asked for a "pink bunny cake". I'm not sure exactly sure what the muse was for that particular choice, but hey, it was easy, and it did not involved Bionicles, so I was good with it. I would like everyone to know that I made the eyes just black, but other parties, who shall remain nameless, felt that the bunny needed pink irises, like real bunnies. So that is why this bunny looks a bit possessed.

Anna got lots of great presents, such as some Colorforms, a pink bike helmet, a princess beach towel, a shiny silver purse with lots of fun stuff inside, and a lollipop. A few days ago, she and Grace also scored a bunch of nice clothes passed down from the L's girls. They have been cleaning out their basement storage room, and we were the beneficiaries from that! The L's passed on these cute USAFA cheerleading outfits, which bring back such fun memories of going to the football games with them when we were both stationed in Colo. Springs, and Jessica and Amanda wearing these outfits! Anna and Grace were wearing them in honor of USAFA hockey, which has had a great season this year and is playing tonight in the NCAA tournament (double overtime right now!). I think for the football season, Faith will have to be the one wearing the small outfit, though. It's only a 12 month one, and I think it will be a shirt on Grace by then!

And here is a picture of Faith, just to keep everyone happy. She's cooing and smiling up a storm!

The Girls

My mom was requesting more pictures of Faith, and I realized I haven't taken any lately! Poor 7th child . . . I think she is going to follow true to trend and be an "odd number baby", which means being a little chunkier (i.e., not in the 5th percentile, LOL), and looking more like Anna with a rounder face. But I could be wrong. Grace and Anna still looked very similar as babies at the 2 month stage. Faith is definitely plumping up. She's a little over 10 pounds now. Last night she went from 10:45 until 6:30, which was wonderful for me, except for the engorgement, LOL.

Here is a bonus picture of Grace and Anna, plus Anna's favorite "pink babydoll". Someone in our neighborhood was throwing out these little chairs back in January, so Bob brought them home. Anna and Grace love to set them up next to each other and sit in them, eating or reading books together. They're too cute! I love seeing them become best buddies.

Changes

This is our church. I love it! It actually looks like a church, LOL, and it is surrounded by a huge grassy area for the kids to play on after service. It was built back in the 1850s. Eventually the church sort of died a slow death, and a few years ago, it only had a few aging members, and no permanent pastor. A church from downtown D.C. was looking to plant a church in our county, and they found this church. About 3 1/2 years ago, they offered to send a pastor and a team of members from the downtown church to run children's ministry, etc. This was agreed to, and the church has grown ever since.

At first, the entrance was through the bell tower, and we sat facing the back of the church. There was only seating for about 90, and even when we started going there, back in November 2006, it was getting really full. In the summer of 2007, we gutted the inside and turned everything around. Now we sit facing the bell tower, and that added maybe 50 or 60 more seats. But we quickly outgrew that too.

Here you can see the addition that was put on, probably in the 1970s or so. It has a big fellowship room upstairs, plus some offices, and a few classrooms, the nursery, a kitchen, and another big room downstairs. For the past year, ushers have put seats in the big room upstairs for overflow seating, and there is a closed circuit TV so you can see the service from in there. That room is getting full too.

This was our last Sunday to have our main worship service here. Starting next week, we will be meeting in the middle school down the road from here. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, we totally need the space. It's so crowded and hot in the old building. And I certainly don't want to be the person who says, "Now I'm here, so no more new people!" We have wonderful people in our church, and our pastor is so good, so I want as many people as possible to hear him! But still--a middle school. Bleh. I will miss all the light streaming in the windows, and the beautiful view of trees. Also, the singing sounds so great in a small building! I'm not sure how the sound will be in an auditorium, but I imagine it won't be quite the same effect. Plus, there will just be a lot of set-up hassles. Mainly, I just don't like change, LOL.

We will still meet at this building for our Sunday evening service, so it's not like we're saying goodbye to it forever. But still--I'll miss the morning service being here!

End of the Week Wrap-Up

Whew, the week is over! Here is how things shook out:

1. Anna broke out in hives Wednesday night, but because I am now up on current dosing amounts for children's Zyrtec, she got the right dosage from the start. The hives never got huge, and they were pretty much gone yesterday. She also found her binky Thursday (it was hiding under the trestle of our big table). I let her watch a video with it, and then I conspired to make it disappear again. Now she says, "My binky is lost AGAIN" in an exasperated voice, but so far, she hasn't needed it for nighttime. Now for the one in the car . . . I think that one will also go to the big binky place in the sky, but not until after we get back from our trip to Ohio. I'm not crazy!

2. Bob got rear-ended on his way home from work Wednesday night. He had called just a few minutes before to tell me that he was about 5 minutes from home, so I should go ahead and leave for my chiropractic appointment so I wouldn't be late. I merrily drove off, and while Bob was sitting htere in traffic, the guy behind him failed to stop. Fortunately, there wasn't really any damage, either to the car or to Bob. And fortunately, Bob had the presence of mind to call Ed, who came over to ride herd on everyone, since Bob obviously wasn't going to get home in less than 5 minutes! Thanks, Ed!

3. I had a great post-partum appointment Thursday afternoon! My blood glucose numbers were great, so the diabetes is gone! I was so relieved to hear that! I also got a tetanus shot while I was there. As far as I can tell, I haven't had any shots since I went off to college, in the summer of 1991, so I figured it was time, LOL. It's so much easier to keep up with stuff for the kids than for me. Now my arm is sore though. I was a bit sad the little kids weren't there to see Mommy be brave and not cry--Anna needs the good example, LOL.

4. Luke is now the proud possessor of an ID card as well. It took he and Bob several attempts, however. They tried back when Bob was on his paternity leave, but the computer was down, so that was a wasted trip to Bethesda. They did get the number for the CAC office, so they called the next day--that was an "appointment only" day, so it was a good thing they didn't drive all the way back for nothing! Another day they called, but the wait was 3 hours . . . they decided not to go. Finally they went back early Thursday morning. But there were still a lot of people in front of them, and the line wasn't moving fast. They bailed and decided to try the office down at Ft. Belvoir. It turned out there was no waiting there! Live and learn. So now I proudly carry 3 ID cards in my wallet! All my babies are growing up . . . I guess that's why we keep having them, LOL.

5. This is "Tax Weekend" here at our house. We are striving to finish our taxes before Bob starts the acquisition class on Tuesday, and I leave next Wednesday. Obviously we're not working on them right now, however. Feel free to keep asking us about our progress. We need the accountability, LOL.

So far this week . . .

It's been a busy week, and it's only Wednesday! Here's what we've been up to :

1. Anna gave up her pacifier at night! This was not by choice or in my perfect timing, since she was sick, but hey, whatever works. She brought her binky downstairs with her after her nap on Monday. She is only allowed to have it in her bed, or in the car, so I told her to go put it back up on her bed. She disappeared with it, but when bedtime rolled around, it was nowhere to be found. Luke and I both searched for it, but we couldn't find it. Anna says "It's hiding." I guess so! She woke up once asking for it (and running a fever) Monday night, but last night she slept through without waking. Woohoo! I had wanted to accomplish this before Grace moves in to share a room with her. I am planning on that move after our spring break trip to Ohio the first week in April, so this came at just the right time, sickness or not!

2. Bob passed his physical fitness test at work. This is always a good thing, especially seeing as how Bob has been distracted by little things such as having his 7th child the past few months and not working out all the time!

3. We got new cell phones yesterday. We got our old phones back in May 05--before I even got pregnant with Anna, if that gives you an idea of how long ago that was! Those were our first phones, and frankly I could have kept them forever, except that they were starting to not hold their charges very long. We had talked about getting new ones for awhile, but the big impetus yesterday is that we lost one of the chargers, so we only had one charger left. I am planning to go to Ohio with the kids for 10 days, taking my cell phone, while Bob will be here, taking an acquisition class, with his cell phone. Since they both need to be charged almost every night . . . well, that wasn't going to work! We bit the bullet yesterday, and now I am trying to figure out the ins and outs of a new phone. I don't have time for this! I did manage to figure out how to program the speed dial numbers and record my voice mail message, so I'm good. I am not even going to worry about the camera capacity.

4. Faith was 5 weeks old on Sunday, and yesterday evening, she smiled and cooed at me for the first time! I know Grandma was hoping she would wait until we get there, but I guess now Faith can get some good practice for her smiling, so she'll be a pro by the time we arrive at Grandma's house! Those first smiles are just so sweet, and they really do go a long way to making all those middle of the night feedings worth it!

5. To celebrate St. Patrick's Day yesterday, I made a corned beef brisket and vegetables inteh crockpot, along with soda bread. I also had cabbage, but I figured there was no way that I could prepare cooked cabbage that would make me want to eat (or smell) it, so I just chopped it up and served it with an oil/vinegar dressing, like I always do. Might as well serve it the way I like it! The corned beef and vegetables turned out quite well, and we didn't have any leftover meat! I cooked it in apple juice, a tip I got off the internet. The soda bread was good too. I actually made 2 loaves. For the first loaf, I jus tused plain soy milk in place of the buttermilk, like I usually do (even in recipes like banana bread. I never sour soy milk.). But then it dawned on me that since there were no eggs, I really was counting on the vinegar and baking soda to react, making gas, to leaven the bread. I was afraid that loaf would be hard as a rock, so I quickly whipped up another loaf, this time souring the soy milk with vinegar. Yuck. But it did the trick! That loaf was definitely lighter, although the other loaf was perfectly edible. I told everyone it was a taste test.

6. This morning I drove through rush hour on an empty stomach to take my 2 hour glucose tolerance test. I'll find out the results tomorrow at my 6 week post-partum appointment. Hopefully that will be my last glucose test out there. They take your blood first, to get your fasting number, but they make you wait to start drinking the glucola until those results are back! I had my blood taken at 8:15 (it took awhile to find a good vein), but I couldn't start drinking the stuff, and starting my 2 hour clock, until 8:50! Nothing like waiting on an empty stomach, and knowing it's not even counting!!

Now I think I will lay down for a little bit. I'm out of sorts because of my early morning and all the sugar water. Tonight I have a chiropractic appointment to look forward to, however!

Raspberry Leaf in Pregnancy

My friend Beverly is getting ready to have her 5th baby. She's been having lots of contractions, but not a lot of progress, which is incredibly frustrating. I've been eagerly following along, because it's always really interesting and fascinating when it's not your own impending birth, LOL. One thing I recommended to her last night was drinking several cups of really strong raspberry leaf tea, because that is supposed to tone your uterus and help it dilate efficiently.

All this talk of dilating and tea reminded me that I had wanted to post something about what I did differently this pregnancy, in case I forgot sometime. I usually start drinking a cup of raspberry leaf a day in the third trimester, and by the time I'm close to delivery I try to drink 2 cups a day. When I was pregnant with Nathan, I read an article in a natural health book that recommended raspberry leaf tea. It gave a long anecdotal story about a lady who drank the tea during her first pregnancy and had a fairly normal delivery, but not pain-free by any means. Then she read an old book that talked about what the midwife would have actually recommended, which was to drink a really strong cup of the tea ( 1 pint of water and 1 ounce of tea, steeped for 30 minutes) when you are in labor. This was supposed to really make labor pretty painless, and the lady telling the story had apparently had a really easy delivery. I never really made the tea that strong until we moved here, but I really can't complain about my labors (although I wouldn't have labeled them "painless", LOL), and I never needed any pain medicine. I did make it really strong like that once we moved here, but then I was basically induced 2 times, so I drank it before going in and starting the whole process, but I didn't know if that was the same. Anyhow, I was convinced enough of a good effect, even if it was just psychosomatic, to keep drinking the stuff fairly faithfully throughout the third trimester of all my pregnancies.

With the last 2 pregnancies, I've also added a cup of alfalfa tea daily, since that is supposed to prevent post-partum hemorrhage. You may recall that is what my doctor with Grace was totally paranoid about, so that's when I started drinking it. (Nathan wants me to point out that alfalfa tea tastes and smells like you are drinking grass water.) For someone like me, who really doesn't like hot beverages at all, drinking 2-3 cups of tea a day was quite torturous. Almost as bad as the gestational dibetes diet. Well, maybe not, but pretty close . . . Add in to that the tiny bladder capacity of an almost full-term lady, and I was pretty miserable as I floated through the day.

Well, after we got back from Ohio in January, I went to the health food store to buy some more raspberry leaf and alfalfa teas, since I was pretty much out. I was determined to drink all the tea, even though I wasn't sure when I would do that to make it fit into my complicated gestational diabetes eating regimen. The health food store was out, but they assured me they would be getting more in soon. So we all trooped back in a week later only to find out the tea was still out. I was getting frustrated with all this delay. I was already 35 weeks along, and I was ready to start drinking this stuff and making sure my uterus was nice and toned! Then I remembered that I had an internet connection . . . I went home and found a lovely herb web site where, lo and behold, you can actually buy raspberry leaf capsules for cheaper than the tea! How wonderful! All the great effects, with none of the bladder-sloshing! So I bought a bottle of pills, plus a box of the tea, because I was still thinking I would make the really strong pint to drink when I went into labor.

It was so easy to take the pills instead of drink the tea! I found alfalfa capsules at Walmart, so I started taking those as well. What a dream! I definitely took way more raspberry leaf extract this pregnancy than ever before. I started out by taking 2 pills a day, but by the last 2 weeks, I was taking 4 raspberry pills a day, plus 2 alfalfa ones.

So how did it work out for me? Well, I didn't think I was even in labor because the contractions weren't that long or that strong. Even once I realized I was in transition and we were on the way to the hospital, I still wasn't breathing through contractions. I did make my tea, but that was when I realized that I was probably not going to last until it had steeped the full 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes of steeping, right before we got in the van, I drank a few sips of it, felt like I was going to throw up if I drank another sip, and threw the rest down the drain. I was uncomfortable, but the contractions just didn't hurt that badly, even those last few ones right before pushing (as I was walking from the parking garage, through the pedestrian walkway, over to the elevator, and up to the 5th floor, LOL). So my conclusion, which is arguably the result of a very small sample size, LOL, is that taking a lot more of the raspberry leaf extract is definitely a good thing as far as relatively painfree labors go. I will be taking the pills again, should I have another baby.

And I hardly had any post-partum bleeding either. My uterus clamped down right away, and I stopped bleeding fairly quickly in the weeks to follow (except when I over-did it!). Of course, that was helped by a quick labor instead of many hours of steadily-increasing pitocin, like I had with Grace, so I can't say confidently that the alfalfa had that much to do with it! But I was very pleased with the result of my herb pills, and I would definitely recommend them to others who are in thier third trimesters.

A New Week

Well, here we are, at the start of a new week. Anna is running a fever, Grace is still spotted, and Jonathan is still hacking away. I have a cold, I guess. I thought it was allergies, but now I'm thinking more of a cold. My motivation to be organized and on top of things is at a low, LOL, which is why we didn't finish school until after 4:00. Maybe when my head clears up . . .

To be honest, I'm having a hard time getting into a good routine. Working around nursing has been harder, and I think it's because especially Jonathan is taking a lot more of my schooling time. I have been the least consistent with him this past year, and now I'm the most frustrated with him, although it really isn't his fault that he hasn't magically osmosed the knowledge I would like him to have! Also, Faith has needed more attention to make sure she really latches on than some of the other babies, so I haven't been able to multitask while nursing as much, which always frustrates me too.

I've been trying to exercise as well for a couple of reasons. One is that I really do feel good after exercising, and I think it helps keep me mentally balanced. Another is that I am ready for some of my clothes to fit. I hate the post-partum period, where your tummy is still poochy, and you still look pregnant! The most important reason is that I go Wednesday morning for my follow-up 2 hour glucose tolerance test, and then I will have my 6 week post-partum appointment on Thursday afternoon (yes, it's a little early, but that's what worked out, schedule-wise). Unfortunately, I am having a hard time fitting in exercise as well, if you can imagine. I really don't want to have problems on this glucose test, and I am trying not to worry.

Sigh. I keep reminding myself that this phase will pass quickly, Faith will be sleeping through the night soon, the virus will move on to some other unfortunate family, Jonathan will remember how to count by 2's starting with an even number OR an odd number, and eventually I will feel more like my normal self. But I am ready for that day to be here NOW!

On thing that has been a tremendous blessing is that our church has started giving us 2 meals a week once my parents left. (They were providing one meal a week after the baby came, while my parents were here.) I was loathe to have any more meals, figuring that I would be over a month post-partum byt the time my parents left, so I would definitely be on my feet. Who knew we'd all be sick, and that the meals would be at the perfect time? Obviously God knew, LOL.

Another Update

I'm sure you are all holding your breath to see how Grace is doing today, LOL. Well, the good news is that she is much better, hive-wise. They are smaller and not as red. Her hands aren't as swollen either. She is still really congested, although the vaporizer helped her sleep just fine last night. She is still running a fever, but I can keep it down with Motrin. Mainly she is just exceptionally snotty. At least it's draining, right?

My friend Lisa wrote on my Facebook page that she had pretty much the exact same thing last week, the fever, hives, and congestion, and it was just a virus. I was relieved to hear that! She said it took 5-6 days for the hives to go away. It's good to know that, and now I don't have to schedule in another big chunk of time next week for a trip to Bethesda! Another friend of mine, Christina, said one of her sons has gotten hives like these before with viruses also. Boy, you'd think with 7 kids, I'd have experienced this before! Learn something new every day!

Update on Grace

For those who are curious, Grace is still very "hivey" today. The ones on her face are maybe not quite so red as yesterday, but the hives are still over a lot of her body. And the weird thing is where they seem to have gotten smaller, it looks like her skin is almost bruised where the hives used to be. The skin seems darker. I've never seen anything like it before. Also, her hands and fingers are still pretty swollen. Not her wrists, though. It's just really weird to see her with these big man hands, because normally she has really small, delicate ones.

Also, she has continued to run a fever of a little over 100 today, and she is pretty congested. She's not wheezy though, so that's a good thing. I put the vaporizer in her room tonight. Maybe that will help. She's really not too uncomfortable, though, just a bit snotty. As long as the fever is down, she's pretty happy and content, and she continues to not be bothered at all by the hives.

I guess we're just playing it by ear at this point. I don't think we're planning on doing anything this weekend unless something gets really bad, but if things aren't better by Monday, I'll call and take her in again. I'm praying she's a lot better when she wakes up tomorrow though!

Grace's Hives

When Grace got up this morning, it was obvious that the Benedryl and Zyrtec I had given her yesterday had not made a difference whatsoever. Her hives were much bigger, and there were a lot more of them, so I called and made an appointment for this morning at 11:00. The doctor said they were definitely hives, and we would probably not ever know what had caused them. She felt that Grace had probably had a virus a few days ago, because often hives like this come after a virus. She said they can come and go for up to 3 months! I hope that won't happen. To be honest, these hives remind me of Nathan's weird rash a few Christmases ago, for which we never could pinpoint a cause either. Maybe he'd had a virus before then. I don't really remember!

I actually pooh-poohed the idea of a virus to the doctor, but after we got home (at 1:45, having waited an hour at the pharmacy for more Zyrtec), Jonathan was EXTREMELY whiney. He about fell apart because he couldn't cut his sandwich in half. I was nursing, of course, but after I was done I felt him, and he seemed hot. It turns out his temperature was 102. So maybe there is a virus going around! It's always hard to tell by feeling if Grace has a fever--she just runs "hot", with her supermetabolism, so she always feels pretty warm. She certainly wasn't acting like she had a fever the past few days though!

Anyhow, it turns out that I wasn't giving her anough Benedryl or Zyrtec, so that's probably why it didn't seem to help. I'm supposed to give 1/2 tsp., so we gave that once we got home, and we'll see if these crazy things go away. At least they aren't bothering her.

Here is a picture of her once we got home. You can see how the hives have gotten bigger and bigger, although the picture really doesn't do them justice on her trunk! The hives are pretty much all over her body, even down to her fingers, which she can't really bend. Her face is a bit alarming to look at as well! She definitely looks like she has some dreaded, highly contagious skin disease!

So now she, Anna, Jonathan, and Faith are all down for naps. I think that's where I am headed. I was going to do a few other things with the boys this afternoon, but after a 3 1/2 hour jaunt to the doctor, I am tired. So much for that normal routine, huh?! No wonder I can never really get anything accomplished around here!

Back to Routine

Today was Bob's last day of paternity leave. It's been nice having him here at home--one more week of being able to run errands by myself in the afternoon! He's going out with a bang though. This morning I woke up with that scratchy feeling in the back of my throat that either means a cold or allergies. When I changed Grace's diaper mid-morning, I discovered that she has broken out in some kind of blotchy hives, mainly on her trunk and legs. I have no idea what she could have reacted to, but as the day wore on, the hives got bigger. I did give her some liquid Benedryl, but it hasn't made much of a difference so far. Anna was crabby this morning, so I told her to go up to her room (the only place she is allowed to have her pacifier nowdays). After not seeing her for awhile, I went up to check on her, and discovered her fast asleep in bed! She has been complaining that her tummy hurts, and she's had a bit of diarrhea, so I guess she has some kind of bug too. Good grief!

We had been getting back into a good school routine, but this morning, after the boys did their independent work and I did a few things with Caleb and Jonathan, Bob took them all swimming. The girls and I hung out here. I had the best of intentions of finishing up stuff like spelling this afternoon, but after lunch, I took a nap for several hours. Nothing more of academic value happened, LOL.

Bob also picked up some seeds on the way back from swimming. Even though we rarely have gardening success, we are once again going to try it. I keep telling myself we are just practicing for whenever we have our forever home, the one with the huge yard and plenty of room for a nice sunny garden! We have a seed starting kit with a bunch of little peat moss pots, so Nathan figured out how many of each thing we should plant. The planting is going to take place tonight. I'll keep you updated on our gardening progress . . .

So tomorrow Bob is back off to work, and hopefully we girls will be feeling better. At least I haven't had mastitis yet. I'm hoping these naps will ward that off.

A Real Prince

We had a fun day today. Some friends of ours, Tim and Michele and their 3 kids, came up to visit. We have known them for many years, even before they were married! Tim was a batchelor back at Wright-Patterson, and he was a saber-bearer in our wedding. They live south of the city, and traffic is such a hassle around here that we rarely see them, so this was a real treat! They came to drop off several boxes of clothes that their daughter had outgrown. They also brought a box of pink princess Mega Bloks, which I am sure you can imagine delighted Anna! There is a castle, as well as a carriage, 2 Cinderellas, and a prince.

Anna and Jonathan were playing with the blocks after dinner, and Anna put the prince in the carriage.

Jonathan: "Where is the prince going, Anna?"

Anna: "To Home Depot!"

LOL! The image of the prince installing his own hardwood floor or changing the flapper valve on the castle toilet struck me as funny, not to mention him pulling up to Home Depot in his pink pumpkin coach! But Anna knows the right kind of man to look for--a prince who does his own home improvement projects, although maybe minus the pink pumpkin coach.

Another picture . . .

. . . by special request of Aunt Claire. Sorry it's a bit blurry--our camera battery was just about dead. I charged the battery, so I'll have to try again tomorrow. Faith is 3 weeks old now, and she is staying awake longer, to the great delight of her siblings. She is still a very happy girl, who rarely fusses, even when being passed around to various sets of arms. We got the crib gym thing out of the basement for her to lie under, and she's been enjoying looking up at the dangly things. She's been sleeping really well at night--I've been feeding her around 10:00, and she'll go until around 4:00, and then until after 8:00. Now I just need to go to sleep as soon as I put her down at 11:00. Unfortunately, I'm always trying to do just one more thing, so it's later, and I'm always tired the next day.

Tomorrow Mom and Dad are driving back to Ohio. We will be very sad to see them go! It's sooooo nice to have the extra help, as well as the extra company throughout the day. The nice thing about this time, though, is that Bob gets paternity leave! Sometime in the last 18 months, the Air Force has instituted a new paternity leave policy, which says that the dad can take 10 consecutive days of free paternity leave anytime during the first 60 days of the baby's life. Bob started his 10 days Monday, so I won't be the lone adult when Mom and Dad drive off! That will give us another week to get back into a good routine before he starts back to work.

Happy Birthday, Luke!

We celebrated Luke's 10th birthday today! I was very, very happy because Luke did not ask for a regular cake for his birthday--he asked for a chocolate cheesecake!! He is my new favorite child, LOL. Since I didn't have to work all afternoon on a Bionicle cake or some other time-intensive cake, we really went all out for making birthday desserts, which we took to Bible study.

We had the chocolate cheesecake, which had chopped up Snickers bars both in it and sprinkled on top, as well as chocolate syrup drizzled over. It was delicious! We also had chocolate-covered strawberries, with a choice of both light or dark chocolate, and we also had rice krispie treats with blue frosting, just to make them special, for those people like Caleb who are allergic to both cheesecake and chocolate, and also for those like Nathan and Amanda L. who just don't like cheesecake. We came home with a small square of cheesecake, so people pretty much scarfed everything down!

I can't believe Luke is in double digits now! He has really grown up a lot this past year, I think. I was a little worried about how he would handle all the orthodontia, but he has really taken that in stride. He has also become so amazingly athletic. I am still surprised at how good at basketball he turned out to be. Also, he is an amazing big brother to the girls. They really bring out a softer side to him. He can be pretty cynical, but he is so sweet and gentle when he talks to them and helps them. If I am not available, he is the one Grace turns to when she needs comfort, and he will sit and hold Faith for long periods of time on the couch. One night, after kssing Grace goodnight in her crib, he told me that it was the best thing to have little sisters. It was so sweet. I am so thankful we didn't stop having kids after having him, because I think his personality would be different without the younger ones to bring him balance. It has definitely made him more flexible and able to think about others. Now he and Caleb still butt heads all. the. time. but I told him that the Lord knew he had areas that needed to be worked on that Caleb brought out in him, and vice versa, and so that's why God put them both in the same family! Their relationship is definitely an area of prayer for me though.

I know I have shared before on the blog about Luke's meconium issues at birth, and I don't take for granted the fact that he is a healthy, happy 10 year old. We are so thankful for Luke!

Decluttering

Yesterday I embarked on a big decluttering project. Well, let's just say I actually decluttered yesterday, and now we'll see if anything else gets done. I have been itching to declutter. I feel hemmed in by the amount of stuff we have, and the amount of time it takes to keep it all organized and put away (anyone who comes to visit can see that I do not actually take all that time, LOL), and it's very frustrating. It's been 4 1/2 years since we moved, which is obviously too long. We have accumulated a lot of stuff in those years!

My biggest problem was where to start. Finally Nathan and Luke took matters into their own hands, and a few days ago, Nathan went through their closet and pulled out a bunch of shirts they didn't want anymore. These were strategically left in a pile in the middle of the floor, so I decided to start on the closets in the boys' rooms. It took me several hours, but I went through both closets. It confirmed what I already knew--we have way too many clothes. I collected 2 garbage bags of stuff to donate, and 2 large tubs of clothes to consign at our big local consignment sales. I should probably just donate those items as well, but I made over $100 at the fall consignment sales just selling clothes, so it's hard to pass up that opportunity. Unfortunately, that means that the winter clothes will have to be stored until the Fall, so my thrifty nature is warring with my desire to clear everything out, LOL. We'll see. If we do move in the summer, those things are NOT moving with us!

Speaking of moving, Bob said he thinks we might not get a new assignment this spring. He looked at his records, and it looks like our clock was restarted when we got the one year extension last February. So that means it looks like we just arrived here last year. But who knows--anything is possible.

I have decided that I need to think as if we for sure are moving this summer, because otherwise I am not motivated to do the decluttering that is really necessary. Now my only question is where I should work on next . . . I know I have 3 tubs of maternity clothes in my closet, but there are lots of things that I haven't worn at all in the past 3 pregnancies. Those are on their way out! The basement storage room also needs work. I need a place to put the tubs of clothes. My only other question is where I'll find the time . . . I just have to tell myself that we're moving this summer!

2 Week Well-Baby

Faith had her 2 week well-baby appointment this morning. She is back up to her birth weight of 8 pounds, 10 ounces, so that is good. The doctor said she is in the 50th percentile for weight, but the 75th percentile for length and head circumference. Then she said that she wouldn't be surprised to see Faith be in the 75th percentile for weight as well by her next appointment. I laughed and told her that I would be pretty surprised! I expect that Faith will start falling down the chart, ending up around the 10th percentile or so by a year. And this will happen regardless of when we start solids!

Everything else is fine. Her jaundice is gone, as it always is by the 2 week appointment. She has slightly clogged tear ducts in both eyes, but they are improving. Her right eye is slightly more watery than the left one, but I've been massaging them. She has the clearest skin of any of my babies, I must say. No infant acne to speak of! She's a pretty happy baby; she still really doesn't fuss very much. She has been giving me longer stretches at night, sometimes as much as 5 hours. Usually I'll feed her around 10:30 or 11:00, then she'll wake up again between 3:00 and 4:00, and then again between 7:00 and 8:00. That's not too bad for a 2 week old!

Faith also had another hearing screening before the well-baby appointment, and this time she passed in both ears! Yay! I was so thankful to those like Johanna and Carri who commented on my last post about the failed hearing test. Your comments were very encouraging!

In the picture, Faith is being held by her February birthday buddy Luke, who will be turning 10 on Friday. You can check out his braces-less smile!

Where everyone shops . . .

Last night at Bible study, Anna had to go potty. She noticed the brass trashcan in the L's bathroom, which is totally unlike the plastic Rubbermaid ones that adorn all our rooms, LOL.

Anna: "Mommy, what a pretty trashcan!"

Me: "Umm hmmm"

Anna: "Who gave that pretty trashcan to Mrs. L.?"

Me: "Probably no one. She probably just bought it."

Anna: "Did she buy it at Walmart? Or at the commissary?"

LOL! Because you know, those 2 places are where you get everything! I guess you know where we shop now.

Orthodontic Update

Luke had not one, but two orthodontic appointments yesterday. At the first one, he got his braces and his expander taken off. Yay! He kept saying how weird it was to feel his gums and the top of his mouth. I don't think any of us will miss the sucking sound he would make to try to clear out food that got stuck up in the expander, LOL. I still can't believe the difference that 6 months of the expander, plus a few months of braces, made in his mouth. Wow.

While he was there in the morning, he had impressions made to fit him for a retainer that he will mainly wear at home and at night. The orthodontist also came out to talk to me and tell me that he also needs to wear a head thing to help his lower jaw grow forward, since it is really small, and his teeth are not lined up properly. He asked me if I thought Luke would wear it, and I said he would probably wear whatever we told him he had to wear. Luke needs to wear the head gear for 14 hours, most of which will be at night while he's sleeping. This is the good thing about homeschooling--Luke seems totally unaware that there might be any sort of stigma against orthodontic appliances. I was a bit worried that he would be really self-conscious and not want to wear the thing, but last night he didn't really seem to care. He wore it for about an hour and a hlaf, while watching a movie. We have to work up to the 14 hours, and he did say it was uncomfortable after awhile. I hope he can sleep with it! I'm not sure that a picture will be forthcoming, but we'll see.

When we went back for our afternoon appointment, Luke picked up his new retainer. I don't know if he just only needs a small one, or if retainer technology has really come a long way since I was in junior high, but it looks nothing like what I remember people wearing! Those were these huge things with a big pink palate part, and wires everywhere. His is clear plastic with no wires, and it is not noticeable at all. He's just supposed to wear that at home, not out, which should be easy. I'm not sure how long he'll have to wear these things. We go back next week to check on the progress.

Finding Things

I'm not saying this sort of thing ever happens around here, but someone on the Well Trained Mind board posted a link to this funny post by the Country Doctor's Wife , which I am just copying and pasting in its entirety, since I know you are probably lazy like me and might not bother clicking on the link. All I'm saying is that I happen to live with 5 males as well . . .


"My dear friend, Mistah Zellah has often philosophized over the years, that the real reason women are able to find things more easily than men, is not because they are smarter, more determined, or one step higher on the evolutionary spectrum. Rather, it is because they have a uterus. He believes that it is the uterus that gives women the ability to exhaustively hunt for things.... to keep looking even when the first few spots do not pan out... to open doors... to look under beds... to empty drawers... to actually move a pillow or a pile of clothes or a sofa cushion to see if the missing object is located UNDERNEATH... to look behind the jackets on the hooks... to stoop... to bend... to move their necks from side to side during a search... to keep looking and keep looking and KEEP LOOKING until the lost item is found. He believes there is a yet to be discovered synapse, a muscle or a nerve ending that travels from the uterus to the brain that men do not have and this is why women can search, search, search and find and men can only briefly scan a room at eye level for a precious lost artifact before throwing their hands up in surrender. Living in a house of five males, I often wonder if Mistah Zellah could be right.

This weekend the Country Doctor and my son Drew were in a frantic fury trying to find a missing team basketball jersey. It is the exact same frantic fury that occurred the weekend before... and the weekend before that... and also the weekend before that. Before basketball season it was a football jersey... before football season it was a baseball cleat... etc, etc, etc. It is always a vital piece of sports equipment and it is always lost.

Actually, the item is not lost. It is just located slightly beyond their peripheral vision and that makes the missing item impossible for them to find.

I asked the Country Doctor what he would do if he could not immediately locate one of our sons in a convenience store, after filling up at a gas station in another town. I am positive that if the child did not materialize, directly in front of him, in a matter of seconds, the CD would decide that the kid was gone for good. He would run out to the car to tell me that one of our boys was lost, forever. I would jump out of the car, rush into the gas station, move my body slightly to the left, swivel my head ten degrees to the right and our child would instantly appear in front of me.

"How did you do that?" the CD would gasp.

"I used my EYEBALLS!!!!!!! You know THESE THINGS!" I would say, pointing to my eyes.

This evening, right in the middle of preparing dinner, I had to go pick up my eldest son from school.

"Ethan!" I hollered as I was leaving the house, "Chop up some carrots for the stir-fry while I am gone."

"Where are the carrots?" Ethan called out as I was walking out of the house.

"In the fridge... in one of the drawers..."

I knew I should have run back to the kitchen and set them out on the counter... but as the fridge only has TWO DRAWERS I thought SURELY HE CAN FIND THEM!!!!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!

I came home to find my son standing in front of the fridge unable to locate the GIGANTIC BAG OF CARROTS IN THE DRAWER OF THE FRIDGE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE!

After dinner, I announced that I would really appreciate it, if everyone could put their dishes in the dishwasher when they were finished with dinner. Immediately, I realized that I needed to give them a lot more information if I truly expected them to be able to FIND THE DISHWASHER!

"It is the rectangular silver appliance located in the kitchen," I explained, " You open the door and put your dishes inside."

The Country Doctor got up and stood in front of the fridge.

"You mean this one?" he asked opening up the fridge. "It has dishes in it."

"No... not that one... it is lower... you are going to have to bend over to find it."

The Country Doctor moved over and stood in front of the stove. "This one?" he asked. "It is silver and lower and it has a door..."

"No... but you are very close... turn around."

The Country Doctor turned around.

"This is a sink." he said.

"Yes, I know," I replied, " Move your body one step to the right and look down."

The Country Doctor followed my instructions and he found the dishwasher! At that moment, I looked at my four sons still seated at the table. I realized that watching their father find the dishwasher not ten feet from where they sat, did not improve the chances that they would also be able to find the dishwasher.

Suddenly, I discovered that I did not have the necessary strength to walk each one of my sons through the motions of locating the dishwasher. I was simply not strong enough to endure it. I felt weak and dizzy and sick to my stomach. If I kept this up... I was clearly going to perish. I wisely decided to admit defeat and live... for the sake of my future grandchildren... for the sake of my show cats... for the sake of the people who read my blog... I decided that teaching my four sons how to find the dishwasher was not the hill on which I would die.

I placed a feverish, shaking hand on my abdomen and thought about my uterus... my good old uterus... my helpful uterus. The same uterus that had sheltered all four of my boys... nourished them... cradled them... protected them The same uterus that clamped down and pushed them out when it was tired of them. I felt a shudder of pity sweep through me. Can the male species really be blamed for their inability to find things? After all, they are missing the vital organ that connects the brain to the eyeballs and allows the neck to swivel from side to side, which then causes the knees to bend and look underneath the stack of towels on the chiffarobe for that missing shoulder pad. They don't have a uterus! It is almost as if they were missing half their brains."