. . . 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 . . .
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
A Blast From the Past
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Spontaneous, Flexible, Responsive . . .
. . . 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!
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!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The "Bungalow"
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!
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!
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.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Mini-Vacation
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!
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!
Monday, August 01, 2011
Physical Science
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Checking in Mid-Week
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 . . .
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!
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!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Potty-Training Update
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!
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!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
18 Years!!
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!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
A Brief Reprieve
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!
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!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
1 Step Forward, 10 Steps Back . . .
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!
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!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Mattress Issues
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Yankee Doodle Dandy
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!
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!
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!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Motivational Paragraph
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!
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!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
. . . And After
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!
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 . . .
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.
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.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Happy Birthday, Nathan!!
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!
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